North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith

North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith:

North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay

What's a young couple to do when they are expecting a baby, and both husband and wife are public school teachers in a state ranked one of the worst places to be a teacher?

For Dan and Katie Mangum in Asheville, North Carolina, the answer was clear: move to Georgia for better-paying teaching jobs.

In the years since North Carolina's Republican takeover in 2010, the state's once-proud education system has fallen on tumultuous times thanks to politicians who no longer seem to value public schools. Despite a $450 million budget surplus this year, lawmakers have refused to restore school funding to pre-recession levels -- which leaves teachers struggling to cope with rising enrollment while their salaries remain stagnant.

"A big thing was just a lack of respect," Dan Mangum told the Asheville Citizen-Timesabout his decision to leave North Carolina for better pay. "[We] just kept looking around every year and just seeing a revolving door of people coming in and out and kept looking at other states and seeing North Carolina pay not comparing year after year."

You can see more of Dan and Katie's story in a video produced by Progress North Carolina, a public policy nonprofit working to raise North Carolina teacher pay to the national average:

Last year, personal finance website WalletHub compiled nationwide data on teacher pay and classroom spending and found North Carolina to be the worst state in the nation for teachers. This year, we moved up on the list -- all the way to second-worst. According to WalletHub's data, North Carolina ranks 43rd in teacher safety, 46th in per-pupil spending, and 49th in teacher pay increases over the past decade.

The report highlights what North Carolina educators have been saying all along -- that although politicians claim to support public education on the campaign trail, their actions over the past few years have done absolutely nothing to improve North North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith:

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ:

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors

New niche develops as more charters open doors; some states help with financing

By 

PETER GRANT

Oct. 13, 2015 11:33 a.m. ET

Real-estate investors are showing an increasing interest in charter school development as the demand grows for classroom seats and some state and local governments become more willing to help finance charter-school projects.

Almost all charter schools are operated by nonprofit organizations. But these groups often rent and buy their buildings from private real-estate developers, and that is creating a new niche asset for some investors.

One of the latest entrants to the charter real-estate business is Northstar Commercial Partners, a Denver-based private-equity firm that is raising a $100 million fund. It will focus on converting charter schools out of vacant office, industrial and retail properties that can be purchased for less than half of what they would cost to build, according to Northstar Chief Executive Brian Watson.

Meanwhile, investment manager Bobby Turner, who founded Turner Impact Capital LLC in 2013, is raising his second fund with tennis legend Andre Agassi for building new charter schools, this one with a goal of $400 million.

And established players in the business are seeing volume increases on chart school developments. For example, a venture of HighMark School Development and EPR Properties, a real-estate investment trust, spent more than $118 million in 2014 on acquisition, renovation and construction, compared with $34 million in 2011.

“There’s no shortage of cash,” said Patrick Beausoleil, a HighMark vice president.

The rise in investment activity partly reflects the growth of the charter school movement, which has been overcoming political opposition in many states. During the 2014-2015 school year, 500 new public charter schools opened nationwide, for a total of more than 6,700 enrolling about 2.9 million students, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Some states are beginning to make financing tools available to charter schools that had been limited to traditional public schools. For example, the states of Texas, Colorado and Utah now backstop tax exempt bond issues for some charter schools, reducing their capital costs when acquiring facilities, according to Scott Rolfs, managing director of B.C. Ziegler & Co., a niche investment-banking firm that has underwritten more than $600 million in charter school bonds.

But the growing role of for-profit real-estate developers has added a new dimension to Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ:

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries:

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries

This piece comes to us courtesy of Stateline. Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Even with 16 years of teaching experience and two master’s degrees, Nathalia Moreno had a hard time finding a new job in the financially stressed schools where she lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Her prospects brightened when she began considering working in schools on the mainland, where bilingual teachers are in high demand. She got an offer from Florida, but took a job teaching physical education in Las Vegas where recruiters were more persistent.

It’s worth being persistent to hire a good teacher, especially one like Moreno who speaks English and Spanish, said Staci Vesneske, chief human resources officer for Las Vegas’ Clark County school system.

“It’s not uncommon for our recruiters to follow up two or three times to say, ‘Hey, we really want you to finish your application,’ ” Vesneske said.

Growing demand for bilingual teachers, fed by increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking public school students, is forcing local school districts to get creative in their recruiting. A major target for their efforts is Puerto Rico: the teachers, already U.S. citizens, don’t require a visa if they decide to leave the island and its struggling economy to go work on the mainland.

Oklahoma City Public Schools, for instance, started the school year in August with more than a dozen new teachers from Puerto Rico, including Iriana Sanchez, a kindergarten teacher who left because “it’s hard to get a job there, and here I feel very welcome.”

Houston-area schools are organizing recruiting conferences locally and in San Juan. The Dallas Independent School District, which already recruits in Puerto Rico, is this year looking to Mexico and Spain for candidates, while starting a training program for local bilingual professionals to become teachers.

“As bilingual programs in Dallas and across the state continue to grow, the need for bilingual teachers increases exponentially each year,” said Jordan Carlton, who heads a recruiting team for the district.

A smaller share of U.S. college students is getting education degrees. Relatively low pay and declining job benefits can make the profession look less attractive. State certification of teachers varies widely, and states don’t always recognize each other’s teacher certifications.

A 2013 study by the Council of the Great City Schools found that about half of large Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries:

Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30

Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30.com:

FRESNO UNIFIED HOLDS CLOSED DOOR MEETING THAT ANGERS FRESNO TEACHERS UNION

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --

A decision by the Fresno Unified School District to hold a closed door meeting tonight caught some members off guard and angered the Fresno Teachers Association.

The union says the board trustees planned to meet in closed session to discuss the ongoing federal investigation into no-bid contracts.

The FTA says the board was expected to vote whether to authorize paying for attorney's to defend district employees in the investigation. After two hours members broke-up the meeting without taking any action.

Trustee Carol Mills claims the meeting was called too hastily and she could not get in touch with the superintendent. "Mr. Hansen, I called, text and emailed, and I didn't get a response. I got this email at 5:15 yesterday."

"This is difficult, to say we're not communicating when you're not seeking the avenue of picking up the phone, when you're encouraged to do so," stated Michael Hanson, FUSD Superintendent.

The regular board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. There's a chance the issue could come up again then.Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30.com:



Former Chicago Public Schools pleads guilty on no-bid contracts - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader http://bit.ly/1RaYSCd



Questions abound over $3.5M 'no-bid' contract with Real Alternatives - TheIndyChannel.com http://bit.ly/1RaYTpO

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times:

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A.

The union representing Los Angeles teachers has pulled together a coalition of other employee unions to oppose a controversial plan to more than double the number of local students attending charter schools.

The linking of the unions is a potentially significant step in the showdown over charter expansion, which, if successful, would alter the education landscape in the city.

The proposed $490-million effort, spearheaded by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, would enroll half of L.A. Unified students in charter schools over the next eight years.

The plan has allies among a group of civic leaders as well as philanthropists and foundations, including the Walton Family Foundation, which has long supported the growth of charters across the nation.

Opponents said the alignment of the other district unions with the teachers provides a significant political boost.

"This was an important moment because the representatives of all employees, many of whom are parents of students in our schools, are all coming forward to say we should invest in our existing schools," said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Charter supporters questioned the priorities of critics.

"We are committed to ensuring that families have more high-quality choices in public education," said Myrna Castrejon, acting chief executive for the California Charter Schools Assn. "It is astonishing to us that anyone would be standing in the way of those parents' efforts to get the best educational opportunity for their children."

Charters are independently operated and exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses. Most are non-union. L.A. Unified already has more than 100,000 students in charters, the most in Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times:

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide:

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda

The K-12 policy agenda of the Federal government still has unfinished business up to the present time. With the upcoming leadership turnovers in the Congress and the United States Department of Education in the next few months, there is a probability that completing this unfinished business will cause difficulties.

The K-12 policy agenda of the Federal government still has unfinished business up to the present time. With the upcoming leadership turnovers in the Congress and the United States Department of Education in the next few months, there is a probability that completing this unfinished business will cause difficulties.

With the U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, and Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, stepping down from their positions in the next months, the transitioning of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) poses complications. The incumbent administration is faced with the challenge on how to enforce the mandates of the said education act considering that the some of the nation's competitive grants funding are thinning and becoming limited.

The situation gets tougher when the Chairman of the House Education Committee, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn, announced his plan of retiring from Congress. Rep. Kline is the author of the bill that aims to rewrite and revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  

"Certainly no one was expecting Secretary Duncan to leave at this time," according to the National Education Association's Director of Government Relations, Mary Kusler. As she desires for the renewal of the said law, she said that the resignation of another primary player presupposes that things should be immediately finalized and settled.

Kusler said that ESEA proceedings could be hastened considering the forthcoming departures of these three leaders.

The former Commissioner of Education in Kentucky, Terry Holliday, said that, John B. King Jr., the former chief of the state schools in New York who will become the acting secretary, should Duncan steps down, will be working hard with the states "to honor their work over the last several years."

The incumbent administration is working with another alternative as a response to this issue by passing the "No Child Left Behind Act", a rewritten version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. However, with respect to the concern about how this act would shape up, it remained in question.    Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide:

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party:

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party

The lines snaking out from the Crest Theatre extended halfway down K Street, past clubs and restaurants, amused bystanders, and two light-rail platforms. It was a full hour before the Sacramento premiere of Down In The Valley, a new entry in ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and yet the street was already aswarm with fans and local celebrities.

Barbara “Sign Lady” Rust was there with a trademark custom sign reading “Sacramento’s done it ALL, to keep NBA BASKETBALL.” Carmichael Dave, a local radio host heavily featured in the documentary, showed up rocking Kings purple. But no ESPN representatives were there to celebrate the project; Michelle Rhee was not seen; and no Kings representatives were seen basking in the glow of their team’s supposed salvation, save mascot Slamson.

ESPN announced hours before last night’s premiere that it had postponed the October 20 broadcast of Down In The Valley, citing “a renewed focus on certain issues,” by which it meant the broadening public awareness of sexual abuse allegations made against Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, whom the film celebrates. A source told our Dave McKenna that the movie was “on the ropes.” Everyone seemed to be fleeing from the project—except Kevin Johnson. Even if this would be the only time the show would ever run, the show, if the mayor had anything to do with it, would go on.

ESPN Shelves Its Kevin Johnson Documentary

Tickets to tonight’s showcase of the documentary Down In The Valley in Sacramento, Calif., just got …Read more

Ben Sosenko, press secretary to the Sacramento mayor’s office, corralled the media together about 10 minutes before Johnson showed up. He told us, briefly, what he wanted us to ask Johnson about. This was always supposed to be a victory lap for him and the other key figures in getting Sacramento to pay a quarter of a billion dollars in public funds for a new stadium, and they wanted to keep it that way. The mayor, we were told, only wanted to talk about the contents of Down In The Valley—not the quarantine in which ESPN had placed the movie, and certainly not the consistent pattern of women accusing him of sexual abuse. It didn’t work out for them.

Kevin Johnson, when he turned up, was repeatedly asked about the abuse allegations. He evaded every hard question and threw back only ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party:

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb:

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools

The military long ago solved its education problem: How do you take collections of disparate individuals from all walks of life, who have never killed anyone, and turn them into cohesive, well-disciplined units of warriors? First, get the individuals who enter the program to sign up for it voluntarily. This way they have some idea of what they are getting into and they are, for the most part, at least eighteen years old and physically fit. Second, the military doesn't have a lot of time to whip recruits into shape. They've got to get the job done as efficiently as possible in seven to twelve weeks. Boot camp is designed to be challenging and tough with all contingencies for reward and punishment controlled by the military 24-7 because the recruits are living on the premises. Thus the initial tough tactics are designed to put maximum stress on the recruits--break them down emotionally so that they can be built back up to become soldiers. It is powerful and effective. Many find comfort and strength from the disciplined life imposed on them, especially if they come from unstructured, somewhat chaotic backgrounds. Soldiers take pride in whom they become precisely because they endured and overcame tough training challenges and they know, deep in their bones, what they've achieved. Some people don't make it. But that is not a problem for the military. They can go find other careers.

It seems that some charter school chains have taken a page out of the military training manuals with their harsh performance standards for a no-excuses school. One such chain is Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy in NYC. The philosophy is shape up or ship out. Diane Ravitch recently reposted an interview with teacher Emily Talmage who had worked for Success academy. Although they don't exactly follow the military manual; they used a derivative: Doug Lemov's book Teach Like A Champion, which Emily paraphrased "Teach like a robot." Children are expected to walk silently, sit quietly with hands folded, keep eyes on teachers while a monotonous lesson is parroted to them. And what if you break the rules? Suspension is the consequence for children as young as five. John Merrow, the distinguished education commentator for PBS NewsHour did a segment on this, which is eye-opening. Such draconian Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb:

Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education?

Steven Singer is first out of the box with a review of the Democratic Presidential debate of last night.

President Obama set the tone for the evening (so far as education is concerned) by praising his administration for having reformed the nation’s schools.

It didn’t get any better.

The CNN anchors did not ask a single question about education.

Admittedly both Hillary Clinton and Sanders briefly brought it up when asked about other things.

Clinton said we need universal pre-kindergarten and good schools. However, she neglected to say what those good schools would look like.

It’s almost like saying nothing at all. EVERYONE wants good schools – Even dunderheads like Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Donald Trump! But their ideas of good schools differ greatly from that of most parents, teachers and students. McCharter schools for the poor and Cadillac campuses for the rich isn’t exactly what real progressives have in mind.

And universal pre-k? Great! But that’s kind of the flavor of the month. Who really disagrees that we should help toddlers prepare for school? It’s like asking, “Who wants ice cream?” in a room full of little kids on a hot day. EVERYONE wants ice cream – even the kids who are lactose intolerant!

Sanders took a second in a diatribe about social services to mention the need to fund schools. However, he didn’t say a thing about equity or if that funding would have strings attached. President Obama talked about funding schools, too, when he was running for president in 2008. Once he got into office those education dollars came at the cost of accepting untested and developmentally inappropriate Common Core State Standards. And equity meant closing poor schools to save them.

Singer wondered whether education was off the table because the two big teachers’ unions had already endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration continues to run roughshod over Steven Singer: Why Did CNN and the Democratic Candidates Forget about Education? | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog:

Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate

None.

Null.

Nada.

That’s how many questions CNN anchors asked presidential hopefuls about America’s public schools at the first Democratic Debate.

Imagine if Anderson Cooper and company had been silent on Climate Change. The candidates would have brought it up anyway. Bernie Sanders actually did talk about the threat to the environment when asked a question about national defense.

Imagine if moderators had no questions about gun violence. Candidates competed with each other to demonstrate which took a stronger stance against the National Rifle Association.

Imagine if no one asked about finance reform. On that stage each candidate tried to position his or herself as the new sheriff of Wall Street.

But when it comes to one of the most important issues of the day – our children’s struggling schools – the media apparently thought it was of no interest to the viewing public.

Admittedly both Hillary Clinton and Sanders briefly brought it up when asked about Near Silence on Education at First Democratic Debate | gadflyonthewallblog:

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29:

Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores

On October 12, 2015, the following email from Louisiana superintendent John White was forwarded to district superintendents, accompanied with 12 files detailing raw-score-to-scale-score conversions for the tests given to Louisiana students in spring 2015 in grades 3 through 8 in ELA and math:

Attached please find charts for converting raw scores to scale scores for 2015 grade 3-8 English and math state assessments.

These are the same conversion tables as will be used in other states where these forms are active. Scale scores and cut scores derived from these conversions will be comparable with those in other states, provided that BESE approves comparable cut scores.

John

The question of whether the tests Louisiana students took are exactly the same test that all PARCC states have taken, as White is quoted saying in a September 29, 2015, article in The Lens, is not settled by the fact that in The Lens article, White implies that all PARCC states used “the same form”–

Students across Louisiana “took the exact same form as did kids across the country,” White said. “Same questions. Same order. Nothing different.” [Emphasis added.]

–but in the email excerpt above, White includes a disclaimer about the scale scores applying “in other states where these forms are active.”

To date, White has offered the public no formal documentation to substantiate his Profound Measurement Error in Louisiana “PARCC” Scale Scores | deutsch29:

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic:

ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It

'Down In The Valley' glorifies Sacramento's Mayor, an alleged sex abuser

By Max Rivlin-Nadler

On Monday, ESPN postponed its new 30 for 30 documentary Down In The Valley, a recounting of the years-long fight by the city of Sacramento to keep its NBA team from moving to a different city, a fight led by its mayor, the former NBA star Kevin Johnson, that had been set to air on October 20. But when I asked for a screener of the new Kevin Johnson film from ESPN, I was corrected by a spokesperson, who told me it was not, as early critics had leveled, a heroic depiction of the efforts of the city’s now-embattled mayor, but rather told the story of “the power of sports to inspire a city and revitalize a struggling community.”

Last Friday, ESPN pulled the media screener of the documentary, citing piracy concerns. But before it was pulled, I was able to see the film in its entirety. And despite the best efforts of ESPN’s PR apparatus to try to convince the media otherwise, the film goes well beyond portraying Kevin Johnson in a positive light. Down In The Valley amounts to a 77-minute political advertisement for Johnson, a man who in 1995 paid a 15-year-old over $230,000 to keep quiet after she alleged that he had sexually abused her.

Johnson’s more recent exploits, some as mayor, include intentionallybankrupting a historic black mayor’s conference, flagrant misuse of federal funds, and the installation within his city hall of paid staff members of an aggressively pro-charter school organization, who often failed to disclose their other employer. These revelations, as well as his long history of alleged sexual abuse, have been brought to the nation’s attention by the veteran sportswriter Dave McKenna, who has been meticulously detailing the dealings of Johnson for Deadspin. But even before that, thanks to thedogged reporting of the Sacramento Bee, a paper Johnson has battled withrecently, ESPN had to be well aware that the protagonist of its film was not ESPN Pulled Its Kevin Johnson Documentary—But Not Before I Watched It | The New Republic:

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Conference this week on "Education in Black and White"

A series of events and panel discussions on the history of African Americans and schooling in Philadelphia are taking place this month, including a conference this Thursday through Saturday On "The Institute for Colored Youth and the Ongoing Struggle for Education."

The ICY, founded in Philadelphia in 1837, is now Cheyney University.

"Education in Black and White" is billed as a "citywide festival" and is part of the "hidden history" project of the Moonstone Arts Center, an arts education organization with a focus on the history of the African American community in Philadelphia.

Events will be held at Local 1199C of the Hospital Workers Union; the Writing Project at the University of Pennsylvania, the African American History Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, and branches of the Free Library.

Partners also include the Pennsylvania Abolition Society (which still exists), WURD, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. 

On Thursday, a panel on the founding of the Institute for Colored Youth will feature local writers Dan Biddle and Murray Dubin, who wrote Tasting Freedom: Octavius V. Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America. Catto was one of the early graduates of ICY who was a key civil rights leader fighting for African American voting rights and was murdered at age 32. 

History professors Judith Giesberg, Linda M. Perkins, and Kabria Bumgartner will discuss the women of the ICY, including Fannie Jackson Coppin and Charlotte Forten. Coppin, the Conference this week on "Education in Black and White" | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political:

Kids Not Cuts Gets Political

Editor's Note: the Board apparently wrote back and seemingly was not happy with the input from the delegation.  I will post when I receive.  Also, I note that Rep. Reuven Carlyle, Speaker Frank Chopp, Rep. Brady Walkinshaw and Senator Jamie Pedersen did not sign this letter. Pedersen and Carlyle are SPS parents.

Washington State Legislature 

Sherry Carr, President
Seattle School District Board of Directors MS 11-010
PO Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165 
Re: Staff Reassignments 

Dear Board President Carr, 


It has been our privilege work in partnership with you and to advocate on behalf of Seattle Public School students in Olympia. Many of us have students in Seattle Public Schools, and each of us cares deeply about providing all of our children with an excellent education. We recognize the extremely difficult position the District is in and appreciate the steps staff have already taken to minimize impacts to students as you seek to maximize resources consistent with enrollment. We are writing today, however, to express our concern about the disruption caused across the district by teacher reassignments, and we are asking that you consider postponing those teacher reassignments to allow the District to work with the community in order to craft a plan to keep staff at their currently assigned schools. 

In 2012 the State Supreme Court ruled that our state was not meeting its paramount duty of fully funding basic education. Since the original ruling, the state increased K-12 education funding for important elements of basic education such as student transportation, K-3 class size reduction, materials and supplies, and all-day kindergarten. The members of this delegation have been Seattle Schools Community Forum: Kids Not Cuts Gets Political:

And How Many Cookies to Save Teachers at 25+ Schools?

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.:

The Passion of St. Arne

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will step down at the end of this year, and President Obama has announced that he will be replaced by former New York Commissioner of Education Dr. John King, Jr. as the acting Secretary of Education through the remainder of the administration.  Praising his often embattled Secretary of Education, President Obama said, ““He’s done more to bring our educational system, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the 21st century than anyone else….America will be better off for what he has done.”

We’ll leave that judgement to history.

As is often the case when prominent Washington figures prepare to ride off into the sunset (or out of town under cover of darkness depending on your point of view) it is time for “legacy punditry” to kick into overdrive and attempt to place Secretary Duncan in history.  Most of it is premature.  Quite a lot of it is insipid. And much of it just cannot resist creating a “balanced” narrative whether it is honest or not, which is where, Secretary Arne Duncan, Martyr of the Intransigent Teacher Unions comes into play.  Michael Grunwald of Politico.com wrote just such a piece last week, explaining the the choice of John King signals that President Obama has no intention of backing off any controversial reforms and strongly emphasizing union opposition to both Secretary Duncan and his chosen successor:

Duncan has been the public face of those differences; the National Education Association called for his resignation, while the American Federation of Teachers put him on an “improvement plan” like the ones school reformers have endorsed for incompetent teachers. He is leaving with U.S. graduation rates at an all-time high and dropout rates at an all-time low, but there has 

The Passion of St. Arne | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.: