Before Minecraft, The Blocks Were Made Of Wood : NPR Ed : NPR

Before Minecraft, The Blocks Were Made Of Wood : NPR Ed : NPR:

Before Minecraft, The Blocks Were Made Of Wood

For our Tools of the Trade series, we're exploring the iconic, seminal tools that some of us remember using in our early schooling. Things like the slide rule and protractor, the Bunsen burner and the planetarium.

Today we explore the simple, powerful tool that is still alive and well in some early learning classrooms: the wooden block. You might call it the anti-app.

Measurement. Balance. Math. Negotiation. Collaboration. And fun. The smooth maple pieces need no recharging, no downloading.

"Let's just put these blocks up," says 4-year-old Jacques. "I think this will probably work. Be careful, Corrine."

"I know," says Corinne, who is also 4.

With focused intensity, Jacques and Corinne work to balance and secure two semicircular wooden blocks atop two long, straight ones.

Whoa, careful, it's leaning!

The tower collapses to the carpeted floor at Stanford University's Bing Nursery School.

They work the problem.

It is Silicon Valley, after all. Fail early, fail often, kids. Iterate. Collaborate.

Jacques makes a pitch for stability.

"Corinne, I think if we just put a little on each side and used the right amount where mine was, it would work," he says. "OK?"

"OK, let's try," says Corrine. "OK!"

The tower grows.

Then, to paraphrase Homer, the tower falls thunderously and the blocks clatter about.

"It keeps falling down! Maybe a little higher," Jacques says, resisting the urge to lose patience.

The block party is on. Soon other kids wander over to try to help build this hour's great random structure.

"If we can't do it, we could build something else!"

"OK, what?"

Two blocks or four? Big or small? What shape? This is negotiation and collaboration, pre-K style.

"Those are the kinds of skills that we need later on," says Jennifer Winters, the Bing school's director. "We'll need to learn to work together on projects, to collaborate, to bounce ideas off one another."

Building A World

House Restores Local Education Control in Revising No Child Left Behind - The New York Times

House Restores Local Education Control in Revising No Child Left Behind - The New York Times:

House Restores Local Education Control in Revising No Child Left Behind

Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, left, and Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican. Credit Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday approved a sweeping bill to revise the contentious No Child Left Behind law, representing the end of an era in which the federal government aggressively policed public school performance, and returning control to states and local districts.

No Child Left Behind, which had strong bipartisan backing when it passed in 2001, was the signature education initiative of George W. Bush, who said the failure of public schools to teach poor students and minorities reflected the “soft bigotry of low expectations.”

That law ushered in high-stakes testing to measure student progress in reading and math between the third and eighth grades. Schools were required to make every child in the nation proficient in those subjects by 2014, as measured by standardized tests. Schools that failed to hit targets along the way were subject to federally required sanctions, ranging from tutoring to school closing in the worst cases. Over time, the law became anathema to both the right and the left, and it became clear that the sanctions as well as the goal of proficiency by 2014 were unworkable.

The overhaul passed by the House on Wednesday, 359 to 64, jettisons No Child’s prescribed goals and punishments, and allows states and school districts to set their own goals and to decide how to rate schools and what to do with those that underperform.

After months of compromise and negotiation, the bill earned nearly unanimous approval from a conference committee of House and Senate members two weeks ago, and is expected to be passed by the Senate next week. A White House official said Wednesday that President Obama plans to sign it when it reaches his desk.

Representative John Kline, the Minnesota Republican who is chairman of the House Education Committee, said the existing law had left the federal government “micromanaging” the education system.

“No Child Left Behind was based on good intentions, but it was also based on the flawed premise that Washington knows what students need to succeed in school,” he said in a statement.

The bill passed Wednesday retains the annual testing requirements in math and reading. Schools must also continue to report the results by students’ race, income and disability status.

Some said they were uneasy about whether the new law could exacerbate uneven schooling across the country.

“The real question is what authority is left to the federal government to intervene should the states in one way or another fall short of what the hopes are?” said David Steiner, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and a former New York state education commissioner. “We all are concerned that we not go to a place where based on where you happen to be born or which state you’re in, you face very, House Restores Local Education Control in Revising No Child Left Behind - The New York Times:

Go Ahead, Pass Every Student Succeeds Act, But Don’t Celebrate It

12/3/2015 – Pass Every Student Succeeds Act, But Don’t Celebrate It:

Go Ahead, Pass Every Student Succeeds Act, But Don’t Celebrate It

December 3, 2015 Subscribe

THIS WEEK: US Falling Behind … College Attendance Rates Fall … Diversity Works … California’s Alternative To Testing … Teacher-Powered Schools Grow

TOP STORY

Go Ahead, Pass Every Student Succeeds Act, But Don’t Celebrate It

By Jeff Bryant

“On Wednesday afternoon, the House overwhelmingly passed the proposed Every Student Succeeds Act. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure this month, and the White House has signaled President Obama’s willingness to sign it … For sure, there are things to like and dislike about the bill, but while lawmakers and policy wonks are back-slapping and glad-handing each other, this is also an opportune time to reflect on where we are in the evolution of education policy compared to where we should be.”
Read more …

NEWS AND VIEWS

US Falls Behind Other Nations In The Global Knowledge Economy, Says 46-Country Report

The Hechinger Report

“The United States continues to fall behind internationally in producing a college-educated workforce … In the very early years, many countries are now sending a much higher percentage of their kids to preschool than the United States … In several countries, nearly 60% of 25- to 34-year-olds have a college education … In the United States, by contrast, only 46% of the younger generation has a college education … On the early childhood front, the United States has one of the lowest enrollment rates among OECD countries, where, on average, more than 70% of young children attend preschool … In the United States, only 41% of 3-year-olds and 66% of 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschools.”
Read more …

College Enrollment Rates Are Dropping, Especially Among Low-Income Students

The Washington Post

“Low-income high school graduates were far less likely to enroll in higher education in 2013 than in 2008, a downward trend that came at the same time the Obama administration was pushing to boost college access and completion … College enrollment rates have fallen for all students since 2008 … But the enrollment rates among the poorest students has fallen much faster … Enrollment was dropping at the same time as federal and private grant aid was increasing and high school graduation rates were rising – two trends that higher education advocates hoped would boost college access for poor youth.”
Read more …

Study Finds Diversity Plan Lessened Wake County School Segregation

The News & Observer

“Wake County’s efforts to balance schools by income kept it more diverse than other large North Carolina school systems and also helped to reduce the achievement gap between white and black students … Wake switched in 2000 to trying to balance the percentages of students receiving subsidized lunches in its schools while the other districts moved to neighborhood schools and choice … Wake County’s math and reading scores rose slightly and the achievement gap between black and white students narrowed after the switch.”
Read more …

California Leads Drive To Reverse Focus On Standardized Tests

Ed Source

“California is … in the middle of devising a new accountability system, a massive and complex undertaking in a state as large and diverse as California, that is intended to go far beyond a narrow preoccupation with test scores … Gov. Jerry Brown has been consistent in challenging the role of testing – and has clashed repeatedly with the Obama administration on this issue … The state is moving toward establishing a much broader accountability system, of which tests – improved ones, according to proponents – will comprise just one part. In California, the new accountability system will be based on ‘multiple measures’ rooted in eight “priority areas” established by the state in the 2013 Local Control Funding Formula law championed by Brown … All this is taking place as Congress, after years of gridlock on the issue, appears to be moving to replace the No Child Left Behind law with one that will move the nation distinctly in the direction California is already going.”
Read more …

Why Teacher-Powered Schools Are Picking Up Momentum

Center for Teaching Quality

Barnett Berry, the executive director of the Center for Teaching Quality writes, “In teacher-powered schools, students are at the center of every decision. Teachers secure autonomy to make the big choices about a wide array of factors, such as the learning program, school-community partnerships, and budgeting … The teacher-powered model isn’t new, but it’s definitely picking up momentum. More than 80 public teacher-powered schools currently operate in at least 15 states … New research reveals not only the positive effects of teacher collaboration on student achievement, but also the specific factors that contribute most to teachers’ professional growth and leadership … Polling data reveal that the vast majority of parents have trust and confidence in teachers, and while they want more school choices, they are most interested in teachers leading.”
Read more …

12/3/2015 – Pass Every Student Succeeds Act, But Don’t Celebrate It:

John Thompson: The Failed Claims for Market-Driven Reforms | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: The Failed Claims for Market-Driven Reforms | Diane Ravitch's blog:

John Thompson: The Failed Claims for Market-Driven Reforms

John Thompson, historian and teacher, analyzes the specious arguments for market-driven reforms. (Note: Although John says that Susan Dynarsky’s New York Times article is “intellectually honest,” Ipreviously wrote that she pulled the reformer trick of studying only successful charter schools in Boston, leaving out the ones that had no lottery, and ignoring the dreadful charters in her own state, Michigan.)
“The second shoe is falling. Hillary Clinton criticized charters for not taking their fair share of the harder-to-teach students. Predictably, corporate reformers have responded as one with their standard talking points. To get a quick overview of the herd of independent minds who are emptying the arsenal of reform soundbites on Mrs. Clinton, check out Real Clear Education.

“Susan Dynarski’s New York Times commentary is a more intellectually honest, but flawed, effort to change the subject from the issue raised by Mrs. Clinton. Dynarski repeats the same market-driven line, “Not all charters are successful, of course, but we should not expect them to be. … Some of these experiments produce great results. Others don’t. It’s the job of government to distinguish between the successful schools and the failures, and to shut down the failures.”

Dynarski acknowledges part of the problem with the research used to promote charters. Quantitative researchers seek to compare the outcomes of students who attend charters with those who applied for the admissions lottery and who were not chosen. The problem is, “Perhaps only the best charters are popular, and that’s why the lottery studies produce such positive estimates. We can’t use the lottery approach to assess a school that does not have high demand for its seats.”

“To her credit, Dynarski acknowledges the flaws in the methodologies that find big benefits for oversubscribed charters and “smaller but still positive gains” for some charters (as in Boston) that are not oversubscribed. But, then she cites a popular high-poverty, high-performing charter, Boston’s Match High School, that actually undermines the case for competition-driven school reform.

“True believers in choice admit that mistakes will be made and students will be hurt by inevitable errors. But give charters enough time and they should learn how to avoid “selection bias;” high-poverty charters that outperform neighborhood schools can somehow be scaled up. Match was established in 2001, however, and it still only serves 290 students.

“A second defense of market-driven reform is offered by Greg Richmond, of the National Association of Charter Authorizers, in his “Blind Men and the Elephant.” Richmond’s logic has a point, but it also undermines the case for charters as they are now being imposed of urban districts.

“Richmond lists multiple, discrete reasons why different people support charters – they are supposedly like blind men touching different parts of an elephant. If each effort to advance charters is as separate as an elephant’s ear is to its tail, competition-driven reform is not an existential threat to the teaching profession and public schools. The goal of the blind men who finance market-driven reform, however, is to pull these different approaches together to destroy “the status quo,” i.e. the traditional education system, unions, local governance, and the teaching profession as we know it.

“Richmond correctly recalls that teachers unions and Hillary Clinton have long believed that “the purpose of charter schools is to offer programs that supplement the offerings of the traditional system and to transfer lessons learned from charter schools into district-operated schools.” Similarly, if charters had remained simply a way to expand choices to families, they would not have carried so many risks.

“But, “mom and pop” charter start-ups were followed by charter John Thompson: The Failed Claims for Market-Driven Reforms | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Are Republicans who Voted For ESEA Really Democrats in Drag? » Missouri Education Watchdog

Are Republicans who Voted For ESEA Really Democrats in Drag? » Missouri Education Watchdog:

Are Republicans who Voted For ESEA Really Democrats in Drag?

Is this the face of the GOP?  Are the GOP House members who voted for the ESEA reauthorization–a 1000 plus page bill that was made public only two days ago and filled with Federal carrots/sticks to make sure states don’t direct their own educational direction/delivery–really Democrats in drag?  ALL Democrats who voted did so in the affirmative and only 64 Republicans voted against it.  The Republicans who voted for this bill buy into the Nancy Pelosi style of government of needing to sign the bill so they could find out what’s in it.  And even if they DID have time to read it, how did they miss what Oklahoma Representative Jim Bridenstine discovered in the bill that made him vote no?

CONTACT:

Sheryl Kaufman, Communications Director

Phone: 202-225-2211

Email Address: Sheryl.Kaufman@mail.house.gov

Congressman Jim Bridenstine Opposes Federal Control of Education

Washington, DC, December 2, 2015     

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today, Congressman Jim Bridenstine voted against the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which would replace No Child Left Behind. The bill passed 359 to 64.

Bridenstine said, “ESSA expands the role of the federal government by creating a program for pre-school managed by the Department of Health and Human Services and expanding after school programs.

“No Child Left Behind was a seriously flawed law that greatly increased federal control of education. I was disappointed that the Every Student Succeeds Act missed the opportunity to return control of our children’s education to where it belongs: states, local school districts, and ultimately, parents.”

ESSA also maintains several troublesome aspects of current law:

·         Maintains the federal testing burden

·         Requires states to intervene in schools underperforming by federal metrics

·         Allows federal education spending to continue to grow

·         Forces states to develop standards that conform with federal guidelines

“I voted for the House version of this bill because that legislation, while not perfect, moved education policy in the right direction by allowing funding to follow students to the school of their parents’ choice (“portability”), allowing parents to opt their students out of federally mandated testing, and shortening the timeframe in which Congress must next examine education policy. ESSA strips these crucial provisions,” the Congressman explained.

“I believe that the best education for our children is not one dictated by politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, DC. We should return control of education to those who know the needs of students the best. Therefore, I opposed ESSA.”

Regards,

Sheryl Kaufman

Communications Director

These Missouri House Republicans in drag (masquerading as ‘conservative’ politicians stating they want to reduce Federal involvement/mandates/debt) need to be primaried for their vote:

Fact Sheet: Congress Acts to Fix No Child Left Behind | U.S. Department of Education

Fact Sheet: Congress Acts to Fix No Child Left Behind | U.S. Department of Education:

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on House Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act

DECEMBER 2, 2015

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

"It is good news for our nation's schools that the House has passed a serious bipartisan plan to fix the No Child Left Behind law. No Child Left Behind is the latest, now outmoded version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is, at its core, a civil rights law. Educators and leaders throughout this country have been clear in the need for an updated law, and we have joined them in that call for half a decade.

"We are encouraged that the bill passed by the House today would codify the vision that we have long advocated for giving a fair shot at a great education to every child in America – regardless of zip code. Nearly a year ago, I gave a speech setting the frame for what I believe is essential in the nation's preeminent education law. The bill that the House passed today reflects more of that vision than nearly any observer expected. It requires – for the first time in law – that every student in America be taught to high learning standards that will prepare them for college and a career. And it requires that schools – on a statewide basis – annually assess students' progress toward those standards, providing vital information to educators, families and communities. In a crucial step to protect civil rights, it enshrines in law the expectation that where schools serve students poorly or have low graduation rates over extended periods of time, and where groups of students aren't making progress, there will be accountability and action for change. It removes a harmful proposal from an earlier House bill that would have taken funds from the neediest students and schools. It doubles down on our investments to expand quality preschool. That's one of the most powerful steps we can take as a country to ensure opportunity for all students and a centerpiece of the Administration's education agenda. And it helps to support and grow local innovations, including for evidence-based and place-based innovations developed by local educators and leaders, consistent with our i3 and Promise Neighborhoods programs; and for the expansion of high-quality charter schools, serving high-need students.

"Our nation deserves a law that prioritizes both excellence and equity for our students and supports great educators. We are pleased the House has voted in strong bipartisan fashion in favor of a bill that does that, and we look forward to the Senate moving quickly to do the same."

Fact Sheet: Congress Acts to Fix No Child Left Behind

DECEMBER 2, 2015

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

We are a place that believes every child, no matter where they come from, can grow up to be anything they want… And I’m confident that if we fix No Child Left Behind, if we continue to reform American education, continue to invest in our children’s future, that’s the America we will always be.”

—Remarks by the President on the No Child Left Behind Act, March 14, 2011
Kenmore Middle School, Arlington, Virginia

---

Today, the Obama Administration is praising action by the House of Representatives to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan bill to fix No Child Left Behind, and is calling on the Senate to take swift action on the legislation so that it can be signed into law before the end of the year. The bill rejects the overuse of standardized tests and one-size-fits-all mandates on our schools, ensures that our education system will prepare every child to graduate from high school ready for college and careers, and provides more children access to high-quality state preschool programs.

The bipartisan bill passed by the House includes many of the key reforms the Administration has called on Congress to enact and encouraged states and districts to adopt in exchange for waivers offering relief from the more onerous provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The bill helps ensure educational opportunity for all students by:

• Holding all students to high academic standards that prepare them for success in college and careers.
• Ensuring accountability by guaranteeing that when students fall behind, states redirect resources into what works to help them and their schools improve, with a particular focus on the very lowest-performing schools, high schools with high dropout rates, and schools with achievement gaps.
• Empowering state and local decision-makers to develop their own strong systems for school improvement based upon evidence, rather than imposing cookie-cutter federal solutions like the No Child Left Behind Act did.
• Reducing the often onerous burden of testing on students and teachers, making sure that tests don’t crowd out teaching and learning, without sacrificing clear, annual information parents and educators need to make sure our children are learning.
• Providing more children access to high-quality preschool.
• Establishing new resources for proven strategies that will spur reform and drive opportunity and better outcomes for America’s students.

In recognition of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)’s legacy as a civil rights law, the bipartisan bill upholds critical protections for America’s disadvantaged students. It ensures that states and school districts will hold schools to account for the progress of all students and prescribes meaningful reforms to remedy underperformance in those schools failing to serve all students. It excludes harmful “portability” provisions that would siphon funds away from the students and schools most in need, and maintains dedicated resources and supports for America’s vulnerable children – including students with disabilities, English Learners, Native American students, homeless children, neglected and delinquent children, and migrant and seasonal farmworker children. It also ensures that states and districts continue the work they’ve begun this year to ensure that all students – including students from low-income families and students of color – have equitable access to excellent educators.  

Embracing the Administration's Principles for Reform

College and Career-Ready Standards for America’s Learners: The bill affirms the path taken by 48 states and the District of Columbia to hold all students to challenging academic content standards that will prepare them to graduate from high school prepared for success in college and the workforce. In 2008, America’s governors and state education officials came together to develop a new set of college- and career-ready standards for their schools. The Obama Administration supported those efforts through its Race to the Top grant program and the federal-state partnership established in its ESEA flexibility agreements.

Rigorous Accountability for All Students: Consistent with the Administration’s legislative proposals and the policies in place under the Administration’s ESEA flexibility agreements, the bill builds on the federal-state partnerships in place in over 40 states to require meaningful goals for the progress of all students, and to ensure that every student subgroup makes gains toward college and career-readiness. States must set ambitious targets to close student achievement and graduation rate gaps among subgroups of students in order to meet their goals. In schools where too many students consistently fail to reach the goals and other indicators set by the state, school districts will ensure they receive tailored interventions and supports proportionate to the needs of those schools and the students they serve.

Reform and Resources for America’s Struggling Schools and Students: The bill will target resources, attention, and effort to make gains for our students attending schools most in need of help. Consistent with the policies in place under the Administration’s ESEA flexibility agreements, the bill moves away from NCLB’s one-size-fits-all accountability and ensures that states undertake reforms in their lowest performing schools, in high schools with high dropout rates, and in schools where subgroups are falling behind. It includes provisions that would require districts to use evidence-based models to support whole-school interventions in the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools and schools where more than a third of high school students do not graduate on time, and includes dedicated funding to support interventions in these schools. In schools where subgroups of students persistently underperform, school districts must mount targeted interventions and supports to narrow gaps and improve student achievement. If such schools are not showing improvement, the state will ensure more rigorous strategies are put in place. Moreover, the Department of Education has the authority it needs to ensure that states carry out their responsibilities. 

New Incentives to Improve Opportunities and Outcomes for Students: The bill includes initiatives modeled after the Administration’s programs to:

• Establish or expand access to high-quality, state-funded preschool for children from low- and moderate-income families, building from the Administration’s Preschool Development Grants program.
• Develop, refine, and replicate innovative and ambitious reforms to close the achievement gap in America’s schools, similar to the Administration’s existing Investing in Innovation (i3) program.
• Expand incentives to prepare, develop, and advance effective teachers and principals in America’s schools.
• Leverage resources to address the significant challenges faced by students and families living in high-poverty communities through the Promise Neighborhoods effort, supporting a full continuum of services from early learning through college.
• Expand support for high-performing public charter schools for high-need students.

A Smart and Balanced Approach to Testing: The bill maintains important statewide assessments to ensure that teachers and parents can mark the progress and performance of their children every year, from third to eighth grade and once in high school. The bill encourages a smarter approach to testing by moving away from a sole focus on standardized tests to drive decisions around the quality of schools, and by allowing for the use of multiple measures of student learning and progress, along with other indicators of student success to make school accountability decisions. It also includes provisions consistent with the Administration’s principles around reducing the amount of classroom time spent on standardized testing, including support for state efforts to audit and streamline their current assessment systems.

Promoting Equity in State and Local Funding: The Administration has called repeatedly for states and school districts to more equitably distribute state and local dollars to schools with the greatest need. The bill includes a pilot program – similar to a proposal put forward by the Administration this year in the FY16 budget – that provides for weighted student funding. Under the pilot, districts must demonstrate a commitment to equitable distribution of state and local dollars—based on actual per-pupil expenditures—to their highest poverty schools. In exchange, districts would be allowed to allocate and use Title I and other federal formula funds in a more flexible manner to support comprehensive plans that improve achievement and outcomes for their neediest students. The bill also includes provisions that require reporting on actual school-level expenditures, allowing the public for the first time to see the amount of federal, state, and local funding distributed to each and every school.  The bill rejects so-called “portability” provisions in the House-passed bill that would have allowed states to shift federal funds away from the schools that need them most.Fact Sheet: Congress Acts to Fix No Child Left Behind | U.S. Department of Education:

End Voodoo Education: Vote "NO" on Revised no Child Left Behind | John C. Fager

End Voodoo Education: Vote "NO" on Revised no Child Left Behind | John C. Fager:
End Voodoo Education: Vote "NO" on Revised no Child Left Behind

Dear Senators Sanders, Warren, Tester, & Paul,

Next week you should vote a loud "NO" on the legislation to revise No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the current version of the basic American education law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. You should do this -- Tester knows because he tried to eliminate it -- because it continues the abominable federal mandate that all states must give annual standardized tests.

Why do I call this Voodoo education because just like Voodoo or supply side economics it has been proven not to work. It just shifts to the states the administering of the worthless tests which was and is the heart of the problem with corporate test-based accountability.

Who says they're worthless? The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in a 2011 report "Incentives and Test-based Accountability" says it. The report stated, Conclusion 1: "Test-based incentive programs...have not increased student achievement enough to bring the United States close to the levels of the highest achieving countries." One of those programs was NCLB.

President George W. Bush imposed it without any research that it works and we've known this for five years and yet President Obama and his non-educator secretary of education, Arne Duncan, expanded its use to evaluate teachers.

It is time to drive a stake into the heart of the federal testing mandate. 

If not, and the NCLB revision passes, then 20 million public school students and millions of teachers will waste most of the next five months -- that's half of this school year -- doing test prep and then getting upset, stressed, and even sick when they actually take the tests. My neighbor described what happened in her class on test day. "Most of the kids were stressed and one little girl just threw up; it was a disaster."

A whole generation of students attended school for seven years under President Bush's NCLB and then spent the last seven under NCLB on steroids, better known as the Obama Administration's Race to the Top. Ah yes, winners and losers racing to nowhere.

The waste of instructional time, genuine teaching and learning, is enormous. Students may spend 20 to 25 hours actually taking the math and ELA tests but a study, "TIME ON TEST: The Fixed Costs of 3-8 Standardized Testing in New York State", found that students had to wait over an hour each day for "testing related activities" -- 20 End Voodoo Education: Vote "NO" on Revised no Child Left Behind | John C. Fager:

How To Oust a Right-Wing School Board - NEA Today

How To Oust a Right-Wing School Board - NEA Today:

How To Oust a Right-Wing School Board

Jefferson County election workers count and stamp recall petitions collected by parents and educators to remove anti-public education school board members. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Let’s rewind two years to Election Day 2013, in Jefferson County, Colorado, when it became quite clear that educators, parents, and students had lost — and lost big in a school board race that ushered in a three-person majority with an extreme anti-public education agenda.

“When those results came in, I would say we were completely deflated. There is no other word for it. We had hit rock bottom,” said John Ford, Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) president.

Fast forward to Election Day 2015: “At 7 p.m., there was a collective gasp in the [hotel] ballroom that we could hear from the lobby. As the results came in, people just started screaming with joy,” said Jefferson County teacher Paula Reed, also a JCEA board of directors’ member.

The three right-wing board members—despite their deep-pocketed backing by Koch Brothers’ affiliated political organizations—had lost overwhelmingly in the community-led recall election.

The turnaround begs the question: What happened here between November 2013 and 2015? The answer is nothing short of an organizing marvel.

Over just 17 days this summer, the parents, students, teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) of Jefferson County gathered more than 110,000 signatures on petitions to hold a recall election. Then, in six weeks this fall, they knocked on more than 175,000 doors across 778 square miles, from the mountainous towns of the county’s south to the sprawling suburbs of the north, in an all-out effort to get voters to the polls.

“My members talked to their neighbors, and to their families, because this is where they live. They talked to the people at their bowling league, at their church, at their kids’ sporting events. At my grocery store, they just called me ‘Ms. Recall,’” said Nancy McCanless, president of the county’s Classified School Employees Association (CSEA).

“And we told everybody, ‘this is about what is best for our 81,000 kids and 12,000 employees, and the health and economy of the community where we live,” said McCanless.

“It’s about students, and it’s about public education.”

Before it Got Better, It Got Worse

If we start the story in 2013, when the “reformers” took office, we will miss the How To Oust a Right-Wing School Board - NEA Today: