CURMUDGUCATION: IN: Let's Try Solo Bargaining + NY: USED Rattles Sabres

CURMUDGUCATION: IN: Let's Try Solo Bargaining:

IN: Let's Try Solo Bargaining

Indiana State Senator Pete Miller is not the first guy to have this idea, but he's the one currently floating it in a state legislature-- let's do away with collective bargaining and let every teacher negotiate her own individual contract.

This is Miller's idea for fixing the teacher shortage. Let's treat teachers fairly, he says. But only when a shortage forces us to, and only some of the teachers. After all, why should I have to pay big bucks for both a first grade teacher and a science teacher when the former are a dime a dozen and the latter are so hard to come by?

I've thought about the solo negotiating approach before, because it seems like an interesting thought experiment. What would schools look like if each contract was individually negotiated?

They would probably look poorer, because at least the larger districts would hire professional negotiators to handle the workload. There are over 2,500 teachers in the Indianapolis district-- exactly who is going to negotiate 2,500 contracts? It's going to be somebody who doesn't have any other job and who was hired just to handle negotiations, which means administration just got bigger.

Or they would look more...well, awkward. In a smaller district, individual contracts would be negotiated by the same people who work as supervisors. I'm trying to imagine the dynamic of, "Yes, I told you last month that you couldn't have another $500 of pay, and now this month I am asking 


NY: USED Rattles Sabres

The United States Department of Education has once again tried to lean on New York and other states where the opt out movement has made a dent in participation rates for the Big Standardized Test.

Newsday reports that the state has received and replied to a letter similar to the one that went out in October, suggesting that they sure could hold up some Title I funds if the state doesn't get its participation rate above 95%. Depending on the reports you read, NY's participation rate in last year's BS Testing was in the neighborhood of 80%.

Newsday reports that the USED says it will take "appropriate" action, and that such action could involve withholding funds, threatening to withhold funds, or talking about threatening to consider withholding funds. So take that, New York.

Newsday also reports that USED offers advice on how to coerce participation rates; it is typical of the department that all suggestions involve threats of some sort of punishment, from withholding aid to counting all non-participating students as non-proficient (because the test data is really really important, but it's okay to completely pollute the data pool with made-up scores).

[Update: Since I originally wrote this piece, somebody found me a copy of the actual letter. Read for yourself-- it's as bad as Newsday reports.] 

In this context, High Education Commissioner Elia's actions to improve test participation actually NY: USED Rattles Sabres

NYC Educator: Leaving Hillarytown

NYC Educator: Leaving Hillarytown:

Leaving Hillarytown

Hillary Clinton opened her mouth the other day, and said she wouldn't keep open any school that wasn't better than average. She later clarified to say she meant good, rather than better than average. To me, that was not much of a distinction. I work in a good school, even by reformy standards, but I don't delude myself that it's because we are all super teachers. I'd say it's because we have super kids, and that any school with such kids can do well. Just ask Geoffrey Canada, who had to dismiss entire cohorts to make himself look good. Ask Eva Moskowitz, with her "got to go" list.

For anyone who hasn't noticed, there is a direct correlation between high poverty, high needs, and low test scores. Kids like the ones I serve are a drag on any school, because it turns out people who don't know English tend to score poorly on standardized tests in English. Perhaps one day someone will do a study and prove it, and we'll all be amazed. Until then, schools dominated by ELLs will be targeted. For example there was the one in Rhode Island, where they wanted to fire all the teachers. Obama and Duncan thought that was fantastic. (If I recall correctly, the teachers were ultimately kept on, but under diminished working conditions. Another victory for the reformies.)

Despite this explanation in Diane Ravitch's blog, and the convoluted story to which it links, I cannot rationalize this as Hillary having misspoken. While the feds don't directly close schools, they've had massive influence in school closings anyway. For Hillary to even utter such a sentence indicates to me that she has drunk deeply of the reformy Kool-Aid that says teachers and schools are to blame. She does  not seem to have read Ravitch or considered what this reformy movement is all about. It also kind of dashes my hopes that she will advocate for a rational teacher evaluation system. The fact that Eli Broad contributes to her gives me even more pause.

Every day I talk to great teachers whose morale is in the toilet, who casually mention what else they can do for a living, and others who drop hints that they will dump this gig and go work in Macy's or wherever the first moment they can afford it, or the day they're vested. This will have little effect on Hillary or her rich friends, who sidestep the nonsense they impose on public schools by paying to send their kids elsewhere. But you're not gonna see kids I teach at Dalton anytime soon.

I'm also troubled by the viciousness of her supporters. On Facebook I've seen people suggest that those of us reluctant to support her are massive idiots. When the first story about her quote surfaced it was on the Weekly Standard, and there were outraged ad hominem attacks even though the story simply offered the quote. Later there was video, and multiple sources, and crickets from those who attacked the conservative publication.

The irony here is that my vote, beyond the primary, is ultimately of very little importance. If Hillary grabs the nomination and has trouble in New York, she's a dead duck. Personally, I'm not at all keen on voting for candidates of any party who don't support public education. When NYC Educator: Leaving Hillarytown:

Can students pray in school? Wyoming school district learns what’s legal and what isn’t. - The Washington Post

Can students pray in school? Wyoming school district learns what’s legal and what isn’t. - The Washington Post:

Can students pray in school? Wyoming school district learns what’s legal and what isn’t.

Can students pray in school? A Wyoming school district has learned what’s legal and what isn’t — and the truth may surprise some people.

In October, several students at a Wyoming high school formed a circle in the cafeteria to give thanks for the food they were about to eat. Soon after, Principal Stanetta Twiford of Glendo High School told the student they couldn’t do it again in the cafeteria because it could be seen as forcing religion on other students, which is not allowed in public schools, the Christian News Network reported.  The district superintendent, Dennis Fischer, backed up in his principal when a parent of one of the students got involved.

But that parent then contacted the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group, which sent a letter to Fischer saying that the prayer group was, in fact, legal. Fischer did some research on his own about what is permitted and sent a letter back, saying that he learned that the prayer group did not violate the law. The decision was reversed.

So where and when can students pray in public school? This is from Charles Haynes, vice president of the Newseum Institute/Religious Freedom Center who writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life.  I published this in 2014, but it’s worth repeating.

From Haynes:

The claim that public schools are hostile to Christians … isn’t true.

Truth be told, students of all faiths are actually free to pray alone or in groups during the school day, as long as they don’t disrupt the school or interfere with the rights of others. Of course, the right to engage in voluntary prayer or religious discussion does not necessarily include the right to preach to a captive audience, like an assembly, or to compel other students to participate.

Visit public schools anywhere in America today and you’re likely to see kids praying around the flagpole, sharing their faith with classmates, reading scriptures in free time, forming religious clubs, and in other ways bringing God with them through the schoolhouse door each day.

As for celebrating Christmas, students are free to say “Merry Christmas,” give Christmas messages to others, and organize Christmas devotionals in student Christian clubs.

It’s true that some public school officials still misunderstand (or 

Can students pray in school? Wyoming school district learns what’s legal and what isn’t. - The Washington Post:

Nine questions for the Obama administration about school reform - The Washington Post

Nine questions for the Obama administration about school reform - The Washington Post:

Nine questions for the Obama administration about school reform

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has only a few days left before his official exit on Dec. 31. Though his designated successor, John King, the former education commissioner of New York State, will have about a year in the job, the education legacy from this administration will be President Obama’s and Duncan’s.

Mark Naison, a professor of African American studies and history at Fordham University and director of Fordham’s Urban Studies Program, offers the following nine questions that need to be answered when the full accounting of the Obama administration’s education reform efforts is written. These appeared on Naison’s blog, and I am publishing them with permission.

Naison writes that Obama’s Race to the Top — his chief education initiative, which rewarded federal funds to states that promised to enact specific reforms that became extremely controversial — was created with hopes of achieving great equity. But there was enormous collateral damage,  Naison says, and that damage “may have well exceeded the gains.” Other critics argue that there were no real gains and that the Obama-Duncan reforms wound up leaving feeling teachers demonized, public education increasingly privatized and the achievement gap still wide.

Here are Naison’s questions:

*How many schools were closed?

*How many great teachers were fired or forced into retirement?

*How many teachers still on the job were placed under a doctor’s care because test-based accountability had destroyed their self-confidence?

*How many communities experienced sharp declines in the number of teachers of color working in their schools?

*How many new charter schools were created which were embroiled in controversy because of financial irregularities or abusive practices?

*How many lucrative contracts were extended to test companies and consulting firms?

*How many students were deprived of recess, physical education and the arts because they were forced to prepare for tests?

*How many special needs or ELL students were unable to graduate because requirements were suddenly raised?

*How many families with young children were filled with stress because testing had taken over their lives?

What other questions need to be asked and answered?Nine questions for the Obama administration about school reform - The Washington Post:

State funding of charter schools causing woes for public schools - The Jackson County Times-Journal: News

State funding of charter schools causing woes for public schools - The Jackson County Times-Journal: News:

State funding of charter schools causing woes for public schools

 JACKSON— There was a brief discussion during a Jackson Board of Education meeting regarding the downfalls of charter or community schools, some of which are online programs.

According to Jackson City Schools Superintendent Phil Howard the Jackson City School District has lost $3,578,324.99 since 2003 because of children going to charter schools. Money that could have gone into Jackson’s coffers.

To prove the negative impact charter schools have on the public school systems Howard indicated they sent a bill to the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for the amount lost since 2003. While Howard doesn’t expect any type of payment for the bill, he implied the gesture would show the ODE just how much funding public school districts are losing because of charter schools.

Howard said there is a huge movement of districts coming together in opposition of charter schools. Their main philosophy is that public school districts are paid for with tax dollars, but those same tax payers should not also have to pay for charter schools.

Those districts opposing charter schools feel that parents should pay for their children to go to charter schools if they choose to take them out of the public school system.

Howard said the districts involved in the movement want to get the attention of legislators so that some type of reform can be done regarding the way the state handles the charter schools.

The impact of charter or community schools in the Wellston City School District and the Oak Hill Union Local Schools is just as detrimental.

In 2003, the Wellston City School (WCS) District lost $64,695 to community schools compared to $260,552 this year. Karen Boch the superintendent of WCS stated, “Since 2003, we have lost approximately $3.1 million dollars. Obviously, this is detrimental to the district as it pulls resources from our students.”

Boch said most of the students go to the Electronic Classroom Of Tomorrow (ECOT), and it is frustrating because while the state is working to tighten up accountability, the standards aren’t the same.

“Students can return to their home district at any time, which we welcome, Boch continued, “However, what we often find, is that the students often return with lower academic function than when they left the district.”

Boch wanted it understood, however, that it was not her intention to just target ECOT in regards to the lower academic functioning, it was just one example she used to clarify her point.

Mirroring what Boch said, Michael A. McCoy, the superintendent of The Oak Hill Union Local School District stated, “The Community School Deduction hits us much like Open Enrollment when a student chooses to attend another school and reside in our district. Although less money is never a good thing, and it effects the programs and services we provide to our students, the main objection I have is that we are providing public monies (state & local) to a “For Profit Business” that, more often than not, provides very poor educational opportunities to the students with little or no accountability or oversight.”

McCoy said the community schools play by a completely different set of rules than public schools when serving regular education students and special needs students. And many times, those students come back to the public school system after time in the community schools having made no education progress.

McCoy provided a list of community school deductions dating back to 2003, showing how large the financial impact is on his public school district. In 2003, Oak Hill lost $37,353; 2004 Oak Hill lost $96,932; 2005 they lost $76,149; 2006 they lost $87,836; 2007 Oak Hill lost $157,588; 2008 they lost $163,170; 2009 Oak Hill lost $203,825; 2010 they lost $196,502; 2011 they lost $216,712; 2012 Oak Hill lost $244,544; 2013 Oak Hill lost $209,591; 2014 Oak Hill lost $201,160; and in 2015 Oak Hill lost $226,554; for a total of $2,339,458.

This there is a lot of money being pulled from the public school coffers, which explains why many of the districts are pushing for legislation that would force parents and the private institutions to claim more financial responsibility.State funding of charter schools causing woes for public schools - The Jackson County Times-Journal: News:

Bill Gates names the 6 best things that happened in 2015 - Yahoo Finance

Bill Gates names the 6 best things that happened in 2015 - Yahoo Finance:

Bill Gates names the 6 best things that happened in 2015

Every year, Bill Gates puts out his annual list of the year's best news on his blog GatesNotes.

It's a nice feel good message, especially since 2015 also ushered in so many negative things, like the rise of extremist terrorist groups, the Paris attacks, the ongoing Syrian refugee crises, endless mass shootings in the US and so on.

So to get you in a happy, grateful mood for the holiday season, here's one of the world's most charitable person's take on the best things that happened in 2015, in a Letterman-style list.

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.(Flickr/Sanofi Pasteur) the Rubella virus

No. 6: "German measles" Rubella has been eliminated in the Americas.

This thanks to a 15-year effort to vaccinate people.  Rubella is really dangerous for pregnant women, and can lead to death or severe birth defects. 

"This milestone lends momentum not only to efforts to wipe out rubella around the world. It also gives a shot in the arm to efforts to eliminate measles, which is more deadly and more contagious than rubella, because the rubella and measles vaccines are often given in combination," Gates said.

The Gates Foundation is trying to end measles, and has been developing more affordable vaccines. 

No. 5: Mobile banking is huge hit and getting bigger in developing countries.

Gates has said that he believes mobile banking is one of the best things ever invented to help people lift themselves out of poverty. 

"Today, more than two billion people have no access to financial services, severely limiting their ability to borrow, save, invest, and participate in the mainstream economy. But that is changing fast," he writes.  

For instance, 75% of adults have a mobile bank access in Kenya and huge strides are happening Brazil, Rwanda, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and India.

"When I’ve traveled in these countries, I’ve seen digital financial innovation that’s even outpacing what we see in rich countries," he adds.

No. 4.  SAT college prep studying is now free for everyone

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(Khan Academy) In June, the company that created the SAT helped the online training site Khan Academy launch free online studying tools, filled with interactive lessons and videos, for the SAT or PSAT.

"I’m very excited about this development because of what it means for kids who can’t afford expensive test-prep classes and tutors," he says.

No. 3 The Nobel Prize went to three researchers fighting diseases of the poor. 

"On October 5, I woke up to the wonderful news that this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine had been awarded to three researchers who developed indispensable tools for fighting diseases of the poor," Gates writes.

Two of the researchers are working on curing parasitic worms and the other is trying to cure malaria. The invented "true miracle drugs," Gates says.

No. 2: Neil deGrasse Tyson gives a brilliant 272 word defense of science.

"He makes the best argument I’ve ever heard for ensuring that science plays a big role in policymaking," Gates writes. "Inspired by the short and eloquent Gettysburg Address, Dr. Tyson makes his case in just 272 words."

 And the No. 1 best news of 2015 is ... Africa went a year without any new polio cases.

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(AP/Jean-Marc Bouju) A child receives a polio vaccine."On July 24, Nigeria marked one full year without a single new case of locally acquired polio, the crippling and sometimes fatal disease. It is the last country in Africa to stop transmission of wild polio," Gates writes. "This milestone represents a huge victory—one that some experts feared would never come."

It came about because of a huge effort, involving hundreds of thousands of people who mapped every village in the north of the country, counting all the children and delivering oral polio vaccine several times a year. 

In 1988, polio was still running amok in 125 countries. Now, it's endemic in only two, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Gates believes the day is coming when it is eradicated.  

NOW WATCH: I visited Amazon's first retail store, and one thing was especially annoying

Bill Gates names the 6 best things that happened in 2015 - Yahoo Finance:

Education Reform and the Asian Values Debate:

Education Reform and the Asian Values Debate

In Westchester County, a suburb of New York City, tutoring businesses are popping up like mushrooms in the forest after a rain. The Kumon Math and Reading Center near the local elementary school, for instance, promises to “give your child the academic advantage to compete in today’s world.” Unlike the nearby library, theater company, or nature center, this company does not complement the public school curriculum: it simply adds to the test prep that increasingly takes up the day for American children.

What we see in our neighborhood is a result of American policymakers’ obsession with test-based education reform. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 required all states to test children in math and English Language Arts in grades 3-8 and once in high school. The Race to the Top program (2009) incentivized states to participate in testing consortia for the Common Core standards in math and English Language Arts. Though the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 reverts to the states certain responsibilities about standards and teacher accountability, the law still forces states to “measure the achievement of not less than 95 percent of all students.” For the foreseeable future, American children may be stuck taking, or preparing for, standardized tests.

A recurrent explanation for America’s focus on testing is that the country needs to emulate Asian education systems. In 2009, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncanspoke about the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Shanghai, “the jewel of China’s education system,” ranked number one while America placed in the middle of the pack. “In a highly-competitive knowledge-based economy, maintaining the educational status quo means America’s students are effectively losing ground.” According to Duncan, America needs to enter the testing race against Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and other countries at the top of the PISA rankings.

At this historical juncture, Americans would do well to listen to Yong Zhao, author ofWho’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World. According to Zhao, America is falling into a testing trap that far-sighted Chinese are doing their best to exit.

China has the ‘best’ education system in the world, Zhao explains, because parents and students obsess about testing. For millennia, Chinese emperors and the Communist Party have built and maintained the keju, an educational system that makes testing the primary route to a respectful career. Rather than pursue their own interests, Chinese channel their energies to succeeding at the gaokao college admission test. And if the tests gauge memorization of Confucian classics or math abilities, all to the better, for these do not prompt young people to challenge authority.

At the same time, Zhao adds, China has the worst education system in the world because it “stifles creativity, smothers curiosity, suppresses individuality, ruins children’s health, distresses students and parents, corrupts teachers and leaders, and perpetuates social injustice and inequity.” Zhao notes that China has failed to produce a Nobel Prize Winner, a global cultural icon such as Lady Gaga, or a world-shaping invention in the modern era.

In an article entitled, ‘Revisiting Asian Values’, the political theorist Leigh Jencoexplains the history of the concept of ‘Asian values.’ At the end of the nineteenth century, and again at the end of the twentieth, scholars and policymakers identified Asian norms different from and opposed to those of Western liberal individualism. Asian values prioritize the community over the individual, harmony over contestation, Education Reform and the Asian Values Debate:

There Could End Up Being Little Difference Between No Child Left Behind and the ESSA - The Atlantic

There Could End Up Being Little Difference Between No Child Left Behind and the ESSA - The Atlantic:

No Child Left Behind Is Gone, But Will It Be Back?

The new law could mean it will still be business as usual.

For years, there has been talk of leaving the 2002 “No Child Left Behind” law—the first real attempt by the federal government to hold schools accountable for helping all students learn—behind. 2015 is the year it finally happened. But the story of why NCLB ultimately failed may also tell the tale of why the legislation now standing in its stead might, too.

First, though, a quick review of the rise and fall of NCLB: Although “NCLB” began its life as a much-revered, bipartisan effort with something for almost everyone to love, it ended up having something for almost everyone to hate.

NCLB, the most recent version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was preceded by the Improving America’s Schools Act. Under that law, high-quality teaching and learning were not prevalent in all schools, and achievement gaps persisted, leading to agreement that a greater federal role for accountability was necessary—from which NCLB was born. NCLB authorized 45 programs in 10 different areas, but public debate tended to focus on the law’stesting, accountability, and teacher-quality requirements. NCLB required that students be tested in the subjects of English language arts (ELA) and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, and for states to use the results to assess how well schools were meeting “adequate yearly progress” goals for student proficiency in these subjects. Schools that consistently did not meet these goals overall, or for subgroups of students, were targeted for interventions, and eventually for sanctions. Additionally, recognizing the important role teachers play in student learning, the law strove to ensure that every student have a “highly qualified teacher” (HQT), as based on teacher credentials in the grade and subject area taught.

The popular narrative is that NCLB failed at least in part because each of these aspects of the law resulted in real issues. Testing took on an outsized role in schools, and the focus on math and ELA began pushing out electives, like art. Many of the suggested interventions for schools identified as needing improvement were more like a machete than a knife, such as replacing all of a school’s staff (although few schools chose this option). And even teachers who were still working toward certification were deemed “highly qualified,” making the HQT provision largely toothless.

Many of the suggested interventions for schools identified as needing improvement were more like a machete than a knife.

As a result of these issues, many agreed that NCLB needed to be replaced. But that didn’t mean that members of Congress and the White House could agree on what should replace it. First up for reauthorization in 2007, NCLB continued to be the acting law of the land until 2012 when states began to loudly voice concerns about NCLB’s most daunting ultimatum: that 100 percent of students be proficient in ELA and math by 2014, a goal that was clearly becoming unachievable. In response, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan provided many states “waivers” from NCLB, with major conditions for instituting college- and career-ready standards, rigorous teacher evaluation systems, and school rating and accountability systems.

Many members of Congress believed the Secretary greatly overstepped his authority in putting conditions on states’ waivers, and some were furious. Republicans in particular were motivated to put a law in place that strips authority from the Secretary and put it in the hands of states. And, in what would seem like a perfect storm for replacing NCLB, the traditionally Democratic-leaning teachers’ unions also wanted to devolve control back to the states, in an effort to relieve “high-stakes” federal pressure on teachers.

But the Secretary’s actions may have actually pushed the anti-federalist Tea Party wing of the Republican party, some of whom want the federal Department of Education fully dismantled, further away from voting for any bill the President would sign. Meanwhile,some civil rights groups wanted to ensure that strong school accountability systems were a federal requirement. 2014 came and went, and Congress could not come to agreement.

Then, a series of unexpected events occurred. First, on the Democratic side, two key players on the House and Senate Education Committees who supported a strong federal role for school and teacher accountability decided to retire. This brought new voices into the mix that were more sympathetic to the teachers’ unions agenda. Second, amidst pushback from the Tea Party for being too open to bipartisan compromise, the Republican speaker of the House—a key architect of NCLB—suddenly announced he was stepping down and retiring as soon as a replacement was chosen. All of this took place against the backdrop of the upcoming 2016 elections, and anxiety about which party would be in power the next time NCLB was revisited. The perhaps counterintuitive (and, to many, unexpected) result was that all stakeholders—including the Obama administration, which exceedingly wanted to pass a bipartisan Elementary and There Could End Up Being Little Difference Between No Child Left Behind and the ESSA - The Atlantic:

Mayor Emanuel's political weakness is opportunity for Chicago Teachers Union - Opinion - Crain's Chicago Business

Mayor Emanuel's political weakness is opportunity for Chicago Teachers Union - Opinion - Crain's Chicago Business:

Emanuel vs. the teachers union? My money's on the union

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is the weakest he has ever been since assuming City Hall. Expect the Chicago Teachers Union to use that weakness against him in the coming months—not just in negotiating a new contract, but also to push for progressive revenue solutions to the budget crisis facing city schools.

Months after being forced into a runoff election unexpectedly, the mayor has faced incessant protests and repeated calls for his resignation in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting video. And now, with an overwhelming percentage of CTU members voting to authorize a strike—one that could potentially happen within the next few months—the mayor could face a reprisal of 2012's embarrassing teacher walk-off.

The principal sticking points between the union and CPS, of course, center on the district's fiscal woes—a $1.1 billion budget shortfall that includes $500 million in pension payments.

Schools CEO Forrest Claypool has a few ideas, including contract proposals that the union says would amount to a 7 percent pay cut (unsurprisingly, an unpopular idea among the rank and file). He also could head to Springfield, hat in hand, with Emanuel and the union to work out a bailout with Gov. Bruce Rauner. But a deal there also is unlikely, given the kind of draconian anti-labor provisions Rauner has insisted upon as a quid pro quo.

The union won't accept either proposal, and Claypool and Emanuel know it. If the mayor and his schools CEO want to avoid a strike, they don't seem to be trying very hard.

The CTU repeatedly has put forward its own plans to balance the budget—not through more cuts for schools, but by tapping into large amounts of wealth that are already right here in Chicago. The possibilities include renegotiating the interest rate swap deals that union research says cost the city tens of millions annually; using the tax-increment financing surplus for CPS; closing corporate tax loopholes; enacting a financial transactions tax on institutions like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; and a progressive state income tax.

Some of those proposals would require long-term, difficult political movement at the local and state levels. But others, like renegotiating swaps, would not. Such policies could buy the district some time to enact long-term revenue solutions without decimating city schools through layoffs.

Yet Emanuel has taken few of these proposals seriously. That has to change.

To get the city out of its current budget squeeze and avoid layoffs and cuts, Emanuel should stop trying to eke out fiscal stability in Chicago's schools on the backs of teachers. Instead, he should turn to the wealthy Chicagoans who have proven his closest allies in office and tell them it's their turn to pay.

The mayor won't do so willingly.

But the CTU was able to force his hand the last time it called a strike in 2012. The union can't legally strike over progressive revenue demands, but it can continue to agitate around such issues on, and off, the picket line. With 2016 already looking like a tough year for Emanuel, now may be the best chance the union will get to shift the burden of the fiscal crisis from middle- and low-income workers to Chicago's wealthiest citizens.

Micah Uetricht is the associate editor of In These Times and a contributing editor at Jacobin. He is the author of "Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity."Mayor Emanuel's political weakness is opportunity for Chicago Teachers Union - Opinion - Crain's Chicago Business:

2015's Top Florida Education Stories | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News

2015's Top Florida Education Stories | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News:

2015's Top Florida Education Stories

2015 was a year of adjustment -- and readjustment -- for Florida’s education system. It marked the end of the state’s long running standardized test, the FCAT, and was the first full year of the Florida Standards.

Here's what made headlines in education this year:

Testing, Testing …. Or Not?

A significant portion of this year’s education headlines centered around the FSA, which was riddled with problems from the start. 2015 was the first year Florida’s students sat for the Florida Standards Assessment, the state’s new standardized test.

In March, technical malfunctions left many students unable to complete the FSA writing test, with many unable to login to the test at all. Many school districts canceled testing until the server issues were resolved.

The Florida Department of Education blamed the problem on a cyber attack on AIR's server, but it wasn't long after the first round of technical failures that the FSA saw yet another technical glitch.

A month later, middle and high school students were yet again unable to login to the FSA English/language arts test, this time due to what the department called an ‘unauthorized’ technical change with the testing vendor, American Institutes for Research.

The FSA’s technical problems set off a chain of events which carried throughout the remainder of 2015.

Legislators Set Limits

State lawmakers vowed to fight back against over-testing during this year’s regular legislative session. A law spearheaded by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, came on the heels of significant public outcry over the controversial Common Core State Standards.

Legg’s legislation, which sailed through both the Senate and the House, set limits on standardized testing. It prohibited school districts from devoting more than 5 percent of total class time to standardized testing. If a school district required more than 5 percent of school hours to administer tests, it would have to receive written permission from parents. Legg’s bill also completely eliminated the required 11th-grade Florida Standards Assessment English-language arts examination.

State lawmakers piled on in the anti-testing sentiment, with some of Florida’s top legislators expressing their concerns over what they saw as an overcomplicated education system.

"It seems to me that we have to have a system that serves the needs of students, not students serving the need of a testing system, said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. "We've reached a point now ... where we need to have a simple system that can restore credibility to accountability."

The new bill also required an independent contractor to review the validity of the FSA to determine if the test was an accurate way to measure student achievement.

Alpine Testing Puts FSA to the Test

In May, the Florida Department of Education contracted with Utah-based Alpine Testing to complete the validity test for the FSA.

Beginning in June, the company, partnering with Washington, D.C.-based edCounts, conducted a summerlong investigation on the ins and outs of the FSA, from the test’s content to its scoring methods.

At the end of the investigation, Alpine Testing determined the FSA was a valid assessment test, meaning the key components of the FSA all followed the “best practice” standards. These included test items, field testing and psychometric validity questions, among other aspects of the test which made the grade compared to other standardized tests in the industry.

Politicians Fight Back Against Common Core

The controversial Common Core State Standards gathered some high-profile opponents in 2015. With the advent of the 2016 presidential election, Common Core quickly became an issue for conservative candidates, a majority of whom have been vocal about their opposition to federal intrusion on national education.

A group of Florida parents opposed to Common Core asked each Republican presidential candidate to pledge their support to eradicate the standards should they be elected president. U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., quickly added their names to FPACC’s pledge, along with former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum.

- See more at: http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/2015s-top-florida-education-stories#sthash.3W1MNEAr.dpuf

Will @HillaryClinton go all in with us or Wall Street? | Cloaking Inequity

Will @HillaryClinton go all in with us or Wall Street? | Cloaking Inequity:

Will @HillaryClinton go all in with us or Wall Street?

 Are you mad at Secretary Clinton about the “school closure” comments? I get it. You don’t want to be Barack Obama’d on education. We were promised hope and change and thought that would extend to education. Instead Arne Duncan took the reigns from George W. Bush, Rod Paige, and Margaret Spellings then did even worse.

I have now watched the video of the Secretary Clinton’s recent Iowa speech where she mentions the closing of below average schools. I honestly don’t think that she was making a policy statement to close half of US schools (that would be every school below some average). If you listen to her comments in the context of everything else, it seems she just misspoke. I know I know. Secretary Clinton doesn’t have a perfect record on progressive education… BUT an Atlantic article recently opined that perhaps Secretary Clinton will run left of Obama because he was this generation’s Reagan. I know I know, you might not like this proposition either. I am still hopeful.

Anyways, if you read the rest of the comments from Secretary Clinton, I liked them. I am actually surprised and glad that she spoke out on education. The problem for us that we are asking candidates to broach education policy in their Will @HillaryClinton go all in with us or Wall Street? | Cloaking Inequity:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Was Hillary misquoted? Taken out of context?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Was Hillary misquoted? Taken out of context?:

Was Hillary misquoted? Taken out of context?

"I Wouldn’t Keep Any School Open That Wasn’t Doing A Better Than Average Job”

Let me start by saying, I don't think Hillary Clinton has either the will or the power to close half of America's schools. But her recent comments still deserve a strong critical response.

When I posted the video of Hillary's speech in Iowa -- the one where she says she wants "below average" schools closed -- I fully expected the response I got from Team Clinton, which includes of course, both national teacher unions. Clinton apologists immediately moved into circle-the-wagons mode with the AFT damage-control squad doing the heavy lifting. Remember, it was AFT Pres. Randi Weingarten who felt compelled to endorse Hillary long before she even announced her candidacy.

First came a tweet from Hillary's senior policy adviser Ann O'Leary. She retweeted a post from (can you guess?) Alexander Russo who in turn posted Hillary's statement as quoted in US News -- the same exact statement that's in the Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Was Hillary misquoted? Taken out of context?: