Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION:

CURMUDGUCATION:

Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION:

When a Charter Closes (and Choice Is Not Choice)

9by Peter Greene / 1h

The free market acolytes, lovers of the modern charter school, have a pretty neat and clean vision of the future. Well-informed parents choose from within a wide array of charter schools, and at appropriate moments, the market sloughs off those schools that either do a lousy job or are just not providing something that a large slice of the market wants.The whole process should be as tidy and blood

YESTERDAY

OK: Teach Like a Robot

70by Peter Greene / 22h

This week Tulsa news outlets were covering an exciting non-innovation innovation arriving in local classrooms-- real time coaching. See, in normal coaching, a principal watches a teacher and then it is hours, or even days, before the teacher gets the feedback. But in real time coaching, the coach directs the teacher through an earpiece, presumably because the technology to simply control her body

SEP 29

NC: Charters Get Their More-Than-Fair Share

14by Peter Greene / 1d

The North Carolina Justice Center has just released a study of charter school funding, and if anyone was worried that poor NC charters were not getting sufficient support, they can relax. " Fair Funding for Charter Schools: Mission Accomplished " comes from Kris Nordstrom . Nordstrom is a NC economist who has worked in government before joining NCJC. He's no anti-charter zealot; witness this quote

SEP 28

Outsourcing College

5by Peter Greene / 2d

The Education Management Corporation is based right up the road from me in Pittsburgh, PA. They're a for-profit education provider whose best-known outlet is the Art Institute chain. (They should not be confused with the Education Credit Management Corporation, an outfit that is also in the for-profit college biz, having bought up the pieces of the Corinthian empire.) They've had their problems. Y

TX: Denying Special Education

44by Peter Greene / 3d

You must read this piece of investigative reporting from the Houston Chronicle. In " Denied:How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education ," reporter Brian M. Rosenthal lays out the secret of yet another Texas miracle-- getting special education numbers down by systematically denying support and services to the students who need them. The bottom line is simple-- and chilli

Professor Bush Goes To Harvard

28by Peter Greene / 3d

So, Jeb Bush is going to be a visiting fellow at Harvard at the Kennedy School's Program on Education Policy and Governance. Huh. I suppose he could open his lecture with a recap of all the educational successes he had in Florida with programs that helped teachers teach and led to greater students success, but after that two minutes were up, what would he talk about for the rest of the time. It is

SEP 27

FL: Bad Retail Management As Ed Policy

40by Peter Greene / 3d

If you have worked in the retail world, you have probably had this experience. If you teach in Florida, you're about to. Somewhere way up the corporate ladder, some guys in a board room declare that they predict an awesome quarter for the corporate coffers. This awesome result is based on an uptick in revenue and that uptick is based on... well, it's based on pressuring the sales force. Not improv

SEP 26

Center for Ed Reform All In on Privatizing

9by Peter Greene / 4d

The Center for Education Reform, Jeanne Allen's charter-and-choice advocacy group, is having a senior moment. Under the breathless headline, "Nation's Most Senior Education Reform Group Relaunches," CER has issued a press release about "its complete refocus on the changing landscape of American education, taking on the most difficult issues that no other national organization is currently pursuing

NAEP Board Still Includes Few Educators

15by Peter Greene / 4d

See, John King. This is one more reason we have a hard time taking you seriously. Because for all your big talk about teachers being leaders and raising the profession and teach to lead and all the rest, when it comes time to put people in charge of Important Stuff, actual teachers do not get the call. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is sometimes called the nation's report c

SEP 25

ICYMI: Readings from the week (9/25)

16by Peter Greene / 6d

As always, remember to share and spread the word. Everyone can be an amplifier. Don't Believe the Charter School Hype Charles Pierce is one mainstream journalist who has taken up the cause of public ed and given reformsters some serious grief. Here's his take on the charter push in Massachusetts Preaching to the Educhoir William Ferriter reminds us why preaching to the educhoir is not a waste of t

SEP 24

Essential Reading for Education Activists (and Wonks)

21by Peter Greene / 6d

Corporate, privatized, market-driven education reform hasn't worked-- and now there's a book chock full of research to prove it. The National Education Policy Center is based at the University of Colorado (Boulder) School of Education. They look kind of like what I always imagined when I thought of an actual think tank-- one that was interested in real inquiry and research, and not just put togeth

The Gates Plan for College

88by Peter Greene / 7d

Some days I feel kind of Rip Van Winklesque, as if I went to sleep and when I woke up the world had changed. Apparently while I was sleeping, the electorate rose up and elected Bill Gates the Grand Uber Head of Education. "Please," a bunch of you non-sleeping people said. "Redesign our entire education system. Redefine what it means to be an educated person, and redefine how a person gets an educa

The Word Charters Leave Out

200+by Peter Greene / 7d

The sales pitch, in various versions, pops up every time charter cheerleaders are pushing charters as the Big Solution in education. "We know how to educate poor minority students." The implication, of course, is that public schools don't 

CURMUDGUCATION:

My Questions for Whitney Tilson | Diane Ravitch's blog

My Questions for Whitney Tilson | Diane Ravitch's blog:

My Questions for Whitney Tilson

A few months back, Whitney Tilson invited me to participate in an exchange of views. Whitney is a hedge fund manager and the founder of Democrats for Education Reform, a group of hedge fund managers who support charter schools and high-stakes testing. I gladly accepted his invitation. Our exchanges were posted, unfiltered, on his blog and this one. (See here and here and here.) After the three exchanges, I decided it was time for me to ask questions, so I sent him the piece below. I thought it would be the first of another three or four exchanges. Unfortunately, Whitney has been very busy and has not had time to write his response or continue the dialogue. I asked for and received his permission to post my statement/questions. He promised to answer at some point in the future.

Hi, Whitney,

I have enjoyed our exchanges, and I thank you for initiating this dialogue. It shows you are willing to listen, and that is a very important trait in our democracy. There are too many echo chambers, where people hear only what they already agree with. That doesn’t advance knowledge or understanding. I am reminded of something that Robert Hutchins said many years ago. He said you always have to keep listening to people you disagree with, because they might be right. So I will listen to you, and I hope you will listen to me.

I have a series of questions for you. We will likely have to cover these issues in several posts.

The topics are

1) The nomenclature of the reform movement you lead;
2) privatization (charters and vouchers);
3) high-stakes testing;
4) merit pay;
5) teacher evaluation;
6) Teach for America (you were there at the creation);
7) the future of the teaching profession;
8) the political goals of groups like Democrats for Education Reform, which you helped to found;
9) the long-term aspirations of the movement you lead.

First, let’s talk about nomenclature. Your side calls itself the “reform movement,” because you want to shake up and disrupt public education. People who believe in the importance of free and universal public education, like me, don’t think you are reformers. You don’t “reform” an institution by tearing it apart. Reform requires steady, persistent work, and it can be done best by those with knowledge of the institution they are changing. There have been education reformers numerous times in the history of American education. They always wanted to make the public schools better. They wanted better-educated teachers, higher salaries for teachers, more funding for schools, more equitable funding for schools, desegregation of schools, higher standards, better curricula, etc. Now, for the first time in the history of American education, we have a group of people who call themselves reformers but seek to replace public schools with school choice via privately managed charters and vouchers that may be used for religious schools. Unlike past reformers, this movement wants to replace public schools, not improve them. This is in reality a privatization movement, not a reform movement.

Speaking for the many educators and parents I know, we think that you are disrupters who are ill-informed about the challenges facing teachers and public schools. We think you are wrong to say that public schools are failing. In fact, as I showed in my last book, Reign of Error, students in public schools today have the highest test scores, the highest graduation rates, and the lowest dropout rates ever recorded. This is My Questions for Whitney Tilson | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Torlakson Announces $49.9 Million to Fund Charters - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

Torlakson Announces $49.9 Million to Fund Charters - Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces $49.9 Million to Fund Charter School Start-ups

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded California $49.9 million in start-up funds to assist in the launch and development of high-quality charter schools over the next three years.

The grant money is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program (CSP), which funds the creation and expansion of public charter schools across the nation. California was one of just eight states selected to share $177 million in federal funds.

“California’s public school system offers a variety of school options to meet the interests and needs of our diverse state,” Torlakson said. “Charter schools have proven to be a popular and important option for many families, and I’m thrilled the U.S. Department of Education has recognized California as a worthy investment of these important charter schools funds.”

The California Department of Education (CDE) worked collaboratively with the State Board of Education, the California Charter Schools Association, and the Charter Schools Development Center in applying for the federal grant. The money will fund California’s own Public Charter Schools Grant Program, a charter schools grant competition administered by CDE’s Charter Schools Division to provide start-up and initial operating capital to assist in the development of high-quality, high-performing charter schools for California students and their families.

CDE’s Charter Schools Division is concluding a final competition for charter school start-up funding provided by a 2010–15 federal grant. A new application will be available in the spring of 2017 based on the just-awarded 2016–19 grant funding.

There are more than 1,200 charter schools operating in California. Eighty-six charter schools opened in the 2015–16 school year.

The announcement of the charter school federal grant funding is available at the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site .

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

 Big Education Ape: Brown vetoes bill requiring charters to comply with conflict of interest, open records laws | EdSource - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/10/brown-vetoes-bill-requiring-charters-to.html

NPE Action Endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton for President - NPE Action

NPE Action Endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton for President - NPE Action:

NPE Action Endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton for President

The Network for Public Education Action (NPE Action) endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton for President of the United States. NPE Action is not aligned with Ms. Clinton on all educational issues, however, all members of the NPE Action Board strongly agree that the election of Donald Trump would have disastrous consequences for public education.

“Although we did not endorse a candidate during the primary season, we are united in our belief that Ms. Clinton is a far better choice for President than Mr. Trump,” stated NPE Action Executive Director, Carol Burris. “By his choice of education advisors, as well as his continued reference to public schools as “government schools,” there is no doubt that Trump would attempt to privatize our nation’s public education system. Ms. Clinton, in contrast, speaks of the importance of a strong and vibrant public school system. While we may disagree with some of her positions on how to improve public schools, unlike Mr. Trump, the destruction of public education is not her objective.”

NPE Action President and co-founder, education historian, Diane Ravitch, agrees. “I enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton because she is the most experienced and most knowledgeable candidate; the alternative is unthinkable. Donald Trump would destroy public education, one of the essential institutions of our democracy. With Hillary as President, we can hope for the best; with Trump, we can expect the worst.“

Prior to the conventions, NPE Action submitted a position paper to both the Republican and Democratic platform committees. The Board of NPE Action was heartened to see many of those ideas incorporated into the final draft of the Democratic platform. If Ms. Clinton is elected, NPE Action will lobby for an end to high-stakes testing, a moratorium on new charters, and for regulations to end charter abuses and ensure transparency. We will also demand a commitment to community schools that are democratically governed so that parents—especially parents of color—have voice in how their children are educated.

Co-founder and treasurer of the organization, Anthony Cody, summed up NPE Action’s endorsement of Clinton this way. “Supporters of public education have a clear choice in November, between a candidate sworn to destroy it, and one whom we may pressure to do right by our schools. I hope others will join us in supporting Hillary Clinton. Just as important, we need to continue to build the grassroots movement for democratically controlled, equitable and excellent schools for all our children.”NPE Action Endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton for President - NPE Action:

Jeb Bush, Retention, and the Failed Ferris Wheel of School Reform

Jeb Bush, Retention, and the Failed Ferris Wheel of School Reform:

Jeb Bush, Retention, and the Failed Ferris Wheel of School Reform

Jeb Bush continues to ride the failed Ferris wheel of school reform. He is most likely emboldened by state politicians and business leaders, like in Michigan, subscribing to harmful 3rd grade retention policies. Also, with a fancy university invitation for him to lecture about schools and stuff.

Michigan is following Florida’s lead, and that of other states, and jumping on the third grade retention bandwagon. Many parents, especially those with students who have reading disabilities and dyslexia, are unhappy about this. Think how humiliating these students must feel, especially when there are other methods and arrangements to address learning problems.

At the same time, knighted the King of school reform, Jeb Bush is lecturing at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Of course, we all know he would rather be stepping in front a different lectern, one where he faces Hillary Clinton.

I wonder, is he asking himself how much his school reform measures hurt him in his Jeb Bush, Retention, and the Failed Ferris Wheel of School Reform: