Latest News and Comment from Education

Show All

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/2/17


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/2/17

Featured Post

GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29




Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview | Reclaim Reform
by mike simpson / 1h
Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview | Reclaim Reform : Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview Will Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos’ opposition vote unity by Democrats succeed? Unity? But what about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$ involved? After U.S. Secretaries of Education Spelling, Duncan, and King, will there be any other Secretary of Education who will suppo
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos
by mike simpson / 2h
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos : Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos Billionaires DeVos vs. Broad Power philanthropist Eli Broad is urging senators to vote against confirming fellow billionaire and right-wing school "choice" advocate, Betsy DeVos. The growing grassroots resistance to Trump's choice for Ed Secretary has split t
NEA - NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee
by mike simpson / 2h
NEA - NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee : NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee NEA President: Supreme Court nominee has troubling record on education, workers’ rights President Donald Trump today announced he would nominate Neil Gorsuch as associate justice of the Supreme Court. The following statement was issued on behalf of NEA President
GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29
by mike simpson / 4h
GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29 : GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey No kidding. As of this writing, 678 individuals have raised $11,111 via the GoFundMe link entitled, “Buy Pat Toomey’s Vote”: Betsy DeVos has donated $55,800 to the campaign of United States Senator Pat Toomey. Incidentally, despite all evi
John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry | Diane Ravitch
by mike simpson / 4h
John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry | Diane Ravitch's... - Linkis.com : John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry John Thompson is a historian and teacher in Oklahoma: Oklahoma School Choice Week: The “Red Pill” Targets a Red State The OK School Choice Summit featured Sen. Mark Loveless who, in part, promotes charters and vou
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet
by mike simpson / 6h
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet : DeVos: We're Not Done Yet The HELP committee approved her, and then two members of that committee who voted "yes" to send her on to the full Senate indicated that they would vote No to her appointment to the USED Secretary post. So. We're not done yet. Contact your Senator. If you know they're voting against DeVos, thank them and let them know that you
County school boards can’t solve charters’ zoning problems, court rules | EdSource
by mike simpson / 6h
County school boards can’t solve charters’ zoning problems, court rules | EdSource : County school boards can't solve charters' zoning problems, court rules In a decision with statewide implications , a state appeals court ruled that the board of the Santa Clara County Office of Education lacked authority to override local zoning rules to locate a charter school that it had approved. The Jan. 24
Special education advocate Bev Johns is threatened. | Fred Klonsky
by mike simpson / 6h
Special education advocate Bev Johns is threatened. | Fred Klonsky : Special education advocate Bev Johns is threatened. Me and Bev Johns at a state conference of the Illinois Council for Exceptional Children. My friend Bev Johns is a leading advocate for children with special needs in Illinois. Lately I have been reposting her information on my Facebook page warning of changes to the delivery of
Massachusetts said NO to more charter schools, Connecticut should as well - Wait What?
by mike simpson / 7h
Massachusetts said NO to more charter schools, Connecticut should as well - Wait What? : Massachusetts said NO to more charter schools, Connecticut should as well At the same time that Governor Dannel Malloy is instituting the deepest cuts in Connecticut history to Connecticut’s public schools he is diverting more than $110 million dollars a year in taxpayer funds to Connecticut’s privately owned
Betsy DeVos 'is unprepared and unqualified' to be Education secretary, charter school booster Eli Broad says - LA Times
by mike simpson / 7h
Betsy DeVos 'is unprepared and unqualified' to be Education secretary, charter school booster Eli Broad says - LA Times : Betsy DeVos 'is unprepared and unqualified' to be Education secretary, charter school booster Eli Broad says EL i Broad , the prominent local philanthropist behind a massive effort to increase the number of charter schools in Los Angeles, is protesting the appointment of Betsy
Supreme Court Nominee Gorsuch: Is “Constitutional Originalism” a Cover for Conservative Judicial Activism? | Ed In The Apple
by mike simpson / 7h
Supreme Court Nominee Gorsuch: Is “Constitutional Originalism” a Cover for Conservative Judicial Activism? | Ed In The Apple : Supreme Court Nominee Gorsuch: Is “Constitutional Originalism” a Cover for Conservative Judicial Activism? I hear President Trump was going to make the announcement of his Supreme Court nomination during the Super Bowel half time show – afraid of massive demonstrations by
Universal Public Education and the Common Good | janresseger
by mike simpson / 7h
Universal Public Education and the Common Good | janresseger : Universal Public Education and the Common Good President Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to be our next U.S. Secretary of Education has been a wake up call. You may disagree with some of the particulars raised by the Senators who have been debating the DeVos nomination, but the hearings have diminished talk about the smaller
DR. WILLIAM BARBER AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE- SOMETHING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT - Perdaily.com
by mike simpson / 8h
DR. WILLIAM BARBER AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE- SOMETHING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT - Perdaily.com : DR. WILLIAM BARBER AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE- SOMETHING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT If you have found yourself profoundly depressed since the election and assumption of the presidency by Donald Trump, you should have been at Occidental College on Wednesday night- it would have given you hope. The Reverend Dr. William Barbe
The Gathering Storm (annotated) | Bill Ayers
by mike simpson / 8h
The Gathering Storm (annotated) | Bill Ayers : The Gathering Storm (annotated) Keep your eyes open, your heads up, your minds alert and your bodies ready. Trump ran an explicitly fascist campaign, and no one should now be surprised that he’s moving quickly to promote a fascist program and consolidate a fascist government. It’s not fascism yet, but demonstrably pre-fascist, and what we do now will
How Big Data Becomes Psy Ops and Tilts the World Towards its Own Aims: Next Stop, Public Education | educationalchemy
by mike simpson / 8h
How Big Data Becomes Psy Ops and Tilts the World Towards its Own Aims: Next Stop, Public Education | educationalchemy : How Big Data Becomes Psy Ops and Tilts the World Towards its Own Aims: Next Stop, Public Education The psy ops tactics used to get Donald Trump elected to the U.S. Presidency (still having gag reflex) are the same ones being used in public schools, using children as their “data”
The Detroit Lyin’s | Gary Rubinstein's Blog
by mike simpson / 8h
The Detroit Lyin’s | Gary Rubinstein's Blog : The Detroit Lyin’s When asked about the low test scores of Detroit’s charter schools during her confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos said that she “looks forward to correcting some of the record regarding Detroit.” While it is common knowledge that the reform that Michigan’s position on the NAEP list has dropped in the time that DeVos has supported her s
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet
by mike simpson / 8h
CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet : DeVos: We're Not Done Yet The HELP committee approved her, and then two members of that committee who voted "yes" to send her on to the full Senate indicated that they would vote No to her appointment to the USED Secretary post. So. We're not done yet. Contact your Senator. If you know they're voting against DeVos, thank them and let them know that you
DeVos Vote in Senate as Early as Friday, February 3, 2017 | deutsch29
by mike simpson / 9h
DeVos Vote in Senate as Early as Friday, February 3, 2017 | deutsch29 : DeVos Vote in Senate as Early as Friday, February 3, 2017 Defeat DeVos- Call Your Senator Now From the US Senate Democrats website, dated February 01, 2017: Senator McConnell filed cloture on the nomination of Elisabeth DeVos to be Secretary of Education. Under the rules, tomorrow – Thursday – will be an intervening day. The
When did the Catholic school teacher ban occur? Never. | Reclaim Reform
by mike simpson / 9h
When did the Catholic school teacher ban occur? Never. | Reclaim Reform : When did the Catholic school teacher ban occur? Never. American children in Catholic schools were traditionally taught by nuns, nuns who took a sacred vow of obedience to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope in the Vatican in Rome. American Catholic school teachers were by-and-large nuns. During WWII against the Axis Powe
Don’t Confirm Betsy DeVos | The Merrow Report
by mike simpson / 9h
Don’t Confirm Betsy DeVos | The Merrow Report : Don’t Confirm Betsy DeVos This is the letter I have sent to about 40 United States Senators, including Senator Deb Fischer, the Nebraska Republican. If you agree, please communicate with your Senators and with Senator Fischer, whose vote may well determine the immediate future of public education. “Dear Senator Fischer, In the 41 years I spent cover
Badass Teachers Association: BATs Beware! A FOXX is Loose!!
by mike simpson / 9h
Badass Teachers Association: BATs Beware! A FOXX is Loose!! : BATs Beware! A FOXX is Loose!! The House of Representatives recently released the names of the new members of their Education and Workplace committee. As you can see, the new Chair of the committee is Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina, and she is exerting her voice as a proponent of school choice quite loudly. Recent rel

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/1/17
by mike simpson / 22h
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/1/17 Featured Post Betsy DeVos’ Response to Senator Patty Murray’s Question about Virtual Schools | deutsch29 California One System Serving the Whole Child - Applications for Summer Food

Top Posts This Week


Posted by at

Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview | Reclaim Reform

Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview | Reclaim Reform:

Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview



Will Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos’ opposition vote unity by Democrats succeed? Unity? But what about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$ involved?
After U.S. Secretaries of Education Spelling, Duncan, and King, will there be any other Secretary of Education who will support public education for all? Will Democrapublicans support public education for all?
14-democrapublicans-003
Democrapublicans vote their pocketbooks, their future career shifts into well-paid corporate advisory committees that do no require attendance, their received donations for their own “foundations” and campaigns, and other self-serving methods of ill-gotten gain. They vote and smile for photo ops during their posturing periods. 
What politicians of either major political party give a damn about our children, our teachers, our schools or our futures? Very few. Democrapublicans in a corrupt system certainly don’t care when money and power can be gained.
There is a Democratic unity opposition-posturing and blustering for purposes of deceiving the public that has been forced to beg for each issue vote; this has become the reality of today’s bipartisan corruption as government. Corruption as government is brought to you by huge corporate interests whose public/private partnerships have become household names and daily conversations. The multinational investors who are the Education Industrial Complex finance Democrapublicans. 
There are REASONS people mourn that there is ONE corporate PARTY. Democrapublicans. Tim Kane, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate who lost, has voted for each of Trump’s nominees up until the show of party unity against DeVos.
Prior to the last election, I was told in public by a Democratic Party official in Brevard County, Florid that she and several other people had attended a rally with Tim Kane as the speaker. We were told that he was just a “regular” guy like all of us. Photo ops were generously granted by this regular guy. People posted their photos with him on Facebook. What proof of his regular guy authenticity was offered us?
It’s nonsense to say that Tim Kaine is a regular guy because he posed with his open collared shirt and rolled up sleeves while sporting a big smile. I doubt that Benedict Arnold rolled up his sleeves while wearing an open collared shirt and smiling for engraving-ops Democrapublican posturing and Betsy DeVos: the Overview | Reclaim Reform:
Posted by at

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos:

Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos


Billionaires DeVos vs. Broad

Power philanthropist Eli Broad is urging senators to vote against confirming fellow billionaire and right-wing school "choice" advocate, Betsy DeVos.

The growing grassroots resistance to Trump's choice for Ed Secretary has split the charter/voucher movement and its wealthy backers. Broad, who wants to charterize 50% of L.A. public school students in the next few years, favors tighter, top-down control and regulation of charters.

According to EdWeek:
In comparison to DeVos' philanthropic work, the Broads belong to a class of donors that prefer a much more managed approach to school choice, investing in charter school models that can scale up and measure their performance. They are strong supporters of charter management organizations—nonprofit networks of charter schools (think KIPP)—whose rapid growth has been propelled by the federal government and a handful of wealthy donors. 
Eli and his wife Edythe Broad are among some of the most influential backers of charter schools nationwide. Their foundation has given over $150 million to charter schools nationally. Of that, $79 million has gone to charters in Los Angeles. He's also used his money to influence local school board elections in favor of pro-choice, anti-union candidates.

He's also a big Democratic Party campaign donor who personally bankrolled many of Arne Duncan's ed initiatives and currently is underwriting Education Post, the pro-charter, anti-teacher union project run by Duncan's former assistant, Peter Cunningham.

But Broad has no real problems with Trump or the Republicans. In 2013 he was exposed for secretly funding a right-wing, anti-union group connected with the Koch Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire charter backers clash. Broad vs. DeVos:

Posted by at

NEA - NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee

NEA - NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee:

NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee


NEA President: Supreme Court nominee has troubling record on education, workers’ rights

President Donald Trump today announced he would nominate Neil Gorsuch as associate justice of the Supreme Court. The following statement was issued on behalf of NEA President Lily Eskelsen García:


“Nearly every issue that impacts students and educators finds its way to the Supreme Court. The court makes critical decisions about protecting students’ rights and public education funding in addition to educators’ ability to negotiate collectively for wages and benefits.
“We have significant concerns about President Trump’s judgment in choosing a nominee. That’s why the U.S. Senate must thoroughly vet the nominee’s views, integrity and record. An independent Supreme Court is an effective check on any abuse of executive power. It is especially important now, considering the president’s willingness to strip away people’s rights with the stroke of a pen.
“As educators, we have concerns about Judge Gorsuch’s record. He has ruled against students with disabilities who seek public education, and he has consistently sided with big business at the expense of working Americans.
“We call on the Senate to diligently perform its duty to thoroughly vet the nominee to ensure the Supreme Court will protect all of us.”
Follow NEA Public Relations on Twitter at @NEAmedia
Keep up with the conversation on social media at #ProtectUsAll
# # #
The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing nearly 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. Learn more at www.nea.org.


 NEA - NEA calls on Senate to thoroughly vet President Trump’s nominee:
Posted by at

GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29

GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29:

GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey



No kidding.
As of this writing, 678 individuals have raised $11,111 via the GoFundMe link entitled, “Buy Pat Toomey’s Vote”:
Betsy DeVos has donated $55,800 to the campaign of United States Senator Pat Toomey.
Incidentally, despite all evidence to the contrary, Senator Toomey thinks that Betsy DeVos would be a great choice to lead the Department of Education.
Betsy DeVos has never set foot in a classroom, did not send her children to public school, cannot distinguish between proficiency and growth, and thinks that guns should be allowed in schools in the event of grizzly attacks. That fictitious grizzly is about as qualified as Ms. DeVos to run the Department of Education.
If Betsy DeVos can buy Senator Toomey’s vote, we should be allowed to do the same.
If, of course, Senator Toomey does not wish to accept any funds raised*, all money will be donated to Camp Sojourner, the Pennsylvania Arts Education Network, and the Children’s Literacy Initiative.
*or if this tongue-in-cheek fundraising page somehow constitutes a bribe, despite being eerily identical to the actions of Ms. DeVos.GoFundMe Campaign to Buy a “No” Vote on DeVos from PA Senator Pat Toomey | deutsch29:
betsy-devos-hearing  Betsy DeVos

Image result for devos buying influence
Posted by at

John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry | Diane Ravitch

John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry | Diane Ravitch's... - Linkis.com:

John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry


John Thompson is a historian and teacher in Oklahoma:
Oklahoma School Choice Week: The “Red Pill” Targets a Red State
The OK School Choice Summit featured Sen. Mark Loveless who, in part, promotes charters and vouchers as a means of spreading chaos in public school systems. His donor, Betsy DeVos’ the American Federation for Children, was also well represented. DeVos sees school choice as a path to “greater Kingdom gain.”
There had been about 20 anti-corporate reform protesters at the summit, so even though I had registered for the event, I was apparently supposed to be denied entry. By the time I arrived, the police outnumbered the protesters. As some protesters chatted amiably with the summit volunteers, I schmoozed with some pro-reform political leaders who let me walk in with them.
At the time, I didn’t realize that we who opposed the expansion of charters and vouchers could not be tolerated because we had supposedly swallowed the “blue pill,” and that made us irredeemable.
Ordinarily I get along with conservative Christians by not questioning the religious beliefs of people who support people like DeVos, who see charters and vouchers as a means to “advance God’s Kingdom.” That is one reason why I was completely unprepared for what I’d see when Dr. Steve Perry gave the summit’s keynote address.
Okay, I know I’ve failed to fully grapple with the hate that drives many corporate reform supporters, as well as Trumpism as a whole. I assumed that the summit organizers probably knew how Perry became famous by condemning unions as “cockroaches.” But, surely the audience wasn’t conversant with the research of former Connecticut Deputy House Majority Leader, Jonathan Pelto, and they didn’t know that Perry’s charter school would sentence “even the youngest students in the building, to sit at the cafeteria’s ‘Table of Shame.’”
I’ve long known a lot of the charter supporters in the audience, and I didn’t think they would approve of his desire to:


Drag sorry principals and teachers out into the street. Kick open the doors in our communities and collar lazy parents. Line ‘em all John Thompson: When the Choice Roadshow Came to Oklahoma, Led by Dr. Perry | Diane Ravitch's... - Linkis.com:
Posted by at

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet:

DeVos: We're Not Done Yet



The HELP committee approved her, and then two members of that committee who voted "yes" to send her on to the full Senate indicated that they would vote No to her appointment to the USED Secretary post.

So. We're not done yet.

Contact your Senator. If you know they're voting against DeVos, thank them and let them know that you support their choice (because you can be sure they're getting pressure from Important People who think they should change their minds). If you know they're voting for DeVos, keep the pressure on anyway. Let them know that there is a price they're paying for that support. Make them know that the vote is costing them something.

And if you're not sure, contact them anyway. Often. By phone. By fax. Repeatedly.

Congressmen and their staffs are reporting that they've never taken such an electronic hammering. The numbers being reported are staggering-- five figures, six figures.

She may still be approved, but we have already won a victory. We have already made the Trump administration pay a price, made them use some of their juice to make this happen. The roar of opposition has jarred loose many of the people who have been anti-DeVos silently. Good lord-- Eli Broad, charter booster and reformster extraordinaire, came out against DeVos today. If DeVos takes the office, she and Trump and the GOP Senators who put her there will know, despite their bluster, that we are paying attention, watching, looking over their collective shoulders.

A DeVos defeat would be extraordinary, virtually unprecedented. And it could still happen.

So here's the link to FaxZero, the suddenly-famous service that will send up to five free faxes a day without any need for a sign-up or an account-- and they already have Senate fax numbers programmed in and ready to go. And here's the link for emails and phone numbers.

The vote is now expected as early as Friday morning, so send something tonight before you got to bed, tomorrow before you go to work, and any other spare minute you have during the day. If they are going to foist this unqualified menace on us, make them feel like they are climbing up a steep hill in a heavy hailstorm to do it.Maybe-- just maybe-- we can make some history. But there is no doubt that we can make some noise while we make ourselves felt in Washington.  CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos: We're Not Done Yet:

Image result for Defeat DeVos- Call Your Senator Now

PA: Gutting Teacher Sick Leave
by Peter Greene / 14h
In Pennsylvania, while folks were busy working to head off the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, the State Senate's education committee was passing a bill to strip sick and bereavement leave from teachers (as well as sabbatical leave). SB 229 is a re-introduction of SB 584 from the previous session. It would end the state requirement for a minimum number of sick and bereavement
What About Rural Charters
by Peter Greene / 15h
In a recent panel discussion , Nine Rees, the head honcho of the National Alliance of Public [sic] Charter Schools observed that " It is actually quite hard to expand charter schools in a lot of rural communities because there's no political base of support for those kinds of changes ." And then she was on to other stuff (I'm working my way through that video and will have commentary on the whole


Posted by at

County school boards can’t solve charters’ zoning problems, court rules | EdSource

County school boards can’t solve charters’ zoning problems, court rules | EdSource:

County school boards can't solve charters' zoning problems, court rules


In a decision with statewide implications, a state appeals court ruled that the board of the Santa Clara County Office of Education lacked authority to override local zoning rules to locate a charter school that it had approved.
The Jan. 24 ruling by the San Jose-based 6th District State Court of Appeals takes away from charter schools the option of asking county school boards to make it easier to locate their schools, especially in high-cost, densely developed urban areas like the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Most charter schools get their charters from school districts. But county school boards can grant charters on appeal, and they are allowed to authorize charters directly under special circumstances.
The charter-friendly Santa Clara County Board of Education gave Rocketship Education, a national network of a dozen charters known for its online learning, its start by granting eight charters through the appeal process and through direct approval of six schools in San Jose. Rocketship navigated local zoning regulations to build schools in all but one location, where the city master plan designated the site as a park. It turned to the county school board, which in 2013 issued what appears to have been the first – and now will probably be the last – exemption from a local zoning law.
San Jose Unified, which had denied charters to Rocketship, and a neighbor sued the county office and the charter school, saying nothing in state law permits county offices of education to override local zoning laws. Both the trial court and a three-judge panel of the court of appeals County school boards can’t solve charters’ zoning problems, court rules | EdSource:


Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)