Moan-day Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Moan-day Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss better education for all

Keep Watch Over Our National Lands

2by dianeravitch / 27min

The American edition of The Guardian, a British newspaper, has https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/05/public-lands-project-description?utm_source=eml&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&CMP_TU=&CMP_BUNIT=&att5=tarted a series to cover any efforts to sell off our national lands or lease them to oil and gas interests or for mining. “At a moment of deep political division, few issues draw as much

The Broadway Version of Covfefe

5by dianeravitch / 34min

Randy Rainbow is a delightful humorist. In this post, he performs a Broadway medley about “Covfefe,” the word Trump introduced on Twitter a few days ago. “Despite constant negative press Covfefe,” the full tweet. Some think he fell 

Trump Will Privatize Public Infrastructure

4by dianeravitch / 50min

The organization “In the Public Interest” reports that global equity investors are gearing up for Trump’s infrastructure plan. Question: if the banks own bridges and tunnels, can they put fees on them and raise fees whenever they want? They 

New Jersey: Over-Testing is Hurting the Children It is Supposed to Help

4by dianeravitch / 1h

From a teacher in New Jersey: Testing Frenzy Steals Learning Time from Students The public school testing frenzy is at an all-time high, and it is robbing our students of time to learn. Take it from me, an elementary school teacher from New Jersey with more than 30 years of experience. In an effort to be ready for the state-mandated PARCC tests, we are hurting the very students we most wish to he

Ann Waldman: Vermont’s Voucher Program Pays Tuition at Elite Boarding Schools

6by dianeravitch / 2h

Voucher advocates like to point to Vermont as the nation’s oldest program. When it was started in 1869, it was intended to pay the tuition of students whose town did not have a public school. It has very little in common with the curren voucher movement, which takes its inspiration from the libertarian economist Milton Friedman, who wrote a seminal essay in 1955 proposing that all students should

Peter Greene: There is Nothing Democratic about School Choice

24by dianeravitch / 3h

Peter Greene has a genius for taking complicated ideas and boiling them down to their essence in language that everyone can understand. This post is a classic example of that genius. Others have written entire books trying to explain what he says concisely here. In the recent writings about school choice, pro and con, Peter Greene was especially affronted by a statement from Kevin Chavous, who wo

YESTERDAY

The Staff at Sunburst Elementary School: We Love Our School!

100+by dianeravitch / 23h

If you wonder why people become teachers and remain in the classroom, watch this vide o created by the teachers at Sunburst Elememtary School in Glendale, Arizona. They are having fun! They have a culture of happiness. Not every public school is happy. But those with a strong culture are like families. Watch this family of teachers cavorting for the joy of it. By the way, I googled the school and

Rutgers Professor Prevails Over New Jersey Charter Lobbyists Who Tried to Silence Her

300+by dianeravitch / 1d

This is a sordid story with a happy ending. It tells how the deep-pocketed charter industry tried to silence and discredit a scholar who disagreed with them. The story appears in the Nonprofit Quarterly. Professor Julia Sass Rubin is an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. She has researched charter schools in New Jersey, and o

DeVos Shows What Vouchers are About

60by dianeravitch / 1d

When she was questioned by Congress, Betsy DeVos let the cat out of the bag about vouchers. The U.S. Department of Education will hand out money for vouchers and will not enforce civil rights laws. “She lifted the curtain on school vouchers and made clear exactly what this system of using taxpayer funds to pay for private and religious schools is. “It’s a way for some parents, particularly bigots

Harold Meyerson: Why Do Billionaires Care So Much About Charter Schools?

21by dianeravitch / 1d

Harold Meyerson, editor of The American Prospect, raised a question that I have heard dozens of times: Why do billionaires care so much about charter schools ? Why have so many of the 1% decided that charter schools will provide a better education than public schools? Are we to believe that the Walton Family, Eli Broad, Michael Dell, Doris Fischer, Reed Hastings, and many lesser-known billionaire

The Most Important Expose You Will Read Today: The Fringe Right Universe of “Charities”

48by dianeravitch / 1d

The Washington Post published a deeply researched expose today about the “secret universe” of “charities” that fueled the election of Donald Trump. Please understand before reading this that the Internal Revenue Service classifies 

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Schools Matter: Chavous, Personalized Learning, and Real Indy Voices

Schools Matter: Chavous, Personalized Learning, and Real Indy Voices:

Chavous, Personalized Learning, and Real Indy Voices

Hoosier School Heist TV is Doug Martin's channel featuring videos of his book tour across Indiana speaking on the corporate takeover of public education. Order Hoosier School Heist at http://hoosierschoolheist.com/.

Follow Hoosier School Heist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoosierSchoolHeist

Tweet with Doug Martin at: https://twitter.com/DougMartinED

By Doug Martin

“The end game … is personalized learning.  We are going to get to this place where as opposed to every child being shepherded into a schoolhouse where they sit in a classroom and where a teacher stands and delivers, and then they regurgitate back … those days are not going to be the future.”  KEVIN CHAVOUS

When Kevin Chavous joined the Indianapolis-based Mind Trust board of directors in late 2015, it was a sign of more bad things to come.  Chavous, as I discuss in Hoosier School Heist, has been a paid spokesperson for corporate ed reform from day one, working for the Democrats for Education Reform, the DeVos/Walton clan, the Black Alliance for Educational Options, and even the digital/virtual/personalized learning movement invading the United States. 

Since charter schools and online learning companies have used blended and virtual learning for years, the billionaires’ plan now, to kick "the end game" in gear, is to dupe local public school districts and teachers to buy into the edtech arrangement, seeking to dismantle public education from inside the schoolhouse itself.

It is working, and Chavous’ voice is a part of it. 

Chavous’ edtech/virtual learning promotion goes back at least to 2010, when he sat on Jeb Bush and Bob Wise’s Digital Learning Council,” an ALEC promoted outfit, alongside representatives from Google, Apple, Connections Academy, Carnegie Corporation, K12, INC., the Gates Foundation, Rocketship, Microsoft, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and many others.

The Digital Learning Council also included Michael Horn from the Innosight Institute, now a separate consulting group and connected to the Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a leader in the personalized learning movement.  Horn will Schools Matter: Chavous, Personalized Learning, and Real Indy Voices:

Plan to outlaw for-profit charters hits online ed too :: SI&A Cabinet Report

Plan to outlaw for-profit charters hits online ed too :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Plan to outlaw for-profit charters hits online ed too

(Calif.) Legislation aimed at prohibiting for-profit charter schools from operating in California would likely also disrupt educational services to about 25,000 students pursuing online independent study.

AB 406 by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, would impose a deadline of January, 2019 for when for-profit charters and for-profit management organizations would have to be out of California.

“The privatization of public education must end,” McCarty said in a statement last week after his bill moved off the Assembly floor to be considered by the state Senate. “Passage of AB 406 puts student success ahead of corporate profits and affirms California’s belief that public tax dollars should be spent in the classroom, not in the corporate boardroom.”

But parents of students getting all of their instruction online say eliminating for-profit providers would also limit the options for many families whose children just don’t fit well into traditional schools.

“While traditional schools may be a great environment for most, some children simply need another option,” Nicole Conragan, president of the California Parents for Public Virtual Education, said in a letter to McCarty last month. “For those who do, parents should have access to a quality, public virtual or blended learning education for their children.

“If online charter schools are forced to close based upon Assembly Bill 406 criteria, where will these students go to school and how will individual school districts address their unique learning needs?” Conragan asked in closing.

Online education takes place in almost every school district and almost every day—but most of that is considered blended learning where the students and the teacher are in a traditional classroom and simply using computers for specific lessons.

Virtual learning is generally considered to take place via the web, where the student and the teacher don’t share either the same time space or physical location.

Among the types of students that choose virtual schooling are high-achievers who want to work ahead, or those also engaged in some outside activity that conflicts with regular school hours. Top performing athletes, for instance, training for the Olympics; or child actors or professional musicians.

That said, the online system has also emerged as a ‘last option’ for troubled teens that have been unable to succeed in the mainstream system. It is one reason that virtual schools are generally among the lowest-performing in the state.

Most of the virtual schools in California are charters, authorized by a local school district and funded Plan to outlaw for-profit charters hits online ed too :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Torlakson Urges to Fight Against Childhood Obesity - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Torlakson Urges to Fight Against Childhood Obesity - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Torlakson Speaks at

Childhood Obesity Prevention Conference

 SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Friday told educators and school nutrition officials at a major conference to keep fighting against childhood obesity and urged them to oppose President Trump’s proposed cuts to food and nutrition programs for the needy.

Torlakson spoke at the last day of the Ninth Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference in San Diego. The conference is the largest in the nation dedicated to combating child obesity and draws nearly 2,000 attendees.

"We know that students who come to school hungry, malnourished, or food insecure cannot learn as much,” said Torlakson, a former high school science teacher and cross country coach. “They fall behind. They are sick more often and absent more often. They are more likely to drop out."

Torlakson praised successful efforts to get junk food and soda out of schools, to expand access to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, and to create school garden programs. He applauded community partners such as libraries for working together with student nutrition professionals to expand summer meals.

Torlakson said he was deeply disturbed by budgets coming out of Washington, D.C., and from the President that propose significant cuts to critical programs such as food stamps, aid for women with young children, after school programs, and revisions to the Affordable Care Act that would eliminate health insurance for millions of families and children.

"It's unbelievable. It's so wrong. These cuts would hurt the most vulnerable children and families of California. We must do everything we can to stop these cuts and to educate Congress about the tremendous value of these investments in nutrition and health and how they are connected to academic success and, ultimately, a stronger nation. These programs help our students compete in a fiercely competitive global economy and have healthy and productive lives."

For example, the President wants to cut $200 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (W.I.C.) The program provides baby food, fresh milk, and other nutrition to nearly 1.5 million eligible women, infants, and children each year.

About 23 percent of California children live in poverty, according to a report released earlier this year by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality.

And Trump proposed cutting 25 percent over 10 years from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as food stamps and officially called CalFresh in California. CalFresh helps feed 4.4 million people each month, making sure they can get healthy and nutritious meals instead of cheap junk food.

The conference was hosted by the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, the University of California Nutrition Policy Institute, The California Endowment, and Kaiser Permanente. Torlakson is serving his second term as superintendent and has started several health and nutrition initiatives for schools.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Torlakson Urges to Fight Against Childhood Obesity - Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education):

A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of biliteracy - The Washington Post

A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of biliteracy - The Washington Post:

A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of biliteracy

Max Moss started studying Spanish in sixth grade and never stopped. He learned to speak the language, read it and understand conversations. By the time he hit 12th grade, he knew enough to recite 13th century poetry and write his senior thesis in Spanish.

This week, as he graduates from high school, he will be among the first Maryland students recognized for his linguistic achievement under a new state program.

The teenager and hundreds of others in the state are getting a “seal of biliteracy” with their diplomas for showing high levels of proficiency in English and another language. The idea comes from a national initiative that has picked up momentum, with more than two dozen states and the District of Columbia embracing it during the past six years.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Moss, 18, who graduates from Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville on Thursday. “It’s nice to be recognized. I took it seven years, and I put a lot of work into it.”

Educators say they hope the recognition sends a broader message about the value of language learning, giving a boost to students who excel in a foreign language as well as those who arrive speaking foreign languages and then learn English.

“It may be one of the game changers that will help us turn the tide in this country and help us focus on raising a multilingual citizenry,” said Marty Abbott, executive director of American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Maryland lawmakers passed legislation to create the program in 2016, and it has taken shape in the months since then. Seven of the state’s 24 school systems signed on for this graduation season, including those in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. More are expected to follow.

“We see enthusiasm for adding it in other counties,” said Susan Spinnato, director of A new marker of success at graduation: The seal of biliteracy - The Washington Post:

TEACHER VOICE: Trump wants to axe the program that allowed me to serve my country and its highest-need children - The Hechinger Report

TEACHER VOICE: Trump wants to axe the program that allowed me to serve my country and its highest-need children - The Hechinger Report:

TEACHER VOICE: Trump wants to axe the program that allowed me to serve my country and its highest-need children

A Denver teacher worries about the proposed defunding of national service programs

I wish my teacher knew I don’t have a friend to play with me,” a student in my classroom wrote one year.

The little girl who penned those words struggled with profound shyness and anxiety that made it difficult for her to connect with her peers.

Reading those words reinforced my belief that educators are not only tasked with teaching reading and math, but also creating a classroom environment where kids feel safe and supported.

By the end of the school year, that shy little girl was given an award from Denver’s mayor for modeling leadership skills, showing strong character, and supporting her peers.

This is my fifth year as a third grade teacher in a Denver public school where nearly 90 percent of my students live below or very close to the poverty line. My journey began when I was 20. I wanted to serve my country, so I joined AmeriCorps, working at City Year, a program that places diverse teams of AmeriCorps members in urban public schools full-time.

As a City Year AmeriCorps member, I collaborated with teachers to provide support to students who needed it most, planned volunteer events, and ran extra-curricular activities. After giving a year of service, I left with a passion for education and a mission to become a teacher in the highest-need schools in my city.

Comprising just 0.03 percent of the federal budget, national service programs are not driving the federal deficit and should be protected — not be considered for elimination. 

My pathway into teaching is not unique. Many AmeriCorps alumni choose to go into the education field after their service year, creating a robust and diverse supply of teachers prepared to help students achieve at high levels, grow as learners and graduate from high school, prepared for college and career success. Like me, many AmeriCorps alumni are helping to build a brighter future for all of our students.

AmeriCorps has emerged as a critical pathway to teaching. It provides an additional assistance for those interested in becoming teachers: the Eli Segal Education Award of nearly TEACHER VOICE: Trump wants to axe the program that allowed me to serve my country and its highest-need children - The Hechinger Report:

Teach for America | Corporation for National and Community Service - https://www.nationalservice.gov/taxonomy/term/358

AmeriCorps | Teach For America - https://www.teachforamerica.org/node/16483