Reign of Error Redux Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Reign of Error Redux Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss better education for all

Bad News from Dallas: Businessman and Corporate Reformer Wins RunOff Election for School Boar

3by dianeravitch / 1h

Dustin Marshall, the businessman who sends his own children to private school, was re-elected to the Dallas school board in a run-off election against parent Lori Kirkpatrick. The result was a significant reversal from May’s three-way race between Marshall, Kirkpatrick and Richard Young. Kirkpatrick almost won the seat outright, beating Marshall by 291 votes, but falling 23 votes shy of the requi

The Latest News from Phyllis Bush in Her Battle with Cancer

33by dianeravitch / 2h

This is indeed a new world. When I was in my early 20s, and probably long after, the word “cancer” was not mentioned, especially to the patient. The protocol, for some reason, was to lie to the patient as long as possible. Phyllis Bush, dear friend, founding board member of the Network for Public Education, and a retired teacher in Indiana who also founded the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public

Top Atlanta Official Won’t Be New Superintendent in Portland, Oregon

4by dianeravitch / 3h

Donyall Dickey was chosen as the sole candidate for the Portland Superintendency. He announced his resignation as Atlanta’s top academic official. A few days later, he withdrew his name from the Portland job. 

How Merriam-Webster Became the Star of Twitter

3by dianeravitch / 1h

This is a delightful article about words, Merriam-Webster, and Twitter. Is there a definition for “covfefe”? What follows are many other instances where Merriam-Webster became the go-to site. “When Kellyanne Conway spouted her Orwellian term of art, “alternative fact,” for example, Merriam-Webster was there with the definition of an actual fact. When United Airlines insisted that the man who was

California: Audit Says Charter School Founder Misappropriated Millions of Dollars

6by dianeravitch / 2h

California must be so flush with cash that it simply doesn’t care how many millions are lost to charter school scams. In California, accountability ranges between lax to non-existent, and charter leaders use public money with no 

Jersey Jazzman: The Charter Fraud in New Jersey

3by dianeravitch / 51min

Mark Weber, veteran teacher in New Jersey now studying for his doctorate at Rutgers, has yet another revelation of Chris Christie’s determination to place charter schools even though the community doesn’t want them. Clifton, New Jersey, said no. That doesn’t matter. Clifton has been persistently underfunded. That doesn’t matter. Worse, this is a charter school with serious legal and ethical issue

Virginia Parent: Perriello Gets $25,000 from Emerson Collective (I.E. Arne Duncan & Co.)

45by dianeravitch / 1h

Michele Boyd, a parent in Virginia, sent this message. Both Tom Perriello and Ralph Northam describe themselves as progressives. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsed Periello. However, Boyd writes, Perriello –who was DFER’s “Reformer of the Month in 2010–continues to receive money from corporate reformers. She reports that he received $25,000 from Palo Alto-based The Emerson Collective, w

The Schools That Shaped Betsy DeVos

3by dianeravitch / 2h

The New York Times writes today about the Holland Christian School that educated Betsy DeVos. The article gives a picture of her strong preference for “God-centered” schools. Readers are assured that she is willing to allow public schools to exist, if they are “great.” However, as we have also learned from her previous statements, she believes that “choice” is more important than quality. https:/

YESTERDAY

Los Angeles: Nick Melvoin Has Lots of Big Ideas, Now That the Billionaires Put Him on the zschool Board

10by dianeravitch / 13h

Nick Melvoin beat Steve Zimmer for the LAUSD school board in the most expensive school board race in history. The LA Times says he has fresh ideas. Here they are. Most of what he says is intended to enable the normalization of charter schools. Or is trite. But get this: “About 40% of a teacher’s evaluation should be based on measurable academic growth, such as standardized test scores, Melvoin sa

Wendy Lecker: New York Times Endorses Academic Rigor for PRE-Kindergarten, Not Play

23by dianeravitch / 20h

Wendy Lecker, civil rights attorney, writes here about the New York Times editorial endorsing academic rigor for kindergarten children, because a study said it would produce higher test scores someday. I guess the Times’ editorial board doesn’t read this blog. Too bad for them. They would have learned more by reading Froebel than by reading the latest study of how to raise test scores. Last week,

A Virginia Progressive Speaks Out About the Governor’s Race

4by dianeravitch / 21h

A comment earlier today: “I’m not known in this community (though I’m a Ravitch fan, hello!) but I’m a longstanding progressive and a resident of Virginia. “After long thought I decided on Northam. “Most importantly, we are not re-litigating Bernie v. Hillary. This is not a 2016 do-over. We shouldn’t act like it is. “Both men are basic liberals, and neither without flaws. Northam is better on edu

ProPublica Posts Financial Disclosure Forms of Trump Administration Top Staff

21by dianeravitch / 22h

ProPublica had performed a public service by obtaining the financial disclosure forms of top appointments in the administration. Take a look at those who are special assistants to Secretary DeVos. Each form lists previous jos held outside the federal government. Several worked in the Trump campaign. One came through a Koch brothers organization. Another worked for DeVos’ American Foundation for C

Steven Singer on Betsy’s Choice

8by dianeravitch / 23h

Remember the wonderful and tragic novel and movie “Sophie’s Choice”? The novel by William Styron was made into a film starring Meryl Streep. It was about a Holocaust survivor who tells her story of having to choose which of her children will live and whic will die. Steven Singer writes about what he calls “Betsy’s Choice.” Which will she be faithful to: civil rights or school privatization? “As U

Jeff Bryant: DeVos’s New Hires Signal a Retreat or Abandonment on Civil Rights

11by dianeravitch / 1d

Jeff Bryant warns that Betsy DeVos’ new hires spell bad news for protection of civil rights by the U.S. Department of Education. He writes: “Already, much has been written about Candice Jackson, DeVos’s deputy assistant secretary and acting head in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights…. “An in-depth profile by ProPublica revealed her “limited background in civil rights law”

Exposed: Wall Street Money Pays Democratic Clique to Help GOP Control State Senate

20by dianeravitch / 1d

New York is a blue state but has a divided legislature. Democrats control the Assembly, and Republicans control the State Senate. Republicans are not the majority of the State Senate. They are in power because of a small group of Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

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

Saving Schools That Save Students: Alternative High Schools Are An Essential Element of School Districts | Ed In The Apple

Saving Schools That Save Students: Alternative High Schools Are An Essential Element of School Districts | Ed In The Apple:

Saving Schools That Save Students: Alternative High Schools Are An Essential Element of School Districts

I guess we can call 2016-17 “The Year of ESSA,” the planning/crafting year of the federally required Every Student Succeeds Act that will submitted to the US Department of Education in September.

Two of the leading education thinkers in the nation, Linda Darling-Hammond and Scott Marion have guided the process, scores of hours of meetings, discussions all leading to an accountability plan: identifying the lowest 5% of Title 1 schools. and creating school improvement plans.

The process has been transparent, with endless opportunities for feedback and public comment.

Tuesday night the State Ed held one of many public forums at a high school in Brooklyn, and I traveled out to give my three minutes of wisdom.

The Long Island meeting only had 50 attendees and 11 speakers, compared to the Common Core open meetings that were packed, angry audiences, so angry that Commissioner King suspended the meetings.

I arrived early and was surprised – the auditorium had a couple of hundred attendees, mostly high school students and teachers.

Commissioner Elia, flanked by Regents Cashin and Reyes sat at a table with League of Women Voter volunteers monitoring the three-minute speaking time limit.

The first speaker was Tim Lissante, the Superintendent of District 79, the Saving Schools That Save Students: Alternative High Schools Are An Essential Element of School Districts | Ed In The Apple:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board Elections 2017 - District IV

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board Elections 2017 - District IV:

Seattle School Board Elections 2017 - District IV

Editor's Note: in writing up my thoughts, opinions and reflections on candidates for the Seattle School Board, I used interviews (my own and the 36th Dems recorded interviews), Google, Facebook and Twitter searches.

The questions I asked were these:

1.  What was your own K-12 experience?
2.  How many years have you been in Seattle?
3.  How many students are in Seattle Schools and what is the name of the superintendent?
4.  Why are you running?
5.  What are your priorities or what do you think the priorities should be for SPS?
6.  What are your thoughts about closing the opportunity gap?
7.  The next Board will likely be choosing a new superintendent.  What qualities would you look for and does the next superintendent need to be an educator?
8.  What are your thoughts on charter schools?
9.  What are your thoughts on Special Education?
10. What are your thoughts on gifted education?
11. What are your thoughts on CTE?
12. What do you think the role of the City should be in public education?
13. What would you do to support homeless students in SPS?
14.  What are your thoughts on the need for downtown schools?

I'm not going put forth all the answers that every single candidate gave me.  But I will tease out key answers to give you an idea of the thoughts of each candidate.

For each race, I may or may not have a personal endorsement.

For District IV, far and away the best candidate is Eden Mack and I endorse her for this position.  Overall, she is the candidate who knows the district best.  As well, her legislative background would be an asset for a district to struggles to be known in Olympia.  

I found Lisa Melenyzer bright and thoughtful.  Her legal background as well as her work in data systems would be an asset on the Board.  As well, Sean Champagne was sincere and had clearly done his homework in speaking fairly knowledgeably on SPS issues.

I cannot recommend any of the other candidates, because they either do not know enough about the district in specific or education issues within the district and city. 

District IV
I finished interviews for the Board position for District IV which is being Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle School Board Elections 2017 - District IV:

Think Tanks, Fake News, Astroturfing, and Lies in the Era of Trump and DeVos - The Crucial Voice of the People

Think Tanks, Fake News, Astroturfing, and Lies in the Era of Trump and DeVos - The Crucial Voice of the People
Think Tanks, Fake News, Astroturfing, and Lies in the Era of Trump and DeVos

The powerful influence of think tanks, fake news, astroturfing, and lies in our policymaking process is nothing new to us. In the past, the influence of lobbying was frequently discussed in the news. But until recently, we didn’t hear much about how think tanks, fake news, astroturfing, and lies impact politics. Yet, their dominance over policies runs deeper than the D.C. swamp where most reside.

Think tanks got their name during the WWII era. They are non-governmental policy research organizations — or they are supposed to be.

“Think tanks conduct and recycle research that aims to solve policy problems and not solely to advance the theoretical debate.”

Maybe there has been a bit too much “recycling” of research.

Whether or not think tanks work as originally suggested, for “the common good,” comes into question particularly when money enters the equation. Remember, these are the Think Tanks, Fake News, Astroturfing, and Lies in the Era of Trump and DeVos - The Crucial Voice of the PeopleThe Crucial Voice of the People:

To Understand Betsy DeVos’s Educational Views, View Her Education - The New York Times

To Understand Betsy DeVos’s Educational Views, View Her Education - The New York Times:

To Understand Betsy DeVos’s Educational Views, View Her Education

HOLLAND, Mich. — The students formed a circle around the Rev. Ray Vanderlaan, who draped himself in a Jewish ceremonial prayer shawl to cap his final lesson to graduating seniors in his discipleship seminar at Holland Christian High School.

“We’re sending you out into a broken world, in part because of my generation,” the minister told the students. Referring to God, he exhorted them to “extend his kingdom.”

Mr. Vanderlaan could not have missed his lesson’s echoes of Holland Christian’s most famous graduate, Betsy DeVos, who proclaimed in an audio recording that surfaced in December that her education advocacy would “advance God’s kingdom.” Last month, in her first commencement address as education secretary, Ms. DeVos again reflected her own education when she told graduates at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., that “my generation hasn’t done a great job when it comes to dealing with one another in grace.”

She continued, “You have an opportunity to do better.”

Holland Christian is one of several western Michigan nonpublic schools that have helped shape Ms. DeVos’s views of elementary and secondary education, and that her critics fear she will draw from to upend the nation’s public schools. The private Christian school that she attended, another that she sent her children to and a hardscrabble private religious school that she has long supported have dominated her time, money and attention.

Continue reading the main story

Public neighborhood schools — the vast majority of schools in this country — were hardly present in the billionaire’s childhood or adult life.

Photo

Ms. DeVos as a Holland Christian High School junior in a 1974 yearbook.

Critics say this lopsided exposure fueled Ms. DeVos’s staunch support of privately run, publicly funded charter schools and voucher programs that allow families to take tax dollars from the public education system to private schools.

In an interview, Ms. DeVos disagreed, saying the schools in which she has personal investment reflect only an agenda of empowering parents with a right that she was afforded by privilege: choice.

“Some say, ‘You’re trying to force all families to make choices other than public schools,’ and the response to that is, ‘Absolutely not,’” Ms. DeVos said. “If your public school is working great for your child, you should embrace that and support it and celebrate it. And if not, you should have the opportunity to choose something different.”

Ms. DeVos has maintained that she is “agnostic” about the type of schools that parents choose for their children. But in western Michigan,To Understand Betsy DeVos’s Educational Views, View Her Education - The New York Times: