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

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

Rush Hour Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss better education for all

Trump’s New Limits on Travel to Cuba Serves the Interests of the Trump Organization

3by dianeravitch / 19min

When Trump announced limits on travel to Cuba, he was actually executing a clever move to undercut his rivals in the hotel industry that have built new hotels in Cuba. Under the new Trump policy, Americans can still travel to Cuba, but they have to stay in AirBNB, often squalid residences. They can’t stay in the new American built hotel. Clearly, if Trump owned a hotel in Cuba, American policy wo

Politico: Betsy DeVos is the Political Lightning Rod for Democrats

4by dianeravitch / 2h

This is great news for those who have been calling attention to the corporate reform assault on public schools. We couldn’t gain attention when Obama and Duncan were promoting privatization and bashing teachers. But Betsy DeVos stripped away the pretense of “the civil rights issue of our time.” All you have to do is look at the patented billionaire smirk, listen to her prattle about public school

Pennsylvania: Haverford School Board Opposes Charter “Reform” Legislation

2by dianeravitch / 3h

The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a bill to “reform” charter schools, but it still allows charters to drain resources from public schools without reimbursement, and it still preserves the low-performing cybercharters that milk 

How to Get Donald Trump to Block You on Twitter

by dianeravitch / 5min

CNN Reports that Donald Trump blocks people on Twitter if they insult him. I understand his reaction, as I have blocked a few incendiary people myself. But then I am not President. I am not responsible for the defense of our nation and crucial decisions every day. I’m pretty busy for a person my age, but I confess I don’t have time to read every tweet directed at me. Trump apparently has plenty o

Kentucky: Stop Vouchers! Save Public Education!

by dianeravitch / 5min

Kentucky was one of the few remaining states that did not have charters or vouchers. Its public schools are better than those in Tennessee, where School Choice is heavily concentrated in Memphis and Nashville (children of color are 

Amy Shuffelton: Why Did PBS Air a Three-Hour Series that Promotes Free Market Schooling?

2by dianeravitch / 56min

Amy Shuffelton, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, asks why PBS chose to air “School Inc.” when it was so clearly biased and evidence-free. The three-hour program began to air in April, although some local PBS affiliates chose not 

Eva Shares the Secrets of Success Academy

1by dianeravitch / 12min

Eva Moskowitz wants the world to know how to achieve student success. She has launched a national institute to tell everyone how to achieve high high high test scores. http://www.successacademies.org/edinstitute/ Does she mention the 

Gary Rubinstein: What TFA Tells New Recruits About “the System”

2by dianeravitch / 20min

Gary Rubinstein received a training film that Teach for America uses to prepare new recruits during their five-week preparation period for teaching. He found it very disturbing. Young people are given a portrait of a “system” that neglects children, and they are sent like Superman to fix things. No wonder so many of these idealistic young people don’t stay in teaching, when they discover how hard

South Carolina: Taxpayers Waste $350 Million on Failing Virtual Charter Schools

4by dianeravitch / 1h

Legislators in South Carolina must have been following an ALEC script when they authorized Virtual charter schools to enroll students and take money away from their underfunded public schoools. Or maybe they were paid off by lobbyists. There is certainly massive evidence, even from charter advocates, that virtual charters get terrible results. Yet no matter how much they fail, they are never clos

YESTERDAY

Paul Thomas: A Difficult Father’s Day, Reckoning with Our “Gladiator Culture”

8by dianeravitch / 9h

Paul Thomas had an awful day. His mother was in one hospital, his father in another, and he reflected on the competitive “gladiator culture” instilled in us. He wondered what kind of a society this would be if we learned to be cooperative and compassionate, instead of tough and competitive. What kind of world would it be for our children? “The gladiator culture of the U.S. is replicated exponenti

Mike Klonsky: Cesar Chavez Charter School in D.C. Votes to Join the AFT

3by dianeravitch / 10h

Mike Klonsky finds it ironic that a charter school would be named for Cesar Chavez , who devoted his life to organizing farm workers in California into a union so they could bargain for higher wages and better working conditions. As Mike knows, the Walton Family Foundation is currently spending $200 million a year to open new charters, and the Waltons oppose unions. The WFF claims credit for open

Doing Yoga with your Best Canine Friend

9by dianeravitch / 18h

I’m sorry to impose the best dog video of the year on you. But if you love dogs, this video will amaze you. 56 seconds.

Last-Minute Change of Restaurant for Class Size Matters!

8by dianeravitch / 19h

If you live in or near New York City, I hope you will join me, Leonie Haimson, and others who fight for better public schools at the annual Class Size Matters dinner on June 20.. At the event, Leonie gives out the Skinny Award (not the Broad Prize) to champions of public schools. There is a change of location, due to sudden closing of restaurant where originally scheduled. Bet this doesn’t happen

Mississippi: Pearson Botches Scores on State Tests

27by dianeravitch / 20h

Mercedes Schneider writes here about what Pearson did to students in Mississippi. Scores were misreported. Some students graduated whose scores were too low. Some failed to graduate even though they passed the tests. The state fired Pearson. Can you believe that politicians allow standardized tests to determine the life course of students. Doing so is the height of stupidity.

Detroit: The Broken Promise of School Privatization

9by dianeravitch / 21h

Nancy Kaffer, writing for the Detroit Free Press, assesses the failure of School Choice in Detroit. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2017/06/07/detroit-schools-charters/375076001/ Charters, like public schools, underfunded. Large classes. Teacher shortage. Well, the good news for billionaires is that their taxes stay low instead of funding good schools for all students.

Chicago: Teachers at 32 Charter Schools Vote to Join the Chicago Teachers Union

11by dianeravitch / 22h

In Chicago, 1,000 teachers from 32 charter schools voted to join the nation’s most militant teachers union, the CTU. There are 125 charter schools in Chicago, according to CPS data. “Unionized teachers at Chicago’s charter schools are one step closer to unifying with their counterparts in the city’s public school district, a historic move that would strengthen opposition to austerity and neoliber

Denver: Student Calls Out Elected School Board for Taking Money from Koch Brothers and DFER

58by dianeravitch / 23h

At a public comment session of the Denver school board, Kate Burnite, a student who had just graduated from DPS, scolded the entire Denver school board for taking dark money from the Koch brothers, DFER, and other outside groups who love charters. All seven board members were funded by corporate outsiders. Kate called upon the board to represent the people of Denver, not the big money that funded

Write and Call Your Local PBS Affiliate: Demand Equal Time for Public Schools

32by dianeravitch / 1d

All over the country, PBS stations are showing anti-public school propaganda in a three-hour series called “School Inc.” This series was paid for by libertarian foundations who want for-profit schools, vouchers, charters, and for-profit teachers, competing for students. The lead funder is the Rose-Mary and Jack Anderson Foundation, which supports radical libertarian causes and acts as a funnel fo

Jane Mayer: What Happened When PBS Aired a Documentary about the Koch Brothers

16by dianeravitch / 1d

Jane Mayer, author of “Dark Money” and other exposes of the power of big money, wrote an article In 2013 for the New Yorker about the difficulty that NYC’s PBS station encountered when it agreed to run a documentary that 

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

Managing Crowds: ClassDojo (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Managing Crowds: ClassDojo (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Managing Crowds: ClassDojo (Part 2)

ClassDojo is a recently-developed software platform (2011) that, according to the founders of the company, is used in 90 percent of schools in the U.S (see here). In the past five years, however, ClassDojo has become much more than a free digital tool to motivate students and manage classroom behavior. It is a platform that allows teachers to communicate with parents by posting photos and letting parents comment on what they see; students can also post photos and videos about what they are doing in school. With parent and student communication integrated with the classroom behavior tool, a social media platform is emerging.

The company has expanded beyond the initial behavioral management software and moved into the business of producing videos on “mind set” and empathystarring “Mojo the friendly monster” to construct a communication network where students, parents and teachers are knitted together closely.

And the future? With its network of parents, teachers, and students, ClassDojo will grow into an enterprise marketing far more than a motivational and behavioral tool to manage classroom crowds.

As one ClassDojo board member said: “This company has a greater market share than Coke in the U.S.” The future, according to one of the founders of ClassDojo, is coming into view when he asked:

Your entertainment bundle is Netflix. Your music bundle is Spotify. What is your education bundle?

That may be the future that the company seeks in spurring a revenue flow—ClasDojo is free to teachers and the company is just beginning to earn revenue from its videos. But it is the original software program promising to help Managing Crowds: ClassDojo (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

NYC Educator: FMPR Stands Tall in the Bronx

NYC Educator: FMPR Stands Tall in the Bronx:

FMPR Stands Tall in the Bronx

If you've been following the news about Puerto Rico, even a little bit, you know it's in an economic mess. They're 72 billion dollars in debt, and controlled by a board that pretty much doesn't give a crap about the people who live there. Pensions have been eliminated for most public workers. Though teachers have somehow avoided that particular fate, funding for them should disappear sometime next year. This is a dire issue, as Puerto Rican teachers neither pay nor receive social security.

I'm fascinated by the saga of union in Puerto Rico. FMPR was formed in 1966 as an alternative to AMPR, which they call a company union. FMPR leadership says AMPR views teachers as professionals, whereas they view us as working people. This is an interesting distinction, because UFT often calls iteself a union of professionals. Does being a "professional" somehow preclude being a working person?

Another thing that makes things a little cloudy is that AMPR represents administrators. I've always thought it odd that administration had a union at all, but being in the same union with them would be awkward indeed. As a chapter leader, I'm generally careful about how I speak with and treat UFT members. I'm a little more direct with administrators. I'm not sure how I'd do my job if I were uneasy about being directly adversarial with administration when necessary.

FMPR is upset because AMPR leadership didn't oppose school closings. Does that remind you of anyone? Under today's AMPR leadership, 45,000 teachers somehow became 32,000 teachers. This is similar to (although considerably worse than) what happened under Bloomberg in NYC as he failed to replace retirees. I can't be the only one who's noticed that 34 students in a class has become more the norm than the max these days.

In 1999, public employee strikes were prohibited by law in Puerto Rico. That's the same year FMPR became the exclusive bargaining agent for Puerto Rican teachers. In 2008, FMPR led a 10-day strike. While they won a raise for teachers, they also incurred the wrath of the government, which NYC Educator: FMPR Stands Tall in the Bronx:

A Charter School Violates Student Privacy to Shame Parents Into Volunteering

A Charter School Violates Student Privacy to Shame Parents Into Volunteering:

A Charter School Violates Student Privacy to Shame Parents Into Volunteering

When work is required, it’s not voluntary. It’s wrong and unlawful to punish a child for what his or her parents can’t or won’t do.”

– Hilary Hammell, Public Advocates attorney

In return for their receipt of public funding, charter organizations are not allowed to charge parents and guardians any type of fees for their students to attend these schools. This includes forcing them to fulfill a minimum quota of “volunteer” hours. As stated by the California Charter School Association (CCSA): “it is not legal nor appropriate for a student to be excluded from a charter school or a school activity because a parent did not volunteer or make a financial contribution to their school.” Still, a 2014 report by Public Advocates “found that 168, or almost one-third of the 555 charter schools [they] surveyed, explicitly require unpaid parent or family ‘service hours.’” Included in the report’s examples were two charters authorized by the LAUSD.

The prohibitions on requiring work hours do not stop charters from doing what they can to encourage parents to volunteer. For example, Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High School tells parents and guardians in its Parent/Student Handbook that they “are encouraged to complete 40 hours of parent volunteer service…each year.” However, its full compliance with the A Charter School Violates Student Privacy to Shame Parents Into Volunteering:

Badass Teachers Association: The Role of a School Board Member by Gregory Sampson

Badass Teachers Association: The Role of a School Board Member by Gregory Sampson:

The Role of a School Board Member

by Gregory Sampson

Stone Eggs: Thoughts about world events, education, and theology

Originally Posted at: http://stoneeggs.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-role-of-school-board-member.html

The Role of a School Board Member

This morning brings news from California that a school board member is surveying students via Google docs to ask them which of their teachers should be fired.

I'm not making this up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfuEAArKudshXvC2_OocgWDfj-cVnd0OKr7DtecaJudQzk1IA/viewform?c=0&w=1

Check the survey out for yourself.

School board members are elected officials. As such, there are no requirements, no qualifications, no certifications they have to hold to enter office other than receiving a majority of the vote in the election in which they ran.

Thus, it is not surprising that too many don't understand their role.

School board members are the representatives elected to oversee the public school system that is taxpayer funded. As such, they set policy, hire and supervise a superintendent who leads and manages the schools on a daily basis, and fulfill legal responsibilities to approve contracts that legally bind the institution to debt and payments of tax dollars, that govern the employees of the school system, and that fulfill the laws of their state. They work with the superintendent on strategic plans to increase student achievement, meet the growing need for seats in rapidly developing areas, and funding the capital (building, furniture, and equipment) needs of the system.

They are a strategic and important link for constituents, that is, voters and parents, who voice their praise and concerns about their schools.

They have a responsibility to advocate for and defend the community's schools against the forces that would decimate them, often for private profit.

Lastly, school board members serve as the guiding force for the democratic institution that the public schools of America have been and should always be.

School board members are not elected to micromanage schools. They Badass Teachers Association: The Role of a School Board Member by Gregory Sampson: