DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? A site to discuss better education for all

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

DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? 

A site to discuss better education for all

G.F. Brandenburg: The D.C. Charter Schools that Took PPP Money

by dianeravitch / 57min

Most people thought that the Paycheck Protection Program would help small businesses survive the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. They were surprised to learn that charter schools, which never lost government funding, scooped up some of the $660 billion. Guy Brandenburg posted the list of D.C. charter schools that picked up some dough from the PPP. Many of the D.C. charters are backed by t

Jan Resseger: Reopening Plans Ignore Equity and Adequacy

by dianeravitch / 1h

Jan Resseger takes Trump and DeVos to task for ignoring the needs of students and adults in their headlong rush to reopen schools to prop up the economy in time for the election. In contrast to Obama, who reacted to the Newtown massacre with compassion, our current leaders are indifferent to the risks they seek to impose on other people’s children. Resseger cites some of the best articles that de

John Merrow: It Will Take a Village to Open Schools Safely

20by dianeravitch / 2h

John Merrow has tried to figure out what will be need to open schools safely. He concludes that it will take lots of effort and energy and cooperation. What is needed is space, time, personnel, and resources. He suggests creative ways to get what is needed. Here are his thoughts about space. Open the link to read about his other ideas. Two priorities cannot be compromised or negotiated: 1) Keep e

David Berliner: The “Required Curriculum” Vs. “The Not Required” Curriculum

76by dianeravitch / 3h

David Berliner has devoted his life to the study of education. He has achieved the pinnacle of his profession as a researcher and statistician. He is currently Regents Professor Emeritus at the College of Education at Arizona State University. His list of honors is too long to mention. I welcome his original contributions to the blog and am honored to present them to you. His title for this post

Today is the Birthday of One of My Favorite Poets

by dianeravitch / 21h

Happy birthday, Gerard Manley Hopkins. When I was a student at Wellesley College, I would sometimes take solitary walks around Lake Waban and think deep thoughts. As I walked, trampling the leaves, I would often recite out loud Gerard Manley Hopkins’ beautiful poem, “Spring and Fall to a Young Child.” This description of Hopkins appeared on Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers’ Almanac.” Today is a bi

David Dayen: What’s in Mitch McConnell’s Corporate Bailout Bill

by dianeravitch / 22h

David Dayen writes a post called Unsanitized for The American Prospect. Here is today’s report: First Response The HEALS Act — a $1 trillion piece of legislation so comically in hock to corporate interests that one of the initials in the acronym stands for “liability protection” — was released yesterday. This was done in a super annoying format where separate committee chairs released their own t

Randi’s Address to The AFT on America’s Three Crises: “Nothing is Off the Table”

by dianeravitch / 23h

Open the link here to read Randi Weingarten’s speech to the AFT Convention. Here is a summary from the AFT: Weingarten’s State of the Union address zeroed in on the three crises facing America—a public health crisis, an economic crisis and a long-overdue reckoning with racism. She detailed how these crises are being made worse by President Trump and emphasized the urgency of the November election

Mercedes Schneider: Thanks to ProPublica, You Can Follow the Money

65by dianeravitch / 1d

Mercedes Schneider was absolutely delighted to learn that ProPublica created a search engine so that anyone could learn where the federal $660 billion or so was spent. Mercedes is a master at following the money, and she guides you here to show that you can do it too! She writes: During the coronavirus pandemic, with the federal government offering Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to busin

Laurie Roberts: Charters in Arizona Scored Nearly $100 Million. That’s Ridiculous.

by dianeravitch / 1d

Laurie Roberts is a columnist for the Arizona Republic who has written frequently about frauds in the charter and voucher sectors. When I was writing Slaying Goliath , I found her reporting and her sharp to be invaluable. She read Carol Burris’s article about the Network for Public Education study of charters that double dipped in two different pots of federal funding, and she thought that their

North Carolina: Parents Sue to Invalidate Voucher Program

48by dianeravitch / 1d

Parents in North Carolina filed a lawsuit against the state’s voucher program on grounds that it discriminates against them because of their religious beliefs. Through the voucher program, the state sends public funds to religious schools that do not accept the children of these plaintiffs because of their religious beliefs. Therefore the plaintiffs argue that the voucher program encourages relig

DeVos Aide: We are Not Likely to Waive Mandated Testing in 2020-21

24by dianeravitch / 1d

Jim Blew was hired by Betsy DeVos for a key role at the U.S Department of Education, having worked at the far-right Walton Family Foundation, which has a strong commitment to privatization, charter schools, Teach for America, and union-busting. He told education writers that the Department of Education was not likely to grant waivers for next spring’s annual federal testing, despite a year of con

Randi on the Senate GOP’s New Coronavirus Relief Bill

98by dianeravitch / 1d

The AFT keeps close watch on legislative action. I thought you might want to read what Randi wrote about Mitch (The Grim Reaper, as he calls himself) McConnell’s bill in the Senate. There’s not nearly enough funding to enable 

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

Outdoor Classes Might Be the Best Way to Reopen Schools - The Atlantic

Outdoor Classes Might Be the Best Way to Reopen Schools - The Atlantic

Outdoor School Has Never Sounded Better
Moving classes outside might be the safest way to have in-person instruction this fall. Why aren’t more schools considering it?

This month, Berkeley public schools, like many school districts across the country, announced they will not start the year with full-time, in-person school. Soon after, J Li, a business-innovation strategist who lives in the area, noticed moms in the local Facebook groups turn, like starlings at dusk, to one topic in particular: homeschool pods.

Reluctant to face more months supervising Zoom classes, wealthy parents are grouping together in families of three or four and hiring someone to privately teach their children, at a cost of thousands of dollars a month.

“So what are poor parents going to do?” I asked Li.

“I mean, get fucked,” she said, frustrated that the government hasn’t come up with a solution for everyone.

As the first day of school rapidly approaches, people across the United States who can’t afford this system of private governesses are desperate for alternatives to in-person schooling or all-day Zoom. Both these options, after all, raise thorny objections. Teachers, and many parents, are reluctant to resume in-person schooling in the fall, fearful that children could contract the virus and spread it in their classrooms or at home. Meanwhile, virtual learning appears to be a giant failure. Not all students have internet access, so poor kids are falling behind. Even if they can get online, having a 7-year-old stare at a computer all day is generally not seen as advisable by child-development experts.

Given this dearth of good options, the best one appears to be moving the classroom outside. A small group of activists across the country are pushing for schools to consider teaching children in person, but outdoors in a park or even a parking lot. Outdoor time has always been healthy for kids, but that’s especially the case now: One study found that the odds of catching the coronavirus are nearly 20 times higher indoors than outdoors. Though it isn’t free of problems, learning outside might be the only way to provide parents with a break, kids with an adequate education, and teachers with protection from the coronavirus.

Read: The school reopeners think America is forgetting about the kids

But while some schools are considering outdoor classes as at least a partial option for CONTINUE READING: Outdoor Classes Might Be the Best Way to Reopen Schools - The Atlantic

AFT threatens 'safety strikes' in school reopening talks - POLITICO

AFT threatens 'safety strikes' in school reopening talks - POLITICO

AFT threatens 'safety strikes' in school reopening talks
The American Federation of Teachers adopted a resolution denouncing “unsafe and unsound plans” or “the faulty implementation of plans.

The American Federation of Teachers called Tuesday for “safety strikes” as “a last resort” if negotiations over reopening schools don't meet demands for keeping educators healthy and safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Union President Randi Weingarten delivered that battle cry during an address to union members, as Congress begins negotiations over a fresh tranche of federal aid expected to provide at least $70 billion to boost K-12 education.

“Let’s be clear: Just as we have done with our health care workers, we will fight on all fronts for the safety of our students and their educators,” Weingarten said in prepared remarks on Tuesday. “But if authorities don’t protect the safety and health of those we represent and those we serve, as our executive council voted last week, nothing is off the table — not advocacy or protests, negotiations, grievances or lawsuits, or, if necessary and authorized by a local union, as a last resort, safety strikes.”

Weingarten said 76 percent of her union's members polled in June said they were comfortable returning to school buildings with "proper safeguards," before the virus started to spread more rapidly in the U.S. and President Donald Trump, as well as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, began "reckless ‘open or else’ threats."

“Now they’re afraid and angry," Weingarten said. "Many are quitting, retiring or writing their wills. Parents are afraid and angry, too.” CONTINUE READING: AFT threatens 'safety strikes' in school reopening talks - POLITICO

DeVos Aide: We are Not Likely to Waive Mandated Testing in 2020-21 | Diane Ravitch's blog

DeVos Aide: We are Not Likely to Waive Mandated Testing in 2020-21 | Diane Ravitch's blog

DeVos Aide: We are Not Likely to Waive Mandated Testing in 2020-21

Jim Blew was hired by Betsy DeVos for a key role at the U.S Department of Education, having worked at the far-right Walton Family Foundation, which has a strong commitment to privatization, charter schools, Teach for America, and union-busting. He told education writers that the Department of Education was not likely to grant waivers for next spring’s annual federal testing, despite a year of confusion and disruption in schooling.

The American people are likely to tell Betsy DeVos and Jim Blew and the other public-school haters to pack their bags this November and clear out by January 20, 2021. Someone appointed by President Biden will decide whether to inflict the detritus of NCLB on the nation’s students. If the public votes wisely, the whole wrecking crew will be ousted, blown with the wind, so to speak.

An assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education said Friday that his agency’s inclination is not to grant states waivers from federally mandated tests for the upcoming school year like it did in the spring.

Speaking on a video call with reporters at the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar, Jim Blew, the CONTINUE READING: DeVos Aide: We are Not Likely to Waive Mandated Testing in 2020-21 | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Research Report: Over a Decade After Katrina, Racial Inequities Resurface in Federal Response to COVID-19

Education Research Report: Over a Decade After Katrina, Racial Inequities Resurface in Federal Response to COVID-19

Over a Decade After Katrina, Racial Inequities Resurface in Federal Response to COVID-19

To inspire support for public health directives, many warn COVID-19 does not discriminate—everyone’s susceptible. The reality is more complicated. We are not “all in this together.” Racism ensures this, and New Orleans’ experience following Hurricane Katrina illustrates one way that racial inequities play out in times of crisis.

In a report released today by the National Education Policy Center, From Katrina To Covid-19: How Disaster, Federal Neglect, and the Market Compound Racial Inequities, professor Kristen Buras of Georgia State University draws on history, storytelling, and political analysis to describe how the government neglect that disproportionately affected communities of color during Katrina is again evident during the COVID-19 crisis, with similar devastating results.

On August 29, 2005, Katrina struck New Orleans with disastrous effects. Yet while Katrina is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, Buras argues that government neglect and market-driven public policy generated the worst effects, especially for communities of color. Despite forecasts that Katrina could kill tens of thousands, federal, state, and local governments did little to protect those in geographically vulnerable neighborhoods or evacuate those without cars. In New Orleans, African Americans were left to drown in floodwaters and dehydrate on rooftops, disproportionately suffering an array of harms.

But the harms did not end there. As floodwaters receded, policies aimed at privatizing assets in African American neighborhoods, including public schools, were enacted, compounding racial inequities wrought by a history of white supremacy.

Almost 15 years later, on January 20, 2020, the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was detected. Despite warnings that a pandemic could wreak physical and economic havoc, the federal government failed to take preventative action. As a result, communities of color are again suffering disproportionately, with African Americans and other racially marginalized groups overrepresented among those who have died from the virus. Yet states have been slow to produce racially disaggregated data or provide racially CONTINUE READING: Education Research Report: Over a Decade After Katrina, Racial Inequities Resurface in Federal Response to COVID-19