All Things Education: Perriello's ties to problematic education reformers

All Things Education: Perriello's ties to problematic education reformers:

Perriello's ties to problematic education reformers

As I wrote a month ago, I am supporting Ralph Northam in the Democratic primary for the Virginia gubernatorial race. I agree with much of Tom Perriello's policy agenda and he is saying a lot things that resonate with me. If he wins the primary I will work hard to get him elected. In the meantime, I am encouraging everyone to vote for Northam this Tuesday, June 13th.

I am concerned about Perriello's lack of leadership and political experience at the local and state levels. His connections to Wall Street and Silicon Valley Obama-era market-based, pro-privatization, neo-liberal education reformers trouble me. In general, I am not concerned that he is too liberal or too much of a populist; rather, my concern is that he is not the real deal, that he will not turn out to be a true progressive, especially on education. One of the main tenets of his platform is that he will stand up to Trump. Lots of folks are standing up to Trump right now. That's not so hard to do. What was hard is rolling up your sleeves and standing up to the Virginia GOP, as Northam did, year after year, before there was a Trump figure to rally against. It is both telling and concerning that most of Perriello's support comes from out of the state. As for public education, I was reassured by his statements about it in this recent Washington Post interview (scroll down to close to the end). But I can not ignore his ties to the DFER crowd (again, out of state) which I pointed out in my original post. More recently, Virginia public school parent and activist Michele Boyd found some further connections to the DFER crowd. Perriello supporters who would dismiss these ties maybe don't understand that for public education supporters, outfits like DFER and the Emerson Collective are like Dominion is for environmentalists.

Below is Michele's post.

(As a side note, I am told that Blue Virginia would not post this. I am a loyal subscriber to and occasional contributor to Blue Virginia. I find it it problematic that they would not run this post. I understand that they have endorsed Tom Perriello, but especially given the blog's collective nature, I believe that they should provide a space for Perriello and Northam supporters, and as they usually do, allow for skepticism, criticism, and independent thought.) 

Why Has a Corporate Education Reform Group Affiliated with Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, Donated $25,000 to Tom Perriello’s Campaign?

by Michele Boyd, a parent to two children and a public education activist

          For those of us who care deeply about K-12 public education - whether we are students, parents, educators, or concerned citizens -  the stakes are high in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.  In the current anti-Trump environment, the odds are in our favor that who we nominate on June 13^th will become the next Governor of the Commonwealth of All Things Education: Perriello's ties to problematic education reformers:

 

Graduation Not Incarceration: No to exit exams in Washington! | I AM AN EDUCATOR

Graduation Not Incarceration: No to exit exams in Washington! | I AM AN EDUCATOR:

Graduation Not Incarceration: No to exit exams in Washington!

Some 6,000 high school seniors in Washington are at risk of not graduating because they haven’t passed one of the myriad of high-stakes tests, including the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Common Core aligned language arts and math exams, as well as a biology end-of-course exam. These students could have met all the other requirements, excelled social and academically in school, and yet be denied a diploma from a test-and-punish political system that is completely out of control.

However, because of the massive uprising of the opt-out movement in Seattle, Washington State, and around the country, politicians are being forced to reconsider the testing graduation requirements. There are currently two bills in the Washington State legislature that could help alleviate the pain.

House Bill 1046 would complete eliminate the requirement to pass any of the high-stakes exit exams for graduation. Proponents of corporate education reform, such as Stand for Children and the Business Roundtable, opposed the House bill and the Senate then drafted Bill 5891, which would only eliminate the biology end-of-course exam as a requirement for graduation—until the year 2021.

On Thursday, the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, announced he is asking the legislature to reach a compromise that would allow end all of the graduation test requirements until 2019. Then students who don’t pass one of the exams would have six alternative ways to graduate, including reaching a minimum score on college-entrance exams or taking a college-level course.

Let’s be clear: Requiring exit exams to graduate has nothing to with what expert educators know about best practices for assessing students. In fact, Boston University economics professor Graduation Not Incarceration: No to exit exams in Washington! | I AM AN EDUCATOR:

Corporate-Elite Totalitarianism: Are we Creeping or Leaping?

Corporate-Elite Totalitarianism: Are we Creeping or Leaping?:

Corporate-Elite Totalitarianism: Are we Creeping or Leaping?

 Pleas e join Internet radio host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. and special guest Dr. Victoria M. Young for our second show on the Education Wars in American and Corporate-Elite Totalitarianism. Is American Creeping or Leaping Toward a Totalitarian State?

Dr. Young's focus has become education reform law because that is what the “transformers,” “deformers,” pseudo-reformers,” “privatizers” —whatever we want to call them— it is what they have done that has given them victories in the American Education Wars.

These people have taken the underlying tension about public education — the always-existing need to improve it — and used that platform of public frustration to present their transformational ideas but always, always, with the goal of getting their political agenda into law. That is how they have taken this country so far off the course envisioned by President Kennedy and put into law by President Johnson.

The only way we get this country back on track is to focus on the very same law the “privatizers” control.

Please read Dr. Young's latest articles:
http://thecrucialvoice.com/2017/06/03/corporate-elite-totalitarian-state/

http://thecrucialvoice.com/2017/05/28/education-lessons-jfk-left-behind/

Please listen this Sunday and learn how we can start a true Education Revolution that serves the children, not the “transformers,” “deformers,” pseudo-reformers,” and “privatizers”.

Knowledge is power !

RESISTANCE MATTERS

RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE

RESISTANCE IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF EXPRESSION OF DEMOCRACY

RESISTANCE IS SURVIVAL

Please click on the website below to listen live:

http://bbsradio.com/thewarreport

2:00 PM PDT

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5:00 PM EDT

or

A direct listen-in line only

Station 1 - 716-748-0150

To call-in and interact live

Station 1 888-627-6008 toll free

Corporate-Elite Totalitarianism: Are we Creeping or Leaping?:

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Baby baby edition + Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Baby baby edition:

ICYMI: Baby baby edition

I'm a little behind on reading and writing this week, but on the plus side, I'm way ahead on babies. Here's some reading from the week behind us. Read and pass it on.

Some Unpopular Thoughts on Teacher Evaluation 

Mitchell Robinson with some interesting thoughts about how teacher evaluation ought to work.

Linking Graduation to High Stakes Testing Was a Mistake

An op-ed in the Seattle Times makes a strong case for not making diplomas dependent on the Big Standardized Test (PA legislators please note5).

Picturing Trump As the School Choice Guy

Rick Hess has some fun imagining what might happen if Trump puts his "adroit political skills, powerful rhetorical chops, and 39% approval to work" on school choice with an imaginary Trumpian speech on the policy.

The Histories of Personalization

Audrey Watters takes a long, detailed look at the history of the school personalization movement and the many ways in which it is not what it's cracked up to be.

Nothing Abstract about the Lessons of Play 

Wendy Lecker offers a great response to the NYT piece about rigorous pre-school.

New Jersey's Screwd up Charter System

Jersey Jazzman looks at why New Jersey's charter system is fundamentally flawed. 

When Philanthropists Rule

John Thompson offers a thoughtful review-in-parts of the Givers, the new book about the new kinmd of philanthropists.

School Readiness Fearmongering

Is your child behind? You don't know, and you don't need to care

 CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Baby baby edition:

Big Education Ape: Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/06/catch-up-with-curmudgucation.html

How diplomas based on skill acquisition, not credits earned, could change education - The Hechinger Report

How diplomas based on skill acquisition, not credits earned, could change education - The Hechinger Report:

How diplomas based on skill acquisition, not credits earned, could change education

NEWPORT, Maine — Algebra was not Kylee Elderkin’s favorite subject at the beginning of the school year.

“I was a little behind,” said Kylee, 14. “I wouldn’t understand.”

The Nokomis Regional High School ninth grader said she used to routinely miss key skills and do poorly on tests. Struggling students like Kylee might not have made it through honors algebra in the past, said teacher Ellen Payne, who has taught high school math for 11 years. Payne said she used to “lose” four or five students a year from honors algebra; they’d have to drop down a level. In lower level classes, some would have to repeat the whole course.

This story also appeared in Portland Press Herald

This year Payne doesn’t expect to lose Kylee or anyone else.

That’s due to a new teaching approach here called “proficiency-based education,” that was inspired by a 2012 state law.

The law requires that by 2021, students graduating from Maine high schools must show they have mastered specific skills to earn a high school diploma. Maine is the first state to pass such a law, though the idea of valuing skills over credits is increasingly popular around the country. “Maine is the pioneer,” said Chris Sturgis, co-founder of CompetencyWorks, a national organization that advocates for the approach in K-12 schools.

“I definitely would have struggled [in algebra] if I didn’t have to go through the process of re-taking.”

Kylee Elderkin, student, Nokomis Regional High School

This year’s nearly 13,500 eighth graders will be the first students required to meet the changed requirements, which are being phased in gradually. By 2021, schools must offer diplomas based students reaching proficiency in the four core academic subject areas: English, math, science and social studies. By 2025, four additional subject areas will be included: a second language, the arts, health and physical education.

When such a system works, it’s meant to offer students clarity about what they have to learn and how they are expected to demonstrate they’ve learned it. Students have more flexibility to learn at their own pace and teachers get time to provide extra help for students who need it. Ideally, every diploma in Maine would signify that students had mastered the state’s learning standards.

But the law grants local districts lots of leeway in determining what students must do to prove their proficiency, which means the value How diplomas based on skill acquisition, not credits earned, could change education - The Hechinger Report:

The Sunday Times. | Fred Klonsky

The Sunday Times. | Fred Klonsky:

The Sunday Times

Unionized teachers in 32 of the city’s charter schools voted to merge with the Chicago Teachers Union this week, officials announced Friday.

Max Blumenthal 

✔@MaxBlumenthal

The US hand in the Syrian and Libyan tragedies, no end in sight to the catastrophic effects of interventionism https://consortiumnews.com/2017/06/09/the-us-hand-in-the-libyansyrian-tragedies/ …

2:04 AM - 11 Jun 2017

The US Hand in the Libyan/Syrian Tragedies

Exclusive: The Obama administration’s “regime change” debacles in Libya and Syria are spreading terrorist violence into Europe, but they have inflicted vastly more bloodshed in those two tragic...

consortiumnews.com

 
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I was deeply saddened to hear Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s recent remarks criticizing efforts to create the first affordable housing for veterans and people with disabilities in Chicago’s Northwest Side neighborhood of Jefferson Park.

Residential segregation in Chicago has never been an accident. The corollary of this bitter truth is that today, intentional efforts by citizens and elected leaders to transcend our city’s segregation will not be free of contention, least of all when the deep fault lines of race and class are touched by a civic discussion. In this ongoing conversation, Emanuel’s recent words that anti-affordable housing activists “need to be heard” functions as an acquittal of racial animus, masquerading as a white-washed call for process.

I commend Ald. John Arena for his leadership and vision. The community process that he implemented was both rigorous and thoughtful. Hundreds of neighborhood residents attended informational meetings and some of them were contentious. What’s right is not always popular, and what’s popular is not always right. Arena isThe Sunday Times. | Fred Klonsky: 

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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: