Mitchell Robinson: Betsy DeVos doesn't know what she doesn't know about education | Eclectablog

Betsy DeVos doesn't know what she doesn't know about education | Eclectablog

Betsy DeVos doesn’t know what she doesn’t know about education

“Parents, by their very nature, should decide what, when, where and how their children learn,” DeVos said.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is at it again. Currently on her second “Rethink Schools” tour, “DeVos will swing by four states: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.”

Two tours of public schools in two years on the job–the poor woman must be exhausted.

And while Ms. DeVos has a few ideas for how we could “improve” education in this country (i.e., school choice, vouchers, charter schools, arming teachers, grizzly bear security guards…), most of her ideas have more to do with dismantling our public schools, lowering or eliminating standards for entry to the teaching profession, busting the unions that protect those demoralized and attacked teachers, and removing the regulations that protect victims of sexual assault on college campuses.

But even amidst the barren, dystopian landscape of Ms. DeVos’ vision of American education, the quote above somehow caught my eye. You have to give it to her: Betsy has a real knack for distilling complicated, complex problems down into a single ignorant, nonsensical nugget of edu-drivel.

And she’s just clever enough to remember who her audience is here–and it’s not teachers, or teacher educators, or the 75+% of parents who are happy with their kids’ schools. No, her audience is the conservative base who believe that nothing public is better than anything private, who refer Continue reading: Betsy DeVos doesn't know what she doesn't know about education | Eclectablog

Teachers Union Accuses Supe Of Cozying Up With Charter Groups | Studio City, CA Patch

Teachers Union Accuses Supe Of Cozying Up With Charter Groups | Studio City, CA Patch

Teachers Union Accuses Supe Of Cozying Up With Charter Groups
The LA teachers union released reports claiming the new superintendent spent more time at lavish meals with charter backers than at schools.

LOS ANGELES, CA — As state mediation efforts continued Wednesday in hopes of resolving a labor-talk stalemate between the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers' union, the union accused Superintendent Austin Beutner of holding a lavish series of meetings with charter-school advocates.

Citing information taken from Beutner's official district calendar, obtained following a public records request and lawsuit, United Teachers Los Angeles officials noted that over a four-month period, the superintendent held meetings at restaurants including Pacific Dining Car, the members-only California Club, the Hilton Checkers and the Bel-Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades.

Union officials said Beutner's calendar revealed 34 meetings at restaurants during the four-month period, compared to 29 visits to school campuses.

Beutner "must explain to the public why he was at these expensive restaurants and clubs during school hours," teacher Victoria Casas said at a news conference at UTLA headquarters.

She also questioned whether district credit cards were used to pay for Continue reading: Teachers Union Accuses Supe Of Cozying Up With Charter Groups | Studio City, CA Patch

Education -- and Betsy DeVos -- are issues in key political races this November - The Washington Post

Education -- and Betsy DeVos -- are issues in key political races this November - The Washington Post

Education -- and Betsy DeVos -- are issues in key political races this November

In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, in office since 2011, is facing a stiff challenge from Democrat Tony Evers, the state’s superintendent of schools — and education is a key issue. Evers said at a state Democratic Party convention in the summer that he was running because he is “goddamn sick and tired of Scott Walker gutting our public schools, insulting our hard-working educators, and destroying higher education in Wisconsin.” Walker called him “pathetic” for cursing. Evers is ahead in the polls.

In Arizona, where thousands of teachers protested poor pay and insufficient funding of schools earlier this year, the first debate between incumbent Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and his Democratic challenger, David Garcia, was dominated last month by education issues. Garcia accused Ducey of not investing enough in public schools; Ducey accused Garcia of not having an education policy.

While it may not top the list of issues motivating voters to go to the polls, education is a key factor in some big races. (Depending on age, location, political affiliation or time of survey, other matters may come out on top, including the economy, immigration or health care.) And while Education Secretary Betsy DeVos isn’t on the ballot anywhere, her priorities are.

Americans have long cited education as a key concern when asked by pollsters to list issues important to them, but it has never been seen as one that could affect their vote. But for a combination of reasons, including the inevitable swing of the political pendulum, things seem different this year.

Hundreds of teachers and retired educators — an unprecedented number — are running for political office on the local, state and federal levels. There are hundreds of teachers — most of them Democrats — running for state legislative seats alone.

The Associated Press quoted Mara Sloan, spokeswoman for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, as saying that in at least two states, Maine and Minnesota, teacher candidates could help flip control of state legislatures to the Democrats.

Years of what educators perceive as attacks on their profession by policymakers have taken a toll, and Continue reading: Education -- and Betsy DeVos -- are issues in key political races this November - The Washington Post

Office of Inspector General Again Condemns U.S. Department of Education’s Oversight of Federal Charter School Dollars | janresseger

Office of Inspector General Again Condemns U.S. Department of Education’s Oversight of Federal Charter School Dollars | janresseger

Office of Inspector General Again Condemns U.S. Department of Education’s Oversight of Federal Charter School Dollars

For many good reasons, we are prone to blame Betsy DeVos, our current U.S. Secretary of Education, for weakening regulations in the Department of Education.  She has, for example, eliminated regulations designed to protect student borrowers from predatory for-profit colleges and cut back civil rights enforcement in the public schools.  But a new report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) once again disparages Arne Duncan, and his lax oversight of federal dollars flowing to charter schools.  The new report documents that when charter schools have closed or been shut down, the Department has failed to ensure that federal dollars flowing to the schools from Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the federal Charter Schools Program were properly tracked. Further, students’ records from the closed schools were not properly protected.

The report condemns a trend of poor oversight: This is the third major report in which the Department of Education’s OIG has documented poor management of federal dollars flowing to charter schools.  Reports from the Department of Education’s OIG in 2012 and 2016 also disparaged Duncan’s charter school oversight. It is not likely, however, that Betsy DeVos, a libertarian, will improve the Department’s regulatory role.

The new 2018, OIG report examines whether the U.S. Department of Education has a process for adequately monitoring the management of federal dollars and the management of student records and data when charter schools are closed. OIG examined charter school closures in three states between 2011 and 2015.  Defining privately operated charter schools as public schools for the purpose of this report, the OIG notes that in the 2015-2016 school year, there were 98,277 public schools across the United States, among which 6,855 were charter schools.  Between 2011 and 2015, 977 of the charter schools closed.  OIG studied charter school closures in three states: Arizona, which had the highest number of closed charter schools authorized by the same authorizer; California, which had more charter schools than any other state and more students enrolled in charter schools; and Louisiana, which had the highest ratio of Continue reading: Office of Inspector General Again Condemns U.S. Department of Education’s Oversight of Federal Charter School Dollars | janresseger

Advocates Tell FTC: Facebook is violating children’s privacy law | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Advocates Tell FTC: Facebook is violating children’s privacy law Complaint says controversial Messenger Kids app doesn’t comply with COPPA | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

ADVOCATES TELL FTC: FACEBOOK IS VIOLATING CHILDREN’S PRIVACY LAW COMPLAINT SAYS CONTROVERSIAL MESSENGER KIDS APP DOESN’T COMPLY WITH COPPA

Parent Coalition for Student Privacy signed onto this complaint to the FCC about Facebook’s violation of children’s privacy and the federal law known as COPPA via its Messenger for Kids app.
Contact: David Monahan, CCFC: david@commercialfreechildhood.org; 617-896-9397

BOSTON – Wednesday, October 3, 2018 – Today, a coalition of 17 public health advocacy groups called on the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to investigate and take action against Facebook for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The groups filed a complaint asserting that Messenger Kids, a controversial messaging application for children as young as five, collects kids’ personal information without obtaining verifiable parental consent or providing parents with clear and complete disclosures of Facebook’s data practices.

Messenger Kids is the first major social platform designed specifically for young children. The FTC complaint says that Facebook’s parental consent mechanism does not meet the requirements of COPPA because it’s not reasonably calculated to ensure that the person providing consent is actually the child’s parent. Any adult user can approve any Messenger Kids account, and testing confirmed that even a fictional “parent” holding a brand-new Facebook account could immediately approve a child’s account without proof of identity. The complaint also asserts that Facebook Messenger Kids’ privacy policy is incomplete and vague. The policy allows Facebook to disclose data to unnamed third parties and the “Facebook Family of Companies” for broad, undefined business purposes. The policy does not specify what companies are in the “Facebook Family.” COPPA requires that privacy policies list the name and contact information of any third parties who have access to children’s data.

The complaint was organized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) and drafted by the Communications & Technology Law Clinic in the Institute for Public Representation (“IPR”) at Georgetown University Law Center. “Despite Facebook’s promises to the contrary, Messenger Kids blatantly violates Continue reading: Advocates Tell FTC: Facebook is violating children’s privacy law Complaint says controversial Messenger Kids app doesn’t comply with COPPA | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Is the Co-Location of Charters inside Neighborhood Schools a Problem? | Cloaking Inequity

Is the Co-Location of Charters inside Neighborhood Schools a Problem? | Cloaking Inequity

IS THE CO-LOCATION OF CHARTERS INSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A PROBLEM?

This past summer I had opportunity to visit the Hawkins community schools in Los Angeles. What I haven’t talked about publicly is that I also was also invited to visit Magnolia Science Academy 3 (MSA3)   which is co-located at Curtiss Middle School in Carson California during the same trip. The Magnolia charters are affiliated with the Gulen schools, the second largest network of charters in the United States (Read more about what that means in the post Breaking News: California NAACP calls for investigation of ALL Gülen charters)

A few months after the visit, there are a few things that really stick out in my mind about the visit to MSA3.

First, the faculty at the school talked about the small class sizes at MSA3. I only saw about 5 classes, but I counted and the class sizes in the rooms that I saw were 30+, which didn’t jive with the small class sizes that they told me about.

The second experience that really stuck out to me was that we walked into a science class and the teacher was showing a film that featured an adult (or maybe a teen) prancing around on a stage in a diaper. My science classes never featured curriculum this exciting (well maybe, in chemistry we blew things up), the teacher explained that she was showing a movie to “prepare the students for high school.” What?!

Third, faculty at MSA3 complained that they couldn’t use the gym and other facilities when they wanted them because they were co-located on the same campus with Curtiss Middle School (more on this in a moment). I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sympathetic.

Was there anything that I liked about MSA3 during the visit? I am a hip hop fan. In one of the classes the teacher showed how he was helping students program their own hip hop tracks. Now that was cool! But relevant?

The MSA3 staff also told me an interesting story. Apparently, there is a trash can in an alley that faces the Continue reading: Is the Co-Location of Charters inside Neighborhood Schools a Problem? | Cloaking Inequity

Teachers at 8 of 10 schools Tuck oversaw rejected his leadership - SFChronicle.com

Teachers at 8 of 10 schools Tuck oversaw rejected his leadership - SFChronicle.com

Teachers at 8 of 10 schools Tuck oversaw rejected his leadership

When choosing between Marshall Tuck and Tony Thurmond for California’s next schools chief, it’s worth remembering, “when the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.” Someone whose supporters are Donald Trump advisers is no friend of public school students and teachers.

Tuck and Thurmond are candidates for California superintendent of public instruction in the November election. Tuck’s biggest backers are deeply tied to Trump’s education privatization agenda. Trump’s education adviser Bill Evers, who loudly praised Trump’s cuts to federal education spending, has come out strongly in support of Tuck.

Thurmond, a Democratic Assemblyman from Richmond, is backed by the California Teachers Association, which has spent $3.2 million through independent expenditures to support his campaign.

Billionaire Arthur Rock, whose charter school chain is supported by the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, already has contributed $3 million of the $13.8 million raised by charter school advocates to elect Tuck. The California Charter School Association, which celebrated DeVos’ nomination, is Tuck’s biggest organizational endorser.

Tuck’s career as a schools executive is defined by the same cutting of corners and programs and deep animosity toward teachers that DeVos’ initiatives in education are known for.

Tuck was a Wall Street banker before taking over as the chief operating Continue Reading: Teachers at 8 of 10 schools Tuck oversaw rejected his leadership - SFChronicle.com

A Plan to Improve California's Public Schools

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Tony Thurmond for State Superintendent of Public Instruction -https://www.tonythurmond.com/

Florida voucher schools fail, stiff teachers — and get more money to try again - Orlando Sentinel

Florida voucher schools fail, stiff teachers — and get more money to try again - Orlando Sentinel

Florida voucher schools fail, stiff teachers — and get more money to try again

Two years ago, the Beta Preparatory school in Orlando was being run — with your tax dollars — inside a commercial complex on South Orange Blossom Trail, alongside eight bail-bonds businesses and a drug-testing company.

With no outdoor space for recess — and fellow tenants such as “Drug Tests R Us” — it wasn’t most parents’ vision of an ideal learning environment.

Apparently Beta wasn’t an ideal tenant either. The private school that takes state vouchers was evicted for not paying its rent.

Yes, the entire taxpayer-subsidized school. (Class, the words of the day are: “Final notice.”)

So last year, Beta moved to a new locale — a church campus in Orlando, where it continued to take more of your tax dollars … until things went south there, too.

Teachers filed formal complaints about a “lack of basic school supplies,” academic “irregularities,” student safety, inadequate staffing and a “lack of professionalism.” Multiple teachers said the school stiffed them on salary. The church said the school stiffed it on rent.

Ultimately, the school shut down for good.

You might think that would be the final chapter in this sorry story.

But not in Florida.

Watch the Video

As Sentinel reporter Annie Martin reported last weekend, the owner of the Beta school simply opened another school a few weeks ago with a new name; this time in Volusia County … once again with your tax dollars.

Court records show the school’s owner filed the application for the new school the same Continue reading: Florida voucher schools fail, stiff teachers — and get more money to try again - Orlando Sentinel

The Easiest Money Bill Ackman Has Made Lately Is In A Bunch Of Charter Schools

The Easiest Money Bill Ackman Has Made Lately Is In A Bunch Of Charter Schools

The Easiest Money Bill Ackman Has Made Lately Is In A Bunch Of Charter Schools

It turns out that Bill Ackman is making good money in the most unexpected of places: financing charter schools for low-income kids.

Since 2011, the billionaire hedge fund manager has invested $20 million of his own money in the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, which was started by former tennis star Andre Agassi and has built 79 new charter schools in poor neighborhoods around the country. The impact investment, which Ackman made via his charitable foundation, has netted annual returns north of 10%.

Meanwhile, performance at his hedge fund has been languishing. Ackman has lost money for the past three years running, largely because of disastrous bets on two companies: Valeant and Herbalife. During that time, his net worth has dropped by more than half, to an estimated $1.1 billion. Recently he’s managed to turn things in the right direction, with his Pershing Square Holdings posting gains of 15.8% through September 30, according to the firm.

Ackman's foray into impact investing began in 2011 when Agassi, a tennis champ with eight Grand Slams under his belt, pitched him on his new fund, the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. Agassi, who had teamed up with professional impact investor Bobby Turner, promised Ackman that his capital would go toward the construction of 100 new charter schools for low-income children by 2020 in areas like the Bronx and Southwest Detroit—and that he would see double-digit returns, to boot. Ackman put in $10 million and agreed to take Continue reading: The Easiest Money Bill Ackman Has Made Lately Is In A Bunch Of Charter Schools

A One Issue State Election? You Better Believe That Issue is Public Education | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch

A One Issue State Election? | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch

A One Issue State Election?

This is the year to vote education.

It's been the number one issue in the state for years. It's on everyone's minds and most candidates' lips. The decision voters make, whether to continue with the Republican-majority status quo or shift more power to Democrats, will be a major factor in deciding our children's present and future.

If you have patience enough and time, by all means look beyond education when you choose who to vote for. The more you know when you cast your ballot, the better. But after you take a deep dive into the candidates' positions, you're likely to find their approach to education is a reliable a indicator of where they stand on other important issues. Vote their positions on education, and you won't go far wrong.

Candidates who support a robust, fully funded system of public education are making a statement of principle which goes beyond schooling. "Public" is the key word. They want to provide a quality education for all the state's children, the whole K-through-college public, and probably pre-K as well, to give them the best shot at a bright future.

"Public" is also the key word when it comes to the same candidates' approach to the rest of government. They want state government to contribute to the well being of the general public, in the present and into the future. That means, among other things, supporting a well funded social services system, building and maintaining infrastructure and tending to the environment.

Candidates who are OK with education funding at levels low enough that the courts say they're unconstitutional aren't so keen on public education. Lots of them like to use the term "government schools" (FYI, that's supposed to be a bad thing) along with "failing schools" and "failing teachers" to describe our public education system. They heap praise on charter and private schools which educate 20 percent of the school-aged population and treat the schools educating 80 percent of children as an afterthought.

Candidates who disparage "government schools" think of the rest of government the same way, as a public irritant, not a public good. They want government to get out of the way so the free market can do what as it pleases. The less taxes, the less spending, the less meddling by the Continue reading: A One Issue State Election? | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch

Hundreds of US teacher candidates shake up midterm elections

Hundreds of US teacher candidates shake up midterm elections

Hundreds of US teacher candidates shake up midterm elections

Last September, school speech therapist Kathy Hoffman was settling into the new academic year, working with youngsters in her small classroom behind a playground at Sahuaro Ranch Elementary School in a blue-collar neighborhood outside Phoenix.

This year, the political novice is gone from her classroom and on the campaign trail across Arizona full-time as the Democrats’ choice in the race to become superintendent of public education, overseeing the state’s schools. It’s a post typically held by career politicians or political insiders.

“My tipping point was realizing we need more teachers running for office, people who understand what it’s like in the classroom, who have seen the effect of having the lack of resources from our lawmakers,” Hoffman said.

Hundreds of current and former educators, most of them Democrats like Hoffman, are on general election ballots from school board to governor — far exceeding educator candidacies prior to this year’s #RedForEd protests.

In her first campaign during the Democratic primary, the 32-year-old Hoffman beat a former state senate minority leader, illustrating how much a surge in teacher activism centering on higher teacher pay and increased educational funding have shaken up November midterm elections around the U.S.

She and the other teacher candidates represent a wild-card political movement following the teacher-driven #RedForEd effort that drew support from parents and school children in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia and also focused on outdated textbooks, crowded classrooms and teacher shortages. Across the country, some educators have already won primary races against the incumbent state legislators they blamed for public school spending cutbacks.

“It’s about standing up for what’s right and bringing that teacher’s voice to that position,” Hoffman said. “I felt it should come straight from the classroom.”

After years of dense education debates over teacher evaluations and the Common Core learning standards, the new teacher candidates’ simplified message for higher pay and more funding for schools represent “talking points (that) are resonating,” said Frederick Hess, director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute public policy think tank.

“What we might be seeing is the emergence of a number of individuals who will be an elected mainstream set of advocates for Continue reading: Hundreds of US teacher candidates shake up midterm elections

CURMUDGUCATION: The Opportunity Myth Myth

CURMUDGUCATION: The Opportunity Myth Myth

The Opportunity Myth Myth

When it comes to slick, pretty education "research," the folks at TNTP know their stuff. Reformsters have been milking the slick-but-hollow "Widget Effect" for years, and now TNTP has whipped up another sure-to-be-referenced-way-too-much "report" entitled "The Opportunity Myth."

Who are these folks? TNTP used to stand for The New Teacher Project; She Who Will Not Be Named created it as a spin-off of TFA, designed to put older career-changers into the classroom. At some point it changed into an advocacy group pushing a redesign of teaching (current slogan: reimagine teaching). TNTP is led by Daniel Weisberg, who started out as a lawyer and then served as a labor specialist under Joel Klein in NYC. The board is packed with entrepreneurs, PR specialists, and reform CEOs. You can hunt through the whole list of TNTP leaders and find that this organization devoted to teaching has no teachers in leadership positions (just a few TFA temps and other alternative paths to one or two resume-building years in the classroom).

So this report comes straight from the heart of reformdom.

The report is a slick piece of graphic-soaked digitized niftiness (Look! This part scrolls sideways! And here are more graphics!!) but it features the TNTP sleight of hand. The subheading is the first piece Continue reading: CURMUDGUCATION: The Opportunity Myth Myth

Congratulations to re-elected PAA Board members! | Parents Across America

Congratulations to re-elected PAA Board members! | Parents Across America

Congratulations to re-elected PAA Board members!

We are especially happy to have four of our strong, accomplished, dedicated board of directors members back for another term on the PAA Board of Directors! Dora Taylor, Nathan Harris, Steven Norton, and Deb Mayer were recently re-elected to serve two-year terms on our seven member Board. We look forward to another year of PAA growth under their leadership. You can read all about these exceptional people here.

From left, Nate and Carrie Lynn Harris, Julie Woestehoff, Dora Taylor, Deb Mayer, and Steve Norton.

Congratulations to re-elected PAA Board members! | Parents Across America

PAA interim executive director to retire

by Julie Woestehoff / 15h

Julie Woestehoff, PAA co-founder and interim executive director, and the executive director of PURE for 20 plus years, is taking a well-deserved retirement at the end of this year. Julie helped established PURE as a powerhouse parent voice in Chicago, which earned her recognition as one of the 100 most powerful women in the city, along with a Ford Foundation team leadership award and regular appea

This is how we roll! PAAers share insider tips on school superintendent searches

by Julie Woestehoff / 15h

UPDATE: Boston Globe article on continuing concerns of parents and others about superintendent search here. Excellent letter from QUEST and other groups regarding needed process and participation for search here. A while ago we