Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues

Eve Blad wrote in Education Week about where Miguel Cardona, Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education, stands on the issues:

On reopening schools during the pandemic: He favors in-person instruction, but has not mandated it. He recommends face masks.

“We all know remote learning will never replace the classroom experience,” Cardona wrote in a November opinion piece published in the Connecticut Mirror. “We also know that the health and safety of our students, staff, and their families must be the primary consideration when making decisions about school operations. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

Charter Schools: He has not taken a strong position for or against charter schools, but the state board has not approved any new charters since he took office in August 2019.

“Charter schools provide choice for parents that are seeking choice, so I think it’s a viable option, but [neighborhood schools] that’s going to be the core work that not only myself but the people behind me in the agency that I represent will have while I’m commissioner,” he said during his state confirmation hearing.

During the campaign, Biden promised to stop federal funding of for-profit charters, a small segment of the CONTINUE READING: Education Week: Where Cardona Stands on the Issues | Diane Ravitch's blog

JEFF BRYANT: Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack | National Education Policy Center

Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack | National Education Policy Center

Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack

When a Biden victory in the 2020 presidential election became certain, supporters of public education gleefully took to social media to say good riddance to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. DeVos came into office with an agenda to further the privatization of public education by expanding charter schools and by encouraging families to opt out of public schools by any means possible. During her tenure, she effectively used her bully pulpit to cheer on efforts by Republican state lawmakers to expand various forms of voucher programs that give parents public money to homeschool their children or send them to private schools. She awarded many of the nation’s largest charter school chains with millions in federal funding, and she used the pandemic as an opportunity to redirect emergency funds for public schools to private schools and internet-based instruction — all the while refusing to even visit struggling public schools.

Biden is expected to oppose voucher programs and limit the growth of the charter school industry. But despite the promising prospect of a transition from DeVos to a Biden administration, progressive public school advocates can’t afford to overlook a threat to democratically governed schools that preceded DeVos and will continue when she is long gone.

In midsized metropolitan areas like Indianapolis and Stockton, California, parents, teachers, and public school advocates warn of huge sums of money coming from outside their communities to influence local politics and bankroll school board candidates who support school privatization. In phone conversations, emails, and texts, they point to a national agenda, backed CONTINUE READING: Truthout: DeVos Is on Her Way Out, But Public Education Is Still Very Much Under Attack | National Education Policy Center

SSPI TONY THURMOND: What's New - California Department of Education - Grant Opportunity - 2020 Finalists for PAEMST - SBE Agenda for January 2021

California Department of Education

SSPI TONY THURMOND

 What's New - California Department of Education

COVID-19 Guidance Web Page: Updates to FAQs

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California Department of Education (CDE) has updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the CDE COVID-19 Guidance in the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) web page to provide further guidance for CNPs.

Grant Opportunity: TN Taste of CA Recipe Challenge

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The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) announces the Team Nutrition (TN) Taste of California Standardized Recipe Challenge (Taste of CA Challenge) grant.

Tony Thurmond Announces 2020 Finalists for PAEMST

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State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announces 2020 finalists for Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

SBE Agenda for January 2021

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Agenda for the California State Board of Education (SBE) meeting on January 13-14, 2021.

California Department of Education

Politico: Will Dr. Cardona Push 2021 Testing? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Politico: Will Dr. Cardona Push 2021 Testing? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Politico: Will Dr. Cardona Push 2021 Testing?

Not many people outside Connecticut are familiar with President-Elect Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education. He went to public schools. He has worked in public schools his entire career. His children go to public schools in Meriden, where he lives. He is not aligned with DFER or Chiefs for Change or any billionaire-funded “reform” group.

Politico points out two stances that Dr. Cardona has taken that will concern many parents and teachers. In his own state, he has pushed to resume annual testing this spring, despite the pandemic. Also, he has prioritized reopening schools, which will please some but anger others.

For those of us who question the value of annual testing, a policy not found in any high-performing nation, the resumption of high-stakes testing will be a mistake when so many children have had unequal opportunity to learn. DeVos offered blanket waivers in the spring of 2020 but said she would not do it again in 2021. Students and teachers should not be required to take tests that are sure to demonstrate what we already know: Students in CONTINUE READING: Politico: Will Dr. Cardona Push 2021 Testing? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Shawgi Tell: Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing

Unlike public schools, private businesses like charter schools spend millions of public dollars a year on advertising and marketing.

Putting aside widespread fraud and corruption in the segregated charter school sector, this is an enormous waste and abuse of public funds, especially at a time when public schools are being starved of much-needed public funds and struggling to meet the needs of students. This is money that can and should be invested in teaching and learning, where it is most needed.

Many are also wondering why privately-operated charter schools need to spend so much public money luring students and families through advertising and marketing if, as charter school proponents repeatedly claim, they are so good, so attractive, and so superior to public schools?

The situation is doubly absurd when it comes to cyber charter schools, also known as virtual charter schools. These privately-operated online charter schools have even fewer “costs” and less overhead than poor-performing brick-and-mortar charter schools, yet they feel comfortable diverting precious public dollars to lure parents and students. Perhaps the worst part is the bang-for-the-buck part: virtual charter schools are notorious for their abysmal academic record and very low graduation rates. Cyber charter schools CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

A teacher will head the department of education. – Fred Klonsky

A teacher will head the department of education. – Fred Klonsky

A TEACHER WILL HEAD THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Like most educators around the country, I don’t know much about Dr. Miguel Cardona other than that he comes from years of classroom experience and that he was the head of public schools in Connecticut.

I have always thought that the importance of having a teacher head the federal education department was overstated.

First hand teaching experience is valuable in setting policy, but not the only thing.

I have been in too many heated conversations among my teaching colleagues about what constitutes good teaching practice to believe that practice alone will get us to CONTINUE READING: A teacher will head the department of education. – Fred Klonsky

Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona? The Hechinger Report

Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona?

Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona?

Biden’s ed secretary will continue a “meteoric rise” to the nation’s top education job after serving as Connecticut’s commissioner

When he was assistant superintendent of schools in Meriden, Miguel Cardona — the state’s new education commissioner — would take new teachers on a tour of the city’s neighborhoods.

He did it because he wanted the teachers to understand the diversity of their students — from those living in half-million dollar homes to those from housing projects.

“The experience motivated the teachers to get to know their kids better,” Cardona said, “and be more actively involved in the community as new teachers.”

Born in a housing project in Meriden to parents who moved here as children from Puerto Rico, Cardona, 44, believes strongly in family and community as well as in the potential for each child to be successful.

The state’s first Latino commissioner of education recalls being the victim of stereotyping as he was growing up.

“For Latino children from communities that are below the threshold of poverty, you know you’re not typically thinking, the data doesn’t suggest that they’re going to be the next principal of the school … or state education commissioner,” Cardona said. “There were times throughout my youth that I think people had lower expectations than they should have. It just made me hungrier.”

“It’s not lost on me, the significance of being the grandson of a tobacco farmer who came here for a better life, who despite having a second grade education was able to raise his family and create that upward mobility cycle,” he added.

Cardona said the values instilled in him — “hard work, service to others, CONTINUE READING: Who is the new U.S. Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona?

Five reasons educators are excited about Miguel Cardona - Education Votes

Five reasons educators are excited about Miguel Cardona - Education Votes

Five reasons educators are excited about Miguel Cardona

On Monday, President-elect Joe Biden announced former public elementary school teacher and union member, and current Connecticut Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona as his pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education. 

“When a record number of Americans turned out to vote for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, they sent a resounding message demanding justice, stronger public schools and more opportunities for all students — Black and white, Native and newcomer, Hispanic and Asian alike,” said former science teacher and NEA President Becky Pringle.

“In these tough times, students, educators, and families face unprecedented challenges — from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis to the systemic racism that has held back too many students for too long. We look forward to partnering with Secretary-designate Miguel Cardona in taking on these challenges together,” Pringle said.

Cardona will work as part of the Biden-Harris administration to invest in the nation’s public schools — because all students deserve a safe, welcoming, well-resourced school, no matter where they live. As a person of color, he is an inspiration to many, particularly students who will see in him a reflection of their own experiences. With a deep knowledge of the issues impacting students inside and outside the classroom, Secretary-designate Cardona knows that we must make improvements for our students by tackling issues such as housing insecurity, hunger, and economic instability, to help our students succeed. 

Here are five things you should know about Cardona’s policies that have educators excited:

Miguel Cardona has supported trauma-informed practices in schools.

He has experience teaching in public schools

Cardona began his career in education as a fourth-grade public elementary school teacher before becoming the youngest principal in the state at age 28. In 2012 he was named Connecticut’s principal of the year and served as co-chairman of the Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force. 

Cardona is someone who respects educators as the professionals that they are, will listen to our experiences as the people who know the names of our students, and will ensure that we have a voice in developing and implementing education policy. 

He will be a welcome change from Betsy DeVos

Unlike DeVos, Secretary-designate Cardona will ensure that the federal government’s role in education is to improve access and opportunity for every student. He is someone who will defend our CONTINUE READING: Five reasons educators are excited about Miguel Cardona - Education Votes

Where Did Education Fail Us? | The Jose Vilson

Where Did Education Fail Us? | The Jose Vilson

WHERE DID EDUCATION FAIL US?

In my final reflection for the semester of my doctoral studies (don’t ask me how it’s going), I considered what it meant to get an education. Over and again in this space, I’ve considered how there’s a big difference between schooling and education. Schooling is a set of processes characterized by the desire to show students a given set of ideas and materials. Education is the learning that this process is supposed to produce. But, as is the axiom, just because someone is teaching doesn’t mean another person is learning and, what’s more, just because someone is learning doesn’t mean they’re in a place where schooling is happening.

But it also begs the more onerous question: where did education fail us?

As human beings, we’re naturally curious. From birth, we soak in a plethora of sensory information about ourselves, other people, and our surroundings. For many of us, schooling serves as a deterrent to that rendition of education because we’re introduced to what society means by education: a set of explicit and implied knowledges this society wishes to impart through multiple methods to its youngest children. But, if education starts as a process of discovery and curiosity and constricts to an ever-narrowing list of items so the student can participate on multiple levels of society, then what did this schooling do to get this country – and the world – like this?

Specifically, where did education fail us?

Anti-intellectualism may not be enough to fully describe the breadth of our world’s problems. In this country, the line of thinking asks us to believe in systems – public, private, charter, whatever – that ultimately calcify the inequity our country professes to want to CONTINUE READING: Where Did Education Fail Us? | The Jose Vilson

Doyle and Sahlberg: After the Pandemic, Children Need to Play | Diane Ravitch's blog

Doyle and Sahlberg: After the Pandemic, Children Need to Play | Diane Ravitch's blog

Doyle and Sahlberg: After the Pandemic, Children Need to Play

William Doyle and Pasi Sahlberg have a proposal for what children should do after the pandemic: Play.

They write at CNN.com:

When the novel coronavirus is no longer as great a threat and schools finally reopen, we should give children the one thing they will need most after enduring months of isolation, stress, physical restraint and woefully inadequate, screen-based remote learning. We should give them playtime — and lots of it.William Doyle Pasi Sahlberg As in-person classes begin, education administrators will presumably follow the safety guidelines of health authorities for smaller classes, staggered schedules, closing or regularly cleaning communal spaces with shared equipment, regular health checks and other precautions. But despite the limitations this may place on the students’ physical environment, schools should look for safe ways to supercharge children’s learning and well-being.We propose that schools adopt a 90-day “golden age of play,” our term for a transitional period when traditional academic education.

Play gives children a wide range of critical cognitive, physical, emotional and social benefits. The American Academy of Pediatrics, representing the nation’s 67,000 children’s doctors, stated in a 2012 clinical report that “play, in all its forms, needs to be considered as the ideal educational and developmental milieu for children,” including for children in poverty, and noted that “the lifelong success of children is based on their ability to be creative and to apply the lessons learned from playing.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also reported “substantial evidence that physical CONTINUE READING: Doyle and Sahlberg: After the Pandemic, Children Need to Play | Diane Ravitch's blog 

NYC Educator: Can We Agree on a Fair Evaluation System?

NYC Educator: Can We Agree on a Fair Evaluation System?

Can We Agree on a Fair Evaluation System?

That's a tough question. Our esteemed chancellor writes us missives telling us how much he respects and cares for us. Our safety is the most important thing there is. Yet you don't see him setting his foot in a school unless it's pre-screened and a whole lot cleaner than any I've seen over the last decade or two. 

If Regents exams are canceled, and if no student can fail, how exactly are we supposed to come to a fair evaluation system? We can't use Danielson. The participation in online classes, or in socially-distanced masked classes, is something altogether different from that which we've experienced over our careers.

I am big on classroom participation. I love when kids act spontaneously, and nothing makes me happier than seeing some kid get up an take a class over. However, I can't count on that happening, and my plans ensure we'll be doing something productive if it does not. I can't guarantee on any given day that kids will carry me to highly effective. (If you can, more power to you.)

Nonetheless, Danielson herself said that her rubric laid out an ideal, and wasn't intended as a rating system. Of course, that didn't stop her from taking a shit-ton of cash to allow it to be used that way anyway. In fact, it didn't stop her from writing some kind of online rubric too, hoping to cash in further. It's Spaceballs II, The Search for More Money. 

Let's say we finally agree on something, just for the sake of argument. Let me ask you this--how many times have CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Can We Agree on a Fair Evaluation System?

CURMUDGUCATION: Nobody Hates Miguel Cardona (So Far)

CURMUDGUCATION: Nobody Hates Miguel Cardona (So Far)

Nobody Hates Miguel Cardona (So Far)

(OF course, I finished this post at about 3:55 PM Eastern time, so there's plenty of time left for folks to crank up the disapproval)

So now we know who the new guy is (probably) going to be, and an awful lot of folks are asking who he is and whether we should be delighted or upset or whatever.

Diane Ravitch notes that he hasn't taken a position on many of the hot-button issues, like charters. But she notes:

Having read his Twitter feed (@teachcardona), I get the impression that he is a very decent and concerned administrator who cheers on students and teachers.

Lily Eskelsen Garcia said "I proudly support this nomination" and expresses confidence that Dr. Cardona "will ensure that the federal government's role in education is to provide access and opportunity for every student..."

At the74, Andrew Rotherham calls the choice "deft" and notes that Cardona has a good, inspiring up-from-poverty story (he does) and that "he doesn't fit cleanly into the reform or anti-reform camp." On charters, "he's a Goldilocks--not too hot or cold."

Jeanne Allen at the super-charter-loving and ultra-teacher-union-hating Center for Education Reform calls the nomination "intriguing" and calls the nomination "reminiscent of Rod Paige" (yuck) and likes that he's not rooted in the "platitudes of powerful interest group."

The Connecticut Education Association four days ago came out in favor of his nomination:

Miguel Cardona’s formative experience as a teacher and administrator has been critical to his CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Nobody Hates Miguel Cardona (So Far)