Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, May 22, 2015

Who Will Be the Next Secretary of Education in 2016? - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

Who Will Be the Next Secretary of Education in 2016?



As we approach the beginning stages of the 2016 presidential elections, the stakes for the future of public education in this country could not be higher. Moreover, it is time for teachers, administrators and parents to consider whether the next president of the United States will be a true education president. Needless to say, we cannot afford another four years of an Education Secretary such as Arne Duncan. Secretary Duncan who, as a corporate education reformer with his obsession with standardized testing, has done more to privatize and weaken public education than any other Secretary of Education in the past.

Under Arne Duncan’s regime, we have witnessed the demise of the neighborhood school and the growth of charter schools as part of the privatization movement. He has imposed with his Race to the Top (RTTT) and Common Core (CCSS) programs a plethora of stifling high- stakes standardized testing - often referred to as the “Duncan testocracy” - on the schools including the use of tests to assess teacher performance. His method of education reform has grossly neglected the impact of childhood poverty on learning for children from impoverished homes. This is what happens when you appoint an unqualified non-educator to the highest education position in the nation.

Likewise, Duncan has been a champion and spokesperson for the wealthy and powerful in the nation in their efforts to privatize public schools and to weaken and ultimately destroy the teaching profession. Duncan’s affiliation with Bill Gates is a prime example. The Obama administration with its “Race To The Top” program has been a continuation of the war on teachers that began when George W. Bush was president with his “No Child Left Behind” testing fiasco. Anyone who denies this extended war on teachers is either a silly, inexperienced fool or a paid shill for the corporate reformers and the testing industry.

Based on the early polling, it appears that Hillary Clinton is a clear frontrunner who more than likely could become the next president of the United States. If she is able to attain the highest office in the country, we need to begin a grassroots movement to convince her to appoint an educator to the position of Secretary of Education. Hillary Clinton has been an advocate of universal pre-kindergarten, arts education in the schools, after-school tutoring as well as smaller class sizes and educators now need to convince her of the need to also be an advocate for a diminishing role of standardized testing in public education. There is no guarantee, however, that Hillary the politician will not follow in the footsteps of her predecessor, President Obama, as she, and especially her husband, former Badass Teachers Association:




Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/22/15



Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM





USDOE Advertises Charter School “Competition” Reviewer Positions for Only One Day | deutsch29
USDOE Advertises Charter School “Competition” Reviewer Positions for Only One Day | deutsch29: USDOE Advertises Charter School “Competition” Reviewer Positions for Only One DayThe US Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII), an office that Fordham Institute’s pro-privatization president Michael Petrilli supposedly helped to create, has decided that offering the public an
Charter school chain faces rare legal battle as district clamps down on industry - Sun Sentinel
Charter school chain faces rare legal battle as district clamps down on industry - Sun Sentinel: Palm Beach County takes on charter schools with planned lawsuitThe Palm Beach school district is mounting a rare legal battle against a powerhouse charter school company as it pushes to exert more control over which schools open their doors and claim public cash."The eyes around the state are on u
Students Should Learn More About Their Perceptions of Race, But Don't Leave Out Teachers | ThinkProgress
Students Should Learn More About Their Perceptions of Race, But Don't Leave Out Teachers | ThinkProgress: Students Should Learn More About Their Perceptions of Race, But Don’t Leave Out TeachersHow can we un-teach racism if our teachers still discriminate against students of color?CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCKA recent New York Magazine story examined a new initiative at for third grade students at Fieldsto
With A Brooklyn Accent: What High School Students Want
With A Brooklyn Accent: What High School Students Want: What High School Students WantIf you actually talk to high school students they wantTeachers who care about themAn opportunity to express themselvesTeams they can play onArts and music programs which allow their talents to blossomSchool counselors they can talk toLess tests and more alternative paths to graduation.Opportunities to learn skill
Newark NJ students call for local control of schools run by state - Business Insider
Newark NJ students call for local control of schools run by state - Business Insider: Newark NJ students call for local control of schools run by stateBy Sebastien MaloNEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - Hundreds of Newark, New Jersey, students walked out of classes on Friday to protest policies of the city's top schools official, who was appointed by the state to overhaul the struggling education system.The
Crisis in the Classroom | Chicago Tonight | WTTW
Crisis in the Classroom | Chicago Tonight | WTTW: Crisis in the ClassroomKids are almost out of school for the summer, but some long days are ahead for Chicago Public Schools as it tries to close a more than $1 billion budget deficit, most of which is tied to a $700 million pension payment that is due. On top of that, district officials are negotiating with the Chicago Teachers Union over a new te
Thousands of Newark students leave school in protest, block major intersection | NJ.com
Thousands of Newark students leave school in protest, block major intersection | NJ.com: Thousands of Newark students leave school in protest, block major intersectionNEWARK — Around noon on Friday, 18-year-old Quinnetta Owens-Culver normally would have attended her Spanish class at Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark.But at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Owens-Culver and thousands of
Scrutiny of school vouchers remains off limits - Sun Sentinel
Scrutiny of school vouchers remains off limits - Sun Sentinel: Scrutiny of school vouchers remains off limitsBecause of a court ruling, Florida could be on the way to spending nearly $1 billion on an education program without knowing if the program works.Last week, Leon County Circuit Court Judge George Reynolds dismissed a lawsuit by the Florida Education Association — the teachers union — and ot
Jersey Jazzman: PARCC Comes Off the Rails
Jersey Jazzman: PARCC Comes Off the Rails: PARCC Comes Off the RailsThe PARCC cheerleaders' arguments for their beloved test are crumbling to dust:Washington, DC (May 21, 2015) — The PARCC Governing Board, made up of the state education commissioners and superintendents, voted Wednesday to consolidate the two testing windows into one and to reduce total test time by about 90 minutes beginning in t
Now this is OPTING OUT: APS board votes not to pay state for PARCC testing | Albuquerque Journal News
APS board votes not to pay state for PARCC testing | Albuquerque Journal News: APS board votes not to pay state for PARCC testingThe Albuquerque Public Schools board has narrowly rejected a plan to reimburse the state Public Education Department for costs associated with this spring’s PARCC testing.By a voice vote, without a roll call, the board voted 4-3 Wednesday night against repaying the state
Charter Schools: Tracking Right-to-Know Request | PSBA
Charter Schools: Tracking Right-to-Know Request | PSBA: Charter Schools: Tracking Right-to-Know Request Advertising contracts, invoices, plansReal property purchase, sale, leaseFoundation contracts, donationsMgmt. salary, compensation, benefitsAcademics: AP, IB, College PrepPSBA filed a Right-to-Know request with Pennsylvania charter and cyber charter schools on May 15, 2015. PSBA is tracking the
Why are teachers pension plans in trouble? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Why are teachers pension plans in trouble? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Why are teachers pension plans in trouble?Photo: Emma Lee | WHYYGeorge Bezanis teaches world history at Central High School.  In the Multiple Choices podcast, Keystone Crossroads senior education writer Kevin McCorry joins with Paul Socolar, publisher and editor of the Public School Notebook, and Notebook contributin
Thompson: What Do We Mean When We Talk of Graduation Rates? This Week In Education
This Week In Education: Thompson: What Do We Mean When We Talk of Graduation Rates?: Thompson: What Do We Mean When We Talk of Graduation Rates?Graduation rates used to be incredibly easy to fabricate (almost as easy as attendance rates and even easier than jacking up proficiency rates) but I don't doubt they have become more reliable. I used to assume that the annual increase in graduation rates,
Did Philly voters send a clear message on education Tuesday? – Metro
Did Philly voters send a clear message on education Tuesday? – Metro: Did Philly voters send a clear message on education Tuesday?File photo of City Councilwoman-elect Helen GymThe city’s education system has consistently ranked as voters’ top concerns. So what do the results of Tuesday’s election say about what residents want?Consider this: the mayoral candidate most identified with support for c
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charter billionaires buy L.A. school board election
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Charter billionaires buy L.A. school board election: Charter billionaires buy L.A. school board electionCharter billionaires Walton, Hastings, Bloomberg & Broad buy school board election in L.A. "We've sunk to a level where there is no viable discourse and no moral conscience when it comes to public education and control of the school board." -- LA
Teachers Have No Voice or Choice in Testing, So Why Would They Support It? - Teaching Ahead: A Roundtable - Education Week Teacher
Teachers Have No Voice or Choice in Testing, So Why Would They Support It? - Teaching Ahead: A Roundtable - Education Week Teacher: Teachers Have No Voice or Choice in Testing, So Why Would They Support It?By Deb McCarthy on May 21, 2015 11:08 PMThis is the fourth of a four-part conversation on the opt-out movement.Deb McCarthyAs a 5th grade teacher whose students recently completed 11 days of gru
Save Our Schools March – ALL Student Walk Out – NJ
Save Our Schools March – ALL Student Walk Out – NJ: ALL Student Walk Out – NJOn Friday, May 22nd Students in ALL High Schools in Newark, NJ will walk out to meet at Newark City Hall to demand: Full Local Control-Not Christie Control, Community Schools-Not Turnaround Schools, Halt the Expansion of Charter Schools, Termination of the EWA-Save Our Teachers! For more information Follow the #OurNewark

YESTERDAY

Jersey Jazzman: Transparency & Accountability? Not For Charter Schools
Jersey Jazzman: Transparency & Accountability? Not For Charter Schools: Transparency & Accountability? Not For Charter Schools Regular readers will remember a series of posts I did about LEAP Academy University Charter School in Camden back in 2013. Here's a recap that both recounts the many problems LEAP has had over the years, and gives us an example of the special brand of hubris that c
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/21/15
Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMWashington Teachers Strike Across the State | Al Jazeera AmericaWashington Teachers Strike Across the State | Al Jazeera America: Washington Teachers Strike Across the State  Hundreds of educators began picketing Thursday in Washington state's Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Burbank school districts — joining some 60 other districts where there have been walkouts