Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, August 3, 2015

Steve Zimmer Beats the Billionaire Boys Club



Steve Zimmer Beats the Billionaire Boys Club



Los Angeles school board president beat and unprecedented effort to unseat him by corporate education reformers. He relays how Michael Bloomberg, who gave $1 million to defeat him, didn't even know who he was.

Education’s Erin Brockovich | Long Island Business News

Education’s Erin Brockovich | Long Island Business News:

Education’s Erin Brockovich



Education’s Erin Brockovich


Jeanette Deutermann’s family has long been involved in education. Her sister is a teacher. Her father taught physics; his students include a man who became one of the state’s top education officials. And she and her family moved back to Long Island from North Carolina, in part because of the quality of its public education.
But through a combination of personal experience, circumstances and her own education about New York State’s system, Deutermann became the first or one of the first Long Island parents to have her children “opt out” of now-controversial state assessments.
She founded Long Island Opt Out and grew it, using social media, strategy and a loophole in education law to get 65,000 Long Island students recently to refuse to take state assessments.
She became a major force in recent school board elections, as her group’s blessing propelled dozens of candidates to seats. Some call her education’s Erin Brockovich, a mother who shaped concerns about excessive, untested testing into a movement.
“I can’t say I’m not selfish,” Deutermann said. “I’d love to say, ‘It has nothing to do with me, I’m doing it for other people.’ I’m doing it for me. I’m doing it for my kids.”
Deutermann built an organization and became a calming and collaborative force, leading the charge as Long Island becomes a blackboard battleground.
“She’s a strong leader who understands how to cultivate relationships and community build to motivate others to take action,” said Lisa Rudley, a Westchester mother also leading the charge. “She is a thoughtful leader with tremendous integrity and has lit up this opt-out movement in unprecedented ways.”


The story of Long Island’s opt-out movement is the story of the biggest social movement to be mobilized on Long Island in years. More than 65,000 students “opted out” of standardized tests for students in grades three to eight this year, amid concerns that new tests had twisted the education system.
“One day we were complete strangers,” said Deborah Abramson Brooks, an attorney and co-founder of Port Washington Advocates for Public Education, who works with Deutermann. “The next, we were attending rallies together and bonding over the fight for the well-being of our children.”
Even New York State Chancellor of Education Merryl Tisch, who leads the state’s Board of Regents, weighed in on the issue of excessive testing.
She at a recent Regents meeting said the board needs to “reflect carefully about how much testing


Read more: http://libn.com/2015/08/03/educations-erin-brockovich/#ixzz3hoMxYci5





Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/3/15


SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM



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Russ on Reading: Hey, Governor Christie, Punch My Face!
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Malloy and the Democratic State Central Committee - In plain English it’s called obstructing Justice - Wait What?
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It's time to reconsider the parent trigger - LA Times
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Global Privatization of Schools IS the Goal | The Economist
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State budget protects districts from low-performing virtual schools
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Does cursive writing still have cred?
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William Lager, Charter Czar, Makes the Drop to Ensure Lack of Regulation of Ohio Charters | janresseger
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Perdido Street School: Where Do Education Progressives Go Politically?
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YESTERDAY

Punching Teachers in the Face – a New Low in Presidential Politics. | gadflyonthewallblog
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The Washington Teacher: NY Principal Commits Suicide Amidst Testing Irregularities Investigation
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Schooling in the Ownership Society: Short-selling hedge-fund billionaire throws millions more at Moskowitz charters
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Why Is Jeb Bush So Cozy With A Discredited Charter School Mill? | Observer: The Company You Keep: Why Is Jeb Bush Cozy With a Discredited Charter School Mill? Jeb Bush, who often touts his education policy expertise as a job qualification, has long backed a charter school company with an appalling record At the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Jeb Bush posed the following question: Ev
Breast may be best, but teachers don’t have the right to pump at work in many states - The Washington Post
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Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 8/2/15
SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMPillars or Propaganda - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial VoicePillars or Propaganda - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: Pillars or PropagandaWhen you hear the word “pillars,” does it invoke an image of strong supports? Who would have thought this innocent but persuasive word would be used against us in the education reform wars?The four pillars of No Child Left Be