Outside My Kitchen Window
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If you live in North America, chances are you might live near a Cooper’s
Hawk. You might be lucky enough to spot a Cooper’s Hawk darting through
trees...
ICYMI: Blizzard Edition (12/8)
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We finally got hit this week, resulting in two snow days to start the
weekend. The board of directors here at the institute have enjoyed honing
their sid...
“Science” as Bad Faith Bullying
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[Header Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash] The more things change, the more
things stay the same. Especially in America. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The
Great Ga...
Around the Public Education Horn
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[image: Image]
Look what's on the DOGE Dopey Boys list, *Head Start and Pell Grants.* I
would bet they get rid of some of the Department of Education in...
Gifts of Christmas Past
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In a holiday-themed archetype of legislative overreach, Alabama passed an
ethics law back in 2011, forbidding K-12 school teachers from accepting
expensive...
Trump and McMahon’s America First Agenda
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Linda McMahon, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, is Board Chair
of America First, which has an agenda for K-12 schools. It is filled with a
sub...
Building Community Amid Uncertain Doom
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve had good opportunities to be “in community.”
One of those opportunities happened at The Cutting Room, where School of
...
...
SPI Leads Effort to Protect U.S. Education Dept.
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State Superintendent Tony Thurmond meets with members of Congress, leading
effort across states to protect the United States Department of Education.
1798
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Year 1798
__________
Three alien acts gave the president the power “without trial or even a
statement of his reasons, to banish foreigners from the ...
Billionaire Sponsored Malarkey from Education Trust
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By Thomas Ultican 12/3/2024 Education Trust (aka EdTrust), using what it
calls equity analysis, critiqued various states’ Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA)...
Peace at the Thanksgiving Dinner Table
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I was concerned about having Thanksgiving with family because I did not
want to get into heated political discussions about the 2024 presidential
election....
Education Has Failed and What Can We Do Next?
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Education has failed to prepare children for the world today. Despite the
increased investment, impactful reforms, hardworking teachers and school
leaders,...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
November Parent Engagement Resources
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Greeting a family in their preferred language is a small gesture that
demonstrates respect and eagerness to connect with parents. Creating a
Welcoming Envi...
An Apology
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I want to apologize for not responding personally to those who shared their
views on last week’s blog post, my analysis of why the Democrats lost.
I’ve be...
¡Si, ganamos!
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En victorias desde la Carolinia del Norte hacia el Estado de Washington y
Maine, encontramos la evidencia que cuando nos organizamos, ganamos.
Siempre encu...
A message from Quaker Meeting for Worship
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the branch of Society of Friends to which I belong is unprogrammed, we have
no designated ministers. Anyone who feels moved by the Spirit is free to
rise...
Try Substack?
-
Seems like the popular new thing. Here’s my first try – it’s about
yesterday’s UFT Retired Teachers Chapter meeting – first ever not run by
Unity. (Spoiler...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
15 Questions for the Candidates
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Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified
compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a
modern bur...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
-
In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
Skin Deep
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She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
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There is a teacher shortage.And just to be sure you understand, it's not
that teachers don't want to teach.It's not that there aren't enough
teachers certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
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NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
On the Edge of Silence
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“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
-
Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
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Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
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*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
Poverty vs District School Performance
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This ranking lists all Louisiana school systems and certain individual
schools in order of increasing poverty. The table includes the district
performanc...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
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Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
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A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
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Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
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I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
Rebuilding DC Teachers' Trust Through Transparency
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*By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President*
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views
or official positions of DCPS,...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Dear White Educators
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Dear White Educators,
I struggle with you. I struggle with me. I struggle with how, if, and when
to write us this letter. There is no perfect time, no per...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
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Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
The MAP Test
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Teachers will be voting this afternoon on the contract that has been
tentatively agreed upon. I am asking all teachers to not allow an
evaluation system th...
AG opines: charters must comply with sunshine laws
(Calif.) A new legal opinion from the state’s Department of Justice paves the way for lawmakers to finally impose clear mandates on California charter schools to comply with good governance laws.
After more than a decade of debate and dispute, Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued what might be the most definitive answer to date as to whether charter schools should be allowed to operate outside fundamental protections the public has to records and meetings of virtually all other government bodies.
In short that answer is, no, charters must comply too.
“The Charter Schools Act was intended to give charter schools ‘substantial freedom to achieve academic results free of interference by the public educational bureaucracy,’” the opinion states. “In our view, that goal is entirely consistent with allowing structured public access to the meetings and documents of these public educational institutions.
“Indeed, the Charter Schools Act itself identifies as its constituency community members as well as parents, teachers, and pupils associated with a specific charter school,” Becerra said in the 23-page analysis.
The findings come at a pivotal conjure for charters in California which, until this week, had enjoyed solid support from the state’s chief executives dating back to 1992, when Republican Gov. Pete Wilson signed the charter authorization bill.
After being pummeled by millions of dollars in attack ads during the June primary that was paid for by wealthy charter proponents, Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely to be far less sympathetic.
In the past, efforts to impose open government requirements on charters have either died in committee or drew the governor’s veto.
Tacos for Teachers: GoFundMe's Try to Feed Students, Teachers During Strike
With thousands of Los Angeles teachers threatening to go on strike Thursday, several GoFundMe campaigns have popped up aimed at helping feed both educators and students during the work stoppage.
The strike would impact around 600,000 students, although Los Angeles Unified School District officials said they intend to keep all of their schools open while also serving meals.
The Feed LA Students during Teacher Strike GoFundMe campaign says 68 percent of the students at Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Feliz are on the free and reduced lunch program, and it is estimated that at least half of all students may not attend school during the strike. The campaign, which appears to be organized by teachers, set out to raise $1,500 to make bagged lunches for families to pick up in front of the school in the morning or at lunchtime, and has already exceeded the goal, with more than $1,675 donated.
"The teachers want to make sure that students have healthy food available to them during this teacher action,'' the campaign's page says.
The Tacos for Teachers GoFundMe campaign wants to raise at least $5,000 to send taco trucks to the picket lines, and has received over $2,600 so far.
"Help support striking Los Angeles teachers and their fight for public education by donating to Tacos for Teachers, the fund that brings taco trucks to the picket lines,'' the campaign's site says.
Privatizing forces have appropriated the language of civil rights and social justice movements, while simultaneously gutting our schools of resources and selling our schools away to corporate-run charter companies.”
– Reclaim Our Schools LA
As noted by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Board members in their joint statement dated August 21, 2018, “students and their families will bear the brunt of a strike action.” Many parents of the hundreds of thousands of students who attend District schools are scrambling to make arrangements for their children knowing that if schools remain open, LAUSD lawyers have admitted that “the health and safety of students” would be threatened and a normal academic program will be impossible to maintain. Students who depend on meals delivered by the schools are especially vulnerable as the district has not stated how these programs would be handled if schools are forced to close.
With this massive disruption at the doorstep of the District, our elected leaders have been mostly silent. Board Members seem content to let Superintendent Austin Beutner do their speaking for them. That is, with the exception of Nick Melvoin, who has been eager to express his disdain for people who would actually teach as a profession instead of using the classroom as a bridge to law school. Given Beutner’s lack of experience in education and his desire to CONTINUE READING: Where Do the LAUSD Board Members Stand?
The Serious Implications of the New Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety
On December 18, buried in the pre-holiday news was the release of a report from Betsy DeVos’s Federal Commission on School Safety. This blog reported last week on its most troubling recommendation—the one that was immediately enacted when DeVos’s department rescinded Obama-era guidance designed to reduce racial disparities in school discipline. It is worth exploring more broadly the implications of what was in the Commission’s report.
For the Washington Post, Laura Meckler reported: “President Trump’s Federal Commission on School Safety, formed after a mass shooting at a Florida high school, recommended… that school systems consider arming personnel and advised against increasing the minimum age requirement for gun purchases.”
For Politico, Kimberly Hefling wrote: “A Trump administration school safety panel hardly touched on the role of guns in deadly school shootings in its wrap-up…. But the panel instead encouraged more coordination between schools and law enforcement that could include programs that arm highly trained school personnel. It said local communities should consider incentives that encourage military veterans and those with a law enforcement background to work in schools. It also endorsed the adoption by states of ‘extreme risk protection orders’ designed to temporarily restrict access to firearms by individuals found to be a danger to themselves or others and encouraged Congress to modernize privacy laws.”
Sweetwater Schools Financial Problems Became Political Cudgel
The newly hired Chief Financial Officer of Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD), Jenny Salkeld, discovered a significant problem with the budget she inherited. She presented her findings to the Sweetwater leadership team in early September which forwarded her report onto the County Office of Education (COE). The SUHSD board also called in all bargaining units to suspend contract negotiations and inform them of the budgetary uncertainties. Sensationalism and subterfuge became the new reality in Chula Vista, California.
“On June 25, the school board approved a budget for this school year that assumed the district had spent $328 million in unrestricted funding last school year and had $17 million in reserves going into this school year. In September, Salkeld presented a report showing that the district actually had spent $20 million more than that and started this school year with a negative reserve balance of $4 million.
“On top of spending more than previously estimated, the district received $6 million less in one-time state funding than it had expected.”
After receiving Sweetwater’s alert about the accounting errors, the COE officially disapproved the 2018-19 budget the district had submitted. The reasons for disapproving the budget were the reasons Salkeld had reported. The county’s CONTINUE READING: Sweetwater Schools Financial Problems Became Political Cudgel | tultican
The Network for Public Education welcomes four outstanding leaders to our NPE Board
Network for Public Education President, Diane Ravitch, is proud to announce that four accomplished leaders and supporters of public education have been elected to three year terms on the NPE Board of Directors.
Lavelle Jones was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey where she attended public schools. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall Law School. She is retired from the New Jersey Bar.
Lavelle worked for Colgate-Palmolive Company where she developed the company’s minority and women-owned business program, created global strategies for professional services and led global teams. The National Network Journal listed Lavelle as one of the most influential black women in business. She was also a two-time recipient of the Harlem YMCA Black Achievers in Industry award.
Since her retirement, Lavelle has applied her skills, as a volunteer, in support of her favorite causes: the well-being of older Americans, the education and safety of children and the preservation of wildlife. She joined AARP as a volunteer in 2007 and currently serves as AARP New Jersey State President. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Allen-Shaw Foundation, a private charity devoted to the education of children in the nation of Jamaica. Since 2014, Lavelle has served NPE as the volunteer national conference coordinator.
Denisha Jones is the Director of Teacher Education and an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Trinity Washington University. Dr. Jones began her career in education as a kindergarten teacher in D.C. after earning her Bachelor of Arts in early childhood education from the University of the District of Columbia. She also worked as a preschool director before spending the last 14 years in teacher education.
Determined to be a more effective advocate in the fight against school privatization, she began law school and graduated with her J.D. in May 2018. She has been a board member and administrator for the Badass Teachers Association (BATs), Inc., and currently, she is the interim Assistant Executive Director for BATs; she is chairwoman of the National Advisory Board for the Public Education Defense Fund and she serves on the advisory board of Defending the Early Years.
Her research interests include developing critical consciousness in pre-service teachers, organizing activist research projects that challenge the privatization of public education, and leveraging the intersection of public policy, social movement lawyering, and critical social justice education to dismantle the neoliberal assault on public education.
James Harvey has served as the executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable since 2007. The Roundtable, an invitational membership organization, is dedicated to progressive leadership in support of just and humane schools.
A native of Ireland, Harvey attended elementary and secondary schools in Ireland and London and completed his high school education at a public school in Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of dozens of articles and five books on education and education policy. He served in the Carter administration as an education lobbyist and on the staff of the Committee on Education and Labor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
His doctoral work at Seattle University examined both the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and American school performance in an international context and was published by the Roundtable and the Horace Mann League in 2015 and 2018 as The Iceberg Effect and How High the Bar? He serves on the Steering Committee of the Urban Superintendents Academy sponsored by AASA and Howard University and on the board of the Horace Mann League.
These four outstanding leaders and friends of public schools join Diane Ravitch, Anthony Cody, Phyllis Bush, Yohuru Williams, Leonie Haimson and Julian Vasquez Heilig as members of the Board of Directors of NPE.
The teachers of Los Angeles are poised to strike for better public schools for their city’s children
It is likely that the teachers of Los Angeles, California represented by UTLA will strike beginning tomorrow. If they do, it will be about more than salaries. Teacher demands include smaller class sizes, as well as more counselors, librarians and nurses in schools. They are demanding funding for community schools and less testing. They are demanding an end to disruptive and humiliating random searches of students in their schools.
You can show your support for the teachers of Los Angeles by wearing red on Thursday, January 10. Take your picture and then post it on social media. The Alliance to Reclaim our Schools, Los Angeles branch (ROSLA), has established a Solidarity Fund. If the teachers do strike tomorrow, you can make a donation here. Funds will be used by ROSLA to raise public awareness and support the strike. The Network for Public Education welcomes four outstanding leaders to our NPE Board - Network For Public Education