Biden Chooses Ex-Obama Official for Key Position in Department of Education25by dianeravitch / 52min
During the Obama administration, Roberto Rodriguez was the White House advisor on education. He vigorously supported the Race to the Top program, the Common Core standards, and high-stakes testing. All of these initiatives failed to improve student test scores and wasted billions of dollars. Andrew Ujifusa wrote in Education Week (April 28) about the return of Rodriguez. He joins former Obama off
The Mind Trust in Indiana Gives $800,000 to Charter Operator, Ignoring Lawsuits, Multiple Financial Scandals and Fake ResumeThe Mind Trust in Indianapolis has been the central engine of charter creation in that city and holds itself up as a model charter authorizer. Until it was “deceived” by a would-be charter operator with a rosy vision, according to this story by Stephanie Wang in Chalkbeat Indiana. She begins: To launch a “transformational” middle school in an overlooked eastside neighborhood , Indianapolis charte
New Hampshire: The Libertarian Attack on GovernmentJennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider explore what happens when a state government is taken over by a combination of libertarians, who want to diminish government and taxes, and Republicans, who have spent decades attacking government as “the enemy.” It turns out they are indistinguishable. . This is a don’t-miss edition of their reader-supported “Have You Heard” podcast (with transcript availabl
Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Universal Pre-K Should Be Part of Public Schools, Nor “Public-Private” PartnershipsRobert Kuttner applauds Biden’s proposal for universal pre-kindergarten, while warning of the danger of allowing the program to be partially privatized. The same could be written for K-12 education. In state after state, private corporations are using their political influence to privatize public money and si err it to charters and vouchers. Kuttner on TAP Universal Pre-K: Will Biden Do It Right?
Seth Andrew, Founder of Democracy Prep Charter Chain, Arrested by Federal OfficialsFederal officials arrested Seth Andrew , founder of the Democracy Prep charter chain, accusing him of taking money from the schools’ bank account to lower his mortgage rate on a new home. Andrew launched Democracy Prep in 2005; he left in 2013 to work the Obama Department of Education but retained financial ties with the charter chain. He severed his ties with the chain in January 2017. Federal o
Minnesota: Elites Propose Constitutional Amendment to Enable Segregated SchoolsMinnesota was the first state to pass a charter law in 1991. As blogger Sarah Lahm wrote in the Progressive in 2019, the new charters were exempt from most state regulations, including desegregation . A number of its charters are segregated by race and ethnicity, intentionally so, because the charter industry believes that segregation is culturally affirming. This situation led to a lawsuit to as
Texas: Stand Together Against the Voracious Charter IndustryPTC is joining with many parent groups and school boards to fight this direct assault on local control and democracy. Pastors for Texas Children is a staunch ally of public schools and of separation of church and state. They have vigorously fought vouchers and now they are fighting an all-out attempt by the yet the aggressive charter industry to open wherever they want, without the approval of lo
Missouri Times: Stop the Demolition of Public Schools: They Belong to the PublicThe Misssouri Times is a generally right of center newspaper, But it believes in the promise of public schools and recognizes that the latest push for charters and vouchers is rank privatization funded by wealthy elites. After thirty years of pouring billions into charters and vouchers, there is no reason to believe that privatized schools produce better outcomes. We know they don’t. Opinion: Pub
Tom Ultican: No Billionaires Wanted or NeededTom Ultican has turned his talents to understanding the damage that a large number of billionaires has inflicted on American education and American society. He proposes that we tax them out of existence with their assets used to reduce poverty and inequality. He names names and demands accountability for their vast wealth. in a capitalist society, vast wealth controls vast power. This concentrati
Angie Sullivan: Restorative Justice Requires Funding to Help KidsAngie Sullivan teaches impoverished children in Las Vegas. She believes that restorative justice could help them, but only if it is funded. How do you kill a bill without voting against it? You take something important like restorative justice – which should be wraparound services and not give any funding. Wraparound services make a huge difference for students. This program is just buzzwords wit
Jan Resseger: Isn’t 25 Years of Failed Educational Policy in Ohio Enough?Jan Resseger always writes widely and deeply about education, especially in Ohio, where she lives. For 25 years, Ohio has spent billions of dollars on charters and vouchers while ignoring the needs of the states’s vast majority of
