Meet Miguel Cardona, Soon to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Meet Miguel Cardona, Soon to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

Meet Miguel Cardona, Soon to Be Secretary of Education

The Connecticut Mirror wrote a revealing in-depth analysis of Secretary-designate Miguel Cardona’s life, career, and education ideas.

His meteoric rise has been well documented. He grew up in poverty. He started public school in Meriden, Connecticut, not speaking English. He saw education as his route to a better life.

He became a teacher, then a principal, then assistant superintendent of the Meriden district of 8,000 students. From there, he was tapped to become State Commissioner of Schools.

From the outside, the Meriden Public Schools system looks like a network of struggling city schools.

The state has designated it an Alliance District and one of the “lowest-performing districts” since more than one-quarter of the students are multiple grades behind in English, math and science. It is also an economically isolated district that spends 30% less per student than the state average despite three-quarters of its students coming from low-income families. And the school ratings often used in real estate listings don’t look favorably on the district, either.

This is where Miguel Cardona — President-elect Joe CONTINUE READING: Meet Miguel Cardona, Soon to Be Secretary of Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

BRUCE BAKER, ROB COTTO AND PRESTON GREEN: Fixing Connecticut school finance: The time is now

Fixing Connecticut school finance: The time is now

Fixing Connecticut school finance: The time is now

The COVID pandemic has laid bare the extent of inequalities across Connecticut’s cities, towns and school districts and the children and families they serve. Connecticut has long been one of our nation’s most racially and economically segregated states, while also one of the wealthiest. In the past decade those inequities have worsened along both economic and racial lines. In 2021, Connecticut continues to face the interrelated challenges of segregation and school funding equity and adequacy.  Connecticut must do better.

In two recent articles we showed that Connecticut school funding continues to systematically disadvantage students in schools and districts serving predominantly Latinx communities. This finding is not new, with districts like Bridgeport, Waterbury and New Britain recognized in numerous national reports as being among the most financially disadvantaged school districts in the nation. For a period, Connecticut appeared to do somewhat better on behalf of predominantly Black school districts, but this was largely a function of additional aid directed specifically at magnet school programs in Hartford and New Haven, and not by the design of the general aid formula. In a forthcoming article, we find that Black-white disparities in state and local revenues and in property taxation are among the largest in the nation and have worsened in recent years.

Inequities in property taxation, fueled by a long history of exclusionary zoning and racial discrimination, are major contributors to the state’s school finance problem, and cannot be ignored. Municipal fiscal dependence is also a problem. Having a system in which local public schools rely on city and town budgets, where those budgets are based on prior taxing and spending behavior rather than current needs exacerbates the unevenness of school funding, hitting especially hard, schools in cities like Bridgeport.  Above all, however, the state’s general aid program for schools – The Education Cost Sharing Formula (ECS) – falls short of addressing these inequities, and has never been CONTINUE READING: Fixing Connecticut school finance: The time is now

Connecticut: A Teacher Remembers Cardona | Diane Ravitch's blog

Connecticut: A Teacher Remembers Cardona | Diane Ravitch's blog

Connecticut: A Teacher Remembers Cardona

A music teacher in Meriden, Connecticut, wrote this comment about Miguel Cardona on Facebook. The teacher is a BAT. Jake Jacobs, executive director of the BATS, circulated this post.

I can tell you this much–he was my principal and evaluator for one year, during a low point in my career. Of the nine principals (and couple dozen assistants) I have worked under, he is the only one who has ever had a conversation with me about my teaching. His is the only formal observation I have ever had that was conducted in a way where the goal was to help me be a better teacher. When I needed something, he did his best to provide it. When he had to say no, he explained why honestly and respectfully. When he moved to central office, he focused on teacher evaluation and had frank and honest discussions with teachers about the state of teacher eval and the different issues and potential pitfalls of different systems. He is thoughtful, open, and kind, and treats everyone with respect and compassion. Most important, while he is ambitious–he made no secret as principal that he got his Ed. D. with an eye toward being a CONTINUE READING: Connecticut: A Teacher Remembers Cardona | Diane Ravitch's blog

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

Close Connecticut’s Schools Now

Stephen Singer, a teacher, calls on Connecticut to close its schools to save the lives of teachers and to keep students and their families safe.

Hundreds of teachers have died from Covid-19.
More than 1 million children have been diagnosed with the disease.
Yet a bipartisan group of seven state Governors said in a joint statement Thursday that in-person schools are safe even when community transmission rates are high.
Safe – despite hundreds of preventable deaths of school employees.
Safe – despite mass outbreaks among students.
Safe – despite quarantines, staffing shortages, longterm illnesses and mounting uncertainty about the longterm effects of the disease on children and adults.
State Governors must have a different definition of safety than the rest of us.
The message was signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware CONTINUE READING:  Close Connecticut’s Schools Now | Real Learning CT

Wendy Lecker: Michigan’s inadequate funding of schools a lesson for CT

 Wendy Lecker: Michigan’s inadequate funding of schools a lesson for CT

Wendy Lecker: Michigan’s inadequate funding of schools a lesson for CT

Michigan is the home state of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Before she was appointed by President Donald Trump, DeVos wielded her influence and wealth there to push and expand unregulated charters. “School choice” is one of the policies that opponents of adequate public school funding claim can improve education without spending more money. They also tout increased accountability. These two policies are often sold using the civil rights language, promising equal opportunity for all.

A new report by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (“MCRC”), Education Equity in Michigan, demonstrates how underfunding public schools, while relying on choice and increased accountability, has undermined equity and quality in public education across that state. The report is the result of a year of hearings throughout Michigan, where the commission heard from residents as well as subject matter experts.

MCRC notes the persistent underfunding of Michigan public schools, particularly for students with additional needs. In 1993, in an attempt to reduce funding inequity among school districts, Michigan shifted from a system reliant on local property taxes to one relying primarily on state revenue sources. However, the state neglected funding adequacy. Since 1993, Michigan’s school funding revenue steadily declined. A 2019 study found Michigan ranked last in the nation in total education revenue growth and 48th out of 50 in per pupil revenue growth. A key problem is inadequate funding of students living in poverty, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. The disparity in resources between affluent and poor districts is matched by a disparity in educational outcomes, especially among the most underserved students.

Compounding Michigan’s inadequate state funding is a “money follows the child” system where funds leave with students as they move from public school to charter to Public School Academies — three different systems competing for the same limited pot of state education funds. The report notes that the state “provides taxpayer money to charter schools without CONTINUE READING:  Wendy Lecker: Michigan’s inadequate funding of schools a lesson for CT