NYC Public School Parents: The push for privatization continues at the state and federal level

NYC Public School Parents: The push for privatization continues at the state and federal level:

The push for privatization continues at the state and federal level



The NY budget was signed, sealed and delivered last Monday - eight days past the deadline.

We dodged one bullet in that the Assembly managed to block lifting the charter school cap, which would have been disastrous for NYC.  Yet Foundation aid, designed to go primarily to  high-needs public schools, was short-changed once again -- with a mere $700 million added statewide.  This was less than the $900 million proposed by the Republican/IDC-led Senate, and far less than either the $1.4 billion put forward by the Democratic-led Assembly or the $1.8 billion increase recommended by the Board of Regents.  

Foundation aid was established after the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit was settled, requiring that NY funds public schools equitably.  Yet Governor Cuomo has refused to do so, and again, he apparently won out in last week's budget agreement. 
At the same time, funding for charter schools was increased by $50 million, while the supplement that NYC must pay to charters to pay for their rent in private space was boosted to 30% per charter student -- which will cost the DOE an estimated $8 million above what they currently must spend on charter leases.  

This is evidence yet again of preferential treatment for NYC charters, where we have the most overcrowded public schools in the state.  There seems to be little or no concern about the fact that currently 550,000 NYC public school students are jammed into overcrowded facilities, according to DOE data. 

Why the insistence on guaranteeing more funding and space to NYC charter schools by the Governor and the Republican-led Senate?  Is it the huge financial contributions made to these politicians from pro-charter groups such as New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, which spent $5.2 million electing Republican State Senators,  or the vast amounts received by Cuomo from the same bunch of pro-charter hedge funders ? 

Fred LeBrun of the Times-Union said it best in explaining the influence of the charter lobby in Albany and elsewhere: 

It's not the charter schools I referenced above that hold the power, and certainly not the 122,000 or so young New Yorkers who attend them, predominantly in New York City. It's the relative few billionaire hedge fund investors in charters looking for the return on their investment who would have the ability to hold up our budget until they get theirs. Because they in turn have become generous contributors to the governor and the Republican Senate. Again, the political donors benefit directly from the actions the governor and senators take on their behalf.....  

I can hear the charter crowd screaming that they are also public schools, because it says so in the legislation creating them. That's a lot of hooey.... They are 

NYC Public School Parents: The push for privatization continues at the state and federal level:

Schools Matter: Indiana, Personalized Learning, Smart Drugs, and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation

Schools Matter: Indiana, Personalized Learning, Smart Drugs, and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation:

Indiana, Personalized Learning, Smart Drugs, and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation

By Doug Martin 

(for a background on what edtech is up to, please see Alison McDowell’s post here—and all of her posts.  If you want to witness the frightening scenario many like the KnowledgeWorks Foundation have in mind for American education and the workforce, watch this video.)  

Although I’m deep into writing a new book on ed tech to follow Hoosier School Heist and haven’t blogged for a while, I want to take the time to warn Hoosiers about so-called “personalized learning” (also referred to as competency-based learning) not only because of the absurd idea to use online learning to teach pre-schoolers here, but also because Robert Behning’s House Bill 1386 offers a personalized learning pilot program. Thankfully, Bill 1386  died recently in a House Education Committee vote of 8-3, but don’t expect the personalized learning movement to go away, which is not just about using technology in the classroom, which, done well, can be a good thing.  People need to understand what is lurching inside this movement, which is now a major national force.

THE EDTECH FUTURISTS AT THE STATEHOUSE

Speaking edtech and corporate school reform clichés, the KnowledgeWorks Foundation’s Matt Williamstestified in favor of Behning’s personalized learning bill before the Indiana House Education Committee in February, stressing the need for Indiana to become “a leader” nationally by creating a personalized learning system where “formative assessments ….measure student mastery of academic knowledge and social and emotional competencies”  and students “master the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and career,” which is “an essential step” for “our country’s education system.”

Personalized or competency-based learning glues students to computers, allows students to learn at their own pace, and sometimes even does away with grade levels altogether.  But, as even the Gates Foundation-funded iNACOL(International Association for K12 Online Learning), which promotes ALEC’s online learning model legislation, has publicly admitted, this is a Trojan Horse for more harmful things the billionaires have in mind.

To promote the online learning agenda, the Ohio-based KnowledgeWorks paints futuristic scenarios focusing on training workers for the gig economy via online personalized learning (K-university level) in the event that tech titans’ dreams will be eventually fulfilled when one day students will no longer go to real buildings or real jobs, since all education will be done online merely for credentials, and job gigs (like Fiverr, TaskRabbit, the Global Survey Group, etc.) will be done online to earn literally a couple of dollars (yes, literally) an hour, since these will be the only jobs left because of the quick expansion of technology (for an excellent outing of Schools Matter: Indiana, Personalized Learning, Smart Drugs, and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation:

Piecemeal Privatization of Arts and Music in Public Schools

Piecemeal Privatization of Arts and Music in Public Schools:

Piecemeal Privatization of Arts and Music in Public Schools

So you think you saw the Easter Bunny this morning? But you’re not sure.

The current status of the arts and music are like that in our public schools. One might think these subjects are returning, they’re back…or, not really. Just like the hippity-hoppity bunny that moves in lightning speed, privatization of public schools is sneaky that way.

The April issue of Phi Delta Kappan (PDK) is titled Arts & Music in School. I couldn’t wait to read my copy. But my hopes were dashed. Every article leads to partnerships—not school funding directly for arts and music classes. The issue is also about integrating these subjects into other classes and alludes to a technology takeover (no surprise there).

There’s no mention of bringing back qualified arts and music teachers. There’s little talk of reviving these classes as subjects, without integrating them into math or language arts, to make the school curriculum whole again.

First, Destruction

It was catastrophic to defund the arts and music in schools. Mostly, under NCLB, these Piecemeal Privatization of Arts and Music in Public Schools:

Speaking of Revolution. | BustED Pencils

Speaking of Revolution. | BustED Pencils:

Speaking of Revolution

Last week I was following a few Facebook strands.  As I often do, when I find a quote that sparks me to think, I like to repost it to my Facebook page.  Typically I get a decent amount of “likes” with the occasional comment.  However, when I took Alison Hawyer McDowell’s quote below I had no idea of what would follow.

Take a read and then keep the conversation going.  Is Alison right?  Without a revolution is the teaching profession doomed?

[I]f people don’t rise up en masse there likely will not be a teaching profession as we traditionally think of it in 5-7 years. Alison Hawver McDowell

Margaret Benson Who do you want to have rise up en masse?

Tim Slekar The 88.95% of of the population that send their children to public schools and all the employees that work at those schools and all the pointy headed academics (like me and you) that think we will get a pass when public schools are dismantled.

Alison Hawver McDowell We really need everyone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N54qNTeBOek

Alison Hawver McDowell If you have more time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvqBJYmpQrY

Alison Hawver McDowell Lots more here: https://wrenchinthegears.com/

_______________________________________________________________

Don Jo I believe this to be true

Alison Hawver McDowell This is where we are headed if people don’t speak up. There really isn’t that much time. Much of the infrastructure to make this transition happen is already in place. http://www.knowledgeworks.org/…/future-ed-workforce…

Alison Hawver McDowell I am busy mapping Nellie Mae grants all over New England. This threat is very real. “Personalized” learning is not what people think. Tim Slekar-You’re in WI, right? What’s the deal with the CESU-1 Innovative Learning Program? It’s right near Speaking of Revolution. | BustED Pencils:

Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet: Betsy DeVos is an ideologue, not the face of education reform | Chalkbeat

Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet: Betsy DeVos is an ideologue, not the face of education reform | Chalkbeat:

Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet: Betsy DeVos is an ideologue, not the face of education reform

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Friday visited a Denver school with a large immigrant population to quiz students about the current political climate, field their questions and calm their fears.

The setting was Bruce Randolph School, a northeast Denver middle and high school where, last month, a classroom full of middle-schoolers tweeted President Trump with messages about how their immigrant families make America great.

School leadership then visited the Colorado congressional delegation in Washington, including Bennet, to deliver bound copies of those tweets. That led Bennet to return the favor with a school visit.

Students asked the Democratic senator, a former Denver schools superintendent, about immigration policy, the expense of college and federal policy about public lands.

One student posed a simple question for Bennet: “Do you like Mexicans?” (After detailing his family’s Polish immigrant past and his work in Denver Public Schools, he made clear that yes, he does).

Bennet’s message to students on edge about the fates of their loved ones who are undocumented: “Try not to be distracted, and we’ll try to figure this out somehow.”

In an interview with Chalkbeat afterward, Bennet answered questions about what he learned from the school visit, his impressions of Betsy DeVos’s start as U.S. education secretary, his fears about how the Trump administration might undermine the nation’s new education law, and more.

This transcript has been lightly edited.

What did you take away from the school visit today? Did it confirm things you suspected, or open your eyes to anything you hadn’t thought about?

It mostly confirmed what I have heard, which is there are a lot of kids in this school that are worried about what is going on with immigration in the country, and concerns about families being broken up, and a kind of a weight that is hanging over them as they try to study and prepare to go to college or a career after high school. That’s a heavy burden for a teenager to carry and for a middle schooler to carry. What I hope is we are able to send a more productive signal from Washington than one that’s been sent in the past few months.

Overall, how would you assess the job Betsy DeVos has done since she was confirmed as education secretary?

I’ve been very disappointed but not surprised. I think she really is an ideologue when it comes to our public schools. When she talks about education in this country, she does not project support, really, for public education. Just the other day, the Denver Public Schools was recognized by a group in Washington for being the No. 1 choice school district in America and she went to that ceremony and took the opportunity to denigrate the work in the Denver Public Schools without having been here. So that does not instill me with a great deal of confidence.

Anything in particular, anything else, that has been disappointing?

I read the other day that she said when asked about the results that had occurred in the Michigan schools and the Detroit schools, her answer to that was that she wasn’t a numbers person, and that she was just for choice. Choice is not choice for choice’s sake. Choice is about improving outcomes for kids and you cannot do that without real accountability that ensures that there is rigor, that we are moving towards rigor, for kids that are choosing schools in the system. I wish she would come to Denver and take a look at the work that’s been done here, both in terms of choice and in terms of trying to move our traditional schools forward.Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet: Betsy DeVos is an ideologue, not the face of education reform | Chalkbeat:

Joe Biden Has Some Strong Words For Betsy DeVos | The Huffington Post

Joe Biden Has Some Strong Words For Betsy DeVos | The Huffington Post:

Joe Biden Has Some Strong Words For Betsy DeVos
The former VP thinks DeVos’ handling of Title IX sends a “frightening message.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden did not mince words about U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a recent interview with Teen Vogue. 

In the interview, published Friday afternoon, Biden discussed his sexual assault prevention organization It’s On Us and why everyone needs to be included in the fight against sexual violence ― especially with the Trump administration in power. 

“We’re trying to let young men understand that without consent, meaning saying yes, it is OK to touch me, yes it is OK to pull me into this bed, yes it is OK to have intercourse with me, then it is not consent,” Biden told Teen Vogue. “If a young woman is drunk, SHE CANNOT CONSENT. She cannot consent, and it’s rape. It’s rape. It’s rape. It’s rape. I wanted them to see because it’s clear what the subtext is.” 

Teen Vogue’s Vera Papisova then asked the former VP about DeVos ― specifically, his thoughts on how she’s handled Title IX protections.

Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions or programs that receive federal funding, is best known in the context of demands for equal treatment of female and male student athletes. But given that sexual harassment and violence are forms of gender discrimination, the law also offers important protections for student victims of these crimes. Students who are survivors of sexual violence have historically been able to seek justice through the Title IX framework. 

It bothers me most if Secretary DeVos is going to really dumb down Title IX enforcement. The real message, the real frightening message you’re going to send out is, our culture says it’s OK.Former Vice President Joe Biden

Biden told Teen Vogue that the Secretary of Education is sending a “frightening message” to students and parents by refusing to affirm during her confirmation hearing that she would uphold a 2011 Title IX guidance “as it relates to sexual assault on campus.” 

“It bothers me most if Secretary DeVos is going to really dumb down Title IX enforcement,” Biden said. “The real message, the real frightening message you’re going to send out is, our culture says it’s OK. You know, the major reason why women drop out of college when Joe Biden Has Some Strong Words For Betsy DeVos | The Huffington Post:

Toolkit: Every Student Will Succeed - The Chronicle of Social Change

Toolkit: Every Student Will Succeed - The Chronicle of Social Change:

Toolkit: Every Student Will Succeed

SOURCE: National Center for Youth Law

SUBJECT: Education

TYPE: Toolkit/Guide

YEAR PRODUCED: 2017

Download file

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and a new toolkit released by the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education can help jurisdictions implement the changes mandated by ESSA.

Amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESSA requires educational agencies to combine efforts with those of child welfare agencies, both on state and local levels, to secure educational stability for foster youth. It is the first time such provisions have been included in federal education law.

Signaled as a top priority by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services, on June 23, 2016, ED distributed thorough guidelines on the implementation of ESSA. Comprised of two Dear Colleague Letters and an inclusive Q&A, the information included deadlines for school stability provisions (which were slated for December 2016), the duties of various contact persons, and clarified the responsibilities of education and child welfare agencies at state and local level

Some of the specific protections under ESSA for students in foster care include the youth’s ability to remain in the same school they attended when first placed out of home (when in the child’s best interest), immediate enrollment in a new school and transfer of academic records when a change in school is warranted, transportation as needed, and designated State Education Agency (SEA) and Local Education Agency (LEA) Points of Contact (POC). Additionally, the language “awaiting foster care placement” would no longer appear in the McKinney-Vento Act, which is the federal law ensuring immediate enrollment and school stability for homeless youth and children, and said protections would continue under ESSA.

The collaborative efforts expected between child welfare and education agencies encompass planning that prohibits disruption in a foster youth’s education. While the role of the SEA POC is to ensure the implementation of ESSA, oversee involvement of local education and child welfare agencies, as well as consider the overlap of requirements of the federal Fostering Connections Act, responsibilities of the LEA POC entails collaborating with child welfare agencies to create decision-making processes and determine the data collection and sharing of documents and records.

ESSA does not require state and local child welfare agencies to appoint their own POCs, but is highly recommended. Doing so could incorporate working with local agencies for a student’s immediate enrollment, establishing protocol for notifying local agencies when a child is placed in foster care or has moved placements, and function as the primary contact between children in care and service providers.

Access the full report here. Toolkit: Every Student Will Succeed - The Chronicle of Social Change:

Ten questions for Seattle Public Schools’ IT Lead John Krull | Seattle Education

Ten questions for Seattle Public Schools’ IT Lead John Krull | Seattle Education:

Ten questions for Seattle Public Schools’ IT Lead John Krull

John Krull has agreed to answer some questions about what is happening in terms of technology and software programs planned for Seattle Public Schools.

As Krull states in his letter of application for the position within Seattle Public Schools, “I implemented a blended and personal learning infrastructure for 87 urban schools improving overall student engagement”.

To put that in plain English, “blended and personalized learning” means that a student works in front of a computer the greater part of the day and the teacher is then able to manage over 30 students in a class, theoretically, which is a way to cut cost.

It also means that the computer or laptop is programmed with Common Core Standard packaged lessons and its associated testing which becomes an integral part of the software. There is also experimentation with using a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program that is integrated into the computers to determine a student’s mindset and attitude.

We raised a red flag on this website when we discovered that John Krull had been hired by Seattle Public Schools after working in Oakland with their public school system and I wrote about it for The Progressive.

Mr. Krull has agreed to answer some questions for us and he will have an opportunity, in a second article, to air his disagreement with what has been written so far on this website.

The following are the ten questions we submitted to John Krull, Chief Information Officer for Seattle Public Schools on April 14th.

1. Why did you decide to move to Seattle after working for two years as Chief Information Officer in the Oakland public school system?

2. Are you familiar with the Homeroom software? Apparently, it has been installed in some Seattle schools as a pilot program. If you are familiar with the program, what do you see as its value? Do you know what the cost is to buy, install and implement the Ten questions for Seattle Public Schools’ IT Lead John Krull | Seattle Education:

Congress is on recess: Time for your rep to "get schooled" - Network For Public Education

Congress is on recess: Time for your rep to "get schooled" - Network For Public Education:

Congress is on recess: Time for your rep to “get schooled”

Congress Pumping 

Because Congress is on recess until April 25, this week presents the perfect opportunity to talk to your representatives about public education.

Here is the best way to do that. Take a moment today or tomorrow to find their local office (find Senate info here and House here). Click on their names to go to their websites. Call and ask for a meeting. Or better yet, simply go to the office (preferably the main office) for a chat.

Staff will offer to “take down your concerns.” Don’t settle for that–ask to speak to your member of Congress. If they are not in the office, ask for a time they will be in so that you can return. If the staffer does not know, politely say you will wait until they find out. If you are unsuccessful, have information to leave, including a personal letter, and make an appointment to speak with their staff in charge of education issues.

What is the purpose of the visit? We have found that many of our representatives do not really understand school privatization. Or, in some cases, they believe that their constituents do not understand what they are up to, and therefore they can go along with the corporate education lobby without opposition.

That is why we have prepared our NPE toolkit, School Privatization Explained. Use it for your talking points. Bring some of the informational sheets to leave. You can download the toolkit here. It is especially important that you “school” your representative on how education tax credits are no more than vouchers in disguise. They are likely to be promoted in this budget.

For an excellent primer on the topic of disguised vouchers, read NEPC’s Kevin Welner’s piece here.

When you call or visit the office, ask when the next town hall will be. Get others to  go with you and ask direct questions about privatization. Remember you are “schooling” fellow constituents even as you express your views.

There are many important competing issues right now. Make sure support for public education is on the top of every list!

Please post and tweet the link to this email.

Thanks for all you do.

Carol Burris Executive Director, NPE

Congress is on recess: Time for your rep to "get schooled" - Network For Public Education:

Easter 2017 Reader: Grit, Poetry, Educational Rankings, Poverty | radical eyes for equity

Easter 2017 Reader: Grit, Poetry, Educational Rankings, Poverty | radical eyes for equity:

Easter 2017 Reader: Grit, Poetry, Educational Rankings, Poverty

Forget Grit. Focus on Inequality, Christine Yeh (Education Week)

Grit is an easy concept to fall in love with because it represents hope and perseverance, and conjures up images of working-class individuals living the “American dream.” However, treating grit as an appealing and simple fix detracts attention from the larger structural inequities in schools, while simultaneously romanticizing notions of poverty….

Perhaps this idea of grit resonates with so many people who believe in the popular American adage that if you work hard and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, then you can achieve anything. This belief unfortunately, assumes that individuals have the power, privilege, and access to craft their own futures, regardless of circumstance and systemic barriers.

Statistics on educational access consistently reveal vast differences in resources in affluent versus poor neighborhoods. Predominantly white, middle- and upper-income school districts tend to spend significantly more money per student than the districts with the highest percentages of marginalized students. Our poorest schools also tend to have large class sizes, unsafe school transportation, damaged and outdated facilities, and high staff turnover. All of these conditions directly contribute to low educational outcomes and underscore the link between access to school resources and improvements in students’ success. Schools that focus on grit shouldn’t ignore structural inequities because they assume that regardless of your race, class, or social context you can still triumph.

Telling children ‘hard work gets you to the top’ is simply a lie, Hashi Mohamed (The Guardian)

What I have learned in this short period of time is that the pervasive narrative of “if you work hard you will get on” is a complete myth. It’s not true and we need stop saying it. This is because “working hard, and doing the right thing” barely gets you to the starting line. Furthermore, it means something completely different depending on to which context you’re applying this particular notion. So much more is required.

I have come to understand that the systems that underpin the top professions in Britain are set up to serve only a certain section of society: they’re readily identifiable by privileged backgrounds, particular schools and accents. To some this may seem obvious, so writing it may be superfluous. But it wasn’t obvious to me growing up, and it isn’t obvious to many others. The unwritten rules are rarely shared and “diversity” and “open recruitment” have tried but made little if any difference.

Those inside the system then naturally recruit in their own image. This then entrenches the lack of any potential for upward mobility and means that the vast majority are excluded.

Check out Neoliberalism: A Concept Every Sociologist Should Understand, Peter Kaufman (Everyday Sociology)

The end result of neoliberal ideology, Monbiot continues, is that we are led 

Easter 2017 Reader: Grit, Poetry, Educational Rankings, Poverty | radical eyes for equity:

Easter Sunday links. | Fred Klonsky

Easter Sunday links. | Fred Klonsky:

Easter Sunday links.

Of the top 100 US newspapers, 47 ran editorials on President Donald Trump’s Syria airstrikes last week: 39 in favor, seven ambiguous and only one opposed to the military attack.

In other words, 83 percent of editorials on the Syria attack supported Trump’s bombing, 15 percent took an ambivalent position and 2 percent said the attack shouldn’t have happened. Polls showed the US public being much more split: Gallup (4/7–8/17) and ABC/Washington Post (4/7–9/17) each had 51 percent supporting the airstrikes and 40 percent opposed, while CBS (4/7–9/17) found 57 percent in favor and 36 percent opposed.

A list of the editorials with quotes showing support or opposition can be seen here. The list of the top 100 editorial boards in the country was taken from a 2016 Hill piece (10/5/16) on presidential election endorsements. FAIR

Eve Ewing will be our in-studio guest on Hitting Left with the Klonsky Brothers on Friday at 11AM on http://www.lumpenradio.com, 105.5FM in Chicago and streaming around the world.. Eve’s book coming in September from Haymarket Books, and available for pre-order now!

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations Easter Sunday links. | Fred Klonsky: