Education Advocacy Toolkit | The Forum for Education and Democracy

Education Advocacy Toolkit | The Forum for Education and Democracy

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Education Advocacy Toolkit

In conjuction with our partners in the Rethink Learning Now campaign, we have produced an ESEA Toolkit for you to use in making your voice heard around ESEA reauthorization.

To read The Forum's paper, Creating a National Culture of Learning: The Forum for Education & Democracy’s Recommendations for the Reauthorization of ESEA.

New Features

• Read George Wood's blog and learn about the new Education Advocacy Toolkit from The Forum and Rethink Learning Now in the July 13th edition of The Forum's newsletter News and Views.

  Pedro Antonio Noguera is a professor in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. He has published on topics such as urban school reform, conditions to promote student achievement, youth violence, the impact of school choice and vouchers on urban public schools, and race and ethnic relations in American society.

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Unions and Democrats Both Straddle the Fence | Intercepts

Unions and Democrats Both Straddle the Fence | Intercepts

Unions and Democrats Both Straddle the Fence

by Mike Antonucci

There’s a highly illustrative bit of information in Politico, courtesy of U.S. Rep. David Obey, about the battle over the edujobs bill. Obey says he knew the Obama administration would be upset about the cuts to the Race to the Top program, but that he proposed cuts to some of his own pet projects, “such as expanding broadband computer access to rural areas like his district.”
So to Obey, the plan to incentivize specific education reforms is no different from spending money on rural community access to broadband. It’s safe to say Obey and Obama don’t see eye-to-eye on education policy. It would seem with NEA and AFT in favor of the edujobs bill and against Race to the Top, the lines are clearly drawn between union-allied Democrats and reformy Democrats. But it’s not that simple. With a midterm election looming, neither the unions nor the Democrats want an internal split, so we’re seeing a lot of overlapping

Eduflack: Can Gates Remake K-12 Education?

Eduflack: Can Gates Remake K-12 Education?

Can Gates Remake K-12 Education?

by Eduflack

Yesterday, Nick Anderson offered up a front-page story in The Washington Post on the influence and impact the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is having on education reform in the United States. For many, this was not new news (particularly since Libby Quaid and the Associated Press did a similar story about two years ago), but the size and scope was bound to attract attention. When we start to see the number of grants awarded, the total dollars doled out, and the influential individuals who have moved from Gates into either government or practitioner roles, and you start to see the possibility of the Gates Foundation and education improvement.

But Eduflack is struck by the same thinking that has dogged him for years. Anderson's well-written piece portrays the current K-12 public education environment and how the Gates Foundation needs to work within the confines of that system. It continues to be about refurbishing existing homes, not about tearing down and building new. And if anything was clear from the Anderson article, it is that Gates is in a position to do it its way, and not simply as we have always done.

So it had Eduflack going back into the archives to look at some past writing. In March of 2009, I opined on this

Diane Ravitch Speaks on Charter Schools

MikeAntonucci 29 videos

Kendrick Meek | Join Team Kendrick Meek | Pledge to Support the Real Democrat

Kendrick Meek | Join Team Kendrick Meek | Pledge to Support the Real Democrat

Kendrick Meek is the only real Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Florida. He is the only one in this race that is pro-choice, voted against off-shore drilling, and stood up for the middle class. Watch the video below and pledge to support the real Democrat, Kendrick Meek!

The Millionaire Giving Pledge | Tactical Philanthropy

The Millionaire Giving Pledge | Tactical Philanthropy

The Millionaire Giving Pledge

July 13, 2010 – 8:34 am

My column in this week’s Chronicle of Philanthropy focuses on the Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge and argues that the real impact of the Pledge is the potential for it to spur more every day donors to give more rather than simply trigger the giving of the billionaires which the Pledge focuses on.

I tried to calculate the potential dollar impact of a shift in the giving of every day donors and argued that it could result in a 100% increase in annual giving vs. a maximum of a 10% lift if every billionaire fulfilled the pledge. But yesterday Ryan Allis, writing on the Social Entrepreneurship blog at Change.org gave a more compelling break down of the numbers that illustrates how vastly more important the giving patterns of major donors is compared to the ultra, ultra wealthy.

Ryan wrote:

There are 10 million millionaires in the world, with a total net worth of $39 trillion according to the 2010 Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini World Wealth Report. The average millionaire has $3.9 million.

Excluding the $1.3 trillion of the Forbes 400 [Sean: these are the billionaires targeted by the Giving Pledge] from this $39 trillion, there is $37.7 trillion in assets among millionaires globally. What if there were a Millionaire Pledge?

If through a directed effort we can get 20% of global millionaires to commit to give

Gates Bets Against Buffett’s EV Prophecy (MSFT, BRK.A, BYDDF, PG, JNJ, KO, TSLA, TM, HMC, F, BRK.B) | tickerspy Newswire

Gates Bets Against Buffett’s EV Prophecy (MSFT, BRK.A, BYDDF, PG, JNJ, KO, TSLA, TM, HMC, F, BRK.B) | tickerspy Newswire

Gates Bets Against Buffett’s EV Prophecy (MSFT, BRK.A, BYDDF, PG, JNJ, KO, TSLA, TM, HMC, F, BRK.B)

by Owen Vater | July 13th

Filed in: Green Investing News | Hedge Fund and Institutional News

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• Goldman Picks Blue Chips
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With all the electric vehicle talk these days, it’s almost surprising to hear there are still start-ups banking on the future of the combustion engine. However, one such firm got a high-profile vote of confidence fromMicrosoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates, who, according to The Wall Street Journal, contributed to a $23.5 million round of funding. EcoMotors is a Troy, Michigan-based low-emissions engine firm whose motors are designed to run on ethanol, diesel, and good old-fashioned gasoline. According to its website, the company aims to make possible the first five-passenger car capable of 100 mpg highway fuel economy.

Investors pay close attention to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s top disclosed equity holdingspartly due to the foundation’s multi-billion dollar scale, and also because of Gates’ proximity to investment legend Warren Buffett. Lately though, Gates’ personal venture investments have grabbed the most headlines.

Back in 2008, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) bought a 10%, Hong Kong-listed stake in Chinese electric car and battery firm BYD Co (BYDDF). BYD is hardly the typical “Buffett stock,” as indicated by Berkshire’s latest disclosed U.S.-listed equity portfolio, which is chock full of blue-chips likeProcter & Gamble (PG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Coca-Cola (KO). But the Oracle of Omaha sees