US Commander Campbell: The man behind the failed coup in Turkey

US Commander Campbell: The man behind the failed coup in Turkey:

US Commander Campbell: The man behind the failed coup in Turkey

The organizer and financial distributor of the coup attempt turns out to be an ISAF ex- US commander, investigation reveals

A former U.S. commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, was the organizer of the July 15 military coup attempt in Turkey, sources said.

General John F. Campbell was one of the top figures who organized and managed the soldiers behind the failed coup attempt in Turkey, sources close to ongoing legal process of pro-coup detainees said.

Campbell also managed more than $2 billion money transactions via UBA Bank in Nigeria by using CIA links to distribute among the pro-coup military personnel in Turkey.

The ongoing investigation unveiled that Campbell had paid at least two secret visits to Turkey since May, until the day of the coup attempt.

The coup plot that was foiled by the comprehensive effort of Turkish Nation, including its citizens, politicians, media and police forces, was organized by the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) led-by so-called cleric Fethullah Gülen who has been living in self-exile in America for several years.

American Intelligence, Military and other institutions are accused of supporting the FETO leader Gülen and his gangs for the military coup.

Turkey urges US to prevent Gülen from dodging laws

A spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday laid out a case for the extradition of Fetullah Gülen to face charges that he orchestrated an attempted overthrow of the government in Ankara.Ibrahim Kalin urged the U.S. to not allow Gülen to “exploit its laws to avoid facing a fair and legitimate accounting in Turkey," in an opinion piece published in The New York Times.Kalin wrote that mounting evidence has surfaced that points to Gülen leading the attempt, noting that the coup “was planned and staged by his followers within the army."Several generals and officers involved have confessed to having links to Gülen.Levent Turkkan, aide-de-camp to the chief of staff for the Turkish armed forces, Gen. Hulusi Akar, admitted that he was a member of the Gulenist organization and joined the coup on order from his superiors within the group, according to Kalin.Akar reportedly told prosecutors coup plotters urged him to speak to Gülen, who lives in the state of Pennsylvania, to persuade him to join the overthrow attempt.“The United States should extradite Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish citizen, to Turkey, as is allowed under an existing treaty," Kalin said. “Turkey has already provided a number of legal documents to American authorities and will send more as further evidence is collected."U.S. officials announced last week receipt of extradition documents for Gülen, following the coup attempt that killed more than 240 people and wounded more than 2,000 others.The Justice Department is reviewing the papers, according to the White House.

US knows Gülen behind failed coup: Turkish minister

The U.S. knows the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey was made by Pennsylvania-based preacher Fetullah Gülen, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said Sunday.In remarks made to a Turkish television channel Kanal 7, Bozdağ said: "I am sure U.S. President [Barack] Obama, the U.S. intelligence and secretary of state know this coup [attempt] was made by Fetullah Gülen. I am very sure they don't have any hesitation about this."The Turkish minister added there would be difficulties in relations between the two countries if Gülen maintained his life in the U.S. after the coup attempt."They [the U.S.] will also face great difficulties in relations between Turkey and U.S, if the U.S. government continues to keep Fetullah Gülen in the U.S. after the coup attempt," Bozdağ said."The U.S. government does not have any justification in defending and keeping Fetullah Gulen in the U.S.," he added.He said there was no obstacle in place in international law for the extradition of Gülen to Turkey.Separately, Bozdağ said he would be in the U.S. with Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala to discuss the extradition issue.He recalled the fact that Turkey had sent four files to the U.S. authorities on Tuesday regarding the preacher's extradition.Turkish government has repeatedly said the deadly plot on July 15, which martyred at least 246 people and injured more than 2,100 others, was organized by followers of Gülen.Gulen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state”.

Military sources said Campbell, who was the commander of ISAF between August 26, 2014 and May 1, 2016, had made some top secret meetings in Erzurum military base and Adana İnicrlik Airbase.

İncirlik Airbase has been used by the U.S. Military for conducting the anti-Daesh campaign in Syria.

Military sources said that Campbell was the man, who directed the process of trending / blacklisting the military officers in the base.

If the coup attempt was successful, Campbell would visit Turkey in a short time, according to the sources.

Transition of $2 billion from Nigeria to Turkey

The Nigeria branch of the United Bank of Africa (UBA) was the main base for the last six-months of money transactions for the coup plotters.

Millions of dollars of money has been transferred from Nigeria to Turkey by a group of CIA personnel.

The money, which has been distributed to an 80-person special team of the CIA, was used to convince pro-coup generals.

More than 2 billion dollars were distributed during the process leading to the coup.

After taking money from their bank accounts, the CIA team hand delivered it to the terrorists under the military dresses.

Categorizing the military officers

The sources said that some familiar figures in the Eastern and Southeastern part of the country had taken active roles during the process, while the members of the Gülenist gang have been used in central and eastern region.

All officers who command a group of soldiers in a patrol station, unit, company, regiment, brigade, division, corps, or army were kept in close surveillance.

In 2015, the pro-Gülenist officers in the İncirlik base established an investigation desk. They drew the map of all soldiers under their command. They investigated the soldiers' trends, their personalities and family background.

Gülen’s case to be ‘very high priority’: US ambassador

John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said Wednesday the case of Fetullah Gülen, the expatriate cleric accused of being behind last week's failed coup, would be a “very high priority" for Washington. “It will depend on the scope and quality of evidence that is provided and how compelling that is. But I can assure you that we are committed to reviewing quickly as soon as we receive materials. It will be a very high priority for the US Department of Justice," Bass told a group of reporters before a July 4th reception U.S. consulate general in Istanbul, commenting on how long it might take U.S. officials to review the documents. Turkey accuses U.S-based Gülen of being behind the coup attempt and has demanded that he be extradited to face trial. Materials related to the extradition of the cleric, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, have been submitted to U.S. authorities. Last Friday's attempted coup by rogue elements of the military resulted in the martyring of at least 240 people and the injuring of nearly 1,500 others. Bass declined to comment on the future of Turco-American relations if Washington does not hand Gulen back to Ankara. “The United States government is focused on what we can do together between two countries to help Turkey pursue this investigation," he stressed. Bass also raised concerns about Ankara's steps to dismiss tens of thousands of public employees in the military, police, education sector, and civil service. “We see mass arrest or detentions and mass firings of people from positions of employment in a very rapid period [of] time without a lot of evidence having been presented for those actions, that creates concerns," he said. On how the thwarted coup affected operations against Daesh from Incirlik Air Base in Adana, southern Turkey, Bass said that there is still no electricity at the base. He said the Turkish government cut electricity at all air bases in response to the coup attempt. “The longer it continues, the more impact it will have on operations, which is not to benefit either Turkey or the United States or the other countries that are threatened by Daesh terrorism," he said. The defense ministers of Turkey and the United States also discussed over the telephone the situation at Incirlik Air Base on Tuesday. Turkish authorities have said coup plotters used the air base as main station for the takeover attempt. Air refueling tankers used in the coup were launched from the base, where 3,000 U.S. troops and U.S. aircraft are stationed in anti-Daesh operations.

All soldiers were categorized in three groups: opponents, neutrals, and supporters.

A commander from the smallest patrol station to all military units had been blacklisted under the process.

Soldiers who were marked as opponents to the junta, was debarred from the “financial support.”

The military personnel who were in a neutral position received a difference in the amount of money, according to the importance of their position and ranks.

The money transactions were started in March 2015 through the commissioned “courier”.

The supports who also were categorized as “those who will move with us,” were provided a huge amount of money.

All soldiers and officers in this category were considered as the devoted members of the FETO terror group.

A bag with a large amount of money was found in the room of Brigadier General Mehmet Dişli, one of the top military officials detained for leading the coup attempt.

 US Commander Campbell: The man behind the failed coup in Turkey:

Nevada divided over landmark school voucher program as it heads to top court | US news | The Guardian

Nevada divided over landmark school voucher program as it heads to top court | US news | The Guardian:

Nevada divided over landmark school voucher program as it heads to top court

Opponents attack ‘reverse Robin Hood’ program that would incentivize parents to abandon public schools by offering $5,100 education savings accounts

 

here are cockroaches inside the lockers at Hyde Park middle school in Las Vegas, so Victoria Piñeiro, 13, carries her lunchbox, violin and heavy backpack with her all day long. She attends classes under ceilings that leak during rainstorms. And on hot afternoons, school is often canceled because the air conditioning has broken down.

Victoria told Nevada lawmakers this at an educational forum in April 2015, begging them to prioritize funding for a state school system ranked dead last in the nation.

Instead, in June 2015, the state went on to adopt the most far-reaching voucher-style program in the US, incentivizing parents to abandon public schools with annual $5,100 education savings accounts (ESAs) for private schooling – regardless of household wealth or income level.

ACLU sues to block sweeping Nevada education funding program

 

Read more

But Nevada’s “school choice” program, originally scheduled to begin in January, is on hold pending arguments on 29 July in the state supreme court. A group of parents are suing to kill the program, claiming that it illegally relies on money reserved for public schools. The ACLU is also challenging the law on grounds that state funds cannot be used for religious purposes, such as parochial schooling.

Critics of the vouchers say they will make a bleak situation worse – Nevada received the lowest grade in the nation, a D, in Education Week’s 2016 state report card because of poor school funding, lackluster student achievement and dismal chances of success. Public school advocates claim the vouchers will further deplete resources and increase segregation in the community, and are aghast that the state’s wealthiest families will be eligible for the private school subsidy.

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 Victoria Piñeiro, 13, with other students and parents in Carson City in March 2015 to tell Nevada lawmakers to prioritize funding for the state school system. Photograph: Courtesy of Susie Martinez

ESA supporters believe vouchers can help by fuelling competition and easing public school overcrowding.

Both sides agree that if the program survives its present legal challenge, the “sweeping” effort will have implications throughout the US.

“It’s never been done on this scale before,” said Michael Schaus, of the Nevada Policy Research Institute. He noted that other states have limited access to school vouchers solely to low-income families or specific school districts. “ESAs in Nevada divided over landmark school voucher program as it heads to top court | US news | The Guardian:

“JIM CROW! GENOCIDE!” STATE LOAN BOARD APPROVES THEFT OF $1.5 B IN DPS ASSETS, $385 M IN LOANS | VOICE OF DETROIT

“JIM CROW! GENOCIDE!” STATE LOAN BOARD APPROVES THEFT OF $1.5 B IN DPS ASSETS, $385 M IN LOANS | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought:

“JIM CROW! GENOCIDE!” STATE LOAN BOARD APPROVES THEFT OF $1.5 B IN DPS ASSETS, $385 M IN LOANS

 Dozens traveled to Lansing to oppose state dismantling of DPS district, and further debt of $385 million

Board files whistleblower complaint with SEC alleging that loan rates of up to 18% have cost DPS over $400 million under previous EM’s

EM Rhodes’ advisors told him plan would be “enormously costly”

 Parthenon Group involved: “All students are not equal; SOME ARE MORE PROFITABLE THAN OTHERS”

By Diane Bukowski 

July 23, 2016 

Detroit school board members (l to r) Lamar Lemmons, Tawanna Simpson and Elena Herrada with sign showing how 16 years of state control has devastated DPS finances, after loan board vote.

LANSING – “You just voted for Jim Crow,” Detroit’s elected school board members and supporters shouted at the Michigan Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board July 18, after it approved the transfer of over $1.5 billion in Detroit Public Schools (DPS) assets to a state-operated “community district,” and $385 million in initial loans, some at an 18 percent interest rate.

Speakers at the meeting called the plan “genocide,” and said it makes Detroit’s children second-class citizens.

“You are taking money from Detroit school kids to pay off a debt the state created,” Board of Education President Lamar Lemmons said.

A state-controlled “community district” was created July 1 under Public Acts 192-197.  DPS itself will remain only to pay off about $3 billion in outstanding debt to the banks, left behind by 16 years of state control. That will come from funds meant to educate Detroit’s children, 59 percent of whom live below the poverty level. The district will be the only one in the state allowed to hire non-certified teachers. Many more of the 104 schools left in the district, down from 261 in 1992, will be required to close.

Elder Helen Moore speaks during loan board meeting July 18, as others crowd behind her waiting their turn to oppose destruction of DPS, loans.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, the state legislature, and Emergency Manager Steven Rhodes launched the plan July 1. Rhodes presided over the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy. He has “JIM CROW! GENOCIDE!” STATE LOAN BOARD APPROVES THEFT OF $1.5 B IN DPS ASSETS, $385 M IN LOANS | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought:

Newark Charter School Continues Their Discriminatory Social Engineering Enrollment Practices – Exceptional Delaware

Newark Charter School Continues Their Discriminatory Social Engineering Enrollment Practices – Exceptional Delaware:

Newark Charter School Continues Their Discriminatory Social Engineering Enrollment Practices

This school is a piece of work!  Remember last winter when I wrote about how a six-year old girl with disabilities was denied admission in Newark Charter School’s lottery?  In less than 24 hours, parents, legislators, and other citizens swarmed their Head of School, Greg Meece, with emails and phone calls and we got the school to bend and let her in the lottery.  Ultimately, she didn’t make it into the school, but it was still a victory for the parents because she got the right to participate in it.  The reason she wasn’t let in was because the board had changed their admissions policy last fall.  They wouldn’t let anyone who would be above the age of five by a certain date even apply.  For this girl, who has developmental disabilities, she just wasn’t quite ready the year before to enter Kindergarten.  The board got rid of their policy at their May board meeting, but they did introduce a new one: students applying for Kindergarten can only apply once.

Here is the issue with that.  For students like the girl who had to get people to rally to get her into the lottery, parents of pre-schoolers with a disability don’t always know if their child will be ready for Kindergarten until the spring, when they have a conference with the pre-school.  This is common practice.  If a parent of a child with disabilities may not be aware of this or thinks their child is ready, and they apply to Newark Charter School, they can’t apply again the next year based on this latest discrimination stunt by the wunderbars at Newark Charter School.  This way they can keep those developmental disability kids out of their school.

The board also changed their admissions policy where it relates to “students of employees” at their June 21st board meeting.  Any newly hired employee’s kid gets preference over the rest of the general public kids in the lottery.  I have to wonder what this school’s definition of an employee.  I wonder how much cafeteria staff they hire so they can get certain kids into the school!

Of course, the Delaware Dept. of Education will say this is legal and their board can pick those kind of enrollment preferences (without any needed recommendations or training on discrimination from the DOE).  Our state legislators, most of them, won’t bat an eye.  Especially the guy who might as Newark Charter School Continues Their Discriminatory Social Engineering Enrollment Practices – Exceptional Delaware:

Carol Burris: Why charter schools get public education advocates so angry - The Washington Post

Why charter schools get public education advocates so angry - The Washington Post:

Why charter schools get public education advocates so angry

There are thousands of charter schools in the United States that enroll a few million students. While they are just a fraction of the number of kids who attend school, the charter movement has been a key part of the choice movement and has affected public education in many ways. It has been 25 years since the charter movement began, and it has not evolved exactly as supporters had hoped, with too little oversight of too many charters.

In this post, Carol Burris, a former New York high school principal who is now executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education, explains why putting the word “public” in front of “charter school” — which are funded with tax dollars — is “an affront” to people for whom public education is a mission. Burris was named the 2010 Educator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State, and in 2013, the same organization named her the New York State High School Principal of the Year. She has been chronicling botched school reform efforts in her state for years.

By Carol Burris

When Hillary Clinton mentioned public charter schools in her speech to the National Education Association earlier this month, she was greeted with some boos. Her remarks about sharing “what works” seemed innocuous enough.  So why did the teachers in attendance react so strongly?

The obvious answer is the charter sector’s distaste for collective bargaining.  But the antipathy directed at charters runs deeper than that. Charters, regardless of their original intent, have become a threat to democratically governed, neighborhood public schools, and questions about their practices, opacity and lack of accountability are increasing as their numbers grow.

Placing the adjective “public” in front of “charter” is an affront to those who deeply believe in the mission of public schools. Charter schools are privately run academies funded by the taxpayer. Many are governed by larger corporations, known as CMOs. Some are for-profit; others are not for profit yet still present financial “opportunities.”

Democratic school governance is viewed as an obstacle by many charter school devotees. When addressing the California Charter School Association in March 2015, Netflix billionaire Reed Hastings opined that school boards were obsolete and should be replaced with a system of large non-profit corporations.

Yet the governance of public schools is one of the purest and most responsive forms of American democracy. Sunshine laws and public meetings allow citizens to have a say in how their children are educated and how their tax dollars are spent. Even in cities with mayoral control, there is some limited voice through the election of a mayor. In 2010, the then-D.C. Why charter schools get public education advocates so angry - The Washington Post:

Leaked email shows how Seattle Mayor Ed Murray plans to take over the school board | Seattle Education

Leaked email shows how Seattle Mayor Ed Murray plans to take over the school board | Seattle Education:

Leaked email shows how Seattle Mayor Ed Murray plans to take over the school board

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

If Mayor Murray wants to address the “achievement/opportunity gap” in a way that is more appropriate to his office, he needs to focus on a living wage for all in Seattle and affordable housing. That will go a long way in helping children succeed in school and in life. Leave education to the educators not politicians, attorneys and business interests.

The school board in recent years has become troublesome to business interests and those wanting to privatize the Seattle public school system. The board members have accomplished much through hard work and collaboration with each other and the school community, winning successes for students, teachers and families.

In the meantime, Seattle’s Mayor Murray has been busy in the last few years assembling his own Department of Education and working on privatizing preschool, using levy dollars to threaten established city and county subsidized preschools with a percentage of money taken away by the number of children who do not perform, per assessments, up to an established standard set by the city.

This is what Mayor Murray refers to as ensuring a quality education for all.

He also thinks it’s a good idea to use imaginary unused classroom space for the preschool program.

Now he is after the Seattle School Board.

Seattleites are aware of what has happened around the country with mayoral control and want no part of it so the Mayor has come up with another way to control the school Leaked email shows how Seattle Mayor Ed Murray plans to take over the school board | Seattle Education:

Big Education Ape: Mayoral control of schools worked for New York City, but other poor districts haven’t been so lucky - City & Region - The Buffalo News - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2015/04/mayoral-control-of-schools-worked-for.html

Turkey’s Failed Coup Puts Spotlight on a Rural Pennsylvanian Town - WSJ

Turkey’s Failed Coup Puts Spotlight on a Rural Pennsylvanian Town - WSJ:

Turkey’s Failed Coup Puts Spotlight on a Rural Pennsylvanian Town
Accusation by Erdogan that cleric Fethullah Gulen plotted the takeover has stirred up the sleepy community where he lives

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan pinned the coup attempt that gripped the country on a self-exiled cleric living in the U.S. named Fethullah Gulen. Gulen denies any involvement. Here's a closer look at this influential preacher. 

SAYLORSBURG, Pa.— Chris Fehnel, who lives near this Pocono Mountains town, was bored one day last year, so he and a friend pulled up to a former summer camp where Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen lives.

“We asked the guard if we could go inside,” Mr. Fehnel, 22 years old, recalled recently while sitting outside Scorecard Sports Bar and Grill down the road.

The request led to a little adventure that took on new significance for him this week, when Mr. Gulen was accused by Turkish President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan of plotting a coup from his compound in the woods here, about 90 miles from New York City.

“I have a message for Pennsylvania,” President Erdogan announced, amid arrests in Turkey of thousands of soldiers and teachers with alleged links to Mr. Gulen and his network of charter schools. Mr. Erdogan called on the U.S. to extradite the cleric for his alleged role in the July 15 coup, which the Turkish government has said killed more than 250 people.

The accusation, which Mr. Gulen denies, shined an extraordinary light on this sleepy community of about 1,100 people. News is typically so slow here that a car accident in May involving Mr. Fehnel was a top story in the local paper because it caused a traffic jam. A main attraction is an 11-acre corn maze called Mazezilla; another draw is a Hindu ashram, Arsha Vidya Gurkulam, that sometimes is mistaken for the Turkish retreat.

ENLARGE

The entrance to the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center, run by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, in rural Saylorsburg, Pa., is seen in this 2014 photo. Mr. Gulen, who Turkey alleges was the mastermind of the recent coup attempt, has lived at the private compound for more than 15 years. PHOTO:CHARLES MOSTOLLER/REUTERS

The drama at the cleric’s retreat “sure makes this town more interesting,” said a man walking through the ashram in a traditional Indian white dhoti.

On Saturday, some protesters supporting President Erdogan pulled up in front of the ashram and began calling for Mr. Gulen to go back to Turkey and turn himself in. They were soon redirected about a mile and a half down some winding roads to a former summer camp with a small sign outside that says Golden Generation.

The 26-acre property was purchased for about $250,000 in 1992 by the Golden Generation Foundation, according to Yuksel Alp Aslandogan, executive director of a Gulen-affiliated nonprofit in New York called Alliance for Shared Values, who was in Saylorsburg to field questions over the Turkish government’s allegations.

Mr. Gulen, 77, moved here in 1999, Mr. Aslandogan said, because it was “a tranquil, beautiful environment not far from New York City.”

Roughly 120 protesters found their way to the entrance and began a “peaceful protest,” according to State Police public information officer David Peters. It was one of a handful of protests in the past few years, since Mr. Gulen had a falling out with his onetime ally President Erdogan.

ENLARGE

An aerial view of the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., in July 2013. PHOTO:REUTERS

At Mr. Gulen’s request, Mr. Aslandogan said, Mr. Erdogan’s supporters were offered juice and snacks “to show them our attitude.” Most refused.

The retreat is on a rural street, where small ranch houses mingle with old wooden barns and farms.

An elderly woman outside a house next door said police advised her to block off her driveway over the weekend in anticipation of protests. She said she has lived in the house for more than 50 years and asked not to be named.

“I have never seen the guy,” she said. “I don’t believe he exists.”

Golden Generation hosts dozens of visitors at a time, mainly from Turkey, in a group of Turkey’s Failed Coup Puts Spotlight on a Rural Pennsylvanian Town - WSJ:

Big Education Ape: TBFURMAN: Who's Running These Schools? Part 3 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2016/07/tbfurman-whos-running-these-schools_24.html

Tim Kaine on Education | U.S. Senator for Virginia

Issue | Issues | Tim Kaine | U.S. Senator for Virginia:

Tim Kaine on Education

 A well-educated population is the key to having the most talented nation on earth. Today, the U.S. is 12th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year olds achieving postsecondary degrees. If we are to win the race for talent, we need a long-term plan that develops the best workforce in the world.

Virginia’s innovative investments in education – from pre-kindergarten to post-graduate and workforce training – have turned our state into a magnet for talent.  Talented people generate creative ideas for companies and jobs, and great businesses locate in places where they know they can hire capable workers. In order to return America to the top in the world in educating our population, we have to look at reforms like broadening our early childhood education system, creating more rigorous K-12 curriculums, renewing our focus on career and technical education and dramatically reducing the cost of college.

As Governor, I invested in every aspect of Virginia’s education system. I worked with the legislature to expand the number of children enrolled in Pre-K by nearly 40 percent. I also championed a successful $2 billion higher-education construction bond package that built facilities colleges and universities across Virginia need to attract the best students and faculty. This ongoing commitment to expanding and improving education opportunities paid off:  In 2007 Education Week ranked Virginia the state where a child was most likely to have a successful life.

I brought my passion for education to the Senate, where I co-founded the bipartisan Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus.  From working in my dad’s ironworking and welding shop to teaching at a technical school in Honduras, I’ve always been a strong believer in the importance of high-quality CTE programs. .  As co-chair of the CTE Caucus, I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation like the Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act to raise the quality of CTE programs at schools in Virginia and across the country. This bill improves the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act to better meet the needs of a 21st century workforce and ensure students have access to the highest-quality CTE programs. I’ve also led efforts to include CTE in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by including career and technical programs in the definition of ‘well-rounded education’ alongside math or science, supporting professional development for CTE teachers, and strengthening career counseling in schools. 

I’ve long been concerned about the prevalence of sexual assault and data showing that young women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four consistently experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence.  In December, I met with students involved in One Less at the University of Virginia, a group of advocates for survivors of rape and sexual assault, to hear their opinions on what more can be done to prevent sexual violence on college campuses and support survivors. Some of the students I spoke with said they were never taught about sexual assault before college orientation, and they believed incorporating information into secondary school curriculums could help educate students about dating violence prevention and what constitutes consent. Following this discussion, I went to work on crafting the Teach Safe Relationships Act, legislation that encourages schools to teach students about safe relationship behavior as a tool for preventing sexual assault on and off our college campuses. 

I’m pleased to report that Congress passed a bipartisan education reform bill in December 2015 called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This bill replaces the long-expired and broken legislation known as No Child Left Behind. It will make changes that educators and families support, like decreasing the emphasis on standardized testing and giving states the flexibility to close achievement gaps. I’m also pleased that the bill will allow elementary and secondary schools – for the first time – to use Title IV funds for instruction and training on safe relationship behavior among students. I authored this provision because I believe it will help prevent sexual assault, not just on college campuses, but for all young people in the 16-24 age range who are most vulnerable. Additionally, ESSA includes my provisions to improve access to K-12 career and technical education (CTE) programs. 

From early learning to postsecondary education, I believe education is key to growing a talented workforce. As Senator, I introduced the Strong Start for America’s Children Act, legislation to expand access to high-quality early learning programs for children from birth to age five. As a parent, I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that pre-K can have on our children. I also understand the importance of a quality higher education at an affordable cost. That’s why I co-sponsored the Supporting College Access and Success Through Dual Enrollment Act, legislation to help students earn college credits in high school in order to cut the cost of earning a college diploma. I also co-sponsored The Net Price Calculator Improvement Act of 2014, bipartisan legislation to give students and families a better estimate of college costs before they apply to schools. I also successfully urged the U.S. Department of Education to allow students to apply for federal student aid earlier in the college application timeline and allow them to use prior year tax data to expedite the approval process so students have a better sense before they apply or get accepted into a college how much financial aid they will receive. 

We must address access to quality, affordable education if we want to remain the most competitive workforce in the world.Issue | Issues | Tim Kaine | U.S. Senator for Virginia:

How Paul Tough's Helping Children Succeed Helped this Teacher Better Understand Our Craft - Linkis.com

How Paul Tough's Helping Children Succeed Helped this Teacher Better Understand Our Craft - Linkis.com:

How Paul Tough’s Helping Children Succeed Helped this Teacher Better Understand Our Craft

Paul Tough’s Helping Kids Succeed includes many depressing statistics, most of which contribute to an indictment of the contemporary school reform movement. However, Tough cites other evidence which helps explain why reformers were so vehement in demanding transformative change and blowing up the education “status quo.” The evidence Tough cites from Robert Pianta, Joseph Allen, James Stigler, and James Hiebert includes the facts that are the most painful for teachers to contemplate.

Pianta’s researchers studied elementary instruction and “found that in almost every school they observed, the instruction students received was repetitive and undemanding, limited mostly to the endless practice of basic skills.” Pianta et. al also found:

Students in schools populated mostly by middle-class-and-above children were about equally likely to find themselves in a classroom with engaged and interesting instruction (47 percent of students) as in one with basic, repetitive instruction (53 percent of students). But students in schools serving mostly low-income children were almost all (91 percent) in classrooms marked by basic, uninteresting teaching.
Stigler and Hiebert documented an international pattern that was complementary to what Allen, Pianta and their team saw in American classrooms. In contrast to the normative basic skills approach to math, in Japan, “41 percent of students’ time in math class was still spent on basic practice — churning through one problem after another — but 44 percent was devoted to more creative stuff: inventing new procedures or adapting familiar procedures to unfamiliar material.”

On the other hand, it is hard to say how much of the retrograde instruction in high-poverty American schools is a longstanding norm, and how much of it reflects ways that output-driven school reform took lousy schools and made them worse. When I entered the inner city classroom in the early 1990s, I was stunned by the great How Paul Tough's Helping Children Succeed Helped this Teacher Better Understand Our Craft - Linkis.com: