School Segregation is Not a Myth - The Atlantic

School Segregation is Not a Myth - The Atlantic:
School Segregation Is Not a Myth
Skeptics claim that concerns over racially divided schools are false alarms—but they’re missing the full picture.

Is school segregation getting worse?

Plenty of people say yes, including scholars, journalists, and civil-rights advocates. For the first time in years, there’s something approximating a consensus: Racially divided schools are a major and intensifying problem for American education—maybe even a crisis.

There’s seemingly compelling numerical evidence, too. According to my analysis of data from the National Center on Education Statistics, the number of segregated schools (defined in this analysis as those schools where less than 40 percent of students are white), has approximately doubled between 1996 and 2016. In that same span, the percentage of children of color attending such a school rose from 59 to 66 percent. For black students, the percentage in segregated schools rose even faster, from 59 to 71 percent.

But not everyone is on board. In the eyes of some writers, the warning signs of segregation are all a false alarm—little more than a statistical mirage. The National Review writer Robert VerBruggen recently made this case, attacking what he called the “resegregation myth.” VerBruggen and other skeptics contend that methods meant to identify school segregation are instead detecting something much more benign: The growing diversity of the American population.

This is possible because many measures of school segregation are narrow, focusing only on a single symptom. For instance, one common research technique is to count the number of schools above a certain demographic cutoff (for instance, more than 90 percent nonwhite). Another is to focus on “exposure,” or how common it is for white and nonwhite students to encounter each other in the education system.

Doubters like VerBruggen argue that people using these metrics have been fooled by demographic change. The past several decades have seen a precipitousSchool Segregation is Not a Myth - The Atlantic:

 Big Education Ape: The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press - 

http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-history-of-institutional-racism-in.html

Must Watch Video: Student speaks in front of the U.S. Capitol on #NationalWalkoutDay

Student speaks in front of the U.S. Capitol on #NationalWalkoutDay

Student speaks in front of the U.S. Capitol on #NationalWalkoutDay: “Their right to own an assault rifle does not outweigh our right to live. The adults have failed us. This is in our hands now, and if any elected official gets in our way, we will vote them out.” pic.twitter.com/VEdAcLnuOI

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 14, 2018

 












https://marchforourlives.com/walkouts

Betsy DeVos’s stumbling ‘60 Minutes’ interview, annotated - WAPO

Betsy DeVos’s stumbling ‘60 Minutes’ interview, annotated - YouTube:

Why it was so easy for ‘60 Minutes’ to rebut Betsy DeVos’s charter-school arguments

Betsy DeVos was picked to run the Education Department largely to continue the work she had embraced through her philanthropic work: advocating an expansion of charter schools. Hers was the most controversial Cabinet nomination by President Trump, requiring Vice President Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote confirming her for the position. That controversy had many causes, but a significant one was that many in the education community were concerned about turning over the department to someone who advocated transferring scarce public funding to what amounted to educational experiments.

Which is to say that DeVos should, by now, be very aware that her advocacy of charter schools is contentious, to understate it a bit. Meaning, by extension, that when being interviewed by one of the most established television news programs in the country, she should be able to defend her position.

Yet when interviewed by “60 Minutes” for a program that aired on Sunday — she wasn’t.

Kyle Griffin

✔@kylegriffin1

Betsy DeVos struggles to provide answers to '60 Minutes' when asked for evidence to support school choice policies. http://bit.ly/2tJjstd 

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“In places where there is a lot of choice that’s been introduced,” DeVos told CBS’s Lesley Stahl, “Florida, for example, studies show that when there’s a large number of students that opt to go to a different school or different schools, the traditional public schools actually, the results get better as well.” Continue Reading: Why it was so easy for ‘60 Minutes’ to rebut Betsy DeVos’s charter-school arguments - The Washington Post - 

The hidden threat of teacher stress - Salon.com

The hidden threat of teacher stress - Salon.com:

The hidden threat of teacher stress

Nearly half of all teachers report experiencing a lot of daily stress

This article was originally published on The Conversation.



When a traumatic event such as the Florida school shooting takes place, often the focus afterward is on finding ways to make sure students and teachers are safe from violence and physical harm.

But there’s another danger that threatens teacher well-being that is often overlooked. The threat is stress — and it is something that nearly half of all teachers say they experience at a high level every day.

Teachers are actually tied with nurses, with 46 percent of both groups reporting high daily stress. Such reports are comparable with other notoriously demanding occupations, such as physicians and business managers. It’s not hard to understand the reasons why.

Teachers do much more than teach academic lessons. They must also manage classroom behavior and keep an eye on helping students grow and develop socially in a healthy way. On top of that, they must coordinate with other adults and keep records of just about everything they do.

Teachers are expected to perform these tasks effectively, even when their students face difficulties outside the classroom, from unmet needs to mental health issues. The more needs students have, the more teachers are expected to do.

If teachers already face high levels of occupational stress, it’s not hard to see how the recent spate of deadly school shootings – coupled with the idea that teachers should arm themselves to protect themselves and their students — can elevate their stress levels even higher.

We make these observations as researchers affiliated with the Center for Research on School Safety, School Climate, and Classroom Management at Georgia State University. Among other things, our research focuses on fostering better school and workplace relationships and cultivating safe learning environments.

The consequences of teacher stress are far-reaching and adversely impact not just the teacher, but everyone around them, most notably their students.

Threats to teacher wellness

For starters, chronic stress triggers a range of physical and mental health symptoms. Physically, stress weakens the immune system and increases susceptibility to illness. Stress also exacerbates pain and reduces physical stamina.

Prolonged stress may increase risk of chronic fatigue, heart disease and other Continue reading: The hidden threat of teacher stress - Salon.com:

 

'School Choice' Is A Lie That Harms Us All | HuffPost

'School Choice' Is A Lie That Harms Us All | HuffPost:

‘School Choice’ Is A Lie That Harms Us All

t’s March, which means it’s “choice” season for a lot families living in urban areas. Like many households, mine is on pins and needles waiting to learn where our teenage daughter has been accepted to high school.

She has taken three different standardized tests to be considered for admission at various public, Catholic and independent schools. She tried to convince us to hire a tutor, as some of her peers’ parents have, to give her advantage on these tests. We refused, because it seemed a bit much for eighth grade. Her father and I have spent hours crafting essays and filling out applications. We played in the local lottery to attend schools across town. We have taken off work to take her to visit school after school, where she has arrived, nervous in starched shirts, legs carefully crossed, to implore administrators to accept her. She is 14.

We have done all of this so we can avoid our struggling neighborhood school.

This system of school choice has powerful backers. The most influential is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the billionaire heiress whose proposed budget would pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the various privatizations schemes such as vouchers and charters that power this system of “choice.”

Washington, D.C., where I live, recently lost yet another city schools chancellor when it was revealed he had jumped the line to choose a school for his own daughter. Antwan Wilson resigned for violating a policy that he had authored, a policy that was supposed to stop well-connected parents and officials from gaming the system to win their kids spots at top schools. Wilson apologized, explaining that he got “tunnel vision” in trying to make the best choice he could for his own child.

He’s wrong about this. The tunnel is the feature, not the bug, of school choice. It is the'School Choice' Is A Lie That Harms Us All | HuffPost:

AP finds the NRA gave $7 million to hundreds of schools #NeverAgain #Parkland

AP finds the NRA gave $7 million to hundreds of schools:

AP finds the NRA gave $7 million to hundreds of schools

The National Rifle Association has dramatically increased its funding to schools in recent years amid a national debate over guns and school violence, an Associated Press analysis of tax records has found. But few say they plan to give up the money in the aftermath of the latest mass shooting.

The AP analysis of the NRA Foundation’s public tax records finds that about 500 schools received more than $7.3 million from 2010 through 2016, mostly through competitive grants meant to promote shooting sports. The grants have gone to an array of school programs, including the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, rifle teams, hunting safety courses and agriculture clubs.

In some ways, the grant distribution reflects the nation’s deep political divide over guns. Nearly three-quarters of the schools that received grants are in counties that voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, while a quarter are in counties that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to the AP analysis. Most are in medium-sized counties or rural areas, with few near major cities.

California received the most in school grants, more than $1 million, while Florida was a close second.

Florida’s Broward County school district is believed to be the first to stop accepting NRA money after a gunman killed 17 people at one of its schools Feb. 14. The teen charged in the shooting had been on a school rifle team that received NRA funding. School officials announced the change Tuesday but declined to comment further.

Denver Public Schools followed on Thursday, saying it won’t pursue NRA grants in the future and will turn down several that were to be awarded this year. But officials in many other districts say they have no plans to back away.

“Whatever I think of the NRA, they’re providing legitimate educational services,” said Billy Townsend, a school board member in Florida’s Polk County district, whose JROTC programs received $33,000, primarily to buy air rifles. “If the NRA wanted to provide air rifles for our ROTC folks in the future, I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”

The grants awarded to schools are just a small share of the $61 million the NRA Foundation has given to a variety of local groups since 2010. But it has grown rapidly, increasing nearly fourfold from 2010 to 2014 in what some opponents say is a thinly veiled attempt to recruit the next generation of NRA members.

The NRA Foundation did not return calls seeking comment.

Annual reports from the pro-gun group say its grant program was started in 1992 and raises money through local Friends of NRA chapters. It says half the proceeds from local fundraisers go to local grants and half goes to the national organization. Tax records show roughly $19 million in grants going to the group’s Virginia headquarters in 2015 and in 2016.

Besides schools, other typical recipients include 4-H groups, which have received $12.2 million since 2010, Boy Scout troops and councils, which received $4 million, and private gun clubs. Overall, about half the grants go to programs directed at youth.

Grant funding to schools rose sharply in the years after the 2012 shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, fueled in part by a new grant program the NRA unrolled to help schools make safety improvements. Three districts received safety grants totaling $189,000 in 2014, tax records show, but none appears to have been awarded since then.

Nearly half of the 773 overall school grants have gone to JROTC programs, which put students through a basic military curriculum and offer an array of small competitive clubs, like the rifle team at Broward’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But JROTC leaders say few students ultimately enlist in the military, and the primary goal is to teach students skills like discipline and leadership.

“The safety that we’re teaching, the good citizenship that we’re teaching here, those are the things you don’t hear about,” said AP finds the NRA gave $7 million to hundreds of schools:

Sacramento-area schools have received $1.1 million from the NRA | The Sacramento Bee - http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article204340309.html 

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press:

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools
The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools by Susan DuFresne will be available April 2018.

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press:

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools is a book intended to challenge the authority of the policymakers and misanthropic funders who are wreaking havoc in public schools, closing schools in Black and Brown neighborhoods, and pushing segregated charter schools on communities that have every right to exceptional learning environments in fully funded public schools.

The book is in three parts. In Part One Susan DuFresne writes about the remarkable journey she took that resulted in the creation of the three 15 foot graphic panels that depict historically accurate pictures of racism in U.S. public schools. In Part Two the panels depicting racism and discrimination are transformed into a graphic novel in which the paintings Susan created tell the story of three hundred years of racial injustice that is still endemic today. In Part Three the information that Susan painted in the margins of the paintings is presented together with notes from Susan on suggested questions that could be asked and actions that could be taken.

At Garn Press we applaud Susan’s activism and commitment to racial justice, and we are convinced that this book is transformational and destined to be a lightning rod for justice in U.S. society. Susan, who is a teacher and activist as well as an artist of exceptional talent, writes of the three fifteen foot panels she produced:

“I felt on my brush the weight of historical injustice as I depicted the findings of my research. But I also felt the tugging of my brush to depict the fight for justice, which was also there throughout history. There have always been activists, many of them teachers, ready to fight for justice in U.S. public schools. Teachers especially have always been courageous in their resistance to racism and oppression, and I wanted to share this history to inspire others through the images I was painting to take up that truth and join the resistance movement to end institutional racism in public schools.”

The paintings Susan produced are truly works of art, which have already inspired strong reactions that could quite possibly result in policy makers recognizing the negative impact they are having on the lives of students and teachers in U.S. public schools.

But make no mistake this is a book of hope as well as condemnation, which is destined to be studied by teachers and parents who want a re-Visioning of the role of public education in their children’s lives, for the emphasis is also on restorative justice and reconciliation. The graphic depictions of the history of racism and discrimination unite the struggles of resistance movements – including Black Lives Matter and Continue reading The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press:

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press:

Susan DuFresne

Teacher, Author and Illustrator

GARN PRESS AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR

SUSAN DUFRESNE

Susan DuFresne is an artist and educator who advocates across all intersectional groups, organizing for social justice. She works alongside colleagues and friends who are leaders in the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Badass Teachers Association. She is a vocal supporter of Indigenous peoples, the Women’s Movement, and LGBTQIA activists, and cares deeply about environmental issues. She visualizes a future where these diverse groups join together to successfully return power to the people.

Susan is currently teaching children in an integrated kindergarten classroom as both a general education and special education teacher. She is active on social media and can often be found participating in marches and rallies for social justice locally and at the state and national levels. One of the important battles she fights is for democratically run schools, as well as a child’s right to play. She pushes against the use of high stakes testing, agreeing with many students, parents, and educators who denounce these tests as racially biased, advocating for their right to opt out.

Susan and her husband live in Washington State. They have one son, three daughters and three grandchildren.

Connect with Susan. Follow on Twitter @GetUpStandUp2.

The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools - Garn Press:

Why big bets on educational reform haven't fixed the US school system

Why big bets on educational reform haven't fixed the US school system:

Why big bets on educational reform haven’t fixed the US school system

The Gates Foundation is regrouping after its latest school improvement disappointment, but it’s not bowing out of the education reform business.

As the philanthropic powerhouse led by Bill and Melinda Gates explained in their latest annual letter to the public, it ended its effort to overhaul teacher evaluation systems after determining that these efforts were failing to generate intended results.

“We haven’t seen the large impact we had hoped for,” the Microsoft founder and his wife wrote in the note they published in February.

Bill Gates, speaking at the 2009 ‘Get Schooled’ conference his foundation co-sponsored. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

It’s a familiar storyline. Again and again, policymakers and philanthropists have teamed up to reform public education, only to find that their bold projects have fallen short.

Like other educational policy scholars, we have observedthis pattern for years. And we have identified a few reasons why school reform efforts so persistently get lackluster results, despite consistent bipartisan support and roughly US$4 billion a year in philanthropic funding derived from some of the nation’s biggest fortunes.

Shiny objectives

The Gates Foundation (which is a strategic partner of The Conversation US and provides funding for The Conversation internationally) poured at least $700 millioninto upgrading teacher evaluation systems between 2008 and 2013, before quietly pulling the plug. The move echoed a similar about-face that occurred decade ago, when the funder acknowledged that the $2 billion it had spent on making America’s large high schools smaller hadn’t achieved the desired results.

But Gates is hardly the only major philanthropist to come up short. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan spent $100 million of their own money to improve the Newark school system, in an effort that attracted another $100 million from other donors. Their goal in New Jersey, according to journalist Dale Russakoff, was to “develop a model for saving public education in all of urban America.” The results, chronicled in Russakoff’s 2016 book “The Prize,” were mixed at best. Though some education scholars have detected improvements in Newark, and test scores have edged up since the experiment, it generally failed to meet the funders’ lofty goals.

Leaders in government have also been active in the school reform game.

Ever since 1983, when the Reagan administration published its “A Nation at Risk” report bemoaning the quality of American public education, politicians have rallied public support for plans to overhaul the nation’s education system. Over the past quarter century, they have backed the creation of curricular standards and high-stakes standardized tests. And they have championed privately operated charter schools as a replacement for traditional public schools, along with vouchers and other subsidies to defray the cost of private school tuition.

Along the way, reformers – those in government and the philanthropic world alike – have Why big bets on educational reform haven't fixed the US school system:

Betsy DeVos’ Brief, Confusing Visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – Mother Jones #NeverAgain

Betsy DeVos’ Brief, Confusing Visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – Mother Jones:

Betsy DeVos’ Brief, Confusing Visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 

Her press conference lasted a grand total of eight minutes.

On Wednesday, education secretary Betsy DeVos toured Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and met with students and faculty weeks after they survived a mass shooting that left 17 dead at their school. She said she saw therapy dogs, talked to “a small group of students that are having a particularly tough time,” and let students who worked with the school newspaper trail her. 

After the visit, she held an eight-minute press conference. When asked about her support for the idea of letting teachers carry firearms in schools, DeVos said that interpretation was an “oversimplification” and that schools should consider marshal programs like the one in Texas as a model, noting that it may not be for everybody.

DeVos answered a few more questions, including one about her plans to improve school safety. “It’s appropriate to take a robust inventory of what states are doing and what local communities are doing and elevate those things that are working well,” she said. She didn’t elaborate on specific proposals. 

After the press conference, journalists and students took to Twitter to express their confusion and frustration: Continue Reading: Betsy DeVos’ Brief, Confusing Visit to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – Mother Jones: