Big Education Ape

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Elite private and charter schools across Washington got millions in PPP loans - The Washington Post

Elite private and charter schools across Washington got millions in PPP loans

Dozens of publicly funded charter schools and elite private schools across the Washington region received millions of dollars in federal aid intended to keep nonprofits and small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released Monday by the Small Business Administration.

Private and charter schools have faced criticism for taking the relief money during an economic crisis while major funding streams — tuition dollars at private schools and per-student government funding at charters — have not stopped flowing.

Monday’s disclosure provides the most detailed picture yet of how much money the schools received from the historic stimulus package known as the Paycheck Protection Program, which offered loans that can be forgiven if companies and nonprofits prove that the money helped save jobs.

Private and public charter schools said that they are legally entitled to the money and that it is a necessary infusion, with private donations drying up and enrollment numbers unclear for the next academic year. They need the money, they said, to ensure they can keep all of their employees on their payrolls.

Despite pushback, Sidwell and other D.C. -area prep schools say they are keeping their PPP loans

The government data indicates that more than 25 of the District’s 63 charter networks received a loan, while many big-name private schools in the region also received one. The loans ranged between $150,000 and $10 million. The PPP disclosure did not include businesses that received a loan smaller than $150,000, which accounted for more than 80 percent of loans distributed across the country.

“It’s important to realize the uncertainty exists,” said Shannon Hodge, executive director of DC Charter School Alliance, the city’s leading charter advocacy organization. “We know that costs will go up, but more importantly, there are lots of things that are unknown. . . . This program allows them to bring some stability to this uncertain situation.” CONTINUE READING: Elite private and charter schools across Washington got millions in PPP loans - The Washington Post

ANDRE PERRY: The school voucher program is rooted in anti-Blackness

The school voucher program is rooted in anti-Blackness

Defund the private schools
Defunding the police won’t mean much if we keep defunding schools that serve Black children and allowing a school choice movement rooted in anti-Blackness to thrive

A national uprising for racial justice and a pandemic killing disproportionately more Black people have made the call to action clear: We must dismantle the structures that generate racial disparities. Education activists have joined that call by demanding that districts defund police in schools. School boards are listening. The Los Angeles Board of Education last week voted to cut funding to its school police force by 35 percent, amounting to a $25 million reduction.

Calls to defund the police, whether in schools or in our cities, are just one part of what must become a larger movement to end taxpayer funding for institutions that are anti-Black at their core. But as millions of protestors across the country call for monies to be redirected from police to institutions that propel economic and social growth, democracy and unity, school choice advocates are holding fast to their sordid legacy of defunding already under-resourced traditional public schools that serve Black children.

Last week choice advocates won a legal battle that is out of step with the current march toward racial justice and democracy.

Andre Perry on Twitter: "I'm happy to announce my new book ...

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that a program that grants tax credits to “those who donate to organizations that award scholarships for private school tuition” cannot prohibit families from using such scholarships for tuition at private religious schools. The scholarship tax credits were passed by the Montana legislature in 2015, but the program was effectively modified a year later when Montana’s Department of Revenue barred the scholarships from being used at religiously affiliated institutions. In support of its decision, the department cited the Montana Constitution’s Blaine Amendment, which prohibits the state from allocating public dollars to any school “controlled in whole or in part by any church, sect, or denomination.” Kendra Espinoza and two other parents took the state to court; the case eventually reached the Supreme Court.

In a 5-4 decision, the Court’s conservative majority found that barring religious organizations from a “public benefit” was unconstitutional. “A state need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts CONTINUE READING: The school voucher program is rooted in anti-Blackness

Big Education Ape: Andre Perry: Defund Private Schools. They Perpetuate Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/07/andre-perry-defund-private-schools-they.html

AFT Leader to Police Unions: Can't Ignore Blacks Being Abused | News of the Week | thechiefleader.com

AFT Leader to Police Unions: Can't Ignore Blacks Being Abused

Outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes has prompted some unions to demand changes regarding those representing cops, from the Minnesota chapter of the AFL-CIO demanding that the belligerent leader of that city's police union step down to a petition by the Writers Guild of America-East urging the AFL-CIO to expel its police division.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is promoting a softer form of persuasion: she wants police unions to acknowledge the systemic racism that has led to the deaths of unarmed black people at the hands of cops—most of them white—and change contract language that makes it more difficult to get rid of those officers.

Won't Part the Waters

That doesn't mean her request will be welcomed by most police unions, which argue that their vigorous representation of officers accused of excessive force is no different than Teachers unions aggressively standing up for pedagogues facing criminal or internal charges in controversial cases, A spokesman for Police Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch said that in fact he is prohibited from negotiating some of the disciplinary protections available to officers in other cities.

For example, in Minneapolis officers who are fired by their department for misconduct are entitled to appeal to an arbitrator, and after Mr. Floyd's killing it was reported that more than a dozen officers had gained reinstatement using that last resort. NYPD officers convicted in departmental trials don't have CONTINUE READING: AFT Leader to Police Unions: Can't Ignore Blacks Being Abused | News of the Week | thechiefleader.com

Scholars, Educators, and Students as Public Writers – radical eyes for equity

Scholars, Educators, and Students as Public Writers

Early in my career as a high school English teacher in the Deep South during the early and mid-1980s, several weeks into the new school year, a tenth grade student became so exasperated that she blurted out in class, “When are we going to do English? All we do is read and write, read and write!”

In those days, my school system had a grade 7-9 junior high, and then high school was grades 10-12. Sophomores, then, were the transition grade, but for this student, my approach to teaching English was more transition than she could handle.

She had been an “A” student in English throughout junior high, where English had been primarily grammar exercises and vocabulary tests.

This student recognized what remains true throughout my 36-year career, the current second half as a professor of education; all of my courses at their core are writing classes.

While I taught myself how to teach writing throughout my 18 years as a high school English teacher (and soon gained the trust and even respect of my students, parents, and educators for my commitment to writing), I have learned even more over the more recent 18 years, navigating teaching writing as well as writing myself as a scholar and public writer in the context of higher CONTINUE READING: Scholars, Educators, and Students as Public Writers – radical eyes for equity

NYC Educator: Chalkbeat Gets It Wrong Again, Finds Out, and Can't Be Bothered Making a Correction

Chalkbeat Gets It Wrong Again, Finds Out, and Can't Be Bothered Making a Correction

Chalkbeat wrote a long piece about the education budget. I was planning to read the whole thing, but had to stop. actually sent a message to a Chalkbeat reporter over this passage:

There is a freeze on new hires within the education department, but schools will be able to hire from the Absent Teacher Reserve, a controversial pool of educators who remain on the city payroll but do not have permanent positions because they face disciplinary action, or because their schools closed or lost enrollment.

Here's the message I sent the reporter:

Shouldn't "face" be in past tense? Anyone facing disciplinary action is usually reassigned, but never to the ATR.

I got no response. Evidently Chalkbeat has no issue trashing working teachers who don't belong to E4E or work in Moskowitz Academies. They are "a controversial pool of educators." What the hell does that mean? It doesn't sound particularly good to me. Would you want to invite a controversial pool of educators over to your house for spaghetti? I wouldn't.

There are several ways to get into the ATR. One is to have your school closed. The staff is scattered to the four winds until and unless they find jobs. It's hard for them to do that, because publications like Chalkbeat stereotype them, and have been doing so for years. I recall an article there where some teacher or other said she and her principal were horrified at their quality. And that, my friends, is a stereotype. It may or may not have been true what the young teacher and her principal saw, but it in no way represents the CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Chalkbeat Gets It Wrong Again, Finds Out, and Can't Be Bothered Making a Correction

Andre Perry: Defund Private Schools. They Perpetuate Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog

Andre Perry: Defund Private Schools. They Perpetuate Racism

Tomorrow night, Andre Perry and I will talk about his new book Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Lives in a ZOOM discussion sponsored by the Network for Public Education. We can accommodate only 100 people, so please sign up early. If you don’t get into the first 100, the discussion will be live-streamed on NPE’s Facebook page and archived on its website.

Andre Perry was a charter school leader in New Orleans. He has since rethought the impact of charter schools on children, families, teachers, and communities.

I look forward to meeting him, virtually, and talking about what he learned. I hope you will sign up and join us.

Andre Perry writes, in a piece co-published by the Hechinger Report:

Defunding the police won’t mean much if we keep defunding schools that serve Black children and allowing a school choice movement rooted in anti-Blackness to thrive

Calls to defund the police, whether in schools or in our cities, are just one part of what must become a larger movement to end taxpayer funding for institutions that are anti-Black at their core. But as millions of protestors across the country call for monies to be redirected from police to institutions that propel economic and social growth, democracy and unity, school choice CONTINUE READING: Andre Perry: Defund Private Schools. They Perpetuate Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog

“Defund the Police,” and, “Defund the Billionaires,” Create a Job-Friendly, Equitable Economy for All | Ed In The Apple

“Defund the Police,” and, “Defund the Billionaires,” Create a Job-Friendly, Equitable Economy for All

In the early 2000’s I was at the New School University listening to Reverend Floyd Flake, senior pastor at the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral. Reverend Flake served as a member of Congress (1987-97) and is a strong supporter of charter schools.

Flake was critical of public schools, the level of education was sub par, staffs don’t live in the communities and were not engaged with the community. I asked Floyd if he agreed that the police were not engaged with the community, didn’t live in the community and oftentimes unfairly targeted members of the community: he nodded in agreement. I asked whether Floyd agreed that in addition to charter schools we should have “charter” police departments.

Flake demurred, and his handlers hustled him out of the meeting.

Maybe I was prescient?

In middle class and white communities the police were looked upon as crime fighters protecting the community from the evil doers, in communities of color: feared. In the 1920’s and 30’s crime was rampant; the 18th Amendment, “… the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors … is … prohibited” was widely ignored, Murder Incorporated . operated with impunity, the police both ignored or were complicit.

In communities of color the police have been the foot soldiers of local and state CONTINUE READING: “Defund the Police,” and, “Defund the Billionaires,” Create a Job-Friendly, Equitable Economy for All | Ed In The Apple

Teacher Tom: A Declaration of Interdependence for Young Children, Parents, Caregivers, and Educators

A Declaration of Interdependence for Young Children, Parents, Caregivers, and Educators

In 1776, 56 men in the American colonies signed their names to a radical document called the Declaration of Independence. As a result they were, without trial, proclaimed traitors by the British government and sentenced to death. These were middle class people. John Hancock was the wealthiest among them and he was not even a millionaire by today's standards. The wealthy sided with the king. Most of the signers were working people -- farmers and tradesmen primarily. None of them left behind a family fortune, or a foundation, or any other kind of financial memorial of their lives. The United States is their legacy.

Their average age was 33 (Thomas Jefferson's age at the time). The youngest was only 20-years-old. The oldest was Benjamin Franklin, who was 83.

As a result of having signed the Declaration of Independence, all 56 of the signers were forced to flee their homes. Twelve returned to find only rubble.

As a result of having signed the Declaration of Independence, 17 of them were wiped out financially by the British government.

As a result of having signed the Declaration of Independence, many of them were captured and tortured, or their families CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: A Declaration of Interdependence for Young Children, Parents, Caregivers, and Educators

A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

A VERY BUSY DAY

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

‘Teachers & Aides Need to Work as a Team’

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h

is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Three educators share advice on working with instructional aides/paraprofessionals, including having a “team” mindset and demonstrating empathy. Here are some excerpts:

The Best Resources On Instruction In 2020 – Part One

21by Larry Ferlazzo / 10h

I’m continuing with my mid-year “Best” list posts… I’m adding this post to All 2020 Mid-Year “Best” Lists In One Place! Seven years ago I began publishing a regular Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week post. You can see all my “Best” lists on instructional strategies here. Here are my choices from the past few months: How to Create a Project Based Learning Lesson is from Cult of Pedagogy.

Using The Term “Achievement Gap” Increases People’s Biases Against African-Americans & Reduces Expectations

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

How We Talk About the Achievement Gap Could Worsen Public Racial Biases Against Black Students is an article in Ed Week (which is the source of the quote in the text box) about a new study. Fortunately, the study, Experimental Effects of “Achievement Gap” News Reporting on Viewers’ Racial Stereotypes, Inequality Explanations, and Inequality Prioritization , is not behind a paywall. Researchers fo

A Look Back: Not Only Can It Be Motivating To Have A Growth Mindset, But New Studies Find Learning About Others Who Have It Can Be Motivating, Too