The Fight for Education is only Worth it When We also Fight for Social Justice Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

The Fight for Education is only Worth it When We also Fight for Social Justice

As we have been preparing for this march and rally I have been asked countless times what the overall goal of this event is. Some have questioned the value of marching and rallying to achieve our goals. Personally I believe that there are many different reasons why we should march and rally. First we must come together and celebrate the progress we have made in the past five years. When hundreds of thousands of parents and students and teachers have opted out of high stakes testing across the country we need to celebrate. This does not mean we do not have much work to do but we should also take time to celebrate. Another reason we march and rally is to make our voices heard. We must remind society that education is not a privilege that only the rich can afford. We must demand that public education be preserved as a human right for all. When we march we elevate the voices of our students, their families and ourselves. 

I have also been asked what makes this march/rally different than the one 5 years ago. And to that question I simply respond this time we have woken up to the reality that our fight to save public education is only worth it when we also fight for social justice. What good are high quality schools if black boys and girls are being herded into the prison industrial complex? What good are high test scores if our communities are ravaged by poverty and violence? What good is a child centered curriculum if families lack access to health care and jobs? We cannot fight for public education if we don't fight for social justice. 

Some of you might be wondering what it means to fight for social justice. Well it means acknowledging that this country has failed to serve all people well. We must acknowledge how institutional and structural racism, xenophobia, patriarchy, heterosexism, ableism, and Badass Teachers Association: 

Arizona Fails its Children!

Arizona Fails its Children!:

Arizona Fails its Children!

Arizona is holding back 1,400 third graders. I guess they are following Florida’s misguided lead.

The Arizona Department of Education said the third-graders did not pass the math and English portions of the Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching — AzMERIT — test. (KTAR News)

Expect More Arizona seems O.K. with the failures. Here are the partners who support Expect More Arizona. I am dumbfounded that Arizona’s three respected universities are on the list. Where are the education and psychology scholars?

Once again, parents are left to wonder why their children didn’t pass the test.

• Did they have unaddressed reading difficulties–and/or dyslexia?
• Did they have undiagnosed learning disabilities?
• Were they pushed to read too early?
• Were they taught incorrectly?
• Was the test poorly devised?
• Were the standards inappropriate?

Whatever kind of learning problems exist, there are a variety of strategies and Arizona Fails its Children!:

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawestcom

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawest.com:

Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately

WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard, the first ever Hindu elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, has asked a California educational board to give Hinduism its due place in school textbooks and not to describe it inaccurately as “religions of ancient India.”

The California State Board of Education is in final stages of revising and updating the K-12 History-Social Science Framework for public schools.

In a letter ahead of their final hearing July 14, Gabbard, D-Hawaii, urged the board to preserve Hindu history and identity by restoring all references to “Hinduism” that were removed or replaced inaccurate phrases.

Just as other religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism are given their own separate and distinct space for discussion in the Framework, so should Hinduism, she stressed.

“Replacing Hinduism with the term 'religions of Ancient India, including but not limited to early Hinduism' is not only inaccurate, but it will cause confusion for students and teachers alike,” she said in her letter dated July 8, a copy of which was obtained by PTI.

In the letter, Gabbard also urged the board to acknowledge the positive roles played by women in Ancient Indian and Hindu society.

“While it is important to discuss the existence of patriarchies in ancient civilizations, it is also critical to discuss the positive contributions and unique roles played by women in those societies,” she noted.

“In the context of Ancient India, Hindu women were able to perform their own religious rites and also authored the Vedas, Hinduism's sacred texts,” she added. “The framework should thus acknowledge these historical facts when describing the roles of women in ancient Indian society.”

Gabbard asked the California Board to accurately represent the caste-system in the framework by not depicting it as a defining feature or a foundational religious belief of Hinduism.

“While caste-based discrimination is a reality that must be dealt with, it goes against the essence of Hindu teachings and scriptures, which posit that divinity is inherent in all beings,” she said.

Gabbard said she has worked actively throughout her many years of service to promote diversity, equality and pluralism.

“I firmly believe in the significance of creating an education system and textbooks that uphold these important American values,” she said.

In addition to Gabbard’s complaints of the Hinduism in textbooks, a group of 15 top American Muslim organizations has alleged that school textbooks are injecting “Islamophobic content” in the new curriculum.

“The injection of Islamophobic content into the teacher's manuals would inflame how student discussions are framed. Students, teachers and communities all suffer when the content is rigged to cause disruption,” the top Muslim American group said in a letter to the California State Board of Education.

“The bombardment of prejudicial ideas, from media outlets to candidates in the presidential election primaries, has left no one immune. Even the educators our children look up to are impacted by the hateful discourse,” the letter told the California board, which is considered to be very influential as its textbooks are followed and adopted in several U.S. states.

In the letter, the organizations alleged that, contrary to the treatment given to other religions, Islam has been introduced in the curriculum primarily under a narrative of war and conquest.

Prominent among them include the Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Circle of North America, Northern California Islamic Council, Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and Indian American Muslim Council.

“The curriculum text in its current form is prejudiced in its references to alleged forced conversions of non-Muslims to Islam, often when no such forced conversions are even reported in historical sources,” the letter said

Meanwhile, in another letter to the board, some two dozen Indian American organizations requested “fairness and equity” in the way Hinduism and Ancient India are taught in comparison to other world religions and civilizations.

“Hinduism and Indian history are taught to sixth and seventh graders in an outdated, inaccurate and stereotyped manner. The teachings and histories of other religions are highlighted positively, while Hindu teachings are oversimplified and inaccurate,” the letter said.

“Gender bias, subjugation and discrimination are only conflated with Hinduism, in spite of their presence in every religion's history. And Hinduism's pluralistic ethos, concept of spiritual unity of everyone and everything, and contributions of women are ignored,” the organizations said.Tulsi Gabbard Asks California Education Board to Describe Hinduism Accurately | Global Indian | indiawest.com:

The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic

The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic:

How Marginalized Families Are Pushed Out of PTAs

Parents with socioeconomic resources are more likely to exert influence on school officials.

When Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park, Maryland, told parents in the fall of 2014 that it would allow students to use Chromebooks as a way to bridge the digital divide between low-income families and affluent families, there were mixed reactions. The plan was aimed at helping students become more adept at using technology, but the affluent parents, most of whom were white, were apprehensive about their children getting more screen time.

Alison Risso, then the president of the school’s PTA, said she was frustrated by the complaints those parents expressed at a meeting. “Everyone who could pay for that Chromebook with the money in their pockets was in the room,” Risso said. As Risso recalled, one parent said to her, "I don't need my daughter to learn to make a PowerPoint."

At Rolling Terrace, 68 percent of the students receive free or reduced-price lunch. Sixty-three percent of its population is Hispanic, 15 percent is black, and another 15 percent is white. But the parents of that sliver of the student population that is white and affluent—most of whom were drawn to the school’s Spanish-immersion program—have outsize influence over what happens in the school.

Risso explained to parents why it was important for the lower-income children to have access to the Chromebooks. Many of the school’s parents—mostly low-income people of color who didn’t attend the PTA meeting—were excited about the computers.

Despite the differences in priorities, the school’s parents are expected to make decisions as a community. That kind of unity rarely happens in gentrifying neighborhoods, however. When white, affluent parents come into a school that has a high percentage of less-affluent students of color, the more advantaged group tends to take over parent organizations and unintentionally marginalize the parent community that was already there. Ultimately, Rolling Terrace proceeded with its plan to use Chromebooks, but not all such issues are resolved in ways that give low-income parents a voice.

That’s unfortunate because parental engagement can greatly improve adolescents’ academic and emotional functioning, according to a 2014 studypublished in Child Development. A substantial body of research also indicates that parent involvement at home and school is an important factor in improving young children’s literacy and math skills. PTA membership was also associated with student achievement in a 2006 School Community Journal study authored by researchers at the University of West Florida.

Allyson Criner Brown, the associate director at the nonprofit Teaching for The Tricky Politics of PTAs in Gentrifying Communities - The Atlantic:

 

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center:

SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution

Mississippi is funding its charter schools through an unconstitutional scheme that diverts public tax dollars from traditional public schools, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The lawsuit calls for the court to strike down the funding provisions of the Mississippi Charter School Act (CSA). The Mississippi Constitution requires schools to be under the supervision of the state and local boards of education to receive public funding. But under the CSA, charter schools receive public funding even though they are exempt from the oversight of the state Board of Education, the Mississippi Department of Education, and local boards of education.

Charter schools in Mississippi are accountable to the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board, a body that receives 3 percent of the public funding that goes to charter schools.

“A school operating outside the authority of the state board of education and the local school board cannot expect to receive public taxpayer money,” said Jody Owens, managing attorney for the SPLC’s Mississippi office. “The state constitution is clear on this matter.”

Two charter schools are currently operating in Mississippi, both within the boundaries of the Jackson Public School District (JPS). In one school year, more than $1.85 million was diverted from the district to fund them. That amount could have paid the salaries of 42 public school teachers, according to the complaint. Given that a third charter school is set to open within JPS’s geographic boundaries, the district stands to lose more than $4 million in the 2016-17 school year, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit warns that the opening of more charter schools will compound the financial harm. There are currently applications pending for four more charter schools. Each charter school would be located within the Jackson Public School District, drawing more funding from the district.

“I sent my children to a public school because I believe in traditional public schools,” said Cassandra Overton-Welchlin, a plaintiff in the case and mother of two children enrolled there. “I’m outraged that state and local tax dollars are funding charter schools in a way that threatens the existence of important services, including services for those with special needs, at my child’s school. As a taxpayer, I expect my property tax dollars will be used to support traditional public schools, which educate the vast majority of students in Jackson.”

The lawsuit was filed in the First Judicial District of the Chancery Court of Hinds County.SPLC lawsuit: Mississippi charter school funding violates state constitution | Southern Poverty Law Center:

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United:

Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement 

A new study on Ohio’s private school voucher program shows promise – for anyone who thinks vouchers are a bad idea. But another negative study hasn’t led “school choice” advocates to back down.

Ohio’s Educational Choice Scholarship Program has been around statewide since the 2006-2007 academic year. What started as a pilot program available to students in school districts that were deemed poor performerseventually expanded to allow any low-income students to receive a voucher regardless of how their public school fared.

Starting next year, eligible students may take up to $6,000 in taxpayer money and use it to attend private schools – including religious ones. Although the program could cost the state up to $94.6 million, the Columbus Dispatch reported that roughly 40,000 vouchers went unused last year. (Gee, maybe most Ohio parents don’t actually want vouchers for their kids?)

Given that the program has been around for over a decade and has grown significantly, one might think it is a success. It’s not.

Ohio private school voucher students performed worse than their public-school peers on state tests.

A study conducted by two researchers at Northwestern University on behalf of a pro-voucher think tank revealed that students who used vouchers to attend private schools actually did much worse on state tests than their public-school peers.  

Given those poor results, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which paid for the study, needed something to show for its effort. So it came up with a far-fetched idea that Ohio’s private school vouchers are helping students whodon’t use them.

The “evidence” for that claim consists entirely of the fact that public school students who were voucher-eligible but did not actually receive a voucher have performed better on tests in recent years and draws the conclusion that the competition from the voucher program pushed these schools to do better.

Talk about grasping at straws! To a pro-voucher think tank, there are apparently no coincidences or unrelated events.  

“EdChoice modestly improved the achievement of the public-school students who were eligible for a voucher but did not use it,” the study claims. “The competition associated with the introduction of EdChoice appears to have spurred these public-school improvements.”

(Gee, got any data proving that connection?)

A Fordham Institute official offered a sober analysis of the program.

“The disappointing participant results, albeit with a limited number of students, raises questions that deserve further exploration,” Chad Aldis, vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy at Fordham, said in a statement. “This isn’t the final word on the EdChoice program, but this suggests that further study on participating students' achievement test data and long-term outcomes would be wise.”

The reality is, studies consistently show that vouchers don’t work. Here at Americans United, we oppose “school choice” because these schemes are often little more than a government bailout for religious schools. But vouchers also consistently fail to improve student academic performance, as this latest study shows, and schools that accept them are frequently of poor quality and lack oversight.

If you’d like to know more about why AU opposes vouchers, this is a good place to start.

 Ohio Woes: Private School Voucher Program Shows No Signs Of Academic Improvement | Americans United:

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America Leadership Conference 2016

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America:

PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations

PAA sent the following message to US House and Senate education committee members:

Parents concerned that proposed new ESSA regulations push failed NCLB practices, try to retake top-down control

The US Department of Education has published draft regulations for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. Parents Across America has reviewed these draft rules and we are very concerned that the administration is trying to use them to reestablish policies and practices from NCLB?ESEA that were rejected by Congress and much of the general public.

For example, the draft regulations:

• over-emphasize standardized test scores in school accountability ratings,
• require states to label schools in harmful and unnecessary ways,
• continue to promote school privatization and closure over more effective improvement strategies, and
• require states to punish schools where large numbers of parents opt their children out of testing.

When the USDOE makes decisions that should be set at the state and local level in partnership with local educators, parents, and students, it takes away local voices that ESSA properly restored. Reducing federal micro-management of public education was a main goal of rewriting NCLB. We will submit comments reflecting this concern via the federal register.

What can you do?

Stand with us parents, along with educators, students and communities who want our schools back. Speak out against those aspects of the draft regulations that violate the intent of the ESSA reauthorization. Help us assure that ESSA is implemented in ways that:

• focus less on standardized testing,
• put no restrictions on families or students who opt out of or refuse high stakes standardized tests, and require no consequences for their schools or districts,
• encourage more creativity and community-centered school improvement practices rather than continue to push NCLB/ESEA’s ineffective privatization and closure strategies, and
• more strongly advocate for a robust parent role in school, district, and statewide education policy-making.PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America:

Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:
Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:

PAA’s Leadership Conference 2016 begins in less than a week (July 18-20). We have another terrific lineup of sessions and events that will help empower parents and strengthen PAA as an organization.

For those who can’t join us in person, we will be sharing most of our sessions online with non-attending PAA chapter and affiliate leaders, and two sessions with the general public. We will also record and post some of the sessions after the conference.

In order to join the two public sessions, you will need to have downloaded the Zoom online meeting program by going to zoom.us. It’s easy and free.

Each session has a meeting ID and a passwordthat you will need to join that session.

Here’s the schedule for sessions open to the public:

Topic: Next Steps in our Race, Poverty and Education project

Time: Jul 19, 2016 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/865532407?pwd=T4nWh9sa1vI%3D

Password: IRPEO

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +16465588656,865532407# or +14086380968,865532407#

Or Telephone:

Dial: +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll) or +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll)

Meeting ID: 865 532 407

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=Iq6W_YVySL5OU2-jDPPLoyNEPVcus_eF

Topic: EdTech and Data Privacy with special guest Leonie Haimson

Time: Jul 19, 2016 2:45 PM Eastern Time

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/351309524?pwd=xSIIdN1ibMg%3D

Password: EdTech

Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,351309524# or +16465588656,351309524#

Or Telephone:

Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)

Meeting ID: 351 309 524

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=-kp4oKWO1az45hcDipZLTy3m8C4HGNk4

Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:

If urban districts are failures, why is Christie's man in Newark touting progress?| Editorial | NJ.com

If urban districts are failures, why is Christie's man in Newark touting progress?| Editorial | NJ.com:

If urban districts are failures, why is Christie's man in Newark touting progress?| Editorial

Parents, teachers and community activists protest outside the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology, where Gov. Chris Christie met with a small, invitation-only group to discuss his "fairness formula." (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Chris Christie has been traveling around the state arguing that efforts to improve urban education in New Jersey have utterly failed. But now, his own former schools chief in Newark is providing clear evidence of progress. Awkward.

The latest results show kids in Newark district schools improving their reading and math scores faster than the state average, narrowing the achievement gap with their wealthier peers.

Newark's graduation rate has risen, too, from 56 to 70 percent over the last four years. This is all according to test data provided by Christopher Cerf, the governor's former education commissioner, who more recently became head of the city's schools.

Christie starts political war, goes after poor school children | Moran

The hope is New Jerseyans will reject this demagoguery, but there's plenty to be nervous about. Christie is persuasive.

When Christie nominated Cerf to lead the state's school system back in 2010, he hailed him as "a nationally recognized expert in comprehensive school system reform." Surely the governor has no reason to doubt him now.

Other urban districts are doing even better than Newark, and some are doing If urban districts are failures, why is Christie's man in Newark touting progress?| Editorial | NJ.com: