Spring Forward with Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Spring Forward with Diane Ravitch's blog 

A site to discuss better education for all

Pence Lies About ACA in Kentucky

7by dianeravitch / 29min

We are becoming desensitized to lies told by our president and vice-president. Here is a whopper. Mike Pence went to Kentucky and said that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had failed in Kentucky. He was either misinformed or lied. Our nation’s leaders have access to accurate information, so I think it likely he lied. Because of ACA, the number of uninsured people in Kentucky dropped dramatica

Andrea Gabor: Joel Klein Spends an Evening with His Friends at TFA, Berating Public Schools

5by dianeravitch / 1h

Andrea Gabor recently attended an invitation-only event in New York City to meet Joel Klein at Teach for America headquarters in lower Manhattan, where he reflected on his legacy. She writes: How did Klein feel about his legacy—what 

What Funding Cuts to the Arts and Humanities Can Buy for the Military

by dianeravitch / 12min

Trump has promised to add more than $50 billion to the military budget, which will be paid for by budget cuts. Among the federal agencies on the chopping block for total elimination are the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. These three small agencies underwrite programs like Ken Burns’ history of the Civil War,

Denis Smith: Block Grants Produce Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

3by dianeravitch / 1h

Republicans love block grants. That is the purpose of HR 610, which would take a bunch of federal categorical programs with specific purposes and turn them over to states as block grants, to be used as they see fit. State control of federal funds, in short, with no strings attached. What could possibly go wrong? Denis Smith, who worked for the Ohio Department of Education for many years, explains

New York: Parents Sue Cuomo to Release “Frozen” Funds for Neediest Schools

2by dianeravitch / 2h

The Education Law Center is suing Governor Cuomo on behalf of parents at some of New York state’s neediest schools, seeking the release of $37 million the state owes these schools. : PARENTS ASK NY APPEALS COURT TO RELEASE ILLEGALLY FROZEN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT FUNDS Parents of students in three public schools are asking a New York appeals court to immediately release over $37 million in improvement

Sue Legg: The Origins of Florida’s Tax Credits for Constitutionally Banned Vouchers

12by dianeravitch / 3h

Sue Legg, education director of the Florida League of Women Voters, wrote this history of the state’s tax credit program at my request. Thank you, Sue. Not all Choices are Good Choices Following Jeb Bush’s 1994 defeat in his run for governor, he dented his image. According to a Tampa Bay Times report, in a televised debate Bush responded ‘not much’ when asked what he would do for black voters. Fa

Send a Message to Betsy DeVos: Opt Out of Federally-Mandated Testing!

31by dianeravitch / 3h

Donald Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education set off a seismic reaction among parents, educators, and other concerned citizens across the nation. Never, in recent memory, has a Cabinet selection inspired so much opposition. The phone lines of Senators were jammed. People who never gave much thought to what happens in Washington suddenly got angry. Snippets of her Senate co

Arthur Camins: Isolation and Segregation Make Us Stupid

7by dianeravitch / 3h

Arthur Camins, scientist and educator, describes how his schooling shaped his understanding of Justice and social responsibility. His article was originally published at the Huffington Post, but he also placed it in the Louisville Courier-Journal because of his professional experience in Louisville and the fact that the legislature is about to roll back Louisville’s successful desegregation progr

YESTERDAY

Fake Pro-Trump Website with Fake Stories Wins One Million Views in Two Weeks

29by dianeravitch / 13h

What a crazy world. The idea was simple enough: publish as many absurd, obviously fake stories imaginable, and see if anyone actually falls for it. The results of this experiment were both fascinating and disheartening. “BREAKING: Satire Makes Fools Of Gullible Trump Supporters.” That’s the headline James McDaniel published on his intentionally fake news website, UndergroundNewsReport.com, earlie

Christine Langhoff on the Latest Trumpian Evil: Deporting Parents, Putting Their Children in Foster Care

19by dianeravitch / 22h

Yesterday I heard from my friends at Pastors for Texas Children about parents who had been deported while their American-born children were left at the church, in East Texas. Christine Langhoff added that this is now policy: cruel, inhumane, and swift: “Here’s an example of Trumpian evil: “Head of Homeland Security John Kelly proposes to separate children from their mothers when they are detained

Ethics Agency Criticizes Kellyanne for Promoting Ivanka Products on TV; White House Says WH Employees Not Subject to Ethics Law

15by dianeravitch / 23h

This is an extraordinary exchange of documents, which I learned about by reading Bill Moyers’ website. Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Governmental Ethics, wrote a letter to the White House saying that Kellyanne Conway should be disciplined for using her official position to encourage people to buy Ivanka Trump’s merchandise. The White House responded by saying that officials who work for

Steve Bannon: The Man with No Address

10by dianeravitch / 23h

In this article , the Washington Post tries to figure out where Steve Bannon has lived for the past three years. He is now the most powerful advisor to the president. But who is he? Where does he vote? Where is his home? Does he have one?

Denver Charter Chains Seek to Fulfill DeVos Privatization Agenda

33by dianeravitch / 1d

Now that the U.S. Department of Education has an advocate for privatization in charge, Denver’s charter chains have moved for rapid expansion. Denver has been under corporate reform control for several years. The charter industry and equity investors have poured large sums into school board elections, squeezing out ordinary candidates who wanted to help public schools. Now the district, with a bo

Chicago: Parent Discovers Massive Breach of Privacy of Student Records

12by dianeravitch / 1d

A parent in Chicago discovered a massive breach of private data about students in private schools receiving special education services. The data was controlled by Chicago Public Schools, but obviously with little regard for privacy. The parent was a student Privacy activist, Cassie Creswell. The following post is by Cassie Creswell, a Chicago parent activist from Raise Your Hand Illinois and a ke

Singapore Will Drop Grades, Reduce Testing

78by dianeravitch / 1d

Singapore has decided to eliminate grades. No more standardized testing for young children. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39142030 Singapore has decided that values and character must be emphasized, not test-taking skills. The BBC reports: “Singapore is in top place in the international rankings for education. But it wants the next upgrade of its school system to focus on keeping students posi

Peter Greene: ESSA is Now Officially a Big, Hot Mess

30by dianeravitch / 1d

At the end of 2015, Congress finally replaced No Child Left Behind–ten years late–with a new law called Every Student Succeeds. The two names actually mean exactly the same thing, and mean nothing at all. Does anyone really 

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

GOP lawmakers refuse to protect LGBT students and those with disabilities in school voucher bill - The Washington Post

GOP lawmakers refuse to protect LGBT students and those with disabilities in school voucher bill - The Washington Post:

GOP lawmakers refuse to protect LGBT students and those with disabilities in school voucher bill

There was something buried in the news that a U.S. House committee had just advanced a bill renewing federally funded school vouchers in Washington — the only such program in the country — and it is highly revealing about Republican priorities when it comes to protecting the civil rights of students.

A bill to extend the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act, known as SOAR, through 2022 was approved Friday by the House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who spends a lot of time trying to tell D.C. residents what to do, even though he was elected by people in Utah. But the panel’s Republicans voted down Democratic efforts to add amendments that would protect the civil rights of students with disabilities and LGBT students.

[Study: Private school vouchers favored by DeVos don’t offer real advantage over public schools]

SOAR was first approved by Congress in 2003 as a compromise that would provide federal money to low-income D.C. students to use for private and religious school tuition as long as it also gave extra money to charter schools and traditional public schools in the District. Since 2004, SOAR has given more than $675 million. It also survived several attempts by the Obama administration to kill it. There are now 1,154 students in the program, but the head of the nonprofit that administers the program recently said he expects new federal resources to expand.

Supporters say SOAR gives parents resources to choose the right school for their children, while opponents say it provides public support for unaccountable private and religious schools and GOP lawmakers refuse to protect LGBT students and those with disabilities in school voucher bill - The Washington Post:

From Reader Comments: 

Elizabeth Davis

55 minutes ago  -  Shared publicly

The DC voucher program has proven ineffective and lacks accountability. Not only have two GAO reports identified its repeated management and accountability failures, but also multiple Department of Education studies concluded that the program has failed to improve educational outcomes for participating students. Numerous studies have shown that the voucher program has not improved students’ reading or math scores, and has not had an effect on student satisfaction, motivation, engagement or views on school safety. 
The program has also been plagued by lack of oversight and issues concerning quality, as documented by GAO reports and a Washington Post special investigation. Problems, which have persisted for years an even after congressional intervention, include voucher schools operating in facilities so poor they did not have usable bathrooms, and a school that used a learning model based on music, stretching and meditation. 
Educators, parents and DC taxpayers continue to raise multiple concerns about a program that has not increased academic achievement for our most vulnerable children and strips them of their civil rights.
It is quite evident to the citizens of DC that Jason Chaffetz and other Republican members of the House Oversight Committee cares little about protecting the civil rights of students with disabilities and LGBTQ students. 
All the more need for DC statehood and the emancipation of the last colony.

“Trapped in a History They Do Not Understand” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“Trapped in a History They Do Not Understand” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

“Trapped in a History They Do Not Understand”

They are in effect still trapped in a history which they do not understand and until they understand it, they cannot be released from it.

James Baldwin referred to white people when he said “they.” Examples that he cited then and since along with a large cadre of journalists, researchers, and essayists make the point with examples after he died in 1987 such as police beatings of Rodney King in Los Angeles and Dylan Moore killing of African American parishioners in Charleston (SC).

A recent but less lethal example of being “trapped in a history they do not understand” is U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos’s comment that historically black colleges were “pioneers” and stellar examples of school choice, a policy she is determined to expand through vouchers and charter schools.In a PR statement she released after meeting with the President and leaders of HBCUs, she said:

A key priority for this administration is to help develop opportunities for communities that are often the most underserved. Rather than focus solely on funding, we must be willing to make the tangible, structural reforms that will allow students to reach their full potential.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have done this since their founding. They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education. They saw that the system wasn’t working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution.

HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.

Their counsel and guidance will be crucial in addressing the current “Trapped in a History They Do Not Understand” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

CURMUDGUCATION: Frontline: Your Large Brotherly Data Service + Can You Afford To Become a Teacher?

CURMUDGUCATION: Frontline: Your Large Brotherly Data Service:

Frontline: Your Large Brotherly Data Service

I recently covered the launching of The Line, a new website helmed by Disgraced LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and dedicated to the proposition that Chiefs for Change should have an avenue to keep pumping out warmed-over education reform baloney.

As soon as I started digging, I realized I already knew about Frontline, the company behind the website. That familiar logo had started popping up on our screens at school this year because Frontline just bought out Aesop, the software service that has been managing our teacher absences.

Like many districts, a few years ago we shifted our substitute system from the traditional Harried Secretary On The Phone from 5 AM until Two Minutes Before School Starts System to an on-line service that lets teachers enter absences and substitutes pick them up, all on line, like a scholastic match.com. It's a vastly superior system to the Frantic Phone Call system. But, boy-- if one company was doing that for many school districts, wouldn't they collect a ton of data.

Well, yes. Yes they would.

Part of Frontline's pitch is just having all sorts of data at your fingertips to run your school efficiently-- their promotional video shows an administrator walking through the halls of a school carrying a table and looking at numbers on a display that must mean something helpful because CURMUDGUCATION: Frontline: Your Large Brotherly Data Service:

 Can You Afford To Become a Teacher?

For the past few years, there's been regular conversation about the sad discovery that many professions are only accessible to the wealthy. If you want to enter the world of Hollywood, Wall Street or many writing gigs, the path is through an unpaid internship which is, you know, unpaid. Other areas may attract the non-wealthy, but there entry-level "jobs" are still unpaid. If you want to break in, you need a second job, supportive and well-heeled parents, or someone willing to foot your bills.
  

But a conversation with an aspiring teacher last week led me to wonder-- is teaching suffering from the same problem?

I'm not just talking about how, once you land a job, you discover that the lay is low and that you are going to have to pump some of that income back into your own classroom. The first financial obstacle, however, appears before you even start your first job. Depending on where you decide you want to teach, getting a job straight out of college may well be possible. But for many proto-teachers, that is not going to happen.

Instead, many teachers have to work their way into a district by substituting. My wife and I both spent years doing day-to-day subbing and covering leaves before finally landing our own job.

But I worked on this path during the early eighties. Subbing in my region paid $50-$60 per day. I was living in a mobile home and paying $75/month for rent, so my sub pay, while unspectacular,  Can You Afford To Become a Teacher?