A group of concerned parents, retired teachers, and friends of public education in Indiana created a website, which is here.
They are the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education.
To lend a hand, read their materials and join them in the battle to stop privatization of public education and demolition of the teaching profession in the Hoosier State.
If you are not in Indiana, read their website to get good ideas for your own site.
Here is their list of myths about public education in Indiana:
Myths About Public Education in Indiana
MYTH: Public Schools are Failing our children.
FACTS:
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test scores are the highest in the history of the Federal tests. On basic NAEP scores, Indiana has outperformed the nation on all 41 NAEP assessments since 1990.
Indiana Graduation Rates are the highest in history. 85.7% graduated in four years or less in the Class of 2012, up from 84.1%, 81.5%, 77.8%, 76.4%, and 76.1% in the last five graduating classes.
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
http://icpe2011.com/Good_News_about_Schools.html
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MYTH: Charter Schools provide a better education.
FACTS:
Public schools outperformed charter schools on 2012 ISTEP tests.
IREAD-3 results for 2012 show 85% of public schools passing but only 70% of charter schools passing.
Public schools can and do offer creative and successful programs; for example, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, New Tech, Language immersion, and dual credit courses.
Public schools serve ALL students.
http://www.jgdata.net/istep
http://www.doe.in.gov/achievement/assessment/istep-results
http://icpe2011.com/Good_News_about_Schools.html/
http://www.fortwayneschools.org/
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MYTH: Poverty does not affect a child’s educational performance.
FACTS:
Family income is the single most reliable predictor of student test scores.
The correlation of poverty and academic achievement is one of the most consistent findings in educational research.
ISTEP scores confirm that poverty negatively impacts student achievement and performance.
http://doe.in.gov/achievement/assessment/istep-results
http://parentsacrossamerica.org/2012/02/diane-ravitch-do-politicians-know-anything-about-education/
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MYTH: Teachers’ unions use tenure to protect poorly performing teachers from dismissal.
FACTS:
Teacher in K-12 do not have tenure. They have never had a guaranteed “job for life”.
Teachers remain subject to the same disciplinary actions as employees in other fields.
Teachers did have the right to due process under state law which goverened the dismissal provess; however, the legislature changed the law and eliminated due process.
Termination of ineffective teachers was and is the responsibility of the school administration.
The Indiana Coalition for Public Education is a non-profit group whose mission is to focus public tax dollars on public schoolls & to oppose legislation that privatizes public schools. The Monroe County chapter in Bloomington invited Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennet & his opponent Glenda Ritz, long time public school media specialist, to a candidate forum this month. Glenda Ritz accepted & answered all questions from the audience. Amazingly, Tony declined.
Support Glenda Ritz in November. She is a teacher & believes in public education.
Thank you Diane for posting valuable information about our schools in Indiana. Indiana has always been one of the best states for education, and still is – but our politicians who are determined to destroy public education are only interested in the myths, not the facts. I would encourage all who read this to post a link to this blog or at least copy the myth vs. facts and spread the news!
Thanks for the shout out to our group in Indiana, Diane.
For those who are interested, here’s a link to a pdf file of the Myths and Facts.
Click to access MythsFacts.pdf
Our platform, information about the cost of testing in Indiana, and some suggestions for parents are available on our blog/web site…scroll down the right side to the section on:
INFORMATION AND FACT SHEETS.
http://neifpe.blogspot.com