The most important education vote yesterday occurred in Indiana.
As the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette pointed out in its editorial, this election has national implications.
Tony Bennett had become the face of rightwing reform in America.
His mission was to bring the ALEC agenda to life in the Hoosier State.
He was head of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change, the group of state superintendents that were most eager to privatize public education, expand charters and vouchers, turn children over to for-profit corporations, and reduce the status of teachers.
He was honored by the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute as the “reformiest” state superintendent in the nation.
The Wall Street hedge fund managers and assorted billionaires pumped $1.5 million into his campaign for re-election.
He was soundly defeated by veteran teacher Glenda Ritz.
Ritz raised $325,000 for her campaign to restore public education in Indiana.
Ritz won over Bennett by a comfortable margin of 53-47.
She got 1.3 million votes, almost 100,000 more votes than Mike Pence, the Republican running for governor, who barely eked out a victory.
Make no mistake: The people of Indiana said “no” to Tony Bennett’s radical plans to turn public education into a free-market of choice and competition, based on high-stakes testing.
The people of Indiana elected Glenda Ritz to rebuild their public school system and to wipe away the misguided, mean-spirited “reforms” imposed by Bennett.
This is a victory for the parents, citizens and educators of Indiana.
Most important, it is a victory for the children of the state of Indiana.
Now, they will have a chance to have a good education, not to be consumers in a vast shopping mall of test-based choices, not to be data points for corporations bent on turning a profit.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
A victory like this is so damn sweet! A sign that voters are waking up to the fraud and corruption that plagues our PUBLIC schools?
Yes, but as I mentioned in an earlier post of yours – it’s not morning in Indiana. Glenda faces a hostile Governor and Legislature. It will take real engagement on the part of us as citizens to keep her efforts from being stymied.
She is going to need all the help she can get. It would be easy for the governor and legislature to sabotage her work.
… faces a hostile Governor and Legislature…
Not much of a showdown, given that she is oath-sworn to implement laws passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. She chairs a board of education appointed by the Governor. That board sets policy (within limitations of law) for the Indiana Department of Education.
If model legislation were forthcoming from an alternative to ALEC, perhaps she could persuade the board to recommend it to the legislature. Otherwise, subverting initiatives from the legislature and governor appears to be the limit of her powers.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
Just don’t let Mr. Bennett come to Florida as our new education commissioner. We don’t want him, either.
So what happens in Washington (state)? Does Billy Gates get to play school his way?
Still counting ballots here. It’s too close to call yet.
The American people might be for “choice” in education but they are not for privateers taking over the local schools and awarding themselves huge profits;
They might be for high academic standards for children but they know that doesn’t mean test prep and scripted lessons;
They might be for “evaluating” teachers but they are not for targeting experienced teachers unfairly in order to reduce expenditures;
They might be for rewarding teachers for excellence, but they are not for paying teachers more based on invalid group test scores;
They might wish to end teacher “tenure” (enjoyed by some college professors and judges) but they don’t want to deny mainly female teachers the same due process rights enjoyed by male public servants (i.e. police, firefighters);
They might support a highly qualified teacher for every classroom, but not for placing the least experienced teachers in urban schools;
They might support the quest for better training for our classroom teachers, but they will never support the bashing of the teachers we have now;
They generally have very high trust in schoolteachers and professors and often vote for them when they run for office.
In short, hell will freeze over before the American people turn against the men and women who have chosen to be with our children each day. They know that the “reformers” have one trait in common: they do not teach and they would not teach because “there’s no money in it.”
Hang on, Teachers. Positive change is coming. The people are emerging from the fog of the recession to see that their schools are being stolen by the 1% and they don’t like it.
“Hang on, Teachers. Positive change is coming. The people are emerging from the fog of the recession to see that their schools are being stolen by the 1% and they don’t like it.”
I hope , I really hope so.
[In short, hell will freeze over before the American people turn against the men and women who have chosen to be with our children each day. They know that the “reformers” have one trait in common: they do not teach and they would not teach because “there’s no money in it.”]
I don’t think most people know about Reform Money.
I’m not sure the 1% know their money is being made exploiting education data & privatization.
Those who invest the one percent’s money know, The 1% look for profit. Education reform money is in small cap funds (probably elsewhere) but who knows what’s in the funds? I have been asking that question. It’s information that is not readily available & hidden under college readiness, individualized learning & other pseudonyms.
It’s not just the 1% making money on education reform.
I do agree we won’t turn against teachers. I say “we” because I am not an educator.
However, I am very proud to be a Life Time Member of NYSUT, an honor I received for my service on a school board.
“They might wish to end teacher “tenure” (enjoyed by some college professors and judges) but they don’t want to deny mainly female teachers the same due process rights enjoyed by male public servants (i.e. police, firefighters);”
Too bad they don’t understand the difference. People dream a lot of mom, flag and apple pie fantasies. Teachers fit into them somewhere. That’s just it, though. It’s fantasy. Most people really have no conception of the amount of grunt work that has come to define “teaching in the 21st century.” After all, we still get all those holidays and summers off.
Congrats to Superintendent-elect Ritz. THAT’S what grassroots campaigning can do and thank you to all the Indiana teachers who wrote the 100K+ postcards to voters to support her. That’s how you get it done
Here in Washington State the NO on1240 campaign against charter schools remains cautiously hopeful as the vote is 51-49% which was NOT expected according to the polls. The Yes side came into the election spending $11M and had a lead according to the polls.
We believe we could still prevail as there are still one million votes to be counted (we are an all mail-in state so we will have votes coming in until at least Friday). Our biggest county, King, said NO to charters and if that trend holds, we may turn the tide.
Wish us luck.
Thank you again, to Diane and all our supporters!
Excellent! It’s a good news day:)
http://www.elizabethrosemusic.com
And now they could very well drop him off in Florida.
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/might-indiana-superintendent-stunner-yield-florida-commissioner-candidate
Perhaps you’ll inherit J.C. Brizzard?
I disagree with Diane. The most important vote in the education arena took place in Idaho. Tom Luna, who never mentioned any of the ideas in his campaign for for his second term in office, convinced the 2011 Republican dominated legislature to back some poor education policy, which became law even though the testimonies in the legislative hearings were overwhelmingly opposed to the policies. The citizens who were completely ignored by the legislature collected over 70,000 signatures to put the policies on the ballot (Luna escaped recall) and all three propositions were defeated by the citizens of Idaho in the recent election.