Metro Nashville teachers passed a vote of no confidence in State Commissioner Kevin Huffman.
The article doesn’t say how many teachers voted or what percent oppose Huffman.
Presumably, these figures will emerge.
The vote by the teachers comes on the heels of a letter by nearly half the state’s superintendents criticizing Huffman’s top-down style.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Chiefs for change # 2 or #3 down the drain?
The virus is spreading as the people catch on.
Maybe Kevin can go back to teaching via the certification route vs. the scab for America scam.
Now if only the chair of Chiefs for Change, Education Secretary, Designate Hana Skandera would go away. New Mexicans deserve an Education Secretary who is an experienced educator. Her background in education is that of a volunteer in an after-school abstinece program. Oh, and as Jeb Bush’s education policy person. She is less qualified than Huffman and at least Bennett had a background in education.
Good for the teachers and everyone else in Tennessee who has spoken out against Huffman! I hope he is forced out of his position.
Alabamians…be sure to keep an eye on developments regarding the newly formed education reform group, Business and Education Alliance of Alabama (BEA). One of its goals is to establish charter schools in Alabama.
Yes, Linda.
Finally a “virus” we are all happy to upload into our tablets and iPads which, according to Joel Klein/NYT are all anyone needs to “disrupt” American Public Education.
Tennessee has a chance to cut off the reform movement before it hits full steam. Learn from the other states that have been conned by the reform movement. Look at charters in the Ohio and Michigan and you will see educational rackets. The taxpayer is being ripped off and real education is suffering. I love seeing that superintendents in that state are standing up as actual leaders of education and fighting for what is best for its citizenry rather than what is best for their careers and pockets. If the superintendents inform the citizens about what has happened in other states and how their money will be used then the reform movement will be stopped. Don’t be fooled TN. The reform movement will do nothing to improve education in TN.
Wonderful!
Guy Brandenburg Sent from my iPhone so full of hilarious errors… ;-€}}
Brizard received a 95% no confidence vote 2X from teachers in Rochester before being lemon danced to Chicago by Rahmpulstiltskin where he lasted all of a long year before a “soft” eviction there as well.
“Tennessee has a chance to cut off the reform movement before it hits full steam. Learn from the other states that have been conned by the reform movement. Look at charters in the Ohio and Michigan and you will see educational rackets.”
Agreed. Add Indiana, Florida and Pennsylvania. It continues to amaze me that this same old product is peddled in state after state and after 15 years it’s still called “new”.
The state that baffles me is Michigan. There doesn’t seem to be any check or evaluation process at all. It’s the wild west. The other part that baffles me is why there’s no federal oversight. It’s billions of dollars in federal money in these states. I recognize Duncan is completely captured, but the DOE is a huge agency with a stable career staff component that are less likely to be influenced by appointees like Duncan.
Where are the federal regulators? Have you been thru western Michigan lately? Charters are springing up all over. The growth is incredible. There ain’t no way this industry is regulated at the state level. They would need an absolute army of boots on the ground, and they have a governor who is a free market hard-liner. I think it’s doubtful he has invested a whole lot in public school regulation.
Perhaps the federal government is still wary of the Constitutional prohibitions against federal supervision of education. Of course, the Constitution hasn’t prevented bureaucratic grabs for power over much else—banking, energy, commerce in general—but education is specifically mentioned as outside of federal oversight. They’ve come pretty close to gaining the power, however, with CCSS. So it goes, that the country continues to put the noose of tyranny around its own neck. Better the wild west than federal control of education.
Arne Duncan @arneduncan 1h
No community ultimately succeeds without a good school at its center. The single surest path out of poverty today is still a great school.
Who writes this stuff? This is the polar opposite of the reform mantra he’s spreading. They’re shipping kids all over Chicago to go to school. I read an account from a New Orleans parent yesterday. Her daughter is in 2nd grade and she’s on her 5th school. She takes a bus with the child to get to the new school, they leave at 6 AM. What possible connection can this commuter charter have with that little girl’s “community”?
Which school is “at the center” of those “reformed” communities? I thought we had been instructed to forget about “zip codes” and “choose” a school whether it had any connection to our community or not?
Diane,please visit us at Vandrbilt…we need to hear from you…Peabody is very much interested in hearing from you…
I’ll second that!
Is this the beginning of a Tennessee tidal wave across the state? Tennesseans tend to take a lot quietly, but when enough is enough, watch out! I hope to see competence and support for district work return to the DOE in TN.
Here’s a link to the actual letter from the Metro Nashville Education Association.
Click to access DN211723913.PDF
1700+ signatures on this petition to Gov. Haslam to get rid of Huffman. Please sign & share:
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-hurting-our-schools-remove-kevin-huffman-as-the-appointed-tn-commissioner-of-education