Attend the United Opt Out Conference in Philadelphia in February!

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1. Polly says:

   January 24, 2016 at 7:09 pm

   Bill Ayers… Seriously???? Unrepentant bomber or is there another Bill Ayers?

   Reply
   • Michael Peña says:

     January 24, 2016 at 7:19 pm

     Bill Ayers on Common Core and corporate education reform: “It fits very neatly with what I think of as the ‘Corporate Reform agenda,’” Ayers said, “which has three parts: One is to reduce education to a single metric and test, test, test, and punish. Two is to undo any collective voice for the teachers. And third, it gives away the public space to private entrepreneurs.”

     “Common core fits nicely with the test and punish regime,” which he says translates into “multi-millions of dollars for the Pearson Testing Corporation. . . And Common Core does nothing to support teaching and learning in the classroom.”

     Source: http://dailysurge.com/2014/09/bill-ayers-common-core-catastrophe-education/

     Reply
2. Peggy Robertson says:

   January 24, 2016 at 7:10 pm

   Diane – one additional note – we had one switch in keynotes. Jill Stein, 2016 presidential candidate with the Green Party will be speaking in place of Mercedes Martinez who is unable to attend this year. I am updating the website today to reflect this change! Thank you!

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3. Michael Peña says:

   January 24, 2016 at 7:27 pm

   Dr. Jill Stein’s education platform piece:

   “Education as a Right:

   Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude. Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university. End high stakes testing and public school privatization.”

   From: http://www.jill2016.com/plan

   Reply
4. Nimbus says:

   January 24, 2016 at 8:07 pm

   Diane,Could you promote the truth about teacher evaluations not being tied to test scores in New York? While there is a “moratorium” on tying scores on grades 3-8 ELA and math assessments to teachers, that is NOT true of high school Regents exams, which students must pass in order to graduate, especially in Algebra and English. Those scores and “growth” measures will be applied to grades 3-8 teachers and high school teachers as well. Please, Diane, look at this. Reality based educator has a blog entry as well. in NYS, it means that no one who wants to graduate can opt out. This has been downplayed, but I imagine some parents might object and others might be okay with it. At least start the conversation in aNew York. Your grandson’s teacher will be evaluated on HS Regents exam scores.

   https://www.engageny.org/resource/guidance-on-new-york-s-annual-professional-performance-review-law-and-regulations

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5. CHARLOTTE T. ISERBYT says:

   January 24, 2016 at 8:38 pm

   Please read Birds of a Feather Flock Together at abcsofdumbdown.blogspot.com for inFormation on the “Ayers Brothers” (Bill, former vV.P. of Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and involved in international charter schools and community education, out of Tulane, and his building bomber brother Bill Ayers involved in Opt Out. When will the bloggers wake up and get educated in thE history of this ed mess which goes back over one hundred years!!!!!!!!!!

   Charlotte Iserbyt

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   • Michael Peña says:

     January 24, 2016 at 9:39 pm

     A quick Google search of your name brings up quite the collection of inflammatory right-wing websites that proclaim to be “news” but are really just opinions of the Trump/Rubio/Cruz/Palin fanatics. Your dissatisfaction of Ayers is built on old political hackery and sleight-of-hand misdirection. However you feel about him, he’s an well-informed educator who’s views and opinions on corporate education reform overlap with what many of us feel. Does Diane’s involvement in and support of charter schools and No Child Left Behind early on create the same response in you, Charlotte?

     Reply
6. julesvandebospoort says:

   January 24, 2016 at 10:44 pm

   Can I get some support on an online petition I started? If you would mind looking at this and signing it, that would be greatly appreciated.

   https://www.change.org/p/u-s-senate-u-s-house-of-representatives-alabama-state-senate-alaska-state-senate-arizona-state-senate-arkansas-state-senate-california-state-senate-connecticut-state-senate-delaware-state-reform-public-education-in-the-u-s

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7. A. Patrick Huff says:

   January 25, 2016 at 5:06 am

   The Opt Out Movement is a smoke screen. The end result will drive more schools to failure due to measures in the Accountability System. All schools must have 95% take the test; if not the school fails to “meet standards”. If students attend school and opt out of putting anything down on their test sheet, the school fails to meet standards in their subgroups. Wake up people; opt out is part of the agenda. Too bad for parents because they had hoped opt out would be an answer for them. This is moving the school reform agenda into privatization and the elimination of school boards, which has been the plan all along. Parents need to lobby to remove the Accountability System in its entirety.
   A. Patrick Huff

   Reply
   • brackenkaren says:

     January 27, 2016 at 1:10 am

     Let the school fight that battle. Parents were never asked if they wanted their kids subjected to months of prep and testing. Parents were never asked for their permission or input to this garbage. If the state agrees to this accountability stuff then let the state worry about it when they cannot meet the mark. Maybe then the state will stand up and stand against the overreach of the federal government who has no authority to tell the state they MUST test 95% of their students. The state got us in to this mess now let the state figure it out. PARENTS!! OPT OUT!!

     Reply
8. Mary Porter says:

   January 26, 2016 at 10:14 am

   This is a good conference, and people should attend it.

   Reply
9. brackenkaren says:

   January 27, 2016 at 1:07 am

   Bill Ayers? A good conference. Have you all lost your mind?

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10. A. Patrick Huff says:

    January 27, 2016 at 11:32 am

    If you want to stop prep and testing then you must end the Accountability System. It is the control mechanism. Only then, can education return to local control. Once local control is truly put back in, school districts are free to choose their own curriculum standards and essential elements. This is how schools operated prior to 1982 when the new system was brought in.

    Reply
    • virginiasgp says:

      January 27, 2016 at 11:55 am

      At least Huff is honest about not wanting any accountability whatsoever.

      Reply
11. Kendra Tilley says:

    February 22, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    I say if you want to stop all of this OPT OUT of the public school system. The only safe place for kids today is their kitchen table.

    Reply
    • Polly says:

      February 22, 2016 at 5:50 pm

      You are correct. Homeschooling is safest but only if you carefully choose the curriculum you use there.

      Reply