Michigan created an emergency district for schools with low test scores, administered by Broad Academy alum John Covington, who decamped from Kansas City after making no improvements there.
The emergency district is about to become the largest district in the state. By adding low-perming districts from across the state, the EAA will have 46,000 students.
The salient feature of the new district is that it is non-union. The assumption of the conservative Rick Snyder administration and the EAA is that unions are the major obstacle to improvement.
The US Department of Education just gave the district a grant to install performance pay in its schools. Never mind that performance pay promotes teaching to the test and has never worked. Why is the Obama administration encouraging an attack on unions?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Hi Diane, Teacher’s College is hosting a forum on the election and education on Oct 16. I thought you and our reading community would be interested in participating.
Taking the Election to School: A Debate Between the Education Advisors of the Presidential Candidates
Monday, October 15, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Susan Fuhrman, president of Teachers College, Columbia University, will host and moderate a debate between Jon Schnur and Phil Handy—the education advisors of President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, respectively. The event, which will include Q&A using questions submitted online in advance, will be streamed by Education Week for those who cannot attend live in New York or via webcast at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.http://www.tc.edu/debate/
So we have to make sure that we submit questions that we want addressed. If they are presented, I seriously doubt either one of them will answer them. I am sure they are both well trained in skirting the issue. I wonder how creative they can be at neoliberal posturing.
Why not add the voices of parents, teachers and students? Schnur is the architect of Race to the Top, Handy the champion of FCAT, and Fuhrman is on the board of Pearson. You need some other perspectives.
My thoughts exactly. Why have someone debate a carbon copy of himself?
At the very least, you and everyone who reads this blog should submit at least a question or two. We’ll see if any of our questions get answered.
Ms. Grim, I completely agree with Ms. Ravitch, and as great good luck would have it, she is in town!
She is speaking Oct. 15 at the City Club of Chicago Public Policy Breakfast at 7:30 am.
If, like me, you are looking for an open, honest debate, please invite
CTU president Karen Lewis, Wendy Katten of Raise Your and Illinois, Becky Malone of The 19th Ward Parents group, Erica Clark or Howie Emmet of Parents 4 Teachers, Jitu Brown of KoCo, and Julie Woestof of PURE.
These are groups of parents of CPS schoolchildren whom CPS has left out of the debate on the mayor’s new education policies, which come directly from USDOE.
We CPS parents would not like to see on stage the ‘astro-turf’ groups like DFER, ERN, Advance Illinois, Power to Parents or Stand for Children. Or Juan Rangel.
Their presence is a red flag.
My apologies. I skimmed. It is not Columbia College in Chicago, but Columbia University in NYC.
“Why is the Obama administration encouraging an attack on unions?”
It is doing so because Barack Obama is a neoliberal Trojan Horse, parlaying his race and personal story for the final interment of the New Deal.
spot on.
A right-wing Republican is really what Obama is. Democrats must purge the party of these fakers or else a real second party is going to have to exist in order to save the country. The DP has already been mortally wounded with Obama.
As for me, I am voting third party. Oregon is not in play, so my vote will go to Rocky Anderson. I wish millions more would do the same.
Regarding the situation here in Michigan, the districts included so far have been those who serve minority students. Not many people seem to even be noticing what is going on. Unfortunately, not enough people will care until a district that has a majority of white students is included. I’m sure this is similar to what is going on in practically every other state.
Why is the Obama administration attacking the public sector and its employees?
Neoliberalism.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
The EAA is awful. I know people who have gone to work in the EAA schools in Detroit and many people have quit in less than a month. The classes are huge and there aren’t even enough seats in classrooms. The discipline is lax and teachers can’t even teach effectively. The whole district has a ton of nearly graduated TFA. What a disaster. Hey, do you think the news media will tells us about the disaster? I doubt it. I’m sure it will be glossed over as if a miracle has happened in Detroit. I can’t believe that someone thinks this was a way to improve education in Detroit. Pathetic. Total disorganization.
nd why isn;t Rando Weingarten questioning Obama and Donecan’t in this? I know many teachers who are so angry at Obama/Donecan’t they are not voting for Obama….
Diane, please keep an eye on Detroit. People need to know the truth about what is happening here. They put a bunch of TFA in the EAA schools who are right out of college-many who have come from out of the state. These schools are in Detroit’s toughest neighborhoods. Who in their right mind would think this is the way to improve education for the most challenging students in Michigan.
If you are in Detroit, pease keep me informed. Detroit is very important.
Diane