Archives for the month of: April, 2013
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Florida Parents Unite to Fight “Parent Trigger”

By dianeravitch
April 10, 2013 //
1

Florida parents are united in opposition to a “parent trigger” bill that would advance the interests of charter corporations. Florida already has hundreds of charter schools, many of them run by for-profit corporations. Thus far, the Florida legislature has heard testimony from the California organization Parent Revolution (heavily funded by the pro-privatization Walton Family Foundation), but not a single Florida parent organization supports the “parent trigger.” It would be fair to call the bill the “Corporate Charter Enrichment Law,” because it will create more economic growth for charter corporations.

Florida parents are wise to what the game is.

Para Espanol, oprima el “click”The Parent Trigger controversy continues.  This Thursday, SB 862 Parent Empowerment/Parent Trigger by Sen. Kelli Stargel is on the agenda in the Senate Ed Appropriations Committee.

Click here to take action against the Parent Trigger right now.

Thanks to you, oposition to Parent Trigger is growing.   No Florida parent group supports Parent Trigger.  The alliance of over 1 million parents who oppose this divisive scheme are more committed than ever. Florida parents are standing shoulder to shoulder in rock solid opposition to Parent Trigger.

We will not be used to blindly pull the trigger with no guaranteed outcome just to transfer a valuable public asset to for-profit charter chain investors.

Florida Politicians stand alone in their desire to pass the Parent Trigger. They have misjudged us.

Tell Florida politicians to drop the Parent Trigger.  Tell them to stop talking about getting us a seat at a table that we already own lock, stock and barrel. 

Our children and their schools need us to take a stand against the divisive Parent Trigger scheme.

Your voices spoke truth last year and defeated the Parent Trigger.  It’s time to do it again.
Categories Charter Schools, Florida, Parent Groups, Parent trigger

Connecticut: Why Not Hold “Reformers” Accountable!

By dianeravitch
April 10, 2013 //
4

Sarah Darer Littman wonders why some officials are not held accountable.

She points to the example of State Commissioner Stefan Pryor and Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas, both of whom used ingenious ploys to avoid competitive bidding on contracts.

Shouldn’t accountability be applied uniformly for all public officials?

Categories Connecticut, Corporate Reformers, Vallas, Paul

Petrilli on Testing and Accountability: Mend It, Don’t End It

By dianeravitch
April 10, 2013 //
35

Most of the readers of this blog are educators. Most don’t like high-stakes testing and the idea of punishments and rewards based on test scores. Many are ready to throw them both out as an assault on teacher professionalism. Many admire Finland, for example, where standardized testing is a non-issue and American-style accountability is unknown.

I thought it was important for everyone to read what Mike Petrilli has to say about Atlanta and what the cheating scandal means for the future of testing and accountability. Mike is a strong advocate of both. He is the #2 at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which advocates for testing, accountability, charters, and vouchers. I was on the board of TBF for many years. I left a few years ago when I realized that I no longer shared its agenda. In fact, I have dedicated all my energies to opposing its agenda, which I once supported.

Of the entire corporate reform world, at least of those I know, Mike is probably the most reasonable. I hold out hope that one day he may follow my lead and realize he is on the wrong side. At least, he wrestles with the issues, and that’s a hopeful sign.

He reminds me that in my last appearance in the corporate reformers’ academic journal, Ednext, I debated John Chubb on the subject of the future of NCLB.

His view: Mend it, don’t end it.

My view: End it, don’t mend it.

My view today: NCLB is a disaster; Race to the Top is a worse disaster. There is no way to mend a disaster. We need a new vision that begins not with data, but with a knowledge of child development combined with a passion for learning and for real education, not spreadsheet data.

Categories Georgia

Wendy Lecker: Why Do State Officials Ignore the Laws?

By dianeravitch
April 10, 2013 //
12

Civil rights lawyer can’t understand why state leaders in Connecticut get to choose which laws to follow.

They seem to follow the advice of NYC former chancellor Joel Klein, who responded to complaints by saying, “Sue me.”

Why the disdain for the law?

Categories Connecticut, Corporate Reformers, Malloy, Dannel

Why Test Security Won’t Solve the Problems Created by Bad Policies

By dianeravitch
April 10, 2013 //
22

This article by Daniel Denvir is the best article I have read to date on the Atlanta cheating scandal.

The “no excuses” mantra is at the root of policies that incentivized cheating. Atlanta is only the tip of the iceberg. There will be more, and most will go undetected.

What distinguished Atlanta was the thoroughness of the investigation.

Of course, adults should not cheat, and those who cheat should be punished.

But it is important to change the context that demands impossible results and punishes adults who don’t produce them.

It is especially pleasing to see this article in The New Republic, which is an influential political journal.

Categories Georgia, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Race to the Top, Testing

Bobby Jindal Admits a Mistake

By dianeravitch
April 9, 2013 //
10

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal backed off his big Thatcherite idea of reforming the tax code.

He wanted to eliminate income taxes and corporate taxes and raise sales taxes.

That way, the poor would subsidize the rich.

But his poll numbers plummeted, and legislators told him that his plan would be defeated, even by his faithful followers, who want to be re-elected by the voters in their districts.

So he backed off his regressive plan.

The New York Times mentions that Governor Jindal’s health secretary resigned recently “amid reports of a federal grand jury investigation into the awarding of a $185 million state contract.” This gentleman has been the governor’s point man in accelerating the transfer of “the state’s safety-net hospital system to a system of public-private partnerships.” That is a polite way of saying that Governor Jindal is privatizing the state’s public hospitals.

Bobby Jindal is the Reverse Robin Hood of the South. Corporations should flock to Louisiana: Cheap labor! Low taxes! No unions! Big profits! A poorly educated workforce, and likely to stay that way as long as this governor is in office.

Categories Economy, Louisiana

Indiana University Students Plan Anti-Testing Strike

By dianeravitch
April 9, 2013 //
25

Students at Indiana University’s education school will go on strike on April 11 and 12 to protest the excessive and toxic testing in K-12.

As they say in their statement, they are the children of No Child Left Behind.

Read the entirety of their statement.

Here is an excerpt:

“As striking students at Indiana University, we are struggling against the corporatization of our school, lack of diversity on campus, and ever-increasing tuition and fees which are fast making an education here inaccessible to all but the most privileged. As we begin these important conversations here at IU we also recognize their systemic nature. We stand in solidarity with others throughout the nation working to rescue education from those who seek to profit from it. We recognize the bravery and commitment of the teachers, students, and parents in places such as Garfield High School in Seattle and the Project Libertas in Indianapolis, who have taken stands against the absurdities inherent in standardized testing.”

Here is a commentary on the strike in The Nation.

And here is a petition to support the Indiana students.

Categories Education Industry, Indiana, Testing

Congratulations, Carol Burris, New York Principal of the Year!

By dianeravitch
April 9, 2013 //
14

Readers of this blog are familiar with the writings of Carol Burris, principal of South Side High a school in Rockville Center, New York.

Her fellow principals across the state just named her Principal of the Year..

Carol is a dedicated, passionate educator who is a leader of the fight against the state’s educator evaluation system. She and her colleague Sean Feeney created a petition drive and signed up more than third of the other principals in the state to oppose this ill-considered approach. Thousands of parents and fellow citizens signed their petition.

It is not too late. You can sign too.

Congratulations, Carol!

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, New York, Teacher Evaluations, Testing

Jonathan Kozol Will Be Honored by FairTest on May 9

By dianeravitch
April 9, 2013 //
1

If you live anywhere near Cambridge, you should plan to attend this FairTest event on May 9 when FairTest will honor Jonathan Kozol.

FairTest will present Jonathan with the Deborah W. Meier Award for Heroes in Education for his lifelong commitment to education, children, and human rights.

Jonathan is indeed a hero in education.

He is a champion for children, for teachers, and for public schools.

I am happy to add him to this blog’s honor roll for his courage, his eloquence, and his clear vision of a just, decent, and humane society.

 

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, Honor Roll, Standardized Testing, Students, Testing

Will Connecticut Put a Charter Operator on State Board?

By dianeravitch
April 9, 2013 //
7

Jonathan Pelto asks whether the Connecticut House of Representatives will approve the nomination of a charter school executive to the State Board of Education.

Governor Dannell Malloy nominated Andrea Comer, the chief operating officer of a charter school to the state board, where she will exercise influence over issues that directly affect her organization, as well as the continued expansion of charter schools in that state.

Malloy is mad about charter schools. He chose a charter school founder, Stefan Pryor, to be his state commissioner of education.

“If Andrea Comer, the Chief Operating Officer of FUSE/Jumoke Inc., finds herself on the State Board of Education, she will certainly be in a “unique” position to directly and indirectly impact her job, her employer and the industry she has worked so hard to represent.  Prior to working for FUSE/Jumoke, Inc. she worked for Achievement First, Inc., the even larger charter school management company co-founded by Stefan Pryor.”

Charters in Connecticut that have the best success are known for having very small numbers of English language learners and students with disabilities. Comer’s charter is one of them.

Connecticut has leadership that disdains public education. Privatization is all the rage in the Nutmeg State.

Categories Charter Schools, Connecticut, Privatization
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