Archives for the month of: July, 2013
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When This Reader Heard President Obama Discuss Trayvon Martin

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
83

A reader posted this comment:

“Listening to President Obama’s speech about Trayvon Martin in which he said regarding young black men,”And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?” the thought struck me:

“How about not closing their schools and undermining their neighborhoods; how about providing them with an education like the one you want for your children; how about trying to do something about the poverty that they endure? How about standing with the people who helped to elect you with their votes and their belief in you rather than with the 1% whom you seem now to identify with in deeds if not in words.”

Categories Obama, Race to the Top

The Game in Detroit: Pensions

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
31

In a series of legal maneuvers, Governor Snyder of Michigan and his emergency manager rushed to plunge Detroit into a historic bankruptcy. The judge was not pleased.

“Prior to her ruling on Friday, she criticized the Snyder administration and Attorney General’s Office for what appeared to be hasty action to outflank pension board attorneys.

“It’s cheating, sir, and it’s cheating good people who work,” the judge told assistant Attorney General Brian Devlin. “It’s also not honoring the (United States) president, who took (Detroit’s auto companies) out of bankruptcy.” […]”

Categories Detroit, Michigan, Pensions

Inside Story: Why Louisiana Joined inBloom

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
9

Thanks to tireless bloggers and parents, who FOILed the emails, you can now read about how and why Louisiana State Superintendent John White decided to turn over confidential student data to the Murdoch-Gates collaboration.

Do you want to know what the powerful say to each other? Read this fascinating account of The Art of the Deal.

Categories For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Klein, Joel, Louisiana

Rahm’s Plan: Another 2,000 Teacher Layoffs

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
27

Mayor Rahm Emanuel continues with his plan to downsize public education in Chicago, while privately managed (mostly non-union) charters proliferate. Rahm recently told Charlie Rose that school reform was his highest priority as mayor.

Here is a statement from a Chicago organization created to fight the endless budget cuts:

Raise Your Hand Coalition:

Press Statement in Response to Layoff Announcement of 2,000 Teachers

July 19, 2013

“The Raise Your Hand Coalition (RYH) is disgusted to learn that Chicago Public schools has laid off another 2000 teachers and staff, bringing the total number of layoffs for the year to 3500. This news lies in stark contrast to the ongoing CPS rhetoric to minimize any impact of budget cuts on the classroom. Now CPS is claiming that there will be “winners and losers.” Even if a few schools have been spared from these widespread and severe cuts, we believe that there are only losers in this scenario.

“RYH started in 2010 to advocate for improved funding because for too long, our children have been subjected to inadequate staffing and basic programs and standards at Chicago Public schools. The situation has only worsened under Mayor Emanuel. After pushing through a “full school day,” our mayor has chosen to prioritize property tax spending on unnecessary and frivolous projects such as $55 million for a stadium for DePaul University, while CPS continues to receive drastic funding cuts that severely impact our children’s ability to thrive and learn. The Mayor’s decision not to use TIF money to offset some of these cuts is deeply disappointing and is forcing many parents to leave the city. Parents who don’t have the option to leave will be stuck sending their children to underfunded schools that lack the appropriate staffing and programs needed to provide a realistic “full school day.” This is a frightening day for the children of Chicago.”

Amy Smolensky
amysmolensky@comcast.net
312-485-0053

Categories Budget Cuts, Chicago, Emanuel, Rahm

Columbus, Ohio: Cutting Parents Out of Public Education

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
7

A blogger in Columbus updates us on recent developments there.

First the mayor decided to get involved, which everyone thought would be a good thing.

Then the mayor appointed a panel of “experts,” many of whom do not live in Columbus and 96% of whom are not public school parents.

Then the panel released its plan: “And when the panel came out with suggestions that included eliminating the internal auditor (Carolyn Smith), installing more administration in an already bloated system, and taking in more money to support charter schools… the public response went from disappointment to outrage.”

Then the state legislature jumped in to propose that the panel recommendations go on the ballot. In Ohio these days, state intervention is usually bad news for public schools.

The question is whether the people who depend on the Columbus public schools will stand together to protect them.

Categories Charter Schools, Ohio, Parents, Support for public schools

David Kirp: Frequent Turnover of Superintendents Is a Bad Idea

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
4

David Kirp writes that the frequent firing and turnover of coaches in the National Basketball Association is destabilizing, and the same is true in the superintendency of school districts. Of course, bad superintendents should be removed, but when the superintendent is doing a good job, they should have time to get something accomplished. The bottom line is that school districts need stability, not churn or upheaval. The same is true for schools, where stability promotes a strong culture and good working relationships. Just as coaches need time, so do principals and teachers.

Kirp is the author of “Improbable Scholars” and is a professor of public policy at Berkeley.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Principals, Teachers

Prince George’s County: No Democracy for Us

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
31

Prince George’s County, Maryland, will become the first county in the nation where the county executive controls the schools.

The executive will appoint the schools’ superintendent and several board members.

No doubt the Maryland legislature was impressed by the success of mayoral control in Chicago and Cleveland. Or was it Néw York City, where Mayor Bloomberg doubled the budget without narrowing the achievement gap and was able to raise the graduation rate to 62%, about the same as Philadelphia and Chicago.

“According to the National Association of Counties (NACo), Prince George’s County—which lies on the eastern border of Washington, D.C, and is home to nearly 900,000 people and 125,000 students who attend the county’s schools—is the first county in the United States where the executive has that level of control over a formerly autonomous school district. It is similar to some cities, such as Philadelphia, where the mayor appoints school board members.”

The linked article cites Philadelphia as an example of mayoral control–by which they mean a suspension of democracy-but Philadelphia has been controlled by the state for more than a decade and is on the brink of fiscal and educational bankruptcy.

Why do many reformers think that democracy is their enemy? Why do they put their trust in autocracy?

Categories Accountability

The Negative Effects of Holding Kids Back in Third Grade

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
34

Jeb Bush goes across the nation boasting of the “Florida Miracle.” It consists of tough test-based accountability, charters, vouchers, and online charters, with plenty of profits to spur innovation.

Remember the much-acclaimed Texas miracle?

Here is a paper by Umut Ozek, a researcher at the American Institutes for Research, which debunks the value of holding back third-grade students, one of the key elements of the Florida “miracle.” It does raise fourth grade test scores when you keep the laggards out of the testing pool, but it has some awful consequences for the children.

Ozek writes:

“Test-based accountability has become the new norm in public education over the last decade. In many states and school districts nationwide, student performance in standardized tests plays an important role in high- stakes decisions such as grade retention. This study examines the effects of grade retention on student misbehavior in Florida, which requires students with reading skills below grade level to be retained in the 3rd grade. The regression discontinuity estimates suggest that grade retention increases the likelihood of disciplinary incidents and suspensions in the years that follow. The findings also suggest that these adverse effects are concentrated among economically disadvantaged students.”

Categories Accountability, Florida

Watch This, You Will Love It: Nurturing Creativity

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
12

Forget data for a few minutes.

Forget lockstep learning.

Watch a Powerpoint about nurturing creativity and imagination among children.

It is especially valuable for parents.

It was created by Sheila Schlesinger, an experienced educator and a regular reader of the blog.

Sheila has been teaching pre-K in Brooklyn for 15 years.

We are very lucky to have teachers like Sheila.

Enjoy!

https://sites.google.com/site/thinkdiffeent/

Categories Education Reform

Louisiana Educator Speaks Out Against Privatization

By dianeravitch
July 18, 2013 //
6

Mike Deshotels is a retired educator in Louisiana who blogs at http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/.

He sent the following letter to the media:

“To the Editor

As an experienced, retired educator I feel I must speak out about the serious damage being done to public education in Louisiana by Governor Jindal and State Education Superintendent John White.

Many educators are shocked and disappointed about the drastic cuts to higher education, however my greatest concern is for K-12 education, where I was privileged to have a rewarding career as a teacher and education leader. It is like watching a slow motion train wreck to see the thousands of dedicated teachers who are retiring early because of the insane education policies of this administration.

The attempted privatization of public education using vouchers and charter schools is doing serious damage to education. Contrary to what our new non-educator leaders claim, Louisiana has had a basically sound system of public education. Our student performance was steadily improving before Jindal. All we needed to do was authorize our school administrators to restore basic discipline and safety to some of our troubled schools and make sure that our school curricula included both strong college prep and excellent career programs.

Instead Jindal and White policies are now putting our school tax dollars into the hands of profiteers and education charlatans.

Basically all the state takeover schools converted to charters have been absolute disasters both in student performance and in fiscal management. The so called Recovery District remains the second lowest performing school district behind St. Helena.

The recent audits of the voucher schools have been a total sham. The State Superintendent pronounced the voucher schools in compliance with state requirements even though almost none of them kept proper books to demonstrate compliance.

Finally and most damaging, Jindal and White have rammed through a terribly inaccurate and unfair teacher evaluation system that is driving our most dedicated educators out of the profession. Our teachers are being forced to do almost nothing but rehearse students for state tests instead of real teaching.

Teachers were not the problem to begin with. It was the poverty in our state and the lack of positive parental involvement compounded by the arrogant polices of a State Department of Education which is now dominated by amateur educators.

Let’s restore sanity to our education system, stop the teacher bashing, and support our professional educators in doing the effective job they desperately want to do for our children!

Sincerely,
Michael Deshotels, retired educator
Zachary, Louisiana, 225-235-1632
email: mikedeshot@aol.com”

Categories Education Industry, For-Profit, Jindal, Bobby, Louisiana, Vouchers
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