Archives for the month of: January, 2013
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Kaya Henderson and the Cycle of Privatization in D.C.

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2013 //
11

D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson is determined to close more public schools, which will create larger enrollments for charter schools. As more public schools close, more charter schools open. As more D.C. public schools lose enrollment, the chancellor has more reason to close them.

Henderson claims she will save money by closing underutilized schools, but somehow the savings never materialize. Net-net-net: privatization of the public schools of D.C.

It is a shame that D.C. does not have a chancellor who actually wants to compete with the charter sector, who will fight to improve the public schools and show that they serve their students well.

Competition implies two teams, each promoting their own wares.

In D.C., in New York City, in Chicago, and in other cities and towns controlled by corporate-style reformers, the leaders of the public school system are working on behalf of the competition.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Why Will Massachusetts Lift the Cap?

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2013 //
6

State Senator Barry Finegold has thrown in his lot with the powerful charter school industry.

Some charters get high test scores; some get low test scores.

Some skim off the best students in the poorest communities. Some have few or no disabled students, and few or no ELLs.

What is Senator Finegold doing to support public education, where 90% of the children are enrolled? Does he know that the public schools in Massachusetts will have a disproportionate number of the children with the greatest needs as charters proliferate?

Knowing that Massachusetts is the #1 state in the nation on NAEP, why mess with success?

Please, Senator Finegold, explain your logic. Are you following the ALEC playbook and you don’t know it?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Massachusetts, Privatization

What Was Better About Schools in the Past?

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2013 //
35

Anyone who attended public schools knows there was plenty that was wrong with them.

I grew up in Texas and attended segregated schools. That was wrong then, and it is wrong now, even though it is no longer mandated by law.

I had some great teachers and some awful teachers.

Over the years, in my studies of American education, I have documented the rise and fall of reform movements. Some were more successful than others, but one thing is certain: Public schools must constantly get better, and they should today.

In this article, Marion Brady explains what he thinks was better about the era before today’s test-driven, data-driven, privatization-friendly reforms. He thinks the drive for standardization is a big mistake.

What do you think?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Common Core, Education Reform, Privatization, Teacher Evaluations, Testing

Why Vermont Is the Best of All States for Education

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2013 //
26

The U.S. Department of Education recently released data on the high school graduation rate.

The most conservative way to estimate the rate is to count only those students who get a diploma in four years, and to exclude those who graduate in August or take a fifth year or get a GED.

By the most conservative estimate (called the Average Freshman Graduation Rate), the graduation rate is up to 78.2 percent, a jump of nearly 5 percentage points in only four years. (If you were to add in those who get a diploma in the fifth year, the high school graduation rate is 90%.)

A reader noticed that Vermont has the highest graduation rate in the nation. If you check the data, you will see that Michelle Rhee’s highest rated states–Louisiana and Florida–have among the lowest high school graduation rates in the nation.

The reader points this out:

http://www.ed.gov/blog/2013/01/high-school-graduation-rate-at-highest-level-in-three-decades/

The U.S. Department of Education released a study of high school
graduation rates on Wednesday, January 23rd.  Which state has the
highest graduation rate in the entire nation at 91.4%?  Vermont.
That’s right, Vermont.

Besides the highest graduation rate in the country, what else does
Vermont have?  We have an “F” from Michelle Rhee.  We have NO waiver
from NCLB.  We have NO charter schools.  We have NO Race-to-the-Top
funds.  Since we are at the top, I guess we don’t need to run a race
to get there.

Vermont has what really matters:  strong communities, informed
citizens, generous taxpayers who support their children, and committed
professionals in the classroom.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Privatization

Inside Story of the NYC Teaching Fellows Program

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2013 //
42

Social media is opening up a whole new world for those who lack access to the mass media.

In the mass media, we hear of great miracles.

Via social media, we learn the inside scoop.

This blog has a stunning story to tell about the experience of those who enter the New York City Teaching Fellows program.

It tells of idealistic and hopeful recruits who feel they are being used as cannon fodder: poorly trained and sent into some of the city’s toughest schools.

This is how the program begins: “We spent the summer drilling Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion classroom management techniques. It was eerily similar to basic training–been there, low-crawled under that–and at times had the haunting dehumanized uniformity reminiscent of a Handmaid’s Tale. Meanwhile, many of us were grounded in our ideals of sharing our passion for learning, social justice, and community service. We knew as the summer training program unfolded that it was grossly inadequate and ill-conceived. This became ever more apparent when summer school began and we found ourselves utterly ill-equipped to properly care for our students’ intellectual and socio-emotional needs. However, ours was a tenacious bunch–seasoned overachievers who had long ago developed the stamina and fortitude to forgo sleep and self-care in order to reach a determined goal, no matter how distant.”

When our Teaching Fellow gets a letter from Chancellor Walcott thanking him for his service, he writes: “Well, you’re welcome Mr. Walcott. And thank you for supporting a program that sets interested-in-becoming-teachers and their students–who attend the least-resourced and highest-needs schools–up for failure. It’s heart-warming to know that you were once a kindergarten teacher and that you “understand” how difficult the first year teaching is…but nonetheless you support a program that is at its core unjust.”

The teacher asks whether this is a “just and effective program.”

We are left to wonder why our nation’s leaders think it is a great idea to send poorly trained people to teach the neediest students and why they care so little about supporting and retaining experienced teachers.

 

Categories New York City, Teachers and Teaching

Teachers, Please Read This and React

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
162

An article in Education Week reports on studies by economists claiming hat when teachers take early retirement, student test scores go up. Behind this is the assumption that new teachers are more successful than experienced teachers.

This sounds counter-intuitive to me, but I would like to know what teachers think.

A quote: “Boosting early retirement in cash-strapped districts doesn’t hurt students’ math and reading scores, according to new studies released at the American Economic Association meeting here, but pension-incentive programs may cost schools some of their most effective teachers.
Separate studies of teachers in California, Illinois, and North Carolina paint a complex picture of the choice increasingly faced by education leaders: Keep your most experienced—and expensive—teachers, or encourage them to retire to ease budget woes.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Teachers and Teaching

Will Contempt for Unions Mar Bloomberg’s Legacy?

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
28

Well, that’s the question raised by Michael Powell, a political reporter for the New York Times.

There are bigger problems than this that will mar the mayor’s legacy.

He has closed dozens of schools, opened hundreds of schools, destabilized communities, handed out hundreds of millions in no-bid contracts, had a huge technology scandal (Citytime, which cost the city $600 million or so), and public support for mayoral control is about 18%.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Privatization

Support Thomas Mertz for Madison, WI, School Board

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
3

Thomas Mertz trained as a historian of education. We have that in common. Though I have never met Thomas, I endorse his principles and I am happy to see that he is running for election to the school board in Madison, Wisconsin. The need has never been greater to elect allies and strong supporters of public education. Please help him in any way you can.

 

Prepared, Progressive, Passionate

I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education, Seat #5.

Our public schools are the backbone of our community, the wellspring of our democracy, and the best means we have of providing a better future to all our children. As a parent, scholar, advocate, activist and organizer, I have worked with parents, professors, students, school boards, administrators, legislators, educators, and their unions to better understand and strengthen public schools. I don’t think there has ever been a time when the challenges to our schools have been greater. I want to help Madison meet these challenges by serving on the Board of Education.

I have stood against the pressures of privatization, worked against the expansion and misuse of standardized testing, and have fought for adequate and equitable funding based on the idea that all of our students deserve broad and rich opportunities.

These struggles will continue and expand. As Madison prepares to welcome a new Superintendent, I see opportunities to do more than react. Madison is a community and district where we have the means and the will to show that diverse public education can live up to its promises. To do this we must honestly assess those failings illustrated by the achievement gaps, but also listen to voices of our classrooms and community to understand what is working and build from our strengths.

None of this will be quick and none of this will be easy. I ask for your help and support. Visit www.mertzformadison.com to endorse, donate, or volunteer; and “like” the TJ Mertz, Madison School Board, Seat #5 Facebook page to keep updated.

Thomas J. Mertz

Categories Support for public schools, Wisconsin

Who Will Speak Up for the Nation’s School Boards?

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
15

In the last few years, there has been an all-out attack on local control. Most of the attack comes from the privatization movement, which thinks that school boards debate too much, listen too much, move too slowly. The privatizers prefer mayoral control in cities to get fast action. And they push laws and constitutional amendments allowing the governor to create a commission to override local school boards that reject charters. This is the ALEC agenda.

Happily, leading members of the National School Boards Association will have a chance to ask Arne Duncan why he pushes mayoral control, which has done so little for Cleveland and Chicago–and is now approved in NYC by only 18% of the public.

And they can ask Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia what he thinks about that state’s recent drive to strip local school boards of control of their districts. They might also ask him what he thinks of the re segregation that charters are promoting.

Media Advisory

Contact: Linda Embrey
Communications Office, National School Boards Association
Office: 703-838-6737; Cell: 571-437-7425
Onsite Press Room as of January 27: 202-797-4820; lembrey@nsba.org

Secretary of Education, Key Congressional Leader to Address National School Boards Association’s Advocacy Conference

Alexandria, Va. (Jan. 25, 2013) – U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee & Member, Senate Finance Committee will speak at the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) 40th annual Federal Relations Network Conference on Monday, Jan. 28. The conference is taking place January 27 to 29 at the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave., Washington, D.C., and will be attended by more than 700 school board leaders from across the country. Attendees will participate in sessions on major public education issues and meet with their members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff to discuss key education policy issues.

The following events are open to the press and are being provided to the media for planning purposes. Items are subject to change.

Monday, Jan. 28:

3 p.m. – Remarks by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. He will speak about progress in K-12 education and the Obama administration’s goals for education reform going forward. A question-and-answer session will follow.

3:30 p.m. – Remarks by Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee & Member, Senate Finance Committee.

Media are welcome to cover these conference sessions. Valid credentials must be shown before obtaining a NSBA press pass. The press room and press registration will be located in the Embassy Room, Terrace Level. Please contact Linda Embrey at 703-838-6737 (office), 571-437-7425 (cell/onsite), 202-797-4820 (onsite press room on Jan. 27), or at lembrey@nsba.org .

# # #

Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. http://www.nsba.org

If you would rather not receive future communications from National School Boards Association (NSBA), let us know by clicking here.
National School Boards Association (NSBA), 1680 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314 United States

Categories Accountability, ALEC, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Race to the Top

Getting Ready for the Common Core Testing

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
94

A friend of a friend of a friend passed this along, hoping I might be able to answer the question about the appropriateness of this test question in second grade.

What do you think?

“Please read a question on a quiz that my 7 year old son in the 2nd grade got wrong and tell me if I’m crazy for thinking that the testing and vocabulary have gone a bit nutso?”

Kings and queens COMMISSIONED Mozart to write symphonies for celebrations and ceremonies. What does COMMISSION mean?

A. to force someone to do work against his or her will
B. to divide a piece of music into different movements
C. to perform a long song accompanied by an orchestra
D. to pay someone to create artwork or a piece of music

Categories Common Core, Testing
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