Bertis Downs is a native of Georgia and a member of the board of the Network for Public Education.
He writes:
This is the best electoral news in a long time– Georgia Democrat Valarie Wilson won the runoff for state school superintendent, and it wasn’t even close: http://bit.ly/Us7qNi I am proud to be one of her supporters.
And on the Republican side a longtime educator, Richard Woods, won in a squeaker– he had strong support from the Tea Party for his opposition to Common Core, which many on the right consider a federal intrusion into what should be local decisions.
Valarie Wilson’s decisive win on the Democratic side is significant for Georgia, and it fits into a developing narrative that Money (doesn’t always) Mean Power, at least in the intersection of politics and schools. It’s great to add Georgia to the list of places where big, out of state, corporate reformist money did not beat a genuine pro-schools candidate who will fight for strong and effective public schools for all– Seattle, Los Angeles, Bridgeport, Newark, Indiana, over and over this pattern is being repeated. Diane Ravitch’s blog and the Network for Public Education are key ways to get the good word out. I guess people like Bloomberg, Huizenga, Rhee, DeVos, Broad, et al have millions to spend (ahem “invest”), but all those $6,300 (+/-) check-writers from California and New York and elsewhere must be feeling a little ripped off this morning. Campaign disclosures, especially when analyzed and broken down on Diane’s blog, are a beautiful thing in a democracy! http://bit.ly/UoWuQC. And I guess, in a way, money does in fact talk– despite Valarie’s opponent’s decision to play down her involvement in the so-called choice movement, the extent of her out of state support, and the fear that she would indeed “dance with who brung her” if elected, likely helped propel Valarie, who raised virtually all her support here in Georgia.
And on the Republican side, and let’s be realistic– Rs generally beat Ds lately in GA– Richard Woods is a solid candidate who believes in public education and is not in deep with the corporate interests looking to privatize our schools. Either way, whatever the outcome in November, Georgia will not have someone really bad running our schools, and that is a relief. I am confident that Georgia’s next superintendent — whether Wilson or Woods — will address and improve the shortcomings of our schools while celebrating and replicating what works in advancing teaching and learning in our classrooms, supporting teachers and helping them improve, and restoring funding cuts that have reduced our school year and increased our class sizes. And if we are really lucky, the next Superintendent will courageously start the long walk back from the absurd amount of standardized testing being forced on our children and our schools, and back to sane and effective assessment and evaluations that help Georgia attract and retain quality teachers. As has been said, a teacher’s working conditions are our childrens’ learning conditions. I look forward to a superintendent who knows this. (And it would of course be really great if that Superintendent could serve under a Governor who shares their view of public schools– see, e.g. https://carterforgovernor.com/issues/)
The results in Georgia send a powerful message that what the people want, Republicans and Democrats alike, is pretty straightforward: good public schools where they are proud to send their children. And the selection of the fall candidates, Richard Woods and especially Valarie Wilson, is a clear rejection of the status quo of the false cures and nice-sounding quick fixes offered by the well-capitalized marketers of “school reform.”
Bertis Downs
Karen Lewis stated concisely on twitter in reference to Malloy and CT’s fake DR’s via the NewLondon fiasco and the FUSE/Jumoke scandal:
Fake reformers
Fake credentials
Fake solutions
paar worte gemischt!
Learn to not more in the past to life! Learn what you time as child, not vergese! Never Learns more faith than not was!, Never stay awake but stupid Learning, Learning vorbreiten a besere life forward!, Also other countries Zücker loves the whole world Learns themselves, their family and their country! how far they are! which tilts her
Starting forward! Ahmad Hesam
if you look werklich, a child is a love made visible! Love has different visions one should want to see too far, the love and emotion are the gründlage of which I love because they are survivors, world peace at all levels, I love nature because everything gives beauties, I love children because many tasks have, I love all because to seek freedom! Ahmad Hesam
no more war
Every war is a defeat of the human Zucker all living spirit, if man does not understand verlire their normal human thoughts! Every war requires a system-more people prints, human fear, give more debt install, and the whole never poblikum have more security, all workers, Old people, all children, Risikiren a long uncertain life! sugar dying only the two systems can not or try not gegenteit problems find a solution more than 300 pelestineMenschen and children die more times only a Regiung konfligte other arms pelestine with bombs!, for time more than 40,000 people from pelestine have their own country read aloud, have live for only further new, try more times from not their Schiksal Risikiren! war is a hibernation of the culture, too long we have not understood, try using gefängnies, with Relegiun, set with criminal, with terror, with executions, with violence, war on the Different occasions only people dead! say here loud and clear everyone make war itself is the most serious war, defeat itself is beautiful victory, no other living life kurzen.Ahmad Hesam
who brought me into this world a schrekliche setationen! tomorrow is not too far from what plan wars hide yet, they must dive! because the world see me what is the fate that! fear of war, dying or dead, our whole family. and Aleine to life!
gelauben it is policy not an exact science, they always do fähler what not to see! Ahmad Hesam
includes you! you are not doing yourself, which you do not of others! These nature has everything we need, food, clothing, home, work, school, love, toys, water, friends, animals, bird, everything that you need but safety! for what! this is not the first goal! something never dead, no more war! us or we need absolutely Social away!,Ahmad Hesam
Amen, Brother (or is that Sister?)!!!
This is great and inspiring news!
Yay Bertis! I think people can still have an effect on state and local races, but I’m afraid DC is a lost cause for public school supporters.
To use the ed reform fake-business language, you won’t get any “ROI” there 🙂
To give you an idea of the reluctance of DC Democrats to support public education, Politico reported there are TWO members of Congress willing to put their name on Donna Brazile’s pro-public schools group.
How many Democrats are there in Congress, total? Apparently we have TWO who are willing to say they support public ed.
Compare that to the overwhelming majority who pushed a huge charter school building fund thru the House. They couldn’t get that out fast enough, meanwhile, something like 32 states have gutted public school budgets. I think it’s time we got the hint. It’s not even close.
I think we need to adopt the NRA’s tactics, and put out a report card on how each member votes on education issues.
LIKE this idea!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AGREE
And, a report card on members of the state boards of education.
Chaira I agree in large part but I do think the worm is turning as politicians do like to get re-elected, always. For some principled national level see this essay from Tim Kaine, D of Virginia in Education Week, http://bit.ly/1gNxMDP We need more national leaders on this issue, sure, but we won’t hold our breath waiting for that– as the cliche goes, because it’s true, people have the power.
And see also Raul Grijalva, D of Arizona, who became the first Representative to support the Network for Public Education’s recent call for Congressional Hearings on the abuses of the Testing Industrial Complex: http://bit.ly/1hDBoUL