Archives for the month of: January, 2015
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New York Parents and Educators Call for Independent Investigation of Cuomo

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
15

New York State Allies for Public Education has issued a request for an independent investigation of Governor Andrew Cuomo and his efforts to take control of education in the state.

 

They issued a press release with this statement (the links are in the statement):

 

http://www.nysape.org/new-yorkers-call-for-an-immediate-independent-investigation-of-governor-cuomo.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2015
More information contact:
Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) – http://www.nysape.org

New Yorkers Call for an Immediate Independent Investigation of Governor Cuomo
for Unconstitutional Interference in Education Policy &
Violations of NY State Public Officer Ethics Law
Governor Andrew Cuomo will address New Yorkers today in his State of the State address which will reveal his education reform agenda, an agenda which amounts to an unconstitutional attempt to seize power and interfere with education policy in New York State.

New Yorkers across the state are rising up to show their dissatisfaction with the Governor’s misguided education agenda, including NYSAPE’s advocacy campaign that generated over a quarter of a million letters to Albany.
In the months leading up to today’s address, Cuomo has made it clear his agenda, and that of his backers, is to assume control of education in New York, going so far as to call local control of democratically governed schools a “monopoly” that must be broken up. The governor has also vowed to expand the growth of privately owned and operated charter schools, schools that are not beholden to public oversight.
In response, New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) calls for an independent investigation of Cuomo’s interference with education policy, violations of NYS Public Officer Ethics Law, and failure to uphold his oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the State of New York.
Governor Does Not Have Oversight of Education Under NYS Constitution: Attempts to Direct Education Agenda Tied to Budget is Unconstitutional
For over two hundred years, the New York State Constitution has ensured a very healthy separation of powers. In New York, a governor controls the majority of state agencies, and as a check and balance, requires the Senate to approve any leaders the governor seeks to appoint. Our predecessors, in their wisdom, drafted a NYS Constitution that explicitly put education under the control of a board and branch of government most representative of the people: the Board of Regents, whose members are appointed by the NYS Legislature. As a check and balance, the Legislature can increase or reduce the power of the Regents.
“The separation of power for education in the New York State Constitution was done to ensure that the agenda of a handful of individuals did not wreak havoc over the education of the children by allowing political agendas to play out in classrooms over the outcries of parents,” said Eric Mihelbergel, Erie County public school parent and NYSAPE founder.
Any efforts to direct education policy in the Governor’s proposed budget is a refusal to uphold the NYS Constitution and the oath of office of governor.
Violation of Public Officer Ethics Laws: Contributions from Backers and Cozy Relationships with Business Interests Create Conflicts of Interest and the Appearance of Conflicts
NYSAPE contends that by accepting contributions linked to charter school legislation and maintaining cozy relationships with education technology business interests, the Governor has created both conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts, violations of the public trust and ethics laws.
Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public school parent and Long Island Opt Out founder said, “After Governor Cuomo received a sizable donation from a well known charter school backer and former hedge fund manager on March 4, and the very same day the governor spoke at a pro-charter rally in Albany, parents were suspicious. Our suspicions were borne out when by the end of the month the Governor had pushed through a bill giving charter schools in New York City some of the strongest protections in the country. Our Governor has clearly aligned himself with those who seek to use their wealth and influence to privatize public education in New York State.” Deutermann went on to say, “This is not the only example of Governor Cuomo’s blatant disregard for New York State’s Public Officer Law and Code of Ethics, which contain several clauses that prohibit conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflict.”
“After proposing a statewide school technology bond this summer, the Governor appointed California resident Eric Schmidt (who also happens to be the Executive Chairman of Google) to one of three advisory positions on the bond. Not surprisingly, the advisory committee’s report indicated that one primary potential use of money from the bond would be to acquire “desktop, laptop, or tablet computers.” (Smart Schools Commission Report) While many point out that the technology purchased with bond proceeds has a far shorter shelf life than the time required to repay the bond, Google, who sells notebook computers to schools throughout New York State, will undoubtedly benefit,” said Lisa Rudley, Westchester County public school parent and NYSAPE founding member.

Parents across the state also recall Andrew Cuomo’s Blue Ribbon Education Commission, a group that ignored calls for parental consent of student data collection. That commission invited a Washington lobbyist that distributes model student data privacy legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This ALEC “model” legislation ignores the rights of parents and does not require parental consent for student data profiling and sharing.
“ALEC’s values are simply not aligned with those of the people of New York, and their lack of support for parental consent for student data profiling is alarming. Even more alarming is the fact that Andrew Cuomo would seek advice from those aligned with ALEC over the advice of parents,” said Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent and Schools of Thought Hudson Valley NY founder.
NYSAPE Calls for Independent Investigation

 
As a result of Andrew Cuomo’s attempts to interfere with education policy, the conflicts that surround his misguided agenda, and an unconstitutional attempt to direct education policy, NYSAPE calls for an immediate and independent investigation into the education related activities of the governor.

Categories New York

Perdido Blogger: Cuomo Calls Public Education State’s “Greatest Failure”

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
38

Perdido Street School blogger warns that teachers, their union, and public schools have become the biggest targets for Andrew Cuomo in his second term.

In a preview of his State of the State address today, Cuomolashed out at teachers and public education:

““It probably has been the single greatest failure of the state in many ways,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo says reform, including an overhaul of teacher performance reviews and fixing bad schools are at the top of his agenda. And he says simply spending “more money” is not the answer. He says it’s been tried in the past, with little improvement.

“And you know what it’s gotten us?” Cuomo asked. “A larger and larger bureaucracy, and higher salaries for the people who work in the education industry.”

Read the comments on Perdido’s post:

Several comments predict that Cuomo will stumble when he goes after schools and teachers in affluent districts. Parents and community leaders in those districts like their schools and their teachers. They don’t see them as failures.

Categories Cuomo, Andrew, Education Industry, New York

Pennsylvania: Watching Public Education Die in Delaware County

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
12

The Chester-Upland school district teeters once again towards bankruptcy. Half of of its students are enrolled in charter schools, and the public school district is in deep deficit. The Corbett administration refused to supply the funding needed to survive, abandoning the state’s constitutional obligation to maintain public schools. Former Governor Corbett, a proponent of privatization, appointed an emergency manager who was known as a supporter of charters and vouchers. He recommended merging the administration of public schools and charters, but the charters declined to join.

 

“The Chester-Upland School District faces a $20 million structural deficit, which Watkins attributes to costs incurred by student exodus to charter schools and the state government’s decision in 2011 to eliminate money in the budget to help districts cover the cost of departure.

 

“Almost half of the more than 7,000 students in the area attend charter schools.

 

“Watkins has floated several unorthodox fixes for the chronically underperforming and overextended school district, including talk of a partnership and an flux of more than $1 billion from a Chinese investor…

 

“Watkins unpacked his plan to partner with the charters -– which included recategorizing charter students as Chester-Upland School District students — at a hearing in December.

 

“By recategorizing charter students and making them Chester Upland students, we wouldn’t have been obligated to pay their tuition costs,” said Watkins. He said the district currently pays $9,000 to $35,000 in tuition per student, in addition to absorbing departure costs.”

 

The biggest charter in the district is the Chester Community Charter School, which is owned by a wealthy lawyer who was one of Corbett’s major campaign contributors and a member of his education transition team. When the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about him, he sued the newspaper (he lost in the appellate court). His readiness to sue stills critics; he even threatened to sue a website run by an 18-year-old that featured his fabulous homes. His for-profit company has made tens of millions by supplying goods and services to his nonprofit charter school.

 

The charter owner recently built a $28 million mansion in Palm Beach. That’s American education, folks.

 

NOTE: I WAS INFORMED THAT THE CHESTER-UPLAND SCHOOLS ARE IN DELAWARE COUNTY, NOT CHESTER COUNTY AND I CHANGED THE HEADLINE ACCORDINGLY. FORGIVE THIS TEXAN LIVING IN NEW YORK FOR HER GEOGRAPHICAL IGNORANCE OF COUNTIES IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Categories Charter Schools, Pennsylvania, Privatization

In Senate Hearings on NCLB, Lamar Alexander Quotes Carol Burris

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
17

The Senate hearings on NCLB are being live-streamed right now. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chair of the HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee) quoted New York principal Carol Burris, as follows, from the article she published on Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet:

 

This is what Senator Alexander quoted:

 

As we engage in the debate on the issue of how to fix NCLB, I ask that your committee remember that the American public school system was built on the belief that local communities cherish their children and have the right and responsibility, within sensible limits, to determine how they are schooled.

While the federal government has a very special role in ensuring that our students do not experience discrimination based on who they are or what their disability may be, Congress is not a National School Board.

Although our locally elected school boards may not be perfect, they represent one of the purest forms of democracy we have. Bad ideas in the small do damage in the small and are easily corrected. Bad ideas at the federal level result in massive failure and are far harder to fix.

 

 

 

 

Categories NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Testing

Lawmakers Propose End to Annual Testing

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
4

Congressman Chris Gibson (R-NY) and Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are sponsoring legislation to banish federally mandated annual testing. Everyone who is opposed to the overuse and misuse of standardized testing should support this bill. It is called The Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act.

To download a one page description, click here

For a one page letter Gibson and Sinema wrote to the other Congress people, click here

For the full text of the proposed bill, click here

For the official description from congress.gov, including the list of co-sponsors, click here

 

Categories Education Reform, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Testing

Jeff Bryant on Tennessee: White Kids Get Montessori, Kids of Color Get Eye Control

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
14

Jeff Bryant reports here about the rapid expansion of charters in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, which seem to be ground zero for the “reform” movement, with a sympathetic conservative governor and conservative legislature.

 

Having been one of the first states to win a “Race to the Top” grant, Tennessee committed to hand low-performing schools over to private management.

 

Tennessee is also home to the “Achievement School District,” run by charter founder Chris Barbic, who has promised to turn the schools in the bottom 5% into high-performing schools in the top 25%. So far, the ASD has not met any of its goals, yet it is often cited as a national model, like New Orleans, despite Nola’s lack of success.

 

Bryant says: ““White kids get to go to a school with a Montessori approach while children of color get eye control.”

 

The far-right is in control of charter expansion, he writes:

 

For sure, charter schools have become a darling of conservative politicians, think tanks and advocates.

One of those powerful advocates, nationally and in Tennessee, is the influential Americans for Prosperity, the right-wing issue group started and funded by the billionaire Charles and David Koch brothers.

AFP state chapters have a history of advocating for charter schools, conducting petition campaigns and buying radio ads targeting state lawmakers to enact legislation that would increase the number of charter schools. In an AFP-sponsored policy paper from 2013, “A Nation Still at Risk: The Continuing Crisis of American Education and Its State Solution,” author Casey Given states: “The charter school movement has undoubtedly been the most successful education reform since the publication of A Nation at Risk.,” the Reagan-era document commonly cited as originating a “reform” argument that has dominated education policy discussion for over 30 years.

The Koch brothers themselves have been especially interested in public policy affairs in Tennessee generally and Nashville in particular. “Tennessee is a political test tube for the Koch brothers, ” the editors of The Tennessean news outlet write in a recent editorial. The editors cite as evidence the influence AFP had recently in convincing the Tennessee legislature to block a bus rapid transit system project in Nashville.

In July of last year, the Charles Koch Institute held an event in Nashville, “Education Opportunities: A Path Forward for Students in Tennessee,” to provide an “in-depth policy discussion” about public education and other issues.

As The Tennessean reported, the forum was advertised as “a panel talk with representatives of charter schools and conservative think tanks,” including outspoken and controversial charter school promoter Dr. Steve Perry.

Although the emphasis apparently was mostly on school vouchers, according to a different report in The Tennessean, the stage was thick with charter school advocates from Indianapolis-based Friedman Foundation for Education Choice, the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute and Nashville’s Beacon Center of Tennessee.

The reporter quotes Nashville parent T.C. Weber, “who questioned the ‘end game’ of diverting funding from public schools” and said, “‘Are you looking to destroy the public system that we already have and build a new one based on your ideas?’”

Weber writes about the event on his personal blogsite: ”One of the questions asked of the panelists was what do [you] feel is the biggest obstacle … to the accepting of your vision. The reply was, ‘educating parents.’”

The presence of influential conservatives from outside the city “educating” Nashville parents about what kind of schools their children need has created resentment and suspicion in many Nashville citizens’ minds. Many fear the drive to expand charters is powered more by powerful interests outside the city than by the desires of Nashville parents and citizens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Tennessee

A Comment on the President’s SOTU

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2015 //
90

There was a new tone in the President’s brief comments about education in his State of the Union address. Of course, he promoted his proposal for 2 tuition-free years of community college and the need to help students from debt incurred when pursuing higher education. That was welcome but not surprising.

What was welcome was the absence of fear-mongering about our public schools. No crisis talk about how nations with higher scores would take away our jobs and ruin future economic growth. The President instead highlighted the facts (that I documented in “Reign of Error” in 2013) that the high school graduation rate is at an historic high, as are test scores.

I don’t know if anyone gave much thought to this shift to a positive tone, but it definitely represents a repudiation of the “reformers'” sky-is-falling rhetoric. No reference to “obsolete” high schools, to “failing schools,” or to the ludicrous claim (advanced by Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice) that our public schools threaten our national security.

Even better, the President did not attribute the slow, steady gains to Race to the Top, nor did he pitch merit pay or teacher evaluation by test scores (VAM) as panaceas as he has done in previous SOTU. There were no paeans of praise to charters or to turning schools around by firing their staff.

It would have been nice if he had expressed the widely shared view that our children are over tested and it is time to focus on creativity, not test prep. But you can’t ask for everything.

The President stated the facts, stayed positive, and for that we can be grateful.

Categories Graduation rates, Obama, Testing

Join Me Tomorrow Night in Manhattan to Talk Testing

By dianeravitch
January 20, 2015 //
3

I will be part of a parent-organized discussion of testing at PS 3 in Manhattan at 490 Hudson Street, from 6-9 pm.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT AGAINST

TEST-OBSESSED SYSTEM:

How Do We Put the Focus Back on Learning in our Schools?

A WORKING STRATEGY SESSION

Presentation by Diane Ravitch Followed by Breakout Action Groups

Welcome by Lisa Siegman, Principal PS3; City Councilmember Corey Johnson; and PS3 PAC co-Chair Nick Gottlieb

Presentation by Diane Ravitch followed by Question & Answer session

Breakout Action Groups

Reconvene for presentation by Action Groups and summation

Wednesday Jan. 21, 2015, 6:00 – 9:00pm

PS 3 Auditorium, 490 Hudson Street

Categories Parents, Resistance, Testing

A Néw Bill to Abolish Annual Testing

By dianeravitch
January 20, 2015 //
32

Legislation will be introduced to end annual testing and to replace it with grade span testing. This is a bipartisan bill. For those sick of the money and time wasted on annual testing, support this legislation.

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY
January 20, 2015

Gibson and Sinema to Host Joint Press Call on Reintroduction of Grade Span Testing Bill

Washington, D.C. – Representative Chris Gibson (R-NY-19) and Representative Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ-9) will host a joint press call to announce reintroduction of their legislation, the Student Testing Improvement & Accountability Act. The bill will be reintroduced on the same day that the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee holds a hearing focused on federal testing requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The Student Testing Improvement & Accountability Act amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), replacing current federal yearly testing requirements for math and language arts/reading with the exact same grade span testing requirements that are in current law for science. This returns federal requirements on testing frequency to pre-No Child Left Behind standards.

Date: Wednesday, January 21

Time: 11:30AM – noon

Location: Dial-in: (712) 775-7031, meeting ID 493-479-058

Speakers: Representative Chris Gibson and Representative Kyrsten Sinema

Media Note: Speakers will start promptly at 11:30AM. Media will have the opportunity to ask questions following remarks from the Representatives.

Matt Sheehey
Press Secretary
Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-19)
1708 Longworth House Office Building
Office: (202) 225-5614
Cell: (802) 598-1156

Categories NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Testing

A Teacher in New York Writes Senator Lamar Alexander: Annual Testing is Destroying American Education

By dianeravitch
January 20, 2015 //
63

Dear Senator Alexander:

I am a middle school English teacher for grades 6–8 at a small public school in the Hudson Valley. We’re a good school, no doubt about it. In 2010 my school was awarded Blue Ribbon status for the strength or our program and test scores. You would think that we would be in a great place in terms of the yearly testing that the NCLB and RTTP programs have required, but let me assure you that the truth is very different.

As I mentioned before, my school is quite small, and I am the only English teacher in the middle school. The students’ English education is my responsibility, and mine alone, something I take very seriously. Yet this mission is constantly being thwarted by federal testing mandates. A true English education would mean that kids get a great exposure to complicated, challenging, and interesting texts, yet the need to do test prep pushes me in exactly the opposite direction. Instead of classic literature, I am forced to give my students short essays, dozens and dozens of them, and then make them answer questions about them. My students hate this. They’d rather be learning poetry, or sailing with pirates, or crafting short stories, or strutting across Shakespeare’s stage. Yet NCLB has created just this, test preparation instead of a rich curriculum.

The critics may counter with, “No! That’s not how it’s supposed to be! You’re supposed to integrate the test prep within the curriculum!” True, there’s only a certain amount I can organically integrate test prep. After a point, I need to Xerox those hated essays and drop them on my kids’ desks. I estimate something like 10–20% of my year is engaged in test prep skills. This is the reality that NCLB has created. It’s made these tests so important that they dominate my curriculum like nothing else. Truly, was that the goal of NCLB?
Let us not forget that every student’s test score is also a measure of me. I am now evaluated by this one test, as if this is the very best way to know what I do in my classroom. How about that Shakespeare play I do every year? Sorry, that’s not on the test. What about the colonial era party, where every student makes a dish from the Revolutionary War period? Nope, not tested either. What about my journey through Ancient Greece through myths or leaping through space in my science fiction unit? Should I stop these? The testing regimen forced upon me seems to say that I should, because all that content doesn’t count anymore. My students and I are only measured by that score.

And what shall we do with the students who don’t do well, the ones who struggle? I can control, mostly, what happens in my classroom, but what about at home? I can’t force a kid who doesn’t study to put his nose to the grindstone. I can’t heal a child whose family life is chaotic, whose emotional turmoil prevents him or her from learning well. I can’t finance a family that’s stressed by poverty, who isn’t eating well and can’t focus. NCLB seems to insist that I employ god-like powers to fix these children so they do well on the yearly tests. It will even punish me with low evaluations if I don’t fix these children. How is this fair to my students or me? How is this even rational?

A testing moment I’ll never forget happened in the spring of 2013. One of my best students, let’s call him “Sam”, was taking the new Common Core tests for the first time. Sam was a student who wanted to do well, who always did well. His average for me was over 95 for three years straight. After the second day of testing, Sam came to me in tears. He pleaded for more time on the test because he hadn’t been able finish. My heart sank, because that was impossible. All I could do was say to this child, one who painstakingly wrote essay after essay for me, was “I’m sorry.”

If you want to use annual testing in a sane and meaningful way, you must take away its stigma. If you must test, give them in the beginning of the year and give teachers results in a timely manner to see what deficits that child has and help him/her. Right now we receive results about five months after they are given. It’s such a long period of time that the kids have already graduated to the next grade. What good is a test where you don’t get timely results? My tests evaluate what my students have learned and what I still need to teach them. The NCLB results come so far after the actual test that they are meaningless in terms of helping that child.

Even more importantly, you must remove the “high-stakes” part of the testing. Punishing kids, teachers, and schools for low test scores is damaging. It doesn’t help kids, or teachers, or schools. We are all trying our best to help children. We want to help kids no matter what his/her ability. Every child deserves our best efforts. Unfortunately teachers are now being punished for not being perfect. Who among us is that? Who among us can heal every wound? Who among us can lift up every single child? We do our best, of course, but that perfection is denied us. We are human. Yet NCLB demands my perfection, and my students and I will be punished because of low test scores. How is this ethical?

It needs to be said too that in my high-end public school I am shielded from many of these problems. Those who work in poverty-stricken or stressed neighborhoods are under much more stress from NCLB. These true heroes of education, those that spend their lives helping disadvantaged kids, are now failures because of low test scores. Their students too are punished. They must attend remedial class after class in this quixotic quest for high numbers, denying these needy kids art, music, and creative expression. How is this improving education? But of course, according to NCLB this enrichment is no longer important. It doesn’t measure a child’s musical ability, or verbal expression. Only test scores matter.

Please consider how damaging NCLB is to public education. It hurts rather than helps. It punishes children in poverty, stress, or those who struggle in a subject as well as their teachers. That said, if you truly want to design an effective education policy, please speak to teachers. We in the trenches of education are the experts in this matter, and we can help you. Too much education policy is designed by those who are not teachers, and this is one reason why it has gone so wrong. Listen to us. We speak the truth because we care very deeply about the children of America. So when we say high-stakes NCLB testing is destroying American education, we say this because that is the truth.

Categories NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Testing
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