Archives for the month of: June, 2015
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Kaplan: Denver is #1 in Reform But Not in Improving Education

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2015 //
9

Jeannie Kaplan discovers that Denver ranks #1 on a scorecard compiled by the Center for Reinventing Public Education, an outpost of corporate reform.

 

Denver has faithfully complied with most elements of the reformster agenda, but what has its compliance done for Denver students, she asks.

 

And she answers: nothing.

She writes:

“Way back in 1972 there was a committee whose acronym was CRP. CRP stood for Committee to Re-elect the President, who at the time was Richard M. Nixon. Because CRP became integrally involved in some creepy activities including Watergate, its acronym morphed into CREEP. A creepy committee funding some CREEPy goings on. (On a personal note, I worked at CBS News in Washington, D.C. during this time. While I thought some of the activities were CREEPy, I loved the political intrigue).

“Fast forward to 2015 and my continuing involvement with Denver Public Schools. Another creepy organization has touched my life: Center on Reinventing Public Education or (another) CRPE, a University of Washington research center funded in part by Bill and Melinda Gates. It turns out this creepy organization has provided the blueprint for all that is happening and has happened in DPS over the last ten years.

“This creepy CRPE has tried to lead us to believe that a business portfolio strategy can somehow be successful in the public education world. Strategies and phrases such as “risk management,” “assets,” “portfolio rebalancing and managing,” “ridding yourself of portfolio low performers,” “monoploy” dominate the conversations with these folks. And because DPS has been so successful and diligent in adopting these elements it has finally, finally, reached the top of a reformy chart. The problem with this achievement is that it only represents success as it relates to implementation of some convoluted business strategy.

“Remember, a portfolio strategy requires constant churn, for the investor is always ridding his portfolio of low-performing stocks while looking for higher performing ones. This may be a good strategy for business, but schools, children, families and teachers are not stocks and bonds. They should not be treated as such.

“And so far implementation of this strategy has had virtually no impact on improving educational opportunities or outcomes for Denver’s children. So after being national exemplars for choice (or as I like to call it chaos), funding, talent (see here and here for Chalkbeat’s take) and accountability, Denver Public Schools still shows no growth in 2014 standardized tests. Proficiencies across the district slog along at 57% for reading, 47% for math, and 44% for writing with achievement gaps increasing in each subject. Even with a slight increase ACT scores are still only 18.4 (a 26 is needed to enter the University of Colorado) and the overall graduation rate is still at only 62.8%. Sadly, even after ten years, DPS has failed to transfer implementation into outcomes.”

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Denver, Education Industry, Education Reform, Testing

Knox County, Tennessee, Rejects Broad Foundation Grant

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2015 //
12

Knox County, Tennessee, has a superintendent, Jim McIntyre, who is a graduate of the unaccredited Broad Superintendent’s Academy. McIntyre accepted a grant from Broad to hire another Broadie as director of planning and improvement. McIntyre didn’t seek approval from either the Knox County Board of Education or County Commission for the grant, which was partially underwritten by the Broad Foundation.

On Monday, the Knox County Commission rejected the grant, which has already been spent. perhaps Superintendent McIntyre should replace the taxpayer funds expended on this illegal hire. Was it patronage to his benefactor?

As we have seen in many districts, Broadies tend to hire other Broadies (and TFA). This is a rate rebuke to the Broad Foundation, which is a strong supporter of top-down management, high-stakes testing, charter schools, and school closings (to make way for charter schools.)

Thanks to reader Ellen Lubic for bringing this story to my attention.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Broad Foundation, Tennessee

What If Every Educator Pledged to Vote in 2016?

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2015 //
46

So many terrible education policies have been enacted in the past several years, and so many people feel powerless to act and make a difference. But there is a way to take action: Vote. That’s the only way to get better leadership. It works, but only if everyone votes.

 

What if every educator took a pledge to vote in 2016? If you vote, you can beat big money. Imagine the difference educators can make in every state. You can save public education, save the teaching profession, and restore democracy.

 

This idea is starting in Néw York. It should spread to every state and city and town and village and school district.

 

Subject: Educator Oath To Vote

 

Hello, Fellow BATs,

 

I have a bit of an announcement to make – sort of a “Coming to a School Near You” kind of thing and I believe, if successful, it will change the state of politics in New York for years to come.

 

I’ll ask you to imagine, before reading the long explanation below, how things would be different if every single one of the 250,000 NYSUT educators voted in the November 2016 election. Not only WOULD they vote but they would ANNOUNCE that they would vote a year before hand by signing an oath/pledge that they would do so. Imagine if NYSUT then announced that “EVERY SINGLE NYSUT EDUCATOR WILL BE VOTING IN THE NOVEMBER 8, 2016 ELECTION!”

 

I believe that money will continue to dominate politics until this happens and I have little doubt that it can be done…

 

Background: Back in November, after the election, My co-president, Tim Jacques, and I heard that only 32% of NYSUT members voted. The actual numbers are, 87% registered to vote and about 50% of them voted in, arguably, the most important election regarding education that we have seen in a long time – maybe ever. Pitiful!!!

 

Needless to say, we were depressed by that number and shared with each other things like, “if we don’t vote when our students, profession, and public education are under attack, we are toast and, maybe, we have ourselves to blame.”

 

We also discussed the fact that, all the rallies and forums are great and we have and will continue to attend many but, in the end, none of that really matters if teachers just sit on their hands come Election Day.

 

That conversation turned into one about how to get teachers to vote but this would not be just another “get out the vote drive” – we are looking for 100% of educators to commit to voting.

 

We came up with a plan of how that could be done. We envisioned every local president receiving a box of Educator Voting Oaths that they could distribute to their building reps and have them get every educator in their district to take an oath that they will vote in the November 8, 2016 election. The oath wouldn’t say WHO to vote for, just that they would, and they would “keep public education and their students in mind” when they voted. In other words, the network is already in place to reach every educator in every school district in NY State and that’s what we decided we would try to do…

 

After our conversation turned serious, we pitched the idea to many NYSUT officials, who “loved the idea” and thought it could work but they were dealing with so much planning of rallies and other activities they would have to get back to us but we were told, “don’t let us forget.”

 

We also shared the idea with our LRS and she too thought it was a powerful idea and said she would help prod those we talked to to move on it. Then, about a month ago, She called us and said she wants to meet and talk…

 

At that meeting she proceeded to tell us that she was in a meeting with NYSUT LRSs from around the state and they were sitting around depressed as the budget vote had just gone through and they were feeling hopeless, lost, depressed, and wondering what their next move was. She then stood up and presented the Voting Oath idea. She told us, “Eric and Tim, I kid you not, the entire room lit up.” She said the room went from depressed to hopeful immediately and they spent the next hours talking about the idea of having 100% of active NYSUT educators taking an oath to vote. She told us they were ready to move full steam ahead…immediately.

 

So, my district – Brunswick (Brittonkill) – went to work. We have 129 NYSUT members and we gave ourselves a week to get every member to sign the oath. We had a meeting with building reps and distributed oaths along with a list and voter registration forms. We called a general membership meeting and informed the staff. We emailed those that couldn’t make it. At the general membership meeting we had a well respected teacher come down and sign the oath – the staff stood and enthusiastically applauded.

 

When the building reps went to work they gained 129 signed oaths – 100% – in just two days. The buzz around the building was electric and the building reps were totally inspired. We had two Minot objection about not wanting to be told what to do but they were easily overcome by stressing that we are simply asking them to stand with all educators around the state to give their word that they would vote.

 

In the end, we had done what we imagined – every Brittonkill teacher will vote in the November 8, 2016 election and now it is time to duplicate that in every other school district.

 

Again, imagine for a moment the power this holds. If NYSUT could stand up and show that 250,000 active educators were committed and poised to vote in the Nov. 2016 election I have no doubt that all state candidates for the assembly, and the senate, as well as others, would have to take note.

 

Imagine local presidents walking into legislator offices and presenting a stack of oaths from all educators in their district…that has power.

 

Once every educator in the state makes that commitment, NYSUT will find the right time to reveal it to the public (probably around next years budget time).

 

The plan right now is that every school district present this plan to their members at their opening day general membership meeting next September followed by the gathering of signed oaths by September 30th.

 

Take note that this is being driven by the rank and file. Teachers along with LRSs will make this happen and NYSUT will provide the oaths to be signed (see pic of oath below). Actually, you should all know that this initiative was started by two pissed off BATs!!!

 

Finally, I will point out that a feeling of helplessness has infected most educators and this gets at that. This is one small, easy thing that every educator can do that, when combined with the same action by others, has tremendous power. It reminds me of one of my favorite things ever written by historian Howard Zinn – “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

 

In the end, I would like all BATs to know this is on the horizon. Your input and comments are welcome.

 

Sincerely,

 
Eric Olson and Tim Jacques
Teachers

Categories Resistance

Peter Greene: Campbell Brown’s Néw Assault on Public Schools

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2015 //
57

Peter Greene has discovered that Campbell Brown, scourge of public schools, teachers, unions, and due process, has just created a new vehicle to advance her cause.

With funding from various billionaires who share her passion to destroy public education, she has started a new organization.

Greene writes:

“Today the Wall Street Journal is announcing that Campbell Brown is launching a new education site that “won’t shy away from advocacy.” Which is kind of like announcing that Wal-Mart is opening a new store and will not shy away from marketing or that Burger King is opening up at a new location that might sell hamburgers.

“Sadly, there are no surprises in this story. The site, called The Seventy Four in reference to the seventy-four million students in the US (and not say, the seventy-four gazillion dollars Campbell and her friends hope to make from privatizing education)….

“The new site will launch with thirteen employees and a $4 million dollar budget, courtesy of backers that include Bloomberg Philanthropies (as in former anti-public ed NY mayor Michael Bloomberg), Walton Family Foundation, Johnathan Sackler, and the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation– in other words, the usual group of charter school backers….

“As usual, I am struck by just how much money reformsters are willing to pump into the cause. I’m here with my staff of one (me) and a budget of– well, I guess you could claim that my budget today is about 75 cents because while I was sitting here working on this, I had a bagel and a cup of orange juice.

“At any rate, brace yourselves boys and girls– here comes the next wave of faux progressive teacher bashing and charter pushing by privatizers who will not rest until they’ve cracked that golden egg full of tax dollars. Because that’s the other reason they’re willing to sink $4 million into something like this– because while that may seem like a lot of money to you or me, to them it’s peanuts, an investment that they hope will pay off eventually in billions of tax dollars directed away from public education and to the private corporations that are drooling at the prospect of cashing in on education.”

Will the reformers ever learn that everything they promote has already failed? Hey, Campbell, the highest performing states on NAEP (Massachusetts, Néw Jersey, and Connecticut) have strong teachers’ unions. The highest performing districts have teacher tenure. The highest performing nations have strong PUBLIC schools, not vouchers or charters. Your children at the Heschel School will not be affected by the Common Core or high-stakes testing (I know, two of my grandchildren went there).

Campbell, please read “Reign of Error.” You are misreading the data. Test scores and graduation rates are at their highest point in history. Dropout rates are at their lowest point ever. Where scores are low, children live in poverty. Please make the war on poverty your focus and drop the war on teachers and public schools.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry

Rafe Esquith Speaks Out About Common Core, TFA, and Teaching

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
14

In this post, Valerie Strauss interviews Rafe Esquith. It was published in 2013, in connection with the publication of his book, “Real Talk for Real Teachers.” He started teaching in 1983.

It is a fascinating interview. I urge you to read it. These are excerpts.

Why did he write the book?

“I want young teachers to understand what they are getting into. They are swallowing this line that they are going to save every kid. And when that doesn’t happen they are crushed and they give up.

“I am not saying this to be conceited, but I’m a very good teacher and I want them to know that I fail all the time. There are factors beyond my control. But I have to understand there are issues of family and poverty. Sometimes even if you do reach a kid it’s not going to happen in the year you have them. They aren’t going to sing ‘To Sir With Love’ at the end of the year.

“And to the veteran teachers who really understand what’s going on, every month it’s a new [school reform] flavor of the month. The Common Core [State Standards initiative] isn’t going to do anything. They are spending tens of millions of dollars but it isn’t going to do anything. In my classroom you still have to put a period at the end of a sentence…. I don’t need a new set of standards to make that clear to me.

What’s changed in teaching since you started teaching?

“The obsession with testing. We always gave tests, but basically now it’s the entire day. Basically if it’s not on the test don’t teach it. Teachers spend hours and hours and hours trying to figure out what’s going to be on the test. They will teach that there are four chambers of the heart, but not why we have a heart or why it works…. The data you are looking at — I feel like the emperor has no clothes. Somebody has to say this stuff. I think teachers will feel better to see in print what they think all the time.

“So the obsession with testing is one big change. Also, the economy has declined, families are hurt and I deal with many more family problems. Some of them are really difficult… Most of the parents I deal with try hard for their kids. One of the myths is that poor kids have parents who don’t care. That’s crap. They care.

“But I definitely deal now with more poverty and family troubles and the effects of poverty. I had a great kid this year. His father is gone. His mom works from 5 in the afternoon to 5 in the morning, so he doesn’t really see her. He comes home to an empty house. For teachers to be expected to have the same results as teachers in Finland where there is much less poverty, it’s absurd.”

What do you think about Teach for America?

“They [TFA corp members] are in my room all the time. Good kids. Nice. Bitter joke: TFA really stands for ‘teach for a while.’ Like all other teachers there are some great ones who are there for the right reasons who want to make a difference and some who want to pad their résumés. I certainly don’t think anybody can be a great teacher in five weeks. I hope this book helps them think a little bit about what they are getting into.”

“They [TFA corps members] are obsessed with test scores. It becomes all about this: If you have a kid who gets a 75 on a test and then the kid gets an 85, you are a good teacher. My wife didn’t fall in love with me because of my test scores…. They [TFA leaders] are incredibly defensive about hearing an alternate idea. What’s said is that they are constantly throwing data and money showing they are successful. But they are really not. They are no more successful than any other teachers and if you read their blogs a lot give up in horrible frustration.”

He concludes:

“The point of my new book is that it takes years to be a good classroom teacher. It takes years to be good at anything…

“With Teach For America, I just want to tell them that there’s another problem. Most TFA teachers don’t stay in the classroom long. I want them to know that Room 56 matters. What we do matters. But the kids see teachers shifting back and forth, leaving for other jobs, why would they believe anything matters if their teachers keep leaving?”

Categories Common Core, Teach for America, Teachers and Teaching

Rafe Esquith Will File a Class Action Suit

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
61

According to LA School Report, Rafe Esquirh has hired a high-profile lawyer, who will file a class-action suit on behalf of all teachers who had been denied due process rights. Esquith, who has written best-selling books and been featured on national television, is a super-star teacher.

The district refuses to say why Esquith was suspended. He thinks it was because he made a joke about nudity. Rumors say that he is being investigated for the activities of his nonprofit group, the Hobart Shakespeareans, which raises money to take student productions to Shakespeare festivals. The Los Angeles Times summarized the situation here.

Categories Los Angeles

Vicki Cobb: How Common Core Shafts Quality Nonfiction

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
16

Vicki Cobb, a well-known writer of science books for children, was not at all happy with the New York Times’ report on How Common Core has affected the English curriculum.

She writes:

“One of the huge misconceptions about the implementation of the CC is that nonfiction must replace a certain amount of fiction in ELA classes.

“The intent, as we nonfiction authors interpret it, is that there should be a lot more reading of high-quality nonfiction material across the curriculum. There are wonderful books about art, music, sports, as well as history, science and geography that have been shut out of must classrooms.

“Unfortunately, nonfiction has been equated with the flat, boring writing that is in textbooks that destroy the desire to read along with the desire to learn.

“Kate Taylor, also exhibits her ignorance of this huge body of nonfiction literature that can enhance reading and learning in her article by not mentioning it. I can assure you that I wrote her about that.”

Categories Common Core

New York Budget Deal: No Vouchers, More Charters [Update!]

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
37

Update! A few minutes ago, I posted that the budget lifted the charter cap by 100. There are differing reports; this one says there will be 180 new charters.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders reached a deal on the budget that included major education issues.

The budget does not include the “education tax credit” for private and religious schools (vouchers), but does include $250 million for religious schools. That should satisfy Mr. Cuomo’s friends in the religious communities whom he courted.

The deal includes 180 new charter schools, 50 in Néw York City and 130 outside the city. That should please the hedge fund manager who gave millions to the Governor’s re-election campaign, while providng Eva Moskowitz plenty of room to grow her chain.

The deal extends mayoral control in NYC for only one year, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s request to make it permanent. That should remind the Mayor who is in charge.

The deal retains the tax cap on school districts. Regardless of their needs, they won’t be able to raise property taxes by more than 2%, unless they are able to win 60% approval by voters. It may be undemocratic, but it is popular, especially among GOP legislators.

It is amazing how much education policy is now being made during budget negotiations, with no educators in the room.

Categories Charter Schools, Cuomo, Andrew, New York, School Choice, Separation of church and state, Vouchers

Good News! Oregon Governor Signs Opt-Out Bill into Law

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
11

Despite pressure from the big spenders at Stand for Children and other titans of corporate reform, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed the legislation allowing parents to opt out of state tests.

 

Federal officials had warned that the bill, which also reduces the consequences for schools where many students skip tests, could lead the federal government to withhold millions in federal education funding.

 

House Bill 2655, which was strongly backed by the Oregon Education Association, prioritizes the rights of parents to exempt their children from that one aspect of public schooling over the desire of school accountability proponents to get complete reading and math test results for all students each year.

 

But Brown said she wants Oregon educators to make the case to parents that taking part in state tests is valuable so that they will opt for their children to keep taking the exams.

 

The new law means that, beginning next spring, schools will have to notify every family at least 30 days before state testing begins about what the tests will cover, how long they will take and when results will be delivered. Those notices will also tell parents they can exempt their child from the tests for any reason.

 

Friends in Oregon: Forget the governor’s misgivings! Opt out is the best tool you have to protect your children from the current national mania for standardized testing. Opting out will curb the overuse and misuse of standardized testing. Former Texas state commissioner of education Robert Scott memorably said in 2012 that the educational industrial complex was out of control and that testing was “the heart of the vampire”

 

He also said:

 

The assessment and accountability regime has become not only a cottage industry but a military-industrial complex. And the reason that you’re seeing this move toward the “common core” is there’s a big business sentiment out there that if you’re going to spend $600-$700 billion a year in public education, why shouldn’t be one big Boeing, or Lockheed-Grumman contract where one company can get it all and provide all these services to schools across the country.

 

I mean, that’s really what you’re looking at. We’re operating like a business.

 

Categories Opt Out, Oregon, Parents, Stand for Children, Standardized Testing

Who Is Grading Common Core Tests? It Is Worse Than You Thought

By dianeravitch
June 23, 2015 //
27

Motoko Rich of the Néw York Times answered the question deftly. Peter Greene says she gave a “master class in how to let the subjects of a story make themselves look ridiculous.”

Most of the graders have never been teachers. We know that Pearson and other testing companies hire test graders from Craigslist and Kelly Temps.

Rich writes:

“On Friday, in an unobtrusive office park northeast of downtown here [San Antonio], about 100 temporary employees of the testing giant Pearson worked in diligent silence scoring thousands of short essays written by third- and fifth-grade students from across the country.

“There was a onetime wedding planner, a retired medical technologist and a former Pearson saleswoman with a master’s degree in marital counseling. To get the job, like other scorers nationwide, they needed a four-year college degree with relevant coursework, but no teaching experience. They earned $12 to $14 an hour, with the possibility of small bonuses if they hit daily quality and volume targets.”

My favorite lines in Rich’s story (and Peter’s too) are these:

“At times, the scoring process can evoke the way a restaurant chain monitors the work of its employees and the quality of its products.

“From the standpoint of comparing us to a Starbucks or McDonald’s, where you go into those places you know exactly what you’re going to get,” said Bob Sanders, vice president of content and scoring management at Pearson North America, when asked whether such an analogy was apt.

“McDonald’s has a process in place to make sure they put two patties on that Big Mac,” he continued. “We do that exact same thing. We have processes to oversee our processes, and to make sure they are being followed.”

So, if you want test scoring by readers who are paid by volume, who are not teachers, and who are trained like employees of McDonald’s and Starbucks, the results of Common Core testing should please you.

Don’t you wonder whether this madness is done on purpose to drive parents out of public schools and make them desperate to find an alternative to be free of mass-produced teaching and testing?

The best way to stop it is to refuse the test. Opt out. Take control away from Pearson, PARCC, and the privatizers. Make the machine grind to a halt.

Categories Common Core, Standardized Testing
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