With the Georgia legislature poised to create a statewide charter district modeled on Tennessee’s failed “Achievement School District,” the usual cast of reform characters has rushed in to privatize as many of Atlanta’s public schools as they can get away with.
Here comes the Boston Consulting Group, the Waltons, and many more, looking to transfer schools from democratic to private control.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Rather than wait to change the laws, maybe it is time to simply change the school from the inside. It can be done because most rules aren’t rules anyway. I did it in ’95. More difficult today but if we simply stop teaching to the test, we can serve kids again. Some say they might get fired. I could’ve been fired for strikes in the ’70’s but that didn’t stop me.
Who has the guts to just do it! I have talked to several leaders and they know you would get support if it came to that. All across the country.
I will help anyone getting the ball rolling. Of course if it’s easier to point at others so be it.
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Doing so wouldn’t stop privitization of schools
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But it will bring the kids back. No more excuses to stand on the sidelines and complain. Show them who’s best while we stop the private thugs. It gives us one more weapon. Reform the reformers
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I just researched the Supt. and Asst Supt. Meria Carstarphen is a Broad Academy grad, and her Asst. David Jernigan was a KIPP executive and a Broad supporter. No surprise that they are taking the lead in charterizing Atlanta. Remember….this is Atlanta where there are at least 8 teachers jailbirds are doing time in prison for cheating on the CC testing.
And it seems that the Broad Academy is sitting in on hiring and vetting Supts. nationwide. (All this is online.) Suspected this from our experience in LA, but it is a fact that they, a non-elected and self- selected group of venture capilalists, were and are, somehow, allowed to takeover the nation’s public school choices of superintendents.
This has always legally been the mandated job of voter-elected school boards and comes under their fiduciary responsibility to their electors.
Yet this quasi illegal, self-appointed Broad committee system has been in practice for some time. What else in America is Eli Broad quietly running without public knowledge?
So we see how America’s schools have already been privatized by a ‘coup’ of corporatist billionaires (colluding with government and with school boards), with no interference by government or community officials, .and it seems nearly ‘a fait accompli.’
In LAUSD, the BoE seems to be going along with this Broad group to be their partners in choosing our next Supt. Many of us have complained loudly and often but we get ZERO replies.
Diane Ravitch…wish you would contact Steve Zimmer and get the straight word from him. Why does he refuse to even speak to any of us who have made endless requests for some office time?
No wonder, Diane, that LAWAC refused to let you speak to them in 2013…they knew that this was all “a done deal”….and Rhee was indeed their ‘inside’ girl. Actually Meria and the “angry Korean woman” worked on the DC fiasco at the same time, or at least overlapping.
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Nothing I suggest is illegal. Most rules aren’t rules after all. The only problem is the test but you let kids take it and ignore it. Do not teach to it. Make them fire just 1 teacher and we all walk. It’s about putting the needs of the kids ahead of us and our jobs. It’s about challenging the system with our ideas.
What they are doing to kids is not just unethical, it is immoral. It’s time to bring it to a head. We have a moral duty to stand up for the kids. It is our moral duty to teach to the whole child. To find the way kids learn best.
The reformers are depending on using test scores to bring in robotic teachers. They believe anyone can teach to the test. We do what public school teachers do best, innovate, meaning finding the way kids learn best what will be of value to them in the future.
Atlanta would be the greatest place to begin. Let their threats go un-headed. Stare them in the face and say HELL NO, WE WON’T TEACH TO THE TEST ANYMORE. NOT NOW, NOT EVER
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And still subject them to the bastardizations of the teaching and learning process that are educational standards and standardized testing????
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Nope, ignore the test. Kids have to take it but we don’t have to teach it. Besides, the test has nothing to do with kids. They don’t pass or fail based on it. It comes too late for the teachers. It is meaningless if it is ignored.
It affects schools and possibly teachers but we give them the big finger and say so what! And sell this or something similar for accountability http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
We have been brainwashed to believe the test affects kids when it doesn’t. Give whole child assessment and parents, teachers and all will support.
Or we can keep spinning our wheels and watch our schools close
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NO!, Kids don’t have to take it. Overall, I agree with most of what you propose, however, your thinking on this is what allows this nonsense to continue. Are you afraid to fight for the children?
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Kids opt out of course. But if they have to take it, tell them to not worry about it and come back to the joy of learning. Those afraid to refuse teach to the test are supporting the current crap. We can refuse to give the test, on that I agree, however, someone else will give it. How many teachers actually give the test? They can always find some sucker.
The main issue is have some guts in the classroom. Stand together and teach a whole child curriculum. Those teachers who kiss ass and teach to the test when we know that the test is not only unethical but immoral, are turning their backs on the kids. We must put the morality of teaching kids ahead of our jobs. I did when I went on strike in the ’70’s, marching in Wisconsin, and I never compromised in the classroom.
I even started a fully public school with union that ran on the whole child philosophy I talk about. It was called the Milwaukee Village School and we were a community school, A full Milwaukee Public School. We had whole child assessment, no letter grades, no grade levels, empowered kids, had an IEP for all, took every kid from where they are, made failure a learning experience where they never “failed” back a full year, just retook the whole child assessment when they were ready. And when a snobbish assistant superintendent came to our school and saw a class room half empty, she bashed us to no end. However, she did not ask where the kids were. They were at Will Allen’s Growing Power, a greenhouse with a full cycle of growing from worm tanks to cultivation understanding the full cycle of growing products. With all academics built in.
Yes, they had the test but they took it didn’t worry about and realized the test has nothing to do with kids. And if kids missed the test, so what?
That was the most difficult thing I every did because 90% of educators in the city were against us. We did it anyway. And got beat up every day! And 17 years later we met a group of the kids who praised what we did. Thanked us for doing it.
Now, young man, whose afraid of standing up for kids?
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Thanks for the response, Cap! It help to clarify what you mean. What did happen to the school? Is it still going? If not what are the reasons? Hopefully it is continuing what is a meaningful and delightful teaching and learning environment.
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We did it in ’95 – 98 Then NCLB came about and a snob dept superintendent took money from us. The concept was ahead of its’ time but now the time is right. I’ll help anyone who wants to do this in spite of the reformers. The best way to beat them is with a bteer idea.
Keep up the good work Duane
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They remind me of sharks, mosquitoes, vultures, vampires, leeches and paparazzi—-did I leave anything out?
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Floyd Lofthouse, you forgot racist. Atlanta is a hugely African-American population school district. Just like New Orleans, the reformsters feel they can get away with ramming for profit charter chains down the throat of this population. You would never see them attempting this BS on affluent, white suburban school districts because they know they couldn’t get away with it. I would love to see the population of Atlanta literally run these hucksters out of town. Fortunately, I’m sure there are a lot of DEFR, phony baloney democratic politicians who are opening the door and letting this atrocity happen! It makes me ashamed to be a member of the Democratic Party, as the same political maneuvering is happening in Denver where I live and in many other places/urban settings throughout this country. It truly is a sad day!!! 😢
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Agreed.
I don’t belong to either party. I belong to the 43% who do not belong to one of the two major parties.
Here’s the breakdown:
26% are registered Republicans
30% are registered Democrats
43% are Independent.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/180440/new-record-political-independents.aspx
I think the U.S. is ripe for a third major party. Major party candidates can’t win an election unless they win over enough independents to make a difference on election day.
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I agree that there is racism at work here
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Good piece on how charter schools and public schools are treated differently in Ohio:
“When Columbus Public Schools officials were caught scrubbing data, State Auditor Dave Yost rushed in during the middle of a school day, with sworn agents brandishing badges and carrying guns. Four district officials were convicted on felony charges, and face jail time and hefty fines.
What a difference two years make. Mr. Yost is now a co-chairman of Mr. Kasich’s Ohio presidential campaign, and his interest in exposing corruption in the Education Department seems nonexistent. Mr. Yost would rather tolerate a broken charter school system than muddy the political waters for his preferred presidential candidate.”
Remember- they’re “agnostics”! No favoritism at work here. No, sir.
Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Opinion/2015/09/27/Ohioans-can-t-tolerate-corruption-in-charter-school-oversight.html#e8L0MOjciXp03VCg.99
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To change the public school system, take back your profession as a teacher and bring back the students, you must value kids more than you value your job. Risk takers; Start the change today, right in your classroom. There are many ways to do it but begin by teaching to the whole child, not the test. Challenge them to fire you. There will be an outcry heard round the world.
Peter Greene is gathering ideas, let him know. Let your minds go way beyond the way schools are spozed to be. That’s why I write books.
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I’m not a teacher, just so you know. I just think these ridiculous, over the top perp walks they’re conducting (exclusively) in public schools should at least be applied to both school “sectors”.
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Not sure what “perp walks” means. But everything I suggest can be done anywhere in any school. Reformers don’t believe in it so they will stay with the test. I found parents, when I developed my public school with union et al, loved it. For more details http://www.wholechildreform.com
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Easier said than done, Cap. My school is far superior to the local charters, but we can’t advertise, and the charters advertise all over the place. Word of mouth helps, but it’s not enough.
Furthermore, the districts keep cutting and cutting funding and class sizes are exploding. Charters don’t have that problem, and therefore have far smaller class sizes, which is really a draw for families.
And a lot of the reasons that charters succeed has nothing to do with the quality of either school, but because of the desire of families to get away from “those” children (minorities, poor, behavioral issues, etc). Public schools can do nothing to stop that.
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Actually we can stop that white flight. By offering a better system. When the word gets out that we will teach whole child, and no more test prep, all parents will take heed. Have faith in yourselves. You won’t need to advertise, the attention will do it for you.
And yes, it is easier said than done. And white flight is difficult to stop. But it essential to take action in many directions. And an accountability plan similar to this along with teaming with colleges and universities for early entry for those who move through the system faster, and a thousand other innovations. at least we have a chance. http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
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A version of voter suppression and nullification of governance of by and for the people
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Effectively continuing where Beverly Hall left off, Atlanta new superintendent Meria Carstarphen and her TFA-stacked school board just this past Friday experienced a fit of “Alice in Wonderland” glee after the state accepted their petition to turn Atlanta Public Schools into a “Charter System” to become effective July 1, 2016. However, the Charter System will exclude all currently existing APS charter schools.
This is the dang stupid contract to seal the deal…
https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=1262&AID=653205&MID=41873
To Paul Chevez’s point, folk out in Austin, TX, put it like this: “Atlanta is a better fit for Carstarphen.”
As so it is.
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They are cheapening education for kids by narrowing the scope and increasing the testing fiasco. If they continue to use the test as an indicator, they will continue to have a second rate system in disguise. What good test scores have I.
However, if we implement our own system, we can come back and redefine success in their face. We will have an argument. To that end is the only reason I write books. Here are some thoughts to put schools and kids on an even playing field.
Be optimistic. The Kids need us. Here are some thoughts to begin the process http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
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GROSS!
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Changing the name of the school means nothing. They will continue to do the same old failed concept. Only fully trained teachers can change the system for the good
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“With the Georgia legislature poised to create a statewide charter district modeled on Tennessee’s failed “Achievement School District,” the usual cast of reform characters has rushed in to privatize as many of Atlanta’s public schools as they can get away with.”
Well, I’d like emphasize that ASD is far from dead. It did get decapitated when Barbic resigned, but, proving that ASD is a very low level life form, it’s still very much alive, moving, cannibalizing schools. Relay, for example, secretely reactivated itself on our campus, and is ready to provide highly qualified teacher-sergeants for ASD.
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Schools are “failures” based partially on artificial standardized tests. I will help anyone in Atlanta devise a system that counters the testing mentality. Like http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
Then when they say you failed, you can say oh yaaaa? Take this and tell them how many individuals made gains, etc
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