Bertis Downs lives in Athens, Georgia, in one of the state’s poorest communities. He is a great advocate for public education and is also a member of the board of the Network for Public Education. He made his mark as manager of the rock group R.E.M. We are very proud to have him advise us, given his devotion to public schools, where his own daughters are students. This article he wrote was posted by Valerie Strauss on her blog this morning.
One of the amazing things about Athens and the Clarke County School District is that its superintendent, Philip Lanoue, was chosen as National Superintendent of the Year by his colleagues.
He writes that the over-testing culture has not been good for the local public schools. Parents and teachers don’t like it. But Superintendent Lanoue has led the way in making positive changes.
Bertis writes:
I mean, really, if this over-testing, high-stakes culture is really such a great idea, wouldn’t reformers want this environment for their own children? Wouldn’t they push the elite private schools their children attend to adopt those “innovative reforms” too? The fact that they don’t is telling. These are not educationally sound ideas, and reformers know it, even as they call these policies “innovative” as they push them to the public. Do they think we don’t know better? Of course the schools exempt from the public mandates don’t nurture this absurd over-testing culture, especially the ones labeled “innovative” by those passing the laws. Balderdash, by any other name…
Our family lives in Athens, Georgia, a community that – like most communities – values public education, and our kids go to our local public schools. Our school district has been innovating, really innovating in some pretty creative ways, some of which might even sound old-fashioned or simple. I actually prefer the word “intuitive.” Especially for the past six years, we are grateful for the leadership of Phil Lanoue, who was named 2015 National Superintendent of the Year.
He deserves the honor, and here’s why: he works to build up all Athens community schools by focusing on teaching and learning, using technology where it enhances the overall mission of educating students, working with community partners to try new techniques, enhancing efficacy, and emphasizing our community’s capacity to support the work of our neighborhood schools. Dr. Lanoue is the first to state that he isn’t the only one putting in the work. He sets a tone, supports his team members and advances good ideas that foster high-quality teaching and learning. Many of these ideas are proving themselves effective over the years.
Read on to learn ahow Lanoue has provided positive leadership to the schools and the community.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Former Mayor Bloomberg wrote an editorial scolding the Obama Administration for their mild criticism of standardized tests:
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-28/demand-better-schools-not-fewer-tests
It’s boilerplate ed reform- schools are failing, skills gap, the problems with the economy are all the fault of the mediocre US workforce. The only surprising or interesting part is that he believes testing is threatened by a Facebook video and an Action Plan that doesn’t include any “action”. He really shouldn’t worry. It’s just a change in ed reform political campaign rhetoric.
Really, isn’t this all just political theater? The outgoing Dem president’s corporate ed policies disproportionately harm minority students, minority teachers and close minority schools, forcing lower income families to leave. The President’s race has put the right face on the implementation of these policies, in the eyes of the privatizers. And the President has kept above the fray, despite pleas from those who once believed he really was who he presented himself as during the election. Now the President makes a token effort and proposes to limit the actual hours of testing to just what it already has been expanded to. So it can be codified. This is his parting gift — a guaranteed stream of revenues to corporations, and a sure way to weaken unions and ruin a profession which primarily provides women with a livable wage. It is not a gift to overtested and stressed students, parents and teachers! It is another government handout to Pearson, Broad, Gates, and McGraw-Hill. And just to further muddy the message, Bloomberg announces that the President is backtracking! Crisis! But Bloomberg knows of course that he is not. He knows to play his part, in order to seem as though the President is really sincere. It is just a pr gambit. Just smoke and mirrors. The two parties could not be working closer in selling off our public education to corporations, Silicon Valley and Wall Street. And they have been doing this for many years.
The president has distanced himself from the mayhem he inflicted on public education, but everyone knows he is the puppet master. He is a hypocrite.
It’s great, because any failure of ed reform can be blamed on public schools, which then calls for more ed reform.
Here’s the NYTimes complimenting the President for his statement scolding public schools on their failure to understand and properly manage his testing theories:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/opinion/dialing-back-on-school-testing.html?_r=0
I knew the locals would screw up the brilliant plan.
The future looks grim, but it is not yet set. Here is a thoughtful piece. http://hackeducation.com/2015/10/22/robot-tutors/
The d and r are not mortal enemies as portrayed. The acrimony in not real, it is
vitriolic political theater, an enthralling puppet show for diehard believers.
It’s most always those “pesky” republicans (Maddow, Maher, and company) or
the liberal democrats at fault (fox network). They “cry” for us, all the way to the
bank, as they pitch the tribalism of identity politics to the diehard believers.