Archives for the month of: March, 2016
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Ohio’s Disgraceful Charter Sector 

By dianeravitch
March 24, 2016 //
6

Stephen Dyer of Innovation Ohio reports on the latest comparisons between charters and public schools.

“Here are the toplines:

“72.5 percent of all state charter funding went to charters that DO NOT outperform the local school district.

“Nearly 1 in 3 charter schools receive all their state funding from higher performing local school districts. 

“50 percent of the charter dollars that leave the Youngstown Schools go to charters that perform worse on the state report card.  

“80 percent of all money sent to eSchools came from higher performing local school districts. 

“92 percent of Ohio school districts (563 of 609) received less per pupil state funding because of the way Ohio funds its charter schools.  

“Here’s my blog about the report and some more about its methodology: http://bit.ly/1RiretJ

Stephen Dyer

Education Policy Fellow

Innovation Ohio

35 E. Gay St.

Columbus, OH 43215

http://www.innovationohio.org”

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding

Ohio: Districts Demand Return of Millions Allotted to “Parasitical” Charter Industry

By dianeravitch
March 24, 2016 //
10

William Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy, has been tracking the movement by school districts to bill the state for money lost to charters. Ohio has many charters rated D or F by the state that divert funding from public schools.  Be sure to read the linked letter.

He writes in his latest post:

“Morgan Local School Board invoices the state for $1,138,235 in local funds deducted for charter schools

 

“School districts continue to invoice the state. The Morgan invoice is for local levy funding only. Superintendent Lori Snyder-Lowe’s thoughtful letter to the state emphasizes the education abuse suffered by charter students residing in the Morgan Local School District. The dismal performance of charters should be of grave concern to all local district officials and educators. Is it not a fiduciary responsibility of local school officials to ensure their students the most efficacious educational opportunity possible?

 

“State officials have the constitutional responsibility to secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools. The Ohio system was declared unconstitutional four times by the Ohio Supreme Court. Since those declarations, $7 billion has been deducted from school districts for the parasitical charter industry.”

William Phillis

Ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Ohio

EduShyster: TFA’s Perplexing Diversity Dilemma

By dianeravitch
March 24, 2016 //
25

In this post, EduShyster interviews Teach for America alumna-turned-academic Terrenda White. She joined TFA in the early 2000s. CNN followed her around during her first year of teaching, presumably to show how successful this new thing called TFA was. Now she studies TFA’s diversity problem. While TFA claims to have increased the diversity of those within its ranks, it also causes a decrease in the number of teachers of color by displacing them.

 

White says:

 

While TFA may be improving their diversity numbers, that improvement has coincided with a drastic decline in the number of teachers of color, and Black teachers in particular, in the very cities where TFA has expanded. I don’t see them making a connection between their own diversity goals and the hits that teachers of color have taken as a result of policies to which TFA is connected: school closures where teachers of color disproportionately work, charter school expansion, teacher layoffs as schools are turned around. We have to talk about whether and how those policies have benefited TFA to expand in a way that they’re not ready to publicly acknowledge….

 

What happened in New Orleans, for example, is a microcosm of this larger issue where you have a blunt policy that we know resulted in the displacement of teachers of color, followed by TFA’s expansion in that region. I’ve never heard TFA talk about or address that issue. Or take Chicago, where the number of Black teachers has been cut in half as schools have been closed or turned around. In the lawsuits that teachers filed against the Chicago Board of Education, they used a lot of social science research and tracked that if a school was low performing and was located on the north or the west side and had a higher percentage of white teachers, that school was less likely to be closed. As the teachers pointed out, this wasn’t just about closing low-performing schools, but closing low-performing schools in communities of color, and particularly those schools that had a higher percentage of teachers of color. What bothers me is that we have a national rhetoric about wanting diversity when at the same time we’re actually manufacturing the lack of diversity in the way in which we craft our policies. And we mete them out in a racially discriminatory way. So in many ways we’re creating the problem we say we want to fix….

 

For TFA, the managerialism and the technocratic approach excludes a serious discussion about these larger, systemic problems: poverty, segregation and unequal funding. When I was a TFA corps member, I really believed that if I just had perfect lesson plans, then these larger problems wouldn’t matter. The technocratic approach is just about test scores and making them go up, and it’s disconnected from these larger questions. How do we involve parents, and do they have any say in what a good school is? Are they a part of these turnaround models? Do they get any kind of voice? I think the whole community-based model of schooling is very much being lost to a top-down managerial approach.

 

This is another fascinating interview from EduShyster that introduces us to a young scholar who will have a large impact on the future of teaching and on how TFA is perceived by the public.

Categories Education Reform, Poverty, Race, Teach for America

Breaking: Pennsylvania Has a Budget!

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
6

Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania legislature have been deadlocked over the state budget for months. Public schools are near bankruptcy. Some borrowed money to stay open, incurring heavy interest debt.

 

But the legislature finally passed a budget that Governor Wolf will neither sign nor veto. It will become law without his veto.

 

It increases education funding, as the governor hoped, but added no new taxes, as he had hoped. Pennsylvania is extraordinarily generous to the fracking industry, which pays minimal taxes while extracting the state’s resources and polluting its waters.

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Funding, Pennsylvania

Mate Wierdl: The Fallacy of Corporate Reform

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
45

Mate Wierdl is a professor of mathematical sciences at the University of Memphis. 

He writes:

“There’s absolutely no reason to get into arguments over the reformers’ way of doing things (technology, standardized tests). Just point out that their premises, their goals are false, and be done.
“Indeed, according to the most fundamental laws of logic (already known to the Ancient Greeks), from a false premise, you can draw any conclusion you want.
“For example, if I say “If you build it, they will come.” I can be held to my promise only if you build “it”, that is, if my premise is true. If you don’t build it, it’s immaterial whether they come or not, you cannot blame me for making false promises.
“What the reformers are saying, can be illustrated by “If learning is measurable, then this school’s performance is low on the scale we set forth.”
“Well, learning is not measurable, so it’s immaterial whether they find a school’s scores low or high.
“Of course, reformers don’t say anything this way; they don’t start with an “if”, they don’t start with “If learning is measurable”. They strategically pretend “it’s common sense” that learning is measurable. They do this because they know that’s where are on the shakiest grounds. Hence this is exactly where we have to get them: “Don’t talk to us about scores and data and technology, just show us the research claiming that learning is measurable; show us what you measure.”
“Forget about low level arguments about technology or test scores. Get our reformers first explain the high level, get them explain their premise about the measurability of learning.
It’s like “If I am innocent, I then deserve apology, full compensation, a house on the beach, a car with a driver, free ice cream for the rest of my life, free …” to which the response is “Hey, slow down with listing your demands and let’s examine your innocence first, shall we?”
Let’s not let the reformers jump to their messy conclusions, let’s get them at their premises.”

Categories Corporate Reform, Education Reform

Florida: How Charters Cleaned Up in the Closing Hours of the Legislative Session

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
12

Paula Dockery, a former Republican legislator in Florida, explains how last-minute legislative maneuvering enables special interests to cram their priorities into overstuffed bills and into law. The writing of a bill in the closing days of the session, she says, is like a train running down the tracks. All kinds of things get added without public discussion.

 

 

The charter industry has been a beneficiary of these tactics.

 

 

Dockery writes:

 

 

“The final bill is a conglomeration of unrelated and contentious education policies. It allows students to transfer to any public school anywhere in the state if there is capacity — a nightmare for school district planning and budgeting. It allows high school athletes who change schools to be immediately eligible to play — which opens up high school athletics to potential recruiting.

 

 

“It financially punishes school districts for overspending on construction while making it easier for charter schools to get access to capital funding. It attempts to weaken the school board membership association that often disagrees with legislative policy changes. It relies on performance measures to determine college and university funding.

 

 

“On a positive note, it creates a funding formula for charter school capital costs that favors charters that serve poor and disabled students.

 

 

“Unfortunately, a key Senate proposal that prevented charter school operators from using public funds to build or improve facilities they own for their private gain was removed from the bill at the House’s insistence. Wasn’t this the reason for the train in the first place?”

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Florida, For-Profit

Anthony Cody: A Sneak Perk at NPE in April

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
9

Anthony Cody is excited about the April conference of the Network for Public Education, and he explains why here.

 

He writes:

 

“There is less than a month to go before the third annual Network for Public Education conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. These are always special events, but this year will be especially significant because of the focus on civil rights. The full conference schedule is online now here. Here are some of the key parts of the conference that will make it so memorable:

 

“Reverend Barber’s keynote. The Rev. Barber will open the conference on Saturday morning with a keynote that will connect the issues of education to the fight for civil rights and social justice. Rev. Barber has been a leader of the Moral Monday campaign, which has staged repeated acts of civil disobedience in the state capital, protesting for worker rights, voting rights and social justice. I heard Rev. Barber speak a couple of years ago and his speech alone is worth traveling across the country for.

 
NPE Movie night! On Friday, April 15, from 7 to 9 pm, there will be a special event showcasing some of the best new films focused on education issues. Many of the creators of the films will be on hand to introduce their work. Laurie Gabriel will share a clip from her film, Healing Our Schools. Dawn O’Keeffe will share GO PUBLIC!, Bill Baykan and Michael Elliott will share some short segments they have been working on, and we will also have scenes from Good Morning Mission Hill and the new film exposing the Gulen charter school scandal, Killing Ed.

 
Unsung heroes: School Librarians! Susan Polos, Sara Stevenson and Sara Sayigh will lead a discussion described this way: “School librarians have been the canary in the public education coal mine. The first department to lose funding and staffing in the wave of “reforms” and the emphasis on testing, we are often experienced teacher leaders in our communities. We speak up for children and offer access to books, literacy, and information technology skills. We believe in inquiry, student privacy, the right to access all points of view, free reading (contrary to Common Core), and we represent an inconvenient truth that threatens those who wish to narrow curriculum and turn schools into test factories.”

 
A Conversation About School Choice. Mercedes Schneider’s upcoming book will focus on the well-honed strategy of “school choice.” For this conversation she will be joined by journalist Andrea Gabor, and New Orleans parent activist Ashana Bigard.

 
Testing and Justice: Growing Gaps, Shrinking Opportunities. For years we have been told that a focus on test score data would somehow reduce inequities. This amazing panel includes Alan Aja, Yohuru Williams and Carol Burris, who will share insights that show just how counterproductive our focus on test scores has been.

 
T-E-S-T, not P-L-A-Y, is a Four-Letter Word: Putting the Young Child and the Teacher at the Center of Education Reform: We will hear from some more of my heroes: Susan Ochshorn, Denisha Jones, Nancy Carlson-Paige and Michelle Gunderson. This session will be a powerhouse. An excerpt from the description: “Little black boys are being suspended and expelled from preschool in record numbers. In the attempt to eradicate achievement gaps and get children ready for school, education policies have wreaked havoc with their development. Play and recess have virtually disappeared from the kindergarten, which is now “the new first grade.” Children are being assessed as young as four, and face high-stakes tests at the tender age of six. Demands of the Common Core have banished the kind of rich curriculum, with hands-on exploration and collaboration, which produces creative, productive, citizens of our democracy.”

 
NPE’s Teacher Evaluation Study: This one will be really newsworthy, as we will release a new report that we have been working on with a team of ten teachers and administrators around the country. We surveyed close to 3000 educators last fall, asking detailed questions about the impact recent changes to the evaluation process. The results will confirm what those of us working in schools know — these evaluations are having a very bad affect, and are driving down morale and wasting huge amounts of time. Teachers were not consulted when these policies were developed, but we will make sure their voices are heard here.

 
BATs on Cultural Competence: Gus Morales, Denisha Jones and Marla Kilfoyle will share some important ideas about this crucial topic. As the description states: “meeting the needs of all students means developing cultural competence. Saving public education means dealing with the racism from the past and present so that we have something worth fighting for in the future.

 
Bob Herbert’s keynote: Former New York Times columnist Bob Herbert has authored an incredible book, which Diane Ravitch called “the most important book of the year.” Diane writes: “Bob Herbert’s new book Losing Our Way: An Intimate Portrait of a Troubled America is one of the most important, most compelling books that I have read in many years. For those of us who have felt that something has gone seriously wrong in our country, Herbert connects the dots. He provides a carefully documented, well-written account of what went wrong and why. As he pulls together a sweeping narrative, he weaves it through the personal accounts of individuals whose stories are emblematic and heartbreaking.”

 
Edushyster in conversation with Peter Cunningham: Sharp-witted blogger Jennifer Berkshire will engage in a “spirited conversation” with Cunningham, who served as Arne Duncan’s press secretary for many years, and now runs corporate ed reform’s $12 million blog, The Education Post. Bring popcorn, this should be good.

 
Jesse Hagopian and Karran Harper Royal. Two incredible leaders from opposite sides of the country — Jesse Hagopian from Seattle, and Karran Harper Royal from New Orleans — will share the stage and talk about their work, and where our movement is headed.

 
Hundreds of the nation’s most passionate defenders of public education gathered in one spot! The best thing about these conferences is the chance to connect with readers of my blog, and other activists from around the country. I hope that if you are reading this, I get to meet YOU!

 

Register here.

 

 

Categories Corporate Reform, Education Reform, Network for Public Education, North Carolina, Resistance

Alabama: Why Is StudentsFirst Spending Freely in Our State?

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
7

Michelle Rhee was a failure in D.C.: despite nearly nine years of Rhee-Henderson policy, it remains one of the nation’s lowest-scoring districts. Rhee created StudentsFirst, funneled money to hard-right a Republicans, then supposedly retired from the organization.

 

Like a robot programmed to demolish public education and teachers, StudentsFirst keeps moving along, doing what it was created to do. Now it is active in Alabama, spreading campaign cash to rightwing politicians. Read Larry Lee’s account of their Alabama activities.

 

Behind StudentsFirst lies a foundational lie. That lie is the claim that they know what should be done to improve education. Their example: Washington, DC.

 

Why does anyone listen to them?

 

 

Categories Alabama, Corporate Reform, Education Reform, Rhee, Michelle, StudentsFirst

The Real Donald Trump

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
78

Donald Trump met with the editorial board of the Washington Post. They asked him tough questions. What came through was the real Donald Trump. Self-absorbed, superficial, narcissistic, ill-informed, cocky, and–although he likes to say that he is very intelligent–not very intelligent. People who are intelligent never claim to be; they just are.

 

The Washington Post published the transcript. It is worth your time to read it.

Categories Education Reform, Politics

Carol Burris: The Coming Collapse of Corporate Reform in New York

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2016 //
27

Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education, has been active in the resistance to New York’s state’s reliance on high-stakes testing for several years. As a high school principal, she helped to organize other principals across the state in opposition to test-based evaluation of both principals and teachers. About 40 percent of the state’s principals signed the petition opposing the so-called Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) based on test scores.

 

In this article, she describes the recent dramatic turn of events in New York. This state led the way in corporate-style reform. For many years, the Board of Regents–the state’s governing body for education–has strongly supported standards, testing, and accountability as the key to statewide success. Since the passage of charter legislation in 1998, the charter sector has grown, especially in the state’s urban districts. The leader of the Regents, Merryl Tisch, is a member of one of the city’s wealthiest and most philanthropic families. Tisch was a member of the Regents for the past 20 years, and chancellor since 2009. She pushed hard to win a Race to the Top grant of $700 million. She pushed hard for Common Core and rigorous testing. She selected David Steiner of Hunter College as Commissioner of Education, then pushed him aside and selected John King. She said it was all about the kids, particularly the poor kids. She thought that high standards and rigorous tests would be good for them.

 

But then came the parent opt out rebellion, and state officials went into a frenzy trying to figure out how to placate the angry parents. As it happened, Tisch lost her most powerful political ally in the legislature, and suddenly the landscape began to change. There are 17 members of the Board of Regents. Less than a year ago, six of them signed a letter protesting Governor Cuomo’s demand for tougher testing, accountability, and teacher evaluation policies. (A seventh member gave conditional support to the dissidents.) At the time, the dissidents seemed to be fighting a steep uphill battle, with the governor and the board majority opposed to their ideas. A month after the issuance of their letter, the board hired MaryEllen Elia as state commissioner to replace the unpopular John King. Elia was well known as an ardent advocate for high-stakes testing, the Common Core, and test-based accountability.

 

Burris explains in her article the miraculous revolution that occurred in less than a year.

 

Tisch announced that she would not run for reappointment by the Legislature. One of the dissidents, Dr. Betty Rosa, announced that she wanted to succeed Tisch. The possibility of Rosa winning seemed far-fetched. But incredibly, she was elected in a secret ballotmby the Regents on a vote of 15-0, with two abstentions.

 

As Burris writes, Rosa has been critical of the Common Core, high-stakes testing, and test-based evaluation. She was supported by the parents in the opt out movement.

 

The dissidents have taken charge.

 

Burris writes about her personal interactions with Betty Rosa, who is a career educator:

 

Rosa was one of three Regents who voted against the teacher evaluation system known as APPR. In 2011 she met with principals and actively listened to our concerns. As a former administrator, she understood why the practice was bad for kids, and never waivered in her opposition, referring to the inclusion of scores as “poison.”
In 2013, she publicly spoke out against the Common Core, accusing the State Education Department of manipulating data and ignoring successful schools in order to create a myth of massive failure to support their reforms. And last year she led a group of seven Regents (all women and nearly all career educators), in opposition to Cuomo’s revision of teacher evaluations. The seven created a position paper of dissent regarding the Governor’s law that increased the proportion of test scores in teacher evaluations, and six of the seven voted against the New York State Education Department’s revisions.

 

Burris predicts what she expects from Rosa. She calls it a “sea change.” I call it a miracle.

 

 

 

 

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Common Core, Corporate Reformers, New York, Privatization, Testing
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