Archives for the month of: March, 2017
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Laura Chapman: Trump Cronies Are Running the U.S. Department of Education

By dianeravitch
March 27, 2017 //
19

Laura Chapman discovered the list of staff hired to work at the U.S. Department of Education. All of the appointments to date are political cronies of Trump or DeVos. None of the high-level positions, which require an ethics review, have been filled. No educators have been appointed to any position.

Chapman writes:

I have been trying to find out who is probably running the show at USDE. Here is a reasonably current list with the GS grade for the appointment. GS-07 means at minimum a bachelor’s degree. I have no idea what the post “Confidential Assistant” means, but it is certainly not a hallmark of transparency in governance. These seeme to be the “crony” positions.

Derrick Bolen-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary-GS-07 Liberty University graduate, BS in Political Science and government. 2016. Trump campaign regional field director for Virginia’s Roanoke and New River Valley region. Tweets offensive but who cares, not the President.http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/trump-appointees-minorities-women-234315

Michael Oberlies-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary-GS-11 No information

Patrick Shaheen-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary-GS-11 Field director for both the NH Republican State Committee and Americans for Prosperity.

Gillum Ferguson-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary-GS-12 Former staffer for Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas, 4th)

Beatriz Ramos-Confidential Assistant to Secretary-GS-12 Florida’s “coalitions director” for the Trump campaign

Alexandra Hudson-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-13 Lead Education Policy Analyst at Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty … Sales Associate at Kohl’s Department Stores, Tutor of political science, graduate of the London School of Economics. Writer for the Federalist.

Deborah Cox-Roush-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Trump Inaugural committee. Owner of DCR Creative Solutions of Florida, “an advocacy consulting and events Management Company.” Florida Grassroots Director for the Trump campaign (she previously worked for Rubio). Graduate of Georgetown College, BA in History/Education, 1976.

Kevin Eck-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Former director of operations for the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association.

Holly Ham-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Former sales executive at Hewlett Packard and Program Advisor to the Trump presidential campaign.

Ronald Holden-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Assistant Dean of Students/Director of Diversity and Inclusion at University of Mount Union.

Amy Jones-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Former CEO of Professional Development and Accountability at NYC Department of Education.

Andrew Kossack-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Former commissioner, Indiana Department of Revenue, was Policy Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, prior staff for Governor Mike Pence.

Cody Reynolds-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Former Trump campaign staffer

Eric Ventimiglia-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15 Legislative aid and constituents relations manager for the Michigan House of Representatives. Oakland University, BA in Political Science in 2007.

Jerry Ward-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15—Former Alaska state Senator

Patrick Young-Special Assistant to the Secretary-GS-15- No information

Here are the official at USDE posted on website as of March 24, 2017. This list is quite different from the cronies list above.

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education
Kathleen S. Tighe, Inspector General, Office of Inspector General
Jason K. Gray, Chief Information Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Tim Soltis, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Delegated the Duties of the Chief Financial Officer
Phil Maestri, Director, Risk Management Service
Janet Scott, Director, Office for Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
James W. Runcie, Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid

All of the following positions at USDE are listed as vacant.

Deputy Secretary
Under Secretary
General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel

Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director, Office of English Language Acquisition
Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement

Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights
Assistant Secretary, Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education
Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Assistant Secretary, Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs
Assistant Secretary, Office of Management
Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education
Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Director, Educational Technology
Director, Institute of Education Sciences
Director, International Affairs Office

Executive Director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education
Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans
Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans
Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Performance Improvement Officer

On April 3, 2014 about twenty states will be submitting to USDE their ESSA compliance plans. I think these will probably be unopened and just sit “somewhere” because nobody seems to be in charge of Elementary and Secondary Education. These plans run 150 pages or more and are supposed to be “approved” by someone at USDE after they are thoroughly reviewed.

It is Amateur Hour and “Ask a Trump Crony” time in this and other administative offices. These are the components of the “administrative state” that Steve Bannon and Trump intend to “deconstruct.” That destruction appears to be the job of the cronies, not people competent to make reasoned judgments.

Categories Betsy DeVos, U.S. Department of Education

Trump Assigns His Son-in-Law to Overhaul the Federal Government with Business Ideas

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
30

Trump has put his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a 36-year-old real estate investor, in charge of streamlining the federal bureaucracy, drawing upon business ideas. At the same time, Kushner is Trump’s lead advisor on foreign and domestic policy and oversees relations with Mexico, Canada, China, and the Middle East.

“President Trump plans to unveil a new White House office on Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises — such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction — by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions.


“The White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will operate as its own nimble power center within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump. Viewed internally as a SWAT team of strategic consultants, the office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements.


“All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays,” Trump said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.”

“
In a White House riven at times by disorder and competing factions, the innovation office represents an expansion of Kushner’s already far-reaching influence. The 36-year-old former real estate and media executive will continue to wear many hats, driving foreign and domestic policy as well as decisions on presidential personnel. He also is a shadow diplomat, serving as Trump’s lead adviser on relations with China, Mexico, Canada and the Middle East.”

Like Trump, Kushner has no experience on government or in foreign or diplomatic affairs.

This is an administration dedicated to amateurism and calling it “innovation.”

Call it “Govern for America.”

Nicholas Kristof wrote this morning that Trump represents the “triumph of incompetence.” He wrote that Trump “has crafted an administration in his own image: vain, narcisstic, and dangerous.”

Categories Trump

The Fight to Block the Keystone Pipeline is not Over

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
11

This article reviews the many legal and political challenges that still face the Keystone Pipeline.

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/eco-catholic/legal-challenges-await-keystone-xl-pipeline-after-trump-grants-permit

He said it would create thousands of jobs, but they are temporary construction jobs. Once the pipeline is completed, it will be run by 50 people, only 35 with permanent jobs.

Environmental groups say it will cause irreparable damage.

“Trump said, “It’s going to be an incredible pipeline, greatest technology known to man or woman. And frankly, we’re very proud of it.” Despite Trump’s repeated insistence that Keystone and new pipelines would be built with American steel, the White House confirmed earlier this month that Keystone will not, since it was considered already under construction.”

Categories Environment

Poll: Betsy DeVos is the Most Unpopular Member of Trump’s Unpopular Cabinet

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
23

Usually a new presidency has a honeymoon period, a time of good feeling and high poll numbers. As they battle for their policies and legislation, their poll numbers change, for better or worse.

Newsweek reports that Trump and his cabinet have very low approval ratings.

The cabinet member with the lowest approval rating is Betsy DeVos at 34.5%. She is highly divisive because her agenda is unpopular.

Parents across the nation understand that DeVos is an enemy of public schools. She doesn’t understand the purpose of community schools as the center of a community. Nearly two-thirds of the public reject her agenda.

That’s good news. It means in state after state, we can mobilize, organize, protest, and defeat her.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Opinion Polling, Religion, School Choice, Separation of church and state, Vouchers

Peter Greene: Food Is Overrated

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
31

As the previous post noted, the Trump administration wants to eliminate the after school program, because it doesn’t raise test scores. Budget director Mick Mulvaney said the same thing about feeding children: it doesn’t raise their test scores, so why pay for it?
Peter Greene was appalled. Is that the reason we feed children? To raise their test scores?

“Well, we’ve all seen it by now:

“There is no evidence that food helps raise test scores….

“Reformsters, this is at least partly on you. This is the logical extension of the idea that only hard “evidence” matters, and only if it is evidence that test scores go up. We’ve dumped play, understanding of child development, and a whole bunch of not-reading-and-math classes because nobody can prove they help raise test scores to the satisfaction of various reformsters. It was only a matter of time until some literal-minded shallow-thinking functionary decided that there was no clear linkage between food and test scores…

“Meanwhile, I suppose we could conduct a study that establishes that students who have actually starved to death get lower results on standardized tests. And then we could work out the increments for exactly how much food is useful for getting test results. It may be that just some bread and water are all that’s necessary (crusts only). Maybe just one bowl of gruel a day.

“Lord knows we don’t want to waste money feeding hungry children if we’re not going to get decent test scores in return. You are never too young to start understanding that if you choose to be poor, you’ll have to earn whatever scraps your betters decide you deserve.”

Categories Childhood

The Daily Signal Salutes Defunding of After-School Programs

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
29

The Daily Signal is published by the uber-conservative Heritage Foundation. I am on their mailing list. In yesterday’s report, it congratulated Trump for proposing to eliminate federal funding for after-school programs because they harm children. They hailed the defunding of 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Based on a study published 10 years ago that found that participants in the programs showed no change in academic achievement, felt safer, but were involved in more incidents of negative behavior, the Daily Signal slammed the program. Maybe the kids were involved in more incidents of negative behavior than their peers who stayed home and watched television alone.

Surely it is a mistake to judge a program of after school activities by academic metrics, even if it was falsely sold as such.

Categories Budget Cuts, Students

Jeff Bryant: The Big Lie Behind Trump’s Budget Proposals for Education

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
13

Jeff Bryant spells out the Big Lie embedded in Trump’s budget proposal for education. He plans to cut programs that directly aid poor kids while bolstering charters and vouchers, pretending they are equivalent. They are not. Yet much of the mainstream media has fallen for the Trump-DeVos bait-and-switch.

“Public school supporters are angry at President Trump’s budget proposal, which plans to cut funding to the Department of Education by 13 percent – taking that department’s outlay down to the level it was ten years ago. But the target for their anger should not be just the extent of the cuts but also how the cuts are being pitched to the public.

“Trump’s education budget cuts are aimed principally at federal programs that serve poor kids, especially their access to afterschool programs and high-quality teachers.

“At the same time, Trump’s spending blueprint calls for pouring $1.4 billion into school choice policies including a $168 million increase for charter schools, $250 million for a new school choice program focused on private schools, and a $1 billion increase for parents to send their kids to private schools at taxpayer expense.

“The way the Trump administration is spinning this combination of funding cuts and increases – and the way nearly every news outlet is reporting them – is that there is some sort of strategically important balance between funding programs for poor kids versus “school choice” schemes, as if the two are equivalents and just different means to the same ends. Nothing could be further from the truth….

“The message being spun out of Trump’s education budget is that it takes money away from those awful “adult interests” – like, you know, teachers to actually teach the students and buildings so students have somewhere to go after school to play sports, get tutored, or engage in music and art projects – in order to steer money to “the kids” who will get a meager sum of money to search for learning opportunities in an education system that is increasingly bereft of teachers and buildings.

“Even competent education reporters are falling for this spin, writing that education policy is experiencing a “sea change in focus from fixing the failing schools to helping the students in the failing schools.”

“However, there’s evidence that federally funded efforts like afterschool programs and class size reduction tend to lead to better academic results for low-income children, while the case for using school choice programs to address the education needs of poor kids is pretty weak.

“The Weak Case For Choice

“School voucher programs, like the ones Trump and DeVos seem intent on funding, are particularly ineffective ways to address the education problems of poor kids. Indeed, these programs seem to not serve the interests of poor kids at all.

“Studies of voucher programs In Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona, and Nevada have found that most of the money from the programs goes to parents wealthy enough to already have their children enrolled in private schools.

“Voucher programs rarely provide enough money to enable poor minority children to get access to the best private schools. And a new comprehensive study of vouchers finds evidence that vouchers don’t significantly improve student achievement. What they do pose is greater likelihood that students who are the most costly and difficult to educate – low-income kids and children with special needs – will be turned away or pushed out by private schools that are not obligated to serve all students.

“Charter schools, another program the Trump budget wants to ramp up funding for, also don’t have a great track record for improving the education attainment of low-income students.

“Perhaps the best case made for using charter schools to target the needs of low-income students comes from a study on the impact of charters in urban school systems conducted by research outfit CREDO in 2015. The study indeed found evidence of some positive impact of charters in these communities. But as my colleague at The Progressive Julian Vasquez Heilig points out, the measures of improvement, in standard deviations, are .008 for Latino students and .05 for African American students in charter schools.

“These numbers are larger than zero,” Heilig writes on his personal blog, “but you need a magnifying glass to see them. Contrast that outcome with policies such as pre-K and class size reduction which are far more unequivocal measures of success than charter schools. They have 400 percent to 1000 percent more statistical impact than charters.”

“Indeed, choice programs in all their forms, at least in how they are being promoted by the Trump administration and its supporters, seem more interested in diverting money away from public schools than they are intent on delivering some sort of education relief to the struggles of poor families.”

School choice will actually harm children by diverting money from public schools that now enroll 90% of America’s students to provide choices for a few children. Most of those choices will be for schools with uncertified teachers and a Bible-based curriculum.

This may satisfy billionaire Betsy DeVos but it won’t be good for children.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Funding, Lies, Poverty, School Choice, Vouchers

New York Opt Out Leaders Prepare for Renewal of Common Core Test Boycotts

By dianeravitch
March 26, 2017 //
6

The epicenter of New York’s historic test refusal movement is gearing up for a repeat performance when testing begins on Monday.

The state is hoping that the introduction of computer-based testing will mollify parents but it shouldn’t. Numerous studies have shown that students get lower scores on computer-based tests than on tests that require pencils. Some children–especially in younger grades–are not adept with keyboard skills. Others find that scrolling up and down the online format is confusing as compared to using pencil-and-paper.

But the fundamental problems remain. Many parents and educators don’t like the Common Core. The results are reported far too late to help teachers because their students have moved to another grade. Students are not allowed to discuss the test questions or to learn what they answered right or wrong. In short, the tests have no instructional value. They are simply a way of ranking students without helping them.

They are pointless.

Enough parents understand this, which feeds the opt out movement.

If the Regents and the State Education Department can’t address the genuine concerns of parents, they should stop the testing. Until they do, parents should not allow their children to take the tests.

“Public school districts across Long Island and the state are bracing for what many educators and parents expect to be a fifth consecutive year of Common Core test boycotts in grades three through eight, even as eight districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties and dozens elsewhere introduce computerized versions of the exams.

“The state’s time window for the English language arts test starts Monday and closes a week later, both on the Island and statewide. Extra days were added, as compared with last year’s schedule, to allow flexibility in giving the computer-based exams. The traditional pencil-and-paper tests will be given Tuesday through Thursday.

“Officials in some Long Island districts put estimates of opt-outs at 40 percent to 70 percent of their eligible students.

“Brian Conboy, superintendent of Seaford schools, said he expects the boycott of English exams in his district to run close to last year’s 67.8 percent.

“I’m a firm believer in assessment,” Conboy said. “However, assessment has to be developmentally appropriate for students. In the case of how these assessments rolled out, all trust was lost.”

“Cheryl Haas, who lives in the Hauppauge district and is keeping her twin daughters out of the eighth-grade English test, also predicted that refusals would equal last year’s local rate of 71.9 percent. Haas, a former teacher, agreed that tests must be developmentally appropriate — that is, not beyond students’ age and skill levels.

“Until then, parents will stand united to do what is best for their children,” Haas said.

“Some boycott organizers noted that opt-out rates are difficult to project in advance, because many parents wait until the first week of testing to file refusal forms with their districts.

“More than a year has passed since the state Board of Regents moved to ease anxieties over testing by declaring a moratorium, until the 2019-20 school year, on using test scores in any way that might reflect poorly on students’ academic records or as a component in teachers’ job evaluations.

“The nation’s largest test-resistance movement, with Long Island as its epicenter, has emerged in New York State since 2013. Last April, the number of students in grades three through eight in the two-county region who skipped the English assessment reached 89,036, or 51.6 percent of the total eligible, based on data from 108 districts that responded to a Newsday survey.

“Reasons behind the phenomenon: outrage and anxiety among teachers, parents and students over a series of educational reforms pushed by state and federal authorities, without adequate time for teachers and students to prepare.

“Into the mixture this year add the introduction of computer-based tests.

“Schools in five districts in Suffolk County and three in Nassau are going with the electronic versions: Bridgehampton, Franklin Square, Islip, Massapequa, Mineola, Mount Sinai, Longwood and Remsenburg-Speonk.

“Districts on the Island that are administering tests electronically will do so only in selected schools or on selected grade levels. Other students in those districts will take traditional paper-and-pencil tests, as will students elsewhere.

“Computer-based testing also is scheduled in three nonpublic schools — Our Lady of Lourdes in West Islip, St. Patrick’s in Huntington and St. William the Abbot in Seaford — as well as in three special-education centers run by Eastern Suffolk BOCES.

“State math tests for grades three through eight are scheduled May 1-8.
Both kinds of tests, computer-based and paper-based, require three consecutive days for completion within the Education Department’s specified time periods.

“Statewide, about 150 districts will offer computerized testing in English, and 136 will do the same in math, according to the state Education Department. The state has about 700 districts in all.”

Categories Accountability, Common Core, Education Industry, New York, Opt Out, Parents, Technology, Computers, Testing

God Bless Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe!

By dianeravitch
March 25, 2017 //
30

As reported earlier today, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed legislation that would have allowed privately managed charters to be authorized without the approval of the local school board. This legislation would have invited into Virginia all the scandals, frauds, scams, and profiteering that have marred the charter industry in other states.

The state’s major newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispath, blasted Governor McAuliffe’s veto. It claimed that the Governor was stopping innovation, yet it didn’t name a single innovative practice that charter schools engage in. Is it innovative to treat children like convicts in a chain gang, punishing them for the slightest infraction? Punishing them if their shirt is not tucked in? Punishing them if they speak out of turn? Punishing them if they don’t walk in a straight line?

Is it innovative to expect teachers to work sixty or seventy hours a week, so they leave after a year or two, burned out?

The newspaper says Virginia should have charter schools because Florida and North Carolina have charter schools. Does the editorial demonstrate that charter schools in these states have produced better education? No. Does it admit that charter schools in these states are enriching entrepreneurs who profit by leeching taxpayer money from public schools? Does it acknowledge the hundreds of charter schools in Florida that have closed because of financial or academic deficiencies? Does it acknowledge that charters in some states–like Nevada and Ohio–are among the lowest performing schools in the state? No.

The newspaper falsely claims that charter schools are public schools; they are not. Whenever they are hauled into court for violating the rights of students or teachers, they defend themselves by insisting they are NOT state actors, they are private corporations with state contracts. Let’s take their word for it. They are private contractors, not public schools.

The newspaper doesn’t acknowledge that privately managed charter schools are not obliged to accept children with disabilities or English language learners. Leaving them out falsely boosts the scores of charter schools.

The newspaper editorialist might learn from the example of Michigan, which embraced charters at the behest of Betsy DeVos and saw its national rankings plummet from the middle to the bottom 10% on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Governor McAuliffe was absolutely correct to veto this legislation, which would have undermined local control and given free rein to raiders of public funding.

The legislation was probably written by ALEC (the noxious American Legislative Exchange Council, which hates public education and any role for government).

Governor McAuliffe, the Network for Public Education thanks you for standing up for the 90% of children who attend public schools, real public schools under democratic control. Your vote strengthened our democracy and warded off the privatization plans of Betsy DeVos and ALEC.

God Bless Governor McAuliffe!

Categories Accountability, ALEC, Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Scandals Fraud and Hoaxes, Virginia

Todd Gitlin on Trump’s Rhetoric: Has He Been Reading Avant-Garde Poetry?

By dianeravitch
March 25, 2017 //
10

Todd Gitlin is a professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University.

In this post, which appears on Bill Moyers’ website, Gitlin analyzes Donald Trump’s unusual use of grammar, syntax, and logic, as illustrated in the recent interview in TIME magazine.

Gitlin’s lucid inquiry leads him to ask: “Is Donald Trump the heir of generations of avant-garde poetry?”

One can only imagine the dissertations that will be written in the coming years:

“The Semiotics of Donald Trump”

“The Hermeneutics of Donald Trump”

“The Epistemology of Donald Trump”

And that’s only the English Department and Department of Literature!

Just imagine the dissertations in the fields of politics, history, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, black studies, criminal justice, women’s studies, international relations, business, even art. Will there be a field of study untouched by him?

Categories Higher Education, Trump
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