Archives for the month of: May, 2017
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Utah: Betsy’s Pal Excited by Her Push for Vouchers

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
25

One of the wealthiest people in Utah is Patrick Byrne, who founded Overstock.com. He is a friend of Betsy DeVos and shares her passion for vouchers. Now, he says, the time is right because she’s in charge.

https://www.apnews.com/aaca1fc28be4418e8493b46178c3c60b/Trump,-DeVos-embolden-supporters-of-Utah-school-vouchers

Byrne funded support for vouchers in a state referendum in 2007, but it was trounced by 62-32%. Blame it on those doggone teachers’ unions. Surely no one in Utah could possibly have opposed vouchers without having their minds controlled by nefarious teachers. And what a powerful union it is: the voucher referendum lost in every county in Utah.

Now Byrne feels the time is right to promote vouchers again, maybe by bypassing those pesky voters.

In light of growing evidence that kids are negatively affected by vouchers, why do people like Byrne and DeVos continue to push them? Are they blinded by ideology? Indifferent to evidence?

Categories Betsy DeVos, Utah, Vouchers

Who is Behind the Assault on Public Education?

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
23

Howard Ryan, writing in Monthly Review, analyzes the sources of support for corporate reform and privatization.

Ryan writes:

Over the past three decades, public schools have been the target of a systematic assault and takeover by corporations and private foundations. The endeavor is called “school reform” by its advocates, while critics call it corporate school reform. Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg has given it the vivid acronym GERM—the global education reform movement. Its basic features are familiar: high-stakes testing; standardized curricula; privatization; and deskilled, high-turnover faculty. In the United States, public schools have become increasingly segregated, destabilized, and defunded, with the hardest hit in low-income communities of color.

Nevertheless, while the political conflicts and social ramifications of the school reform phenomenon are well known, basic questions about the movement remain underexamined. Who really leads it? What are their aims and motives? After briefly taking up the statements of the reformers themselves, I will turn to the views of their progressive opponents, and offer a critique of three influential interpretations of the school reform movement. Finally, I will present my own theory about this movement, its drivers, and its underlying aims…

A large body of research, however, challenges the merits of high-stakes testing and other elements of the corporate school reform package. It is also at least questionable whether the reformers really believe their own statements.

The reformers’ interest in school improvement appears, in a number of ways, to be less than genuine, to mask a different agenda. They prescribe models for mass education that they do not consider suitable for their own children. They sponsor think tanks to produce “junk research” praising their models, while ignoring studies that contradict their models. They insist that full resourcing of schools is unimportant or unrealistic, and that “great teachers” will succeed regardless of school conditions, class size, or professional training.”

You will find it interesting to see how he weaves together the various strands of the corporate reform movement.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Common Core, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization, Testing, Vouchers

Minnesota: Governor Dayton Blocks Reformers’ Efforts to Grant Licenses to Uncertified Teachers

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
14

Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota has become a hero of public education.

Despite the pleas of the entire corporate reform movement in Minnesota, Dayton vetoed a bill that would have created a pathway into teaching for uncertified teachers, legislation needed to maintain a teaching force for charter schools.

Minnesota Governor “Disrupts” Right-Wing Education Reformers

Categories Accountability, ALEC, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Honor Roll, Minnesota, Teachers and Teaching

Jeb Bush Blasts Teachers’ Unions at School Choice Meeting in Indianapolis

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
28

Jeb Bush was honored by Betsy DeVos’ organization, the American Federation for Children, at their meeting in Indianapolis. Bush’s Foundation for Educational Ecellence is heavily funded by the technology and Bush loves to attack the schools that don’t adopt technology faster.

On this occasion, he blamed teachers’ unions for standing in the way of the electronic future. He says they care only for adult interests, which explains why they take a low-paying job with difficult working conditions.

Bush, who is funded by billionaire foundations and tech industries, finds it easy to use teachers and their unions as his punching bag and scapegoat.

He did not acknowledge that the nation’s highest scoring states on NAEP–Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut–have strong teachers’ unions, while the state’s that ban unions are the lowest performing.

Categories Bush, Jeb, School Choice, Technology, Unions

New Jersey: Democrats Enable Christie to Quash Dissent on the State Board of Education

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
32

Darcie Cimarusti, a school board member in New Jersey, reports with disgust that Democratic legislators are helping outgoing Governor Chris Christie punish and replace independent members of the State Board of Education.

http://mothercrusader.blogspot.com/2017/05/dont-like-chris-christie-blame-democrats.html?m=1

Christie, whose poll ratings now hover around 20%, proposed new deregulations for charter school teachers, which would allow uncertified teachers in charters.

The state board voted 5-2 against Christie’s bad idea (with one abstention).

Christie wants to replace three of the five board members who stood up against him, including the president and vice-president of the board.

The Democratic leader of the State Senate, Steve Sweeney, is faithfully supporting Governor Christie’s vengeful power play.

Why? Democrats in New Jersey rolled over for Christie at his last election, abandoning their own candidate, the well-qualified Barbara Buono, who preceded Sweeney as President of the State Senate.

Now they are on the verge of ousting three board members who dared to insist that all teachers should be qualified and credentialed.

Why are powerful Democrats in New Jersey enabling the lame-duck Governor Christie to oust board members who dared to stand up for the importance of having qualified teachers in every public school classroom?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, New Jersey, Scandal, Teachers

Pastors for Texas Children: The Voucher Vote

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2017 //
12

Pastors for Texas Children issued this statement in response to the defeat on Wednesday of a voucher bill by the House of Representatives. PTC has been a strong ally of parents and educators who oppose the diversion of public funds to private and religious schools.

“The Texas House of Representatives resoundingly repudiated private school vouchers today in two additional votes, both by 2/3 margins, adding to the overwhelming defeat of vouchers in general from earlier in the legislative session.

“In a surprising procedural move, the Texas Senate last week attached a voucher amendment to HB 21, the much-needed school funding bill providing structural relief for our community and neighborhood schools.

“But, thanks to your strong witness and that of countless thousands of others, House Speaker Joe Straus, House Public Ed Committee Chair Dan Huberty, and other House leaders stood their ground against the Senate leadership’s cynical ploy, and returned HB 21 to a House/Senate conference committee with the instruction that no money whatsoever be diverted to private schools. At that point, the Senate conceded the defeat of the bill.

“It is crystal clear to us, from conducting 400 meetings around the great state of Texas over the past four years of our existence, that Texans love their public schools and do not wish to see them privatized through vouchers. We have witnessed tremendous community support for public education, led in no small measure by the faithful service of pastors and congregational leaders. We thank God for this consistent, steady servant leadership.

“The work that lies before us will be substantial. We have much solidarity yet to show to our teachers and schoolchildren. And we have a profound moral charge to work in such a way that our elected officials in the legislature of the state of Texas understand that universal education for all children– regardless of race, economics, condition, and background– is a basic human right before God, and provided by civil society everywhere.”

—
Charles Foster Johnson, Pastor, Bread Fellowship of Fort Worth
Executive Director, Pastors for Texas Children
P.O. Box 471155
Fort Worth, TX 76147
(c)210-379-1066
http://www.pastorsfortexaschildren.com
http://www.charlesfosterjohnson.com

Categories Texas, Vouchers

Texas: Vouchers Are Dead Again, Beaten by House Republicans and Democrats

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2017 //
15

The Texas House of Representatives today overwhelmingly rejected the State Senate Bill to create vouchers. More than 2/3 of the members voted House Bill 21 down. The rejection was bipartisan.

More later.

Categories Texas, Vouchers

DeVos: Supporters of Public Education Have “Chilled Creativity”

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2017 //
50

When Betsy DeVos spoke in Indianapolis, she took aim at critics of her desire to turn public dollars over to a free market of private and religious schools. The critics, she said, have “chilled creativity.”

Education secretary: School choice opponents have ‘chilled creativity’ – CNN
https://apple.news/A834kMwEdTieEqmzkXofF1Q

If anyone knows of any creativity that has emanated from religious schools, charter schools, cybercharters, or for-profit schools, could they inform us?

Is she not aware of the heightened segregation, stratification, and corruption that accompanies unregulated school choice? Is she unfamiliar with research?

Does this woman ever speak without insulting the democratically controlled public schools that educate nearly 90% of our nation’s youth? How did our nation get to be the most powerful in the world? Why doesn’t Secretary DeVos visit the schools of Finland, which are all public schools, where creativity and play and the arts are treasured. Does she think that other public services, like firefighting, law enforcement, parks, libraries, highways, beaches, etc. should be privatized?

Categories Betsy DeVos, Education Industry, Privatization

Betsy DeVos Poses in Ad for Christian School that Does Not Accept Students with Disabilities

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2017 //
35

Categories Education Reform

Jennifer Berkshire: The Massachusetts Charter School That Banned Black Hair Braids Backs Down

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2017 //
15

Jennifer Berkshire reviews here the recent uproar created by Mystic Valley Regional Charter School’s policy of banning certain black hair styles. This is known as #braidgate.

The charter has many problems. It does not listen to its “customers.” It has been the source of numerous complaints from parents, teachers, and students. Usually, it ignores the complaints, because..it can.

Berkshire recites some of the more notorious recent controversies. And also the kinds of complaints that come up again and again.

But Mystic Valley is the largest charter school with the longest waiting list in the state. Does anyone care if it punishes children harshly? Does anyone care about the complaints of exclusionary admissions? Does anyone care that a teacher was fired $6,000 when he said he would not return the next year?

In this brave new world, high test scores excuse all kinds of behaviors, including racism.

Categories Charter Schools, Discipline, Massachusetts, Racism
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