The government of Mississippi cares more about the corporate-controlled ALEC than it does about local control of its public schools. ALEC likes state takeovers. ALEC doesn’t like local control. ALEC loves privatization.
Parents and educators will not let this happen without resistance. Write letters to the governor and legislators.
The Network for Public Education will alert its members in Mississippi to fight for the public schools of Jackson. If you live in Mississippi, speak up for democratic control of the schools.
Say NO to ALEC!
In a closed session, hiding from public scrutiny, the Board of Education decided Thursday that the state of Mississippi would take over Jackson Public Schools. This move eliminates the local school board, and cuts out community voice and input in our local schools. We will not be silenced.
They wanted to quietly send this plan to the Governor to be signed, and keep us out of the process.
Governor Bryant needs to hear that the Jackson community and all Mississipians stand with JPS. Email Governor Bryant now. Tell him this takeover is wrong.
At every turn, the Commission on School Accreditation and the Board of Education shut out community voices.
- More than 3,300 members of this community signed a petition opposing this takeover; they refused to accept it.
- Hundreds of people showed up to the meetings to show our disapproval; we were kept out of the room and forced into an overflow room where the decision makers could not see or hear from us.
- JPS produced a report showing the progress that has been made and the plans for improvements; Commission and Board members never reviewed these materials, and didn’t even take them into their closed session to inform their debate. They decided the fate of our schools and our kids without even looking at all of the evidence.
We are working alongside Jackson parents, educators, leaders, students, and legal counsel to identify every avenue for stopping this takeover.
Thousands of you signed the petition, attended the rally and press conferences, shared on social media to keep your friends up to date, and came to the Commission and Board meetings. Thank you for supporting our students and JPS. Now take the next step. Email Governor Bryant to tell him not to accept this takeover.
Thank you,
Pam Shaw, #OurJPS
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane, you will like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/59bf99b6e4b02c642e4a186f
It’s about YOU and your GREAT work. Kudos.
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NAZI
ALEC
Both have four letters, both are supported and/or led by white men, and both represent fascism, racism, and an autocratic government for all.
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This email contains erroneous and misleading information. ALEC is not involved with the decision to take over JPS. The decision of the accreditation commission and the state board was based on the evidence presented to them. The audit report contained factual findings. While JPS may have had plans for improvement, those were not implemented and areas of noncompliance were not cleared. A take-over does not exclude public participation but does mandate a change in leadership. The commission and state board did consider the evidence presented but that information did not clear the accreditation standard in noncompliance. The areas of deficiency were still present after 18 months since those were first reported to JPS. A change in leadership is required to make the systemic improvements needed in the district. Many of the problems at JPS and other districts across the state are the result of inadequate funding from the state.
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Mr. Dieckmann,
ALEC recommends state takeovers, so perhaps it was a coincidence.
Tennessee did a state takeover and called it an “Achievement School District.” It has been a total failure.
Who is there at the state Department of Education who knows how to run the Jackson public schools?
If inadequate funding is the problem, why not increase funding for Jackson public schools?
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John Oliver exposes ALEC
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Harry,
Please explain the discrepancy in your thought:
“A change in leadership is required to make the systemic improvements needed in the district. Many of the problems at JPS and other districts across the state are the result of inadequate funding from the state.”
So you’re saying it’s the state’s fault for not properly providing the resources for the JPS to succeed but your solution is to “change leadership” at the local level?
Seems to me that the change needs to occur at the state level, starting perhaps with the State Board of Education.
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“The areas of deficiency were still present after 18 months since those were first reported to JPS.”
Harry, please explain for us those “areas of deficiency”.
Thanks,
Duane
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Well, technically Mr. Dieckmann is correct. He just chooses to ignore the strings connecting those who are attacking our public schools to their puppet masters at ALEC. He probably also believes that Americans for Prosperity is built from the grassroots up and in the sanity clause.
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The David Osborne “Reinventing Schools” book is getting blanket, fawning coverage-
not a single word of criticism or dissent.
What happens to the 90% of kids in traditional public schools when elites, academics and politicians abandon public schools, as they have so obviously decided to do?
What happens to our kids while our schools are phased out? They’re just collateral damage on the way to ed reform realizing their dream of 100% privatization?
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Good piece in the Cleveland paper on Ohio’s school report cards:
“Educators and experts don’t agree on either the purpose behind school and district report cards or their value, beyond offering a limited look at what students have learned”
This is ed reform’s single contribution to public schools in this state-their one accomplishment over 20 years- and no one knows what it says, what it means, or why they do it.
I can’t even read them anymore and I used to be able to figure out at least what they PURPORTED to show. No longer. It’s like a glossy ad with 15 random letter grades on it, adding up to….nothing.
My local district seems to have gone from a B to a D, which is amazing, since we have mostly the same students and teachers. How did the same group of kids and teachers go from a B to a D in one year? No one knows. It isn’t the Common Core testing because we had that in 15/16.
The exact same group of teachers got much worse somewhere between 2015 and 2017? How does that make any sense?
https://articles.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/09/even_experts_disagree_on_what.amp
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I’m guessing they are going this hard after Jackson MS is because of their new mayor:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/11/revolutionary-not-a-liberal-radical-black-mayor-mississippi-chokwe-lumumba
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Yes, the current Mayor is taking the reins from his father, who died prematurely in office a few years ago, and had spent years patiently organizing in Jackson.
This goes far beyond the schools, important as they are, and shows that in Mississippi, “local control” is for segregationists only.
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After having taught in Jackson Public Schools for over 33 years now, I can honestly say that the problems in the schools do not begin, nor will they end, with the Jackson Public School District.
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