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A Republican Laments the Corruption of His Party

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2018 //
43

Peter Wehner worked for three Republican presidents. He is now an opinion writer for the New York Times. He is a Never Trumper.

He wrote this article a few days ago.

There’s never been any confusion about the character defects of Donald Trump. The question has always been just how far he would go and whether other individuals and institutions would stand up to him or become complicit in his corruption.

When I first took to these pages three summers ago to write about Mr. Trump, I warned my fellow Republicans to just say no both to him and his candidacy. One of my concerns was that if Mr. Trump were to succeed, he would redefine the Republican Party in his image. That’s already happened in areas like free trade, free markets and the size of government; in attitudes toward ethnic nationalism and white identity politics; in America’s commitment to its traditional allies, in how Republicans view Russia and in their willingness to call out leaders of evil governments like North Korea rather than lavish praise on them. But in no area has Mr. Trump more fundamentally changed the Republican Party than in its attitude toward ethics and political leadership.

For decades, Republicans, and especially conservative Republicans, insisted that character counted in public life. They were particularly vocal about this during the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, arguing against “compartmentalization” — by which they meant overlooking moral turpitude in the Oval Office because you agree with the president’s policy agenda or because the economy is strong.

Senator Lindsey Graham, then in the House, went so far as to argue that “impeachment is not about punishment. Impeachment is about cleansing the office. Impeachment is about restoring honor and integrity to the office.”

All that has changed with Mr. Trump as president. For Republicans, honor and integrity are now passé. We saw it again last week when the president’s longtime lawyer Michael Cohen — standing in court before a judge, under oath — implicated Mr. Trump in criminal activity, while his former campaign chairman was convicted in another courtroom on financial fraud charges. Most Republicans in Congress were either silent or came to Mr. Trump’s defense, which is how this tiresome drama now plays itself out.

It is a stunning turnabout. A party that once spoke with urgency and apparent conviction about the importance of ethical leadership — fidelity, honesty, honor, decency, good manners, setting a good example — has hitched its wagon to the most thoroughly and comprehensively corrupt individual who has ever been elected president. Some of the men who have been elected president have been unscrupulous in certain areas — infidelity, lying, dirty tricks, financial misdeeds — but we’ve never before had the full-spectrum corruption we see in the life of Donald Trump.

For many Republicans, this reality still hasn’t broken through. But facts that don’t penetrate the walls of an ideological silo are facts nonetheless. And the moral indictment against Mr. Trump is obvious and overwhelming. Corruption has been evident in Mr. Trump’s private and public life, in how he has treated his wives, in his business dealings and scams, in his pathological lying and cruelty, in his bullying and shamelessness, in his conspiracy-mongering and appeals to the darkest impulses of Americans. (Senator Bob Corker, a Republican, refers to the president’s race-based comments as a “base stimulator.”) Mr. Trump’s corruptions are ingrained, the result of a lifetime of habits. It was delusional to think he would change for the better once he became president.

Some of us who have been lifelong Republicans and previously served in Republican administrations held out a faint hope that our party would at some point say “Enough!”; that there would be some line Mr. Trump would cross, some boundary he would transgress, some norm he would shatter, some civic guardrail he would uproot, some action he would take, some scheme or scandal he would be involved in that would cause large numbers of Republicans to break with the president. No such luck. Mr. Trump’s corruptions have therefore become theirs. So far there’s been no bottom, and there may never be. It’s quite possible this should have been obvious to me much sooner than it was, that I was blinded to certain realities I should have recognized.

In any case, the Republican Party’s as-yet unbreakable attachment to Mr. Trump is coming at quite a cost. There is the rank hypocrisy, the squandered ability to venerate public character or criticize Democrats who lack it, and the damage to the white Evangelical movement, which has for the most part enthusiastically rallied to Mr. Trump and as a result has been largely discredited. There is also likely to be an electoral price to pay in November.

But the greatest damage is being done to our civic culture and our politics. Mr. Trump and the Republican Party are right now the chief emblem of corruption and cynicism in American political life, of an ethic of might makes right. Dehumanizing others is fashionable and truth is relative. (“Truth isn’t truth,” in the infamous words of Mr. Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.) They are stripping politics of its high purpose and nobility.

That’s not all politics is; self-interest is always a factor. But if politics is only about power unbounded by morality — if it’s simply about rulers governing by the law of the jungle, about a prince acting like a beast, in the words of Machiavelli — then the whole enterprise will collapse. We have to distinguish between imperfect leaders and corrupt ones, and we need the vocabulary to do so.

A warning to my Republican friends: The worst is yet to come. Thanks to the work of Robert Mueller — a distinguished public servant, not the leader of a “group of Angry Democrat Thugs” — we are going to discover deeper and deeper layers to Mr. Trump’s corruption. When we do, I expect Mr. Trump will unravel further as he feels more cornered, more desperate, more enraged; his behavior will become ever more erratic, disordered and crazed.

Most Republicans, having thrown their MAGA hats over the Trump wall, will stay with him until the end. Was a tax cut, deregulation and court appointments really worth all this?

Categories Bigotry, Corruption, Evil, Failure

Peter Greene: The Education Writers Association and the Bias Problem

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2018 //
34

Peter Greene examines in this post why education journalism is biased towards the reformy narrative.

Why do education writers call pundits in think tanks instead of teachers?

Then he analyzes a guide to sources, and the reason for bias becomes clear.

Why talk to a teacher when Reformer pundits are standing by?

Categories Accountability, Bias, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization, Testing

Lewis Hine, the Man Whose Photographs Ended Child Labor, and Reflections on Labor and Our Moment

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2018 //
34

Lewis Hine was the photographer whose work led to the passage of child labor laws.

Here are some of the photographs that touched the conscience of the nation and its leaders.

There was a time when our nation’s leaders had a conscience.

There was a time when Labor Day parades were a major event.

There was a time when labor unions provided a path to a secure, middle-class life for millions of people.

Now the parades have ended.

Now we have a new economic approach.

The rich get richer. Full employment. Stagnant wages.

The purpose of labor unions was to ensure that working people received a fair share for their contribution to their employer’s success.

Labor unions ensured that prosperity lifted up working people, not just shareholders, Wall Street speculators, and corporate owners.

We need them again. Working people need and deserve a collective voice. Now, more than ever it is time to spread the wealth, open new paths to the middle class, restore the dignity of work, and rebuild the hope for and the reality of a better life for all. To do that means to move away from the current emphasis on consumerism and libertarianism to a public philosophy that embraces the importance of the common good. That means a revival of the nearly forgotten concept of “We the People.” E pluribus unum. A shared destiny in which every life counts, in which we recognize our common humanity and our mutual obligations for one another, our brotherhood and sisterhood.

That won’t happen by wishing and hoping but by political action. It begins by voting out the agents of the current status quo. It must start now.

Categories Billionaires, Childhood, Economy, Inequity, Injustice

Ohio & Florida: Charter Scam Rips Off Taxpayers in Both States

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2018 //
14

The Network for Public Education has a Twitter handle called #anotherdayanothercharterscandal, and it is hard to keep up with them. It used to be one or two a week, Carol Burris told me, now it is one or two every day.

Here is only one among many, involving a charter scam that stretched from Ohio to Florida, ripping off taxpayers in both states.

Ohio’s top public accountant is actively investigating the case of two businessmen accused of using charter schools to defraud Florida taxpayers, students and schools — and maybe here, too.

On Friday, Ohio Auditor Dave Yost acknowledged that a probe has been ongoing for a year. Meanwhile, court documents filed this month in Florida indicate 19 Ohio charter schools were overbilled nearly $600,000. Prosecutors and forensic accountants say the money was laundered through 150 bank accounts and shell companies then returned as “rebates” and “kickbacks” to Marcus May, who once ran more than 20 charter schools in Ohio.

In 2012, May used a parent company, Newpoint Education Partners LLC., to open Cambridge Education Group, a charter school operator based in Akron. To grow business in Florida, authorities say he “falsely represented” that his Ohio schools were well managed. By 2016, prosecutors say he allegedly defrauded Florida and its public schools of more than $1 million.

May has repeatedly declined to speak with the Beacon Journal.

The pattern in Florida seems to mirror transactions in Ohio.

One forensic document in the Florida case details how Ohio schools paid $1.1 million to Apex Learning, a Seattle-based company May used to bill the 19 Cambridge schools in Ohio and 15 Newpoint schools in Florida for online and hard-copy curriculum. Russ Edgar, the lead Florida prosecutor in the white collar criminal case against May, has produced invoices that show how Apex inflated pricing to siphon $229,756.57 from Florida’s education system and $456,551.92 from Ohio schools, including four in Akron.

“After the allegations in Florida came to light, Marcus May was immediately relieved of any managerial duties and later of his equity in Cambridge,” John Stack, co-owner of Cambridge, said in a written statement. He said Cambridge hired a forensic accountant to find out if Apex negatively impacted any Ohio schools. Once the schools were identified, the money was returned.

Stack said he no longer owns a stake in Cambridge. He did not say who does owns the company now.

Of the 18 Cambridge schools still open in Ohio, 13 signed new management contracts this summer with Oakmont Education. Stack founded the company with Marty Erbaugh, an investment banker from Hudson. Oakmont will take over Cambridge’s dropout recovery high schools for struggling teenagers and young adults.

“Oakmont doesn’t believe that any of the schools we manage were negatively affected by Marcus May’s actions or Cambridge’s management,” said Stack, who filed the paperwork to create Oakmont on March 20, four days after a Florida jury convicted one of May’s associates.

How reassuring to know that the charter schools are now in the hands of an investment banker. Don’t you feel better already?

Categories Accountability, Corruption, Florida, For-Profit, Fraud, Ohio, Scandals

Oklahoma: Teachers Just Purged Their Enemies Out of the Legislature

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2018 //
12

Eric Levitz wrote a great article in New York magazine about the electoral victories of educators and parents in Oklahoma. They kicked the bums out! Open the article for lots of great links.

“For nearly a decade, Republican officials have been treating ordinary Oklahomans like the colonial subjects of an extractive empire. On Governor Mary Fallin’s watch, fracking companies have turned the Sooner State into the earthquake capital of the world; (literally) dictated policy to her attorney general; and strong-armed legislators into giving them a $470 million tax break — in a year when Oklahoma faced a $1.3 billion budget shortfall.

“To protect Harold Hamm’s god-given right to pay infinitesimal tax rates on his gas profits (while externalizing the environmental costs of fracking onto Oklahoma taxpayers), tea party Republicans raided the state’s rainy-day funds, and strip-mined its public-school system.

“Between 2008 and 2015, Oklahoma’s slashed its per-student education spending by 23.6 percent, more than any other state in the country. Some rural school districts were forced to adopt four-day weeks; others struggled to find competent teachers, as the GOP’s refusal to pay competitive salaries chased talented educators across the border into Texas. Students who were lucky enough to have both five-day weeks and qualified instructors still had to tolerate decaying textbooks. Polls showed overwhelming public support for raising taxes on the wealthy and oil companies to increase investment in education. GOP lawmakers showed no interest in those polls.

“And, for a while there, it really looked like they didn’t have to.

“Mary Fallin rode a wave of fracking dollars to reelection in 2014, while her GOP allies retained large majorities in both chambers of the legislature. With no organized opposition to counter the deep pockets of extractive industry, Republican officials could reasonably conclude that working-class Sooners had no material interests that their party was bound to respect.

“But then, Oklahoma teachers decided to give their state a civics lesson. Inspired by their counterparts in West Virginia, Oklahoma teachers went on strike to demand long-overdue raises for themselves, more education funding for their students, and much higher taxes on the wealthy and energy companies — to ensure that those first two demands would be honored indefinitely.

“They won one out of three. Despite the fact the teachers had no legal right to strike — and that the Oklahoma state legislature requires a three-fourths majority to pass tax increases of any kind — the teachers galvanized enough public support to force Fallin to give an inch. As energy billionaire (and GOP mega-donor) Harold Hamm glowered from the gallery, Oklahoma state lawmakers passed a tiny increase in the tax on fracking production (one small enough to leave Oklahoma with the lowest such tax rate in the nation), so as to fund $6,100 raises for the state’s teachers.

“The strikers were pleased, but unappeased. They promised to make lawmakers pay for refusing to finance broader investments in education with larger tax hikes. “We got here by electing the wrong people to office,” Alicia Priest, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, told the New York Times in April. “We have the opportunity to make our voices heard at the ballot box.” Hamm and his fellow gas giants (almost certainly) made an equal and opposite vow — that those few Republicans who held the line against tax hikes of any kind would not regret their bravery…

“Oklahoma’s GOP primary season came to an end — and the teachers beat the billionaires in a rout. Nineteen Republicans voted against raising taxes to increase teacher pay last spring; only four will be on the ballot this November…

“Last spring, state representative Jeff Coody told students in his districts that their teachers’ demands were “akin to extortion.” On Tuesday night, GOP voters returned Coody to the private sector. His colleague, Bobby Cleveland — who scolded teachers for whining at the Capitol instead of teaching in their classrooms — will now be taking a hiatus from politics. In May 2017, State Representative Tess Teague mocked the ignorance of protesters who were demanding tax hikes on fracking companies — in a Snapchat video that made heavy use of animal filters.” she’s back in the private sector too.

Thank you, Oklahoma Teachers!

Categories Oklahoma, Resistance, Teachers

A Happy Story

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2018 //
2

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/fashion/weddings/son-given-up-for-adoption-leads-birth-parents-to-altar-36-years-later.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fvows

Son, Placed for Adoption, Leads Birth Parents to Altar 36 Years Later
Aug. 31, 2018

Martin Schmidt, who was adopted as an infant, reached out to find his biological parents, Dave Lindgren and Michele Newman. The couple hadn’t spoken for decades before their firstborn reconnected them. He was the officiant at their wedding Aug. 4 in Marshfield, Wis.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
Martin Schmidt knew from a young age he was adopted, but he didn’t seek out his biological parents until he was about to have children of his own. His adoptive parents, William and Cynthia Schmidt, gave him the paperwork he needed for meeting his biological parents when he turned 18, but “didn’t push it,” Mr. Schmidt said. “They absolutely loved me like I was biologically born. I have a great family.”

Still, Mr. Schmidt, 36, a road foreman for Gunnison County in Colorado, said finding out his wife, Carin, was pregnant in 2014 with their firstborn, Malcolm, “kind of pushed the issue. It made me want to meet the rest of the family I didn’t know.”

He initiated contact through the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and the state first got in touch with his biological mother, Michele Newman. At the time, she was living in Hilo, Hawaii, working at a families services nonprofit organization with men who had experienced or were accused of domestic violence.

Ms. Newman was on her lunch break when she received the call from the state. She burst into tears. “It was immediate waterworks,” she said. “I called my mom. Then I went back to work and told my boss ‘I’ve got to go home for the rest of the day.’”

The couple held a backyard barbecue wedding. The children took advantage of the tree swing.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
Within a few days, she and Mr. Schmidt spoke on the phone. “It was just incredible, and overwhelming to hear his voice,” Ms. Newman said.

“We were two strangers, meeting for the first time, who already had an emotional bond,” Mr. Schmidt said.

Ms. Newman told Mr. Schmidt about the day he was born, 35 years earlier, during a severe snowstorm that kept Ms. Newman from leaving the hospital for days. At the time, Ms. Newman, now 53, was a high school junior. She and Mr. Schmidt’s biological father, Dave Lindgren, grew up in the small farming community of Loyal, Wis., and their families were close.

But Mr. Lindgren was a few years older, and in addition to going to high school, he was working at a dairy plant. The two had dated for several months and broke up before Ms. Newman realized she was pregnant.

Clayton Petras, 12, sings “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts while the couple danced under the huppah. He is the oldest grandson of Mr. Lindgren.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
“There was never any real bitterness between us,” she said. “Dave was a good man with a good heart, and we were both doing things we shouldn’t have.”

Still, the lack of bitterness — and the support of her family — didn’t make Ms. Newman’s high school experience any less isolating. After graduation, she left town and embarked on a peripatetic life, living in different cities in Arizona; Colorado; Wyoming; and finally Hawaii. She married twice but had no other children.

“I had always wondered about Martin,” Ms. Newman said. “I felt so blessed that this happened in my life at 50-something years old.”

A couple of weeks later, Ms. Newman was still turning it all over in her head. “I was thinking about who I am and where life had taken me,” she said. “It had been 35 years, and I hadn’t spoken to Dave since I told him I was pregnant.”

When they were teenagers, Ms. Newman became pregnant and gave up the child for adoption. Martin Schmidt reached out more than 30 years later, wanting to meet his biological parents. Ms. Newman and Mr. Lindgren started dating again and fell in love.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
But she knew he had consented to opening the adoption file, too, and that he might have spoken with Mr. Schmidt. She decided to reach out, curious to know what he was feeling. “My plan was just to send him a text,” Ms. Newman said.

When he got her text, Mr. Lindgren was five hours ahead, getting ready for bed at his home in Marshfield, Wis. “It was an odd area code and number, so at first I ignored it,” Mr. Lindgren, 55, said. “But once I realized who it was, we texted back and forth a few times and I asked, ‘Do you mind if I give you a call?’”

Since they last spoke, Mr. Lindgren had married three times and had become a father many times over. “I have four biological children, including Martin, and four stepchildren that are also my kids,” Mr. Lindgren said. “I was always meant to be a dad.”

He had stayed in central Wisconsin and worked his way up to being a plant manager at Lynn Dairy. A self-proclaimed milk and cheese obsessive, he is also certified as a master cheese maker through the University of Wisconsin, specializing in Cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella and provolone.

Martin Schmidt hugs Ms. Newman after the wedding ceremony. “It’s a powerful moment to give a hug to your birth mom,” he recalled of the first time they embraced after reconnecting.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
On that fateful day in December, when Ms. Newman texted him, he hadn’t yet heard from his firstborn. (“I was spacing out the calls a bit for the emotional load,” Mr. Schmidt said.)

Mr. Lindgren was eager to hear about his son, but expected his conversation with Ms. Newman would be a short one. Four hours later, at 2 a.m., he got off the phone and realized there was still so much more to say.

A few days later, they spoke on the phone again. And then they couldn’t stop talking. He learned about the many jobs she held before she moved to Hawaii in her 40s and got her undergraduate degree and a master’s in counseling psychology. He learned about her passion for advocating for victims of sexual assault and those struggling with addiction. Ms. Newman learned that Mr. Lindgren was going through a divorce, and about his children and the goings-on of his large extended family.

“We had long deep discussions,” Ms. Newman said. “We were going through all these serious life topics. We became very close that way.”

Soon, they were talking every day, sometimes multiple times. And one day Mr. Lindgren said, “You know, I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.’”

“I didn’t think this was any romantic kind of thing,” Ms. Newman said. “Dave was in the middle of a divorce.”

So she said she’d be happy to show him around the Big Island. For his part, Mr. Lindgren knew there was an “instant connection.” And though he was interested in Hawaii, he had never before had any intention of traveling there. He bought two tickets for the trip — one for him, and one for his nephew Nate, who could double as a travel partner and potential buffer.

Ms. Newman picked up leis and drove to the airport to greet them. When she saw Mr. Lindgren walking down the escalator toward her, something shifted.

The couple did a reverse wedding celebration. First, there was a party, followed by buffet-style dinner, and at sunset, a quick ceremony.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
“I guess my heart was already halfway there,” she said. “Because the minute I saw him, I just thought to myself, ‘Oh my god.’”

He felt it too. “I could just tell,” he said. “This is it.”

They gave each other a hug. And then a kiss. And from there, Mr. Lindgren said, “it took over from us being 16 and 17 years old again.”

The vacation was a romantic success — they ate sushi, went swimming with manta rays, toured a volcano overlook — but both Mr. Lindgren and Ms. Newman worried about what might happen next. “I’ve never had that hard of a time leaving anywhere,” Mr. Lindgren said. “I worried I might not ever see her again.”

Even some 4,000 miles and five hours apart, the two continued to talk every day. Separately, they were also talking with their son more and more.

There wasn’t any wedding cake, but for the grown-ups, there were plenty of Jello shots.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
Mr. Schmidt was having other new conversations, too.

“We quickly started hearing from my biological grandmothers,” Mr. Schmidt said. “We get cards, presents for the kids’ birthdays, for our birthdays — that warmth has made it really simple to become part of the family.”

Within a few months of the Hawaii trip, Ms. Newman decided to move back to Wisconsin for good. It wasn’t just about Dave. “I wanted to be closer to my mom,” she said. “And I just started to feel Hawaii wasn’t the place for me to be anymore.”

She was also very eager to meet her son. She packed her belongings and flew to the mainland, meeting her mother, Kay Schaefer, in Portland, Ore. The two then embarked on a road trip back to Wisconsin, with a significant stop in Colorado.

“She drove to me first,” Mr. Schmidt said. “It’s a powerful moment to give a hug to your birth mom.”

The bride dances under the tent with a younger guest.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
It was during this visit that Mr. Schmidt learned of the romance unfolding between his biological parents.

“Dave posted a picture of them in Hawaii on Facebook and I thought, ‘There’s definitely something happening here,’” Mr. Schmidt said. “But Michele’s visit was when we understood she was going back to be with her mom and see if this relationship with Dave would really work.”

The new relationship worried some of her family at first. Ms. Newman’s sister, Teri Bruna, said that when she heard Dave and Michele were dating again, she thought it was “really bizarre. I was shocked when she moved back to Wisconsin. Michele hates the cold.” But, she said, “Dave is probably the nicest guy on the planet and he makes my sister happy.”

Ms. Schaefer also worried. She told Mr. Lindgren at one point: “You weren’t my favorite person. If you hurt her again, I’m going to kill you!”

Sisters Emily Erpenbach, 21, and Ashlyn Erpenbach, 18, two of Mr. Lindgren’s nieces, celebrate at the couple’s backyard bash.Lauren Justice for The New York Times
But as the couple’s love grew, their families grew close again, too. (Mr. Lindgren’s mother, Edna, said of Ms. Newman’s mother, Kay: “She was one of the first people I met when we bought the farm.” Mr. Schmidt was the first grandchild for both of them. “You can’t forget that,” she said.)

The couple moved in together, and on Dec. 12, 2015, exactly one year after that fateful first text message, Mr. Lindgren proposed. She protested at first. They had both been married multiple times, and she felt it was unnecessary when they knew how they felt about each other. “I told him, ‘We’re old. We don’t need this,’” she said.

But he insisted. “I want to marry my sweetheart,” he told her.

On the first Saturday in August, he did. The wedding was a casual backyard affair, hosted at the couple’s home, a white house nestled between cornfields in Marshfield, Wis.

The events of the day were held somewhat in reverse: First, there was a party, followed by dinner, and at sunset, a quick ceremony.

About 100 guests, including Mr. Schmidt’s wife, Carin, and their children, Malcolm, 3, and Willow, 1, mingled about. Strings of icicle lights were hung from the edges of white tents, and tables were set with Mason jars filled with flowers from the bride’s garden. Instead of a D.J. there was a box of CDs. A sleepy yellow lab named Summer snoozed under the buffet table. Several guests had parked campers and pitched tents in the yard so they wouldn’t have to drive home later.

Steely gray clouds and gusty winds threatened rain all afternoon, but the weather held until right before the ceremony. A brief but intense downpour around 7:15 p.m. sent several guests out into the yard to save the huppah. Ms. Newman, who was raised Roman Catholic but converted to Judaism when she married her second husband, had fashioned it out of tall branches and a lace tablecloth from her grandmother.

Ms. Newman, who wore a white lace peplum top and a peacock-blue skirt, stood before her guests and said: “With every blessing, there’s some sadness. But I wouldn’t change any of this at all. The day that I got the call that Martin wanted to reach out to us was the best day of my life. And it’s just gotten better every day after that.”

The groom, in black shorts and a white athleisure polo shirt, was even more succinct. “I never thought in a million years this would happen,” he said. “It’s just awesome.”

Naturally, their son, the one who reunited the two high school sweethearts, officiated the ceremony. (Several years earlier, he was ordained, on a lark, by the Church of the Latter Day Dude. This was a delight to Ms. Newman, whose favorite movie is “The Big Lebowski,” for which the online church is named.)

Standing safely under the big tent while the rain poured, Mr. Schmidt grinned and began the ceremony. “For those of you who haven’t met me, I’m Martin Schmidt. I’m their son,” he said to loud cheers. “And related or not, this is the group of people we call family.”

Allison Geyer contributed from Marshfield, Wis.

ON THIS DAY

When Aug. 4, 2018.

Where The home of the couple, in Marshfield, Wis.

Opposites Attract Though the groom is serious about his meat and cheese, the bride is a lactose-intolerant vegetarian. The couple catered the wedding with barbecue (with vegetarian options) from Dave’s favorite fish fry joint, Chili Corners Bar and Grill. On Dave’s birthday several years ago, when Michele was still living in Hawaii, she called Chili Corners to ask if she could surprise Dave by paying for his meal. At first, the owner of the bar said no — there wasn’t a credit card machine. But once the owner realized who was on the phone, she remembered Michele as a former babysitter. “She said, just send me a check in the mail,” Ms. Newman recalled. “Then, the bar made a big announcement and said Dave’s dinner was bought by a girl in Hawaii.”

First Dance Live music at the ceremony was provided by 12-year-old Clayton Petras, a grandson of the groom. In lieu of a first dance, Clayton sang “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts while the couple embraced under the huppah.

Sugar Fix There was no cake at the wedding, but there were plenty of rounds of Jell-O shots instead.

Categories Joy

Newark: Charter School Kicks Out Students for Dress Code Violations

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2018 //
16

The Marion P. Thomas Charter High School kicked out students for minor dress code violations.

Strangely, the story about the expulsions appeared in an Atlanta newspaper, not a New Jersey one.

The students are all African American, as is the staff. It is a segregated school.

“Video uploaded to Facebook shows several Marion P. Thomas Charter High School students hanging out at a public park in their school uniforms after they say they were booted from school over dress code violations. One teen explained he was kicked out simply for having white soles on his shoes…

“It wasn’t just the handful of students at the park who were kicked out, however. Students claim more than half the school was sent home for the alleged violations. Concerned, the man, who describes himself as a youth worker, marched over to the school to confront the staff about their so-called punishment.

“In video of the incident, the man is heard questioning school officials about why so many kids were kicked out into the streets for something so arbitrary as not having a belt or all-black sneakers. A front desk receptionist explains the students were told go home and get the items, and then return to school.

“This is crazy. … Get those things from where? What if they don’t have it?” the man asked. “I’m at the park working with kids, and I see like 50 children walk into the park saying they can’t get into school because they don’t have all-black shoes. I have a problem.”

“That’s saying that because they’re poor, you can treat them like this,” he said of the kids, whom he described as “his scholars.” “You will not do this.”

“Things quickly escalate as the man repeatedly demands to speak to the principal or someone else in charge. He then criticizes school staff, which is all Black, for willingly kicking African-American students out of class over simple dress code violations.

“Y’all are too calm!” he shouts. “It’s all Black people in here and y’all kick Black kids out into the street. What if one of them gets hurt in the park? It’s homeless people sleeping in there. Why are are all these kids in the street?! You are culpable!”

“The man, visibly frustrated, continues asking for who’s in charge of making the dress code policy. That’s when leaders ask him who his scholar is, suggesting he needs to have a child who attends the school in order to make a complaint.“

After the fallout from the video of the incident, the school said it was implementing a new process for dress code violations but did not say what it would be.

Categories Charter Schools, Discipline, Education Reform, New Jersey, Newark

New Hampshire: How to Get More Spending, Higher Taxes, Less Opportunity

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2018 //
4

Tom Loughman writes here about the harmful impact of vouchers, which were recently defeated by a slim margin in the state legislature.

He writes:

“When I was a little boy, we lost my father to cancer. Not long after, my family lost everything else too and we struggled to make ends meet. We were always thinking about getting through the week and end of the month. But for all its challenges, my childhood taught me empathy, grit, and drive; drive to make a better life for myself. I knew I only needed the opportunity.

“That opportunity came in the form of a public education. The one thing we never had to worry about was whether I would get a great education and a hot lunch at school. I made the most it and have made a better life for my family.

“As a parent now, I followed closely the efforts of New Hampshire Republicans to pass Senate Bill 193, which would establish one of the most comprehensive school voucher programs in the country. It would siphon money from our public schools and divert them to private, religious and home schools.

“Fiscally responsible constituents would be alarmed at the financial implications of the school voucher bill. According to the legislative staff, it would have siphoned off $100 million over the first 11 years from public schools to send 2,000 children to private, religious and home schools. As expensive as that is, Sen. Dan Innis voted for a far more sweeping version twice, which would more than double those costs.

“You can imagine the impact: a reduction in public school quality and big increase in local property taxes. Despite all that spending to privatize more of our education system, there is no anticipated improvement in achievement. According to studies like the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, private schools were not better than public in producing higher achievement.

“The bottom line is that the school voucher bill significantly increases the costs of education in New Hampshire and puts the burden on local property taxpayers. Don’t take my word for it; take Republican fiscal hawk and House Finance Chairman Neil Kurk’s who said, “this bill downshifts $99 million to local property tax payers in ways that they will not be able to avoid by reducing expenses. I was not elected to downshift money on my constituents.” A few Republicans stood with him and House Democrats to defeat the bill by a slim margin. Fiscal responsibility prevailed.

“Sen. Innis and his colleagues have pledged to try again. Innis said in a recent op-ed that he believes in school choice for all New Hampshire children. However, the vouchers would not cover the full cost of private school tuitions. Therefore, the only families that can take advantage of these vouchers and attend private schools would be people who can afford a few thousand dollars difference between the voucher and tuition.

“The results of this voucher bill are entirely predictable. Children from families who can afford private education could pay less by applying a voucher to their tuition bill. Children from families who cannot afford to pay thousands will remain in public schools that would now face budget shortfalls. It’s actually even worse because private schools can deny admissions to students with disabilities, excluding them entirely from the “choices” vouchers give their fellow students. That makes education opportunity less equal.

“These reverse Robin Hood policies of taking resources and opportunities from lower income families to give to wealthier ones is a non-starter. The high costs of living on the Seacoast are already impacting our seniors, working families and small businesses. New Hampshire Republicans should stop pushing a radical bill that would significantly increase our spending, raise property taxes, and hurt our public schools.

“We are proud of our public schools. On the Seacoast, they are without a doubt, one of the best draws we have to attracting working families to live and work here. I believe Sen. Innis’ support for defunding them and prompting tax increases is an untenable position to hold as our senator. It does not reflect our values or interests.”

Categories Budget Cuts, Funding, New Hampshire, School Choice

New Study: Spending More Improves Student Achievement

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2018 //
30

That headline is like saying, “Flash! Water is Wet!”

Yet there are many elected officials who disparage that money matters. They say thatclass size doesn’t matter. They ignore real world problems of staffing schools and teaching kids with widely varying needs.

A new study finds that spending more does matter. When affluent parents spend large sums to send their children to a private school or to live in an expensive neighborhood, they are paying for small classes, well-maintained facilities, and a stable, experienced teaching staff.

We are unwilling to pay the price to provide similar resources to all children, even when we know that it matters.

Categories Education Reform, Funding

Oklahoma: Teachers Rise Up and Run for Office: Now is the Time for Unity

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2018 //
6

John Thompson writes in “The Progressive” about the aftermath of last spring’s teacher uprising in Oklahoma.

Read it all.

“Teachers who walked off the job this spring protesting poor salaries and inadequate school funding in multiple states are winning in the court of popular appeal. According to a new survey: “In the six states where there were wide-scale teacher strikes and walkouts—West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Colorado—63 percent of respondents favored raising teacher pay. Public support in those states jumped by 16 percentage points since last year.”

“The strong sentiments expressed by those in the teacher walkout states carried over to support for teacher pay raises from survey respondents across the country, with nearly half of those provided with information on average teacher salaries in their state saying pay should increase. Support for higher teacher pay increased from a year ago among both Democrats and Republicans.

“In Oklahoma, the teacher revolt prompted 112 current or former teachers and family members of teachers to run for local, state, and federal office. More than seventy of those advanced in primary elections.

“But since the walkout and the primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus v AFSCME decision essentially imposed “right to work” on teachers across the nation, and anti-union “reform” groups and politically conservative organizations have followed up with campaigns encouraging teachers to leave their unions.

“Also, with a new school year starting, local teachers unions find themselves back in a familiar, but uncomfortable situation of having to collaborate with school systems and government leaders in the now super-charged political environment created by the walkouts.

“Teachers have a good shot at continuing to build popular support and even at winning at the ballot box this November, but they need to stay unified in the face of new challenges to their unions. Key to this is confronting an emerging divide over whether their movement is being led from the top down or the bottom up.”

Categories Oklahoma, Politics, Teacher Pay, Teachers
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