Peter Greene, retired teacher (thirty-nine years in the classroom and blogger extraordinaire) and Van Schoales (Colorado reformer) agree: education reform as we know it now is over.
Greene reminds us (as if we need reminding) that not so long ago, charter schools were considered a bipartisan reform; today, with Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos singing the praises of charter schools, there is a widespread recognition that charter schools are a big step on the path to privatization. First charters, then vouchers.
Van Schoales participated in the reform ferment in Colorado, which consumed much money and energy and produced very little. Schoales writes:
The education reform movement as we have known it is over. Top-down federal and state reforms along with big-city reforms have stalled. The political winds for education change have shifted dramatically. Something has ended, and we must learn the lessons of what the movement got right—and wrong.
The era of inspiration, edicts, and coercion from Washington to improve our public schools is in the past. The Every Student Succeeds Act is a paper tiger with no new funds or accountability for results. The U.S. Department of Education under Betsy DeVos has dismantled efforts to push states to improve school systems while tainting all education reform with a far-right agenda for vouchers as it defunds public education. Yet, a growing number of high school graduates are not prepared to work or to continue their education.
The era of the nontraditional “no excuses” urban superintendents is finished. Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, and Tom Boasberg have all moved on. There are few comparable replacements. The vision of a radically transformed public education system with virtual schools, new charter models, and online personalization has crashed on the shores of reality.
He continues to have some hope for “portfolio districts” like Indianapolis and San Antonio but it is only a matter of time until he realizes that they too are a mirage, just shifting students from public schools to charters changes nothing.
Peter Greene understands that all the shiny promises have failed to produce the transformation that was supposed to happen. It didn’t.
After twenty years, almost every trick in the education reform tool box has been tried, including charters and choice. When your product has failed, you have more than just a branding problem, and for the nominally lefty-tilted education reformers, the current administration provides none of the protective cover that Obama and Duncan did.
Van Schoales says it is time to listen to those closest to the problems—teachers, principals, students, families, and community leaders—to build a movement that is focused on preparing most or all of our students for the world that they live in, that promotes lasting change.
Frankly, for reformers, that is a new idea, because they have spent twenty years imposing mayoral control, state control, so as NOT to listen to anyone but themselves.
Peter Greene has another idea, not so very different from that of Van Schoales:
Instead of asking, “How can we convince more left-leaning folks to support the privatization of public education,” maybe progressives could ask, “If charters and choice really aren’t the answer, what are some better ways to improve U.S. public education?” Maybe someone could build a coalition around that.
Unfortunately, the billionaires do not know as much as either Greene or Schoales. They are still dishing out hundreds of millions to professional “reformers” to create groups like the City Fund ($200 million on the day it opened) to continue promoting charter schools in a dozen or so urban districts. The Walton Family Foundation will spend hundreds of millions to prop up failing charter schools. Betsy DeVos will have another $400 million to hand out to well-funded corporate charter chains next year. Charles Koch has announced that he will pick five unlucky cities to target as “low-hanging fruit” for his dreams of voucherizing everything in sight. And legislatures like those in Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee are still diverting money to voucher programs, even though there is no hope that they will provide better education.
Reform as we have known it is dead, but the zombie continues to terrorize our cities, even our suburbs and rural districts.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Every Student Succeeds Act is a paper tiger. In my state, it’s an online tiger, with glitches. Annual testing is such a waste of time and money! It’s all harm and no good. Common Core should be dead, but it haunts every public school in the nation. Will the testing ever stop? How can Cory Booker run for president without putting forth a bill to end the testing monster he helped keep fed all these years? What about Sanders or Warren? Let’s do something right, Senators. Restore the progressive Elementary and Secondary Education Act and end annual testing.
and adamantly put a stop to any and all PAY FOR SUCCESS connections for school funding. Forcing kids to produce test scores to decide funding is not only wrongheaded it is immoral.
Van Schoales’ paychecks from the charter/”reform” sector must have stopped arriving.
ROFLMAO!
EXACTLY. The man is no friend to anyone but himself.
I will think Ed Deform over when. . . .
Every state eliminates its high-stakes standardized testing requirements
Educational publishers no longer begin the planning of every ELA project by making a spreadsheet with David Coleman’s puerile bullet list in one column and the places where the bullet list items are covered in the next column over
States adequately fund their public schools
Teachers are paid well enough to attract the finest talent in the country to the profession
Vouchers are dead
Charter schools are no longer confused with public schools
Public school systems no longer waste enormous sums on depersonalized education software
Public school systems are funded well enough to offer different tracks for high-school graduation to students with differing propensities and interests
For a long, long time, far too many “education professionals” (school administrators, district and state officials) have accepted high-stakes testing based on a universal bullet list. When THAT changes, Ed Deform will be dead. Until then, we are doomed, in our curricula and pedagogy, to mediocrity, triviality, lack of innovation, and lack of the flexibility to meet differing student needs and the needs of a highly diverse economy.
I would love to see a coalition of people dedicated to improving public education, not with neoliberal, money generating initiatives, but with actual evidence based plans. Any plan should represent a coalition of education experts, classroom teachers and parents, not just politicians and business people. It will take many years to heal the harm that is the result of misguided, fake reform.
Real change is organic. It starts at the bottom and works its way up. The efforts of the past twenty years have been imposed, punitive change from the top resulting from political graft and corruption. Answers will not come from canned programs, political schemes or commercial ventures. Real answers come from trained professionals and stakeholders taking an honest look at the needs of students. These informed, caring people can collaborate to work together to find solutions.
I worked in a school district that had a terrible reputation when I started. Gradually over time the district brought in the right people that were interested in collaboration and continuous improvement. Many people on this blog despise administrators, and I have known a few that fall into that category, particularly for the first ten years that I worked in my district. Over time, my district brought in some exceptional administrators that cared about students and teachers. They worked with teachers to build consensus through mutual respect and collaboration. Together we were able to make some significant improvements to our schools. It takes investment, and it is not cheap. It is an evolutionary process, and it has nothing to do with testing which does nothing to improve outcomes for students.
At some point it will be over, and we shall look back on the era of “big data” in education as one of utter madness. You will know that this is happening when hundreds of well-remunerated Education Pundits start pretending that they never were Vichy collaborators with high-stakes standardized testing, the Common Coring of American education, and evaluation of schools, teachers, and students based on those ridiculous test scores. Twenty years of watching that has utterly sickened me.
At some point it will be over, and we shall look back on the era of “big data” in education as one of utter madness, like the Eugenics Era.
Correct. And a good analogy. Using data to create competition between teachers and schools is not far removed from social Darwinism.
A truly great book could be written about the parallels between the Eugenics Movement of the early 20th century and the Ed Deform movement of the early 21st century. In both cases, you had
a. A pseudoscientific theory
b. Borrowed from another field of human study or endeavor
c. Supported by bad statistics (that is, in false inferences from bad data)
d. Leading to the creation of vast records archives (what we would today call “databases”)
e. Funded by a few billionaires with a penchant for “scientifically based” social reform
f. Widely adopted by politicians, bureaucrats, and members of the white intelligentsia
g. Widely touted in popular media
h. Leading to federal, state, and local legislation
i. And truly ghastly social consequences
j. And supported by lots and lots of Vichy collaborators who knew who had the power and was writing the checks
Bob,
Me too…it’s hard to stomach.
Diane’s newest book, The Wisdom and Wit of Diane Ravitch should be read by every parent, school board member, teacher, and the general public.
No Democrat or Republican can legislate change to the education system and expect results when the actual issue is poverty. A high % of poor kids will always do badly due to the effects of poverty. We have known that as far back as Coleman. David Berliner has filled in the specifics.
Only the mitigation and someday, elimination of poverty will make a difference. Even the business oriented OECD has explained this in detail to the USA. The WESTERN nations way ahead of USA on PISA have less than half the poverty and it is less concentrated.
My reform policy is eliminate poverty first, then talk about schools.
America spends enough money on education however that is too little in poor areas and too much in affluent areas.
That’s complicated, because a lot of the money spent on education isn’t strictly spent on education — intervention/treatment/therapy for kids with special needs; feeding kids; transportation; in some cases services like clinics and language classes for adults in schools…
“America spends enough money on education however that is too little in poor areas and too much in affluent areas.”
No, America doesn’t spend “enough money on education”. Horse manure. All schools should spend what the most affluent schools do. Anything less is an abomination.
Oh, I think America spends enough on education. They just allocate the funds to things that will never affect learning in the classroom. The testing industry gets rich, the text book industry gets rich, the ed tech companies get rich, the stink tanks get rich….all with tax payer dollars. I would love to know just how much money is wasted on garbage. And all of that money could be used to support actual schools.
We should deploy resources differently. Funding through real estate taxes means the rich get more, and the poor get less. Anyone that has worked with poor students understands that it costs more to do a good job with poor students. I agree there is so much about poverty that is beyond the control of schools. Privatization and the drain on public school budgets have been non-solution and a distraction taking us further away from what needs to be done like offer wrap around services and family intervention services.
when the actual issue is poverty
exactly
But no, we don’t spend enough on education
One thing that hasn’t been tried on a large scale: a knowledge-rich curriculum.
yup, and where it has been tried, the results are outstanding–interested kids learning a lot
Agreed. In a time before NCLB there was lots of content and engaged learners before the desert of so-called reform.
“desert”
exactly!
From Van Shoeles: “We have a set of proof points of what is possible with a few improved school districts and hundreds of schools that effectively educate the most disadvantaged children. Denver, New Orleans, and the District of Columbia all saw improvements in standardized test scores over the past decade, for instance.”
Anyone who believes that standardized test scores are a valid indicator of the teaching and learning process should be dismissed outright as not knowing squat about said process.
I have long said, “You want accountability? Well, let me give you a very, very simple but quite valid and reliable means for evaluating folks being considered for decision-making positions in the English language arts, for positions as English language arts coordinators, English department chairpersons, English teachers, or managers of any of the above: To what extent does he or she take seriously David Coleman’s puerile ELA bullet list, the Common [sic], Core [sic], State [sic], Standards [sic]. Figure that out, using a Likert scale or whatever, and you will know how much the person knows of the subject. Anyone who isn’t profoundly ignorant of ELA will respond to the Gates/Coleman bullet list with derision.
Unfortunately, a LOT of ELA folks fail this simple test.
Well, … all the zombie books, TV shows, and movies teach us how to get rid of Zombies, don’t they?
Clinton White House campaign the sign read in campaign headquarters “Its the economy stupid!” Sign for improving public education should read its the segregated housing stupid!
60 years of redlining government policy and ignoring government’s role creating today’s segregated house by race and class has meant progressives talk about closing the achievement gap is eye wash when the separation been classes and race is ignored.
Government policy in improving segregation in classroom can be addressed by Government policies address our segregated housing and public schooling by increasing both class and race integration with Government policies aimed at both housing and the integration of public schools.
Government created the problem and is responsible to remediate the problem by increasing both class and race integration policies with rainbow-lining replacing redlining.
Indeed. The current resegregation of our schools and neighborhoods is a national disgrace.
How about a national tragedy?
Yes, Lloyd. That’s a better description.
Van Schoales wrote that “reformers” need to do a better job of listening to teachers. That probably meant listening to a few TFAers, to a few charter teachers, and to a few turncoat teachers like Educators for Excellence, not listening to the collective voice of teachers. They listen to one teacher and tell everyone else to scale up that teacher’s ideas. Listening to the teaching profession on the whole, the message to be gleaned would be this: STOP listening to us try tell you what to do because you are not in charge of democratically run, publicly owned schools. Don’t do anything. Just get out of the way.
YES! YES! YES!!!!
I remember, once, being shown around one of the big educational publishing houses by its new Publisher. She ushered me into a vast room (one could barely see to the end of it) full of cubicles. Then, she said, “It’s really important for me to hear from these people. That’s why I conduct town halls.” When she said “these people,” it was as though she was speaking of some species of Hymenoptera .
“Don’t do anything. Just get out of the way.”
YES! YES! YES!
Teachers, take back your classrooms.
It would be fun to install hidden speakers all over the room where TFAers are meeting to give teaching advice and then trigger a laugh track that drowns them out.
Despite what Van wrote, there are educators, parents and community groups working all over the US to help improve public schools. They recognize that while there are many terrific things happening, some changes are needed.
They also recognize that we can and should work simultaneously on changes inside and outside of schools, in the broader society.
Here’s example of a collaborative effort to change things in the broader society. District & charter public schools in St. Paul, Mn worked together for 5 months to convince the local city council (separate from the school district) to hold the first ever public hearing where homeless students and families described the terrible impact of homeless, and made recommendations.
Here’s a link to and copy of a story that appeared in the local newspaper (St Paul Pioneer Press)
https://www.twincities.com/2019/05/01/parents-of-homeless-st-paul-public-school-students-ask-for-more-family-shelters/
Parents of homeless St. Paul Public School students ask for more family shelters
When her mother was jailed, a 16-year-old high school student described stepping up to become the head of household, throwing house parties to pay the rent and feed her younger brothers and sisters. It ended when her landlord called the police and the younger kids were placed in foster care.
Another student recalled his turbulent middle-school years sleeping on a cousin’s couch. The relative, who drank heavily and used drugs, sometimes kicked his family of five out onto the street at 2 a.m., leaving him sleep-deprived and lacking access to basic hygiene products when the morning school bell rang.
At the request of St. Paul City Council Members Jane Prince and Mitra Nelson, the council Wednesday held a public hearing and policy session on youth and family homelessness. It drew on personal accounts from children — as well as parents of students — who attend St. Paul Public Schools as well as several charter schools, such as Face to Face Academy and the High School for the Recording Arts.
Their stories of bouncing from shelter to shelter and relative to relative illustrate what officials say is a growing problem.
“She’s moved between three different schools,” said Nadia Jackson-McClintock, crying as she described how her 17-year-old daughter has sometimes slept with her in vehicles. “I’ve lived in my car. I’ve slept on the side of West River Parkway.”
Tenecia Johnson, a homeless services supervisor with Ramsey County, said there are more than 2,000 homeless children in the St. Paul Public Schools, many of them “couch hoppers” who stay with different friends and relatives as opportunities arise. Those numbers include 27 unaccompanied minors.
Their stays are often fleeting. If a relative pays their rent using federal Section 8 vouchers, they’re not allowed to host a visitor for more than 14 days at a time.
Advocates said more has to be done for families with children. When it comes to finding emergency housing, 611 emergency shelter beds in Ramsey County are dedicated to single adults, the population most heavily targeted by homeless-outreach services such as RUSH and Outside/In.
The county is home to 138 emergency shelter beds reserved for families, of which 105 beds are targeted to families with children.
Despite those resources, weekly waiting lists for emergency family shelter have grown more than fourfold in just a few years, from six families in 2015 to 29 families in 2018. Meanwhile, average wait times span 32 to 44 days, Johnson said.
MORE DEMAND FOR SECURITY DEPOSITS, BACKGROUND CHECKS
Losing stable housing is difficult enough on its own, but the families who shared their stories Wednesday said their situations have been made even more challenging by escalating rents and increasingly demanding rental criteria such as security deposits, credit scoring and background checks.
And the impact of homelessness is magnified on young people, who may show up to school ill-prepared.
Nancy Jane Bitenc, an advocate for children in St. Paul Public Schools, and Khalique Rogers, a youth mentor and life skills coach who was once a homeless student himself, asked city council members to consider creating a task force focused on children facing homelessness.
That suggestion was echoed by members of Interfaith Action’s Project Home and St. Paul Public Schools’ Project Reach.
Other recommendations include dedicating more emergency shelter for children, creating incentives to encourage landlords to rent to families and youth, and strengthening renters’ rights through more legal protections — an area council members have pledged to study this year.
Chrishon “Chrissy” Jones said that as a 17-year-old single mom living in Chicago, she stayed with different men just to keep a roof over her head.
While living more recently at a family shelter in Maplewood, she said, she encountered shelter staff who seemed more exasperated than dedicated to helping others.
Now 26 and a mother of three kids, Jones finally signed her own lease last month for an apartment in downtown St. Paul — her first shot at stability in a long while.
“The teens, they need more,” Jones said. “It’s not even just housing. They need more mentors. My parents were, ‘You are grown. You did this. You figure it out.’”
The NEA just rated the charter law in Minnesota with an F.
Not surprising – in part because the Mn charter law permits organizations other than local districts to create charters – which was part of the original idea – first proposed by civil rights legend Kenneth Clark.
In 1968, he urged – in Harvard Ed Review – that new public schools be created by various groups – including unions – that would operate outside the control of local school boards.
Meanwhile – as noted, in Minnesota district & charter educators who believe it’s important simultaneously to work inside and outside of schools to help families and students be more successful.
Kenneth Clark never proposed that Public schools should be run by corporations, entrepreneurs, grifters, and for-profit corporations. I knew Dr. Clark. If he were alive, he would be appalled by the depredations and profiteering of the charter industry. He would be in tune with the work of Dr. Noliwe Rooks of Cornell. Read her book “Cutting School,” about segrenomics.
Earlier today I responded to what I thought was the main topic – whether school reform is “dead” As noted, there are many people quite active in trying to improve schools. And in some communities, district as well as charter educator are trying to create entirely new schools – as well as to improve existing schools.
Some are honest. Many are crooks. All that the country had to do back in the 1980s was set high standards for teacher training and set an example for the world like Finland eventually did.
All they had to do was set high standards for teacher training and then let the teachers teach just like they do in Finland.
As to Dr. Kenneth Clark – I agree that he would be opposed to corruption – where-ever it is found in public education. Unquestionably there is some in the charter world – as there is in the district world.
Clark wrote, “With strong, efficient, and demonstrably excellent parallel systems of public
schools, organized and operated on a quasi-private level, and with quality control
and professional accountability maintained and determined by Federal and State
educational standards and supervision, it would be possible to bring back into
public education a vitality and dynamism which are now clearly missing.”
He also wrote, “The following are suggested as possible, realistic, and practical competitors to the present form of urban public school systems” He suggested that these new systems include schools created by unions, states, the private sector and the Army, “
The charter industry is awash in corruption. Public money handed out without oversight or accountability is a guarantee of corruption. Gimme, gimme. Lots of grifters and edupreneurs with zero education experience have cashed in. Freemoney, millions. Just ask Betsy or Arne.
Take the inordinate amount of $ that we spend on ineffective testing & use it to provide wrap around services for families in economically challenged areas. Examples: job training, employment services, medical help, English language acquisition for families, child care for employment seeking parents, the list could go on & on. Providing stability for families will do more to improve neighborhood schools than any “Deform”!