Capital & Main interviewed Jackie Goldberg about her views, her vision, her hopes for the future. My heart sang and my brain hummed as I read her inspiring words.
Reading Jackie’s words was like eating comfort food. I kept saying to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Read the interview and you will see what I mean.
Jackie knows we are in the middle of a war to save public education. She knows that there is big money determined to kill it. She knows that the hope for the future of our democracy depends in having a well-funded public school system that provides genuine opportunity to all children.
And she is prepared to go to the mat, in Los Angeles and in Sacramento, to get the funding that public schools need and to get the financial accountability that charter schools need.
I am reminded of the first time I met Jackie. It was December 6, 2018. I had heard about her for years as an iconic figure but our paths had never crossed.
Over the past several years, the billionaires were buying seats on the LAUSD and things were looking bleak. I kept hearing about this dynamo Jackie Goldberg, the only one who could turn things around. She was the Cy Young pitcher in the bullpen, the one held in reserve until the ninth inning.
Last December, I went to Los Angeles to receive an award from a progressive group called LAANE (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy), which fights for fair wages for low-income workers, environmental protection, and a stronger public sector.
Jackie was there. We agreed to talk after the dinner. We sat in a crowded bar and talked for over an hour. I felt like I was talking to my mirror image yet our life experiences were very different. It was a joyous conversation.
When I returned to LA in February, I spoke at a fundraiser for her. Once again I was impressed by her knowledge, her experience, her passion for education and for children and for justice.
You could count me as her biggest fan but given the 72% win she just racked up, I’m guessing that there are many others in Los Angeles who have known her much longer and who love Jackie as much as I do.
It should go without saying that she is a hero of public education.
Cy Young just came in from the bullpen. Things are definitely looking up.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I just found your blog, and am so happy that I did! I’m in the middle of reading Reign of Error, and have read several of your other published pieces over the years as I’ve been in the thick of the things on the teaching front. Thank you so much for continuing to fight on behalf of our nation’s students, who so desperately need people to champion their cause while “reformers” simultaneously seek to undercut it.
Interestingly, as the College Board has recently decided to recognize on the SAT that socioeconomic adversity can play a large role in disadvantaging students’ academic attainment, we still sit here, attacked by politicians who claim that students’ struggles are a product of public-school and teacher inefficacy. The narrative of public-school villainy that has been created by political leaders and the media is so pervasive and disheartening that it often seems like an act of futility to push back against it. Thank you for being up to the challenge, and for inspiring others to follow suit!
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Sadly, you truly understand the moment: “The narrative of public-school villainy that has been created by political leaders and the media is so pervasive and disheartening that it often seems like an act of futility to push back against it. “
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As per your SAT comment–yes, I commented on that on an earlier blog. I wonder just how that adversity factor (comparative to spotting, I reckon) will be accomplished by a testing organi$$$ation that has been deaf to ed. advocates (&, apparently, to the many colleges & universities that do not use SAT/ACT scores as an indicator for admittance–& there are more & more doing so).
I’m skeptical…
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I agree very much. There are a lot of flaws with the College Board’s decisions (the SAT “adversity factor” and otherwise), but it’s fascinating nonetheless to see a big educational presence concede the point that socioeconomics impact achievement.
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I agree that things are looking up. This election has buoyed my spirit and I am proud of the voters of District 5! There is a heightened awareness thanks to people like you, Jackie Goldberg, Carl Peterson, the Network for Public Education and many more of us who walk the walk everyday.
Our work to actually reclaim public education for all Angelenos is not complete, but we are all serving notice to the billionaire club and their puppets like Nick Melvoin, Monica Garcia, and Austin Beutner.
We are watching. We are aware. And we are not going to forget who is on which side of this argument.
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I agree, Thomas. Just looking at the elections in Chicago (who’da thunk it?) shows the power of the vote & the will of the people.
Mayor-elect (Monday!) Lightfoot is pro public ed., many pro-public ed. alderman have been elected and, finally, most sitting committee heads have been replaced with true progressives, such as the all-important Finance Committee & Zoning.
I’m assuming this will mean that no more publics will be closed & turned into “first in its class” (the advertising the developer used, until the neighborhood parents called it out as an affront, & their complaints forced them to take their signage down) luxury condos/apartments.
Or charter schools.
Diane, I hope you can come to Chicago in the near future (summer!) & meet w/Mayor-elect Lightfoot.
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I am one happy camper – but I know the deep pockets arrayed against public education in Los Angeles (and, well, everywhere). So the fight continues, but with Jackie in a meaningful position!
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Agree–& despite what I wrote above, indeed, the fight continues everywhere.
Keep fighting!
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Jackie Goldberg’s election to the LAUSD board is a victory for students, parents, and educators. It is an inspiration to those working to elect educational and parent leaders to boards in other districts (large and small) in order to serve the children in our communities.
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LMAO! So well written, Diane! Thanks!
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What a keen interview! The billionaires have no match for Jackie Goldberg, none. She is their intellectual superior. Such knowledge! Such insight! They will not fool her. Observe how she handles Beutner. She is deft. He is daft.
I love Jackie.
It rained for so long in L.A., recently. It rained while we built up the resistance to go on strike. It rained while we picketed in front of the schools. It rained while we marched on City Hall. We were up to our ankles in mud. It kept raining even after we were done and went back into our classrooms. It was a monsoon. The billionaires have been reigning down on us for so long!
The moon was bright last night. The sun shines bright today. Go Jackie!
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