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Carol Burris and Leonie Haimson On the Air!

By dianeravitch
September 15, 2019 //
3

 

Here is news you can use! Carol Burris and Leonie Haimson now have a regular one-hour radio show on WBAI In New York. The show is called TALK OUT OF SCHOOL, and it will appear weekly. WBAI is part of the progressive Pacifica Network.

In their first show, they discussed student privacy, a subject on which Leonie is a national advocate and expert, and they analyzed current controversies about diversity, selective admissions, and racial integration, a subject where Carol has extensive experience as principal of a detracked high school on Long Island.

Leonie is executive director of Class Size Matters and co-founder of the national Parent Coalition for Student Privacy. Carol is executive director of the Network for Public Education.

Next week, Leonie will interview civil rights attorney Wendy Lecker.

Of this you can be certain, this show will be a place to hear talk that is characterized by experience, common sense, and wisdom.

 

 

Categories Accountability, Civil Rights, Class size, Corporate Reform, Democracy, Education Industry, Education Reform, Equity, Network for Public Education, Parents, Privatization, Real Education, Students

North Carolina: Republican Legislators Trash Democracy

By dianeravitch
September 11, 2019 //
13

 

Republican legislators in North Carolina pulled a fast one on the Democrats. After assuring them that no votes were scheduled, the Republicans took advantage of the Democrats’ absence to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of the Republican budget.

https://apple.news/ARwmvDp7KQ1O0PQfx-alHAA

NBC reported:

“North Carolina House Democrats are calling foul on their Republican colleagues for voting to override the governor’s budget veto on Wednesday while most Democrats were not present.

“The uproar began after GOP Rep. Jason Saine made a motion early Wednesday morning to reconsider the budget that was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper earlier this year, according to The Raleigh News & Observer.

“Democrats excoriated Republicans on social media and the few who were present in the House at the time of the vote furiously protested the decision. Only 12 Democrats were in the House, but they did not all have an opportunity to vote and their microphones were cut off, the paper reported. The vote passed 55-9. The issue now moves to the state’s GOP-controlled Senate.

“How dare you do this, Mr. Speaker!” said Democratic Rep. Deb Butler, who was surrounded by fellow Democrats on the House floor as she shouted in protest at the decision, according to a video posted online by a Democratic colleague. “If this is the way you think democracy works, shame on you. This is not appropriate and you know it. The people of North Carolina, you will answer to the people of North Carolina.”

“House Democratic leader Darren Jackson told the paper that he informed Democrats that they did not need to be present because Republican Rep. David Lewis said there would be no recorded votes. The North Carolina House is a 120-member body and Republicans hold a 65–55 majority. However, last year Democrats won enough seats in the House to end the GOP’s supermajority, which had allowed them to override a veto.”

Governor Cooper was attending a 9/11 memorial service when the Republicans trucked him and their Democratic colleagues.

 

Note from an activist in N.C.:

“The NC House voted this morning to override Governor Cooper’s veto of the republican budget. Cooper wanted to expand medicaid and also increase school funding, teacher salaries. The ‘News and Observer’ noted in an editorial today that NC ranked 37th in the nation when Republicans won control of the General Assembly in 2011. Today, the same editorial noted that our state now ranks 48th overall in per pupil spending.

“The Senate still also needs to vote but it’s probably going to happen (Cooper’s veto will be overridden). Republicans only need one vote in the NC Senate and they’ll bribe somebody. They tried all summer to get 5 votes in the house but failed so they used 9/11, of all days, to ramrod through their agenda.”

Links below
N&) Editiorial 9/11/19
BUDGET
VIDEO
Categories Accountability, Democracy, Fraud, Funding, North Carolina

Tulsa: How Data and Gates Consultant Persuaded Public to Close Public Schools and Cut Their Budget

By dianeravitch
September 9, 2019 //
11

This is a curious article about the makeover of Tulsa Public Schools, where the superintendent is Broadie and former Rhode Island Superintendent Deborah Gist.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/columnists/ginnie-graham-tulsa-public-schools-has-gone-through-major-reforms/article_4bc36885-c247-5858-99f1-7387c48b4fab.html

Under the previous superintendent, a plan called “Project Schoolhouse” resulted in school closings and consolidations. The leaders persuaded the public to accept these “reforms.” In the background was a management consultant brought in by the Gates Foundation; he had no education experience but understood how to use data analytics to persuade the public to go along with his ideas.

When the fate of Rogers High School was on the table, the superintendent was stunned that people cared whether the school remained open.

About nine years ago, a public meeting in the Rogers High School library was so packed that former Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard had to shoulder his way to the front.

Alumni drove from out of state to attend. Neighborhood residents, students, parents and community leaders joined.

The outpouring didn’t line up with other measures that showed a waning interest in the school. It made a difference in the reforms being planned.

“You couldn’t fit one more person in there. I was stunned to see so many people,” Ballard said. “A person stopped me and said, ‘We want our high school to be great again.’ We did, too. This was an opportunity to hear what people had to say and for us to talk about changes in the high schools.”

That was just one evening in a year of developing the last TPS district-wide reform, known as Project Schoolhouse.

A similar process is beginning. TPS will be cutting $20 million from its budget in the next school year. School leaders say this is a chance for the public to shape how TPS serves students moving forward.

This is a massive undertaking in a short amount of time. The board is expected to approved a modified budget by Dec. 16.

So the next job is to persuade the public that a budget cut of $20 million will make the public schools great again.

Oklahoma is notorious for tax cuts for corporations and the fossil fuel industry and underfunded public schools.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Data, Democracy, Disruption, Funding, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Oklahoma

Little Rock, Arkansas: Dr. Anika Whitfield Pleads for a Return of Democracy

By dianeravitch
August 31, 2019 //
8

Dr. Anika Whitfield is a remarkable woman. She is a podiatrist. She is an ordained Baptist minister. She has volunteered as a tutor in the public schools of Little Rock for many years. She is active in Save Our Schools Arkansas and Grassroots Arkansas. She is a fighter for social justice and equity. She wrote the following letter to Johnny Key, who is Commissioner of Education in the state. Key was trained as an engineer and served in the state legislature for a decade. Anyone who cares about the children and schools of Little Rock should listen to Dr. Whitfield. She is a dynamo.

The state took control of the Little Rock School District because six of its 48 schools were low-performing. Instead of helping the schools, the state simply abolished local control. The Walton family plays a large role in the state due to its dominance of the state’s economy and its many political lackies.

Dr. Whitfield wrote:

Commissioner Key,

For two weeks now, the Arkansas State Board of Education has been hosting public meetings to discuss the future of the LRSD. Since the LRSD was taken over by the state on January 28, 2019, you have been serving, by appointment, as our sole board member. Sadly, you have not been present for any of the four meetings that the state board of education has been hosting in the LRSD community. Why is that?

Over the past close to five years now, serving as the sole board member of the LRSD, you have not elected to host one meeting with the LRSD about the state of our district, the exit plan for our district, nor to gain insight from the stakeholders and the persons most impacted by the many decisions you have made regarding the LRSD. Why is that?

When we have called on you over the past four and a half years as community organizers and leaders on behalf of the LRSD community, you have refused to host public meetings about our concerns, the state of our district, and your plans for our district. Your attorneys or staff at the Arkansas Department of Education has responded to me that you are not required by law to host meetings like an elected school board, and that given your responsibilities to the entire state of Arkansas as education commissioner, it is difficult for you to make a commitment to doing so. Why then, don’t you give the LRSD back to a democratically elected board who can commit to serving the LRSD who can meet with the public regularly and provide a plan for restoration of the LRSD?

Some of the highlights you missed by not being present, in the room of public discussion were as follows:

•We believe Governor Hutchinson should replace Mr. Key (you) as commissioner of education because not only has he failed to serve as an effective board member of the LRSD, he has refused to listen to our majority voices that have echoed for close to five years now that we want democracy restored to the LRSD and to our school board.

•It has been evidenced by Mr. Key’s (your) actions that Governor Hutchinson appointed you to fulfill the pleasures of wealthy business owners in Arkansas (the Waltons, Mr. Hussman, and the Stephens) who appear to have made it a part of their business plan to invest in charter schools that generate city, county, state and national funding for their businesses to operate privately off the backs of primarily African American/Black and Latinx students.

•We, the LRSD community, realize that BEFORE the LRSD was taken over for six out of 48 (now only 44 because you have forced the closure of four of our beloved neighborhood schools), the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) as recommended by the state board of education (SBE) and enforced by state law, had been overseeing the six schools that were performing below proficiency according to results from racially and culturally biased standardized tests. Therefore, the state board of education should not have, in good moral conscious, decided for the ADE to take on the responsibility of 42 other schools in the LRSD until they could prove success in helping the six schools overcome the barriers prohibiting proficiency or above outcomes of the students attending these schools.

•We recognize that the absence of a democratically elected school board allows for the management of an over $350 million dollar budget in the hands of one person, Mr. Key (you), who has not been allocating funds in good faith according to the will and the knowledge of the LRSD community as an elected board is required. We want to know where have the city, county, state, federal, and limited and regulated private dollars been allocated, spent, diverted, or unused by the LRSD board (Mr. Key), the ADE, and the LRSD administration?

You missed the opportunity to learn, hear, and discuss with the more than 120 LRSD community members who attended all four of the public meetings held in four different locations in our city.

And, most importantly, you missed, as our sole board member and state commissioner of education, hearing and responding to our (the majority of the LRSD stakeholders who attended the meetings (at Roberts Elementary and St. Mark Baptist Church) list of demands:

1) Immediate return of entire LRSD.

2) Local, democratic board elections Nov. 2019 or reinstatement of last elected board. (You still have time to announce and prepare for Nov. 2019 elections by law. Failing to do so will only further indicate your willful sabotage of the will of The People, the majority of the LRSD stakeholders. )

3) An MOA that the SBE and ADE will commit to doing the LRSD no more harm.

4) Reopening of our neighborhood public schools they closed.

5) Nullification of the current blueprint.

6) Immediate establishment of a LRSD Student Union and Parent Union.

7) Full accounting of all LRSD financials during state control of LRSD; constructive trust with method for LRSD to recoup funds from the State.

8) Same standards for private schools and charter schools as for public schools.

9) Higher qualifications for board members, both state and local/district; including requirement that some board members be certified educators.

10) Evidence-driven programs and solutions in all LRSD schools; examples include the early childhood development program at Rockefeller Elementary and the school-based health program at Stephens Elementary.

11) Make public input more accessible for parents and others responsible for children by providing child care at public meetings.

We expect a public response from you today.

Rev./Dr. Anika T. Whitfield
Grassroots Arkansas, co-chair

Categories Accountability, Arkansas, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democracy, Education Industry, Education Reform, Little Rock, Privatization, Walton Foundation

Speduktr: Why I Pay School Taxes

By dianeravitch
August 28, 2019 //
70

 

A reader who goes by the sobriquet “speduktr” wrote:

 

I have never really understood the choice mantra. My taxes were not tuition for my children, and they certainly are not intended for someone’s individual use now that I have no children in the system. They were and are meant to support the education of every child in my community. Parents are not entitled to a chunk of that money to be used how they see fit. That money is for the common good. For me, I don’t even have to get into the discussion of charter machinations. They are beside the point.

 

Categories Citizenship, Democracy, Education Reform, School Choice, Supporting public schools

Betsy DeVos Funds IDEA and Kipp to Saturate San Antonio with Charter Schools

By dianeravitch
August 17, 2019 //
29

 

Texas Public Radio describes Betsy Devos’s audacious plan to overwhelm San Antonio with charters created by two corporate chains: IDEA and KIPP.

Some of the new charters will open in middle-class areas with good public schools.

Apparently, DeVos just wants to torpedo public schools in a major Texas city.

Camille Phillips of TPR reports:

San Antonio’s largest charter school network is gearing up for a fast-paced expansion over the next three years. IDEA Public Schools plans to add 15 schools in Bexar County by 2022, doubling its local enrollment to nearly 24,000 students.

It is part of an ambitious larger plan by the Rio Grande Valley-based charter network plan to add 120 schools in Texas, Louisiana and Florida by 2024. IDEA has gotten a big boost to help make that plan happen: four federal grants in five years worth more than $211 million combined.

This year, the U.S. Department of Education awarded IDEA its largest grant yet: $117 million to expand classrooms and launch new charter schools.

“We cast a vision for our growth plan, and then it has to be paid for somehow. So this just gives us confidence that what we envision in terms of growth will actually become a reality,” IDEA regional director Rolando Posada said.

When Posada came to San Antonio seven years ago, he said he made it his goal to have an IDEA school less than 10 minutes away from every family.

“We realized that this was one of the biggest cities in the country with one of the biggest needs. And so my vision was to put a school everywhere on the map of the city of San Antonio,” he said….

Several of IDEA’s new schools will likely be located in the Northside school district, one of the region’s wealthier and higher performing districts.

Northside Superintendent Brian Woods said he finds it interesting that charter schools are no longer limiting themselves to areas where the traditional public schools are struggling.

“If you have an area that’s being served extremely well, why would you need to introduce a duplicative service?” Woods asked.

DeVos gave KIPP $88 million, and it too plans to expand its presence in Texas.

Mark Larson, chief external officer for KIPP Texas, said KIPP is creating a growth plan to determine where to expand next in the state, but “a sizeable chunk” of the $88 million awarded to the national KIPP Foundation is reserved for Texas.

“We have full intention to continue to grow and continue to grow in the San Antonio market,” Larson said.

DeVos gave $15 million to another charter network to open new schools in Texas.

One of our readers, who identifies herself as Chiara, recently explained why charters rely on federal funding to expand.

She says they know they would never be funded by popular vote as public schools are. The purpose of the federal funding is not only to help charter schools (like KIPP, funded by billionaires like the Waltons), but to bypass democracy.

She wrote:

“The second of 20 San Antonio IDEA Public School campuses is headed to the South Side and and is scheduled to open in fall 2019.

”The new campus — which has yet to be named — will be built on an eight-acre plot of land on the corner of South Flores Street and West Harding Boulevard.”

If IDEA had to go to the public and ask for facilities financing to build and operate each of 20 new public schools, the public would reject all or some of the new schools, because they would (rightfully) ask why they’re replicating a system they already have. There would be a long public debate on public investment. They would have to scale back plans or scrap them completely.

Charters know this, so they use federal and private financing. If they used local facilities funding they would have to get the consent of the public.

When ed reformers say they want local facilities funding remember that if they had local facilities funding the approval process would have to go thru the public, and the public would object to funding 20 new school buildings that replicate schools they already have. That would make it impossible to plunk down 20 new charter schools.

 

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Democracy, Education Industry, Funding, KIPP Charter Schools, Privatization, San Antonio

When I Introduced Senator Sanders At UTLA Leadership Conference

By dianeravitch
August 11, 2019 //
10

 

Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the United Teachers of Los Angeles Leadership Conference recently. I was invited to introduce him by video. I recorded a two-minute introduction on my iPhone, while in my home office.

I talked about his Thurgood Marshall plan for education. To date, it is the most far-reaching proposal that any candidate has offered. It should be a template for all Democratic candidates.

Here is Senator Sanders’ speech that day. It is worth watching to see what should be the true Democratic Party agenda for K-12 Education.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democracy, Democrats, Education Industry, Education Reform, Los Angeles, Privatization, Testing

Jeremy Mohler: What Is Democracy? Bargaining for the Common Good

By dianeravitch
August 10, 2019 //
22

Jeremy Mohler of the organization “In the Public Interest” wrote this reflection on the meaning of democracy:

 

The word “democracy” either fires you up or makes your eyes roll.

It’s so overused that even Donald Trump is wielding it to ramp up support for his administration’s meddling in Venezuela.

There’s even a new documentary out called What is Democracy? by filmmaker and activist Astra Taylor, who interviews everyone from philosophers to factory workers to get at the answer. The conclusion? There’s no definitive single answer to the question.

Maybe all we can say is: you know democracy when you see it.

I certainly see a refreshing example of democracy on display in the growing public school teachers movement. And it’s the real thing—not the electoral kind that we’re used to.

It’s called “bargaining for the common good.” The gist: teachers and other government workers use their ability to negotiate for better wages and working conditions to also improve the lives of other people in their community.

Some recent examples:

In January, striking teachers in Los Angeles won better wages and benefits but also 300 more nurses district wide, more green space at every school, support for immigrant families, a stop to random police searches at schools, and more.

In Oregon, the state’s largest unions came together a few years ago to collectively win higher wages, paid sick days, better retirement security, and nondiscrimination protections for most full-time workers statewide.

The Chicago Teachers Union is considering demanding the city’s board of education support rent control efforts and new taxes on corporations and the wealthy to fund more affordable housing.

And it’s not just happening in blue cities.

In March, West Virginia’s teachers shut down a bill that would’ve allowed charter schools to open in the state. Having witnessed the pain caused by the opioid crisis, job losses, poverty, and homelessness to their students and families, they argued that privatization isn’t the answer.

It just makes sense, right? Government workers often live in the communities they serve and therefore share many of the same interests.

That’s what makes bargaining for the common good so refreshing and potentially powerful.

It’s a direct counter to the past four decades of conservative attacks on government and corporate “trickle down” economics. And it’s a crystal clear example of what democracy actually looks like in action.

Categories Democracy, Unions

Joe Biden Gave a Great Speech in Iowa Today

By dianeravitch
August 7, 2019 //
33

 

I was driving home from a friend’s memorial service held in Salisbury, Connecticut, and I tuned in to CNN, where I heard the live broadcast of a speech by Joe Biden. He was in Burlington, Iowa.

It was about American values, what we stand for, what our ideals are, and how Trump has betrayed those ideals and appealed to the darkest forces in our society. Trump is a propagandist and apologist for racism and White Supremacy, he said. The biggest applause line was when he said that Trump was like George Wallace, not George Washington.

He spoke of the stain of racism that runs through our history. And he spoke of the constant struggle to extend our ideals and overcome our history of slavery and racism.

He tore into Trump with passion and vigor. He described as clearly as possible why this accidental president is unfit for the office he holds, Why he is a threat to our democracy, and why he must not be re-elected.

The link from NBC.

 

Categories Accountability, Character, Democracy, Guns, Justice, Racism, Trump

Bernie Sanders Speaks to UTLA leadership Conference about His Agenda

By dianeravitch
July 29, 2019 //
37

Bernie Sanders recently was invited by the United Teachers of Los Angeles to speak to its Leadership Conference.

I was invited to make a tape introducing him. I did but you won’t see it or hear it. Technical problems. Just wait. You will hear Bernie loud and clear. He is still the only candidate with a thoughtful education agenda.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Democracy, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding, Privatization, Testing
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