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Jeb’s Foundation for Educational Excellence Celebrates Mississippi’s Higher Standards Day After State Defeats Funding Schools

By dianeravitch
November 5, 2015 //
21

This is incredible timing. Yesterday, voters in Mississippi turned down an initiative to increase state funding for public schools. They were urged on by Governor Phil Bryant and the Republican leadership of the Legislature, who feared that the courts would tell the Legislature what to do instead of letting the Legislature under-fund the schools all on their own.

The next day, today, former Governor Jeb Bush’s former Foundation for Educational Excellence (now headed by education expert Condoleeza Rice) saluted Mississippi for raising its standards! How cynical to think that higher standards and harder tests will improve test scores. This is like telling a student who can’t clear a 4-foot bar that you will help him by raising it to 6 feet. How cynical can one be? This is a slap in the face to every parent, teacher, and student in Mississippi.

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November 5, 2015 Contact: Press Office
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RELEASE: Mississippi Raises Expectations for Students
State Leaders Continue Trend towards Readiness for College and Career

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Mississippi State Board of Education accepted rigorous new performance level cut scores for the state test given to students last spring. The vote signals the desire of Mississippi leaders to continue raising rigor for students and ensuring they have demonstrated a thorough understanding of grade-level content and are on track to being ready for college-level coursework or the workforce.

“This is yet another example of Mississippi’s clear commitment to raising expectations for its students. Governor Phil Bryant, Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn, the Legislature, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright, as well as the State Board of Education have revolutionized education policy in the Magnolia State, and we are starting to see some promising results for Mississippi’s students,” said Patricia Levesque, CEO for the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). “Last week, Mississippi posted gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Today, the Board of Education took another crucial step toward reform, ensuring that Mississippi’s students become better prepared for college and career opportunities. I applaud the Board as well as the incredible efforts of Mississippi’s educators, parents and community leaders, who are taking ownership of these reforms to better prepare young Mississippians for life’s increasing expectations.”

Mississippi’s new proficiency expectations are aligned with student performance on the NAEP, which is considered the gold standard for measuring student proficiency. The difference between NAEP and individual states’ proficiency expectations are wide and varied. This discrepancy is called an “honesty gap.” Later this month, if Mississippi follows the lead of setting more rigorous high school expectations, the honesty gaps for elementary and middle school will also close.

“Our teachers have worked incredibly hard over the past few years to help students reach these higher standards, and they should be commended for getting our students off to a strong start on their journey to college and the workforce,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education.

Requiring more of students will always be harder than requiring less. But Mississippi education officials have demonstrated a strong commitment to raising their proficiency expectations and creating an education system where every child masters the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful.

Visit ExcelinEd’s website http://WhyProficiencyMatters.com/Mississippi for more facts, graphics and sharable content. Join the conversation online with #ProficiencyMatters.

Categories Mississippi

Mississippi Votes Against Funding Public Schools

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2015 //
16

Act 42 failed in Mississippi. It would have required the state to fully fund public schools. The Republican legislature and governor fought it by proposing an alternative, deceptively named Act 42A, which maintains the status quo. Under the alternative, the legislature is free to spend whatever it chooses.

When people sign on to the ideology of choice, they begin to think like consumers, not citizens. “I take care of my children, you take care of yours.” They forget about their responsibility for the children of the community and the state. They abandon any obligation to other people’s children. They forget that education is a civic responsibility and an investment in the future.

Amanda Koonlaba, a teacher in Mississippi who worked for passage of Act 42, reacted:

“Mississippi- where we like 50th so much we will even accept 51st in education. The other states can sigh in relief and keep saying “at least we aren’t Mississippi”

“But, the sleeping giant is awake. I hope MS leg is ready. The success or failure of our schools is on their hands. The 90% of our children in public schools have an army rising up.

“I hope the “we are working on it” and “let us handle it” is not forgotten. We want solutions. Not shifting of tax payer dollars to private schools. Not massive tax cuts for corporate buddies. We want real solutions. Not rhetoric. Get in there legislators. Get dirty on the mess of poverty, underfunded schools and children and teachers who need help. Call the educators in your districts. Bring them in. Ignore the lobbies.

“We are watching. We won’t be silent. #FedUpWith50th”

Categories Mississippi

If You Live in Mississippi, Get Out and Vote for Initiative 42

By dianeravitch
November 3, 2015 //
0

Please vote today to support and fund the public schools of Mississippi.

Vote for Act 42. Do not vote for the alternative intended to confuse voters.

Read this to understand why Initiative 42 matters. It was written by a kindergarten teacher in Mississippi.

In 1997, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law promising to provide each public school district in Mississippi enough financial support to furnish an adequate education to every K-12 student. That law is called the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), and has only been followed twice since it was passed. This has resulted in a shortfall of over a billion dollars since 2009. That is a billion dollars that would have provided textbooks, technology, and certified teachers. Instead, Mississippi’s students have just had to do without.

In 2014, nearly 200,000 Mississippians from every county and both political parties took a stand and signed petitions to have Initiative 42 added to the ballot on November 3, 2015. This would amend the state constitution in a way that makes public education a priority instead of an afterthought. Initiative 42 closes a loophole that has allowed the Legislature to break the MAEP law for so long.

If you want to have a better future in your state, invest in education now.

Categories Funding, Mississippi

If You Want to Help Mississippians Who Are Fighting for Their Public Schools, Please Donate

By dianeravitch
October 21, 2015 //
0

A few days ago, I wrote a post about the battle in Mississippi about adequate funding for the public schools.

The positive proposal is called Initiative 42.

The supporters of Initiative 42 are trying to get the Legislature to keep its promises. Their opponents are defending the status quo of underfunded schools, which will harm the children of the state.

If you want to help, please send a contribution:

You can donate here http://42forbetterschools.org/donate/

Categories Funding, Mississippi

Amanda Koonlaba: Can the People of Mississippi Save Their Public Schools?

By dianeravitch
October 19, 2015 //
7

Amanda Koonlaba, an art teacher in Tupelo, Mississippi, explains here that Mississippi is in a pitched battle to fund its public schools adequately. The issue is joined in a political struggle over Initiative 42, which would require the adequate funding of public education. Initiative 42 is opposed by the forces of privatization, which prefer to open privately managed charters, hand out vouchers for religious schools, and block any increase in funding for the public schools.

Koonlaba writes:

In 1997, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law promising to provide each public school district in Mississippi enough financial support to furnish an adequate education to every K-12 student. That law is called the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), and has only been followed twice since its was passed. This has resulted in a shortfall of over a billion dollars since 2009. That is a billion dollars that would have provided textbooks, technology, and certified teachers. Instead, Mississippi’s students have just had to do without.

In 2014, nearly 200,000 Mississippians from every county and both political parties took a stand and signed petitions to have Initiative 42 added to the ballot on November 3, 2015. This would amend the state constitution in a way that makes public education a priority instead of an afterthought. Initiative 42 closes a loophole that has allowed the Legislature to break the MAEP law for so long.

After citizens signed these petitions, the very first thing the Legislature did when they went back into session was to pass an alternative to Initiative 42.

The alternative was intended to confuse voters, to protect the status quo, and to prevent any increase in funding for public schools.

The leaders of the opposition to Initiative 42 have ties to the Koch Brothers and Americans for Prosperity.

And ALEC, the enemy of the public good, is involved too.

This spring, the Legislature passed a school voucher bill straight from the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) playbook. ALEC helps corporations, idealogues, and their political allies pass legislation that privatizes schools. This legislation is written behind closed doors and then passed around from state to state. All a lawmaker has to do is fill in the blanks with the name of their particular state. It benefits large corporations and directs public tax dollars to private entities. ALEC is funded by the Koch Brothers. Interestingly, Jeb Bush, who is also closely connected to Americans for Prosperity, attended [Governor] Phil Bryant’s signing of this bill in Jackson.

The passage of Initiative 42 is crucial for the future of the children and public schools of Mississippi. It is a chance for the public to say NO to the 1% that rule ALEC and the other privatization advocates.

It is a chance for citizens and local communities to stand up for their public schools and stop the corporate assault on them.

Koonlaba writes:

Initiative 42 is a light in the darkness of this attack on Mississippi’s public schools. It is a chance for the citizens of Mississippi to stand up to the Legislature and remind them that they work for citizens not privatizers. Mississippians want their public schools to remain public and be fully funded.

However, Mississippians need help sorting through what the Executive Editor of the Clarion Ledger, Sam R. Hall, called “a load of horse crap” from the opposition to Initiative 42. Luckily, several groups are working to help Mississippians do this to get the initiative passed.

The Parent’s Campaign and the Mississippi Association of Educators have been working to educate the public on the initiative. 42 for Better Schools is the actual campaign to pass Initiative 42 and is a coalition of Mississippi public schools supporters and organizations. A grassroots group called Fed Up with 50th emerged to support school funding issues. They write on their Facebook page that

“We are law-abiding, tax-paying Mississippi voters—Republicans and Democrats—and we are FED UP! We are FED UP with failing schools, low graduation rates, poor teacher support, crowded classrooms, crumbling buildings, not enough textbooks or computers—all the things that make us 50th in education year after year. More than anything, we are FED UP that our legislators continue to BREAK THE LAW and underfund our schools, STEALING from our children and SELLING OUT their future to special interests.”
If Initiative 42 passes on November 3, Mississippians will have won a major battle but will have much work still left to do. If it doesn’t pass, the war will be lost.

Initiative 42 is a chance for Mississippians to tell the corporate entrepreneurs that their children and their public schools are not for sale.

If they stand together, the people of Mississippi can beat the 1%.

Categories Budget Cuts, Equity, Funding, Mississippi, Privatization

Mississippi Blogger: A Modest Proposal for Education Reform

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2015 //
11

Mississippi teacher-blogger James Comans has indulged in Swiftian satire in this post about “reform.” He informed me that he was inspired by the post “Is It Really ‘All About the Kids.'”

Comans assumes the voice of a reformster. Why not require teachers to live in monasteries? Why pay them? If they are “called” to teach, they should volunteer. If they get minimum wage, they should be shamed into donating their meager salaries to worthy causes,like charter schools.

Will this make teachers better? Who knows? It will surely cut costs. What else matters? That’s how you put Children First and show that Students Matter.

Categories Corporate Reform, Funding, Mississippi, Teachers and Teaching

Mississippi: Legislators Don’t Want to Fund Impoverished Schools

By dianeravitch
January 16, 2015 //
8

According to a fine article in “The Hechinger Report” by Jackie Mader, many schools in Mississippi lack the basics to provide equal opportunity or even a minimally decent education. Some districts have decrepit facilities and can’t afford textbooks or technology. Pay for educators is low, and class sizes are large.

“Nearly 200,000 voters signed a petition to amend Mississippi’s constitution, adding to it language that would require the state “legislature to fund an adequate and efficient school system of free public schools.” Known as Amendment 42, its advocates consider it the best hope for holding the state accountable for fully funding persistently failing schools.”

However, a majority of the legislature passed a competing amendment.

“But Republican legislators introduced an alternative amendment that was passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives in a 64-57 vote on Tuesday. It deleted any reference to making the state responsible for providing funding to schools. Pending approval from the Senate, both initiatives will go on the ballot this November, making voters choose between these two similar-sounding yet antithetical amendments.”

Mississippi has very low scores. Higher standards won’t help. Adequate resources would.

Categories Funding, Mississippi

Common Sense in Meridian, Mississippi

By dianeravitch
April 4, 2014 //
22

The Board of Trustees of the Meridian, Mississippi, public school district voted unanimously to terminate an agreement with Freedom Rock Christian Fellowship Church because the church planned to open a charter school.

 
“Freedom Rock is among a dozen groups statewide that have filed applications for the first charter schools in Mississippi. The Meridian church and its parent organization New Destiny Urban Community Development Corporation have submitted a petition for the New Destiny Charter Academy, also referred to as “The Academy.” The Academy is a two-phase project, which, in the first two years – SY2014-2014 and SY2015-2016 – will serve students from K-3, and beginning in SY2016-17 will begin additionally serving grades 4-5.
The school district and church entered into an agreement in October 2013 for operation of Freedom Rock’s Camp Destiny after school program, which was awarded a $1.7 million 21st Century Grant by the Mississippi Department of Education, with the money to be disbursed over 4.5 years.
“The Department of Education does provide those type of grants, and they are awarded to organizations that have significant relationships with school districts,” Taylor said.
Should Freedom Rock establish a charter school in the district, that would put them in competition with MPSD, Taylor said, adding that the establishment of a charter school in the local school district would mean a loss of state funding and educators for MPSD.
“For example, if a charter school came into our district and they were just mildly successful and were able to attract 100 of our students, the Meridian Public School District would lose 100 students, $1 million dollars, 15 teachers and we would have to close a school building. None of our expenses would go down, we would just lose that much money and teachers,” he said.

 

Common sense: The school board was not prepared to harm its public schools for the sake of a charter school run by the church.

 

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Mississippi, Religion
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