The latest from the Network for Public Education.
Join us as we speak out against high stakes testing, privatization, and gun violence.
Let teachers teach and children learn without fear—without fear of failing, or being stigmatized, or dodging bullets, in safe, well-funded schools.
The Network for Public Education has released an important report on online learning, directed at parents who need more information about the value of the time spent on computers and other devices in and out of the classroom.
The report urges parents to be wary of hype intended to sell a product of inferior quality and to protect their children’s instructional time from hucksters.
The report aims to answer such questions as:
With so much attention focused on online learning, it is important that parents be armed with the facts. What does the research tell us about online learning, and what are the different types? How well do students do when they take courses online vs. courses with face-to-face classmates and teachers? What is online learning’s promise, and what are its pitfalls? What role does profit play in online learning? When virtual schools get dismal results, why are they still supported? And what are the privacy implications of outsourcing more and more student data into private hands, as occurs when more learning goes online?
It reviews the research literature, which is thin, and warns parents against programs whose sponsors whose primary motive is profit. It looks at blended learning, “personalized learning,” and such programs as Rocketship Charter Schools, School of One (now known as Teach to One), and Mark Zuckerberg’s Summit Learning Platform. It also casts a wary eye towards virtual charter schools, behavioral management apps, and online credit recovery. Additionally, close attention is paid to student privacy issues, which few of the vendors have protected.
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR
March 9, 2018
For more information contact:
Carol Burris, NPE Executive Director
718-577-3276
cburris@networkforpubliceducation.org
Kew Gardens, New York – Today the Network for Public Education (NPE) released a new report, Online Learning: What Every Parent Should Know, in response to the growing dependence on technology in K-12 education. Schools are increasingly implementing digital instruction, often requiring that students use online programs and apps as part of their classwork. Many students even attend a virtual, full-time charter school, never meeting teachers or classmates face to face.
Yet there is scant evidence of educational technology’s success and growing concerns regarding its negative impact. This guide presents a frank assessment of the intended and unintended consequences of online learning in K-12 school and offers questions parents should ask principals if their child’s school adopts computerized programs to deliver instruction, assessment or behavior management.
Rachel Stickland, Co-Chair of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, had the following to say about the report: “NPE’s Online Learning report is essential reading for anyone questioning the research behind the national push toward digital education. With this report in hand, parents can discuss their concerns with online learning confidently with school leadership – whether it’s the lack of evidence showing that it actually works, the political and moneyed interests advancing it, or how it places student privacy at risk.”
Dr. Faith Boninger of the University of Colorado Boulder researches and writes about commercial activities in schools. Commenting on the importance of the report she said, “As much as companies are eager to sell digital technology to schools, and schools are eager to increase children’s achievement, research does not support claims that shifting to digital educational platforms achieves the desired goals. What a growing body of research does indicate, however, is that excessive computer use by children leads to negative health effects such as vision and sleeping problems, social-emotional disturbance, and addiction to digital devices. NPE’s report on on-line learning is an important, timely, resource for parents. In plain language, its review of what we know about online learning shows that parents would do well to not accept promises or bland reassurances, but rather be extremely skeptical consumers. Armed with this report, parents will be able to ask administrators the very hard questions that must be answered adequately in order to justify the use of digital technologies to teach children.”
The 18-page guide is a parent-friendly review of the research on virtual schools, online courses, blended learning and behavior management apps. It also includes a discussion of the student privacy issues that arise when highly sensitive personal student data is collected by online programs and then distributed to third-party vendors without parent knowledge or consent.
The guide’s harshest criticism is reserved for virtual charter schools, whose academic ineffectiveness, coupled with fraudulent attendance practices, resulted in NPE’s recommendation that parents refrain from enrolling their children in online charters.
Based on the report’s findings, NPE President Diane Ravitch advises parents to “be wise consumers.” According to Ravitch, “Technology can be used creatively in the classroom by well-prepared teachers. But most of what is sold as ‘digital learning‘ is a sham that allows vendors to mine student data. Worse, online charter schools are educationally worthless. Students learn best when there is human interaction between teachers and students and among students. Parents must beware of false promises by profiteers.”
Online Learning: What Every Parent Should Know is available online at https://networkforpubliceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Online-Learning-What-Every-Parent-Should-Know.pdf.
The Network for Public Education (NPE) was founded in 2013 by Diane Ravitch and Anthony Cody. Its mission is to protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools for both current and future generations of students. We share information and research on vital issues that concern the future of public education. For more information, please visit: networkforpubliceducation.org.
The Horace Mann League honored Carol Burris as the Outstanding Friend of Public Education of the year. The award was presented by the distinguished research scientist David Berliner.
Burris, who has has a long career as a teacher and much-honored principal in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York, released her notes.
She said:
“Thank you, David, for your kind remarks. And to all, thank you so much for this wonderful honor. To receive an award in Horace Mann’s name—well no award could be more treasured. I am thrilled. I also deeply appreciate the opportunity to speak to all of you today.
“I am often asked if I am afraid for the future of public education. No, I am not afraid. Fear is an inadequate descriptor. I am terrified. Here is why.
“Earlier this month, at the American Enterprise Institute this is how Jeb Bush defined public school districts.:
“12 or 13,000 government-run, unionized, politicized, monopolies. “We call them school districts,” he said.
“When I hear someone define a system of community schools, governed by unpaid volunteers elected by their neighbors as a “government-run, unionized, politicized, monopolies”– there is one thing I know for sure about the speaker—he does not want to improve that system, he does not want to compete with that system, he wants to destroy it.
“This is a summary of the state of school privatization in the United States today:
*15 states have voucher programs, some have several that cater to different student groups.
*6 states have Education Savings Accounts. New Hampshire will likely approve an ESA program within months, bringing the total to seven.
*18 states have tax tuition credit/scholarship programs. Many of these programs give a 100% credit to businesses for donations to scholarships for private schools which makes them a pass-through of public funds to private schools. Some allow the donations to become profitable when they are also deducted on federal returns.
*9 states have individual tax credits and deductions for private school tuition.
*44 states allow charter schools. Of those 44, only 4 vest full authority to the district.
*4 states allow for-profit charters, and 36 states all for-profit management to run the nonprofit charter schools.
*36 states allow virtual online charter schools, nearly all of which are for-profit.
“Of all of the various school privatization schemes, Educational Savings Accounts are in my opinion, the worst. They have become the preferred program of the Koch Brothers, the Goldwater Institute, the Friedman Foundation, Jeb Bush and others. ESAs are at their essence a cynical ploy that reduces society’s obligation to educate our nation’s youth to the dropping of tax dollars onto a debit card
“6 states have ESAs: Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Nevada. Nevada’s program is non-operational and unfunded. Last year, more than 20 state legislatures introduced ESA bills, with the proposed programs nearly always going by a different name. For example, ESAs are called Gardiner Scholarships in Florida, Individualized Education Accounts in Tennessee and Empowerment Scholarships in Arizona. Despite the different names, intended to hide, the joint effort by ALEC to promote the same basic bill, they operate in similar ways.
“Parents pledge to not enroll their son or daughter in a public school or a charter school. In exchange, they get nearly all of what the public school would have spent (usually 90%) placed on a debit card or in an account. This unaccountable and unregulated system is one in which families could easily be victimized by misinformation, false claims, profiteering and fraud. This is not lost on the proponents of ESAs. That is why they have developed all kinds of language to make ESAs seem hip and cutting edge. For example, parents are called “customizers” who choose “a la carte services” that they can select from online marketplaces. What they are really advocating, however, is a return to a time prior to the 1830s when schooling was a haphazard event for all but the wealthy.
“We are in this moment at a critical junction. There are states that are reaching a privatization tipping point from which they will not be able to recover. School districts in Indiana are shutting down—Muncie is about to be taken over by Ball State University which will turn all of its schools to charter schools. There are places where the only options that kids have are charter schools and voucher schools—schools that open and close. In Indiana, charters are shut after years of dismal performance only to be resurrected as voucher schools.
“We need to have the moral courage to say this is not OK.
“I am horrified every time I hear a superintendent say—I am not afraid of competition. Just give me a level playing field. If you want competition on a level playing field, join a hockey team.
“Your professional and ethical obligation is to provide the best and most equitable opportunities your community can afford to give kids. Competition for students will inevitably result in decisions not in the best interest of all kids. I have seen that happen time and again.
“You must assume your authority based on your expertise and your experience.
“No, parents do not always know best when it comes to designing a sound education for their children. Your expertise is critical when it comes determining a child’s educational needs. Doctors do not hand over their prescription pads to parents to prescribe what they want. The police do not allow parents to serve alcohol and drugs to their minor children and their friends in their basements. Children are not chattel. It takes a village to raise a child, not an online shopping cart.
“We commonly fund our schools because we all have a stake in doing the best we can to make sure we have physically and emotionally healthy, well-educated citizens. The era of reform is NOW the status quo. The results are in…. Students do no better in charter schools than public schools, they do worse in voucher schools and online schools are a dismal failure by any measure except profit.
“As superintendents, you have a bully pulpit. Speak truth to your community. Speak truth to your legislators. Don’t let Horace down on your watch. Thank you.”
Johanna Garcia speaks about “The Unconfortable Truth About the Tests.”
The videos were produced by professional videographer Michael Elliott, assisted by Kemala Karmen, on behalf of the Network for Public Education.
Please watch Johanna Garcia and share the videos widely through your social media networks.
Johanna Garcia: The Uncomfortable Truth About the Tests
Johanna Garcia: La Incómoda Verdad Sobre Los Exámenes
Watch here also: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/2018/03/10290/
On April 20, education organizations are joining forces to protest gun violence and demand action from state and federal legislatures. We call it a Day of Action Against Gun Violence.
The Network for Public Education, the NEA, and the AFT are coordinating mass actions in every school district across the nation. Our goal is to ignite political action to stop gun violence.
We invite communities to choose their own strategies to raise consciousness and the will to keep fighting for change. We have suggested actions such as strikes, walk outs, sit-ins, teach-ins, a march to your legislators’ offices, candlelight vigils, arms of parents and teachers clasped around the school. Do what is best for your communities. Work with parents, educators, and students. We assume that thousands of parents, students, and teachers can devise more creative and ingenious ways to demonstrate and protest against gun violence than the organizational leaders can. We invite you to crowdsource your actions and share them with us.
Every student deserves the right to learn in a safe school, without fear of gun violence.
The following organizations have just joined our Day of Action:
Defending the Early Years
The California Teachers Association
Public Schools First, North Carolina
There will be many more.
We expect to have orange armbands on our website soon. Orange is the color signifying support for gun control.
Students!
Parents! Grandparents!
Teachers! Principals! School board members! Staff!
Friends!
Citizens!
Organize now for a national action against gun violence on April 20!
Take the pledge to participate in the action!
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/national-day-of-action-against-gun-violence-in-schools
Join the National Day for Action to Protect Students and Schools from Gun Violence!
No more murders in schools!
Students, teachers, parents, families, members of the community—join together, and you decide what works best in your community. Walk out, strike, sit-in, teach-in, protest, demonstrate, encircle the school with linked arms, March to your legislators’ offices. Be creative. Let your legislators and other elected officials know: It is time to act now to protect students, staff and schools.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. But they change nothing. What’s needed now is legislation to stop the carnage. Weapons of war belong in the hands of trained military and police, not civilians, not children.
This action is sponsored by the Network for Public Education, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the BATS, and many more organizations that care about the safety of our children and our educators.
Please take the pledge to join this national action on April 20.
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/national-day-of-action-against-gun-violence-in-schools
If your organization wants to sign on as a sponsor of the National Day of Action to Protect Our Students and Schools, please contact Carol Burris of the Network for Public Education.
Cburris@networkforpubliceducation.org
David Berliner shook everyone out of their lethargy and state of shock by proposing a national teachers’ strike. Many people loved the idea, but more than a few teachers pointed out that they would be fired if they went out on strike. Lots of people came up with alternatives. Some wanted to exclude elementary schools, but they too have suffered from gun violence. Some wanted actions that took place when school was not in session, but that was like holding a strike on weekends. It quickly became clear that we would get nowhere if we tried to settle on one plan that was acceptable to everyone. In the end, those of us who wanted action realized that communities should crowdsource their protests and coordinate locally. There was no good reason to impose a one-size-fits-all plan on everyone.
And so we turn to you to do what is most effective for your schoool and your community. But make it loud and bold!
What matters most is to organize, plan, raise your voices, and make sure your legislators hear you.
Don’t settle for thoughts and prayers. Don’t settle for bland promises about mental health services (that are being cut). We need real change. We need to learn from nations that don’t tolerate gun violence. In the five years since the massacre of first graders and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been “at least 239 school shootings nationwide. In those episodes, 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed.” (New York Times) The slaughter of children must stop!
Betsy DeVos has energized resistance to the privatization movement. She has stripped away the mask of Democratic support for privatization. She supports charters and vouchers. Trump supports charters and vouchers. Charters are the gateway drug to vouchers. Democrats who support charters are supporting DeVos’ agenda.
It is not just teachers who oppose DeVos and her privatization plans. It is parents, grandparents, citizens. Ninety percent of Americans went to public school. The U.S.is the most powerful nation in the world. We should thank our public schools.
If you don’t like DeVos’ plans to eliminate public schools, join the Network for Public Education. Join us in Indianapolis in October.
Please watch and share this two-minute, eloquent and passionate statement by teacher Jesse Hagopian. Each of his students have lives. He knows them. They have their individual problems and needs. They are more than a score.
Please tweet, share on Facebook, share with your friends.
This video was created by videographer Michael Elliott, with the invaluable assistance of Kemala Karmen, and sponsored by the Network for Public Education.
Tim Slekar, Dean at Edgewood College in Wisconsin and public education advocate extraordinaire, interviews the remarkable Carol Burris on his podcast, “Busted Pencils.”
carol is executive director of the Network for Public Education.
