Archives for category: Supporting public schools
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Kentucky: NPE Action Endorses a Teacher For the Legislature!

By dianeravitch
April 14, 2018 //
2

 

 

The Network for Public Education Action Fund endorses Tina Bojanowski, who is running for the Kentucky House of Representatives, District 32.

Instead of complaining about the legislature, she is running for a seat.

She has no primary challenger, but needs your help in the general election in November.

The Network for Public Education Action has endorsed special education teacher Tina Bojanowski for the District 32 seat in Kentucky’s House of Representatives. Since 2010, Tina has been a special education teacher for Jefferson County Public Schools. She recently completed a Ph.D. in education and social change, and wants to use her knowledge and experience to ensure a high quality public education for all children.

Tina considered becoming a research professor, but realized that legislators seldomly read academic literature when making policy decisions. She decided to run for the legislature instead because having a voice on the floor and a vote will have more direct impact. She told NPE Action that her intention is to “bring the voice of a special education teacher to the floor of the state capitol to speak for public education.”

Tina’s positions on public education are in line with NPE Action. She is against high-stakes standardized testing as a way to evaluate teachers or measure student achievement. She supports sufficiently funding schools. She wants to ensure that education is a desirable profession both financially (living wages, pensions, and benefits) and professionally (treating educators as professionals).

She is strongly against the use of vouchers and tax credits to fund private or parochial schools with public funds. She also supports legislation that would repeal the 2017 charter school law passed in Kentucky. Until the law is repealed, Tina said she “would require charter schools (and the companies that manage the charter schools) to be completely transparent regarding the spending of public money.” She is also against virtual and/or online charter schools.

Tina understands that when privatization schemes like charter and vouchers divert funds away from public education, it is the most vulnerable students that are the most severely impacted.

Tina does not have a challenger in the primary election, but needs your support for the general election on November 6, 2018. Please do everything you can to help Tina bring her knowledge and experience to Frankfort to ensure a high quality public education for all children.

Categories Education Reform, Kentucky, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Supporting public schools

Virginia: Governor Northam Will Spend a Day as a Teacher

By dianeravitch
April 14, 2018 //
50

 

To mark Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6-12, Governor Ralph Northam will teach in a public school in Virginia.

But Governor Northam is not the only state official who will teach for a day. Other state officials and the state’s First Lady will also teachfor a day. This won’t be a challenge for the state Secretary of Education, Atif Qarn. He was a middle school social studies teacher when he was invited by Governor Northam to be Secretary of Education.

Northam is the real deal. Will your Governor mark Teacher Appreciation Week? Would he or she agree to teach for a day? What will Betsy DeVos do? In New York, Governor Cuomo pays more attention to School Choice Week than to Teacher Appreciation Day.

The Roanoke Times suggests that Northam visit rural schools where water drips into the classroom through a leaky roof.

“Come the second week of May, some Virginia students will see a new teacher in their classroom.

“Gov. Ralph Northam has pledged that, as part of Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-12, he’ll substitute as a teacher somewhere in Virginia. So, too, will Virginia First Lady Pam Northam, the governor’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer, and state Secretary of Education Atif Qarn. The governor won’t have far to go if he doesn’t want to. His office in the state capitol is only about eight minutes away from Bellevue Elementary in downtown Richmond — perhaps a little closer since the governor’s motorcade might not have to stop for lights.

“We have a different suggestion, though. The governor ought to go as far away from Richmond as he can go and still be in Virginia. He ought to go to Lee County, in the state’s far southwestern tip, a place that’s closer to seven other state capitals that its own.

“Specifically, the governor ought to go to Flatwoods Elementary in Jonesville. As a doctor, Northam would be well-qualified to teach Lora Roop’s fourth-and-fifth grade science classes.

“We also hope it’s a rainy day, because then the governor can get the full effect of teaching in her classroom — he can watch the rainwater dripping through the ceiling into the trash cans that are strategically set out in the classroom. Perhaps he can even join the students in mopping up the floor.

“Perhaps then the governor can fully appreciate the shocking disparities between some of Virginia’s rural schools and some of its suburban ones. In Loudoun County, fifth-graders are learning computer science. In Lee County, they’re learning how to clean the floors.”

Categories Education Reform, Supporting public schools, Teachers, Virginia

EdWeek: Congress Rejects Trump-DeVos Education Budget Proposals

By dianeravitch
March 22, 2018 //
11

 

EdWeek reports that Congress’s new budget ignored the funding proposals by the Trump administration’s to slash education spending and shift large sums of money to choice. 

Congratulations to a bipartisan coalition in a congress that stopped Trump and DeVos from performing radical surgery on useful federal programs.

“Lawmakers sent a message to President Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in their bill to fund the federal government: We’re not the biggest fans of your big education ideas.

“Congress would increase spending at the U.S. Department of Education by $2.6 billion over previously enacted levels in fiscal year 2018, up to $70.9 billion, under a new omnibus spending bill that could finally resolve a months-long logjam on Capitol Hill.

“In addition, funding for Title I, the biggest pot of federal money for public schools, which is earmarked for disadvantaged students, would increase by $300 million from fiscal 2017 enacted spending, up to $15.8 billion.

“The fiscal 2018 spending bill, released late Wednesday, doesn’t contain several key changes sought by Trump in his first budget plan. In fact, Trump’s budget plan for fiscal 2018 would have cut discretionary education spending by $9.2 billion. So Congress’ bill is a significant rebuke of sorts to the president’s education vision.

“In fact, the spending bill leaves out a $250 million private school choice initiative the president and DeVos sought, as well as a $1 billion program designed to encourage open enrollment in districts.

“Title II, which provides professional development to educators, would be flat-funded at roughly $2.1 billion. The Trump budget pitch for fiscal 2018 eliminated Title II entirely—it was the single biggest cut to K-12 Trump sought for fiscal 2018. And Title IV, a block grant for districts that can fund a diverse set of needs from school safety to ed-tech, would receive $1.1 billion, a big increase from its curent funding level of $400 million. Trump also sought to eliminate Title IV.

“Funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers would rise up by $20 million up to $1.2 billion; that’s another program the Trump budget proposal axed. In addition, special education grants would go up by $299 million to $13.1 billion. And federal aid to charter schools would increase to $400 million, a $58 million boost…

”The top Senate Democrat for education, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, praised the bipartisan agreement to dismiss the “extreme ideas to privatize our nation’s public schools and dismantle the Department of Education” from DeVos.”

Too bad that the federal government will put more money into charters. Democrats still fail to realize the dangers of privatization posed by privately managed charters, which take public money but fight accountability and oversight. Nor do they seem alarmed that public schools are being eliminated in cities like Indianapolis and Washington, D.C.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Funding, Privatization, Supporting public schools, Trump, U.S. Department of Education

Center for American Progress: The Highly Negative Effects of Vouchers

By dianeravitch
March 22, 2018 //
48

 

The Center for American Progress published a useful review of voucher research, which concludes that going to a voucher school is equivalent to losing 1/3 of a year of schooling. Over the past year or so, I have posted the individual studies of vouchers as they appeared, and it is helpful to have them summarized in one place.

The authors of this research review—Ulrich Boser, Meg Bender, and Erin Roth—are senior analysts at CAP. They have done a good job in pulling together the many studies and analyzing the negative effects of vouchers on children. Researchers do not agree on the wisdom of converting test score gains or losses into “days of learning,” a strategy invented by researchers at CREDO, but the authors here use the device against the choice advocates who use it to bash public schools.

CAP is a puzzle to me. Throughout the Obama years, it was a safe haven and cheerleading squad for everything associated with the Obama administration, including the failed, odious, and ineffective Race to the Top.

As this carefully researched paper makes clear, CAP opposes vouchers. But where is CAP on charters? Is it still defending the Obama-Duncan line that school choice is good and traditional public schools are not? Is it willing to do the same research-based review of charters that it did of vouchers?

Does CAP still believe in school choice? Does it support half of the Trump-DeVos agenda? Or will it help return the Democratic Party to its roots by acknowledging the importance of strong public schools, democratically governed, subject to state and federal laws, doors open to all?

 

 

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Democrats, Privatization, Race to the Top, School Choice, Supporting public schools, Vouchers

Network for Public Education Action Fund Endorses Denise Cole for Newark Board of Education

By dianeravitch
March 13, 2018 //
0

 

The NPE Action Fund endorses Denise Cole for election to the Newark, New Jersey, Board of Education.

The vote is April 17.

“Denise Cole has received the endorsement of the Network for Public Education Action for a seat on the Newark, New Jersey Board of Education.

“Denise is a dedicated public education advocate, with a strong history of working with national, state and local organizations like Journey for Justice, The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, PULSE (Parents United for Local School Education), Parents Educating Parents, and Communities United. Her years as an advocate will help her amplify the voice of the voters and community so that they can collectively take part in decisions that will directly impact their lives.

“She supports the NAACP’s Resolution on a Moratorium on Charter Schools, and believes that “charter schools should be required to be totally transparent with the public on the spending of taxpayer money.” With almost $250 million dollars diverted to charter schools from the Newark Public School budget, such transparency is crucial.

“Denise told us that taxpayer dollars should go “directly into the classroom for teacher and student success,” and that this is best achieved “by incorporating wraparound services that are sustainable.” Denise invites parents to work to support changes in the traditional public schools that they seek in charter and private schools. She said, “We must become the change we want for our children and community.”

“We ask you to support Denise Cole’s candidacy for the Newark Board of Education on April 17th.”

Categories Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Newark, Supporting public schools

Tomorrow is the Start of #PublicSchoolsWeek: Please Tweet

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2018 //
6

 

Public Schools Week begins on March 12 and continues to March 16.

Please send this email to your members of Congress letting them know you support public schools and you would like them to express their support next week as well. You can click and send here to generate that email. Let’s get as many members as we can to stand on the floor and say they love public schools.

Please tweet your support for our community public schools.

Write your own tweet or use one of those suggested below.

My tweet is: I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because public schools educated me and gave me the chance to achieve my dreams. #LovePublicEducation

And:

I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because public schools are the anchor of their community and the foundation of democracy.

What is yours?

Here are some suggestions:

I support #PublicSchoolsWeek because strengthening our public schools is the best way to ensure our children’s future success and our country’s prosperity. #LovePublicEducation

An educated America is a better America. Want a stronger America? Improve public education.

#PublicSchoolsWeek Learn more here.

I #LovePublicEducation because 9 out of every 10 students in America attend a public school.

#PublicSchoolsWeek. Learn more here.

Local public schools have been our greatest historic asset as a nation and hold the highest potential for preparing each child to thrive in the future. We #LovePublicSchools. #PublicSchoolsWeek

All children have the right to a public education that prepares them for college, careers and citizenship..

Quality public schools build the knowledge and skills young people need to succeed in a global knowledge-based world. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Communities are stronger and schools are better when we all work together to support public education. #PublicSchoolsWeek #LovePublicEducation. Learn more here.

Educated citizens make better neighbors. They bring income and taxes into the community. They are healthier. They are more likely to vote. That’s why I support #PublicSchoolsWeek

When schools are a hub of activity, students, families and the community benefit. Educational facilities are used more, neighborhoods are safer and residents are more aware of the services available to them. #PublicSchoolsWeek

More students graduate when families, community organizations, businesses and service agencies come together to support public schools. That’s why I support #PublicSchoolsWeek.

I #LovePublicEducation because #PublicSchools recognize the unique talents and needs that each student brings (including and beyond academic needs), and offer a wide range of services that support the total child.

During #PublicSchoolsWeek we celebrate the many school professionals who work directly with families to make the important decisions that impact their child and the school as a whole.

3.13 million teachers work in public schools. Classroom teachers support and challenge students every day, building knowledge of fundamental and advanced concepts and skills while encouraging curiosity and a love of learning. #PublicSchoolsWeek

In 2017 83% of students graduated high school—the highest graduation rate in the nation’s history and 69% of recent high school graduates enrolled in 2-year or 4-year college #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools make sure kids receive at least one nutritious meal a day. 30.3 million school lunches are served each day, including 20.1 million free and 2 million reduced price lunches. #PublicSchoolsWeek

14.57 million school breakfasts are served each day, including 11.53 million free lunches. Kids who start their day with a healthy breakfast are more ready and able to learn. #PublicSchoolsWeek

45.2% of school districts use Medicaid to expand health related services for students (such as immunizations, asthma and diabetes treatment and vision/hearing screenings). #PublicSchoolsWeek

67% of parents rate their oldest child’s school as an “A” or “B” #PublicSchoolsWeek

Everyone in our school community—teachers, principals, superintendents, school board members, parents, SISPs and more—plays a critical role in helping students succeed. #PublicSchoolsWeek

What will it take to graduate all students ready for the future? A school community dedicated to supporting students and helping them learn. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Preparing students for the future is a collaborative endeavor. Teachers, specialized educators, school and district leaders, families and communities all play a role. #PublicSchoolsWeek

To help all students reach their full potential, teachers, principals, school counselors, other school staff, families and communities must all work together. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools are inclusive places. We will educate you no matter how well you read, how much money your family has, the language you speak or what you believe in. I #LovePublicEducation. # PublicSchoolsWeek

We have a national responsibility to provide great public schools for every child in America. #PublicSchoolsWeek Join us in celebrating our public schools.

We should focus on investing in public schools where 90% of our children go, not directing $ away from them for the 10% who go to private schools. #PublicSchoolsWeek

A child’s opportunity for success should not be left to chance. Every child needs a quality, well-equipped school rights in his neighborhood where he can learn, be inspired and thrive. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Resourced neighborhood public schools that are desirable places to be and to learn are our best bet for ensuring every child has a great future ahead of them. #PublicSchoolsWeek

We should invest in making every public school great because that’s what every child deserves. It shouldn’t be available based on how much money their parents make, what language they speak at home, and certainly not what neighborhood they live in. #PublicSchoolsWeek

In many communities, the school district is the largest employer. Teachers, bus drivers, administrators, cafeteria workers, coaches, facilities management, all depend on the school district and all of these jobs contribute to the fabric of a community. #PublicSchoolsWeek

During times of crisis our public schools serve as a key gathering place for distressed communities, providing meals, means of communication, medical aid and shelter for families. Maintaining school buildings is essential. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public schools have a purpose and a role to play not just for individual students, but for communities across the nation. It is the one thing over 90% of American students and families have in common. It is the glue that holds our fragile democracy together. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public education is a vital component of our nation’s infrastructure and public schools depend on the support and involvement of the community they serve. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Public education has always been the great equalizer in the U.S. We must do everything we can to keep it that way. #PublicSchoolsWeek

Categories Supporting public schools

California: The Network for Public Education Action Fund Endorses John Chiang for Governor

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2018 //
40

 

California is holding a gubernatorial election this year. Three candidates lead the field. Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles and a strong supporter of privatizing public schools; Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco and noncommittal on privatization; and John Chiang, State Treasurer and advocate of charter accountability, is a strong supporter of public schools.

If no candidate wins a majority, the two top candidates will face one another in a runoff.

The Network for Public Education Action Fund enthusiastically endorses John Chiang for Governor.

When John Chiang responded to our survey, he emphasized his support for good public schools for all students.

When we asked John what he would do if elected, he said the following:

“I plan to restore academic success by increasing per-pupil funding, reducing class sizes, and moving towards providing free tuition for two years of community college. We also need to address underlying factors that have put stress on our education system– – an unfair economy that has left the middle class behind; the inability of students and families to afford textbooks, supplies, food and housing; threats in Washington to public education, affordable health care, financial aid, and more. We need to do everything possible to look holistically at ways to improve our education system so every student has an opportunity to achieve their dreams.”

John is concerned about the effects of high-stakes testing on students. He told us, “We’ve seen what damage “high-stakes” testing can do to our students, teachers and schools, especially in unfairly labeling students of color, students with disabilities and English language learners as failing. ‘Teaching to the test’ often forces good instructional practices to be thrown out for a soulless stream of worksheets based on boring, repetitive test prep materials. That’s not what we want for our kids. We need to use tests more sensibly, move beyond test-based accountability measures, and provide teachers with the training and support they need to help our students achieve.”

John is a strong proponent of charter accountability and transparency. He believes that charter schools must be responsible to locally elected school boards, subject to public audits and the Brown Act, and be held to state conflict of interest standards.

He is also clear in his opposition to vouchers. “We cannot rob our public schools to line the pockets of private school owners. I oppose the use of vouchers and tax credits for private and parochial schools. We need to continue to invest in our public schools and focus on supporting certified teachers and students as they strive to instill and learn the skills needed for a successful 21st century education.”

For all of the above positions and more, we believe that John is the strongest friend of public education remaining in the California Governor’s race. We strongly urge Californians to vote for John Chiang in the June 5th primary. Voter registration ends May 21 and mail in ballots must must arrive by May 29, 2018.

 

Categories California, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Supporting public schools

Tom Ultican: California School Administrators Endorse Favorite of Billionaire Boys Club

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2018 //
8

 

As retired high school teacher Tom Ultican writes: This makes no sense.

The California Association of School Administrators endorsed Marshall Tuck, the candidate of the privatization movement, in the race for State Superintendent of Instruction, and snubbed Tony Thurmond, a steadfast friend of public education.

The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Back-Stabs Public Education

Read his post to see where Tuck’s money comes from.  It’s the Destroy Public Education Movement.

The old familiar faces. Walton, Broad, Jobs,Hastings, Fischer.  And more that you will recognize.

I urge my friends in California to vote for Tony Thurmond. He supports public schools, and we should support him.

 

 

Categories Billionaires, California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Supporting public schools

The Horace Mann League Honors Carol Burris as Outstanding Friend of Public Education: This is What She Said

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2018 //
9

 

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.”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Network for Public Education, Privatization, Supporting public schools

Des Moines Register: Iowa Has Plenty of School Choice, Why Do Legislators Want More?

By dianeravitch
February 5, 2018 //
3

It is so rare to find a mainstream newspaper that supports public schools and opposes privatization, that it is worth paying attention when you see one. Our reader Chiara sent this one in. If you see one in your city or state, send it in. Iowa has long been renowned for its excellent public schools. Community support is a big part of that excellence. Thank you, Des Moines Register!

The editorial begins like this:

Let’s just call the “school choice” movement what it really is: an effort to funnel taxpayer dollars from public schools to vouchers, private schools and home schools. Supporters seem to believe Iowa children are being held hostage in collapsing government education institutions. 

“If there’s a public school that’s failing, we have a responsibility to those children that we give them the best opportunity possible,” said Sen. Mark Chelgren, a Republican from Ottumwa.

Actually, if schools are failing, the Iowa Legislature has a responsibility to help fix them, which includes adequately funding them. Despite the rhetoric of Chelgren and other school-choice advocates, Iowa parents have numerous choices in educating their children.

That is exactly right. When a school has low test scores, help it. Support the kids and the teachers. Don’t kill public education by betting on vouchers (a proven failure) and charters (privately run schools that typically do no better than the public schools they replace).

 

 

 

Categories Iowa, School Choice, Supporting public schools
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