Archives for category: Supporting public schools
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Politifact: What Were the Top Tax Rates Under Eisenhower?

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2016 //
36

Bernie Sanders said recently that tax rates under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower were as high as 90% for the highest income bracket.

 

Politifact assessed that claim and shows here that it is true.

 

What if Bill Gates, Eli Broad, the Walton family, the Koch brothers, Art Pope, Michael Bloomberg, Paul Tudor Jones, John Arnold, Jonathan Sackler (Mr. OxyContin) and all the other billionaires had their income taxed at Eisenhower rates? We would be able to repair our schools, pay our teachers, hire school nurses, and provide a world-class education. No wonder they prefer to promote school choice. It works for them.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Budget Cuts, Education Reform, School Choice, Supporting public schools

Indiana: Re-Elect Glenda Ritz

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2016 //
0

Since radical extremists took control of state government in Indiana, the governor and legislators have been on an absurd mission to destroy public education, to drain resources from public schools and give it to charter operators and religious schools, and to ruin the teaching profession.

 

One person has stood in their way: Glenda Ritz, the only statewide elected official who is a Democrat. She has fought to stop the madness, and the governor and legislature have tried to strip all power from her office.

 

She has fought hard to protect public education and educators.

 

Glenda has been endorsed by the Network for Public Education Action Fund.

 

I happily endorse Glenda Ritz for re-election as State Superintendent of Public Schools.

 

Here te is the back-story, along with information about how you can help Glenda win.

 

 

“In 2012, grassroots public education groups all over Indiana worked together to defeat education “reformer” Tony Bennett and to elect Glenda Ritz, who ran on a platform of “more time for teaching, less time for testing.”

 

 

“Unfortunately, with the election of Mike Pence as Governor, the political agenda for Indiana schools that Governor Mitch Daniels and Superintendent Bennett started is still in effect. After the election, Pence told a reporter that he would move forward with Tony Bennett’s reform agenda anyway despite the overwhelming vote for Ritz. Since that time, he launched a duplicate education agency to take powers away from her office, he tried to make her position appointed instead of elected, and he signed a law removing her as chair of the State Board of Education.

 

 

“Despite all of this obstruction, Superintendent Ritz has succeeded in moving forward with her education agenda for Indiana schools. She launched a grassroots “Division of Outreach” that hired coordinators all over the state to serve as a direct liaison between the Department of Education and the schools. She worked across party lines to bring an end to the statewide high-stakes, lengthy ISTEP exam and is now serving on a panel to design a test that will inform student growth. And she launched a statewide family literacy program to encourage more time for reading.

 
“Superintendent Ritz oversees the Indiana Department of Education, the only state agency that Governor Pence doesn’t control, so he is going to do everything in his power to make her a one-term superintendent. The Friedman Foundation has been polling on this race, and “Hoosiers for Quality Education,” affiliated with the American Federation for Children, donated $10,000 to Tony Bennett’s handpicked candidate running against Superintendent Ritz.
Superintendent Glenda Ritz needs our help. Please donate $25, $50, or $100 today at http://www.glendaritz.com/donate. Additionally, you can sign up at http://www.glendaritz.com to receive campaign notifications, to volunteer and to spread the message about her student-centered campaign.

 

 

“Together, we can prove once AGAIN that grassroots support from public education advocates can beat corporate money from special interest groups who want to put another Tony Bennett in office.”

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Indiana, Supporting public schools, Vouchers

Join Me in a Webinar on June 8 at 8 pm to Discuss the Save Our Schools March and to Raise Money for Those Who Need Aid

By dianeravitch
June 5, 2016 //
6

I have been invited by organizers of the Save Our Schools March to lead a webinar on June 8 at 8 pm to discuss the future of education reform and our movement to steer it in a direction that supports students and educators.

We will also talk about the Save Our School March, which will happen in Washington, D.C., on July 8 and 9. You can learn more about the march here: http://bit.ly/1sG1oKy

Please join me in conversation this week. We hope to raise enough money to help students and adults who need aid to join us in D.C.

Please register for An Evening with Diane Ravitch on Jun 08, 2016 8:00 PM EDT at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8824328855840974852

Diane will be speaking about her vision for real education reform and sustainable community schools on a Peoples March Webinar at 8:00 PM Eastern July 8th.

On July 31 2011 Diane Ravitch electrified the more than 7000 teachers parents and students gathered for the first Save Our Schools March in DC. Diane continues to be a national leader in the movement to reshape and infuse Public Schools with the principles of Equity, Community Involvement and Voice and Teacher Respect Diane Ravitch is a co-founder and President of the Network for Public Education. She speaks, blogs, and advocates for and with educators, parents and students across the country for Public Schools and Social Justice.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Categories Resistance, Supporting public schools

New York: 98% of School Budgets Pass, Opt Out Supporters Elected to Local Boards

By dianeravitch
May 20, 2016 //
3

New York appears to be in resistance mode. Governor Andrew Cuomo passed a tax cap when he first took office, requiring a 60% supermajority to raise the school budget more than 2% in any year.

 

Despite the millions spent by billionaires to prove to New Yorkers that their local public schools are failing, the voters gave them a vote of confidence. 98% of districts passed their school budget, some overriding the tax cap.

 

In addition, many new school board members were elected, including supporters of the opt-out movement and teachers.

 

The current estimate, reported in this story, is that the opt out numbers were as large this year as last year, that is, about 20% of all the state’s students in grades 3-8.

 

Opt out continues to be a powerful tide, and there is no indication that it is diminishing. As long as the high stakes testing continues, so will the opt out movement.

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Funding, New York, Opt Out, Supporting public schools

Bill Phillis: The Federal Government is the Enemy of Public Schools

By dianeravitch
April 27, 2016 //
33

Bill Phillis is a retired administrator who champions the cause of public schools in Ohio. He founded the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy. Having served as a deputy commissioner of the state education department, he closely tracks the state budget. He frequently writes about the charter industry and its unscrupulous raid on public monies. If you care about public schools in Ohio, you should add your name to his mailing list and consider a contribution.

 

Today he writes:

 

“Federal government adds $333 million to $3 billion already spent to expand the failed charter industry

 

“Congress and the U.S. Department of Education made a devilish wrong turn in public K-12 education policy with the enactment of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Departing from its historical role of supplemental support for the public common schools, the federal government, in some respects, turned against what Horace Mann declared the “greatest discovery of mankind”- the public common school.
“NCLB provided a variety of weapons to discredit and punish the public system. In that context, the feds have appropriated $3 billion to promote the charterization of the public system. In spite of the corruption and racketeering in the charter industry and its dubious performance, the feds have put an additional $333 million in Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for 2016 to further expand the industry.
“The charter industry seems to have a stranglehold on the federal politicians. The charter lobby, via campaign contributions and other perks, are able to advance this inferior alternative to the great American common school system.

“Those great political and educational leaders, who founded the common school system, never envisioned that government would become the enemy of the real public school system.”

 
William Phillis
Ohio E & A

 
Ohio E & A
100 S. 3rd Street
Columbus OH 43215
Sent by ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net

 

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, For-Profit, Fraud, Ohio, Resistance, Supporting public schools, U.S. Department of Education, Virtual Charter Schools

Imagine a New Boston with Great Public Schools!

By dianeravitch
March 28, 2016 //
2

 

The city of Boston has a public relations campaign called #ImagineBoston. This is supposed to be a “visioning exercise.” Education activists have taken the challenge to #ImagineBoston. It was trending on Twitter recently, powered by parents.

 

A blogger named Public School Mama invites you to dream with her and imagine a new Boston:

 

 

I can imagine a new Boston. I can imagine a new day for public schools. We just have to believe in it, collectively.

 

 

Boston has the wealth. We can fund our schools.

 

 

We must vote in leadership that supports public education. We must make education the single most important issue when we vote. We must press every single elected official for details on how they will support the schools.

 

 

And more importantly, we have to vote people out of office when they break their promises to us.

 

 

I’ve been invited to the table but I don’t want to eat with wolves. I refuse to entertain relationships with people who clamor to close our schools on the one hand, and then turn around advocate for more charter seats on the other – as if the two weren’t related.

 

 

I don’t want to hear about structural deficits when 56% of our Chapter 70 aid goes to charter schools that only serve 8,000 students in the city.

 

 

I want to imagine a different Boston.

 

 

One where there are charter schools, yes, but not at the expense of the public schools.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where our schools are joyful centers of learning. Where there is art, music and plenty of recess.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where restorative justice is used and not suspensions to help children learn to modulate their behavior. I can imagine a Boston where children are allowed to be children and are given space to develop self-discipline.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where teenagers are not spending their precious time going to school committee meetings to beg for crumbs but are engaged in active learning opportunities, sports, internships and stem activities.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where our elected and school officials are true partners with us, where we have developed trust and treated each other with respect so that if we do fall upon hard times, there is a well of good will to draw upon.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where parents aren’t laying awake at night wondering if they made some horrible mistake staying in the city and not leaving for the suburbs.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where your zip code does not determine the quality of your education. I can imagine a Boston where any high school in the district is a solid choice for your child.

 

 

I can imagine a Boston where schools are opening in beautiful buildings not being closed or constantly threatened.

 

What about your town or city? Can you imagine an end to the destructive corporate reform policies of the past 15 years and a revival of civic commitment to good public schools for all?

 

 

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Real Education, Supporting public schools

Washington State: The Democrats Who Betrayed the Public Schools

By dianeravitch
March 14, 2016 //
18

Parents and educators in Washington State have fought a long battle to keep charter schools out of their state. There have been four referenda; the first three rejected charters. In 2012, however, Bill Gates and a few of his other billionaire friends put together a fund of $15 million, give or take a few million, to promote a new charter vote. In the other side were school boards, PTAs, teachers, the NAACP, and other civic groups defending public education, whose resources are minuscule compared to Gates & friends. The referendum passed, by less than 1%.

 

Its te opponents sued to block the law, saying that charter schools are not public schools. The Washington state Supreme Court agreed with them.

 

Undaunted, the monied interests have continued their pressure to get public funding. Leave aside the fact that Gates could support charter schools with his spare change.

 

Now on the legislature is ready to satisfy Gates and the other entrepreneurs. Most disturbing is to see that Democrats are enabling the diversion of public money from public schools to privately managed charters. Hopefully, the group’s that led the successful lawsuit will go back to court and challenge this trick again.

 

A reader in Washington state sent this news, with a list of the Democrats who double crossed parents and children to satisfy Bill Gates and friends:

 

 

“It is just terrible to see what is happening in Washington state. For starters, the Supreme Court declared I 1240 unconstitutional on September 4. Charter schools had plenty of time to transition students into public schools, but they refused to close their doors.

 

 

With the support of the Washington Charter Association and a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for $2.1M- charter schools remained opened- and they did so by having the state’s superintendent of public instruction corrupt Alternative Learning Rules.

In January, Steve and Connie Ballmer contributed $250K to a charter PAC. These dollars are being used to fund TV ads, polls, robo calls etc.

 

 

http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcQuerySystem/CommitteeData/contributions?param=V0FTSEMgIDExMQ====&year=2016&type=continuing

 

 

Students were constantly getting bussed to the state’s capital and charter supporters literally camped within the state’s capital. We’ve been told 22 lobbyists filled the halls of the state building.

 

 

SB 6194 got passed out of the R. controlled senate. The House had compelling testimony and would not allow the bill out of committee.

 

 

Title-only bills got passed out of committee. These bills have NO text and are intended to support charter schools and do an end-run around the state’s constitution.

 

 

Larry Springer drafted different legislation, and , less than 24 hours later the bill was on the House floor for a vote. The House holds a slim majority and, with the support of 9 Democrats, SB 6194 got passed out of committee. Here are the turn-coat Dems:

 

1. Judy Clibborn: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/judy-clibborn/

 

 

2. Christopher Hurst: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/christopher-hurst/

 

 

3. Ruth Kagi: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/ruth-kagi/

 

 

4. Kristine Lytton: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/kristine-lytton/

 

 

5. Jeff Morris: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/jeff-morris/

 

 

6. Eric Pettigrew: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/eric-pettigrew

7. David Sawyer: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/david-sawyer/

 

 

8. Tana Senn: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/tana-senn/

 

 

9. Larry Springer: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/larry-springer/

 

 

10. Pat Sullivan: http://housedemocrats.wa.gov/legislators/pat-sullivan

 

 

The bill will not satisfy the Supreme Court. Legislators know this and don’t care. Chad Magendanz made a speech and called for 2000 charter school students to protest next year.

 

 

I’m confident the charter “fix” will not pass constitutional muster. Here is what Paul Laurence (attorney that argued and won I 1240):

 

 

“But attorney Paul Lawrence, who represented those who filed the lawsuit challenging charters, said switching to lottery funds is just an accounting trick.

 

 

“That doesn’t strike me as any different from paying it out of the general fund,” Lawrence said. “I don’t really see that that accomplishes a fix.”

 

 

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/house-approves-bill-to-keep-charter-schools-open-clearing-way-for-passage/

 

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Parents, Supporting public schools, Teachers, Washington State

Plan Ahead: SOS March in July in DC

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2016 //
3

Save Our Schools plans to March on Washington on July 8-10.

 

This will be an exciting event! Plan to be there. Raise your voice against corporate reform, high stakes testing and privatization.

 

 

 

Categories Education Reform, Resistance, Supporting public schools

Thousands Join “Walk-In” for Public Schools

By dianeravitch
February 17, 2016 //
11

Thousands of supporters of public education rallied across the nation on behalf of full funding of their schools. The walk-ins are taking place in more than 30 cities to protest school closings, budget cuts, high-stakes testing, and privatization.

 

 

The movement is being organized by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, a coalition that includes the American Federation of Teachers, the Journey for Justice Alliance, and the Center for Popular Democracy, among other organizations and unions.

 

“The future of public education in the United States stands at a critical crossroad,” a statement from the Alliance reads. “Over the past two decades, a web of billionaire advocates, national foundations, policy institutes, and local and federal decision-makers have worked to dismantle public education and promote a top-down, market-based approach to school reform. Under the guise of civil rights advocacy, this approach has targeted low-income, urban African-American, Latino and immigrant communities, while excluding them from the reform process.”

 

“These attacks are racist and must be stopped,” the statement continues.

 

The movement is demanding:

 

Full, fair funding for neighborhood-based community schools that provide students with quality in-school supports and wraparound services
Charter accountability and transparency and an end to state takeovers of low-performing schools and districts
Positive discipline policies and an end to zero-tolerance
Full and equitable funding for all public schools
Racial justice and equity in our schools and communities.

Categories Budget Cuts, Closing schools, Corporate Reform, Education Reform, Funding, Privatization, Resistance, Standardized Testing, Supporting public schools

NPE Will Release a National Report Card on How Much States Support Public Schools

By dianeravitch
January 31, 2016 //
12

Good news! The Network for Public Education will soon issue our first national report card.

 

What is your state doing to keep public education vibrant and strong? Do students have a good chance to succeed in schools that are funded adequately with appropriate class sizes? Does your state support teacher professionalism? Has your state repelled the forces of privatization? These are some of the questions the report will address.

 

Our first national report card, Valuing Public Education: A 50 State Report Card, evaluates states on their support for public schools.

 

It will be released February 2 at the National Press Club in D.C.

Categories Education Reform, Supporting public schools
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