Archives for category: Teach for America TFA
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The Boston Globe’s Mad Love Crush on Charters

By dianeravitch
November 16, 2012 //
4

EduShyster has done it again.

This time she nails the Boston Globe.

This is the Boston Globe’s dream as expressed by its lead education writer:

“There’s a lot at stake in the takeover of the Gavin by UP Academy. If it succeeds at raising student achievement with an identical student population, then the main complaint of charter school critics will lose its resonance. If relatively inexperienced teachers can do what veterans can’t — namely turn around a school where only one out of four students performs at grade level — then the public cry for longer school days, merit pay, and stricter teacher evaluations will grow louder.”

How great would that be? If the test scores go up at Gavin, now taken over by UP Academy, every inner-city school could have teachers with high expectations but no professional training. All that is needed is a four-year degree, preferably from an Ivy League college or university. Every teacher could be judged by the rise or fall of student test scores. All unions would be abolished. No tenure, no seniority, just test scores. That solves all problems, right?

EduShyster explains the secret of UP’s success.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, Humor, Privatization, Race to the Top, Students, Teach for America TFA, Testing, Unions

How TFA Is Saving the World

By dianeravitch
November 16, 2012 //
13

You may have thought that the biggest problems facing the world were things like war, terrorism, poverty, and growing inequality. If you thought that, you are wrong. What is really needed in every country is an organization prepared to recruit a few dozen smart college graduates and groom them to take over the nation’s education system. From their positions as leaders, they can advance an agenda of testing and privatization. And then, one day all children will get an excellent education, and all the other problems will be solved. Just as we have done in the US in the past twenty years.

Categories Global Education Reform Movement (GERM), International, Teach for America TFA

Camika Royal Responds to Critics

By dianeravitch
November 13, 2012 //
38

Camika Royal, a historian of education and Teach for America alum, write a provocative post in which she called on people to stop using the term “achievement gap.” In her original post, she said the term is offensive and demeaning and explained why. The post generated many responses. I invited Dr. Royal to respond to her critics, and she does so here:

Some have tweeted me and/or commented on my original post about my objection to the term “achievement gap.” The post originally appeared on good.is and was reposted on the Philadelphia Public School Notebook’s blog. Some readers thought that my issue with the so-called achievement gap is just about words. It is not. My concern is neither. I am not the language police or the thought police. People may say what they want and think how they please.

However, there is a consequence for every choice we make. If we are serious about giving under-resourced and historically marginalized students the education they deserve, the narrative of education reform must shift, and our dialogue must honor all voices and perspectives, not just the loudest voices or the ones with the most money behind them.

Not only is the phrase “achievement gap” offensive (which is the least of my concerns), it is also inaccurate because of its inherent Anglo-normativity. Like so many other things in American life and culture, it suggests that whatever White people do is right and whatever everyone else does is wrong, incomplete, abnormal, and/or “the other.”

This is why when people suggest the difference in test scores between Whites and Asians is an “achievement gap” that supposedly disparages Whites, thus disproving the argument of Anglo-normativity, it does not. Even within the comparison of White and Asian students’ test scores, Whites’ test scores are seen as normal and Asians’ high test scores are seen as exotic and exceptional, hence the model minority myth. Both the so-called achievement gap and the model minority myth are racist constructs.

I realize that the label “racist” is strong and hard for some to digest. It isn’t my intention to offend by sharing this truth. Sometimes, the truth hurts. And our modern iteration of racism is so covert, insidious, and subtle that often people who benefit from it are usually completely unaware of it.

As for my blanket use of “White folks” in my original post, I apologize to those I offended by suggesting that there are no intra-racial differences among White people. There is a difference between Whites who are anti-racist advocates, White allies, those who advocate multicultural efforts, those who “don’t see color,” etc. If you believe the lie that we are post-racial in this country, then everything I am writing will seem as foreign as Klingonese.

I don’t think that education reformers use the term “achievement gap” cynically. I think they really believe they are working in the best interests of children. And to be clear, the so-called “achievement gap” and the work that goes into it are not only racist but also elitist.

What extends from the notion of the “achievement gap” is a messiah complex that fuels people rallied around “saving” children from themselves, their families, and their communities. Education reformers’ messiah complex manifests in the belief that the end (a “shot” in life via high test scores) justifies the means (mechanized and routinized instruction, ignoring or dismissing community input and cultural contexts, steam-rolling the concerns of veteran educators, etc.).

This messiah complex compels top-down reforms and resists partnerships with parents and listening to communities because these reformers truly believe they know best. Education reform fueled by martyrdom and the messiah complex is missing the mark. One of my mentors, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, said recently, “Catching up is made nearly impossible by our structural inequalities.” In agreement with her and with you, Dr. Ravitch, I believe that until education reform corrects structural inequalities teeming in under-resourced, historically marginalized communities, education reform will continue to fall short of its goal.

As for Teach For America’s quest to close the so-called “achievement gap,” I received a message on Friday that the organization discussed my article on its monthly national call with its president. According to the message, TFA’s president agreed with my article and said the organization should no longer use the phrase “achievement gap.” This is a small yet significant victory.

Changing one’s language is just the beginning of the shift. Changing organizational thinking must then be tackled; then the actions can be changed. I am stunned but glad that TFA is examining itself for the ways it may be blocking its own mission. I was also impressed that TFA was willing to engage in a conversation with its employees and Twitter followers about my article. It tweeted my article along with the question, “What does everyone think?” One of my fellow TFA alums responded by tweeting, “I think she was a selection mistake.” It’s cool, though. I know a hit dog will holler.

Categories Education Reform, Poverty, Teach for America TFA

Bad News from Minneapolis

By dianeravitch
November 8, 2012 //
12

A reader sends news about the school board election in Minneapolis:

“Don’t know if you got Minneapolis school board results. TFAer Josh Reimnitz narrowly defeated Patty Wycoff. Margin was just 650 some votes out of over 21,000.This was a sad one. Dems were divided as normally intelligent Mpls Mayor R.T. Ryback gave his support to Josh, a 26-yr-old that only moved to Mpls last May, and influenced many others to follow. Keith Eliison and other major Dems supported Wycoff, long-time resident, involved activist and trained treacher. We need a major educational effort to Democrats so that more aren’t duped by these corporatist frauds.”

Only a TFA alum could move to a major city in May and have the money and political connections to win a school board election six months later.

Categories Minnesota, Teach for America TFA

A Plea: Stop Using the Term “Achievement Gap”

By dianeravitch
November 8, 2012 //
37

Dr. Camika Royal explains here that the term “achievement gap” is offensive.  She says that the comparison between whites and African Americans is inherently demeaning to the latter and ignores the reasons for what it claims to address.

Use the term “opportunity gap” or “wealth gap.” But, please, she says, stop using the term “achievement gap.”

My thoughts, Dr. Royal: This phrase  (“the achievement gap”) is used cynically by self-proclaimed “reformers” who have no genuine interest in closing the opportunity gap or the wealth gap. In fact, if you mention the causes of test score differences, they will accuse you of making excuses. They don’t want to talk about poverty or segregation. They don’t want to hear anything about causes, only about test scores gaps. They will point to schools that get high test scores by operating as boot camps. They say that black children need a “different” kind of education, an education where they are taught to obey, to conform, to listen in silence, and to do as they are told without question.

They think that days on end of test prep is the right kind of education for black children, but not for their own.

Until the Wall Street guys, the high-tech titans, and the foundation moguls demand that poor children get the same quality of education that they want for their own children, with experienced teachers, small classes, excellent facilities, ample resources, and a rich curriculum, I can’t take seriously their talk about “closing the gap,” no matter which adjective it takes.

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Poverty, Privatization, Segregation , Racial Isolation and Integration, Teach for America TFA

TFA: The Goal is Power

By dianeravitch
November 5, 2012 //
50

Jersey Jazzman points out what has become apparent: Teach for America is not really about teaching. It is about training the leaders who will take power in the education system.

Some work for Senators and members of Congress. Some are embedded in state and city school systems at the highest levels. Some have ascended to six-figure positions in education before the tender age of 30, doubling what classroom teachers make.

Almost every day brings another announcement of a TFA appointment to a high-level position. In Louisiana, the TFA director of charter schools in New Orleans was elected to the State Board, where she votes on contracts for–guess what–TFA.

In Dallas, a TFA alum is in charge of human resources. In Louisiana, a TFA alum of 27 was put in charge of teacher evaluation. In New York, the Governor selected a TFA alum as Deputy Secretary of Education. In Indiana, the state superintendent’s offices hosts 11 graduates of TFA. In Colorado, a TFA alum was elected to the state senate, where he wrote “reform” legislation that bases 50% of teachers’ evaluation on test scores. Two TFA alums are state commissioners of education, serving the nation’s most reactionary governors.

Another TFA alum is running for state board of education in Nevada. A reader wrote to comment:

The reason I am writing is in regards to the District 3 State Board of Education race in Nevada. We are left with absolutely no choice.  On one hand is Ed Klapproth who describes himself as “a Jeffersonian constitutionalist,a Calvin Coolidge-Goldwater-Ronald Reagan Republican. I believe that local government in conjunction with the local community is best in dealing with local problems like those we face in education.”  If elected he will “Promote school choice,school vouchers,private schools, home schooling and more charter schools.Let teachers teach (no more teaching for tests). Merit and bonus pay for outstanding teachers.”  The only positive thing he says is to let teachers teach.   The rest of his thoughts are scary.
On the other hand is Allison Serafin.  She is not much older than me, but a Teach for America alum who is now the special consultant for the Superintendent.  A Superintendent who in a mere two years has destroyed the morale of the teachers and the long standing good relationship that used to exist between the Union and the District. According to her website “During her time with Teach For America, she taught 6th and 7th grade English and Social Studies, where nearly 100% of her students achieved passing scores on state assessments. However, much like the way her passion for serving others expanded, so did her role as an educator. Over her 10-year career, she taught students, recruited teachers, coached teachers, led national video and social media campaigns, and served as a school director.”  If she was such a successful teacher why did she leave the classroom?  If she taught in Nevada she has let her license expire, because I can’t even locate it on the Nevada Department of Education license directory.  How can she feel that with 10 years or less of teaching experience with no teaching degree that she could possibly understand the needs of teachers?  
Categories Education Reform, Teach for America TFA

Boldest Candidacy of the Season

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2012 //
14

TFA alum moves to Minneapolis in May.

Decides to run for school board to share his youth and spirit of innovation.

Raises seven times as much as experienced teacher from out-of-state friends.

Money can’t buy you love but can it buy a school board seat?

Are the voters fooled?

We will see soon enough.

Categories Minnesota, Teach for America TFA

Outside Cash Flooding into New Orleans School Board Race

By dianeravitch
November 4, 2012 //
4

This is becoming a familiar story: billionaires and millionaires are choosing a school board member in New Orleans. One of the city’s leading charter advocates, Sarah Newell Usdin, is the recipient of more than $110,000, way more than her opponents. Usdin was executive director of New Schools for New Orleans, which received nearly $30 million from the federal government to open charter schools. she also worked for the New Teacher Project and is an alumna of Teach for America. Among her contributors: Joel Klein and hedge fund manager Boykin Curry, both residents of New York City, not New Orleans.

According to the National School Boards Association, 87% of school board members spend less than $5,000 to run for office.

In the most recent state board election, Kira Orange Jones, the director of Teach for America in New Orleans, raised $450,000 in her successful effort to oust an incumbent. She had the support of the Wall Street hedge fund managers’ organization called Democrats for Education Reform. Among her generous contributors: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Eli Broad, both billionaires who don’t live in Louisiana. Jones’ opponent raised $9,000.

There seems to be a concerted program by DFER and its allies to pour money into local and state school races and issues. The number of contributors is small, but they swamp the local races. The same names pop up again and again. Their agenda is always the same: testing, union-busting, TFA, and privatization.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, Education Reform, Louisiana, New Orleans, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

In New Orleans, Students Lead the Way

By dianeravitch
November 1, 2012 //
15

Several student groups convened an open forum for candidates running for the local school board.
This gave students an opportunity to question candidates about where they stand on issues that affect students.

Only one candidate did not appear: Sarah Usdin, who confirmed that she would show but did not. Usdin is the ex-TFA executive director of New Schools for New Orleans. She has received more than $110,000 from generous out-of-state donors like Joel Klein, who sells technology for Rupert Murdoch, and assorted Wall Street hedge fund managers who are devoted to charters.

Key points that emerged from the forum:

-Unanimous opposition expressed by candidates regarding the RSD’s method for closing and chartering schools

-All candidates said they believe the fast-track teacher certification programs are insufficient.

-Unanimous opposition from candidates to New Orleans becoming the first all-charter city.

-Unanimous support for comprehensive sex education

-Unanimous support to extracurricular busses so students can participate in after school programs

This is the students’ account of the meeting they organized:

Press Release
For Release on November 1st, 2012
Contact: Jacob Cohen (jacobcohen@vayla-no.org)

Students Grill Orleans Parish School Board Candidates in
First-Ever Student-led Forum

Candidates express strong support for slate of student issues and opposition to fully chartering New Orleans public schools

At 5:30 pm on October 30th, eleven Orleans Parish School Board candidates put themselves in the hot seat Tuesday evening, sitting before a panel of students. Ten students from schools around the city questioned the candidates on issues ranging from bus transportation to school closings. In “lightning rounds,” the youth asked yes or no questions and had the candidates raise a card indicating their response. Several surprise answers came from this format, including broad condemnation of the proposition that New Orleans should become the first city in the United States in which all schools are chartered.

The forum appears to have been the best attended candidate event in this election cycle, with roughly 150 people packing the main hall at the Ashe’ Cultural Arts Center.

One high school student on the panel described his role as the designated interpreter for family members, revealing a serious lack of services for Limited English Proficient households.

Other issues that students and audience members raised include the need for comprehensive sex education; a higher ratio of guidance counselors to students, and the need for certified teachers and ongoing professional development services.

One sore point that students raised also concerned the way that schools have been closed. Bryan Kelso, a sophomore at Reed High School, told the candidates, “it’s a struggle going to a school that may not be there next year or even next semester,” explaining that his school had been labeled a “failure.” In the lightening round that followed, all of the candidates unanimously said they did not support the RSD or BESE’s method for addressing struggling schools through closure and takeover.

Notwithstanding the support expressed by the candidates on nearly all of the issues they raised, students attending the forum questioned the role the Orleans Parish School Board will play in the future. On a handful of the issues, candidates admitted that the board’s power will be limited until Act 35 is overturned. Students also questioned the power that this future board will have in a city dominated by private charter organizations.

Forum organizers also recognize some of the contradictions between the answers candidates gave at the youth-led event and those given at other, adult forums.

Here is the list of questions for the lightening rounds:

TEACHERS: Do you believe that fast track teacher certification programs are providing schools with enough experienced teachers?

[Every candidate said no.]

TRANSPORTATION I: Are you willing to help the school system provide busses for extracurricular activities?

[Every candidate said yes.]

TRANSPORTATION II: Do you believe that every child should have safe, reliable, free transportation options to and from school?

[Every candidate said yes]

DISCIPLINE: Will you support alternatives to zero tolerance school discipline policies and out-of-school suspensions?

[Every candidate said yes but one, who abstained]

SCHOOL CLOSURES: In general, do you support the Recovery School District and BESE’s process for dealing with schools, including closing schools?

[Every candidate said no.]

COUNSELORS: Do you believe, per the American College Counselor Association’s guidelines, that all Orleans Parish schools should have at least one college or guidance counselor for ever 250 students?

[Every candidate said yes.]

SHAMING STUDENTS: Will you support the posting of individual students’ standardized test scores in school hallways and classrooms?

[Every candidate said no.]

LANGUAGE ACCESS: Will you ensure that families have interpretation and translation services at all direct-run and charter schools?

[every candidate said yes or abstained.]

CHARTERS: Should New Orleans become the first district in the country to have 100% of their schools be charter schools.

[Note: no candidate said yes.]

SEX ED: If in compliance with state and BESE board laws, do you support comprehensive sex education in New Orleans public schools?

[Every candidate voted yes, except for two marked “not present”]

A video highlight reel can be accessed at: http://youtu.be/MUSabzsg5ls

Photographs from the event can be accessed at: http://my.slideroll.com/galleries/members/jacobcohen/gallery/my-gallery/?g=by4jfwgw

Photo reel can be embedded on your site by copying:

A transcription of the event and uncut video can be made available upon request

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, New Orleans, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

TFA Builds a Political Empire

By dianeravitch
October 25, 2012 //
16

Most people think of Teach for America as an organization that recruits young college graduates to teach in distressed urban and rural schools.

As the organization has matured, however, it is preparing a cadre of leaders to enter political office and take the reins of power. But power for what?

In this article, TFA is shown to be leading the movement for high-stakes testing and privatization.

Clearly, there are TFA alums who don’t share this agenda. I know some.

But the question remains, why are so many TFA graduates gung-ho for policies that are anti-union, anti-professional, and friendly to privatization? And why are they so supportive of high-stakes testing, which is ultimately harmful to children and to the quality of education?

Categories Teach for America TFA
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