Denis Smith: The Charter and Voucher Wars Continue

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2022 //
5

Denis Smith wrote the following post on the website of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, founded by former state official William Phillis.

The Charter School and Voucher Wars Continue: A Tale of Two Cities, or Maybe Three
Denis Smith, retired school administrator and ODE Charter School Office consultant, discusses school privatization in 3 C’s—Columbus, Charleston and Concord.
Privatization of public education is a plague spreading faster than the COVID-19 virus. It is disabling the education of school children in public school districts across the state and nation. Legislators and governors throughout the nation are enabling this plague with tax funds.

The charter school and voucher wars continue: A tale of two cities, or maybe three


“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” Charles Dickens famously wrote. But if a latter-day Dickens were writing today, the tale might be about foolishness and not wisdom in the misuse of public funds. And the setting would not be two, but three cities, state capitals whose names, interestingly enough, all begin with the letter C. 
Certainly the times aren’t exactly Dickensian, but there is nevertheless the distraction of a raging global pandemic. Moreover, since today’s tale deals with recent events in these state capitals, that means we must relate a tale not of wisdom but of foolishness in the legislatures that sit in Charleston, West Virginia; Concord, New Hampshire; and Columbus, Ohio. The three states are alike in that they show a trifecta government in place, where both houses of the legislature and the governor’s office are under Republican control.
Which means that when the topic is the privatization of public education, where state funds are used in violation of state constitutional language to support private and religious schools and tax dollars are siphoned away from neighborhood public schools, there is no wisdom to be found on the front or back benches of these legislatures, only foolishness.
Or maybe that foolishness disguises deliberate, reckless behavior that enables a legislative wrecking crew intent on destroying public education, constitutional norms notwithstanding.
Let’s start with developments in Charleston, West Virginia. 
On Dec. 20, a circuit judge issued an injunction temporarily halting the opening of the first charter schools in the Mountain State. In that action, Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey ruled that the creation of an unelected body, the West Virginia Professional Charter Board, violated the state constitution because an independent school district cannot be created within an existing county school district without the consent of the voters in the district or the county school board’s elected board of education. The judge’s action is expected to be appealed to the West Virginia Supreme Court.
Note that the judge is merely asking the legislature — and inevitably appellate courts, to honor the principle of seeking the consent of the governed, as called for in the state’s constitution.
Meanwhile, in another state capital that begins with the letter C, opposition to legislation that would support vouchers in New Hampshire drew 600 people to Concord, and after thousands of citizens had contacted their representatives in defense of their public schools.
As a result of stiffening opposition from communities who see their school systems strapped for revenue following a series of tax cuts to state businesses, the New Hampshire legislature on Jan. 6 tabled House Bill 607, a new voucher bill that would greatly benefit private and religious schools. This action, taken at the very beginning of the legislative session, was in part a result of six lawsuits against the state “for avoiding its constitutional mandate to fund an adequate education.” Interestingly enough, the first in that series of lawsuits challenging the adequacy of state funding for public education in New Hampshire occurred in 1993, at the very time the landmark DeRolph v Ohio school funding case was winding its way through courts in the Buckeye State. 
Like the situation in the Mountain State, with its charter-loving legislature poised to further damage poor county school systems in a low-wealth state, we await further developments from the Granite State, where the legislature, like the situation in West Virginia, works hand-in-hand with a Republican governor to further undermine public education.
Which brings us to the charter and voucher war situation in the third letter C capital, Columbus.
Parallel with the anti-voucher developments in Concord, New Hampshire’s capital, the pushback against educational vouchers in Columbus also picked up steam on Jan. 4, when 100 school districts joined in a lawsuit against the state of Ohio for violating the constitutional requirement to fund an adequate system of public education. The emphasis here is on the word system, as that term is used in the singular form.
At issue is a huge expansion of the voucher program, or EdChoice, as it is commonly known. Since the establishment of the Cleveland Voucher Program in 1996, Republicans have schemed to expand what they call school choice, and what others argue is instead code language for school privatization and public school destabilization, a sure way to destroy public employee unions. 
Critics have long contended about the hypocrisy of Republicans who have long fashioned themselves as the party of strict constructionism when it comes to constitutional issues. In particular, the coalition of Ohio districts contend that the language in Article VI, Section 2 is abundantly clear: “The General Assembly … shall secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state …”
William Phillis, a former deputy state superintendent of schools and long-time leader of the public school advocacy group, Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, argues that there is no ambiguity in the meaning of that part of the Ohio Constitution. He wrote recently:
“The definitions of key words are taken from Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1828.
System: an assemblage of things adjusted into a regular whole. The State is responsible for a system, not systems.
Therefore, the State is responsible for a (i.e.) one high-quality system of schools belonging to all. Private schools constitute a grouping of schools for which the State has no responsibility and is constitutionally forbidden to support.”
The lawsuit filed by Ohio school districts against the legislature for creating systems (note the use of the plural form here) of schools by using public funds to support private and religious schools in violation of the state constitution has received national attention. That is in addition to the privatization and voucher moves being engineered in the other two state capitals.
If only. Yes, if only the charter school and voucher-loving Ohio legislature could learn something from fellow legislators in the Granite State of New Hampshire and from a county judge in West Virginia. It starts by reading – and accepting – clear constitutional language, an exercise that Republicans (used to) call strict constructionism.
Those who value public services and the need for strict constructionism in following the letter of the law as written in state constitutions need to follow the drama found in this tale of three cities, Charleston, Concord, and Columbus. But if these hypocrisy-filled legislators continue their rampage of privatization unchecked, it will indeed be the worst of times, an age not of wisdom but of foolishness.
And you can add recklessness to that.
It was Mark Twain, the sage of Hannibal and Hartford — yet another state capital — who supposedly said that “no man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” He knew what he was talking about.
To be continued. 
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/01/21/the-charter-school-and-voucher-wars-continue-a-tale-of-two-cities-or-maybe-three/

https://vouchershurtohio.com/8-lies-about-private-school-vouchers/Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OhioEandA

William L. Phillis | Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding | 614.228.6540 |ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net| http://ohiocoalition.org

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Vouchers

John Merrow: A Spartacus Moment

By dianeravitch
February 12, 2022 //
29

John Merrow, like millions of Americans, was appalled when the Republican National Committee attacked Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for serving on the House Committee investigating the insurrection of January 6. He was reminded of the film Spartacus.

He wrote:

In the 1960 movie “Spartacus,” the Roman Army puts down a slave revolt. The Commander of Italy offers to pardon thousands of slaves from crucifixion if they will identify Spartacus, the leader of the revolt. Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) stands to give himself up, but as he says, “I am Spartacus,” so does another slave (Tony Curtis), followed by first one and then another. Eventually all the slaves are shouting proudly and defiantly “I am Spartacus.” It is a memorable display of heroism and solidarity.

Today, to declare “I am Spartacus” is to stand with those who are being wrongly accused or persecuted, no matter the cost.

If ever there was a moment for traditional Republicans to stand and declare “I am Liz Cheney. I am Adam Kinzinger,” it is now.

Which brings us to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, two Republican members of the House of Representatives who were recently censured by the Republican National Committee “for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.” The resolution, passed overwhelmingly by voice vote of the RNC’s 168 members, also describes the January 6th insurrection as “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

It hasn’t happened. No Republican is upset enough about the direction of their party to stand and declare, “Enough.” No elected Republican has had the courage to declare that he or she will no longer align with the GOP until it comes to its senses.

Twitter ‘outrage’ is no substitute for political courage, but that’s pretty much all we’ve gotten.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a tweet, “It’s a sad day for my party—and the country—when you’re punished just for expressing your beliefs, standing on principle, and refusing to tell blatant lies.”

Former Massachusetts governor and current Utah Senator Mitt Romney also turned to Twitter: “Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol. Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost.”

Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse also Tweeted: “January 6th was not ‘legitimate political discourse’ and I’ll say it again: It was shameful mob violence to disrupt a constitutionally-mandated meeting of Congress to affirm the peaceful transfer of power.”

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who is not running for re-election, issued a statement through his PR team: “The Governor commends anyone who is willing to step forward and tell the truth, and disagrees with this vote. He has been clear that the January 6th riot was a violent insurrection and a sad day for democracy.”

No strong words from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and even retiring GOP Senators like Bob Portman of Ohio and Richard Burr of North Carolina have been quiet.

In the film, the defiant slaves pay dearly for their act of courage. Because Spartacus was not identified, the Roman leader crucifies nearly all of the slaves, saving two to battle to the death for the amusement of Roman citizens (with the victor then to be crucified).

The slave leader, Spartacus, learned an important lesson from what had happened: “When just one man says ‘No, I won’t,’ Rome begins to fear. And we were tens of thousands who said ‘No,’ and that was the wonder of it.”

While no Republican would be literally crucified for publicly declaring “I am Liz Cheney. I am Adam Kinzinger,” Fox News and other right wing voices would excoriate the defiant. However, it would not take ‘tens of thousands’ to halt the downward spiral the Republican Party has taken under Donald Trump. If enough Republicans had the courage to declare “I am Liz Cheney. I am Adam Kinzinger,” they might very well emerge strong enough to rebuild the Grand Old Party.

Today’s Republicans and the slaves of “Spartacus” differ in two crucial respects. The brave slaves in the film are being held in slavery against their will. Today’s gutless Republicans have chosen to be slaves. Their bondage is voluntary!

Since Merrow wrote this post, Senator Mitch McConnell criticized the Republican National Committee for censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their participation in the work of the Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. McConnell did not agree with the RNC that the attack on the seat of the Government was “legitimate political discourse.” McConnell said it was “a violent insurrection.” Anyone who was in the Capitol at the time was running for their lives to a secure hiding place. Not a sign of legitimate political discourse.

The members of the RNC are sniveling cowards.

Categories Education Reform

Good News from Oklahoma: Voucher Bill Is Dead This Year

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2022 //
7

The Governor and the leader of the Oklahoma State Senate are enthusiastic about a voucher bill but the Speaker of the House said the bill won’t get a hearing.

It seems that rural districts don’t want vouchers. This has been the case in Texas, where rural Republicans have repeatedly joined with urban Democrats to kill vouchers. Pastors for Texas Children organized against vouchers in their state, and so did Pastors for Oklahoma Children.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A proposal endorsed by Oklahoma’s governor and Senate leader to allow public school funding to follow students to private schools or home schools won’t be heard in the House, Speaker Charles McCall said Thursday.

“I don’t plan to hear that bill this year, and I’ve communicated that,” McCall, R-Atoka, told reporters at a legislative forum hosted by The Associated Press and the Oklahoma Press Association.

“That topic is just not on the radar or the minds of our members as a priority,” McCall said. “It’s never been discussed in our caucus retreat as a priority of our members.”

The proposal is a priority for Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, and Gov. Kevin Stitt endorsed the idea Monday in his State of the State address to the Legislature, saying it would make the state a national leader in school choice.

“We know education is not one-size-fits-all, and I pledge to support any legislation that gives parents more school choice, because in Oklahoma, we need to fund students, not systems,” Stitt said Monday.

But the idea has faced bipartisan opposition in the Legislature, particularly from members who represent rural districts where there are few private school options for students.

“It’s a bit of geographical issue,” said McCall, whose district in southeast Oklahoma includes towns like Atoka, Davis, Mannsville and Tishomingo. “He (Treat) is a suburban Oklahoma guy. I’m a rural Oklahoman. We see things through the lens of our individual districts.”

Categories Education Industry, Oklahoma, Texas, Vouchers

Seriously, Arne Duncan Wants to be Mayor of Chicago

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2022 //
71

Let me start by saying Arne Duncan was a disaster as Secretary of Education. He went around the country bashing public schools and teachers, while lavishing praise on charter schools and Teach for America. His “Race to the Top” was a disaster. Congress gave him $5 billion to “reform” American schools, and he wasted it on unproven fixes, like evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students, touting the Common Core, and underwriting tests for the Common Core. He predicted vast academic improvement but there was none. He blamed teachers and parents for the failure of his “reforms,” most or all of which were inspired by Bill Gates.

I met him early on in his tenure as Secretary of Education and concluded he was a nice guy but probably the dumbest person I had ever met in public office. He had Peter Cunningham to craft his remarks and speeches.

Guess what? He might run for mayor of Chicago. Why not? Rahm Emanuel was smart and evil. He closed 50 schools in a single day. Could Arne be worse?

Fred Klonsky thinks so. He will keep a close eye on Arne.

Categories Chicago, Duncan, Arne, Emanuel, Rahm

Dana Milbank: History Stripped of Controversy and Truth

By dianeravitch
February 11, 2022 //
47

Dana Milbank, columnist at the Washington Post, has read several of the laws intended to remove “critical race theory” and “divisive concepts” from the teaching of American history in schools. Governors like Glenn Youngkin in Virginia and Ron DeSantis in Florida want to roll back the clock to a time when white children never heard anything that unsettled them about slavery, segregation, racism, and brutal attacks on people of color.

Milbank was able to obtain a copy of a history textbook used in Virginia’s schools from the 1950s to the 1970s. It contained a whitewashed version of slavery that would not make any white student uncomfortable but must certainly have been upsetting for black students. His column was titled “Glenn Youngkin’s No-Guilt History of Virginia for Fragile White People.”

He wrote:

So how would history sound denuded of anything potentially distressing for White kids? We don’t have to guess, because we’ve already been there. I have an actual 7th-grade textbook used in Virginia’s public schools from the 1950s through the 1970s — when Virginia began moving toward the current version of history: the truth.

I therefore present these verbatim excerpts from the textbook (“Virginia: History, Government, Geography” by Francis Butler Simkins and others), shared with me by Hamilton College historian Ty Seidule, author of “Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause.” Let’s call it “Glenn Youngkin’s No-Guilt History of Virginia for Fragile White People.”

“A feeling of strong affection existed between masters and slaves in a majority of Virginia homes. … It was to [the master’s] own interest to keep his slaves contented and in good health. If he treated them well, he could win their loyalty and cooperation. … The intelligent master found it profitable to discover and develop the talents and abilities of each slave. … The more progressive planters tried to promote loyalty and love of work by gifts and awards.”

“Many Negroes were taught to read and write. Many of them were allowed to meet in groups for preaching, for funerals, and for singing and dancing. They went visiting at night and sometimes owned guns. … Most of them were treated with kindness.”

“The tasks of each [house slave] were light. … They learned much about the finer things of life. The house servants took a great deal of pride in their comfortable positions. …The field hands … were given a rest period at noon, usually from one to three hours. Those who were too old or too sick to work in the fields were not forced to do so. … The ‘task system’ … gave them free hours after they finished their daily tasks. … The planter often kept a close eye upon [the overseer] to see that the slaves were not overworked or badly treated.”

“Each slave was given a weekly ration consisting of three or four pounds of pork and plenty of corn meal and molasses. To this food were added the vegetables, fruits, hogs and chickens which the slaves were allowed to raise for themselves. … When a slave was sick, tempting food was often carried to him from the master’s table. … At [Christmas,] extra rations and presents were given the slaves.”

“Male field hands received each year two summer suits, two winter suits, a straw hat, a wool hat, and two pairs of shoes. … Often the members of the master’s family would hand down to their favorite slaves clothing which they no longer needed. … [The slaves] loved finery.

“Every effort was made to protect the health of the slaves. … It was the duty of all mistresses to give sick slaves the same care they gave their own children.”

“The house servants became almost as much a part of the planter’s family circle as its white members. … A strong tie existed between slave and master because each was dependent on the other. … The regard that master and slaves had for each other made plantation life happy and prosperous.”

“[The slaves] liked Virginia food, Virginia climate, and Virginia ways of living. Those Negroes who went to Liberia … were homesick. Many longed to get back to the plantations. … It must be remembered that Virginia was a home as much beloved by most of its Negroes as by its white people. Negroes did not wish to leave their old masters.”

“Life among the Negroes of Virginia in slavery times was generally happy. The Negroes went about in a cheerful manner making a living for themselves and for those for whom they worked. … They were not worried by the furious arguments going on between Northerners and Southerners over what should be done with them. … The negroes remained loyal to their white mistresses even after President Lincoln promised in his Emancipation Proclamation that the slaves would be freed.”

There you have it. Historically wrong and morally bankrupt — but for tender White minds, discomfort-free.

Categories History, Lies, Race

Tennessee: Book Bans Are the Least of Our Problems

By dianeravitch
February 10, 2022 //
47

Margaret Renkl, a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, wrote recently about the cultural controversies that are roiling the state of Tennessee. Everyone by now knows about the removal of MAUS from the eighth-grade curriculum in McMinn County. But book-banning and censorship are not limited to Tennessee, or even to the South, nor are they new. What is far more dangerous in Tennessee, she writes, is the “existential threat” to the future of public schools posed by Republican Governor Bill Lee and a like-minded legislature.

She wrote:

NASHVILLE — Tennessee school boards, you may have heard, have been busy lately striking long-beloved, award-winning classic literature from their social studies and language arts curriculums. The Williamson County School Board recently took a hard look at more than 30 texts, restricting the use of seven and striking one altogether: “Walk Two Moons,” a Newbery Medal-winning, middle-grade book by Sharon Creech that follows the story of a 13-year-old girl whose mother is missing. According to the group Moms for Liberty, who lodged the formal “reconsideration request” that caused the school board to take up the issue, “Walk Two Moons” is inappropriate for fourth-grade readers because it features “stick figures hanging, cursing and miscarriage, hysterectomy/stillborn and screaming during labor.”

Well, may God save all American children from the knowledge that women in labor are apt to scream.

The media didn’t pay much attention to Williamson County because the outrage over MAUS made international news. She notes that the American Library Association’s list of books that are challenged includes some that offend parents who are not southerners.

She continues:

Still, it is possible to trust that the parents in McMinn County are acting in what they believe is the best interest of their children, and also to recognize that these parents are being manipulated by toxic and dangerous political forces operating at the state and national levels. Here in Tennessee, book bans are just a small but highly visible part of a much larger effort to privatize public schools and turn them into conservative propaganda centers. This crusade is playing out in ways that transcend local school board decisions, and in fact are designed to wrest control away from them altogether.

I don’t mean simply the law, passed last year, that limits how racism is taught in public schools across the state. I’m talking about an array of bills being debated in the Tennessee General Assembly right now. One would purge books considered “obscene or harmful to minors” from school libraries across the state. Another would ban teaching materials that “promote, normalize, support or address lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles.” Yet another would prevent school districts from receiving state funding for undocumented students.

Most of all I’m talking about Gov. Bill Lee’s announcement, in his State of the State address last week, that he has approached Hillsdale College, a Christian institution in Michigan, to open 50 charter schools in Tennessee — Mr. Lee reportedly requested 100— that would follow a curriculum designed to make kids “informed patriots.” Not informed citizens; informed patriots, as conservative Christians define that polarizing term.

“What strikes me as the unusual takeaway is that the governor is intentionally wheeling the state into this very ideologically loaded and electorally loaded civics education,” said Adam Laats, the author of “Fundamentalist U: Keeping the American Faith in Higher Education,” in an interview with The Tennessean.

That’s not surprising at all if you know anything about the Tennessee Republican Party, which is in lock step with right-wing oligarchs funding their campaigns. The fact that so many of these challenged books have been in the literary canon for decades is a dead giveaway that the new bans are a response to contemporary political forces whose true motivation has nothing to do with books. What they really want is to destroy public education. As Christopher Leonard, the author of “Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America,” notes in an interview with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider for the “Have You Heard” podcast: “The ultimate goal is to dismantle the public education system entirely and replace it with a privately run education system.” (Read a transcript of the full interview here.)

The real tragedy in Tennessee, and across the red states, is this existential threat to public education, which is the very foundation of a functioning democracy. And that’s where our outrage should lie — not at school boards whose decisions are formed by parental concerns that simply differ from our own. [emphasis added]

Categories Education Industry, Privatization, Religion, Republicans, Tennessee

Tennessee: Governor Promotes Privatization of Public Schools

By dianeravitch
February 10, 2022 //
35

Governor Bill Lee has made his education views clear: He is a supporter of vouchers and charter schools. His voucher legislation has been held up in the courts on appeal, and voucher opponents are fearful that the highest court will support vouchers, which has become dear to the heart of Republicans everywhere.

In Governor Lee’s budget message, he proclaimed his intention to expand charter schools in the state. He also promised to let parents know which books their children are exposed to, in the classrooms and in school libraries.

The Nashville Tennessean reported that Lee has already planned a partnership with the far-right fundamentalist Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, to open charter schools across the state. Lee originally asked Hillsdale to start 100 charters but apparently the College felt it could handle only 50. Hillsdale is one of the few colleges that has never accepted any form of federal aid, not even scholarships, to protect its independence and religious teachings.

Hillsdale has established 21 charter schools across the nation to spread its ultra-conservative political and religious values and views.

The college was founded by Baptists and has preserved its Christian identity, which it has infused with intellectual, cultural and political conservatism, said Adam Laats, a history professor at Binghamton University and an expert on institutions like Hillsdale. 

The college has positioned itself as “a sort of libertarian or ‘fusionist,’ is what the nerds call it, type of conservative alignment,” said Laats, author of “Fundamentalist U: Keeping the American Faith in Higher Education..” 

In addition to the charter schools it helps establish, Hillsdale has produced, “The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum,” that includes lesson plans for teachers...

Partnerships between states and colleges and universities for K-12 education initiatives is common, Laats said. But he said there seems to be unique elements with the prospective Tennessee-Hillsdale partnership.

“What strikes me as the unusual takeaway is that the governor is intentionally wheeling the state into this very ideologically loaded and electorally loaded civics education,” Laats said. 

The college promotes conservative Christian values and has close ties with former President Donald Trump’s administration. Some Hillsdale alumni served in the Trump administration.

The school is popularly known for rejecting federal government financial aid, meaning it is not subject to some federal regulations that many colleges and universities are.

Hillsdale has a statue of Ronald Reagan on its Michigan campus, and Governor Lee quoted Reagan, talking about teaching the basics and “true” American history.

Ronald Reagan is a graduate of public schools in Illinois.

Perhaps the new Hillsdale charters could be referred to as the MAGA chain.

We know how poorly the all-charter Achievement School District performed in Tennessee. Why would Governor Lee expect different results? The rumor is that he plans to plant the Hillsdale charters in rural communities, which is odd since rural communities typically have one schoolhouse that is a much-loved part of the community.

Categories Education Industry, Privatization, Republicans, Tennessee, Vouchers

What Happened at Oakland School Board Meeting

By dianeravitch
February 9, 2022 //
1

Many of us joined the zoom meeting of the Oakland school board. some stayed to the end, others (such as those of us on the East Coast) left the meeting before it was over. we heard students and parents pleading with the board not to close their schools.

Here is a good summary of the ultimate decision.

Two Oakland Unified schools will close this year and five next year under a modified plan approved by the OUSD board of directors during an emotional eight-hour meeting that began Tuesday night and ran into Wednesday morning. 

The vote, which happened shortly before 1 a.m., followed two weeks of protests, marches, a hunger strike, and other demonstrations against school closures, which were abruptly announced at the end of January. 

During four hours of public comment, dozens of community members and students spoke out against closures. Many requested more evidence from the administration that closing schools will save money. Opponents also noted that the closures will disproportionately impact Black and brown students, and they questioned why OUSD did not give the community more time to deliberate. 

Board member Mike Hutchinson and Board member VanCedric Williams were heroes who voted against the closings.

At the very beginning of the board meeting, District 5 Director Hutchinson made a motion to postpone a vote on school closures until January 2023, so that the public would have a chance to vote in the November school board election and reveal whether or not there is support for the directors who are in favor of closures and mergers. At that time, directors Eng, Yee, and Gonzales will be up for re-election. Williams, Pal, and Gallegos supported Hutchinson’s request, but the rest of the board voted it down. Throughout the rest of the meeting, Williams and Hutchinson voted the same way—against any proposal or amendment that would have implemented closures. At times, Pal and Gallegos stayed silent to highlight the fact that their votes—and voices—are essentially meaningless when it comes to board decisions.

“All I can figure is that none of you have ever experienced the trauma of having your site threatened with closure. None of you have had to comfort crying families who are ripped away from their home,” said Hutchinson, who has campaigned against school closures for years. “How are you going to accommodate our families who are living under multiple stresses? When you tell them they have to go to a school a mile and a half away from where their current school is?”

Again, the students, families, and communities lost.


Categories California, Closing schools, Oakland

Free Shani Robinson!

By dianeravitch
February 9, 2022 //
11

Tomorrow at 9 a.m., the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and the Abolitionist Teaching Netwotk will host a press conference at the Fulton County Courthouse. They will be asking the judge and district attorney not to send nonviolent educators to prison during the middle of a pandemic.

Shani Robinson contacted me this morning to ask if I would be willing to send a statement of support. I read Shani’s book None of the Above: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators and was convinced that Shani was unjustly prosecuted and convicted. Investigators pressured her and others to confess or to name others. She maintained her innocence. As a first grade teacher, she was not eligible for a bonus based on student scores. She was convicted by a racist judge who had the temerity to claim that the cheating scandal was “the sickest thing that’s ever happened to this town.” Not slavery. Not murder. Not Jim Crow.

I wrote the following letter. If you read the book and are as outraged as I am by the prosecution and conviction of Shani Robinson, please send a letter of support for Shani today. You may also contact elected officials on her behalf.

Here is my letter:

A Letter to the Judge and the District Attorney:
Honorable Officers of the Court and the Law in Fulton County:

I am a recently retired Professor at New York University and a historian of American education.
I am writing to urge you not to imprison Shani Robinson and other nonviolent educators.

I have read Shani’s book, which persuaded me that the state wrongly used RICO statutes to prosecute educators accused of changing student answers on standardized tests. Cheating of this kind has been documented in many school districts, and no other district has invoked a federal racketeering statute to prosecute teachers. The usual punishment is termination.

Shani taught first grade, where the tests have no stakes for students or teachers. She had no motive or reason to cheat.

I believe she was unjustly prosecuted by overzealous investigators. She could have pleaded guilty or accused others to avoid prosecution but she insisted on her innocence.

I believe her.

I believe her prosecutors wrongly pursued her, using tactics that were intended to coerce false convictions. Her conviction was unfair and racist.

I urge you not to send her to prison in the midst of a pandemic. Not now, and not ever.

I urge you to reopen and review her case.

I believe in Shani Robinson’s innocence.


Diane Ravitch, Ph.D.

Categories Accountability, Atlanta, Cheating, Ethics, Georgia, Justice

Oakland School Board Votes to Close Schools, Despite Overwhelming Public Opposition

By dianeravitch
February 9, 2022 //
30

A reader watched the Oakland school board meeting to the bitter end. Despite overwhelming opposition by students, parents, and educators, the board voted to close the schools. Maybe the decision was foreordained.

Reader comment:

The Board voted to close the schools 4-3-2 at 1am with 1000 people still on Zoom, many still wanting to speak.

Unconscionable.

2 Abstentions.

Oaktown needs another strike.

A revolution.

Categories Closing schools, Oakland
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