In Case You Missed It – October 19, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

VOUCHERS AND THE SUPREME COURT

School vouchers and a Supreme Court nominee

From School Matters

Barrett served from 2015-17 on the board of Trinity School at Greenlawn, a South Bend Catholic school, the New York Times reported. Trinity had a policy during Barrett’s time on the board that effectively prohibited same-sex couples from enrolling their children in the school, according to the Times.

That would seem to cast doubt on Barrett’s claim in her confirmation hearing that she had “never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference” and would not do so. It also raises policy questions about whether publicly funded institutions should practice discrimination.

In the two years that Barrett was on the Trinity board, the school received over a half million dollars in Indiana voucher program funding. Since the start of the state’s voucher program, Trinity School at Greenlawn has received nearly $2 million in state support for student tuition.

HOLCOMB STILL "STUDYING" TEACHER PAY

Still no payoff: Teacher salary study unconscionably tardy

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Honors for the slowest study in Indiana history surely must go to Gov. Eric Holcomb's teacher pay commission. Beginning with its closed-door meetings, tardy public input sessions and, now, a delay in the release of its final report until after Nov. 3, the panel's work looks more like a stalling tactic than any real effort to address lagging teacher salaries or inform Hoosiers.

After nearly two years of study, there's no excuse for waiting to release information until after Election Day. What's in the report or recommendations the administration doesn't want voters to see?

Holcomb announced the seven-member study commission in his 2019 State of the State address, pledging to “make teacher pay competitive with surrounding states.” Data at the time showed Indiana teachers, on average, earned $50,554, but starting pay was as low as $30,000. Neighboring states paid much more: An average $61,600 in Illinois and $57,000 in Ohio, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

A report from the Rockefeller Institute found Indiana educators, on average, made only $6,900 more a year in 2017 than they earned in 2002, for the smallest pay increase in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Adjusted for inflation, Indiana teacher salaries decreased by 15% over the 15-year period, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

In addition to prompting Holcomb to appoint the study commission, the figures compelled the General Assembly to increase education spending in the last biennial budget, although the increased funding also included $37.5 million in new benefits for charter and voucher schools.

HOW ARE TEACHERS DOING?

How Are American Teachers Doing, Really?

From Peter Greene in Forbes

Imagine you’ve got a business, housed in the basement of a single building. A tremendous storm sweeps in, and the basement floods—standing water, four inches deep. Some workers are asked to stay at their station, working ankle deep in water. Others are moved to the first floor, forced to use unfamiliar equipment that they must learn to use on the fly while trying to do something that is kind of, but not really, like their usual work. Nobody knows when the storm is going to end, or when the basement will be pumped dry.

You would think that upper levels of management might send someone in to check up on the workers. To see how they’re doing, what problems they’re encountering, maybe even ask what can be done to help or hire extra people to deal with the extra work the chaos creates.

You would think.

But in the pandemic storm of U.S. education right now, that’s mostly not what’s happening. Across the nation, we have next to no data about how things are working, about how teachers and students are holding up, about what resources schools need.

NACS SCHOOL MOVES TO REMOTE LEARNING

NACS school closes to students: Remote learning instituted after rise in COVID cases

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

An influx of COVID-19 cases at a Northwest Allen County middle school is prompting a week of remote learning for that building, the district announced Sunday evening.

Maple Creek Middle School's extracurricular and after-school activities also are canceled, but they could be rescheduled as early as the week of Oct. 19, the district said.

Teachers will work on-site this week, the district said, and custodial staff will thoroughly clean the school.

The pivot from in-person classes followed an increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases at Maple Creek in the past two weeks, the district said.

“Because of the number of students being quarantined at the moment, and because of the number of confirmed cases during such a short period of time, we are taking extra steps to help keep our students safe and on track,” Principal Bill Toler said in a statement.

The COVID-19 cases include students in each grade level and appear to have originated from a variety of sources, the district said.

The number of confirmed cases at Maple Creek – which enrolled about 900 students in grades 6-8 last academic year – represents about 1% of the school's on-site student population, the district said. The district has said about 86% of NACS students opted for on-site instruction this year.

TEACHERS ON THE FRONT LINES

Wisconsin, South Carolina: Two Teachers Die of COVID-19

From Diane Ravitch

Yesterday, I posted an article by an economist who wrote that schools are not super spreaders, and that the rate of transmission of COVID has been very low among students and teachers. Some readers got angry at me for posting this article. Let me be clear that I am not a scientist or a doctor. I do not know whether it is safe to reopen schools. I am as uncertain about the right course of action as many other people.

I am not qualified to offer any guidance. The decision about reopening depends on the community and expert judgment. Everyone should follow the science, wear a mask, practice social distancing both indoors and outside, and wash their hands frequently. It may be safe to reopen schools in some places but not safe in other places. What is important to know is that the COVID is surging again in many states, that the infection rate is rising nationally, and that this is a contagious and deadly disease. Be informed.

The stories below tell what happened to two teachers. They loved teaching; their students loved them. It is not clear where they became infected with the disease.

TEACHER CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

Science teacher challenges Banks for House seat

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Chip Coldiron is the latest Democrat who will try to end the Republican Party's domination of northeast Indiana's 3rd Congressional District.

It's a tall order: Second-term Republican Rep. Jim Banks captured nearly 68% of all votes cast in the district in the 2016 and 2018 general elections. Among Hoosiers in the U.S. House, only Democratic Rep. Pete Visclosky received a larger share of ballots – 73.4% in the northwest 1st District – over those two elections.

First-time candidate Coldiron won a four-candidate Democratic primary contest in June, while Banks clobbered his GOP primary opponent.

If Banks defeats Coldiron in the Nov. 3 general election, it would be the 14th straight victory since 1994 for a Republican candidate in the 3rd District.

The district consists of Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Jay, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley counties and parts of Kosciusko and Blackford counties. House terms are for two years, and the job pays $174,000 a year.

The Journal Gazette recently interviewed Banks and Coldiron. Their answers have been edited for clarity and space.

Why voters should elect each candidate to Congress...

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – August 10, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

INDIANA'S VIRTUAL SCHOOL SCANDAL

Indiana seeks $2.2 million from Daleville district after alleged virtual charter school fraud

Can the state recoup the money lost by the Daleville virtual charter school scam? What responsibility does Daleville Community Schools have in this debacle?

From Chalkbeat*

Daleville Community Schools is being asked to repay $2.2 million that the state says stems from fraudulent enrollment inflation by two virtual charter schools overseen by the rural district.

In a special report released Friday, state auditors echoed the findings of a Chalkbeat investigation that Daleville failed to hold Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy to their charter contracts, review the schools’ finances, or press for improvements.

“Daleville’s lack of meaningful oversight and monitoring may have contributed to ineligible students being included [in enrollment reports],” resulting in virtual school officials allegedly defrauding the state of $68 million and sending millions more to their own or related companies, the report said.

Report: Indiana trusts schools too much to catch funding fraud

The State Board of Accounts wants more control over school funding.

From Chalkbeat*

A new report in the wake of Indiana’s virtual charter school enrollment scandal reveals how most of the state’s $7.5 billion school funding system is largely based on trust — and lacking controls that could flag potential fraud.

The state relies on schools to record how many students they enroll in order to calculate funding and doesn’t compare those numbers to other data sets that could help identify problems, noted the special report from state auditors released Friday.

That’s why state education officials didn’t catch signs in data reports that Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy had for years been claiming millions in state funding for students who weren’t actually attending the online schools.

FUNDING DURING THE PANDEMIC

‘We will all suffer’: Indianapolis districts respond to threat of funding cuts if they don’t reopen

Legislators want to override local decision-making and force schools to open their doors during the pandemic or lose 15% of their funding.

From Chalkbeat*

Indianapolis districts pushed back Friday on a leading lawmaker’s statement that schools will face reduced state funding if they don’t reopen classrooms for in-person instruction.

The threat forces schools to make “an impossible choice” between taking deep cuts they can’t afford or putting students, families, and teachers at risk of contracting COVID-19, wrote Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson in an op-ed.

“Our district would face $28 million in cuts as retribution for protecting our children’s health, and anyone who walked a day in our shoes over the past five months would not dare to suggest that schools could operate under the current context with less funding,” Johnson wrote.

Virtual-only schools face funding cuts

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

But a letter from Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray Thursday sent shockwaves to schools.

'State leaders have said we favor fully funding students whose families choose virtual instruction this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I believe there is a strong appetite for making that change,” he said. “However, there is no guarantee such an exception will be made for schools that don't give families the option of in-person instruction in a school building. Therefore, schools that don't offer in-person instruction should plan on operating under the current funding policy'.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick said she was extremely disappointed in Bray's letter – which came days after many schools have started.

Dr. McCormick's response...

SCHOOL ISSUES DURING THE PANDEMIC

The continuing discussion of how and when to open schools while cases of COVID-19 continue to increase.

As Schools Reopen, Beware These Five Problematic Management Styles

From Peter Greene (Curmudgucation) in Forbes

Not all schools are blessed with excellent management teams (a million teachers just rolled their eyes and said, “No kidding.”) But while schools can succeed in spite of bad management in the good times, in times of crisis, bad management can really derail the whole train. Trying to launch a school year during a pandemic with little to no help from state and federal governments will test every school district’s leadership team. Here are the management styles most likely to lead to disaster.

HS fall sports limit spectators at 4 Allen County districts

Just like professional sports teams, local school sports will limit spectators.

From Fort Wayne's NBC

Four of the school districts in Allen County will limit the number of fans allowed in the stands for fall sports to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Fort Wayne Community Schools, Southwest Allen County, Northwest Allen County, and Bishops Dwenger and Luers drafted a fan plan for fall dual events like football, soccer, cheerleading, cross country, tennis, united flag, and volleyball.

Reopening Schools Unsafely Will Not Solve Anything

We shouldn't open schools until we can guarantee student safety.

From Gadfly on the Wall Blog

Opening schools unsafely will not solve any of our problems.

In every case, it will make them worse.

Students don’t learn a lot when their teachers are in quarantine.

Children generally receive less socialization when their parents are hospitalized.

Kids with special needs will receive few accommodations on a respirator.

Childcare is the least of your worries when planning a funeral for a family member.

No matter what need schools usually meet, Coronavirus makes the situation worse.

Every. Time.

Dilemmas Facing Policymakers in Re-opening Schools

Mentioned in Diane Ravitch, Larry Cuban: The Best Post on Dilemmas of Reopening

From Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

As part of his program of COVID-19 denial, Donald Trump has demanded that schools reopen in the fall, at risk of having their federal funding cut. His notion, ostensibly, is that if students go back to school, then parents can go back to full-time work. And if parents can go back to full-time work, then the economy will come zooming back to life, and he will ride that momentum to a reelection victory. Talk about your magical thinking.

In any event, the plan—if you can even call it that—is falling apart. On Monday, school officials in (liberal) Los Angeles County and (conservative) San Diego County both announced that they would begin the year with virtual instruction, and that they might eventually go to face-to-face, but they might not. Miami-Dade, which was specifically held out by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos as a model for other districts to follow as they reopen, is now tapping the breaks hard as Florida evolves into the nation’s #1 hotspot. Officials in Chicago, Houston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other locales have also made clear that, at most, students will attend school in person a couple of days a week in fall.

There is no question that, under pandemic-free circumstances, students are best served by in-person instruction. But the barriers that school districts face under current circumstances are substantial. We’ve noted some of them already, but let’s put together a fuller list, all in one spot...

GETTING RID OF DEVOS

Biden Offers Hope for Turning Around Awful DeVos Education Policy

It's time to replace the current Education Secretary with one who supports public education. Register then VOTE in November!

From Jan Resseger

This summer some people have said it seems like deja vu all over again. In 2009, right after Barack Obama was elected President, Education Secretary Arne Duncan used over $4 billion of the public education dollars Congress had appropriated as part of a huge federal stimulus package and attached rules that made states adopt Duncan’s own pet programs in order to qualify for the money. Now Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration have distributed CARES Act dollars in a way that favors DeVos’s favorite charter schools and private schools at the expense of what she calls “government” schools—the ones our society counts on to serve 50 million of our children.

The Secretary of Education—and in the case of Payroll Protection Program dollars, the Small Business Administration—can control the distribution of education stimulus dollars, because dispersing relief money is administered by the administration without direct Congressional oversight unless prohibitions for particular practices are written into the enabling legislation.

PUBLIC FUNDING OF PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS

Catholic Church Looks To Cash In On Espinoza

It's too bad that the Supreme Court has opened up the doors to sending tax dollars to private schools that are allowed to discriminate.

From Curmudgucation

Well, this is not exactly a surprise.

Now that SCOTUS has poked another huge hole in the wall between church and state, and now that the Catholic Church and the Trump administration have been forging closer ties over support for school choice (aka getting tax dollars to Catholic schools), and now that Betsy DeVos is insisting that financial aid intended for public schools should go to private schools-- now that all that is going on, it should come as no surprise that the Catholic Church is now arguing publicly to be given more taxpayer dollars.

PRIVATIZATION TAKES ADVANTAGE TO INCREASE PROFITS

Indiana charter, private schools get Paycheck Protection funds

From School Matters

Indiana charter schools were awarded between $15 million and $38 million in Paycheck Protection Program funding intended to help small businesses and nonprofits during the economic downturn, according to Small Business Administration data.

That is in addition to funding under a section of the CARES Act intended to help public schools; Indiana charter schools got $20.5 million in that funding.

The PPP figure is a conservative estimate. It doesn’t include schools that may have received less than $150,000, which were not identified by the SBA.

For awards over $150,000, the government did not provide specific amounts for the funding but rather listed a range of funds awarded to each school: for example, it might say a school received between $350,000 and 1 million.

At least 36 Indiana charter schools received funding via the program. Indiana private schools, nearly all of them religious schools, received even more.

DFER - DEMOCRATS FOR PRIVATIZATION

The DFER Democrats Who Support the Betsy DeVos Agenda of “School Choice”

From Diane Ravitch

DFER (Democrats for Education Reform) is an organization founded by Wall Street hedge fund managers to support charter schools. They believe in privatization; they actively undermine public schools that belong to the community. They believe in high-stakes testing, and they strongly support evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students, although professional associations like the American Statistical Association does not. They love Teach for America, because they don’t like experienced professionals or teachers unions.

Their main function is to raise money for political candidates, which gives them immense leverage. Once a political candidate gets on the DFER recommended list, they can count on money flowing in from friends of DFER around the country. DFER does not have a large membership but it has a very rich following among hedge funders and venture capitalists.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – June 15, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

EDUCATION IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS

The Student-Teacher Relationship is One of the Most Misunderstood and Underrated Aspects of Education

From Gadfly on the Wall Blog

Test-obsessed policy makers will tell educators to manage everything with a clipboard and a spreadsheet – for example, to increase the percentage of positive interactions vs negative ones in a given class period. But such a data-centric mindset dehumanizes both student and teacher.

The goal cannot be to maximize numbers whether they be test scores or some other metric. It has to be about the relationship, itself.

Teachers have to care about their students. All teachers. All students.

Or at least we have to try.

EDUCATION IS ABOUT FUNDING

School Funding in the COVID-19 Era

How will we fund public schools when the states are out of money?

From Diane Ravitch

The coronavirus has caused incalculable harm to millions of people. Two million people have been infected. More than 100,000 have died. The death toll increases daily. The scientific response to the pandemic—close down the economy—caused additional harm, with most economic activity halted, millions of people out of work, businesses Closed, livelihoods lost. The economic shutdown caused a dramatic decline in state revenues, which means less funding for schools. As schools plan to reopen, classes must be smaller, more nurses and healthcare workers are needed, and costs will rise, to keep students and staff safe.

How can schools cut costs while costs are rising? They can’t.

WILL SCHOOLS BE ABLE TO OPEN IN THE FALL?

With little to no help or guidance from state and federal government, Hoosier schools and parents are left to figure school opening out.

Indiana schools reopening: Why screening for coronavirus could be difficult

From Chalkbeat*

Before she sends her two children back to school next year, Sherry Holmes said she’d like to see every student and staff member in the state tested for COVID-19.

That seems unlikely as tests remain limited and targeted at those who are high risk or symptomatic. So Holmes said she will likely keep her kindergartner and third grader home for a few weeks, at least until she can see what precautions their school is taking.

“For me as a parent, it’s scary just to think about,” she said.

Reopening school buildings is one of the last and trickiest steps in Gov. Eric Holcomb’s plan to lift statewide restrictions brought on by the coronavirus. The Indiana State Department of Health reports hundreds of new COVID-19 cases daily, and the return of thousands of children and educators to classrooms could further spread the virus.

Indiana schools to have flexibility when reopening

From WANE.com

State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick addressed teachers and administrators during a webinar Tuesday following the state Department of Education’s release of school reentry guidelines last week. She emphasized the “freedom” local leaders have to determine how their schools will reopen and operate during the coronavirus pandemic. McCormick says that with many schools starting the academic year by early August, some expect to hold all or most classes online. Others, especially in rural areas, plan to return to the “brick and mortar” setting as soon as possible.

To watch the webinar on YouTube, follow this link.

Holcomb: Indiana schools ‘can and should open for instruction’

Apparently, Holcomb has decided COVID-19 is not a threat to our children, our educators and their families, and he has no problem asking schools to do even more impossible things with less funding.

From Chalkbeat*

“We believe, where we are right now, schools can and should open for instruction, and we wouldn’t have made that decision or endorsed the proposal to go forward if we thought otherwise,” Holcomb said during his regular public update.

As one of the final pieces in Holcomb’s plan to reopen Indiana by July 4, the state released guidelines Friday for students and teachers to return to classrooms for the first time since mid-March. Those guidelines included recommendations for screening students and staff for the coronavirus, maintaining social distancing in classrooms and buses, and creating health plans for vulnerable individuals.

DO AMERICANS HAVE A RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION?

The appeals court overturned a ruling that Americans have a right to an education. However, Rep. Jim Banks (IN-03) apparently disagrees with the court when he claims that education is "guaranteed" to all. Which is it?

Federal Appeals Court Rules: No Right to Education

From Diane Ravitch

A federal appeals court overturned a landmark ruling that affirmed the right to an education. Education is necessary for full citizenship, so voters can be fully informed. However the appeals court did not agree.

Indiana lawmaker proposes bill to strip funding from schools if they don't reopen in-person this fall

Emerson's quote, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." seems to fit the law proposed by Jim Banks (IN-03). His proposal insists that schools open in the fall or lose federal funding. Meanwhile, the directions from the State of Indiana seems to give local school districts some discretion in how and when to reopen.

From WTHR.com

Rep. Jim Banks (IN-03) is proposing a bill that would cutoff a school’s federal funding if they refuse to reopen for in-person learning in the fall.

The legislation is called: Reopen Our Schools Act.

“We need to change the subject from ‘our schools might not reopen in the fall’ to ‘our schools will reopen in the fall and here’s what we need to do it,’” Rep. Banks said. “America is the land of opportunity where education is guaranteed to all children. We’re not living up that guarantee at the moment.”

The concern is that remote learning is not effective and lack of internet keeps low-income or rural families from being able to do classwork.

DEVOS CONTINUES TO DAMAGE EDUCATION

It seems that Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education under her control is doing everything it can to hurt students.

Trump and DeVos Push School Choice, No $ for Undocumented

From Diane Ravitch

— DeVos said in a statement that the rule was aimed at eliminating any “uncertainty” for colleges about how they must distribute the funds, while carrying out the department’s “responsibility to taxpayers to administer the CARES Act faithfully.”

— Democratic lawmakers have pushed back, saying the rule violates the intent of the CARES Act. “As students across the country are struggling to make ends meet in the face of unprecedented financial challenges, Secretary DeVos’ efforts to deny some much-needed aid is cruel,” said Senate HELP ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “These extreme eligibility requirements will not only harm students, but they are also contrary to Congressional intent.” Read more from Michael Stratford.

DeVos Insists on Denying Federal CARES Aid to Undocumented Students

From Diane Ravitch

In another act of gratuitous cruelty, Betsy DeVos insists that undocumented students should get no emergency aid, although Congress did not pass such a restriction.

Politico reports:

DEVOS SEEKS TO ENFORCE RESTRICTIONS ON PANDEMIC RELIEF GRANTS THROUGH REGULATION: The Trump administration will roll out a new regulation this week that restricts which college students may receive emergency grants to cover expenses like food and housing.

DeVos Illegally Seizes $2.2 Billion from Indebted College Students

From Diane Ravitch

...in the middle of a global pandemic and an economic meltdown, with millions of people out of work, the DeVos Department of Education illegally seized $2.2 billion from students who were in debt.

Adam S. Minsky wrote in Forbes:

In response to a class action lawsuit filed by student loan borrowers, the U.S. Department of Education disclosed that it had intercepted and seized over $2.2 billion in tax refunds owed to a million student loan borrowers, in violation of the CARES Act.

CHARTERS HAVE SOME SERIOUS PROBLEMS

A Classic: John Oliver on Charter Schools

From Diane Ravitch

In 2016, John Oliver presented a shocking episode about charter schools.

It has been viewed by 12 million people.

Oliver was the first and possibly the only major media figure to discover that charter schools had some serious problems.

Some close in the middle of the year.

Watch his clip with John Kasich comparing education to getting more pepperoni on a slice of pizza.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

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