In Case You Missed It – Oct 8, 2018

Here are links to the 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. There was an unusually high amount of traffic this week. Extra articles are included at the end.

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.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING TEXTBOOKS

Miami: Teacher’s Favorite Literature Textbooks Disappear: Who Done It?

From Diane Ravitch

A highly experienced, very successful high school English teacher clung to her favorite literature textbooks. She preferred them to the digital textbooks adopted by the district. One day recently, she arrived in her class to discover that all her textbooks were gone. Her defiance was unacceptable to the state, the district and the principal. The state wants all children using digital material. It is de-emphasizing fiction and literature, replacing them with “informational text.” In short, the Common Core strikes again.

NEW JERSEY: PAUSE ON CHARTER SCHOOLS

New Jersey Hits the “Pause” Button on New Charter Schools

From Diane Ravitch

After the free-for-all expansion of charter schools in New Jersey during the Chris Christie administration, it is clear there is a new sheriff in town.

The State Commissioner of Education Lamont Repollet has turned down every charter application, saying that time is needed for the state to review the 20-year-old law and figure out how many new charters are needed.

PLAY IS CHILDREN'S WORK

Kids Need Play and Recess. Their Mental Health May Depend on It.

From Education Week

As superintendents, principals and teachers plan for the upcoming school year, one thing is certain: We are serving a generation of children who are more anxious, depressed and suicidal than any generation before. A recent NPR Education Series broadcast states, "Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year."

In fact, Dr. Peter Gray a research professor at Boston College found that, "Rates of depression and anxiety among young people in America have been increasing steadily for the past 50 to 70 years. Today, by at least some estimates, five to eight times as many high school and college students meet the criteria for diagnosis of major depression and/or anxiety disorder as was true half a century or more ago." If that doesn't alarm you as a parent, educator or as a concerned citizen, I'm not sure you have a pulse. The fact is, we have an existential mental health crisis in K-12 education and beyond. The question is, what can schools do about it?

OUR STUDENTS ARE MORE THAN TEST SCORES

Want to boost test scores? Experts say Indiana must change teaching

We say, “Want successful schools, change LEGISLATORS to those who will support public schools and families.”

From Chalkbeat

Bob Schaeffer, spokesman for The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an organization that acts as a testing watchdog, said the flat scores could be indicative of a larger issue, but also show the accountability system as a whole isn’t leading to improvement — its stated purpose.

“It’s worth an investigation to try to see what’s going on and why things are flat,” Schaeffer said. “But (the state) should look at better ways to assess Indiana’s public school students that actually improves academic excellence and equity.”

SURPRISE! VOUCHER SCHOOL CAUGHT CHEATING

Private Voucher School Caught Cheating Taxpayers

From ISTA

...Midwest Elite failed to administer ISTEP and IREAD...the school failed to keep basic student records like enrollment and special education forms. Also missing – voucher records...

...failed to refund the state voucher money the school received for students who left the school during the school year...

...on multiple occasions the school’s checks to the state bounced...

How many more private voucher schools are cheating taxpayers? Considering private voucher schools do not have the same strict accountability that public schools must comply with, we may never know.

OUR STUDENTS ARE MORE THAN TEST SCORES PART 2

As Indiana test scores remain flat overall, gaps are growing between race and income groups

ISTEP pass rates have been released. Perhaps our legislators need to reflect on why scores are not improving especially in certain populations. Or perhaps we need different legislators who will look for real solutions rather than blindly upping the expectations as if measuring the temperature will help with the heat.

From Chalkbeat

Indiana’s most vulnerable students have far lower passing rates than their peers on the state’s ISTEP exams — and the gaps are widening even as scores overall remain steady.

Only half of the state’s elementary and middle school students passed both English and math exams in 2018, but the results released Wednesday were worse for students of color. For example, about a quarter of black students in the lower grades earned passing scores on both tests, compared to nearly 60 percent of white students.

The gaps in passing rates were also more than 30 percentage points between general education and special needs students, as well as students from affluent and low-income families. And with the exception of special education students in grades 3-8, and Native American students in grade 10, these gaps have increased by several percentage points since 2015 and 2016.

FUNDING DISPARITIES CONTINUE

For black, brown, and low-income students, public education is underfunded on purpose

From In the Public Interest (linked from Diane Ravitch)

Like many reports, the latest from the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) drops a number of disturbing facts.

Between 2005 and 2017, the federal government neglected to spend $580 billion it was supposed to on students from poor families and students with disabilities. Over that same time, the personal net worth of the nation’s 400 wealthiest people grew by $1.57 trillion.

Seventeen states actually send more education dollars to wealthier districts than to high-poverty ones.

REPUBLICAN INDIANA SUPERINTENDENT DISCOVERS THAT HER PARTY SUPPORTS PRIVATIZATION

Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jennifer McCormick has announced her intention to not run for reelection in 2020. McCormick has discovered what her Democratic predecessor, Glenda Ritz, learned...that Indiana's Republican super-majority is in the pocket of privatizers.

We had several articles on this topic.

With re-election off the table, Indiana schools chief Jennifer McCormick also backs away from leading state board

McCormick plans to cede control over to the partisan appointed board.

From Chalkbeat

McCormick’s decision to not seek out the chair position, a move that is unprecedented in recent Indiana education policy history, comes two days after she said she wouldn’t seek re-election as state schools chief in 2020. McCormick, a Republican and former public school educator, said political squabbles were distracting her from the important work of educating Indiana’s students and said she would “still serve students for the rest of my life, but it may not be in this role.”

Such infighting likely led to McCormick’s announcement on Wednesday as well. Though she campaigned as a more collaborative leader than her predecessor, Democrat Glenda Ritz, McCormick has butted heads with fellow Republicans as often as she’s agreed with them in the first half of her term.

McCormick asks Indiana lawmakers for charter school oversight and preschool support in 2019

From Chalkbeat

Indiana’s state superintendent made it her goal for the next legislative session to lobby lawmakers for more oversight of charter schools — and any schools taking public money, for that matter.

The call for more regulations governing the fiscal and academic operations of charter schools is an ambitious part of Jennifer McCormick’s wide-ranging 2019 legislative agenda, which she unveiled Monday at a press conference.

“It does us no good to allow any type of choice to happen without some type of accountability,” said McCormick, a Republican who, unlike some of her colleagues, has not spoken favorably about expanding school choice programs unless they can demonstrate results. “It can’t be, open the doors and hope for the best — it’s got to be about quality.”

MORE ON MCCORMICK

• McCormick won't seek 2nd term as state superintendent, from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

• Indiana schools chief Jennifer McCormick won’t run for re-election, citing political clashes, from Chalkbeat

• ISTA Statement on Announcements by Superintendent McCormick, from ISTA

• Indiana's school chief won't seek re-election, from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

EXTRAS

• Georgia: Iconic Charter School Is Closing Its Doors, from Diane Ravitch

• ISTEP results are a non-story, from Steve Hinnefeld at School Matters

• New York City: De Blasio Almost Adopted Charter-Friendly Universal Enrollment System, from Diane Ravitch

• Parents meet with FWCS district on new curriculum change (VIDEO), from WPTA21.Com

• Politico: Betsy DeVos’s Security Will Cost Taxpayers $7.7 Million This Year, from Diane Ravitch

• EACS to put OD drug Narcan in every school building, from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

• An IPS tax measure could raise teacher pay. Here’s how much and why it matters - IPS tries to lure voters to referendum by promising pay increases for teachers. At the same time, there will be cuts in staff per the Chamber of Commerce/IPS agreement.  From Chalkbeat

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If You Don't Read Facebook – July 23

Most of NEIFPE's internet presence is on Facebook where we post links to articles and blogs dealing with the state of public education in the U.S. Beginning today we'll occasionally give our blog readers a taste of the same. Below you'll find links a few articles of interest to help you keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to put your email address into the Follow Us By Email box in the column on the right to be informed of our blog posts when they are published.

Who Controls Education Policy? The Power of the One Percent versus The Power of Educators

From blogger Jan Resseger

For a long time it has been clear that the policy agenda for school privatization is being underwritten by the One Percent, while traditional public schools are the quintessential institution of the 99 Percent. During this spring and summer, we have been reminded of the role of organized teachers for reminding us about the needs of public schools’ powerless constituents—our children.

Uh, Oh: Net Charter School Growth Slows as Rate of Charter Closures Increases

From blogger Mercedes Schneider

Market-driven ed reform is a story of races to close gaps. However, there is one ed-reform gap that appears to be closing, with the gap closure no doubt undesired:

The national rate of charter school closures is notably gaining on the rate of charter school openings.

In spring 2018, the ed-reform publication, Education Next, published an article about the decline in charter school annual net growth (number of new charter schools minus number of charter school closures per year) since the 2013-14 school year. The graph below ends with the 2016-17 school year. Note that EdNext reports that the data from this graph comes from another ed reform org, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS).

Indiana is struggling to give kids speech therapy. Here’s why it’s getting harder.

From Chalkbeat

“You have to understand that we have a huge shortage of (speech-language pathologists),” said Ann Higgins, director of a special education cooperative that serves four districts in north central Indiana. “This is the beginning of my sixth year being director, and we have yet to be fully staffed … as a result, we’re constantly piecing together a puzzle, if you will, to provide speech services.”

These professionals can work in educational or medical settings, and their roles can vary widely depending on the students they serve. They might work on letter sounds with some students with milder needs, but they could also help students with more severe disabilities improve swallowing.

IPS tax request in line with what other districts have approved

From blogger Steve Hinnefeld

The Indianapolis Public Schools board decided this week to ask voters to approve $315 million in increased property taxes to help fund school operations. That may sound like a lot, but spread over eight years and for a district of IPS’ size, it’s a reasonable request.

It’s right in line with what school boards have been asking for in other districts around the state. And voters have increasingly approved those school-funding referendums.

The IPS operating referendum boils down to $39.4 million per year — about $1,300 per IPS student. Some districts, including West Lafayette, Tri-County and Munster, have won approval for more than that, per pupil. Other districts, including MSD Warren Township and Crown Point, have settled for less.

Gary Rubinstein: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Reform Movement and Its Critics, But Didn’t Ask

From public education advocate and author, Diane Ravitch

This is a hilarious, must-see video, narrated by Gary Rubinstein, about his life in Teach for America, his disillusionment with Reform, and his collision with Reformers as they set about to remake American education

People Who Don’t Pay Attention to Public Schools

From blogger Nancy Bailey

Many people in this country...are not fully aware of what’s happening to one of our most sacred democratic institutions...

They’re distracted by reforms that sound nice. Or they’re mesmerized by the reformers.

Others worry about old reforms that, while serious, have led to newer, worse reforms. They care, but are stuck in a time warp.

Some want vouchers. They don’t appreciate public schools.

I’ve gotten emails that say, “Schools have always been bad,” or “teachers don’t know how to teach.” I politely write back that schools, in general, have educated many students well for years, despite problems, and I’m a retired teacher.

Wealth – Not Enrollment in Private School – Increases Student Achievement, According to New Study

From blogger Steven Singer

Students enrolled in private schools often get good grades and high test scores.

And there’s a reason for that – they’re from wealthier families.

A new peer-reviewed study from Professors Richard C. Pianta and Arya Ansari of the University of Virginia found that once you take family income out of the equation, there are absolutely zero benefits of going to a private school. The majority of the advantage comes from simply having money and all that comes with it – physical, emotional, and mental well-being, living in a stable and secure environment, knowing where your next meal will come from, etc.

The study published in July 2018 attempts to correct for selection bias – the factors that contribute to a student choosing private school rather than the benefits of the school, itself.

The Ridiculous Ways Adults Ruin Recess

From blogger Nancy Bailey

Recess for children is such a simple concept that some adults don’t know how to deal with it.

Edutopia is talking about a “right way” to do recess in order to “optimize” it. This stems from a report that is supposed to “help” with recess. They want to manipulate how children play and how we analyze how children play.

Here’s a news flash! The right way to do recess is to give it to the children and let them play the way they want. Safety is important, but adult intervention should be kept at a minimum.

Network for Public Education National Conference

From the Network for Public Education

Registration is open for the 2018 Network for Public Education conference in Indianapolis, October 20, 21. Use this link to register: https://events.bizzabo.com/npe18indy

Our 5th Annual National Conference takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 20 - 21, 2018.

Indiana, like so many states, has faced a coordinated and direct attack on public education, but the people of Indiana are fighting back and so are we.

Join us for our conference at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown where you'll be educated and inspired by activists from across the country and where you can share your story of how you're fighting for our future.

✏️✏️✏️