• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools

  • Activism
    • Anti-Charter Schools
    • Anti-Common Core State Standards
    • Anti-Corporatization of Schools
    • Anti-High-Stakes Testing
    • State Action Groups
    • School Buildings
  • School Curriculum
    • General Education
    • Educators
    • Parents
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • The Arts
    • Technology
    • Behavior
    • Diversity
    • English Language Learners
    • Special Education
      • Autism
      • Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
      • Learning Disabilities
      • Developmental Disabilities
      • Gifted
      • Other
    • Early Childhood Education
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Student Careers
  • Other Countries
    • England
    • Finland
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • Canada

Public Schools Belong to the People—Not Just Mayors, CEOs, or the President

April 22, 2016 By Nancy Bailey 2 Comments

Post Views: 61

In Chicago, Troy LaRaviere has been fired from his principal position at Blaine Elementary School, partly because he sided with parents against high-stakes testing. Those who fondly regarded the outspoken administrator were stunned to learn of his ousting by mail. LaRaviere has been critical of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others in the school system.

I’d like to know why parents were not given some say into such a drastic firing decision. Why weren’t they included in the discussion concerning his behavior? Was it because all the parents would have cheered for LaRaviere?

LaRaviere recently stood alongside and in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders with parents and students, before the Illinois Democratic primary. Sanders has condemned LaRaviere’s removal.

Troy LaRaviere is also running to take over the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association labor group. Here you can read more about why this might be a concern for school reformers who are becoming increasingly more unpopular.

And here is a link to LaRaviere’s blog.

Troy LaRaviere has spoken out against the establishment and on behalf of children. He has questioned testing and other harmful public school reforms.

He was warned last summer for speaking out too much against education reforms including testing.

The board reprimanded him for comparing the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing to exhaust fumes when answering a parent and siding with the Blaine PTA which pushed to get all students to opt out of the two-week test.

These parents aren’t alone. PARCC is highly scorned by many and tied to Common Core State Standards.

Like Common Core State Standards, PARCC has no track record of being a good test. It has been foisted on American students without acceptance by the public. Many Republicans and Democrats are critical of Common Core and PARCC.

But mayors like Rahm Emanuel and school leaders like former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett want principals and teachers to toe the line.

Bryd-Bennett was indicted in 2015 for corruption charges. She got in trouble for steering a $23 million no-bid contract to her former employer, education consulting firm SUPES Academy. This was done in exchange for bribes and kickbacks which included a college fund for her grandchildren.

Yet, Bryd-Bennett has a point about school districts losing money if students don’t take the test.

We can assume the funding is coming from the Obama administration and Race to the Top. The ties to corporate school reform run deep. If school districts don’t do what the federal and state education departments tell you these days—there will be repercussions.

And, yes. Like Tony LaRaviere, you might lose your job if you speak out too much. If children don’t take the required test they themselves may be punished too.

The problem for reformers, however, is this draconian top down management is not democratic and people are starting to get that.

It is refreshing parents at Blaine Elementary want to opt their students out of the test. They are bucking the national PTA which signed on to corporate reforms a long time ago.

Parents know they own their public schools. Parents can’t be fired. And if they pull together, and courageous teachers, administrators and parents get involved, change can happen.

My guess is Troy LaRaviere isn’t going away either.

Across the country, parents are standing up against high stakes testing. Teachers and administrators who question bad school reform are doing so as well.

If LaRaviere becomes the leader of the principal’s association, think what principals might do to lead their schools differently–better.

The push to end public schools as we know them goes to the heart of America. This isn’t just about Chicago or LaRaviere. It is about America’s public schools and who they belong to.

They are not owned by just Emanuel, governors, or the President. They belong to you and me. They belong to all of us.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Bernie Sanders, Chicago, Chicago Principals and Administrators Assocition, Common Core, Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), principals, privatization, PTA, Rahm Emanuel, teachers, Troy LaRaviere

Comments

  1. ciedie aech says

    April 22, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    Your article puts me in mind of reading somewhere that when books are banned, their sales skyrocket. As true leaders willing to speak out against what is happening inside their schools are publicly dismissed, their influence over those of us fighting this fight will grow — and soon be too big for “reformers” to handle.

    Reply
    • Nancy Bailey says

      April 23, 2016 at 5:08 pm

      Great point! Thank you for sharing, Ciedie.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

front cover

An education glossary with an attitude.

Buy Now

front cover

Do we really want an America where we no longer own our public schools?

Buy Now

front cover

This book says “no” to the reforms that fail, and challenges Americans to address the real student needs that will fix public schools and make America strong.

Buy Now

Follow me!

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Nancy E. Bailey Follow

Longtime LD reading teacher, and other SPED areas. Author, Ph.D. Ed. Leadership, Blogging for Kids, and Democratic Public Schools.

NancyEBailey1
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
daschwartzy Danielle Schwartz @daschwartzy ·
17 Aug

Many kids dislike reading by middle school... the way we teach reading has life long consequences. Maybe they should measure the reading for joy gap. #education https://twitter.com/NancyEBailey1/status/1559884690106064900

Nancy E. Bailey @NancyEBailey1

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

Reply on Twitter 1559952122027933696 Retweet on Twitter 1559952122027933696 1 Like on Twitter 1559952122027933696 5 Twitter 1559952122027933696
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
17 Aug

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

Reply on Twitter 1559884690106064900 Retweet on Twitter 1559884690106064900 6 Like on Twitter 1559884690106064900 11 Twitter 1559884690106064900
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
susanoha Susan Ohanian @susanoha ·
18 Aug

Dept. of Libraries partners with Dept. of Corrections to provide over $42,000 in books to state correctional facilities https://libraries.vermont.gov/corrections_partnership

Reply on Twitter 1560090867154690048 Retweet on Twitter 1560090867154690048 2 Like on Twitter 1560090867154690048 6 Twitter 1560090867154690048
nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
17 Aug

Children must first learn reading is fun. Pushing phonics on young children means nothing if they can't connect it to the joy of reading. Jim Trelease knew the importance of reading aloud. His book holds the key.
https://nancyebailey.com/2022/08/17/reading-aloud-to-help-children-read-well-their-whole-lives/

Reply on Twitter 1559884690106064900 Retweet on Twitter 1559884690106064900 6 Like on Twitter 1559884690106064900 11 Twitter 1559884690106064900
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
nicholasferroni Nicholas Ferroni @nicholasferroni ·
16 Aug

When you are trying to sell something that you know is not going to work… https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1558849930948534273

The Hill @thehill

.@GovDeSantis on recruiting veterans to the teaching field: "Our veterans have a wealth of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear in the classroom. [...] For too long, the requirements to be a teacher have been too rigid." https://trib.al/1bPu78k

Reply on Twitter 1559543217615278080 Retweet on Twitter 1559543217615278080 17 Like on Twitter 1559543217615278080 178 Twitter 1559543217615278080
Load More

Archives

Tag Cloud

Arne Duncan Autism Betsy DeVos Bill Gates charter schools class size Common Core Common Core covid-19 disabilities dyslexia early childhood education Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Florida high-stakes testing inclusion kindergarten learning disabilities mental health Online Learning parents Personalized Learning phonics preschool private schools privatization public schools reading recess School Choice school libraries School Privatization school reform Social Emotional Learning special education students Students with Disabilities Teacher Preparation teachers Teach for America teaching Technology testing the arts vouchers

Copyright © 2022 Nancy E. Bailey · Website powered by Standing Pine Media.