What will future Education Secretary Betsy DeVos do with special education? Most voucher programs currently go to students with disabilities. My guess is that there will be increased support with the new Trump administration and DeVos. The following states have voucher programs for student with disabilities: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, […]
Archives for November 2016
Privatization and School Buses? Thoughts, Please, Betsy DeVos?
The private company that owned the bus involved in Monday’s wreck in Chattanooga that killed five [six] elementary school students has had 142 crashes with injuries and three fatalities in the past 24 months, according to federal records. Here I’m thinking of the pictures this past week of Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos beaming about school choice–vouchers […]
I’m Thankful for Real Public Schools!
With the DeVos selection, I thought I’d tweak and rerun an old Thanksgiving post. Here are a few of the things we should focus on instead of breaking up public schools. Have a beautiful Thanksgiving! Enjoy your kids. ____________________ Thanksgiving can be a lonely time. It can be a time where problems appear worse, when […]
Fast ForWord Computer Reading Program is KindaSlow!
When technology fails, shouldn’t there be accountability–like real teachers? In Gainesville, Florida, home of the prestigious University of Florida, the Alachua School District spent $1.19 million on a reading computer program called Fast ForWord. But children who did Fast ForWord did worse than children not participating in the program! Will the company Scientific Learning pay […]
Moskowitz and Rhee: A Teacher’s Viewpoint
Many educators and parents have expressed concerns about Eva Moskowitz or Michelle Rhee becoming Secretary of Education. Moskowitz has declined the post, but Ivanka Trump visited her charter school, and some fear she is still being courted. They seem to value her input. From a teacher’s viewpoint, I wanted to document why so many resent […]
Recent Research Shows Vouchers Fail Children
The Trump presidency seems to want to base its education program on school choice. But vouchers have a history of failure. The two most recent studies indicate that students do worse with vouchers. The Louisiana Scholarship Program provided tuition to poor students in low-performing public schools. An MIT paper by Atila Abdulkadiroglu of Duke University, […]
Lacking Civics Education and School Privatization
Many of us are worried about America’s future. It’s never too late to ask how civics education is being addressed in our public schools. Public schools don’t usually teach civics well. Have you ever wondered why it isn’t a priority? The National Council for the Social Studies claims we have narrowed the curriculum over the […]
President Donald Trump: What NOW for Public Schools?
President Trump certainly won’t be remembered as someone who “Made America Great Again” by churning the past failed public school policies of both parties. What can we expect from President Donald Trump when it comes to our public schools? Is it all doom and gloom? Can we find any silver lining? Is there a smidgeon […]
Nebraska: The Online Worm in the Apple
Nebraska’s Great Public Schools When you get to feeling bad about awful school reform, it’s nice to reflect on Nebraska. It has been a shiny, organic apple. But now it has a worm in it when it comes to online instruction. The state has been mostly immune to draconian reform. Probably this is largely due […]
The Loss of Special Education Services: An Update
Every day I check the education news and am appalled to see more stories about children being denied special education services. Where is the federal government? Where’s the state? And how does the local school district get away with this without being sued? It is as if students with differences of any kind are being […]