Republican Presidential candidates claim to be for choice, including vouchers, charters and opportunity scholarships, and they also claim to be for local control of schools. But school choice and local control are like oil and water. You must choose one or the other. For example, Brandon Wright, in “Donald Trump Quotes about Education” from The […]
How REAL Community Schools Differ from Charters Who Adopt that Label
By Mark Naison Community Schools are public schools with wrap around services that become places where all residents of low income communities can find spaces where they can learn, organize and find a voice. The concept was once at the forefront of social justice organizing in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but was pushed aside for […]
Community Schools or a Bunch of Bologna?
With the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or No Child Left Behind into the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), there is a lot of talk about community schools. For many, the term “community schools” conjures up the idea of schools as the hub of the town, with experienced principals and credentialed career […]
Senator Bernie Sanders and K-12 Education: We’re Listening!
Bernie fever is sweeping the Internet. I like Sen. Sanders. He says a lot of things that make me want to jump up and shout YES! You Go Bernie! But I, like many others, am still listening for the specifics when it comes to education and public schools. On the issue of K-12 education he […]
The Charter School Miracle that Isn’t—Special Education in NOLA
It’s segregating kids with disabilities, and letting the charter schools off the hook. —Parent advocate Karran Harper Royal The changes happening to schools in New Orleans—the conversion from public to private—has sadly become a prototype for schools across the country. All parents, teachers and taxpayers should be concerned. While charter advocates see charters as miracles, […]
Tennessee is Dating School Vouchers but Will They Get Hitched?
In Tennessee, like a lot of other states in the country, K-12 vouchers are back on the table. Vouchers are the one area in education where Republicans and Democrats differ. Although there are some Dems out there who probably embrace vouchers too. They certainly never see a charter school they don’t like. Click HERE to […]
Art Charters v. Traditional No Art Schools
Why are the arts removed from traditional public schools while at the same time charter schools are given carte blanche to create art schools? The New York Times has an article about Voice Charter School where students sing and “outperform” their peers…. Academically, students at Voice did significantly better than the city average on New […]
Important Education Research Repeatedly Ignored
Have you noticed we are bombarded by articles and reports about what is right and wrong in education by think tanks and non-educators? In fact, I have heard a variety of education reformers claiming there is little education research. They are wrong. There are many serious studies that these same people continue to ignore. Not […]
Using Students with Special Needs to Privatize Public Schools
Education Week came out with an article pondering a serious question. How can you have special education charter schools and still call it inclusion? HERE. I wondered, were the school reformers going to do the following: Return or ramp-up the old model of resource and self-contained classes within the traditional public school system? Pull together […]
Charter v. Private School “Prepsters”: Manufacturing College-Ready Kindergartners
“College Prep Begins in Kindergarten” is the motto for Cornerstone Preparatory School (a charter) in Memphis. HERE. A lot of charter schools advertise themselves as college preparatory schools, and they begin marketing college at the earliest of all levels—kindergarten. How does this compare to honest-to-goodness private schools? Secretary Arne Duncan visited Cornerstone the other day. […]