It is time to stop beating around the bush and start talking about what these people are saying and what their goals are: Many mainstream Republicans want to de-legitimize and deconstruct public education as a concept in the United States of America.
This isn't their sole historical property, mind you. There was a time not so long ago when populist Southern Democratic governors stood in schoolhouse doors and fought public education as well. These are old questions, it is an old fight. And Democrats don't have a very good record of holding political allies responsible for the failing state of many public schools across the land.
That being said, there are two questions that must be asked about public school: Do you think that every child in the United States should be offered the opportunity to obtain a basic education? Do you think a government organization is the most effective way to deliver this basic education to the most possible children?
The current answer from the right wing continues to be "no," and "hell, no." That answer dominates the mainstream Republican Party mindset.
Let's not mince words, those kinds of beliefs are not political non-negotiables. Our own national history has often been built on the fights for universal access to basic education. It often took generations of struggle to reform school policy to include one group or another, or to fund one group the same as any other. Once one goal was acheived, it opened up a new host of problems that had to be addressed, and the political debate continued. That debate never ended, it just changed.
Right now, those answers to those two questions are winning the national debate. They are doing so because any political opposition refuses to accept that those questions make up the heart of the debate.
The current crop of Republicans is out to destroy the concept of public education in the United States of America.
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Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Profiles in Courage
Let's talk about the successful charter school experiment in New Orleans. I like how the article pops on a Friday afternoon to depress the readership as much as possible.
Don't ever believe the hype. If you allow charters to be run badly, they will have the exact same problems you find in regular schools that are run badly. The only answer is to actually make sure whatever schools your local tax dollars are paying for are run by professionals.
And you damn sure can't put the blame for this on the teachers. If it weren't for some of these courageous ladies (some of whom I know) damning the torpedoes and blowing the whistle, this craziness might never have been exposed.
Bravo, ladies.
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Don't ever believe the hype. If you allow charters to be run badly, they will have the exact same problems you find in regular schools that are run badly. The only answer is to actually make sure whatever schools your local tax dollars are paying for are run by professionals.
And you damn sure can't put the blame for this on the teachers. If it weren't for some of these courageous ladies (some of whom I know) damning the torpedoes and blowing the whistle, this craziness might never have been exposed.
Bravo, ladies.
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An Adult Problem
Like so many School Boards and School Systems across this country, students get to deal with the mess the adults make of things.
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Republican Change I Can Believe In
Louisiana School Board members having to serve as substitute teachers in their systems?
Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.
Hell, I don't even think the bill goes far enough.
One day a month substitute teaching whenever school is in session. At the most at-risk public schools. At least.
And it should be every single elected state official. Don't just stop at School Board members. The governor and the legislators and, yes, even judges - they should all get a chance to see what consequences their decisions have on the children of this state.
And to the business man who doesn't want to do it? Choice words. Elections have consequences, after all.
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Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.
Hell, I don't even think the bill goes far enough.
One day a month substitute teaching whenever school is in session. At the most at-risk public schools. At least.
And it should be every single elected state official. Don't just stop at School Board members. The governor and the legislators and, yes, even judges - they should all get a chance to see what consequences their decisions have on the children of this state.
And to the business man who doesn't want to do it? Choice words. Elections have consequences, after all.
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Keep 'em Separated
Since the 1950's, there has been a tremendous political movement to increase the use of private school vouchers - that is, sending students to private school on the public dime. The current reasoning is another of those common-sense-isms that seems rational on its face.
But all you have to do is dig a little deeper.
First of all, there is an inherent conflict of interest. The same people (state legislators) who are able to politically enact vouchers programs to "allow even poor people to escape the worst public schools" (their words) are the same people who politically affect policy for the state's worst public schools.
Meaning a politician who wants a voucher program can create the need for a voucher program by passively neglecting or actively kneecapping public education through his or her legislative perogatives.
This behavior is demonstrated very well, as Jay Bookman indicates, when political supporters of voucher programs refuse to require voucher recipients take standardized testing the state mandates for public school students.
I wonder what the explanation is for that?
Let me get this straight: a legislator will force education budgets to spend millions on standardized high-stakes testing infrastructure, to quantitatively evaluate the value of a public education and to "install accountability." This makes public schools cut extracurricular programs in favor of teaching the test, degrading the overall value of a public education. Then, in response to that degredation, that same legislator will say that students need to escape the mess that's been made, and offer to send them to private schools with public money. Finally, once the kid is in private school, the legislator does not want that student tested against one of the only metrics available to quantitatively evaluate the value difference between private and public education.
Where's your accountability now?
That's why I vote against every single politician who proposes a voucher program - it is, literally, a public and policy-based admission that the candidate is incapable or unwilling to do the job they were elected to do. Not only that, but such politicians are usually openly hostile to doing that job.
Now, I wouldn't vote for them if they just came out and admitted that they despised the idea of public schools and would rather that not be the government's responsibility. I think that position is terrible and has been demonstrably proven false. But I would at least respect the honesty. That's an improvement to the way they're going about things now.
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But all you have to do is dig a little deeper.
First of all, there is an inherent conflict of interest. The same people (state legislators) who are able to politically enact vouchers programs to "allow even poor people to escape the worst public schools" (their words) are the same people who politically affect policy for the state's worst public schools.
Meaning a politician who wants a voucher program can create the need for a voucher program by passively neglecting or actively kneecapping public education through his or her legislative perogatives.
This behavior is demonstrated very well, as Jay Bookman indicates, when political supporters of voucher programs refuse to require voucher recipients take standardized testing the state mandates for public school students.
I wonder what the explanation is for that?
Let me get this straight: a legislator will force education budgets to spend millions on standardized high-stakes testing infrastructure, to quantitatively evaluate the value of a public education and to "install accountability." This makes public schools cut extracurricular programs in favor of teaching the test, degrading the overall value of a public education. Then, in response to that degredation, that same legislator will say that students need to escape the mess that's been made, and offer to send them to private schools with public money. Finally, once the kid is in private school, the legislator does not want that student tested against one of the only metrics available to quantitatively evaluate the value difference between private and public education.
Where's your accountability now?
That's why I vote against every single politician who proposes a voucher program - it is, literally, a public and policy-based admission that the candidate is incapable or unwilling to do the job they were elected to do. Not only that, but such politicians are usually openly hostile to doing that job.
Now, I wouldn't vote for them if they just came out and admitted that they despised the idea of public schools and would rather that not be the government's responsibility. I think that position is terrible and has been demonstrably proven false. But I would at least respect the honesty. That's an improvement to the way they're going about things now.
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The Teacher's Fault?
Low performing schools are obviously the fault of public schoolteachers and their lousy unions because there are never political externalities that affect a public school's funding base.
< / narrative >
Public school reform will enter a new phase when local voters realize their local governments and states often make the decisions that pick which schools lose resources and gain risk and which schools gain resources while shedding risk. Often, it is a legislative committee that decides which public schools fail and which pulbic schools prosper.
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< / narrative >
Public school reform will enter a new phase when local voters realize their local governments and states often make the decisions that pick which schools lose resources and gain risk and which schools gain resources while shedding risk. Often, it is a legislative committee that decides which public schools fail and which pulbic schools prosper.
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The Cover Charge (Updated)
Common-sensism, that's the term I use to describe political narratives sold to people based on what appears, on the surface, to make a great deal of sense. It adds a little bit of bandwagoneering to the political narrative landscape, as in "well, everybody knows..."
Like the idea that tax-cuts and subsidies, or "tax relief" in the land of savvy political communicators, will always increase economic growth because people will have more money to spend on things instead of paying taxes. That economic growth then increases tax-revenue, from the expanding economic climate.
That has always sounded to me like something that was too good to be true. And you know what they say about things that are too good to be true.
First of all, you have to look at America's history. If low marginal tax rates increase the economy, and high marginal tax rates destroy the economy, why did the economy collapse in 1929 when taxes were low, but expand continually in the late 1940's and 1950's when taxes were astronomical?
The answer lies in having a dynamic economy. Ford got rich making Model T's, but he wouldn't have made a dime if he couldn't have sold a lot of them. For an economy to work, you have to have markets for your goods and you have to have inexpensive ways to get your goods and customers to markets.
That's why education and infrastructure are more important to an economy than big industries. Education and infrastructure build and support a robust, dynamic middle class. The middle class buys some cheap goods and some luxury goods and opens their own businesses to increase their income. Those businesses need to purchase some cheap goods and some high-dollar goods to make it. All those purchases support the big industries and financial institutions, not the other way around.
So one has to wonder about economic and fiscal sanity if someone's plan to grow the economy is to take the knees out from under the middle class to increase the already favorable climate for big business.
At some point, you have to start focusing on your market, and charging businesses for access to that market. Just like the hipsters will pay to get into the club that puts the best band on the stage, businesses will pay to get into the state where they can get returns on their investment for a long time. And if they don't want to, let them go. If there is even one dollar of profit to be made in a place, a different business will show up or start up to compete for it.
And if they want to pass the costs along to the consumer? Well, we live in a free-market economy. Businesses can set their prices based on how much profit they'll make, and that number isn't guaranteed or regulated. As long as the rules are the same for every business, the consumers will regulate that for us.
Update: For another look at just how far reaching the narrative is when it comes to education, be sure to check out the new happenings in New Orleans and Wisconsin.
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Like the idea that tax-cuts and subsidies, or "tax relief" in the land of savvy political communicators, will always increase economic growth because people will have more money to spend on things instead of paying taxes. That economic growth then increases tax-revenue, from the expanding economic climate.
That has always sounded to me like something that was too good to be true. And you know what they say about things that are too good to be true.
First of all, you have to look at America's history. If low marginal tax rates increase the economy, and high marginal tax rates destroy the economy, why did the economy collapse in 1929 when taxes were low, but expand continually in the late 1940's and 1950's when taxes were astronomical?
The answer lies in having a dynamic economy. Ford got rich making Model T's, but he wouldn't have made a dime if he couldn't have sold a lot of them. For an economy to work, you have to have markets for your goods and you have to have inexpensive ways to get your goods and customers to markets.
That's why education and infrastructure are more important to an economy than big industries. Education and infrastructure build and support a robust, dynamic middle class. The middle class buys some cheap goods and some luxury goods and opens their own businesses to increase their income. Those businesses need to purchase some cheap goods and some high-dollar goods to make it. All those purchases support the big industries and financial institutions, not the other way around.
So one has to wonder about economic and fiscal sanity if someone's plan to grow the economy is to take the knees out from under the middle class to increase the already favorable climate for big business.
For the past decade, Georgia has been losing the type of high-paying jobs attracted by good infrastructure, quality schools and an attractive quality of life, perhaps because it hasn’t been investing in good infrastructure, quality schools and an attractive quality of life.
At some point, you have to start focusing on your market, and charging businesses for access to that market. Just like the hipsters will pay to get into the club that puts the best band on the stage, businesses will pay to get into the state where they can get returns on their investment for a long time. And if they don't want to, let them go. If there is even one dollar of profit to be made in a place, a different business will show up or start up to compete for it.
And if they want to pass the costs along to the consumer? Well, we live in a free-market economy. Businesses can set their prices based on how much profit they'll make, and that number isn't guaranteed or regulated. As long as the rules are the same for every business, the consumers will regulate that for us.
Update: For another look at just how far reaching the narrative is when it comes to education, be sure to check out the new happenings in New Orleans and Wisconsin.
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The Other 99%
There were a lot of pathologies present in the way America, and especially cities in the South, concentrated poverty and minorities in public housing projects. Coupled with the criminal mismanagement of public education resources, these pathologies created conditions responsible for replicating generations of at-risk populations.
While some folks can be lulled into the false choice that any change to a bad situation is good change, we must never forget that "solutions" may simply create or replicate progress-resistant pathologies in different ways. And guess which Southern American cities get to go first?
This becomes very important to me. I realize that every year, as I become more secure in my job, as I gain experience and encounter my yearly merit raises, my economic position slips further and further down the class ladder. At the same time, there is a group of politicians in this country that blame my personal economic decline and tax burden on the most at-risk members of our society.
While the emotional reaction is immediate when you see an outwardly looking, able-bodied someone using public assistance to purchase junk food in the grocery store, and argue with the clerk about it, the reverse emotion is true when you talk to folks who do menial service work for private contractors 50 hours a week and still can't make ends meet without SNAP benefits. Help out with a city-assisted evacuation sometime, and the few dozen people who are obviously taking advantage of the situation - and complaining about it - will boil your blood. Perspective comes when you see the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who need the assistance, whose elderly, infirm, or children would be at the mercy of leaky levees yet again if the storm comes too close. There is always a disconnect between what people say on television and radio and what actually happens in front of your face. Yes, there may be wasted tax dollars spent on the social safety net for these people, but that simply cannot be so much it is destroying our nation's fiscal health.
On the other hand, according to that group of politicians, it is the tax burden on the richest people and the corporations that is holding our economy back. So we cut and cut the taxes of the top 1%, we provide endless tax loopholes and subsidies so those corporations will provide jobs and that 1% will spend their money around. We've been following this general fiscal plan since about 1980, and all our nation has done is find fiscal decline.
The explanations seem to make sense. Lower taxes allow people to spend more on goods, and people at the top have the most buying power. But does that spending go to regular goods that create the most jobs, or to the luxury goods that require already well-paid specialists? Are they investing in real businesses that build the economy or the legalized gambling in the stock markets? The idea that corporations will move their jobs to the places where they incrue the lowest costs (and make the most profit) seems to make sense until you realize that - where are they going to go?
Then there is the deeply soothing narrative that, if we increase taxes on companies, and eliminate their subsidies and loopholes, they will "pass the cost on to the consumer." This also makes sense in the "common sensism" of soundbyte news and talk radio. But in a free market economy, isn't that up to the consumer to decide?
I don't buy a lot of stuff. I try not to buy a lot of gasoline. I don't fly commercial. I don't live in a suburb. But my tax dollars are used to subsidize or provide loopholes for companies that buy crap goods from cheap manufacturers in China; my tax dollars go to subsidize the oil companies and their billions and billions of profits; my tax dollars go to subsidize the airline industry at the expense of rail and mass transit; my tax dollars go to subsidize infrastructure and schools in other parts of the state or country while our levees leak, our roads are cratered, and our schools are being privatized because 'they don't work' for lack of resources. I'm not chosing to consume goods I'm already paying for.
Pennies come out of my tax dollars and go to the social safety net. But quarters go to subsidize the lifestyles of the top 1%. And by saying this, I know that makes me a "class warrior" to some - usually those who would have me focus my attention on the pathologies present among the most disenfranchised, at-risk populations because they can provide the easiest scapegoat.
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While some folks can be lulled into the false choice that any change to a bad situation is good change, we must never forget that "solutions" may simply create or replicate progress-resistant pathologies in different ways. And guess which Southern American cities get to go first?
New Orleans and Atlanta are providing the opening scenes of a new era of American decline, with fewer and fewer economic opportunities and more and more ways to fall through the cracks.
This becomes very important to me. I realize that every year, as I become more secure in my job, as I gain experience and encounter my yearly merit raises, my economic position slips further and further down the class ladder. At the same time, there is a group of politicians in this country that blame my personal economic decline and tax burden on the most at-risk members of our society.
While the emotional reaction is immediate when you see an outwardly looking, able-bodied someone using public assistance to purchase junk food in the grocery store, and argue with the clerk about it, the reverse emotion is true when you talk to folks who do menial service work for private contractors 50 hours a week and still can't make ends meet without SNAP benefits. Help out with a city-assisted evacuation sometime, and the few dozen people who are obviously taking advantage of the situation - and complaining about it - will boil your blood. Perspective comes when you see the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who need the assistance, whose elderly, infirm, or children would be at the mercy of leaky levees yet again if the storm comes too close. There is always a disconnect between what people say on television and radio and what actually happens in front of your face. Yes, there may be wasted tax dollars spent on the social safety net for these people, but that simply cannot be so much it is destroying our nation's fiscal health.
On the other hand, according to that group of politicians, it is the tax burden on the richest people and the corporations that is holding our economy back. So we cut and cut the taxes of the top 1%, we provide endless tax loopholes and subsidies so those corporations will provide jobs and that 1% will spend their money around. We've been following this general fiscal plan since about 1980, and all our nation has done is find fiscal decline.
The explanations seem to make sense. Lower taxes allow people to spend more on goods, and people at the top have the most buying power. But does that spending go to regular goods that create the most jobs, or to the luxury goods that require already well-paid specialists? Are they investing in real businesses that build the economy or the legalized gambling in the stock markets? The idea that corporations will move their jobs to the places where they incrue the lowest costs (and make the most profit) seems to make sense until you realize that - where are they going to go?
Then there is the deeply soothing narrative that, if we increase taxes on companies, and eliminate their subsidies and loopholes, they will "pass the cost on to the consumer." This also makes sense in the "common sensism" of soundbyte news and talk radio. But in a free market economy, isn't that up to the consumer to decide?
I don't buy a lot of stuff. I try not to buy a lot of gasoline. I don't fly commercial. I don't live in a suburb. But my tax dollars are used to subsidize or provide loopholes for companies that buy crap goods from cheap manufacturers in China; my tax dollars go to subsidize the oil companies and their billions and billions of profits; my tax dollars go to subsidize the airline industry at the expense of rail and mass transit; my tax dollars go to subsidize infrastructure and schools in other parts of the state or country while our levees leak, our roads are cratered, and our schools are being privatized because 'they don't work' for lack of resources. I'm not chosing to consume goods I'm already paying for.
Pennies come out of my tax dollars and go to the social safety net. But quarters go to subsidize the lifestyles of the top 1%. And by saying this, I know that makes me a "class warrior" to some - usually those who would have me focus my attention on the pathologies present among the most disenfranchised, at-risk populations because they can provide the easiest scapegoat.
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No Excuses
"This is why you don't put your face on the cover of Time magazine with a broom." - A former New Orleans teacher, upon being shown these links.
Y'all remember the test score investigation in Atlanta? The one where they're planning on hanging Beverly Hall out to dry? The one where the state investigators and the APS are fighting over which teachers they get to intimidate into testifying or staying silent?
Kinda makes you wonder what they're going to do with Michelle Rhee.
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Y'all remember the test score investigation in Atlanta? The one where they're planning on hanging Beverly Hall out to dry? The one where the state investigators and the APS are fighting over which teachers they get to intimidate into testifying or staying silent?
Kinda makes you wonder what they're going to do with Michelle Rhee.
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(False) School Choice
One of the biggest selling points for the "school choice" movement is that "schools will compete for your student." Basically, the theory behind the market approach to education is that schools will work to be better as they do whatever they can to attract the best, brightest, and most students. Without doing that, they don't get paid.
This is a fine concept in theory, that plays off the "common sense" of utopian libertarianism. The concept falls on its face when presented with reality. I present two examples where "school choice" places all the responsibility on the parent and the children to compete to get into schools.
College and Preschools.
One would think that with so many institutions "competing" for student participation at the preschool and collegiate levels, the application process would be much easier and less stressful.
But the application process is stressful because those schools know they are the best, have a large pool of applicants, and can pick and choose their students based on internal criteria to remain the best. Those who don't get in have to pick and choose between their second choices.
This works well at the college level, where you have a wealth of viable and excellent second choices - second choices that are also a lot of other folks' first choices. Colleges can also specialize - from small, private liberal arts teaching institutions to giant, State U research institutions attached to Division 1 Minor League Football Teams. There already exists a robust variety of college choices that take the "false" choice out of the equation.
Those choices DO NOT EXIST in many places the "school choice" model is being sold as a vehicle for education reform. In these places, like New Orleans, if you don't get into one of 8 functioning and accredited public schools, your remaining options are A) expensive parochial private schools, B) non-accredited charter schools, and C) non-accredited, underresourced public schools. With the exception of C), you have to compete to get into the other options as well. Even with those places that offer "open enrollment," there are specific requirements (forms, attendance requirements, behavior requirements, uniform requirements, transportation requirements, etc.) that come with participation and application.
The schools at the top of this food chain do not "compete" for the best students, the students and parents "compete" to get into these schools. The existence of non-functioning schools at the bottom of this chain keep the monopoly working. That is not an incentive to reform the local system.
The only way "school choice" works is if you are choosing between two places where your student is going to recieve a functioning, adequately-resourced education. The "choice" should be between the "art" school and the the "math & science" school, not between "functioning school" and "non-functioning security risk."
And this examination doesn't even touch the underserved exceptional students or socially maladjusted students, who are expensive to educate in the first place. When these students and their parents have to "compete" to recieve services, they are handed an additional, systematic level of disadvantage.
But, hey, it makes sense in political speeches that appeal to counterintuitive, utopian "common sense-ism."
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This is a fine concept in theory, that plays off the "common sense" of utopian libertarianism. The concept falls on its face when presented with reality. I present two examples where "school choice" places all the responsibility on the parent and the children to compete to get into schools.
College and Preschools.
One would think that with so many institutions "competing" for student participation at the preschool and collegiate levels, the application process would be much easier and less stressful.
But the application process is stressful because those schools know they are the best, have a large pool of applicants, and can pick and choose their students based on internal criteria to remain the best. Those who don't get in have to pick and choose between their second choices.
This works well at the college level, where you have a wealth of viable and excellent second choices - second choices that are also a lot of other folks' first choices. Colleges can also specialize - from small, private liberal arts teaching institutions to giant, State U research institutions attached to Division 1 Minor League Football Teams. There already exists a robust variety of college choices that take the "false" choice out of the equation.
Those choices DO NOT EXIST in many places the "school choice" model is being sold as a vehicle for education reform. In these places, like New Orleans, if you don't get into one of 8 functioning and accredited public schools, your remaining options are A) expensive parochial private schools, B) non-accredited charter schools, and C) non-accredited, underresourced public schools. With the exception of C), you have to compete to get into the other options as well. Even with those places that offer "open enrollment," there are specific requirements (forms, attendance requirements, behavior requirements, uniform requirements, transportation requirements, etc.) that come with participation and application.
The schools at the top of this food chain do not "compete" for the best students, the students and parents "compete" to get into these schools. The existence of non-functioning schools at the bottom of this chain keep the monopoly working. That is not an incentive to reform the local system.
The only way "school choice" works is if you are choosing between two places where your student is going to recieve a functioning, adequately-resourced education. The "choice" should be between the "art" school and the the "math & science" school, not between "functioning school" and "non-functioning security risk."
And this examination doesn't even touch the underserved exceptional students or socially maladjusted students, who are expensive to educate in the first place. When these students and their parents have to "compete" to recieve services, they are handed an additional, systematic level of disadvantage.
But, hey, it makes sense in political speeches that appeal to counterintuitive, utopian "common sense-ism."
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Crimes Against Testing
Well, this pretty much encapulates every wrong priority about public education these days. Let us count the ways:
1. The Atlanta Public Schools are accused of withholding teacher contracts in order to intimidate teachers not to testify against possible APS wrongdoing under state investigation. This is not the first time state investigators have raised concerns that the APS is conducting a campaign of witness intimidation.
2. In the "PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONZ ARE TEH EBIL SOCIALIZMS" narrative, the APS here represents "the taxpayer" and the teachers being intimidated represent the leeches on society. Georgia is a right to work state, with a teachers' association, but with no rights to collectively bargain.
3. The narratives say that the main thing wrong with public education is the existence of all the "bad teachers," who the unions and labor laws protect against being laid-off without cause. Systems, as narrated representatives of "the taxpayer" should be able to hire and fire at will. The narrative trusts the systems to make the right decisions and not to abuse these powers. Until they don't.
4. Also representing "the taxpayer" are the state investigators, who might seem concerned that teachers - as witnesses to a crime - are being intimidated into silence by the APS. But make no mistake, the investigators are not interested in the well-being of these teachers, they are interested in the well-being of high-stakes standardized testing.
5. But don't worry, this news does not violate any tenet of the "bad teacher" narrative, as the state investigators are looking for "bad teachers" to take a plea deal and roll on the "bad APS."
That means representatives of "the taxpayers" are fighting other representatives of "the taxpayers" and using the employment of public sector employees as part of their interagency competition. This serves as proof that, in the new educational-industrial paradigm, the only time it is NOT OK to hold teachers' contracts or get rid of teachers without cause is when the teachers might be witnesses to crimes against testing.
Because you'll notice that the high-level state investigations only started in response to a scandal involving the testing. I cannot, however, recall any serious investigations into why so many public schools in Georgia are unable to get the resources and support necessary to adequately educate their students.
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1. The Atlanta Public Schools are accused of withholding teacher contracts in order to intimidate teachers not to testify against possible APS wrongdoing under state investigation. This is not the first time state investigators have raised concerns that the APS is conducting a campaign of witness intimidation.
2. In the "PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONZ ARE TEH EBIL SOCIALIZMS" narrative, the APS here represents "the taxpayer" and the teachers being intimidated represent the leeches on society. Georgia is a right to work state, with a teachers' association, but with no rights to collectively bargain.
3. The narratives say that the main thing wrong with public education is the existence of all the "bad teachers," who the unions and labor laws protect against being laid-off without cause. Systems, as narrated representatives of "the taxpayer" should be able to hire and fire at will. The narrative trusts the systems to make the right decisions and not to abuse these powers. Until they don't.
4. Also representing "the taxpayer" are the state investigators, who might seem concerned that teachers - as witnesses to a crime - are being intimidated into silence by the APS. But make no mistake, the investigators are not interested in the well-being of these teachers, they are interested in the well-being of high-stakes standardized testing.
5. But don't worry, this news does not violate any tenet of the "bad teacher" narrative, as the state investigators are looking for "bad teachers" to take a plea deal and roll on the "bad APS."
That means representatives of "the taxpayers" are fighting other representatives of "the taxpayers" and using the employment of public sector employees as part of their interagency competition. This serves as proof that, in the new educational-industrial paradigm, the only time it is NOT OK to hold teachers' contracts or get rid of teachers without cause is when the teachers might be witnesses to crimes against testing.
Because you'll notice that the high-level state investigations only started in response to a scandal involving the testing. I cannot, however, recall any serious investigations into why so many public schools in Georgia are unable to get the resources and support necessary to adequately educate their students.
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Testing: The Education-Industrial Complex
All about profits, not about education.
This shocking expose is neither shocking, nor an expose, if you've been paying any attention at all to education "reform" in this country.
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This shocking expose is neither shocking, nor an expose, if you've been paying any attention at all to education "reform" in this country.
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The Numbers
The usual way of discussing education is for individuals on both sides to talk past each other. If you think the problem with education lies with the teachers' unions, you point to the anecdotes of bad teachers who have been kept on the payroll. If you think the problems with education have nothing to do with teachers' unions, you point out that the states with the weakest teachers' unions have the lowest performances.
I've done that last part. But don't get too excited, because that's usually used in response to individuals in the first category (even if they aren't listening). If you're the one selling something, you've got to prove that what you're selling is worth buying, after all.
Though it is nice, every once in a while, to see someone really dig into those numbers. That analysis doesn't pull any punches, and does not ignore something a lot of people would be more comfortable if we didn't talk about. Wingfield could have just let all that information sit in his comments section, so I have to respect that he doesn't shy away from the topic.
Race.
If they are to be believed, what do these numbers tell us? I see three things that really stand out: 1) the artificial, race-based gap in educational acheivement exists across the board, 2) that gap is the main failing of American public education regardless of state, and 3) teachers' unions don't really have a lot to do with it.
I'll keep this in mind the next time some education "reformer's" sales pitch leads with how important it is to break teachers' unions to increase student success.
The numbers still tell us that shouldn't be our priority.
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I've done that last part. But don't get too excited, because that's usually used in response to individuals in the first category (even if they aren't listening). If you're the one selling something, you've got to prove that what you're selling is worth buying, after all.
Though it is nice, every once in a while, to see someone really dig into those numbers. That analysis doesn't pull any punches, and does not ignore something a lot of people would be more comfortable if we didn't talk about. Wingfield could have just let all that information sit in his comments section, so I have to respect that he doesn't shy away from the topic.
Race.
If they are to be believed, what do these numbers tell us? I see three things that really stand out: 1) the artificial, race-based gap in educational acheivement exists across the board, 2) that gap is the main failing of American public education regardless of state, and 3) teachers' unions don't really have a lot to do with it.
I'll keep this in mind the next time some education "reformer's" sales pitch leads with how important it is to break teachers' unions to increase student success.
The numbers still tell us that shouldn't be our priority.
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This
I can't remember the exact moment during my first year of teaching when I realized every one of my students, colleagues and I had been set up to fail, and there was no way out of the trap, but it felt a little like this.
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By the Numbers
Events in Wisconsin have collided with an interesting narrative when it comes to public education.
For years, school "reformers" have focused on teachers and teachers' unions as keys to making education better. I would go so far as to say it is a national talking point that teachers' unions ruin public education.
Of course, this line of thinking might make you think that states with the least powerful teachers' unions have the best public education systems, right? Well, the states with the least powerful teachers' unions are all in the South.
Uh oh.
The states with the worst education scores are also in the South.
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For years, school "reformers" have focused on teachers and teachers' unions as keys to making education better. I would go so far as to say it is a national talking point that teachers' unions ruin public education.
Of course, this line of thinking might make you think that states with the least powerful teachers' unions have the best public education systems, right? Well, the states with the least powerful teachers' unions are all in the South.
Uh oh.
The states with the worst education scores are also in the South.
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Four Articles
School systems don't just affect the students attending classes, they affect their entire communities. I think about this as New Orleans - and so many other communities in the South - attempt to reconcile our historical legacies and suburban exodus with rebuilding our cities.
Regarding that motion, I'm reading four articles right now that tie into this.
New Orleans Needs a Population Explosion
A Conversation with Edward L. Glaeser.
Athens Rising February 11
And finally, though it isn't an article per se, I'm still thinking about the panel discussion from Tuesday night, the comments here and the observations of other who were there or those following online.
All of this information has to do with the way cities interact with their populations, which inspire or stifle innovations, affecting education, which in turn affects their populations, which inspire innovations...
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Regarding that motion, I'm reading four articles right now that tie into this.
New Orleans Needs a Population Explosion
A Conversation with Edward L. Glaeser.
Athens Rising February 11
And finally, though it isn't an article per se, I'm still thinking about the panel discussion from Tuesday night, the comments here and the observations of other who were there or those following online.
All of this information has to do with the way cities interact with their populations, which inspire or stifle innovations, affecting education, which in turn affects their populations, which inspire innovations...
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A Good School System
I'm still unpacking some of the things I heard at the 5 Years Later panel regarding the current state of New Orleans public education.
The thing that bothered me most was that everyone on stage appeared to agree with OPSB Member Brett Bonin's statement (and I'm paraphrasing) that 'now New Orleans knows what a good school system looks like.'
That might make for good copy, but the truth was exposed later on when the moderator asked the panel 'what does a good school system look like?' The panelists responded with boilerplate statements regarding "student success" and "school success scores" and students who could engage in "critical thinking." The closest any panelist came was the RSD Deputy Superintendent, who said that a good school system could be identified by a student body with an average ACT score of 20. This was verified by others in attendance.
Pardon me for thinking that if you "know" what a good school system looks like, you can describe more details than that. I could do better than that with my layman's knowledge of basic good school systems. Let me throw some darts at it:
1. A city of 350,000+ people should have, at the very least, 35 SACS accredited public elementary, middle, and high schools. Accreditation should be the basic administrative standard for any public school, traditional or charter. This means that when external evaluators from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools show up at a given school, there are instituional mechanisms in place that are known best practices in the field of education. This goes for academic and administrative elements.
2. A city of 350,000+ people should have, at the very least, 1 public SACS accredited school system, which means there is a governing body of public schools also engaged in administrative best-practices and effective instituional mechanisms that are recognized nationally.
And before you think it cannot be done, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Jefferson Parish public schools, Plaquemines Parish public schools, and 15 other public school systems in the state of Louisiana maintain accreditation through SACS, as do hundreds, if not thousands, of other school systems across the South. Yes, it would be a process to get there, for New Orleans, but the biggest obstacle is a local culture that accepts nothing less than progress-prone priorities. Residents of this city deserve no less than residents of any other.
When it comes to "good schools" those two were easy, low hanging fruit. Which makes it more problematic when not one member of Tuesday's panel mentioned them. The elements of "good schools" only get more difficult from here.
3. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to read and comprehend the local newspaper front to back. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should possess a vocabulary large enough to express their thoughts and opinions clearly to others, and to comprehend the thoughts and opinions of others. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to use mathematic skills to solve everyday problems such as calculating cost of multiple items, balancing a checkbook, paying bills, and calculating percentages for tax and tip.
4. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be knowledgeable regarding accepted history of the state and city in which they live as well as the United States of America; students should demonstrate a familiarity with historically important persons, historically important events and why those people and events were important. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to apply the scientific method as a tool in testing theories about both the natural world and the social world; they should be able to identify relevant and valid data; and they should be knowledgeable about prevailing scientific theories explaining the natural and social worlds.
5. Students in a "good school system" will, by the 8th grade, have had the opportunity to engage in the following activities for at least a semester in length, if not more: play a musical instrument or sing; paint or draw a picture; type; use a computer to access information; participate in athletics or competitive sports; build something at school; take part in a theatrical performance; exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions through debate or verbal problem solving; be provided the opportunity to balance a budget, calculate interest/tax/tip, cook, sew, garden, take care of animals or practice some form of home economics; and finally participate in experiential learning outside of school through field trips.
6. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to provide robust access to all of the above to students who have demonstrated learning disabilities or exceptionalities.
7. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to provide robust access to all of the above to students who have demonstrated an inability to socialize into the school environment without disrupting the education of others, while working to minimize the limiting effect of such disruption.
8. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to properly identify and evaluate students with learning disabilities, exceptionalities, and disruptive socialization issues so they can be referred to the appropriate specialists required to provide the appropriate and necessary learning environment.
9. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to properly identify and evaluate students who are demonstrating difficulty in acheiving basic academic goals and develop audacious educational plans to work with these students to overcome these difficuluties.
10. A "good school system" will have the support of the community it serves both professionally and voluntarily; adequate funds to maintain a physical plant while retaining and developing human resources; and a governing board responsible for identifying and supplying needed resources within the means of funding provided.
Those are ten darts at the wall that I would use to describe a "good school system." This is just off the top of my head, but almost all are items I know I've discussed before. Of course, these are just the basics. The devil is in the details regarding how you acheive these goals.
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The thing that bothered me most was that everyone on stage appeared to agree with OPSB Member Brett Bonin's statement (and I'm paraphrasing) that 'now New Orleans knows what a good school system looks like.'
That might make for good copy, but the truth was exposed later on when the moderator asked the panel 'what does a good school system look like?' The panelists responded with boilerplate statements regarding "student success" and "school success scores" and students who could engage in "critical thinking." The closest any panelist came was the RSD Deputy Superintendent, who said that a good school system could be identified by a student body with an average ACT score of 20. This was verified by others in attendance.
Pardon me for thinking that if you "know" what a good school system looks like, you can describe more details than that. I could do better than that with my layman's knowledge of basic good school systems. Let me throw some darts at it:
1. A city of 350,000+ people should have, at the very least, 35 SACS accredited public elementary, middle, and high schools. Accreditation should be the basic administrative standard for any public school, traditional or charter. This means that when external evaluators from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools show up at a given school, there are instituional mechanisms in place that are known best practices in the field of education. This goes for academic and administrative elements.
2. A city of 350,000+ people should have, at the very least, 1 public SACS accredited school system, which means there is a governing body of public schools also engaged in administrative best-practices and effective instituional mechanisms that are recognized nationally.
And before you think it cannot be done, the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Jefferson Parish public schools, Plaquemines Parish public schools, and 15 other public school systems in the state of Louisiana maintain accreditation through SACS, as do hundreds, if not thousands, of other school systems across the South. Yes, it would be a process to get there, for New Orleans, but the biggest obstacle is a local culture that accepts nothing less than progress-prone priorities. Residents of this city deserve no less than residents of any other.
When it comes to "good schools" those two were easy, low hanging fruit. Which makes it more problematic when not one member of Tuesday's panel mentioned them. The elements of "good schools" only get more difficult from here.
3. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to read and comprehend the local newspaper front to back. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should possess a vocabulary large enough to express their thoughts and opinions clearly to others, and to comprehend the thoughts and opinions of others. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to use mathematic skills to solve everyday problems such as calculating cost of multiple items, balancing a checkbook, paying bills, and calculating percentages for tax and tip.
4. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be knowledgeable regarding accepted history of the state and city in which they live as well as the United States of America; students should demonstrate a familiarity with historically important persons, historically important events and why those people and events were important. Students with an 8th grade education in a "good school system" should be able to apply the scientific method as a tool in testing theories about both the natural world and the social world; they should be able to identify relevant and valid data; and they should be knowledgeable about prevailing scientific theories explaining the natural and social worlds.
5. Students in a "good school system" will, by the 8th grade, have had the opportunity to engage in the following activities for at least a semester in length, if not more: play a musical instrument or sing; paint or draw a picture; type; use a computer to access information; participate in athletics or competitive sports; build something at school; take part in a theatrical performance; exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions through debate or verbal problem solving; be provided the opportunity to balance a budget, calculate interest/tax/tip, cook, sew, garden, take care of animals or practice some form of home economics; and finally participate in experiential learning outside of school through field trips.
6. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to provide robust access to all of the above to students who have demonstrated learning disabilities or exceptionalities.
7. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to provide robust access to all of the above to students who have demonstrated an inability to socialize into the school environment without disrupting the education of others, while working to minimize the limiting effect of such disruption.
8. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to properly identify and evaluate students with learning disabilities, exceptionalities, and disruptive socialization issues so they can be referred to the appropriate specialists required to provide the appropriate and necessary learning environment.
9. A "good school system" will create effective mechanisms to properly identify and evaluate students who are demonstrating difficulty in acheiving basic academic goals and develop audacious educational plans to work with these students to overcome these difficuluties.
10. A "good school system" will have the support of the community it serves both professionally and voluntarily; adequate funds to maintain a physical plant while retaining and developing human resources; and a governing board responsible for identifying and supplying needed resources within the means of funding provided.
Those are ten darts at the wall that I would use to describe a "good school system." This is just off the top of my head, but almost all are items I know I've discussed before. Of course, these are just the basics. The devil is in the details regarding how you acheive these goals.
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5 Years Later: Liveblogging
Immediate reaction - the person on this panel the most interested in returning New Orleans public schools to local control, identifying that special needs and low performing students are under-served by the market model, and who mentioned the proposed changes to system governance was the Republican member of the Orleans Parish School Board. He was also the only individual really talking about the serious money issues and externalities faced when running a school system, and his testimony offers the first public acknowledgement of a failed charter school that I've witnessed or heard of.
Also, "blame the teachers" still rules the roost, as far as education reform is concerned. One of the most oft-mentioned advantage of charters is the ability to hire and fire, and ignore tenure laws. This made it to the point where traditional RSD schools are being "forced" to take low-performing teachers, while charters get to pick the best of the best. It makes you wonder who hires these teachers in the first place, how they become certified if they are so bad, and why no one is able to identify or develop their human resources better than this. Teachers just didn't show up one day and take over a classroom, refusing to leave.
Continued "grand opportunity," "petri dish," and "advantages of Katrina" language is pervasive. At least there was some nod to the problems that existed before the storm.
Everyone swung and missed in describing any details concerning what a successful school system looks like. I'm starting to get the idea that no one in this city really knows.
Still, nothing regarding accreditation and how it relates to New Orleans schools or the charters currently participating in this experiment.
9
Last question: when the question was asked about a successful school system, nobody brought up the local universities. With the only college of education locally at UNO and having trouble, what is the role between universities and local schools.
Hancock - Loyola used to have school of education, but no longer has it. Have to do better.
Guitterrez - New Teacher Project offering alternative certification, so folks at the state level began investigating ways to offer alternative certification.
Asher - many Teach for America teachers want to continue studies and get masters' degrees and Ph.D's and there is no opportunity to do that here.
Bonin - educating our teachers needs to be a state or government priority, especially teachers that come out of private universities.
8:55
Audience member knows a principal who managed an RSD school, bitter that charters had so many advantages. Had to take bad teachers, had to take bad students, and don't have resources as charters.
Bonin - at OPSB, they've moved to a site-based model. Site based hiring and site based budgeting. Trying to take advantages of charters and move them to traditional schools.
8:50
Why have RSD schools not been as successful as successful charters you've mentioned?
Guitterrez - Charters have no adherence to tenure laws. Charters can control hiring decisions. RSD investigating becoming more charter-like in this area.
Requests for proposals for charters to help RSD's in areas of highest need. Anyone can apply for a charter, but it is a rigorous process. Since inception 60% of charter applications have been denied because they weren't high operators. Always looking for opportunities to improve public schools.
Bonin - With competition for students and test scores, a lot of students who aren't doing well are ending up in regular schools run by the RSD. Place where the market based system doesn't work. Nobody in the marketplace wants special needs kids, nobody wants poorest performing students. Need to provide incentives for charters and schools to take these students.
Some schools end up with all of these students in the bad neighborhoods, and not a lot of wealthy folks put their money into those schools. And when you shut down schools that "fail" or students that move from school to school, what happens to those students.
8:45Q&A from the audience.
RSD in the process of going through a lawsuit regarding special education students in New Orleans. What actions have been taken to address this inequity?
Guitterrez - can agree that there was an problem before the storm with over diagnosing special education needs, especially when it came to African-American males. Had to carefully diagnose or re-diagnose students. Some students just needed to be taught well, others had to receive robust services. Challenges give us the opportunity to meet the challenges head on. Got to meet needs of plaintiff families one-on-one.
Have set up 1-800 number for families to call and approach RSD regarding special needs students.
Bonin - special needs is a money issue. It costs a lot more to deal with a special needs child than the schools can get. Problematic with market-based solutions. State does not have enough money for all of them. No charter can do this individually, risk imploding financially. Heart of issue is inequality of funding. Charters have to protect themselves. Have to find a way to not have so many special needs.
8:30 What went on with the OPSB pre-Katrina?
Bonin - Same amount of money went into OPSB as went into all other city agencies combined. People were upset with the takeover, and the emotions came from shock of takeover effect.
RSD took over more than 100+ schools. The effect is renewed participation and focus on schools. Completely new OPSB, with even two Republicans. Board has made strides, but still a power complaint.
Guitterrez - Regarding governance, natural tension exists with who runs the schools. We have the traditional framework of elected officials, and over 300 volunteers sitting on charter school boards. Mass amount of individuals involved in public education.
Have to keep an eye on which schools are getting more resources than others. How do you deal with the massive amounts of philanthropy? Good problem to have. But have to make sure there is equity so every student is exposed to high quality schools.
Asher - real positives that have come out of Katrina is how many people who are involved from a governance standpoint of our schools. Represent people who weren't involved in old OPSB because of corruption, or who had children in private schools or children who had already graduated.
Bonin - Absolutely right, Board has been working, but only for a short amount of time. Point is to integrate some of the RSD reforms that work and bring that into OPSB.
Final question: What does an excellent public education system look like?
Burns - questions imply that reforms were post-Katrina. Seeds of reforms were planted pre-Katrina. Hurricane provided opportunity to accelerate reforms, but storm didn't create new ideas, they were already coming about.
New Orleans is not a "new" New Orleans, things that happened before Katrina are not irrelevant. Things that went on in the old place will determine what the new place will look like.
Main complaints about OPSB and reforms were planted before hand.
Guitterrez - successful system serves all kids to reach proficiency levels. A system where students are leaving high school with an average 20 ACT score. Have an opportunity so that students can acheive that no matter what neighborhood or family structure they come from.
Hancock - successful system is where every student has the opportunity to get a great education, and have knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Guitterrez - Emotional moment when RSD was authorizing charters and de-authorizing regular schools, when a community member stressed that "reform should be something that happens with me, not something that happens to me." That's the sweet spot where we want to get.
Bonin - We know what a good system looks like, OPSB; RSD's success, and charter schools. Question comes down to power and control, that has to be addressed. Desire a local elected board should be authority for local schools. Desire on the state level to have control, especially of low-performing schools. Hopefully there will be some middle ground. Tension comes when OPSB proves success for 5 years, and once they try to get schools back, are told that a new governance model needs to be put in place.
All learning together. Priestly charter imploded financially just recently, what happens? Does OPSB assume their debt?
Governance is elephant in the room.
Burns - education is a collective problem and needs a collective solution. Does not work when society is divided over solution. Does not work when parts of society abandon it. Can have serious problems in the future, potential for greater tension.
Wonder what will happen when this all gets put back together: RSD, OPSB, Charters.
8:20 Why have New Orleans schools traditionally struggled?
Hancock - For the same reasons most schools have struggled, especially in the South. Lack of seriousness to educate African-American youth, white flight, intense politicization of schools and school districts. Goes back 100 years in New Orleans, when schools were part of political machines. Economic mismanagement and perpetuated willful neglect.
Is this a national city trend, or is there something specific to New Orleans?
Guitterrez - Three school systems in New Orleans before storm: private schools, magnet schools and "other." Most reforms after the storm focus on the "other."
Private school system actually pre-dated public schools in New Orleans. Was confusing as parents determined what private school to sent students to. Now, system can be confusing, but now options are open to low income families.
Schools now a petri dish to figure out what works, but this isn't rocket science. The reforms driving education in the city are 3 things: kids must be aware what test scores mean, so kids can take responsibility of own education, quality of teacher, quality of leader. Movement depends on this, focusing on what we should focus on.
Bonin - completely agrees. Goes back to racism, middle class abandonment of school system. Old system imploded on itself, it went from 180,000, to 80,000 students to 40,000 after the storm. Shrinking school system with a physical maintenance of 120 schools and retirement for a much larger school system. No help from state.
Money for reforms are not pouring into everyone. Minimum funding levels from the state have not increased for three years.
Charter schools great because neighborhoods can participate, but what happens when there is a charter in a good part of the city with massive donations compared to a charter in New Orleans East or the Lower 9 where those donations may not be available.
8:15 Asher - why do you think charters are good, and are they nationally replicated? New Orleans has a tremendous opportunity with the ability to reform education. 71 percent of students in New Orleans attend charter schools, and charter schools are accountable to parents, boards, and lenders.
Charter schools are public schools free to determine curriculum, budgets, discipline and hiring teachers. Charters eliminate collective bargaining that protects teachers, and requires them to perform at highest levels. Charters are no better or worse nationally, but in New Orleans it means you have a shot of being better because you are charter. Charters have better ways to quantify if students are being successful. Needs of students come first.
Value competition between teachers and schools. Can eliminate all academically suspect schools.
Governance framework is critical to moving forward.
8:10 Hancock - Institute for Quality and Equity in Education is continuing research for both parents and systems. Primary focus moving forward is identifying factors independent of school governance that help students succeed. Still in process of building capacity to do that research.
Major concern is to provide resources to organizations and parents to help them navigate the system in its current state. Making sure people have access to data and research so they can make the right decisions.
Also providing opportunity for Loyola students to get involved with the community and engage in New Orleans. Not interested in being advocates, but ready to assist advocates and parents with research or access needs.
8:05 Mogg - how have schools improved since the storm? Improvement in school scores, and student success on standardized testing. It is hard to tell which reforms have driven improvement, from school choice to longer school days. Now that federal funding is running out, some of those reforms will have to be scaled back.
OPSB has made financial progress, RSD has started paying vendors on time.
Nature of new system, and control charters have help money get spent more effectively. "Those closer to students are know better how to spend money than those in a central office."
Pastorek and Vallas were able to get 2 billion from FEMA to address physical concerns, and 3 schools have already been completely renovated.
8 Dr. Burns, what is the most important reform? The increased attention to schools in New Orleans by large sections of the population. This is very important. Increased local participation in civic organizations and focus on schools is a good thing.
Overall concerns: When you read about New Orleans, the word that comes up most is "fragmentation." Before the storm there were ten major entities with interests in New Orleans schools (A jigsaw puzzle would see New Orleans as divided..har.)
First thing thought after the storm was happiness that old OPSB no longer running schools. Second thing is that the schools may now be more divided, based on how you look at things.
7:55 Guitterrez on the RSD. RSD has been around since 1997, was not tied to the storm or recovery, but became that after the storm and flood. Accountability organization, supposed to take over schools that have been deemed failing for four consecutive years.
Average "school performance score" has risen to "93" since 1999. A score of "93" means that at least 68% of students score "proficient or better" on tests. This of course means many students are still scoring too low.
RSD wants to get schools and students to a point where they are high-performing and sustaining that performance so they can revert to local control, charter control or state charter control. Meant to revive schools.
7:50 To Bonin, what is the role of OPSB today and in the future? OPSB is supposed to educate students in New Orleans. Since most OPSB was diminished following the storm and flood, they've been working on making sure tax dollars get where they need to go. OPSB experienced a $3M deficit in 2005, but now has the highest bond rating in the city. Trying to resurrect faith in government and the image of the OPSB.
Role is to marshal all of the talent in the city - universities, new New Orleanians, and locals. Need to channel successes of OPSB and RSD (?) to continue reforms.
They are a taxing body, and this is a heavy responsibility. Have to supply textbooks to various private high schools, and money to test and support special education.
First board to charter a majority of schools (75%). Policies to stimulate high test scores and accountability. Stay out of the news, which they have done.
7:45 I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we're discussing the New Orleans Public Schools, which serves a largely African-American population. And yet. Not one panelist is African-American.
Bonin mentions that he volunteered with the NOPD for nine years, and once he realized that coworkers who had a high school diploma sometimes could not read, he decided to run for OPSB. He is from New Orleans.
Guitterrez is also from New Orleans. Both he and Bonin mention that their formative educational experiences were in parochial, private schools. (Christian Brothers is private, correct?)
Dr. Burns is all about government and systems.
Mogg says the Cowen Institute is an action-based think tank focusing on reforming education and research. Even though Tulane University has no College of Education.
Hancock describes the mission of the Institute for Quality and Equity in Education.
Asher mentions that she is from West Virginia and graduated from Tulane, and she has served on the board of several charter schools over the years. ReNEW Charters took over several low performing schools, and have been approved to take over another school, while opening two specialized accelerated high schools to serve overage and under-credit students. 1200 students at two schools at this time, will serve 2000 students this time next year, and students are an average of 2 - 3 grade levels behind and they spend most of their time trying to catch the students up.
ReNEW does not believe that students have failed, they believe adults have failed the students.
7:40 The panel will be moderated by LSCE President Richard Tucker. Benediction by Fr. James Carter, S.J. Loyola SGA President Kate Gremillion gives the introductions all around.
7:35 Oh, we're on New Orleans time, of course. All the panelists are here and moving to the stage. Event is sponsored by the Loyola University Sociology Student Organization and Loyola Society for Civic Engagement. LSCE always puts up memorable fliers for their events, because they always feature some likeness of Stephen Colbert.
7:30 Much better crowd streaming in. Going over the program, I think about the title. "5 Years Later." As if New Orleans public schools have only been having problems for 5 years.
7:25About to kick things off. Panelists include Brett Bonin, member of the Orleans Parish School Board; Kevin Guitterrez, Deputy Superintendent of the Recovery School District; Carol Asher from ReNEW Charter Schools; Alexander Hancock from the Institute for Quality and Equity in Education at Loyola University New Orleans; Laura Mogg from the Scott Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives; and Dr. Peter Burns, professor of political science at Loyola.
7:20Coming to you live from Nunemaker Hall at Loyola University New Orleans. You always hope more people attend these things.
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Louisiana Accreditation
Don't get too excited, it was Plaquemines Parish. But it proves that some folks in the New Orleans area know the value of accreditation.
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