Steven Singer: Every Charter School Must Be Closed Down – Every. Single. One.... https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2019/09/08/every-charter-school-must-be-closed-down-every-single-one/My position has been that of Singer. Initially - c.1998 - the idea of charters was appealing due to the corruption in my school district in NYC and in the UFT - I saw charters as a way around that - as long as teachers played a major role in establishing them and running them.
The problem with charter schools isn’t that they have been implemented badly.
Nor is it that some are for-profit and others are not.
The problem is the concept, itself. Put simply: charter schools are a bad idea. They always were a bad idea. And it is high time we put an end to them.
That did not come to pass and teachers have as little say in public schools as they did back then. I used to think that building a movement to take over the UFT was the way to go to give teachers that voice. Maybe not - which leaves me pretty much in mute reform mode - with a high degree of couch potato binge watching -ism and using this space to share the word.
UPDATED - Ravitch just posted:
Jeff Bryant: Has the Democratic Party Really Reversed Course on the Failed Agenda of Charters and Testing?
Ravitch writes: But Jeff is not convinced that the change is more than cosmetic. He thinks that the candidates will gravitate to where the money is: Wall Street; hedge fund managers; billionaires.Nice. I don't see the Party doing much other than ducking. But then again Randi had a big role in that Pittsburg conference so I'm not surprised. They don't want to be embarrassed.
Warren and Sanders have not.
But he is right about this: Bad habits and bad ideas die slowly. If at all.
Not one candidate said simply and candidly, “everything that the federal government has imposed since passage of NCLB has failed. We need a fresh vision.
Some more charter and ed deform news.
Indiana: State Graduation Rate is 87%, but for Charters, It is 40%
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Reform Funded Research: Winning KIPP Lottery Does Not Significantly Increase Chance Of Persisting In College - The way reformers misuse data follows a very simple and predictable plan: First they get some skewed data, then pick a ‘researcher’ to interpret the skewe...
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The Misleading Rhetoric of School "Choice" Advocates: Wealth and "Choice" - One of the functions of this blog over the years has been to deconstruct the rhetoric of education reformers as they advocate for their preferred policies....
More Ravitch - Los Angeles: Charters Are Proliferating Where They Aren’t Needed
From Leonie:
Must read by former charter school teacher Liat Olenick and former charter parent Fatima Geidi
Why the Charter School Proposals by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren Shouldn’t Be Controversial
https://www.gothamgazette.com/
Recently, a group of charter school supporters received media attention by protesting at an Elizabeth Warren campaign event, claiming she wants to shut down all charter schools. This is categorically untrue. No one, not Elizabeth Warren, not Bernie Sanders, not even public school advocates like ourselves, is pushing to unilaterally shut down existing non-profit charter schools.