American Federation of Teachers

Jun 19

“Nine people were shot dead in a church in Charleston. How is it possible, while reading about the alleged killer, Dylann Storm Roof, posing darkly in a picture on his Facebook page, the flags of racist Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa sewn to his jacket, not to think that we have witnessed a lynching?” — David Remnick on Charleston and the Age of Obama (via newyorker)

Jun 17

Backlash Against Scott Walker’s War On The University Of Wisconsin -

(Source: think-progress)

Jun 15

[video]

yougotschooled2016:
“Jeb’s Greatest Hits
Charters“Jeb Bush’s charter school is a ruin baking in the Miami sun.” New York Times
Bush co-founded a charter school in 1996 called Liberty City Charter School, which was “an image-softening vehicle for...

yougotschooled2016:

Jeb’s Greatest Hits


Charters

“Jeb Bush’s charter school is a ruin baking in the Miami sun.” New York Times

Bush co-founded a charter school in 1996 called Liberty City Charter School, which was “an image-softening vehicle for [his] political comeback.”
After opening, we can only assume Bush forgot about it as the school continued to struggle with deepening financial deficits, landlord troubles and poor academic performance. It was ultimately shut down in 2008.  JK he didn’t forget—he continues to tout this school as an achievement.

“A board member at the time called Mr. Bush’s schools the ‘least worst’ of three proposals. But she said the people working with him were aggressive to the point of bullying in pressing for approval. Immediately after he won the race for governor by winning [14 percent of] the black vote, he abandoned the school and the poor children and families with whom he had developed a personal relationship.”  #Facts


Vouchers


“Administrators who have received funding [under JEB Bush’s McCay Voucher program] include criminals convicted of cocaine dealing, kidnapping, witness tampering, and burglary.”  Miami New Times

During his time in office, Gov. Bush pushed three voucher schemes under the guise of school choice: A statewide voucher program (declared unconstitutional in 2006), the McKay Scholarship Program and the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program. As a heads up, no accountability or oversight is a common theme.

The Florida Supreme Court was like, “Nope, not constitutional” 7 years after the start of Opportunity Scholarship Program (it used taxpayer money to finance private alternatives). The voucher program had no oversight and no clear link to student outcomes.

#Facts

The McKay Scholarship Program, provides vouchers for students with special needs. Again with no accountability or oversight, this led to problems including rampant fraud, students being taught in strip malls and parks, school administrators with criminal records, and schools that used corporal punishment. Naturally, after these stories came out, the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools were like, “if you try to hold us accountable, we’re going to peace out.” #Facts

Bush also pushed and enacted the Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001, which gives corporations tax cuts if they fund vouchers. Guess what? There is barely any oversight or accountability and students don’t have to take statewide tests. (Wait, weren’t tests kind of his thing?) In the grand tradition of Florida being Florida, this program was expanded last year raising the cost of the cap to nearly $1 billion.


A-F Grading

“Florida’s school superintendents association recently called for the dissolution of the A-F grading scale.” NC Policy Watch

 As governor, Bush pushed through one of the first A-F grading systems for schools, an accountability system that was supposed to pressure low performing schools to improve student achievement by attaching a letter grade to the school. In practice, school grades related more to the level of poverty in a school than a school’s achievement level
(Also, extra $$$$ for A schools, more later). #Fact

 Only A or F. Forever.

The school grades criteria has also shifted over time resulting in schools being rated #onlyAorF and the confusion brought by the policy led the current governor, Rick Scott, to sign legislation suspending low school grade consequences for the 2014-15 school year. 


Testing

"So the FCAT became the classic example of a high-stakes test. Schools held pep rallies to encourage children to do their best (and to make the scary tests seem more fun). Parents reported that their kids had stomachaches, headaches, and anxiety surrounding the FCATs.” Vox #Fact

As soon as he entered office, Bush introduced the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, better known as the FCAT, making him one of the founding fathers (let’s be honest, this is just a title, the Heritage Foundation was really behind it) of high-stakes testing. BTW, Florida’s standardized testing is still a controversial issue.

Through his reform policies, Jeb Bush empowered the FCAT by linking student scores to a schools’ grade (see how well that worked out above). In typical #winning mindset, “A” schools received bonuses, while students at “F” schools were eligible to transfer or take part in voucher attempt part 1 (unclear how students did and ended in 2006, see above).

Jun 12

Fighting to end child labor
June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor. Right now, close to 1 in 10 children around the world are engaged in child labor. And the United States is no exception. Our lax labor laws allow kids as young as 12 to work in...

Fighting to end child labor
June 12 is World Day Against Child Labor. Right now, close to 1 in 10 children around the world are engaged in child labor. And the United States is no exception. Our lax labor laws allow kids as young as 12 to work in tobacco fields, where many contract acute nicotine poisoning. “We must protect all children from being subjected to the worst forms of labor, from becoming victims of human trafficking and from being forced into armed conflicts around the world,” says AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson, who is co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition. “At the same time, we must help them to pursue an education and obtain proper healthcare, and we must address the poverty and economic inequality that too often drives children to work.” Read Johnson’s statement. (Child Labor Coalition photo.)

Jun 11

Debt-free college
“Every kid needs a debt-free option—a strong public university where it’s possible to get a great education without taking on loads of debt,” says Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “It’s time to open the doors of opportunity wider and to...

Debt-free college
“Every kid needs a debt-free option—a strong public university where it’s possible to get a great education without taking on loads of debt,” says Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “It’s time to open the doors of opportunity wider and to invest in our future.” At an AFT event on June 10, Sen. Warren, a longtime champion for low- and middle-income families, urged the nation to move toward an entirely debt-free education. Read more about the event and her proposals.

Jun 10

[video]

Jun 08

npr:
“The national graduation rate is at an all-time high — 81 percent. It was such big news, President Obama touted it in this year’s State of the Union address.
That got us thinking: What’s the story behind that 81 percent?
Working with a team of...

npr:

The national graduation rate is at an all-time high — 81 percent. It was such big news, President Obama touted it in this year’s State of the Union address.

That got us thinking: What’s the story behind that 81 percent?

Working with a team of reporters in 14 states, we set off to find out.

Turns out, it’s a complicated number. Some states are doing good things to boost their rates, others, it’s not so clear.

image

Part one: The Truth About America’s Graduation Rate

Part two: The Truth Behind Your State’s High School Grad Rate

Jun 05

Why teachers need tenure
Teacher tenure is under attack, with critics wrongfully portraying it as a job for life. The truth is that for more than 100 years, tenure has provided due process rights to teachers who have demonstrated competence after a...

Why teachers need tenure
Teacher tenure is under attack, with critics wrongfully portraying it as a job for life. The truth is that for more than 100 years, tenure has provided due process rights to teachers who have demonstrated competence after a probationary period. In the new issue of the AFT’s American Educator, Richard D. Kahlenberg recounts the history of tenure, which was created to protect teachers from favoritism and to ensure students were educated free from political whims. Tenure remains necessary today, he explains, given the fixation on high-stakes testing and the tying of students’ test scores to teacher evaluations. Yet corporate reformers have seized on tenure as the root cause of educational inequality in an effort to weaken unions and to detract from the real threats to public education: poverty and segregation. Read the full issue of American Educator.

Jun 04

“St. Precaria, Protect Us!”
Members of University Council/AFT-Santa Cruz implored their whimsical “saint,” using oversized puppets, songs such as “The Age of Precaria,” skits and teach-ins to draw attention to the plight of part-time faculty members,...

“St. Precaria, Protect Us!”
Members of University Council/AFT-Santa Cruz implored their whimsical “saint,” using oversized puppets, songs such as “The Age of Precaria,” skits and teach-ins to draw attention to the plight of part-time faculty members, called lecturers in California. Like adjunct faculty across the country, UC-AFT members are worried about job security: Part-time faculty are “churned” so they don’t have the required six years for a more secure appointment. As they begin negotiations on a contract that expired June 1 (temporarily extended through October), local leaders are ready to apply their creativity and perseverance to win the fair benefits, stable appointments, and shared governance they and their colleagues deserve. Read more about the union’s efforts.