Debunking Reformy Logic One Tweet At A Time-Part 1

My blog was mostly quiet this summer. I made a conscious decision to dial back and re-charge my batteries after several years of non-stop work. But as if on cue, on the second day of school, this happened on Twitter and we were off to the races:

The exchange between Laura Waters, Derrell Bradford, Ryan Hill and I turned into an all-day affair with Save Our Schools NJ, Jersey Jazzman and a few other pro-public education advocates chiming in. It was a 3-pronged discussion focusing on:

1. Waters' continuous, illogical reasoning 
2. Hill's assertions that:
   - charter schools are underfunded compared to district schools
   - every child should have choice but only when that choice is a charter school
3. Bradford's assertions that:
   - I'm a teacher, therefore I am not an expert on public education
   - I'm a white, suburban woman so I should "say nothing"

Part 1: Laura Waters' Illogical Reasoning

Waters, a 'reformer', blogger and Lawrence Twp BOE member frequently posts at NJ Spotlight and is frequently excoriated in the comments for her illogical reasoning and inability to grasp basic public education facts, policy and research. See here, here, here. See Mother Crusader here, here; Jersey Jazzman here, here, here; Bob Braun here. 

Here's an example from her latest post that started all this (linked in the tweet above):

Notice she doesn't deny any of this. But in her world, calling out the district and Hill's charter schools for possibly violating both state and federal laws in numerous ways, including segregating students who are most in need of these 'miracle' schools, is defending "the status-quo". 

As for the "lobbying groups" comment? This is news? If Waters is so concerned about lobbyists pressuring legislators, perhaps she should look in her own backyard. The NJ Charter Schools Association (which stayed mum during the whole exchange) is one of many education 'reform' (*ahem*) non-profits including Students First (Michelle Rhee), NYCAN (Derrell Bradford is ED), The Foundation for Excellence in Education (Jeb!s baby), The Gates, Walton, Broad and Koch Foundations, ALEC and a zillion other pro-charter/pro-ed 'reform' organizations that spend a lot of time and money lobbying legislators. And yes, so do ELC, NJEA and SOSNJ. Unfortunately, that's the business of government, made worse by Citizens United. 

But what does New Jersey have to show for all that lobbying, and other stuff, by ELC, NJEA and SOSNJ (which is a volunteer organization)? Plenty! The list of accolades for NJ's public schools is long. We consistently rank as one of the top three in the nation, we outperform many countries, and our school funding forumla (at least what's left of it after Christie has hacked away at it) which the Education Law Center originally litigated and continues to fight for, is a national model for school funding. NJEA provides one of the largest educator professional development conferences in the country (that pesky convention in November that Gov. Christie hates), and despite his best efforts to weed out all those "bad teachers", over 97% of us were rated effective or better last year. All of this didn't happen by magic. It happened because of the continued efforts of organizations such as these. Don't believe me? Check out their mission statements, then tell me about the status quo. 

But... we are also home to one of the poorest, most dangerous cities in the country: Camden, with a staggering 52% of children living below the poverty level. And while poverty numbers in the rest of the country have declined, NJ's have risen. So, it defies all logic and reasoning—not to mention research—to think that slashing funding, closing public schools and opening charter schools will magically cure all the ills in our poorest communities. But pesky facts never stop 'reformers' from spouting stuff like this:

Speaking of reality checks: where's the link to the research that backs that claim? Which students? Special ed? ELL? Disabled? Free lunch? Free and reduced price lunch? Do better at what? Which schools? What about attrition rates? So many questions, no answers from someone who refers to herself as “one of the premier analysts of New Jersey education policy”. I would think that if she really wanted to make her case, she would have posted a link to some research or at least the NJDOE website. C'mon, throw us a bone... a scrap... something... anything?

And as for that question I asked? Yup, never got an answer. I have never seen nor heard a charter advocate admit that most serve a different population than traditional public schools even though recent research confirms this. And therein lies the rub.

In Part 2 I take on Ryan Hill and his "All you need is [choice]" mantra.

2014 Education Recap: The Good, The Bad, The 'Reformy'

Happy New Year!

In my humble opinion 2014 was a watershed year for public education. While there were plenty of knuckle-headed 'reform' policies and decisions, there were also some big wins, a lot of small victories and the beginnings of a shift in public opinion. So, let's take a walk down memory lane and look back on the good, the bad and the 'reformy'. 

'The bad' and 'reformy'

While there have been many horror stories from around the country, these had me scratching my head more than most:

• Stanford's CREDO Director, Dr. Margaret Raymond says the free market approach doesn't work in public education. Raymond made this statement at a conference in which she spoke about CREDO's latest study. Blogger, professor and attorney Stephen Dyer reported that, "Considering that the pro-market reform Thomas B. Fordham Foundation paid for this study and Raymond works at the Hoover Institution at Stanford — a free market bastion, I was frankly floored, as were most of the folks at my table."
• One Newark. Because sending 4 kids from the same family to 4 different schools around the city, often without school district-provided transportation, and sometimes through dangerous neighborhoods is a really, really good idea. And that's just the beginning of this hot mess.
• Arne Duncan's latest: he wants college teacher programs to be accountable for their students' students' outcomes. No, I am not kidding.
• The York, PA public school district becomes the next 'Post-Katrina New Orleans' school district.
• The rise of Campbell Brown. Because America needs another non-educator talking head with a lot of secret money behind her pushing through policies that will ultimately damage public education, which leads us to...
• The Vergara decision. Money, power and influence deal a huge blow to teacher tenure and open the floodgates for similar litigation nationwide. Brown is leading the charge in New York State. California Gov. Jerry Brown is appealing the ruling.

The really, really good!

This week The Network for Public Education published its Top Ten "Why We Will Win" Stories of 2014, and what an inspiring list it is! There are actually 11 items on the list—how could any one of them be left off? Be sure to check out the full description of each at the NPE website.

• The Common Core and PARCC/Smarter Balance are bloodied and on the ropes. States are dropping both as the reality of 'high-stakes' sinks in. Click on this interactive map to see what's going on in your state.
  Learn About Tableau
• Race to the Top was completely defunded in the 2015 omnibus bill. If there is no money to fund the program, will the program cease to exist?
• The collapse of data-collection giant, inBloom, was a big win for parents and education activists in New York, and further proof that Bill Gates' money is no match for the power of the people.
• The first annual NPE Conference in Austin, TX proved that the push to save public education is only growing stronger. The next one is set for April 25-26 in Chicago.
• Pro-public education candidates are being elected in states all across the country despite being outspent by truly sinful amounts of 'reformy' money. Further proof that money can't always buy elections. Here's who NPE endorsed in 2014.
• Michelle Rhee's education 'reform' policies have been exposed for what they were from the start: failures. Her departure from her grass-roots astroturf organization, Students First, is another symbol of the 'reform' movement's weakening.
• Louis CK takes America's growing frustrations with the Common Core and standardized testing prime time. Check out his appearance on David Letterman.
• 2014—The year of the education author. Still looking for a last minute holiday gift? Or maybe you want to get a jump on this year's gift list? Well, 2014 was a banner year for books written about public education by public educators and those who support public education. Check out NPE's list. Pasi Sahlberg's follow-up to his Finnish Lessons hits this year, too.
• Teach for America loses steam. The WalMart of teacher training programs is closing its NY City training facility blaming "a contentious national dialogue around education and teaching in general, and TFA in particular." Imagine that.
• Two Oklahoma first grade teachers just said, "No!" to testing their students and refused to administer the MAP test.
• Could an end to standardized testing really be in sight? Republican aides are working on a reauthorization bill for No Child Left Behind that would end the federal mandate on standardized testing, leaving those decisions to individual states. 

News from New Jersey

I'm happy to report there has been significant progress in New Jersey. Although Newark, Camden and other mostly poor, minority urban areas are still under the 'separate and unequal' thumb of Gov. Christie and NJ Education Commissioner David Hespe, parents, students and education professionals across the Garden State are pushing back like never before, and that momentum is only growing. In no particular order, here are some of my personal Jersey favorites:

• The rise of the opt-out movement. Commissioner Hespe's statement at the NJEA Convention in November that he was unaware of any opt-out movement in the state lit up the NJ Opt-Out Facebook page and Twitter feed, and ramped-up the group's outreach and advocacy. Hespe may soon regret uttering those words. The next open topic NJBOE meeting is January 7th and I expect it will be standing room only. 
• 77 Newark ministers and religious leaders denounce One Newark. They signed a letter to Gov. Christie denouncing Superintendent Cami Anderson's One Newark plan. More on this disastrous plan below.
• The Delran Education Association threw down the gauntlet against standardized testing. The Delran EA is leading the way in the state-wide push back against the overemphasis of standardized testing. Their showing of 'Standardized' followed by their highly successful 'Take the PARCC' event and publication of their position statement on high-stakes standardized testing was followed by their Superintendent and board of education passing a similar resolution that respects the rights of parents to make decisions that are in the best interest of their children, including opting out. The district will accommodate students who are not taking the test. Many other county and local education associations are now hosting their own events to engage and involve parents.
• The analysis of One Newark by Jersey Jazzman, Dr. Bruce Baker and Dr. Joseph Oluwole proved that the plan discriminates against poor, minority and special needs students, and minority teachers. I am so happy these guys live and work in New Jersey!
• The election of Ras J. Baraka as Mayor of Newark. Despite the millions of ed 'reform' dollars poured into the race, the people of Newark handed 'reformers' a resounding defeat by electing this Principal of Central High School to the city's highest office.
• NJ's pension trustees file suit against Gov. Christie for failing to make the required pension payments he signed into law. What does this have to do with public education? Plenty! State lawmakers have been raiding the fund for decades. If the system collapses, the biggest losers will be the state employees, many of whom are education professionals. Underfunding the pension system is one more tool 'reformers' use to weaken teacher unions and public education. New Jersey has one of the best public education systems in the country and one of the strongest education associations in the country, and that's no coincidence. If you want excellent educators, you have to be able to attract, train and retain them. People simply won't go into teaching if they cannot afford to support themselves and their families.
• Study finds NJ charter schools serve a different population than traditional public schools. Jersey Jazzman and Rutgers Professor Julia Sass Rubin crunch the numbers and their evidence is irrefutable: NJ charters simply do not serve as many at-risk, LEP and special needs students as their public school counterparts.
• NJEA members pushed back against the rush to implement too many unfunded mandates too fast and came up with a big win. The evidence was clear: the State DOE's rush to fully implement the new evaluation system (AchieveNJ), PARCC and the CCSS all in one year was crushing districts and educators. Hundreds of parents and educators testified at State BOE meetings. Thousands more wrote letters. In the end, the NJDOE listened. The biggest victory was their decision to reduce the weight of student standardized test scores to 10% for 2015.
• Student protests in Newark. The Newark Student Union is a force to be reckoned with. Just when you thought the younger generation was too apathetic, the students of Newark rose up. In 2014 they walked out, stood up, sat down, protested, got arrested, shut down major Newark arteries, and continued to fight back against the 'reform' machine. They are smart, passionate and committed to protecting their right to a thorough and efficient public education. Watch for more great advocacy from them in 2015.
• The bloggers and activists. Along with the best tomatoes, corn, blueberries and cranberries in the US (and we can have that debate over the summer), New Jersey is home to some of the best ed bloggers and activists in the country! Yes, I'm biased, but seriously, can you argue with the big 3 bloggers:

Jersey Jazzman (aka Mark Weber): From coast to coast, JJ chews up and spits out 'reformy' rhetoric with lightening speed, solid research and biting wit. 

SchoolFinance101 (aka Dr. Bruce Baker): While he may not be as well-known to the general education public as JJ, Bruce is a nationally recognized scholar in the field of school funding policy and a professor at Rutgers University. His name and/or research is attached to a great deal of scholarly work on education 'reform' madness, especially school funding. In addition to mountains of irrefutable evidence, his blog posts are full of acerbic wit and humor. 

Bob Braun: This former Star Ledger reporter has found his calling in retirement. No other blogger has done more to expose the complete incompetence of Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson's administration. He is a one-man accountability meter, and he's got the folks down at Two Cedar Street running scared.  

And this list ain't too shabby: This is a partial list of bloggers and organizations fighting to preserve public education in NJ, and doesn't even scratch the surface of all the individuals who are out there making a difference every day. If I made a complete list, I'd be here all day, and I do want to post this on New Year's Day. So, please add any additional individual names or groups along with links to their websites or blogs in the comments section below and I will update. The fact that I may forget to list a person or group is proof that 'The Fight', as I call it, is alive and well! All names in blue have links on the right side of this page: Blue Jersey, TeacherBiz, Save Our Schools NJ, Mother Crusader, Melissa Katz, Sarah Blaine Tepper, Stephen Danley, The NJ BATs, NJ Spotlight, The Newark Parents Union, NJ Working Families Alliance, The Education Law Center.  

A special thank you to Diane Ravitch, Anthony Cody, The Network for Public Education, Jonathan Pelto and all the great bloggers at the Education Bloggers Network. 

May you all have a healthy and happy New Year!

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die." 

~ Sen. Ted Kennedy

Teacher Appreciation Week Followup: The good, the bad and the ugly

Although Teacher Appreciation Week is officially behind us, I did promise you a Part 2 of my NJ BOE post—the testimony. But some other stuff happened after Part 1, and as a mom and teacher with only 5 weeks left of school, there's only so much I can fit into one day. I promise I'll get to it this weekend. 

In the meantime, here's what happened in the past week or so...

The good: Newark has a new mayor: educator Ras J. Baraka! Blogger Mother Crusader reported on the millions spent on independent expenditures by education 'reform' special interest groups and individuals for his opponent, Shavar Jeffries, but all that money couldn't silence the voices of the people who've had just about enough of other people telling them what's good for their children—then not delivering it. Baraka not only understands public education and the challenges inner city school districts face, but he lives, eats, breathes and sleeps it as principal of Central High School. He turned that school around the old fashioned way, through building a dedicated staff, providing meaningful professional development, and investing time and effort in students—not tests! I was honored to be asked to help spread the word about his campaign. I wish him much luck. All education eyes on both sides of the debate, and from all corners of the Garden State (and Wall St. and beyond) will be watching Newark under a microscope to see how he can steer that ship back into the hands of parents and community members and their public schools.

Great news out of Trenton! The Assembly Education Committee unanimously passed the bipartisan bill A3081. According to NJEA:

A-3081 calls for a variety of measures to ensure that any implementation of new standards, testing, and teacher evaluation is carried out thoughtfully. This bill includes:

• An Education Reform Review Task Force to look at how the CCSS are being implemented, use of PARCC assessments, and the implementation and potential effects of the teacher evaluation system. NJEA would be represented on this task force. 

• Student growth percentiles (SGPs) to not be included in the annual summative ratings of teachers for at least two years.

• Giving districts the option to administer the PARCC assessment online or by pencil and paper, or a combination of both during the two-year period after passage of the bill. 

• Stops the New Jersey Department of Education from using the PARCC assessment for student or school accountability purposes for at least two years after passage of the bill. 

So, a bipartisan bill that will allow meaningful input from educators who have been largely left out of the conversation, and will give districts the option of pencil and paper tests for two years because many simply aren't technologically ready, and won't be any time soon with an $800 million state budget gap? Could the tide actually be turning? I don't care who you are, any reasonable, responsible parent in this state doesn't want to see their children tested to death—especially when the tests are set up for them to fail.

Education committee member, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey had this to say: 

This move will give us more time to assess what's going on statewide in terms of implementation and evaluation capabilities. Two major concerns from administrators, teachers and parents alike are all the time being spent preparing for testing and the lack of hardware capacity to conduct both the testing and evaluations. (emphasis mine)

Sponsors of the bill are: Assembly members Mila Jasey, D-Essex; Patrick Diegnan, D-Middlesex; Sheila Oliver, D-Essex; Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer; Benjie Wimberly, D-Passaic; and Charles Mainor, D-Hudson.

Co-sponsors so far include: Assembly members Chris Brown, R-Atlantic; Ralph Caputo, D-Essex; Angel Fuentes, D-Camden; Gordon Johnson; D-Bergen; Sean Kean, R-Monmouth; Alison Littell McHose, R-Sussex; John McKeon, D-Morris; David Rible, R-Monmouth; Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen; Parker Space, R-Sussex; Linda Stender, D-Union; Shavonda Sumter, D-Passaic; and Cleopatra Tucker, D-Essex.

With this much bipartisan support, how can Gov. Christie, who touts his ability to work across the aisle, not sign it? 

Thank you to everyone who called, wrote or emailed the members of the Assembly Education Committee. They heard our concerns. Feel free to let them know how much you appreciate their efforts. I'd like to personally thank them, too. Here they are:

Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, Chair  908-757-1677
Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman 609-292-0500
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo 973-450-0484
Assemblyman Angel Fuentes  856-547-4800
Assemblywoman Mila Jasey 973-762-1886
Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez 201-223-4247
Assemblyman David Rible 732-974-0400
Assemblywoman Donna Simon  908-968-3304
Assemblyman Troy Singleton 856-234-2790
Assemblyman Dave Wolfe  732-840-9028

The bad: Social media lit up this week with this story in The New Yorker about the rise and fall of public education and education 'reform' in Newark, including the fact that Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million was largely wasted on more bloated bureaucracy including $1000/day consultants. The money's gone and Cami & Co. have nothing to show for it other than a lot of really angry parents and students.

On September 24, 2010, the team [Zuckerberg, then Mayor Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie] described their plan for Newark on “Oprah.” “So, Mr. Zuckerberg,” Oprah asked, “what role are you playing in all of this?” He replied, “I’ve committed to starting the Startup:Education Foundation, whose first project will be a one-hundred-million-dollar challenge grant.” Winfrey interrupted: “One. Hundred. Million. Dollars?” The audience delivered a standing ovation. When Winfrey asked Zuckerberg why he’d chosen Newark, he gestured toward Booker and Christie and said, “Newark is really just because I believe in these guys. . . . We’re setting up a one-hundred-million-dollar challenge grant so that Mayor Booker and Governor Christie can have the flexibility they need to . . . turn Newark into a symbol of educational excellence for the whole nation.” This was the first that Newark parents and teachers had heard about the revolution coming to their schools. (emphasis mine)

We all know how this story ends. Which leads me to...

The ugly: Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson continues to reach new heights of incompetence as her deeply flawed One Newark plan rolls out. Bob Braun wrote an excellent piece describing the destruction, disruption and all out disenfranchisement of Newark's neighborhoods. It's not an easy read. One Newark is nothing short of abuse. Any elected official, starting with Sen. Booker and going right on down through the state legislature to the Newark City Council who is not outraged over this, who does not take immediate action to stop this madness and downright cruel treatment of children does not deserve to represent the people:

Only 63 percent of families were matched with a school somewhere in the top five selected by families. Anderson does not tell us how many received their first or even their second choice. The form parents had to fill out required them to list eight schools in preferential order.

Remember—we are talking about elementary and secondary children here, most of whom attend neighborhood schools. These are not college kids applying to their “reach” and “safety” schools. These are families with young children who do not know—and probably won’t know for months yet—where their kids will go to school. 

Parents and teachers have been sending in reactions. One teacher wrote this about an eighth-grader who was rejected by EVERY school to which he applied—every public high school:

“You can imagine how sad it is when one of my 8th graders tells me that no one wants them in their high school . They have been on this earth only 13 or 14 years. Wonderful for their self image. It’s heartbreaking.”

No one wants the kid. Hey, thanks, Cami. Made that child’s day. Year. Maybe life. 

Other parents reported siblings assigned to different schools or to schools to which they had not applied. At least one parent has three children going to three different schools–way to go, Cami! You apparently forgot you were on the ballot Tuesday and, well, you lost. 

“My son was matched to a school we did NOT choose. He DID use all 8 options and we applied early in January,” wrote one mother. To Cami, that’s school choice. 

Another said she was denied any choices because “I received a letter stating they did not match my child because I didn’t select enough schools!!! There aren’t 8 schools I want my son to attend!!!” 

So the school choice program, it turns out, is not parental choice—but choices exercised by  bureaucrats at 2 Cedar Street. Parents in Montclair, where Cami  now lives, can choose to send their children to neighborhood schools—but people in Newark simply aren’t as rich as people in Montclair.

Empowerment in Newark means empowerment for $300,000-a-year Anderson and her many $175,000-a-year tools. For Newark parents-not so much. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: everyone in New Jersey needs to be concerned about what's going on in Newark. The treatment of its citizens by someone who is so completely out of touch with their wants and needs—and who does not want to listen when they complain— is nothing short of criminal. I'll bet that if Oprah knew what's happening, she wouldn't be too thrilled. Thank God Ras Baraka won! I hope and pray that he will be able to stop this insanity. 

Tom Moran crosses the line in latest editorial

UPDATE! 

As noted at the end of this original post, Cami and Cerf are in AZ at the DAVOS conference. Here are her thoughts on dealing with those in Newark who are against her and One Newark. So glad she's on her white horse riding in to save everyone. 



(Note: as I was drafting this post this week, Bob Braun wrote several excellent pieces on One Newark, which I quoted from extensively. Oh to be retired and have time… Well, I can dream, can’t I?)

The Star Ledger is my newspaper of choice. I’m sorry to see it suffering so much financial hardship in recent days. On average I’ve tended to agree with editorial page editor, Tom Moran more than I’ve disagreed, but on education he’s just plain wrong.

Moran seems to hate teachers and public education almost as much as Christie does, and has made it blatantly clear in countless pieces including his rather strange retraction of the SL endorsement of Christie, going so far as to characterize the NJEA (a big supporter of Christie’s opponent, Senator Barbara Buono) as “regressive… [with] relentless efforts to protect bad teachers.” (Not too far removed from Christie’s own “greedy and selfish” mantra, wouldn’t you say?)

Jersey Jazzman has taken him on more times than I can count, but in case you missed any of them, here’s an example. Moran completely ignores all data, studies and research that prove corporate education ‘reform’, including the One Newark plan, does not work, and has accused those who reject its tenets, including Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex), as "conspiracy theorists". He’s written several editorials praising Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson for her "sensible and bold reforms" in Newark. But if they’re so sensible and bold, why are the city’s parents, students and community leaders loudly rejecting her? His latest editorial explains it thus:

“Newark has a deeply rooted hostility toward outsiders, and Gov. Chris Christie, who appointed Anderson, is unpopular in the state-controlled district. It’s not clear that any politician could handle this gracefully.”

Is it my imagination or does this statement smack of racism? Jersey Jazzman, Dr. Bruce Baker and Dr. Joseph Oluwole recently released a study that exposes One Newark as racially biased to both students and teachers, but Moran characterizes the people of Newark as paranoid and insular because they don’t want their neighborhood schools closed and their lives uprooted by 21^st Century carpetbaggers ready to make a quick reformy buck. Makes a whole lotta sense—especially when said carpetbaggers have absolutely NO IDEA what the heck they’re doing! (More on that later.) For 20 years the state has told Newark parents what they should want for their children’s education, because let’s face it, their schools are "failure factories" so what do they know?

But the backlash over One Newark is not only coming from a few "shrill and unreasonable" parents—Moran’s label for anyone who dares to stand up to Anderson at school board meetings. Seventy-seven clergy signed a letter to Gov. Christie and Cami Anderson calling for an immediate halt to One Newark. Bob Braun reports:

“The list includes Rev. William Howard, one of the state’s and the nation’s most prominent clerics, the first African-American president of the New York Theological Seminary and head of the National Council of Churches. Howard also served as chairman of the Rutgers University governing board. He is pastor of Bethany Baptist Church. 

“The strongly worded statement from the 77 religious leaders warned about the ‘venomous’ anger that had been provoked by the Christie/Anderson plan. 

“’We are extremely concerned about the level of public anger we see growing in the community, based upon an overwhelming sense of frustration, community disenfranchisement, and alienation that has resulted from the One Newark Public School Plan the Superintendent of Schools has proposed. It is not overly dramatic for us to say that we are extremely worried about the level and tone of the current emotional discourse.’ 

“There are many well-educated, reasonable minded, and rational individuals, parents, educators and citizens in general in the City of Newark. They all share an intense passion for excellence in education; they have come to feel that their input and voice have been repeatedly ignored. It is unfair to characterize Newarkers opposing the current approach to change as irrational and resistant to change in any case. Many voices of reason have been largely denied meaningful input into the decision-making process.”

The voices of 77 prominent ministers are hardly a "predictable shriek"!

Apparently Moran thinks the people of Newark are just too dumb to realize that the One Newark roll out has been a complete disaster. Bob Braun just posted this scathing criticism:

“The One Newark plan is a disaster for the city’s families. Now, even the district leadership all but admits it by again postponing crucial deadlines. Parents who were promised a ‘match’ with a new school this week won’t be getting it until next month. Other parents won’t know until days before school opens. And to make things even worse, some Newark school principals yesterday received instructions that, if literally followed, would require them to turn away from their schools all children who had a right to be there. How can the city’s parents feel comfortable with educators who cannot even express themselves in understandable language?

“It’s what happens when you place the fate of school children in the hands of bungling, overpaid amateurs who got their jobs because of connections with Teach for America and charter schools and who are now trying to impose a political agenda on the people of a city just to please a governor.

“One Newark was not only unworkable in design but now the state regime running the schools is so incompetent it can’t figure out what to do about the transportation and special education problems it created. Once more, its implementation has been delayed, leaving Newark’s parents dazed and confused.

…

“Anderson still doesn’t know what to do about the massive transportation problem created by the 'One Newark' mess—and still doesn’t know how to handle the placement of special education students, especially those whose parents might want to go to charter schools that are unprepared to deal with them."

(Emphasis mine)

A One Newark bus route???

Remember what Christie said:

Christie and Cami set the rules of the game. They developed the us-against-them scenario for this God-awful plan, and when the heat was on, Cami bolted—for good. And Moran can’t understand why the people of Newark are angry? He thinks this is merely a PR problem? That all will be solved if Cami simply hires some consultants to help with the messaging? (Where will that money come from?) I can see it now: why not do some focus groups? You know, re-brand One Newark! Maybe offer a special toy with every enrollment like a Happy Meal! Because everyone knows that ‘carrot and stick’ reforms work so darned well!

The people of Newark know full well what they want, and numero uno on that list is well-paying jobs—not some cockamamie scheme to uproot entire families and neighborhoods, sell off neighborhood schools to charter operators at fire sale prices, and test their kids to death! And number two on that list is probably a safe learning environment for their children. I’m not just talking about violence; I’m talking about schools that are free from rats, cockroaches and black mold. I’m talking about schools that can provide basic needs like clean, working lavatories, and properly functioning plumbing and heating systems, schools that are well lit and well furnished, that kids actually want to attend. The schools we build in third world countries are probably better equipped than some that these students are forced to attend. But how in the world can Cami make all that happen when she’s just given big, fat raises to her still-wet-behind-the-ears staff? Dear Lord, did somebody put Crazy in the water?!?!

And while the good people of Newark are wondering when they will learn where their children will attend school in the fall, and how they will get there, where do you think Cami and former education commissioner Cerf are? The Ed Tech DAVOS Conference in Scottsdale, AZ! This from Diane Ravitch:

“This summit was originally organized by Michael Moe, who has for years predicted that the education sector could be monetized. He was right. His company—GSV stands for Global Silicon Valley–says on its website: ‘Our founders have spent the past two decades focused on the Megatrends that are disrupting the $4 trillion global education market along with the innovators who are transforming the industry.’ 

“Some of the sponsors: Pearson, the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, McGraw-Hill, Cengage, amazon, Scholastic, etc. 

“The speakers’ list reads like a who’s who of the privatization movement, which it is. Penny Pritzker, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, billionaire heiress to the Hyatt fortune, former member of the board of Chicago public schools; Jeb Bush, Chris Cerf, Cami Anderson, Reed Hastings, Margaret Spellings, Tom Vander Ark, Kaya Henderson, James Shelton, Jonathan Hage, and many more in the business of education reform. (Emphasis mine)

I rest my case, Tom.

'Cosmos', The Spanish Inquisition and Education 'Reform' in NJ

Within the first 5 minutes of the new ‘Cosmos’ series hosted by astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, he takes a not-too-subtle jab at creationists and climate deniers when he describes the explorers and dreamers over the course of human history who dared to imagine what was out there in space, and how we all got here.

Imagination alone isn’t enough. This adventure is made possible by generations of searchers, strictly adhering to a simple set of rules:

• Test ideas by experimentation and observation.
• Build on those ideas that pass the test.
• Reject the ones that fail.
• Follow the evidence wherever it leads.
• Question everything.

He might as well have been talking about the education community, which for over a decade has been at the mercy of the ‘reformy’ Inquisitors who just refuse to accept the mountains of research and evidence that disclaim their ideology because it all leads back to one thing: poverty. But poverty is messy, and they can’t profit from it. But they can make a profit from charter schools, merit pay, union busting, mass firings of teachers, SGOs, SGPs, standardized testing, and all the other garbage they keep throwing at teachers and students.

So, with help from the likes of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Broad Foundation and The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) they manufactured an education crisis and, packaged and marketed it to as many elected officials—both Republican and Democrat—as possible around the country.

But something very interesting is happening, something they probably didn’t expect: parents, teachers, community leaders and students from coast to coast are fighting back because the reforms are archaic and outright damaging to students, the teaching profession and public education. And the fight is alive and well here in the Garden State. We are blessed to have the likes of Blue Jersey’s own, Jersey Jazzman, Rutgers Graduate School of Education Professor, Dr. Bruce Baker, suburban-mom-turned-education-activist, Darcie Cimarusti, aka Mother Crusader, and retired Star Ledger reporter, Bob Braun, among the many New Jersey bloggers reporting from the front lines (because you won’t find much coverage in the mainstream news).

‘The Fight’—as I like to call it—was on full display last Wednesday in Trenton. For hours, a standing room only crowd of educators, parents and concerned citizens testified in front of the New Jersey State Board of Education about the horrendous physical, emotional and financial effects of education ‘reform’ on one of the best public school systems in the nation. I documented much of the testimony here and here. NJEA gave each board member a binder full of over 1,000 letters from educators all over the state detailing their uphill battles against draconian budget cuts, stifling standards and endless, mindless test prep. The testimony was moving: some speakers cried, others yelled, some spoke softly but carried a big stick, one brought pictures of her own two children for the board to see who is really being affected. These were not greedy teachers or union thugs. They were passionate, articulate, well-educated members of the overall community that supports public education.

Today, ‘the fight’ takes center stage in Trenton once again, as the legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Schools hosts a hearing on Superintendent Cami Anderson’s controversial One Newark plan which, in addition to closing schools, seeks an end run around the landmark TEACHNJ law (aka ‘tenure reform’) so she can fire veteran educators to hire more low-wage, low-skilled Teach for America recruits, because you know, anyone can be a teacher in 5 weeks! I’m surprised I haven’t seen an infomercial yet. “For just 3 easy payments of $19.95 you too can pad your resume—er, teach for a couple of years in a really challenging school district because experienced educators are so overrated (and overpaid)—before moving on to that high-paying white collar executive career you’ve always dreamed of!”

The Good Ship Ed Reform has run aground in Port Newark. It’s listing to port and it’s taking on water. Christie’s poll numbers are tanking (and he’s been mum on all the craziness in Newark), Cerf is off to Amplify—you know, that company he has no idea as to whether they have contracts in New Jersey—and Cami’s gone into hiding. We still don’t know if she or anyone else from her staff will be at today’s hearing.

But we do know this: it should be filled with a whole lot of people with a whole lot of facts to disprove One Newark. Senator Ron Rice (D-Essex) is all over this; he’s sponsored legislation that would include public input on any school closings. And Senate Education Committee Chair and architect of the TEACHNJ law, Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), is not happy that Anderson wants to play fast and loose with the law. Her resolution objecting to the waiver passed both the Senate and the Assembly.

I’m really hoping that the confluence of all these events is a sign that the planets will align; that fact—not fiction—will once again begin to drive education policy; and that the education reform inquisition will be burned at the stake.

It would be this funny if it weren't so true.

I leave you with this quote from last Wednesday:

“This whole process was started on a false assumption. New Jersey does not have failing schools.”

We have too high a concentration of students living in poverty in our large urban areas.