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HOLIDAYS IN SCHOOL
Can students pray in public schools? Can teachers say ‘Merry Christmas’? What the law allows -- and forbids.
From The Answer Sheet
Can students pray inside their public school buildings? Can teachers say “Merry Christmas” to their students? Can religious music be played in public schools?
Yes, yes and yes.
There has been a great deal of misunderstanding about what is allowed and not allowed when it comes to religious expression in public schools ever since the U.S. Supreme Court banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools in a landmark 1962 decision, saying that it violated the First Amendment. In fact, in 1995, then-President Bill Clinton issued a memo titled “Religious Expression in Public Schools,” that said in part:
It appears that some school officials, teachers and parents have assumed that religious expression of any type is either inappropriate, or forbidden altogether, in public schools.
NEIFPE'S PHYLLIS BUSH
Looking for a Grand Slam at the Bottom of the 9th!
From NEIFPE
NEIFPE's co-founder, Phyllis Bush, writes about her battle with cancer. We are proud of her strength and courage.
Whether it is taking a kid to the zoo or to Zesto for ice cream, whether it is writing a letter to your legislators, whether it is running for office, whether it is supporting your favorite charity, DO IT!
Monday morning quarterbacks are of little use to anyone.
Whatever you do, live your life to the fullest. Once again, do what matters to you.
GRADING SCHOOLS
Proposal would move away from school grades
From School Matters
Indiana would eliminate A-to-F school grades from its accountability system for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act under a proposal from the Indiana Department of Education. Does that mean school grades would go the way of the one-room schoolhouse? Not yet; grades will still be part of the separate state accountability system. But the department’s proposal is a step in the right direction and away from this overly simplistic way of evaluating and labeling schools and school districts.
Indiana StatehouseThe proposal, an amendment to Indiana’s ESSA plan, is open for public comment until Dec. 21. Once it’s submitted by the state, hopefully in January, the U.S. Department of Education will have 90 days to decide whether to approve it.
NEW JERSEY: SCHOOL TAKEOVERS
Education Law Center Calls for End to State Takeovers in New Jersey
From Diane Ravitch
State Takeovers of districts with low scores have been a disaster. The reason for low scores is always high poverty, and the state takeover doesn’t change that fact. State after state has adopted this strategy and failed. Turns out that the folks in the State Education Department are not magicians.
The Education Law Center, a civil rights group, calls for an end to the charade in New Jersey.
FLORIDA: CHARTER CLOSES
Florida: Charter School Closes Without Notice to Parents or Students or Teachers
From Diane Ravitch
Charter schools open and close like day lilies. The entrepreneurs lobby legislators to get money and tax breaks. They pay teachers as little as they have to. They siphon money away from public schools, which are stable fixtures in their community.
HOLCOMB (IN) BACKS OFF ON TEACHER PAY RAISE
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb proposes pumping brakes on teacher pay, cutting performance bonuses
The legislature, with the help and encouragement of previous governors has already allowed teacher pay to slip more than 15% over the last 15 years when adjusted for inflation. They have stripped teachers of their seniority, reduced collective bargaining, and basically done whatever they could to make teaching in Indiana less than attractive.
So, of course, Governor Holcomb wants to "study" teacher pay to see if Indiana can afford to educate their children. NOTE: Indiana has spent more than half a billion dollars on school vouchers and haven't heard anything from the Governor about studying that boondoggle for religious schools.
And we wonder why there is a shortage.
From Chalkbeat
As educators and lawmakers call for increases in teacher pay, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is suggesting a far more measured approach, potentially tempering expectations that meaningful raises could be possible in the coming two years.
In his legislative agenda announced Thursday, Holcomb proposed devoting 2019 to studying teacher pay...
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
George H. W. Bush: A Tribute and a Happy Memory of My Time in D.C.
From Diane Ravitch
I’m in an airplane, flying from NYC to L.A., where I will attend the annual dinner of LAANE, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. This group fought for and won a battle to raise the minimum wage. I believe and hope they will join the struggle to support public schools and save them from the clutches of the billionaires.
As I fly, I’m watching the state funeral of President George H.W. Bush. The services are very moving. People speak of his decency, his sense of honor, his humility, his dignity, his loyalty to friends and family, his patriotism, his sense of duty and courage (he volunteered for combat duty in World War II right out of high school). Trump is sitting in the front row, scowling and looking uncomfortable. It’s not about him.
GARY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
2 Gary School Board members expected to resign; others considering leaving
From the Chicago Tribune
The remaining board members could appoint new members if resignation letters are tendered, according to a state takeover law that stripped authority from the board, relegating it to an advisory body.
...In addition to removing all authority from the school board and giving it to an emergency manager, the state took per diem meeting pay and the annual $2,000 stipend from elected board members.
Ex-school chief's ties to contractor rankle Gary lawmakers
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Former state schools chief Tony Bennett disappeared from Indiana's education scene after his 2012 re-election defeat. Even when he returned to the state after a brief stint in Florida's top education post, Bennett kept a low profile.
But his name surfaced where he is not welcome – Gary, Indiana. A subsidiary of the consulting firm he's now associated with has been paid nearly $4.2 million to manage the distressed Gary Community School Corp. Gary lawmakers Vernon Smith and Eddie Melton have called for the contract with MGT Consulting Group to be dissolved, charging Bennett played a role in creating the school district's financial problems.
“It can be reasonably argued that Tony Bennett played a substantial role in putting Gary schools into the mess that it finds itself by championing policies that treated public schools like second-class citizens in favor of charters, vouchers and home schools,” Smith said.
Gary Lawmakers Call For New School Emergency Management Contract
From WFYI Indianapolis
Sen. Eddie Melton (D-Gary) and Rep. Vernon Smith (D-Gary) say former Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett’s ties to the management firm illustrate a lack of transparency from the state and raise concerns about his potential influence in the recovering district.
Hoosiers voted Bennett out of office after his first term, and critics say it’s because he supported policy changes favoring school vouchers and charter schools. Public education advocates say those changes ultimately and drastically harmed public schools.
Now, Bennett sits on the board of directors for the consulting group tied to the management firm working to fix the Gary schools’ budget, MGT Consulting.
IPS LOOKS FOR SUPERINTENDENT
Who should replace Lewis Ferebee as superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools?
It would be nice if this time they would hire someone who cares about the community and not about their career or about choice options for a chosen few.
From Chalkbeat
Indianapolis’ education community is already mulling what kind of leader should replace Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, who announced Monday that he’s leaving to head D.C. public schools.
With the 31,000-student school district in a state of flux, school board members and advocates say there is no time to waste. The district closed high schools last year. Two candidates opposed to innovation schools — the group of charter and charter-like schools managed by outside operators that was one of Ferebee’s main achievements — were recently elected to the school board. And despite the passage of a referendum to send more taxpayer money to schools, more large cuts are looming.
PRIVATIZATION MONEY FLOWS FROM HAVE-NOTS TO HAVES
Wealth Redistributed
From Linda Lyon at RestoreReason.comhttps://restorereason.com/
I offer that the redistribution of wealth can also flow the other way as with the privatization of our public schools. Those who already “have” are redistributing the “wealth” of those who “have not”. They do this by encouraging the siphoning of taxpayer monies from our district public schools, for charters, home and private schools. Once slated for the education of all, our hard-earned tax dollars are now increasingly available to offset costs for those already more advantaged.
LOS ANGELES: UTLA FIGHTS PRIVATIZATION
Los Angeles: Our Public Schools Are Not for Sale!
From Diane Ravitch
This full-page ad appeared in the Los Angeles Times a few days ago. It was paid for by the United Teachers of Los Angeles.
NACS PRINCIPAL EXPLAINS NEW GRADUATION RULES
Carroll offers plan on graduation rules
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Carroll High School Principal Brandon Bitting knows the state's new graduation requirements can be overwhelming.
That's why he plans to ease families into the expectations at freshman orientation in February. He plans to take a “bite-size” approach in explaining the mandates.
“I don't want to panic people,” Bitting told the Northwest Allen County Schools board Monday.
Thursday marks a year since the State Board of Education voted 7-4 to institute additional graduation requirements despite hours of testimony against the plan.
FEREBEE LEAVES IPS FOR D. C.
IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee Named Next Leader At Washington D.C. Schools
From WFYI Indianapolis
IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee was named as the next leader of Washington, D.C. public schools today by the mayor.
This new high profile position will hold national influence as Ferebee will likely continue his work started in Indianapolis five years ago to turnaround struggling schools. He's expected to start this position full-time on January 31st. Ferebee will be paid a base salary of $280,000 but he still needs to be confirmed by the council of the District of Columbia.
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