Here are links to the articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media over the last few weeks. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.
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SOUTH ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL HELPS SOLVE SLIPPERY PROBLEM
South Adams Middle School wins state STEM award with winter roads proposal
From WPTA-TV
An Adams County school is getting recognition for proposing a way to solve an issue many people face.
Winter roads can get slick with freezing rain, ice and snow. That is why South Adams Middle School is proposing a GPS tracking device to find safe routes to travel by connecting to GPS trackers on vehicles like snowplows.
That was the school’s proposal in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow Contest. This contest encourages teachers and students to solve issues in their community with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.
GIAQUINTA CALLS ON HOUSE TO ACT
IHDC Leader GiaQuinta outlines agenda that includes teacher pay hikes, hate crimes law, and voting reform
From the Indiana House Democratic Caucus
In his first major speech as Leader of an Indiana House Democratic Caucus that he called the most diverse in state history, State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) called today for lawmakers to take immediate action on a variety of issues to improve the quality of life for Hoosiers.
That action should include passage of legislation to improve teacher pay, expand pre-K throughout the state, enact a hate crimes law, protect the health care of people with pre-existing medical conditions, make it easier for Hoosiers to vote, and provide a nonpartisan drawing of legislative and congressional districts.
TIME TO FOCUS ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A test of leadership: Lawmakers have all the evidence they need to do right by public-school educators
From FWCS Board President Julie Hollingsworth in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Indiana finds itself burdened by two issues, a teacher shortage and low teacher pay.
Each feeds the other. How did we get here, and what can be done?
In 2011, the Republican-majority General Assembly with Mitch Daniels as governor passed a sweeping set of laws affecting K-12 education. New laws created the private school voucher program and expanded charter school opportunities. The rhetoric and talking points used to sell these programs echoed that being used across the country; much of it was focused on bad schools and bad teachers.
CHARTER OVERSIGHT NEEDED
Quality crackdown: Virtual charters' dismal record scrutinized anew
From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
If the state's newly released high school graduation rate report serves just one purpose, it should be as impetus for a crackdown on virtual charter schools, including one which more than doubled in size after graduating only 22 of its 1,009 seniors last spring.
Senate Bill 183 would serve as a check on Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, which posted a graduation rate of 2.18 percent, compared with a state average of 88.1 percent...
DEVOS RESCINDS DISCIPLINE GUIDANCE
DeVos Department of Ed Cancels Obama-Era Guidance Aimed at Reducing Racial Disparities in School Discipline
From Jan Resseger
On Friday, December 21, as everybody took off for the holidays, the Education and Justice Departments rescinded Obama-era school discipline guidance designed to address vast racial disparities in school discipline practices. Particularly important was the purpose of the guidance: reducing overuse of suspension and expulsion, encouraging schools to handle discipline policies in ways that keep students in school, and developing restorative discipline programs to create a safe school climate. Officials in the Trump administration, including Betsy DeVos and her Federal Commission on School Safety, continue to endorse punitive discipline.
LEGISLATOR WANTS SCHOOLS TO START LATER
Indiana lawmaker seeks school start change, opioid labeling
From WANE-TV
Republican state Sen. Jean Leising filed a bill that would bar public K-12 schools from starting the school year before the last Monday in August, starting with the 2020 school year.
LAUSD HIRES SCABS
Los Angeles Hires Hundreds of Scabs to Replace Thousands of Teachers Who Are Likely to Strike
From Diane Ravitch
Los Angeles is about to try to prove that class size doesn’t matter. The district, on orders from investment banker Austin Beutner, has hired about 400 substitutes to fill in for thousands of teachers who are preparing to strike on January 10. Let’s see: 400 teachers for 600,000 students. Those are very large classes!
INTERFERING WITH THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
How Are the Walton Billionaires Like Putin and the Russians?
From Diane Ravitch
...the Waltons are not merely funding advocates and research and media. They are actively intervening and interfering into the democratic process (as Putin did in 2016 in our presidential election), sinking the hopes of home-grown candidates who can’t match their funding. Putin did it by stealth and social media, the Waltons do their dirty work in the open, using the sheer force of money.
PROPOSED TEACHER GAG LAW IN ARIZONA
AZ: Proposed Teacher Gag Law Part of National Push
We need to stay informed about where legislation comes from and how the same legislation spreads across the nation. Spoiler alert: It's ALEC.
From Curmudgucation
When Arizona teachers walked out on strike, it led to a legislative move to increase education funding by $400 million. But it also led to an expectation that some legislators would seek some vengeance on the uppity educators.
Enter Rep. Mark Finchem (R) with House Bill 2002, a proposal to stifle teachers when it comes to discussing any kind of politics in the classroom called the "Teacher Code of Ethics."
BEATING REFORM ADDICTION
How to beat reform ‘addiction’
From School Matters
John Merrow spent 41 years reporting on education for NPR and PBS “Newshour,” long enough to develop a clear-eyed view of what’s right and wrong with America’s schools. He argues that our obsession with “reform” is an addiction that’s harming students and teachers.
ARIZONA TO TEACHER OF THE YEAR: SHUT UP AND TEACH
Arizona’s 2019 Teacher of the Year was suspended for a day and fined $225. You won’t believe why.
From The Answer Sheet
The Phoenix Union High School District disciplined Neal because he had posted in his classroom a sign supporting #InvestInEd, which was an initiative for an education tax to raise new money for public schools that was initially placed on November’s ballot but removed by the state Supreme Court before the election. Teachers are not supposed to advocate for any political cause, though Neal said that wasn’t his intent, the Arizona Republic reported.
...It’s worth remembering that #InvestInEd was an initiative to raise more money for public schools...
TEACHER SHARES HOBBY
Kekionga radio club finding success
From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
When Fort Wayne Community Schools educator and amateur radio operator Jon Luckey first set out to share his longtime hobby with students, he failed miserably, perhaps because he was a first-year teacher.
Now in his 21st year, he has found success with the Kekionga Middle School Amateur Radio Club, an extracurricular activity with a core group of six students, mostly sixth-graders.
STUDENT DEBT, EVEN IN K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL
When students can't afford to eat
From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Even with the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, which provide free and reduced-price meals to eligible students, children can still accrue debt over unpaid food. Those ineligible for free meals sometimes don't have money in their account or on hand.
THE LAST PUBLIC SCHOOL
New Orleans: The Last Public School Closes, Despite Objections of Parents and Students and Alumni
From Diane Ravitch
The Orleans Parish School Board closed the last public school in New Orleans, in a meeting room filled with protesting parents, students and alumni of McDonough 35. New Orleans is now the first city in the United States without a public school. The board disregarded the protesters.
CHARTER CORRUPTION, AGAIN
Los Angeles: Charter School Founder Pleads Guilty to Felony Embezzlement Charge
From Diane Ravitch
The founder of a Los Angeles charter chain pleaded guilty to a felony count of misappropriating funds intended for the students at the schools.
PAUSE ON FEREBEE
D.C.: Ferebee Nomination as Chancellor Questioned Because of Inaction in Sexual Abuse Case in Indianapolis
From Diane Ravitch
...Ferebee is under renewed scrutiny because of his inaction in a sexual abuse case of major proportions in February 2016. Some of Ferebee’s underlings were fired for the mishandling of the case, but Ferebee won a bonus from the school board, which was thrilled by his willingness to privatize large parts of the school district.
NEW TEACHERS, STUDY THE OPTIONS CAREFULLY
New Optional Retirement Plan Could Reduce Benefits
From ISTA
The new retirement option from the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) received approval from the Internal Revenue Service. The plan allows new hires to select a DC-only plan with a shorter vesting period of five years.
The plan, while optional and voluntary for each new hire, reduces benefits for retirees.
RAISES FOR INDY TEACHERS
Indianapolis Public Schools teachers win big raises — and more pay bumps could be on the way
From Chalkbeat
The new contract includes raises ranging from 3 to 9 percent, with most eligible teachers’ salaries going up by at least $2,586 per year. The contract covers 2018-19, and teachers will get retroactive pay increases going back to July.
TESTING HAS CONSEQUENCES
High-stakes testing has emotional consequences, too
From lohud (USA Network)
The result? A generation of young children who are stressed beyond capacity. Ask a school nurse about students reporting anxiety, depression, cutting themselves, eating disorders, thoughts of suicide, attempts of suicide. Ask about the numbers of hospitalizations for mental health issues. The answer will stun you. The American Academy of Pediatrics shared the shocking news that children’s admissions to hospitals for suicidal thoughts or for “serious self harm” more than doubled from 2008 to 2015 — with more than 10 percent of patients between 5 and 11 years old.
SCHOOL STAFFING
Data raise questions about school staffing – but don’t answer them
From School Matters
Indiana ranks near the bottom of the states for the percentage of school employees who are teachers and near the top for the percentage who provide “support services,” according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
MORE MONEY FOR FEREBEE
IPS poised to approve over $30,000 in additional pay for Washington-bound superintendent Lewis Ferebee
A bonus for this man is a grievous waste of Indy’s tax dollars. Tying it to an increase in teacher pay is beyond the pale.
From Chalkbeat
Weeks before he leaves for Washington, D.C., Superintendent Lewis Ferebee is expected to get a retroactive raise and $26,999 in performance pay from Indianapolis Public Schools.
That will bring his total annual compensation to nearly $300,000...
TEACHER PAY
Holcomb now says he’s ‘optimistic’ that Indiana can send more money to teachers in 2019
Is this optimism or just a meaningless promise in response to bad publicity?
From Chalkbeat
Gov. Eric Holcomb is speeding up what he introduced as a slow and “methodical” approach to raising Indiana’s teacher salaries over the next several years, saying action could take place in 2019.
TTHE "CHOICE" IS FOR THE SCHOOL, NOT THE PARENT
Weak laws allow discrimination in voucher, charter schools
From School Matters
School voucher programs and charter schools practice discrimination in enrollment and hiring because they can, according to a recent policy brief from the National Education Policy Center. Federal and state laws permit discrimination in private schools that receive public funding. And charter schools are held to looser standards than traditional public schools when it comes to selecting students.
LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOL FAILS
Local charter school must close at year's end
From The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
The Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy lost its charter, and must close at the end of the school year.
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