In Case You Missed It – December 21, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

Note: The next posting of NEIFPE's In Case You Missed it, will be on January 4, 2020

Bye, Betsy!

DEVOS LEAVES A WARNING (SATIRE)

Borowitz: Betsy DeVos Leaves with a Warning

From Diane Ravitch

Andy Borowitz, a humorist for The New Yorker, says that Betsy DeVos is worried that Biden might actually appoint an educator to run the U.S. Department of Education.

He begins:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Calling the prospect a “nightmare scenario,” Betsy DeVos warned that President-elect Joe Biden will pick an Education Secretary with a background in education.

The outgoing Education Secretary warned that putting someone with a “pro-education bias” in her job would be like “naming a fox to be Secretary of Hens.”

“For the past four years, I have worked tirelessly to keep our schools free from education,” she said. “It deeply saddens me to think that all of my hard work will go to waste.”

VIRTUAL PROGRAM JUMPS SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Virtual program switches school districts after Indiana scrutinizes stipends

It seems like Indiana will never learn.

From Chalkbeat*

After drawing scrutiny from the state, a school that offers Indiana families financial support to educate their children at home is switching to a new district partner.

Tech Trep Academy, a Utah-based company, opened its first Indiana program this year through a partnership with the Middlebury Community Schools district outside Elkhart. The unusual school uses state education funding to give parents $1,700 stipends for classes and materials to educate their children at home. Parents can provide much of the instruction, with help and oversight from certified educators.

But just weeks after Tech Trep Academy began enrolling students in Indiana, the state notified Middlebury officials that reimbursing families for purchases violated a law that bars schools from offering enrollment incentives. To avoid running afoul of the law, the school told parents that it would make purchases for them directly from vendors.

After the state flagged the issue, Middlebury officials decided they had had enough...

Instead of closing the school, which enrolls about 165 students, the district worked with Tech Trep to find a new partner. Next semester, the school will move under the auspices of the Cloverdale Community Schools, a 1,000-student district in a farming community near Greencastle.

SKIP TESTING THIS YEAR

Six Arguments For Giving The Big Standardized Tests This School Year (And Why Biden’s Education Secretary Should Ignore Them)

Here are some bad reasons to test during the pandemic...bad reasons to test at all.

From Peter Greene in Forbes

Last year, in the face of general pandemic chaos, states canceled the annual Big Standardized Test, if not with Betsy DeVos’s blessing, at least with her consent. But DeVos has signaled that similar waivers from this year’s test would not be given on her watch. Now that her watch is soon to end, what about the next secretary of education?

Testing is a billion-dollar industry. In Texas alone, the annual cost of administering the test is approaching $100 million. Shutting down the tests two years running will be a costly proposition for testing companies, so it’s not surprising that pressure is mounting for states to commit to administering a test this year, particularly with a new education secretary on the horizon.

Across the nation, certain pro-testing arguments keep surfacing. Here are some of the most common, and why neither state nor federal authorities should be swayed by them.

FWCS FAMILIES: PREPARE FOR CHANGE

Be prepared for change, FWCS families urged

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Winter break won't begin for Fort Wayne Community Schools students until Friday, but Superintendent Mark Daniel already is assigning homework to families – make backup plans for when classes resume Jan. 4.

“Because we do not know what our area will look like in two weeks, families should be prepared for any scenario,” Daniel said in a letter to families Tuesday. “This will be true not just for the start of the second semester but for many months to come.”

He suggests that families plan for fully remote learning. FWCS tries to give as much notice as possible about switches in learning formats, he said, but changes could be announced for a school or the district with little warning because illness – not planned time off – is involved.

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION ON TEACHER PAY

Corona: Cut vouchers to pay teachers

The Commission’s report on teacher pay has finally been released and reports what we knew all along - teacher pay needs to increase. Unfortunately, Governor Holcomb can postpone any teacher increase since there are more pressing needs due to COVID-19.

Furthermore, most of the suggestions just pass the buck back to cash-strapped local school districts rather than doing much at the state level.

FWCS Board member, Steve Corona, has a better idea.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

The 37 ideas a state panel recommended for raising teacher pay did not include one approach that a Fort Wayne Community Schools board member would like lawmakers to consider.

"My suggestion, in addition to those 37 recommendations, is that the General Assembly looks at seriously cutting the amount of money they will budget for vouchers," board member Steve Corona said. "If they're serious about raising teacher pay in public schools, this is the fund that they need to take a look at."

Corona pitched his ideas during the board meeting Monday, hours after the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission released a 183-page report with recommendations for short- and long-term approaches to increasing average teacher pay to at least $60,000 in Indiana.

Panel: Teachers deserve $60,000

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

The Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission on Monday released a 183-page report with 37 recommendations for short- and long-term approaches to increasing average teacher pay to at least $60,000 in Indiana.

The suggestions for school districts include limiting health care plans and passing operating referendums. State-level options include shifting money from a generous college tax credit and raising state taxes.

"There is a gap between competitive pay and Indiana's current teacher salaries, and it has contributed to many challenges facing our education system today," the report said.

"Fewer students are enrolling in or completing teacher preparation programs, and fewer Hoosiers are earning teaching licenses. While there are varying opinions among the public about whether there is a 'teacher shortage,' the data is clear: Indiana has significant challenges in attracting and retaining qualified teachers."

Indiana report calls for $600 million more from districts, state to increase teacher pay

From Chalkbeat*

A report released Monday pressures Indiana school districts to pay a large part of the estimated $600 million a year needed to raise teacher pay. But it acknowledges the state also must substantially increase funding to make salaries more competitive.

Gov. Eric Holcomb’s teacher pay commission has been working on the recommendations for nearly two years. The commission calls for increasing average teacher salaries to $60,000 per year, up from about $51,000.

The report includes 37 recommendations to increase teacher pay. About a dozen suggestions offer ways for local districts to trim costs or increase revenue, including reducing healthcare spending, cutting staff, and asking voters for property tax increases.

Commission recommends $60K average salary for Indiana teachers

From WANE.com

A state commission studying how to make Indiana’s teacher pay competitive with surrounding states has come up with a solution – pay them more.

The Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission on Monday released its report on improving teacher compensation in Indiana. The commission’s 182-page final report details a “gap” between competitive pay and Indiana’s current teacher salaries, which contributes to the challenges plaguing the state’s education system.

The commission found that Indiana’s average teacher salary of $51,119 in the 2018-19 school year ranked 38th for average teacher salaries out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The state’s teacher pay fell 18 percent below the national average, the report said.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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Vic’s Statehouse Notes #347 – December 19, 2020

Dear Friends,

Sound the alarm! We don’t need a new legislative crisis during this horrendous pandemic.

Word from the Statehouse is that the Republican supermajority plans to give public tax money to upper income and wealthy private school parents to pay their private school tuition. Currently, vouchers pay all or part of private school tuition for families earning $95,000 or less for a family of four. The proposed plan would remove all income caps.

This is obviously a bad idea during our economic crisis. It would not give school choice to any additional students. The students from upper income and wealthy families are already going to private schools. This plan would just shift the tuition bill for those upper income families to public taxpayers, including low income taxpayers.

This proposal is tone deaf to the fact that public schools serving students of poverty face cuts in the upcoming budget due to the Covid recession. This idea shamefully proposes to take from the poor and give to the rich.

It’s not right. This should not stand.

There is also talk of giving public tuition money to home school parents for the first time. This is another expensive idea that is totally wrong during the pandemic crisis. Since home schools are unregulated and unsupervised, whether or not public dollars would be used to teach children to support our democracy and the U.S. Constitution would be unknown.

These proposals to divert money to private school and home school parents should be non-starters during the pandemic and economic crisis we are in. Contact legislators to make that point.

Let your State Representative and your State Senator know that this is the wrong time to divert funding from public taxpayers to give to wealthy parents who want their children to go to religious or private schools or to home school parents.

Email or contact your legislators, or any legislator, at your earliest opportunity. Then add an email to the leaders of both the House, Speaker Huston (h37@iga.in.gov), and the Senate, President ProTempore Bray (Senator.Bray@iga.in.gov).

Tell them that during this crisis giving more money to higher income and wealthy families is wrong.

Tell them this idea is not a mandate of the election because it was not a visible issue in the campaign.

Tell them this is no time to revisit the bitter 2011 battle over private school vouchers.

Tell them they should support our current public schools to the maximum degree during this recession and not try to drive a nail in their coffin.

Thank you for supporting public education in Indiana!

Stay safe,

Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!

ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand is again representing ICPE in the new budget session which began on January 3, 2017. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.indianacoalitionforpubliced.org for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!

Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana. In April of 2018, I was honored to receive the 2018 Friend of Education Award from the Indiana State Teachers Association.

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In Case You Missed It – December 14, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention on NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC

Teresa Thayer Snyder: What Shall We Do About the Children After the Pandemic

Look at any article about education during the pandemic and you'll likely see a reference to how kids are "falling behind." Diane Ravitch's guest blogger asks, "falling behind what?"

From Diane Ravitch

I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when they finally return to school. My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of a pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country and the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. In our determination to “catch them up,” I fear that we will lose who they are and what they have learned during this unprecedented era. What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make those invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up telephone! They simply do not apply.

Survey: During Pandemic, Teachers Are Working More And Enjoying It Less

The results from the Horace Mann survey are worth checking out. 

From Peter Greene in Forbes

The greatest number of teachers in the survey were working in person (497) while 319 were teaching online and 379 were working in a hybrid model. But a full 924 (77%) of respondents said that work was taking more time this year than last year, with only 52 (4.3%) saying they were spending less time teaching this year. This may come as a surprise to some critics; on Twitter, one poster called the current situation a “de facto teacher strike,” as if teachers are not doing any actual work currently. In fact, preparing lessons to be delivered through a variety of pipelines requires extra preparation.

When asked if they were enjoying their work in education more or less now than they did last year, 113 (9.7%) said they are enjoying it more, while 698 (60%) said less. This is not entirely a surprise; google “teachers frustrated by remote learning” and read accounts from all over the country of teacher (and parent) frustration with pandemic education.

FWCS Lincoln Elementary goes virtual until January

From WANE.com

Due to a significant number of staff absences, all Lincoln Elementary School students will work remotely Dec. 10-17, Fort Wayne Community Schools announced Tuesday.

FWCS said that students will attend in-person on Wednesday and will bring home electronic devices and other supplies needed for at-home learning.

Students are expected to return to the classroom after winter break, Jan. 4.

RICH EDUCATION MEDDLERS STILL DON'T GET IT

Mrs. Gates Still Doesn't Get It, Still.

Bill and Melinda Gates still don’t seem to understand that their meddling in education has caused harm.

From Curmudgucation

You know, if Bill and I had had more decision-making authority in education, maybe we would’ve gotten farther in the United States. But we haven’t. Some of the things that we piloted or tried got rejected, or didn’t work, and I think there’s a very healthy ecosystem of parents and teachers’ unions and mayors and city councils that make those education decisions. I wish the U.S. school system was better for all kids.

Yikes. I mean, yikes. First of all, it's not "some of the things"-- all of the things that the Gates have tried in education, from small schools to the Common Core, have failed. Yes, they got rejected, in the same way the average person rejects stewed liver covered with toad wart dressing--they were bad. (And lets not forget that sometimes, rather than being rejected, the Gates just walked out on projects in the middle, leaving someone else holding the bag.) And whatever their many problems were, the biggest problem was not that Bill and Melinda Gates didn't have enough power over the system. Note also that her "very healthy ecosystem" includes pretty much everybody. If everyone else had just let the Gates be in charge, it would have been fine! Yikes. After all this time, all this money, and all this failure, she still doesn't understand that when it comes to education, they are amateurs who don't know enough about how education works and who don't bother to talk to actual experts (without checking to make sure they're sympathetic and then handing them a big pile of money first, which tends to blunt the critical faculties --looking at you NEA and AFT).

GAINS FOR PRIVATIZERS: OKLAHOMA, CALIFORNIA, AND INDIANA

Jeff Bryant: What Is Worse Than DeVos?

This post from Diane Ravitch includes information about outside money thrown into the Indianapolis School Board race...

From Diane Ravitch

In the 2020 school board election in Indianapolis, local teachers and grassroots groups the Indiana Coalition for Public Education and the IPS Community Coalition backed four candidates against a slate of opponents whom locals accuse of representing outside interests. At stake, according to WFYI, was “an ideological tilt” over whether the district would continue to “collaborate with outside groups and charter organizations” or “return to more traditional methods of improving struggling schools.”

Both sides raise the banner of “improving struggling schools,” but locals say what’s really at stake is whether voters retain democratic control of their public schools or see them turned over to private, unelected boards and their corporate supporters and funders.

Oklahoma: Governor Stitt Appoints Home-Schooling Anti-Masker to State Board of Education

Local school boards are elected. Why aren't all state school boards? In Indiana, the governor appoints 9 of the 11 school board members. The other two are selected by the leaders of the legislative houses. The only voice Indiana voters have in state-wide public education policy is in the election of the governor.

From Diane Ravitch

Kurt Bollenbach of Kingfisher, who was appointed in April 2019 to serve a four-year term, recently supported a high-profile move to claw back more than $11 million in state funding from Epic Charter Schools and a failed attempt to mandate masks in all public schools.

He also recently drew public criticism from school choice advocates for leading a delay of approval for a couple of private schools to begin accepting state-funded scholarships for disabled students and foster children over questions about whether the schools’ anti-discrimination policies met minimum state and federal requirements.

Stitt replaced Bollenbach by appointing a home-schooling parent who opposes mask-wearing during the pandemic to the State Board of Education.

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In Case You Missed It – December 7, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

THE LOW QUALITY OF STANDARDIZED TESTS

Combating Standardized Testing Derangement Syndrome (STDs) in the English Language Arts

Are standardized tests worth all the expense? Are they worth the time it takes to prepare, administer and return the tests? Are the results accurate and worth all the effort?

Bob Shepherd Online

The dirty secret of the standardized testing industry is the breathtakingly low quality of the tests themselves. I worked in the educational publishing industry at very high levels for more than twenty years. I have produced materials for all the major textbook publishers and most of the standardized test publishers, and I know from experience that quality control processes in the standardized testing industry have dropped to such low levels that the tests, these days, are typically extraordinarily sloppy and neither reliable nor valid. They typically have not been subjected to anything like the validation and standardization procedures used, in the past, with intelligence tests, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and so on. The mathematics tests are marginally better than are the tests in ELA, US History, and Science, but they are not great. The tests in English Language Arts are truly appalling. A few comments about those...

KEEPING STUDENTS AND SCHOOL STAFF SAFE

For Teachers, “Silence of Our Friends” May be Worst Part of Pandemic

From Gadfly on the Wall Blog

Teachers want a safe place to work.

But in 2020 that is too much to ask.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic rages out of control throughout most parts of the United States, teachers all across the country want to be able to do their jobs in a way that won’t put themselves or their loved ones in danger.

In most cases that means remote instruction – teaching students via the Internet through video conferencing software like Zoom.

However, numerous leaders and organizations that historically are supportive of teachers have refused to support them here.

The rush to keep classrooms open and thus keep the economy running has overtaken any respect for science, any concern for safety, and any appeal to compassion.

WHAT SCHOOLS NEED TO STAY OPEN

I’m a former district leader. Here’s what Indiana schools will need to reopen with confidence.

Hope is not a plan.  Former Washington Township Superintendent lays out the needs for a safe plan to reopen schools. He emphasizes increased funding, COVID-19 testing for all, and an end to standardized testing.

From Chalkbeat*

In my more than 30 years of experiences in roles from classroom teacher to Washington Township superintendent, I’ve learned that there are no simple solutions to complicated problems.

Re-opening our public schools is one of those complicated problems. Let’s face it: Indiana is not going to recover economically until our more than one million school children go back to school. “Who will care for my children when I’m back to work?” needs an answer, or our efforts to restore the economy will fail.

Getting students back into school buildings, though, is going to be tougher than many realize. If I were a superintendent today, I would be assuming that at least 25% of the parents in my district would be reluctant to send their kids to school because they don’t think schools will be safe. I’d bet the percentage would be similar for employees, from teachers to bus drivers, custodians, and food service employees. Parents do not knowingly put their children in dangerous places, and teachers and staff do not want to work in dangerous places, either.

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

Keep Your Promises

NEIFPE is proud to be one of the organizations to sign this statement from the Network for Public Education.

From NPE

We congratulate President-elect, Joe Biden, and Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, on their historic victory. We look forward to working with them as they fulfill their promised commitment to our nation’s public schools.

The promises made during the campaign drew support from public education advocates across the nation. With those promises in mind, these are the top five K-12 priorities that they should keep at the forefront as they govern.

1. Rebuild our nation's public schools, which have been battered by the pandemic, two decades of failed federal policy, and years of financial neglect.
2. Reject efforts to privatize public schools, whether those efforts be via vouchers or charter schools.
3. End the era of high-stakes standardized testing--in both the immediate future and beyond.
4. Promote diversity, desegregation (both among and within schools), and commit to eliminating institutional racism in school policy and practices.
5. Promote educational practices that are child-centered, inquiry-based, intellectually challenging, culturally responsive, and respectful of all students' innate capacities and potential to thrive.

OBAMA'S EDUCATION POLICIES WERE SURPRISING

The telling things Barack Obama wrote — and didn’t mention — about his education policies in new memoir

From the Answer Sheet

Obama’s education agenda surprised many of his supporters, who had expected him to address inequity in public schools and to de-emphasize high-stakes standardized testing, which had become the key metric to hold schools accountable under the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind law.

But Obama did not. Instead, he allowed Education Secretary Arne Duncan to push a strident education overhaul program that made standardized testing even more important than NCLB had, and that became highly controversial across the political spectrum for different reasons. Critics called it “corporate reform” because it used methods more common in business than in civic institutions, such as using big data, closing schools that underperformed, and eliminating or weakening of teacher tenure and seniority rights.

STUDENT TEACHING DURING THE PANDEMIC

Student teachers learning to adapt

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

As K-12 schools navigated their first full semester during the pandemic, student teachers not only conducted lessons in traditional and nontraditional ways, but also managed responsibilities during quarantines -- theirs and their mentor teachers'.

Dan Torlone of Saint Francis described student teachers' challenges another way.

"Is it beneficial that your rowboat is sinking, and you have to learn how to swim?" Torlone, director of field experiences, asked. "What they're all understanding is a power of collaboration with their peers."

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – November 30, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

DO WE REALLY NEED A BIG SPRING TEST THIS YEAR?

No, There Really Doesn't Need To Be A Big Spring Test In 2021

Opening schools and closing schools repeatedly during the current pandemic has made things more difficult for teachers and students. Do we really need an annual achievement test to tell us how things are going? Peter Greene, who blogs at Curmudgucation, has a better idea.

From Curmudgucation

Finn is sure that there's a disaster brewing, and there's no question that schools are having a rough year of it and consequently students are not getting the kind of educational year that would better serve everyone. Testocrats like Finn are certain that we can't possibly address this without testing measurements. "America," Finn says, "won't know how bad the damage is or what needs fixing." Well, "America" is a pretty broad, unclear term. It's teachers and parents who are actually doing the work, and they've mostly been left on their own to do it.

And in a year when time is going to be a precious commodity, every single element of the school year has to be questioned--does this help my students move forward? BS Testing does not meet that measure. There are better, more important things for teachers to be doing than getting students prepped for the test and then administering it. And if "America" wants to know how things are going, I suggest that they ask the people who are doing the work. In fact, I suggest that state and federal leaders (and thinky tank gurus as well) get out of their offices and go ask teachers and parents, "What do you need? What can I do to help?" I am betting that nobody is going to answer, "Please, oh please, can you make sure that we give the Big Standardized Test this spring."

DENVER SUPER LEAVES ABRUPTLY

Denver: Turmoil Over Superintendent’s Exit

Why did this superintendent leave? Was it for personal reasons, or is it because of local "reformers"?

From Diane Ravitch

The superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Susana Cordova, resigned abruptly, and her departure was followed by finger pointing. Denver has been a hot spot for “reformers,” and it’s school board elections attract DFER, “Education Reform Now,” and other big-money donors from out of state.

I asked Jeanne Kaplan, a former DPS board member, to explain what’s going on. She sent me her comments and a statement released by the Colorado Latino Forum.

HOME SCHOOL OR DROPOUTS?

New Indiana law puts pressure on high schools to reduce home-school withdrawals

Hoosier legislators avoid the obvious solution of creating a state registration and accountability tracking for homeschoolers. Instead they seek to punish schools.

From Chalkbeat*

One in five Indiana high schools are facing scrutiny that could lead to lower graduation rates because they marked a large number of students who didn’t graduate as leaving to home-school.

The state will review over 100 schools under a new law that aims to stem the tide of students who leave without diplomas but are not counted as dropping out. Schools under audit must show that they have properly documented each withdrawal and that the students who withdrew were on track to graduate. Students who were behind on credits when they left will be re-categorized as having dropped out.

Statewide, schools claimed that about 3,200 Hoosier students who were expected to graduate in 2020 instead withdrew to home-school. The total reflected a dip from the prior year. A Chalkbeat investigation found that because the state does not track or oversee home schooling, it’s impossible to say how many of those students continued their education.

NPE LEADS EFFORT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

Defenders of US Public Schools Call on Biden to Ditch Trump's Disastrous Education Policies—and Obama's Too

NEIFPE was proud to join the coalition supporting public education highlighted in this article. Click here to read the Keep Your Promises letter.

From Common Dreams

"50.8 million children who attend real public schools need a secretary of education who will be their advocate, not an advocate for privatization," tweeted Carol Burris, a retired teacher and the executive director of the Network for Public Education (NPE), which led the effort to demand pro-public leadership in Biden's Department of Education.

In order to build a stronger and more just public education system, NPE penned a letter—which readers may sign—urging the Biden administration to pursue the following objectives:

• Rebuild our nation's public schools, which have been battered by the pandemic, two decades of failed federal policy, and years of financial neglect;
• Reject efforts to privatize public schools, whether those efforts be via vouchers or charter schools;
• End the era of high-stakes standardized testing—in both the immediate future and beyond;
• Promote diversity, desegregation (both among and within schools), and commit to eliminating institutional racism in school policy and practices; and
• Promote educational practices that are child-centered, inquiry-based, intellectually challenging, culturally responsive, and respectful of all students' innate capacities and potential to thrive.

FWCS NEWS

FWCS superintendent tests positive for COVID-19

From WANE.com

Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Daniel has contracted the coronavirus.

The district confirmed Tuesday that Daniel tested positive last week for COVID-19. He reportedly began experiencing symptoms on Nov. 17, and he was tested that day.

He received a positive result on Wednesday and has been working from home since, the district said.

Daniel has fever, headache, cough and loss of taste and smell.

Daniel plans to remain at home until he is fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication and has diminishing symptoms, the district said.

FWCS turning to remote learning for all: Starting today; staff shortage prompts move

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

A severe staff shortage in Fort Wayne Community Schools' transportation department is prompting a temporary shift to remote learning for all students beginning today.

The problem isn't a lack of bus drivers, district spokeswoman Krista Stockman said Monday. Rather, she said, it's a matter of too many office employees absent due to coronavirus illness or quarantine. She couldn't immediately quantify the shortage but said it affects most of the office staff.

“We don't have enough staff members in routing and dispatching to safely operate,” Stockman said by email.

FWCS buses transport more than 14,000 students each day, transportation Director Frank Jackson told the school board last month. This adds up to more than 6,000 daily stops along more than 1,000 routes, he said.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – November 23, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

ISTA CALLS FOR SCHOOLS TO GO VIRTUAL

'Unsustainable and unsafe': ISTA calls for schools in red counties to move online

From IndyStar

The Indiana State Teachers Association is calling for schools in counties hardest hit by COVID-19 to return to virtual learning.

The state’s largest teachers’ union issued a statement Friday, urging local school districts to adhere to state recommendations for school operations and for state officials to require compliance. So far, the state has not forced schools to follow guidance for when to limit or pause in-person instruction.

“This situation is unsustainable and unsafe,” said ISTA president Keith Gambill. “If your county is red, ISTA recommends districts move immediately to virtual learning for all students.”

RESTORE TEACHER BARGAINING RIGHTS

Indiana teachers union calls on lawmakers to expand bargaining rights amid COVID

It would be nice if our legislators decided to care about and listen to teachers.

From Chalkbeat*

At a time when educators’ jobs have become more difficult because of the pandemic, Indiana’s largest teachers union is calling on lawmakers to restore the right to bargain over working conditions, such as hours, prep time, and class sizes.

The Indiana State Teachers Association, which represents nearly 40,000 educators, said that some districts are deciding how to respond to the coronavirus without substantive input from educators. If unions had the right to bargain for better working conditions, more teachers would have a voice in those decisions.

“The right to come together to negotiate the terms of our work allows us to create better learning conditions for our students and better workplaces for ourselves and those who will follow us as educators in the future,” ISTA President Keith Gambill said at a union press conference Monday ahead of the start of the legislative session.

THE PROMISE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

Johann Neem: Restoring the Promise of Public Education

From Diane Ravitch

The last four years have taught us just how fractured America is. After a decisive but divisive election, President-elect Joseph Biden now begins the most difficult work ever: trying to weave back together a social fabric that has, after years of neglect, come unraveled. Biden has promised “to restore the soul of America.” At the heart of his vision must be a reinvigorated and renewed commitment to the democratic purposes of public education.

To restore the soul of America, we need to restore the soul of our schools. This means being committed to public schools as sites of integration, where students learn in common, equally, in the same classrooms. This means rejecting the privatization agenda of choice and vouchers, where the logic of the market instead of the commons dominates. It means remembering that public schools are not just serving individuals or families, as our current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos argues, but all of us. It means finding real solutions to the ways in which residential segregation divides us by race and family wealth. Our public schools today reflect our divided soul, with whiter and richer Americans segregating themselves into exclusive neighborhoods with their own schools. All Americans must go to school together.

PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S EDUCATION TRANSITION TEAM

Laura Chapman Reviews the Biden Transition Team for Education

From Diane Ravitch

...Our reader, retired arts educator Laura Chapman, reviewed the members of the education transition team...

I have looked into the biographies of Biden’s 20 experts in education – entries from LinkedIn, their current organizations, and less often Wikipedia.

Of these
15 have no documented Pre-k to12 teaching experience.
14 held positions in Obama’s administration with nine of these in the US Department of Education (USDE). Two worked at USDE before Obama.
10 are lawyers.
7 have supported charter schools...
Also lurking here are Billionaire supporters of failed educational reforms.

INDIANA'S NEW "SECRETARY OF EDUCATION"

Katie Jenner named Indiana’s first education secretary, replacing McCormick

Will Indiana’s new appointed Secretary of Education be pro- PUBLIC education?

From Chalkbeat*

Katie Jenner will serve as Indiana’s first appointed education secretary, the beginning of a new era for a state where the top education official has been elected and often vocally independent.

Her appointment was announced Thursday by Holcomb’s office.

An adviser to Gov. Eric Holcomb, Jenner formerly served as a vice president at Ivy Tech Community College. Jenner has experience in school administration as an assistant principal and assistant superintendent in Madison Consolidated Schools in southern Indiana. Jenner is also on the governor’s commission tasked with making recommendations for how to improve teacher salaries.

SCHOOLS SEE INCREASE IN COVID CASES

Indiana's schools see 38% rise in new cases

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Indiana K-12 schools reported a 38% increase in COVID-19 cases in the past week, and LaGrange County is leading the state in positivity, according to Monday's updated state coronavirus numbers.

More than 3,300 new COVID-19 cases hit Indiana schools – bringing the total to 11,873. Of that, 8,217 are students and the rest are teachers and staff. The state's school dashboard updates on Mondays.

East Allen County Schools announced Monday an influx of confirmed COVID-19 cases is prompting a switch to virtual learning for grades seven through 12 beginning Wednesday.

...Northwest and Southwest Allen County schools announced similar moves last week.

FWCS NEWS

Middle school teams to resume: FWCS leaders recognize social activities' importance

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

school, so he was sympathetic when parents voiced dissatisfaction about reduced offerings this fall at Fort Wayne middle schools.

The Fort Wayne Community Schools leader even shared an encouraging update last month – middle school sports should resume with basketball season.

Academic teams, including Spell Bowl and Math Bowl, also should start second semester, adding to the middle school clubs and intramural sports already taking place.

Daniel described athletics, performing arts and clubs as essential.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – November 16, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

THE DAMAGE DONE

Covid-19 Has Eroded My Faith in Public Schools

A teacher talks about trust after the pandemic.

From Gadfly on the Wall Blog

I am a public school advocate.

I teach at a public school.

My daughter goes to a public school.

I have spent most of my professional career fighting for public schools against every form of school privatization imaginable.

But since the beginning of this school year and the incredibly reckless way many public schools have dealt with reopening and keeping students and staff safe, I feel much of that enthusiasm drying up.

It’s not something I’m proud of feeling.

I’m actually kind of embarrassed about it.

But there are so many people I will never be able to look at the same way ever again.

COVID/SCHOOL IN ALLEN COUNTY, IN

Officials assure schools are safe: Cite off-campus cases; NACS grades 6-12 going remote

A free article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Despite rising coronavirus case numbers – including 400 new cases Thursday in Allen County – the risk of catching the virus at schools remains low, local health officials said.

“We are not currently seeing a lot of transmission within schools,” said Megan Hubartt, Allen County Department of Health spokeswoman.

“In fact, schools seem to be one of the safest places for kids to be right now because the districts have done such a great job working to ensure preventative measures like masking and physical distancing are being consistently followed in their facilities,” she said in an email.

Local health officials are seeing transmission in some sports settings, however, Hubartt added.

And some schools continue to make adjustments due to the coronavirus.

BIDEN CHANGES TO THE US EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

What Biden’s new education transition team tells us about his agenda — and what it doesn’t

A new president will bring new national education policies. What to expect...

From the Answer Sheet

Some progressives are worried that the list of members is heavy with former members of the Obama administration, whose controversial education policies ultimately alienated teachers’ unions, parents and members of Congress from both major political parties. Some conservatives are concerned that four of the team’s members come from national teachers’ unions. And others wonder what it means that Biden chose Linda Darling-Hammond — the first Black woman to serve as president of the California Board of Education and an expert on educational equity and teacher quality — to lead the team.

When it comes to policy, such concerns are probably misplaced. This transition team is not charged with writing big policy papers or selecting a new education secretary. The campaign set Biden’s education agenda, and there is a separate, smaller committee working on domestic policy.

Let The Disappointment With Biden's Ed Department Begin

From Curmudgucation

If you have been holding your breath, waiting and worrying about whether or not Biden is going to take us back to the days of education under Obama--well, there's not a lot here to set your mind at ease. It is probably best to hold judgment and wait to see what they come up with, who the new secretary will be, what actual policies are going to be supported by the new administration. This week's news is just another reminder that just because Betsy DeVos is on her way out doesn't mean public ed supporters can stop being vigilant. For what it's worth, these people are volunteering to do a difficult job that is even more difficult than usual given the mess being created by President Hissy Fit, and for that, they do deserve some thanks. And it's hugely unlikely that we won't end up in a better place than we are now. In the meantime, you can choose to be either disappointed or hopeful, depending on how you're inclined. Whatever your inclination, keep both eyes open.

On COVID and schools, President-elect Biden has promised a different approach

From Chalkbeat*

For the last several months, President Donald Trump has had a simple message for schools: reopen your buildings.

President-elect Joe Biden has a more complicated one: the federal government is on the way with better guidance and — hopefully — money, but no mandates.

“Schools need clear, consistent, effective national guidelines, not mixed messages and political ultimatums,” the Biden campaign plan for reopening schools says.

The race has been called, and the incoming Biden administration is set to inherit a country still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. Though more schools are reopening their doors, COVID cases are still rising. Schools will still be grappling with exactly how to balance public health and education concerns for months to come.

UNDERSTAND RURAL VOTERS

Montana Teacher: Try to Understand Rural Voters

A teacher from Montana asks that you try to understand her red state neighbors.

From Diane Ravitch

I am sitting in the middle of a bunch of RED STATES right now. In fact, Montana went completely red after years of a Democratic governorship and other Democratic officials. It is a sad, sad day for us. Our beautiful public lands will be desecrated and potentially sold off. We don’t have charter schools yet, but we will. A sad, sad day.

But here is the deal: Not all Republicans are racist. And by calling them that, we stop all conversation with them. To understand why they vote the way they do, we must listen. To win in the elections, as Democrats, we must understand our opponents who, actually, are our neighbors.

Many Republicans certainly are racist. But if you analyze the U.S. voting map, the main difference between blue and red states is the URBAN/ RURAL difference. So when people say Republicans are racist, they are indirectly saying that RURAL people are racist. That is a generalization.

DEVOS IS LEAVING

Betsy DeVos Will Be Leaving. Prepare To Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Be happy- but be wary!

From Curmudgucation

DeVos is almost certainly not going away. She has devoted her entire adult life to the pursuit of privatized, Christianized education, to a system that aids the Betters and keeps the Lessers in their proper place, to a world in which the wealthy can hold onto their well-deserved piles of money without having to use any of it to pay for nice things for Those People. She is not going to stop now.

She is far more experienced and suited to the life of a billionaire political operative than that of a government bureaucrat. That is what she knows how to do (hell, Secretary of Education is the only actual job she's ever had). In some ways, she did more damage as a private citizen then a government functionary. Ask any education advocate from Michigan--the DeVos family has mastered the art of checkbook advocacy, of backing politicians who will do their bidding and threatening those that won't...

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – November 9, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

MORE PRIVATIZATION FOR IPS

Charter allies sweep IPS school board election to win four seats

A sad Election Day for IPS students and communities...and for public education.

From Chalkbeat*

The victories in the hard-fought campaigns all but ensure that the district will expand partnerships with charter schools. The strategy has won it attention from national observers and advocates for “portfolio” districts, where the central office runs its own schools and also oversees the quality of independently managed schools.

Charter-friendly political action committees invested heavily in the IPS board election, and the four winning candidates raised over $390,000 combined — nearly 10 times as much as their opponents did.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHER EVALUATIONS

New Teacher Evaluation Report Released by the Network for Public Education

It's way past time to stop using student test scores to evaluate teachers.

From VAMboozled Blog

1. We recommend an immediate halt to the use of test scores as any part of teacher evaluation.

2. We recommend that teacher collaboration not be tied to evaluation but instead be a teacher-led cooperative process that focuses on their students’ and their own professional learning.

3. We recommend that the observation process focus on improving instruction—resulting in reflection and dialogue between teacher and observer—the result should be a narrative, not a number.

4. We recommend that evaluations require less paperwork and documentation so that more time can be spent on reflection and improvement of instruction.

5. We recommend an immediate review of the impact that evaluations have had on teachers of color and veteran teachers.

6. We recommend that teachers not be “scored” on professional development activities nor that professional development be dictated by evaluation scores rather than teacher needs.

EACS SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION

Bid for 3rd term dashed

Read more about the EACS School Board Election results.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Voters in East Allen County Schools apparently wanted a change despite a candidate's wish for a third and final term.

But they also endorsed the board's pick for the District 4E seat, which became vacant last fall and required an appointee to carry out the remainder of the term.

Scott Garner challenged incumbent Steve Screeton for the District 4E seat, viewing the election as a chance to let the voters – not the school board – decide who's best for it.

Garner got 2,397 votes, not enough to upset Screeton, a retired teacher who received 2,955 votes – about 55%, according to unofficial election results released Wednesday.

In District 5R, newcomer Jennifer Blackburn won more than half the votes in a three-way race.

Her 10,968 votes led incumbent Bob Nelson's 7,415 and Lee James Wilson Jr.'s 1,670.

Nelson, who has served as board president, sought his third and final term.

Blackburn, a mother of four EACS students, thanked everyone who took time to vote.

FWCS SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION

FWCS seat fate unclear: Smith, 78, gets reelected despite planning to resign

Read more about the FWCS School Board Election results.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Voters in Fort Wayne Community Schools apparently didn't listen to a candidate's insistence that he doesn't want the job.

They also overwhelmingly supported the board's longest-serving member in a race against a college student and ousted a two-term incumbent in favor of a parent with students in the district.

Board President Julie Hollingsworth doesn't know how incumbent Tom Smith's narrow win against Bill Critell will play out.

A total 7,021 voters – or about 51% – reelected Smith to the District 3 seat, while 6,782 supported Critell, a retired principal, according to unofficial election results released Wednesday.

Smith, who turns 78 in January, decided after the August filing deadline that a second term isn't best for him or District 3. He has said he plans to resign at the end of his current term even if voters thought otherwise.

DEVOS BASHES PUBLIC SCHOOLS ONE MORE TIME

DeVos New NAEP Baloney Sandwich

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos jumped at the chance to bask public schools one more time before she leaves office. January 20th can't come soon enough for the US Public Schools.

From Curmudgucation

Betsy DeVos would like you to know--again, some more--that public schools are failing.

Her exhibit this time is the newly-released NAEP results for 12th graders in 2019. And as usual at NAEP time, her brief exhortation is riddled with baloney.

America is the greatest country on the face of the earth, and we should deliver our rising generation the greatest educational opportunities possible. Sadly, today’s results confirm America’s schools continue to fall far short, and continue to fail too many kids, especially the most disadvantaged.

Wave that flag. But recognize that the NAEP 12th grade scores did not break out students by low-income levels, so DeVos has no idea which students, exactly, are holding the fuzzy end of the test score lollipop. Also, let's not lose sight of the fact that the NAEP is administered to public and private schools, so the same schools that she wants a voucher-paved path to for students--those beloved private schools are in this mix, too.

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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In Case You Missed It – November 2, 2020

Here are links to last week's articles receiving the most attention in NEIFPE's social media. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

Be sure to enter your email address in the Follow Us By Email box in the right-hand column to be informed when our blog posts are published.

DEVOS DOESN'T GET IT

Betsy DeVos Still Doesn’t Get the Connection Between Democracy and Our System of Public Schools

A must read before you vote tomorrow (if you haven't voted already). DeVos hates public education. That's a good reason to deny her and her administration another four years. When you vote, vote to support public education.

From Jan Resseger's Blog

A week ago, at one of the nation’s most conservative Christian colleges, Betsy DeVos delivered a vehement attack on the idea of public education. With the election coming up next week, we can hope it was the final attack on the institution of public schooling DeVos will deliver from her perch as U.S. Secretary of Education.

PACS TRY TO BUY INDY SCHOOL BOARD POSTS

Political groups give over $200,000 to charter-friendly candidates for IPS board

The PAC money for these candidates comes from folks who are not interested in the community or the students; they are interested in the money to be made in a pro-charter city with the pro-charter candidates they support. Do we need to divert even more money from Indianapolis Public Schools to private pockets? Support public schools and pro-public school candidates.

From Chalkbeat*

Deep-pocketed political action committees have thrown over $200,000 into four races for Indianapolis Public Schools board seats, helping candidates who support partnerships with charter schools to far out-raise their competitors.

With significant donations from PACs for Stand for Children Indiana, RISE Indy, and the Indy Chamber, District 4 incumbent Diane Arnold, District 1 hopeful Will Pritchard, and at-large challenger Kenneth Allen have each raised between $57,000 and $123,000, according to pre-election campaign finance reports due Friday. The filings include contributions through Oct. 9.

Those school choice-friendly groups also endorsed Venita Moore in the District 2 race. Moore raised $55,000, according to reports she filed Sunday. She told Chalkbeat that she missed the deadline due to technical problems.

REPUBLICAN SCHOOL CHIEF BACKS DEMOCRATS AND PUBLIC EDUCATION

Indiana education chief bucks party politics to try to oust officials who stood in her way

In the last four years Jennifer McCormick has shown that she supports public schools and the 90% of Indiana's children who attend them.

From Chalkbeat*

Four years ago, Jennifer McCormick was a triumph for the Republican Party — a public school superintendent who snatched back Indiana’s top education office from a pesky Democrat.

Now, the Indiana GOP considers McCormick a traitor.

She’s siding with the Democrat trying to unseat the Republican governor. She’s endorsing Democrats in hotly contested races for state lawmaker seats, attorney general, and Congress. She’s betraying the party that got her elected.

McCormick does not care.

“They want me out. That doesn’t hurt my feelings right now,” she told Chalkbeat. “What is alarming is the direction, from the federal level on down, that Republicans are going regarding education. I just simply do not agree with it… I believe in public education. That’s just who I am, and I make no apologies for that.”

McCormick would protect funding, oppose discrimination

From School Matters

Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick is calling on the state legislature to protect public schools from funding cuts and to protect students and school staff from discrimination.

Her proposals come in a 24-page document targeted to the Indiana General Assembly, which will begin its 2021 session in January. McCormick, Indiana’s last elected state superintendent, will leave office at the end of this year – unless Dr. Woody Myers pulls an upset in the governor’s race and reappoints her.

“I leave this document to outline the critical policy actions that must be taken, regardless of who fills the seat of Indiana’s top education leader,” McCormick writes. “Our students deserve it, educators demand it, and our communities need it to ensure Indiana’s future success.”

HOLCOMB REFUSES TO NAME SCHOOL CHIEF BEFORE ELECTION

Voters left uneducated on coming school change

The next governor will appoint the state school superintendent as well as eight of the ten members of the state school board. The current governor has shown that he is not a friend of public education. The fact that he refuses to name who he will pick for state superintendent suggests that his choice will not be someone who supports public education.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

State officials love to point out more than half of the state's budget is dedicated to education. It's the go-to response when confronted with data on lagging teacher salaries or growing inequity among Indiana school districts.

But while many like to talk about how much schools cost, they are much less forthcoming when it comes to disclosing views on how those dollars are spent or who benefits. For Gov. Eric Holcomb, a key player in removing the state's top education post from voter ballots, that extends to revealing whom he would appoint to the new cabinet-level position replacing it.

Having lost the right to elect a state superintendent of public instruction, voters deserve to know whom the governor will choose.

If Democratic challenger Dr. Woody Myers is elected, voters know exactly what to expect. Myers announced during Tuesday's gubernatorial debate he will appoint Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick to the new education post. On Thursday, Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater said he would appoint Dawn Wooten, a Fort Wayne resident and adjunct English instructor who lost the nomination for state schools chief at the GOP state convention in 2016.

Holcomb has said only that he will appoint someone "that doesn't need on-the-job training," someone who's "creative, innovative and is thinking about education in a holistic sense ... meaning all the above: K-12, charters, choice, home schooling, higher education, career training, etc."

*Note: Financial sponsors of Chalkbeat include pro-privatization foundations and individuals such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, EdChoice, Gates Family Foundation, The Walton Family Foundation, and others.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has changed its online access and is now behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both, are available with a subscription. Staying informed is important, and one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/

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