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If you read one article this week, make it the first one in our list below. Peter Greene, at Curmudgucation, reminds us that support for public education doesn't end when an election is over. Privatizers haven't stopped. Neither should we.
Speaking of privatizers, we have two articles that measure the damage done to public education by charter schools.
Finally, we end this week with three short pieces about our local Fort Wayne area schools.
Thank you for your support of public education.
ELECTION-RELATED
The election is over and the supermajority of anti-public education forces is still in control in Indiana. We need to be active, vocal, and vigilant in our support of public education.
The Long Haul
From Curmudgucation
I want to speak in favor of the long haul.
This is what the folks over on the right have always good at. The long march toward dismantling public education arguably stepped of with that made-to-order condemnation of public ed, A Nation At Risk, and there's been a slow steady tread in that direction ever since. High stakes testing, by which we can "prove" that public schools are failing. Bad top-down standards, by which we hobble public ed and sow distrust of it. Continued attacks on schools for teaching Bad Things, by which we further convince folks that public ed cannot be trusted. Charter schools, by which we move the Overton Window to where the idea of multiple many-tiered privately owned and operated schools don't seem so far fetched. (And some of this has been on the move since long before even A Nation at Risk--some of these folks are very patient).
All of these (and others as well) were pushed and supported by some people with a sincere belief in their value, but the anti-public ed crowd made use of the opportunity that was presented. Because opportunism is a critical element of the long game...
...If you work in public education, you should be a vocal advocate for public education. Beyond doing the work, you need to stand up for it.
Randi Weingarten on the Election
From Diane Ravitch
“When public education was on the ballot, public education mainly won. Dynamic, progressive governors who ran on a positive agenda focused on the promise and potential of public schools prevailed. Ballot initiatives in California, Massachusetts and New Mexico passed. Even in Florida, against millions spent by Ron DeSantis, levies boosting funding for schools saw widespread success.
“These results show a deep reservoir of support for public schools and for the sustained investment that parents want to help their kids thrive. And the endorsement of collective bargaining provisions in multiple states and cities comes at a time when the labor movement—including unions representing educators—maintains strong and enduring approval. AFT members—educators, healthcare workers, public employees, and retirees—campaigned relentlessly for what our kids and communities need, and those efforts made a difference.
Charters hurt public education. Here's the research...
Four Ways Charter Schools Undermine Good Education Policy
This post discusses a research article titled, How Charter Schools Undermine Good Education Policymaking by Helen Ladd.
From Peter Greene in Forbes
Charter schools are privately owned and operated schools funded with public tax dollars. That tension between private interests and public education has been at the heart of much debate about charter school policy. In a policy paper released today by the National Education Policy Center, Helen Ladd (Duke University) argues that there are four ways in which modern charter schools are at odds with good education policy.
Charter Schools Worsen the Teacher Shortage
The study Diane Ravitch refers to in her post can be found in the post, How Do Charter Schools Affect the Supply of Teachers from University-Based Education Programs?
From Diane Ravitch
...This study is one of the first to examine the possibility that charter schools affect the teacher pipeline. We focus specifically on how charter schools affect the number of traditionally prepared teachers who receive a bachelor’s in education.
Using data from 290 school districts with at least one commuter college nearby, we analyze the effect on the traditional teacher pipeline from schools of education. We draw the following conclusions:
Increasing district charter school enrollment by 10% decreases the supply of teachers traditionally prepared with a bachelor’s in education by 13.5-15.2% on average.
Charter-driven reductions in the supply of traditionally prepared teachers are most apparent in elementary, special education, and math education degrees.
This is consistent with the fact that charter schools mostly serve elementary grades, express interest in subject matter experts (e.g., math majors), and are less likely to assign students to special education.
These charter-driven reductions are concentrated in metropolitan areas and are largest among Black teachers.
Given how central teachers are to the educational process, any effect on the teacher pipeline is important...
OF LOCAL INTEREST - FORT WAYNE AREA SCHOOL NEWS
Here are three articles about Fort Wayne area schools.
Fort Wayne Community Schools to seek input from parents on high school start times
From WANE.com
Fort Wayne Community Schools will seek input from parents at a handful of meetings regarding a proposal to change high school start and end times to earlier in the day.
The idea of an earlier start time is “to give students more opportunity to work, obtain internships and participate in co-curricular activities after school,” the district said in its notice about the meetings.
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**
Marching bands from across Indiana, including seven from the Fort Wayne area, took the field Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium to compete for the state's marching band titles.
The highest-placing area band was Homestead in Class A, which was won by Carmel.
FWCS aims to become model of inclusivity
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**
Written in black dry erase marker, ideas for how to make Fort Wayne Community Schools a model of inclusivity covered a whiteboard in Maureen Bender's downtown office.
It's an effort that will involve staff, students and the community, and Bender is navigating the process with few K-12 models to consider for guidance. Diversity, equity and inclusion work has traditionally happened in higher education or the corporate sector.
"We've even looked at models throughout the country for where that exists (in K-12), and there's very few," Bender said. "We're drawing on experience and knowledge from both those entities to try and pave our own path here at Fort Wayne Community Schools."
**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is 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/ [NOTE: NEIFPE has no financial ties to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]
†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted by the end of the day every Monday except after holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.
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