tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28365840655061641632024-02-20T21:19:09.212-05:00All Things EducationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-23375132742635794652020-03-31T21:41:00.000-04:002020-04-02T11:18:13.632-04:00Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did, there's a global pandemic. I also am going to suspend my new "brief post" practice for this one, so hang with me.<br />
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First, I will share some twitter threads I wrote at different stages of this.<br />
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1. This came before and during Virginia Governor Northam ordered all Virginia public schools closed for minimum two weeks, dated March 13th, and presented <span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">some rudimentary thoughts on Virginia school divisions' response to/navigation of </span><span class="r-18u37iz">COVID-19:</span><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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FWIW, I have some rudimentary thoughts on Virginia school divisions' response to/navigation of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Covid_19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Covid_19</a> that might be informative and helpful. (Or they might not be at all. . .)<br />
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Thread.</div>
— Rachel Levy (@RachelAnneLevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1238467377647570945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
2. This one was written for anyone trying to navigate learning at home who has children in Virginia public schools, dated March 17th:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Thread for anyone trying to navigate learning at home who has children in Virginia public schools who might want to hear from a Virginia public high school teacher & parent.</div>
— Rachel Levy (@RachelAnneLevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1240057142440267777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2020</a> </blockquote>
3. This one came on March 20th, at the end of the first week of the initial 2-week school closure and discusses what local school districts should keep in mind to prepare and discussed differences between "precaution" and "last resort":<br />
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<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
So, as we are at the end of Week 1 of pandemic-based public K-12 school closures in Virginia, I have some thoughts.<br />
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Thread.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Covid_19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Covid_19</a></div>
— Rachel Levy (@RachelAnneLevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1241099235291996163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
Of course, by now, Governor Northam <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2020/march/headline-855292-en.html" target="_blank">has ordered all Virginia public schools closed</a> through the end of the academic school year. This has not been easy news for schools and families to process and it will have devastating consequences for Virginia's families and children, but as I explained in <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1241099235291996163" target="_blank">this thread</a>, this is a measure of last resort focused on saving lives, meaning more people will die if the schools aren't closed:<br />
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<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
In reality, this mandated 2-week closure of all VA public schools & other measures were measures of "last resort," which means:<br />
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"to be the only person or thing that might be able to help you, when every other person or possibility has failed" or "if all other methods fail."</div>
— Rachel Levy (@RachelAnneLevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1241099239284973568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <br />
As I explained in <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1240057142440267777" target="_blank">this thread</a>, school districts were given guidance by the Virginia Department of Education to come up with food services and continuation of instruction plans during extended school closures. In terms of the continuation of instruction plans, we have been told and are being told to put together sets of activities that will last 10 days each through some point in April. As far as I understand, these activities cannot be graded, they cannot present new material, and they cannot require the internet, and they should be project-based and not worksheets. I teach US & Virginia Government to seniors so it's not so hard to put such a set of activities together. I am also pretty creative so it's not hard for me to think of projects (and in fact, I am looking forward to using some of these whenever I teach face-to-face again). But it is tough assuming no access to the internet. At some point, starting some time in April, as far as I understand, we will be able to present new content and to use internet resources and forums to do so.<br />
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Second, there's a great deal of discussion of out there about COVID-19 related school closures and the lack of equity given <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2020/03/17/what-the-coronavirus-reveals-about-the-digital-divide-between-schools-and-communities/" target="_blank">deep disparities in access to internet and other resources at home</a>. This is especially true for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/for-parents-trying-to-replicate-school-for-children-with-disabilities-a-confounding-task/2020/03/19/8a1e2876-6940-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html" target="_blank">many students with disabilities</a>. Indeed, this situation brings up all kinds of ethical questions and thorny issues. Not all students have access to the internet, no matter where they live. Not all students have access to devices even if they have access to the internet. Not all teachers have school-district issued laptops, or access to devices. Not all teachers have access to the internet.<br />
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I and other Richmond-area teachers spoke to a <a href="https://www.richmond.com/news/local/from-postcards-to-livestreams-richmond-area-teachers-are-working-to/article_772c736e-1c35-5355-85a4-4b36ba519e36.html" target="_blank"><i>Richmond-Times Dispatch</i> reporter about this</a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Rachel Levy, a Hanover County resident and Caroline County teacher,
said she has also been putting extra resources online for students and
sending daily emails to try to stay in touch.<br />
<br />
Levy said that even
in a district like hers where all teachers and middle and high school
students have school-issued laptops, there isn’t a magical switch to
flip when it comes to moving instruction online. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
She called the
requirements of teachers and students in this situation “uncharted
waters” because teachers cannot introduce new material without leaving
some behind.<br />
<br />
“There’s going to be students left behind by this
optional remote instruction and do you say, ‘We do the best we can for
who we can reach,’ or do you say, ‘Hey this isn’t fair,’” Levy said.</blockquote>
Do you provide what you can and hope a few can and will access it? Or do you say, what you can not provide for all, you will not provide for some. This undoubtedly is a privileged versus not-privileged dynamic. But, there's another way of looking at it. Assuming access to the internet, kids who are home while parents are out working or whose parents can't be available to them for whatever reason, may actually benefit more from the extras being provided. Privileged parents who can stay home with their kids can do their own activities with them.<br />
<br />
Even when the policy or guidance makers air on the side of equity, as I always explain to my students, policies are just words on a page--they are not necessarily neutral in how they're worded and they are certainly not neutral when subject to differences in interpretation and implementation. I have witnessed it between and within school districts and individual schools--educators with the same guidance are doing very different things with it in terms of distance education.<br />
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Third, along with the the deepening of opportunity gaps comes the deepening of ed tech and unethical data collection creep. While many stakeholders are realizing more than ever how valuable and vital our face-to-face public schools are (and I hope they will consider that people who are food insecure should not have to be dependent on schools to not be), ed tech is excited to show us how valuable they are. Educators, administrators, and school district leaders, are being inundated with offers of "help" and free trials. There are great ed tech tools and digital resources--I use many of them. However, there are also a lot of bad materials out there (Have I talked to you about the materials that go with my digital textbook? Hint: They are really crappy) and there is a rush to use any and all materials without much vetting in the era of COVID-19 school closures. School districts, individual teachers, and students are <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/03/26/massive-shift-to-remote-learning-prompts-big.html" target="_blank">casting aside privacy concerns and are already getting locked into online platforms and learning systems</a>. Furthermore, as Richmond, Virginia, community activist and 20-year teacher of first- and second-year college students Kristin Reed, brought up in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/969056046503304/permalink/2851644568244433/" target="_blank">this facebook post</a>, 1. Online teaching is a real pedagogy and a skill that can't be learned overnight and 2. Doing a needs assessment of school districts' communities may not show that hasty investments in ed tech are should be prioritized in a crisis where people are going to lose their jobs, homes, and lives.<br />
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Next, we must beware of (and there is some overlap with the ed tech creep here), the push for privatization. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, has been talking about <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/03/devos-microgrants-coronavirus-school-closures.html?fbclid=IwAR1ZCBVFkTtCBYlwVby7YyWnuw_OxdYkO73JCTImz9QZbNNCJsexCvl0bME" target="_blank">the possibility of giving grants to individual teachers and families</a> during closures to go towards online learning: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Friday that she would
encourage Congress to provide "microgrants" to help teachers with online
learning during coronavirus-related school closures and to help "the
most disadvantaged students in states or communities where their school
system has simply shut down."<br />
<br />
"I've always believed education
funding should be tied to students, not systems, and that necessity has
never been more evident," DeVos said, echoing an argum<span class="text_exposed_show">ent
she has used to promote a federal tax-credit scholarship plan that
would fund private school tuition and other educational materials.</span></blockquote>
Gee, that sounds a lot like vouchers, doesn't it?<br />
<br />
Finally, from my experiences and conversation, some educators and educational leaders don't seem to realize that we aren't just living new lives and offering the same education as we were, but just physically distant and from home. Lots and lots of Virginians have lost or are are going to <a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/03/18/unemployment-claims-spike-as-virginia-expands-eligibility-amid-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank">lose their jobs and their housing</a>. Lots and lots of Virginians <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/washington-area-hospitals-prepare-for-surge-of-coronavirus-patients-with-limited-supplies/2020/03/27/7c6c0304-7031-11ea-b148-e4ce3fbd85b5_story.html" target="_blank">are going to get very sick and that lots are going to die</a>.
<a href="https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/opinion-this-not-home-schooling-distance-learning-online-schooling/b9rNnK77eyVLhsRMhaqZwL/?fbclid=IwAR3-_eM6ebp__ApoR96hs7Y3sPu0XmeVS8Dd-CJqyrvy0uF35JSfNnx3ykQ" target="_blank">This isn't homeschooling or online education</a>; this is massive crisis schooling.
Grades, test scores, and completing activity packets are going to
become unimportant to a lot of people very soon. We should have
transitioned a long time ago to schools that would shift operations to
serve families of essential workers (grocery stores, people who have to
work/can't work from home, medical services people) and students with
severe disabilities whose parents cannot serve them at home, and we need to do what we can to get ready for an uncertain and pandemic-continued future.<br />
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This denialism is not just about the near future but about the more distant future. During this COVID-19 townhall hosted by <a href="http://www.jennifermcclellan.com/" target="_blank">Virginia State Senator Jennifer McClellan, </a>Richmond parent, School Board candidate, and Henrico teacher <a href="https://www.deannafierro.com/?fbclid=IwAR1nj7FF9xpweh9g3-5ClZ34Q1b7uYi9ReEqGoRvxmVOBIPmj74vytHxJ2Y" target="_blank">Deanna Fierro</a> asked about SOL testing. Well, it turns out that the Virginia Department of Education is considering granting school districts the option of administering the SOL tests waived for this spring in the fall (and then the next set the following spring!!!) so that schools can show growth. (See <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LauraFrenchCBS6/videos/226228648437732/?t=3227" target="_blank">here at about minute 55:00</a>.) This is a bad idea for a number of reasons--social-emotional, academic, financial, and psychometric--and doesn't reflect an understanding of the reality that's ahead for us.<br />
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Yes, we public school educators and workers should continue our missions as much as possible--to provide our students with sort of normalcy and to continue to serve the public and to provide families with structure and some sort of way for students to continue their education. But understanding and preparing for what's ahead and helping stakeholders to manage this crisis will be so much more important soon.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-73640878910742495932020-02-10T20:38:00.002-05:002020-02-10T20:39:50.401-05:00Love Grow Your Own (but not without the actual growth part)<div class="tr_bq">
The Governor of Virginia, <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2020/february/headline-851715-en.html" target="_blank">Ralph Northam, recently announced</a> a grow-your-own type of program for teachers. According to <a href="https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/education/virginia-uteach-hbcu-stem-program/291-7c082631-add8-4ff8-86f6-ae3478ab269a?fbclid=IwAR1njzK2elco4hvJ5sjpfkcKF4L457wDxi8jz2OC1COiykD5Rso9guyZRD8" target="_blank">this piece</a>:</div>
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<blockquote>
On Monday, Governor Ralph Northam unveiled what he called a potential new solution to Virginia’s teacher shortage problem. Northam announced a proposed $1 million investment toward attracting STEM teachers from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). </blockquote>
<blockquote>
It's called UTeach and it gives secondary teaching certificates to students who graduate university with degrees in things like biology or chemistry.</blockquote>
So, I am all for "Grow your Own," state-sponsored, and fully funded alternative teacher credentialing programs, and this one certainly will address three problems at once: low rates of teacher recruitment and retention, low numbers of teachers qualified to teach STEM subjects, and an insufficient number of Black teachers in our public schools. Furthermore, it won't cost the teacher candidates. And, we need more people of African descent in higher-level STEM positions, so having more Black STEM teachers should help with that.<br />
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That being said, I really hope the plan is not to just hand off teaching licenses to college graduates without giving them any sort of training/education, student teaching/apprenticeship experiences, mentoring, and support. Because that's a very bad idea. I'm afraid it will just perpetuate the cycle of high teacher turnover. Teachers in Virginia are <a href="https://www.education.virginia.gov/media/governorvirginiagov/secretary-of-education/pdf/final-acts-report.pdf" target="_blank">already leaving the profession in high numbers</a>, and <a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-can-we-do-about-teacher-turnover" target="_blank">unprepared teachers are even more likely to leave</a>.<br />
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Fully funded, alternative programs for aspiring teachers of color are great; trying to to short cut our way to growing the profession and STEM fields in a much-needed direction is not.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-27346285108062757892020-02-10T20:12:00.000-05:002020-02-10T20:12:39.330-05:00On the Blog Again<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaK3pQF1q_CqqOGV1fZoknyCCsYtzUgLfNwsZub9SnkNTWDcy9K7nLW_27DMnEJYY3TVG62e7K_eMZP_F62zfrSExTLTWj3mMj2fGd5_0SBDI3Tdoc4FrYzxrmihPYtLgU__5DK2iiNFM/s1600/blogging+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaK3pQF1q_CqqOGV1fZoknyCCsYtzUgLfNwsZub9SnkNTWDcy9K7nLW_27DMnEJYY3TVG62e7K_eMZP_F62zfrSExTLTWj3mMj2fGd5_0SBDI3Tdoc4FrYzxrmihPYtLgU__5DK2iiNFM/s1600/blogging+pic.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have decided to start using my blog again much more frequently than I was. I want to share most of the things I share and post on social media here. Many people aren't on facebook (with good reason) and many who read or would read this blog don;t see or don't have access to my facebook posts. <br />
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If you're not already a subscriber, please go ahead and subscribe--my favorite RSS reader is feedly, btw. In the meantime, stay tuned for more frequent posting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-25181867150813055602020-01-09T17:56:00.002-05:002020-01-09T17:57:32.587-05:00My Testimony Regarding the Governor's Proposed Budget for Education in VirginiaI definitely owe the education blogosphere a post about my post-doc job market experience (hint: it was not good). For now, I will share that I am back in the classroom teaching high school U.S. & Virginia Government to seniors (and getting my butt whooped but in a humbling and valuable way, though), and have been since the start of the 2019-2020 School Year. I need to write a post about that, too. Good things come to those who wait, right? In the meantime, I have been involved with VEU (<a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/" target="_blank">Virginia Educators United</a>) because, oh, wait, I am a teacher again, and I heeded <a href="https://www.facebook.com/virginiaeducatorsunited/photos/a.199780330708467/457918198228011/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">their leaders' call</a> to attend the General Assembly's House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees' public hearings to hear feedback on the Governor's budget priorities. The issues with the education funding in the budget are laid out very clearly here in VEU's talking points.<br />
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Here's a video of my testimony:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKQqWTiyBngbZmrMjERcV9-9sM5poDLHA93pjjBNZWH_LVPLjtt0BH6JdEvAFYJk1sB2gs3FPFC9sG8mC4Yw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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And here's the text from my spoken remarks:<br />
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"Good afternoon. My name is Rachel Levy and I am a Virginia public school parent, teacher, writer and activist with a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy. I live in Ashland, Virginia, I am a member of VEA, Virginia Educators United, the Virginia PTA, and the American Educational Research Association.<br /><br />The Governor’s budget proposal for education is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, it’s not sufficient.<br /><br />I have been a teacher on and off for most of my career. Teaching is the most meaningful, challenging, intellectual, and socially useful work there is. As a teacher and a parent, I have seen the quality of our facilities, the availability of our resources, and teacher retention rates drop significantly since I first stepped into a Virginia public school classroom in 2001 and since my own children first enrolled in them in 2009. Our schools are being held together by a thread--of educators and staff who do so out of a sense of obligation, duty, and service. We have less time, more responsibilities, and fewer resources to do the same job we used to, and there are, understandably, fewer people willing to work unpaid overtime and for diminished salaries and benefits, just to fulfill minimum requirements, because it’s not sustainable or manageable, nor is it fair.<br /><br />As a state, we will never attract the best and brightest with these working and learning conditions, and with the current salaries and resources It is easy to work a ten-, twelve-, or fifteen-hour day as a teacher—I do this regularly—and still feel that it’s not enough, and to go home feeling like there was so much more you could have done. The best teachers know when their students are being short-changed, and they will leave (and have left and are leaving) rather than continue to experience that feeling of inadequacy day after day.<br /><br />Adding more to the budget—at least 2 billion more is needed—for education is vital to our economy, to the intellectual, social/emotional development of our children, and to our democracy. Our public schools are our greatest public democratic institution and they are holding on by a thread. As the saying goes: if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.<br /><br />Thank you for your time and for your service to our Commonwealth." <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-81373608914362930522019-09-22T18:50:00.001-04:002019-09-22T18:54:23.122-04:00September 29th: Join me at a Backpack Full of Cash screening in the RVA!I promise to publish a post soon on what I am up to now that I am finished with my doctoral program (and the job market). In the meantime, on Sunday, September 29th, 2019, starting at 3 pm, join me at Huguenot High School in Richmond (7945 Forest Hill Ave, Richmond, VA 23225) for a free <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/backpack-full-of-cash-screening-and-privatization-panel-discussion-tickets-71200399311?fbclid=IwAR0aiBay9Uq58t1RwwxUFyADiAHzuKfSG8O4QSVfLa0hSwDA1PK11HYLVxc" target="_blank">screening of <i>Backpack Full of Cash</i></a>, sponsored by the Virginia Education Association (VEA), the Chesterfield Education Association (CEA), and the Richmond Education Association (REA), and supported by local public school parent activists.<br />
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<img src="https://external.fric1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQC5BeYShCgCxYGS&w=540&h=282&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshr.link%2Fupload%2Ffb_hdiok.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&fallback=news_d_placeholder_publisher&_nc_hash=AQCSxakwuvHWlR2J" /><br />
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Narrated by Matt Damon, <a href="https://www.backpackfullofcash.com/" target="_blank">this feature-length documentary</a> examines the growth and trend of privatization of our public schools and how that impacts America’s most vulnerable children in particular.<br />
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Following the screening, I will serve on a panel of local education experts and will discuss what charter schools are, current education reform efforts in Virginia and around the country, including the expansion of Career and Technical Education (CTE)--including what that is and should be--as well as what people can do to stop privatization of public schools.<br />
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An audience Q&A will round out the forum.<br />
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<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/backpack-full-of-cash-screening-and-privatization-panel-discussion-tickets-71200399311?fbclid=IwAR0aiBay9Uq58t1RwwxUFyADiAHzuKfSG8O4QSVfLa0hSwDA1PK11HYLVxc" target="_blank">Register using this link today</a>! And spread the word. The movie and forum is free and open to the public.</div>
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For more details, see the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BFOCRVA/" target="_blank">BFOC RVA facebook page</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/bfocRVA" target="_blank">twitter feed</a>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-17129738095392435262019-08-03T12:56:00.000-04:002019-08-03T12:56:48.499-04:00Final Report: Understanding Racial Inequity in School Discipline Across the Richmond RegionAs described in <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/04/podcast-racial-disproportionality-in.html" target="_blank">this initial post</a>, I was on the research team of a study of disparate disciplinary practices in Richmond, Virginia, area K-12 public schools being conducted by MERC (<a href="http://www.merc.soe.vcu.edu/">Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium </a>) at my graduate school institution, Virginia Commonwealth University.<br />
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I participated in this <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-577463732/abstract-episode-one-equity-in-discipline" target="_blank">podcast</a> on the topic and was a third author on this <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1103&context=merc_pubs" target="_blank">policy brief</a>, entitled, <i>Why do racial disparities in school discipline exist? The role of policies, processes, people, and places. </i>In May 2018, we published <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/merc_pubs/107/" target="_blank">another policy brief</a>, which I was first author on, entitled, <i>A Review of Disciplinary Interventions in K12 Public Education.</i><br />
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Well, at long last the <a href="https://merc.soe.vcu.edu/reports/published-reports/understanding-racial-inequity-in-school-discipline-across-the-richmond-region/" target="_blank">final report</a> is out, <i>Understanding Racial Inequity in School Discipline Across the Richmond Region.</i> It is long but well worth the read--very well done. Here is the abstract:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This report comes from the <a href="https://merc.soe.vcu.edu/projects/achieving-racial-equity-in-disciplinary-policies-and-practices-/">MERC Achieving Racial Equity in School Disciplinary Policies and Practices study</a>. Launched in the spring of 2015, the purpose of this mixed- method study was to understand the factors related to disproportionate school discipline outcomes in MERC division schools. The study had two phases. Phase one (quantitative) used primary and secondary data to explore racial disparities in school discipline in the MERC region as well as discipline programs schools use to address them. Phase two (qualitative) explored the implementation of discipline programs in three MERC region schools, as well as educator and student perceptions of school discipline and racial disproportionality. This report shares findings from both phases of our study and offers numerous implications and recommendations for research, policy, and practice.</blockquote>
I encourage you to read <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/merc_pubs/109/" target="_blank">the whole thing</a>. In the meantime Justin Mattingly of the <i>Richmond Times-Dispatch</i> has published <a href="https://www.richmond.com/news/plus/racial-disparities-in-richmond-area-school-discipline-are-worse-than/article_86c51f31-9aab-5388-a9f1-339d85e0d01e.html?fbclid=IwAR1OB1emA2-UtDdomJGTegNfpex1YjSsjXc_C0fI5T-ViJJpsesraaU1JT0" target="_blank">this good synopsis</a> of it:<br />
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Schools in the Richmond region suspend black students at four times the rate of white students, a gap that exceeds the national average. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
One in five black students in the region received an out-of-school suspension during the 2015-16 school year, according to a new study, compared to 5% of white students. Across the country, it's closer to 15% and 5%, according to federal data. </blockquote>
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The finding is part of a new study from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, the local research arm of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education. The study, conducted over the past four years, analyzed data from seven area school districts and looked at the racial disparities in school discipline. </blockquote>
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What researchers found didn’t surprise them -- inequities in school discipline are common across the state and country -- but their analysis says the problem is slightly worse here; the effort also explored alternative discipline programs and considered how school districts can eliminate the gap.</blockquote>
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I'm only the sixth of nine authors but I was so glad to be a part of it. I hope I can do my part now and in the future to help change these disparities and their root causes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-54438803639622366112019-02-25T14:30:00.000-05:002019-02-25T14:30:49.124-05:00The latest from #Red4EdVA landThe last time I posted was a little over a month ago and it was <a href="https://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2019/01/i-proudly-support-redfored-virginia.html" target="_blank">about the RedforEd movement in Virginia</a>, #Red4EdVA. The march and rally took place on Monday, January 28th, and it was an amazing event. I tweeted and retweeted lots about it, for example:<br />
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This. Is. Awesome. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Red4Ed?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Red4Ed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/redfored?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#redfored</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/red4edva?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#red4edva</a> <a href="https://t.co/N7Zdna6qHu">pic.twitter.com/N7Zdna6qHu</a></div>
— Rachel Levy (@RachelAnneLevy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RachelAnneLevy/status/1089934511767465985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>A few days later, the blackface yearbook photos from Governor Ralph Northam's yearbook surfaced, then the allegations of sexual assault against the Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, and then Attorney General Mark Herring's admission that he, too, had worn blackface, at a college party at the University of Virginia. And a great many of us got sidelined (I also posted and tweeted a lot on that subject.)<br />
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I did manage to publish <a href="https://progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/virginia-latest-state-to-go-red4ed-levy-190207/" target="_blank">this piece</a> about it in <i>the Progressive</i>:<br />
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The #Red4Ed movement has kicked off in Virginia: On January 28, as many as 5,000 public school teachers, educators, workers, parents, students, and other stakeholders marched on the Virginia state capitol in Richmond to demand fully funded public schools. The march and rally, organized by Virginia Educators United, a “grassroots campaign” of teachers, staff members, parents and community members, was one of the largest to descend on the state capitol in the last century. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The well-organized event was supported by strategic use of social media and a user-friendly website. The group’s demands include restoring funding for education to pre-2008 recession levels, increasing teacher pay to national averages, paying education support professionals competitive wages, recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and more teachers of color, more funding for school infrastructure costs, and ensuring sufficient numbers of support staff like counselors and social workers. </blockquote>
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The day of the rally, Virginia lawmakers pledged to fund Governor Ralph Northam’s initiative to provide teachers and school staff with a five percent pay increase. This raise, however, is only for certain state-mandated positions, and localities can’t or won’t always provide the required matching funds.</blockquote>
You can <a href="https://progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/virginia-latest-state-to-go-red4ed-levy-190207/" target="_blank">read the whole thing here</a>.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, the Virginia General Assembly did pass a budget; session just ended. The VEA (Virginia Education Association) called the budget, "a first step to adequate funding." You can <a href="http://www.veanea.org/home/3007.htm" target="_blank">read their press release here</a>. However, many in the VEU (Virginia Educators United) group don't seem so sanguine. See this post on facebook for example:<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="261" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpageeagle.coteachers.3%2Fposts%2F424842058260343&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe><br />
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It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year before next year's session--if local VEA and Virginia AFT units draw more members and get more organized, if sufficient numbers decide, and are able, to take things to the next level and organize some sort of state-wide strike or work stoppage.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-78279295350722100872019-01-21T18:24:00.001-05:002019-01-27T21:15:58.995-05:00I proudly support RedforEd Virginia<br />
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<img alt="45707067_1954119538010479_74880013628782" height="180" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0709b0_60baae41ec854adbb1805cb13268cb72~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_240,h_135,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/45707067_1954119538010479_74880013628782.webp" width="320" /></div>
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For various reasons (which I hope to be able to blog about at some point), I am way late in getting on this bandwagon. Now that I am on it, I want everyone else to be on it, too.</div>
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<br />
RED FOR ED HAS ARRIVED IN VIRGINIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
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(Can you tell I'm excited?)<br />
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I hope you will join me and other Virginia pro-public education stakeholders (and national education leaders including Randi Weingarten and Lily Eskelsen Garcia!!!) for the. . .<br />
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<img alt="RedforEdVARoute.jpg" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0709b0_bbda16625c41416aab482973b490157a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_385,h_211,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/RedforEdVARoute.webp" /><br />
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<b>What:</b> <a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/join-the-march" target="_blank">The #RedforEd March & Rally</a><br />
<b>When:</b> Monday, January 28th, 2019 at 11:00 am<br />
<b>Where: </b>Richmond, Virginia. Starts at Monroe Park (620 West Main Street) and finishes at the Virginia State Capitol (1000 Bank Street Street)<br />
<b>Why </b>(from the <a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/" target="_blank">website</a>):<br />
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Virginia Educators United is a grassroots campaign made of teachers, staff members, parents and community members who are fighting to ensure that after 10 years of systematic defunding, our children get the support they deserve. Our goal is to ensure that students have access to highly qualified and experienced teachers, that educators are compensated fairly, and to improve the educational environment in the state of Virginia. . . . In Virginia, the time of waiting for political winds to shift in our favor is over. Our salaries languish in the lowest tier nationally, below pre-Recession levels. Overcrowded, over-tested, and under-resourced schools are crumbling under the weight of deferred maintenance and declining investment. Our children, our communities and our Commonwealth deserve better.</blockquote>
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Red4EdVA is way more than just a one-day rally. It's a movement. And it's been a loooong time coming. I am so, so grateful to all of the Virginia educators who have organized it. For more information:<div>
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- Please check out the (excellent) website: </div>
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<a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/">https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/</a></div>
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Including <a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/demands" target="_blank">demands</a>, <a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/talking-points" target="_blank">talking points</a>, and <a href="https://www.virginiaeducatorsunited.com/tools-for-action" target="_blank">tools for action</a>.</div>
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- Follow social media accounts on twitter:</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/Red4EdVA" target="_blank">@Red4EdVA</a>, on facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Virginia-Educators-United-195062607846906/" target="_blank">@virginiaeducatorsunited</a>, and on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/virginiaeducators/" target="_blank">virginiaeducators</a>.</div>
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- Use the hashtags:</div>
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#Red4EdVA #FundOurSchools #RedForEd #Red4Ed</div>
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- Watch this awesome (one of many) videos: </div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/virginiaeducatorsunited/videos/304883200162585/">https://www.facebook.com/virginiaeducatorsunited/videos/304883200162585/</a></div>
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- Share this post!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-74485846920395006382018-12-30T16:53:00.001-05:002018-12-30T16:54:22.764-05:00On becoming Dr. LevySo. . .<br />
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At the end of the Summer 2018 semester, I became a doctor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpauHJdKVXhGLVdCmiIAzZnaMVjpCWS7H-Iwfn2iiRICFZLTTyKZMIAKNTiCZ_aU8dic51tHMHuXA_OMUXNmHuyfDXZteEEjPARRdde9Yan3EqPSdO97rcw1jitZkvREDmbSzAPelkG1yi/s1600/diss+defense+7.31.18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="960" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpauHJdKVXhGLVdCmiIAzZnaMVjpCWS7H-Iwfn2iiRICFZLTTyKZMIAKNTiCZ_aU8dic51tHMHuXA_OMUXNmHuyfDXZteEEjPARRdde9Yan3EqPSdO97rcw1jitZkvREDmbSzAPelkG1yi/s320/diss+defense+7.31.18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Much gratitude to Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Education and the Department of Educational Leadership, especially to my adviser, Charol Shakeshaft, on the left, and to my committee members Katherine Mansfield (on the screen), Genevieve-Siegel-Hawley, and Tressie McMillan Cottom (not pictured).<br />
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I may have the longest <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5566/" target="_blank">dissertation</a> title ever: <i>The Intersection of Economic Disadvantage and Race and the Expanded Role of Parent-Led School-Supporting Nonprofit Organizations in K-12 Public Schools in the Richmond, Virginia, Metropolitan Area: A Mixed Methods Approach.</i><br />
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Since then, I have served on the faculty as an adjunct professor, teaching a doctoral-level course, <i>The Politics of Education</i> (I will likely post separately about that) and have been on the job market (I will also probably post about that). <br />
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Oh, and I participated in VCU's December graduation ceremony, and got to wear a silly hat for most of the day.<br />
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(Me and some of my former classmates and fellow grads.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_aCL3QZm5QIJjbNnSIYo98PWFf_fnnf_0FMFI1AWrUcUa7b2Ed83RM2m5VarKt0p8LEHAWZNmGwTeLPrBTHmwluBCUIhESKr8meQoQlEmUscot2qyLlcCshkfhPUziYxhyTnOdnrrJwO/s1600/hooding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_aCL3QZm5QIJjbNnSIYo98PWFf_fnnf_0FMFI1AWrUcUa7b2Ed83RM2m5VarKt0p8LEHAWZNmGwTeLPrBTHmwluBCUIhESKr8meQoQlEmUscot2qyLlcCshkfhPUziYxhyTnOdnrrJwO/s320/hooding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Getting hooded by my adviser.)</div>
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(Me with my adviser Charol Shakeshaft and one of my other very influential professors, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley.) </div>
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(Me with Jon Becker, a member of my department and the person who got me into this mess.)</div>
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Speaking of getting me into this mess, it was via twitter and this blog <a href="https://www.jonbecker.net/blog/" target="_blank">and his</a> that Jon and I got to know one another. He encouraged me to apply to the doctoral program in educational leadership and policy at VCU. I did. Once <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2014/06/ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.html" target="_blank">I started the Ph.D. program</a>, I decided <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2014/12/long-time-no-blog.html" target="_blank">to focus my time and energy, and writing efforts, there</a> instead of on the blog and other education writing. I have updated it from time to time, mostly with academic publications but with some other thoughts and efforts, too.</div>
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Once I see what happens with the job search, I will decide what to do with the blog, if anything different. For now, I am enjoying being done and am working on trying to achieve my first post-graduation publication.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-74424394210223229312018-07-16T09:27:00.001-04:002018-07-16T09:28:20.664-04:00A Review of Disciplinary Interventions in K12 Public EducationAs described in <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/04/podcast-racial-disproportionality-in.html" target="_blank">this post</a>, I have been involved on-again, off-again in a study of disparate disciplinary practices in Richmond, Virginia, area K-12 public schools being conducted by MERC (<a href="http://www.merc.soe.vcu.edu/">Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium </a>) at my graduate school institution, Virginia Commonwealth University.<br />
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I participated in this <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-577463732/abstract-episode-one-equity-in-discipline" target="_blank">podcast</a> on the topic and was a third author on this <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1103&context=merc_pubs" target="_blank">policy brief</a>, entitled, <i>Why do racial disparities in school discipline exist? The role of policies, processes, people, and places.</i><br />
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This past May, we published <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/merc_pubs/107/" target="_blank">another policy brief</a>, which I was first author on, entitled, <i>A Review of Disciplinary Interventions in K12 Public Education:</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As a part of the <a href="https://merc.soe.vcu.edu/projects/achieving-racial-equity-in-disciplinary-policies-and-practices-/">Achieving Racial Equity in School Disciplinary Policies and Practices</a>study from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, this literature brief offers an overview of school discipline interventions in K12 public education. This includes more punitive models that have been used in the past that have contributed to racial disparities in discipline outcomes, including corporal punishment and zero-tolerance policies. Additionally, this brief offers an overview of four prominent alternative approaches to school discipline: Trauma Informed Care, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Culturally Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, and Restorative Practices. The literature brief offers the history, theory of action, and evidence of effectiveness for each alternative discipline approach and offers a discussion of how to effectively implement them in schools. Implications for the Commonwealth of Virginia are discussed throughout the brief.</blockquote>
Go <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=merc_pubs" target="_blank">here</a> to read the whole thing.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-74944913918149488022018-01-10T13:24:00.002-05:002018-01-10T13:24:13.421-05:00Choices Worth Making: Creating, Sustaining, and Expanding Diverse Magnet SchoolsIn the department of publications I forgot about until my mother saw them online. . .<br />
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I helped to research and write some of this as part of a project about magnet schools I had the opportunity to work on for one of my fabulous professors, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. It's a manual entitled, <i>Choices Worth Making: Creating, Sustaining, and Expanding Diverse Magnet Schools</i>.<br />
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Here's a clip:<br />
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"Magnet schools represent unique possibilities for bringing together educational stakeholders interested in advancing both school choice and equal educational opportunities. With policymakers across the political spectrum continuing to make the expansion of school choice a central educational policy goal, lessons from magnet schools become even more important to consider. Strong magnets combine diversity goals with excellent educational options to help combat the country’s deepening racial and economic school segregation. <br /><br />This manual starts with empirical evidence intended to help the reader understand why magnet schools, and racially integrated magnet schools in particular, are worthy of consideration. In this section, we describe the research documenting the benefits associated with racial diversity and magnet schools. The next section provides a description of the history of magnet schools, which will help readers understand how and why magnets originated and how they have evolved over time."<div>
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<div>
Read <a href="https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/choices-worth-making-creating-sustaining-and-expanding-diverse-magnet-schools/UCLA_Magnet_Manual_Design_Final_For_Web.pdf" target="_blank">the whole thing</a>. I know a manual sounds like dreary reading, but this one isn't.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-27576055184367308002017-09-21T09:21:00.001-04:002017-12-14T14:19:52.640-05:00Confederate public school names do harmThis past May, some colleagues and I published <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1555458917692832" target="_blank">an article</a> in the <i>Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership</i> (JCEL) about a high school in Virginia (it's a composite) named for the leader of the secessionist Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee. I blogged about that article <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/08/whats-in-name-confluence-of-confederate.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I have watched and studied the issue of Confederate-named public schools and mascots with great interest over the course of the past few years, bookmarking dozens of articles (maybe someday I will do a study about it). However, I have more than a scholarly interest in this.<br />
<br />
Ever since Charlottesville, across the state of Virginia, and country, counties and cities have been reconsidering their Confederate-named schools and mascots. In Virginia alone, so far I know of efforts in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-the-wake-of-charlottesville-a-call-to-change-the-name-of-arlingtons-washington-lee-high/2017/08/18/4daeebae-83ac-11e7-b359-15a3617c767b_story.html?" target="_blank">Arlington</a>, <a href="http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2017/09/j-e-b-stuart-high-school-gets-closer-renaming/slide/1/" target="_blank">Fairfax</a>, and <a href="http://www.insidenova.com/news/education/prince_william/sawyers-proposes-name-change-for-stonewall-jackson-high-stonewall-middle/article_6ea60f2e-82e2-11e7-bff2-933ce80cef4b.html" target="_blank">Prince William</a> Counties. There's one Virginia county, however, where the School Board is studiously <i>not</i> reconsidering their Confederate-named schools and mascots, and that's the county where I live, <a href="http://hanover.k12.va.us/" target="_blank">Hanover</a>.<br />
<br />
About five or six years ago, I realized the importance of local and state education policy and decided to get much more active at those levels. I wrote about that <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2013/07/think-educationally-act-locally.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I have been very open and public with my advocacy efforts, but I have mostly privately expressed consternation about and advocated for holding public discussions about the two Confederate-named schools and mascots in Hanover County Public Schools (note: these schools are not in my district, or part of the county): <a href="http://hanover.k12.va.us/ldhs/" target="_blank">Lee-Davis High School</a> (mascot: Confederates) and <a href="http://hanover.k12.va.us/sjms/" target="_blank">Stonewall-Jackson Middle School</a> (mascot: the Rebels). The names promote white supremacy and are shameful and harmful to students and community members. Needless to say, my efforts have not resulted in any movement.<br />
<br />
Certainly, other Hanover County Public Schools stakeholders have also advocated about the name and mascots over the years, but after Charlottesville happened, advocacy around this issue got new urgency. More Hanover residents and Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall-Jackson Middle School community members and alumni started speaking up. For example, an alumnus named Ryan Leach, started <a href="https://www.facebook.com/makedathustle/posts/10154584273312610" target="_blank">this effort on facebook</a> which includes an eloquent and compelling statement as to why the names should be changed, and which led to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hanover-county-public-schools-support-change-at-lee-davis-high-school-home-of-the-confederates-in-virginia" target="_blank">this larger petition</a> addressed to the School Board. I came across this letter written to the Hanover School Board by another alumna, Mary Murrell, about why the names and mascots should be changed. I don't normally post about local matters here but I was so impressed with how well-written and -researched Mary's letter was and thought it so relevant to the greater issue, that I asked her if I could share it.<br />
<br />
Here it is:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">August
24, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dear
Hanover County School Board,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
am a graduate of Lee-Davis High School (class of 1981) and have recently joined
hundreds of people in signing a petition asking you to change the name of Lee-Davis
High School. As I have additional thoughts about the name, I wanted to write
you directly and lay out why I believe this action is urgently needed. I also
want to include Stonewall Jackson Middle School, which I attended in 1977-78,
to the discussion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Context in which
Lee-Davis Was Named <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
you likely know, when the name of Lee-Davis was chosen in May 1958, Virginia
was defiantly refusing to integrate its public schools. At that time, Virginia
remained one of only seven states that still maintained segregated schools, even
though the Supreme Court had handed down its unanimous ruling in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education" target="_blank">Brown v. Board of Education</a></i> four years earlier.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
Successive Virginia governors had called for <a href="http://www.vahistorical.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/civil-rights-movement-virginia/massive" target="_blank">statewide “massive resistance”</a> to that ruling, and Virginia’s legislature passed a series of laws that defied
federal orders to desegregate its schools.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
1958, despite <i>Brown vs. Board of
Education</i>, the county was busy planning two new all-white high schools: one
for the eastern end and one for the western end. Black students would continue
to attend the county’s only “negro” high school, located in Ashland.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
The School Board chose to name the eastern end high school Lee-Davis. According
to the minutes of the May 6, 1958, School Board meeting, the Board did so “in
the memory and honor of two prominent members of the Confederacy,” Robert E.
Lee and Jefferson Davis.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How and Why the
Name Lee-Davis Was Chosen</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Various
rumors have circulated about how and why the School Board arrived at the name
Lee-Davis. I have looked into what evidence exists in the public record. At the
time of the May 1958 naming, the <i>Richmond-Times
Dispatch</i> reported only that the School Board approved the name “on
recommendation by a special committee.”<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
The <i>Herald-Progress</i> provides more
precise details.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span> </span>The new eastern end high school was to
consolidate two existing overcrowded high schools (Battlefield Park and
Washington-Henry). Earlier in the year, juniors from the two schools independently
considered names for what would become their new school.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
Each group of students submitted just one name: the Battlefield High students
recommended the name Jefferson Davis; the Washington-Henry High students recommended
the name William White, in honor of a teacher at both high schools who had been
killed in World War II.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Later,
the County School Board would choose a different name: Lee-Davis. The new name
came from B. W. Sadler, the School Board member representing the Henry district.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
The school was in a hurry to name itself, as it was already May and officials
were hoping the school could open in September. Because students at Battlefield
Park were nicknamed “the rebels,” and the students at Washington-Henry were
nicknamed “the statesmen,” Sadler thought that his name captured a bit of both.
Jefferson Davis, he reasoned, had been a rebel, so his name fit with the
Battlefield Park side, and Robert E. Lee, a general and a statesman, suited the
Washington-Henry side. Sadler also added that the combination of the two names
Lee and Davis into one hyphenated name had “individuality.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Context of the
Naming of Stonewall Jackson<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
after the last of the massive resistance laws were ruled unconstitutional in
1959, Virginia continued to fight school integration. Some school systems were
closed entirely rather than admit black students. Full integration would
require the passage of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964" target="_blank">Civil Rights Act in 1964</a>. And yet, even with that landmark legislation, Hanover County was among the last
counties in Virginia to fully integrate its schools.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
Spurred on by a lawsuit brought by the parents of black students, Hanover
County finally fully integrated its public schools with the 1969-70 school year—a
full fifteen years after <i>Brown v. Board
of Education</i> and ten years after Lee-Davis opened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That
first year of full integration, 1969, presented an opportunity to replace the
name Lee-Davis with a more inclusive or at least neutral name such as Mechanicsville
High. Unfortunately, that renaming did not happen. Rather, the Hanover County
School Board chose for its new junior high school, adjacent to Lee-Davis, yet
another confederate name: Stonewall Jackson Junior High. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Why the School
Names Need to be Changed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Public
schools have the legal obligation to provide an education to all children and
to treat their students equally. Public schools are powerful institutions that
shape and influence their students for years to come. School names such as
Lee-Davis and Stonewall Jackson – along with their attendant mascots and
nicknames – <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whoseheritage_splc.pdf" target="_blank">are as much public symbols of the Confederacy</a> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">as monuments, statues, and the Confederate
flag.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
When the Hanover County School Board chose in 1958 to honor prominent men
precisely for their association with the Confederacy, it sent a message to the
public and to its students. This message said, and continues to say, that
public authorities in Hanover County esteem and celebrate the Confederacy. It
is wrong for the Hanover County Public Schools to do this for the following
reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paying
homage to the Confederacy through naming, mimicry, and memorialization disdains,
insults, and alienates black students.</span></u><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">No matter how
common or “normal” symbols of the Confederacy are throughout Virginia, they are
never neutral. Confederate symbols convey a message of domination and exclusion.
When a public school honors the Confederacy, it conveys a preference for the concerns
and interests of the historically dominant social group (whites) in the South
at the same time that it conveys a lack of sympathy and even contempt for the
historically dominated group (blacks). When a public school honors the
Confederacy, it tells non-white students that Hanover is a white person’s
county and that they don’t belong in the same way that whites do. By sending
these messages – not limited to those I’ve listed – a public school betrays the
spirit of equality that is fundamental to public education. </span><em><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When our
public authorities continue to pay homage to the Confederacy, black (and also immigrant)
students can never be sure they will be treated fairly. A community cannot
prosper if any group of citizens is alienated or feels targeted for
discrimination.</span></em><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Virginia
and Hanover County’s defiance with regard to school integration during the
Civil rights era is a regrettable legacy that needs to be redressed not
perpetuated.</span></u><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It has been shown
that <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whoseheritage_splc.pdf" target="_blank">Confederate symbols spiked in two distinct historical periods</a>.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first period was the early 20<sup>th</sup>
century, after Reconstruction, when white supremacy again took hold in the
South, the Ku Klux Klan gained power, and southern states passed Jim Crow laws
that terrorized black citizens. The second spike occurred during the civil
rights period from 1950-1970, when Southerners forcefully resisted federal
efforts aimed at integration. Both Lee-Davis and Stonewall Jackson were named
during this period. Lee-Davis was named amid Virginia’s “massive resistance,” and
Stonewall Jackson was named in very year that Hanover County belatedly integrated
its public schools for real. Notably, no schools in Hanover have been named
after Confederate figures since this time. The School Board has chosen
non-controversial place names like Atlee, Pole Green, and Hanover for the newest
schools. This is all for the good but it does not alleviate the prior problem
of Lee-Davis and Stonewall Jackson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Confederacy was founded upon and committed to abhorrent beliefs, and public
institutions should not in any way associate themselves with such beliefs</span></u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">. Southern states,
including Virginia, seceded from the United States in order to preserve slavery
in the South and to extend it into the territories. Since the 1950s, there is
no longer any dispute <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2001/04/12/southern-comfort/" target="_blank">among academic historians</a> about the reasons for the Civil
War.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
Slavery was a system of oppression under-girded by the belief that white people
were superior to black people. Its leaders, such as Alexander Stephens, did not
believe, as the Declaration of Independence declares, that all men were created
equal but, rather, that <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2001/04/12/southern-comfort/" target="_blank">slavery was “the natural and normal condition” of black people</a>.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> There
is no “racially friendly” case for the Confederacy, no matter how passionately
some people, including many in the Lee-Davis community, insist there is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Celebrations
of the Confederacy depend upon discredited history that was promulgated after
the South lost the Civil War, and, as such, these celebrations mis-educate young
people about the past</span></u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.
After the defeat of the Confederacy, its former leaders (and others) cultivated
a revised version of events that sanitized the Civil War as one fought over
states rights, “Southern honor,” the South’s superior agrarian way of life, and
so forth. This new version of history gave rise to the romantic myth of the
Lost Cause. This myth remains stubbornly popular -- especially, but not only,
in the South – but, regardless, it is still a myth. A public school teaches
history not myth. I am certain that Lee-Davis teachers teach proper history. But
outside the classroom, students confront other ideas about the past. Lee-Davis calls
itself the “home of the Confederates,” titles its yearbook <i>The Confederate</i>, incorporates two Confederate figures into its
logo, and takes as its motto “Tradition and Pride.” In what traditions should
its students be proud, exactly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Honoring
the Confederacy imposes a false heritage onto white students.</span></u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Many students
that attend or have attended Lee-Davis, including myself, do not consider the
Confederacy to be part of their heritage, or, if they do, they do not take
“pride” in it. I love many things about Virginia, and can find many things
about its history and culture to be proud of, but its leadership in the Civil
War and its continued tendency to defend and whitewash the Confederacy is not
among them. The schools’ names should be changed because they encourage white
students to believe that the Confederacy and its “traditions” are something
that they should value and embrace, and that the Confederacy is a positive part
of who they are and a positive source of their identity. A public school
violates the public trust when it imposes such associations and values upon its
students. Children in Hanover County schools – of any color or background – are
not confederates. They should not be taught to carry the Confederacy in their
hearts or to derive values from it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What’s
even more concerning is that Neo-Nazi groups are currently engaged in something
similar. David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, equates Confederate
symbols such as statues, flags and schools with “white culture,” and Neo-Nazi
groups, like the Klan before them, have embraced Confederate symbols, as seen
at the recent Charlottesville “Unite the Right” march. These extremists have no
hesitation in admitting that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/us/confederate-monuments-southern-history.html?_r=0" target="_blank">the Confederacy was about white supremacy</a>—that’s
why they want to associate with it.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
The Hanover School Board needs to seriously
consider whether it is any longer possible to disentangle the Neo-Nazis’ Confederacy
with the “romantic” Lost Cause Confederacy.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A Duty to Overcome
the Discrimination of the Past<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In discussions of changing
Lee-Davis’s name, I have witnessed a lot of strong feelings. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I believe such strong
feelings arise precisely because current and former students have come to see
being a “Confederate” as somehow an important part of their history, culture,
and identity. I have argued throughout this letter that a public school should not
play a role in promoting such an identity. But many people in the Lee-Davis
community nevertheless do feel that “pride” that they have been encouraged to
feel. You therefore cannot look to the current and former student body to
resolve this issue through voting or petitions. They are likely only to deliver
the status quo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
will be criticized for whatever you do, I recognize that, but doing nothing is
not an option. The Confederate names were chosen a long time ago. That was not
your doing. But today you have the privilege and the power to undo them. The
problem is not going to go away as long as the names remain. Small tweaks like
saying “C-fed” instead of “Confederate” at football games do not solve anything;
they only point to the problem that won’t go away. The divisiveness that
surrounds the discussion of name change is <i>already
embedded in the names themselves</i>. That divisiveness cannot be avoided, but
it can be overcome. Changing the names is the way forward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
1966 a federal judge wrote, “The duty rests with the [Hanover County] School
Board to overcome the discrimination of the past.”<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
It is 2017 and Hanover County has still not overcome the “discrimination of the
past.” Lee-Davis’s mission statement says that the school aspires to “assure a
quality education for success in a changing world.” Hanover County is part of
that changing world. Please find new names for Lee-Davis High School and
Stonewall Jackson Middle School. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mary
Murrell, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Class of 1981</span></div>
<br />
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<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Kristen Green, <i>Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward
County: A Family, A Virginia Town, A Civil Rights Battle </i>(New York:
HarperCollins, 2015), p. 165.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> There is a large
literature on this subject. Bob Smith, <i>They
Closed Their Schools: Prince Edward County, Virginia, 1951-1964 </i>(Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1965); James Latimer, “The Rise and
Fall of ‘Massive Resistance,” <i>Richmond
Times-Dispatch,</i> Sept 22, 1996, A1, A9-A12; Ira M. Lechner, “Massive
Resistance: Virginia’s Great Leap Backward,” <i>Virginia Quarterly Review,</i> 74:4 (1998); Matthew Lassiter and Andrew
Lewis, eds. <i>The Moderates’ Dilemma:
Massive Resistance to School Desegregation in Virginia </i>(Charlottesville:
University Press of Virginia, 1998); George Lewis, <i>Massive Resistance: The White Response to the Civil Rights Movement</i>
(Oxford: Hodder Arnold, 2006), pp. 52ff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Given the size of
the county, some black students, especially those in the eastern side of the
county, had to endure two-hour bus rides to school, in dilapidated and
segregated buses—or not go at all. “Gandy High Alumni Reflect on School Days,” <i>Herald-Progress</i>, September 10, 2009, p.
1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Hanover County
School Board minute book, May 6, 1958. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> “Hanover School
Named Lee-Davis,” <i>Richmond-Times Dispatch</i>,
May 7, 1958.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Dan Sherrier,
“The History of Lee-Davis and Patrick Henry High Schools,” Part II, <i>Herald-Progress</i>, October 2, 2008, pp. 2,
6. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> In 2009, a
student from the first graduating class told a reporter covering the 50<sup>th</sup>
anniversary celebrations: "I remember sitting in Washington Henry and
going through all these names…. We were trying to be really creative." <i>Richmond Times-Dispatch</i> April, 17, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Whether intended
or not, the latter suggestion would have resulted in an all-white high school
with the name “White High School.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Sadler later
became the School Board Chairman and, in 1966, earned lasting notoriety after
the School Board banned <i>To Kill a
Mockingbird</i>. Claudia Durst Johnson, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">“The
Issue of Censorship,” pp. 3-22, in <i>Harper
Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird</i> ed. Harold Bloom (New York: Chelsea House,
2006). </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sadler
died in 1976.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <i>Herald-Progress</i>, July 11, 1968. Cited in
Dan Sherrier, “The History of Lee-Davis and Patrick Henry,” Part X, <i>Herald-Progress</i> December 11, 2008. See
also Rebecca Bray and Dr. Lloyd Jones, <i>The
History of Education in Hanover County, Virginia, 1708-2008 </i>(Ashland, VA:
Hanover County Public Schools, 2010).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn11">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> For a
comprehensive list of Confederate symbols, including schools, see <i>Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the
Confederacy. </i>Montgomery, AL: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2016. Available
at: <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whoseheritage_splc.pdf">https://<b>www.splcenter.org</b>/sites/default/files/<b>whoseheritage</b>_splc.pdf</a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">. </span><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> See <i>Whose Heritage? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn13">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xiii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> James M.
McPherson, “Southern Comfort,” <i>New York
Review of Books</i>, April 21, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn14">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xiv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> McPherson,
“Southern Comfort.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn15">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> For examples of
white supremacists embracing the Confederacy for its racist ideology, see: Campbell
Robertson, Alan Blinder, and Richard Fausset, “</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">In Monument Debate, Calls
for an Overdue Reckoning on Race and Southern Identity,” <i>New York Times</i>, August 18, 2017.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn16">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xvi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Some political
operatives in the state appear to have trouble telling the difference. See <i>Washington Post</i>, August 12, 2017. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gop-northam-turned-back-on-heritage-by-calling-for-confederate-monuments-to-come-down/2017/08/23/a5b3edf6-882d-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html">https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gop-northam-turned-back-on-heritage-by-calling-for-confederate-monuments-to-come-down/2017/08/23/a5b3edf6-882d-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn17">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[xvii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <i>Herald-Progress</i>, February 3, 1966, Cited
in Ben Sherrier, “<i>History of Lee-Davis</i>,”
November 13, 2008, p. A-9.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-10611760935676615342017-09-14T22:31:00.000-04:002017-09-14T22:33:16.424-04:00 Why do racial disparities school discipline in exist? The Role of Policies, Processes, People, and Places.As I discussed in <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/04/podcast-racial-disproportionality-in.html" target="_blank">this post</a>, I am part of a research team at VCU (where I am getting my PhD) with the<span style="background-color: white; color: #393939; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.merc.soe.vcu.edu/" target="_blank">Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #393939; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span>studying racial disparities in disciplinary practices in K-12 public schools. The study specifically looks at this phenomenon in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area.<br />
<br />
I previously participated in a <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-577463732/abstract-episode-one-equity-in-discipline" target="_blank">podcast</a> about the study with other team members.<br />
<br />
More recently, I helped to write this brief (third author) associated with the project entitled, <i><a href="http://www.merc.soe.vcu.edu/why-do-racial-disparities-in-school-discipline-exist/" target="_blank">Why do racial disparities school discipline in exist? The Role of Policies, Processes, People, and Places</a>.</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />This brief is part of larger regional study of racial equity in discipline policies and practices conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC). The goal of the broader project is to: (1) analyze racial disproportionality in discipline across the Richmond area, (2) explore various interventions designed to ameliorate disproportionality, and (3) provide recommendations that inform policymaking and practice in the Richmond region. This is the first of two research briefs on racially inequitable school discipline. The subsequent brief will examine the history and theory of action behind different discipline models or interventions, as well as evidence of their impact on racial disproportionality. At the end of this brief, five of the key research studies on this topic are summarized.</blockquote>
Go <a href="http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1103&context=merc_pubs" target="_blank">here for the pdf</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-85356097179352825032017-08-09T13:30:00.000-04:002017-08-09T16:08:45.053-04:00What’s in a Name? The Confluence of Confederate Symbolism and the Disparate Experiences of African American Students in a Central Virginia High SchoolOver the past several years, and especially recently, the presence of Confederate names, symbols, and statues in Virginia public institutions and spaces, including public schools, has been discussed, debated, and protested.<br />
<br />
Based on several of these events, some colleagues and I published a composite case study on the topic this past spring in the <i>Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. </i>It was also the occasion of my first first-author publication. I hope that others in our field might find it useful.<br />
<br />
For the full piece, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1555458917692832" target="_blank">go here</a> (warning, a) it is behind a paywall and b) it is an academic piece). Here is the abstract:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In 2015-2016, news stories from Charleston, South Carolina, and the University of Missouri, among others, motivated and inspired many people to organize against assaults on the Black community generally and Black students in particular. Similarly, Black students at Robert E. Lee High School in Virginia have come together around what they perceive as racist symbolism and inequitable educational policies and practices. The Black student leaders at Robert E. Lee High School have presented their school principal with a list of demands. Meanwhile, the school’s football and basketball teams, The Rebels, are threatening to go on strike until students’ demands are addressed.<br />
<br />
This case study could be used in educational leadership graduate programs as well as curriculum and instruction coursework, especially in courses that emphasize social justice and ethical decision making. Particularly relevant courses might include School-Community Relations, Organizational Culture, Politics of Education, Contemporary Issues in Education, Visionary Planning and Strategies, and Schools as Learning Communities. In addition, this case study aligns with Standards 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards and can be integrated in leadership preparation programs accordingly. This case might also be used in school district–sponsored professional development workshops for current and/or aspiring administrators.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-9704051835806552122017-07-13T12:33:00.000-04:002017-07-13T12:33:50.965-04:00When social media meets the academyAfter I started my PhD program, I gave up much of my social media and blogging activity (<a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2016/01/back-to-blogging-but-with-more-humility.html" target="_blank">though not all</a>). This was for reasons of time, energy, but also voice and skills. I read and write so much for school that it's not exactly what I feel like doing when I have free time. In addition, the skills and voice I use for blogging and education writing are different from those needed for scholarly education writing. And, I needed to take some time to learn the later. I have started writing more again recently--more on this <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/06/in-virginia-primary-democrats-get.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
This dichotomy came up during a seminar (<a href="http://www.ucea.org/grad-student-focus/clark-seminar-participants/" target="_blank">David L. Clark seminar</a>) for doctoral students I was a participant in at the <a href="http://www.aera.net/Events-Meetings/Annual-Meeting/Previous-Annual-Meetings/2017-Annual-Meeting" target="_blank">Annual AERA Meeting</a> this past spring in San Antonio, during a panel discussion entitled "The Role of Education Research Outside of the Academy." On the panel was <a href="https://twitter.com/mpolikoff" target="_blank">Morgan Polikoff</a>, a professor of education policy at University of Southern California, who happens to be one of my pre-PhD program #edutwitter pals.<br />
<br />
Morgan addressed the confluence of social media and academia. In a nutshell, he said that while it's important to still hold your work to high standards and to make certain stipulations before agreeing to work on non-academic enterprises, activity on social media and doing non-academic writing strengthens, and doesn't supplant, academic writing. It can also help academics to share, articulate, and get feedback/push back on their work and ideas, especially from those in education but outside of academia. <br />
<br />
I was glad to see Morgan advocate for academics having a place and presence on social media. I agree: Activity on social media and informal writing can be part of being a public intellectual and is a way for scholars to communicate with other academics and with non-academics in the same field.<br />
<br />
But for me, I had a reverse path in that I was active and had a presence on social media <i>before</i> going into academia. While, as afore-mentioned, I took a break, there was no way I was going to walk that back or dismantle the web of connections and relationships I had made via social media and blogging, nor did I want to just discount all of the work and non-academic education writing I had done.<br />
<br />
What's been especially tricky is the clashing of diminished power hierarchies on social media (not eliminated, mind you, because I think those hierarchies do reassert themselves) with the rigid hierarchies that exist in academia. Before my PhD program, I was on equal footing on twitter with academics and any other #edutwitter folks. What mattered is what I had to say, not what my status was. When I started grad school, all of a sudden I wasn't on equal footing. Previously, I could just speak my mind and now it was kind of like, <i>what do I know, I'm just a grad student.</i><br />
<br />
Now, there is some reason for this that I respect and understand. Expertise in educational research is expertise in educational research and I didn't really have much, which is why I went to grad school, so that I could fully feel like I knew of what I spoke and so that I would gain knowledge about educational research. But it's also been frustrating: Even as the academy is more open socially and in terms of critique and debate of ideas, if you are in it, you are supposed to, you know, Know. Your. Place. Which means you are expected to refrain from critiquing or challenging the ideas of those above you. I luckily have found an adviser who balances addressing my novice expertise with encouraging me that not always knowing my place is one my strengths. (She might change her mind when no one will hire me or when I get fired from my first job out of grad school.) In addition, I have heard from far too many established academics that non-academic writing and social media activity are frowned upon, until you get tenure in which case it will simply be ignored.<br />
<br />
Getting back to the seminar and Morgan, this was interesting because, as I said, I was in touch with Morgan before I was a PhD student. Though we like one another, we do not always agree on educational policy and practice, so I probably tweeted at him that I thought he was wrong about something. But all of a sudden at the conference, I was nervous. <i>Am I supposed to call him Dr. Polikoff now?</i> After all, he was on a higher plane that I was. <i>What if he thinks my work stinks? </i>After all, he does have expertise that I don't.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, while we should respect our elders and all, many of the students coming to the academy will already have a social media presence that they shouldn't be asked to renounce or give up. The academy is going to have open itself up to social media as a valid place for academics to exchange and debate ideas, and to engage in professional activity. And while that happens, the academy is also going to have to let some of those rigid hierarchies loosen up a bit. Because for people like me, that cat is already out of the bag and we're not putting it back in.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-1314428001359002042017-06-29T15:36:00.000-04:002017-06-29T15:37:05.123-04:00In Virginia primary, Democrats get a lesson: Being progressive means supporting public schoolsWhen I started my PhD program three years ago, I thought I would go on blogging and writing as I had been. However, I found it was not easy to continue the role of education blogger and activist while learning a new role as an apprentice education scholar, so for a while I didn't even try.<br />
<br />
More recently, I have felt comfortable enough with both roles that I have returned to doing some more non-academic education writing and blogging again. I am now much more cautious about the claims I make in my non-academic writing but I also am able to write the non-academic pieces much more easily than I used to, meaning when I blog or do non-academic writing, I care more about the claims I am making but less about the style I am employing, especially since academic writing is so . . . formulaic.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, a recent piece of mine about the role of the issue of public education in the Virginia gubernatorial Democratic primary was published in <i>The Progressive Magazine. </i>Here's a piece of it but please <a href="http://progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/as-democrats-struggle-to-find-their-footing-in-the-trump-era/" target="_blank">read the whole thing</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Perhaps like so many Democrats, Perriello hasn’t spent much time getting to know the issue. I doubt he understood the damage the neo-liberal reform policies of the last decade have done to public schools or how anti-populist and anti-labor they were. His loss reflects a disconnect between public education defenders and otherwise-progressive politicians who have not yet gotten the memo that defending public schools is a key value for progressive voters. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Public education got so burned during the Obama administration that far from being an asset, Obama crew’s coming out for Perriello <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/05/why-i-support-ralph-northam-for.html">made public school supporters recoil</a>. We haven’t spent the past several years working to preserve public education in Virginia only to have some Democrat who didn’t know any better waltz in with his out-of-state hedge fund manager buddies and undo it.<br /><br />Not only did Northam win, but a strong network of and support for public schools in Virginia combined with wariness of market-based education reforms meant that both Democratic candidates labored to distance themselves from any perceived support for charter schools.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-91585499307235353022017-06-11T11:07:00.001-04:002017-06-12T16:41:18.501-04:00UPDATED: Perriello's ties to problematic education reformersAs <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/05/why-i-support-ralph-northam-for.html" target="_blank">I wrote a month ago</a>, I am supporting Ralph Northam in the Democratic primary for the Virginia gubernatorial race. I agree with much of Tom Perriello's policy agenda and he is saying a lot things that resonate with me. If he wins the primary, I will work hard to get him elected. In the meantime, I am encouraging everyone to vote for Northam this Tuesday, June 13th.<br />
<br />
I am concerned about Perriello's lack of leadership and political experience at the local and state levels. His connections to Wall Street and Silicon Valley Obama-era market-based, pro-privatization, neo-liberal education reformers trouble me. In general, I am not concerned that he is too liberal or too much of a populist; rather, my concern is that he is not the real deal, that he will not turn out to be a true progressive, especially on education. One of the main tenets of his platform is that he will stand up to Trump. Lots of folks are standing up to Trump right now. That's not so hard to do. What was hard is rolling up your sleeves and standing up to the Virginia GOP, as Northam did, year after year, before there was a Trump figure to rally against. It is both telling and concerning that most of Perriello's support comes from out of the state. As for public education, I was reassured by his statements about it in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/two-democratic-hopefuls-for-va-governor-on-schools-metro-and-the-minimum-wage/2017/06/04/5aea5776-47c6-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html?utm_term=.c4771a3efe95" target="_blank">this recent <i>Washington Post</i> interview</a> (scroll down to close to the end). But I can not ignore his ties to the DFER crowd (again, out of state) which I pointed out in my <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2017/05/why-i-support-ralph-northam-for.html" target="_blank">original post</a>. More recently, Virginia public school parent and activist Michele Boyd found some further connections to the DFER crowd. Perriello supporters who would dismiss these ties maybe don't understand that for public education supporters, outfits like DFER and the Emerson Collective are like Dominion is for environmentalists.<br />
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Below is Michele's post.<br />
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(As a side note, I am told that <i>Blue Virginia</i> would not post this. I am a loyal subscriber to and occasional contributor to <i>Blue Virginia</i>. I find it it problematic that they would not run this post. I understand that they have endorsed Tom Perriello, but especially given the blog's collective nature, I believe that they should provide a space for Perriello <i>and</i> Northam supporters, and as they usually do, allow for skepticism, criticism, and independent thought.<br />
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UPDATE 6/12/2017:<br />
1. <i>Blue Virginia</i> did post Michele Boyd's piece, a day after this post went up. See <a href="http://bluevirginia.us/2017/06/public-education-perriellos-corporate-backed-donors-problematic" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you, <i>Blue Virginia</i>!)<br />
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2. <i>Blue Virginia</i> recently <a href="http://bluevirginia.us/2017/06/special-education-teacher-public-school-advocate-tom-perriello-best-choice-public-education-virginia" target="_blank">featured a post from a Virginia special education teacher</a> about why she is supporting Perriello and with some claims about Northam's voting record on charter school legislation and ties to privatizers. I have not confirmed her claims and can do without the tone and the accusations of "attacks" (I do not believe I and others have "attacked" Perriello but have diplomatically explained our skepticism), but even so, her piece is certainly worth reading and finding out more about.<br />
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For example, Northam did vote for the "compromise" legislation (HB 1173 & SB 440) on charter schools that Meredyth Hall referred to and while it's not a great bill and Northam's vote is concerning, she rather mis-states what the final legislation actually dictated. To see what it did say, see <a href="http://www.cepi.vcu.edu/media/university-relations/cepi/pdfs/updates/Week9UpdateMarch12,2012.pdf" target="_blank">the March 2012 Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute General Assembly Update</a>:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Charter Schools: Legislators agreed to a compromise on two charter school bills, HB 1173 and SB 440. The approved measures provide the following: 1) The local school board may allow a charter school to use vacant or unused properties or real estate owned by the school board. 2) Following a local school board decision to deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a charter agreement, the local school board shall submit documentation to the Board of Education (BOE) as to the rationale for the denial or revocation; however, the BOE shall have no authority to grant or deny a public charter school application or to revoke or fail to renew a charter agreement. 3) Local school boards may elect whether charter school personnel are employees of the charter school or of the local school division. 4) Per pupil funding provided to the charter school by the local school board shall be negotiated in the charter agreement and be commensurate with the average school-based costs of educating the students in the division’s existing schools. </blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">Why Has a Corporate Education
Reform Group Affiliated with Former U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan,
Donated $25,000 to Tom Perriello’s Campaign? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">by Michele Boyd, a parent to
two children and a public education activist <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"> </span>For those of
us who care deeply about K-12 public education - whether we are students,
parents, educators, or concerned citizens - the stakes are high in Tuesday’s Democratic
primary. In the current anti-Trump environment,
the odds are in our favor that who we nominate on June 13<sup>th</sup> will
become the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is therefore paramount that we choose
wisely. The 1,253,482 children who are currently
enrolled in Virginia’s K-12 public schools and slightly over 100,000 teachers who
teach them are depending on us to get it right.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The media narrative that has emerged
in this race is Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello are both progressives and the policy
differences between them are insignificant, <a href="http://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/general_assembly/northam-perriello-vie-for-education-association-endorsement/article_0bf25d6c-068c-5ef9-8c2b-1a4d1490707f.html">including K-12 education</a>. On
the surface, this appears to be true. (Read
<a href="https://medium.com/@RalphNortham/im-a-proud-product-of-virginia-public-schools-and-i-ll-fight-for-them-as-governor-f73bc96b80c2">here</a> for Northam’s education platform and <a href="https://www.tomforvirginia.com/issue/education/">here</a> for Perriello’s.) <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s more to this story, however. The candidates differ significantly in one
aspect that, in my opinion, overrides everything else: <b>Tom Perriello has deep ties to the corporate education reform movement and
Ralph Northam does not.</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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As a busy mom who works full-time, I
was hoping that The Washington Post or other media outlets would scoop this
story. It’s telling that Mr. Perriello chose
not to disclose these ties at an education roundtable that myself and 15-20
others attended on January 31<sup>st</sup> in Manassas. With two children in public schools who have
endured a learning environment of high-stakes testing that creates stress and
anxiety, I cannot remain silent. Democratic
primary voters deserve to know the facts before casting ballots on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many unanswered questions about Mr. Perriello’s past and
current affiliations to the corporate education reformers - <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2014/03/28/public-education-who-are-the-corporate-reformers/">a select group largely financed by
millionaires and billionaires</a>
- but the most pressing one is this: Why has an education reform group, the <b>Emerson Collective</b>, located in Palo
Alto, California, <a href="http://www.vpap.org/committees/285810/donor/296576/?start_year=all&end_year=all&contrib_type=all">donated $25,000 to Mr. Perriello's campaign?</a> What
interests could this Silicon Valley Limited Liability Company (LLC) have in
Virginia’s public schools? <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll start by saying this much, when Mr. Perriello boasts that he has
the support of Obama Administration officials, we should believe him. As it turns out, <b>former U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Secretary, Arne Duncan, is Managing
Partner at the Emerson Collective</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Former Secretary Duncan’s <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-arne-duncan-resign-20151003-story.html">seven years of service from 2008-2015 can
best be described as contentious. </a> He once apologized for saying
that Hurricane Katrina was “the best thing that happened to the education
system in New Orleans,” viewing the disaster as an <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/the-legacy-of-arne-duncan/">opportunity to usher in a market-based approach</a>, which led to the firings of 7,500 unionized
teachers (who sued for <a href="http://www.louisianaweekly.com/7500-fired-teachers-take-their-case-to-u-s-supreme-court/">wrongful termination</a>) and the establishment of <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/local/education/in-new-orleans-traditional-public-schools-close-for-good/2014/05/28/ae4f5724-e5de-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html">America's first all-charter district. </a> Oddly,
when he left USDOE and returned to Chicago, a public school system where he was
once superintendent, he <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/education-secretary-arne-duncan-children-private-school-chicago-119913">enrolled his children in private school</a>. <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-03-20-arne-duncan-joins-emerson-collective">He later joined the Emerson Collective in
March 2016</a>, to work on
issues regarding unemployed youth and education. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What is the Emerson Collective?
Founded by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs (wife of Apple’s co-founder Steve
Jobs), the Emerson Collective makes investments and grants in education and
other areas. The New York Times
described it as one of several <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2015/05/04/altschool-raises-100-million-and-plans-to-open-more-schools/">"top tier technology investors" in
AltSchool</a>, a network of
small private schools that “use a proprietary learning management system that
tracks students’ activities and helps teachers personalize their learning.” Ms. Powell Jobs is also a board member of
several education reform organizations, including Teach for America and the NewSchools
Venture Fund. You can learn more about
the Emerson Collective, its $100 million high school redesign contest, and Ms.
Powell Jobs in <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/10/laurene-powell-jobss-mission-to-disrupt-high-school.html">this October 2016 New York Magazine article.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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In choosing the Emerson Collective, Mr. Duncan joined one of his former
top aides at USDOE, Ms. Russlyn Ali. Mr.
Duncan worked together with Ms. Ali at USDOE on the $4.35 billion <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top">Race to the Top (RTTT)</a>, which offered stimulus money to states as
an incentive to adopt the Common Core standards and assessments, expand charter
schools, and use test scores to evaluate teachers – all ideas promoted by the
corporate education reformers. <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2012/03/26/17218/race-to-the-top-what-have-we-learned-so-far/">Here</a> is a video of Mr. Perriello sharing his thoughts on RTTT in March 2012
as President and CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thankfully, in 2011 <a href="http://pilotonline.com/news/local/education/va-won-t-seek-race-to-the-top-education-funds/article_f632cd4b-ae68-554b-a157-a98e4f0d1970.html">Virginia withdrew its RTTT application</a> and became one of only five states to not adopt
the Common Core, avoiding the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/thousands-students-opt-common-core-tests-protest/">acrimony and backlash</a> experienced in many other states. We were also fortunate to preserve the
integrity of our system of traditional public schools and limit the growth of charters. Given that at least <a href="http://democracyeducationjournal.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=home">two studies from 2009 and 2010 </a>found that charter schools performed no
better and often worse than traditional public schools, this was a wise
decision. By maintaining our
independence, our state sent a bipartisan message to Mr. Duncan and the
privitizers that Virginia’s public schools were not for sale. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There is reason to believe that Mr. Perriello and Mr. Duncan are
personal friends and political allies.
Mr. Perriello once described Mr. Duncan as a <a href="https://shadowproof.com/2010/09/01/tom-perriello-picks-up-the-anti-corporate-mantle/">“visionary”</a>, urging President Obama to “find the Arne Duncan of economic
development” for Treasury Secretary. Press
accounts show that Mr. Perriello hosted Mr. Duncan in Charlottesville for his <a href="https://blog.ed.gov/2009/10/a-call-to-teach/">"A Call to Teach" speech at the Curry School of Education at
UVa on October 14, 2009. </a> Mr. Perriello also <a href="http://augustafreepress.com/tom-perriello-fifth-district-report-35/">paid a visit to former Secretary Duncan’s
office with constituents</a> to
discuss education issues, including merit pay incentive programs. In 2010, Mr. Perriello secured a grant from
USDOE’s Public Charter Schools Program to establish a <a href="http://m.farmvilleherald.com/2010/10/charter-school-initiative-unveiled/">rural charter school</a> in
the Fifth District. A few years later, <a href="http://m.farmvilleherald.com/2015/10/charter-school-project-deemed-infeasible/">the project was cancelled </a>and the school never opened. Press reports also describe them as <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/amphtml/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2010/0922/Education-Secretary-Arne-Duncan-will-campaign-for-Democrats">campaigning together </a>in Mr. Perriello’s bid for reelection in <a href="http://bluevirginia.us/tag/714">2010.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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How did Mr. Perriello and Mr. Duncan become allies? Most likely it was through the political arm
of a PAC formed by Wall Street hedge fund managers in 2005 called <a href="https://dfer.org/">Democrats for
Education Reform (DFER)</a>. DFER seeks to change federal, state, and local
education policy to fit its agenda of choice, competition, and accountability through
“supporting reform-minded candidates for public office.” DFER co-founder Whitney Tilson <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/03/13065/how-dfer-leaders-channel-out-state-dark-money-colorado-and-beyond">is quoted</a> as saying that “hedge funds are always looking for ways to turn a
small amount of capital into a large amount of capital.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://ny.chalkbeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/education-transition-memo-november-112.pdf">DFER lobbied President Obama</a> upon his election in 2008 to select its top
choice for Secretary of Education, Mr. Duncan.
DFER also donated to Mr. Perriello’s <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?28990843026">2008</a> and <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?11990092124">2010</a> campaigns, in addition to holding fundraisers for him both <a href="https://www.classsizematters.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Klein-Part-10-redacted.pdf">online</a> (see page 7) and in <a href="http://edreform.blogspot.com/2010/03/some-great-news-from-dfer.html?m=1">private residences</a>. Mr.
Perriello <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/4330">co-sponsored charter school legislation</a> with another DFER-affiliated politician, Congressman
Jared Polis (D-CO). In June 2010, Mr. Perriello
was recognized by Whitney Tilson as DFER’s <a href="http://edreform.blogspot.de/2010/06/dfer-ed-reformer-of-month-for-june-is.html?m=1">"Ed Reformer of the Month,"</a> and featured in an online fundraiser for
those who couldn’t attend a “reception in his honor” later that month.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>DFER’s embrace of
“accountability” and “choice” often aligned with that of conservatives,
including many rightwing ideolo</b>g<b>ues</b>. Mercedes Schneider, an educator, author, and
blogger <a href="https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/why-dfers-shavar-jeffries-must-support-ed-sec-betsy-devos/">has documented DFER's receipt</a> of $80,000 in donations in 2010 and 2014
from a group founded by <b>Betsy DeVos</b>,
the American Federation for Children, and $65,000 in those same years from a
nonprofit that Mrs. DeVos chaired, the Alliance for School Choice. The education historian, Diane Ravitch, <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/142364/dont-like-betsy-devos-blame-democrats">argued recently in The New Republic </a>that Democratic politicians who supported the
corporate education agenda “paved the way for DeVos and her plans to privatize
the school system.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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On April 14<sup>th</sup>, myself and a friend attended a town hall
meeting in Montclair to clarify Mr. Perriello’s current position on charter
schools, standardized testing, and DFER.
Mr. Perriello recognized that some reformers wanted to destroy public
education. Mr. Perriello’s interest,
however, was that he was willing to try anything to improve public schools. He explained that since the evidence has led
him to conclude that charter schools don’t work, he no longer supports them. He also expressed support for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/03/24/va-governor-vetoes-charter-school-and-beloved-bills/?utm_term=.dad654748a51">Governor Terri McAuliffe's veto</a> of legislation which would have shifted
charter school decision-making authority from local school boards to Richmond. This is good news. If Mr. Perriello should win the Governorship,
we will hold him to his word.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr. Perriello's vigorous support for “data-driven education” was more
troubling, as well as his explanation of his past DFER ties. He distanced himself from the group, claiming
that he wasn’t a “member.” He also
stated that he hasn’t received any campaign donations from DFER in his current
race, but that he “couldn’t know if anybody who is affiliated with them” has
donated. (See <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TomPerriello/videos/vl.1321960574561212/10155701833420400/?type=1">here</a> for the video starting at 32:46.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is interesting. At the time
of the town hall, Mr. Perriello’s first quarter campaign disclosure report had
been filed. My friend and I were unaware
at the time, and in all fairness maybe he was, too, but Mr. Perriello’s former
Congressional colleague and DFER, <b>Mr. Jared</b>
<b>Polis</b>, with whom he worked on charter
school legislation, <a href="http://www.vpap.org/donors/238986-jared-polis/">donated $3,500</a> to
his campaign. A quick check of DFER’s
website indicates that Mr. Polis remains a “featured” DFER. I find it doubtful that Mr. Perriello
wouldn’t remember his former colleague and friend. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Although at town halls and in debates, Mr. Perriello has disavowed
certain aspects of his past record on public education, in particular his
support for charter schools, there remains cause for concern. In addition to the worrisome donations from
the Emerson Collective and Mr. Polis, his campaign disclosure reports reveal
that he has also received donations from other individuals associated with corporate
education reform. One example is <b>venture capitalist Nicolas Hanauer</b>, who
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/02/a-case-study-of-how-the-ultra-wealthy-spend-millions-to-get-what-they-want-in-school-reform/?utm_term=.f6c04fab4f7a">donated $1 million to a 2012 Washington State
referendum to allow charter schools </a>and <a href="http://www.vpap.org/committees/285810/donor/293222/?start_year=all&end_year=all&contrib_type=all">$15,000 to Mr. Perriello.</a> It’s
reported that Mr. Hanauer is well-known in Washington State political circles
as having a <a href="http://washingtonstatewire.com/the-email-everyones-talking-about-the-hanauer-blast-on-the-dems/">combative personality</a>, especially when confronting the teachers
union. I recognize that Mr. Perriello
and Mr. Hanauer may be aligned on other issues besides education, but until I
hear otherwise, I’m worried. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I believe that Mr. Perriello owes an explanation to the public about
the donations he has received from entities or individuals who have ties to corporate
education reform. Students, parents,
educators, and concerned citizens deserve no less. Virginia is one of the few states remaining whose
public education system hasn’t been corrupted by the privatization movement and
it’s important that we keep it this way.
This issue will be on the ballot in November with Betsy DeVos’s
surrogate, Ed Gillespie, and as Democrats it’s imperative that we make sure our
candidate has clean hands. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ralph Northam has a public education record that demonstrates his
allegiance lies with children, parents, and educators – not with corporate education
reformers whether they are from Silicon Valley, Colorado, or Washington
State. Dr. Northam has promised to
follow in the footsteps of Governor McAuliffe who has vetoed all charter school
legislation, made important strides in SOL reform by reducing the number of tests
from 34 to 29, and recently signed into law a bipartisan bill which sets policy
to raise Virginia’s teacher salaries at or above the national level. Much more remains to be done and I believe
that Dr. Northam is up to the job. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve had the opportunity to meet Dr. Northam three times, including once
at an education town hall, and I was impressed with his knowledge of the
issues, compassion, and unique understanding as a pediatric neurologist of
children and how they learn best. Having
a wife who is a K-5 science teacher only enhances his credentials. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Dr. Northam has also received the endorsement of the Virginia Education
Association, representing more than 50,000 teachers. I feel it’s important as Democrats that we return
to our roots and stand up for our educators, giving them the respect and
support they deserve. Dr. Northam has
pledged to give them a seat at the table.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The questions we need to ask ourselves before Tuesday’s primary is who
do we trust more with the awesome responsibility of leading our public schools
and looking out for the best interests of our children? Which candidate will appoint individuals who represent
<i>Virginian values</i> as Secretary of
Education and the nine members of the Board of Education? Who can we count on to ensure that K-12
education spending - which is more than one-third of the general fund -
supports priorities that will have the most impact? I have my answer and he is Dr. Ralph Northam. <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-19587737175513907232017-05-11T22:13:00.001-04:002017-05-11T22:46:14.257-04:00Why I support Ralph Northam for Governor of VirginiaLet me just state two things right off the bat. First, the "moderate" Northam versus a "leftist" Perriello (a la Hillary vs. Bernie) narrative is silly, un-helpful, and not applicable. Second, despite my endorsement, should Tom Perriello win the Virginia gubernatorial primary, I will be among the first people to sign up to help get him elected in the general election. He's not a bad guy or a terrible candidate. I voted for Bernie but hit the pavement for Hillary when it came time. I knew then and I know now what is at stake.<br />
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For now, here are are my thoughts as to why I support the current Lt. Governor, Ralph Northam:<br />
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Ralph Northam has state-level experience both legislating and governing. He has a voting record, a record of getting things done, and a network of relationships. Tom Perriello does not. He has no state-level experience or record. People criticize Tom Perriello for having been a pro-NRA and anti-reproductive rights member of Congress. Others criticize Northam for voting for George W. Bush. Neither of those matter to me right now. I believe both of them when they say they are in much different places now and, frankly, I am somewhat sympathetic to Tom Perriello's explanation of why he did what he did at that time. In fact, what concerns me more about Tom Perriello is his lack of voting record or platform on most of the <i>other</i> issues. Again, Ralph Northam has a solid, favorable voting record.<br />
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Almost every state-level office holder, Virginia's senators, and most if not all of Virginia's Democratic members of the U.S. House have endorsed Ralph Northam. The Perriello campaign tries to dismiss this as "<a href="http://bluevirginia.us/2017/03/video-tom-perriello-says-male-party-leaders-back-room-made-big-mistake-losing-strategy" target="_blank">back room establishment</a>." First of all, that's dismissive of individual voters like me who support Northam and implies that we can't think for ourselves. Second, um, those members of the "back room establishment" are the people who have actually done the nitty gritty (and super important) local- and state-level work that Perriello hasn't and who are closest to constituents. You know who's even more establishment and even more distant from Virginia voters? The Obama officials who all <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/obama-staff-tom-perriello-virginia-236367" target="_blank">endorsed Perriello</a>. It doesn't get much more centrist establishment than John Podesta.<br />
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So, yes, Tom Perriello is running as an Obama Democrat. I would give almost anything to have Obama back as president right now. But Obama was a centrist, not a Bernie Sanders populist. Furthermore, I am a strong supporter of public education and a student of education policy and President Obama's education policies were, for the most part, awful. Northam has a record of supporting public education in Virginia. If Perriello is running as an Obama Democrat, that means I have to assume he is running on Obama's education policies. In fact, the only inkling I have of Tom Perriello's position on public education and education policy is his affiliation with Democrats for Education Reform: <a href="http://edreform.blogspot.de/2010/06/dfer-ed-reformer-of-month-for-june-is.html" target="_blank">He was their "Reformer of the Month" in June 2010</a>. Yuck. That is a big fat red flag as far as I am concerned. DFER, or Democrats for Emulating Republicans, as I like to call them, are neo-liberal, hedge-fundy, anti-union, and pro-privatization and apparently <a href="http://www.educationrevolution.org/store/shavar-jeffries-democrats-for-education-reform-the-argument-for-betsy-devos-why-dfer-and-i-cannot-support-her-nomination/" target="_blank">somewhat sweet on Betsy DeVos</a>. That's not to say that Perriello feels the same way, but <a href="http://potomaclocal.com/2017/04/18/governor-hopeful-tom-perriello-tough-crowd-democrats-montclair/" target="_blank">he hasn't exactly walked back his DFER affiliation</a>, either.<br />
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I grudgingly respect what Tom Perriello is trying to do, but I'd respect him a lot more if he had returned home to run for Board of Supervisors or House of Delegates first.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-79967896507127733052017-04-03T09:38:00.000-04:002017-09-14T22:34:20.907-04:00Podcast: Racial Disproportionality in Disciplinary Practices<div class="tr_bq">
A big topic in educational policy and practice right now is disparate disciplinary practices. Essentially, black students, especially males, and students with disabilities are subject to disproportionally high rates of exclusionary discipline practices (suspensions and expulsions) and what they are being disciplined for is often subjective behaviors, such as disrespect, versus objective behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes on school grounds. This is an especially big topic in the state of Virginia and in the region of Virginia--central Virginia--where I live and study. See <a href="http://www.richmond.com/news/local/chesterfield/congressman-calls-for-federal-investigation-on-disparities-in-student-treatment/article_ccc9cfff-82d1-55c3-a45a-a2f212386df2.html" target="_blank">this recent article</a> about it in the <i>Richmond Times-Dispatch</i>.</div>
<blockquote>
A congressman has called for a federal investigation of disparities in student treatment within the Richmond region’s schools.<br /><br />U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, requested an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on Monday, the same day that a Richmond Times-Dispatch article detailed higher suspension rates and over-identification of African-American students with disabilities.<br /><br />The Virginia Department of Education cited Henrico and Chesterfield counties for suspending black students with disabilities at a disproportionately high rate over several years. The department cited Richmond because the city’s African-American students with disabilities have been more likely to be identified as having an “other health impairment” than other students with disabilities.<br /><br />Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond are among seven Virginia school districts mandated to set aside federal money received under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act this year to combat the pattern.</blockquote>
This problem is not new at all, for example, <a href="http://www.richmond.com/news/article_1be879f6-82bd-52aa-b726-0a9660de58ec.html" target="_blank">see this article</a> from 2012. And, there's lots more where that came from.<br />
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How do I know so much about this? How is it that I have read almost every single report, news and journal article about this? Well, I am part of a MERC research team studying the issue in the Richmond, Virginia, area. The <a href="http://www.merc.soe.vcu.edu/" target="_blank">Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC)</a> comprises "a partnership between seven Richmond-area school divisions and the VCU School of Education" that "plans, conducts, and disseminates community-engaged action and applied research."<br />
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A few months ago, I took part with other team members in a MERC podcast about the study. If you want to learn more, I encourage you <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-577463732/abstract-episode-one-equity-in-discipline" target="_blank">to take a listen</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-1153148850245352832017-02-01T17:12:00.000-05:002017-02-03T12:04:47.785-05:00Why DeVos Might LoseSo far, Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education, seems to be one of the most, if not the most, unpopular of all of the cabinet nominees. That's not to say that she won't be confirmed. But as of my writing this, she has not been confirmed and only <a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/1/14475290/betsy-devos-confirmation-trump-resist" target="_blank">one more vote from the Republicans is needed</a> to deny her the appointment.<br />
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Why is this? Well, just as there was bi-partisan unpopularity (aside from GOP establishment types) of Eric Cantor <a href="http://bluevirginia.us/2014/06/a-few-thoughts-on-the-va07-and-cantors-primary-defeat" target="_blank">in Virginia's 7th district</a> (my old district) during the 2014 elections, there is bi-partisan unpopularity of Betsy DeVos. <br />
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1. She is a <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/betsy-devos-trumps-big-donor-education-secretary" target="_blank">blatant pay-to-play</a> actor. She <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/betsy-dick-devos-family-amway-michigan-politics-religion-214631" target="_blank">bought the Michigan legislature</a>. She <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/12/campaign_contributions_betsy_devos_education_secretary.html" target="_blank">has given tens of thousands of dollars</a> to several Senate Education Committee members. The way Cantor thought he was above members of the public, she operates in a way that shows she believes she is above members of public. On this point, this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8k2DdRHIgw" target="_blank">ad by End Citizens United</a> is particularly devastating:<br />
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2. Besides purchasing pet education policies, Betsy Devos has no experience in education at all. Proposing someone to be U.S. Secretary of Education who has no experience in education at all is a slap in the face to all educators. Public school teachers and educators are tiring of getting crapped on and they are tired of people with little to no experience in education telling them what to do. Teachers got crapped on by the Bush administration and then the Obama administration and they are tired of it. Kind of like no one outside of the GOP establishment liked Cantor, hardly anyone who actually worked in public schools or had children in them liked Obama's education policies. Mostly insulated centrist Democratic and moderate Republican DC wonks and education reform-types liked Obama's education policies. Many of the policies that DeVos advocates for, including the <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/14/dont-be-fooled-betsy-devos-still-loves-common-core" target="_blank">Common Core</a>, are part of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/21/democrats-reject-her-but-they-helped-pave-the-road-to-education-nominee-devos/?utm_term=.bff6b2eacbaf" target="_blank">bi-partisan education reform regime</a> that we have all been suffering through.<br />
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3. I live in a very conservative area of Virginia where public schools are very popular. In fact, public schools are very popular in many conservative areas in Virginia. 53% of white women voted for Trump. Public school teachers are 82% white and 76% female. Of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) members who voted, roughly <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/23/election-unions-teachers-clinton-trump/94242722/" target="_blank">one in five of them</a> voted for Trump. Among National Education Association (NEA) member voters, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/23/election-unions-teachers-clinton-trump/94242722/" target="_blank">more than one in three</a> likely voted for Trump.<br />
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Basically, there is bi-partisan support of public schools. A small majority of white women voted for Trump. A large majority of teachers are white women. They might have voted for Trump (and I don't have time right now to get into how messed up that is) but that doesn't mean they take kindly to being insulted by the nomination of someone who has no experience in education and who doesn't support the work they do anyway.<br />
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4. Parents of students with disabilities are Republicans and they are Democrats and they are Independents. Disabilities do not manifest themselves in children according to the political party of their parents. These parents are very organized and they are very big advocates for their children and their groups are very powerful. I see this where I live, too. I also have a child with a (medical) disability. Except in extreme cases, because of IDEA, a child with disabilities has a better chance of being accommodated, served, and better educated in public schools than in private schools, let alone religious schools. The idea that a child with disabilities is to be protected and equitably educated is largely a mainstream, assumed one that is part of the fabric of public schooling. I have rights as a parent of a student with a disability, my child has rights as a student with a disability, it's on paper, and everybody knows it. Everybody, that is, except for Betsy DeVos. She has shown an ignorance of IDEA and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/01/28/the-telling-letter-betsy-devos-wrote-to-clarify-her-position-on-u-s-disabilities-law/" target="_blank">a callousness towards students with disabilities</a>. That is a big bi-partisan, political no-no.<br />
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5. In her confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos came across as robotic, fumbling, clueless, lacking in leadership skills, and bland. I have yet to meet a bland educational leader who serves in a public position. Her answer to every question was a smile and "choice." <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/5-head-scratching-moments-from-betsey-devoss-confirmation-hearing/2017/01/18/0df60b18-dd5e-11e6-8902-610fe486791c_video.html" target="_blank">She knew nothing beyond her own ideology</a>.<br />
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Q: What would you do to serve students with disabilities?<br />
A: Choice.<br />
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Q: What is your plan to stem bullying?<br />
A: Choice.<br />
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Q: How are you going to enforce civil rights laws in our public schools?<br />
A: Choice.<br />
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Q: What are you going to do about sexual assault on college campuses?<br />
A: Choice.<br />
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Q: What are going to do when we give you follow-up questions to answer?<br />
A: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/31/politics/betsy-devos-plagiarism-obama-official/" target="_blank">Plagiarize</a>.<br />
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Plagiarizing may be part of the Trump administration <i>modus operandi</i> and education reform ideologues might be able to overlook it, but it does not go over well with parents and educators.<br />
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6. Betsy DeVos is a woman. She is completely unqualified but she is a woman. I don't doubt that Democrats (except for Eva Moskowitz) would oppose her nomination even if she were a man. But I wonder if a completely unqualified man would get put through the same thing.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-71122420984892722017-01-23T20:36:00.000-05:002017-01-24T10:58:28.908-05:00#WomensMarch 2017<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2hJXY2Zo5dfSkqAG61-Sszv1eQE98FNgynXb-SGZOnjGBPIGQdw6GgBcfKVLeoj7iUu5iZhnmKoX09zGFngR56pcR-HbMaLQGpSLbmztqyKieYarBChWobYW7j6KTW0d6fTMWvztb6Pa/s1600/signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2hJXY2Zo5dfSkqAG61-Sszv1eQE98FNgynXb-SGZOnjGBPIGQdw6GgBcfKVLeoj7iUu5iZhnmKoX09zGFngR56pcR-HbMaLQGpSLbmztqyKieYarBChWobYW7j6KTW0d6fTMWvztb6Pa/s320/signs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the <a href="https://www.womensmarch.com/" target="_blank">Women's March</a> on Washington this past weekend. I went with my husband, parents, and my three children. My mom's sister was also there and so were my husband's parents. And countless friends and family friends were there. It was incredible. Like nothing I have ever seen or been a part of. Amazing. I have participated in many marches and demonstrations over the years, but it's not my favorite thing; I am more comfortable with writing and making phone calls and public meetings and with direct advocacy and activism, but I know showing up for marches and protests important, too.</div>
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Here are some things that I have been puzzling over regarding the march and that various friends and folks I follow on social media have brought up (thanks if you were one of them):<br />
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1. The march was not about any one thing or one issue. It did not mean the same thing to each participant. We should not try to dictate to people how they were supposed to experience it or what they were marching for. You can't give people prerequisites for marching. You can't screen them for participation according to life story, history of activism, or issues of importance (if any). A march is public event, this one with millions of people. And anyway, that's what diversity and pluralism and democracy looks like. Really, really messy. </div>
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In addition, feminism is not one thing and no one person gets to define it or decide who does and doesn't practice it. In that vein, <a href="http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/01/19/agenda-for-womens-march-on-washington-has-been-hijacked-by-organizers-bent-on-highlighting-womens-differences/" target="_blank">this commentary</a> was illuminating and illogical: The author makes some good points--about the Women's March not advocating enough for policies, though I think that's what's supposed to happen when you go home. Otherwise, she talks talks a big game about unity and big tent feminism but then says, for example, that a Muslim woman wearing a veil can't be feminist and implies that religious faith is disqualifying. Huh? Maybe her "inclusive liberal feminism" isn't so inclusive after all. And maybe she is exemplifying the problem. Keep in mind that inclusive means to include and respect, not necessarily to accept as your own beliefs.</div>
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2. That being said, although the Womens March (not just in DC) was intended to be <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10572435/Intersectional-feminism.-What-the-hell-is-it-And-why-you-should-care.html" target="_blank">intersectional</a>, it may not have been for all participants. We should not deny people accounts of their own experiences even if they make us uncomfortable. Collectively, women have a lot of work to do internally, as a group.</div>
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For example, I thought the DC Metropolitan Police did a great job and I personally thanked several officers along the route. That was very encouraging and a good sign. However, the DC police are well-trained in handling protests (though so far I am hearing the police in other cities were also supportive and professional). And, while the March had a diverse set of participants, it also had a lot of white people. It might be uncomfortable, but we must ask ourselves if that might have been different, according to history, if there weren't so many white people in the march. Black Lives Matter and NoDPL protesters have been peaceful, too.<br />
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3. Do not confuse critique (yes, even of the march) with lack of support. Critique is usually a sign of engagement and care. You can go to the march and be critical at the same time. We can have a big, inclusive Women's March and still talk about the role, for example, of white supremacy within women's movements. The two aren't mutually exclusive. Talking about racism and other biases and differing views among groups of women does not cause division. It helps to heal them, in my opinion. And anyway . . . The divisions. Were. Already. There. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/us/womens-march-on-washington-opens-contentious-dialogues-about-race.html?_r=0" target="_blank">The airing of those divisions</a> is healthy and what the march was partly about.</div>
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On the flip side, however, I don't have a lot of tolerance for people who get hung up on the critiques only, without learning the story and without doing anything to change them. I like to earn my right to complain first. I find that when I contribute to an effort, many of my criticisms are cured because I gain insights and empathies I didn't have before. If you are criticizing, ask yourself: Did you, in two months time, help to organize the biggest march in U.S. History? Did you contribute in even a small way? No? Then your criticisms should include what you're going to do to fix them and how you are planning to contribute.</div>
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4. If you didn't go to the march because, for example, you're offended that a black woman pointed out that racism exists among womens rights activists and even among progressives, then you probably weren't that committed to going in the first place. 54% of white women voted for Trump. It's a fact. Look, I don't feel like those women are my people, either, and there are a lot of white people in the country. Given what we know now, I'm actually surprised the numbers weren't more of an overwhelming majority. But it's there, it's real, and get used to hearing about it.<br />
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If you didn't go because privileged white women were excited about going, then you are not being very savvy about growing your movement and gaining their support. If you didn't go because one or a few other people going or talking about going said something that made you uncomfortable or said something that exhibited racism or bias, well, there were around 4,000,000 people marching in this country and you let a handful keep you away. </div>
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Of course, there have been accounts of white women objectifying women of color at the marches or becoming defensive upon seeing their signs. Not okay.<br />
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That all being said, it's important listen to why people didn't go or if they did why they didn't have a good experience. We will learn something.<br />
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5. There are a lot of parallels to the world of education (my world) here, especially since the K-12 teaching force is dominated by white women. We can all show up to a pro-public education march and still have critiques and work to do. </div>
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There are also implications for our two-party system. The Republicans get everyone to show up and then they sort it out later. That's why they win. (Okay, they also actively work to suppress votes of people in the other party.) As the head of my local Democratic Committee told me the other day when I asked how the conservatives in our state senate district could justify voting for some inexperienced libertarian whom they knew nothing about instead of the highly experienced and broadly respected state legislator running for the Democrats in a recent special election. "Well," she said, "they just vote for the option they have with the plan to work on them once they're in office."<br />
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At this point, that sounds like a plan.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-68129589995074977342016-12-17T12:13:00.001-05:002016-12-17T12:20:55.973-05:00Book Review: The End of Consensus<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgt__erS8e4SKFZpCU9J63ImGcGh4Je6QACx61WFa2nkRbuxVhExOTd08vCWJhDs7lehCbKqcCJNuoiH3E0Y_4Oebw4IN2t6AC_3gMuV3yrIKFIhDDZub0gsUj8oEV4BoOzJzgXLMID0R/s1600/book+cover.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgt__erS8e4SKFZpCU9J63ImGcGh4Je6QACx61WFa2nkRbuxVhExOTd08vCWJhDs7lehCbKqcCJNuoiH3E0Y_4Oebw4IN2t6AC_3gMuV3yrIKFIhDDZub0gsUj8oEV4BoOzJzgXLMID0R/s200/book+cover.gif" width="133" /></a>I wanted to announce my first official academic publication. Woot, woot! <br />
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It's a second-authored <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=21688" target="_blank">book review</a> in <i>Teachers College Record</i> with one of the professors at VCU who I work with, Dr. Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. The book is <i>The End of Consensus: Diversity, Neighborhoods, and the Politics of Public School Assignments </i>by Toby L. Parcel and Andrew J. Taylor. Here is the first paragraph:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Changes to student assignment policies that determine who goes to school with whom typically engender political controversies around race, class, opportunity and equity. In 2009, North Carolina’s Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), which includes the city of Raleigh, drew national attention as area leaders debated over significant shifts to a student assignment policy long been held up as a model for promoting diversity and equity. In a fast-growing city-suburban district historically committed to comprehensive school desegregation, the tensions between old and new, conservative and progressive and narrowly- and broadly-defined community came to a head. North Carolina State University sociologist Toby L. Parcel and political scientist Andrew J. Taylor take us into the heart of these controversies in their recent book, <i>The End of Consensus</i>. Parcel and Taylor’s principal findings, laid out over seven concise chapters, showcase a tension between those who prioritized heterogeneous schools versus those who prioritized neighborhood schools.</blockquote>
If you want to read <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=21688" target="_blank">the whole thing</a>, I think it might be behind a paywall, though I had somehow thought that the book reviews in <i>TCR</i> were open access.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-25091297731893876152016-11-11T21:03:00.001-05:002016-11-12T11:31:42.426-05:00Post 2016 Election PostI have long outgrown (I hope) shaming, scolding, and ranting. I am sobered, I am humbled, and I am devastated. I will say that, yes, more empathy, compassion, and understanding is needed, but this goes both ways. If people like me should understand why others voted for Trump (and I agree that we should), they need to understand why people like me find that vote threatening--threatening to us, to people we love and to people we've never even met (especially to non-white, non-Christian, non-straight, non-cis male people), to our society and the world, and to our values. For more of what might articulate what I am thinking and feeling, read <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/11/michael-schur-co-creator-of-parks-rec-has-the-twit.html" target="_blank">this twitter thread by Michael Schur</a>. <br />
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As for education, I don't have some detailed post on what a Trump presidency would mean for education; I am only able to string together some thoughts and recommendations.<br />
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1. I am leaving the details of why Trump happened to others, but I will say that ultimately there are many reasons Trump won and that social science can help to tell us what those were. And we need both quantitative and qualitative research to tell us. Quantitative can tell us what and who but it can't tell us why. We can also examine the policies that impact voting and see where they were oppressive and where they were facilitative. Otherwise, while we know the extent of racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, ableism, and xenophobia in our country is great, we don't know what each American eligible to vote was thinking when they went into the voting booth or made a choice not to vote, or neglected to register in the first place. But that can and should be studied.<br />
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<i>Recommendation #1</i>: Read, respect, and support high quality social scientific research that studies people of all groups and researchers that represent people of all groups.<br />
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2. Although I won't, others have written generally about what a Trump presidency might mean for education. A good place to start is <a href="http://educationnext.org/now-what/" target="_blank">this</a> straightforward piece from Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Institute. Mike is a Republican and people like him would know best what Republicans might try to implement. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/11/10/what-a-trump-presidency-means-for-americas-public-schools/" target="_blank">most comprehensive, yet concise piece</a> I have read on what education policy might look like is this by one of my favorite education journalists, Emma Brown of the <i>Washington Post</i>. Otherwise, there is tons of stuff up at <i>Education Week, </i><a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2016/11/thanks_to_essa_trump_cant_get_.html" target="_blank">this</a>, for example. As we have found out, we need to support journalism, especially investigative journalism, more than ever. I have said this for a long time. I am an education news junkie. I don't pay for all of my content, but I happily pay for a lot of it.<br />
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<i>Recommendation #2</i>: Read people who you don't agree with and who make you uncomfortable--they can tell you things you won't pick up on by only reading people you agree with.<br />
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<i>Recommendation #2a: </i>If you don't already, invest in journalism. I repeat: read, support, and pay for journalism, especially investigative journalism. Demand that journalists be of diverse backgrounds and groups and that coverage reflect that diversity.<br />
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3. If you read the links in #2, you will see, according to what he said on the campaign trail and who is advising him on education so far, that Trump supports the current traditional Republican agenda, that is privatization, school "choice," and the complete elimination of education as a public good. In my opinion, those are not good policies--they are not good for public education but they also are not good for our society. Public schools are flawed and as an institution have been tools of segregation and oppression but they are our best model for sustaining a pluralistic democracy. Public schools are where kids (hopefully) from all kinds of backgrounds and families come together and navigate the world. Privatization and "choice" will end that. Keep in mind that privatization and school "choice" are part of what we've been contending with for a long time, including from the Obama administration, though <i>most</i> centrist Democrats do draw the line at vouchers. <br />
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And education is a matter that is largely left to states and localities. Trump has indicated that he would leave education to the states and localities to a even greater extent than ESSA does. However, at the same time, he has said things such as that he wants to abolish Common Core, which is a state matter. He has no record of governing (he has never held office), has no demonstrated expertise or knowledge of policy, is unpredictable, is, and is especially interested in amassing power. Education does not appear to be much on his radar screen. So some of what happens will depend upon his education-related appointments, but otherwise, who knows how much he will leave education to states and localities and how much he will want to control himself? Who knows what he will do?<br />
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<i>Recommendation #3:</i> If you are not already, now is the time to get engaged in your local and state governance. That is the only thing that is left. Learn all about your local and state governing bodies, including your school boards. Learn about the issues and policies. Get informed. Talk with your fellow community members about the issues and policies. Comment publicly on what your local and state governing bodies are doing and what you as a citizen, taxpayer, and constituent want them to do. Cherish those public democratic institutions and work to preserve them and keep them healthy. Work to get people from diverse backgrounds and different groups elected and appointed to such bodies. Serve in those bodies yourself. Contribute and be a participant. I can't stress this enough. I have long said that local and state governance is the most important and this is more true than ever. Neo-liberals have demonstrated disdain for institutions and matters of local and state governance. Obama's principal Secretary of Education Arne Duncan thought school boards were dysfunctional and a nuisance. Do not follow this example. Set a new one. When you fail to engage with your local and state institutions, you leave a void for others or nobody to fill. Local and state political leaders are obligated to serve their constituents and they need to be held accountable. We have to make them serve the public, ALL members of the public.<br />
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4. Going back to federal education, while I stated that much of what Trump has said about education aligns with current initiatives in education generally, there will be a large, devastating difference from the Obama administration in terms of the focus of the Department of Education. Trump may work to eliminate the Department of Education, he may completely redirect the way federal funds for education are used (Title I, for example, and Pell Grants). Civil rights components and integration initiatives will be gutted. So much of the work that has been done towards establishing even just a fragile understanding of white supremacy and just a small start to countering and dismantling it will likely be lost. This will have devastating effects.<br />
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<i>Recommendation #4</i>: Get involved and be present in your community's schools, in your children's schools. Advocate for <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2015/06/on-need-for-more-educators-of-color-why.html" target="_blank">diverse school staffs</a> and <a href="http://allthingsedu.blogspot.com/2015/01/if-we-teach-it-they-will-write-it.html" target="_blank">diverse curricula</a>. Tell your local educators that you know that they can't control what kids learn at home, but that once in school, you expect everyone be treated with respect and dignity and to be kept safe. If you hear something or see something, say something. Right now, there are many kids in schools (including many traditional public schools) who are just trying to survive. <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/796417517157830656" target="_blank">Read this --it's </a>alarming but you must read it. It's always been this way on some level, especially for Muslim, black, Latino, LGBT, and immigrant students and students with disabilities, but now it's even worse and female and all other non-Christian students are also in more danger. The country will have a president, unless <a href="https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19" target="_blank">the electors of electoral college</a> step up to the plate, who is a white nationalist sexual predator and whose behavior would violate the code of conduct in many of our children's schools and warrant suspension if not expulsion, not to mention arrest and conviction outside of school. Our schools will be charged with enforcing codes of conduct to keep students safe from sexual assault, bullying, harassment, and attacks. Many are being bullied, intimidated, provoked, and in some cases attacked. They need our support and protection.<br />
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It isn't much, but that's all I got. Stay safe and remember to breathe.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-28225644836220093372016-08-07T11:48:00.000-04:002016-08-07T11:49:34.072-04:00It's not the science that is junk, it's the measures, Part II<div class="tr_bq">
So a day or so after my last post, <span style="color: #769689; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: normal;">It's not the science that is junk, it's the measures, </span>I came across <a href="http://prospect.org/article/qa-economic-consequences-denying-teachers-tenure" target="_blank">this interview of Jesse Rothstein by Rachel Cohen</a> in the <i>American Prospect</i>. There's lots of good stuff in there and it's worth reading. I don't mean to take away from the import of Jesse Rothstein's work (I am a big fan of his work and of Rachel Cohen's work) but a piece of it kind of demonstrates what I was trying to get at in my last post.</div>
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Talking about VAM, Rothstein said,<br />
<blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "Droid Serif", Cambria, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It’s very controversial and I’ve argued that one of the flaws of it is that even though VAM shows the average growth of a teacher’s student, that’s not the same thing as showing a teacher’s effect, because teachers teach very different groups of students. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "Droid Serif", Cambria, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
If I’m a teacher who is known to be really good with students with attention-deficit disorder, and all those kids get put in my class, they don’t, on average, gain as much as other students, and I look less effective. But that might be because I was systematically given the kids who wouldn’t gain very much.</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, yes, this is a very good point: there is a difference between showing "the growth of a teacher's student" and "showing a teacher's effect." And yes, according to test scores, and how well students perform on them, teachers can look more effective or less effective, regardless of how good they are at teaching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The he says, when she asks if he is skeptical of VAM,</span><br />
<blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "Droid Serif", Cambria, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I think the metrics are not as good as the plaintiffs made them out to be. There are bias issues, among others. One big issue is that evaluating teachers based on value-added encourages teachers to teach to the state test. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "Droid Serif", Cambria, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vergara</em> trials you testified against some of Harvard economist Raj Chetty's VAM research, and the two of you have been going back and forth ever since. Can you describe what you two are arguing about?</strong> </blockquote>
<blockquote style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: "Droid Serif", Cambria, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Raj’s testimony at the trial was very focused on his work regarding teacher VAM. After the trial, I really dug in to understand his work, and I probed into some of his assumptions, and found that they didn’t really hold up. So while he was arguing that VAM showed unbiased results, and VAM results tell you a lot about a teacher’s long-term outcomes, I concluded that what his approach really showed was that value-added scores are moderately biased, and that they don’t really tell us one way or another about a teacher’s long-term outcomes.</blockquote>
If you look at this response and then go back to the previous one I pulled out, you see that Rothstein is referencing "growth" and then "bias." That certain types of students won't "gain as much as other students" and that the value-added scores are "moderately biased" and that they don't tell us much about a teacher's "long-term outcomes."<br />
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Nowhere in there is there a repudiation of the measures, of the tests themselves, or even a question about their validity. His responses seem to assume that determining a teacher's effectiveness according to test scores is unfair because some students won't perform on them and that these tests can show growth and gains in learning. Nowhere does he question that the tests themselves might not be reflective of real learning, good teaching, or of quality education.<br />
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And then the bias and assumptions critique, that has to do with the model, and not with what is being fed into the model, i.e., test scores. Arguments about the strength of statistical models are worth having but those should start with probing what's being fed into them.<br />
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If someone like Jesse Rothstein isn't questioning that, then test-based accountability isn't going away anytime soon. It will forever be a matter of tinkering with models.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-25843207643640904152016-08-03T09:36:00.000-04:002016-08-03T09:37:20.425-04:00It's not the science that is junk, it's the measures<div class="tr_bq">
So I recently had occasion to read a whole bunch of studies on charter schools and one type I read was about their effectiveness. I read the CREDO studies and I read critiques of the CREDO studies and I read meta-analyses and I read smaller studies.</div>
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Anyway, I want to go back to something I used to say and that I have heard others who are similarly skeptical of Big Ed Reform, and that is the notion of "junk science." A lot of us have called VAM and have called other studies of educational effectiveness "junk science." I know I did, indignantly. But you know what? I didn't really know what I was saying. (This is one reason I went back to get my PhD, so I would have more understanding of these kinds of things.)<br />
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And I was reading all of these studies on the effectiveness of charter schools, I remembered reading <a href="http://www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/about-value-added-and-junk-science" target="_blank">this post by Matt DiCarlo on the Shanker Blog</a> from over 3 years ago. I remembered that reading it gave me pause about calling what I did "junk science" and I ceased doing so, but even so, I couldn't fully relate to what he was saying:<br />
<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">Now, I personally am not opposed to using these estimates in evaluations and other personnel policies, but I certainly understand opponents’ skepticism. For one thing, there are some states and districts in which design and implementation has been somewhat careless, and, in these situations, I very much share the skepticism. Moreover, the common argument that evaluations, in order to be "meaningful," must consist of value-added measures in a heavily-weighted role (e.g., 45-50 percent) is, in my view, unsupportable. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">All that said, calling value-added “junk science” completely obscures the important issues. The real questions here are less about the merits of the models <em style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px 3px 0px 0px;">per se </em>than how they're being used. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">If value-added is “junk science” regardless of how it's employed, then a fairly large chunk of social scientific research is “junk science." If that’s your opinion, then okay – you’re entitled to it – but it’s not very compelling, at least in my (admittedly biased) view.</span></blockquote>
I am still no statistics expert and I never will be, but I have a much greater appreciation for what these models and analyses can tell us and what they don't tell us and what their limitations are. And these researchers conducting these studies, they may have different ways of conducting the studies and different opinions regarding which factors should be included and which shouldn't, but they know what they're doing, most of them at least, and they go to great pains to be thorough and thoughtful about their design and methodology and to explain the models they're using and to account for the results that these models produce. So the problem is not with the science.<br />
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DiCarlo says the problem is in how the models are being used. Yes. But another problem, as far as I could glean, is with the measures they're using. "Student learning” and “student achievement” have come to be represented by test scores. That is not my currency of educational quality, but it is the current currency in educational research and policy. I think many of these tests are of dubious quality and I don't think that they provide a true measure of what students have actually learned and or of the quality of their educational experience. Richer, deeper, more authentic student learning in charter schools, and schools in general, can be measured if we think creatively and holistically about it. But we're not doing that and we're not incentivized to do that. So much of the money for educational research, so much of the recognition, goes to researchers who use these test scores as measures. Because there's not much else. Even researchers who don't agree that they are good measures will say as much in one paragraph and then cite them as evidence of effectiveness or lack thereof in the next. <div>
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To me, it's kind of like chicken nuggets and milkshakes. McFastFood place has a sound process for making chicken nuggets and milkshakes, but once all is said and done, how much actual quality chicken meat and milk come out of the other side? How much actual nutrition? How much actual, recognizable learning and educational quality gets funneled through these tests and comes out of the other side of these statistical analyses that use test scores as measures?</div>
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I doubt much.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0