America's national security and the upward mobility the country was built upon could collapse if the education system isn't rapidly improved, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Tuesday.
"If you look at why [Americans] are here or why their parents are here or their grandparents are here, someone believed that in the United States of America, if you worked hard, you could have a better life. That's what set us apart," she told a group at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's fragile, and we have to make sure that's [still] true. If it ever becomes not true because the education system can't deliver it, then there's no hope of rebuilding it."
Rice and former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein co-chaired a task force that looked into the relationship between education reform and America's national security. American students have fallen into the second tier of achievement when compared to international competitors such as China, South Korea, and many European countries. That failure threatens America's economic future, its physical safety, ability to protect cyber assets, awareness of other cultures, and the country's sense of unity, the report warns.
The task force said America should throw its support behind and expand the Common Core State Standards—benchmarks in English and math that have been adopted by all but five states—to other subjects; provide more school choice to students, so they are not stuck in "dropout factories" that graduate a low percentage of students; and launch a "National Security Readiness Audit" that would determine whether students are learning national security skills such as foreign languages and computer programming.
According to the report, America's educational system is "not adequately preparing its citizens to protect America or its national interests." The Department of Defense estimates that 75 percent of young Americans are not eligible to serve in the military because they didn't graduate from high school, are obese, or have criminal records. "Among recent high school graduates who are eligible to apply, 30 percent score too low on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to be recruited."
At the Council on Foreign Relations event, Klein said that the country's fading education system is threatening America's identity. If the education system fails, there's no Plan B, he said.
"If people don't believe they can get a fair shake with education, then I think the [national] cohesion erodes," he added.
Time is running out for REAL Education Reform in America or Europe & China will leave Our students in the dust! EFFECTIVE EDUCATION REFORM IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT THE COOPERATION OF TEACHER UNIONS.
22 Steps to 21st Century Education Reform:
1) REPEAL No Child Left Behind! Please!
2) Enact REAL Educational Reform within the U.S. Dept of Education & the National Public School System. This includes the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept of Education.
3) Link the Montessori Pre-School Experience (4 year-olds) to Direct Student Achievement via Hiring Montessori Certified Teachers to teach in Pre-Schools housed on Public School & Charter School Campuses.
4) Eliminate the current Student Testing System & Focus on Subject Matter Content & Student Creativity to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills.
5) Increase Teacher Pay based on a combination of Qualifications, Job Performance, Merit & Student Achievement NOT just Student Test Scores.
6) Require Parents & Guardians to Partner with Teachers and Schools.
7) Bail Out the Federal Student Loan Program just like Congress Bailed Out Wall Street & STOP Funding For-Profit Schools & Colleges which are Nothing more than Student Loan Mills!
8) Allow More Charter Schools to Operate & Provide More Funding those Schools.
9) Ensure that EVERY Public School & Charter School is Asbestos-Free, Up to Date, has a 21st Century Technology Lab & a Community Garden. Especially Schools in Urban Communities. Offer FREE Technology lessons for Parents at School Technology Labs.
10) HIRE & Train Qualified People from Corporate America to Work as Teachers, using the "Teach For America" Business Model.
11) Focus More on Reading, Science, Math, Art and...... Music.
Art & Music Must remain a part of Student Achievement because Creativity helps Children to thrive Academically.
12) Don't Allow Teachers to Teach the SAME Grade Level past 3 Years as to prevent Stagnation & Complacency. Don't Allow Principals to remain at the SAME Schools past 5 Years.
13) Allow BAD, Poor Performing, Complacent Teachers to be FIRED!
Recruit & HIRE More Part - time & Full -time Instructional Teacher Assistants for Grades: Kindergarten - 8th.
14) Encourage Local & Global Businesses to Form Partnerships with or Adopt EACH Public & Charter School in Every City & Community. Especially those located in Urban & Rural Communities.
15) Bail Out Student Loan Debt which has now reached $1 Trillion Dollars, just like the Bail Out Wall Street received.
16) Integrate Student Appropriate Entrepreneurship & Tech Start Up Programs into Student Curriculum beginning in the Kindergarten.
17) Make Student Attendance Mandatory. Hold Parents & Legal Guardians Accountable!
18) Focus on High School Graduation for EVERY Student! Start in Pre-School & Kindergarten.
19) Offer the Federal "Breakfast in the Classroom" Program in ALL Pre-School & Elementary Classrooms. Also Open Food Banks in ALL Public & Charter Schools.
20) "It Takes A Village!" Allow NO Student to FAIL! Drill Student Achievement into Every Teacher, Student, Principal, Parent & Legal Guardian.
21) Open Student Career/ Workforce Programs in ALL High Schools.
22) Help Students who want to enter the Teaching & Medical Profession to obtain College Scholarships & REAL Financial Aid prior to High School Graduation. OCCUPY EDUCATION!!
Sources: Fox News, Mediaite.com, MSNBC, PBS News, US News, Youtube
Dr. Michelle Rhee was FIRED for standing up to Teachers' Unions & her strong opinions on 21st Century Education Reform.
While I do still support Labor Unions & Teachers' Unions, I have to side with Michelle Rhee.
She was Right & should NOT have been Fired.
Bad, Ineffective Teachers should NOT be placed on pedestals or lauded as Heroes!
They should be FIRED Quickly!
Especially if they don't want to Change or Improve in their Profession.
Dr. Rhee was NOT afraid to send those Bad, Ineffective Teachers within the District of Columbia Public School System along their lazy way.
Dr. Rhee should have been lauded for her Courage & Vision instead she was Fired from her job as Chancellor, after she Terminated Bad, Ineffective, Lazy Teachers.
Big Mistake!
Since leaving DC's Public School System Dr. Rhee founded "Students First", a Non-Profit organization promoting Teacher Effectiveness & High Student Achievement.
Time is running out for REAL Education Reform in America or Europe & China will leave Our students in the dust! EFFECTIVE EDUCATION REFORM IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT THE COOPERATION OF TEACHER UNIONS.
22 Steps to 21st Century Education Reform:
1) REPEAL No Child Left Behind! Please!
2) Enact REAL Educational Reform within the U.S. Dept of Education & the National Public School System. This includes the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept of Education.
3) Link the Montessori Pre-School Experience (4 year-olds) to Direct Student Achievement via Hiring Montessori Certified Teachers to teach in Pre-Schools housed on Public School & Charter School Campuses.
4) Eliminate the current Student Testing System & Focus on Subject Matter Content & Student Creativity to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills.
5) Increase Teacher Pay based on a combination of Qualifications, Job Performance, Merit & Student Achievement NOT just Student Test Scores.
6) Require Parents & Guardians to Partner with Teachers and Schools.
7) Bail Out the Federal Student Loan Program just like Congress Bailed Out Wall Street & STOP Funding For-Profit Schools & Colleges which are Nothing more than Student Loan Mills!
8) Allow More Charter Schools to Operate & Provide More Funding those Schools.
9) Ensure that EVERY Public School & Charter School is Asbestos-Free, Up to Date, has a 21st Century Technology Lab & a Community Garden. Especially Schools in Urban Communities. Offer FREE Technology lessons for Parents at School Technology Labs.
10) HIRE & Train Qualified People from Corporate America to Work as Teachers, using the "Teach For America" Business Model.
11) Focus More on Reading, Science, Math, Art and...... Music.
I completely agree with Professor Melissa Harris-Perry. Funding for Art & Music Programs in Public Schools Must remain an important part of Student Achievement because the Arts enhance Creativity which helps Children to thrive Academically.
12) Don't Allow Teachers to Teach the SAME Grade Level past 3 Years as to prevent Stagnation & Complacency. Don't Allow Principals to remain at the SAME Schools past 5 Years.
13) Allow BAD, Poor Performing, Complacent Teachers to be FIRED!
Recruit & HIRE More Part - time & Full -time Instructional Teacher Assistants for Grades: Kindergarten - 8th.
14) Encourage Local & Global Businesses to Form Partnerships with or Adopt EACH Public & Charter School in Every City & Community. Especially those located in Urban & Rural Communities.
15) Bail Out Student Loan Debt which has now reached $1 Trillion Dollars, just like the Bail Out Wall Street received.
16) Integrate Student Appropriate Entrepreneurship & Tech Start Up Programs into Student Curriculum beginning in the Kindergarten.
17) Make Student Attendance Mandatory. Hold Parents & Legal Guardians Accountable!
18) Focus on High School Graduation for EVERY Student! Start in Pre-School & Kindergarten.
19) Offer the Federal "Breakfast in the Classroom" Program in ALL Pre-School & Elementary Classrooms. Also Open Food Banks in ALL Public & Charter Schools.
20) "It Takes A Village!" Allow NO Student to FAIL! Drill Student Achievement into Every Teacher, Student, Principal, Parent & Legal Guardian.
21) Open Student Career/ Workforce Programs in ALL High Schools.
22) Help Students who want to enter the Teaching & Medical Profession to obtain College Scholarships & REAL Financial Aid prior to High School Graduation. OCCUPY EDUCATION!!
America's national security and the upward mobility the country was built upon could collapse if the education system isn't rapidly improved, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Tuesday.
"If you look at why [Americans] are here or why their parents are here or their grandparents are here, someone believed that in the United States of America, if you worked hard, you could have a better life. That's what set us apart," she told a group at the Council on Foreign Relations. "It's fragile, and we have to make sure that's [still] true. If it ever becomes not true because the education system can't deliver it, then there's no hope of rebuilding it."
Rice and former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein co-chaired a task force that looked into the relationship between education reform and America's national security. American students have fallen into the second tier of achievement when compared to international competitors such as China, South Korea, and many European countries. That failure threatens America's economic future, its physical safety, ability to protect cyber assets, awareness of other cultures, and the country's sense of unity, the report warns.
The task force said America should throw its support behind and expand the Common Core State Standards—benchmarks in English and math that have been adopted by all but five states—to other subjects; provide more school choice to students, so they are not stuck in "dropout factories" that graduate a low percentage of students; and launch a "National Security Readiness Audit" that would determine whether students are learning national security skills such as foreign languages and computer programming.
According to the report, America's educational system is "not adequately preparing its citizens to protect America or its national interests." The Department of Defense estimates that 75 percent of young Americans are not eligible to serve in the military because they didn't graduate from high school, are obese, or have criminal records. "Among recent high school graduates who are eligible to apply, 30 percent score too low on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery to be recruited."
At the Council on Foreign Relations event, Klein said that the country's fading education system is threatening America's identity. If the education system fails, there's no Plan B, he said.
"If people don't believe they can get a fair shake with education, then I think the [national] cohesion erodes," he added.
Sources: MSNBC, NY Daily News, PBS News, TIME, US News, Washington Post, Youtube
In a Campus visit Friday morning, President Obama outlined his plans to keep college tuition costs in check, getting a wildly enthusiastic response at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Students cheered his oratory on the importance of a college degree, expanded student aid, affordable college costs — and, of course, his many references to Michigan, a key swing state.
But out in the world, the reaction to the president’s proposals — tying colleges’ eligibility for certain federal aid programs to their affordability and outcomes — was far more tempered.
Most people stressed that they, too, wanted to make college education more affordable. But when it came to the particulars of the plan — and paying for it — there was no consensus.
“The idea of helping students and families pay for college is very popular,” said Terry W. Hartle, vice president of the American Council on Education. “On the other hand, nobody would bet on Congress passing much of anything this year, given the poisonous political atmosphere we are living in.
The problem is, many of the president’s ideas are fairly pricey.”
Briefing reporters on Friday afternoon, Department of Education officials said they would release information next month on how the plan could be financed, as part of the budget process.
Generally, in academia, there was strong support for the President’s plan to double work-study jobs and to expand the pool of money available for Perkins loans.
And some leaders, like Bill Powers, president of the University of Texas, liked the administration’s idea of tying aid to results.
“He’s proposing a form of performance funding for a portion of federal spending, and my view is that, whatever level of funding we’re talking about, that’s the approach we ought to take,” he said.
But others said they felt public higher education would suffer from tuition increases that were an inevitable result of state budget cuts. And while they appreciated the president’s advocacy for affordable higher education, many were wary of his plan.
“The answer is not going to come from more federal controls on colleges or states, or by telling families to judge the value of an education by the amount young graduates earn in the first few years after they graduate,” said David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
He warned of unintended consequences: If colleges are forced to cut corners, educational quality could decline.
In Congress, reaction to the plan seemed to divide along party lines.
“The president is saying that people can’t afford to go to college anymore, and that just simply is not true,” said Representative Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who is chairwoman of the House Higher Education subcommittee. “Tuition is too high at most schools, but it isn’t the job of the federal government to punish those schools. It’s very arbitrary, and the president sounds like a dictator.”
Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a Republican and a former federal secretary of education, offered his own ideas of improving academic efficiency: “I’ve suggested that they could offer three-year degrees to some students. Colleges could also operate more in the summertime, which would make more efficient use of campuses and reduce their costs.”
Many Democrats offered only the blandest of statements praising the president for tackling the affordability issue. “The president’s higher education proposal rightly calls on colleges, universities and states to maintain a commitment to keep college costs low making it easier for American families and their children to afford a college education,” Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, said in a statement.
Past efforts to rein in college costs have not fared well on Capitol Hill. Nine years ago, Representative Howard P. McKeon, a California Republican, proposed to cap colleges’ tuition increases at twice the rate of inflation, with sanctions including the loss of federal aid, but colleges protested, and the bill died in committee.
At the American Council on Education, there are concerns that Mr. Obama’s proposal to track outcomes by collecting information on graduates’ debt and earnings would harm institutions that train Head Start teachers and other important but low-paid professionals, while rewarding business schools.
Molly Corbett Broad, the council’s president, said many complex questions remained to be answered, among them, how affordability should be judged, and what the effect would be on public institutions that had had to raise tuition because of deep state funding cuts.
Furthermore, she said, even if the administration’s Race to the Top grant competition may have worked in leveraging change in K-12 schools, higher education is so different that it is not clear that the president’s proposal for a similar competition to spur state higher-education reform would be a good tool.
“The devil’s in the details,” she said. “And we don’t know the details yet.”
President Obama warned the nation Tuesday that the decades-old promise of a secure and rising middle class is under threat because of growing disparities between the rich and everyone else in America.
In an election-year State of the Union message that will likely serve as the template for the months of campaigning ahead, Obama outlined a series of steps that he believes will reinforce the tentative economic recovery, including proposals to eliminate tax incentives for companies to move jobs overseas, to make college more affordable and to expand help for credit-worthy homeowners looking to refinance mortgages at historically low interest rates.
None of the proposals constitutes a single bold stroke to revive the economy, but the heart of Obama’s message — one he has underscored in appearances around the country in recent months — was that America’s wealthiest citizens must do more to cement the economic recovery and pull the country from its dire fiscal condition.
The approach was typified by his call for those who make more than $1 million a year to pay a tax rate of at least 30 percent and to forgo a host of deductions he said they do not need.
In detailing what he called a “blueprint for an economy built to last,” Obama struck the populist chords that his Republican presidential rivals have criticized as “class warfare.” But he has seen his approval ratings rise on the strength of that message, particularly among the independent voters who helped elect him in 2008 but had grown disappointed by his leadership in office.
“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” Obama told a boisterous House chamber and a prime-time television audience, “or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules.
“What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values,” he continued. “We have to reclaim them.”
Obama spoke from a stronger position politically than he has been in for months. His approval rating, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, stands at about 50 percent, and a majority of independent voters now look favorably on his performance in office.
But his advisers are well aware that his pursuit of a second term is imperiled by a still-staggering economy and a perception, even among those in his own party, that he has not effectively challenged Republicans to pass his economic plans.
Nearly all of the roughly hour-long speech Tuesday was devoted to the economy. Obama spent only a brief time on foreign policy.
He underscored that in the past year he has overseen the killing of Osama bin Laden and the end of the Iraq war, an unpopular conflict that he had pledged to end as a candidate. Adm. William McRaven, who oversaw the May raid that killed bin Laden, was invited to sit with first lady Michelle Obama for the address.
In his speech, Obama proposed using half of the “peace dividend” as he ends America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — about $200 billion over the next six years — to pay for the construction of new roads, bridges, rail lines and other infrastructure that he said is critical to the country’s ability to compete in a global economy.
Should He Provide State Education Officials With Additional Funding To Open More Quality Charter Schools, Thereby Forcing Failing Public Schools To Close?
Not Wanting To Seem Pessimistic But At This Point I'm More For Quality Charter Schools, Home Schooling & If You Can Afford It, Private Schools.
I Haven't Completely Turned My Back On America's Public Schools But For Some Reason When It Comes To Educating Black Children I NO Longer Trust Public Schools Per Se.
Money alone isn't the cure for America's ailing school system, President Obama says. Speaking to TODAY's Matt Lauer in the Green Room of the White House for nearly 30 minutes, Obama said that additional funding tied to significant reforms — including a longer school year and lifting teaching as a profession — is a much-needed fix. "We can't spend our way out of it. I think that when you look at the statistics, the fact is that our per-pupil spending has gone up during the last couple of decades even as results have gone down," explained Obama, invited to appear by NBC as the network launched its weeklong " Education Nation" initiative.
"Obviously, in some schools money plays a big factor ... ," Obama said, pointing out that schools in the poorest areas often don't have up-to-date textbooks. "On the other hand, money without reform will not fix the problem."
Obama said his administration's "reform agenda" includes increasing standards, finding and encouraging the best teachers, decreasing bureaucracy and deploying financial resources effectively. Teachers who fail to live up to expectations need to be given a chance to improve, he said, while those who do not should move on. Story: Education reformer: "We're in a crisis."
Longer school year?
Obama repeated his support for a longer school year after being asked about it by students from a sixth-grade class in Cincinatti, Ohio. He did not specify how long that school year should be, however he noted that U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.
"That month makes a difference. It means students are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer ... The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense," Obama said. "Now, that's going to cost some money ..., but I think that would be money well spent."
The 20 students in Matt Cohen's class at Roll Hill Elementary School were so thrilled that President Obama answered their question about extending the school year that Cohen had to reply his answer three times.
"They were excited," said Cohen, who submitted the question online on the students' behalf. "Some of the students think that we should not have an extended school year because their brains need time to rest — that's what they said. Others think it is good ... it keeps them busy and out of trouble."
Role of Teachers
Obama says his administration's Race to the Top initiative has been one of the "most powerful tools for reform" in many years. Through the program, states compete for $4 billion in funding by highlighting their plans for reform.
The president said he wants to work with teachers' unions, and he embraced the role of defending their members. But he said unions cannot and should not defend a status quo in which one-third of children are dropping out. He urged them not to be resistant to change, particularly in schools which he said have become "dropout factories."
"The vast majority of teachers want to do a good job ... We have to be able to identify teachers who are doing well," the president said. "Teachers who are not doing well, we have to give them the support and the training to do well. And ultimately, if some teachers are not doing a good job, they've gotta go."
While the nation’s poorer schools are of immediate concern, Obama said his administration is also concerned about the decline in math and science scores in middle-class districts, and hiring teachers is key to reversing that trend.
“My administration is announcing that we are going to specifically focus on training 10,000 new math and science teachers," he said. "We have to boost performance in that area. We used to rank at the top; we are now 21st in science, 25th in math. That is a sign of long-term decline that has to be reversed.”
Reforms linked to Economy
During the interview, the president returned several times to a discussion of the economy, job creation and the staggering unemployment rate that has hurt tax revenues at every level of government.
"It's not that this is a jobless recovery. We've seen eight months in a row of private sector job growth ... The problem is that we just lost so many jobs because of the crisis that we've got a much bigger hole to fill," Obama said.
Asked if he was aware that some Americans think he is out of touch when it comes to jobs, Obama assured Lauer that the economy is forefront on his mind.
"The fact of the matter is, as long as unemployment is as high as it is, as long as we haven't recovered as quickly as we should have, people are going to be be hurting," Obama said.
"All I can communicate to the American people is that every single day, the thing that I wake up with and the thing I go to bed with is the fact that too many Americans are out there who are doing the right thing, working hard, taking the responsibilities seriously, and are still having a tough time in this Economy."
Parental Accountability
Obama reminded Lauer that he is a parent of school-age children, although his daughters, Sasha, 9, and Malia, 12, are both enrolled in private schools that Obama acknowledged are much better than the public schools in Washington, D.C. Parents can and should do more to foster learning by introducing good study habits at home, he said.
"No matter how good the teacher, if the kid's coming home from school, and the parent isn't checking to see if they are doing their homework or watching TV, that's going to be a problem," he said. "And that, by the way, is true here in this White House. Malia and Sasha are great kids, and great students. But if you gave them a choice, they'd be happy to sit in front of the TV all night long, every night. At some point you have to say, ‘Your job, kid, right now, is to learn.’ ”
North Carolina's application for Race to the Top money ranked 12th among the 16 finalists, according to reviewers' scores.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters that the winners, Delaware and Tennessee, distanced themselves from the field. A factor that set those two apart from the rest was the statewide impact of their proposals.
"This is about systematic reform," Duncan said. "These two states are touching every child."
All states' scores will be made public on the department's Web site. The department will also post video of the finalists' presentations.
"Everyone will see their own strengths and weakness and how they can improve," Duncan said.
Charter school advocates pinned the state's failure on the law that caps charter schools at 100.
Duncan said charters were part of the equation, but were not a dispropotionate factor the 500-point scoring scheme.
Tennesssee caps charter schools at 90. The state voted last year to raise the limit.
Gov. Bev Perdue weighed in on the Wake County diversity debate – sort of.
Asked this week about the Wake County Board of Education's decision to end busing for socioeconomic reasons in favor of neighborhood schools, Perdue seemed to favor the old system, reports Rob Christensen.
"I am speaking as a mother and a grandmother," Perdue said after a news conference at Rex Hospital to announce a Medicaid anti-fraud effort.
"I really do believe that kids do better in a situation that prepares them for real life," Perdue said. "And real life has children who are from all economic levels."
Perdue said students should learn to live with people of other backgrounds.
"I hate busing. I know that is hard for people," Perdue said. "The bottom line for me as governor....is to be sure that every kid in every neighborhood in North Carolina, regardless of where they live, is actually able to go to a school that works and can help them be career or college-ready."
The governor doesn't have any direct influence over local assignment policies.
The new Wake County school board majority's plan to abandon the use of socioeconomic diversity will be fought every step of the way by groups that vow to block efforts to implement neighborhood schools.
Supporters of Wake's diversity policy say they're not deterred by the board's 5-4 vote Tuesday to end decades of busing for racial and income diversity in favor of sending children to schools in their communities. The leaders of the largest opposition groups say they plan to scrutinize every step that the board will take over the next nine to 15 months to develop the new system, from lobbying the public to potentially taking legal action.
"We will work to fight their efforts to end socio-economic diversity," said the Rev. William Barber, President of the NC NAACP, on Wednesday. "We will use every legal and moral tool at our disposal."
The calls of defiance were countered with calls for community unity from supporters of the board majority. They urged supporters of the diversity policy to work with the board in developing the details of the new assignment model, which would divide Wake into community school zones.
"The time for fighting is over," said Kristen Stocking, a founder of Wake Schools Community Alliance, a parent group that raised money during the fall campaign to elect four Republican-backed board members.
"The process will move forward over the next few years whether they like it or not. This is the will of the voters."
In addition to intense scrutiny from opponents, the board's majority will deal with challenges such as how the new community-schools system will be implemented during a time of tight budgets and the expectation of renewed student growth. The board also will have the challenge of deciding where to set the boundaries for each zone and what to do with magnet schools.
Since the mid-1970s, racial or socioeconomic status has been a key factor in school assignments for students, who now number about 140,000. The use of socioeconomic diversity for the past decade has won Wake national recognition.
Supporters of the diversity policy had argued that the policy helped the district avoid assigning high proportions of students from low-income families to district schools, which can lead to lower test scores and high teacher turnover; those factors can discourage businesses from moving into the area. Critics argued that the policy allowed the district to hide the poor academic performance and graduation rates of students from low-income families.
As the Tuesday vote neared, the lobbying efforts of supporters of the diversity policy increased, with a candlelight vigil Monday and predictions of re-segregation Tuesday. The board's actions were booed by some in the crowd, with a few protesters creating such a disruption with their chanting that they were arrested.
Supporters of the board said Wednesday that histrionics need to end and that talk about re-segregation is overblown.
"Lay down your candles and your songs and give them breathing room," Patrice Lee, a founder of Wake CARES, a parent group that backs the board majority, said Wednesday at a news conference.
Kathleen Brennan, another Wake CARES co-founder, said "the time for threats, name-calling and dire consequences is over."
But Barber said the NAACP won't give up no matter how long it takes to restore the diversity policy. He noted that it took 58 years for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision that separate but equal was legal.
Yevonne Brannon, chairwoman of the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, which backs the diversity policy, pledged Wednesday to put the new board's plans under the microscope. She predicted that public backlash, which the group will try to heighten, and budget woes will derail the majority's efforts.
"I have faith in the community," Brannon said. "Their core values are stronger than the core values of the five. The community will not let the board vote stand."
But there was at least some talk of conciliation from groups that back the diversity policy. The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a leading local civil rights group, passed a resolution last week in support of maintaining economic diversity. But Dan Coleman, the group's president, said the board's vote "hopefully presents all of us an opportunity to strengthen all of our families and communities as we move forward together."
"The RWCA stands ready willing and able to work with our Board of Education in crafting a new assignment policy that causes all communities to be high functioning and engaged communities," Coleman said.
During a tense marathon meeting, the Wake County school board voted to stop busing students for diversity, then cemented that action by taking the first steps toward a community-based system of student assignment.
With a 5-4 vote Tuesday, the Republican-backed board's majority ended more than three decades of having racial or socioeconomic status be a prime factor in school assignments for students, who now number around 140,000.
Instead, they agreed to start assigning students closer to home, even if the change creates more schools with high concentrations of students from poor families. Board member John Tedesco, point man for the resolution, said the system already allows for high numbers of high-poverty schools.
"This gives us our direction now," said Tedesco, who will chair the committee that will split the county into community school zones, a blueprint that will take up to 15 months to develop. "We're now going to community schools. This will give parents more stability."
While the plan for the new community zones is months from completion, the school board majority quickly solidified its vote by making student reassignment decisions showing they're no longer considering diversity.
The board approved measures in the reassignment plan for this fall that would send hundreds of students to schools closer to their homes. In the process, some diversity-related moves made by the old board were reversed.
After nine long hours
The diversity decision came nearly nine hours into a tumultuous day. Chairman Ron Margiotta and his four allies beat back amendments by opponents on the board who didn't want to pass the resolution without more study, more research and more information on its cost.
"If this is going to stand the test of time, it could stand the test of a work session," said opposition member Kevin Hill.
The majority agreed to an amendment by Dr. Anne McLaurin, another opposition member, that inserted language from the state constitution that guarantees all North Carolina children "an equal opportunity for a sound basic education."
Then, member Carolyn Morrison put the majority in the position of having to vote on "a plan that ensures that schools will not become segregated." Ultimately, the majority didn't support Morrison's amendment.
"The eyes of the nation are upon us," Morrison said.
Tedesco sharply disagreed with the charge that ending the diversity policy will lead to re-segregation. "That doesn't happen today. The fact is, the laws of the state of North Carolina and the Federal Government are sufficient to make sure that does not occur."
During a public comment period, police removed more than 20 people, mostly in their teens and early 20s, who sat in the hallway outside the meeting room and pierced the proceedings with loud chanting: "No Re-Segregation in our town! Shut it down!"
During a public comment period before the full board, about 75 percent of the speakers voiced opposition to the resolution that would lead to fundamental change in the way students are assigned.
Civil rights lawyer Julius Chambers, former director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, joined those who urged the board not to abandon its commitment to diversity.
"We are now re-opening a lot of issues and a lot of problems," said Chambers. "I hope you pause a moment and think about the problems you might be creating for the children and the parents you serve."
No Coercion, she says
Wake County parent Debbie Griffith Overby said she loves Wake's diversity, but doesn't believe in making students attend schools for that reason.
"I'm against forced busing," Overby said. "This is the United States of America. People should not be forced in Wake County to do anything they don't want to do."
Before the resolution passed, administrators in the morning work session said that they had already eliminated the use of socio-economic diversity in filling nearly all the magnet schools this year. In the absence of diversity, priority was given to applicants who had siblings in magnet schools or who were applying from crowded schools.
Previously, priority was also given to applicants from more affluent areas who could help create balance at schools in poor areas.
Only at the Wake Early College of Health and Science, where the goal is to attract prospective first-time college applicants, will diversity be used to pick applicants.
Administrators say 4,589 of the 7,670 magnet applicants, or 60 percent, were placed. Traditionally half or less are accepted.
Keeping cash flowing
Administrators warned that the board will need to act within a month to adopt a voluntary de-segregation plan to keep receiving Federal magnet grants. The diversity policy had been used for previous applications.
The new plan could come in the form of a resolution pledging to keep schools De-Segregated.
The national NAACP is now joining the call for Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta to resign following his "here come the animals out of the cages" comment at last week's board meeting.
In a press release today, national NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said he's joining the state NAACP in calling for Margiotta's resignation as board chairman. He said Margiotta's comment was 'racially insensitive."
“The racial insensitivity exhibited by Mr. Margiotta underscores the lack of consideration for the interests, needs, and concerns of Blacks and other racial and ethnic minorities in North Carolina,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous in the press releae. “We support the North Carolina NAACP in their call for justice and sensitivity in Wake County, and believe the resignation of Mr. Margiotta is a necessary step in that direction.”
Last week, the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, had said Margiotta was "unfit" to be chairman. Barber used the remark as part of the complaint filed last week with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Margiotta has said he was "out of line" for the remark. But he's denied it had racial intent. He's pointing out that he was upset that a mostly white crowd was booing a black speaker for criticizing the diversity policy.
Here's the press release:
NAACP PRESIDENT BENJAMIN TODD JEALOUS, NC NAACP CALL FOR RESIGNATION OF BOARD CHAIRMAN IN LIGHT OF RACIST COMMENTS WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN RON MARGIOTTA REFERRED TO PEOPLE OF COLOR AS "ANIMALS OUT OF THEIR CAGES"
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous joined the North Carolina NAACP State Conference in calling for the resignation of Wake County School Board Chairman Ron Margiotta based on comments made by Margiotta the organization deems racially insensitive. In a recent public school board meeting, Margiotta referred to several stakeholders of color as “animals out of their cages.”
“The racial insensitivity exhibited by Mr. Margiotta underscores the lack of consideration for the interests, needs, and concerns of Blacks and other racial and ethnic minorities in North Carolina,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “We support the North Carolina NAACP in their call for justice and sensitivity in Wake County, and believe the resignation of Mr. Margiotta is a necessary step in that direction.”
Margiotta’s comments come in the midst of a contentious and racially charged battle over proposed changes to Wake County school district busing policy that will effectively re-segregate the county’s school system. While the battle for good jobs, good schools and economic solutions continue statewide, North Carolina NAACP State Conference President Rev. Dr. William Barber II asserts that attitudes like that of Margiotta will only increase the divide between people of all races who are affected by the surrounding social conditions.
“The vivid imagery evoked by Mr. Margiotta of uncaged wild animals takes another step toward dehumanizing African Americans while trivializing our concerns,” said Barber. “The racial undertones present in Mr. Margiotta’s comments stand to undermine cohesiveness between racial groups at a time when it is most needed as we work together to achieve a better North Carolina for all.”
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
President Barack Obama prodded states Monday to raise their school standards by using his best leverage: money.
Obama told governors he wants a change in law that would allow states to receive federal aid for poor students only if they adopt academic standards that are deemed to truly prepare children for college or careers out of high school.
The move would require a change in the nation's main elementary and secondary education law, which became known as the No Child Left Behind Act during the presidency of George W. Bush.
Traditionally, the federal government is a marginal player in the financing and control of education, but its role has expanded as educators and lawmakers at all levels worry about slipping U.S. competitiveness.
Many schools count on a key source of Federal aid, known as Title I, to help out their poorest students. That's the money that Obama wants to make contingent upon the setting of more rigorous standards across the nation. It would remain up to states, not Washington, to choose their specific standards.
Many states are already working on a united effort to coordinate and improve their standards.
Yet Obama took a swipe at how some states responded to this challenge under No Child Left Behind, saying 11 states lowered their standards in math between 2005 and 2007.
"That may make those states look better relative to other states," Obama said, "but it's not going to help our students keep up with their global competitors."
Obama spoke to governors of both parties during their yearly gathering with the president at the White House.
The White House said the Governors have been working on the president's Race to the Top program, which rewards school systems that raise standards and demonstrate commitment through tougher student assessments.
At the same time, the White House said that too many states are churning out graduates who are unprepared either for college or career.
In addition to supporting ongoing state efforts, the White House said the president will commit an additional $350 million to the Race to the Top challenge to back "state-led partnerships to develop new, state-of-the art assessments aligned to college and career-ready standards."
According to the White House, the president's 2011 budget will call for the Re-Authorization of the 1994 version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which would require states to meet six tough standards to help high school graduates prepare for college or jobs. The White House said schools need to focus on better teacher preparation, improved teaching and tougher student assessments.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was first passed in 1965 and has been routinely re-authorized every five years. Under the measure, federal money is sent to the states to pay for teacher development, instructional materials, educational resources and promotion of parental involvement.
Obama's Re-Authorization would:
—Require the states to adopt and certify that they have college-and career-ready standards in Reading and Mathematics" to be eligible for the federal money.
—Establish a $405 million outlay to help states "align teacher preparation practices and programs to teaching of college- and career-ready standards."
—Provide grants totaling $400 million to states that adopt tougher student assessment programs.
—Dedicate $1.35 billion to the Race to the Top program in addition to stimulus money for the program.
—Allot $2.5 billion in the 2011 budget to a state grant program to support better teaching and leadership in the schools.
Many teachers and educators across the United States are at risk of losing their jobs in the next few months, the nation's education secretary told a meeting of the National Governors Association on Sunday.
"I am very, very concerned about layoffs going into the next school year starting in September. Good superintendents are going to start sending out pink slips in March and April, like a month from now, as they start to plan for their budgets," said Arne Duncan, referring to the slips of paper included in some paychecks to notify a person of being fired.
As tax revenues in most states continue to plummet because of weak economies, states and cities are considering cutting education to keep their budgets balanced. Every state in the union except one, Vermont, is required to balance its budget.
The economic stimulus package, pushed last year by the administration of President Barack Obama and approved by Congress saved at least 320,000 education jobs, Duncan told the governors.
The plan included the largest transfer of money from the U.S. government to states in the nation's history, according to the Pew Center on the States.
It created a stabilization fund of $48 billion that provided cash directly to states, mostly for schools. But those funds will likely run out before the end of the year.
Last week, Obama warned of the possibility of layoffs in state governments when the stimulus ends.
Late on Sunday, the White House announced that it will put $350 million into new competitive grants states can use to develop educational standards designed to prepare students for college.
Meanwhile, Duncan said the $1.5 billion "Race to the Top" grants included in the stimulus plan are on track to be distributed soon, with the finalists for the grants announced next week.
Obama has proposed extending the program, as well as expanding it by $3 billion, to fund new education innovations, especially at semi-autonomous charter schools.
The administration will also send out school improvement grants to states next month totaling $3.5 billion, Duncan said.
Employment is one of the most pressing issues in the United States, where the unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent. The secretary, formerly the chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, said there was some hope for educators in jobs legislation passed by the House of Representatives and is pending in the Senate.
Duncan also said a bill known as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act passed by the House would boost funding for colleges and universities.
In January, there were 8.03 million workers in local government education, down from 8.09 million a year before and 8.05 million in January 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Do you really believe Pres. Obama's Stimulus plan has created or saved jobs?
Well.....
Here is further proof the Stimulus success rate was a lie fabricated by the Mainstream Media and that it did NOT save Teaching Jobs in North Carolina.
Last year after Pres. Obama signed the Recovery Act into law he dished out $8.1B to North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue (Democrat).
After gladly accepting it what did Gov. Perdue do with her state's share?
Due to North Carolina's $4B plus deficit caused by previous Wasteful Democrat Spending and Corruption, she appears to have helped balance the state's budget.
Where's the rest of it?
North Carolina citizens have no idea.
Just like we don't know where hundreds of millions in N.C. Education Lottery money went. (We guess it just disappeared into thin air.)
Instead of saving Teacher Jobs Gov. Perdue ordered North Carolina Public School Superintendents to slash millions in Educational funding, not excluding Teachers. Especially Teachers working in Low Income schools.
The result?
Thousands of North Carolina Teachers lost their jobs.
Many of them were Fired ILLEGALLY and appealed to get their jobs back.
(Evidence and Data to substantiate this post can be obtained from CMS, N.C. Dept of Ed., U.S. Dept of Ed., etc., via the Freedom of Information Act.)
What has the Obama Administration done to stop this unjust travesty? ?
NOTHING!
Why?
He obviously hopes to win North Carolina again in 2012, so he is basically selling out North Carolina Teachers and Minority Students for Political Gain. ("Pay for Play")
They refused to because they didn't want Pres. Obama to appear as a Liar or Incompetent.
Please know those N.C. Teachers were NOT laid-off for Poor Performance reasons.
To the contrary because they were all Certified, some National Board Certified and most possessed Master Degrees.
In addition about 97% of them had previously received Excellent Evaluations.
They were laid-off because Gov. Bev Perdue used the Stimulus money to her discretion (personal political gain) and due to obvious Racism (just review her past & present policies), it didn't matter if Minority students failed because of unnecessary Teacher lay-offs.
You see the more Minority Students drop out of school and commit crimes, the more Minority citizens she can help imprison in North Carolina Prisons for LIFE!
Even if they commit Non-Homicidal, Non Drug Related Crimes.
Well this year Gov. Bev Perdue is planning to do the exact, same thing. (Fire Teachers unnecessarily)
Thousands more North Carolina Teachers are expected to lose their jobs before August 2010.
Does anyone care?
It doesn't look like it.
In fact more Teacher Lay-offs are currently in the planning stages for many, many Charlotte-Mecklenburg Teachers.
I'm about to expose another prime example of how the Stimulus plan isn't working well in North Carolina and how N.C. Politicians/ N.C. Education Officials are using this Recession as an excuse NOT to educate Minority Students.
Ever since Dr. Peter Gorman was hired in 2006 as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' Superintendent, he has worked diligently behind the scenes to Re-segregate Charlotte's Public School system.
All of the De-Segregation efforts established by previous CMS Superintendents (Dr. Elmer Garinger , Dr. A. Craig Phillips, Dr. William Self, Dr. Rolland Jones, Dr. Jay Robinson, Dr. Peter Relic, Dr. John Murphy, Dr. Eric Smith, Dr. James L. Pughsley, Dr. Frances Haithcock) have basically been destroyed by Gorman's Racist regime.
(Dr. Peter Gorman is the same man Arne Duncan wanted to hire last year to help improve Public Schools nationwide. Can you believe it?)
Whose mission is Dr. Peter Gorman carrying out in order to remain employed and continue in his role?
Jennifer Roberts (Democrat) and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners!
That's right because they hold Charlotte's purse strings.
Since Jennifer Roberts is the Chairperson, she along with Gov. Bev Perdue (her political "partner in crime") are both Guilty of disenfranchising Charlotte's Minority Students as it relates to them receiving an Equal Education.
Jennifer Roberts may attempt to spin a fake story about "Budget Cuts" to cover up her race-based malfeasance but don't believe her.
In 2008 Jennifer Roberts allowed Charlotte-Meck's County Manager (Harry Jones) to create a unnecessary DSS job (during a Hiring Freeze) for his fellow Church Member and the wife of our current Mayor Anthony Foxx.
This woman was paid a salary of $100,000 and worked on this job for little over a entire year.
If Charlotte was hurting for money than why did Jennifer Roberts allow this unnecessary job to be created?
As you can see Jennifer appears to have no problem using Federal and Taxpayer Dollars to grant Political Favors but when it comes to educating Minority students, she often intentionally falls short.
Just in case you weren't aware, Jennifer Roberts is an Educator within the UNC System.
However I guess helping to ensure Minority Children receive an Equal education comparable to White Students isn't on her agenda. (Hypocrite!)
1) Eliminate School Choice thus only allowing Low Income Minority Students to attend Failing/ Low Performing schools in their communities. This includes eliminating ALL Magnet School Transportation.
2) Place the least experienced Teachers in those Failing Schools.
3) Keep Minority Students (mainly African-Americans) out of Gifted and AP programs. Also cut funding for Fine Arts courses from Failing/ Low Performing schools.
4) Put Pre-School and Kindergarten level Malfunctioning Software in the Technology Labs of Failing/ Low Performing Schools so Minority Students won't become Computer Literate or master Technology Skills
5) Encourage Principals and Staff to INTENTIONALLY keep as many Minority Students (mainly African-Americans) below Grade level as possible in order to continue receiving Federal Title 1 money.
6) If a Principal in an Failing/ Low Performing School is doing "too good" of a job educating those Minority Students, move that Principal out and put in someone with much Lower Standards for Minority Students.
7) Steal Money from Charlotte's Charter Schools and fight against Charter Schools.
8) Use the Federal Title 1 Funding and money stolen from Charlotte Charter Schools money to invest in Public schools located within Wealthy, Pre-dominantly White Communities.
9) Assign the Most Experienced, Brightest Teachers to schools located in Wealthy, Pre-dominantly White Communities.
10) Illegally Fire Teachers from Failing/ Low Performing Schools (Title 1) in order to save and secure funding for Teachers assigned to CMS Schools in Wealthy, Pre-dominantly White Communities.
(Reminder: Evidence and Data to substantiate this post can be obtained from CMS, N.C. Dept of Ed., U.S. Dept of Ed., etc., via the Freedom of Information Act.)
How many more Minority Students in North Carolina must suffer while N.C. Politicians and Educators waste Federal Funds or use Federal Funds to ONLY Educate White Students?
Sources: MSNBC, McClatchy Newspapers, WRAL, Public Policy Polling, U.S. Dept of Education, Whitehouse.gov, Recovery.gov. John Locke Foundation, Meck Deck Blog, Youtube, Google Maps
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