I don't know about you, but I am getting sick of the rhetoric of the Race to the Top, as it implies the very opposite of "equal educational opportunity." But "equal educational opportunity" is so...yesterday, so now we shall all "race to the top," to see who can get there first. Who can privatize the most schools? Who can close the most public schools? Which district can replace the most public schools with charter schools? Who can compel their teachers to focus intently on those pesky math and reading test scores? Who can boot out the most teachers whose students didn't get higher scores than last year? Who seriously believes that this combination of policies will produce better education?Well, I don't.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Race to Nowhere
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3 comments:
Tracy, I am so looking forward to hearing your voice on the SC. There is a section in the MOU to which folks should really be paying more attention. It states,
D. STATE RECOURSE FOR LEA NON-PERFORMANCE
If Massachusetts determines that the LEA is not meeting its goals, timelines, budget, or annual targets or is not
fulfilling other applicable requirements, the state will take appropriate enforcement action, which could include a
collaborative process between the state and the LEA, or any of the enforcement measures that are detailed in 34 CFR
section 80.43 including putting the LEA on reimbursement payment status, temporarily withholding funds, or
disallowing costs.
These are pretty severe consequences for not "meeting deadlines". Reimbursement payment status would mean that the district would have to use local, not federal, funds to pay back whatever monies it has already spent from RTTT funds. I would want more specific clarification as to what the DESE truly plans to do if the district shows good faith but cannot meet timelines or annual goals.
Thanks for the heads up on this part. I hadn't really register that. I'd been paying more attention to the reorganization plans that we'd be signing our schools up for.
(And my readership in Nevada has gone through the roof lately :) )
Honestly, as I have said, it is a pleasure to read your very insightful blog. Others on the committee might have a cause or two and drone on and on about the same things which they were fighting for 20 years ago, however, you actually have done the reading and research about current issues, and you are asking a lot of very good questions. I can tell you, the current admin is not ready for a school committee member who is so well prepared. Your presence on the school committee is going to help all children and not just the few select groups for whom current members currently advocate. This will be fun to watch from 2500 miles away.
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