Posts tagged public schools
Commentary: Teachers Union Head Mystified by Increase in Homeschooling
November 19, 2023 // Parents started seeking accountability on their own terms, at home. The surge in homeschooling during the 2020 school year has not dropped off, attracting enthusiasts from diverse racial and income backgrounds. While there are many reasons for the shift, a significant factor is leaders like Weingarten left a vacuum parents had to fill. When they did, parents learned they could do it without the leaders who left them in the lurch. Their kids' education could be flexible and tailored, without the constraint of having to sit at a desk between four walls for seven hours a day. Parents learned they had the power to fix some of the problems the pandemic posed.
Camas teachers strike, prompting district to cancel 1st day of classes
August 31, 2023 // To district officials, the strike is an aggressive measure. School leaders are considering filing an injunction in court in a bid to end the strike, spokesperson Doreen McKercher said. In Washington state, it’s illegal for public employees — including teachers — to go on strike. Judges have ruled against teacher strikes in the past but rarely impose any penalties.
VALLAS: CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION OUT TO DESTROY SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
August 28, 2023 // Contrary to the propaganda of the Chicago Teachers Union and their national allies, charter schools are public schools. They are free and open to all students. A charter school is a public school that operates as a school of choice. Yet in Chicago, charter schools receive over $8,600 less in funding per pupil than their typical public-school counterparts, despite 88% of the students they serve being in poverty, compared to 78% of the total public-school population. Why do teachers unions despise charters? Because they are independent public schools free of certain state and collective bargaining mandates that would limit their ability to design and operate a school that prioritizes children.
Under new Michigan law, schools can value seniority over quality
August 18, 2023 // Critics of the bill, such as Michigan House Republican Leader Matt Hall, claim that the law harms teachers and unnecessarily gives organized labor more control. “Now they’re giving union bosses free rein to lord over the most important decisions at our schools,” Hall said in a statement on the bill. “Teacher placement, performance evaluations, and communication with parents are all vital to creating an effective learning environment and fostering good working relationships with families.” Most states allow some form of collective bargaining in public schools. Six states — Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas — explicitly ban it. Nine states — Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming — have no statewide basis for collective bargaining. Instead the decision is left to individual jurisdictions. Michigan also stands apart with its law on seniority pay. Public Act 116, which Whitmer signed this month, includes a provision prohibiting “length of service as the sole factor in personnel decisions.”
Opinion: Pols, teachers unions aim to scrap tests to hide huge learning loss
April 3, 2023 // The learning loss resulting from the longest public-school closures imposed on blue-state kids in urban districts where teachers unions hold the most sway is devastating and will have generational consequences. Now the educators and politicians who supported prolonged school closures are trying to hide the evidence of their unconscionable decisions. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a former teachers-union member and current teachers-union donee, has introduced the ludicrously entitled More Teaching Less Testing Act, which would abolish the third grade through eighth grade standardized math and English tests — the clearest proof of how costly school closures were for learning. When you put the title through the Orwellian doublespeak reader you get: Less Learning and No Accountability Act.
Washington: Union deserves detention for threatening a teacher strike in Kent
August 26, 2022 // A 2006 opinion from the state Office of the Attorney General says, “In Washington, state and local public employees do not have a legally protected right to strike. No such right existed at common law, and none has been granted by statute.” It adds that “statutes presently do not impose penalties on public employees for engaging in a strike.” The lack of penalties might be why even though public teacher strikes are illegal in Washington state, they still happen. Teachers who are union members but whose unions don’t represent them well should visit optouttoday.com to learn more about how to opt out of a union, allowing them to follow their consciences and saving them union dues.
Dems, union leaders responsible for school lockdowns face few repercussions, despite evidence that kids harmed
August 3, 2022 // According to data released last month by the National Center for Education Statistics, 70% of U.S. public schools have reported an increase in students seeking mental health services since the start of the pandemic. A study published by the conservative think tank Just Facts reported that the mental stressors brought about by school closures will destroy seven times more years of life than lockdowns saved. A study by the American Enterprise Institute also found that nearly 1.3 million students have left public schools since the pandemic began, and schools that stayed remote longer saw even more students leave. The World Bank reported last month that the school closures will cost this generation of students $21 trillion in earnings over their lifetimes, which is far more than the $17 trillion estimated in 2021.
Kevin Mooney: Pennsylvania senators must defy teachers’ unions to offer lifeline scholarships to students in failed districts
July 8, 2022 // But does spending equal achievement? If so, then how does Askey explain academic failure in districts that are already receiving buckets of taxpayer money? In an interview, Nathan Benefield, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation, explains why the union’s fixation with dollar signs misses the point. failed districts, Senate Education Committee, Rep. Clint Owlett, Rep. Lindsey Williams, Rick Askey,
Republicans increasingly critical of several major U.S. institutions, including big corporations and banks
April 24, 2022 // Republicans are critical of how several major institutions, from large corporations and technology companies to universities and K-12 public schools, are affecting the United States. And in many cases, Republicans’ assessments have taken a sharp negative turn in the past few years.
‘Show me my respect’: MNPS eyes pay increases for support staff in upcoming budget proposal
March 23, 2022 // Support staff, which includes a range of professionals working in school buildings from janitors to special education assistants, often make as little as about one-third of what teachers make. “We should receive the same dedication, respect and dollars that the teachers get,” Hereth said. “I have worked alongside them every day for 20 years. Show me my respect, too.”