The 74

“I grew up in the shadow of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. You could say every black kid born after 1960 did. While the jackboot of outright racism in America was being lifted from the neck of people of color during this time, black parents, mine and others, were always beating into me that the repressive reality of Jim Crow and burning crosses was our recent — not our ancient — history.

When you ignore the past you’re doomed to both repeat it and learn nothing from it. And in looking back at King’s famous letter from the Birmingham jail, the similarities between the era’s quest for black freedom and the current battle to improve education for black children rings similar. So it has to be asked: Have the white moderates he spoke of then turned into today’s white progressives who oppose change in education?”

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New York Daily News

“Students in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods are improving math and English skills at higher rates than those in low-income areas, creating a “proficiency gap,” according to a new report obtained by the Daily News.

While researchers at the Manhattan Institute found that state test scores in English Language Arts had improved by 4 percentage points and math proficiency had jumped 6 percentage points, the gains were spread across the city.”

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The 74

“The contingent of lawyers for the teachers union were openly dejected. That much was clear just from standing behind them on the long line to pick up coats at the United States Supreme Court. That wait gave them plenty of time to relive their colleagues’ oral arguments in the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association.

Justice by justice and argument by argument, their hopes for preserving compulsory union dues in the public sector had just crumbled.”

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Chalkbeat NY

“After proposing renovations to Penn Station and $200 million to revitalize upstate airports this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo plugged “community schools” as a way to reform the criminal justice system.

That’s the only mention Gov. Cuomo has made of public schools in a series of policy proposals released in advance of his combined State of the State and budget speech this Wednesday. The lead-up to this year’s speech is vastly different from last year, when the governor promised an aggressive education agenda — and delivered over the next several months.”

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Politico New York

“ALBANY — As state education policymakers struggle to overcome the intense controversy the Common Core has generated, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has retreated from the new learning standards.

Cuomo advocated for higher education standards his 2010 campaign for governor, though he hasn’t always called for the Common Core by name.

His careful wording and indirect influence over education policy, which is set by the Board of Regents, have given him the flexibility to keep some distance from the debate and step into the conversation when it suits him, as when he campaigned for re-election.”

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TNTP Blog

“Can teachers be forced to give money to a union they don’t support? That’s the question at the heart of a case the Supreme Court hears on Monday—a case that could send shockwaves through the entire public education system.

Back in 1977, the Court ruled that all teachers who are represented by a union—even those who don’t actually want to be members—can be required to chip in part of every paycheck to cover the costs of collective bargaining. Now, in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a group of California teachers are challenging these so-called ‘agency fees.’ These teachers want nothing to do with their union, and claim that the First Amendment gives them the right not to contribute a single penny to support it. If the Court agrees, unions across the country stand to lose millions of dollars a year in guaranteed revenue—potentially enough to cripple their operations.”

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The New York Times

“When Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, it seemed like the start of a bright new day in the relationship between City Hall and the people who run New York City’s schools.

Rather than close struggling schools, as his predecessor Michael R. Bloomberg had done, Mr. de Blasio promised to support them. In November 2014, he and his schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, announced a program to funnel resources, training and social services into 94 of the lowest-performing schools.”

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New York Daily News

“When you’re an elementary school teacher like me, you happily tackle a number of unpleasant job requirements: cleaning up from finger-painting, wiping runny noses and removing the occasional piece of gum from a student’s hair. But there’s one requirement I’m not happy about: paying dues — about $1,000 a year for full-time teachers — to a union I don’t support.

I’m not alone. In 23 states all public employees are required by state law to fund the issue agenda of their unions through their mandatory dues payments even if they aren’t union members.”

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Education Post

“There almost seems to be a bipartisan conspiracy to make this year’s headline for presidential candidates ‘no standards, no choice and no sense.’

This is a big problem. It says we’ve yielded too much in the debates about public education. I’m not sure why.

As an education voter, I believe in a shortlist of necessary things: high standards, transparent accountability and school choice.

The fact is charter schools have improved the landscape of public education for the urban poor. Of course we admit these schools are not perfect and we have a long way to go before their quality is anything close to uniform, but on balance they are breaking new ground and no candidate should get applause for wavering, or worse, by saying they will kill those promising schools if elected.”

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The 74

“Can America’s courts deliver better schools for disadvantaged students?

Some students and teachers seem to think so. In Massachusetts, five student plaintiffs who were unable to secure seats in charter school lotteries intend to file a lawsuit challenging the state’s cap on charter schools. In California, veteran teacher Rebecca Friedrichs objected to her annual union dues being used to protect ineffective colleagues; the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Ms. Friedrichs’ case this week. If Ms. Friedrichs prevails, teachers’ unions will be compelled to better represent the many teachers who want significant changes to the profession.”

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