Tag: public schools

How one state is getting education RIGHT — by going back to basics

Another year, another nationwide education disaster laid out in the scores issued by the nation’s report card.

Math scores are down, reading scores are down, every year worse than the last, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Our kids can’t seem to recover from the school closures inflicted on them by the teachers’ unions and their weak politician friends during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What should American schools do to turn this around?

First they must face the reality of just how bad this problem has become. Even before COVID, our schools were on a slide to the bottom.

The pandemic just let American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, with special powers awarded by the Biden administration, keep schools closed and give them that extra push down.

The disruption measurably hurt so many kids, the poorest most of all — but the collapse of American education has been in the works for decades, as schools became indoctrination factories instead of places of education.

We need to change course, and Louisiana gives us a roadmap.

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A Massachusetts School District Rolled Back Advanced Classes. Teachers Are Starting To Revolt.

In 2021, a school district in Newton, Massachusetts, got rid of advanced classes in a bid to increase racial equity. But instead of reducing achievement gaps between racial groups, teachers are now sounding the alarm that the strategy is resulting in classrooms that serve neither struggling students nor high achievers. 

According to a Boston Globe article by reporter Carey Goldberg, several parents brought up similar concerns with the new policy—but say they were smeared as “racists” and “right-wingers.”

Goldberg writes that, in 2022, a group of three moms—all Democrats—started a petition to create a parental advisory panel for the school district. The move was motivated by what one parent described as “ideology superseding student needs,” following the school district’s decision to place students in “multilevel classes.” In these new classes, rather than sorting students by ability, students would learn together in the same classroom. The school also decided to stop allowing advanced math students to skip a year to access higher-level classes. The parents also shared concerns that the school’s approach to race and identity issues “emphasized differences rather than commonalities.”

The women say they were branded as far-right conservatives motivated by racial animus rather than a genuine concern for academic opportunities. According to Goldberg, Parent Teacher Organization newsletters urged parents to speak out against the petition at a public meeting. An email from local activist group Families Organizing for Racial Justice said that the petition was “tied to the apparent belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that take race into account compromise academic excellence” and claimed that some petitioners “challenge the need for any activities related to micro-aggressions, inclusion, respect or belonging.”

“The mothers and their allies found themselves portrayed online and in public as dog-whistling bigots doing the bidding of right-wing national groups. Social media comments painted their side as ‘racism cloaked as academic excellence’ and ‘right-wing activism cloaked as parental concern,'” Goldberg wrote. At one meeting, a speaker compared those who supported the petition to “white women who helped perpetuate segregation and white supremacy.”

But years later, the Newton mothers are being vindicated. Teachers themselves are now openly criticizing multilevel classes, arguing that it isn’t serving students’ needs.

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Arkansas Senate Passes Bill To Use Medical Marijuana Revenue To Fund Free Breakfasts For Students

The Arkansas Senate has approved a bill to set aside revenue from medical marijuana taxes to pay for free breakfast for students.

The legislation, SB 59, would supplement federal free and reduced-price meal funds with money from a state Food Insecurity Fund, paid for by cannabis taxes as well as private grants and money from the state’s general fund.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R), noted ahead of the floor vote that “25 percent of our kids wake up food insecure every single day when they go to school.”

“Sometimes that meal that they get at school is the only nutritious meal they get in a day,” he said. “These kids have no way to feed themselves, and if they have parents that aren’t willing to sign the cards or send them with money, those districts are required to feed them, and they build up debt. But this would allow every kid in the state of Arkansas to be entitled to have a free breakfast.”

The legislation would provide meals to students regardless of whether or not they qualify for free or reduced-cost food under federal law.

“We would ask the first of federal dollars that are available be utilized, and anything else that’s remaining,” Dismang said. “The state of Arkansas would pick up utilizing the medical marijuana dollars to help make that district whole for providing that breakfast.”

The measure passed by a vote of 26-2 days after it was unanimously approved by the Senate Education Committee. It now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

The Senate’s passage of SB 59 follows an endorsement of the proposal last month from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), who previewed the bill in her State of the State address. Notably, Sanders, a former press secretary under the first Trump administration, has historically resisted cannabis policy reform.

“We will also use those funds to make school breakfast in Arkansas completely free for any student that chooses to participate,” she said in the speech, saying the use of medical marijuana funds would make the program “sustainable for years to come.”

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There’s Been a Major Change in Attitude at the Department of Education

Each day, it seems like we learn a little more about the new Donald Trump administration. On Friday, Trump’s Department of Education made it appear as if it might embrace homeschooling. If so, this is a huge change from the Joe Biden administration, which was downright hostile toward any type of education that didn’t involve placing children in public school classrooms and indoctrinating them. 

Trump’s Education Department has a new blog on its website, and the very first post, which was published on Friday, is called “Homeschooling: The Lifeline We Didn’t Know We Needed.” It’s written by Stephanie D. Birch, a mother of two and homeschool advocate.  

It starts by recognizing that every child is unique and learns in different ways at different speeds, a concept that’s seemingly been lost in this country for a while: 

I remember how shocked I was when my three-year-old began reading. I quickly realized the educational pathway we planned would not meet her needs. I saw in her eyes that she had unlocked the magic of reading, and I knew the prescribed educational path would stifle her, leaving her mind yearning for more.  

We set out on an empowering journey that led us to homeschooling – the lifeline we didn’t know we needed. It gave us the space and flexibility to craft an education as unique as our children, nurturing their hearts and minds, and giving them the chance to grow into their best selves.   

Birch goes on to explain that she once fell for the stereotypes about homeschooling herself but that, upon embracing it, it her family saw changes she couldn’t imagine: 

I once believed in stereotypical misconceptions about homeschooling: Children lacking socialization, overly sheltered, and stuck completing worksheets. The truth is, homeschooling allows my children to learn, grow and blossom at a pace tailored to their rhythm for each individual area of study. For the kids who are neurodivergent, creative, or otherwise don’t fit the “traditional” mold, homeschooling allows them to shine. We’ve witnessed our kids thrive in things like STEM, art, robotics, fencing, martial arts, dance, and traveling to new places where they can immerse themselves in different cultures and histories in ways textbooks alone could never teach.  

I will point out that the fine print on the Education Department’s blog says, “Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.”  But if the first post is about homeschooling, I’m going to go out on a limb and say we’re heading in the right direction. 

Of course, this comes just a few days after Trump signed the “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” executive order, which promotes school choice and supports putting decisions about education back into the hands of a child’s family, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic status. And it’s a complete 180 from the last administration, which wanted to have total government control over, well, just about everything, but especially education. 

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LEAKED AUDIO: Tucson High School Teacher Defies Trump’s Executive Order, Misleads Students by Teaching There Are More Than Two Genders

Leaked Audio: Les Beard, a Tucson high school physics teacher defied Trump’s executive order and misled his students by teaching there are more than two genders.

Why is a physics teacher talking to his students about biology?

Per Trump’s executive order on two genders:

It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.  These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.  Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality, and the following definitions shall govern all Executive interpretation of and application of Federal law and administration policy:

(a)  “Sex” shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.  “Sex” is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of “gender identity.”

(b)  “Women” or “woman” and “girls” or “girl” shall mean adult and juvenile human females, respectively.

(c)  “Men” or “man” and “boys” or “boy” shall mean adult and juvenile human males, respectively.

(d)  “Female” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.

(e)  “Male” means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.

(f)  “Gender ideology” replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true.  Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.  Gender ideology is internally inconsistent, in that it diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body.

(g)  “Gender identity” reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.

Les Beard mocked Trump during one of his lectures.

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Maine law firm tells schools to ‘destroy’ student records that reveal immigration status

In a “Client Alert” sent out the day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, a progressive Maine law firm told public school officials about steps they can take to resist the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, including destroying student records that may expose immigration status.

The advisory email from the Portland-based Drummond Woodsum law firm, obtained by the Maine Wire, stated, “The Trump administration has pledged to conduct large-scale immigration enforcement actions targeting undocumented immigrants, which may have ramifications for schools. While the situation remains dynamic and subject to change, we understand that our clients are seeking information now and therefore we will address some specific issues below based on the current legal landscape.”

The advisory noted that “historically, immigration enforcement actions have not been conducted on school premises” under “sensitive location” policies issued by Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement “unless there are exigent circumstances or prior supervisory approval,” with schools being among these locations.

“However, the Trump administration has suggested it will repeal and/or disregard that policy. In light of this, school officials should generate a plan for what to do if immigration officials seek to conduct activities at school, and provide appropriate training to those who may come into contact with the officials.”

The Department of Homeland Security has since reversed these guidelines, saying that “This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murderers and rapists — who have illegally come into our country.”

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Police: Florida Principal, Teacher Charged After Alcoholic House Party with 100 Juveniles

A principal and a teacher in Cocoa Beach, Florida, were arrested following a house party on January 19 involving over 100 juveniles, police said.

When police officers responded to a call about a house party, they arrived at the scene to find the young people wearing matching T-shirts and many of them were drinking alcohol, Cocoa Beach Police Detective Sergeant Taylor Payne explained, according to a Space Coast Daily report Saturday.

Authorities identified Roosevelt Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan, 47, as the homeowner. At the scene, officers found one juvenile on the home’s lawn heavily intoxicated and needing medical attention.

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Report: Rules May Tighten as 100 NYC Teachers Accused of ‘Inappropriate’ Relationships with Students

Officials in New York City may finally take action after 100 educators were accused of having “inappropriate” relationships with students, according to a report.

Records show that dozens of teachers have been accused of the interactions with students that sometimes have allegedly been sexual in nature, the New York Post reported on Saturday.

“Thirty-two more cases of educators and other school staffers engaged in improper communications with kids were substantiated by the city’s Special Commissioner of Investigation — boosting the total to at least 121 cases from 2018 to 2024, up from 89 tallied in May, according to reports released to The Post,” the outlet said.

Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman has pushed hard for the city’s Department of Education (DOE) to bar employees from contacting the young people via personal phone numbers, online, and through apps. She recommended over 50 times for leaders to take such action, but the DOE apparently answered with a rejection.

However, the department has told the Post it may begin a crackdown.

Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the Post‘s article, one user writing, “Seriously, what is happening? How has this gotten so incredibly out of hand and allowed to go on?”

“This is absolutely disgusting. Every level of leadership should be held responsible,” another person commented.

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Another Hoax Blows Up! Democrat Gov Pritzker, Fake News Media Falsely Claim ICE Agents Raided Chicago Elementary School – Here’s What Really Happened

Another day, another hoax.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) falsely claimed that ICE agents visited a South Side school on Friday to smear the Trump Administration as it carried out immigration raids in Chicago this week.

It wasn’t ICE. Secret Service agents were investigating a threat at the school.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) spread the lie that ICE agents raided an elementary school in Chicago on Friday.

“After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school,” Pritzker said.

“Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American,” he said.

The Chicago Tribune spread the hoax as well.

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‘Gender Secrecy Regime’: Parents Battle Trans Brainwashing in Schools

‘Parents are precluded from exercising their religious obligations to raise and care for their child at a time when it may be highly significant.’

A lawsuit over whether parents are allowed to know about what their schools are telling their children is going to continue.

Officials with the Thomas More Society say that U.S.. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez in California has denied in a court order all Motions to Dismiss in Mirabelli v. Olson.

That lawsuit challenges “Parental Exclusion Policies” adopted by schools that specifically prevent parents form knowing about some of their own children’s activities in school.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and members of the California Department of Education and the Escondido Union School District had demanded the case be thrown out.

They had claimed that their rules limiting what parents are allowed to know was “just a suggestion” so there was nobody really harmed by their agenda.

However, Benitez found that the parents “enjoy standing and have stated plausible claims upon which relief can be granted.”

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