Comments on: What Progressives Can Learn From Public Education’s ‘Fiscal Cliff’

By: Jeff Bryant

Jeff Bryant — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:34:55 +0000

Joan, normally I would agree with you. CAP has been the source of some really, really bad thinking on education. Their wonks often collude with right wing groups like the American Enterprise Institute and the US Chamber to crank out Beltway edu-porn. But the study I link to is authored by Bruce Baker, the Rutgers prof who writes the SchoolFinance101 blog. He is about the best around on school finance issues. Read his stuff and follow him on Twitter. He is excellent.

By: Joan Grim

Joan Grim — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:57:18 +0000

‘exacerbate inequities in per-pupil spending.’ Interesting language given CAP’s failure to address the unequal, segregating effects of their own education policy outcomes via RttT and NCLB waivers.
CAP, Arne Duncan & Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) seem to be playing to their base who support raising revenue from the 1%ers but whose policy details fail equality in implementation.

CAP’s edu-privatization white papers advocate charter schools, high stakes use of standardized testing, increasing class sizes, and dumbing down teacher education. All research indicates these policies increase segregation, exclude hard-to-teach children, and increase Teach for America temps in high needs classrooms.

CAP has been as aggressive in courting media attention and supporting candidates burnishing their reform resumes as have republicans. They, like Bush, Rhee, et al. are PROFITING off of our poor children’s education dollars.

By: Joan Grim

Joan Grim — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:35:18 +0000

I suggest some serious skepticism over the education recommendations from the Center for American Progress (CAP) and John Podesta’s influence over its messaging to increase revenue. Podesta and Arne Duncan recently keynoted Jeb Bush’s “education” summit. Podesta & CAP, by advocating for more revenue for corporate privatizers come from the same crop of influence peddlers as the Bush family.

http://dianeravitch.net/2012/11/28/podesta-how-to-help-privatization/

By: Progressive Breakfast - Campaign for America's Future News

Progressive Breakfast - Campaign for America's Future News — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:05:42 +0000

[...] OurFuture.org’s Jeff Bryant: “Public education’s fiscal cliff already happened … new austerity budgets passed by state legislatures [have resulted] in drastic cuts in direct education services to school children nationwide. The effects of the cuts were immediately devastating to schools, especially in critical needs areas such as early childhood education, class size, arts, vocational, and physical education, and special services … for the 2012-13 school year, elementary and high schools were receiving less state funding than in the previous school year in 26 states, and ‘in 35 states school funding now stands below 2008 levels — often far below.’ … When political leaders pushed public schools over the real fiscal cliff, many Democratic officials looked the other way — or even joined in the shoving. The lesson for progressives is don’t ever, ever let them do that again.” [...]