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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Parent trigger: Who’s for it and who’s against it tells the story

Parent trigger: Who’s for it and who’s against it tells the story:


Parent trigger: Who’s for it and who’s against it tells the story

parent-trigger1You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about the controversial  “parent trigger” legislation now before the Florida Legislature by looking at who is for it and who is against it.
Parent trigger legislation is intended to give parents with children at low-performing schools the legal right to petition the state or district for a change in school structure, with the parents getting to pick from a list of options. Those options include turning the school over to a private management company.
Proponents say it gives parents more options and power in their children’s education. Opponents say it is a stealth way of turning traditional public schools into charter schools and that it will lead to more privately run schools and contentious battles in school communities (such as the one that ripped up the California town of Adelanto).
The Florida Senate’s Democratic leader, Nan Rich of Weston, who is running for governor in 2014, said at a recent press conference that  the bill is really about “laying the 

2013 National Teacher of Year: Public education not in crisis

The newly named 2013 National Teacher of the Year, who is visiting with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday with other award-winning teachers, is not a big fan of all of Obama’s education policy initiatives and believes that … Continue reading →
    

Standardized test questions kids have to answer that don’t even count

Parents and students may not know this, but all of the questions kids have to answer on standardized tests don’t actually count. Why? Here to explain is Fred Smith, a testing specialist and consultant, retired as an administrative analyst for … Continue reading →