Atheist group pushes Ala. school to ban baccalaureate ceremonies, prayer at graduations
For decades, the country has been divided on whether or not to allow prayer at public school events. Now the issue has moved centerstage in Opp, Ala. Last month, Opp High School included an optional baccalaureate service —a Christianity-based interdenominational celebration that honors a graduating senior class — in its graduation festivities where school principal, Aaron Hightower, led seniors in prayer and delivered a speech referencing God. In response, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which touts itself as the nation’s largest educational atheist organization working to keep religion and government separate, sent a a letter to Opp City Schools asking them to “to cease endorsing religion in its future graduation activities” and to ensure that no prayers are scheduled for future high school graduation ceremonies. “Opp City Schools has a legal duty to remain neutral toward religion. It makes no difference how many students want religious speeches or wouldn’t be offended by them at their graduation,” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Sam Grover. “A graduation should be a celebration for all students, not an exercise in alienating nonreligious students with a Christian message.” FFRF claims “by scheduling graduation prayers and a baccalaureate, the school district has failed to comply with constitutional law.” FFRF advises that Opp City Schools avoid similar legal breaches of the First Amendment going forward. “High school graduations should honor the students, not a religion,” added FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
Betsy DeVos pushes for ‘most ambitious expansion’ of school choice, but offers few details
The Trump administration is proposing “the most ambitious expansion” of school choice in American history, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Monday while giving few details on how the program would work. “We must offer the widest number of quality options to every family and every child,” DeVos said in a speech in Indianapolis. “We stand on the verge of the most significant opportunity we have ever had to drag American education out of the Stone Age and into the future.” DeVos gave few specifics other than to say that the state of Indiana could serve as a model. Indiana has one of America’s largest and fastest-growing school voucher programs to give low-income families scholarships to help pay private school tuition. DeVos insisted that decisions on school choice must be left for states, not the federal government, to make. But she also warned states against boycotting reform. “If a state doesn’t want to participate, that would be a terrible mistake on their part. They will be hurting the children and families who can least afford it,” DeVos said at an event hosted by the American Federation for Children, the school choice advocacy group she used to lead. “If politicians in a state block education choice, it means those politicians do not support equal opportunity for all kids.” Earlier this month, President Donald Trump asked Congress to work with him on expanding charter and private school voucher programs nationwide, but he gave no specifics. School choice advocates are divided over whether to push charter schools and vouchers on the federal or state level. Voucher and charter school programs are facing fierce criticism from teachers unions and many Democrats, who believe they drain resources from already underfunded public schools while failing to produce clear academic gains. “Once again, Secretary DeVos is putting her extreme privatization agenda ahead of our students,” said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “DeVos claims she wants to provide more choices for students and families, but in reality, voucher programs siphon taxpayer funds from public schools to unaccountable private and religious schools that often leave children worse off.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Texas revives transgender ‘bathroom bill’ for public schools
A transgender “bathroom bill” reminiscent of one in North Carolina that caused a national uproar now appears to be on a fast-track to becoming law in Texas – though it may only apply to public schools. A broader proposal mandating that virtually all transgender people in the country’s second-largest state use public restrooms according to the gender on their birth certificates sailed through the Texas Senate months ago. A similar measure had stalled in the House, but supporters late Sunday night used an amendment to tack bathroom limits onto a separate and otherwise unrelated bill covering school emergency operation plans for things like natural disasters. Republican Rep. Chris Paddie authored the hotly-debated language, saying it had “absolutely no intent” to discriminate. Under it, transgender students at public and charter schools would not be permitted to use the bathroom of their choice but could be directed to separate, single-occupancy restrooms. “It’s absolutely about child safety,” said Paddie, from the East Texas town of Marshall. “This is about accommodating all kids.” His change passed 91-50. Final House approval should come Monday, sending the modified bill to the Senate, which should easily support it. Texas’ legislative session ends May 29, but that’s plenty of time – even if the bathroom bill is scaled-back enough to only affect the state’s roughly 5.3 million public school students, and not the general public. “This amendment is the bathroom bill and the bathroom bill is an attack on transgender people,” said Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat. “Some people don’t want to admit that because they are ashamed, and this is shameful.” A small group of Democratic women legislators went into the men’s restroom just off the House floor before debate began in protest. With Republicans enjoying solid majorities in both of Texas’ legislative chambers, though, such opposition was purely symbolic. Houston Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, one of the House’s longest-serving and most-respected members, likened the new language to when restrooms nationwide were segregated by race. “Bathrooms divided us then and bathrooms divide us now. Separate but equal is not equal at all,” Thompson said, drawing floor applause. While Barack Obama was still president, the U.S. Department of Education tried to implement requirements that school districts nationwide allow transgender students to choose campus bathrooms or locker rooms they wished to use. Texas led a lawsuit challenging that directive and a federal judge in Texas ordered it suspended. President Donald Trump then rescinded the order in February. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he wants to sign a bathroom bill into law. House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican from San Antonio, has been even more vocal opposing one – saying it could hurt a Texas economy that has been among the country’s strongest in recent years. Top firms, chambers of commerce and lobbyists also have decried the bathroom bill in all forms as bad for business. Many Hollywood actors and music stars have suggested state boycotts, and the NFL and NBA have expressed concerns about it passing – even though Houston successfully hosted this year’s Super Bowl. Since 2004, Texas has hosted more combined Super Bowls, NBA All-Star Games (three) and NCAA men’s Final Fours (five) than any other state. San Antonio is scheduled to host another Final Four in 2018, and Dallas is hosting the 2018 women’s NCAA Final Four. Supporters described limiting the scope to schools as “middle ground” and hinted that it could soften the kinds of costly boycotts that hit North Carolina after it approved its bathroom bill last year. The NCAA pulled sporting events and the state faced losing billions of dollars in related economic fallout, though some opposition has quieted since North Carolina lawmakers voted in March for a partial repeal. Straus said in a statement that the House amendment “will allow us to avoid the severely negative impact” of the original Senate bill, which was closer to what North Carolina’s original looked like. But opponents still vowed to fight Sunday’s Texas amendment with lawsuits. If the Legislature succeeds “in forcing discrimination into Texas law, you can bet that Lambda Legal will be on the case before the next school bell rings,” Jennifer C. Pizer, senior counsel and director of law and policy at the national gay rights group Lambda Legal, said in a statement. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Poll: Most unfamiliar with school choice but like the idea
Even as fierce political battles rage in Washington over school choice, most Americans know little about charter schools or private school voucher programs. Still, more Americans feel positively than negatively about expanding those programs, according to a new poll released Friday. “I wonder what the fuss is about,” said Beverly Brown, 61, a retired grocery store worker in central Alabama. Brown, who doesn’t have children, says American schools need reform, but she is not familiar with specific school options and policies. “Educational standards have to be improved overall.” All told, 58 percent of respondents say they know little or nothing at all about charter schools and 66 percent report the same about private school voucher programs, according to the poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Charters are schools funded by taxpayer money, but they operate independently of school districts and thus have more freedom in setting their curriculum and hiring staff. Vouchers are publically funded scholarships given to low-income families to help cover tuition in private schools, including religious ones. Using taxpayer money to aid struggling public schools or diverting it to fund more charter schools or make private schools available to more families has been hotly debated since Donald Trump was elected president. During the campaign, Trump promised to fund a $20 billion school choice program. He picked a long-time charter and private school advocate, Betsy DeVos, as his education secretary. Last week the president welcomed a group of students who were voucher recipients to the White House and asked Congress to work with him to make school options available nationwide. Those efforts face fierce resistance from Democrats and teachers unions, who say that school choice drains funds from public schools while leaving charter and private schools unaccountable in terms of academic standards and civil rights protections. Patrick McGuin, an education professor at Drew University, said he was surprised by the fact that most Americans had little knowledge about school choice options. “That’s pretty remarkable given the growth and high-profile politics around charters,” McGuin said. “As much as policymakers are talking the heck about this, the debate really hasn’t permeated the general public’s discussion yet.” Charter schools currently operate in 42 states and the District of Columbia. D.C. has only the federally funded voucher program, while 30 states have voucher or similar education choice programs. Even though they are unfamiliar to many, Americans have largely positive reactions to charter schools and vouchers. While 55 percent of respondents say parents in their communities had enough options with regard to schools, about 4 in 10 feel that that the country in general would benefit from more choice. Forty-seven percent say they favor opening more public charter schools, 23 percent are opposed, and 30 percent feel neutral about it. Meanwhile, 43 percent of respondents support giving low-income families tuition vouchers for private schools, 35 percent are opposed and 21 percent don’t have a strong opinion either way. Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to favor opening more charter schools, 53 percent to 42 percent, but there is little partisan variation for voucher programs. At the same time, opposition to vouchers is highest among those who have heard the most about them. John Rekers, a 46-year-old mortgage broker in California, has five kids and all of them are attending charter schools. He believes charter schools are more innovative and progressive. “They are not so oriented to sitting at desks and doing stuff,” he said. “The charter school is much better oriented in teaching children,” Rekers said. “They have higher standards.” Marc Culbreath, a janitor in Philadelphia, spent several years renting a house in the suburbs so that his children could go to quality public schools, but when the family moved into the city, they were appalled by neighborhood schools. “Kids in the city — their public schools are terrible,” Culbreath said. Culbreath sent his son, now in 10th grade, to a charter school and he is now on track to go to college. “They treat the kids in the city same as they treat the kids in the suburbs,” he said of the charter school. But Madolyn Stall, 22, a college student in Kansas, doesn’t support voucher programs. “If you cannot afford to go to a private school, then public school is fine,” she said. “I don’t really want to pay more of my tax money to send people to private school when they can go to public school.” About 7 in 10 respondents feel that both charter schools and private schools funded with taxpayer money should meet the same education standards as public schools. School choice critics point to the fact that most private school don’t need state accreditation to operate and that some private schools teach creationism in science classes. Still, Americans are more likely to say that private schools, both locally and nationally, provide a good quality of education than say the same of public schools. The AP-NORC poll of 1,036 adults was conducted April 20-23 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
State Dept. of Education announces inaugural state superintendent’s teacher cabinet
After taking the helm of the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) last August, new State Superintendent Michael Sentance called for a new advisory group of educators, which will provide a direct avenue of communication with the state superintendent to discuss important issues regarding education. On Thursday, the ALDSE announced the new group’s — the Superintendent’s Teacher Cabinet for Alabama educators — inaugural members. The selected teachers will serve on the cabinet for one-year terms, with the exception of the soon-to-be-announced 2017-18 Teacher of the Year, who will serve a two-year term. According to the ALDSE, the teachers will meet with Sentance approximately twice each semester, and will also be invited to attend/speak at events pertinent to elevating the teaching profession. There were several hundred applicants, reviewed by ALSDE staff and ultimately chosen by the state superintendent. The inaugural State Superintendent’s Teacher Cabinet includes: Dana Jacobson (Co-Chair) 2016-17 Alabama State Teacher of the Year To be named May 10 (Co-Chair) 2017-18 Alabama State Teacher of the Year Roger Rose Social Studies Teacher Mary G. Montgomery High School, Mobile County Public School System Christy Anders 6th grade Special Education Teacher Muscle Shoals Middle School, Muscle Shoals City School System Michael May Science and Engineering Teacher Athens High School Erica Griffin AP English Language and Composition Teacher Hartselle High School, Hartselle City School System Jennifer Fernandez K-5th grade ESL Teacher Austinville Elementary, Decatur City School System Stephanie Hyatt Reading Teacher and AP English Teacher 9-12th grades Lee High School, Huntsville City Schools Paige Hicks History Teacher Athens High School, Athens City School System Aishia King English/Language Arts Teacher Mary G. Montgomery High School, Mobile County Public School System Brandi Evans 4th grade Teacher W.S. Harlan Elementary School, Covington County School System Andrea Rascoe 6th grade Math Teacher Saraland Middle School, Saraland City School District Julie Ramsay Reading/Reading Intervention, and English Language Arts Teacher Rock Quarry Middle School, Tuscaloosa City School System Jennifer Reaves 6th-8th grade Career and Technical Education Teacher Echols Middle School, Tuscaloosa County School System Darren Ramalho Social Studies/English Teacher, Robert C. Hatch High School, Perry County Schools Kristin Daniel K-2nd grade Art Teacher, Auburn Early Education Center, Auburn Schools Robert Louis Lyda K-2nd grade Music Teacher, Cary Woods Elementary School, Auburn City Schools Judy Hinton Middle School Reading Teacher Birmingham City Schools Rodriquez Leonard 7th grade ELA Teacher John Herbert Phillips International Baccalaureate Academy, Birmingham City Schools Laura Howard Calculus/Algebra II with Trigonometry/Algebra with Finance Teacher Daleville High School, Daleville City Schools Tammy Basaraba 8th grade Science Etowah Middle School, Attalla City Schools Should any Alabama teacher be named a 2017 Milken Educator Award winner, they will automatically be added to the advisory group.
Daniel Sutter: Selling hope to students
America’s first sports-only university opened last fall, and has already closed. The case illustrates a challenging dilemma for higher education generally. Forest Trail Sports University, as reported by ESPN, allowed student-athletes to focus on training, practicing, and playing. Online classes were provided under subcontract from a separate university. Forest Trail was for-profit and may have been a total scam, although North Carolina authorities reported no criminal actions by the operators. I do not wish to dwell on the sad details here. Instead I want to focus on what Forest Trail was ultimately selling, namely hope. Forest Trail’s promotional pitch proved enticing to both students and parents – the opportunity to continue playing sports and possibly secure a scholarship at an NCAA institution. Junior colleges offer a similar hope. For some Forest Trail student-athletes, an athletic scholarship was their only path to college. Many universities similarly market hope to students. The hope sold to traditional students is economic, not athletic: college graduates earn on average 60 to 70 percent more than high school grads. Many Americans see a college degree as the only route to the middle class. Consider then the high school graduates who lack the test scores and college prep courses for admission to a traditional university, or those who flunk or drop out of college. These students resemble the athletes who just failed to land a scholarship. Should marginal students attend college? Serving marginally qualified students contributes significantly to the cost of higher education (through remedial classes) and lowers outcome measures (like six-year graduation rates). Here are two simple rules, which could significantly reduce higher education spending. First, allow students one attempt on the ACT or SAT exam, and permanently bar any student failing to achieve a reasonable minimum score from attending college. Second, never let any student who fails out enroll again. The U.S. Department of Education could tie universities’ eligibility for Federal student aid to adherence to these two rules. I doubt that these rules would prove popular (and I am not actually advocating them). Some students deemed ineligible could succeed in college, and there are some good reasons to allow students multiple attempts. For example, sixteen year-olds may not take the ACT seriously. College students may not understand how job prospects later will depend on earning a degree. And graduates of poor public schools are often unprepared for college. Americans believe that our nation is a land of opportunity. The chance to overcome disadvantages through hard work is an integral component of opportunity. Yet allowing opportunity creates potential problems. For example, marginal students may be better served by focusing on a job or vocational training instead of using savings or incurring debt to pursue a college degree they likely will never earn. Market competition normally works very well, but seems too quick to sell false hope, as in the Forest Trail case. However colleges as a group set lines for admission, some students will always just fail to qualify. They provide natural customers for a new program selling opportunity. Competing for marginal students can compromise the quality of higher education. Watering down content and inflating grades can help students pass courses they would otherwise fail. Selling essentially fake degrees makes employers incur costs distinguishing fake and legitimate degrees. If bogus degrees cannot be identified, the value of legitimate degrees will fall. The Federal government provides significant funding for college since passage of the Higher Education Act in 1965. Access to Federal student aid is now effectively part of educational opportunity. This only deepens the mess. Unscrupulous colleges like the now-defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges can sell students bogus degrees paid for largely by Federal taxpayers. Economics can often suggest ways to improve programs, but other times we can merely identify unpleasant tradeoffs. Higher education policy involves tradeoffs between opportunity, cost, and efficiency. The false hope sold by America’s first sports university may be disgraceful, but rules preventing colleges from selling hope may be no more palatable. ••• Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.
Del Marsh, Arthur Orr seek accountability for higher education spending
Facing a perennial budget shortfall, the Alabama Legislature is forced to consider how to best spend each and every hard-earned taxpayer-dollar each year. Which is exactly why Anniston-Republican Sen. Del Marsh and Decatur-Republican Sen. Arthur Orr submitted a plan in the Alabama Legislature that seeks to establish greater accountability for the state’s higher education spending by creating the Alabama Community College Council on Outcome-Based Funding. The council would be tasked with rethinking the current postsecondary funding model and create a plan to shift to outcome-based funding for Alabama’s community colleges. Like many state across the country, Alabama currently allocates funds on the basis of enrollment, which by-and-large ensures equitable distribution of per-student spending across institutions. Essentially, dollars follow students high school to higher education. But the current system doesn’t always take in account whether or not students complete their college courses, transfer to other institutions, or even graduate. Which is why Marsh and Orr are hoping to change the system to one where dollars don’t simply follow students, but rather they follow successful students, by shifting the funding to what educators call an outcome-based or performance-based system. Switching to an outcome-based system, endeavors to ensure taxpayer investments yield the best possible returns as they incentivize not only college access, but also college completion “The goal here is to bring more accountability to taxpayer dollars that are spent by higher education institutions,” Orr remarked. “The Legislature appropriates over $1.5 billion annually to Alabama’s colleges and universities, and we need a mechanism for rewarding those institutions that are providing great value to Alabama’s students.” According to the plan set forth — Senate Joint Resolution 85 — an advisory council will develop a specific outcome-based funding model for the allocation of Education Trust Fund appropriations to publicly-supported community and technical colleges in Alabama. “Making government more accountable to the taxpayers is a top priority of the Alabama Legislature,” Marsh said. “We are committed to making any changes necessary in order to achieve that goal.” Alabama isn’t the only state looking to make a change. Across the country, other budget-strapped states have been forced to carefully consider how their limited dollars are spent on higher education. Currently, thirty-two states — including neighbor-states Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee — now use, or are in the process of transitioning to performance-based formulas to determine higher education spending. “Historically, many colleges have received state funding based on how many full-time equivalent students are enrolled at the beginning of the semester,” said the National Conference of State Legislatures. This model provides incentives for colleges to enroll students and thus provide access to postsecondary education, but this model does not necessarily provide incentives for institutions to help students successfully complete degree programs. Many states are reconsidering the enrollment-based funding model and instead are aligning funding models with state goals and priorities.” Pending what the advisory council puts together, Alabama could be poised to join them soon. A shift in process could not only help the state’s ongoing budget crisis, but also bolster state’s higher education graduation rate. Only 23.5 percent of Alabamians between the ages of 25 and 64 have an associate’s degree or better. In comparison, 40.4 percent of Americans in the same demographic do, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011-2015 data. “This process is in line with our vision of providing all Alabamians with an affordable pathway to succeed through quality education and training,” said Jimmy Baker, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System. “We look forward to working with the Legislature to create a funding model that ensures we are accountable with every dollar provided to us and shows the successes of our students.” According to SJR85, “the advisory council shall report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the Governor, the Chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee, and the Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee not later than January 1, 2018” to be considered during the 2018 Legislative Session.
Betsy DeVos faults predecessor for wasting money on school reform
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says her predecessor wasted billions of dollars trying to fix traditional public schools. DeVos says former Education Secretary Arne Duncan‘s signature $7 billion project targeting failing schools did not produce significant results. Therefore, she says, it is vital to give American parents the options of charter, private and other schools. She asked, “At what point do we accept the fact that throwing money at the problem isn’t the solution?” DeVos spoke Wednesday at the Brookings Institution. Asked whether school choice options also can fail, DeVos said, “I am not sure that we can deteriorate a whole lot.” During the Obama administration, high school graduation rates reached record levels but scores on standardized tests showed mixed results. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Longtime educator Jimmy Baker appointed chancellor of Alabama’s community college system
The Alabama Community College System board of trustees voted Wednesday to appoint interim chancellor Jimmy H. Baker as the official chancellor, effective April 1. “As we searched for a permanent replacement, we realized we could never find a chancellor who would be more experienced or prepared than Jimmy Baker,” board vice president Al Thompson said. Baker, who has served as acting chancellor for more than six months, will replace Mark Heinrich who officially submit his resignation last month following a long-term illness kept him away from the job. “Jimmy Baker has done a tremendous job of leading the system during the chancellor’s absence and has been far more than a place-holder,” Thompson added. Baker began his K-12 education career as a teacher and coach at Daleville High School. He quickly moved up in the ranks in education administration, first being named superintendent in Daleville, later becoming superintendent for Coffee County, and then assistant superintendent for finance at the state Department of Education. Baker served as state finance director from 1995 to 1999 under former Gov. Fob James. Baker has a wide array of experience, with responsibilities that have included: that included purchasing, contracting, information technology, insurance and bonds, overseeing budgets and financial reports for the state education office, local school systems and the community college system. Baker was one of seven applicants the board reviewed for the position. “Jimmy Baker understands the important work of community colleges from virtually every angle – from administering the schools and teaching the students, to hiring them when they graduate,” said Milton Davis, a member of the board of trustees who chaired the personnel committee that led the chancellor search. “He brings a unique perspective, and he knows that ultimately the work of our community colleges is about ensuring the success of our students, the success of our businesses, and the success of our state. Baker became chief of staff at the community college system in January 2016 and was named acting chancellor in August, after Heinrich developed severe complications from shingles. “I am honored to be in this position,” Baker said in a news release. “Alabama has no greater asset than its community college system, and we are uniquely positioned to ensure our students have the skills they need to meet their goals. While we will continually adapt and upgrade our programs, our basic mission remains the same. We want to provide our students opportunities for success, whether they want to work toward a four-year degree, to get a good job, or to upgrade their skills.”
William J. Canary: Data system is a tool for education improvement
The Alabama Legislature is considering HB 97 by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, and SB 153 by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to establish a smart and secure statewide system to measure student achievement over time. Incredibly, Alabama currently does not have a statewide platform for collecting longitudinal data that are gathered from year to year to plot change. There are no means to measure how something at one point in time affects outcomes later. But a longitudinal data system would enable us to learn if high school enrollment in advanced courses or performance on state tests improve student readiness for college, what college-level programs ensure that more students succeed, and at what cost. Shouldn’t legislators who direct our very limited dollars know which initiatives show the best evidence of increasing student achievement? Shouldn’t school administrators have the information and resources to effectively manage? And shouldn’t teachers have the data to help their instruction improve students? A secure longitudinal data system – personal information would not be identifiable – would utilize performance records from early childhood education through the workforce to evaluate the progress of education and workforce programs. The purpose is to look at how groups of students advance through education and training, to determine which programs are successful and those that are not, learn which groups may need early intervention to help them succeed, what programs that are best practices and can be incorporated into other areas, and workforce outcomes of participants in both higher education and workforce training programs. We have the pieces that will let our children succeed. Now is the time to gather those pieces and use the data to know what works, and perhaps more importantly, what does not. Let the facts, not our opinions, guide decisions so that all Alabama students can excel. ••• William J. Canary is president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama.
Donald Trump to visit private school to promote school choice
President Donald Trump will be visiting a private, religious school in Florida on Friday, signaling that his education agenda will focus on school choice. The president will tour St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, where he is expected to drop in on classrooms, and meet with parents, teachers and administrators, the White House said. This will be Trump’s first visit to a school since becoming president and it gives a strong indication of where his priorities lie. Teachers unions were quick to criticize the plan, saying it shows Trump’s hostility toward public schools and his intention to turn education into a profit-making industry. During a speech to Congress this week, Trump called education “the civil rights issue of our time” and asked legislators to pass a bill that would fund school choice for disadvantaged youth, including minority children. He did not offer any details. Among his guests at the speech was Denisha Merriweather, who used Florida’s school voucher program to attend a private high school that she credits with turning her life around. Many of St. Andrew’s students attend the school using the same voucher program as Merriweather, said White House spokesman Ninio Fetalvo. Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, who was traveling with the president, has a long history of promoting charter schools and vouchers. Teachers unions strongly opposed her nomination, fearing that she intends to defund public schools. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said earlier this week that education is “a top priority” for the president. “He has said many times before that education has the ability to level the playing field for the next generation,” Spicer said, adding that Trump “is determined to provide choice for every parent and opportunities for every child, regardless of their zip code.” St. Andrew Catholic School is a private institution that teaches 350 children from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. The school defines its mission as “developing the students’ spirituality and creativity in order to be disciples of Christ in the 21st century.” A photo on the school’s website shows a smiling boy in school uniform holding a sign that reads “My goals: College. Heaven.” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said that by visiting a private, Catholic school Trump was continuing his “ideological crusade” and advancing his plan of “criticizing, undermining and proposing the defunding of public schools and instead trumpeting private alternatives.” Weingarten said that in many cases voucher programs — publicly funded scholarships given to low-income families to help them cover private school tuition — have not improved children’s academic outcomes. She added that voucher programs are often not transparent in how they spend public dollars and in what the kids are taught. “To borrow a word from President Trump — it’s so ‘sad’ that the president and his secretary of education have demonstrated such an antipathy toward public schools,” Weingarten said in a statement. “Trump is in Florida to push choice and a backdoor voucher proposal as a way to turn education into a commodity.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Robert Bentley to chair Education Workforce Committee during NGA winter conference
Governor Robert Bentley will join 45 of his gubernatorial colleagues from across the country in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the National Governors Association (NGA) winter conference. There, Bentley and the other state governors will discuss a wide range of topics that are important to the future of the State of Alabama. Items on the agenda include: health care, energy, early childhood education, transportation,infrastructure, homeland security, cybersecurity, public safety, health care reform, conservation management and species preservation. At the conference, Bentley will also serve as chair of the NGA Education and Workforce Committee — a topic that will open this year’s conference — along with his co-chair Washington-state Democrat, Governor Jay Inslee. “Throughout my term as Governor, I have advocated for a strong foundation for children with Alabama’s high quality First Class Pre-K program,” Bentley said in a news release. “This year, I have the great opportunity to chair the Education and Workforce Committee, and am very excited to help lead this session.” Bentley continued, “Every child deserves the opportunity to have a high quality education. I am looking forward to working with other governors as we make early childhood education a priority and continue to advocate for state control and federal support in education decisions, so that all our students can achieve their goals and prosper as adult citizens.” Alabama has seen tremendous success in early childhood education through the high quality First Class Pre-K program. Bentley will share results proven in Alabama’s Pre-K students and his plan to continue expanding the reach of Pre-K. Bentley will also discuss integrating successful components of the Pre-K model through the third grade. Directly following the session, the governors will meet to adopt their new policy positions, including one that makes early education a priority. President Donald Trump will meet with the Bentley and the other governors Monday morning to discuss several important policy issues.
