tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post6044249157492876015..comments2024-03-29T04:34:05.185-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Are State Takeovers A Useful ToolPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-18444488749897137602019-10-17T18:08:26.397-04:002019-10-17T18:08:26.397-04:00Suggest state takeovers of families and communitie...Suggest state takeovers of families and communities mired in generational poverty. Nothing punitive, just a "meaningful work at a living wage" jobs program and serious family planning help.NY Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292448959963091160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-7405435223325650742019-10-17T10:14:42.250-04:002019-10-17T10:14:42.250-04:00I think the failure of state takeovers is iron-cla...I think the failure of state takeovers is iron-clad proof that education is much, much more complicated than politicians and taxpayers would like to believe. In Missouri, our state DESE is infamous for spending large amounts of money on ambitious initiatives, then dropping them like a bad habit as soon as things get rough. Our legislature essentially let their own law forcing unaccredited school districts pay for students to attend nearby districts catch them by surprise. The idea that these clowns can waltz in and take over a district facing overwhelming poverty and crime is utterly absurd. They just fire some administrators, make a big show of threatening the teachers loyal enough to stick around, rename the district, and then go back to the capitol having accomplished approximately nothing. Bloolighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18397353861371758938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-84684695507804934792019-10-16T21:04:34.027-04:002019-10-16T21:04:34.027-04:00Well, the School Reform Commission sure didn't...Well, the School Reform Commission sure didn't manage to turn around Philly's schools. I fact, the reason they were supposed formed by the state's takeover, to ensure financial responsibility and rescue the district from poor management, produced the exact opposite. The run of extremely poor management that followed (Vallas, Ackerman, etc.) showed just how much the state knew about running a district, which was less than most of its students. Instead we got a wholesale sell-off of the district to charter management companies, including some of the shadiest characters you can imagine. I was teaching at Olney HS when it was being turned over to Aspira, and they gave us such foggy financial projections that I and many others were sure they were cooking the books (which, of course, turned out to be true.) Even now, there's still no elected school board, it's just been reverted to mayoral control. One of these days, the people of Philadelphia will actually be able to run their own schools and then maybe something will actually change for the better.Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00486178352273140164noreply@blogger.com