We are closing in on our first full week of the #quarantinelife and as with most things, there is beauty and frustration to be found. The stolen hugs from my children throughout the day, the comfort wear and a dog to pet or play fetch with any time of day are blessings. And I am… Continue reading My So-Called #QuarantineLife (Ch. 2)
While some governors and district leaders seem ready to wave the white flag of surrender when it comes to student learning during the COVID-19 crisis, others are showing resolve to do the best we can for students and adjust as needed. Gina Raimondo is my governor here in Little Rhody and she refuses to engage… Continue reading Gina Raimondo: “Some Learning Is Better than No Learning.” Amen, Governor.
Humor will be a vital part of the journey through this COVID-19 pandemic. In my case, much of that humor will emanate directly from my new reality being home with husband and three sons for the foreseeable future. I suspect many of you can relate. One of the ways I always tend to keep it… Continue reading My So Called #QuarantineLife (Chapter 1)
It is impossible to even ponder a successful turn-around of the Providence Schools System without major changes to the current teachers’ contract. The now notorious report out of Johns Hopkins was clear in its contention that the collective bargaining agreement plays a central role in the district’s dysfunction. Not the only role but a central role. The… Continue reading Providence Teachers Union Has Demands But Still Has Not Answered These Questions
The teachers’ unions in Rhode Island are masters of manipulation and sometimes their default is to cite student safety as their top priority. The school committee in East Greenwich is contemplating a policy that would “enable parents to enter the classroom to make formal observations of their child in the learning environment.” Union reps are… Continue reading Don’t Believe Union Leaders When They Say Student Safety is Their Priority—It Isn’t.
We knew it was only a matter of time until Randi Weingarten, the grand Pooh Bah of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), would come swooping in to Providence under the guise of “it’s for the kids.” And we were right—the Providence Teachers’ Union event today is literally called “It’s About Our Kids.” Weingarten is… Continue reading Randi Weingarten Headed to Providence to Pretend ‘It’s All About the Kids”
Former Tallahassee mayor and gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Gillum apparently thinks that the traumatization of a 6-year-old child is the perfect weapon in his continued fight against charter school and educational freedom. He discovered that Kaia Rolle was taken in handcuffs from a charter school and reflexively and ran with it on Twitter because he isn’t… Continue reading Your Selective Outrage Is Very Unbecoming, Andrew
When the CDC said in a press conference that it’s time for schools and businesses to start preparing for a possible pandemic outbreak in the U.S. of the coronavirus, it was only a matter of time until schools started sending letters home to parents. I got my first one today from one of my son’s… Continue reading Schools Have Started Sending Coronavirus Letters to Parents
Ever have those moments when something seems so crazy and so wrong that you fall into that trap of optimism and naïveté, convinced that finally you have found something about which there will be universal agreement? I certainly have moments like that. And it happened this weekend when I discovered and subsequently shared the fact… Continue reading Providence Teachers’ Contract Does Not Require Teachers to Attend Parent-Teacher Conferences
I had the privilege of appearing on Dan Yorke State of Mind last night to talk about a few important education issues —the first is related to funding proposals designed to cripple charter schools and the second is about a recent report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute about the proven benefits of teachers who… Continue reading A Visit to the TV Studio and a Radio Chat
