Tag Archives: threats to public education

Influential conservative group with ties to the Trump administration and Betsy DeVos calls for the “gradual, voluntary return at all levels to free-market private schools, church schools and home schools as the normative American practice.”

By Mark | February 15, 2017

I’ve yet to see a copy of the five-page document, but it’s being reported that the Council for National Policy, a group the New York Time calls “a little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country,” has started circulating a policy paper on education reform in the United States. […]

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | Also tagged Bible, charter schools, Common Core, Council for National Policy, Department of Education, dismantling of public education, education reform, Elsa Prince Broekhuizen, God in school, manifestos, public education, religion in schools, religious extremism, Richard DeVos Sr., school vouchers, Secretary of Education, separation of church and state, sex education, Steve Bannon, Ten Commandments | 5 Comments

5th grade charter school teacher Mika Yamamoto, fired from Michigan’s Renaissance Public School Academy, where she was the only teacher of color, claims she was told by her principal, “The community is not ready for your voice.”

By Mark | February 12, 2017

Since this past November, when I interviewed the mother of Josie Ramon, the 12 year old Royal Oak Middle School student who taped classmates chanting “Build the wall” at her and other Hispanic students, I occasionally get notes from people, asking that I help get the word out about similar things taking place within Michigan’s […]

Posted in Education, Michigan | Also tagged accusations of racism, Beloved, Betsy DeVos, Central Michigan University, Charter School Partners, charter schools, Children’s Protective Services, dismantling of public education, domestic violence, Donald Trump, Elie Wiesel, First Amendment, for-profit charter schools, getting fired, horror, insider dealing, John Engler, John Engler Center for Charter Schools, lawsuits, Los Angeles, Mary Kay Shields, Mika Yamamoto, Mt. Pleasant, oppression, public education, racism, Renaissance Public School Academy, safety, Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance, Toni Morrison | 149 Comments

Maybe now would be a good time for us to surround a local school, join hands, and let it be known that we intend to fight to preserve public education

By Mark | February 7, 2017

We got beat today. We just needed one vote to keep Betsy DeVos away from the Department of Education, and we couldn’t manage it. We waged one hell of an assault… occupying the offices of our Senators, jamming their phone lines, going after them with unprecedented enthusiasm them on social media… but it just didn’t […]

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | Also tagged Al Franken, Betsy DeVos, buying influence, buying politicians, Department of Education, education reform, for-profit charter schools, guns in schools, Holmes Elementary, public education, Secretary of Education, Senate, YCS, Ypsilanti Community Schools | 27 Comments

This is the galvanizing moment we’ve been waiting for… Democratic Senators are filibustering, teachers are outside the Capital protesting, and we’re effectively shutting down the offices of those who haven’t yet come out against Betsy DeVos

By Mark | February 6, 2017

[above: Photo by Evan Sutton from today’s protest in D.C. against embattled Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos.] The Senate vote on Betsy DeVos, the pyramid scheme billionaire turned anti-public education crusader who’s attempting to buy her way into Trump’s Cabinet, was supposed to happen today. And, the way things looked this morning, she was […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Betsy DeVos, buying influence, buying politicians, charter schools, confirmation hearings, Dean Heller, Deb Fischer, Debbie Stabenow, Department of Education, dismantling of public education, education reform, filibustering, for-profit charter schools, get the money out of Washington, John Hoeven, Pat Toomey, Patty Murray, protests, public education, Secretary of Education, Senate | 20 Comments

Buying Senator Pat Toomey’s vote… DeVos can do it, but we can’t

By Mark | February 4, 2017

I just tweeted at Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey [@SenToomey], asking what we should make of the fact that, in spite of her unpopularity among his constituents, he’s said he would be voting for Betsy DeVos, a woman who both publicly admitted to “buying influence” and gave him over $60,000 in contributions, to head the Department […]