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By John Thompson. Teachers have other things to do rather than criticize reforms that help students. For instance, we welcome the extra counselors who helped raise graduation rates across the nation. Educators oppose the hastily implemented silver bullets that have backfired, damaged public schools, undermined our …

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By Anthony Cody. A new documentary will be released in community-based screenings across the country on August 14th. This film could provide a powerful boost to local efforts to organize resistance to the corporate takeover of public schools. It is called Education Inc, and it tells the tale all too familiar to …

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By Anthony Cody. Public schools are in the midst of a war of attrition over their control – and even the very institution of public education is in danger. There is a sort of pincer assault under way, with billionaires on the far right pushing for complete de-regulation, and others, like the Gates Foundation, …

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By Leah Putnam. If you participated in the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union Strike, you might recognize my sign (I’m the “union thug” holding it). After 10 years of teaching 5th grade for Chicago Public Schools, I recently moved to Indiana and began teaching 2nd grade. Moving from the third largest public school …

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By Darcy Bedortha. On Thursday, February 26th I had the privilege of joining a conference call regarding the release of a report sponsored by In The Public Interest, documenting the performance of the K12 Inc. subsidiary California Virtual Academy. This was of interest to me because, even after more than a year …

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By Anthony Cody. Last week as I was tweeting in support of the Newark Students Union occupation of their state-appointed administrator’s office, I was surprised to see a familiar name joining the chorus of support for these young activists. Montel Williams was right in there, tweeting his own support, and …

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By Shannon Hernandez. I am a product of public education. I was raised in central Illinois, and I had teachers who not only served as role models, coaches, and mentors, but many who have become life-long friends. My public school years gave me a stellar education—one which was rooted in creative projects, …

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By Sara Lahm. Recently, a friend pointed me to an opinion piece she thought I’d like, because, she said, it reminded her of the article I recently wrote for the Nation’s Investigative Fund, about all of the outside money being spent on this year’s Minneapolis school board race. The opinion piece is by one of …

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What follows is a presentation made on October 11, 2014, at the Public Education Nation event, hosted by the Network for Public Education. The entire panel discussion can be viewed here. By Wendy Lecker. I have come to think of the charter school movement as a failed experiment on our children. In terms of their …

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By Anthony Cody. It has been a bit of a challenge this past decade to maintain a spirit of hope in the face of the immense concentration of wealth and power we have seen. I do not need to remind you of the details – we all know the big picture. But I have, for the past four years or so, been focused on the role …