By Anthony Cody.

As we enter the campaign for the 2016 presidential race, educators and students are looking for a candidate willing to buck some very powerful trends. In 2008, we were led to believe that Obama would break with the disastrous policies of GW Bush, and bring an end to No Child Left Behind. But instead of change, we got NCLB on steroids through Duncan’s Race to the Top and NCLB waiver program. I think I speak for many when I say we will not be fooled again. As I wrote two months ago, “progressive” Democrats have largely ignored K-12 education issues, focusing only on pre-K and college debt. Unless a candidate is willing to confront the billionaires now driving education policy (and pretty much everything else), I will probably vote, but that is about it.

The current field of candidates in the Democratic party is limited to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton has a close association with the Gates Foundation, which has been a major donor to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton has made it clear that she is a solid supporter of the Common Core and believes that such a testing system “helps you organize your whole education system.” So if we want a change from the nation’s current trajectory in education, we need to look elsewhere.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is shaking the race up with some unconventional thinking. His willingness to oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership shows he is willing to stand up to big money. His call for a “political revolution” is focused on driving big money out of its position of control in our political process. This is what we need in education as well.

Sanders has yet to speak out very clearly on education issues. His website says that it is “coming 5.26.15”. So while there is time, I want to offer some suggestions here. Our nation’s public education system is reeling from a more than a decade of political attacks. Any candidate who takes a clear stand will attract a huge burst of energy from teachers and students. Here are the key issues that we need addressed:

1. We need a sharp shift away from federal micro-management of education, and a return to the original goals of ESEA, which was to provide resources to schools to address the effects of poverty. The role of the federal government should be to provide resources to the neediest school communities, so that all public schools receive adequate and equitable funding, not tied to test scores OR zipcodes. Current federal policy puts pressure on states to include test scores in teacher evaluations, and use test scores to close down low-scoring schools. Research continues to show that an emphasis on test preparation is actually leading to less prepared students. This policy sold as the remedy to the “achievement gap” is actually expanding inequities. The information we get from test scores can actually be found with a high level of accuracy simply by looking at socioeconomic indicators. The Senate is currently debating changes to ESEA. We need a candidate willing to oppose annual testing. (See this recent statement written by Jesse Hagopian and the Network for Public Education to understand why annual testing is NOT a civil right.) Rather than a curriculum focused on preparing for tests, our students need a rich curriculum tied to their culture and that of their community. Art, music and sports should be available to all.
2. Public schools are a basic democratic institution, and they should remain under democratic control. There is an intense drive to shift education funding away from schools governed by elected school boards and towards semi-private charter schools, as well as parochial and private schools through vouchers and tax credits. This undermines public oversight and has allowed for widespread corruption and diversion of public funds. We need a candidate who will support the concept of a common school, central to our communities, and stop federal support for the expansion of charter schools.
3. School closures are devastating to communities, and have been focused in African American and Latino neighborhoods. This results in community decay and spurs gentrification. Research shows federal efforts to “turn around” high poverty schools have not succeeded. This policy should be halted, and schools in these communities should be supported with wraparound social services to directly address poverty, not destroyed.
4. Teachers need support in dealing with challenging behaviors and to become culturally competent. Many schools do not have any systems in place to change challenging behavior — only to punish students and this leads to high suspension and expulsion rates especially for low-income children of color. Even when schools do have programs in place they often take a cultural deficit approach. We need to invest in high quality culturally-sensitive programs, such as Restorative Justice, as well as wrap around services for all public schools.
5. Due process and seniority protections for teachers have been under attack from all sides. This has resulted in significant losses to teacher autonomy and freedom of speech. Teacher evaluations have grown to absurd levels of complexity and consume countless hours of time. Morale is at an all-time low, and this destabilizes schools and the teaching profession, making it harder to attract and retain teachers. We need a candidate who understands that the primary reason for inequitable student outcomes is poverty, not “bad teachers.”
6. Teaching ought to be a career choice, not a stepping stone or temporary job. Students suffer when teachers turn over. Therefore, programs like Teach For America, which actually increase the level of turnover, and place people in classrooms with only five weeks of training, should be discouraged. We need programs that stabilize schools and support the longevity of teachers careers, so we can reap the benefits of experience.
7. Along with other public employees, teachers find that our pensions are a tempting target for politicians looking for places to get money. These pensions represent deferred compensation. The average teacher works her entire career to earn a stable retirement. This must be protected.

There is a rapidly growing movement of students, teachers and parents resisting phony “reforms” and high stakes tests, as evidenced by hundreds of thousands who opted out of tests this spring. Teachers are the last large sector of workers who are unionized, and number about five million people. Despite efforts to blame teachers for poverty, they remain trusted members of every community in the nation. If teachers, students and parents can see a candidate is going to bat for us, there will be an immediate response. Bernie Sanders – will you take up our cause?

Photo by AFGE, used with Creative Commons license.