NOTE: This story has been updated HERE. On Saturday, I wrote about an apparent effort by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown to take over a lawsuit filed by the New York City Parents Union challenging some aspects of how teachers are either fired or laid off. Parents of the NYCPU told me that Brown appeared to be more interested in […]

After John Covington quit (or was forced out) as Chancellor of Gov. Snyder’s failed experiment with Detroit students — the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) — he was replaced by Veronica Conforme, the former chief operating officer of the New York City Department of Education. However, the ethically questionable behavior of the EAA is continuing under her watch. This past week, […]

NOTE: This story has been updated HERE and HERE. In early June, a decision in the California court case Vergara v. California deemed the state’s teacher tenure laws to be unconstitutional because they deny children access to a quality education. The decision has sparked similar cases around the country. In New York, the parents group New York City Parents Union […]

Yesterday, nearly 300 teachers and advocates gathered in Ann Arbor for a rally to support public education, sponsored by Michigan Teachers and Allies for Change (M-TAC). Attendees listened to speakers like State Representative Jeff Irwin, Ann Arbor Education Association President Linda Carter, Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift, and Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher Quinn Strassel. The headliner for […]

I am reposting this as a reminder that there is a rally to support public education TODAY in Ann Arbor from 5:30-6:30 at Liberty Plaza. Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor Lisa Brown will be the headliner. Michigan Teachers and Allies for Change (M-TAC), a grassroots group of teachers and allies working on behalf of public education, is hosting a rally […]

This post has been edited to clarify that the fine arts program at Detroit’s Renaissance High School is being saved. Just a week after Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Jack Martin, announced draconian cuts to schools, higher class sizes, a second round of pay cuts for teachers, and the closing of 24 schools, he has changed his mind: After a […]

Michigan Teachers and Allies for Change (M-TAC), a grassroots group of teachers and allies working on behalf of public education, is hosting a rally in support of public education this Thursday, August 28th, from 5:30 to 6:30. The event will take place at Liberty Plaza in downtown Ann Arbor. Speakers include Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor Lisa Brown, State Representative […]

[NOTE: Edited to clarify that the DPS budget was created by the DPS Emergency Manager Jack Martin, not the School Board.] When Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Jack Martin put together the Detroit Public Schools budget for the coming year, it included revenue from a $14.8 million county-wide school millage that did not pass in the August primary election. Because […]

SEE UPDATE BELOW You know the corporate funders driving the push to dismantle and privatize as much of our public school system as they possibly can are freaking out when they do stuff like this tweet from the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP): You also know they’ve stepped in it when they have to tweet out four explanatory tweets following […]

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan announced today that 11 of the 40 charter school authorizers have been put in “At-Risk of Suspension” status after a damning investigative report by the Detroit Free Press recently reveal gross negligence, a lack of transparency, nepotism, and, most importantly, poor performance in many of Michigan’s charter schools. In Michigan, which has a quarter of the […]

The faculty and students of Eastern Michigan University’s College of Education have been actively seeking to end the institution’s affiliation with the Education Achievement Authority, Gov. Snyder’s failed education experiment on Detroit students. Among the many horror stories coming out of the EAA, we learned this past week that they are literally experimenting with 100-student kindergarten classes. I’m not kidding. […]