Michelle Rhee’s anti-teachers union organization StudentsFirst has just put out a “report card” of education systems state by state. In the ranking, which can be found here, Louisiana and Florida are the two top-rated states.
The placing of these two states at the top of the list is curious. StudentsFirst gave higher ratings to states that emphasized the use of charter schools and teacher evaluations based on high-stakes testing. But her organization ignored actual results. For example, it gave a “D” rating — the second-worst — toAi??Massachusetts, which has some of the highest test scores on theAi??Ai??National Assessment ofAi??EducationalAi??Progress exam.
There is one thing that Florida and Louisiana have in common — they are among the worst states for teacher compensation. Florida in 2011 ranked 47th in the country for teacher salaries. Louisiana’s average teacher salary is 42nd in the country.
To put things in perspective, the starting salary of a teacher in Catahoula Parish in Lousiana who has a bachelor’s degree is $31,322. That’s less money than Rhee charges for one speech she gives. It appears that Rhee’s ratings of education systems disregard poor wages for the actual educators.
Many leading educators are not giving Rhee’s system much credibility. “This is an organization that makes its living by asserting that schools are failing. I would have been surprised if we had got anything else,” saidAi??Californiaai??i??s deputy superintendent of schools, Richard Zeigler, about Rhee’s “F” rating of California’s schools.
The OTL Campaign also has a fantastic takedown of how out-of-touch this Rhee-port is:
http://www.otlcampaign.org/blog/2013/01/09/5-ways-michelle-rhee%E2%80%99s-report-puts-students-last
Anyone can skew the results of any study in the direction they want and those who support their views will jump on their bandwagon with both feet and ignore the non-biased research studies that show just the opposite of her report. Shame on you Michelle Rhee for putting your bank account before our children.
The Voting Rights Act (VRA) must be upheld by the supreme court:
The numerous despicable attempts to restrict voting made during the last election cycle are proof of that. Anyone who truly believes the VRA is obsolete needs to recognize, given last year’s voter suppression efforts, the Jim Crowe era is biding its time.
Now even if you are dumb enough to believe that all is OK with the world and there are no reasons to have the voting rights act on the books. Then why are the the parties at opposite end’s on this? Why are the Republicans in America trying to keep people from the poles ?
The argument is that VRA is discriminatory against Southern states to require them but not other states to seek pre-clearance for voting laws; I actually agree. The Voting Rights Act should require *ALL* states to seek pre-clearance. After what we’ve seen the GOP try to pass in states all across the nation prior to the last 2012 election, I see no reason this safeguard against voter suppression should be limited to just Southern states as suggested by VRA of 1965 but now should be expanded to apply to ALL 50 states.
Ajay Jain
ajain31@gmail.com
1209 Creekwood Drive
Garland TX 75044-2421
Michelle Rhee – The famous former Washington DC School District Chancellor
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=215125001967375&set=vb.145530532162873&type=2&theater
Michelle Rhee on OPRAH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPsqO17f6Lw
Michelle Rhee on abc’s ThisWeek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nep1mcaFthU
Michelle Rhee on The DailyShow with Jon Stewart
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-4-2013/michelle-rhee
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-4-2013/exclusive—michelle-rhee-extended-interview-pt–2
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-4-2013/exclusive—michelle-rhee-extended-interview-pt–3
pbs.org FRONTLINE: The Education of Michelle Rhee
http://video.pbs.org/video/2323979463/ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/education-of-michelle-rhee/
Why Teach For America works – Michelle Rhee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUs_hsHaqSA
A Two-Tier Proposal for Teacher Pay – Michelle Rhee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pii96AoTPw
Time Magazine: Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862444-2,00.html
Michelle Rhee Discusses “Waiting for Superman,” Charter Schools And Sch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLih24QdwH8
Stanford University: A Conversation on “Waiting for Superman” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzrjo7Fvs1A
“Radical” Fighting to Put Students First should be a must read for all studentsfirst.org members! Michelle Rhee’s new book, “RADICAL: Fighting to Put Students First,” is now in stores! For more information about where you can find it, to read an excerpt from the book, and to share your story about education in America visit the official site at http://www.edradical.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/edradical.
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/michelle-rhee/510ff3b02b8c2a138f000747
Michelle Rhee at the ACE 2011 Spring Luncheon https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=mO9F-amHDuw
Michelle Rhee and Kevin Johnson (4/20/11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=OCcNzh7C_Tk&feature=endscreen
Michelle A. Rhee 03.17.11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD0g8Jb9l78
Cornell Alumni: Olin Lecture 2012: Michelle Rhee ’92https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwFD-wkAEi8
Harvard Public Health: Michelle Rhee, Former Chancellor of Washington D.C. Public Schoolshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH0twXcxNUY
http://fora.tv/2013/02/07/Michelle_Rhee_Fighting_to_Put_Students_First
Geoffrey Canada – Conversations at KCTS 9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxP6Ov5PSG8
Geoffrey Canada interviewed by Julian Bond: Explorations in Black Leadership …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5MZKf6Uu4
“Waiting for Superman” the documentary and Bloomberg documentary “Risk Takers” Michelle Rhee should a required screening for all studentsfirst.org members. I saw them on Netflix and became an instant member of studentsfirst.org and Michelle Rhee follower.
“Won’t Back down” the movie is another example to screen to all studentsfirst.org members.
Share the reasons you fight for education reform. Your story will inspire others to get involved. So tell us: Why are you working to put students first? http://www.studentsfirst.org/facebook-story
Check out today’s blog by StudentsFirst staffer Charity Hallman, “One size fits all, or so they said,” on The Fordham Institute’s “Education Gadfly Daily: FLYPAPER” blog.
To view the Fordham study, “When Teachers Choose Pension Plans: The Florida Story,” visit http://www.studentsfirst.org/fordham-study-on-fl-teacher-pension-reform
Watch MAKER videos on StudentFirst Founder Michelle Rhee visit http://www.makers.com/michelle-rhee