New Barack Obama Green Charter High School is coming to Plainfield

[NJmaverick]

Source: The Newark Star-Ledger

The 120-seat Barack Obama Green Charter High School is slated to open for ninth and tenth graders at the start of the new school year at 530 West Seventh St. It already has approval from the state Department of Education.
The school’s founders tout it as the first charter in New Jersey to implement the philosophy of the nonprofit Green Schools Initiative, which advocates a strategy including a toxin-free campus, sustainable use of resources and a ban on junk food.
The school plans to reinforce its philosophy of sustainability by encouraging students to walk or take public transit and to bring their own lunches. The school will not have a cafeteria or school buses.
“We’re not far from the train, and we really are encouraging the staff as well,” said school cofounder Alisa Barnes. “Students really model their behavior on the adults they’re surrounded by.”

Read more: http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/04/new_charter_school_coming_to_p.html

[whistler162]

1. perdiction the school will seek funding in 1 year

for a cafeteria!

ban on junk food and bring your own lunch. Will they search the students lunches and bags for the evil junk food?

[heliarc]

4. They will start charging parents fee upon fee... nt

[mzteris]

9. one of my son's old schools

implemented that policy when they opened and still have it six years later.

And yeah, if "contraband" food was discovered, the student was tactfully reminded of the policy and to put it away. It didn't take very long for people to know they were dead serious.

NO junk food. No chips, cakes, cookies, koolaid, soda, etc.

Even though we moved out of state, my son still takes his lunch every single day. He thinks the "food" other kids eat is horrifying! Andn the amount of "food" from the cafeteria thrown away is absolutely criminal.

[sabrina 1]

23. Well, with the failure of Charter schools around the country

that is all very nice but doesn't address the failure of NCLB in its entirety.

A failure, btw, the Obama was keenly aware of back in 2007 when he pledged to do something about it.

If that school is implementing the NCLB system, a system that was cynically set up to fail btw, the school will fail.

[mzteris]

29. "failure of charters around the country"? lol

okay, sure...

you need to get out more.

[sabrina 1]

35. Well, that was an informative post. Can't say I blame you though

for avoiding the issue if you are proponent of them. The record is not good.

The Failure of For Profit Management of Charter Schools

New Covenant is the second of the first three schools chartered in New York to be closed.<1> There are two important lessons to be learned from this experience.

First, over New Covenant’s eleven years of existence, it was managed by three different for profit educational management organizations – Advantage Schools, Edison Schools and Victory Schools – each of which dismally failed, in turn, at having the school meet its performance benchmarks. The students who attended New Covenant and the educators who taught in the school were exploited by these EMOs, which profited as the school floundered academically. Now the students and educators are paying the price for the failures of the EMOs.

Another bad Republican idea. And of course it was the Republican governor of NY who allowed them to operate for so long. Obama was right when he opposed the privatization of the Public Schools.

And that is just NY. I'd be happy to demonstrate the failures elsewhere, not to mention the corruption when private entities get their hands on Public Funds.

[Dinger]

38. Good Post Sabrina

Thanks for the link.

[mzteris]

40. "for profit management" - equals appx 10% of all charters

and are becoming fewer every day.

Do math much?

"Republican idea"? Al Shanker - former President of the American Federation of Teachers - a Republican, right . . .


a little more on the founding....

Some members of the public are dissatisfied with educational quality and school district bureaucracies (Jenkins and Dow 1996). Today's charter-school initiatives are rooted in the educational reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, from state mandates to improve instruction, to school-based management, school restructuring, and private/public-choice initiatives.

Many people, President Clinton among them, see charter schools, with their emphasis on autonomy and accountability, as a workable political compromise and an alternative to vouchers. The charter approach uses market principles while insisting that schools be nonsectarian and democratic. For founders, starting a brand-new school is an exhausting, yet exhilarating experience that "stirs the creative and adaptive juices of everyone involved" (Ray Budde 1996).

****

Ray Budde, an education professor who defined the term charter school and stated the ideas that led to a nationwide school reform movement, died on June 11 in Springfield, Mass. He was 82. . . Dr. Budde, a former assistant professor at the school of education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, first suggested the term "charter" for use in education in the 1970's to describe a novel contracting arrangement designed to support the efforts of innovative teachers within the public school system.

*****

The League had a plan fairly well thought out by
October 1988 when the Minneapolis Foundation
brought Al Shanker to Minnesota for The Itasca
Seminar. Two legislators present - Sen. Ember
Reichgott and Rep. Ken Nelson (both Democrats) - picked up the idea
and, as legislators are wont to do, began thinking
about legislation.

Sen. Reichgott's charter provision got into the Senate
omnibus bill in 1989 and again in 1990. The House
would not accept it. As the conference committee was
breaking up in 1990 Rep. Becky Kelso (Dem) went over to
Reichgott and said, "If you'd like to try that charter
program again next year I'd like to help you". ...

Interestingly, in today’s highly partisan environment –
both in Minnesota and nationally – Reichgott, Nelson
and Kelso were all Democrats; Carlson (Gov of MN), a Republi-
can, picked up on the public school choice initiatives
advanced by his Democratic predecessor, Rudy
Perpich, in the mid-to-late 1980s.

[mzteris]

42. More info on those "Mass closings" . . .

2009-2010
Growth
Number of New Charter Schools in Fall of Academic Year 456
Number of Charter Schools That Closed During Academic Year 3
% Growth in Number of Charter Schools 6.8%

2008-2009
Growth
Number of New Charter Schools in Fall of Academic Year 480
Number of Charter Schools That Closed During Academic Year 139
% Growth in Number of Charter Schools 7.5%


2007-2008
Number of New Charter Schools in Fall of Academic Year 445
Number of Charter Schools That Closed During Academic Year 157
% Growth in Number of Charter Schools 8.0%

2006-2007
Number of New Charter Schools in Fall of Academic Year 495
Number of Charter Schools That Closed During Academic Year 127
% Growth in Number of Charter Schools 9.1%


# Charter School Closures: Of the over 5,250 charter schools that have ever opened, 657 have closed since 1992.
- 41 percent of the nation's charter closures resulted from financial deficiencies caused by either low student enrollment or inequitable funding
- 27 percent were closed for mismanagement.
- 14 percent were closed for poor academic performance.



2009-2010

Number of Years Open
Open 1-3 Years 1,317 26.6%
Open 4-6 Years 1,315 26.5%
Open 7-9 Years 942 19.0%
Open 10+ Years 1,384 27.9%
Average Number of Years Open 6.7


(bonus info:


# Charter schools that have been open for significant periods of time boast even higher achievement rates; Harvard found that charter schools that have been operating for more than 5 years outpace conventional schools by as much as 15 percent. (note that average number of years open . . .)


# Charter schools across the United States are funded at 61 percent of their district counterparts. On average, charter schools are funded at $6,585 per pupil compared to $10,771 per pupil at conventional district public schools.

Do Charter Schools Take Money from Public Schools? Charter schools are public schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. This benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations. Fiscally, charter schools have demonstrated efficiency. For example, ABC's "Prime Time Live" ran a story on Yvonne Chan, the energetic principal of a San Fernando Valley’s Vaughn Next Century Charter School. The local school district, one of the largest and most bureaucratic in the nation, typically took a year to buy computers for its classrooms. Ms. Chan thought that was ridiculous. It took her charter school six days to purchase computers, and for less money. As a result, the Los Angeles Unified School District revised its purchasing system. Overall, in its first year of operation, Vaughn Next Century generated, through operational changes and efficiencies, a $1 million plus surplus, which it used to expand facilities to benefit both students and staff.

[boppers]

33. Failing all the way into the top 100!

Some fail, some succeed.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html

[sabrina 1]

36. True, just like anything else.

The money should be put into improving those public schools that need help. But first, NCLB has to go as no school can perform well while operating under that program which was designed for business by businessmen whose only interest, and expertise since they knew nothing about education, was how to get their hands on all that public money. They succeeded, even betting on the failure of schools to make more profits from, and again succeeded. Education needed reform, these vultures used that to descend on the funds and grab as much as possible for themselves. Nothing good can be done for schools until that whole Bush program is dismantled first.

[mzteris]

43. this is the either the most

"uninformed" posts about charters I've ever read, or one of the most blatant misrepresentation in order to try and discredit charters. And for DU - that's saying something...

You really need to research how charters are formed, operated, and the financials.

Are the abuses in the Charter system. Of course? And they should be rooted out, stopped, and prosecuted. Just like the Director of Transporation of Wake County Public School System and a bunch of others in the school admin office who were embezzling funds and "siphoning" supplies (like cars...) Fraud exists in all systems. Doesn't make it right, but don't use the sins of a few to try and discredit everyone.

Your whole "getting hands on the profits" is completely ludicrous.

[robinblue]

2. Their claim for green is not convining as

I have worked in schools these last 10 years and many have the "green" features.

[NJmaverick]

8. So what did you learn

[Cha]

32. I'd be interested, too. nt

[Turbineguy]

3. The operative word here is "non-profit".

When I was in the Netherlands I went to a "private" secondary school. The school was set up as a non-profit foundation. The school got money from the government and the tuition was the difference between the cost and the subsidy. Thus it was quite low. (At the time about $50 per year). In addition, you had to buy books.

As I understand it such schools get their money from the government and are held to a standard. They give a final exam (six years worth) that is approved by the government department. Since everybody was interested in graduating, I don't know if there was some pass rate that had to be met.

It was one of the best schools in the country. The fact that one of the Royals went there didn't hurt either.

There's plenty of talent in this country to run good schools. But too much is wrong with the way they are funded that funnels money to financiers, contractors, publishers and the lot. If the entire chain was non-profit (that's not the same thing as lousy pay) Our system would soar.

IMO the reason public schools fail is because so much is funneled into profits and commissions and diverted from actual education. The taxpayers who think they should get something for their money, in this case, educated kids, are getting fleeced. The repub's answer to this is to make the entire chain for-profit. Because apparently, failure should be rewarded.

[NJmaverick]

6. I think non-profit is the best way to get things done

I have worked many years in non-profit, a short stint in profit and in government. In terms of efficiency of providing services I think you simply can't beat not for profit.

[No Elephants]

19. I think it depends on the people involved. However, people who work

for a not for profit can be the kind who are highly motivated. Then again, I know someone who used to own three Body Shops--the ones that sell cosmetics that are not tested on animals, etc. While they were for profit, she told me that the principles of Body Shop stores attracted a much higher quality of employee than the relatively low starting salary would suggest. (The parent franchise was not exactly touchy feely to people like my friend, but that is another issue.)

Anyway, while there is an exception to any rule, generally, I think people are likelier to give their all, even for a lower salary, if they are working at somethting they believe in from their hearts, as opposed to a job where they feel they are underpaid because the owner is ripping off workers and clients alike, in order to live high off the hog.

[mzteris]

10. all charter schools are public and NON-PROFIT entities.

approximately 10% are "MANAGED" by a contracted for-profit organization- as are some traditional public schools.

approximatelly 10% are managed by a non-profit organization.

The 80percentish rest are operated and managed by a local board of concerned parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens. And again, non-profit.

[sabrina 1]

24. George Bush and his friends and family thank you for your

support of NCLB. Are you aware that this program was set up enrich the friends of Bush in the Educational Publishing business? Did you know how perfectly they planned it? First force testing as a means of 'education' on the Public Schools. The Publishers would, (and it worked, they have) make a fortune on those tests.

Ready and waiting in the wings when such a system, doomed to failure from the pov of education, makes it appear that children are failing, in comes Neil Bush, Bob Bennet et al with THEIR OWN 'educational programs'. Since 20% of the funding for Public Schools has to be set aside until results are in (they really are clever) once a school is made to look like a failure (thank YOU McGraw Hill friend of Bush) in comes Neil Bush et all with their programs to get their grubby little fingers on all that money.

From Senator Obama when running for president who 'got it' back then and was a supporter of the Public School System and idetified one of the major problems with NCLB.

Sen. Barack Obama took a strongly progressive stance for public education and for teachers, and against publicly-funded vouchers to pay for private school education, in this July 5, 2007 speech.

Sen. Obama's remarks included a number of controversial proposals, including immediate, across-the-board pay raises for teachers, and redesign of standardized tests to support learning, not punishment of teachers.

Yes, he was for improving the Public Schools and praised and supported the whole idea of a public school system, AND he was aware of the real problem with the NCLB system, designed to make a Public Educational system look like it couldn't work, and to transfer public funds into private institutions so that the greedy, vulturous capitalists could profit, even from our children's failure, orchestrated by them.

Funny thing is they don't even have to pay people to support this Machiavellian plan, some people do it unwittingly and willingly, which of course they counted on. As I said, they thank you for your support.

[mzteris]

30. nclb originated in 1965 with Johnson -

did you know that?

I hate "NCLB" for the most part - the way it's non-funded and archaically implemented. Homeschoolers called it "NO child gets ahead".

Schools need MORE flexibility and freedom, not less. But they do need standards, funding, and accountability.

[sabrina 1]

37. The current program labeled NCLB originated with

with 300 business CEOs, who planned the program mainly to pass public funds for education into private hands. Neil Bush and Bill Bennet have profited from the inevitable failure of the program. No doubt they had inside info of what Bush was going to do when campaigned on 'Education Reform'. Both started their own educational programs, and were ready to get part of the Federal Funds mandated by NCLB to be kept aside in case a school 'failed to reach the required standards' (standards ridiculously set, as Obama himself pointed out, by tests, published by some more of their friends who have made billions since). Once a school has 'failed' Neil and Bill were ready to sell THEIR programs for profit.

This is NOT a Johnson program, not even close. Yes, the system needed reform, it always will, and it was that fact that these greedy Bush friends and family pounced on in order to get in the door to grab yet another public fund for private industry.

[mzteris]

44. just sos you know . . . I don't support most of NCLB -

as it was "modified" by Bush. The intentions were there (see Kennedy) but the funding - and GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY got in the way.

Just after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act became law in 1965. No Child Left Behind is the 21st-century iteration of this first major federal foray into education policy--a realm that is still mainly a state and local function, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.


NCLB had nothing to do with "passing public funds into private hands". . . people have been "making money off of ed" way before the bushies got involved. The "textbook" business is BIG business, doncha know.

[ipaint]

50. Our public schools where doing just fine until reagan and

his big lie claiming the opposite. Then every greedy politician, business crook and billionaire social engineer decided to get in the the game of "reform" to see if they could make a quick buck.

We know how to do public schools successfully and have. We could do it again if we purged the system of the high class grifters feeding off of it. Start with the billionaire funded charter scams.

[No Elephants]

18. Not understanding:

"IMO the reason public schools fail is because so much is funneled into profits and commissions and diverted from actual education"

Public schools makke a profit? For what do public schools pay commissions? For what do public schools pay financiers? Somehow, I am missing your meaning.

By the way, it's "not for profit" or "for profit," not "non-profit" or "for profit." And I don't think you can make a general rule about the quality of education based only on whether a school is "not for profit" or "for profit."

The terms "not for profit" and "for profit" refer to the reasons the entity is organized. Entities organized for a purpose other than making a profit are legally and factually able to make a profit, just as entities organized for the purpose of a profit are legally and factually able to operate at a loss. And both kinds of entities can pay low salaries or high ones. Both can also pay contractors, publishers, etc.

Those are state corporate principles. The IRS and federal tax law has a lot more to say about what a not for profit must do or not do in order to keep its tax exempt status However, that is a diferent issue from being a for profit or a not for profit under state corporate law. Still, paying contractors and publishers will not lose you your tax exemption (unless maybe you are the only publisher your not for profit is paying and you are not giving fair value back).

Overall, I am just not following what you are saying, though.

[Turbineguy]

21. In Washington state and probably elsewhere

School construction is financed by bonds. Those bonds are sold and commission is paid. In addition there's interest. Somebody has to pay the ratings agencies as well.

I have been out of the PTA thing for a few years, but I recall noticing how at every step there seemed to be people with their hand out and they were not teachers.

I suppose I did not make my point all that well. It seems the system is set up to make profits and kid's education is there, but more as a justification than a primary reason.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Xenotime]

7. This is wonderful

[mzteris]

11. Agro-urban sustainability charter school

being proposed for Madison.

". . . Math class might be in a tomato patch, science in a rain garden, and language arts in a greenhouse. But one thing is certain: Students at Badger Rock Middle School, a proposed year-round charter school for Madison's South Side, would be getting their hands dirty.

The idea for a year-round "agro-urban" school ringed with vegetable gardens and orchards is moving forward with an eye towards opening as soon as fall 2011.

. . . The school would emphasize "culturally relevant" teaching, designed to bridge the achievement gap between white and minority students by helping teachers better understand their students' home culture. The concept is promoted by UW-Madison professor Gloria Ladson-Billings, who along with other university faculty is working on developing the charter school.

"We really think this would be a regional and national model for communities working together with school districts," said Brenda Baker, director of exhibits at Madison Children's Museum and a member of the school planning team. "MMSD will not be paying for the building. The Center for Resilient Cities, along with our group, will be fundraising for this project and for the whole operation."

. . . "Beginning this spring, we will have projects growing that will be very evident on the site" such as hoop houses and community gardening work. Eventually the property could include "floating growing platforms" that rise and fall with stormwater levels, and an "edible landscape" with nut and fruit trees and berry bushes.

"It would sweeten the idea for everybody, I think, if every child in the Madison School District could go on a one-day field trip and work on the farm," Baker said. "It feels synergistic - we're really feeding off each other's energy and supporting each other, so we're hoping that it all can happen."


What a great idea!!

[Dinger]

14. This Sounds A Lot Like My Public School District

I teach in a rural, PreK-12 school, and we do this all the time. Summer school is also a great opportunity for teachers and students to "think outside the box." Charters can do this, and so can public schools.

[NJmaverick]

28. Yes it is

[soleiri]

12. No cafeteria?

What about kids that rely on a school lunch for their only nutritious meal of the day?
Or are they not expecting those kids?

[NJmaverick]

25. I am not sure that is a big issue in Plainfield

[soleiri]

26. Why not?

[Dinger]

13. Some Questions:

1. How will the "success" of this school be evaluated?

2. Will this school be expected to follow all the exact same standards and accountability as public schools in Hew Jersey?

3. How exactly will this help the local economy?

4. What if students can't afford to bring their own lunch?

5. What if students bring junk lunches? Will their choices (for lunch) be monitored?

6. Will the teaching staff be required to have the same licenses and education that local public school teachers do?

7. Will there be a union (for teachers and other support staff)?

8. What if walking to school or using public transportation is not an option for students?

9. How will this affect public schools' (100% public) funding?

10. Why couldn't the Green Schools Initiative be implemented in a public school (100% public school that is)?

11. Is this district in an area with high unemployment and poverty? What kind of area is it (local economy)?

12. How will this help public schools in the area, or isn't that a goal?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Charters are not, in my opinion a replacement for public schools. They are public in part, but not 100% public, publicly funded, but not held to the same standards as public schools. Most are not required to take standardized tests, and if they choose to, are not required to report it. Look that one up. Some charter and private schools to choose to take these tests, but that is only one measure of student success (and only one measure of teacher success). I would never send a child of mine to any charter or private school that did not have the same standards and accountability as public schools. If we are comparing apples for apples, it might be that I choose a charter or private school over a public school. I really wish public schools were given the same opportunities as charters and private schools. I wish this administration would take a more broad-based approach (no pun intended) to educating our children, instead of focusing/blaming teachers or using standardized tests as the sole measure of success. The "tear down and rebuild" approach to fixing problems that exist in all areas of education is a closed-minded approach in my opinion. To me, it's like tearing down a house that needs a little TLC instead of doing the necessary repairs to bring it back to it's original glory, so to speak. It's also like clear-cutting a forest to make a big profit, and tearing down the future forest in the process.
I cannot support this approach to "fixing" education in this country. It's wrong.

[roody]

15. Whom will be accepted to the school?

Will there be equal access?

[Dinger]

17. Yes, That Too

I missed that one.

[mzteris]

31. actually most charters ARE required to take the same

"standardized tests" as the other public schools in their area. A lot, however, depends on how the state has written the charter regulations. I know my son and my friends children all take the same WCKE or EOG or whatever whichever state you're in calls it.

Charters ARE "held accountable" to the same EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS, they just have more freedom in their choice of curriculum, methodology, etc... In a lot of ways, charters are MORE accountable in that if they fail, they get closed pretty quickly. If they're not "meeting the needs" kids don't go, and they close because of lack of attendence.

I really wish traditional public schools would avail themselves of the opportunities that charters make for themselves. Often, it is the bureaucracy and red-tape of traditional schools that inhibit innovation and growth. That prevent the flexibility necessary to meet the needs of the varied. That's one reasons charters even got started was in order to "try the things" that governments (city,, county, etc.) wouldn't/couldn't allow.


Did you know that sometimes "clear-cutting" is necessary to promote new growth instead of a stagnant dead forest that just waiting for a forest fire? Managed growth is a good thing.

[wordpix]

16. how about a garden and grow your own salads etc. for lunch?

I've done it. :eyes:

[No Elephants]

20. Great. Grreen is good. So is naming a school for President Obama.

Whatever you think or do not think of his politics, performance, etc., he is the first African American President of the United States and that alone deserves plenty of celebration and namings. And, he is throwing a lot of weight behind going green.

So, I am very pleased about this. VERY pleased.

[NJmaverick]

27. agrreed

[No Elephants]

41. LOL.

What can I say? Lousy keyboard used by a lousy typist with lousy vision who has no patience for spell check.

[madrchsod]

22. seems fitting...

the man who did what no republican could only dream of will have a utopian charter school named after him....

hell we have a PUBLIC middle school named after Reagan...

[Cha]

34. This sounds good and I hope it does

well as an example for the coming years,

I see the Rec are 0 even after I Rec..so that's too bad that some don't want the news to get further attention.

[mzteris]

45. some people are afraid of change. . .

in my experience, people are afraid of what they don't know and don't understand.

Without fail, people who have become personally involved and/or connected with well-run charter public school programs, understand and embrace the concept.


(Well - I shoud clarify - "without fail" - for those who are truly open-minded and without some kind of agenda - personal or otherwise.)

[sabrina 1]

48. Anecdotal evidence from your own personal experience

doesn't alter the fact that Charter Schools in many states are failing and are being shut down. As long as they are required, and that includes the Public Schools, to utilize the system known as NCLB they cannot succeed.

A friend of mine sent her child to a charter school in Arizona and was very unhappy with the results. He is now back in Public School. That of course doesn't mean all of them are bad, just my own personal experience.

Again, from my own personal experience, yours apparently is different if you only know people who are 'afraid of change', I do not know anyone who is afraid of change in our educational system. What they are afraid is change that will make things worse. What does the slogan 'change' mean? It is an empty phrase 'change we can believe in'. Who? CEOs believe in the change in our educational system. But parents, teachers and children not so much.

I learned a lot from listening people chanting slogans like this without asking for specifics as what 'change' meant. I have found out that what Obama meant in the campaign, 'changed' on many issues after he was elected. His promise to fight for the public schools and for teachers eg, seems to have changed to a war on teachers and public schools. His praise of teachers, his apparent deep understanding of the problems that needed to be addressed, his commitment to fight for them and for their schools, was impressive. What 'changed' since he arrived in DC is something I hope we find out some day.

[mzteris]

49. A) Failing schools SHOULD be "shut down";

B) There ain't that many charter public schools being "shut down";
C) NCLB - COULD succeed, if it's interpreted and implemented and funded properly. And they get rid of the stupid "teach to the test mentality";
D) You're right - ONE example of a "bad experience" doesn't mean they should all be shut down. If that were the case, there'd not be a damn school of any kind, any where;
E) You don't know anyone afraid of change in the educational system"? Then you don't read DU much;
F) It was TEACHERS and EDUCATORS and PARENTS who led the charge to go to charter systems. Most definitely NOT "CEO's";
G) CHANGE means - what you're doing ain't working, and you need to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT! You know, CHANGE . . . Ever heard that saying? "You keep on doing whatcha always done, and you're gonna keep on gettin' whatcha always got." Capice?
H) Charter schools are public schools. And who do you think TEACHES at Charter public schools? . . . wait for it . . . . TEACHERS!! !gasp! I think he IS fighting for the free access of public education for ALL children; especially those who've been locked into a school system that was underfunded and undersupported and failing generation after generation of poor and neglected students. There IS NO "attack on teachers". That's a strawman built to inhibit that "change" so mamy are afraid of, ya know? No one I know "blames teachers" (general), those, yes indeed there are some teachers (specific) who have NO business anywhere near a kid, much less a classroom!
I)You ever think that his "apparent" deep understanding isn't just "apparent" but ACTUAL? He's a pretty smart man surrounding himself with pretty smart people with access to a whole world of information that most people don't have. Most people look at their little communities and experiences and think they "know" what's involved. I trust the man to be the smartest one in the room and to make the decisions (sometimes unpopullar hard decisions) that need to be made, regardless of popularity.

I don't think he "changed" at all. He's doing what he said. He's working his damndest to improve the free and public education available to ALL in this country. You might not like nor appreciate his methods, but there really ARE a whole damn lot of people - good Democrats, and Union members and/or supporters, and teachers - who DO support his methods.

[name not needed]

39. Meanwhile every PUBLIC SCHOOL in the state just had their state aid cut. Wonderful.

[Dinger]

46. Kinda What I Was Thinking

Again, if Obama and other like-minded Democrats (republicans too) think they can win without the votes (millions) of public school teachers and support staff, and families who support public schools, well, good luck.

[mzteris]

47. "green schools" information - what can yours do to "go green"

http://www.nesea.org/k-12/greenschoolshealthyschools/greenschoolsresources/