Charter Schools Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Charter Schools

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"Who's Killing Philly Public Schools?": Daniel Denvir on Plan for School Closings, Privatization

We continue to look at the cost of public education, this time here in the United States. On Wednesday, thousands took part in education protests in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania cities, condemning planned spending cuts. In Philadelphia, school officials have proposed a controversial plan to close more than 60 schools in the next five years and potentially privatize those remaining. On Thursday, Republican presidential contender...
May 25, 2012 | Story
Juan Gonzalez: NYC Schools chancellor Joel Klein won't be missed

You could tell the Joel Klein era was ending long before Mayor Bloomberg made it official on Tuesday.
Nov 10, 2010 | News
Educators Push Back Against Obama's "Business Model" for School Reforms

It’s back-to-school season. As millions of children around the country begin a new school year, the Obama administration is aggressively moving forward on a number of education initiatives, from expanding charter schools to implementing new national academic standards. We talk to Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Lois Weiner, a professor of education at New Jersey City University. [includes rush transcript]
Sep 03, 2010 | Story
Obama Defends Sweeping Education Reforms in Face of Criticism from Minority and Teachers' Groups

President Obama took on critics of his administration’s sweeping education reform plan on Thursday in a nearly hour-long speech at the National Urban League’s 100th anniversary convention. His address came on the heels of news that New York public school students are not performing nearly as well as prior state tests had revealed. We speak with Diane Ravitch, the former Assistant Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush, and Leonie...
Jul 30, 2010 | Story
Juan Gonzalez: Big Banks Making a Bundle on New Construction as Schools Bear the Cost

"Wealthy investors and major banks have been making windfall profits by using a little-known federal tax break to finance new charter-school construction," Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez write in the New York Daily News. "The program, the New Markets Tax Credit, is so lucrative that a lender who uses it can almost double his money in seven years." [includes rush transcript]
May 07, 2010 | Story
A Look at Arne Duncan's VIP List of Requests at Chicago Schools and the Effects of his Expansion of Charter Schools in Chicago

When President Obama’s Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, was the head of Chicago’s Public Schools, his office kept a list of powerful, well-connected people who asked for help getting certain children into the city’s best public schools. The list — long kept confidential — was disclosed this week by the Chicago Tribune. We speak with the Chicago Tribune reporter who broke the story and with two Chicago organizers...
Mar 26, 2010 | Story
Part II: Leading Education Scholar Diane Ravitch on "The Death and Life of the Great American School System"

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez interviewed Diane Ravitch in the Democracy Now! studios last week. You can see Part One of their conversation here. After the broadcast, they continued the conversation. [includes rush transcript]
Mar 08, 2010 | Web Exclusive
Leading Education Scholar Diane Ravitch: No Child Left Behind Has Left US Schools with Legacy of "Institutionalized Fraud"

As the Obama administration touts No Child Left Behind and the "Race to the Top" competition for school grants, we speak to leading education scholar and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch. She’s long been known as an advocate of No Child Left Behind, charter schools, standardized testing, and using the free market to improve schools. But she’s had a radical change of heart, as chronicled in her latest...
Mar 05, 2010 | Story
Juan Gonzalez: Eva Moskowitz Has Special Access to Schools Chancellor Klein

"Schools Chancellor Joel Klein often lauds a small group of Harlem charter schools founded by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz," writes Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News. "But few New Yorkers are aware of the access Moskowitz has to the chancellor or the special support he has bestowed on her program, whose four schools enroll just 1,300 of the city’s more than 1 million public school students."...
Feb 25, 2010 | Story
Study: Charter Schools Increasing Racial Segregation in Classrooms

Encouraged by the Obama administration, efforts to expand the number of charter schools are being organized around the country. But concerns are being raised about the system. We speak to UCLA’s Civil Rights Project co-director Gary Orfield about a new study that suggests charter school growth is increasing classroom segregation. [includes rush transcript]
Feb 11, 2010 | Story