Topic: Education Issues
Lessons from Latin America: Reclaiming public education requires powerful fight back
By Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President
The CFT’s emerging campaign for quality public education underscores the fundamental problem we face in this country — the lack of a powerful social movement for economic, political and social equality.
San Francisco city attorney files suit against ACCJC
August 22, 2013, San Francisco—Today the city attorney in San Francisco filed suit against the ACCJC, charging, among other things, that “the private agency unlawfully allowed its advocacy and political bias to prejudice its evaluation of college accreditation standards,” and termed the ACCJC “a wholly unaccountable private entity.”
U.S. Department of Education sends notice to ACCJC
August 13, 2013—Today the U.S. Department of Education sent notice to the ACCJC that three elements of the CFT’s complaint needed to be addressed or the accrediting agency’s reauthorization will be in jeopardy.
AFT aims to ‘reclaim the promise of public education’
Remarks of AFT President Randi Weingarten at TEACH 2013
Introduction: The year that was
This year, there were many reminders of the role that educators play in the lives of America’s children.
Our work contributes to quality of education
By Paula A. Phillips, President, Council of Classified Employees
Every CFT member can play a role in the CFT’s campaign for quality public education, which will identify problems that are holding back our schools and colleges and set goals to move California forward.
A quality public education starts with adequate funding to maintain staffing levels and professional development. That’s a tall order in times of budget cuts, but with the passage of Prop. 30, fair funding will be within reach if Sacramento shows some political courage.
Unions find innovative solutions for staff development
Career development has been a convenient target of budget cuts, but locals unions have found creative approaches for investing in staff.
A sabbatical program the AFT Guild negotiated with the San Diego Community College District allows nine classified employees a year to take 16 weeks paid leave to study at an accredited college.
Nathan Talo used his leave to take a giant step toward his psychology degree. Talo began working at Mesa College as a part-time account clerk 15 years ago, and is now a senior account clerk.
Adult educators build awareness, support to save schools
United street action and online communities making a difference
ADULT EDUCATION HAS been on the ropes, yet it continues to come back swinging to defend programs that are vital to many California communities.
Why does Union City, New Jersey, matter in California?
David Kirp says lessons learned in this Latino community offer a narrative of hope
Editor’s note: In his new book, Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for American Education, UC Berkeley Professor David Kirp chronicles how a poor urban district transports Latino immigrant children into the education mainstream. In Kirp’s words…
Researcher Berliner describes how the education “crisis” is manufactured
David Berliner began criticizing the school reform industrial complex when he co-authored The Manufactured Crisis 17 years ago. He brought his case, strengthened by new statistical evidence, to delegates at the CFT Convention.
Massive Open Online Classes threaten quality of education
Low-cost educational alternative likely to widen digital divide
MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE CLASSES have been hailed by officials at the companies that run them (the three biggest are edX, Udacity and Coursera) as a way to provide access to classes at elite universities to everyone, but critics say that MOOCs — free online course with potentially thousands of students, many of them outside the United States — would undermine education quality, increase the digital divide and cost teachers their jobs.
CFT files complaint taking community college accrediting agency to task
April 30, 2013, Novato—Today the CFT and its City College of San Francisco affiliate, AFT Local 2121, filed a complaint or “third party comment” with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), and sent a copy to the United States Department of Education (USDOE).
New CFT White Paper calls on three experts to describe what makes quality education
A new CFT White Paper summarizes the union’s public support for recommendations to build quality education that are based on sound research and best practices as recommended by three educational experts. The experts in the paper titled “What makes quality public education? Ask the experts. That’s what the education union did,” are widely published and have presented to CFT members and countless other progressive organizations.
CFT hosts member discussion about what defines “quality public education”
The union explores partnership of community and educators to launch quality public education campaign
Making schools community hubs is key to the union’s campaign for quality public education, CFT President Joshua Pechthalt told participants at the Leadership Conference. Connections with community members comprise the CFT’s greatest strength and he encouraged educators to mine those ties.
CFT launches member discussion of “quality public education”
The union explores partnership of community and educators to launch quality public education campaign
Making schools community hubs is key to the union’s campaign for quality public education, CFT President Joshua Pechthalt told participants at the Leadership Conference. Connections with community members comprise the CFT’s greatest strength and he encouraged educators to mine those ties.
Members work to end high-stakes test for second graders
CFT continues efforts to abolish STAR test for state’s youngest learners
Stephanie Bernstein says her second graders are typical seven-year-olds: “They need to get up and move about every 15 minutes.”
Seattle teachers ratchet up movement against high-stakes tests
Garfield High School teachers boycott administration of state-mandated assessment
SEATTLE’S GARFIELD HIGH School teachers made the momentous decision in January to refuse to administer the state-mandated Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test — and it began with a discussion in the teachers’ lounge.
CFT supports community college funding solution
Bill gives breathing space to colleges under accreditation sanction
CFT President Joshua Pechthalt speaks at a rally in front of San Francisco City Hall with Assemblymember Paul Fong, D-San Jose, who introduced AB 1199. The much-needed legislation will provide community colleges under accreditation sanction breathing room.
Faculty and students rally to save San Francisco City College
Alisa Messer, president of AFT Local 2121 at City College of San Francisco, speaks to a crowd of several hundred faculty and students outside Diego Rivera Theater. The rally was held at the same time as the interim chancellor was delivering her remarks on Flex Day to a nearly empty auditorium.
City College of San Francisco defends part-timers during accreditation crisis
AFT Local 2121 continues the fight to save City College of San Francisco after the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges labeled the college with its most severe accreditation sanction, “show cause.”
Classified Conference highlights staff as partners in student success
Attendees hear how co-workers educate, mentor kids
For Esmeralda Grubbs, success starts when a Local 1475 member takes a preschool boy or girl by the hand and begins to build a foundation for lifelong learning.
Grubbs works with the Early Childhood Federation, a Los Angeles County local representing preschool workers, from faculty and teaching assistants to custodians and kitchen staff. Challenges can be daunting, especially in low-income communities. In October, a drive-by shooting threatened a Head Start program in a Watts housing project.