A Maryland teacher is on leave while the school system investigates her for a string of anti-Semitic social media posts that included creating a list of wealthy Jews in her county, claiming they horde wealth while contributing nothing to society, and calling for “class war.”
Angela Wolf is <a href="https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/takomaparkms/staff/directory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">head of the English Language Development department</a>, which caters to immigrant children, at Takoma Park Middle School, in the most leftist enclave of liberal Montgomery County. Though she was temporarily removed from school, she remains a <a href="https://www.mceanea.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">board member of the Montgomery County Education Association</a>, one of the largest teachers union locals in the country representing 14,000 staff. 
Her Facebook posts included a drawing of an Israeli tank pointing a tank’s gun at babies in a hospital NICU, and saying “enemy in sight!” As the war wages against the Hamas terrorists who murdered over 1,200 Israelis on October 7, she has posted frequently against Israel. On November 16, she commended &#8220;bus operators at Dulles who refused to transport Zionists to the pro Israel rally,&#8221; adding that &#8220;their solidarity with the victims of Israeli genocide should be commended.”
On October 28, she shared a post saying, “It is not a war — it is a slaughter. Israel determined to make Gaza uninhabitable.”
In December 2020, well before the conflict in Israel, she wrote:
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-661593" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/2.png" alt="" width="843" height="567" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/2.png 843w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/2-300x202.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/2-768x517.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px" /></div>
Four of the five of the billionaires she named are Jewish except Saul, who happens to have a common Jewish name.
In response to criticism, she claimed — referring the the group of people with names like Rubenstein — that she had “no idea these billionaires are Jewish or that my word choice had an [sic] historic significance for the Jewish community. The diatribe against these two words has turned the discussion into a fallacious attack … People are angry at teachers or a particular politician or the poor. I have read no attacks on the 1% … who have NOT ‘earned’ ‘their wealth.&#8217;”
She said “they use their accumulated wealth to further their own interests” and blamed their hoarding for students falling behind while teachers unions refused to work because of COVID. “There should be little question that staying home should NOT equal mental health crises for kids and communities angry because school staff also need to be home,” she wrote.
When someone else criticized her for her anti-Semitic posts, she responded by calling former President Donald Trump a “scumbag” and said, “Fear is leading to censorship. I hope this person gets anti-imperialism and joins us in the struggle … No war but class war!”
On November 30, Takoma Park Middle School Principal Erin Martin wrote a letter to parents “to address a series of antisemitic online posts that appear to have been made by a staff member at our school.&#8221;
&#8220;I was extremely saddened and disappointed by the contents of these posts and strongly condemn the views expressed as they do not align with our school’s values of inclusivity, respect and acceptance,” Martin wrote.
We “have begun an investigation into the matter” but “any actions resulting from an investigation will be considered a personnel matter. Due to employee privacy laws, MCPS and Takoma Park Middle School are unable to provide further details on the personnel matter,” she wrote. 
Teachers unions — like the one of which Wolf is a board member —a re largely responsible for such policies making it hard for to discipline a teacher or for the public to have transparency. Unions advocate vociferously for  teachers accused of such wrongdoing to be reinstated.
Neither the union nor Wolf responded to a request for comment.
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Her union is a far-Left organizing group with a heavy focus on race and diversity, equity and inclusion. There are indications that anti-Jewish sentiment is baked into DEI, including in Montgomery County Public Schools. DEI often casts whites as “settlers” and “colonizers” of America, and paints Jews in a similar light.
At nearby Tilden Middle School, Sabrina Khan-Williams, the “team leader/diversity, equity and inclusion teacher,” promoted outlandish conspiracy theories, such as the idea that Jewish people kill Palestinians to sell their organs, and that the well-documented attack in which Hamas paraglided into a rave was actually a hoax that never happened.
On November 9, another Montgomery County school, Clarksburg High School, approved an anti-Israel demonstration on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, and emailed parents to let them know of the opportunity to join the protest. It was “approved by school leadership” and “Absences due to the participation in the walk-out will be excused,” Principal Edward Owusu wrote.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-teacher-in-jewish-area-says-jews-kill-palestinians-to-sell-their-organs">‘DEI Teacher’ In Jewish Area Says Jews Kill Palestinians To Sell Their Organs</a>

Montgomery County, Maryland teacher and union official Angela Wolf / LinkedIn / Montgomery County Education Association

Teachers Union Official Compiled List Of Nearby Wealthy Jews, Calling Them ‘Gluttons And Thieves’

Anti-Semitism

Education

Maryland

Teachers Unions

One of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Jersey’s</a> main teachers unions is calling for the end of the basic skills test for certifying teachers.
The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) is advocating for the demise of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Reading, Writing and Math. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s signing of Bill S1553 would eliminate that requirement; NJEA called the test “an unnecessary barrier” hindering the alleviation of teacher shortages.
“When the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) adopted changes to the administrative code around teacher certification, it missed an opportunity to eliminate this requirement, which created an unnecessary barrier to entering the profession,” stated NJEA.
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We need you to take action! Last year, NJ eliminated the edTPA, a barrier to becoming a certified teacher. Now it&#39;s time to eliminate another barrier: the basic skills test for teachers. Urge Gov. Murphy to sign S1553 right away. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WEareNJEA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WEareNJEA</a> <a href="https://t.co/XH694Vq7Eq">https://t.co/XH694Vq7Eq</a>
&mdash; NJEA (@NJEA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NJEA/status/1722286123009949935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Passing <a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/certification/testing/req/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scores</a> for the basic skills test are 156 for reading, 150 for math, and 162 for writing. The maximum possible score is 200.
Certain educators don’t have to take the basic skills test: those who achieve an SAT, ACT, or GRE score in the top third percentile of the year they took it, as well as those who obtain a master’s or terminal degree with a 3.0 minimum GPA.
Nicki Neily, founder and president of Parents Defending Education, insisted that there were better options for overcoming the teacher shortage other than reducing entry standards.
“Teachers should be able to pass a basic skills test before they’re tasked with educating children in those core subjects,” said Neily.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
You can eliminate some of the unnecessary red tape around becoming a teacher without eliminating a basic skills test.
Teachers should be able to pass a basic skills test before they’re tasked with educating children in those core subjects. <a href="https://t.co/pJjTltuoQl">https://t.co/pJjTltuoQl</a>
&mdash; Nicki Neily (@nickineily) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickineily/status/1724503212668109142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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NJEA successfully advocated for the end of another teacher certification test last year, the educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). NJEA <a href="https://www.njea.org/njea-statement-on-ed-tpa-legislation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the edTPA as a costly, discriminatory, and unnecessary hindrance to overcoming the teacher shortage.
NJEA represents over 200,000 active and retired educators in the state.
Governor Murphy may comply with NJEA’s petition; he spoke at their conference last week, and praised them for their advocacy in other teacher shortage reduction efforts.
Murphy credited the NJEA for codifying over $20 million in funding for recruiting and training educators, stipends for student teachers, local partnerships expanding paraprofessional training, and over $4.1 million in teachers certification fees waived for about 18,000 educators this past year.
“These investments are crucial to solving our state shortage of educators, and none of them would have made their way into this year’s budget without the NJEA’s influence,” said Murphy.
Murphy also indicated that his administration would put Student Growth Objectives (<a href="https://www.nj.gov/education/AchieveNJ/teacher/objectives.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SGOs</a>) “on a diet,” which he concurred were “bureaucracy-like.” The SGOs are long-term academic goals for students set by teachers in collaboration with supervisors. The governor’s remarks elicited applause and cheers from the NJEA conference crowd: “No more SGOs!”
The governor called those critical of modern public educators “extremists” seeking to insert political ideology in schools, citing specifically those against LGBTQ+ ideology in classrooms.
“They want to dim the light of truth and instead shroud our schools in the darkness of fear and intimidation,” said Murphy. “Know that I have your backs unconditionally and always.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Governor Murphy Announces Preschool Expansion Funding at NJEA Convention on November 9, 2023." width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vg1k-EObFhY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
NJEA’s annual convention made headlines for another reason last week: for another year in a row, the union held a drag queen story hour.
All schools close so that educators can attend the convention.
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This week dozens of schools in New Jersey closed as teachers attended the <a href="https://twitter.com/NJEA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NJEA</a> convention. What did teachers do at this conference while thousands of kids stayed home from school?
They were treated to drag shows, drag queen storytime, and “banned books” discussions featuring… <a href="https://t.co/07R6o6UdQe">pic.twitter.com/07R6o6UdQe</a>
&mdash; Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1723499531952947417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Lockers

New Jersey Teachers Union Calls For End Of Basic Skills Test For Teachers

New Jersey

Phil Murphy

U.S.

When it comes to public education in Oregon, the Oregon Education Association (OEA) makes a <a href="https://oregoned.org/about-oea">bold promise</a>: “to provide the basic right of great public education to every student.” The union’s direct involvement in school closures and watering down basic graduation requirements, however, indicates the opposite. In truth, the OEA has played an essential role in the deterioration of Oregon’s public schools.
<h2>COVID School Shutdowns</h2>
In response to the COVID pandemic, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, whom OEA endorsed, ordered the <a href="https://www.salemreporter.com/2020/03/18/school-closures-in-salem-around-oregon-extended-through-april-governor-orders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statewide closure</a> of schools for over a year. During the <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/03/coronavirus-closure-wont-lead-to-online-classes-in-oregon-public-schools-this-is-why.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first six weeks</a> of Brown’s shutdowns, no online alternative was offered to students enrolled in public schools. In response, thousands of Oregon families began the process of transferring their children to Oregon’s online charter school programs. 
That is, until the OEA stepped in. Citing a 2011 law that sets a three percent enrollment cap for students transferring to online education in the state, the <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2019I1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/222653">OEA argued</a> that even a one-half-of-one-percent increase would redirect $55.5 million from district budgets. Siding with the OEA, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) not only <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2020/03/oregons-online-schools-also-subject-to-gov-kate-browns-coronavirus-closure-order-report.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placed a temporary hold</a> on virtual education enrollment, but <a href="https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/guest-column-gov-brown-and-oea-shut-down-online-charter-schools/article_32cad56e-8336-11ea-b53b-ffedbd758d7c.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> all publicly funded online schools in statewide closures despite zero risk of COVID exposure.
Further, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uh0y7LjzOzMW4lB95LmdRvjBlyxGsNDC/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email correspondence</a> reveals that the OEA not only developed a set of strict standards for return to in-person instruction for the ODE, but requested that the state “put pressure” on Oregon school districts to adopt similar requirements preventing students from returning to the classroom. 
The effects of OEA-sanctioned school closures continue to weigh down Oregon students. Data from the Nation’s Report Card ranks Oregon <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2022/10/oregon-ranks-no-5-for-pandemic-reading-loss-no-8-for-math-researchers-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among the top 10</a> states in the nation for pandemic learning loss in both reading and math. In addition, students experiencing anxiety and depression in the state <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/health/new-study-shows-covid-19-impact-on-the-mental-health-of-oregons-youth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climbed to 40 percent</a> from 2016 to 2020. 
<h2>Graduation Requirement Suspensions</h2>
Prior to the pandemic, Oregon students were required to demonstrate <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/essentialskills/pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basic proficiency</a> in reading, writing, and math through statewide standardized testing. Naturally, learning loss caused by school closures led to lower test scores. But instead of focusing on helping students get back on track academically, the Oregon Board of Education discarded standardized testing graduation requirements entirely <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/essentialskills/pages/default.aspx">through the 2023-2024 school year</a>.
The OEA played an active role in the passage of <a href="https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB744/Enrolled" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> that authorized the suspension of graduation requirements. A member of the OEA’s Special Education Committee boasted that the committee “<a href="https://oregoned.org/professional-excellence/leadership-development/member-spotlight/niels-pasternak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">helped to develop</a>…and helped OEA pass…Senate Bill 744 during the last legislative session” to address “several equity concerns” surrounding Oregon’s graduation requirements. On October 19, the Board of Education voted unanimously to <a href="https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=306489" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extend the OEA-endorsed suspension</a> through the 2027-2028 school year.
While <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/education/oregon-department-of-education-records-2nd-best-graduation-rate-to-date/#:~:text=Across%20all%20Oregon%20schools%20during,school%20year%20was%20just%2080.6%25." target="_blank" rel="noopener">graduation rates</a> in Oregon have unsurprisingly skyrocketed, the value of a high school diploma in the state has plummeted. In the <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/education/ode-oregon-students-test-proficiency-still-lower-than-before-covid-19-pandemic/#:~:text=Last%20school%20year%2C%20about%2043,ELA%20saw%20a%200.6%25%20decrease." target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021-2022 school year</a>, just 43 percent of students were proficient in English, while only 30.6 percent of students were proficient in math. 
<h2>Continued School Closures</h2>
As if a year of school closures wasn’t enough, roughly 45,000 students in Oregon’s largest school district continue to lose out on instructional time due to the Portland Association of Teachers’ (PAT) <a href="https://labornotes.org/2023/11/first-ever-strike-portland-teachers-tackles-student-needs#:~:text=The%20Portland%20Association%20of%20Teachers,cost%2Dof%2Dliving%20adjustments." target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural strike</a>. 
In addition to typical demands such as increased salaries and smaller class sizes, the union’s proposal includes <a href="https://assets.nationbuilder.com/pdxteachers/pages/1673/attachments/original/1678819362/PAT_Bargaining_Platform_-_QR_petition_edition.pdf?1678819362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fringe stipulations</a> that have little to do with education, such as district support for first time house buyers, housing assistance for families, and professional development with a focus on “addressing implicit bias, anti-racism, and culturally responsive practices.” 
The union’s demands come with an enormous price tag and would require the district to come up with an <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/11/portland-public-schools-strike-what-you-need-to-know.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">additional $372 million</a> over the next three years. If the OEA affiliate refuses to budge, Portland Public Schools may need to fire up to <a href="https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2023/11/01/46822117/portland-teachers-strike-district-asks-state-for-money-teachers-say-hold-the-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">300 current teachers</a> to balance the district budget. 
The OEA’s demands are not only financially “irresponsible,” according to Oregon <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/education/gov-kotek-potential-portland-teachers-strike/283-a7b5734b-359a-4b37-9348-5d395e783017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Governor Tina Kotek</a>, but could keep Portland students out of the classroom for weeks or longer. 
<h2>OEA And The Future Of Oregon Education</h2>
As student success continues to decline in Oregon, it’s clear that the Oregon Education Association has broken its promise to ensure “great public education” for students. In truth, every action that the OEA has taken regarding school closures and graduation requirements has solidified the deterioration of public education on the taxpayer’s dime.
The OEA’s willingness to leave students behind is in stark contrast to its <a href="https://oregoned.org/about-oea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mission statement</a> and begs the question of which promise the OEA will break next. OEA members, parents, and the Board of Education need to take a closer look at the union’s impact on education and act accordingly. The future of Oregon’s students depends on it.
Jason Dudash is the Northwest Director of the <a href="http://www.freedomfoundation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom Foundation.</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Oregon state detailed editable map

As Student Success In Oregon Plummets, Teachers’ Unions Deserve Blame

COVID

Opinion

Oregon

Portland

Readers Pass

school district

Teachers in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/portland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Portland</a> kicked off a strike on Wednesday, walking off the job and closing schools for about 45,000 students.
The Portland Association of Teachers, which represents more than 4,000 teachers in the area, is complaining about salaries, large class sizes, and not enough resources.
There are no classes, even online instruction, during the strike.
The teachers union has been bargaining with the district for months after its contract expired in June. The union said this is the first time teachers have gone on strike in the Portland school district.
Meanwhile, Portland Public Schools claims it does not have enough funds to give the union what it wants despite Oregon&#8217;s record $10.2 billion K-12 budget for the next two years. The district said the union&#8217;s demands would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more and mean staffing cuts as well.
“Funding has not kept pace with the needs of our students, nor our educators,” Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said Wednesday. “We strive to offer a compensation that attracts and retains talent. But unlike a private organization, we don’t have record profits we can tap into.”
Salary is one of the main sticking points between the district and the union. The district&#8217;s annual base salary is about $50,000, although the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/portland-oregon-teachers-strike.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average</a> salary for a Portland teacher is $87,000, according to the district, which is slightly above the median income for a single person in the area.
The union has asked for a roughly 20% salary increase over three years, while the district has suggested offering about half that much.
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Teachers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/us/portland-oregon-teachers-strike.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> they are working overtime to handle their workload as students&#8217; academic and mental health needs have spiked since the pandemic. The union is asking for more time for teachers to plan lessons.
On Friday, the district and the union are set to meet with a state mediator together, the superintendent said.
Declining enrollment is another factor as the Portland district has lost close to 3,000 students since the pandemic, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/teachers-strike-portland-oregon-7c437cefd322b19c1d915a1a32431781" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to state data.
The Portland strike is the latest of several school worker strikes in large cities this year.
In March, Los Angeles school workers in the country&#8217;s second-largest public school district <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/25/business/la-school-strike-growing-trend/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">walked</a> off the job, shutting schools for about a half million students for three days. The workers, which included teachers&#8217; aides, cafeteria employees, and custodians, were demanding better pay and that the district hire more people.
Then in May, teachers, librarians, counselors, and other workers went on strike in Oakland in the Bay Area for about two weeks. That union demanded higher pay, as well as housing assistance for homeless students and reparations for black students. The strike shut down the city’s public schools, and the district eventually <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/striking-oakland-teachers-district-reach-agreement-on-four-common-good-issues/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caved</a> on the union’s housing assistance demand.
Back in September, the Portland teachers union <a href="https://freebeacon.com/policy/portland-teachers-threaten-school-shutdown-if-their-district-declines-to-provide-subsidized-housing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> to strike over subsidized housing for poor students as well.
The teacher strikes also come amid cost of living woes this year, especially in bigger cities, due to skyrocketing inflation.

Inside of a First Grade Classroom

Portland Teachers Walk Off Job, Shutting Schools For 45,000 Kids

Public Schools

strike

Tech entrepreneur <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vivek-ramaswamy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vivek Ramaswamy</a> called for shutting down the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Education</a> and moving that funding &#8220;in the hands of parents&#8221; so they could have the opportunity to decide where to educate their children. 
Ramaswamy made the comments Wednesday during the first 2024 Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/2024-gop-presidential-debate-live-updates-as-eight-republicans-face-off-in-milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presidential primary debate</a> in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Milwaukee</a>, Wisconsin. More than $79 billion was allocated to the Department of Education in fiscal year 2023. Ramaswamy also advocated the end of local teachers unions, which have been a barrier to school choice and charter school initiatives. 
“We have a crisis of achievement. Let&#8217;s shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education. Take that $80 billion and put it in the hands of parents across this country. This is the civil rights issue of our time,” he said. “Allow any parent to choose where they send their kids to school. End the teachers unions at the local level to allow public schools to compete, and then revive our national identity.”
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True “privilege” is not based on the color of your skin. It’s being raised in a stable family with two parents with a focus on education and a faith in God. That’s the ultimate “privilege.” As President, it’ll be my job to make sure we help every kid in this country be able to… <a href="https://t.co/1XFaFe6eao">pic.twitter.com/1XFaFe6eao</a>
&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1694541273015668815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Additionally, Ramaswamy said that high school seniors should be required to take the same civics test that immigrants must pass to become citizens. He said that the crisis in American education, as kids have seen declining scores in key subjects like math and reading, is partly linked to fatherlessness. 
“Part of the problem is we also have a federal government that pays single women more not to have a man in the house than to have a man in the house, contributing to an epidemic of fatherlessness, and I think that goes hand in glove with the education crisis as well, because we have to remember: Education starts with the family; and, the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to mankind,” Ramaswamy said. 
Other candidates had similar answers on the topic of education. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also went after teachers unions. 
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“The only way we can change education in this country is to break the backs of the teachers&#8217; unions. They are standing in the door-house of our kids, locking them into failing schools, locking them out of the greatest future they can have,” Scott said. 
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TIM SCOTT says &quot;the only way we change education in this nation is to BREAK THE BACKS OF THE TEACHERS UNIONS&quot; <a href="https://t.co/9Jzw8axHjD">pic.twitter.com/9Jzw8axHjD</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1694544388905464129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that Left-leaning politics were hampering education nationwide. &#8220;We need education in this country, not indoctrination in this country,” he said. 
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RON DESANTIS: &quot;We need education in this country, not indoctrination in this country.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PDNs167lh1">pic.twitter.com/PDNs167lh1</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1694540603948765611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The debate took place at the Fiserv Forum and featured eight Republican candidates. Notably absent was former President Donald Trump, who opted to do a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-tucker-interview-racks-up-massive-views-addresses-debate-skip-indictments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one-on-one interview</a> with Tucker Carlson that was released on X minutes before the debate began.

2024 Presidential Candidates Participate In Republican Primary Debate

Ramaswamy: Shut Down Dept Of Education, Move Funding To Parents To Allow School Choice

2024 Primaries

Debates

Department of Education

Elections

Milwaukee

Politics

Republican Primary

Ron DeSantis

School Choice

America&#8217;s largest teachers union &#8220;coached&#8221; teachers on how to expose students to gender identity in the curriculum, according to a new report.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) &#8220;coached its members on how to inject gender identity politics into classroom teaching,&#8221; said the <a href="https://dfipolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Summer_of_Woke_The_Sequel.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published Wednesday by the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute.
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The report describes the ATF&#8217;s Together Educating America&#8217;s Children (TEACH) conference in July. Two of the sessions at the conference were titled &#8220;Affirming LGBTQIA+ Identities in and out of the Classroom&#8221; and &#8220;The TGNCNB [transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary] Inclusive School and Classroom,&#8221; the report said.
&#8220;Both session descriptions offered attendees ideas and action items to take back to their schools,&#8221; reads the report. &#8220;The unions’ mission is clear: train teachers to affirm every gender identity that conflicts with a student’s sex, ignore basic biological facts, hide the training from parents, and shape school policies to force others to do the same.&#8221;
The AFT along with the nation&#8217;s second largest union, the National Education Association (NEA), are both wholly committed to pushing radical gender ideology in schools, the report says.
Together, the two largest teachers unions represent nearly five million public school teachers across the country.
Just before the union&#8217;s July conference, the ATF also adopted an LGBT resolution that promotes &#8220;age-appropriate and inclusive policies&#8221; on trans-identifying students sharing bathrooms and locker rooms with the opposite sex.
The ATF&#8217;s resolution also commits the union to working with LGBT activist groups, one of which has a <a href="https://www.glsen.org/activity/model-local-education-agency-policy-on-transgender-nonbinary-students#d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">model policy</a> advising school districts to use a student&#8217;s new pronouns without notifying parents.
Both unions have &#8220;vehemently&#8221; opposed legislation meant to protect students from sexually graphic content and gender ideology.
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Meanwhile, the NEA called Florida&#8217;s parental rights law &#8220;extremist&#8221; at its &#8220;Freedom to Learn&#8221; rally during the union&#8217;s Representative Assembly.
Last year, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education law, which prohibits classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity through grade three.
The NEA also <a href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/national-teachers-union-issues-guidance-for-hanging-pride-flags-blm-signs-in-classrooms-nea-black-lives-matter-school-board-meetings-queer-lgbt-race-children-crisis-in-the-classroom#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> guidance last month on how to place “inclusive symbols” in classrooms and encouraged teachers to buck policies banning Pride flags and Black Lives Matter symbols.
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The unions see the parental rights movement as &#8220;an existential threat to their power over public education,&#8221; the Defense of Freedom Institute&#8217;s report says.
&#8220;The average rank and file teacher got into that field because they care about learning and they care about students,&#8221; <a href="https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/unions-coached-teachers-to-inject-gender-identity-politics-into-classrooms-report-says-national-education-association-nea-american-federation-of-teachers-aft-randi-weingarten-defense-of-freedom-institute-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> one of the report&#8217;s authors, Angela Morabito.
&#8220;And it is not lost on them that teachers unions are actively working against those goals &#8230; The teachers unions are very clearly on the wrong side of not just what&#8217;s good for students and families, but what&#8217;s good for their own membership,&#8221; Morabito told Crisis in the Classroom.
Gender and sexual content in school curricula and libraries has become a hot button issue for parents in recent years. Parents have shown up to school board meetings to vehemently express their concerns about the content their children have access to through their public schools, in some cases even reading sexually explicit passages from school library books to get their point across.
About 74% of voters say they think schools should have to obtain parental consent before helping a child change their gender identity including using new pronouns, according to a March <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/March-16-National-Crosstabs_PDE.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from Parents Defending Education.
About the same number, 75% of voters support laws that would require schools to get that parental consent, according to the poll.
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Hillary Clinton Addresses The American Federation Of Teachers Convention

Nation’s Biggest Teachers Union ‘Coached’ Teachers To Inject Gender Identity Into Curricula, Report Says

Nation's Biggest Teachers Union 'Coached' Teachers To Inject Gender Identity Into Curricula, Report Says

Gender

Randi Weingarten

Transgender

New York City will pay nearly $2 billion to black and Hispanic people who wanted to become teachers but failed the exam, settling a lawsuit that alleged that the disparate passage rates showed that the test was racist.
Some individuals who never worked as teachers will get more than $1 million each, and could even get pensions which will inflate the cost well beyond $1.8 billion, the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/07/15/nyc-bias-suit-black-hispanic-teachers-and-ex-teachers-rich/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a> reported. The Post interviewed 64-year-old Herman Grim, who will be paid $2,055,383 after failing the test &#8220;a lot.&#8221; He could not provide any examples of how the questions were racist.
One anonymous Brooklyn principal told The Post the city was “crazy” to settle the case because “The standards are the standards &#8230; To hire people who are not qualified and change the requirements because a certain group didn‘t pass the test is bulls**t.”
The settlement concerns the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test, which prospective teachers took between 1993 and 1995. More than 90% of whites passed the test, while only 53% of blacks and even fewer Hispanics did.
But the idea that those statistics prove that the test was racist, rather than properly reflecting knowledge levels, is undercut by the results of the teaching exams used since. Most states use an exam called Praxis to credential their teachers.  According to a <a href="https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/ETS-NEA-2011-01.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2011 study</a> co-written by the National Education Association teaching union, Praxis&#8217; results were similar to the New York City test. &#8220;The largest differences exist for African-American test takers, with passing rates that are lower than White test takers by 35% or more,&#8221; the NEA study found.
The NEA said that&#8217;s because Praxis is also racist — but its own study did not support that, according to the book &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Race-Bottom-Uncovering-Destroying-Education/dp/0063056720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Education</a>.&#8221; &#8220;The results from our analyses were consistent with results from similar tests of academic skills, such as the SAT and ACT. That is, we found significant differences in average scores between test takers of different racial/ethnic subgroups,&#8221; the study said. The teaching exam also correlated with GPA, where blacks tended to have lower GPAs as well as teaching exam scores.
Nonetheless, by 2017, 12 states including New York had moved to a more subjective test called edTPA. That was designed to address claims that the other tests didn&#8217;t actually identify who would be good in the classroom, and allowed people to submit videos of themselves teaching. &#8220;But in New York State, black prospective teachers failed the edTPA at nearly twice the rate of whites and Hispanics,&#8221; the book found.
&#8220;In 2017, New York State scrapped its requirement that teachers must pass a literacy test &#8216;because just 46 percent of Hispanic test takers and 41 percent of black test takers passed it on the first try, compared with 64 percent of white candidates,&#8221; the book said.
Teaching exams are notoriously easy, essentially measuring whether the teacher could pass the class she is teaching. Praxis&#8217; creators said that &#8220;All of the content and skills in the three Praxis 1 tests &#8230; cover skills that do not exceed a high school level.&#8221;
&#8220;Race to the Bottom&#8221; said the fight to lower teaching standards amounted to viewing schools as a jobs program for adults even when it harmed children. &#8220;In 21 New York City schools, only 10 percent or fewer of fifth graders, even excluding immigrants who were still learning English, passed English language arts exams in 2019. Being taught to read by teachers who themselves cannot read is unlikely to correct this devastating statistic,&#8221; it said.
Teachers unions argue that it is important to have more minority teachers because blacks learn better when they have a black teacher. But &#8220;besides amounting to arguing for segregated classrooms, here, educators&#8217; ineptitude at math is apparent. A large study often cited as showing a correlation between having a teacher of the same race and better test scores, based on a long-term analysis of black and white students in Florida, found that the improvement was 0.004 to 0.005 standard deviations for reading. Statistically, that means the effect is virtually meaningless,&#8221; &#8220;Race to the Bottom&#8221; found.

Mayor Adams Announces UFT Contract

NYC To Pay $1.8 Billion Over Old ‘Racist’ Teaching Exam. But Blacks Performed Poorly On Newer Exams, Too

NYC To Pay $1.8 Billion Over Old 'Racist' Teaching Exam. But Blacks Performed Poorly On Newer Exam, Too

New York City

Systemic Racism

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pennsylvania</a> Governor Josh Shapiro dropped his previous demands for a $100 million school vouchers program from the state budget after fierce opposition from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/teachers-unions">teachers unions</a> and other Democrats.
The voucher program was supported by the Republican-controlled state Senate, but stalled in the Democratic state House. While the budget contained many Democratic priorities, such as increased spending for education and state funding for legal defense (Pennsylvania is currently the <a href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2023/04/pa-public-defense-gov-shapiro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only state</a> that does not fund public defenders – that responsibility rests with its counties), the voucher program faced fierce opposition from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state. That opposition was enough to stall the state budget past its June 30 deadline, leading Shapiro to back down.
“Our Commonwealth should not be plunged into a painful, protracted budget impasse while our communities wait for the help and resources this commonsense budget will deliver,” Shapiro said. “Knowing that the two chambers will not reach consensus at this time to enact [the voucher program], and unwilling to hold up our entire budget process over this issue, I will line-item veto the full $100 million appropriation and it will not be part of this budget bill,” Shapiro <a href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2023/07/pennsylvania-budget-josh-shapiro-education-school-vouchers-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
School choice was a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/midterms-2022-here-are-the-issues-pennsylvania-voters-care-about-the-most" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major</a> issue in the Keystone state’s gubernatorial race in 2022 – second only to crime. According to the state’s own assessments, in 2021, 78% of 8th-graders were <a href="https://spn.org/articles/pennsylvania-lifeline-scholarships-improve-education-access/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not proficient</a> in math and 47% were not proficient in language arts.
In early September, fairly late in the campaign, Shapiro broke with many Democrats by quietly voicing his <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-democrat-defects-on-school-choice-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-lifeline-scholarship-education-savings-account-teachers-union-election-11663615562" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support</a> for “adding choices for parents and educational opportunity for students and funding lifeline scholarships like those approved in other states and introduced in Pennsylvania.&#8221; His Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, proposed his own voucher program that would have also cut education spending significantly. Mastriano&#8217;s proposal was <a href="https://www.wesa.fm/education/2022-09-16/pennsylvanias-largest-teachers-union-denounces-mastrianos-plan-to-cut-education-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denounced</a> by the PSEA as &#8220;devastating.&#8221;
Shapiro’s preferred program, the Lifeline Scholarship, would’ve given students from low performing public schools $7,000 in education vouchers to spend at a school of their family’s choice, including private schools. The proposal was supported by Republicans and some Democrats from districts with poor public schools, but was <a href="https://www.mcall.com/2023/06/23/josh-shapiro-private-school-vouchers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">categorically rejected</a> by most state Democrats, as well as <a href="https://www.psea.org/voucherletterrelease" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teachers unions and other interest groups</a>.
“PSEA is absolutely opposed to ‘lifeline scholarships’ or any other tuition voucher scheme,” Richard Askey, President of the PSEA, <a href="https://www.psea.org/VouchersRelease06232023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> as the budget deadline neared in late June. Citing a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/09/pennsylvania-school-funding-lawsuit/#:~:text=In%20a%20786%2Dpage%20ruling,obligation%20to%20educate%20young%20people." target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a> from a Pennsylvania court that said the state had “unconstitutionally” failed to fund schools in poor communities, Askey called the voucher program a “distraction” and a “terrible idea” that would interfere with the state’s constitutional mandate to educate its youth.
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“Diverting one cent of taxpayer money to a tuition voucher scheme for private and religious schools is absolutely irresponsible, no matter what name you call it,” Askey said.
In 2022, the PSEA donated <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/03/17/will-teachers-unions-political-contributions-prevent-school-choice-in-pennsylvania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over $1 million</a> to Democratic candidates for the state legislature, as well as $775,000 to Shapiro and over $300,000 to Republican candidates.
&nbsp;

Josh Shapiro Sworn In As Governor Of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Governor Caves To Teachers Union On School Choice

Pennsylvania

The nation&#8217;s largest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/teachers-unions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teachers union</a>, the National Education Association (NEA), recommended Monday that teachers spend their summer reading &#8220;White Fragility&#8221; and the sexually explicit graphic novel &#8220;Gender Queer.&#8221;
“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and &#8220;White Fragility&#8221; by Robin DiAngelo appear on the NEA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/great-summer-reads-educators">list</a> of &#8220;Great Summer Reads For Educators!&#8221; which was published in June.
“Gender Queer” includes pornographic cartoon illustrations of sex between two males with a sex toy, as well as oral sex, masturbation, and other sexually explicit content.
Parents <a href="https://katv.com/news/nation-world/calif-parents-claim-student-was-failed-for-not-reading-gender-queer-demand-book-be-removed-san-ramon-valley-unified-school-district-american-library-association-banned-books" target="_blank" rel="noopener">across</a> the country have <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/new-jersey/new-jersey-school-diversity-school-board-20230703.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised hell</a> over the sexually explicit book being available to children in school libraries. In fact, &#8220;Gender Queer&#8221; was the most challenged title in the country, according to the American Library Association’s <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/american-library-association-names-2022s-most-banned-books-180982048/">annual report</a> on the most banned books of 2022, which was released in March.
The book appears under the &#8220;banned books&#8221; section of the NEA&#8217;s list.
&#8220;White Fragility&#8221; is a book that &#8220;explores why White people are so bad at talking about racism,&#8221; the NEA said in commentary published along with its recommended reading list.
Another book on the summer recommended reading list are &#8220;All Boys Aren’t Blue,&#8221; the memoir of an LGBT activist.
The NEA also has a section on books to &#8220;celebrate or understand&#8221; Juneteenth.
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&#8220;If you’re a White person who doesn’t know how to talk about Juneteenth — or how to address more fundamental, but sometimes uncomfortable, topics around race and racism,&#8221; you can check out &#8220;Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man,&#8221; the NEA said.
The NEA also provides recommended reading for children in its &#8220;Read Across America&#8221; books of the month list.
The NEA <a href="https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommends</a> &#8220;Twas The Night Before Pride&#8221; for elementary schoolers and for young adults, &#8220;Milo And Marcus At The End Of The World,&#8221; a gay romance about a boy hiding his sexuality from his &#8220;deeply religious parents and faith community.&#8221;
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R), who emphasized parental rights in education during his campaign, blasted the teachers union for recommending the titles.
&#8220;This is the same NEA that counseled Biden to keep schools shut for an extended period of time. And it&#8217;s the same NEA that said that parents, in fact, were on the verge of being terrorists, showing up at school board meetings. This is who is recommending what books to read for our kids [and that educators] should read as well,&#8221; Youngkin <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/nations-largest-teachers-union-faces-backlash-unprecedented-summer-reading-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Wednesday on Fox News.
&#8220;The challenge we&#8217;ve got today is that there have been politicians and bureaucrats and the teachers associations and unions who believe that they are more important in kids&#8217; lives than parents,&#8221; Youngkin added.
In May, the NEA stood by an LGBT group that <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/nea-teachers-union-right-wing-extremists-lying-lgbt-org-pushed-hide-kids-genders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advocated</a> for teaching gender ideology in K-12 schools and hiding students&#8217; gender identities from parents. The NEA said &#8220;right-wing extremists&#8221; spread &#8220;harmful and vicious lies&#8221; about the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Back in 2021, the NEA sent a <a href="https://www.nea.org/about-nea/leaders/president/from-our-president/neas-letter-social-media-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok urging them to crack down on &#8220;misinformation&#8221; about racism content in classrooms that a &#8220;small but violent group of radicalized adults&#8221; believe. Another group of &#8220;extremists&#8221; believe that &#8220;wearing a mask is in infringement on personal liberty,&#8221; the NEA&#8217;s letter said.

OPED-ILL-BOOKBANS-EDITORIAL-2-TB

Nation’s Largest Teachers Union Recommends Teachers Read ‘Gender Queer,’ ‘White Fragility’ Over The Summer

Nation's Largest Teachers Union Recommends Teachers Read 'Gender Queer,' 'White Fragility' Over The Summer

LGBTQ

Teachers union boss <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/randi-weingarten" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Randi Weingarten</a> will be joining the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-homeland-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Homeland Security</a> Academic Partnership Council, according to a statement from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 
Weingarten is the president of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/american-federation-of-teachers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American Federation of Teachers</a>, a group that backed strict school shutdowns during the COVID pandemic and overwhelmingly backs Democrat candidates for office. The academic council, made up of 30 individuals, serves an advisory role to DHS on things like school safety and research priorities. 
“Leaders of our academic institutions and campus life have a great deal to offer in helping us counter the evolving and emerging threats to the homeland,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alejandro-mayorkas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayorkas</a> said in a <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/06/21/secretary-mayorkas-appoints-new-members-academic-council-advise-dhs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council’s insights into strategic research, innovation, career development, and partnership opportunities for the Department will support our mission to safeguard the American people, and help our country think through and prepare for whatever threats lie ahead.”
Weingarten joins 19 others appointed by Mayorkas, mostly in academic leadership positions like Los Angeles School Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho and Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration Executive Director Miriam Feldblum. 
Aside from working on school safety issues, the council will also work on “methods to develop career opportunities to support a 21st century DHS workforce,” according to a DHS press release. 
Weingarten&#8217;s American Federation of Teachers has been a stalwart backer of President Joe Biden, endorsing him in 2020 and again for re-election in 2024, with Weingarten calling <a href="https://www.freedomfoundation.com/teachers-unions/weingarten-vows-unions-will-collectively-endorse-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously calling</a> him “the most pro-union president we’ve ever had.”
She also claimed his age was not a concern to her. “He’s as vibrant a person at his age as most of us are in our 50s and 60s,” she claimed. 
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Many conservatives were quick to criticize the appointment of Weingarten, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottforFlorida/status/1671640784821518339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1671640784821518339%7Ctwgr%5E5178a07bdff892d65c4e60f46f7809e3440f3a8f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theblaze.com%2Fnews%2Frandi-weingarten-dhs-advisory-council" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that she was “the last person who should be advising anyone on school safety.”
“What an insult to every parent who dealt with closed schools,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://twitter.com/mikepompeo/status/1671934875962671106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
Text messages recently obtained by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texts-show-teachers-union-working-with-cdc-director-to-keep-schools-closed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Fairfax Parents Association show Weingarten texting</a> with then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky about keeping school restrictions tight. 
On February 11, 2021, Weingarten texted Walensky saying that she had heard a “leak” from The New York Times about what was in the CDC’s upcoming guidance, and expressed concern that it was “at odds with [their] discussion.”
After complaint from Weingarten, the CDC appeared to change its guidelines, allowing some schools to remain remote longer.

Sen. Schumer, Rep.  Pressley and Sen. Warren Discuss Student Debt Cancellation At AFL-CIO Roundtable

Far-Left Teachers Union Boss Randi Weingarten To Join Council To Advise Homeland Security

Alejandro Mayorkas

American Federation of Teachers

Department of Homeland Security

Joe Biden

A teachers union executive in Virginia defended remote <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">learning</a> during the pandemic by suggesting that since all students experienced learning loss, &#8220;aren’t we all equal?&#8221;
Melvin Hostman, a newly elected member of the executive board of the Richmond Education Association, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/19/teachers-union-exec-defends-remote-schooling-learning-loss-equal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made</a> the remarks in an <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/pandemic-covid-education-test-scores-schools-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with ProPublica published Monday.
“The whole thing about learning loss I found funny is that, if everyone was out of school, and everyone had learning loss, then aren’t we all equal? We all have a deficit,” Hostman told the interviewer.
The interviewer then referenced data showing learning loss was worse among racial minorities.
“Of course — because our society is inherently unequal,” Hostman responded.
Hostman, who has taught high school history for six years, told ProPublica he was reluctant to agree to a push for additional instructional time because of more pressing problems like a lack of toilet paper, school buses arriving late, and widespread absenteeism.
He emphasized the needs of the teachers, saying many teachers felt like “the only time they had a work-life balance acceptable to them was during virtual school.”
Remote learning gave teachers more time to run errands, walk their dog, and exercise, &#8220;just like other professionals doing remote work,&#8221; ProPublica reported.
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Richmond school administrators are considering lengthening the school year to address learning loss. The teachers union is opposed to extending the school year.
School lockdowns during the COVID pandemic caused massive learning loss across the country among K-12 students in public schools.
In 2022, eighth graders had the lowest U.S. history scores on record and among the lowest civics scores, the Department of Education revealed in May. Only about 13% of eighth graders met proficiency <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ushistory/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">standards</a> for U.S. history last year, and only about <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/civics/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a fifth</a> of students were proficient or better in civics.
Math and reading scores have also suffered over the pandemic, the Education Department revealed last year. Math scores <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/math-scores-dropped-in-every-state-during-pandemic-report-card-shows-11666584062?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummeted</a> among fourth and eighth graders in almost every state, the Education Department reported back in October. Reading scores have also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-fourth-graders-cant-read-one-phoenix-school-has-a-new-way-to-fight-pandemic-learning-loss-11633818431?mod=article_inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sunk across</a> the country, erasing the last three decades of progress.
Many students returned to classrooms last year reading at the same level as when the pandemic started, putting them two grade levels behind. A January study <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/health/covid-learning-loss-study-wellness/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that students lost about 35% of a normal school year’s worth of learning, starting when remote learning began.
Learning loss caused by many months of remote learning during the pandemic spurred parents across the country to demand schools return to in-person learning, especially after data showed that children were low-risk for serious cases of COVID.
Some parents even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-moms-and-dads-taking-over-school-boards-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran for school board</a> positions and won, hoping to stop the learning loss in their district.
In Florida, mom and new board member Stephanie Meyer said failing grades and student behavioral problems made her unwilling to send her own children to the same schools she once attended.
In Michigan, Tom Payne, a grandfather and new school board president, dubbed the district’s academic performance before he was elected “mediocre at best.”

Hollywood High School Students And Teachers Prepare For Coming School Year

Teachers Union Exec Suggests Learning Loss Made Us All ‘Equal’

Teachers Union Exec Suggests Learning Loss Made Us All 'Equal'

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The following is an excerpt from the new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Foundation-Defeating-Progressive-Government/dp/B0C7T9MM4G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34JW5G7B9KQVQ&amp;keywords=Freedom+is+the+foundation&amp;qid=1686750752&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=freedom+is+the+foundation%2Cstripbooks%2C82&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom Is The Foundation,</a> by Aaron Withe, courtesy of <a href="https://posthillpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Post Hill Press</a>. 
<h2>The Glenn Laird Story</h2>
The sight of a student’s blood spilled on his classroom floor is not something longtime high school teacher Glenn Laird would soon forget.
The memory would not only haunt him for years to come, but inform his opinion regarding the need for police on America’s campuses.
Glenn was made to be a teacher. An easy smile combined with a soft-spoken, but firm manner and a personality marked by ardent curiosity, make Glenn exactly the kind of person we want teaching the next generation of citizens.
For nearly 40 years, Glenn has been an educator, guiding approximately seventeen thousand students through the ins and outs of graphic design, visual advertising, and digital marketing. Many of his students have gone on to successful careers in these fields.
This was enabled not only by Glenn’s commitment in the classroom, but Glenn’s involvement in taking teams of students to SkillsUSA competitions, in which the focus is on developing students for future careers in skilled technical professions.
Despite his commitment to giving his students a competitive edge in the job market, Glenn doesn’t consider himself right-wing, or even conservative. He is especially reluctant to label himself as anti-union.
For well over three decades, Glenn Laird was a dues-paying member of United Teachers Los Angeles. Glenn wasn’t just a passive member of UTLA. He served as a campus representative and frequently was seen on picket lines, at meetings, and participating in rallies and demonstrations.
As long as the union was working for improved wages, hours, and working conditions for its members, Glenn supported its efforts.
What he did not support, however, was the union using his paychecks as its own personal bank account to launch a political campaign to “defund the police” and remove them from school campuses, including at Eagle Rock High School.
From experience, Glenn knew better.
On September 12, 1986, Tony Thompson, a former student of Glenn’s, was shot and killed on campus. Tony was visiting to meet with one of his former special education teachers who helped him get into college.
While Tony was on campus, he asked a student, Shawn Christopher Boykin, about using a public pay phone. This interaction degenerated into a confrontation in which Boykin and another student, Andre West, chased Tony up the stairs and through the hallways of the school.
Eventually, West fired several shots at Tony, one of which struck him in the back and entered his heart, killing him. Thankfully, campus police responded to the situation immediately. One of the officers attempted to save Tony’s life by giving him CPR, while another pursued the shooters.
Meanwhile, Glenn had quickly locked his classroom door and sheltered in place with his students for over four hours. Later that month, Glenn would be one of only a handful of teachers from Eagle Rock High School to attend Tony’s funeral to pay their respects.
Horrifying as Tony’s murder was, it would not be the last time Glenn experienced student-on-student violence.
Years later, an argument between two students escalated from an exchange of words to shouting to a full-blown fistfight. Suddenly, one of the students pulled a box cutter from his pocket and slashed the other across the face.
As recently as 2020, a student in Glenn’s classroom attempted to strangle another student to death. Fortunately, the police arrived, and the victim’s life was saved. Campus safety has now deteriorated to the point that Mr. Laird has installed a peephole in the door of his classroom so that in the event of an emergency, he can see anyone outside who is trying to get inside.
These incidents were resolved quickly, but the impact on Glenn has been lasting, which made UTLA’s campaign to defund campus police all the more disturbing.
Glenn first caught wind of this campaign in 2020 when he saw emails, social media, and public statements from UTLA that contained rhetoric accusing police of being murderers and a force for evil in society. During this period, UTLA officials even appeared on Zoom video conference calls while wearing anti-police T-shirts.
Glenn had become convinced, as are many Americans, that a police presence on campus can save the lives of both students and teachers. To Glenn, this conclusion was obvious. How on earth could the union to which he belonged place its own radical, anti-police political agenda above the safety of students? And how could it disparage and demean the brave police officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect the lives of others — including teachers?
The next time UTLA sent Glenn a new membership and dues authorization card, he took a Sharpie marker and crossed out the portion restricting his ability to leave the union at any time. The way Glenn figured it, his money was his business, and he would be damned if the union he had supported for decades would force him to contribute to a campaign to defund the police.
Eventually, Glenn decided that he’d had enough. He sent UTLA a letter resigning his membership and dues authorization and asking to be released immediately. The union ignored his request. It refused to let him out. In partnership with the State of California, UTLA kept taking Glenn’s money and spending it on the union’s campaign to remove police from school campuses.
Tired of being pushed around, Glenn fought back. The Freedom Foundation made that fight possible. Within weeks of contacting the Foundation about his situation, Glenn filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against both UTLA and the school district, demanding that they recognize his First Amendment right to decide for himself what political positions he will support.
The result was a media firestorm across the country as pundits jumped at the chance to interview Glenn and discuss his situation. People were outraged that a dedicated public servant could be made to betray his deepest convictions by a union that was supposed to be protecting his interests. The fact that UTLA was trying to undermine the police added insult to injury.
While Glenn’s lawsuit is still pending, his mission to be the best teacher he can be continues.
When asked what he would have done had the Freedom Foundation not been available to come to his aid, Glenn smiles slightly and shrugs his shoulders, displaying the charisma he has developed in the classroom over decades of service to Los Angeles-area students.
“If it hadn’t been for Freedom Foundation, I am not sure what would have happened. Luckily for me and other public employees in similar situations, we won’t ever have to find out.”
Aaron Withe is the CEO of the Freedom Foundation, a group dedicated to combatting government unions. He is the author of the book Freedom is the Foundation. 
This excerpt is taken from the new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Foundation-Defeating-Progressive-Government/dp/B0C7T9MM4G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34JW5G7B9KQVQ&amp;keywords=Freedom+is+the+foundation&amp;qid=1686750752&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=freedom+is+the+foundation%2Cstripbooks%2C82&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom Is The Foundation: How We Are Defeating Progressive Tyranny By Taking On The Government Unions,</a> by Aaron Withe, (June 12, 2023), published by <a href="https://posthillpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Post Hill Press</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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California School Teacher With No Interest In Defunding The Police, Takes Stand For First Amendment Rights

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