A Piece of History as VP is Required to Cast Vote in Confirmation of Sec. of Ed.

History was made this morning as Vice President Pence was required to cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. The Senate was split down the middle, 50-50, as two republican senators listened to their constituents and voted against their party's nominee.

As stated in my previous blog post, Democrats held the floor for 24-hours in an attempt to convince just one more republican senator to vote no in the confirmation hearing. Unfortunately, their efforts did not have an effect and the votes were cast as predicted.

I was able to watch some of the session prior to the vote and several senators spoke about their public school experiences. One senator stuck out to me, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D - Hawaii), spoke about coming to America and not knowing any English. The public school system and teachers helped her learn English and encouraged her love of reading. Not only was Senator Hirono an immigrant but she is a product of public schools - she has a classic American story - and now serves her country representing her constituents of Hawaii.

Many of my concerns for Betsy DeVos' nomination are stated in my blog post Department of Ed. - Secretary of Education.

The Scary Mommy blog also posted some ways that you can get involved and stay informed as Betsy DeVos takes her place.

One thing to keep in mind if you are a Colorado resident is that vouchers have been deemed unconstitutional in the state. In 2015 the Supreme Court of Colorado said the Douglas County voucher program "violated a plank of the State Constitution that explicitly prevents public money from going to schools 'controlled by any church or sectarian denomination whatsoever,' "
Here is the New York Times report on this issue: Colorado court rules use of public funds for private use is unconstitutional 

Colorado has many non-profit charter schools that offer an alternative choice for students in need.

Thank you for reading!

Department of Ed. - Secretary of Education

In January I started sharing a lot of articles and information about my political beliefs on Facebook. In the few weeks since I have realized that it may not be the best place to make these statements, so I am moving some of my FB posts to this Blog to continue the work. Some may be a bit outdated but I want to keep track of where I am going here and where I would like to end up.

January 18:

I promised myself I would not work for a for-profit school ever again. Their priorities are not for the students, but for making money. DeVos and her ties to K12 Inc. make me nervous, and that's just a start.

The article that was attached:

Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing went off the rails

My teaching career goes back a handful of years (or more!) and I have worked for many types of schools. Starting in public school, in a highly populated city near low-income housing, was a shock to me. Yes, I am white and yes, I grew up in an affluent community - I had no idea what I was getting into. It was a struggle to stay and I started to doubt my passion for teaching - could I even do this? So I left and took a very long break.

After more than a year I decided I could not see myself anywhere else, so I started applying to schools again. My goal was to find an online school - I needed to try something different than a typical classroom. Soon I was hired at my "dream job!" The students were online but they came to school everyday. It was a way to build relationships with them, but give them an alternative environment to learn. I was part of something I had never heard of before either - our school was partnered with a for-profit organization that handled our HR and budgets. We were disliked by our district and after many struggles they just the school down (after I had moved on to work overseas).

After leaving the online school I started to learn a lot more about the situation I was in - a for-profit school! Who ever heard of such a thing! Reading about the "umbrella" corporation really opened my eyes to what I was a part of and made me glad to leave. Tax dollars were being funneled right into the CEO, CFO's etc pockets for their own benefit, but what about my students? That was not the purpose of the school, so maybe the district was right to shut them down (my big complaint is they dropped the ball on redirecting our students to other schools).

So, when Betsy DeVos came across my radar I knew that this could only be bad. Her stance for for-profit schools means that our tax money will go into the pockets of fat cats. I have so many questions that I could ask:
a. How does she think school vouchers will work for rural populations?
   Her response in the above linked article was all about distance learning, but from experience this does not work for all students.

b. How will school continue to perform if voucher students start to leave in droves? How will this effect the staff and remaining students if funding dwindles?

c. Are they other ways she can see the public school system being improved?

d. What would be done with the new Common Core Curriculum?

e. How can she encourage non-profits within the charter school systems?

f. Will she work hard to find out more about important policies that effect public schools and colleges (e.g. sexual assault policies and the IDEA, to name a few)?
    Her answers, mentioned in the above linked article, showed insufficient knowledge on both topics.


Tomorrow, January 31, the Senate will vote whether or not to confirm her as Secretary of Ed.
Progressives launch last-minute push against Betsy DeVos, and conservatives counter with online ad campaign

Please add your comments for or against Betsy DeVos.
Thanks for reading!

Update January 31: Betsy DeVos has been confirmed by the committee and will now stand to be confirmed by the Senate.