FL legislature likely to consider "education savings accounts", says Jeb Bush operative

[seafan]

As always, Jeb Bush pushes his radical educational reform ideas from behind the scenes, with the one overarching priority of starving public education into oblivion. Oh, and a close second is decimating teachers' unions ability to use dues to elect non-conservatives.



PATRICIA LEVESQUE

Patricia Levesque is the executive director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, a think tank founded by former governor Jeb Bush, and was a leader on Gov. Rick Scott's transition team for education. She served as Bush's deputy chief of staff for education, and spent six years as an executive-level staff member in the Legislature. (photo via Daytona Beach News-Journal)

Jeb Bush's right-hand woman on "education" takes to the media:

February 27, 2011

Levesque:

.....

..... student learning in Florida continues to rise and our education system continues to shine -- it was recently ranked 5th best education system in the nation by "Education Week." ..... Based on the results of our decade-long experiment in Florida, it is time to give choices to all students -- regardless of age, income, or learning ability.

This legislative session, Florida lawmakers are likely to consider the concept of "education savings accounts." This concept will empower parents by creating a special bank account to fund their child's education. This account would receive a portion of the per-student funding the state provides to public schools. Funds would be deposited annually and parents could use them to send their child to the school of their choice -- the one that will best equip their child with the knowledge and skills to succeed. Such schools could include charter, virtual or private

Currently, the state provides about $7,000 for every student in public school. With education savings accounts, the state would continue to provide the $7,000 for every student attending public school. But for those students whose parents opt for an alternative school, the state would deposit a reduced amount. If the Legislature sets that level at 85 percent. $6,000 would be deposited annually.

To foster a lifetime of learning, lawmakers could provide the flexibility for education savings account funds to be used beyond the K-12 system. Parents could then fund dual enrollment in college courses, or full-time enrollment in college. For instance, should the state decide on that 85 percent contibution (sic), a parent could put $4,500 toward private school and the remaining $1,500 toward the purchase of a prepaid college contract.

.....

The point of these right wing tactics against public education is displayed quite blatantly here, and that is to starve public education of its state funding, by funneling it to "other types" of schools, with nothing to stop some wingnut from setting up a storefront "religious school" to glom onto some of that state money, with absolutely no accountability whatsoever.


Levesque touts a Florida rating of '5th best education system in the nation by "Education Week.'


What is she talking about?



Certainly not our ranking of 44th in high school graduation rates in 2010.

Certainly not the failing marks for state funding for public schools.

Certainly not the rankings of 35th in the nation and 30th in the nation for math and reading respectively, for our middle school students.

Certainly not the report that discusses how poorly a majority of states rank on history teaching standards. Florida got a C.

Certainly not the news this week that Florida teacher pay is dropping to 47th in U.S.





By now, I was very curious as to what were the parameters of this "5th best rating" for Florida, that Jeb Bush's education operative is gloating over. Turns out, this "Quality Counts" report:

..... grades states in six broad categories, although not all the information is updated every year. The categories look at both state policies, such as academic standards and laws governing teachers, and the performance of students on national benchmarks.

As in years past, Florida looked worst in the school spending category, where it got an F this year. But it earned a B plus for spending equity, meaning its limited funding is shared fairly equally among its school districts.

.....

Wow. What an achievement, Ms. Levesque.

.....

Each January, Education Week publishes Quality Counts, a study that evaluates each state's education system and ranks them.

The study considers a variety of factors, everything from teacher training to pre-Kindergarten enrollment to student achievement on college-level tests.

Florida has made a meteoric rise, from 31st in 2007 to fifth this year.

One caveat: The magazine adjusts the ranking formula each year......

Oh. Of course, Ms. Levesque.

Cheer loudly in the media about a laughingly thin report, while you look everywhere else but directly at Florida's glaring problems such as poor graduation rates, lack of public school funding per student, or abysmal teacher pay. Then, use different standards each year to rank the states. We've seen this movie before in Florida.


Graduation rates in Florida during Jeb Bush's "big and bold" my-way-or-the-highway years, 1999-2006?


From June, 2009:

.....

Within a matter of days of all that speculative hot air, the truth came out again — in the annual Diplomas Count report from the nonprofit Editorial Projects in Education. In 2006, the latest year assessed and the last year that Bush was in office, only 57.5 percent of Florida's public high school students graduated on time with regular diplomas. That's the fifth worst rate in the nation.

Tragically, the bad news is nothing new. During the alleged wonder years of Bush's governorship, Florida's graduation rates remained in the tank: 52.5 percent (1999), 52.5 percent (2000), 53 percent (2001), 56.3 percent (2002), 57.5 percent (2003), 60.5 percent (2004), 60.8 percent (2005). More than percentages, the dismal numbers tell the dead-end story of anywhere from 47.5 percent to 39.2 percent of Florida students yearly who don't graduate and whose chances of success in a competitive global economy are nil. This year alone, Diplomas Count estimates that 104,000 Florida students won't graduate.

Once again, Jeb Bush's legacy of educational failure slaps Florida in the face.



Ms. Levesque, the 'decade-long' Jeb Bush experiment is an abject failure.

[madfloridian]

1. Vouchers for private schools. You knew they would do it.

And Obama appears with Jeb in FL on Friday.

Thanks for the post.

[Better Believe It]

2. So President Obama will meet with his right-wing Republican friend Jeb Bush. Isn't that special?

[Wilms]

4. To think he'd pal around with a guy like Jeb. n/t

[leftstreet]

3. K&R

Good God

[Divine Discontent]

5. they never stop...

:mad:

[Hannah Bell]

6. would someone please let the air out of balloon-head boy?

i hate jeb. ship him back to connecticut.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Education Week-yet another house organ for ed reform vulture philanthropy.

http://www.edweek.org/info/about/philanthropy.html?intc=thed

Our Funders

The Carnegie Corporation of New York supports coverage in Education Week and on edweek.org of district and high school reform and its impact on student opportunities for success. Created in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Corporation seeks to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides capacity-building support for Editorial Projects in Education, Education Week’s nonprofit parent company, in its efforts to serve the K-12 education field. The Gates Foundation is dedicated to the principle that every human life is equally valuable. Its commitment to education centers on ensuring greater opportunity for all Americans through the attainment of secondary and postsecondary education with genuine economic value.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation supports coverage of deeper learning and the federal economic-stimulus program in Education Week and on edweek.org. The Hewlett Foundation makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society.

The Joyce Foundation supports coverage in Education Week and on edweek.org of policy efforts to improve the teaching profession. The foundation works to close the achievement gap by improving teacher quality in schools that serve low-income and minority children, expanding early-childhood education, and promoting innovations such as charter schools.

The MetLife Foundation supports the development of edweek.org’s online Teacher channel and its capacity to engage teachers interactively as a professional community. Established in 1976, the foundation funds educational, health, civic, and cultural organizations and draws on findings from the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher to inform its support of education.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation supports Editorial Projects in Education’s in-depth coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and analysis for policymakers of the stimulus program’s implications for education. The foundation’s mission is to support efforts that promote a just, equitable, and sustainable society.

The Noyce Foundation is underwriting a special report in Education Week on out-of-school science initiatives. Launched in 1990, the Noyce Foundation is dedicated to improving math, science, and reading instruction in public schools; promoting school leadership and education research; and expanding opportunities for informal, hands-on science learning for students.

The Pew Charitable Trusts has supported Quality Counts, the highly regarded annual report by Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center on the state of policymaking and education reform in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Pew Charitable Trusts applies the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. The Pew Center on the States advances effective policy approaches to critical issues facing states.

The Wallace Foundation supports coverage in Education Week and on edweek.org of public school leadership, human-capital development, extended and expanded learning time, and arts learning. The foundation seeks to create widespread change by sharing lessons that public and private institutions can use to promote benefits for the people they serve.