The teachers unions’ spotty progressivism

By Larry Sand
07/30/2019
When it comes to public charter schools and any meaningful education reform, the teachers unions are staunch reactionaries. In the political arena, teachers unions are far to the left. However, when it comes to serious education reform and any kind of school choice, they are committed to maintaining the all-too-often failing status quo. At its...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Ben Austin, Bill de Blasio, California Charter Schools Association, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, Myrna Castrejón, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Education Association, Nina Rees, Parent Revolution, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union

Charter Caps…and Gowns

By Larry Sand
04/09/2019
As charter schools continue to prove themselves, the threatened education monopolists try to kill them off.  Just a month ago, I wrote about the problems that charter schools were having in California. No, there is not a problem with parental dissatisfaction or with inducing students to attend and thrive in a safe environment. Rather, there...

TAGS: Bill de Blasio, Charter schools, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, teachers union, Tony Thurmond, United Teachers of Los Angeles

cHArTERS

By Larry Sand
01/09/2018
We have barely unwrapped 2018, and the charter school haters are still partying like its 1992. Last week an article appeared in The Nation – the crusty old-world progressive rag that has been with us since Mr. Lincoln was shot – that blasted charter schools and dredged up the same tired old talking points the...

TAGS: Eva Moskowitz, Harlem Success Academy, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Network for Public Education, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers

Shoddy Studies

By Larry Sand
12/12/2017
Flawed reports aside, charters – schools of choice – are flourishing. As I wrote last week, too many government-run schools are failing and the future for them, collectively, is not rosy. But the monopolists running our traditional public schools (TPS), in addition to blaming lack of funding, have been busy lashing out at charter schools, which are decentralized and give parents a right to choose where to educate their kids.

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Anthony Cody, California Charter School Association, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Democrats for Education Reform, Diane Ravitch, Eva Moskowitz, Howard Fuller, In the Public Interest, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Network for Public Education, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

“Who ya gonna believe – me, or your own eyes?”

By Larry Sand
06/20/2017
Teachers unions continue to bash charter schools in spite of their success and popularity. When it comes to charter schools, the teachers unions are nothing if not relentless. From Mike Antonucci we learn that the California Teachers Association is in the process of developing and promoting resolutions, which local unions can introduce at school board meetings...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Charter schools, CREDO, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Marcus Winters, Matthew Ladner, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Patrick Wolf, Success Academy, teachers union

In public ed, money doesn’t always produce quality

By R. Claire Friend
06/05/2017
Three of the nation’s five most expensive schools are in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Each ranks among the lowest performing schools in California. With a $578 million price tag, Robert F. Kennedy Learning Center is the most expensive school ever built. Boasting an auditorium modeled after the famous Coconut Grove nightclub, a state-of-the-art...

TAGS: A Nation at Risk, Eva Moskowitz, Los Angeles Unfied School District, Success Academy

NAACP: Now Advocating Against Colored People

By Larry Sand
08/09/2016
The once righteous civil rights organization is now in thrall to the teachers unions. From the horrors of lynching to the injustice of forced school segregation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has been there fighting for the rights of black people. But that has changed, at least in the realm of...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, charter school, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, NAACP, National Education Association, RiShawn Biddle, Success Academy

The Teachers Unions Faux Grassroots Organizing

By Larry Sand
07/12/2016
The Hedge Clippers, a union run and organized group, laughably pretends to be grassroots. The Hedge Clippers, born last year, is an anti-capitalist, left-wing, purportedly grassroots organization whose focus is on exposing “the mechanisms hedge funds and billionaires use to influence government and politics in order to expand their wealth, influence and power.” The group received...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Citizens United, Dark money, Eva Moskowitz, Harlem Success Academy, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Prop. 30, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers

The Coulson Effect on Education

By Larry Sand
02/16/2016
An education free market stalwart leaves us way too soon. On February 7th, Andrew Coulson tragically passed away at age 48 from brain cancer. As Senior Fellow in Education Policy at the Cato Institute, he led the charge for free market reforms in education. An unapologetic capitalist, he believed that the market would inevitably lead...

TAGS: Abood, American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Coulson, Antonin Scalia, Cato Institute, collective bargaining, Eva Moskowitz, free market, Friedrichs, Jason Bedrick, Larry Sand, Michael Lovenheim, Neal McCluskey, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Preferring Failing Schools to Successful Ones

By Larry Sand
12/22/2015
Teacher union leaders want to keep poorly performing public schools open, but kill off thriving charters and voucher schools. Just last week it was announced in New York City that three failing public schools would be closing. With a total enrollment of 217 students, there really was no other choice. Indeed, it was such a...

TAGS: Charter schools, Dennis Van Roekel, Eva Moskowitz, Fordham Institute, Harlem Success Academy, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, National Education Association, school choice, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers, vouchers