Teach for America, not California

By Larry Sand
05/21/2019
Assembly bill would eliminate the successful TFA program in CA, a state which desperately needs more good teachers. Assembly Bill 221 in California would prohibit school districts from entering into a contract with a third-party organization that employs teachers “who commit to teaching in the organization for less than five years.” This is an obvious...

TAGS: California Federation of Teachers, Charter schools, Joshua Pechthalt, Larry Sand, Teach For America, teacher quality, teachers union, Walter Williams, Wendy Kopp

NPR Ignores the Real Problem of Uber-driving School Teacher

By Catrin Thorman
10/11/2016
National Public Radio’s Sunday morning story last month was a failure of basic journalism. “In Silicon Valley, Where a Teacher Works for Uber to Stay Middle-Class” features Matthew Barry, a high school economics teacher in California’s Morgan Hill Unified School District (MHUSD). He says his $69,000 annual salary is so insufficient to his surroundings in the...

TAGS: Teach For America

 Rampant Union Greed in Chicago

By Larry Sand
09/27/2016
The Windy City’s teachers union is on the verge of yet another strike.  In 2012, Troy Senik wrote “The Worst Union in America,” a title he bestowed on the California Teachers Association. As a former member and longtime critic of that union, I certainly had no quibble with his selection. But now, CTA is facing...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Bruce Rauner, California Teachers Association, Chicago public schools, Chicago Teachers Union, International Socialist Organization, Jesse Sharkey, Karen Lewis, Larry Sand, pension pick-up, Rahm Emanuel, Teach For America, teacher pay, teachers union, Troy Senik

Loss of LIFO

By Larry Sand
10/13/2015
If Eli Broad’s charter school plan goes forward, there will be a major shake-up in the ranks of LAUSD teachers. Philanthropist Eli Broad’s ambitious plan to create 260 new charter schools over an eight year period in Los Angeles, enrolling at least 130,000 students, will have major ramifications for many of the city’s 25,600 teachers....

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter School Association, California Federation of Teachers, charter school, Eli Broad, Larry Sand, last in first out, LIFO, Rolf Treu, seniority, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA, Vergara case

Doctored Education

By Larry Sand
05/26/2015
Using testing as a backdrop, NEA president promotes 1950s industrial-style education. The American Enterprise Institute’s education policy maven Rick Hess has been traveling around the country promoting his new book The Cage-Busting Teacher. So last week he left his Education Week blog in the hands of National Education Association president Lily Eskelsen García. Interesting choice,...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Friedman Foundation, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, No Child Left Behind, Rick Hess, seniority, Teach For America, teachers union, tenure, Terry Moe

Sweatshops, Walmart, TFA, Bart Simpson and Hams for Hanukkah

By Larry Sand
12/09/2014
Teachers unions are busier than ever pointing fingers, forming loopy alliances and making embarrassing gaffes. A couple of weeks ago Massie Ritsch, assistant communications and outreach point man for Education Secretary Arne Duncan, left his job to take a similar position at Teach For America. And not a moment too soon! As I wrote last...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Arne Duncan, EAG, Kyle Olson, Larry Sand, Nick Gillespie, Randi Weingarten, Rick Hess, Teach For America, teachers union

When Teachers Unions Attack

By Larry Sand
12/02/2014
Coca Cola, Teach For America, Walmart and banks are the latest targets of Big Labor. Attempting to get over the millions of dollars they spent backing losers in the November election, America’s teachers unions are on a mission to find new bogeymen. First victim: Coca Cola. Yup, the American Federation of Teachers has adopted a...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Eric Owens, Janet Napolitano, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Teach For America, teachers union, university of california

Karen Lewis and Chicago’s Illiteracy Problem

By Larry Sand
09/23/2014
After years as a teacher union boss, Karen Lewis is making plans to spread her venom to the rest of the city. Courtesy of Daniel Greenfield, we are reminded of the ugly fact that almost half of Chicago is illiterate. According to the White House website, 47 percent of Windy City residents cannot read. Additionally,...

TAGS: Arne Duncan, Chicago Teachers Union, Education Action Group, Karen Lewis, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Teach For America, teachers union

Tenure, Temerity and the Truth

By Larry Sand
02/11/2014
Los Angeles Times op-ed and teachers union defense of educational status quo are packed with malarkey. Now in its third week, the Students Matter trial still has a ways to go. Initially scheduled to last four weeks, the proceedings are set to run longer. On Friday, Prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Judge Rolf Treu that the...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, David Welch, Dean Vogel, Democrats for Education Reform, Gloria Romero, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Joe Williams, Kevin Chavous, LA School Report, Larry Sand, Michelle Rhee, National Council on Teacher Quality, permanence, seniority, Students Matter, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, tenure