Obama Coaxes States to Change With School Dollars

[joeycola]

Source: abc





Obama Coaxes States to Change With School Dollars

Obama uses stimulus money to coax states to embrace his school agenda



Using stimulus dollars as bait, President Barack Obama is coaxing states to rewrite education laws and cut deals with unions as they compete for $5 billion in school reform grants, the most money a president has ever had for overhauling schools. And it may end up going to only a few states.

In Wisconsin, where Obama will visit Wednesday, lawmakers are poised to change a law to boost their state's chances. Nine other states have taken similar steps.

And states can't even apply for the money yet.

"There is an appetite out there for change," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"There's been really dramatic movement in a number of states," said Duncan, who will travel to Madison, Wis., with the president. "This was the goal, but we didn't know if anyone was going to respond."

Respond they have.................................

No president has ever had that much money for schools at his discretion. Only Duncan — not Congress — has control over who gets it. And only some states, perhaps 10 to 20, will actually get the money.

Obama will use the trip to Wisconsin to call attention to the actions states are taking, one year after his election, to put his vision of reform in place, Melody Barnes, Obama's domestic policy director, told reporters Wednesday on a conference call.

Obama sees the test score data and charter schools, which are publicly funded but independent of local school boards, as solutions to the problems that plague public education.

The national teachers' unions disagree.......

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/WireStory?id=8987541&page=2

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Something is very very wrong with this picture.

[earthside]

1. Sad to say ...

... but Pres. Obama's education policies are plainly anti-union.

And, because of his favorable position towards merit pay and charters, they are not even pro-teacher.

Of all Obama's positions, his Bushian approach to education is probably the worst.

[NoSheep]

2. I'm not sure I understand....

I know Obama supports ideas such as the Harlem Children's Zone.

This is a proven successful approach to helping kids stay focused on learning and helping their parents help them. It is certainly NOT the bogus No-child blah blah blah the Bush administration used to identify disadvantaged kids for their military aspirations. I couldn't make any sense out of what was going on in that piece EXCEPT some folks are basically going to "Paint it Black" so to speak.

What could anyone mean to say this is "Bushian"?

[madrchsod]

3. duncan`s and obama`s ideas turn public education into separate and unequal.

there`s a few of us that post regularly about public education. check the madfloridian journal and other posts about obama`s and duncan`s plans for public education.

[NoSheep]

5. Okay. I will.

[joeycola]

6. yes, madfloridian journals have keep up with what is going on we

dither of over the health care bill. and the media obsesses over it.

[roody]

4. This teacher will be taking early

retirement and watching the destruction from the sidelines.

[Frank Booth]

7. I'm glad Obama's showing some guts on this issue.

Public education reform is vital.

[joeycola]

9. Obama is contining the unhealthy practice of High stakes testing! That

is wrong.



http://abcnews.go.com/Business/WireStory?id=8987541&page=2

"There are lots of ways to use the data aside from firing and discipline," Wilkins said. "That said, unless you figure out a fair but fast way to remove truly incompetent teachers from classrooms, they're going to continue to be cycled into the highest poverty schools."

[JDPriestly]

8. How do the test scores of charter schools measure up?

I have never heard any discussion of this data. I hope the teachers go on strike.

[joeycola]

10. Obama uses stimulus money to coax states to embrace his school agenda......

The subtitle is more accurate and meaningful.