I am a Kindergarten Teacher currently serving as president of the united educators of San Francisco. [applause] how many educators in the room today . Community supporters . Also San Francisco board of education if you see the others walkin and gabriella lopez. Happy to have everyone here. Of course we are here to hear diane we have some housekeeping items. Retired school one social studies teacher is passing out cards on which you can write questions. The format will be diane and i will talk for a little while and then we will open the floor to questions from the audience. The questions will come from the cards and that way we will know five different people are asking the question then we can ask the question so with that would like to give a little introduction and a lot of people here been following her a long time but i would like to give an introduction. A champion for Public Schools across the country drawing on over 40 years of research and experience and is one of the nations leading advocate for Public Education. Her years of experience working in government her approach to education gave her a unique and powerful perspective which she brings into all aspects of work a prolific writer and Renowned Research professor at New York University publishing more than 500 articles for scholarly and popular publications her blog is one of the primary destinations for american educators and has received more than 10 million views since 201,234,000,000. That is a lot of millions. Producing solutions and doesnt just admire the problem in her book provides a clear plan how to improve Public Schools the New York Times bestseller reign of terror begins where her previous book the death and life of the Great AmericanSchool System left off. She continues to show the crisis of American Education is not the result of a crisis of academic achievement but a result of Public Schools and a chapter by chapter breakdown she shows what is working and how policymakers are failing to address the root cause of educational failure and finally she shows how it can be fixed she shares the hard message that we as educators that we need to support Public Schools are also basically society ultimately will fail all children a graduate herself developing a powerful argument against the privatization of Public Schools so we as united educators of San Francisco are excited and honored to have her in San Francisco tonight of the collective next steps to protect and promote quality education for all. Lets start with the first question why did you write this book and why now . I thought i finished my job and i was is working on my memoir i was one third of the way through and then februar february 2018 every teacher in West Virginia walked out of their school in every school in West Virginia was closed down because the teachers went on strike. It is illegal to go on strike in West Virginia but there are 50 districts and every superintendent close to the school so the teachers were not on strike because the schools were closed. The made arrangements for the children through Community Organizations and churches and agencies to make sure the children are cared for and marched on the state capital. So the strike was incredibly energizing not just to me but teachers all across america. So i watched the movement moved to oklahoma, colorado, arizona and also marching at ucla in the rain and i felt this tremendous energy. And then i realize there was another book i had to write. That book changes the national narrative. One that you have sense a nation at risk that schools are failin failing, rising tide of mediocrity and we have to do something about the failure of our schools. So we heard this refrain again and again and lead to destructive policy the secretary of education said we are failing government schools in fact we are failing government policy. The failing government policy for our children and communities this has been going on for a long time so the spring of 2018 continuing into the next year and i think is not over is the teachers show the power and commanded respect and turned out to be immensely popular. [applause] and when i joined the strike the picket line last january in los angeles there were a number of everyone carrying signs but some of them said honk if you love teachers or support the strike everybody was honking even in the 18 wheelers were going by but every way and shape and form people were honking to say im with you you could feel the energy was very exciting and teachers everywhere understood that. What happened all the negative publicity of the previous 20 are started to shift and we began to see the Mainstream Media changes to so i was thinking back to Time Magazine 2008 with a photograph of michelle in washington dc with a big broom looking very mean trying to fix the schools in the application she would sweep out the bad teachers. Shes gone. [laughter] [applause] she retired. But then they had another cover on Time Magazine that a Silicon Valley investor figure out how to fix americas schools everybody has this idea if they fix americas schools in this investor had the idea that if you could take away teachers Due Process Rights their tenure and seniority than they would get low scores and everybody would have high grades. The illustration on the cover of time was for apples one of which was rotten and it said something about rotten apples in the classroom. This is all very discouraging saying kids get low scores because teachers have Due Process Rights because those in districts even more than other scoring districts so newsweek had a cover they sure a blackboard with the phrase we must fire bad teachers over and over. This is a long period of blaming teachers and all this changed with the movement Time Magazine is an example and one issue three different covers and three different teachers one said my salary is so low i have to sell my blood plasma to make ends meet im a teacher of america another set i live in a onebedroom apartment and share a bed with my child i cannot afford anything more i am a teacher in america. I forget the third cover but the same type of thing. Teachers are not paid enough many stories working two and three jobs, sometimes more shaking the tin can for americas schools so then we did studies at least half the states cut their budgets in 2008 because of the recession and were not restored to the budget or even at the level of 2008 or had even raised it. The whole story change people stop saying bad teachers and saying its under investment so to me that was huge at the same time a push back began against Charter Schools and vouchers i think betsy divorce had something to do that because she presented her case so starkly she forgets 90 percent of the kids are in Public Schools. Even in the red districts people like their teachers in Public Schools and they do not like the idea cutting down on the schools that their children go to so we have seen a seachange and i want to celebrate the reasons not just the teacher strikes but the examples of ordinary citizens who stood up and said no, you will not close my school so i have a lot of stories with parents with no funding standing up to million are funded organizations pushing Charter Schools or vouchers. It sounds like you are moving into tell us what you hope to accomplish youve seen some change so what are you hoping to accomplish by writing this book . Two goals. One is i wanted to bring hope and encouragement to teachers who are in the trenches ive always been impressed by the incredible dedication, hard work education and caring about children i have seen in the teachers that i met and ive met teachers all across the country in my travels im always impressed how smart they are i want to say the tide is turning in your turning it and you have the power to turn it even more. That is an Important Message to put across. The other is slightly more subtle to the people who are funding the attacks in Public Education that they lost. They have not stopped. [applause] so when i call the book slaying the lion i dont mean that its dead i meant to say there is the important distinction i have a whole chapter dedicated to the very the right wing organizations that want to privatize organizations they are not giving up but theyll have anything to put forward that works and they improve education and in particular the lives of children and families. So lets move into that so first of all your title the full title slaying goliath the passionate resistance to privatization and the fight to save americas Public Schools. The first cast of characters are the disruptors. Tell us who they are. I dont reform to the one refer to the Reform Movement to me that is very honorable and four years the last ten years ive been writing about this it has bothered me people who want to destroy Public Education and undermine the teaching profession call themselves reformers because that is an honorable word so i think they mustve had a meeting with a highpowered branding organization i would like to find the book that they agreed to use to make a sound progressive but thats not progressive at all. When i think of reform i think of people who wanted more funding for Public Schools are more public support and to make sure class sizes were small enough for teachers to do a good job. They want better and integrated schools they fought against the any pinchers to undermine the schools they were reformers and under the course of my book with the Reform Movement there always meant to make Public Schools better. So the current crop of performers now led by betsy devoss want to replace them with privately manage schools which are charters and in california i do not believe they are Public Schools i say they are privately managed but also those that want vouchers and that is something that destroys the line between church and state and is wrong. So as a graduate Public Education brings communities together and opportunities for parents to have their First Experience to have their Political Action and Community Action learning about politics and children learn with those who were different from themselves. Not just from the same race or religion or economic background. I call them disruptors because thats what they do. They disrupt communities and School Districts and to reinvent the school when i see a story and a business magazine about a Hedge Fund Manager or a billionaire wants to reinvent the school. All these people who have never taught or been in a Public School have an idea how to reinvent the school. They have a reasonable basis to put them forward and the Business World it is considered a good thing with disruption. A few years back i was interviewed on a tv Program Actually was charlie rose and the person before me was the ceo of a Big Tech Company i heard him say we reinvent ourselves every two years. I thought that is fine but you dont do that to children and families. When a child goes to school they want to know the person is there teacher today is yesterday or last year they are still in the classroom and they can say there certain value to stability. [applause] and we have a lot of family problems and that we should just rotate families but that would be reinventing families. We just dont do that. Children need to know they are stable and people who will care for them day after day. A few years ago in San Francisco what we did was for sable one stable and safe and supportive schools. Exactly what we want to provide. So who are the disruptors . First of all my book in 2010 the life and death of the Great AmericanSchool System i described the Millionaire Boys Club at that time of the three foundations the walton foundation, which is walmart. Bill gates, bill and Melinda Gates foundation. But what i discovered in writing this book is i began researching and discovering there were dozens more members of the Billionaire Boys Club and the waltons are still number one with the 150 billion collectively but also trials and david koch one brother just died. Most of them are republican but they have behind them behind them a think tank. And everybody should know being informed is a crucial part. The american legislative achievement counsel to push her right wing agenda as they would say to put government that is against gun control they are against Public Schools. They are against unions. They are against any standards for teachers with certification all the things that they are against but as far as deregulation for profitmaking the only thing they support is government and religious schools. That is an interesting exception. And many corporations that support alac and i mentioned that they could benefit by lower taxes is a very far right wing agenda lower taxes therefore fewer public services. Of course who does this farm the most . Those that rely on government services. That is the indirect plug here in california. If you have not signed the petition to get it on the ballot there are several people who have those petitions. If you are california voters there are the petitions. Is exactly the kind of fight we are in right now that corporations begin to pay their fair share of taxes. Enough about disruptors for now. What about talking about us . What is your favorite story of the resistance . It is about organizing and resisting. We are very happy. There are so many stories. Its hard to choose one. Its called the Bad Ass Teachers Association they are called bats 50000 may be more by now who organize across the country to push back to be blamed for societys problems , unfairly blamed the fight for children and autonomy of teachers and for more funding for schools. They are Favorite Group of mine. One of the stories to show you how the resistance works , comes from chicago and rahm emanuel was mayor at the time. He decided to close 50 Public Schools in a single day which caused tremendous havoc and harm to the children of chicago. I should say a lot of what he did was to benefit Charter Schools and that was part of the gentrification process. The city of chicago and 2016 lost 200,000 africanamerican citizens. Neighborhoods were gentrified and Charter Schools were built where it would appeal to white middleclass families moving in that previously had been black neighborhoods. The intention to close 50 schools closing the last open Enrollment High School in the heart of the black community and the civil rights leader mr. Brown in my book led a group of allies and they pestered mayor emmanuel wherever he went and said save the school. They protested in conventional ways and he ignored them. Than they had the idea and set up lawn chairs on the campus of the high school which is now been emptied out to do whatever he wanted to do, probably turn it into a Charter School. They said we are on a Hunger Strike for the first week no one noticed there were only 12 people in plastic lawn chairs. The second week in the third week in the Chicago Press began writing about them than the National Press and on the 3h day, rahm emanuel capitulated and said we will not close instead well put in 50 million and reopen it as a high school of the arts. It was a complete victory in which mr. Brown and 11 friends managed to defeat a very powerful mayor. And they won their battle. That is an example where people with no money managed to resist and win. Another of my favorite stories a parent is a friend of mine is a parent activist and was very an advocate of reducing class side on class size trying to get rid class size reduce making no progress. But she saw student privacy is a very powerful issue. And she was in colorado and became very upset because bill gates put up 100 million to put a datagathering Organization Called emblem with the idea they would gather every point of data about every student in the district. It would be managed with Software BuyerRupert Murdoch corporation and that is put into a cloud managed by amazon and 400 data points of every student and what could possibly go wrong with that . They didnt like it one bit and reached out to parents and every district that signed on to surrender their data dropped the last 20 drop out of new york state then emblem collapsed. And there was no money. Is just to parents who organized other parents reaching out about concerns of the privacy issues and data. There are dozens of stories like that. I will tell you one other. Our group of parents in texas were very upset because the legislature decided in its lack of wisdom the test were not enough to graduate high school they should have to pass 15 test to graduate. A group of mothers were very upset and they formed an Organization Called citizens advocating for a meaningful assessment so they were called moms against drunk testing. [laughter] and they were very effective the legislature dropped the plan altogether. And one more texas story because this is very powerful. There is an Organization Called pastors for texas childre children, baptist ministers who believe strongly in the separation of church and state and this Organization Led by baptist ministers advocated session after session against vouchers. The most powerful people in texas, the most right wing governor and Lieutenant Governor want vouchers passionately but they could create a coalition between urban democrats and rural republicans who understand the Public School is a heart of their community. That coalition for three consecutive sessions has blocked vouchers. The other thing is they have formed a chapter in oklahoma call pastors for oklahoma children and reached out to create similar groups in other states and the goal above all is to stop vouchers because they believe in the separation of church and state. No billionaire money just people who have passionate belief that Public Education is the foundational stone of democracy and we have to protect it. All of these Inspiring Stories are in the book. I want to read a couple of short passages from your book and then follow up with a question. If you brought your book page 269. Nothing but the disruptors have championed has succeeded unless one count success closing hundreds or perhaps thousands of community Public Schools from neighborhoods. They have succeeded to demoralize teachers and reducing the number of people entering the teaching profession. Enriched entrepreneurs to open Charter Schools with products and services to sell to schools and enhanced the large testing corporation. And common core cost billions of dollars to implement but had no effect on National Test scores an outrage that many the disruptors try to encourage the collection of personal information and to monetize it. But this was stymied temporarily by will inform parents who block the intrusion of big brother into their childrens lives. The next section, the most important lesson to be learned over the past few decades is reform does not mean reform. It means demoralization and chaos and turmoil. It does not produce better education. There is no Reform Movement the disruptors never try to reform Public Schools and to put Public School funding in private hands and to shortcircuit democracy and cripple not improve the schools with the free market. The disruptors dont care about racial segregation. They dont care charters are more segregated than Public Schools they remain willfully ignorant to demonstrate the value of integrated schools. You had touched and that in your earlier comments. But here is my question. But they say they are trying to improve education in our country. But i am wondering if the real goal is it possible not to improve Public Education for all but a very deliberate attempt to guarantee there was always the other end it on dash under on under educated populace people of color of one color and poverty . I dont think they have bad motives unless they are trying to make a profit by reducing class size and pain teachers adequate salaries. People make a profit in education by selling pencils and paper. That has always gone on but now for the first time entrepreneurs looking at education as a profitmaking opportunity and that is something that is frightening and new. Years ago when i worked in the george h to be bush administration, worked at the Hoover Institution actually im still on the email list. [laughter] so i get these notices about annual meetings where entrepreneurs and Hedge Fund Managers are invited to discuss how to make a profit from Public Education. What they have to do is create charters that are not regulated at all or accountable in california has more charters than any other state. 10 percent of the kids are Charter Schools. Up until the recent change of the law that is not taken effect, charters were unaccountable and unregulated in california has had some of the biggest scandals in the entire country where momandpop charters have skimmed off millions of dollars. Normally the scandals are real estate but not always. The big charter scandal in history was announced last year in san diego for the online Charter Corporation was indicted along with several districts to facilitate their scam by gathering the names of students basically was an online charter operation the children were not getting services. It amounted to 50 million diverted from the states and coffers and the main scammer who went to australia and we dont know if he will be repatriated back to the us for trial. But if you lose 50 million to somebody with a big idea its not even an educator. How terrible does your law have to be to allow somebody to steal that much money from children . In my book i recount a number of stories and a shocking number come from california of charter operators making money from real estate. Switching from california back to texas for a minute there is a company there called idea one of the biggest and most successful charter chains in the nation. They have assets of over 1 billion. That is public money. Betsy devoss has given them 200 million with a Successful Operation with a promise if you put your children in our schools they would be admitted to a fouryear college. What they dont tell people is you cannot graduate until youve been admitted and one into a fouryear college. What happens there are colleges that accept everyone. So they find university that takes everyone and say see everyone is admitted. Now they just got into a little bit of trouble they decided to lease of private jet 2 million per year. That wasnt seemly for an organization to have a private jet. The amount of money paid out was a little embarrassing. But this goes on all over the country. Florida is ripe with voucher and charter scandals. 1billion per year to religious schools and vouchers and totally unregulated. Teachers are High School Dropouts in voucher schools and they dont take the state test because they are not accountable. And giving that 2 billion to a Charter School 3 billion is underfunded Public Schools. Despite the fact the constitution says there shall be no vouchers despite the fact of the referendum and the public said we dont want vouchers and the legislature does it anyway because a lot of people and legislature seems to be connected in that immediate way through religious groups that is getting money through the free flowing public funding. It so hard to hear of these hundreds of millions and billions of dollars not going to our schools. There is so much we could do with that money. I find myself often quoting jonathan who says you cant throw money at the problem. Of course you can. Rich people do it all the time. You just have to know how and where to throw it. And in the right place to get it. You have to catch it. [laughter] with that are there questions ready for Diane Ravitch . While we are waiting for the questions, i just want to point out funding in california. A couple of years ago, maybe last year, i wrote an articl article, and i started to do research of how much money california spends compared to other states. California, one of the richest days of the country, write about the national median, a little bit below in spending and the spending per people in california is about the same in south carolina. There has to be something wrong with this picture. The first question is from jonathan. How do you explain betsy devoss current popularity as a rock star surrogate for trump campaigning for him in pennsylvania . Betsy devoss speaks to assert ten evangelical because she is one herself. We have never had a secretary of education who despises Public Schools as she does. So for people who want public money to be used for private school tuition, she is a rock star. For people who want public money to pay for religious schools, she is a rock star. But those that feel about Public Schools and is against 90 percent of American Kids are in Public Schools. She seems to be quite happy. Every time i see a poll people like their teachers, they love them. How is American Education doing . Terrible. So how do you feel about the school your child goes to . Great. My childs teacher is wonderful. There is that dichotomy. Im happy trump is handing out devoss as his spokesperson i was picture her with a billionaire smile which says the rest of us are not as good as she is. It doesnt matter somebody untied one of her yachts and said it loose because she has nine others. This question comes from Kathy Sullivan a teacher the educational trends are trending toward Elementary School students to be expected to master more and more abstract concepts at younger and younger ages. Educators know this is setting children up to fail. What can we do to take back our authority as experts on education . This is an important question into a larger extent is a result of common core. Bear in mind people of common core did not include any teachers to do anything about Early Childhood education. It did not include teachers who know about english language learners or special education. So it was written primarily by people in the testing industry. There is a lot why the common core is not working and for reasons i still dont understand is one of the states that endorsed common core and everything ive heard from teachers and reading is developmentally inappropriate. It is certainly not right for Young Children. I remember when i was reading the early drafts i said why would you care if firstgraders has . She would expect as they get older but you have the exact right grammar and punctuation is ridiculous. The first thing you want them to do is care about reading and listen and become engaged in learning. That is more important than the form. But yet common core had a lot of steps for children that did not make sense. When you see on the writing committee you can understand wh why. They dont know much about Young Children. And common core is especially devastating to Young Children and the pressure to bring testing down to first grade and kindergarten is ridiculous. Its very important for teachers to keep in mind about what is right and what is wrong because you know children of people telling you to do this dont know children. You have to keep inside your head and heart and understanding your professional duty and your professional ethics are. Be prepared to resist. Thank you. [applause] the next question is from clarendon Elementary School. I have to preface by noting that Michael Bloomberg is one of the star disruptors in your book, so with that i asked the question. Which 2020 president ial candidate do you think will be most helpful to Public School teachers, students, and familie families . Let me say that politically i am a member of what i am considered the toothbrush party. I saw a tweet that set i would vote for a toothbrush over donald trump. [laughter] which is to say i will vote for anybody on the democratic line. As a new yorker, i found bloomberg had some very good qualities. He cares about public health. He is the nanny mayor. With about public parks and beaches you just cannot smoke. I never liked it and i never have but he is not a good mayor and education. No child left behind, he didnt like educators or trust them and brought in a lawyer. He was extremely corporate and datadriven and focused on testing, testing, testing. He closed many many schools and opened lots of Small Schools some of which failed and then they replaced them with more schools. And the only democratic candidate who was openly pro Charter School. But from the educational point of view he has the best position it would be Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren. [applause] and i want to add the two of them are the only candidates who have pledged they would 118 federal Charter School program. This is a Program People know very little but started during the Clinton Administration where there are so lets have this experimentation people are starting to have a charter but it has grown into a 440 milliondollar per year program