DFER Indiana
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Are you going to hate yourself in the morning?
April 23, 2013
Dear Fellow Democrats:
It’s growing late and some of us have spent the night canoodling with far-right opponents of the Common Core State Standards. If that sounds like you, it’s time you ask yourself this question: “Am I going to hate myself for this in the morning?"
We can almost guarantee the answer will be yes.
Before you decide to get into bed with extremist right-wing critics of the Common Core, we highly recommend that you get to know them better.
Here’s the first in a series of would-be, right-wing bedfellows you’d be smart to stay away from. Let's start with State Sen. Scott Schneider of Indiana and Phyllis Schlafly, Founder and President of the Eagle Forum. Click their names to find out more.
- Larry, DFER IN State Director
DFER-Intake: A Mid-term Assessment of Education-Related Bills in IN
April 1, 2013
Dear Friends,
Much like the teams catching fire at the right time in the “NCAA March Madness,” the state of Indiana has been on a major roll to improve our education system. The 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly presents us, however, with a fork in the road at which we face two choices: (1) We can enact legislation that would benefit the state’s students by strengthening rigor, empowering families and teachers, and emphasizing smarter investments in teacher preparation and support. Or, (2) We can pass legislation that retreats on the very policies that put us at the top in the first place. The choice seems obvious to me.
These two diverging paths became readily apparent when we began work on what we’re calling our DFER-Intake - a mid-term assessment of education-related bills advancing in the legislative process.
We call this our DFER-INtake since it is our “take” on the bills we found to be most relevant to our principles and policy priorities. DFER-IN is a policy and political advocacy organization, and analyzing legislation definitely speaks to the policy-side of our work. From that perspective, it is important for us to determine if the policies being introduced and progressing towards becoming law support or detract from our ultimate goal of ensuring every Hoosier student has a quality education. Undoubtedly, that goal should be one that everybody wants for our children and the state; so for that reason, we are sharing our assessments of the bills we found to be most significant. We hope these documents will be a resource to the public, and also enable legislators to view key legislative provisions through a different lens.
This INtake consists of an analysis of 14 education bills, which contain summaries of the good, bad, and otherwise in the legislation. It also includes a synopsis and status report of each bill. Once the legislative session has concluded, DFER-IN will again analyze the bills and issue an updated report supplying our “take” on how legislators performed relative to championing and supporting bills and policies serving the best interests of students, parents/families, and their respective communities. You can read the assessments along with our Executive Summary here.
All the Best,
Larry Grau
DFER-IN State Director
DFER IN's Larry Grau Warns Retreating from Common Core Will Hurt Kids
March 12, 2013
Contact:
Devin Boyle | 202.445.0416 | Devin@dfer.org
Larry Grau | 317.696.6567 | Larry@dfer.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Democrats for Education Reform Warns that Retreating
from Common Core Will Hurt Indiana’s Students
INDIANAPOLIS - March 12, 2013 - Democrats for Education Reform Indiana released the following statement from State Director Larry Grau on Senate Bill 193 (SB193), which would halt Indiana’s participation in Common Core State Standards (Common Core):
“Halting the progress of Common Core in Indiana would be doing a tremendous disservice to our state’s students. Forty-four other states and all of Indiana’s neighbors have adopted these standards. Kentucky and Illinois, for example, are engaged in intense public relations and grassroots efforts to fully implement the standards in their states. If Indiana stops the implementation process by passing SB193, our kids will be sent to the back of the college admissions line - unable to compete with their peers from other states. The ACT is already aligning its standards with Common Core, and the SAT is expected to follow soon.
“The Common Core is a set of intelligently developed standards with strong bipartisan support. Participation does not in any way diminish Indiana’s high academic standards. In fact, it improves them. It does not tell Indiana teachers how to design curriculums, or force them to teach to the test. The Common Core establishes expectations for student outcomes, but allows teachers to determine how kids get there. Furthermore, this is not a federal program being forced on states, as opponents have claimed; state officials and education leaders from across the country worked together alongside teachers to develop these standards.
“Hoosiers must stand up in support of Common Core and hold our lawmakers accountable for their promises to ensure our kids have a bright future. If Indiana waivers, students in 44 other states will be racing to the top, while ours are pushed to the bottom.”
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(View PDF of Statement Here.)
(View PDF of Infographic Here.)
Thanking and Honoring Our Nation's Teachers
December 21, 2012
Fellow Reformers,
The community of Newtown and our nation as a whole has been forced to cope with the incomprehensible tragedy that unfolded last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In the coming weeks, many discussions will be had at local and national levels about what could’ve been done to prevent this horrendous act, and what should be done to prevent this senseless violence in the future. Those conversations are vital, and they absolutely must take place. But today, I want to focus on simply thanking and honoring our nation’s teachers. They serve so many roles in our communities that directly impact our progress as a people.
Last week’s events remind us in an all-too-real way that teachers are not simply professional instructors; they’re role models, leaders and protectors of our nation’s children. Many are parents themselves. They’re the people with whom we entrust our children for more hours in a day than we often see them ourselves.
And, as we’ve tragically witnessed far too often in the past decade, many of them - without hesitation or consideration - are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and wellbeing of their students. With each day that passes, we continue to hear stories of the bravery exhibited by teachers and school leaders at Sandy Hook. If not for their love for children and their selflessness, it’s quite possible we would be mourning the loss of even more precious lives.
We must not allow their sacrifice to be for naught. More than ever, in our communities, we must rally around our teachers. We must continue to evaluate how we can provide them with a support system that allows them to mentor, help and protect our children. Our kids are the future, and great teachers are the people who will help shape what lies ahead for our nation.
We extend our deepest condolences to the families, students, teachers and administrators who have been affected by this unbelievable tragedy. Though words can’t begin to heal these wounds, it is our hope that the events in Newtown will bring us closer together in our communities - to support our children in need, and those who guide and protect them.
For info on how you can help, click here. And today, find a teacher - whether it’s your child’s instructor or simply a neighbor or friend - and thank them for everything they do. If you’re a teacher reading this newsletter, please know we value and appreciate the work and dedication you display every day.
Sincerely,
Larry Grau, DFER Indiana State Director
Larry joined the DFER team at the end of 2010. He has over twenty years of experience in research, policy development and analysis, and evaluation, primarily in the areas of education and youth development. He was formerly the chief education policy advisor to Governor Frank O'Bannon, and served as the Education Finance Analyst for the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee prior to that. Read more about Larry here.
What Do Elections Really Tell Us?
November 14, 2012
By Larry Grau, DFER Indiana State Director
On the heels of Election Day, I’ve read countless articles and heard many people’s opinions on what the results of various races and initiatives mean for our country. And, much like the final outcomes of elections across the country, these reflections have been a mixed bag.
Winners tend to feel their stances are unequivocally validated. Conversely, those on the losing end contend the results point toward candidate favoritism, or only reflect public opinion on a very specific issue. I contend there is an inherent danger in both vantage points. The results across my home state, for example, illustrate outcomes that are much less simplistic.
Over the last couple of years, IN turned into a hotbed for reform organizations, supporters, and the education media. During this time, the Hoosier state has seen almost every form of education reform one could. The state instituted a new teacher evaluation system, we ended LIFO, expanded charter schools, and established a statewide voucher program. As an ed reformer, I view many of these changes as a positive development in our state. To those who oppose reforms, most of these changes have been portrayed as an attack on our public education system. And, the difference in opinion between these groups has created a situation in which emotions have run extremely hot.
State Superintendent, Tony Bennett, became the face of education reform in Indiana. As a vocal, highly visible reform leader, he approached his agenda in a take-no-prisoners manner, making him the ideal target for anti-reformers. To this group’s “credit,” nearly every organization with an axe to grind (the teachers unions, school board, superintendent, and principal associations, etc.) rallied together against Bennett. It is therefore easy to interpret Bennett’s defeat as a rejection of education reform policies. But when you look at other election results, and consider the entire set of outcomes, you see a very different picture.
For a second consecutive election, voters in Indianapolis overwhelmingly elected reform-minded members to the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) School Board. DFER IN was actively involved in those elections and we are proud to have the three candidates we supported - Caitlin Hannon, Gayle Cosby, and Diane Arnold - not just win, but do so by some of the widest margins of victory of any race on the ballot, as the results below indicate:
These three reform-minded candidates will join three others who have expressed support for reform on the seven-member board to form a majority. This will now allow the board to enact decisive policies with the potential to drive tremendous improvement in a school district where more than half of the students either dropout or fail to graduate with a regular diploma.
If our state’s elections were some sort of referendum on education reform, it’s clear from these results that the voters in Indianapolis didn’t get that memo. Nor did those across the state who voted for nearly all of the legislators who cast votes to approve the reforms in the first place. Nor did the voters across the country, who re-elected the “Reformer-in-Chief,” President Obama, and 22 out of 30 DFER “Hot List” candidates. At the end of the day, voters in Indiana and many other states put more individuals who support reform in office than candidates who oppose reform. If you viewed this election as some sort of referendum on reform, then you have to conclude the reform side won, while a few reformers, such as Tony Bennett did not.
Otherwise, what did the election outcomes tell us? For one, when you run a well-organized, unified campaign that effectively paints the opposition in a negative light, you can win. However, the interpretation that these selective wins are some sort of wholesale rejection of ground-breaking education policies is not supported by the facts when one looks at the entire picture. Instead, the results seem to indicate that by and large, voters want electeds casting votes for policies to support reform, especially on the IPS School Board. This is what made the students of IPS and the Indianapolis community the real winners on November 6th.
Larry joined the DFER team at the end of 2010. He has over twenty years of experience in research, policy development and analysis, and evaluation, primarily in the areas of education and youth development. He was formerly the chief education policy advisor to Governor Frank O'Bannon, and served as the Education Finance Analyst for the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee prior to that. Read more about Larry here.
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