Ocean State Governance, College Admission Scam, Birch Bayh, More!

Allison Crean Davis and Jason Weeby on education governance lessons from Rhode Island. 

Backstory on the FBI’s admissions investigation. And it’s useful to remember that there are poor parents in jail for committing fraud to get their children into better public school options – because they couldn’t afford to move to the neighborhoods with good schools and did not have choice options. In other words, yes the higher ed game is rigged in myriad ways, but the K-12 system is, too, it’s just done in such plain sight we’ve come to think of it as unremarkable. So unremarkable, in fact, that it’s some of the loudest voices against wealth inequality most vocally defending the education status quo on parent choice.

Are the teachers unions behind the recent protests? It depends.

And here’s what happens in a broken relationship. it’s suboptimal for schools to close for protests, it’s suboptimal to intimidate teachers for exercising their voice. But when everyone wants to amp stuff up instead of working it out here its where we are.

Even the mob questions U.S. education quality now:

Mr. Cali’s contacts with Italy were part of a broader trend in the 21st century of crime families importing Italian-born men, the law enforcement official said.

“They have what they believe are the old values, because the American-born kids don’t have the right stuff anymore,” the official said.

Birch Bayh has passed, played a role on Title IX among other issues.

Shame.