Parent. Educator. Believer in & fighter for educational freedom. Believer that BIG changes are needed to improve outcomes for all kids. Tweets are my own.
@esanzi
@KamalaHarris
@AndrewUjifusa
This is also one job that still offers a pension, health benefits, 185 days of work/ year (compared to 231 or more in private sector), the work day ends before 5, & in many states there is tenure. And - outcomes dont determine salary - unlike most other professions.
School choice is GOOD for teachers. Why should teachers be forced to work for a poorly run Govt monopoly?
#SchoolChoice
provides teachers with options & a market place to find a work environment thats right for them.
Signed,
Former traditional public &
#charterschool
teacher
Illinois’s Shocking Report Card - WSJ
“This year 100% of Chicago teachers were evaluated as excellent or proficient. The students are failing but the teachers are great? That contradiction shows the system is corrupt as well as incompetent.”
@JessieBearCA
@bluesofie171
Here’s the thing Jesse: Parents PAY SCHOOL TAXES w/ the understanding that they will receive a benefit (their kids will get educated). We have built systems around this basic public trust. Thats been broken.
Its not babysitting: its your job & parents expect you to do it.Period.
@angrybklynmom
@stephmurrayyyy
@TheAtlantic
I opened a preschool 2 months ago - mask optional (zero parents are asking us to put their kids in masks btw). I am here to tell you that the last 2 yrs have negatively impacted speech & language acquisition. Anyone who says anything different is dishonest.
“There have been choices made where our children were not in the center,” says Weaver. “We abandoned what worked because we didn’t like how it felt to us as adults, when actually, the social-justice thing to do is to teach them explicitly how to read.”
@DeAngelisCorey
Here’s the thing, elementary school teachers are NOT provided training on this topic. They should not be facilitating conversations on sexuality of any kind….when/ if the topic comes up they should defer to & share w parents the child raised an issue.
- Signed, Certified Teacher
You know what our kids need? Reading interventionist who know how to teach phonics.
Why aren’t we all talking about that?
Do you know the reading achievement rates in your district/ school?
I would be depressed too if I could t read - wouldn’t you?
#literacymatters
@GregAbbott_TX
@DeAngelisCorey
So does this mean you will FINALLY support a meaningful school choice bill & lead your party to do the same?
Texans have waited LONG enough for real options & for funds to follow students. We are tired of waiting & tired of the blame the House game.
@MrDanielBuck
Having poor discipline policies at school:
1) punishes kids who have self regulation skills,
2) impedes teacher effectiveness,
3) worst of all, it fails to prepare kids for real world reaction/consequences for harmful behavior. Its role modeling LIES to all the kids.
Here’s the thing :
- there are traditional schls doing GREAT things for kids,
- there are charters doing GREAT things for kids
- there are private schls doing GREAT things for kids
- there are alt schls doing great things for kids
Arguing over which is “better” unhelpful...
@rweingarten
You know who else is exhausted & stressed out? PARENTS who pay your salary via taxes.
You know what’s exhausting? BS quarantining of healthy kids & our kids being 1.5 yrs behind academically bc YOU KEPT SCHOOLS CLOSED!
Check your privilege & do us a favor by just stopping.
@angrybklynmom
Not to mention it only rewards higher ed for bad behavior. It doesnt SOLVE THE PROBLEM. Its bribe - nothing more, nothing less. In 4 years we are back where we started.
It will backfire bc its both bad policy & a bad political stunt.
The level of hysteria & panic on the part of
#SchoolChoice
opponents is bonkers.
Traditional ISDs will be better off when the
#txlege
passes ESAs, teachers will be better off, parents will be empowered & kids will be in schools that are a right fit.
It will be ok.
Winsome Sears: "I'm putting in a bill on school choice. Our parents need to be able to decide where their children should go to school. It is not the right of the government. This is the new Brown v. Board of Ed fight. This is the new redlining & we're not putting up with it"
@skirchy
@michelleinbklyn
Stephanie, thats how its going in my district in TX: mask optional since August, kids in classrooms, cafeteria, gyms, pep rallies, choir concerts, sports, science labs,school busses: 5 days/ week back to normal. No dead kids, no dead teachers. Anything else= dereliction of duty.
Hey
@BetoORourke
: Independent Suburban Mom Voter here: you just lost my vote. We should trust
#Texas
families to make the educational choices that work beat for their
#families
Peddling teacher union talking points isnt putting TX Families First
#disappointed
My parents recently sent this to me. He was so little (6 weeks early) & I look so young. Forget being a “founder” or
#CEO
being a
#mom
is my super power
@DeAngelisCorey
This was entirely predictable. The Democratic party knows charter folks (teachers, leaders & many board members) will vote for them no matter what bc most are partisans first & ed equity ppl second.
When someone tells you what they plan to do & who they are: believe them.
Explain to me HOW schools of education are issuing elementary teaching certifications & teachers do not know how to teach reading? What are they doing for 4 years? Teaching degrees do NOT = “highly qualified” per our current results. Time for a
#HigherEd
overhaul.
@1in5advocacy
Today our son said “I hate virtual school - it sucks”. He has a computer, internet access, 2 college educated parents - this is a total disaster for lots of kids.
Big news: while other people made bread or cocktails during Covid I bought land, built & opened a
#preschool
#childcare
. Our school director is awesome, our staff is awesome, our families are awesome - are kids are the best.
#walkthewalk
My name is Mesha Mainor and I’m a Democrat in the GA State House.
I wasn’t elected to put party first. I was elected to put AMERICA first.
I will ALWAYS support school choice. I will NEVER be owned by a political party.
If that makes those in my party mad, they can kick rocks
@bethanyshondark
Silencing, gaslighting, & bullying women used to be something that
#feminists
cared about…This is the aspect of this entire circus that makes me angry. We ALL have a right to be respected, heard, & taken seriously.
Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS announces UNIVERSAL school choice bill: "My school choice bill will create education savings accounts for families.. in 3 years every family will have a choice in education and no child will be limited by income or ZIP code."
Texas should’ve passed
#schoolchoice
a generation ago, but the
#Txlege
House uniparty won’t allow it.
I proudly stood up for parents, students, and teachers… and called out my “Republican” colleagues, as they once again killed education freedom.
Watch👇
“Charters -- public schools run by independent operators -- have been draining urban school districts of students for years.” This frame is WRONG.
Parents & kids are CHOOSING to leave. The word “draining” is a sloppy word choice.
You know Randi is worried when she comes for you.
Randi:
#Parents
have EVERY right to self organize. Its pretty outrageous to use public tax dollars to go after independent private citizens.
She hates on them bc they refuse to coparent with the state & she cant control them.
Moms For Liberty has always been an extremist front designed to divide parents from educators while censoring honest history, bullying LGBTQ+ kids, and sowing distrust in equitable public programs and community building initiatives.
My daughter - who is
#Dyslexic
& 9 - asked me today if "there are colleges close to our house" & if so, could she maybe attend one of those.
Her reason: "that way Dad can help me with my homework every night, like he does now..."
I almost cried - they work so hard together.
BREAKING: Texas Governor Greg Abbott: "Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school, charter school, or private school with state funding following the student."
The simple fact is that the band formerly know as “Ed Reform” gave up on student achievement, character mattering, & rigorous content LONG before Covid (in favor of “social science” over reading, identity politics, & funder driven fads).
They have ZERO legs to stand on now. ZERO.
As an alum, I guess Im wondering how this advances
#literacy
&
#numeracy
for
#students
. Seems like self help for adults & an odd focus after our KIDS have unnecessarily been kept out of school for a year. Where is the urgency to RECONSTRUCT literacy rates for our kids?
Join
@TeachForAmerica
for the next installment of our Men of Many Speaker Series on Thursday, March 17th from 7-8:15pm EST, titled "Tender Masculinities - Deconstructing Patriarchal Ways of Being."
#tfamenofmany
Register:
This is disgraceful & its a death spiral for America.
If you cant READ you will never be FREE…no amount of “SEL” can fix the humiliation of illiteracy & the rage an illiterate person must feel on a daily basis.
🚨Literacy Crisis🚨
“According to
@usedgov
, 54% of U.S. adults 16-74 years-old—about 130 million people—lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of 6th grade level.”
66% of K-12 students are NOT proficient—Literacy proficiency is equity.
Randi Weingarten: "Our kids are in crisis. And we had a mental health crisis before COVID .. but for two years of disruption, two years of looking at the screens, two years of not having a normal kind of routine and rhythm, recovery is really tough."
This boy started 8th grade today at a new 2K+ student PS - walking to bus stop he says “Mom please turn around. I’ve got this.” Then he legitimately hugged me - in public/ in daylight.
#mommoment
Rep. Nguyen: "Why don't [private] schools have the same level of accountability & scrutiny as our public schools?"
Rep. Cantrell: "You're right. They don't have the same level of accountability. They have a much higher level of accountability. Families have the freedom to leave"
@MZHemingway
@jrpsaki
@GlennYoungkin
@APSVirginia
Texas parent here - our district of 30K+ kids - has been mask optional all year (along w many other districts in our state). Its been fine. Parents who want their kids to wear masks have that option….schools have not been proven to be unsafe.
@AbigailShrier
This is a biological male calling a vagina a “Barbie Pouch” & its offensive. This makes me think of disrespectful men who call a vagina a “snatch” or a “pussy”.
This is a parody of womanhood/ girlhood.
This is condescending.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: "I'll be introducing legislation that allows [eligible] families to move their child to the education of their choice..
empowering parents to choose what's best for their child."
@ycinnewyork
@GovKathyHochul
@NYCMayor
One more reason we wont take our kids to NYC this Christmas. Every year for 16 years we’ve visited NYC at Christmas: went to plays, ice skating at Rockefeller Center, museums, restaurants, etc..wont spend a dime there now bc I wont subject my kids to this level insanity.
@pastors4txkids
@DanPatrick
This is what they are REALLY afraid of…they wont be able to control the parents, the money, or the narrative. But parents are ready & tired of waiting.
@DeAngelisCorey
As a mother of a brown girl & a white boy I dont want EITHER of my kids made to feel guilty or crappy by some HS/MS teacher. Keep your opinions out of my kids classroom & go back to teaching math. Its not your JOB to make ANY kid uncomfortable on purpose
Yesterday I met w a SPED/ reading interventionist who wants to start a
#charterschool
to serve
#dyslexic
kids. When I asked why, her response was - the traditional system isnt designed to serve kids who need real sustained reading intervention.
@esanzi
@1in5advocacy
Im struggling to understand the context. Is this woman talking about performing hysterectomies on healthy minors? That seems medically reckless to me. I feel like there is context missing. ? ?
BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court just ruled in a 6-3 decision that preventing school choice families from taking their children's taxpayer-funded education dollars to religious private schools violated the Free Exercise Clause of the 1st Amendment.
More than ever
#parents
in Texans want funds to follow students to the learning environment that works best for each child.
Our traditional monopoly schools are bloated, unresponsive, & not providing a ROI for students & taxpayers.
#txlege
do the right thing
#SchoolChoice
NOW
Texans across our state have made it clear: NOW is the time for school choice in Texas.
If you support school choice, don’t sit on the sidelines.
Join our team.
Call your state representative and tell them to support education freedom for every family.
I visited a
#charter
school today started & led by a former student. We talked about the challenges of leadership (its lonely & very hard), how to best support teachers, student recruitment & leading while being a good mom & spouse.
This makes all the shit worth it.
#LongGame
@rpondiscio
The teacher certification test I took in TX in ‘97 was the easiest exam I have ever taken. A total joke. This is once reason I reject the notion that be certified make someone “highly qualified”.
Love this smart article, My
#dyslexic
daughter memorized an ENTIRE word wall but could NOT read. 3 years later, 4 days/ week w a one-on-one tutor who uses a phonics based strategy and she is finally on grade-level.... via
@WSJ
ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: "Parents cannot be an afterthought in education. Parents are the foundation of a child’s success. So let’s give parents a greater role in education, including the right to choose the school that’s best for their child–whether it is public, private or parochial"
See the woman w/ the BIG smile in the royal blue shirt? She’s a mom who founded the Thrive With Autism Charter school.
They’ve JUST moved into their permanent location & have 250 kids on a waitlist.
People told her it couldnt be done.
She did it.
Never underestimate a mom.
@CNN
This woman is a disgrace but at least she’s admitting that “innocent until proven guilty” is dead & mob rule by partisan politics & social media is all that matters.
#circlingthedrain
This is totally bonkers: Taxation with out representation & a complete dereliction of duty.
We’re not even pretending to care about kids anymore in lots of places.
“It’s time to stop airbrushing parents out of the picture & to acknowledge the sometimes uncomfortable truth that their role is indispensable.”
@rpondiscio
we
@FamsEmpowered
agree!
The Secret of a Charter School’s Success? Parents - WSJ
Alternative post:
ESAs empower
#parents
&
#teachers
to reimagine school,
attend & work in a school environment that is a right fit,
& direct funds to their appropriate intent: the education of our children.
There, fixed it. Do better
@TexasHDC
#believeinpeople
#trustparents
Vouchers will mean larger class sizes, lower teacher pay, and worse outcomes for the millions of Texas children who attend Texas public schools.
Extracurriculars, like football, will get cut.
Teachers will be laid off.
Schools will be closed.
Stop voucher scams.
#txlege
Today I watched our daughter & her fellow 5th graders perform A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William
#Shakespeare
Proving that classics are classics for a reason, that kids will rise to the expectation we set for them, & courage can be practiced.
#ReadingOpensDoors
@karol
@FoxNews
Add to this the loss of faith we feel in our school systems: many USED & NEGLECTED children (while shaking down the tax payers for BILLIONS of stimulus dollars) by propagating lies about schools being super spreader environments (not to mention making kids believe they would die)
@pastors4txkids
@DanPatrick
How about your churches give up your tax exempt status & pay your fair share.
Then we will take away pell grants to all the TCU, SMU, BYU, Notre Dame students etc & we’ll send them to you for an explanation.
You’ve sold out TX children to the unions & to big daddy BUTT. Shameful.
@karenvaites
As a parent of a HS student athlete I feel so badly for kids, like my son, who find their focus, joy & futures tied to athletics but they live in states where kids mental/ physical well being have been carelessly cast aside.
High school kids dont get a “do over”.
Our son made the basketball team. Its BIG.
He attends a crazy big PS & the competition was REAL (2/3 of the kids dont make the team).
He practiced over the summer & on weekends w his AAU coach.
He was nervous.
He learned that hard work pays off.
#LifeLessons
Why sports matter.
@BetoORourke
Terrible disqualifying idea. So HOW do you propose we OBJECTIVELY measure math & reading attainment? How do you propose
#parents
know how their kids are doing relative to other students? Just stop. Stop.
Hot take:
Fall In love after HS/ college. Marry that person & have a family.
Your career doesn’t love you back.
Family is everything. Being a parent is WAY better than being a CEO.
Love is all that matters.
The Texas Association of School Boards refused to cut ties with the National School Boards Association after they implied some parents should be considered "domestic terrorists"
NSBA's president was previously the president of TASB.
For
#Democrats
who send their OWN children to magnet or private schools &/OR who pay for private tutors/ college counsellors - the ONLY defensible position is to support school choice. Every other position is
#Hypocritical
I talked two 2 of my former 5th graders this week. 1st gen college graduates : one is a banker & one is an account exec in the energy industry. Both are married & have great kids.
They reached out to me - just to check in. Best calls ever!
#mathteachers
make a difference
Congressman Richard Neal (D) says "I know a lot of Democrats who send their children to Catholic schools" and that "I know Democrats who are in favor of school choice."
I look forward to
@RepRichardNeal
and his colleagues signing on to the Educational Choice for Children Act.
Every school building in America should be open to kids & parents & should be obsessively focused on reading, writing & math outcomes.
#parents
want transparency, reliability & RESULTS