Anyone here want to summarize Mr. O'Malley's position on Obama-era public school "reform"?

[Smarmie Doofus]

In other words: Race to the Top, NCLB, privatization, bureaucratization, teacher.... ummmm... "accountability" ( aka: union busting), classroom micromanagement, overtesting, ed policy set by non-educators and other politicians and billionaires and RW think tank free market gurus..

I asked essentially the same thing of the Sander-nista group:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12804933

He ( O'Malley) seems to have attended private school exclusively.

(Does anyone know if any of his 4 kids attend public school. Or is that a silly ...or impertinent ... question?)


Frankly, this is not a good sign. Makes him look interchangeable w. Obama, Duncan, all the Bush's, Gates, Rhee, the Walmarts, etc. etc. etc. ......basically the entire economically privileged political class that is going to ... here we go again... "reform" public education. While stashing their own progeny safely off in private schools. Which are carefully and deliberately inured from the effects of everything itemized in paragraph 1.


So... help me understand. Re. Mr. O'Malley: Is there really any "there" there?

[elleng]

1. He attended Catholic schools,

until law school when he attended law school at the University of Maryland.

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. So.... pretty much another tabula rasa when it comes to public schools. No?

Like Obama, Gates, Bush and Duncan.

[elleng]

9. NO, because, unlike others, he has experience, during which he

Increased Education Funding

Even in the height of the recession, while many states were cutting education spending, Gov. O’Malley invested record amounts in Maryland’s public schools. Under O’Malley, funding increased by 37%.

National Leading Rankings

Education Week magazine ranked Maryland’s public schools #1 in America five years in a row. Maryland has ranked #1 in AP performance for eight consecutive years, according to the College Board.

Keeping Tuition Down

Governor O’Malley made higher education a budget priority and froze tuition for four years in a row. College Board data shows that Maryland is #2 in the nation in keeping down college costs since 2007-2008.

Expanded Pre-Kindergarten

Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown expanded pre-kindergarten to 1,600 more children in Maryland last year and laid the groundwork for a further statewide expansion in the future.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. Well... no. He has no experience at all as either a provider ( educator) or consumer....

....of the product. ( i.e. public education.) There's no getting around it: that's a handicap. Not politically, but in terms of not really being able to viscerally understand the problems and complexities of public education. In other words: he can't possibly understand public school *culture*. Having spent his entire life absenting himself from it.

(Doesn't make him a war criminal; just means he has no relevant life experience .)

He does have POLITICAL experience in dealing w. public school issues as POLITICAL problems. Here your defense sounds exactly like the defense of Bernie by the Sandernistas ( see link in OP)

He spent money for this, he increased funding for that. But this is a poor measure of the quality of actual ed policy. Lots of money in public education is wasted and/or stolen. What's DONE with the money is what counts.

NYC, for example, just pulled the plug on its Bloomberg Era 200 million dollar ( don't hold me to the exact figure) ARIS data student tracking software six years after it spent the money. The friggin' thing didn't work. Plus the Chancellor quit his job and started ( w. Rupert Murdoch, yet!) a company that made a zillion $$ "servicing it."

There's double-talk and sleight of hand ALL OVER AND ALL THROUGHOUT public ed ( and *particularly* in the "reform" sector of the industry). It's going to take someone who knows how schools work ..... or who unlike Obama... knows WHAT he does NOT know but has the sense to find people who DO KNOW and allows them to guide him through the mine field.

Obama's problem was that he thought he understood public ed. Sounds like that could be a problem for O'Malley also. Or at least for the people pushing him.

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. Check that: ARIS was a 97 million dollar rollout in 2008. Not 200M.

And abandoned completely in 2013.

I guess we should give Bloomberg "credit" for increasing ed spending by 97 M in 2008?

BTW>>>> Bloomberg's crony and acolyte cahed in by starting Amplify... a Murdoch affiliated co that "serviced" ARIS.

No... apparently there''s no conflict of interest there.

A conflict of interest is when a teacher tutors his student's sibling after school for 30 dollars an hour in chemistry. The DOE investigators are ALL OVER that.

[FSogol]

14. New York isn't Maryland, none of that has anything to do with O'Malley. n/t

[FSogol]

13. Right out of Karl Rove's playbook! Take a Democratic candidate's strength and pretend it is a

weakness. Your reasoning is because Republican Bloomberg and Pres Obama mishandled public education, that O'Malley will also? The positions that you are quick to diminish as political posturing are all backed up by O'Malley's actual track record on education. He expanded pre-K. At a time everyone else was cutting education budgets, he added millions to the budgets increasing them by 37%. He froze tuition for State Colleges and Universities. Those aren't pie-in-the-sky proposals that won't go anywhere, those are things he already accomplished.

Maryland schools greatly improved during O'Malley's terms as Governor. No matter how you try and frame it, his education policies are a major success.

[elleng]

15. Thanks, FSogol.

[Thinkingabout]

26. Well with a name like O'Malley and an Irish back ground it is not surprising he attended Catholic

Schools. Maybe the complainers should do some research, it sure isn't rich kids going to Catholic schools. Why this is a complaint is beyond me.

[askew]

16. Going after him for attending private school as a kid is stupid.

He didn't pick his school. His parents's did.

[JustAnotherGen]

18. Plus 100

[seabeyond]

24. not true. nobody can have experience in all things. his position, it all depends on who he hires

to provide him with the advice and information what needs to be done. it sounds like he did a good job seeing the ranking of the school, money infused in the system, and addressing a freeze on the colleges.

what other stats would you need to know whether he was competent in his executive role?

[seabeyond]

23. excellent info. thanks. nt

[Koinos]

2. "NEA names Maryland’s Martin O’Malley ‘America’s Greatest Education Governor’"

Here is a good place to start. Read this entire article:

http://www.nea.org/home/40032.htm

Excerpts:

“Governor O’Malley is a strong advocate for public education,” Van Roekel added. “He has made great strides in increasing school funding, expanding school programs, and taking the needs of the whole child into account in education policy decisions. O’Malley listens to parents, educators and community members when making policy decisions that affect Maryland’s public schools. He continues to be a champion of public education and truly believes, as we do, that education will lead to a brighter and better future for all of us.

“Lots of governors like to think of themselves as education governors, but Governor O’Malley has really earned that accolade.”

Under O’Malley, Maryland has made progress in closing the achievement gap. A key strategy has been the governor’s insistence that underprivileged and minority students be taught by teachers as highly qualified as those who teach economically advantaged students. That approach is paying off. In 2009, for example, 7.5 percent of Hispanic students and 9.6 percent of African-American students earned a score of 3 or better on at least one AP exam during high school. That’s up from 5.7 percent and 7 percent, respectively, in 2004.

O’Malley also secured a freeze on tuition to Maryland institutions of higher learning, making higher education more affordable for Marylanders.

"Public education is the cornerstone of our democracy, and especially in these difficult times, we must remember that it is also the key to moving our economy forward and the key to our future,” said O’Malley. “In Maryland, we've made some very tough decisions to protect funding for our schools, and it is paying off.

....

NEA President Van Roekel presented the award to O’Malley in front of the 9,000 educators who are attending NEA’s Representative Assembly in New Orleans. The Maryland governor is only the third person to receive this award. Previous winners were Gov. Richardson of New Mexico and Gov. Easley of North Carolina.

Some of O’Malley’s other accomplishments: reinvigorating Maryland’s Career and Technology Education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs statewide, and launching the comprehensive Maryland STEM Innovation Network to promote the delivery of high quality STEM education at all levels throughout the state.

“Governor O'Malley has consistently placed public education at the top of his agenda,” said Clara Floyd, president of the Maryland State Education Association."In the most difficult of economic times, he championed historic funding of K-12 public schools, which has increased student achievement and led us to become No. 1 in the nation.”

ETA: Hands down, there is no one else in the primary race who can come close to O'Malley's record in public education. He maintained funding in and support for public education even during a devastating recession.

[FSogol]

3. +1 Well said. n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Looks like a general-issue position paper. But I'm doing my best:

"Read this entire article."

Meanwhile.... would it be too much to ask that SOMEONE in O'Malley's camp address at least SOME of the SPECIFICS I brought up in OP?


>>>In other words: Race to the Top, NCLB, privatization, bureaucratization, teacher.... ummmm... "accountability" ( aka: union busting), classroom micromanagement, overtesting, ed policy set by non-educators and other politicians and billionaires and RW think tank free market gurus..>>>

Thanks a whole bunch.

[Koinos]

10. Union Busting? O'Malley?

Teacher unions (as did other unions) supported O'Malley in his gubernatorial campaigns. You can find out more about the MSEA here.

What I posted was not a position paper, but recognition from the NEA. I assume you know who that national union represents. O'Malley is only the third governor to be so recognized.

O'Malley fully supports unions and collective bargaining. He has made that case publicly many times. He is also opposed to vouchers for private schools. He believes that the public school system is the basis of democracy in America.

When he was mayor of Baltimore, he sent his children to private schools. I do not believe that fact is germane to his positions regarding public education. You could write volumes about issues in Baltimore public schools. My kids attended public schools in Maryland and received an excellent education. Maryland has some of the best public schools in the country, and this can be attributed in part to Martin O'Malley's vigilance in supporting them through funding.

As to NCLB, that was a federal mandate linked to federal funds for state schools. As of 2012, Maryland was one of 32 states that was granted a waiver from NCLB. Unfortunately, these waivers are highly complex and require a whole lot of paperwork and renewals. I believe that NCLB and its descendents should be addressed on the federal level, where they came from in the first place. Perhaps Senator Sanders is in a position to propose legislation in that regard.

As it is, states are finding all sorts of difficulties with complying with these waivers. The fault for that lies with Arne Duncan and the Obama administration.

[JustAnotherGen]

19. Post #5 gave some great

Items to review!

[Raine1967]

20. Glad to help JAG!

Sometimes, no matter the candidate, it is easier to tear down than to do the research to build up.

Maryland has an excellent education reputation under the governance of O'Malley.

[seabeyond]

25. ha ha ha ha. and here you have it sounds like he has proven himself regardless of being in the

public school system. now, i do not like what we as a nation, and especially my state has done with the schools. but then, my reasoning is generally different than a lot of peoples.

my kids did both private and public. different types of public. public all the way for us. i thought they were run excellently and kids got a thorough education with teachers and administration that worked for the kids.

[FSogol]

4. From his website:

Education

Increased Education Funding

Even in the height of the recession, while many states were cutting education spending, Gov. O’Malley invested record amounts in Maryland’s public schools. Under O’Malley, funding increased by 37%.

National Leading Rankings

Education Week magazine ranked Maryland’s public schools #1 in America five years in a row. Maryland has ranked #1 in AP performance for eight consecutive years, according to the College Board.

Keeping Tuition Down

Governor O’Malley made higher education a budget priority and froze tuition for four years in a row. College Board data shows that Maryland is #2 in the nation in keeping down college costs since 2007-2008.

Expanded Pre-Kindergarten

Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown expanded pre-kindergarten to 1,600 more children in Maryland last year and laid the groundwork for a further statewide expansion in the future.

[Raine1967]

5. Since he was governor from 2007 until 2015

I will quote the things Progressive Maryland praises has helping get passed while he was in office. (posting only things related to education)

2007

Record Funding for School Construction
Using the budget surplus and aided by increased revenue from closed tax loopholes, won a record $400 million to build and repair schools and get Maryland students out of crowded trailers.

2009

Blueprint for Comprehensive Pre-K
Helped ensure Maryland has a comprehensive blueprint to create more high-quality pre-K, qualifying our state to receive millions of federal dollars to fund pre-K for thousands of children.

Skills Training for Youth
Backed new law requiring most contractors on large state construction projects to offer apprenticeship training programs, giving thousands of Maryland youth skills for high-paying careers in construction trades.

2010

Early Learning for Young Children
Helped pass a bill to keep Maryland well positioned to access copious federal funding to expand quality, affordable early learning programs for young children.

2011

Maryland’s DREAM Act
The bill to allow children of undocumented immigrants who reside in Maryland and pay taxes, to attend Maryland colleges at in-state tuition rates was the biggest victory for working families in the 2011 General Assembly session, opening the doors of opportunity and inclusion for thousands of high-achieving children across Maryland. Rather than erect one more barrier to these kids, who are trying desperately to live the American Dream, this bill gives these promising young people the chance to fully participate in the great opportunities a great higher education provides — a goal that benefits our economy, our state and all its residents.

Early Childhood Education Reporting
The General Assembly passed a bill to expand reporting by the State Board of Education on the progress of all early education programs the state offers including: Pre-K, Head Start, Family Literacy, child care and family support centers, Healthy Family sites, home visiting, and community health programs. This report will help Maryland compete for federal early education dollars as well as help our state better prepare our youngest residents for their academic futures.

[Koinos]

6. +1 Great!

O'Malley is the education candidate.

[Raine1967]

17. Where his kids go to school is off limits — IMO.

His kids should be off limits.

And I also want to know if your reference to the Bernie Sanders group as *Sander-nista group* was a put down. I ask because we are really trying to not have things like that happen in this group.

Many of the questions you asked were answered.

Once again, kids should be off limits.

Now if you want to talk about his wife, She was an undergrad at Towson State and got her law degree at the University of Baltimore. Both are part of the University System of Maryland.

[cui bono]

21. Came into the group to learn about O'Malley, but must respond to say...

that sounds like the false argument that just because someone is rich they can't possibly be a champion for the poor. It's just not true.

Secondly, he didn't send himself to private school as a child, his parents did.

Thirdly, and this has nothing specific to do with O'Malley, just a general thought, if public education is in bad shape and you have the opportunity and means to send your child to a private school, are you going to send your child to an overcrowded school with a less than stellar curriculum? Would you purposely choose to to not send your child to the best of anything? Doesn't mean you can't be fighting to get all children's schools to improve so that everyone has an equal opportunity at a good education.

[elleng]

22. Yes, Yes, Yes.

Thanks, cui bono.