麻豆精品

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5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Spearheaded and signed by a Republican governor, No Child Left Behind passed both houses of congress with . The creation of the Common Core academic standards was backed by a bipartisan coalition of 48 governors and supported by conservative education leaders like Jeb Bush and William Bennett.

Much has changed since then. Republican supporters of the Common Core have all but evaporated in response to political pressure; presidential nominee Donald Trump has strongly denounced the standards; Republicans in Congress to weaken test-based accountability in the new national education law and ensure the feds can鈥檛 require teacher evaluations; and the Republican platform criticizes 鈥渆xcessive testing and 鈥榯eaching to the test.鈥欌��

Has the long Republican love affair with testing and accountability in education come to an end? Well, it depends on whether you鈥檙e looking at national or state policy.

On a federal level, it鈥檚 clear that Republicans have deeply soured on any federally driven approach, for several reasons.

The Common Core was seen (mostly incorrectly) as an Obama initiative and new tests of the standards were funded by the administration. Implementation of the standards across the country was met by a surge of resistance to 鈥渇ederal overreach.鈥� Testing grew substantially, driven by new teacher evaluation methods, pushed by the feds, requiring student data. A slew of conspiracy theories and misconceptions about the standards flourished in right-of-center forums and media.

All these factors conspired to make the GOP more hostile to standards-based reform, particularly when it comes from the federal government.

Education policy by and large gets made on the state level, however, and it鈥檚 probably too soon to judge how much local Republicans have cooled on these reforms 鈥� though support has clearly (if not uniformly) waned.

Take Colorado, a cradle of reform and a good example of how partisan lines have become more confusing than ever. When students increasingly of state tests, the teachers union and conservatives in the legislature to reduce testing. Previously solid Republican support for standards and testing .

By contrast, an effort to remove test scores from Colorado鈥檚 controversial teacher evaluation system 鈥� which passed in 2010 with significant support from the GOP 鈥� by Republicans on the state senate education committee.

In California, where state Democrats have steadfastly opposed test-based accountability for schools and teachers under Governor Jerry Brown, the Republican minority has to teacher evaluation and tenure. Still, the state party Common Core.

In Florida 鈥� a stalwart for conservative standards-based reform under Jeb Bush 鈥� Republican Governor Rick Scott an aggressive evaluation law in 2011 that incorporated student test scores. Last year lawmakers , signed by Scott, to let districts reduce (but not eliminate) how test scores factor into teacher evaluation and to shrink students鈥� total testing load. Jeb Bush鈥檚 education reform group supported the recent law. The structure of Scott鈥檚 evaluation system appears to remain largely intact, however.

These states aren鈥檛 necessarily representative of the whole country 鈥� and that鈥檚 part of the point. Although it鈥檚 clear that in many respects both state and national Republicans have backed away from testing and accountability, it鈥檚 hard to generalize. Many state-level Republicans are hostile to the Common Core and sympathetic to concerns about over-testing, but in some places there is continued support for teacher evaluation connected to test scores.

Education in the U.S. remain based largely on local and state politics; the evolving Republican position on testing, standards, and accountability will be as well.

Center for Education Reform CEO Jeanne Allen sends in this essay: 

Donald Trump鈥檚 attacks on Hillary Clinton were returned recently at the annual meeting of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation鈥檚 second-largest union, and the one representing most of the urban teachers in this country.

鈥淢ike Pence is one of the most extreme vice presidential picks in a generation,” Clinton said. “And he’s one of the most hostile politicians in America when it comes to public education. Neither Mike Pence nor Donald Trump should be anywhere near our children鈥檚 education.鈥�

Those words were the equivalent of throwing red meat to the wolves, as the union crowd erupted into cheers, hoots, and hollers.

Similarly, education reformers 鈥� activists, donors, lawmakers 鈥� are taking sides and reacting across social media, each about their respective outrages.

I understand how it is to feel adamant about a candidate. I have tweeted my way through a political season. But advocates for true education reform must be willing to pass judgment on policy positions before condemning policy proponents.

Such unity hardly seems possible when Clinton鈥檚 union supporters are feeding anti-school choice talking points to legions of members that their schools will disappear under a Trump-Pence administration. And Trump supporters organized in the blogosphere use different calling cards to strike a similar fear in parents, focusing on the impact a Clinton administration would have on the hearts and minds of their children, with the loss of local control and teachers unions in charge of the U.S. Department of Education.

Finding any middle path or “common” ground will be hard. And for many ed reformers, the pair of candidates presents a Hobson鈥檚 choice.

But it need not be so.

We have, as the saying goes, no permanent allies nor permanent enemies, just a never-ending interest in bettering education. Those who care passionately about education should be willing to work with anyone who is equally as passionate.

It doesn’t mean they will get your vote. But we need their ear now, and we need an open door with whoever wins. We must be willing to recognize any candidate that supports the core policies and principles of education innovation and opportunity, or call them out for their opposition, no matter who they are or what they espouse on other issues that may be near and dear to our hearts.

Why? Because history shows us that this is how we succeed.

The development of education reform is rich in strange bedfellows that locked arms in and outside of elections. People came together on policies that disrupted the status quo, recognizing that the most important issue facing our country is the education of our youth.

Wisconsin state Rep. Polly Williams was a member of the Black Panthers. She was also a partner with Conservative Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson to make vouchers a reality for poor children in Milwaukee and pave the way for greater school improvement throughout Wisconsin.

The fact that Democrats once called Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge every name in the book didn鈥檛 stop state Rep. Dwight Evans, an African-American Philadelphian who is now in line to enter Congress, from uniting with Ridge to create the state鈥檚 charter school law. Republicans fought against it to preserve local control, and Democrats fought against it to preserve the current system鈥檚 power. Sound familiar?

And in Cleveland, where the Republican Party is current perched, the late great City Councilwoman Fannie Lewis told everyone that she didn鈥檛 care who she worked with so long as they could help save her babies in her city. She joined hands with George Voinovich, a Republican governor, and free market, conservative donors to fight for school choice. And fight they did, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

At least a dozen other such alliances have had transformational results in education in cities and states nationwide. Florida’s scholarship programs enjoy majority support in the black and Latino caucuses, even among Democrats. They partner with Republican Gov. Rick Scott, their arch-nemesis, on other issues.

Polar opposites and divisions in reform have always existed, but for years, politicians were willing to look beyond the most extreme of differences, because reformers did too.

Truly committed to education opportunity?

On the same page in support of policies and practices that produce the innovation, flexibility, and transparency to create those opportunities that hold the key to better schools for all children?

Then let’s put down our ideological swords, roll up our sleeves, and make it happen.

Let’s go back to the future. Lawmakers in statehouses nationwide and in Congress would welcome it. Policymakers and think tank researchers want it.

And our kids deserve it.

鈥� Jeanne Allen ( & )

Despite Donald Trump Jr.鈥檚 surprise edu-talk whirlwind during last night鈥檚 main convention proceedings, there鈥檚 been little in the way of official RNC-sponsored education discussion during the Cleveland convention.

This morning, though, panelists Betsy DeVos of the American Federation for Children; Denisha Merriweather, a recipient of Florida鈥檚 tax-credit scholarship; and Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana gathered to talk about the future of school choice.

1.) It鈥檚 a winning way for Republicans to talk about education

One of the main Republican planks at the federal level has been to abolish the Department of Education 鈥� an idea that backfires and can leave parents with the false impression that Republicans don鈥檛 care about education, Messer said.

School choice, though, empowers parents and devolves power on education back to individuals, which both comports with a conservative ethos about the proper place of government and is good publicity. He suggested sending the roughly $15 billion the federal government spends annually on Title I programs to help students from low-income families to parents to help fund other education options.

鈥淲e are not suggesting we create a federal department of school choice,鈥� Messer added, to laughter from the audience.

2.) Personal stories matter

Merriweather told her own story of personal success aided by school choice 鈥� one she鈥檚 recounted to the press and in congressional hearings.

Born to a 16-year-old mother, Merriweather bounced around living situations and was homeless for a time as a young child. She was resistant to authority and failed the third grade twice. By middle school, she ended up living with her godmother, who used a Florida scholarship program to send Merriweather to a private Christian school where she flourished.

The teachers there 鈥渢ruly loved me, and that was something that I didn鈥檛 feel before going to school,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey not only invested in me academically, but it became a family for me. I think that was the most important part of being there.鈥�

Merriweather became the first in her family to graduate from high school and college, and is now studying to get her master鈥檚 in social work at the University of South Florida.

鈥淭he cycle of poverty is breaking in my family鈥檚 life thanks to this choice program and I hope it continues to grow in every state,鈥� she said.

3.) Education is, as an industry, stuck in the past

American schools are stuck in the same 150-year-old model that puts kids in an 鈥渋ndustrial machine,鈥� sending them through the same system with the goal of a college diploma, regardless of a particular student鈥檚 strengths or goals, Devos said.

鈥淚f we had the kind of innovation in education that we鈥檝e seen in tech and transportation and virtually any other part of society鈥�we would have an entirely different educational offering today,鈥� DeVos said.

Although the panel focused primarily on private school options, Devos said school choice really referred to everything from great public schools and charters to vouchers and online options 鈥� to options that haven鈥檛 yet been dreamed of.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for us to paint the biggest picture about what education can be in the future,鈥� she added.

(The Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation is a funder of 麻豆精品.)

Donald Trump hasn鈥檛 said a lot about education over the course of his campaign, but at least one Republican congressman is confident the would-be president is on the side of school choice.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 every reason to believe, if we could get education choice policies in front of a President Trump, he would sign those bills into law,鈥� said Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana.

(School choice advocates  that Trump鈥檚 support helps their cause.)

The GOP convention is meant to show not what Republicans are against, but what they鈥檙e for, including school choice, Messer said ahead of a panel discussion on the issue.

鈥淲e believe every kid in America has a God-given right to an opportunity to go to a great school,鈥� Messer said.

The Every Student Succeeds Act, the new federal K-12 education law, included new provisions to support the replication of successful charter schools but didn鈥檛 have the funding portability provisions Messer and other Republicans had sought.

Messer and others are working on policies at the federal level to try and help support state and local school choice efforts. He is particularly interested in Title I portability, or the idea that federal dollars intended to support the education of children from low-income families could follow them as they move among schools.

鈥淲hen parents have a choice, kids have a chance in America, and we need to do more to make that happen,鈥� Messer said.

Donald Trump Jr.鈥檚 surprise foray into education policy Tuesday evening left many education wonks scratching their heads. One line in particular caused double takes: 鈥淵ou know why other countries do better on K through 12? They let parents choose where to send their own children to school.鈥�

It鈥檚 an odd line of argument 鈥� particularly because international comparisons are typically used to argue against school choice, not in support of it. Much-vaunted Finland, , 鈥渞ejects all of the 鈥榬eforms鈥� currently popular in the United States, such as testing, charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, competition, and evaluating teachers in relation to the test scores of their students.鈥�

Critics of market-based reform also point to Sweden as a cautionary tale. In the 90s, the country began handing out vouchers for students to attend private, often for-profit schools. Since then suggest the schools have struggled and country officials are their policies.

But these are just two countries.

Is Trump right, then, that other countries generally do better because of wider school choice? The evidence is mixed at best.

An found that international test results 鈥渟how that, on average across countries, school competition is not related to better mathematics performance among students.鈥� It also found that more competition was correlated with greater economic segregation.

The best support I could find for Trump Jr鈥檚 claim was showing that a higher share of enrollment in private schools was associated with higher test scores.

In any event, basing education policy on other countries鈥� decisions is probably unwise. As a Institute points out, it is very difficult to determine what specific policies cause other countries to produce high test scores, or to know whether they could be exported to the U.S.

The authors warn that making decisions based on international comparisons 鈥渋gnore the complexity of test results and may lead policymakers to pursue inappropriate and even harmful reforms.鈥� 

Last night, Donald Trump Jr. praised the awesomeness of school choice. 鈥淭he other party gave us public schools that far too often fail our students, especially those who have no options. Growing up, my siblings and I we were truly fortunate to have choices and options that others don鈥檛 have. We want all Americans to have those same opportunities,鈥� he said.

But it鈥檚 a little awkward that Trump Jr. is singing the praises of the free market in education in Ohio. If anything, the state shows the limits of a purely market-based approach to drive school quality.

As I鈥檝e previously reported, Ohio charter schools have been widely and appropriately maligned for mediocre performance and corruption. According to , Ohio鈥檚 charters perform worse on standardized tests than the state鈥檚 traditional public schools. Meanwhile a by the Akron Beacon Journal determined that Ohio 鈥渃harter schools misspend public money nearly four times more often than any other type of taxpayer-funded agency.鈥�

After national ridicule and mountains of bad press, last year Ohio lawmakers passed reforms to the charter system designed to strengthen accountability and transparency. The law is in its early stages of implementation and there are both worrying and encouraging signs.

Recently, one of the state鈥檚 largest operators of online charter schools has fought efforts by the department of education to audit its attendance numbers. A legal effort to halt the audit was by a state judge but the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the company continues to refuse to comply with terms of the audit.

Incidentally, an advocacy group aligned with online charters was to Ohio delegates at the RNC complaining about the audit. 鈥淚n the Ohio Department of Education 鈥� the last bastion of Democrat, pro-union thinking in state government 鈥� Democrats are trying to eliminate a core principle of Republican philosophy: school choice,鈥� the letter said, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

In point of fact, the accountability and transparency legislation was spearheaded by several Republicans and school choice advocates, and was signed by the Republican governor John Kasich. The Department of Education has received criticism for being too weak on cracking down on struggling charters; the former head of its school choice office last year after illegally scrubbing the grades of low-performing online schools.

I also wrote in January about some concerns by charter quality advocates as the new law was being put in place: specifically, the state education department鈥檚 hiring of a former lobbyist employed by for-profit charter operators, and efforts by those operators to alter how student growth is calculated in a way that makes their schools look better, but that researchers say is unwise.

On the other hand, several charter schools deemed low-performing by the state will because of the new law. In the past, such schools have been able to avoid accountability through a practice known as 鈥渟ponsor hopping鈥� in which schools were able to avoid closure by switching between authorizing entities tasked with oversight. The new law was specifically designed to prevent sponsor hopping 鈥� and seems to be working.

On a related school choice front, a big new study was just released on Ohio鈥檚 long-running voucher program. The results were mixed: students who received a voucher to attend a private school fared significantly worse on standardized tests, but public schools got better seemingly in response to this new competition for students.

This is all to say that the Trump campaign might want to use Ohio as a cautionary, rather than celebratory, tale for school choice.

Not that I think they鈥檙e listening to the experts.

The Detroit Free Press has out of Flushing, Michigan, where a handful of student journalists at Flushing High鈥檚 The Blaze newspaper successfully used a crowdfunding tool to fund a reporting trip to the RNC in Cleveland.

Talk about getting a return on your money.

Given the hot rhetoric, tense protest lines and plagiarism faux pas that have defined the event鈥檚 first 48 hours, the Flushing kids are certainly getting a memorable dose of real-time civics lessons.

鈥� SNO Sites (@schoolnewspaper)

The four student journalists and one parent chaperone have already attended the Michigan Delegation meeting, which featured appearances by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the newspaper said.

They say they plan to report on other Cleveland events and party panel discussions throughout the convention and turn their notes into stories for the newspaper when they return home. Reporters for The have dipped their toe into other national news stories as well, including the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan and the speculation around who would become Trump鈥檚 running mate.

In total, the students raised some $1,100 through their for the trip to the Republican National Convention and hope to collect even more money to travel to Philadelphia to attend the Democratic National Convention.

Read more about their once-in-a-lifetime trip .

鈥� MakeAmericaRothAgain (@andrewr727)

The last few weeks across America have been traumatic. More African-American men were by police. And snipers executed 8 officers in and .

It鈥檚 times like these when we need our President to reassure us and help deescalate the tension. But, as is now abundantly clear, Donald Trump wholly lacks this quality. Over the past year, he has shown no desire or ability to reconcile differences, to heal wounds, or to soothe suffering. Instead, Trump uses his candidacy to and .

Now that we鈥檙e only a day away from his speech accepting the nomination, it鈥檚 worth noting: Should Trump go on to win the Presidency, his rhetoric encouraging violence would have dire consequences in American schools. Already, teachers report a corresponding with increased fear, bullying, and racial tensions. Elementary school children are because his rhetoric and policies alienate them and their families.

Under a Trump administration the trouble wouldn鈥檛 stop there.

In fact, Trump鈥檚 positions on school safety would undercut efforts and progress we鈥檝e made toward closing the school-to-prison pipeline. For example, instead of decreasing police presence in schools, he wants to go several steps in the other direction and . From here, it doesn鈥檛 take much imagination to envision Trump doubling down on failed zero-tolerance policies, pushing for greater police presence in schools, as well as adding metal detectors and other security measures in schools.

As history has shown time and time again, this kind of reaction to tragedy and violence in schools is the wrong response. More police means more , not less violence. Moreover, these policies and practices disproportionately target students of color. The most recent found black students are 2.3 times as likely to be referred to law enforcement as white students. They also found large race-based disparities in school suspensions, even in preschool.

For students, the results are devastating.

A single suspension can a student鈥檚 likelihood of dropping out. A recent study found that disproportionate experiences with school discipline to the race-based achievement gap. Another found that the achievement of students who are never suspended is in a school with a high-rate of suspension. In fact, suspensions . The likelihood of a student being suspended actually increases after their first suspension.

Parents should keep in mind that all of these problems would likely be compounded under Trump. The progress made in states like and toward reducing exclusionary discipline, limiting arrests, and increasing school safety would be threatened 鈥� and perhaps lost altogether.

Trump seems to believe that the thing to do when faced with violence and unrest is to be 鈥渟trong,鈥� unapologetic, and uncompromising. But in truth, the brave thing is not to clench your fist and be combative. The courageous thing is to deescalate the situation and find workable solutions.

Unfortunately, Trump favors bringing a gun to a knife fight, even when the best course of action is simply to stop fighting.

鈥� Max Marchitello ( & )

Last night Donald Trump Jr. took the stage and delivered what, from a political and craftsmanship standpoint, is so far the best speech of the often hapless Republican convention. Given that the younger Trump followed numerous professional politicians with centuries of collective experience giving speeches, it was like an amateur winning the U.S. Open. (I don鈥檛 golf but golfing metaphors seem appropriate when writing about the Trumps). Here鈥檚 how good he was: Trump Jr. may have stanched the political bleeding and set his father up to turn things around in Cleveland.

Yes, it was kind of Orwellian to hear Trump, who received his undergraduate degree at Wharton 鈥� the same school where his father earned an MBA 鈥� trash fancy higher education credentials. (Although he鈥檒l fit right into Washington D.C.鈥檚 education scene where people make careers out of telling other Americans not to do the educational things that worked for them and their family). Still, politically the speech did its job. That鈥檚 not an easy thing to do even with coaching and support. Credit where it鈥檚 due.

The speech also jolted awake the education world because it actually featured some thoughts about schools. This line, in particular, was one the Republicans would do well to incorporate into their message: “The other party gave us public schools that far too often fail our students, especially those who have no options. Growing up, my siblings and I we were truly fortunate to have choices and options that others don鈥檛 have. We want all Americans to have those same opportunities.

America鈥檚 mediocre and lousy public schools are hardly the fault of Democrats alone. Suburban Republicans are not in line to win any awards for school improvement and the GOP has systemically neglected America鈥檚 urban core, notably on school finance. And, despite what Trump says, school choice is actually not a prime reason other countries have higher performing education systems than we do 鈥� on the contrary actually. Still, politically, this line of attack is an effective one for the Republicans because in just 132 words it marries the idea of equity and choice. The party that captures that ground is well positioned in American politics.

And, seriously, does anyone really want to argue that the American public education system isn鈥檛 set up right now to benefit the adults who populate it rather than the kids it is supposed to serve? That鈥檚 not 鈥渕aking America great again鈥� dog whistle politics, it鈥檚 just basic political analysis. Today鈥檚 special interest politics mean that government officials more often than not see various adult constituencies as the client of the public school rather than the students schools are supposed to be there for. Policy decisions pretty consistently reflect that. Reformers should want to upend this norm.

But because it鈥檚 a Trump making these points on education we鈥檒l see what the reaction is. So far, education reformers have scrambled the other way from all things Trump as fast as they can, regardless of the substance. That鈥檚 precisely what what Matt Barnum found on this very blog, when he reached out to a number of education advocates who had some choice words for the Trump ticket.

“The best thing Donald Trump can do for the education reform movement is to ignore education. His embrace of charter schools and school choice would do nothing but tarnish their ‘brands,’” Michael Petrilli, president of The Fordham Institute, told Barnum. “I hope he stays focused on other issues 鈥� and loses big in November.“

Marc Porter Magee of the school reform advocacy group 50Can downplayed Trump鈥檚 significance in the broader charter school discussion: “It’s difficult to imagine what an actual Trump presidency would look like, but it’s likely that controversies on other issues would overwhelm questions about school choice. I鈥檓 confident that no matter what happens, the one issue we will not be talking about on January 20, 2017 is school choice.“

When Barnum asked whether his group was at least glad Trump has indicated support for charters, Magee said only, “We will be glad when this election is over. Then we will all need to engage in the difficult work of putting the pieces of our democratic culture back together.“

I don鈥檛 hold much hope for the effectiveness of a Trump Department of Education, Trump鈥檚 certainly not my choice for President, and I find most aspects of Trumpism quite odious. But, as they say, even a blind squirrel finds nuts from time to time. (Trump has also said some sensible things, for instance, no one, not even Donald Trump, is wrong about everything). Acknowledging that might not make you popular on the D.C. circuit where people keep score on these things but average Americans have other concerns and couldn鈥檛 care less.

You know who gets this? The teachers unions (who for the past several years have been pretty consistently beating the daylights out of reformers in case you haven鈥檛 been paying attention). They will work with whomever agrees with them on a particular issue. It鈥檚 why they work with state legislators who align with their priorities on education 鈥� even if those same lawmakers work to suppress voting rights, support legislation that liberals might rightly consider offensive or generally oppose unions. It鈥檚 why they ran roughshod over reformers in the most recent federal education law.

The teachers unions get that politics is multidimensional, fluid, and is not a debating society. They play to win, not to be liked.

But reformers still don鈥檛 get it and more or less have now created their own set of adult-driven and aesthetically-focused politics on a whole range of issues rather than a results-driven politics.

So the political neophyte stole the show last night. And two decades in, reformers still mostly act like one.

鈥� Andy Rotherham ( & )

鈥� Max Marchitello ( & )

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7:15 a.m. Wednesday

In the spring of 2009, newly-elected President Barack Obama took a meeting in the Oval Office with civil rights leader Al Sharpton. Reverend Sharpton told the White House he wanted to talk about education so Education Secretary Arne Duncan also attended. Sharpton also brought along an unlikely guest: former House Speaker and GOP firebrand Newt Gingrich.

By all accounts the meeting went well but towards the end, according to Secretary Duncan, the President suddenly suggested that the three of them go on the road together to talk about education. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l get tons of media,鈥� he said.

Duncan was somewhat flabbergasted by the idea but nodded. When he got back to the department, he stuck his head in my office and said, 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 believe what just happened.鈥�

As the Assistant Secretary for Communications at the U.S. Department of Education, I had the delicate task of organizing school visits with Reverend Sharpton, Speaker Gingrich and Secretary Duncan. Reverend Sharpton wanted to see schools serving low-income kids of color. Speaker Gingrich wanted to see charters. Turns out they are mostly the same.

As a lifelong Democrat and strong supporter of President Clinton, the notion of spending quality time with his nemesis Newt Gingrich was not high on my bucket list. Nevertheless, I became friendly with one of his top staffers and the Speaker himself turned out to be pretty agreeable. A few months later, at my request, Speaker Gingrich even came to the administration鈥檚 defense in social media over a little dust-up involving the president鈥檚 back to school speech.

The Sharpton-Gingrich tour visited schools in Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C., where we chatted with teachers and kids. Before talking to the media, we typically spent a few minutes together in a holding room collecting ourselves.

鈥淲ho wants to go first,鈥� I asked. Everyone pointed to the others.

鈥淲hat do you want to say?鈥� I asked.

鈥淭he kids are learning,鈥� said Sharpton.

鈥淐harters are working,鈥� said Gingrich.

鈥淭his is amazing when people come together around education,鈥� said Duncan.

鈥淟et鈥檚 do it,鈥� said I.

And we did 鈥� just a few times before scheduling more visits became difficult. The episode was one of the more surreal experiences I had in Washington.

In today鈥檚 polarized political environment, it鈥檚 hard to imagine Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton and a Democratic cabinet member on the road together. Hard to imagine perhaps, but more needed than ever.

Rees is right that charters have received bipartisan support at the national level, but the question is how long 鈥� in the age of Trump and searing political polarization 鈥� that can continue.

During a special forum organized today around the Republican National Convention, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker offered some unexpected advice on the best way to sell school choice measures 鈥� talk about improving traditional schools, too.

“People who truly believe in education, they recognize greatness whether it鈥檚 coming from a charter school, a choice school or a traditional public school, and they want as many good options as possible. They want schools to succeed no matter what, and that鈥檚 really got to be your core point,鈥� Walker said at a Cleveland reception hosted by the American Federation for Children and moderated by 74 Editor-in-Chief Campbell Brown.

Back in Wisconsin, Walker has expanded Milwaukee鈥檚 voucher program, the first in the country, and pushed to create a statewide program for low-income families. But he also worked to overhaul teacher tenure, layoff, and compensation laws, moves he said helped improve traditional public schools.

Placing an emphasis on improving all schools helps counter opposition arguments that school choice programs only help a select group of students, Walker said.

“It’s really important, not just politically, but it鈥檚 the right thing to do, to make that argument that you鈥檙e not just looking out for one sliver of students, we鈥檙e looking out for all students,鈥� he said.

Ultimately Walker says he feels both an economic and moral urgency to support school choice 鈥� as governor, he needs better schools training a more prepared and productive workforce, and he considers it a core obligation of society to ensure that every child has access to a great school, regardless of the circumstances of their life.

“You’ve got to make it about the children. You鈥檝e got to make it about the students, and you can鈥檛 make it about pitting one against the other,鈥� Walker said.

He pointed out the educational backgrounds of his own sons 鈥� Matt just graduated from Marquette, a private Jesuit college, while Alex will be a senior at the public University of Wisconsin. No one flinches at the idea that siblings in the same family could simultaneously be attending public and private colleges, he said, and it shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise when that happens in K-12 schools, either.

Walker, who spoke late Tuesday afternoon en route to the convention floor where he was set to cast Wisconsin鈥檚 votes for president, also complimented GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who Walker said had done an excellent job promoting school choice.

Walker, of course, also attempted his own run for the White House this year: 鈥淲as Donald Trump my first choice? No, I was my first choice,鈥� he joked.

Virtually overnight, Christie re-styled himself as a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. The move that made him appear 鈥� fodder for late-night comics.

It may be small reward (for now), but the always combative Christie still gets to takes center stage tonight at the Republican National Convention. Here鈥檚 what you should keep in mind about his record on education during a busy two terms in New Jersey.

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12:30 p.m. Tuesday

New RNC dispatch from Peter Cunningham, executive director of :

If Republican conservatives stand for one thing above all else when it comes to public education, it is local control. Just as some conservatives see tax cuts as the only answer to an ailing economy, some also see local control as the antidote to everything wrong with schools. Yet, the evidence for local control as a strategy to improve schools is weak, at best.

Consider standards. By law, the federal government is prohibited from setting learning standards and, historically, states have set them all over the place. To their credit, governors and state education leaders on both sides of the aisle came together and created the Common Core State Standards, believing that common standards across state lines make sense.

But, after the federal government offered incentives to adopt the standards, local control zealots fought back and prompted some states to abandon the standards they helped create, including Indiana, the home state of the Republican Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence. Ambitious, common standards may be good for kids and for American competitiveness, but they now violate conservative principles. The quality of the standards is, of course, irrelevant.

Look at integration. Sixty-two years after the Supreme Court ruled segregated schools illegal, local control has undermined most efforts to promote integration in the world鈥檚 most racially diverse country. Today, our schools are more segregated than ever.

When it comes to innovation in education, conservatives often point to charter schools, which are authorized at the state and local level. But, the biggest threat to charter schools is not centralized oversight, but rather its absence. While the best charters have closed achievement gaps, on average only a third out-perform traditional neighborhood schools. The real problem facing charters is quality control and local control does little to address it.

The accountability argument against local control also applies to traditional public schools. Until the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, there was no real accountability in public education. Low-performing schools languished for decades. Graduation rates in thousands of high schools serving low-income students hovered around 50 percent.

For the last 15 years, the federal government has forced states and districts to provide objective proof that kids are learning and to take action when they aren鈥檛. Alas, under the new federal education law passed in 2015, local control zealots on the right conspired with the left to weaken federal oversight of schools.

On issue after issue 鈥� teacher training and evaluation, curriculum, funding equity 鈥� local control trumps fairness and quality, but don鈥檛 expect to hear any complaints at the Republican convention in Cleveland.

鈥� Peter Cunningham ( & )

鈥� Max Marchitello writes about Melania Trump鈥檚 speech Monday night:

Melania Trump, the keynote and highlight of Monday night鈥檚 Republican National Convention, delivered a positive and optimistic speech that capped an otherwise contentious evening. Setting all plagiarism controversy aside, Trump was thankful, patriotic, and fiercely supportive of her husband.

Among the many things she promised that only Donald Trump can deliver is the 鈥渂est possible鈥� education system. 

Unless he has a magic wand, Trump has a lot of work to do to make that a reality. 

First, he will have to reverse course on a number of his policies and positions. For example, he will need to embrace higher academic standards for all students and abandon the idea of eliminating the Department of Education. Second, he will have to find a way to compromise with diverse and often contradicting stakeholders. Third, he will have to find the funds to pay for it.

But, his platform doesn鈥檛 leave much room for optimism. Nevertheless, here are three key things that President Trump would need to do to improve public education for all students.

Given Trump鈥檚 current positions on education policy, it is foolish to hope that he will deliver on any of these issues. However, if Melania Trump is to be believed, her husband can and will make the necessary evolutions to help this country he professes to love. 

鈥� Max Marchitello ( & )

An Inner City Agenda for the Next President: No one asked me if I wanted to grow up in the inner city. No one warned me about the failing schools and the lack of opportunities to pull myself out of poverty. And no adult could ever explain to me why I hated myself, and why I always dreamed of a different life. Looking back, I now see how this mindset is shared among different generations 鈥� how easy it is for young men like me to hate the world around them. But young people in the inner city deserve better, which is why the next president should create an inner city agenda that provides all youth more opportunity.

While many men and women come out of the inner city and have successful and meaningful lives, there are not enough. According to the , just over 60 percent of African Americans are participating in the labor market while 14 percent of African American men and women between the ages of 18-34 are out of work. One explanation is that there are few jobs for inner city youth 鈥� there is no ladder that leads to a better life.

The lack of opportunities for young people in the inner city seemed intentional to me and I felt completely hopeless, until I participated in the Year Up program 鈥� an inner city program that tries to close the Opportunity Divide. Because of this opportunity, I was hired at Comcast NBC Universal with the University Relations team shortly after completing the program. I have only been at the company for a year, but I already recognize how Year Up set me up for success by giving me the chance to gain and sharpen professional skills necessary for success in any endeavor.

I reflected on my opportunity recently at an event held at Kensington High School 鈥� one of the higher poverty-induced neighborhoods in Philadelphia, riddled with drugs, crime and deteriorating family life. A company hosted a workshop that provides professional development for local high school students. While meeting with the students, I took an informal poll by asking what they wanted to do after high school. I heard many of the same answers: basketball player, rap artist, and hair stylist.

A few weeks after this event, I had the opportunity to speak at the high school where I graduated. Located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the student demographics and opportunities available are quite different than what I was exposed to growing up in the inner city. I asked the same question of many students: What do you want to do after high school? This time the answers were completely different. Students responded with veterinarian, lawyer, engineer, and political figure. This immediately struck me as I understood their responses depicted the opportunities they were exposed to in their communities 鈥� opportunities that Kensington High students were not afforded.

How can our political leaders allow this to happen 鈥� to allow kids in the same city to dream in different colors? The next president has an opportunity to create an inner city agenda that will help all young people, not just those that live in the suburbs. Specifically, this agenda could increase the amount of mentors available for today鈥檚 students and provide more career guidance support. To accomplish this, the next president can pass a legislation that would allow funds to target communities with extremely high dropout rates. These funds could then support programs that enable students to earn their GED, and assist higher job training and learning conduits such as Year Up, City Year and Power Corps.

If we do nothing, our future in the inner city is stark. Without jobs, crime rates increase and inner city youth are academically and professionally left behind. The lack of attention our political leaders give youth in the inner city has only perpetuated senseless crime and degradation. Something must change. So at this evening’s Town Hall for Today鈥檚 Students hosted by America Forward, with representatives from the presidential campaigns, and local elected official, I will have only one question to ask: What kind of inner city agenda will the next president offer?

One of tonight鈥檚 headliners at the RNC is Rudy Giuliani, former presidential contender and star conservative commentator who, while mayor of New York City, made it clear that he was accepting of both immigrants and undocumented children on a scale that would surely horrify candidate Donald J. Trump.

Back in 2007, during Giuliani鈥檚 short-lived presidential campaign, he once told the New York Times: 鈥淸Abraham Lincoln] made a beautiful speech in which he said the best American is not the American who has been here the longest or the one who just arrived鈥�it is the one who understands the principles of America the best because we are a country held together by ideas.鈥�

Given Rudy’s citation of Honest Abe, let鈥檚 rewind for a moment to 1858. Abraham Lincoln,  his white nationalist rival Steven Douglas, called to mind the heroes of the revolutionary era in a Chicago celebration of Independence Day: 鈥淲e find a race of men living in that day whom we claim as our fathers and grandfathers; they were iron men鈥� by what they then did it has followed that the degree of prosperity that we now enjoy has come to us.鈥�

But Lincoln also recognized that 鈥減erhaps half our people鈥� are not descendants at all of these men, they are men who have come from Europe 鈥� German, Irish, French and Scandinavian鈥�If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none.鈥� These newer arrivals, he said, 鈥渃annot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us,鈥� but they can revisit the words of the founders in the Declaration of Independence and acknowledge the self-evident truth of human equality as 鈥渇ather of all moral principle鈥�

The Declaration, Lincoln argued, allows every new arrivals to become as 鈥渂lood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh鈥� of those who founded the country.

The Great Emancipator鈥檚 views on immigration 鈥� including his repudiation of the anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant Know Nothing movement 鈥� may not be well-known today, and seem unlikely to get an airing among this week鈥檚 ceremonies nominating a man who aspires to Lincoln鈥檚 position by acceding to fear by promising to bar and eject immigrants. But Giuliani knows these ideas well 鈥� and proudly celebrated them throughout much of his career

Giuliani continued the immigration-friendly policies of his Democratic predecessors after becoming mayor in 1994, championing access to health care, schools, and police for illegal immigrants and continuing a moratorium that prohibited New York City employees from reporting illegals to federal authorities. He  that would make English the country鈥檚 official language.

鈥淪ome of the hardest-working and most productive people in this city are undocumented aliens,鈥� he told the Times in 1994. 鈥淚f you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you鈥檙e one of the people who we want in this city. You鈥檙e somebody that we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive.鈥�

Following passage of federal immigration reform in 1996 that would have overturned the city鈥檚 ban on identifying illegals, Giuliani sued the federal government, calling the new laws 鈥渋nhumane and indecent.鈥� The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the city in 2000.

鈥淭he anti-immigration issue that鈥檚 now sweeping the country in my view is no different than the movements that swept the country in the past,鈥�  in 1996. 鈥淵ou look back at the Chinese Exclusionary Act, or the Know-Nothing movement 鈥� these were movements that encouraged Americans to fear foreigners, to fear something that is different, and to stop immigration.鈥�

Strong sentiments, from a principled leader. The same leader who will speak tonight in support of a man who continues to define what his temporary ban on Muslims, and his wall along the southern border, will look like.

 ( & )

Trump foes started after the party leaders approved by a voice vote rules at the start of the convention that barred them from registering their opposition, according to Reuters.

 

鈥� NY1 News (@NY1)

鈥� Rudolph Giuliani (@rudygiulianiGOP)

鈥� John Frank (@ByJohnFrank)

鈥� Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams)

Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton denounced violence and called for reconciliation today in the wake of a string of deadly encounters between police officers and black residents including Sunday鈥檚  of three officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

鈥淭his madness has to stop. Watching the news from Baton Rouge yesterday, my heart broke. Not just for those officers and their grieving families but for all of us,鈥� Clinton said while addressing the NAACP鈥檚 annual convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.

鈥淲e have difficult, painful, essential work ahead of us to repair the bonds between our police and our communities and between and among each other. We need each other to do this work.鈥�

鈥淭hat starts in school and diverts too many African-American kids out of school and into the criminal justice system instead of giving them the education they deserve to have,鈥� she said.

Some 250 miles away in Cleveland, was getting underway. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump was also invited to speak before the NAACP but 鈥攁 decision Clinton said left the organization to look “at what he has said and done in the past.”

“Donald Trump led the movement to delegitimize our first black president, trumpeting the so-called birther movement. Donald Trump plays coy with white supremacists. Donald Trump insults Mexican immigrants, even an American judge born of Mexican heritage. Donald Trump demeans women. Donald Trump wants to ban an entire religion from entering our country…This man is the nominee of the party of Lincoln and we are watching it become the party of Trump. And that is not just a huge loss to our democracy, it is a threat to our democracy.”

Clinton also announced her to get 3 million more people registered to vote in the 2016 presidential election.

 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Naomi Nix ( & )

Many of the same faces who will be touting party unity between now and Thursday 鈥� Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson 鈥� engaged in lengthy Q&A sessions with 麻豆精品鈥檚 Editor-in-Chief Campbell Brown at the summit and in subsequent interviews in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The topics ranged from the preparedness of American students to compete in a global economy, school choice, the Common Core, the role of the U.S. Education Department and dealing with the teachers unions. Read 麻豆精品鈥檚 Mark Keierleber鈥檚 full roundup here.

鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Kathy Moore ( & )

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12:10 p.m. Monday

The Republican National Convention opens at 1 p.m. today and one of the first pieces of business before the prime time speakers take the stage will be adopting the party platform. The nuts-and-bolts of the platform were debated last week, which prompted one of the longest conversations among the GOP faithful on what is and what should be going on in American classrooms.

The subject was the Bible and whether it should taught as literature, history or the word of God. Several of the delegates who took part in the discussion identified themselves as current or retired educators and one recalled his own relatively recent experience learning about the Bible in high school.

Some 20 minutes was spent dissecting this language:

A good understanding of the Bible being indispensable for the development of an educated citizenry, we encourage State legislatures to offer the Bible as literature curriculum in America鈥檚 high schools.

Brandon Smart, the American Samoa delegate and a public school teacher, objected out of concern that the Bible would then not be taught as a “100 percent the word of God,” as he believes it to be. He said American high schools in many states already had the ability to offer the Bible as a literary elective. 

“Who is going to be teaching the Bible and how are they going to be teaching it and what are they going to be teaching about the Bible,” he asked. “Are we going to be teaching it as a historical document that is no longer relevant or are we going to make sure it’s the actual word of God”

Another delegate worried if they took it out, it would be portrayed that the Republican platform “threw out the Bible.” To which another delegate chimed in, “Amen.”

The delegate from Michigan later said she wasn’t concerned about leaving the Bible’s instruction in the hands of teachers.

“We have pornography being offered as literature curriculum in Michigan,” she said, “I can’t imagine if teachers are able to present that as literature that they can’t teach the Bible.”

Many of the delegates spoke of the Bible’s importance to the Founding Fathers and that it should be taught in that vein, as part of the history and morality of American society. 

“I think one of the things we have been missing is the absolute decline in the education program in the United States of America,” the Minnesota delegate said. “The values in the Bible are the values that drove the founding of this nation.”

Not everyone thought the Bible belonged in the classroom. Ohio delegate Dave Johnson said he was Christian but did not want state legislatures involved in teaching the Bible and Nevada delegate Juanita Cox said including the language would “stomp” on the big tent the GOP was trying to build. 

One of the last speakers was the delegate from Maine who told the committee he had grown up not far from there in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights and was young enough that his 10th-grade English class was “not too distant in my memory.”

“We were taught the Bible as literature… and despite it being a very liberal school district…it was taught very well. It was very valuable. Objectively speaking, separating it from the ethical and moral teachings of the Bible, it was very helpful as a student as we are reading Shakespeare and so many other things that permeate our literary culture, there are so many references that go back to the Bible. It is valuable just as an academic pursuit for students to have this opportunity.”

The Veep-stakes are over! The pick is in. Mike Pence, the sitting Governor of Indiana, will run as Trump鈥檚 Vice President.

Although he has only been Governor for a few years, Pence also served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Putting those records together, Bellwether Education Partners’ Max Marchitello takes stock of what the Pence pick could possibly mean for the future of public education.

1. Tough sledding for civil rights: Pence鈥檚 stance on equal rights is pretty clear. Everyone remembers he signed permitting individuals and businesses to discriminate against LGBT people. So, many federal student protections could be in jeopardy, including President Obama鈥檚 executive action on bathroom use for transgender students. In a similar vein, Pence strongly supports states鈥� rights and local control. He likely would advocate for reducing (perhaps even further) the federal footprint in education. This is bad news for low-income students and students of color who frequently receive low-quality educations and depend on federal support.

2. Funding redistribution (but not to support low-income students): If his most recent budget in Indiana is any indication, Pence certainly feels that something needs to be done to improve school funding in this country. Unfortunately, however, he seems to think wealthier districts need an of the school funding pie.

3. Charter school expansion: In addition to increasing funding for charters broadly, Pence also the so-called bill. The idea is to help provide teachers with the flexibility they need to innovate in their classrooms. Some teachers and union representatives that they already have that freedom. Instead, they believe that the bill is designed to limit union power and invite private entities to run public schools.

4. Vouchers, vouchers, vouchers: For years Pence has been a vocal proponent of school vouchers and expanding the use of public funds to pay for private education. Last year he helped to shepherd a bill to raise available for elementary school students. A Trump/Pence White House may provide the strongest support for expanding voucher programs in decades. 

5. Pre-school a priority (kind of): It’s a far cry from universal pre-K, but Pence was able to Indiana鈥檚 pre-school program. He also to expanding the program further with or without federal support. It is important to note, however, that Pence previously millions of dollars of federal support, and only seemed interested in them now that he is up for reelection.

In education policy, Pence sticks to the party-line. For that reason, his selection should make many conservatives happy. But students and teachers should be on high alert. In a Trump/Pence White House, it would take a watchful eye and strong advocacy to preserve critical federal protections for vulnerable students, ensure low-income students get their fair share of funding, and prioritize students鈥� needs over states鈥� rights.

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6:30 a.m. Monday

The 2016 Republican National Convention is officially here.

The festivities kick off this afternoon, with an official business session for the party, during which delegates will vote on ratifying both the convention rules and the official GOP platform.

The theme for tonight鈥檚 prime-time program: 鈥淢ake America Safe Again,鈥� and the stage program will reportedly feature an eclectic mix of speakers. While the final schedule is still shaping up, here are some of the headliners being touted by multiple outlets:

Many rise to give standing ovation to Kasich as he leaves stage .

鈥� paula christian (@PaulaChristian_)

Breitbart  that Donald Trump is ready to make the unprecedented move of using the stage of the Republican National Convention to announce prospective members of his cabinet, including the Secretary of Education.

Citing the comments of close Trump confidant Roger Stone in a radio interview set to air Sunday evening, Brietbart鈥檚 Aaron Klein as saying: 鈥淚 think that Trump is going to name a prospective cabinet and there is of course a way to do this in a way that is perfectly legal鈥�I think you could take that to the bank.鈥�

While it is illegal to promise someone a federal job, Stone said Trump’s team can easily work around the legal issue to add to the RNC spectacle: 鈥淭echnically of course to promise someone a federal job is a crime so Trump could theoretically say, 鈥楩or CIA Director I would appoint General Mike Flynn or someone like him.鈥� 鈥楩or Secretary of State, I would appoint, who knows, you know, Aaron Klein or someone like him.鈥欌��

Stone also told Klein that Trump was inclined to name cabinet members that fall well outside the GOP establishment, and that he wants to use the convention as a way of telegraphing to potential voters that he would not be the prototypical Republican president.

Read more about Trump鈥檚 expected announcement .

While most of the political world was focused on Donald Trump鈥檚 short list for running mate, and the upcoming vote in the Republican rules committee on the so-called 鈥渃onscience clause鈥� (which we watched fizzle at Thursday night’s meeting), new education priorities were being spelled out in the official GOP platform.

One big platform shift puts the party at odds with a common talking point among Democrats, about expanding access to universal pre-k.

As , last week鈥檚 platform amendments included language that would reject national prekindergarten outright, decrying pre-k for inserting “the state in the family relationship in the very early stages of a child鈥檚 life.鈥�

With both college costs and pre-k access leading the national education conversation, the new GOP language on early education could easily become a wedge issue in this year鈥檚 election 鈥� as could Mike Pence鈥檚 controversial record on Common Core standards, school funding, and his rejection of federal funds to expand Indiana’s pre-k programs. (Read our complete breakdown of Pence鈥檚 education priorities while governor)

The new GOP platform amendments will be put to a vote at the convention. 

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9 a.m. Sunday

Among Gov. Mike Pence’s most recent education initiatives in Indiana has been expanding career and technical education across the state. 

He appeared in front of Congress a year ago to talk about the Hoosier State鈥檚 recent CTE initiatives, and cited a career education focus as one way to boost graduation rates and lift students鈥� optimism about their future employment prospects. 

Pence talks career education on Capitol Hill — reports:

鈥� WISH-TV (@WISH_TV)

Given how little Donald Trump has actually said about education 鈥� in comparing Trump and Pence on key issues, even the New York Times to say much more than 鈥淢r. Trump has said little about his education plans other than that he is against Common Core and that ‘education has to be at a local level'” 鈥� Pence鈥檚 priorites are sure to shape the education focus of both the convention and the ticket. If that does indeed turn out to be true, pushing CTE will likely be front and center for the Republicans.

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9:45 a.m. Saturday

Jeb Bush took to the Washington Post  with a pre-RNC essay that tore down Donald Trump, openly discussed the prospect of voting for a write-in candidate and advanced a vision for how the GOP could 鈥渞ebuild our party and the foundation for a true conservative renewal in our country.鈥�

It鈥檚 worth reading the essay , but three noteworthy takeaways: 

Bush on how he鈥檒l vote for president: 鈥淲hile he has no doubt tapped into the anxiety so prevalent in the United States today, I do not believe Donald Trump reflects the principles or inclusive legacy of the Republican Party. And I sincerely hope he doesn鈥檛 represent its future鈥� I haven鈥檛 decided how I鈥檒l vote in November 鈥� whether I鈥檒l support the Libertarian ticket or write in a candidate 鈥� but I do know there are a lot of things Republicans can do in the coming months to lay the groundwork for rebuilding our party and the foundation for a true conservative renewal in our country.鈥�

On how he鈥檒l vote for Congress and state leaders: 鈥淭here is nothing more important than retaining control of Congress and state governorships and legislatures. We need House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and others to retain this important check on the power of the White House and federal bureaucracy, no matter who wins the presidency. Second, let鈥檚 move beyond the daily fray of who is disparaging whom on Twitter, and rally around a policy agenda that will lead to greater economic growth, revitalized leadership on the global stage and a strengthened democracy.鈥�

On the toxic partisanship that has consumed Washington, D.C.: 鈥淓ight years of the divisive tactics of President Obama and his allies have undermined Americans鈥� faith in politics and government to accomplish anything constructive. The president has wielded his power 鈥� while often exceeding his authority 鈥� to punish his opponents, legislate from the White House and turn agency rulemaking into a weapon for liberal dogma. In turn, a few in the Republican Party responded by trying to out-polarize the president, making us seem anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker and anti-common-sense.鈥�

Read the full essay at .

The morning after national media outlets first started reporting that Donald Trump had chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to be his running mate, the campaign of , the state鈥檚 superintendent of public instruction and a vocal Pence critic, issued a press release tearing down the governor鈥檚 record on schools.

Here鈥檚 Friday’s full text, from campaign manager Annie Mansfield:

鈥淚ndiana鈥檚 teachers, parents and students can rest a little easier knowing that Mike Pence will now be absent from Indiana and soon be unable to force his political agenda on our classrooms.

鈥淚n his time as Governor, Mike Pence has consistently put politics before Hoosier students. He created a duplicate education agency through executive order. He turned down tens of millions of dollars in desperately needed Pre-K funding because of his extreme political ideology. And he removed the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction as Chair of the State Board of Education, disenfranchising 1.3 million Hoosier voters.

鈥淲hile getting Mike Pence out of the Governor鈥檚 race would be a welcome development, Indiana still needs a governor that will work with our elected Superintendent on an education agenda. Hoosiers need John Gregg as our governor because he will support Superintendent Ritz, who has proven time and again that she鈥檒l put our kids first.鈥�

麻豆精品鈥檚 Carolyn Phenicie published a deep dive into Pence鈥檚 record on schools and education policy. See her full analysis here.

When the initial speaker list for the Republican National Convention  earlier in the week, one of the more notable celebrities touted in releases and headlines was NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who was slated to appear Thursday, the night of Trump鈥檚 acceptance speech. 

But Tebow took to social media Friday calling it all 鈥渁 rumor,鈥� and was emphatic that he had no plans to speak in Cleveland next week:

Monday’s speakers are set to include Senator Tom Cotton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in an opening night conversation that will focus around Benghazi. 

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5:15 p.m. Friday

麻豆精品鈥檚 Carolyn Phenicie just published a thorough profile of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, including his position on five key education issues 鈥� including standards, charter schools, civil rights, vouchers and preschool. You can read the full backgrounder here; a few top highlights:

Common Core 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Pence signed a bill in 2014 making Indiana the first state to back out of the Common Core State Standards. 鈥淚 believe when we reach the end of this process there are going to be many other states around the country that will take a hard look at the way Indiana has taken a step back, designed our own standards, and done it in a way where we drew on educators, we drew on citizens and parents, and developed standards that meet the needs of our people,鈥� he said at the time, .

(He was sort of right. Oklahoma and South Carolina have since formally backed out of the Common Core State Standards, and Missouri is studying the issue. Other states have tweaked them and changed the names, but ultimately kept most of the original content.)

The new standards, however, , with Core opponents saying they retained too much of the Common Core, and supporters saying drafters shunted too much of what was good about the Common Core.

School Choice 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Pence has long been a vocal supporter of school choice programs. 鈥淐hildren in this state ought to be afforded opportunities for quality education…Those decisions should be made in the best interests of our kids, and those decisions should be made by parents,鈥� Pence told a crowd at a school choice rally in 2015, .

Indiana has a robust charter school program (rated A by the ). Pence proposed adding $1,500 per pupil for charter schools to use for things like technology and buildings, money they weren鈥檛 allotted under the existing state funding formula. Although the legislature didn鈥檛 sign off on that, they did agree to a smaller boost, $500 per student, but only at top-rated charters.

More than 30,000 students in the state use vouchers. Pence successfully pushed the legislature to remove a $4,800-per-year cap on tuition benefits for children in elementary and middle school.

Preschool 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Pence made a rare legislative appearance in 2014 to push reluctant members of his own party to agree to a statewide pilot pre-school program.

LGBT Rights & Higher Ed 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Pence is perhaps best known nationally for signing a 鈥渞eligious freedom鈥� bill that advocates said would allow businesses to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender customers. Businesses immediately criticized the law, but the one that perhaps had the most sting was the NCAA, the college athletics governing body that鈥檚 headquartered in Indianapolis.  the law would require the organization to reconsider having its headquarters, conferences and tournaments in the state. Legislators eventually watered down the law.

More of Phenicie鈥檚 Pence profile here. Also new at 麻豆精品: The education resumes of 18 prominent Republicans set to speak next week at the Republican National Convention. 

鈥� Steve Snyder ( & )

鈥淭oday, as always, the children are our future, and the public schools are the leading indicator of the country we鈥檒l inhabit in a decade or two. But this coming country, the real America on the horizon, is a nation that looks very different than Donald Trump鈥檚 America. Demographically speaking, Trump voters are, in many ways, typical for his party, : They tend to be white, to lack a high school diploma, and live in areas with few immigrants.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a cynical implication to this argument 鈥� you may recall it as the one that animated the GOP鈥檚 (defunct). That is, future Republicans need to be able to survive in a more diverse electorate, so they need to appeal to voters outside the party鈥檚 current (mostly white) base.

鈥淲ell. On balance, party survival is , particularly when there鈥檚 something much greater at stake. It is far more important that we practice a politics worthy of our ancestors and build a country that is a suitable heritage for (all of) our children. In our final political accounting, they are the ones we ultimately answer to 鈥� not the resplendent  of Trump鈥檚 coalition.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a yawning gap between Trump鈥檚 angry white voters and the beautifully diverse future that terrifies them. If that prompts you to concerns over the state of conservatism or its place in education reform, let me suggest that you might, instead, consider other questions. Such as, what happens if we respond to Trump鈥檚 rise with handwringing over the state of conservatism in education discourse? Or, if we validate Trump and his supporters鈥� behavior, how long will it take before its presence in the mainstream lends it sufficient credence to ensure that ?

鈥淥r, how can we repudiate 鈥� directly and loudly 鈥� the toxicity that Trump has surfaced before it manifests in  of  and ? As important as it might be to get the Republican Party back on its feet, that question seems somewhat more pressing.鈥� (Read the full essay)

Rokita currently serves as the chairman of the on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

He has twice introduced a broad school choice that would overhaul regulations on D.C.鈥檚 voucher program and create a pilot program that would allow students who live on military bases to receive federal funds to attend private schools. And, in states that allow students with disabilities to use state dollars for private school, the bill would allow parents to use federal money given under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to supplement those state funds.

He鈥檚 also the lead sponsor on a bill to overhaul the way the federal government handles and the House鈥檚 bipartisan student data privacy . (Check out our coverage of that bill.)

Rokita鈥檚 withdrawal further scrambles the deck chairs on leadership of the House education committee next year: chairman John Kline is also retiring.

In true Donald Trump fashion, the presumptive nominee turned to Twitter to name Indiana Gov. Mike Pence his running mate.

The 140-character unveiling came at 10:50 a.m. Friday: 

And, in true Twitter fashion, the retweets (now at 17,000), trolls and memes started rolling in. Shout out to Dave Itzkoff for the immediate tribute to angry-sad (and now surely angrier-sadder) Chris Christie: 

鈥� Steve Snyder ( & )

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7:10 a.m. Friday

In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s session, speculation swirled around this year’s Republican National Convention Rules Meeting, with multiple proposals from the “Never Trump” caucus designed to liberate currently pledged GOP delegates to vote for someone other than Donald Trump.

But as the committee extended its session long into the evening hours last night, these anti-Trump proposals went down in flames with little debate and low vote tallies, with several opposing members making impassioned arguments that delegates must always adhere to the will of the voters.

Two rule amendments in particular aimed to throw Trump鈥檚 nomination into question. The first was a proposal to clarify and reaffirm that convention delegates are indeed bound to vote for the candidate who they were sent to Cleveland to vote for. The second was the so-called 鈥渃onscience clause,鈥� which would protect delegates from being forced to vote in a manner that would violate their conscience.

For the members most opposed to Donald Trump’s candidacy, the votes were simple: No on binding, yes on conscience. 

The vote for binding delegates was 87-12.

鈥� Molly Ball (@mollyesque)

Conscience clause failed not with a bang, but a whimper..

鈥� Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64)

Trump now seems sure to lock down the nomination next week, after the convention is called to order at 1 p.m. Monday. 

The presumptive nominee had announced earlier Thursday evening that he was delaying today鈥檚 previously scheduled unveiling of his running mate due to the deadly massacre in France. 

鈥� Steve Snyder (click here for a link to this post) 

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3:30 p.m. Thursday

麻豆精品 has just run through the official speaker list for Cleveland鈥檚 RNC, and compiled a breakdown of the education positions and accomplishment of 18 top party leaders slated to appear.

Among the elites on the schedule: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Speaker Paul Ryan, Peter Thiel, and numerous others. (See our complete breakdown of 18 high-profile speakers)

Also set to appear: Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence, a finalist in Trump鈥檚 VP search and the presumed running mate himself:

GOV. MIKE PENCE 鈥� The Indiana governor, and presumed running mate, has left a conservative imprint on Hoosier education policy in his first term. Under Pence, Indiana first left the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing coalition and then dropped the Common Core State Standards altogether. It was the first state to abandon the standards. The changes left state leaders in a bind when it came to testing, and the replacement ISTEP test was plagued with problems.

Pence鈥檚 2012 election coincided with the surprise defeat of reforming state schools chief Tony Bennett. Pence has feuded Glenda Ritz, who defeated Bennett, throughout much of the last four years, including over the state鈥檚 new tests.

He鈥檚 also been an outspoken proponent of school choice.

Indiana has one of the most robust voucher programs in the country 鈥� about 60 percent of children statewide are eligible, and more than 32,000 children used them in 2015-2016, according to the Friedman Foundation, which supports vouchers and other choice programs. At Pence鈥檚 urging, state lawmakers in 2015 removed a $4,800 cap on the maximum tuition benefits for elementary and middle school voucher users.

He also pushed for more supports for charter schools. Although legislators didn鈥檛 agree to Pence鈥檚 proposed funding increase to charters of $1,500 per pupil for out-of-classroom costs, they did set aside a smaller amount, $500 per pupil 鈥� but only for top-rated charters.

Pence has also advocated for public preschool 鈥� sort of. He urged state leaders to create a small state pre-K program in 2014 but chose not to apply for federal grants designed to encourage the expansion of state pre-K plans. 鈥淚t is important not to allow the lure of federal grant dollars to define our state鈥檚 mission and programs,鈥� he wrote in an op-ed explaining his decision to forego the federal grants. 鈥淢ore federal dollars do not necessarily equal success, especially when those dollars come with requirements and conditions that will not help 鈥� and may even hinder 鈥� running a successful program of our own making.鈥� (Earlier this summer he switched positions and is now seeking federal funds.)

During a decade in Congress prior to becoming governor, Pence didn鈥檛 focus on education, though he did co-sponsor the A-PLUS Act, a proposal that would allow states to take federal dollars with fewer conditions on spending. He also signed onto a 鈥渉omeschool non-discrimination act鈥� and supported reauthorizing a program that funds vouchers for students in Washington, D.C.

Notably, he voted against No Child Left Behind in 2001.

NEWT GINGRICH 鈥� The 2012 presidential candidate offered mostly mainline conservative education ideas during his failed White House bid. He backed what he called 鈥淧ell Grants for K-12鈥� 鈥� money that parents could direct toward public or private schools. He also said he would 鈥渄ramatically shrink the federal Department of Education, get rid of virtually all of its regulations.鈥�

Gingrich鈥檚 technocratic streak landed him in hot water during the last campaign when he argued that the U.S. should relax its child labor laws and allow children as young as nine to work as janitors in their schools.

鈥淢ost of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they’d begin the process of rising,鈥� he said, according to The New York Times. The proposal was quickly derided as 鈥渁bsurd鈥� and 鈥淒ickensian.鈥�

(That wasn鈥檛 the first time Gingrich argued for paying students. He twice introduced bills, in 1990 and 1991, that would allow schools to use Title I funds 鈥渢o provide monetary compensation to children for reading and reporting on books.鈥�)

Before he charged back into partisan politics with visions of pre-teen janitorial staffs, Gingrich鈥檚 approach was more bipartisan.

He promoted President Obama鈥檚 education reform proposals during something of an odd-couple trio tour in 2009 with the Rev. Al Sharpton, the liberal civil rights advocate, and then-Education Secretary Arne Duncan. 鈥淥ur children deserve a chance to see us come together, to put their future above partisanship and to find a way to take on the establishment in both parties and try to get this solved,鈥� Gingrich said during an appearance on 鈥淢eet the Press鈥� with Sharpton and Duncan.

The group made stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Orleans, arguing for higher expectations and more accountability.

While in Baltimore, the group visited KIPP Ujima Village Academy, which had been unable to come to an agreement with the local union over paying teachers more to work longer schools days 鈥� one of KIPP鈥檚 core practices. Gingrich called the Maryland law that requires charters to comply with existing collective bargaining contracts 鈥渄estructive鈥� and said 鈥渋t ought to be changed,鈥� the Washington Post reported.

Read our full report on all 18 high-profile RNC speakers.

鈥� Carolyn Phenicie

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2 p.m. Thursday

Education should be at the heart of any debate about the future of this country 鈥� and yet there鈥檚 been almost no attention paid to education policy during this campaign cycle. That’s why 麻豆精品 and Bellwether Education Partners are teaming up to co-host the #EDlection2016 Convention Live Blog 鈥� showcasing the conversations we should be having about education.

From Cleveland to Philadelphia, all the way through July 29, we鈥檒l be live blogging and analyzing the speeches, announcements and votes, featuring a wide range of voices and perspectives across constituencies and political parties.

If the candidates and their parties won’t talk about education, plenty of informed people will.

It鈥檚 up to us to drive the conversation, and get beyond polarizing and simplistic rhetoric to the real substantive dialogue our students deserve. Whether Republican, Democrat or independent, all of us know that our education system is failing too many Americans 鈥� especially those who need it the most as a gateway to opportunity 鈥� and that problem demands attention and action.

We hope you’ll bookmark and refresh this page 鈥� and watch for updates @the74 鈥� for a rich conversation about these issues.

鈥� Campbell Brown and Andrew Rotherham