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School Funding

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Educators Out in Force at Final Kirwan Commission Hearing

They came in buses and in carpools. They came from down the road, over the Bay Bridge, and through rush hour traffic on the Beltway. At Wednesday night’s final Kirwan Commission public hearing, educators packed the room, stood in the aisles, and made their voices heard. Here are some of the highlights of what they […]
School Funding

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What’s Changed Since 2002?

…but there was the Bridge to Excellence Act (also known as the Thornton Plan), which the General Assembly passed in 2002 thanks to MSEA’s advocacy. It was an “historic” accomplishment according to the New York Times. Thornton funding helped make Maryland the nation’s highest rated school system five years in a row. In 2002, Marshall […]
School Funding

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“Maryland Schools Are OK, But They Could Be Better”

Washington County educators attended the Western Maryland Kirwan Commission Public Hearing on September 29. Jim Rossi, third from left, and Neil Becker, center, made presentations to the Commission. Read excerpts below. In opening the Western Maryland listening session — the second of four scheduled — Kirwan Commission chair Brit Kirwan, former chancellor of the University of Maryland, said, “Maryland schools […]
Charter Schools

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Big Win #3: Taking on the Hogan-DeVos Privatization Agenda

Educators, students, and public schools scored several big wins this legislative session. We’ve look at two of the biggest wins and what they mean for Maryland schools: the Protect Our Schools Act and the More Learning, Less Testing Act. Today we’re looking at the defeat of Gov. Hogan’s charter schools bill. Governor Hogan and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy […]
Testing

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Big Win #1: The Protect Our Schools Act

This session — thanks to the work of legislators and the advocacy of educators — Maryland became a national leader in standing up to the Betsy DeVos school privatization agenda and in turning the page on the damaging test-and-punish culture in favor of one that truly invests in and improves our schools. The Protect Our Schools Act […]
Testing

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What Makes a Great School? Ask a Teacher.

Josh Cramer is a social studies and history teacher at Smithsburg High School in Washington County. The Protect Our Schools Act passed in the General Assembly on March 28. Now it’s in the hands of Governor Hogan who has until midnight on April 5 to sign the bill into law, allow it to become law […]
Testing

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6 Steps to Get Ready for MSEA’s March to Protect Our Schools

Less than a week from now, a thousand educators will make their way to Annapolis to March to Protect Our Schools. We’re marching for less standardized testing and to prevent the privatization of our public schools. (Haven’t RSVPed yet? Take care of that now.) Here are 6 steps to make sure you’re ready to march! […]
Testing

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Are You Marching to Protect Maryland’s Public Schools?

There’s still time! You can join hundreds of Maryland educators in Annapolis on Monday, March 13 to take a stand against the school privatization schemes of the Hogan/Trump/DeVos agenda and work to reduce standardized testing. MSEA’s Educators’ Agenda is moving but we need to keep the volume loud and the heat high. The Protect Our […]
Testing

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Why We’re Marching on March 13

The issues MSEA is fighting for this year are pretty straightforward: reducing testing to 2% of instructional time, protecting neighborhood schools from privatization, and stopping public school funding from supporting for-profit charters and private school vouchers. You can make a difference in these fights by joining the March to Protect Our Schools! We’re marching from […]
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