The U-Va. mess: Sign of the (bad) times

The debacle at the University of Virginia over the secretive ousting of the school’s first female president is more than a tale about how one school’s governing board can blunder. It is a sign of these unfortunate times in public education at all levels, the Washington Post reports. The actions of the governing board of the elite public university in forcing out popular President reform at all levels has been carried out in recent years in some important ways.  Here are some key phrases that describe the episode: Acting in secrecy. Ignoring teachers. Viewing public education as a business. Refusing to admit a mistake. Who does that sound like? (Answer: Modern K-12 school reformers.)

Let’s review: The head of the governing board, Helen Dragas, a fiscally conservative developer from Virginia Beach, worked for months in secret on a campaign to fire Sullivan.

She kept the faculty — who, along with the students, are the heart of any school — ignorant of her plans, and when the news became public and professors demanded an explanation, she didn’t give it to them……Read More

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