Education -- Schoolyard Quarrel

DFER got some great press in this National Journal article:

On Monday evening, a group of Democratic  self-styled education reformers will host more than 100 congressional aides,  elected officials, like-minded policy wonks, campaign contributors, and  journalists in the Hotel Washington's rooftop lounge. They will nibble on  breaded Parmesan artichoke hearts and network among themselves, toasting the  Washington launch of an organization that seeks, its manifesto says, to  "return the Democratic Party to its rightful place as a champion of children,  first and foremost, in America's public education systems."

The effort  isn't aimed at countering attempts by President Bush and Republicans to claim  ownership of the education issue through the No Child Left Behind law.  Democrats for Education Reform is defending the law -- and challenging the  teachers unions and other heavyweights for control of their party's education  agenda.

The organization believes that the Democratic Party has  abdicated its responsibility to fight for disadvantaged students because it is  too beholden to politically powerful interest groups representing teachers,  school boards, and school administrators, said Executive Director Joe  Williams. The group, established two years ago by charter-school supporters  and financiers in New York City and Washington, wants "to make [sure] those  vested interests aren't the only ones that have a voice," Williams said.  

It's a "struggle for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party," said  Dianne Piche, a member of the group's board and the executive director of the  Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights. The tug-of-war pits education activists  who support the No Child Left Behind law against venerable, battle-tested  education and labor groups. It also divides the party's base of minority and  civil-rights advocacy groups. The split over educational policy is playing out  on the 2008 campaign trail and in Congress.

Democrats for Education  Reform and other activists accuse the teachers unions of putting teachers'  needs ahead of their students'. Board member Andrew Rotherham, co-director of  the Washington think tank Education Sector, says that the National Education  Association and the American Federation of Teachers are no different than any  other lobby in Washington. "Teachers unions are there to represent the  interests of teachers. Do I like the NEA better than the NRA? Sure," Rotherham  said. "But in terms of the way they operate and what they do, they're the same  -- and you should be equally skeptical of their claims. There are times when  the interests of the adults and the interests of the kids are not the same,  and it's naive to deny that."

 
  

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09-15-2007
Education - Schoolyard Quarrel
Lisa Caruso (lcaruso@nationaljournal.com>  )
© National Journal Group, Inc.

On Monday evening, a group of Democratic self-styled education reformers will host more than 100 congressional aides, elected officials, like-minded policy wonks, campaign contributors, and journalists in the Hotel Washington's rooftop lounge. They will nibble on breaded Parmesan artichoke hearts and network among themselves, toasting the Washington launch of an organization that seeks, its manifesto says, to "return the Democratic Party to its rightful place as a champion of children, first and foremost, in America's public education systems."