Jonathan Kantrowitz

Education in the U.S. is a mess. No Child Left Behind had noble goals, but in practice, hasn’t been a great success. It’s been good that more emphasis has been placed on making sure students learn to read an do math at grade appropriate levels, but the process of assigning blame for failures to do so has made the whole approach untenable.

The Race to the Top put even more emphasis on blame, rather than on solving problems.

The rush to national standards, written by people with no practical classroom experience, and soon, one or 2 national tests, will put even more pressure for results on classroom teachers and school principals who are dealing with many factors beyond their control – including poverty, and lack of adequate school funding.

Diane Ravitch is a former United States Assistant Secretary of Education who is now a research professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. While she originally supported No Child Left Behind and charter schools, she later became “disillusioned,” and wrote, “I no longer believe that either approach will produce the quantum improvement in American education that we all hope for.” In the major national evaluation, 17% of charters got higher scores, 46% were no different, and 37% were significantly worse than public schools, she said. High-stakes testing, “utopian” goals, “draconian” penalties, school closings, privatization, and charter schools didn’t work, she concluded. “The best predictor of low academic performance is poverty—not bad teachers.”

She has argued that the charter school and testing reform movement was started by “right wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation,” for the purpose of destroying public education and teachers’ unions.

Here’s more from her:

Obama’s War on Schools by Diane Ravitch

…Obama has not sought to turn back NCLB. His own approach, called Race to the Top, is even more punitive than NCLB. And though over the past week the president has repeatedly called on Congress to amend the law, his proposed reforms are largely cosmetic and would leave the worst aspects of NCLB intact…

NCLB mandated that 100 percent of students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. Any school not on track to meet this utopian goal—one never reached by any nation in the world—would face a series of sanctions, culminating in the firing of the staff and the closing of the school. As 2014 nears, tens of thousands of schools have been stigmatized as failures, thousands of educators have been fired, and schools that were once the anchors of their communities are closing, replaced in many cases by privately managed schools. NCLB turns out to be a timetable for the destruction of public education.

Because of the punitive character of the federal law, educators struggle to meet their testing targets. Many districts have reduced time for the arts, history, science, civics, foreign languages, physical education, literature, and geography. They devote more time to preparing students for the state tests in basic skills, which will determine the life or death of their schools. Some districts, such as Atlanta, have experienced cheating scandals. Some states, such as New York, lowered the passing mark on their tests to increase the number of students who were allegedly proficient.

Standardized-test scores can provide useful information about how students are doing. But as soon as the scores are tied to firing staff, giving bonuses, and closing schools, the measures become the goal of education, rather than an indicator….

Savings from new drug discounts in 2011 already total $38 million

Through provisions of the Affordable Care Act, nearly 4 million people with Medicare who reached the program’s Part D coverage gap in 2010 have received a one-time, tax-free $250 rebate check. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that a similar number of Medicare beneficiaries are likely to enter the coverage gap in 2011 and will benefit from additional Affordable Care Act provisions that work to reduce and close the “donut hole” by 2020. Already, nearly 48,000 Medicare enrollees have saved $38 million – an average of $800 per person – thanks to a new 50-percent discount on covered brand-name drugs in the donut hole.

The new health care law is working to make Medicare stronger and more secure for all beneficiaries. Its provisions have increased benefits to beneficiaries and helped extend the life of the Medicare Trust Fund by 12 years.

Beginning in 2011, the Affordable Care Act provides a 50-percent discount on covered brand name prescription drugs to seniors and others with Medicare who reach the donut hole. For the 11,000 beneficiaries with the highest out-of-pocket costs, savings have averaged $1,775. The five states with the largest number of individuals who received a rebate check are: California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Millions more beneficiaries are expected to receive the discount over the course of the year. In addition, this year, Medicare began shrinking the donut hole by increasing coverage for generic drugs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has mailed almost 4 million rebate checks to people with Medicare, providing nearly $1 billion in out-of-pocket relief. It is clear that the $250 rebate checks provided significant financial relief to these individuals as the checks were cashed, on average, within 15 days of the checks being issued, with almost half of all beneficiaries cashing the check within 10 days of issue.

“The closing of the donut hole is just one of the ways seniors will benefit from the Affordable Care Act,” CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, M.D. said. “Adding even greater value to their savings on prescription drugs, the new health care law gives people with Medicare new benefits as soon as they visit their doctors this year.”

Since January 1, Original Medicare began:

* Providing a free annual wellness visit; in the first six weeks of 2011, over 150,000 beneficiaries benefited from this new option.
* Making critical preventive services, including certain cancer screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies available for most people with Medicare, at no cost.
* Giving qualifying doctors and other health care professionals that provide primary care to people with Medicare a 10-percent bonus for primary care services. This will help ensure that those primary care providers can continue to offer professional health care services to Medicare patients.

Thanks to these types of Medicare improvements, an analysis issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in November 2010 estimated that under the Affordable Care Act, average savings for those enrolled in traditional Medicare will amount to more than $3,500 over the next 10 years.

He agrees with me:

(T)he only way we’ll get any budget deal now — or, I’d say, any time in the next several years — will be if conservatives come up with an offer. And they won’t.

Small businesses are finding it easier to secure medical coverage for their employees following implementation of a new tax credit that was enacted through last year’s health insurance reform law. According to a report released today by Democrats on the House Committee on Small Business, the tax credit provides $40 billion in relief for entrepreneurs. The report is being issued to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the “Affordable Care Act” being signed into law.

“Small businesses’ health premiums have skyrocketed over the last ten years, making it difficult for firms to afford coverage for their employees,” said Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business. “It is clear the new tax credit is already enabling more businesses to offer their workers health insurance.”

Among the report’s findings:

-As many as 6.7 million firms will be eligible to claim the tax credit.
-The healthcare credit provides tax relief in the amount of $40 billion for entrepreneurs.
-The tax credit will bring the cost of health care coverage back down to 2003 levels.
-For eligible small businesses, it holds the potential to reduce the annual out-of-pocket costs for each employee’s health insurance costs by $3,500.
-As many as 650,000 firms have begun offering coverage in 2010 that were not offering coverage in 2009.
-Between 2009 and 2010, coverage rates grew from 46% to 59% after the tax credit was made available.

A government shutdown would hurt Republicans much more than Democrats:

A PPP poll of registered voters released this week showed that most Americans think a government shutdown would be bad for the country. And if a shutdown does occur, the poll also found that a majority of Americans would blame Republicans for the mess, not President Obama.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they believed a government shutdown would be bad for the country. At the same time, 53% said they would put more blame on congressional Republicans than on Obama for a shutdown, while just 22% said the reverse.

Nevertheless, Republicans are committed to a path which which would lead to a shutdown:

Republican leaders in the Senate and House will not agree to tax increases in the guise of reform measures, according to a prominent conservative advocate for lower taxes… Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) have pledged to Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist they will not support any deficit reduction package that increases taxes. This promise will make it considerably tougher to get Democrats to agree to a broad deficit reduction package.

Unless, of course, Obama and the Senate Democrats cave in to Republican demands.

What happens after the shutdown, if it does occur? Do Republicans back off? Or, once the damage has been done to Republican election prospects do Democrats then cave?

We will probably know the answer in April.

From the charter: “Method of filling vacancies on the Board of Selectmen. At any time a vacancy occurs on the Board of Selectmen, including First Selectman, a replacement,
who shall be registered with the same political party as the person vacating the office, shall be designated by the remaining Selectmen. If the Selectmen designate one of themselves to fill the vacancy, they shall designate another elector to fill the vacancy of Selectman so created. “

(HARTFORD, CT) — Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has appointed Fairfield First Selectman Kenneth Flatto as Executive Director of the Division of Special Revenue. The Division of Special Revenue is responsible for managing various special revenues and for regulating legalized gaming in the State of Connecticut, including the Lottery and Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

“Ken will bring his 30 years of experience as a financial and accounting manager to this integral position,” said Governor Malloy. “Although we are trying to maximize revenue that comes into the state, we always need to be mindful that it does not come at the expense of our state’s citizens.”

“I am truly looking forward to helping Governor Malloy and his administration account for additional revenue and improve services for Connecticut citizens,” said Flatto. “I thank the Governor for his confidence and I intend to achieve solid results in this position.”

Flatto is currently the First Selectman of Fairfield, a position to which he has been elected five times. As First Selectman, Flatto is responsible for more than 500 employees and a budget of $260 million. Ranked by CNN/Money Magazine as the 9th best mid-sized community in the country, under Flatto’s leadership, Fairfield has achieved and maintained a AAA bond rating. Flatto administered twelve balanced budgets and led efforts to revitalize brownfields and expand Grand List growth. In addition, Flatto led audits and cost savings initiatives, saving over $3 million per year through restructuring, management efficiencies and negotiated collective bargaining givebacks.

Prior to serving as Fairfield’s First Selectman, Flatto served as the Chief Financial Officer for Orangetown, NY, and Comptroller and Deputy Commissioner for the City of Yonkers, NY. Flatto is a Licensed Certified Public Accountant, who received his MBA from Cornell University. He is the Former Chair and Vice Chair of the Greater Bridgeport and Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Chair of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Health and Human Services Committee.

Flatto lives in Fairfield with his wife and four children.

To me, establishing a no-fly zone in an arena where essentially unarmed civilians are being shot down by air strikes is a reasonable assertion of international authority. Even the Arab League approved such a measure, at least at first, in Libya. But to me, a “no-fly” zone is, and should be, a warning that any hostile military planes in the zone would be shot down. That’s how such a policy was enforced in the air over the Kurdish region of Iraq before the invasion by our forces.

But what we are doing in Libya is far more than that. We are attacking ground forces and facilities. We are, essentially, at war, all without Congressional approval. I don’t like it and neither do many in Congress, from progressives, to moderates, to conservatives:

The criticism is from all directions: from moderates,” like Sens. Jim Webb and Dick Lugar; “from those on the far left and right, like Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ron Paul (R-Texas), who believe the president acted outside the Constitution; and from the establishment on both sides, including House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson of Connecticut and Republican Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan, a self-described ‘hawk.’”

Here’s more on Larson and Courtney:

Rep. John Larson…said he had “deep concerns” about the U.S. involvement. “I understand the gravity of the situation. I understand what a thug and a tyrant Quaddafi is… But this comes only a week after Sec. Gates was very public, as were members of the Pentagon, in warning against even a no-fly zone, in terms of the ramifications,” Larson said, referring to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

“It seems like mission creep has occurred in record time,” said Rep. Joseph Courtney. Courtney said he was okay with the plan as initially articulated by President Barack Obama on Friday, which “was that the U.S. would be involved in a supportive role to help enforce a multilateral U.N. resolution with our European allies.” But “the first 48 to 72 hours don’t look like a supportive role,” Courtney said, noting that National Guard troops have been activated and the Pentagon spent $100 million on the Libya strikes in the first day alone. “This just makes me very uncomfortable in terms of how quickly it seems to have enlarged,” he said.