D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is regularly touted as a hero by the Washington Post for aggressively pushing so-called "school reform." On the occasion of Labor Day, it may be appropriate to examine Rhee's record from the perspective of labor: What do the teachers enduring Rhee's reign have to say about her "reforms"? (For a perspective from one of the countless teachers who have fled Rhee's reign, listen to James Boutin HERE.) Chris Bergfalk is a graduate of DCPS, a parent of three children who attend DCPS, as well as teacher who was a finalist for 2009 DCPS Teacher of the Year. Bergfalk said, "[W]hat's happened under this administration is wrong and taken us in the wrong direction. And it's really poisoned the core of our educational system: the core of the educational system is the teacher, and is the teacher's relationship with the student, and is the teacher's relationship with parents. That's the core. And now what we've seen is [that] Michelle Rhee has been denigrating teachers and blaming teachers for all that's wrong in the school system and that's poisoned the relationships that make up the basis of our educational system." Audio

New Orleans Indymedia provides coverage from the UNO Student Walkouts and Occupation on September 1, 2010 in protest of the enormous budget cuts to programs, faculty, staff and financial aid available to students by the state of Louisiana. 2 people were arrested, reportedly six people were involved in the occupation and approximated 150 to 200 people participated in the walkouts.

Professors, students and alumni of Georgetown University met with a diverse group of activists last night, the 31st of August, to plan their protest of the school's hiring of Alvaro Uribe, the ex-president of Colombia. The university will also award Uribe a "Distinguished Scholar" fellowship.

At the August 25th Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, district nurses used their allotted time during open comment to make an organized, collective presentation to the school board and community regarding the imminent safety of PVUSD staff and students. The presentation School Nursing Services in Hard Times by school nurses Kathleen Kilpatrick, Elizabeth Thorne and Judy Schwartze shared important information about the state of school medical services in PVUSD.

Last week members of the Mankato Area Activist Collective, an anti-authoritarian organization, took action against the $7 million budget cut facing Minnesota State University, Mankato over the next two years. Last spring the university cut 79 ½ positions, one out of every ten faculty members. With tuition predicted to increase as much as 15 percent students are being forced to pay more for less.

From August 23rd to the 27th students and community members took inspiration from the student occupations of March 4th and seized a section of the universities lawn on which they camped out all week. They used this space to protest the downsizing of our education as well as to raise student awareness on a variety of issues and the repercussions of the budget cuts.

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Under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools receiving federal funds MUST release students' personal information to military recruiters if they are to continue to receive federal funds. Students may "opt-out" of this provision by so indicating on their registration form or by submitting an opt-out form amending their registration form.

The deadline for opting-out is October 1.

WHAT IS OPT-OUT? Under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, schools receiving federal funds MUST release students' personal information to military recruiters if they are to continue to receive federal funds.

Student organizers handed out literature and dropped a banner during the "Presidents Barbeque" at CSU Monterey Bay on Sunday, August 22. This year a group of students contributed to the event by passing out copies of CSUMB's Otter Disorientation Guide, a guide to a more realistic college experience. It also echoed the recent statewide call to action to defend public education on October 7th.

James Boutin is a talented young teacher. He's precisely the type of young professional who Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee have been so eager to recruit into District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). But after one year at Columbia Heights Educational Campus, Boutin is leaving DCPS to teach in New York City's public school system. "I decided that what was going on in D.C. was a big political game. It doesn't seem to me that any real efforts towards improving education are really going on," Boutin said. While he does not dispute that reform has taken place throughout DCPS under Fenty and Rhee, Boutin feels that it has done more harm than good. "I think there has been reform. I think things have changed in Washington, D.C. But I think things are changing for the worse," Boutin said. Audio

The Community Education Task Force (CETF) (pictured), has a lot to celebrate. At the beginning of the year, it seemed inevitable that the mayor would control the Rochester City School District, rather than an elected Board of Education. However, after a defeat in the NY State Senate, the plan is off the table — for the time being at least.

Victories like this can be rare for grassroots community groups, but the CETF is not resting (although they did throw a party in Genesee Valley Park with free food, games, and music). They hope to use their current momentum to promote bottom-up control of the city schools. At the CETF's Free Food For Free Minds party, I talked with several members of the CETF about the past eight months and their plans for the future. Read More | Related: Mayor Fenty NO SHOW at mayoral/council candidates forum

August 19, 2010 — The first day of school for Mahomet Seymour students did not happen today because the Mahomet Seymour Education Association (MSEA) has been out on strike since 7 am.

The union has had previous struggles with the school board over employment issues. The summer of 2009 was spent pressuring the district to bargain with MSEA about staff performing medical procedures like the insertion of catheters. The district board had refused to negotiate the matter and expected non-medical staff to perform medical procedures.

This same spirit of poor negotiation from the district school board permeated the current contract negotiations.

As students were moving into campus dorms along Florida and Pennsylvania Avenues in Urbana, the SEIU Local 73 and the Campus Labor Coalition held a rally to bring attention to the deepening crisis in public education. The union also held other pickets across campus throughout the day. At lunchtime, they marched in front of students and parents chanting “Students Move In! Tuition Hikes Out! Students Move In! Wage Freezes Out!”

As freshmen students return to campus this fall, they face a 9.5% tuition increase voted on this summer by the Board of Trustees. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is asking workers to accept wage freezes and recent hires among the Building Service Workers are recommended to take a 13.5% pay cut. Across the campus, empty faculty positions are not being filled, job searches are being cancelled, tuition waivers for graduate students in Fine Arts are being rescinded, and annual contracts for lecturers and instructors are not being renewed.

By Ryan "BUGS" Williams-Virden - August 10th 2010

Ask almost anybody and they will acknowledge education is crucial to the development of the youth, of a healthy community, and indeed of a healthy democracy. In Minneapolis and across the country they will also be quick to agree that something needs to be done to improve our public education, specifically in urban areas. The debate comes in when we start to talk about how, and flesh out what that might look like. Increasingly charter schools are being touted as the solution; both the left and the right seem to be able to agree that charter schools will and should play a major role in the future of public education.

As a matter of fact the Minneapolis school board just approved the sponsorship of a charter school with two campuses (one on the north side and another on the south) set to open in the fall of 2011, taking over the space now known as North High School. This charter, Minneapolis College Preparatory (MCP) is being billed as the premier option for students with college ambition, and as presumably the answer to the achievement gap and myriad of other problems facing Minneapolis public schools.  However, a slightly deeper look reveals a totally different, and completely opposite scenario playing out.

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Protesters assaulted; Sen. Jon Huppenthal compares indigenous people to children with Downs syndrom

With a current state budget deficit in Illinois of some $13 billion, among the largest in the country, state legislators are making tough decisions about where to save money. Recently, Governor Pat Quinn proposed an “early release” program for prison inmates who have committed nonviolent crimes, but it was quickly met by a political backlash. The state has also seen severe cuts in public education. With the current economic crisis, Illinois residents will soon have to decide which they value more―education or incarceration.

Last week United Public Workers for Action (UPWA) called for a demonstration against the privatization of public education when it was announced that US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would be the keynote speaker at Foothill Community College's graduation ceremony. After the UPWA initially received permission from the college administration to stage a peaceful protest, Foothill College president Judy Miner called organizer and Skyline Community College instructor George Wright to ask that he cancel the planned demonstration. Wright was also contacted by counsel at the office of the Education Secretary.