DFER News Roundup 6.13.2014

Blogs, Letters & Testimonials

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June 13, 2014

DFER News Roundup

By Devin Boyle, Director of Communications, and Stephanie Doctrow, Communications Coordinator and Web Editor

DFER Seen & Heard:

  • In “The fall of teachers unions,” POLITICO’s Stephanie Simon reported DFER’s upcoming launch of The DFER List – our first major public outreach campaign aimed at empowering ordinary voters to support local and national candidates who put kids first.
  • “It’s a pivot point but one that’s been coming for a long time,” Policy Director Charles Barone commented to The Washington Post’s Lyndsey Layton on the Vergara v. California ruling.
  • DFER-MA’s Liam Kerr called the Vergara case a civil rights victory for equal education in an op-ed for CommonWealth Magazine.
  • DFER-NJ’s Kathleen Nugent commented on the Vergara case and how it applies to New Jersey in NJ Spotlight.
  • “What’s needed ultimately is political reform that levels the playing field in Sacramento so that students don’t have to take the state to court to get an effective teacher,” Joe Williams commented on the Vergara case to POLITICO’s Stephanie Simon.
  • Conor Williams mentioned DFER in his analysis of the future of the Democratic Party on education, pre-2016, for the New Republic.

Advocacy, Policy Briefs & Such:

  • Statement | DFER Statement on Vergara v. California.
  • Statement | Court dismisses CEA challenge to educator effectiveness law.
  • Statement | DFER congratulates Marshall Tuck on advancing to runoff.

DFER Blog:

  • To Race to the Top naysayers, Policy Director Charles Barone asks, “What’s in your wallet?”
  • Joe Williams remembers education activist and friend Cindy Zautcke.

In Related News:

  • Economist Adam Ozimek puts the Vergara case and teacher tenure in context for Forbes.
  • A proposal from Senator Elizabeth Warren to extend lower interest rates to more student loan borrowers stalled in the Senate yesterday after Republicans accused the Democrats of capitalizing on the issue for political gain. (POLITICO)
  • “New Orleans schools’ success holds lessons for Abbott-Davis race,” New Schools for New Orleans CEO Neerav Kingsland writes in the Austin American-Statesman.
  • Education Trust President Kati Haycock and Russlynn Ali, former Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights under President Obama, talk accountability in the Huffington Post.

Fun With Infographics & More: