NJ Education Report

Worth noting: Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, cancelled her post-election press call this morning.

Anyway, here’s a few takes on last night. For context, start with Andy Rotherham’s set-up yesterday morning of how the then-pending election results will serve as a barometer of of “teachers union power”:

The unions put a lot of effort into this cycle. They are going after governors they despise (Wisconsin’s Walker, Michigan’s Snyder, Florida’s Scott, and Pennsylvania’s Corbett). The PA race is a gimme given Corbett’s performance in office but the others will tell a lot about their power today.  Rhode Island is also one to watch, who wins and the margin of victory in the races for governor and lieutenant governor there – both with Democratic candidates the unions are not happy with in that union stronghold – has implications for moderates and reformers in the Democratic tent.

Diane Ravitch:

At the end of the elections yesterday, there were two very bright spots. First, Tom Torlakson was elected state superintendent of education in California with 52% of the vote…Second, the proposal to enshrine value-added assessment of teachers into the state constitution in Missouri failed, and it wasn’t even close. This vote showed enormous popular support for teachers. 

There was not a lot to celebrate, but these were big victories.

On the other hand, Hess notes, President Obama and Sec. Ed. Arne Duncan are in for a “rough ride.”

Certainly Election Day has proven to be a bloodbath for President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee. From the loss of senate seats in North Carolina, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado, to the defeats of Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in the usually-reliable Maryland and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s unexpected comeback victory, the president and his party now are now forced to deal with a revived Republican Party that will work hard to make the last two years of his tenure tougher than ever. 

 But for the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, which were expected to spend $80 million in an effort to defend its declining influence in education policy, the setbacks are even worse… 

Instead of celebrating Tom Wolf’s victory in Pennsylvania, the NEA and AFT should abandon their outdated thinking that weakens them (and also helps perpetuate the nation’s education crisis). Or face their own abyss. All the influence-buying in the world will not help them.