Election Edition: Democrats vs Republicans on Education

Good Day!

We are a couple days away from Election Day. Some of you have voted and some may be in the process of voting. And others will wait until Tuesday to vote. Wherever you are on the political spectrum, I encourage you to go out in vote, and if you have, thank you!

And to be clear, it is you’re right to not vote as well. If that is you, there should be no shame in that.

Cheers ☕

Where does each party stand on educational issues?

Most people, and especially educators, are aware of where the Democratic Party and Republican Party stand on issues related to education. When it comes to the two candidates running to be the President of the United States, policies are scant. Still, there has been enough to discern the direction each candidate would take if they could push their ideal version of how education in the U.S. could look. Here are a few highlights:

There are stark differences in how the Democrats and Republicans want the public education system to look. It is no secret that when it comes to upholding and strengthening public education, the Democratic Party reflects this more versus the Republican Party in which they want parents to have “choice” in their children’s education; this is a coded word for parents to be able to take publicly funded taxpayer money and used it for private tuition and other educational needs outside the public school system. Parents are taxpayers, so they have the right to use their money for their children’s education because they would know better than anyone else what their child needs, right?

Project 2025, which former President Donald Trump has said words to distance himself from this, but he and his Vice-Presidential Pick J.D. Vance will still allude to the content of what is in it, has some damning content for the future of public education if what is in there comes to fruition. Project 2025 makes clear they want to eliminate the Department of Education, get rid of Title I funding entirely, which will hurt underserved communities in urban and rural communities alike, and make school principals an elected position, which can undermine the integrity of the position because it could put people in that may not be qualified to lead a school building.

We cannot emphasize enough how important Title I funding is. Eliminating this will also eliminate 180,300 teaching jobs, which is about 6% of the workforce, most of which are in underserved communities. This will affect nearly 3 million students, and it will also eliminate the Head Start Program, which will affect 800,000 preschoolers.

The Democratic Party may not be offering a drastic, expansive reform to education. Still, they at least want to expand Title I funding and push for Universal Pre-K. Yet, this is not to downplay the importance and impact it can have, especially for working parents and mothers, who are more often than not the ones who have to give up their jobs to stay home with their children. This will allow more mothers to return to the workforce earlier with the benefit of their children getting the enrichment they need by engaging with their peers and getting taught by qualified teachers to help with their continued development.

Education is not easy. The one, important thing we can agree on is that we want what is best for your students. “What we want” can take on different forms, for better or worst. Just remember this — we as a country cannot prosper on our own; we all have a stake in what the future will look like, so it is incumbent on us to make sure that we can give back in a meaningful way — unselfishly.

The Final Minute

1. When it comes to managing election-related stress in schools, The Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City has implemented a controversial policy allowing students to skip classes the day after the presidential election if they feel "emotionally distressed." The private pre-K through twelfth grade institution plans to excuse students who say they can't "fully engage" in class, eliminate homework on Election Day, and make psychologists available for counseling - a decision that drew sharp criticism from former parent Jerry Seinfeld, who stated, "This is the lesson they are providing, for ungodly sums of money...to encourage them to buckle." While the school defends its approach as creating space to support students during what principal Stacey Bobo calls "a high-stakes and emotional time for our community," this decision reflects a broader trend of election-related stress, with an American Psychological Association poll indicating that nearly 70% of adults consider the election a significant source of stress in their lives.

2. The William and Mary Bray School Lab has begun restoring the historic Bray School building in Colonial Williamsburg, which taught both freed and enslaved Black children from 1760 until 1774, educating approximately 400 students between the ages of 3 and 10. Tonia Merideth, an oral historian who discovered her own ancestral connection to the school, is working alongside genealogists to piece together the full story of the children who attended, telling Scripps News, "I feel like the very first day that I saw that school and I touched it, those children were wanting me to tell their story." The restoration project, which Matt Webster emphasizes is about preserving "not just a building" but "a place where life occurred," will culminate in the school house opening to the public this spring, marking a significant step in honoring this important piece of American educational history.

3. The Orleans Parish School Board election has become a battleground between pro-charter school groups and advocates for district-run schools, with Education Reform Now Advocacy Committee spending $208,000 supporting charter-friendly candidates KaTrina Chantelle Griffin and Chan Tucker while opposing candidates favoring traditional public schools. The financial disparity is stark - charter-backed candidates Griffin and Tucker have raised $63,305 and $44,825 respectively, while their opponents supporting district-run schools have raised significantly less, with Eric "Doc" Jones reporting only $2,825 despite endorsements from prominent politicians like State Sen. Joe Bouie and U.S. Congressman Troy Carter. The election's outcome will significantly impact the future of New Orleans' school system, particularly as the Orleans Parish School Board recently opened its first permanent traditional public school in nearly two decades and is considering running more schools - a major shift from the post-Hurricane Katrina system where independent charter operators controlled almost all public schools.

4. California school board races have become increasingly contentious battlegrounds, with the California Teachers Association (CTA) and Republican organizations significantly ramping up their efforts to win local school board seats in the November 5 election. The CTA, which has committed about $60 million over the next several years to support local union involvement, is mobilizing teachers to canvas neighborhoods and promote union-backed candidates, while conservative groups are focusing on issues like parental rights and pushing back against certain educational policies. According to CTA President David Goldberg, some conservative candidates are "self-proclaimed white Christian nationalists" seeking to reshape public education, while Republican National Committee member Shawn Steel counters that teachers unions have too much power and are trying to control school boards through their chosen candidates. The stakes of these races are evident in districts like Temecula Valley Unified, where controversial policies on issues like gender identity notification and curriculum content have led to increased political engagement, with the local teachers union spending $60,000 on three endorsed candidates—more than triple their 2022 election spending.
   

Closing Bell

On this day in 1957…

Laika, a Siberian Husky, was launched into space on the Sputnik 2 — the first animal to do so. The technology for re-entry was not yet developed, so Laika’s mission was a one-way trip. Her launch was deemed necessary to provide the necessary information to eventually send humans into space. 🐶❤️