Sarah Montana
@smontana.bsky.social
PhD Student in Education Policy @ U of Maryland | formerly Deans for Impact, El Dorado High School English teacher, Aspen Institute, Girl Scout Troop 110, etc.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Corey DeAngelis says, "Low-income families benefit from school choice more than anybody else. This is a big deal for families who couldn’t afford private school before."
That's a bald-faced lie based on every state's voucher data, not a "reasonable researchers disagree" issue.
That's a bald-faced lie based on every state's voucher data, not a "reasonable researchers disagree" issue.
Rules For Texas' First School Choice Program Announced | News Radio 1200 WOAI | San Antonio's First News
After years of pushing, conservatives in Texas have finally won the school-choice battle. The rules for the new Education Savings Account (ESA) program—widely praised as the largest in the country—hav...
woai.iheart.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Corey DeAngelis says, "Low-income families benefit from school choice more than anybody else. This is a big deal for families who couldn’t afford private school before."
That's a bald-faced lie based on every state's voucher data, not a "reasonable researchers disagree" issue.
That's a bald-faced lie based on every state's voucher data, not a "reasonable researchers disagree" issue.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
When we focus on the "brilliance" of unaccountable perpetrators, we are forgoing the brilliance of the young people deterred from their fields
bsky.app/profile/coho...
bsky.app/profile/coho...
From the team that brought you the "Too Big To Fail" financial institutions, it's the "Too Brilliant To Be Held Accountable" men
🤢
🤢
November 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM
When we focus on the "brilliance" of unaccountable perpetrators, we are forgoing the brilliance of the young people deterred from their fields
bsky.app/profile/coho...
bsky.app/profile/coho...
What a phenomenally concise turn of phrase to describe this era.
"Decision-based evidence-making" — that's how one former #CDC leader described the approach to scientific decision making under the HHS secretary in a meaty examination of Kennedy's unprecedented tenure by several @statnews.com colleagues. www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...
How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science
RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.
www.statnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:49 PM
What a phenomenally concise turn of phrase to describe this era.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Tried to tell folks back in 2023: www.the74million.org/article/the-...
November 12, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Tried to tell folks back in 2023: www.the74million.org/article/the-...
I have been struck in my very anecdotal experience tutoring students across multiple districts how often students are on a laptop in every class, all day. And how often they don't have a textbook, just slides to learn content from. 🤦🏼
So glad to see more teachers voices being elevated on issues they know best -- and to see screens in schools getting attention while AI mania is being pushed on K-12.
Kindergartners With Chromebooks: 350 Teachers on How Screens Took Over School
www.nytimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I have been struck in my very anecdotal experience tutoring students across multiple districts how often students are on a laptop in every class, all day. And how often they don't have a textbook, just slides to learn content from. 🤦🏼
I'm sorry what?
His emergence as a Republican mega-donor is non-trivially the result of his being shouted down on Amelia Earhart conspiracy theory Internet message boards.
October 25, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I'm sorry what?
Heard NPR cover this last night and they said "slight increase in suspensions but test scores improved" with no mention of the disproportionate suspensions for Black boys. They are paying a much higher cost than other students for this otherwise good news. We can't lose sight of that, or them.
New study on the impact of cellphone bans from Figlio & @uozek.bsky.social - evidence backs MCPS policy.
Featured in @chalkbeat.org www.chalkbeat.org/2025/10/20/n...
Paper in @nber.org www.nber.org/system/files...
cc @julieyangmoco.bsky.social
Featured in @chalkbeat.org www.chalkbeat.org/2025/10/20/n...
Paper in @nber.org www.nber.org/system/files...
cc @julieyangmoco.bsky.social
School cellphone bans have spread with little hard data. A new study finds benefits and costs.
Researchers studying a large urban district in Florida found modest improvements in test scores after schools banned cellphones. They also saw suspensions rise.
www.chalkbeat.org
October 23, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Heard NPR cover this last night and they said "slight increase in suspensions but test scores improved" with no mention of the disproportionate suspensions for Black boys. They are paying a much higher cost than other students for this otherwise good news. We can't lose sight of that, or them.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
For context, 87% of school-aged kids are enrolled in public schools in the US.*
(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
Those influencing Trump education policy aren't shy about wanting to eradicate public schools.
Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org
“I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”
Asked what % of kids she imagines should be in public schools, Tiffany Justice -- Moms for Liberty cofounder, now with Heritage Foundation -- told @propublica.org
“I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
www.propublica.org
October 8, 2025 at 2:09 PM
For context, 87% of school-aged kids are enrolled in public schools in the US.*
(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
(* a statistic we only know because of work the US Dept of ED used to do to collect vital data on our nation's schools)
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Ending Black History Month & banning books by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a dark echo of the ways the military has been used in the past to advance racial rights in America.
Frederick Douglass understood Black military service could help achieve citizenship. Truman saw integration as democratic necessity.
Frederick Douglass understood Black military service could help achieve citizenship. Truman saw integration as democratic necessity.
I wrote about Tuesday’s Quantico fascism fest. Something I think it’s important to stress is that the military can be a place for advancing social policy, for good or ill.
Hegseth is using it to implement his white Christian nationalist views. www.liberalcurrents.com/war-fighters...
Hegseth is using it to implement his white Christian nationalist views. www.liberalcurrents.com/war-fighters...
War Fighters and the Enemy Within: Trump, Hegseth, and the Assault on The American People
Trump and Hegseth are cultivating a military that sees liberals and minorities as enemies to be fought and is willing to follow orders to do so.
www.liberalcurrents.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Ending Black History Month & banning books by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a dark echo of the ways the military has been used in the past to advance racial rights in America.
Frederick Douglass understood Black military service could help achieve citizenship. Truman saw integration as democratic necessity.
Frederick Douglass understood Black military service could help achieve citizenship. Truman saw integration as democratic necessity.
It's important to add "out" here. These are just the queer youth who are out enough to themselves or others to indicate so on a survey. There are so many more kids uncounted who are affected, so this even understates the danger of these laws.
New research finds half of LGBTQ young people live in the 27 states where a swell of new laws restrict their in-school rights
As the LGBTQ Youth Population Doubles, Number of Bills Targeting Them Triples
New research finds half of LGBTQ young people live in the 27 states where a swell of new laws restrict their in-school rights.
www.the74million.org
September 26, 2025 at 3:48 PM
It's important to add "out" here. These are just the queer youth who are out enough to themselves or others to indicate so on a survey. There are so many more kids uncounted who are affected, so this even understates the danger of these laws.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Education researchers warn budget proposals from the White House and House Republicans would impose steep cuts on some of the nation's most vulnerable students and disadvantaged school communities.
What schools stand to lose in the battle over the next federal education budget
Education researchers warn budget proposals from the White House and House Republicans would impose steep cuts on some of the nation's most vulnerable students and disadvantaged school communities.
n.pr
September 26, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Education researchers warn budget proposals from the White House and House Republicans would impose steep cuts on some of the nation's most vulnerable students and disadvantaged school communities.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
One study concluded 70% of increased electric cost across US due to AI data centers.
apnews.com/article/elec...
apnews.com/article/elec...
As electric bills rise, evidence mounts that data centers share blame. States feel pressure to act
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.
apnews.com
August 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
One study concluded 70% of increased electric cost across US due to AI data centers.
apnews.com/article/elec...
apnews.com/article/elec...
Reposted by Sarah Montana
You can use this tool to find out just how much funding your local district (or any district in the country) will be losing in the new federal budget:
"DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT will lose $8,175,391 in federal funding."
public.tableau.com/app/profile/... #EduSky #EdChat
"DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT will lose $8,175,391 in federal funding."
public.tableau.com/app/profile/... #EduSky #EdChat
August 6, 2025 at 8:09 PM
You can use this tool to find out just how much funding your local district (or any district in the country) will be losing in the new federal budget:
"DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT will lose $8,175,391 in federal funding."
public.tableau.com/app/profile/... #EduSky #EdChat
"DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT will lose $8,175,391 in federal funding."
public.tableau.com/app/profile/... #EduSky #EdChat
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Look at what happens to male teacher salaries (blue line) v.s. female teacher salaries (red line) after collective bargaining laws expire.
August 3, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Look at what happens to male teacher salaries (blue line) v.s. female teacher salaries (red line) after collective bargaining laws expire.
The 51st has become my go to for local reporting, in case you're wondering where to take your Post subscription...
If you're looking for a place to put your rage about this...
51st.news/signup
51st.news/signup
The Post is cutting its stand-alone Metro section, as circulation drops below 100K for the first time in decades. Local stories will now be buried between Style and Sports.
June 20, 2025 at 1:15 AM
The 51st has become my go to for local reporting, in case you're wondering where to take your Post subscription...
Reposted by Sarah Montana
I worry we are going to look back at the 2020's as the decade we talked way too much about phones in schools + way too little about the % of time students spend staring at a Chromebook screen in classrooms.
May 16, 2025 at 12:27 PM
I worry we are going to look back at the 2020's as the decade we talked way too much about phones in schools + way too little about the % of time students spend staring at a Chromebook screen in classrooms.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
I actually think people are going to miss the complicated, challenging and, yes, sometimes exclusionary social graces that make society possible. You really don’t want to get rid of all metaphorical language, scripts, and lies. They grease the wheels of mutual cooperation.
May 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I actually think people are going to miss the complicated, challenging and, yes, sometimes exclusionary social graces that make society possible. You really don’t want to get rid of all metaphorical language, scripts, and lies. They grease the wheels of mutual cooperation.
Really handy data tool in this, helps clarify how much variation is happening between districts, even though the overall trend in salaries is bad news.
{new} For Teacher Appreciation Week, we should figure out why school spending is up but teacher salaries are not --> www.the74million.org/article/inte... via @the74.bsky.social
Interactive: School Spending vs. Teacher Pay — See Trends in 8,900 Districts
Aldeman: Teacher salaries have been flat for a long time, lagging behind not only per-pupil spending, but earnings of other college-educated workers
www.the74million.org
May 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Really handy data tool in this, helps clarify how much variation is happening between districts, even though the overall trend in salaries is bad news.
Reposted by Sarah Montana
NAGB just voted (reluctantly) to kill several NAEP exams over the next 10 yrs. Cuts: 1) No Long-Term Trend NAEP at all until 2033. 2) No 4th grade science in 2028 and no 12th grade science in 2032. 3) Writing scrapped altogether. 4) No 12th grade history in 2030 (1/3)
April 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
NAGB just voted (reluctantly) to kill several NAEP exams over the next 10 yrs. Cuts: 1) No Long-Term Trend NAEP at all until 2033. 2) No 4th grade science in 2028 and no 12th grade science in 2032. 3) Writing scrapped altogether. 4) No 12th grade history in 2030 (1/3)
Reposted by Sarah Montana
What if the boat flipping orcas and the tariffed penguins formed a team
April 3, 2025 at 10:28 PM
What if the boat flipping orcas and the tariffed penguins formed a team
Reposted by Sarah Montana
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
More of this
This exciting resolution from Rutgers University Senate is exactly the kind of model I think higher ed needs: a mutual defense pact of, in this case, Big 10 schools. They call for member institutions to create a joint defense fund and make resources available to any member institution under attack.
March 30, 2025 at 11:41 PM
More of this
Reposted by Sarah Montana
These Are the Students Targeted by Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Over Campus Activism
time.com/7272060/inte...
time.com/7272060/inte...
These Are the Students Targeted by ICE So Far
The Trump Administration is seeking to revoke a number of international students’ legal status to be in the U.S. over pro-Palestinian campus activism.
time.com
March 27, 2025 at 11:08 AM
These Are the Students Targeted by Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Over Campus Activism
time.com/7272060/inte...
time.com/7272060/inte...
Reposted by Sarah Montana
Reposted by Sarah Montana
I'm super excited to share this short brief on who has power over the Department of Education, what the ED Sec can do, and what Executive Orders can do.
There's a lot of info (and links!) packed into one place. I hope it's helpful. Please share.
drive.google.com/file/d/1QpeK...
There's a lot of info (and links!) packed into one place. I hope it's helpful. Please share.
drive.google.com/file/d/1QpeK...
March 7, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I'm super excited to share this short brief on who has power over the Department of Education, what the ED Sec can do, and what Executive Orders can do.
There's a lot of info (and links!) packed into one place. I hope it's helpful. Please share.
drive.google.com/file/d/1QpeK...
There's a lot of info (and links!) packed into one place. I hope it's helpful. Please share.
drive.google.com/file/d/1QpeK...