How a Cynical Narrative Can Advance Privatization

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1. Mary Valentine says:

   December 29, 2012 at 10:07 am

   Muskegon Heights, Michigan, is a perfect example of this travesty. Due to schools of choice, the loss of industry,and cuts to school aid, it was squeezed of money and students until it was so far in debt it could not continue. The district was taken away from the citizens and an Emergency Manager was appointed by the state. One of the first things he did was to fire all of the staff. He then chose a for-profit company, Mosaica, to run the school district. Mosaica hired some of the old staff back, but at a greatly reduced rate of pay.

   These are the students who need stability, yet all the teachers were fired. Shortly before school opened, 30% of the new hires, including the high school principal, quit. New people were hired. As of the middle of November, 25% of those had quit. This, in a school of high poverty, in which stability is critical. Studies are clear about this. High staff turn-over leads to lower test scores.

   These are precious students and families who deserve better. They are not to blame. The working conditions and low pay offered by Mosaica have assured that good, experienced teachers will look elsewhere for work. That is why Mosaica has been unsuccessful in retaining staff.

   Enough. No more excuses. We need to find effective strategies for educating our students in districts of high poverty. For-profit companies are not the answer.

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   • KrazyTA says:

     December 29, 2012 at 10:50 am

     Well said. I would add that the rheephormy narrative is separately and unequally applied. Diane has put it well: “In schools for the rich, children are taught. In schools for the poor, children are tested.”

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   • Inverness (@Inverness) says:

     December 29, 2012 at 11:01 am

     I agree with most of what you wrote, and appreciate the reference to Michigan’s emergency manager/coup.

     I beleive we already know what works for students in poor districts. Reducing poverty, of course, not to mention smaller class sizes, adequate counselling services, good nutrition, community schools which work with the families and the disctricts’ culture, etc.

     No need to reinvent the wheel — it’s the reformers who make try to sell a fake magic bullet. There isn’t one — comittment to ending poverty and what we already know works educationally are key.

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     • Mary valentine says:

       December 29, 2012 at 12:56 pm

       Agreed. Need to let the general public know.

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   • DeeDee says:

     December 30, 2012 at 1:45 am

     This is criminal. I heard the CEO of Mosaica owns a LEAR jet. I also heard they were guaranteed money up front without even having to prove performance increases. Quite a sweet deal. But remember, “It’s all for the kids.” This shows the failure of the dept of ed. If Arne Duncan really was concerned about educating children he would repeatedly make speeches outlining how to end the dispicable exploitation of the neediest children. Why hasn’t this been done? Is Duncan incompetent, bought out, or both? When will his big payoff come in the private sector for shafting tons of students and their teachers?

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     • Ken Mortland says:

       December 30, 2012 at 1:43 pm

       Meaning no disrespect, DeeDee; “I heard” doesn’t a testimony make. I was looking for verifiable data, when I asked about their pay. Do you know anything solid and verifiable? If so, please share both data and source. And I’ll see that it is shared throughout my humble network.

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     • Mary Valentine says:

       January 1, 2013 at 10:34 am

       The Muskegon Chronicle reported that the average pay was $37,000. I asked Don Tignanelli, Mosaica regional vice president, and Alena Zachary-Ross, superintendent of Muskegon Heights Academy. They told me that the teachers are offered $35,000 a year, but the employee can bargain for more. They will pay more if they have the need. For instance, at least one of the academic coaches told me she receives more than that, although she was asked not to reveal her pay so there would not be hard feelings. The Emergency Manager, Don Weatherspoon, and Mosaica have said they want transparency. If that is true, you should be able to call and ask and they should tell you.

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2. American Views Skewed by Politics and Media says:

   December 29, 2012 at 10:47 am

   I found an interesting resource yesterday. The 2011 Phi Delta Kappa poll on education in America. I have included a link to the 4th page which shows that about 70% of Americans say that the media shows more negative information about teachers than positive. (bottom left of page) http://www.pdkintl.org/poll/docs/pdkpoll43_2011.pdf#page=4

   Another interesting fact, and there are many, is that this is a very political issue with Republicans siding with the governors trying to destroy union rights and Democrats siding with the teachers unions. I am not sure why Democratic legislators are not more supportive given the attitude of their constituency. Though the majority of people overall side with the teachers unions, Republican governors appear to have the power and are not representing the will of he people, (left side of page near bottom) http://www.pdkintl.org/poll/docs/pdkpoll43_2011.pdf#page=6

   Please read through the whole thing. It is a summary of the report and contains so much evidence about peoples attitudes. There is some very sad news, and some heartening information.

   Here is the conclusion though:

   As the United States continues to explore ways to not just reform but transform education, all new policies and programs must consider what will be most effective at improving student learning. Americans seem clear that the answer is investment in teachers first and foremost.

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3. Carol says:

   December 29, 2012 at 11:09 am

   Mr. Mike Jones is on the Missouri State Board of Education. He is one of a handful of government officials that seems to truly understand K-12 education. At a recent education forum, he pointed out that markets are excellent at setting a price, but they are terrible at determining value. The children are the victims of the junk science of using a business model for K-12 public education.

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4. Peggy Robertson says:

   December 29, 2012 at 11:10 am

   Empower others to change the narrative. http://www.pegwithpen.com/2012/12/parents-ask-questions-tell-story-take.html

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5. readingexchange says:

   December 29, 2012 at 11:53 am

   “Consign to “traditional public schools” students whose high-cost special needs make them less profitable. Then blame resource-starved schools for not succeeding with those students and begin anew to find new ways to drain those schools of their remaining resources.”

   This is a well-stated summary of the blueprint of “reform”. I truly believe that they will one day get what they deserve.

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6. Ken Mortland says:

   December 29, 2012 at 12:45 pm

   Saw this conflict coming in 1992 and wrote the following editorial.

   “Try to picture this. A large national corporation, until recently grazing contentedly on federal military contracts, finds its annual earnings reflecting a shocking drop. It is decided that new access to federal dollars must be found, or the corporation may go out of business. Someone suggests a product which could tap into ever increasing federal education dollars. Another suggestion leads to looking into the possibility of crafting that product so that state and local education dollars can also be tapped.

   The marketing department points out that the product will not sell, unless the buyers, the American public, can be convinced that the current product is substandard. Marketing is assigned the task of creating the need for these new products by convincing the American public that its public education institutions are utter failures. Once that had been accomplished, a program will be undertaken to separate public education dollars from public education institution. Those dollars would become the mainstay of corporation earnings. The product is private education.”

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7. Joe says:

   December 29, 2012 at 1:17 pm

   Ironic that the government run schools are inefficient and must be privatized. But the privatized medical insurance must be replaced with government run.

   The National Parks don’t want you to feed the animals or they will become dependent. But the food stamp program for people is expanding.

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   • David Eckstrom says:

     December 31, 2012 at 6:04 am

     Who has said that “the privatized medical insurance must be replaced with government run.” Certainly not the ACA, which you seem to be implying, because it uses private insurers.

     And there is a huge difference between encouraging a black bear to find his food in the abundance of his natural environment, rather than in peoples’ tents as opposed to providing food to poor urban people who lack the capacity to forage or grow their own.

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8. Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

   December 29, 2012 at 2:24 pm

   Egads…even food stamps is being cut. I think congress should go hungry for a few days, then feed them cake.

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9. Ken Mortland says:

   January 1, 2013 at 2:22 pm

   DeeDee: Thanks for some solid data. Do we know what Mosaica is paying its administrative staff and its corporate leadership? The concern is that money saved by minimizing teacher pay does not go into other aspects of the student program, but often goes into the pockets of leadership in the form of obscenely high salaries.

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   • Mary Valentine says:

     January 2, 2013 at 9:13 am

     Their contract calls for $1.5 million in profit — while they don’t provide a high school library. There will be an article about it on NPR in Michigan starting tomorrow.l

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     • Ken Mortland says:

       January 2, 2013 at 11:03 am

       I take this comment to mean we have no idea what they pay themselves. Will be watching for a post about the NPR article.

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