The Walton Family Foundation has many billions of dollars. Though not as big as the Gates Foundation, it is one of the biggest three donors to education today. (The third billionaire foundation is the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.) All three of these foundations support charter schools, testing, and choice.
Of the three, the Walton Foundation is the most conservative. It has a strong preference for free-market and libertarian policies. Last year, it handed out $159 million in education grants. This year, $158 million.
Here is their list of winners for 2012.
The Walton Foundation is built on the fortune produced by the Walmart stores. Walmart is not a friend to Main Street, and the Walton Foundation is not a friend to community public schools. The foundation, like its stores, likes disruption. It disrupts communities and destroys the small-timers that get in the way of the free market. Privatization is the theme of their giving.
If you have time to review the list, you will see many familiar names, some in your own state, advocating for charters and vouchers, which have become a top priority for the far-right.
Teach for America: $11,445,000 million. The DC Public Education Fund was a big winner with $5.9 million, but it seems unlikely that any real public school will see a dollar of this grant. KIPP picked up $8.3 million. The Center on Reinventing Public Education–which writes research studies of charter schools–got $700,000. Students for Education Reform: $250,000. StudentsFirst collected $2 million. Eva Moskowitz’s chain (Success Academy) collected $1 million. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education came away with $1 million. The ex-liberal, now conservative group Stand for Children won more than $600,000, perhaps to continue their assault on teachers’ unions. GreatSchools, Inc., which grades schools, picked up $4.3 million. Howard Fuller’s pro-voucher group, Black Alliance for Educational Options, won $1.1 million. The once-liberal, now conservative Brookings Institution received $666,000.
Look over the list of the lucky winners. The one consistent theme is support for school choice, for charters and vouchers. Even the organizations with the word “public” in their name are supporters of school choice.
Perhaps what is most surprising and disturbing in the list is the inclusion of media outlets that should be strictly nonpartisan and neutral. It is frankly difficult to believe that the Walton Foundation makes grants to any organization that is truly nonpartisan on the issues about which it is passionate. So here is the shocking lineup:
$1.4 million for National Public Radio.
$100,000 for the Education Writers Association.
$250,000 for Education Week (Editorial Projects in Education).
$185,000 for Bellweather Education Partners (TIME magazine columnist Andrew Rotherham).
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The small NPR contribution is easily explained. It’s a pre-emptive strategy aimed at convincing a few progressives that the Walton Foundation is serious about quality education and to create the illusion that they are a good fit for progressive causes in general. Strikes me as a very sound tactic to limit some of the leftie wrath sure to visit them.
IMHO-not so easily explained, don vila. I think it’s an attempt to buy NPR and to shut them up–they are one of the last independent media voices out there. How about what’s been going on with PBS? AND–just look at CNN insofar as what they did to Diane & how they shine the light on Michelle?
(Remember who was Worldwide CNN President at the time of that interview–why, it was none other than Jim Walton!)
well let’s see. I just received an email as part of Ed Week’s advertiser program. It was for Success Academy, recruiting teachers. Isn’t interesting how much Ed Week is dependent upon ads from organizations that are not particularly friendly to teachers and public education.
It is just like with the conservative religionists. These organizations are the ones with the money right now. They are the Southern Baptists and Catholics of the world of education.
Black Alliance for Educational Options Baton Rouge director last summer in Baton Rouge admitted that charter schools were “not for every child” when I confronted him about educating children with severe special needs. If a charter school cannot properly educate any child who walks, rolls, or is carried into the school it is not a public school and does not deserve special funding.
I also told him that only teachers should run the schools and he gave me a story about the certified teachers being the ones not doing a good job. I also asked about tenure, explaining they cannot do their best without job security and he said they would not get tenure. I admit I buttonholed him. He said that they would get financial incentives to do a good job. I told him merit pay and other financial incentives don’t work for teachers because it is a calling not a job. He could not answer that one. Closed his mouth.
I think these charter school people, as well as the Recovery District in Louisiana think that black people are ignorant and if they put an African-American face on a bad program that the people will support it. This is an old trick.
Very true. They love to put a minority face at the forefront as if this shows that they aren’t out to con you or rip you off.