It is useful every so often to review the list of organizations that are funded by the ultra-rightwing Walton Foundation. This past year, the foundation gave out $158 million for “education reform.” As you will see, almost all of that money went to support charter schools and vouchers and organizations that advocate for privatization.
Of course, this is the foundation’s list of grants, and it does not include the millions of dollars that the members of the Walton family have poured into privatization campaigns and elections in Georgia, Washington State, and elsewhere.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
But Diane, there is something even worse than ” charter schools and vouchers and organizations that advocate for privatization.”
Consider just these two grants
Editorial Projects in Education 250,000
Education Writers Association 100,000
The first is the parent organization that puts out Education Week and Teacher
The second in the “professional” organization of those who “cover” education for the main stream media (although it includes the likes of Jo Ann Armao, who writes editorials supporting “reform” for the Washington Post
And then there is this:
Harvard University 454,790
and I suppose that helps fund the Ed. L. D. program whose partners include the likes of Green Dot School, Khan Academy, New Schools Venture Fund, and Teach for America (and yes, far too many public school systems and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards)
and then there are these two:
National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices 225,000
National Public Radio 1,400,000
and this
Regents of the University of Colorado 65,756
and these:
United Negro College Fund, Inc. 1,490,523
University of Arkansas Foundation Inc 329,125
University of Notre Dame 384,228
University of Washington Foundation – Center on Reinventing Public Education 700,000
Urban League of Greater New Orleans 491,300
In short, they have so much money they can buy influence even in places that should be exercising independent and critical judgment of much of what they advocate
Teacherken,
You are right. It is alarming to see money from a foundation with a strong ideology underwriting what should be independent sources of information in the media and academe. One doesn’t get Walton money to be neutral.
However, it’s my understanding that Walton has been funding the Chicago Public School closing public hearings. Now, I do understand that they would probably be doing so to make it “appear” that all things are fair & equitable, and that CPS is being “open” by holding these hearings. BUT–& this is a BIG but–they didn’t count on Chicago, “City of the Big Shoulders.” Chicagoans traditionally USE these big shoulders to push back, and will continue to do so for as long as it takes! (In fact, there is going to be a rally at the Daley Plaza on Wednesday, March 27th, at 4 PM.
I believe it’s called “You Close Our Schools, We’ll Shut Down the City!”) Y’all come on down!
You might the following management consulting report on Walmart to be interesting.
Click to access Wal-Mart-Strategy.pdf
It says Walmart is only lower price on a few key items and that on 80 percent of items it is higher price.
How would the same type of analysis apply to charter schools and vouchers? Are they lower price? Better test scores?
Thank you for sharing this interesting information…seriously there’s something very wrong when a private foundation gives away this much money…it would be interesting to see their application and find out what strings come along with the money. Thanks for your airing of this & so much more, Diane.
The flip side of the coin. I a fund raising consultant for schools, and can tell you one of the problems with the Walton Foundation is this: organizations such as TFA, are nonprofits with a large fund development staff, where as public school systems often lack a development office. My bet is if the public school systems would put out as many grant applications to non-government agencies, they might see the money come to them, instead of TFA.
Yep, let’s go begging to our (monetary) masters to get a few crumbs of the food that they have stolen from us.
Yes, beg for scraps and do their bidding.
Last year one of the schools I work with received over $100,000 for a new school computer lab paid for by the Wal-Mart Foundation. (FYI, you don’t beg, you just write a 2 page grant application.)