This is news you need to know.
The American Federation of Children is a rightwing organization that spends heavily to promote vouchers and to support candidates in state and local races who support vouchers.
When Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin was under siege for attacking public sector workers, he was honored (along with Michelle Rhee) by the AFS.
The AFS is funded by the DeVos family, whose fortune comes from its ownership of Amway.
It belongs to ALEC.
AFC is opposed to public education.
It is one of the main forces funding privatization, along with the Walton family of Walmart fame and fortune.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Sounds like Stand For Children – another astroturf group heavily funded by Gates.
This blog post, written in response to an article I came across in Bloomberg Businessweek describes the lengths some philanthropists will go to in order to avoid detection: http://waynegersen.com/2014/05/11/the-philanthropy-paradox/ and it includes this fun fact: “Individual charitable deductions will cost the Department of the Treasury $43.6 billion in foregone revenue this year, a congressional panel estimates.” For those keeping score at home, this means that IN ONE YEAR the treasury lost TEN TIMES as much money as was dedicated to Race to the Top…. We’re letting the oligarchs decide where and how money will be spent instead of allowing democracy to work…
diane, how are you doing? please update us….
Diane, thanks for continuing to post during your recovery!
If you haven’t already, add Amway to your boycott list.
The DeVos family has targeted PA in the past trying to pass vouchers. http://progressivenetwork.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/voucher-advocate-betsy-devos-right-wing-think-tanks-behind-koch-style-attack-on-pa-public-schools/
So a sane person would think – if they hate public education so much, why not get behind, and open, private schools and leave everyone else alone? Well, the answer isn’t that simple as the question, because in order to create worker drones for the businesses that pay awfully, part time, and offer no benefits, they have to create a dumbed down workforce that is work-ready after H.S. graduation. Thus, they must infiltrate and tear apart the public schools, and create charter schools for “some of those lucky poverty stricken” kids, and keep them dumb too. Also, they need to further line their already overfilled pockets by their greed. Lastly, they think somehow their money makes them better than everyone else, but it only makes them richer and disgusting. I bet you all of those families have some closeted in-bred family members — just LOOK at them, they look inbred.
They want to destroy and dismantle for their own greed. I don’t know how they sleep at night. Certainly, they cannot believe they are doing good for mankind. If they wanted to do good with their monies, they would be funneling cash secretly into campaigns.
I overheard a Princeton graduate speaking about a couple of doctors, and their son was in Princeton – he said “he’s good stock” – like everyone else who attended state universities with middle class parents are of inferior “stock.” Sickening.
Reblogged this on TN BATs BlOG.
I”m not sure if she’s still there, but one of ConnCAN’s top staff, Ann Marcucio, came from the American Federation for Children. Look up Scott Jensen, a senior lobbyist for American Federation for Children/Alliance for School Choice and a former co-worker of Marcucio (they co-edited the yearbook for the group once or twice – cute, no?). He was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly who was convicted of three felony charges for breaking campaign laws that were later reduced after he pled and paid a fine (he should have gone to prison, but Wisconsin is what it is). Jepsen was a leader for All Children Matter (another DeVos group) and was fined $5.2 million by Ohio election officials for illegally funneling contributions. Check out the “HIspanics for School Choice” (if I remember the name correctly. He was also involved in a scam in Wisconsin in which they were trying to push legislation for vouchers on behalf of special needs students though no advocacy group for special needs students was promoting it. Nice people…
The Waltons are HUGE funders of American Federation for Children’s PAC, to the tune of nearly $20 million dollars…