Lindsay Wagner of the NC Policy Watch reports that an Oregon multi-millionaire is behind a secret plan to create an all-charter “achievement school district” for low-performing schools in North Carolina.
Wagner writes:
“Rep. Rob Bryan (R-Mecklenburg) may be the face of a plan to allow charter school operators to take over North Carolina’s worst performing schools, but he’s not the only Bryan with fingerprints on the proposal.
“Enter John D. Bryan, an Oregon-based retired business executive—and multimillionaire—who has long standing ties to the school privatization movement developing in the Tar Heel state and is a backer of conservative causes and political campaigns across the country.
“John Bryan has underwritten the creation of ten charter schools across North Carolina, and now thanks to his political efforts, he’s also behind a secret plan modeled after similar controversial initiatives in Tennessee, New Orleans and elsewhere to allow charter operators to fire an entire school’s staff and start from scratch in an attempt to catapult a public school into the top 25 percent of the state.
“The proposal to create an ‘achievement school district’ that wrests control of low-performing schools away from local school boards and into the hands of charter operators is being developed behind closed doors as the legislative session marches on, with numerous lawmakers and advocates working in tandem on successive drafts of the legislation.
And the final proposal, if it ever makes it to the House and Senate floors, will be the fruit of lobbying efforts commissioned by millionaire John Bryan….
“John Bryan, who is reportedly a retired chemical company executive, is founder of an organization called TeamCFA, an offshoot of his family’s foundation that is devoted to developing a network of charter schools around the country — most of which exist in North Carolina….
“Rep. Rob Bryan, who is the lead lawmaker pushing the bill that would create an ‘Achievement School District,’ has received $10,000 in campaign contributions since 2013 from John Bryan.
“According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, since 2010 John Bryan has given well over $100,000 to candidates who have a record of pushing school privatization efforts, including House Speaker Tim Moore, Rep. Jason Saine, former Guilford Rep. Marcus Brandon, Rep. Paul Stam, and Sen. Ralph Hise. And that list is likely not comprehensive, either, since many lawmakers don’t submit digitized campaign finance records, making it more difficult to search online for contributions.”
The sad irony is that the “achievement school district” in Tennessee, the model for this proposal, has been a dismal failure. it promised to move the state’s lowest performing schools to the top 20% in the state. Of the original six schools that were taken over because they were among the state’s bottom 5%, all are in the bottom 6% or lower. None has met the goal of dramatic–or even modest–test score gains.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The cookie-cutter “Achievement School District” is a national ed reform initiative, and secrecy, haste and excluding the people who actually live in these places seems to be part of the over-all strategy:
“Minutes from meetings of the committee that developed the Youngstown Plan show members discussing a need to keep the plan confidential and strategies to avoid bad public relations.
Minutes from the April 28 and the May 21 meetings of the Youngstown City Schools Business Cabinet were distributed Tuesday at a news conference called by the Youngstown Warren Black Caucus. Many attendees were city schoolteachers.
Richard Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, “begins the conversation by reminding everyone that confidentiality amongst the cabinet is essential until the plan begins to take place,” according to the May 21 minutes.
The plan, an amendment to another piece of legislation, was introduced and approved by a Ohio House committee, the full House and full Senate – all on the same day in late June.”
– See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/aug/12/effort-to-keep-plan-a-secret-revealed/#sthash.pqZ5EGKn.dpuf
Your state and city HERE
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The strategy of NOT involving the public at all until the deal is done is recommended by the head of the NewSchools Venture Fund in a paper written for the American Enterprise Institute. That method goes along with extravagent claims to key players in this game (including state superintendents of education) such as we will “start from scratch in an attempt to catapult a public school into the top 25 percent of the state.” These are PR pitches. The deals are really money-makers even for so-called non-profits. I just visited the website of the Charter School Growth Fund. It brags about putting $185 million into 260,000 “seats” at charter schools. You do the math on that and the estimate the inflow of public funds to those “seats.” There is big money left for CEOs and managers and trainers especially if you have fired all teachers, forced teachers whowere previously employed to reapply–no benefits, no bargaining, no rights just follow my rules and produce the metrics that make me look like a miracle worker. But there are none.
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I would bet 5 dollars they’ll fail in imposing this on Youngstown. I just don’t believe it’s the kind of place one can impose anything on, quite frankly. NOT going to take kindly to outsiders taking over their schools with secret plans.
They will meet resistance 🙂
The truth is ed reform has a recurring, chronic problem with democratic principles and that’s not a minor disagreement. Wars have quite literally been fought over that. They can’t paper over it with hand-waving and ranting about labor unions. It’s a difference in values- a belief. Good luck with that, technocrats.
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Well and in NC we don’t have a union with collective bargaining rights. Rob Bryan wants to build a dog fence and we have no dog.
Teachers watch group and peer dynamics so much (part of our work), so to see so clearly how group and peer dynamics from ALEC and the mindsets of reformers in this situation is coming into play makes me feel like I am watching adolescent behavior play out. In the classroom with developing youngsters that makes sense. In real life it is simply frustrating. But maybe that’s the essence of ️being human.
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Chiara, I think the achievement school district idea is now part of the ALEC model legislation.
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Lindsay, our reporting star, deserves an investigative journalism award.
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As long as the RheeFormers keep repeating the misleading term “lowest performing schools” too many people will continue to blame schools when the focus should be on the “lowest performing children” and the causes behind their performance in school.
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You have to love what an exclusive, tight-knit club this is:
“Bryan tapped former Americans for Prosperity state director Stuart Jolly to run the Oklahoma-based organization. EFA’s North Carolina-based representative is Charles Philip Byers, who also chairs the board of Parents for Educational Freedom NC, an organization known for its efforts to promote and defend North Carolina’s school voucher program. Byers was also recently elected to the UNC Board of Governors and serves as president of John Bryan’s Challenge Foundation Properties, which leases facilities to charter schools at low-interest rates. He also sits on the boards of several TeamCFA charter schools in North Carolina.”
Poor North Carolinians. They probably thought they were electing the people who draft their laws.
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Your last sentence sums up
my biggest frustrations perfectly. They are not really representing the people who elected them.
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These ASDs are only a failure to those of us that are interested in truly providing a good education for our children. They are a complete success though for those that trying to make their fortune off of the backs of our kids. When you present facts that prove this concept and Charters are a complete failure but they insist on moving forward that proves they only care about privatizing our schools not improving education. Until parents stand up and revolt it will never end.
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Diane, I have been rather discouraged that Virginia was allowed to take federal ESEA money without implementing any of the growth measure requirements. I figured that reform was hopeless.
But then I started reading your blog. And I heard about all these successful reforms in California, Utah, Colorado, Florida, DC and now NC. You have really brightened my spirits. I’m starting to think that Virginia is just an anomaly that will soon be swept into the reform movement’s arc toward justice for all.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate hearing all the great work that these selfless millionaire/billionaires are doing for the kids. One would think they would be out on the golf course or trying to increase their fortune. But instead they are working hard to ensure every child has an effective teacher. Please get better soon and continue your wonderful work of spreading the good news!
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Virginia,
VAM is failing everywhere. It works nowhere. Its implementation is causing a national teacher shortage. The billionaires and millionaires will not be held accountable. For them, it is a hobby, like golf or polo.
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virginiasgp,
You’re always good for a laugh.
Ohio’s Lager and Brennan, selfless? Michael Milken, selfless? Hansen’s resignation, in Ohio, forced because of his altruism?
Charter school promoters, Neil Bush and Biden’s bother, selfless?
18% interest return to Wall Street, from charter school debt, selfless? …..
1-3% of the population are psychopaths.
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I’m starting to enjoy your sarcastically sardonic tones, Brian.
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