Take the poll.
What do you think of the Broad charter expansion plan? Poll conducted by and results publicized on LA School Report. Easy to do, no registration, name, nor e-mail address required. Please vote, and tell the teachers at your schools to do so as well:
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I wonder why some people are so convinced that free market solutions are more efficient than single public delivery systems. The pitfalls of human nature apply to both. If individual entities are entirely focused on their own benefit, instead of the greater system public good, the overall system is less efficient. Obviously Broad is convinced otherwise.
With a teaching population of about 30K in LA, who teach about 650,000 students, and with a resident population in LA of about 9 Million, even if only 10,000 read LASR (a guesstimate) and have the opportunity to vote in this poll which we received this AM, and only 707 bothered to spend the one minute to do so….it becomes clear that apathy is a major villain this DEformer LAUSD scenario.
Here is a collection of articles documenting issues related to corporate charter expansion and resulting harms to students and local communities. There is a grey funnel-shaped icon on the above right hand side of the page so anyone can search for related terms (i.e. check out “TFA,” “privatization,” “ALEC,” and “hedge fund” to start). The collection is over 7 pages deep, with 100+ articles included and is continually updated. It is most easily accessible on the EduResearcher.com blog under the “Issues in EdReform” tab and can also be linked to directly from the following URL: Charter Schools & Choice: A Closer Look: http://bit.ly/chart_look.
This is so worthwhile Roxana…thanks.
Suggest you add Ken Derstine’s thorough and excellent article with many links and citations, on Eli Broad. And please feel free to use my article on Marshall Tuck which was up on Chalk Face, Down with Tyranny, and Robert Skeels blog Soiidaridad (I think). You may use anything of mine which is online including the City Watch Today articles on LAUSD and John Deasy…and also on Fetullah Gulen. You might also add some of the phony palaver and touting ed investing classes that Tilson has in his newsletters.
This a comprehensive short course in charters and their supporters. I commend you and am sending it to some on my listserve.
Thank you, Ellen. I will search/add some of those articles you suggested and please also feel free to connect and send any links my way that you think would be critical/central to include in the collection.
Who elected him?
Perhaps it is time to pass a “philanthropy law” where one may not donate X amount of money, buildings, etc. If the pupose is undermine or influence a public institution. Period! Anyone caught should be charged with treason for attaking the very roots of democracy and the nation. Corporations and the government need to get divorced. The kids ( people ) are the ones suffering the most.
I was reading IRS Manual 4.76.8.8.1 (07-01-2003) this morning. Stop laughing at me. (I’ve been trying to find out how much privately owned businesses pay in taxes when involved in charter schools with IRC § 501(c)(3)s. I’ve read 61% of 20%, but I don’t yet know with any certainty.) I discovered that the IRS knew in 2003 that charter schools would struggle with special education services.
“Organizations, whether for-profit or non-profit, operating schools under a charter agreement, may have little or no experience in managing or establishing a school and often contract for a myriad of services including, among others, curriculum design, financial management, office management, and special education services.”
And if you’re interested in more IRS doc reading — stop laughing– here’s something from 4.76.8.8.2:
“Determine if an Independent Board of Directors governs the charter school. A charter school board of directors composed of parents, teachers and community leaders provides structural independence. A board appointed or dominated by a comprehensive management company raises questions as to whether the school will be operated for the benefit of the management company. The examiner should determine whether a structurally independent board is involved in active oversight of the school’s operations or whether the board has delegated its duties and responsibilities to the management company.”
If you have time for a close read of a technical document, I recommend 4.76.8.8.1 and .2 at https://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/irm_04-076-008.html#d0e568.
Internet based polls does not represent a random sample of the people. Only those who first arrive at the poll site and then are inclined to click and vote are counted. Even the questions are not justified scientifically. This results in a very biased poll result that is meaningless.
These polls can be easily manipulated by a anyone by voting multiple times. This is simply an invitation by Diane to inject bias and manipulate the meaningless poll results.