Irony: on the same day that the New York Times reports that charters and competition have caused an unprecedented collapse of education in Detroit, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Walton Family Foundation (Walmart) will pump another $250 million this year alone into starting more new charters.
The Waltons–who are all billionaires–are doubling down on failure. They are doing to public schools what Walmart does to communities: destroying the competition, disrupting the community, and targeting public education for privatization.
I vow never to set foot in a Walmart. I know that is difficult for people because in many communities, all the mom-and-pop stores folded after Walmart arrived. Now mom and pop are low-wage greeters for Walmart.
Walmart relies heavily on foreign imports for its products, thus contributing to the outsourcing of manufacturing in this country. It has undermined American workers and home-grown businesses. Now it wants to drive public schools out of business with the same predatory techniques. The Waltons are not good neighbors.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Vultures, flying into Detroit and other distressed communiities as if saviors.
Yes, “as if saviors”. Not sure how to qualify the maniacal ideologues of deform. Wannabe savior is not quite right. They are more like vermin on high, white horses.
They are vultures, venture scavengers who help decompose the carcasses of the American People in preparation for the 21st century, New Economy. They are also saviors, innovators who groupthink in opulent echo chambers how to free investors from any public duty or social responsibility. They are the enlightened, monopoly class, riding high horses four.
Or to be more succinct, wolves in sheep clothing.
If you don’t know, the six Walmart heirs have more wealth than the combined wealth of the bottom 40% of our country, and this is how they operate their greedy, predatory practices: Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price
They own much of retail in Costa Rica where they want to control banana plantations — their highest selling product at one time. No one knows they are Walmarts because they leave the original or take other names.
It’s just seed money, Diane. The real objective is to convince state and federal lawmakers to allocate more and money to building more and more charter schools:
“We further hope this work will motivate cities and states to adopt policies that level the playing field for charters.
This new initiative alone will not ensure true building equity for charter schools. This will happen only when lawmakers set politics aside and put families and children first. Our hope is that this helps catalyze changes that will make it easier for innovative educators to create needed opportunities for America’s students.”
Who owns the property after the public pays for it? The management company? A national charter chain?
It’s interesting that the assumption in ed reform is every community wants to replace their public schools with privately-owned and managed schools- the only reason one would value public schools is because they aren’t “putting families first”
Ed reform lobbyists shouldn’t assume everyone is as opposed to public schools as they are. I don’t think that’s remotely true.
Diane, you are a little late to the game. I have not shopped at a Walmart in about a decade. The way they treat their employees was my reason but your reason is just as valid if not more. The Walmart heirs could raise their employees wages to $20 per hour (minimum) and still add billions to their wealth every year. But, no, they have this task, you see: destroying public school and teachers unions and turning teachers into unreliable liberal voters.
Steve, thanks. I wrote about the Walmartization of American education in “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” several years ago.
How many former government ed reformers have landed at Walton, Gates and Broad by now?
I think the public deserves a list. They should know which billionaires are setting public education policy. and which former government employees are lobbying friends and former colleagues to promote privatization. Ed reform is like one big happy family! The line between “the Walton Heirs” and “the US Department of Education” has all but disappeared.
If any of you mediocre under-achievers in the public are interested in what the Best and Brightest have planned for your communities, here’s the Walton heirs “strategic plan for K-12 education”
http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/~/media/documents/k12-strategic-plan-overview-4222016.pdf?la=en
If you suspected that there were a lot of charter schools in your future, you’re right!
When do the ed reform politicians let people in on the plan, I wonder?
See, this isn’t really a “gift” because what the Waltons want in exchange for their 250 million is for for states and cities to write laws to create privatized systems that the Waltons design:
“In order for choice and opportunity — the ultimate
forms of parent empowerment — to spur change,
cities need to create environments that support
expanded choice and high-quality schools. This
means creating enrollment platforms, equitable
transportation access, fair funding and readily
accessible, current information on schools and
student performance for families and other
stakeholders.”
“Gifts” are free. This is a transaction.
From Forbes Magazine:
“Report: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/15/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-in-public-assistance/#4eb6dbdd7cd8
Related but, slightly off topic. A local Ohio newspaper reported that Sen. Sherrod Brown hasn’t been willing to endorse the Democrat, who is running against Republican Sen. Portman, in November. My take is that Brown, and his ilk, rely on the shtick that’s trotted out, “except for the Koch’s…”. If the House and Senate return to the Democrats, under HRC, it will become obvious which Democratic politicians cater to the wealthy.
The financial abuses of Ohio charter schools, aren’t new. In the last few weeks, Brown’s support for rephorm remained firm. Then, this week, he finds the problem but, parses his condemnation, merely allowing a different group to take the shrinking resources of communities.
What if Brown, recently, got his directions to write a strongly worded note to the Dept. of Ed.?…. CYA, reflecting that the whole civil rights cover for rephorm is unraveling?
I appreciate the candor of this post–Wal-Mart is bad news for a variety of reasons. And this gesture? Cynical and low.
The Waltons–who are all billionaires–are doubling down on failure.”
If there is one thing the Walton’s would never do it is “double down on failure”, at least not in the business sense.
Everything they do is motivated by making or saving money.
Walmart also contributes to the cost of welfare in the U.S. by paying poverty wages to many of its employees. Watch the video and discover how Walmart costs US taxpayers about $300 million annually.
We Michigan teachers received this from the AFT this evening:
The long-awaited study of education funding in Michigan was released today, and puts in black and white what we’ve known in our classrooms for years: school funding in Michigan is woefully insufficient and grievously inequitable.
The study was funded by the state as a result of legislation from 2014, which was championed by AFT Michigan and the Michigan Education Association and authored by former State Reps. Brandon Dillon and Ellen Cogen Lipton.
AFT Michigan and MEA issued the following statement regarding the study:
NEWS RELEASE
Adequacy Study Reveals ‘Shameful’ State of Education Funding in Michigan
Presidents of MEA and AFT-Michigan urge lawmakers to heed recommendations of new education funding study
LANSING — Today’s release of a study examining education funding in Michigan provides solid evidence that Michigan has failed to adequately fund public schools to achieve optimal student performance.
The study, conducted by the firm Augenblick, Palaich and Associates of Denver, determined that “notably successful” districts should have at least an $8,667 per pupil foundation grant. A “notably successful” district is defined in the study as one that meets above-average performance standards. Currently, the lowest-funded districts in Michigan receive approximately $1,100 less per pupil.
“The adequacy study released today proves what many of us in public education have been saying for years: Michigan’s education funding is inadequate, and it’s harming student performance,” said Steve Cook, president of the Michigan Education Association. “It is not a coincidence that the academically high-performing districts are also the highest-funded districts in the state.”
The study notes that 89 percent of Michigan school districts are funded below the notably successful threshold.
“We demand excellence from our teachers and we demand high achievement from our students, yet we fail to adequately fund our public schools to give those teachers and students a fair chance to achieve those goals,” Cook said.
American Federation of Teachers Michigan President David Hecker had this to say about the study’s findings:
“While money doesn’t guarantee results, the severe underfunding of Michigan schools — especially acute in urban districts with higher rates of special needs and English language learners — puts Michigan students at an extreme disadvantage,” he said “Considering we were once one of the best funded public education systems in the country, our current ranking (#38) is nothing short of shameful.”
The report specifically acknowledges the need for additional funding for districts with higher rates of special needs students.
“This study highlights the failure of our state to live up to the promise of a high-quality, equitable education for all students,” Hecker said. “We know poverty significantly impedes learning, and the study shows that providing equitable educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged students requires additional investment. It is clear that we are shortchanging students across the board and students from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately harmed.”
Both Cook and Hecker are urging the legislature to move quickly and act on the report’s findings so that Michigan students can have the resources they need to compete in both higher education and today’s job market.
###
The Detroit Free Press reported on the study and posted the report in its entirety here.
The entire report (which was in The Detroit Free Press) is not even relevant since the company who did it did not consider charter schools.
$400,000 spent to hire a private company to do much of nothing.
Diane’s post from the New York Times is a good one and fairly accurate.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2016/06/28/study-michigan-must-create-equ
See if this works: http://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2016/06/28/study-michigan-must-create-equ
To see the bias toward charters in the federal government people can look at the US Department of Ed office of innovation and development.
https://twitter.com/ED_OIIll
Look at the grant distribution over the various categories. It’s WILDLY skewed toward charters. Charters are maybe 10% of schools but they get the majority of grants.
KIPP alone gets tens of millions of dollars, along with TFA, and that’s not even counting the funds that are available ONLY to charters.
The US Dept of Education may as well be the Walton Foundation. The focus and agenda is exactly the same.
So of about 64 million in federal grants available, 12 million is available ONLY to charter schools.
7% of schools get 12 million out of 64 million in grant dollars. That’s not counting the fact that charter schools can apply for all the general grants too.
http://innovation.ed.gov/apply-for-a-grant/
All predictable… Read our book online for free. Privatize and corporatize everything public ed. https://weaponsofmassdeception.org/
The last time I set foot in a Walmart was November 2013. It feels good knowing I’m not tracking that stuff around everywhere I go on the bottom of my shoes anymore.
It can be done, and it needs to be done. Starve The Beast!
Maybe the name “Mafia” should be changed to: “Walton”.
I will happily set foot in a Walmart for one purpose and one purpose only: to use its bathroom without buying anything. In fact, I make a point of it if nature calls and one is nearby.
Take all the unused TP with you and don’t flush.