Michigan created an “Educational Achievement Authority” in which it clustered the state’s lowest performing schools. Of course, it is corporate reform-speak to identify the schools with the lowest test scores and say they are part of an “achievement” district. But, hey, it is only words.
Seems the EAA needed an infusion of cash, so the Broad Foundation plunked down $10 million to keep it going. This makes sense because all of the schools in the EAA are controlled by John Covington, who “graduated” from Broad’s unaccredited superintendent’s academy in 2008. Covington previously was superintendent of the Kansas City schools, where he closed half the city’s schools before resigning abruptly for a bigger salary and unchecked power in Michigan.
There are certainly advantages to being part of Eli Broad’s network.
We will see what it does for the kids. They are waiting to hear something more than grandiose promises and test prep.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on MI Tspelczequer and commented:
From Diane Ravitch’s blog, more on the Michigan’s Educational Achievement Authority and its leader, John Covington.
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We just had committee hearings on this last week in Lansing. I don’t remember them making any mention of Eli Broad and the cash infusion. Too bad, because maybe it would have gone away. But then again, our governor loves other people’s money, whether it’s federal dollars or grant money. The education committee chair is a ditz who doesn’t know one end from the other. We had such high hopes for her when she got elected. Her father was our Lt. Governor two governors ago. She doesn’t do anything without his input. As long as we have Gov. Snyder though, Michigan will always be sucking at the trough for dollars whether from grants from Broad and/or Gates or the feds.
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Covington stated the per pupil foundation grant money from the state “wasn’t enough” to do what he wanted to do. Funny, the rest of us (i.e. school districts) have operated with what they give us and we have been screaming for years to increase the foundation grant. Meanwhile, Gov. Snyder gave big business a $1.8 billion tax cut and he wants to give schools a 2% increase in funding this year, which amounts to $16 per child…that won’t even buy a textbook!
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http://www.examiner.com/article/superintendent-covington-screwed-kansas-city-big-time
John Covington is a fraud.
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We just had committee hearings on this last week in Lansing. Funny, I was there and don’t remember any mention being made of the “cash infusion” needed. and of course it is NEVER enough. Too bad though, maybe the EAA would have gone away. However, with a governor who worships at the trough of federal dollars and grant dollars, I doubt it will ever happen. The education committee chair is the daughter of a past Lt. Gov and doesn’t know her head from a hole in the ground when it comes to education. We had such high hopes for her when she got elected, but now she does whatever Snyder tells her to. In the grand scheme of things, I guess we should consider ourselves lucky to get the $16. Wasn’t enough money left to go around after every person in MI paid thousands of dollars in film subsidies for a stupid movie. Of course Disney will make all the money off it, not the people of Michigan.
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We’re not even getting the $16. Snyder is including all education funding in the mix including universities. K-12 is actually getting a slight funding decrease.
As for the EAA, we knew this would happen. They couldn’t scale up the system (if it worked) because the per pupil allotment exceeds what we currently get. They’ll get some success and trumpet how well it works even though it keeps getting grant money which other schools don’t get.
The EAA touted student growth from their baseline / pre-tests in September to now. But their MEAP scores were horrific. If that is the measure (self-administered pre-tests and post-tests) then standardized assessments at the state and federal level are meaningless. Besides, those tests are so easily gamed. Students know to perform poorly on pre-tests to show improvement and get rewards or avoid interventions.
The emperor has no clothes.
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EAA in Michigan was allowed to go through as a rather repugnant political compromise, pure and simple. The Governor attempted in December/lame duck to use two pieces of legislation, HB6004 and HB5923, to make possible his complete “unbundling” of public education funding (that is, opening up public school money completely to all sorts of educational entities). He met with stiff resistance, particularly because the EAA bill (HB6004) created a whole new district with the capacity to seize properties throughout the state. Correspondingly, the EAA was pared down. An agreement was hatched between parties that if the Governor (at least temporarily) gave up HB5923 (a complete unbundling) but he would get his pared down EAA. So: we have the EAA and the Governor will begin, again, with this smaller version of a “shadow district.” Richard MacLellan “roll out” plan expected next Monday.
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For information in how the Broad Foundation is coordinating the privatization of public schools, see:
“Who is Eli Broad and why is he trying to destroy public education?”
http://www.defendpubliceducation.net/
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In Oct. 1998 Broad sold Sun America to AIG for $18 billion and a seat on the board of AIG. The same month J.P. Morgan sent their derivative guy to meet with AIG’s derivative guy in London to talk them into the CBO’s. It happened. The Board of Directors determines what the company will do. Broad helped to crash the finances of the planet by helping AIG to be one of the biggest failures in this mess. So what else would you expect from someone like this except more of the same for his personal benefit and that of his friends. Destroy finances of the world, destroy the education system of the world, great work I am doing is what Broad says to himself everyday. Are we going to let him and his cronies continue putting us on this path or declare war on them and use the MIRV missles in our control and that is the truth about their planned total failure?
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The EAA is a complete joke. Teachers have left in droves. The local news never does a real critique. Obviously they have been hit by the Broad virus. How pathetic is a person who is so egotistical that they can’t have the truth revealed. I really am beginning to think that Broad isn’t just clueless but evil too.
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The Free Press and Detroit News will put a ton of spin around it all.
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