Politico.com reported that StudentsFirst chose a staunch advocate of charters, vouchers, and privatization to replace Michelle Rhee. (As usual, the word “reformer” is a synonym for privatization and hostility to teachers’ rights):
“STUDENTSFIRST PICKS NEW PRESIDENT: Longtime education reformer Jim Blew has been selected by the StudentsFirst Board of Directors to serve as the group’s new president, replacing former D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Blew has served as an adviser to the Walton Family Foundation on a host of K-12 education reform issues and he has directed campaigns for the Alliance for School Choice and its predecessor, the American Education Reform Council. He steps in at an integral time for StudentsFirst – when news broke in mid-August that Rhee was stepping down, reform activists said [ http://politico.pro/1rt7Uh8%5D she was leaving a trail of disappointment and disillusionment in her wake. Four years ago, Rhee pledged to raise $1 billion to transform education worldwide. But StudentsFirst has been hobbled by a high turnover rate. And activists said Rhee failed to build critical coalitions, instead alienating activists who should have been her allies with strategies they found imperious, uncompromising and even illogical.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I noted that reports from “reformers” indicating that this guy is a Californian with a record as an education activist, but I’m a Californian who’s followed education “reform” closely for well over a decade, and I’ve never heard of him.
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Caroline, he has a long record as as voucher advocate, which these days means he is for “reforming” public schools out of existence.
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“Reform”? No, a better word would be “pseudo-reform” or “Rhee-deform”.
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Actually, the accurate term is “Smash and Grab.”
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Glad to see they didn’t just pick any Joe Blow.
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He’s a voucher supporter and a Democrat.
I would bet you 5 bucks that DC Democrats will be supporting vouchers by 2016. The PR campaign is just revving up.
It’ll be easier in a way. The last distinction between Republicans and Democrats should fall. It was mostly rhetorical nitpicking anyway. Once you declare that any publicly-funded school is a “public school” you’re 90% of the way to vouchers.
Backpack vouchers, here we come! It should be amusing to watch the shift.
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Next buzzterm ‘education exchange’.
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The health care comparison! I agree. There’s a lot of commonality there. The difference is we never had a truly public and universal health care system, and we did have a public and universal K-12 system, until we were reckless enough to declare it without value and throw it away.
Remember how hard it was to get a “public option” past the lobbyists and their politicians? That’ll happen in K-12 schools, too. No public option for you citizens! Buy this product, or else.
I read that they’re floating value-added for physicians. Front-line physicians are miserable as it is. They think their profession has been ruined by grim technocrats in government and greedy MBA’s in the private sector. Wait until they get VAM. The fun is just starting for them!
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From the last three sentence of the posting:
“Four years ago, Rhee pledged to raise $1 billion to transform education worldwide. But StudentsFirst has been hobbled by a high turnover rate. And activists said Rhee failed to build critical coalitions, instead alienating activists who should have been her allies with strategies they found imperious, uncompromising and even illogical.”
1), Unrealistic promises.
2), Burn-and-churn.
3), Bad management.
But this is what StudentsFirst backs as vital parts of the cure for what ails public schools.
And the lesson[s] the self-styled “education reformers” will learn from this? Perhaps the same lesson[s] Bill Gates has learned from the damage done to Microsoft by the unrealistic promises of stack ranking that were responsible for toxic burn-and-churn imposed by top-down by bad management.
¿? They’re capable of honest self-reflection and genuine self-correction? *For example, they’re about to come out against VAMania and the use/abuse of high-stakes standardized test scores to further their ROI/MC [ReturnOnInvestment/MonetizingChildren]?]*
“I reject that mind-set.” [Michelle Rhee]
😳
At least you have to admire her honesty…
😏
In a Johnsonally sort of way.
😎
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Not surprising from the Queen of Flip: Rhee: “Cooperation, collaboration and consensus-building are way overrated.” (Washington Post – Bill Turque – 2009)
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One step closer to wal mart wage slavery. Our kids are fatalistic for good reason
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I so hope the next generation sees through this and it changes.
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