Mercedes Schneider responded during her lunch break at school to the Finn, et al, article in the Wall Street Journal.
She says there is no mass movement to charter schools. Instead, there is a movement bought and paid for by billionaires, millionaires, and others who have embraced free-market ideology.
“Finn et al. are just a part of the well-financed corporate ed reform mass of think tanks, billionaires and hedge funders trying to foist reforms onto the American public in the name of a “quiet revolution.””
Diane Ravitch's blog 
But Arne Duncan says people “don’t care” if public schools remain public. He took a room wide survey in one of those echo chamber ed reform events and he now speaks for the entire country.
Don’t care. That’s what our national unelected spokesperson has decreed.
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Chiara .
SOME TIMES WE CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUE
I have the minimal dough that ; you are a public school defender , don’t get me wrong but Arne said the true , I know American people or Cuban parents love the’r kids and want the best education for them .
I don’t asking your comiment either your respect but opens your eyes to the reality , I’m Cuban but I have to kids , Daniel just turn 18 and Melanie 13 years . Bough of my kids . Do you know how many Chsrters school Florida had ?
I mean had because in 2014 . 39 Charters Closed doors school season if we ad 3 more also in 2014 . After season end . Only in Florida 51 Charters are inactive ( Inc. )
2015 only I can tell 59 more Charters ; out of those 59 Corporations . Can I assumed top list under federal Investigation for fraud , teachers with criminals records or Child abuse . Bought of my kids , my son got suicidial sough as the result of Fisical , mental , he has ADD as the principal is a Dictador , teachers , well if we can call teacher to an non- English speaker , Principal can’t Sex- Arasment parents , the police is cero tolerance to child , teachers or . To the point 7 girls minors 12 years old girl ?
The principal was warned tha that litle girl was Arasment , cruel sex-Arasment no only one no 6 more minors of 18 and ?
I fight by my self , I spread as 70 % my of the students of that Charter knew it and emails , and the principal do not fire the abusers . The Sujecf called .” Mr: Principal received copies of sexting , kicks mesages as I confronted him at the city hall of Hialeah Fl and I accuse . The Roon was full of people as the media , I told I’m accusing today here I have prove ; a sience teacher / baseball Coach is sex-Arasment a bunch of Girls as I told my son finish in mental heath ; with a letter also , texted mesages and Wiseness pointing at the principal as the principal respondible for thoses crimes , I told the boards of members who ? The city mayor , he shut his mouth , he can’t aswers my questions . I told that Chairman of Hialeah Education Academic . Inc as well to others involved I told them fired the abusers , you are using the police to Arasment my family .
Everyone knows , who cares ? How many parents of thoses kids stand up ? None , I opened doors , went to US Attorney , yes bough abusers fired , but after 2 years of molesting kids . KIARA
Parents will care if you involved more people and those peoples , yes not everyone is going to help , I’m realist . Do you know when Arned Duncan will shup his ( her ) ?
After parents get in , after parents join me at the same public park , where the principal Kick me out ?
Because he told the police what he say ?
The idiot admitted , because the police reports stay , that the Charter principal won’t let me go close to .. Those polices are fired because they WARNIG the wrong person , the principal abandoned my Dauther in a dangers public park , running because after he realized what he did , wax a crime he lied to the polices and parents there , full before , they know I told the true . Why thoses parents don’t stand up ?
Now they want because money is on the table, sued billionaries I got discovers , a humdres of proved that could send the principal to prison for long time as the city mayor he is going to federal prison . Why I can Garantte ?
My kids are not in the charter but they provided to feds detectives to many proved , I found my 11 years old princess by the’r refusing the school , now she is 13 , an honor Child student at hialeah Gardens ( public School )
I’m sorry you can ask to Duncan . Hialeah Education Acafemic . Inc . From me one parent opened the’r Pandora box , we care , parents do but we do our job or not many more will care .
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It is clear that charter schools provide lucrative revenue streams that have less scrutiny and little regard in providing valued service. So what do charters tend to do well. In many cases they provide new buildings, and good services. The public dollars turned private give charter schools a lot of power to weild large sums of money to build buildings. From the outside this seems great! Poor neighborhoods see new building and think better schools. Well, it ends up being the case because the funding for those schools is subtracted from the public domain. Those funds that once had community oversight now only have the interests of a few. But the quality of the school is getting misrepresented be the quality of the building. The perception is that this is a better system, but it is not. Dollars are shifting from great oversight and accountability to one with none. Profiteers are bulking the system. The American Enterprise system applauds this process, as the US educational is being hollowed out and dismantled. But as the years pass these profiteers are getting rich on the backs of school children. Shameful.
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Paean?
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Jon,
Typo
Fixed
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Check out some of the ed reform sites to see the single-minded focus on charter schools:
Pick any one of them. You will be hard-pressed to find a mention of a public school. If you do find discussion of public schools it will be reliably and consistently negative.
These are the folks running public school policy in DC for politicians who ran on “improving public schools”- people who consistently and reliably omit any mention of public schools.
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Finn was appointed to the MD state board of ed by GOP Gov Hogan, along with Andy Smarick. (See Ravitch’s blog on Smarick)
Years ago Finn was a main speaker at a conference on vouchers at Catholic U in Washington. I was there. Finn declared that he “was ashamed to be a Jew” because the major Jewish organizations opposed vouchers. A prominet Reform rabbi was there and responded appropriately.
Edd Doerr (arlinc.org)
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“Because these boards function more like nonprofit organizations than political bodies or public agencies, their members need not stand for election.” So write Finn & Co. But it’s increasingly clear that “nonprofit organizations”–like the various foundations we all could name–ARE “political bodies.” Too often irresponsible ones.
But the days in which “nonprofit organizations” were almost automatically more respected than “public agencies” are ending. If public agencies are problematic because they are bureaucratic, “nonprofits” are problematic because the “non” has disappeared in practice. You don’t have to rake in profit by overcharging for epipens. Just look at “nonprofit” salaries AND perquisites, connections and power. Nonprofits have become mechanisms for those with yuge economic power to overcome those who have “only” politics–like the vote–to protect themselves and their children. Think of it as Senator Eastland and the wealth of his plantations against Fannie Lou Hamer.
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If democracy were not so important, ALEC would not be spending so much money on local elections to gain control of the decision makers. This is the sneaky tactic of charter infiltration. Instead of putting whether to have or not have charters up to a public vote, they use their money to buy the decision makers. If charters are secure that public wants what they are selling, then have the courage to put the decision in the public’s hands. Stop with the secretive manipulations!
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Exactly. ‘Get the $ out’ of politics
http://billmoyers.com/2014/11/21/8-ways-get-money-politics/
needs to be the primary political push for pro-public schools, pro-democracy folk.
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Good thing the amazing Mercedes Schneider gets a lunch break!
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Christine
Thanks your repost is great . I love it . I’m back with it . Mercedes is Right or always wrong . Lol
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One of my students — best and brightest–came to me today with a problem. She has to commute 15 miles in L.A. traffic to our magnet school. There are nothing but charters left in her inner city neighborhood. The commute is too much for her family.
So, she handed me a charter scam letter of recommendation form. A charter scam one mile from where she lives requires letters of rec from one English and one math teacher for admission. She wants me to participate in this charter scam’s creaming practice. I don’t want to force my student to commute, but I also don’t want her to go to a charter scam, and I abhor the idea of participating in creaming.
What would you do?
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“There IS nothing but charters left…” Sorry for the error.
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LCT,
I would discuss my concerns about the “creaming” and charter schools in general with the student. Find out as much about the particular charter school to which she is applying and discuss any concerns with her.
Doesn’t the district provide transportation for the students? Our rural district provides transportation for all students to all schools. And yes the ride can be quite long-an hour or longer.
But it is your decision as to filling out a letter of recommendation. I’m not sure what I would do, other than what I suggested in the first paragraph and then try to decide.
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Thank you, Duane. I think LAUSD wouldn’t have a problem these days with my discussing my concerns about the charter with her. I wouldn’t have dared under Deasy and my last principal. I’ll ask her about busing too. Like you said, I definitely need to discuss this with her further… I feel like I’m being self-centered, but I still hope there is a way out of my feeling compelled to be complicit in this crime. I wish I could compose a left-handed (puns intended) letter of recommendation to the charter board.
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Here’s a description of their playbook, one familiar to most all of us. Finn et al are part of the well funded echo chamber of those who do not appear to be but are in fact lobbyists for the charter industry. Cunningham is the same kind of creature. It’s time to start calling them by that name, LOBBYIST, because that is exactly what they are and it’s all that they are. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/12/lobbying-10-ways-corprations-influence-government
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The Hoover Institute’s list of “Overseers” reflects retro evolution not, a “gentle revolution”. Of the approx.115 names listed, only about 15, are clearly identifiable as female names. Finn is associated with Hoover.
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