The rightwing-funded Black Alliance for Educational Options is closing its doors. It was launched by Howard Fuller, who was superintendent of Milwaukee public schools in 2000. Fuller was radicalized by his inability to change the system and formed an alliance with the far-right Bradley Foundation, which funded vouchers and wanted to privatize public education. Over the years, BAEO has been funded by white conservative foundations including the Walton Foundation.
BAEO Sought to persuade African Americans that school choice, charters, and vouchers, and privatization were in their interest.
Southern legislatures, controlled by conservative white men, liked BAEO’s ideas.
Education Week credits BAEO with getting Alabama and Mississippi to pass charter laws, and Louisiana and D.C. to pass voucher legislation.
White segregationists embrace school choice readily, as they have wanted it since 1954. Fuller pushed on an open door. Now southern states can fund segregated schools and do it with a clear conscience. Sort of.
Fuller no doubt was following his conscience, but it would be better if he had done it without all that rightwing money.
In the era of Trump and DeVos, it is difficult to play the role of a progressive when their agenda and yours are the same. Especially when the NAACP is speaking out against charters and privatization.
In a related story, the former chairman of the BAEO board Kevin Chavous has been named president of K12 Inc.s Academics, Policy, and Schools. K12 Inc. was founded by junk bond king Michael Milken and his brother Lowell and is the nation’s largest virtual online charter corporation. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Its schools have been notable for high attrition rates, low test scores, and low graduation rates. The NCAA withdrew accreditation from two dozen K12 schools a few years ago because of their poor quality. This is a choice strongly supported by DeVos. K12 Inc. is also known for paying lavish compensation, desite its poor academic results.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/as-california-prepares-for-earthquakes-some-charter_us_59f22b89e4b06ae9067ab733
With modern-day educational “good intentions,” always follow the money before believing the hype.
Like!
Yes, it’s all about the benjamins.
Diane, you are being much too generous to our Dr. Fuller. We have watched him closely. His obsession with undermining public education most likely was brought to the superintendency and when he couldn’t get the Union to follow his every whim, he called it quits and immediately got in to privatization in a major way.. One has to remember the Union is who joined him in a proposed building development and his privatizing buddy, Mayor Norquist who threw him under the bus. Since he left the superintendency he has led a serious right wing agenda that goes beyond just schools.
Black Alliance for Educational Options Inc. funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Date: March 2003 Purpose: to support the creation of new small high schools Amount: $4,000,000
Date: November 2011 Purpose: to support the launch of High Performing Black-led Charter Schools Initiative as a pilot initiative for schools in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and the District of Columbia Amount: $99,360
Date: November 2012 Purpose: to contract a consultant to develop a strategic plan that enhances BAEO’s ability to advocate for college ready education and college completion Amount: $250,000
I looked at one of the IRS 990 forms posted online. It is clear that BAEO took advantage of some limited wiggle room to do some lobbying.
In 2013 the Black Alliance for Educational Options indicated that it conducted a “limited number of one-to-one and small group meetings with state elected officials in MS, AL, KY, LA, MO, and OH to encourage them to support parental choice and educational reform legislation pending before the legislature. Additionally BAEO engaged in an advertising campaign in Louisiana to urge citizens to contact their legislators to support legislation during the 21013 session. Of the $104,495 spent on lobbying, about $20,000 went for “direct contact with legislators.”
The 2001 IRS form listed the founding officers who put up the money, about $2 million, to kick start this organization. In addition to the people others have noted, one founder held stock then worth $3 million in Edison Schools Management, several held posts with Focus on the Family and affiliated organizations, and really right winger went on to join Trump’s transition team.
BAEO was created and funded by rightwing whites to persuade black people to support privatization and Common Core.
Maybe the funders think their usefulness is over. Neither Walton nor Bradley ever showed any interest in civil rights.
“K12, Inc. was founded by junk bond king and CONVICTED FELON, Michael Milken and his brother Lowell…”
Sorry, Diane, but I though a little revision was necessary.
You are right. I thought of it and didn’t add “convicted felon”
Good! BAEO disdained our public schools. Years ago a Tangled with Kevin Chavous and found him strangely opposed to simply improving our public schools.