Leonie Haimson writes here about the stunning rebuke administered by the Colorado Democratic Party to “Democrats for Education Reform” last Saturday.
It is hard to overstate the commanding position of DFER in that state. Senator Michael Bennett is DFER-approved. So are two of the leading Democrats running for Governor. DFER’s Dark Money has captured the Denver school board.
Until now, no one has stood up to them. No one could match their cash.
Will DFER survive this denunciation? Of course. But their stamp of approval might turn into a stigma for real Democrats. Real Democrats do not support the DeVos privatization agenda. Real Democrats support public schools u dear democratic control.
Leonie writes:
”Let’s hope that the Colorado vote is a turning point, and that it is no longer politically or ethically acceptable for progressive Democrats to act like Republicans when it comes to education policy.”
Wouldn’t that be great?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Don’t worry. They’ll just rename and rebrand. Get some focus group tested spin out there and they’ll be back in business.
Or ignore what has happened in both CA and CO.
But it hurts their brand to be called out as phonies.
Let’s not forget, too, in the 2017 Democratic gubernatorial primary in Virginia we called out DFER candidate Tom Perriello on his ties to this group and it scared him enough to try & distance himself from DFER’s pro-charter, pro-privatization, anti-teacher union agenda. We believe this played a role in his defeat and Northam’s win.
Next up in Virginia is to challenge Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott on his DFER ties.
Too bad about Bobby Scott. He is the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee. He should renounce his ties to DFER. The pro-privatization, pro-test-based accountability, anti-teacher organization has identified Cong Scott as one of its favorites. If the Aden’s win the House in 2018, DFER will control the federal education agenda of the Democrats.
Virginia Parent,
I think your organization and what you did in Virginia is a playbook that every pro-public education primary candidate should be running on. Voters CARE about public education — it’s a bread and butter issue.
I would like to see a California primary where public education was one of the main issue in voters’ minds. Too often it is barely mentioned and then forgotten — not kept in the forefront of voters minds and talked about every week during the campaign.
The public is often at the mercy of Big Money propaganda, and they hear nothing dramatically different from disconnected “progressive” leaders who have sold out to DFER goals. What might happen if truly progressive, truly public-school-protective candidates become willing to stand up and clearly distance themselves from the Big Money/DFER agendas?
Some attached and hopefully very good news connected to the current rejection of DFER in Colorado, is a growing public recognition that two of the men running for governor are now being called out for their support of, and financial support from, the DFER organization.
I hope that the Democratic Party will be onboard clearly and without reservation in support of teachers and funding of true public schools. The 74 million post for today shows who wants to control the future of education and how entrenched the destructive forces are becoming under the banners of personalization, innovation=tech and robots, grit for infants (I kid you not), and corporate control of education through providers of once-click apps.
https://www.the74million.org/article/robots-grit-personalization-13-sessions-you-dont-want-to-miss-at-this-years-asugsv-summit/?utm_source=The+74+Million+Newsletter&utm_campaign=32ab9c9d8e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_077b986842-32ab9c9d8e-176113397
Talk is cheap and talk is what politicians do best (both sides). Keeping their word after being elected is what they have a problem with.
They’re encountering pushback to “personalized learning” so they put the ed reform marketing team on it:
“The messaging document was put together by two groups with a strong interest in maintaining the momentum behind personalized learning: ExcelinEd, the Jeb Bush-founded advocacy group that DeVos used to sit on the board of, and Education Elements, a consulting firm that contracts with districts to help them offer personalized learning programs.”
They’re working directly with the consulting firm that sells these products to public schools. Just one big happy family- the “nonprofits” and the for-profits, all selling product.
The plan is to mislead public school parents:
“Even though some of the potentially big changes … may be true, experience tells us that very few of these changes will occur in the first few years of implementation,” the report says. “For that reason, there is little reason to raise hackles in the earliest phases of discussion.”
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2018/04/13/dont-just-talk-about-tech-how-personalized-learning-advocates-are-honing-their-messaging/
Ed reformers are forbidden to say this re:”personalized learning”
“They shouldn’t talk about standardized testing, or even “more innocuous-sounding statements such as, ‘student mastery will be determined through frequent assessments.’”
It’s completely true- personalized learning programs in my son’s school involve CONSTANT testing and assessment – I estimate he spends 1/4 of class time taking short online tests- but they don’t want parents to know this, I guess.
Although it’s true. So they’re misleading parents to sell ed tech product.
The deformed goal is to put instruction online so that assessment is nonstop.
When any group starts reviewing their “messaging,” it is a fraudulent group that hides its goals.
Ah, the “messaging”. In other words, market their goods (or bads in this case). When my daughter received her marketing degree I chided her “Congrats on the degree in lying”. “Oh, daaaad!” (she knew what I meant) At least SLU required a business ethics course as part of the degree.
DFERs are SO WRONG. Polis is running for Governor and he is definitely a DFER.
yes