The virtual charter industry is booming in Michigan, despite its abysmal performance.
Michigan, DeVos’s home state, has outsourced its education system as much as possible to for-profit entrepreneurs. Michigan is the only state where 80% of charters are operated by for-profit corporations.
http://www.wkar.org/post/study-virtual-schools-growing-mi-despite-poor-outcomes#stream/0
According to this report, one-quarter of the 101,000 students attending virtual charters did not pass a single class.
The graduation rate is far below that of public schools.
Michigan’s standing on NAEP has fallen to the bottom 10 since the widespread adoption of school choice.
Michigan is an exemplar of PROFITS MATTER, NOT EDUCATION.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“According to this report, one-quarter of the 101,000 students attending virtual charters did not pass a single class.
The graduation rate is far below that of public schools.”
Those facts don’t surprise me at all as those students are more likely than not the ones who would have been dropping out of public schooling anyway. The problem lies in expecting those students to be able to have the self-control to complete a totally impersonal computer interactive training course (I can’t bring myself to call it teaching and learning, it’s Skinnerian training at best/worst).
Now I’m sure the owners of these private money making public tax dollar skimming supposed schools will tell you “Hey at least we are giving them a chance.” Well, were we to invest that money and the sorely needed funds into providing the necessary and proper services for all the public school students-you know real human interactions that show to the student that others truly care for her/him, we, more likely than not, would be able to prevent the majority of those students from dropping out to begin with.
But “Hey, throwing money at the public schools doesn’t work, right?” Throw it at those edupreneurs so that they can make a killing-to hell with the public schools.
and so many “online” schools getting money per student signing up — and then not held accountable for any following outcome
This sad scenario is the handwork of the DeVos family. Michigan’s educational problems are the result of “Betsy blight,” and now she is infecting the entire nation with her disease by expanding privatization without any consideration given to the common good.
Trying to keep this post from being a “Deep…Whatever”, but the “right” (alt or not) is trying to get a “cheaper work force”, so that the “1-10%” can profit, and education is an “easy target” with the right-lean of the US. Those of us who have been in education for 20+ years know that the rug has been pulled out from under “national education”. Betsy DeVos is just another 1%er that wants education to fail.
1stCAV- You are correct.
Sourcewatch identifies at its site the 13 Michigan House Representatives (all Republican) and 12 state Senators (all Republican) who have links to ALEC. Many of them paid their ALEC dues with tax money.
300 ALEC-affiliated state legislators across the nation signed a letter urging the US Senate to immediately confirm Kavanaugh. All are slime.
I hope they’re going to turn it around this election- vote all the ed reform people out.
How many states have now fallen to the autocratic, fake theocratic, kleptocracy?
This list is probably incomplete but this is what comes to mind at this moment.
Arizona
Florida
North Carolina
Michigan
Ohio ?
Nevada ?
Utah ?
The REAL Alt-Right Deep State that is out to subvert the US Constitution and strip all power away from the Federal government is taking over the states one at a time.
Don’t believe the PR of the Koch’s Kasich. He publicly called a policeman a moron because he stopped him for speeding. Kasich took office and immediately delivered for the Koch’s with a a legislative attack on public unions. He’s a petulant child just like Trump.
Missouri is trying hard to catch up now with the whole state government in the hands of the Rethuglicans. Fortunately most of the rural Rethugs are strong supporters of their public schools and charters are only allowed in the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City. . .
Hmm. . .wonder why? Wouldn’t have anything to do with race now would it? Cain’t be having those blacks be in control now can we?
The problem with online learning is it is not applied properly by most of these companies. The lack of oversight is allowing them to operate in detrimental ways to students. I think Duane made a good point about the type of student and expectation that dominates some online programs. However, just like other areas, we cannot indict a methodology because of inept application. Online learning is a valid teaching option, but it is not for everyone or every student. However, it seems many states think everyone should be able to do it and it saves money. This is why we need people who understand education in power, not people appointed who have no idea how the system works.
Children have more than enough online activity. They should be engaged in interpersonal interactions in schools. The goals for citizen education aren’t limited to training which online learning accomplishes ineffectively and/or inefficiently. Online learning has two purposes- to enrich the tech industry and to thwart democracy. Those promoting on-line learning have fostered the child abuse that is statistically higher among students who are “home schooled”. When the school of the Gates’ kids’ (Lakeside) adopts what you are selling, then the door to questions about appropriateness can be opened.
“. . . we cannot indict a methodology because of inept application.”
I sure as hell will “indict a methodology”. I’ve condemned the standards and testing malpractice “methodology” for the last 20 years. And I condemn all K-12 online training programs/courses-I certainly can’t call it teaching and learning. The teaching and learning process is far more complex than some trite computer program spitting out little training games at the student and supposedly guiding the student along a certain path, predetermined by someone who has never met the student. I’ve worked with students working on computer based credit recovery programs-what a joke. And from what I’ve read and been told it hasn’t gotten any better.
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A TEACHER INTERACTING WITH THE STUDENTS IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS-NONE! (semi-sorry about the caps but I had to shout that)
Thanks for telling the truth, Swacker.
There’s no bottom feeder who is worse than one who makes a buck by denying opportunity to a kid.
Michigan State University education faculty are developing new products and a marketing plan for the private sector via the DeVos Dept. of Ed. REACH grant. IMO, it would reflect academic integrity for publicly employed faculty to reject working on a project to advance school privatization. Paving the way for K-12 privatization paves the way for privatization of the public university system that public university faculty work for. Is the situation consistent with the duties of the public trust. IMO, the answer is, no.
No private organization would allow its own employees to erode its existence from within.
Prof. Douglas Harris, who coordinates the REACH grant, identifies the funding for his EPIC center at the PRIVATE Tulane University- it is the Arnold Foundation. What was the funding source for the PUBLIC MSU’s center (ERA), prior to REACH?
HOLY COW! MSU better watch out.
Pay attention to this one:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/25/visionary-report-demands-new-social-contract-curb-threats-tech-giants-pose-democracy?cd-origin=rss&utm_term=Visionary%20Report%20Demands%20%27New%20Social%20Contract%27%20to%20Curb%20Threats%20Tech%20Giants%20Pose%20to%20Democracy&utm_campaign=Trump%20Brags%20and%20the%20United%20Nations%20Just%20Laughs%20%7C%20News%20%2526%20Views&utm_content=email&utm_source=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&cm_mmc=Act-On%20Software--email--Trump%20Brags%20and%20the%20United%20Nations%20Just%20Laughs%20%7C%20News%20%2526%20Views-_-Visionary%20Report%20Demands%20%27New%20Social%20Contract%27%20to%20Curb%20Threats%20Tech%20Giants%20Pose%20to%20Democracy