The state superintendent of North Carolina is an alumnus of Teach for America. He defeated an experienced educator. Mark Johnson is determined to privatize and destroy public education in North Carolina. He has fought to aggrandize power over the state’s public schools and to diminish the role of the State Board of Education. He just hired a chief of staff who is a charter school leader.
Johnson recently brought the Meister of Corporate Reform, Jeb Bush, to win his approval for the strategy and pace of privatization.
Has TFA become a silent partner of ALEC?
Stuart Egan, an NBCT High School Teacher in North Carolina, describes Mark Johmson’s reign of error here.
The “Department of Private Interest” – DPI’s Transformation Under Mark Johnson
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No THANK YOU, GOP and DNC. This SCAM is on both parties.
Reblogged this on caffeinated rage and commented:
Thanks to Dr. Ravitch.
I think the question should be: Did ALEC fund the launch of TFA with dark money?
The Kochtopus funded the start of the Tea Party movement and has been funding the hijacking of public school district school boards, state governments and the federal government. Every time the Kochtopus gains control of an elected school board or state, those districts and states start moving away from the democratic process ignoring voters voices even when that voice is represented by a clear majority.
The Kochtopus strategy is to outspend all other candidates to get the ALEC candidates elected and studies show that 80 percent of winners in elections spend the most money.
There are a minimum of two groups, touted as liberal, whose education policies align with ALEC in undermining workers, in destroying democracy, and in benefitting the wealthy.
The Center for American Progress promotes charter schools (DeVos’ agenda). A CAP paper in March recommended that schools raise revenue through sources like advertising on buses in lieu of taxes. (CAP’s VP of Education Policy is former TFA)
CAP’s “liberal” window dressing is “teachers should be paid more”-a message that is undercut by the recurring theme in CAP papers this year, instructional materials have the same or greater effect than teacher quality. CAP recommends schools get high quality materials (let us guess who would be selling that product). One of those papers quoted as support for CAP’s position was written by an “expert” that Fordham praised this summer. The co-writer of the cited 6-year-old paper (based on a 2009 paper) is all of the following, an Education Next executive director, an Arnold grant recipient and an employee of a Pete Peterson/Arnold/Gates-funded think tank. Peterson is anti-Social Security, Arnold is anti-public pension and, Gates is criticized as a disaster capitalist. Gates is invested in for-profit schools-in-box and I presume that he and his co-investor, Zuckerberg, think the product is high quality.
Bernie Sanders’ name was associated with Bezos’ decision to increase worker pay- the same Bernie, whose candidacy was torpedoed by an opponent’s campaign. CAP was heavily involved in Bernie’s opponent’s campaign.
Correction- executive editor
“Has TFA become a silent partner of ALEC?” Not so silent these days where blatant political campaigning is now pushing the hard right agenda into the spotlight, more and more opening telling those who wish to vote Republican that it is only through charter schools and TFA programs that kids get the “care” they need.