Tom Ultican writes here about the billionaire takeover of Camden, New Jersey. It was easy. Working with Republican Governor Chris Christie, who was eager to have someone take responsibility for the schools in the state’s poorest district, the billionaires got what they wanted.
Camden was their plaything, their Petri dish.
Have they ended poverty yet?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Spot on about ending poverty. Sure,
throwinf a $million here, a $million looks like an oasis in the desert. —But does that palace end poverty?
Am so glad that Winners Take All is on Reading lists. It just slams the social reproduction of philanthropy a la Gates et al.
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“a la Gates” — what a useful phrase. How to screw over states, counties, districts and even entire countries a la Gates.
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Someone immortalized a meeting with privatization point man Paymon Rouhanifard, by recording it with his or her cell phone camera.
“Camden, NJ Parents Smack Down Camden Supe Paymon Rouhanifard at a Meeting Where Paymon Tells the Parents Their School is Being Given Over to Private, Unaccountable Charter Management.”
This video BELOW is worthy of an article — a perfect example of corporate ed. reform “throat-jamming” (to quote Peter Greene), as in they’re just jamming charter-ization and privatization down these parents’ throats, as the decision to give the traditional public school McGraw Elementary over to a private charter operator was made without and against the will of the parents.
It’s a done deal, but they’ll try to schmooze the parents anyway. They may be be lubing up the parents’ throats with manipulative con-man blather, but the it’s “throat-jamming” nonetheless,
Here’s this video of Paymon and his minions try to schmooze the parents of a Camden grade school that is being closed down, all its teachers fired, and the building / multi-million-dollar budget given to a private, unaccountable charter operator— Mastery Charter, Inc.
Paymon is the skinny guy in the baby-blue dress shirt and glasses who does most of the talking, leading the meeting.
Mastery Charter, Inc. chose to have a rep who is African-American — heavy-set guy in a white business shirt ant tie— to schmooze these African-American parents, but that cynical, racist choice didn’t seem to work.
Paymon & Co. are trying to convince them that this charter conversion will be just wonderful, and the parents — who have a deep, personal, multi generational attachment to the current traditional public school & its teachers — aren’t buying it.
Paymon & Co. are quite unprepared by how well-informed and confrontational these parents are.
( 1:38 – )
( 1:38 – )
Here, Paymon gets caught lying early on — claiming that any current teachers who move to the Mastery charter will retain their same seniority, retirement, etc. — and the parents who know otherwise shout:
“NOT TRUE!!!”
This point is followed up on at around…
(26:45 – )
(26:45 – )
where a parent (and also a school employee, I believe) pulls out a Mastery document — “I have the paper right here!” — that says any traditional public school teacher that opts to work at the new Master Charter incarnation of the school “will lose their tenure,” showing Paymon up to be a liar. She further asks him why any current teacher would give up something they worked 20, 30 years for.
These parents later yell that teachers at existing Mastery charters are all TFA, and who will only be there for 2 years, and whose primary motivation — or a strong motivation — is “just to pay off their student loans!” … in contrast to teachers who’ve spend decades teaching multiple generations of students.
Oooh snap!’
Next, they try to win the parents over by telling them how millions of dollars are going into renovating the school …. once it’s been given to a charter. The parents ask, “Why couldn’t they do that for the current traditional public school?”
Finally, a parent holds up a petition signed by the parents of all the current students who are asking Paymon NOT TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL, AND GIVE IT OVER TO MASTERY, telling him that they will hold him accountable if he goes through with the charter conversion:
This is at:
( 34:24 – )
( 34:24- )
Paymon threw that petition right in the trash, and wen ahead with the charter conversion.
Oh, and I missed another key point of this video
At the beginning of Paymon’s pitch to the parents justifying the closing & charter-izing of McGraw Elementary, Paymon gives a long argement that is based on …
… that’s right …
… low student test scores!!!!
PAYMON:
” … kids are not at grade level based on state test scores. … Academic performance has been falling for 30 years.”
… (“Academic performance” based on … once again … student test scores.)”
This was likely a boilerplate speech that he vomited up whenever he needed to — to angry, skeptical parents … to the media … to politicians.
“I”m charter-izing, and creating a charter portfolio district all because of these terrible low test scores.”
He then “rinses and repeats” this during five years of charter-ization. which Paymon led and was in charge of overseeing.
After leaving after this five years, Paymon then writes this long screed decrying the misuse and over-emphasis — and negative consequences resulting from this misuse and over-emphasis — based on …
.. that’s right …
… low student test scores!!!!
BOTTOM LINE:
Using/misusing low test scores is great and useful when executing privatization … not so much when you’re done privatizing.
I love the parent who asks,
“If this program (charterizing, turning the school over to Mastery) is so great, then why aren’t you implementing it in affluent communities? … “the test scores are no better at the Camden charters.”
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These videos show how the concerns and protests of parents are totally ignored. We have seen this same scenario in many poor minority communities. The decisions have been rigged by the people at the top. This is how democracy gets hijacked, and they is exactly what they are doing.
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Oh, and here are a couple of takedowns of Paymon by Jersey Jazzman.
In the first, Jazzman recounts Paymon’s days working and shilling for Eva (among other things).
On the eve of Paymon taking the job in Camden, Jazzman makes this pretty spot-on prediction of what Paymon will do in Camden, NJ:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/paymon-who.html
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
JERSEY JAZZMAN:
”I get the feeling that’s why this young man rose so quickly in NYC and Newark, and why he is now getting the Camden job:
“Rouhanifard has been trained to close local public schools over the objections of local parents to make way for charters, which, unlike public schools, do not serve every child in their neighborhoods. And if that angers parents, it doesn’t seem to phase him in the slightest.
“I don’t know what’s worse: that Rouhanifard hasn’t interacted with teachers, or that he holds parents in such contempt. Either way, his background bodes very poorly for the public schools of Camden.”
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
You also get an embedded YouTube video of Leonie Haimson yelling at Paymon during a NYC (PEP) school board meeting.
Here’s one more takedown of Paymon from Jersey Jazzman, written five years later:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2018/02/dont-believe-hype-facts-about.html
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Regarding the Mastery Charter Schools in the above video / post:
Mastery Charter, Inc. teachers do not need to be certified, or have any prior teaching training or experience.
Hmmm … why am I NOT surprised?
(Mastery. Ironic name, doncha think?
Indeed, as its teachers are not required to have even the slightest “mastery” of anything before setting foot in a classroom.)
From the FAQ’s for prospective Mastery teachers:
http://www.masterycharter.org/careers/teach-at-mastery/
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
FAQ
Q: Is this a substitute teaching position?*
A: Nope, this is a full-time teaching position – salary and benefits!
Q: Do I need a certification?
A: You do not need a certification to apply or be hired initially. Once you are hired, we will work with you to secure the necessary certification for your role.
Q: What positions are available?
A: We are currently hiring for both immediate openings (ex: high school science, 4th grade literature, literacy support teachers, etc) as well as flex teacher roles. Flex teachers are placed at a campus to gain extra support until a lead teaching role becomes available, and yes, flex teachers are full-time positions too
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Don’t you just love that charters are free form that stifling regulation requiring trained, qualified teachers? (Yeah, but look at the savings in the line item “salary.”?)
Mastery has High School Science teachers with
— zero background (none required anyway) in Science;
— no education or training or Bachelor’s in teaching/education;
— no state certification— but promised assistance to obtain certification (no doubt from Relay, or a Relay-style alternate route diploma mill)
However, Orwell lives at Mastery as down the page, it
makes the claim:
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
“Excellent teachers make excellent schools. That’s why we are relentless about hiring top educators who can provide high-quality instruction AND build authentic, loving relationships with students.”
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Could you imagine hospital operators saying they we are relentless about hiring top doctors, but at the same time, not requiring those future physicians at at their hospital to have an M.D., or any prior medical training whatsoever?
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“Segrenomics” is a great term for explaining how much of “reform” works. NCLB was a gateway for privatization. The plan is to target an impoverished community that cannot defend itself against corporate raiders. Suppress democratic input, and establish separate an unequal opportunity for children of color. Minority students are more likely to get teaching temps instead of legitimate teachers. They are more likely to receive cyber instruction. Separate is never equal.
As someone that has taught many traumatized students, I agree that what they need is love, care, support, encouragement and stability. “Reform” comes up short on most of these elements. So-called reform subjects poor students to harsh, colonialist discipline and schools that “open and close like daylilies,” as Diane has said. This is exactly what is counterproductive to building these students up and helping them cope.
As someone familiar with both Camden and Paterson, New Jersey, I believe Camden is in much worse shape. The city is blighted by drugs. At least Paterson seems to be functioning for many poor families. Paterson has a sense of community that Camden lacks. I am sure that profitable charters schools have done little to help build a sense of community in Camden.
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Paymon wrote an article decrying to misuse or and over-emphasis on testing, even admitting that, for years, he was “wrong” in being part of this — which was covered on this blog:
Indeed, all these born-again test-haters (formerly test-lovers … there’s now dozens of these “corporate ed. reform” folks emerging in the last few months) and their new-found skepticism regarding testing rings kind of hollow.
Before, they operated thusly:
The tests prove that all these teachers suck! Fire all of ’em! (Rhee’s reign in D.C., etc.)
The tests prove that traditional public schools suck! Close ’em, fire all the teachers, then turn the buildings and multi-million-dollar budgets over to private charter operators. (NCLB in general)
The tests prove that teachers unions are an obstacle to improving (reforming … sheesh) schools! Crush them with lawsuits, laws (Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, etc.), and Supreme Court rulings. (Vergara, Janus, Friedrichs’, etc.)
Now, all of a sudden, they’re claiming those same tests are invalid for determining any of this … at least when it comes to evaluating charter schools — conveniently enough those charters that replaced the “failing” public schools (failing based on … yes … low test scores) ???
Seriously???!!!
Gimme a break!
It’s just pure coincidence, I suppose, that this new-found anti-testing revelation emerges when or after the privately managed charters — the ones that were sold as promising better test results, and thats’ why they’re replacing those failing, low-test-scores public schools — are getting worse results, or at the very best, the same results as the public school system on these same tests.
While the (COUGH! COUGH!) “reformers” were carrying out the above agenda, veteran teachers with decades of experience were screaming out loud that this kind of test-based (COUGH! COUGH! )”reform” was bogus because the using tests this way was/is bogus — all the while sharing demonstrable proof that this was so.
“It’s all a scam to privatize schools!” so many teachers and parents claimed.
The response from these same (now) newly born-again test-haters back then was:
”Oh no. You lousy teachers just can’t handle accountability. You’re just unwavering roadblocks to ‘reform’. You teachers are all corrupt defenders of a failed status quo that puts your adult interests ahead of children’s interests. If we just fired the bottom ten per cent of you each year” — “as determined by test scores” (Erik Hanushek), “the U.S would have the Number One and greatest education system in the history of mankind.”” (Did I miss any of the stock cliches?)
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