Thomas Pedroni of Wayne State University writes that Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants to impose corporate reform organizations on Benton Harbor to “save” the underfunded district. A cruel hoax. She is carrying forward the foul legacy of Republican Governor Rick Snyder.
Michigan Gov Whitmer Grants Benton Harbor Schools a Trojan Horse-load of School Privatizers
Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, propelled to the state’s highest office just eight months ago by Black, Latino, and other progressive voters, is coming out to her electorate— not as a progressive, but as a third term retread of former Republican Governor and Flint Poisoner-in-Chief Rick Snyder.
Not only has Whitmer continued Snyder’s penchant for strong-arming and dismantling predominately Black school districts (he gutted Inkster, Buena Vista, Muskegon Heights, Highland Park, and Detroit; she’s “offered” to close Benton Harbor’s only high school in exchange for not immediately dissolving the entire district), but she also shares her predecessor’s fascination with the disruptive possibilities of some of our nation’s foremost corporate education reform companies.
While the Governor has responded to statewide outrage over her indecent proposal for Benton Harbor High School by grabbing her political life preserver and offering to consider alternative suggestions by the elected board (which returns to power after five years of state supervision on July 1), her rhetorical softening comes with a new “proposal”— Benton Harbor trustees must now agree to onboard a “turnaround expert” to guide their return to autonomy.
As the Benton Harbor trustees learned on Wednesday, June 26, just days before their restoration, the Governor has given them a choice— they must work with one of the four whole district “turnaround” companies she has laid on the table: AUSL (Academy for Urban School Leadership), TNTP (the New Teacher Project), TfC (Turnaround for Children), or ERC (Educational Resource Strategies).
AUSL, of course, has consistently failed to reach its promised benchmarks in the schools it’s taken over in Chicago and, remarkably, has underperformed non-AUSL Chicago schools despite receiving large resource infusions from the Gates Foundation. A recent Chicago Teachers Union analysis of AUSL teacher firing and replacement in Chicago found that the largest impact of AUSL takeover may be on the racial composition and experience level of the teaching workforce— fired teachers were disproportionately more experienced and of color.
TNTP, which traces its founding to the teacher-bashing Michelle Rhee and TFA’s Wendy Kopp, has been described by Peter Greene as the “big boys and girls” version of Teach for America, in that its objective is to transform people with established non-teaching careers into teachers. TNTP believes in using computer-administered multiple choice questions to identify better teachers.
The final two organizations, Turnaround for Children and Educational Resource Strategies, similarly partner with and are funded by a who’s who of the corporate education reform world— TfC by the Bezos Family Foundation, the Chan Zuckerburg Initiative, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Kipp DC, and America’s Promise Alliance, among others; and ERS by the Gates Foundation, the Walton Foundation, TNTP, and the New Schools Venture Fund.
How Governor Whitmer’s staff came up with this short list of corporate education reform organizations for Benton Harbor Schools is unclear; but one thing is clear— the Governor is passing over the insights and recommendations she might garner from the Benton Harbor community; from educational researchers and teacher educators; from officials and researchers at the Michigan Department of Education; from rank and file teachers and their unions. Instead she is laser-focused on whoever it is from the corporate education reform world who is whispering in her ear.
Benton Harbor Area Schools, its children, and the people who elected Whitmer deserve much better than this, and there is no reason why they shouldn’t get it. But this can only happen if Whitmer chooses to disavow the corporate education Koolaid and actually listen to the people she claims to value.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Time for a Recall- She is a liar and a joke! Where are all the promises she made to the People when she was running? Where is the doing away with taxing teacher’s pension and making public schools better? Not closing them for corporates to take the land. She is just like snyder& duggen…lying to win as a Democrat, but really a Republican deep down. She is now showing her true colors. And what happened to” fixing the damn road?” She’s a phony that can’t be trusted.
The obvious solution here would be to merge Benton Harbor School District with St. Joseph School District as they are adjacent to each other. That would create an integrated school district of about 5,000 students out of the almost completely minority Benton Harbor School District (92% African American, 2% white) and the largely white St. Joseph School District (79% white, 7% African American).
That “solution” might be obvious, TE, with a couple of problems:
The neighboring school district would NOT take on a struggling school district, both because they wouldn’t want to take on the financial constraints, nor would they want the students with lower test scores bring down their averages, particularly in a state like Michigan, which lives and dies by test scores.
That’s not one of the options the governor has given the district. Read the article.
In, sadly, too many cases, districts that are white and wealthier don’t want to have their children going to school with, “those kids.” The backlash in the other district would be immense. Charter schools would then come in, offering essentially segregated education, and destroy both districts.
Weird. I numbered each response, but the numbers didn’t show up. Sorry if the comment is hard to decipher because of that.
TOW,
I certainly agree that the white school district will not want to have the students from the black school district attending their schools, but in the words of Chief Justice Warren, “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.”
The good folks of the St. Joseph School District do not get to choose to deny other citizens equal protection under the law.
Well, this is proof if any were needed, that not-just-any Democrat will do! We need to elect progressive, people-oriented folks to office. I say this as an active Democrat–and a sad former Michigander. And, as a former teacher, devastated by what has happened to my beloved profession…
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss —
Snyder was offered a fellowship by Harvard’s Kennedy School, notwithstanding his role in the Flint Michigan water crime.
As usual, Harvard’s administration thumbed it’s nose at the rest of the country (although Snyder was forced to withdraw from the fellowship because of the public backlash)
Harvard may be a private institution with a $38 billion endowment, but they get nearly $600 million per year in federal grant money.
My question is why we the taxpayers continue to fund Harvard when there are so many more deserving public institutions which are just as good, if not better.
Several of Harvard’s departments (Kennedy School, Econ department, Ed Department) are actually just a joke populated by hacks.
No more takeovers of predominant black and brown school districts. Benton Harbor Board must make the decisions without outside interference.
I spoke with teacher and different members of our community to put recommendations for the department of education to consider. Here is a copy of the suggestions. We have to wait and see what happens, it’s to my understanding others have sent suggestions also, hopefully we will all Make an impact. Benton Harbor Commissioner Ron Singelton.
Action Plan Committee to Save Benton Harbor School System.
Ask the governor to appoint the University Of Michigan School Of education to administrate the Benton Harbor School district with the Benton Harbor School Board in an advisory capacity. The board is to learn and over time resume control. Be it understood the University Of Michigan will hire and fire educational staff, provide resources and do what is deemed necessary to have the students in the Benton Harbor School system be able to enter the University Of Michigan or any state or private learning institution in the United States, as its current standard for the Ann Arbor school system.
Ask the governor to appoint school board Vice President Joe Taylor and current Benton Harbor School teacher Marilyn Ross-Golden, former educator Sam Hudson and a state accountant) to form an independent review board to audit the Benton Harbor School system finances for a minimum of the past 5-7 years to possibly locate missing funds and correct current wasteful practices and have a preliminary report in 5-7 business days.
Ask the governor to request Wayne county executive Mr Warren Evans and former Berrien County Commissioner and former Benton Harbor School Board President Marletta Seats to review the history, conduct, and qualifications of school board members and set standards and penalties for misconduct from the state and local school board.
Request governor order no business or real estate transactions until the University Of Michigan and Action Plan Committee recommendations are in place for 30 day of the evaluation period.
Class room recommendations
Class size maximum 20 students all schools
Keep 7,8,9 grades separated to middle school
Keep 10,11,12 grades separated to high school
Elementary school recommendations
Students needing behavioral support are separated and provided additional resources
Tutorial services for all students and those performing below 75%
Home assessment for students with behavioral issues and a collaboration with DHS
Re-establish local Benton Harbor resident paraprofessional Assistants For all K – 6 classes
High school Recommendations
a. Study skills class. b. PSAT summer course. c. Essay writing course. d. African, African American literature reading course.
Administrative Recommendations
To have only a Superintendent for the current district size.
Each school with a principal.
Middle school has a principal and counselor.
High school has a principal and at least two counselors.
Eliminate CEO and CFO position due to management by the University Of Michigan or educational institution and the limited size of the school district.
Parent Recommendations
Mandatory Parental workshop to prepare parents and students for the up coming school year; without attending the workshop students can not register.
An additional option: U of M would manage the Benton Harbor School system for serval years and then transition to Western University due to proximity to Benton Harbor and after several years Western would finally transition management back to the Benton Harbor administration when the district is stabilized and independently healthy.
These recommendations humbly submitted as an effort to help
Action Committee Contributors
Chair Commissioner Ron Singleton, Co-Chair Emma Kinnard, Marilyn Ross-Golden, Rev Ed Pinkney, Cleveton Jack, Sam Hudson, Ruthie Haralson, and Rev Dr Don J Tynes MD, FACP
Chair
Benton Harbor City Commissioner Ron Singelton
+1 (269) 487-5992
My plan would be to replace the whole school board with retired teachers and or outstanding teachers based on the academic performance of their students. The president would be Marylin Ross-Golden