Mercedes Schneider writes here about the itinerant but very profitable career of Alison Serapin. A Texan, She went from a short stint in TFA to working as a TFA executive to somehow getting herself on the Nevada State Board of Education, where she was vice-president. She had to resign because of a potential conflict of interest when she decided to apply for a $10 million grant. Fancy that!
Schneider writes:
In April 2016, the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an article about former VP of the Nevada State board of Education, Allison Serafin, who resigned from the board in December 2015 because of a conflict of interest involving her decision to apply for state money to partially fund a charter-promoting nonprofit that Serafin started in 2014, Operation 180. In April 2016, Serafin’s nonprofit, Opportunity 180, won a state contract. From thr LV Review-Journal:
The former vice president of the State Board of Education, who resigned last year citing a potential conflict of interest, won a $10 million contract Tuesday to recruit high-quality charter school operators to Nevada.
When she stepped down from the state board in December, Allison Serafin noted her intent to submit a bid for the state’s new charter harbormaster fund, which matches grants from private philanthropic groups to attract the “best-in-class” national charter management organizations.
The contract authorizes Opportunity 180, an educational nonprofit group that Serafin founded in 2014, to drive two key components of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s education reform agenda: expanding access for low-income families to high-performing charter schools and creating a state-run Achievement School District to take over and turn around chronically underperforming campuses. …
As of Friday, Opportunity 180 already had collected more than $4.1 million in committed or cash donations from the Englestad Family Foundation and three other philanthropic groups, Serafin said.
So, Serafin arguably saw an *opportunity* to tailor her nonprofit toward creating Nevada’s newly-legislated Achievement School District and chose to pursue it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane FYI in today’s mail from the Gates Foundation. It’s called
MOMENTUM: Investing in Teachers and Students Network for School Improvement (K-121)
“We know that our education and economic systems don’t work well for everyone—particularly Black, Latino and low-income Americans. It is the ultimate mission of our K-12 work to change that. We want to ensure that all students in our country can learn, grow, and get ahead. That’s why one year ago, we awarded grants to 21 Networks of School Improvement (NSIs). These networks bring organizations and schools together to improve outcomes for students.
“Today, we are excited to share important lessons learned from the first year of NSI.
“Take a look at our first NSI report to learn more about our NSIs and what’s in store for the future.
“We’re also gathering more than 300 of our partners—grantees, educators, and school support organizations—to learn and share experiences around launching a network, near Washington, D.C. today. Join our livestream at 8:30AM EST to hear from them as we walk through key lessons emerging from the work and discuss how we can continue to improve.
“The more we collaborate, the more progress we can make on achieving our goals.
“Thank you for your support.
“Connect with us on Twitter @GatesUS for real-time updates.
“Seeing momentum in your work?
Email submissions to k12education@gatesfoundation.org.”
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Gates has gone gaga for networks ever since he hired Bob Hughes from NYC, where he ran a network of small schools called New Visions. Hughes is a lawyer, not an educator.
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The free market, free for all, is a climate where ambitious, minimally trained opportunists can create generous revenue streams from public money siphoned from public schools and, of course, the never ending list of donors. Under the false flag of improved education, it’s really about the “Benjamins” and market share.
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Odd how none of these TFA’s work in nonprofits that benefit PUBLIC schools or public school students, given that public school students are used to train them so they can go on to their real jobs as managers and executives of nonprofits.
Our kids are good enough to play guinea pigs but not good enough for “investment” by the self-proclaimed Best and Brightest, apparently.
Is it fair to public school students to have people who don’t support their schools working IN their schools? How, pray tell, is that “student centered”?
It’s bad enough the entire federal government doesn’t lift a finger on behalf of the unfashionable public sector school students. We also have to hire and pay them IN our schools? Would charter operators hire people who lobby against charter schools to work IN charter schools? Of course not. Why do we?
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“state-run Achievement School District to take over and turn around chronically underperforming campuses”
Ed reformers are still creating jobs for themselves lobbying for Achievement Districts?
I thought this particular gimmick had been discredited. Has it come around again already? The cycle of recycled ed reform gimmicks seems to be getting shorter.
What next? They bring back that ridiculous “value add” formula for another go-round?
The spells of amnesia are a real problem. For public school students. Who are subjected to every fad that strikes any of these peoples fancy.
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by now you understand, I hope, that all the Deformer orgs are job-creation programs for their cadre of true believers.
surely they have abandoned any pretense that they are saving children or improving education or closing gaps
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It’s all about new revenue streams and territorial expansion, not education.
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“to attract the “best-in-class” national charter management organizations.”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha hah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!
Whatever that “best in class” means.
Should I assume has the most money??
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She now works at IDEA Public Schools. That says it all.
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