Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt accepted the resignation of Melissa Crabtree, whom he appointed four days earlier. Crabtree is a home-schooling parent who has vociferously opposed any mask mandate. She was selected to replace Kurt Bollenbach, also appointed by Stitt, who wanted to claw back millions from a for-profit virtual charter and who believed that students should wear masks in school. Bollenbach was too sane and reasonable for Governor Stitt.
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s new appointee to the state Board of Education spent months sharing debunked COVID-19 medical advice, conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine content before hiding the posts from public view shortly after news of her new position became public Friday.
According to The Oklahoman:
Enid resident Melissa Crabtree was named to the education board after Stitt abruptly removed board member Kurt Bollenbach, who the governor appointed in 2019.
Crabtree is a vocal anti-mask advocate who earlier this year founded a group called Enid Freedom Fighters, which had helped for months to block a mask mandate in the city and is now leading an effort to recall elected officials who supported the move. Enid’s mask mandate passed Tuesday on a third attempt, according to an Enid News & Eagle story.
Stitt’s pick was condemned Friday by Democrats in the Legislature who criticized Crabtree’s views on masks and her lack of public education experience.
Information reviewed by Oklahoma Watch also shows that Crabtree frequently took to Facebook to share other controversial opinions, unsubstantiated medical advice and misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed at least 1,860 Oklahomans.
The posts were either deleted or hidden from public view just before noon Friday, but Oklahoma Watch was able to review and capture screenshots of several postings before that occurred.
This includes a post from last month where Crabtree, who frequently posts on the supposed benefits of essential oils, claimed to her more than 400 followers that zinc could “stop Covid from duplicating” and “will help a body not freak out at an illness…”
In another post from July, Crabtree told her followers to seek out a viral video where a doctor falsely touted hydroxychloroquine as a COVID cure. Multiple claims in that video have been debunked by fact-checkers.
Crabtree went on to write that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has “known that hydroxychloroquine worked for 15 years” and, without providing any evidence to back up her claims, that “they are purposely distorting the studies and letting people die.”
Crabtree also posted multiple times endorsing the controversial strategy of achieving herd immunity without the use of widespread vaccinations. This includes a post from last week where she wrote that “once viruses are here, the way we get herd immunity is by people building immunity to the virus” and that she’d “rather have (the virus) than get the vaccine.”
Apparently even Governor Stitt was embarrassed by his selection. And now he is looking for a new member of the State Board. Hopefully it will be someone who cares about the health and safety of students and teachers, and someone willing to call out grifters and frauds.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Ed reformers are excited about the “innovations” they hope will come out of the pandemic. Huge classes, junk ed tech, and lower pay for teachers:
“Seton Education Partners is working with 14 Catholic schools around the country to change that equation. As Emily Gilbride, director of the network, said: “We will reduce their per-pupil operating costs.” In the schools where Seton works, it encourages classrooms to grow, often to an average of 30 students per class, up from 15. To cope with these additional students, classes are divided into two or three smaller instructional units that progress through the day in what Gilbride calls a “rotational small-group model.” While one group is working with the teacher, the others are on Chromebooks, working with computer-adaptive software like i-Read, Imagine Math, and Lexia Learning. Seton uses 14 different software platforms in all, depending on the school, grade, and student need.”
The voucher parents were choosing private schools because they have smaller class sizes than public schools. Wait until they find out that ed reform “innovations” are also jammed into low and middle income private schools.
It’s been clear for years that one of the goals of this “movement” is to cut costs at low and middle income schools with low value vouchers. I’m pleased that they finally admit it.
If voucher cheerleaders get their way they’ll offer a 5k voucher for each student, which in many places will be a 50% funding cut. Follow the money, not the rhetoric. This is about cut rate “education” for low and middle income students.
Interesting read at Philanthropy Roundtable, “The Great Distance Learning Experience” (Summer 2020).
Chiara, you’re right, it’s about manipulating the education of the poor and middle class. The Philanthropy Roundtable article quotes Eva Moscowitz, Mike Petrilli, Andy Smarick and, a guy from the Walton Foundation.
One excerpt, “…Cristo Rey school whose model is known for its strong financial basis, the work placements Cristo Rey kids use both to learn occupational skills and subsidize tuition became problematic overnight amidst the economic shutdown”. Unconscionable to take kids’ paychecks, an especially sickening thing for a religious group to do.
Philanthropy Roundtable is an organization of rightwing foundations. You probably knew that. Gates funds Christo Rey.
As did the Waltons.
Here’s another ed reform echo chamber member promoting huge classes as a “silver lining” of the pandemic:
“How will this affect how future teachers are trained?
I’m of the silver-lining mentality. I think there will be some real adjustments made in how we deliver not just teacher training, but also education in general. We’ll be much more comfortable doing things virtually. So there will not be resistance to using these technologies in the future that there would have been without the pandemic. I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s really promising for shortage areas of teaching in science and math. Districts — instead of having to hire a science and math teacher in every high school — can pool kids and they can have one teacher for a whole bunch of kids.”
Only low and middle income students will be jammed into these huge, cut rate classes. Ed reformers themselves will continue to send their children to private schools with small classes.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-education-coronavirus-special-edition/2020/12/07/rising-pressure-on-american-teachers-792070
Chiara Thanks for the link to education newsletter of Politico. My first impression is that some of the writers are recycling the talking points from self-proclaimed reformers without trying for any independent investigations. Also, I continue to appreciate your comments on this blog.
Chiara Whoever wrote that never taught in a K-6 (or 12?) classroom.
I taught in K-12 and in several colleges and, in some, in theatre-sized classrooms. My “take” is that self-disciplined adults CAN do well in large classrooms . . . but not children; and especially not the younger ones.
Children and young adults need different, more graduated ratios/numbers and kinds of settings in order to actually BECOME self-disciplined . . . and it takes more, not less, comprehensive (whole-child) education to become vibrant citizens in a democracy where . . . guess what people, . . . self-discipline is essential.
Our children deserve better. CBK
If there is anything we have learned from the pandemic is that virtual education sucks. Just asks students, parents at any level of education. In the long run, the pandemic, in fact, will help face to face education. The pandemic has served as an experiment in online learning, and it showed its fundamental shortcomings.
The Ohio legislature and the DeWine administration have contributed absolutely nothing this year to the 90% of students and families who attend public schools. They have accomplished not one thing for any of our students and schools.
They did take care of the ed reform lobby though:
“Ohio’s private school voucher program will change yet again for 2021-22, after the House and Senate approved Senate Bill 89 on party-line votes last week.”
A huge voucher expansion.
90% of kids get nothing from Columbus this year, but private schools and private school students get a huge windfall.
This is what happens when you state is captured by ed reformers- public school students and families get screwed.
You don’t want to be a public school student in Ohio. No one in state government lifts a finger on your behalf. Public school students are second class citizens- they come AFTER ed reformers get all their charter/voucher demands met.
Gov. Stitt’s new appointee to Oklahoma State Board of Education backs out
On Monday, a coalition of nonpartisan education advocacy groups launched a letter-writing campaign to call on Stitt to rescind Crabtree’s appointment. Those groups were led by the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee and also included the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Oklahoma Edvocates, the Oklahoma Rural Schools Coalition, Pastors for Oklahoma Children, Save Our State, and Oklahoma Parents and Educators for Public Education.
The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee…..
“This outcry against the removal of a qualified board member (Bollenbach) and the nomination of a questionable replacement didn’t come from a political party or organized union. This was a coalition of education supporters led by parents and volunteers from both sides of the aisle who agree that our children’s education is too important to treat casually.
https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/gov-kevin-stitts-new-appointee-to-state-board-of-education-backs-out/article_c2cd31e6-38d2-11eb-a9f0-b3c50aca8766.html
“Group Accuses Gov. Stitt of Using Office to Promote Religion” (TulsaWorld 9-11-2019). Stitt has 6 kids. Reportedly, God told him to run for Governor.
“Hopefully it will be someone who cares about the health and safety of students and teachers, and someone willing to call out grifters and frauds. ”
I am sure this what’s gonna happen. 🙂
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