New post on Network for Public Education.
Peter Montgomery, writing at Right Wing Watch, lays out some of the behind-the-scenes work going on among some right wing groups.
The right-wing campaign to stifle teaching and discussion about racism in U.S. history and institutions is fearmongering about critical race theory to mobilize right-wing activists and conservative voters to take over local school boards.
The Leadership Institute, which has trained generations of right-wing activists, is promoting a 20-hour online course to train conservatives how to run for their local school boards in order to “stop the teaching of Critical Race Theory before it destroys the fabric of our nation.” Critical race theory is an academic analytical framework for exploring the existence and impact of systemic racism. Over the past year, the term has been aggressively deployed as a right-wing culture-war weapon that is being used to smear educators and social justice activists. Campaigns against efforts to examine racism in school settings are often combined with attacks on other initiatives to promote inclusion, such as anti-discrimination policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Right Wing Watch previously reported that Intercessors for America and the Center for Renewing America, the latter run by former Trump administration official Russ Vought, are distributing a toolkit that encourages conservatives to “reclaim” their schools by taking over local school boards through campaigns focused on opposition to critical race theory. The Leadership Institute, with its new course, appears to be following their lead.
An email promoting an online presentation about the Leadership Institute’s new training sessions, which begin on Aug. 9, declares that “conservatives are preparing a school board takeover and you can get involved.” The presentation was made by the Leadership Institute’s director of international trainings Ron Nehring, a protégé of anti-tax activist Grover Norquist who ran as a Republican candidate for Lt. Gov. of California in 2014 and served as a spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“The left has spent many years and vast funding to stack local school boards,” the Leadership Institute’s website claims. “America’s children suffer the effects of this liberal domination every day.” The group adds, “Patriotic Americans must take back the schools.”
You can view the post at this link : https://networkforpubliceducation.org/blog-content/peter-montgomery-the-right-wing-political-machine-is-out-to-take-over-school-boards-by-fanning-fears-of-critical-race-theory/
Diane Ravitch's blog 
At the local level, the conservative operatives will not even know that they are being manipulated by those on the distant right. they will just be responding to a barage of propaganda masquerading as news. They will bring their concerns to the school board, feeling justified in the eyes of God and man.
Plenty of prominent ed reformers supporting this.
Just another example of how ed reform “improves” public schools, I guess. Still not seeing a lot of upside for public schools students in following the ed reform echo chamber. One wonders what it will take before public schools realize this “movement” adds zero value to any public school, anywhere and come with SUBSTANTIAL downside.
Let’s list the “positive” contributions since the pandemic started- standardized testing mandate, CRT panic, mask panic. Actively harming our students and schools.
This can’t be true, because as an avid reader of the ed reform echo chamber I have been told repeatedly that teachers unions are the public school boogeymen.
You won’t find any mention of the CRT panic or the mask panic, or the fact that it’s a coordinated political campaign designed to elect Republicans in the hermetically sealed chamber of ed reform experts.
Have you seen the “school choice” rhetoric in the California recall? It could have come from Walton Foundation website.It’s not just that ed reform is “political”- that’s obvious to anyone outside the echo chamber despite the decades of denial- it’s that it’s so consistently Right wing “political”. If there ever were “liberal” ed reformers they have gotten trounced. They have no influence at all. It goes further Right every year.
I like when the text of the ed reform article contradicts the headline.
“Learning pods launched by communities and schools”
“Programs like the new Great Hearts self-organized microschools, or the virtual learning pod program launched by KaiPods provide further examples of efforts to build intentional small learning communities into the future—and seed ideas for school districts that want to find new ways of supporting students who continue with virtual learning options.”
A charter chain and an international for-profit, edu-product company.
How many different ways can they say “privatization”? We must be nearing the upper limit.
One “solution”, 20 different marketing terms.
At some point, the alleged liberal “reformers” have to wake up and realize that the end game is destruction of public schools.
I do not think most of my extremely conservative friends sense that they are being led down a path toward the destruction of their schools and communities. What will they do when they realize that? Will they ever realize that?
“Martin West
“While the pandemic has created space for innovation, it is not clear that it has created broad demand for change…those who see…an opportunity to rethink education policy or practice will still need to convince the public.”
Public still not going along with pitching public schools in the trash and replacing them a list of contractors and a coupon. Clearly we must hire more professional public school critics and step up the bashing.
Can they “convince the public” that a low value voucher is a good trade for a public school system? Who knows, but they will certainly put 100% of their effort into it.
The right has been sowing seeds of discontent with public education for some time. They have accused public schools of being agents of “liberal propaganda.” They have honed in on CRT as a tool that will stir up their base. At the same time right wing governors are manipulating laws to diminish the authority of school boards. It is all part of the top down plan to dismantle public education.
dismantle the larger education structure: keep the masses superstitious and malleable
This is the scary part: “At the same time right wing governors are manipulating laws to diminish the authority of school boards.” That’s a form of voter repression– we’ll try to stop those who disagree with us from voting, and even if they do vote, it won’t matter.
Good luck with “no taxation without representation” once they manipulate those laws.
America’s children continue to suffer the effects
of “barking up the wrong tree”, the hamster wheel,
merry-go-round, that leaves you where you started.
While blaming the cretins and their propaganda may
be therapy, it doesn’t resolve the “issue”.
Effective propaganda starts where critical thinking
ends.
Sure, the “others” have been poisoned by “their”
fairy tales. Their propaganda/fairy tales is to
blame. As if they alone, poisoned the children
with fairy tales. It’s their “echo chamber”, they
are to blame.
All of a sudden, systemic racism, is called out,
as if IT wasn’t deeply embedded, since day one.
For the love of human-kind already, we ain’t
looking through a damn window, we’re staring at
a mirror…
“Seven applicants are asking West Virginia’s new state-level charter school board to allow them to open, according to the board’s chairman.
Chairman Adam Kissel wrote in an email that three statewide online schools serving grades K-12 and four brick-and-mortar ones serving a narrower range submitted their applications by the Aug. 31 deadline.
The charter board has 90 days from when the applications were filed to rule on them. If the board doesn’t act at all on the applications within that time, the schools will automatically be approved to open as soon as next school year.”
Five of the seven new charter schools in West Virginia will be for-profits and two of the five for-profits are huge companies.
They haven’t even opened the first privatized schools and it’s already majority for profit.
Ed reformers drop all the cheap junk in states like West Virginia. They flooded Ohio with for profit charters too.
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/education/7-charter-schools-seeking-to-open-in-wv-online-and-in-nitro-cheat-lake-eastern/article_2f3a6b44-70ae-51ae-bae8-b5adbc412963.html
“The third online charter would be run daily by ACCEL Schools, part of private international company Pansophic Learning. ACCEL’s other schools are mostly in Ohio. West Virginia law allows up to two of these three proposed statewide online schools to open.
ACCEL also is proposed to run the brick-and-mortar Nitro Preparatory Academy, which would seek students from Kanawha and Putnam counties. It plans to serve 600 students in grades K-8 at full capacity, although it plans to start with just K-6 and fewer students.
ACCEL also would run Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy, in Jefferson County. That’s proposed to serve up to 650 students in grades K-12 at full capacity.”
Ah, yes. Very local and grass roots. Three giant companies will own and run charter schools in West Virginia. If this sounds nothing like the ed reform sales pitch, be aware that they’re coming for your public schools next.
“Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, appointed the state charter board’s members, who await confirmation or rejection by the state Senate.”
The rubber stamp, echo chamber board will make sure all of these applications are speedily processed, so revenue generation can start. I wonder how much they’ll skim off the top of each public student dollar to pay the CEO’s.
Here’s who will be running West Virginia’s charter sector:
“WE ARE A GLOBAL SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMPANY”
https://pansophiclearning.com/
The absolute shamelessness of selling this to the public as “local” and “grass roots”. It’s breathtaking. They really believe people are idiots.
“They really believe people are idiots.”
“They” have a proven strategy, because indeed, many, many people are idiots, and have been throughout history..
Ron Packard owns Panosophic. He made millions at K12 Inc.
From the Leadership Institute’s promotion: “The best way to FIGHT Critical Race Theory and LEFTIST INDOCTRINATION IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS is to elect more conservatives to local school boards across the country…” See how they did that? Eyes may glaze over the until-recently obscure academic theory, but no missing that dog-whistle.
Who is holding training events for reasonable and thoughtful school board candidates? Looks like it is time to start recruiting.
In NJ, our state teacher association trains candidates from membership on running for office on all levels.