As a high school teacher in Louisiana, Mercedes Schneider has followed John White’s meteoric career with interest. He started in education as part of Teach for America, then gained a leadership role in TFA. Vaulted up the ladder of success working for Joel Klein’s administration in New York City. Quickly was named Superintendent of Schools in all-charter New Orleans. And in a flash, he was State Superintendent of Education in Louisiana. He insisted he was a “teacher at heart.” But Mercedes now finds that he is selling Common-Core aligned Eureka Math.
She writes:
White is an education opportunist at heart. Prior to his exit as Louisiana state superintendent, White started a nonprofit, Propel America, with fellow TFA alum Paymon Rouhanifard, and while still Louisiana superintendent, contracted with two Louisiana districts to pilot his product and apparently blindsiding then-state board president, Gary Jones, with the decision...
The 2018-19 school year was White’s last full school year as state superintendent. On January 08, 2020, White announced his resignation effective March 11, 2020.
Even as he touted his accomplishments, White, who was leaving mid-school-year, included no mention of a subsequent professional destination.
According to his LinkedIn bio, the Waltons picked up the tab for him, providing income for his as a Walton Family Foundation “fellow” from April 2020 to the present (July 2022).
Of course, White also had his own consulting firm, Watershed Advisors, which provides a place for a number of his former-La.-Dept.-of-Ed. cronies to land (or at least to provide indispensable resume decor to make the floundering professional seem busy climbing some ladder).
White also mentions being a member of the education advisory council to flagship in incompetence at a price, consulting firm, Alvarez and Marsal. Lots of background here. Alvarez and Marsal have their controversial fingerprints on Louisiana, New York, St. Louis, Montana, Rhode Island, and DC….
In DC, Alvarez and Marsal was hired to investigate cheating under then-chancellor (and former TFAer) Michelle Rhee, the March 08, 2012, Washington Post observes, “It is not known how much experience Alvarez and Marsal has in test security.” None. But that is how education opportunism works– just get the contract, charge the fees, offer something (or nothing, or chaos), then leave.
Education opportunism. And the findest of education opportunists, John White, is on this opportunistic business’ education advisory counsel. Perfect resume dressing.
Ahh, but “teacher at heart” White has found his place, in curriculum sales for Common-Core-associated Great Minds.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This article points out an issue I had never considered before. And on reflection, it is more existential. Another thing the [r]ight does more effectively than the Left is giving their minions money and support when they are in positions of power knowing there is a cushion that gives them the freedom to fail. A reasonable interpretation of history, in my view, is that ideas of [r]ight have had innumerable opportunities to see their ideas implemented in policy and substantive action. Most of the big ideas associated with Left have never been tried, as much as they have been demonized and fear-mongered by the [r]ight. For example, economic policies by thinkers like John Stiglitz have never been implemented in this nation. Educational ideas champions by people like Diane Ravitch get no traction. And the Left is told to temper its views and fall into line with “[c]entrists” like Joe Manchin or seemingly benign “serious” people like Rob Portman.
The acolytes of the [r]ight can shoot for the stars anytime they achieve any kind of power, and if things go wrong, cushy weigh stations like fellowships are available so the they can continue to act as shadow cabinets in public debate. The Left is woefully behind on developing and sustaining this kind of long-term thinking and support. If you were to believe the propaganda of the [r]ight, then George Soros is many times more powerful and impactful in driving the Left than the Koch Brothers could ever have hoped to have been. And anyone who is a sane observer of the American scene knows how much bs that is.
The progressive wing of the Democrats is getting impatient with the “calcified thinking” of the corporate Democrats that resist change. They continue to roll out mostly the same neoliberal policy failures of the past. Milton Friedman is long gone, but his legacy lives on in repeated policy failures. All we do is make the rich richer, gut the working class and ignore poverty.
Well said, RT. And Greg, right on. The Left has nothing like the support system that the Right has. There’s lots and lots and lots of welfare for right-wing ideologues.
and somehow those we elect keep getting richer: once they have a few million in the bank, we have lost their attention
As president of NPE, I can tell you for a fact that there are very few foundations or wealthy people who fund progressive activities, like the fight against privatization. Sometimes young people contact me when they want to join our team. There is no web of organizations to offer them a job. If they support “reform,” the opportunities are many and well-funded. If you can hold your nose and work for the Dark Side.
George Soros has never given anything to NPE. But we will beat the rightwingers because our ideas are better and they benefit everyone.
FDR’s New Deal was probably the closest the US ever got to universal progressive policies. Social Security, the WPA, Financial Regulation, The GI BIll that made college free, TVA & FHA were wildly popular. The right wing & reactionaries have spent 60 years plotting to dismantle the New Deal and they’ve darn near almost succeeded.
Yeah, a chocolate heart… completely hollow.
These people don’t come from Teach for America; it’s called Elitist Nonprofessionals Exploiting America. TFA corp members who lack real certification can’t be teachers at heart because they never learned to be teachers in the first place. One must be a teacher of the mind before the heart. What John White really means is that, at heart, he fantasizes about being a savior and being loved. He doesn’t know how, but he wants to. I suppose most elitist nonprofessionals exploiting America dream of being teachers after a long day of selling Common Core manure like John White, or Scott’s Miracle-Gro manure like Michelle Rhee. They must think: In my heart, I don’t shovel sh*t for a living. Dream on, blind wanderers, dream on.
Here’s another interesting viewpoint on Louisiana that fits into much of what has been advocated by many here.