Archives for category: Corporate Reformers
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Nevada Set to Replace Career Teachers with TFA

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
43

This is a disturbing interview with Nevada’s State Superintendent of Instruction James Guthrie.

Nevada is 18th in the nation in teachers’ salaries but Guthrie seems to think they are overpaid.
He is certain there are large numbers of bad teachers in the state.

He has the governor’s ear. In his State of the State address, Governor Sandoval made clear that he wants more of those TFA to come to Nevada and raise scores and close the achievement gap.

In his State of the State, the governor said,

“”One of the most successful programs in the country today is Teach for
America – a unique corps of brilliant young leaders from America’s top
universities, who give their time and talent as teachers in schools
that need them most.

“These teachers help spur innovation and creativity in instruction that
makes the entire system better.

“Teach for America has helped make a difference in the lives of
hundreds of Nevada’s students.

“But we can do more.

I am proposing a new investment in Teach for America to help recruit,
train, develop, and place top teacher and leadership talent in
Nevada.”

So instead of investing in career educators who plan to stay with their schools for the long run, the governor plans to invest in 22-year-old college graduates who have 5 weeks of training and commit to stay for only two years.

Dumb thinking. Poor planning.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching

Hilarious! Louisiana’s New Website

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2013 //
9

Crazy Crawfish is a blogger who worked in the Louisiana Department of Education. He cares a lot about accurate data. He noticed, as did other researchers in Louisiana, that all the historical data for the past ten years disappeared overnight and have been replaced by press releases about the glorious success of Governor Jindal’s marketing slogan, which the Jindal team calls “Louisiana Believes.”

Don’t miss this one. It is called “Louisiana Believes Anything.”

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Honor Roll, Jindal, Bobby, Louisiana, Privatization

G.F. Brandenburg: Is Poverty Destiny?

By dianeravitch
January 24, 2013 //
15

Blogger and retired math teacher G.F. Brandenburg deciphers the central claim of the corporate reform movement: Does poverty matter? Is it destiny? Can a young teacher with a few weeks of training and high expectations college overcome the effects of poverty?

He tests the proposition by examining the correlation between test scores and poverty rates in Wisconsin. What he finds will not surprise you.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Poverty, Testing

How Phony Reform Destroys Teacher Morale: “I Quit”

By dianeravitch
January 24, 2013 //
24

A reader sent this sad commentary on the state of education today. When you read dozens of letters like this from districts around the country, you have to wonder if the “powers that be” are trying to force experienced teachers out of the classroom, to make room for the young teachers who don’t know enough to think differently, who won’t stay around long enough to get a pension, who won’t question the New Order of testing and submission. Maybe the greatest act of defiance is to stay and fight for what is right. Because the end of the “reformers'” time in charge draws near:

 

I QUIT and I did not send a letter…One day’s notice ….as I have one life to live and had rather rake yards, mow lawns, and even clean houses thasn to walk in any of these schools..

I am exhausted from trying to figure out what to teach for the next county test……then state test.

I am tired of the CLAWS that come at you and the Ugly Faces of the Powers that be when your class of 33 can not make an A on one of those SO BAD BAD TESTS!!!.

Those “Frowny Powers that Be” people may not know it but they will die early and have so many wrinkles form those Ugly Ugly Facial Gestures!!!

I am so tired of the hiring of all of the coaches that nag and nag and nag the veteran teachers and pretend to know more…but they do not..

I am tired of the Professional Learning whatevers where teachers discuss TEST SCORES for a kid with a 58 I.Q….while an administrator that has never taught more than one year takes notes back to the Super Powers…or they have some person whose position has been created to sit there and take notes to take back to the Super Powers..

NY…..NC….should call those meeting-”TESTER MEETINGS”
I know that those States test and test and test and test and test and test!!!!

I am almost positive that the Powers that be will be in the future mandating Pregnant Women to test their Embryos for Gene Defects in order to get a Head Start on any problems the child may have for Future Testing…

I am tired of not having a book…but am asked instead to get all of the material on the web….run off enough material to kill all of the trees in Pennsylvania…..all of the trees in the National Forests.,…etc…

I can not believe that the State is asking for activities that the teacher creates to put on their website for this Common Core..
If I were that teacher..I would charge the state $500 for each and every activity after I had copyrighted the activity…

What the Educational Super Powers have done is to Drain teachers of any motivation and creativity…

The media has turned their heads on this one…unless someone comes to school with a gun or a knife, you never hear of any news of the Destruction of Public Education.

What a shame..

Categories Corporate Reformers, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

How Billionaires Bought New Jersey’s Government

By dianeravitch
January 23, 2013 //
11

Jersey Jazzman explains a simple concept: When private organizations give money to public agencies, it should be fully disclosed. A couple of legislators actually offered legislation to assure proper oversight, but it was vetoed by Governor Chris Christie, exercising a line-item veto.

In this post, JJ shows how private money is being used to privatize public schools in district after district, without public knowledge or consent.

This stinks.

Categories Accountability, Broad Foundation, Corporate Reformers, New Jersey, Privatization

Good News: Pushback to Corporate Reform

By dianeravitch
January 23, 2013 //
9

Anthony Cody reflects on a year in which the voices of parents and teachers are at last being heard.

The foundations and the U.S. Department of Education and ALEC were having a field day, pushing untried and noxious policies without debate, until 2012.

Then things got interesting.

Reform hero Tony Bennett was upset by a National Board Certified Teacher in Indiana.

Cody spoke truth to power in his dialogue with the Gates Foundation.

Friends, we are finding our voice.

The public is beginning to understand.

Be strong.

Bad ideas eventually collapse, especially when they have no record of success and a long history of failure and demoralization.

Persist.

Categories ALEC, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates

More Imagine Charters Close in Indiana

By dianeravitch
January 22, 2013 //
38

Ball State University announced that it was not renewing seven charters.

Among the seven were three Imagine charters, one in Indianapolis and two in Fort Wayne.

Imagine is one of the nation’s biggest for-profit charter operators.

Last year, Imagine lost all its charter schools in Missouri and the remainder of its schools in Georgia.
This year, Imagine was closed in St. Petersburg, Florida, and one of its schools in D.C. is in trouble.
These closures raise an interesting question about the risk involved for corporations that invest in charter schools. Imagine is backed by a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) called Entertainment Properties, which also invests in multiplexes, real estate, and shopping malls. Entertainment Properties owns MASTer Academy in Ft. Wayne and the shuttered Imagine Indiana Life Sciences Academy-East  in Indianapolis. 
Another Imagine school in Indianapolis (also owned by EPR) apparently was not up for renewal this cycle.
The CEO of Entertainment Properties Trust was boasting just last year that charter schools were a stable business opportunity, “very recession-resistant,” and he added: “there’s not a lost of risk, there’s probably risk to everything but the fact is, this has bipartisan support. It’s part of the Republican platform and Arne Duncan, secretary of education in the Obama administration, has been very high on it throughout their work in public education. So we have both political parties very solidly behind it, you have high demand, high growth, you have good performance across the board.”
Well, there is actually quite a lot of risk when the authorizers start cracking down on low performers.
The sad part is that the opening and closing of schools disrupts the lives of children and destroys communities. If it is just another investment, well, so be it. If it is the life of your child or your community, it matters quite a lot.
Need we say it again and again: Schools are not shoe stores or barber shops. They should not open and close at will. Public schools should be a permanent fixture in every community, as assured as roads and police stations. If they need help, they should get it. If they need a new principal, they should get it. That’s the job of public officials, not entrepreneurs.
Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization

How to Get a Docile Workforce

By dianeravitch
January 22, 2013 //
32

Some people have wondered what happened to the much ballyhooed film “Won’t Back Down.”

Recall that it was featured on NBC’s “Education Nation,” which is the showcase for the corporate reform movement; one of its stars was interviewed on “Ellen”; it had an elegant opening party at the New York Public Library; Michelle Rhee hosted showings at the two national political conventions.

Should have been a big hit, right? Wrong.

It opened in 2,5000 theaters and disappeared within a month. Hardly anyone wanted to see it.

But it lives! The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is showing it around the country to business organizations, to convince them that the local public schools are awful and that they must support charter schools. Think of it: Schools where children learn to obey or get kicked out.

Here are the events planned for this week in Birmingham, Alabama, where businesses are still looking for the best way to train their workforce:

 

“Greetings,

On behalf of the Birmingham Business Alliance, I would like to thank each of for agreeing to participate in our panel discussion next week in conjunction with our “Breaking the Monopoly of Mediocrity in Education” tour.  As we continue to work towards providing all students in the state of Alabama with quality education options and creating a dynamic workforce, it is important to have dialogue with those who are not only advocates for better education but, who are also actively working to bring about change.  Attached you will find the final agenda as well as talking points for each panel.  Within each panel, if there is an issue that you feel should be addressed, please don’t hesitate to send your suggestion.  A more detailed email will be sent on Tuesday of next week and will address any concerns or changes that are brought to my attention by panel participants.  Again, we are excited to have each of you participate in this interactive forum.  Please feel free to forward the invitation and registration link to any of your contacts or distribution list who would be interested in attending.

Thank you and we look forward to your participation.

L. Waymond Jackson, Jr.
Director – Education and Workforce Development
birminghambusinessalliance
THE CHAMBER FOR REGIONAL PROSPERITY
505 20th Street North, Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 241-8117 (office)
(205) 324-2560 (fax)
www.birminghambusinessalliance.com<http://www.birminghambusinessalliance.com/>

On January 24th and 25th please join the Birmingham Business Alliance, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce as we kick-off their national tour “Breaking the Monopoly of Mediocrity in Education.”  The tour will focus on the various methods of education reform, business community involvement and engaging the community to become catalyst for change in education and workforce development.  Most recently, this tour has visited cities such as Memphis, Indiana, and Phoenix to name a few.

Day one consists of a screening of the movie “Won’t Back Down” featuring Academy Award Nominee, Viola Davis (The Help), immediately followed by a networking reception and opportunity to discuss the education reform issues addressed in the film.

Day two features a panel discussion comprised of area business and education leaders sharing ideas regarding education reform and how best to align the workforce needs of industry with K-12 , post-secondary, and higher education.  Topics to be discussed include, The Importance of Pre-K and Early Childhood Education, and How to Achieve a Ready to Work and Engaged Workforce.

Registration for this event is free and due to limited seating we encourage you to register before the event.  For a complete listing of panel participants please view the attached agenda; to register click on the link below.  Also, included in your “free” registration on Thursday, January 24th are popcorn, drinks, and hors d’ oeuvres and breakfast and lunch are included on Friday, January 25th.  Thanks and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Categories Accountability, Alabama, ALEC, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Unions

Minneapolis: EduShyster on How to Buy a School Board Seat

By dianeravitch
January 22, 2013 //
5

In today’s post, EduShyster travels to Minneapolis to explain how one very young man, after a brief stint in Teach for America, managed to buy a school board seat.

Teach for America, as explained in earlier posts, managed to collect nearly $1 billion in contributions, gifts, and grants in a five year period. It is a good gig.

EduShyster says that it is very effective to buy school board seats.

She contrasts this strategy to the failed attempt to buy the entire Bridgeport, Ct., school board.

The victory in Minneapolis cost only $37,000.

The loss in Bridgeport cost the corporate reformers over half a million.

You can see where this is leading.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

The Corporate Reform Movement Vs. Dr. MLK

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2013 //
1

Reader Mike Dixon commented on a post about Martin Luther King Jr.‘s definition of the purpose of education:

A cynical person might suspect that corporate education reform is intended to promote exactly what MLK warned about.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Segregation , Racial Isolation and Integration, Testing
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