Archives for category: Corporate Reformers
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Tom Ultican: Watch Out, Texas! The Reformers Want to Steal Your Public Schools

By dianeravitch
January 28, 2019 //
2

 

 

Tom Ultican has awarning for thegreat state of Texas: Protect your public schools and your children!

The Corporate Reformers are coming to Texas to privatize public schools.

Tom has the story here.

The privatizers are landing on Texas because they have failed everywhere else.

They tried to grab Massachusetts in 2016, and got their rear ends kicked out in a referendum they lost overwhelmingly.

They thought they owned New York because of the millions they gave Cuomo, but when the Republicans lost control of the State Senate, the billionaires came up empty.

They got kicked out of Maine and Nevada.

They spent $60 million in California and lost both statewide races.

So why not flood Texas with charter schools?

Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Dan Patrick are Choice supporters but had to forget about vouchers.

No wonder the charter industry, the entrepreneurs and grifters think that Texas is fertile territory for snake oil.

 

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Nancy Bailey: Beware the SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) Hoax

By dianeravitch
January 26, 2019 //
30

Nancy Bailey sees another Reformer trick rapidly overtaking teachers and schools: Social emotional learning, like this is a new idea or something that never occurred to teachers.

She writes:

Social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools makes many parents and teachers nervous. We worry there’s an ulterior motive to collect behavioral data on how children think and act, and that the ultimate goal is to privatize public schools and track students.

Talk about transforming our public schools away from cognitive learning to SEL is everywhere!

Those promoting this kind of push for self-regulation of students and massive character data collection claim that teachers have methodically taught students without caring about their feelings.

This is an insult, especially since the test-and-punish era that hurt students, came from the same outside corporate reformers who mean to privatize public schools and who are now promoting social-emotional learning!

It’s the roadblocks that have been put in a teacher’s way by corporate outsiders that have made teaching regimented and cold. High-stakes testing, and increasingly difficult standards, rigor, even for kindergarteners, were created to shut down public schools. This never came from teachers!

The last straw occurred when she saw that David Brooks was writing about “social-emotional learning,” and she knew that SEL has become an empty phrase.

Bailey says that if you want to see true teacher love for students, think about the thousands of teachers in Los Angeles, picketing in the rain so their students would have better education.

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Hoax

Audrey Watters: Fables of School Reform

By dianeravitch
January 25, 2019 //
36

Audrey Watters writes here about the promises and realities of EdTech.

Why the boom in education technology? Is it the pursuit of the total transformation of schooling? Is it marketing, competition and the pursuit of profits? Is it an effort to cut costs by replacing humans with machines?

Watters writes:

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, more than $13 billion in venture capital has been sunk into education technology startups. But in spite of all the money and political capital pouring into the sprawling ed-tech sector, there’s precious little evidence suggesting that its trademark innovations have done anything to improve teaching and learning.

Perhaps, though, that’s never really been the point. Rather, it may be that all the interest in education technology has been an extension of a long-running campaign to make over American schools into the image of corporate endeavor—to transform education into a marketplace for buzzword-friendly apps and instruction plans, while steadily privatizing public institutions of learning for the sake of enhancing the bottom lines of the business interests promoting investment-friendly school “reforms.”

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Technology

Denver Teachers Vote to Strike!

By dianeravitch
January 24, 2019 //
12

The Teacher Revolt continues!

Fred Klonsky reports here that 93% of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association voted to strike.

Denver has been the epicenter of merit pay since 2005. It has confused and demoralized teachers.

The city school board is completely dominated and bought by reformers, who hold every seat, thanks to out-of-state money. The board has jumped on the portfolio model, closing public schools and opening charter schools. Typically the charters and other alternatives are non-union. Betsy DeVos has praised the Denver model, and hopes it will one day add vouchers.

Read Tom Ultican’s appraisal of the failure of Denver’s portfolio district.

Be it noted that Colorado just elected a Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who started two charter schools, and strongly supports school choice, not public schools.

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Denver, Education Industry, Education Reform, Merit pay, Portfolio District, Privatization, Teachers, Testing, Unions

Texas: Vouchers Are Dead!

By dianeravitch
January 24, 2019 //
7

At the last legislative session in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick attended the major school choice really to show their enthusiastic support for vouchers. This week, neither of the state’s top elected officials showed up at the school choice rally.

Two years ago, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stood on the steps of the Texas Capitol before a throng of waving yellow scarves and urged lawmakers to vote for programs that give parents state money to attend private schools.

This Wednesday, those two top Republicans may not even attend the rally for National School Choice Week, let alone have speaking roles. [They didn’t attend the rally.]

Although “school choice” supporters will still excitedly don their signature bright yellow scarves Wednesday, they will likely be fighting an uphill battle the rest of this session to get support in the Capitol.

In the months after 2017’s rally, House lawmakers unequivocally voted to reject school vouchers or similar programs that allow parents to use public money for private education. In 2018, a key election ousted some of the programs’ largest supporters, including Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, one of the loudest cheerleaders in the House. And as state Republicans tour the state making constituents a new set of education-related promises, many have swapped the words “school choice” for “school finance.”

So far, even Abbott and Patrick have rarely brought up their former pet issue without being asked — beyond Abbott’s routine proclamation for this year’s School Choice Week. New House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, an Angleton Republican, said last week that the House would not pass legislation approving vouchers — and that he had consistently voted no on similar bills.

“I’m not willing to say, ‘Hey, this issue is dead.’ But leadership seems to be saying that, at least for this particular session,” said Monty Exter, lobbyist for the Association of Texas Professional Educators, one of the biggest opponents of those programs.

As vouchers fade off into the sunset, choice advocates are doubling down on charters. There is a major push in every city in Texas to expand the number of charters. In San Antonio, the big charter push came from Mayor Julian Castro, who pledged to put 20% of all students into charter schools and invited major chains to set up shop in his city. Castro recently announced his candidacy or the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joining Cory Booker as an openly pro-charter candidate.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization, Texas, Vouchers

Forbes: Choice Zealots Upset by L.A. Teachers Strike, Plan Texas as Their Next Target for Privatization

By dianeravitch
January 17, 2019 //
40

To get some insight into the mind of the privatizers, read this article in Forbes.

The author is very unhappy because of the Los Angeles teachers strike, which has called out the billionaires’effort to destroy public education and enjoys overwhelming public support. Besides, he expects that enrollments, including charter enrollments, have maxed out in CA and are likely to decline.

The next target: Texas.

Teams funded by the usual billionaires are moving in to disrupt and privatize public schools in Houston (state takeover), El Paso, San Antonio, Dallas, and elsewhere.in San Antonio, they are abetted by the collaboration of the Castro brothers (alleged Democrats, one of whom is running for the 2020 nomination) and the billionaires. The governor is a hard-right Republican, and the legislature is controlled by Republicans in both houses. Ideal conditions for charter growth. Hard-right Republicans, villainthropists, and neoliberals Democrats.

But, thanks to Beto O’Rourke’s coattails, the zrepunlicans no longer have a super majority in the Senate. And thanks to the determined work of Pastors for Texas Children, vouchers are a dead issue.

So the privatizers are concentrating on districts with a majority of lack and brown children, where they can sing their false siren song about “saving poor kids from failing schools,” while they collect fat six-figure salaries to disrupt and privatize public schools.

My advice to the privatizers: DOMT MESS WITH TEXAS!

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Rachel M. Cohen: The Teachers in L.A. Are Striking Against Privatization, Where are the Charter Democrats?

By dianeravitch
January 17, 2019 //
75

Rachel M. Cohen, writing in The Intercept, understands what’s new about the L.A. strike. The teachers are fighting for their students and smaller class sizes, but they are loudly and clearly doing somthing else: They are fighting against charter schools. They are fighting against the pro-charter policies of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Arne Duncan. They are fighting against the pro-charter policies of Jerry Brown, Andrew Cuomo, Corey Booker, and rising Congressional star Hakeem Jeffries.

Cohen writes:

“The centrality of opposition to charter school growth in the LA protests has put many Democrats in an uncomfortable position. The Democratic Party has long straddled an awkward political balancing act between the charter school and labor movements, which both fund Democratic candidates but war with each other. Today, with people across the country focused on the LA teachers, most Democratic lawmakers have stayed silent, and even those who have weighed in have mostly avoided commenting on the union’s opposition to charter school growth….

“The Intercept reached out to all 47 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to ask if they wanted to weigh in on the LA teachers strike and the demands that teachers are striking over. All Democratic senators were also asked to clarify their general views on charter school growth.

“Only seven of them responded.

“A spokesperson for Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., referred The Intercept to a tweet Harris posted on Monday in support of the striking teachers, and said the senator is “particularly concerned with expansions of for-profit charter schools and believes all charter schools need transparency and accountability.” In September, California legislators passed a ban on for-profit charters in the state….

“Martina McLennan, a spokesperson for Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., responded with a statement that did not directly address the LA strike:…

“Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s statement also did not directly address the strike. “I support the rights of all workers to join together and fight for better working conditions,” he said. “But it’s shameful that American teachers have to fight so hard just to get the basic supports they need to serve their students. We need to do better as a country investing in public education and public school teachers.”

“Saloni Sharma, a spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., referred The Intercept to a tweet Warren posted on Monday in support of the striking teachers. She also added that the senator believes rapid charter school expansion can pose a threat to the financial health of traditional public schools, which is why Warren opposed a ballot measure in 2016 that would have allowed up to 12 new charters to open in Massachusetts per year. “While she generally shares the concerns voiced by LA teachers on this and other issues, she can’t really speak to the charters’ specific impact on LA schools — the LA teachers are the best experts on that,” Sharma said. “We should listen to them.”…

“Ryan King, a spokesperson for Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, said his boss “believes that teachers in Nevada, and across the country, should be treated with dignity and paid a living wage for the work they do in educating our kids. The senator believes that Congress must do all it can to support quality public education in America and ensure our nation’s teachers have the resources and support they need to educate students.”

“Only two other people responded. Jonathan Kott, a spokesperson for Joe Manchin of West Virginia, declined to comment, saying “we are not weighing in on a local issue in California” and that the senator’s “record on charter schools is well-documented.” (Manchin, who voted against Betsy DeVos’s nomination for education secretary, specifically cited her support for charters and private school vouchers as reasons.) Keith Chu, a spokesperson for Ron Wyden of Oregon, also declined to comment.

“Sanders did not respond to a query about his position on charter schools, but he, Warren, and Brown remain the only likely 2020 presidential hopefuls in the Senate who’ve had anything to say about the strike at all. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Cory Booker of New Jersey did not respond to our questions, nor have they publicly commented. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has also stayed notably silent on the teachers strike happening in her own state.”

Feinstein’s silence is odd. She was just re-elected,and she is very wealthy. She doesn’t need the billionaire’s money, she will never stand for election again. Maybe Eli Broad is a close friend?

Unlike the elected Democrats, the UTLA has drawn the connection between the billionaires and the attack on public school, unions, and teachers.

California, a blue state, has more charter schools in the nation. Ninety percent of charters are non-union. One of the reasons that rightwingers love charters is that they are non-union.

UTLA is making a point: Real Democrats support public schools, not privately managed charters.

Real Democrats are not allied with the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and Betsy DeVos.

Every Democratic candidate for 2020 should declare now whether they support the UTLA; whether they support public schools or charter schools; whether they support teachers’ right to bargain collectively.

A tweet is not enough. Hop on a plane and get to Los Angeles and stand with the teachers if you are a real Democrat.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Education Industry, Los Angeles, Privatization, Supporting public schools

Rebecca Klein: The Los Angeles Strike Will Affect the Future of the Democratic Party

By dianeravitch
January 15, 2019 //
48

Rebecca Klein, education editor at Huffington Post, predicts that the LA teachers strike will play a large role in the future of the Democratic Party.

Oneof the reasons for the strike is the LAUSD’s pro-charter majority, elected by the cash of billionaireswho want to eliminate public schools and unions. These billionaires, like Eli Broad and Reed Hastings, claim to be Democrats.

In Los Angeles, charter schools drain $600 million every year from public schools.

Real Democrats support public schools and unions, not private management of schools.

Real Democrats do not make alliances with the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and DeVos.

Every Democratic candidate for president in 2020 should join the UTLA picket line and show: Which side are you on?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats, Los Angeles, Privatization, Unions

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Can We Get Her Involved in the Struggle to Save Public Schools from Plutocrats?

By dianeravitch
January 14, 2019 //
57

The New York Timeswrote that the first-year memberof Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was tending bar in the Bronx a year ago, is pushing the Democratic Party to the left.

Alexandria (@AOC) is a remarkable figure in our politics today. By sheer force of personality, she has emerged as a dominant voice. She terrifies moderate Democrats and the entire Republican Party. She has proposed a Green New Deal. She has proposed that people who have an annual income of more than $10 million pay a tax of 70% of everything above $10 million (the marginal tax rate was 90% during the Eisenhower years).

She has two million followers on Twitter.

If anyone knows how to reach her, I would love to get her aid in fighting the privatization of public schools. She would be a powerful ally.

This is part of what the Times wrote about her today:

“Not so long ago, left-wing activists were dismissed as fringe or even kooky when they pressed for proposals to tax the super rich at 70 percent, to produce all of America’s power through renewable resources or to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Then along came Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — and her social-media megaphone.

“In the two months since her election, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has had the uncanny ability for a first-term member of Congress to push the debate inside the Democratic Party sharply to the left, forcing party leaders and 2020 presidential candidates to grapple with issues that some might otherwise prefer to avoid.

“The potential Democratic field in 2020 is already being quizzed about her (Senator Kamala Harris praised her on “The View”), emulating her digital tactics (Senator Elizabeth Warren held an Instagram chat in her kitchen that looked much like one of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s sessions) and embracing some of her causes.

“Ms. Warren and Senator Cory Booker, among others, have recently endorsed the idea of a “Green New Deal,” a call to reimagine an environment-first economy that would phase out fossil fuels. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez thrust that issue into the national dialogue after she joined a sit-in protest in the office of then-incoming House speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi, in one of her first, rebellious acts in Washington.

“Her rise has stirred a backlash among some Congressional Democrats, who are seeking to constrain her anti-establishment streak and fear her more radical ideas could tar the party as socialist.

“Back home in New York, she has stoked opposition to a deal with Amazon to set up offices in Queens, putting pressure on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, to justify corporate incentives.

“Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a Bronx-born 29-year-old of Puerto Rican descent, is the youngest congresswoman ever, and Washington veterans say they cannot recall a similar congressional debut.

“A bartender from the Bronx has been able to create a litmus test around climate and economic policy for every 2020 Democrat,” said Waleed Shahid, who was one of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s early campaign advisers and is now the communications director for Justice Democrats, a liberal activist group.

“Far beyond policy, she has emerged as a potent symbol for a diversifying Democratic Party: a young woman of color who is giving as good as she gets in a political system that has rarely rewarded people who look like her. Her mastery of social media has allowed her to connect with audiences who might otherwise be alienated from Washington.”

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Resistance

Gary Rubinstein: Where Are the Kids Who Were “Saved” by Ed Reform?

By dianeravitch
January 12, 2019 //
85

Gary Rubinstein raises an interesting question: where are the kids who were “saved” by ed reform?

Where are the kids who graduated from Urban Prep in Chicago, the ones that Arne Duncan claimed to “save”?

Where are the kids featured in “Waiting for ‘Superman’”? Remember, they were “saved” from their public schools and a Catholic school by miraculous charter schools.

Then there was the boy saved by a TFA teacher who taught him rugby, which got the boy into college and the teacher on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Apparently, the boy is homeless now.

How long do the “saved” children stay saved?

He asks for your help:

“You’d think that Davis Guggenheim, the director of ‘Waiting For Superman’ would keep in touch with his subjects — see if they graduated high school — see how they’re doing.

“My own private detective skills led me to find one of them, Daisy Esparza, on Twitter. I tried to contact her, but didn’t get a response. The other three, I wasn’t able to find anything. Maybe they are on Instagram. If anyone knows anything — six degrees of separation and all that — leave a comment.”

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Students, Teach for America
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