Archives for category: Privatization
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BATS: What Is DFER? Why Does It Matter?

By dianeravitch
April 16, 2018 //
30

 

Marla Kilfoyle and Melissa Tomlinson of the BadAss Teachers Association wrote this analysis of the organization called Democrats for Education Reform, known as DFER. It was organized in 2005 by a small group of hedge fund managers. Its purpose is to promote charter schools by funding candidates for Office who share its goal. It also supports test-based evaluation of teachers and high-stakes testing of students. Its inaugural meeting was held at a luxurious apartment in New York City in 2005, where the speaker was Illinois Senator Barack Obama (as recounted in Stephen Brill’s admiring account “Class Warfare”).

During the Obama campaign of 2008, the candidate’s spokesperson on education was Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University. It was widely assumed that she would be Obama’s Secretary of Education. But DFER recommended Arne Duncan, a charter enthusiast known by DFER, and Duncan it was. Obama and Duncan’s Race to the Top embodied DFER’s principles. It propelled the proliferation of charter schools, school closures, Common Core, VAM for teachers, and high-stakes testing for students. It was a complete failure when judged by its announced goals of closing achievement gaps and lifting test scores to the top rank on international tests.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Duncan, Arne, Education Industry, Education Reform, Obama, Privatization, Testing

Why the Colorado Democratic Party Denounced DFER

By dianeravitch
April 16, 2018 //
5

 

Democrats for Education Reform is an organization founded, funded, and led by hedge fund managers who support charter schools and high-stakes testing. They raise money to elect likeminded people across the country and are a key part of the Dark Money world of fundraisers for privatization of public schools.

On Saturday, the Colorado Democratic Party passed a strong resolution opposing privatization of public schools and demanding that DFER stop calling themselves “Democrats.”

Here is the story of the state Democratic convention, as reported in Chalkbest.

Colorado has been fertile ground for corporate reform, and DFER has been a source of funding for candidates for the state board, the Denver board, and other critical races. Senator Michael Bennett, once a superintendent of the Denver public schools, is a DFER favorite. So are two current candidates for governor, Jared Polis (who is so rich he doesn’t need DFER money) and former TFA State Senator Michael Johnston, who drafted the state’s harsh and ineffective teacher evaluation law.

“Vanessa Quintana, a political activist who was the formal sponsor of the minority report, was a student at Denver’s Manual High School when it was closed in 2006, a decision that Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, then Denver’s superintendent, defended at an education panel Friday.

“She said that before she finally graduated from high school, she had been through two school closures and a major school restructuring and dropped out of school twice. Three of her siblings never graduated, and she blames the instability of repeated school changes.

“When DFER claims they empower and uplift the voices of communities, DFER really means they silence the voices of displaced students like myself by uprooting community through school closure,” she told the delegates. “When Manual shut down my freshman year, it told me education reformers didn’t find me worthy of a school.”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Closing schools, Colorado, Democrats, Denver, DFER, Education Reform, Privatization

Leonie Haimson: Is Colorado’s Rebuke to DFER a Turning Point in the Battle Against Privatization?

By dianeravitch
April 16, 2018 //
15

 

Leonie Haimson writes here about the stunning rebuke administered by the Colorado Democratic Party to “Democrats for Education Reform” last Saturday. 

It is hard to overstate the commanding position of DFER in that state. Senator Michael Bennett is DFER-approved. So are two of the leading Democrats running for Governor. DFER’s Dark Money has captured the Denver school board.

Until now, no one has stood up to them. No one could match their cash.

Will DFER survive this denunciation? Of course. But their stamp of approval might turn into a stigma for real Democrats. Real Democrats do not support the DeVos privatization agenda. Real Democrats support public schools u dear democratic control.

Leonie writes:

”Let’s hope that the Colorado vote is a turning point, and that it is no longer politically or ethically acceptable for progressive Democrats to act like Republicans when it comes to education policy.”

Wouldn’t that be great?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Colorado, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, DFER, Education Industry, Privatization

Puerto Rico: President of the Teachers Association Denounces Privatization of Island’s Public Schools

By dianeravitch
April 16, 2018 //
12

Mensaje: Aida Díaz, president of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico (AFT), spoke on television and denounced the privatization of the Island’s public schools.

 

Good afternoon and thank you for allowing me to enter your homes.

• For decades, the public education system, its students and teachers, have had to fight hard battles to advance the right to an education of excellence,

• The rights acquired by teachers have been threatened by the administrations on duty. The Association of Teachers has successfully confronted them in the courts, administrative forums and the Legislature.

• All administrations have attempted against public education and its teachers, but never, never, have we witnessed an effort to dismantle our education system as Governor Rossello and Secretary Keleher intend to do. We had never seen such a clear intention to run over our teachers and students.

• First the Governor and his Secretary told us that they had to close schools and closed 167.

• Then, they awarded operators with 100 charter schools and educational vouchers, opening the door to fraud.

• And I wonder … and I know that you too, to benefit whom? To the teachers and the students, or is it to advance the interests of the Fiscal Control Board and the vulture funds?

• Governor Rosselló and Keleher now want to close 283 schools. If we allow it, they mean 450 schools closed in less than a year. 35% of schools.

• There are 450 affected communities, over 8,000 displaced teachers and thousands of families and students whose lives were interrupted without foundation. To the tragala!

• Has anyone thought about the effect that these closures are going to cause the small businesses that depend on our schools, the corner shop or the lady who sells “limbers” to keep her house?

• Has anyone thought of those teachers, who with their own money bought materials because the government does not help?

• Has Secretary Keleher thought of the thousands of students with health conditions whose parents walk to their schools to give their children medicine because there are no nurses?

• If the enrollment of students was reduced by 15%, how is the closure of 35% of the schools justified?

• How does the Governor allow his Secretary to disparage our people, opening a call for outside managers, with a payment of $ 125,000 per year?

• These acts reflect the little respect we have for our people.

• The Governor said he was not going to do more of the same, and he’s right. No one has tried to close down a third of the schools, run over thousands of teachers, displace thousands ofstudents, close Montessori schools because they refused to become charter, and affect thousands of small businesses.

• No Governor has placed public education in the hands of third parties or given a blank check to a Secretary who disparages our people.

• GOVERNOR: ENOUGH!

• Do not criticize the Control Board when your actions are so aggressive towards teachers and our students. We are paying too high a price for the irresponsibility of the Government.

• Paulo Freire, said “teaching demands to know how to listen”.

• Governor, you have an obligation to hear the voices of thousands of teachers, parents, students, small businesses, whose lives will be marked by the closing of 35% of schools. Listen to the mayors.

• Governor, listen.

• The Association, as the exclusive representative of the Magisterium will continue taking firm actions to protect the future of our education system. The voices of children, parents and teachers are silenced by NO ONE

• Therefore, teachers, parents, students and communities, join us to create a human shield to protect our education, next Wednesday, April 25 from 3:30 in the afternoon, at the Capitol. To defend our schools!

• The voice of the people must be heard because the future of our children depends on the present they live.

May God bless and protect Puerto Rico

To see and hear her speak, you can watch the video.

 

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Tom Ultican: The Problem of Fake Teachers, Fake Administrators, Fake Schools

By dianeravitch
April 13, 2018 //
20

 

Tom Ultican has been chronicling the doings of the Destroy Public Education Movement, as it tears a path through urban districts across the nation.

In this post, he tackles the DPE invention of new credentials for people who didn’t have time to get real ones.

He begins like this:

”The destroy public education movement (DPE) has given us teach for America (Fake Teachers), Relay Graduate School (Fake Schools) and the Broad Superintendents Academy (Fake administrators). None of these entities are legitimately accredited, yet they are ubiquitous in America’s major urban areas.

“There was a time in the United States of America when scoundrels perpetrating this kind of fraud were jailed and fined. Today, they are not called criminals; they are called philanthropists. As inequitable distribution of wealth increases, democratic principles and humane ideology recede.

“It is time to fight the 21st century robber-barons and cleanse our government of grifters and sycophants.

“Philanthropy in America is undermining the rule of law and democratic rights. Gates, Walton, Broad, DeVos, Bradley, Lily, Kaufman, Hall, Fisher, Arnold, Hastings, Anschutz, Bloomberg, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Dell and the list goes on. They have afflicted us with teach for America (TFA), charter Schools, vouchers, phony graduate schools, bad technology and bogus administrators implementing their agendas.

“Without these “philanthropists” and their dark money schemes none of this would exist. Public schools would be healthy and teen-age suicide rates would be going down; not up. Instead we have mindless testing, harmful technology and teaching on the cheap.

“This “philanthropy” is about profits, reducing tax burdens on the wealthy, imposing religious dogma and subjugation of non-elites. It is harmful to America’s children. The attack on public education was never primarily about benefiting children. It certainly was never based on concern for minority populations.”

Read the rest.

Categories Accountability, Broad Foundation, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

Seattle School Board Hires a New Superintendent

By dianeravitch
April 11, 2018 //
14

 

The Seattle School Board hired Denise Juneau, currently the Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, as its new superintendent. Seattle is strongly opposed to privatization, and Juneau share those values. She is a Native American who grew up on a tribal reservation and is strongly committed to equity.

The State of zwashington is currently involved in a protracted legal fight over charter schools. They were rejected by voters three times in state referenda. However in 2012, Bill Gates and other billionaires assembled a large campaign fund for a new referendum, outspent the opposition 17-1, and the referendum passed by 1%. The opponents—the League of Women Voters, the PTAs, the NAACP, The School Boards, and the teachers—sued to stop charters from getting public funding. The State Supreme Court held that charters are not public schools because they do not have elected school boards. Gates and friends started opening charters anyway and used their political influence to persuade the legislature to fund them with lottery money. There are currently 10 charter schools in the state, enrolling 2,500 students, or 1/4 of 1% of the state’s students.

Seattle voted heavily against charters. Green Dot in Los Angeles is apparently planning to open in Seattle.

The battle for public schools continues, with a strong leader in Seattle.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization

How Tests May Be Used to Privatize Public Schools, for Fun and Profit

By dianeravitch
April 11, 2018 //
18

 

A blogger who is a middle-school teacher with 30 years of experience writes here about how tests are the entry point for privatization. The privatized schools won’t get better schools but once they get their clutches on public schools, they don’t let go. The rewards of privatization are considerable. The private sector gets to seize the assets and resources of the public sector at no cost. What a deal. Entire communities have been gobbled up and disappeared.

“How can parents and communities end the insanity? Be informed. Click on the links to supporting materials if you want to know more. Go to nysape.org run by and for parents. Have your children opt out. Refuse consequential use of scores… including evaluating your child’s teacher, impacting your child’s access to gifted programs or remediation, your school’s report card. Demand that tests be used diagnostically not as a tool for stack ranking or predatory take over of public institutions. And, like all important things, remember that involvement is the key. The best school is not the creation of an external entity, but the product of the living partnership of a community. Instead of investing in high stakes testing, invest in a relationship with your child’s teachers. Partner with them and with the other stakeholders in the community. Together, we are responsible for the education of our children and for protecting a future in which they can participate fully. Be part of a thriving real community.”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Testing

Tom Ultican: The Libertarian Theory of CATO vs. Evidence About Vouchers

By dianeravitch
April 7, 2018 //
9

 

Tom Ultican reviews the anguish of the libertarian CATO Institute, founded and financed by Charles Koch, and its efforts to refute the critique of vouchers by the Center for American Progress. CAP loves charters, hates vouchers. CATO lives the free market and embraces all forms of choice.

The libertarian ideology, he shows, is indifferent to facts. There is a libertarian Bible and a libertarian God, and his name is Milton Friedman, champion of free markets. If Friedman wrote something, it must be true, no further discussion.

“This ideology is a religiously held belief positing that private enterprise is always more efficient and cost effective than a government enterprise. However, privatized police forces, privatized prisons, privatized armies and privatized fire departments are clearly problematic.”

Friedman asserted that nothing had changed in American schools for 200 years.

Ultican asks:

”Let me get this straight, the father of vouchers believes teaching methods in America have not changed since 1795. Why did anyone ever listen to this blathering fool?”

Friedman’s fanatical followers treat his words as gospel. Privatization solves all problems. Except when it creates new ones, unleashing greed and rampant indifference to the common good.

Ideology tends to blind its adherents to facts or evidence.

 

Categories Accountability, Education Reform, Privatization

Bad News: Florida Court Upholds Law Allowing State to Put Charters Wherever

By dianeravitch
April 6, 2018 //
8

 

A county court in Florida threw out a challenge to a new state law allowing the state to locate charters over local objections and to draw on local revenues.

Charter industry advocates were elated.

“After a nearly five-hour hearing, Leon County Judge John Cooper wasted little time Wednesday in throwing out several school districts’ challenge of HB 7069, the controversial 2017 education legislation that created a new class of charter schools, among several other measures.

“Cooper found the law constitutional.

“He issued his ruling of summary judgment for the defendants — the Florida Board of Education, Department of Education, and intervening parents and charter schools — from the bench without boiling it down to writing. Lawyers for the two sides will submit suggestions for a written order within a week…

“The Florida Legislature created the Schools of Hope charter school system outside the control of districts. It directed local tax revenue away from the districts without school board approval. It changed the rules of the game for improving low-performing schools, in some cases taking operations away from the districts.

“It was really just a pure question of law,” Arnold said.

“Attorneys for the districts argued that the Legislature overstepped its constitutional authority. They pointed to the section of the state constitution that gives school boards the power to establish, maintain and operate schools within their political boundaries.”

Florida Republicans proved yet again that they don’t care about local control, only about the profits of the charter industry with which so many are financially connected.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article208035184.html#storylink=cpy

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Florida, For-Profit, Privatization

Good News! No Funding for Charter Schools in Kentucky!

By dianeravitch
April 6, 2018 //
10

 

This is a victory for parents, educators and other citizens who love public schools: The Kentucky Legislature passed a two-year budget that does not include funding for charter schools. 

The charter lobbyists are still working the halls, hoping to turn it around, but the clock is running out.

Two Louisville Republicans (where charters are likeliest to open) said they would not support funding charters if public school funding was cut. Public school funding was actually increased, but higher education and other government programs were cut.

Legislators understand that there is only one pot of money, and funding charters means less money for public schools. They may have paid attention to the failure of charters in their neighbor Tennessee, which have been divisive, expensive and ineffective.

 

Categories Charter Schools, Education Industry, Kentucky, Privatization
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