Archives for category: Privatization
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Good News from Florida

By dianeravitch
November 14, 2012 //
7

I should have reported this sooner, but other election returns distracted me.

Jeb Bush’s latest privatization scheme suffered a major setback at the hands of Florida voters.

He and his allies pushed Amendment 8 to allow public funds to flow to religious schools. As usual with “reform” measures, this one had a misleading name. It was about “religious freedom,” but voters recognized it was a voucher scheme and they rejected it overwhelmingly.

Other bad news for the Bush machine: Tony Bennett, the head of Bush’s Chiefs for Change, was whipped.

Tony Luna pushed Bush’s expensive but profitable (for tech companies) ideas about mandatory laptops for every student and mandatory online courses, as well as merit pay and union-demolition. Happily, the Luna laws were crushed and repealed by Idaho voters.

Categories Bush, Jeb, Chiefs for Change, Florida, For-Profit, Idaho, Indiana, Privatization, Religion, Testing, Vouchers

Sirota Exposes the Big Lie Technique

By dianeravitch
November 13, 2012 //
6

David Sirota, an author and talk-show host, here analyzes the election results and says they exposed the Big Lie of the corporate reform movement.

The public is not hankering to privatize their public schools.

The corporate leaders and rightwing establishment dropped millions of dollars to push their agenda of privatization, teacher-bashing and anti-unionism. They lost some major contests.

I will be posting more about some important local races they lost.

We have to do two things to beat them: get the word out to the public about who they are and what they want (read Sirota).

Two: never lose hope.

Those who fight to defend the commons against corporate raiders are on the right side of history.

Nothing they demand is right for children, nor does it improve education.

Categories Charter Schools, Chicago, Colorado, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, For-Profit, Idaho, Indiana, Merit pay, Parents, Privatization, Stand for Children, Students, Technology, Computers, Testing, Unions, US Education, Vouchers

Talking Down to Parents in Memphis

By dianeravitch
November 13, 2012 //
3

There is a new blogger in Memphis. Thus we get the low-down on how parents were treated by the “reformers.” Read this. The condescension is startling. The local Portfolio Manager (!) let everyone know that public hearings give them a chance to vent. Eventually, the parents will understand that wiser heads than theirs are making all the decisions.

As you may recall, Tennessee is on its way to privatizing large numbers of schools across the state because it suffered a double whammy: it “won” Race to the Top funding (more charter schools, more punitive teacher evaluations), and it has a super-conservative Governor, legislature and state commissioner. All bad news for public schools.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Privatization, Tennessee

K12 Says: Elections Present New Business Opportunities

By dianeravitch
November 13, 2012 //
14

Soon after the elections, the mega-corporation K12 convened a conference call with investors to boast about the opening of new markets for virtual charters in Georgia and Washington State.

K12 is the company founded by the Milken brothers to sell online schooling for-profit.

It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Its CEO, Ron Packard, has a background at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs. Last year, he was paid $5 million.

The academic results of its schools are poor. The National Education Policy Center reviewed K12 and found that its students fare poorly in relation to test scores and graduation rates. The NCAA won’t accept credits from one of its online schools. The New York Times wrote a blistering critique of K12.

But K12, like some other charter operators, makes campaign contributions (as it did in Georgia), and the politicians care more about those contributions than about the children of their state.

Categories ALEC, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Georgia, K12 Inc., On-Line Education, Privatization

How a Leading Rightwing Group Views the Election

By dianeravitch
November 13, 2012 //
0

The Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C., is one of the nation’s leading advocates for privatization of public education. Its leader, Jeanne Allen, was an education policy analyst at the rightwing think tank, the Heritage Foundation, before she founded CER in 1993:

The Center for Education Reform has long advocated for charters and vouchers. It has nothing to say about improving public schools, only that they should be replaced by private management or vouchers.

CER is closely allied with other conservative groups committed to privatization, like ALEC, the Heartland Institute, Democrats for Education Reform, and Black Alliance for Educational Options. CER claimed credit for helping to write the Heartland Institute’s version of the parent trigger law, which served as a model for ALEC.

If you want to track the advance of privatization, keep your eye on the Center for Education Reform.

This is CER’s take on the 2012 elections (to see the links, go to the CER website):

The Center for Education Reform Analysis:
How Education Reform Fared on Election Day

WASHINGTON, DC – The Center for Education Reform analyzed Tuesday’s results through the prism of education reform. Our EDlection Roundup provides our analysis on races up and down the ballots, including:

The White House: The Center congratulated President Obama and offered thoughts about how he could refocus education issues in his second term.

Governors: Two states, North Carolina and Indiana, will be inaugurating reform-minded Governors. They join the 23 other states who are also led by reformers. Is yours one of them? See our Governor grades.

Senate Races: We take a look at the results of four Senate races where candidates were strong reformers, and where two – Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) – were victorious.

Ballot Initiatives: There were education reform ballot initiatives in Georgia, Idaho, and Washington. We look at the results, which included a decisive victory in Georgia.

Superintendents: We examine the results of Superintendent races, with a special look at the disappointing defeat of Tony Bennett, a stalwart reformer.

###

CER, since 1993, is the leading voice and advocate for lasting, substantive and structural education reform in the U.S. Additional information about the Center and its activities can be found at http://www.edreform.com.

The Center for Education Reform
(tel) 800-521-2118 • 301-986-8088 • (fax) 301-986-1826
cer@edreform.com • http://www.edreform.com

Categories ALEC, Black Alliance for Educational Options, Charter Schools, ConnCAN, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, For-Profit, Indiana, Parent trigger, Privatization, Vouchers

Why Charter Lobby Pushed San Diego Bond Issue

By dianeravitch
November 12, 2012 //
3

San Diego had a bond issue on the ballot. It passed handily.

It appeared to be a great victory for public schools.

But unknown to many, there was a sweet deal tucked into the bond issue.

The district will get $2.8 billion in loans, but $350 million is set aside for charters.

Decisions about how to allocate the money will be made by a committee, this article says, dominated by representatives of the charter industry.

Here is another name to add to the billionaire boys’ club: Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm. This La Jolla billionaire believes that most students in the San Diego schools should eventually be in a charter school. Jacobs gave $80,000 to the campaign for the bond issue in San Diego. He was also one of the biggest contributors to the Obama campaign.

Another true believer in privatization of public education.

Categories California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization

A Superintendent’s Advice to President Obama

By dianeravitch
November 12, 2012 //
11

Jere Hochman runs an exemplary school district in Bedford, New York.

Before the election, he wrote an eloquent letter (which I posted though I may not have used his name) on why everyone should support President Obama.

He convinced me.

He also promised me that after the election, he would speak out about the need to change the punitive testing and accountability policies of this administration.

He is speaking out. 

The biggest problem in education today is the politicians, who are interfering in matters they do not understand, he says.

He offers excellent advice to the President, and this is only part 1.

Thank you, Jere.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Charter Schools, Obama, Privatization, Students, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

Teachers’ Facebook and Phone Campaign for Obama

By dianeravitch
November 11, 2012 //
21

Two teachers have started a campaign to take their message to the White House: stop the Race to the Top!

The message of their campaign:

Give all students the same education your girls are getting! Abandon Race to the Top and stop privatizing public schools.

Join them!

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Obama, Privatization, Race to the Top

EduShyster Credits Stephanie Rivera for SFER Expose

By dianeravitch
November 11, 2012 //
9

Earlier, I published a post about Students for Education Reform, linking to a post by EduShyster.

SFER is a junior version of Democrats for Education Reform, the group formed by Wall Street hedge fund managers to promote privatization and high-stakes testing.

EduShyster here says that the credit for investigative reporting goes to Stephanie Rivera, a student at Rutgers, who plans to be a teacher and often engages in dialogue with her peers at SFER and TFA. Her website is called Teacher Under Construction.

EduShyster writes:

Actually all of the credit for “digging” goes to Stephanie Rivera, a student at Rutgers. She posts regular updates about SFER on her blog, Teacher Under Construction, and has done an amazing job of reaching out to SFER members and getting them to talk openly about things that don’t seem quite right about a student group.
SFER has been under the radar so far but that’s only because they haven’t done much.

That will soon change though. Students from SFER’s chapter at Whitworth University in Washington state, a private, virtually all white school, lobbied ardently for the state’s new charter law, including going door to door. I suspect that here in Massachusetts, where the charter lobby will file a bill in the coming months to eliminate the cap on charters in our poorest cities, it will be students from Smith and Harvard who provide the ground troops…

I can’t help but admire the evil genius that came up with this concept. Students across the country, who are utterly sincere in their passion and zeal, are being lined up behind the privatizers’ policy agenda. Ask questions and you’re accused of “attacking students.” Yet the students who make up the bulk of SFER’s membership don’t seem to know anything about their national organization’s funders, its positions or of the implications of those positions.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Students

Why Tony Bennett Lost

By dianeravitch
November 11, 2012 //
7

Conservative commentators–and Tony Bennett himself–blame Bennett’s loss on his support for the Common Core standards. They say that Bennett lost the votes of some Republicans who oppose the standards as federal over-reach. It’s hard to over-state how Bennett’s loss shocked and bewildered conservatives. He was their super-star.

Before that hardens into conventional wisdom, please consider the different view of this Hoosier:

Bennett and his policies were incredibly detrimental to the education of Hoosier children. Hatchet men were placed as trustees of universities – not to support strengthened teacher education program, but to demean and demolish programs that are internationally perceived and practiced as excellent. An all out war was waged to de-professionalize teaching, which would result in putting less-qualified teachers in classrooms, raise class size, and force teachers to teach to tests rather than teach for critical and creative thinking. Why? Follow the money folks. . . who stands to gain financially if PUBLIC schools are declared failures and forced to close? Who is financially invested in charter schools? Who stands to gain if children are taught to accept the authority of someone else’s interpretation of facts rather than learn to question, explore, and discover? Who would rather have a population of followers than thinkers?

That’s why Bennett lost – and why Ritz won. Truth does matter, and news media who served the interests of big bucks and insidious political agendas rather than the interests of an honestly informed populace did themselves in . . . Parents and teachers looked for more reliable sources of information, because parents want the best for their children. They want their children to thrive!.

Unfortunately, it looks as if those who promoted Bennett have not given up the idea that with enough money, lies, and time they can wear the public down and hoodwink Hoosiers into accepting lesser standards for teacher preparation, un-inspired didactic instructional approaches, and curricula that value test statistics above the curiosity, imagination, and deep intellect of our children. I’m hopeful that parents’ love of their children and desire of all Hoosiers to see our children truly thrive will continue to resist Bennett’s political backers in the statehouse and allow Ritz to lead us along a path to true academic growth and freedom for our children.

Categories Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Indiana, Privatization
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