Remember Arne Duncan's Race to the Top? That's the program which he picked Joanne Weiss to develop and run which requires states to revise their education laws according to the Broad/Gates template, after which, if the states have gone far enough, they can become eligible to enter the contest for possibly getting some money from Duncan's pot.
Weiss, by the way, is a businesswoman and the former COO of the NewSchools Venture Fund, an investment vehicle which funnels philanthropic dollars into charter school start-ups. Lots of Broad connections there.
http://thebroadreport.blogspot.com/2009/10/broad-henchwoman-directing-does-race-to.html <http://thebroadreport.blogspot.com/2009/10/broad-henchwoman-directing-does-race-to.html>
With states being so desperate to get any amount of money, many rushed to change their laws and then applied to RTTT. But, to their disappointment, most states were rejected. Only two states "won" in the first round, Delaware and Tennessee.
I once posted on this listserv that, because of the massive fundamental bureaucratic alterations this "race" was requiring, it seemed to me that the money would be going to administrative positions rather than to kids and classrooms. State Senator Gloria Romero from LA, who is backed by Eli Broad and pals and is a candidate for State Superintendent, was behind the push for the federally-accommodating California laws.
Now we learn that, Tennessee, which received $500 million, will be spending at least $46 million for data programs, while bus drivers and custodians are either having their wages cut or are being laid off. This will make some ed data software businesses happy.
http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/04/thompson-the-least-of-us.html <http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/04/thompson-the-least-of-us.html>
Not only that, but now that many state education laws have been changed, the amount of potential federal prize money has been reduced!
http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/04/changing-rttt-rules-in-middle-of-race.html <http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/04/changing-rttt-rules-in-middle-of-race.html>
So, after spending of millions of dollars on writing new laws and completing elaborate RTTT applications, which were scored by anonymous judges, several states are now rethinking their interest.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/education/05top.html?ref=education <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/education/05top.html?ref=education>
PS: Hope y'all are aware of what is going on in other places:
Florida: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/teachers-fight-back.html <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/education-secretary-duncan/teachers-fight-back.html>
Here's a cute cartoon about it: http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/04/my-entry-1.html <http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2010/04/my-entry-1.html>
Detroit: Former Oakland City Manager Bob Bobb, who went to DC and eventually graduated from the Broad Superintendents Academy, is aggressively closing schools and charterizing Detroit's public school system . His approach resembles Randy Ward's on steroids. Bobb's official salary is $280,000, but he gets an additional $145,000 in private foundation money; the only philanthropic donor publicly identified is the Broad Foundation.
It's happening all over. Learn more at The Broad Report.
http://thebroadreport.blogspot.com/ <http://thebroadreport.blogspot.com/>
People often dismiss those of us who are concerned about the way in which public education is being dismantled as nutty conspiracy theorists.
Conspire (American Heritage Dictionary): 1. To plan together secretly to commit an illegal or wrongful act or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. 2. To join or act together; combine: /factors that conspired to delay the project./ [Middle English /conspiren/, from Old French, from Latin /co-nspi-ra-re/ : /com-,/ com- + /spi-ra-re/, to breathe.]
I do think certain types of acts have secretly been generated in the offices of a very small number of wealthy, unelected people who, because of their wealth, have exceptional access to politicians, and who stay TOTALLY inaccessible to questioning by the public. The reforms didn't come from parents, they didn't come from teachers, and they didn't come from academia, and they always have strong elements of a move towards privatization.