ARE WE FUNDING A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR A PR FIRM?
This week I got the results back from a open records records request I made with the state of Tennessee’s Achievement School District. It’s taken a while for me to fully digest them. The Tennessee Achievement School District was created as one of the latest tools of the reform movement to destroy our public education system. They are in the midst of taking over a local middle school here in Nashville, and I wanted to get a behind-the-scenes look at exactly what their plans are, the research they’d done, and how they planned to turn around this so-called failing school. I expected to get reams of independent research, emails filled with pedagogy, and an examination of just how they would staff this new school. Since they were only taken over fifth grade, I thought maybe there would be some discussion on the impact that would have on the other grades. Surely somebody had begun preliminary talks on how to reach out to existing staff and begin that collaboration. Unfortunately there was none of that in the emails I got. Ninety days of emails instead resulted in ninety days of PR work. Here’s an example:All-
I hope this note finds you doing well and enjoying a wonderful holiday with friends and family. I am gearing up both personally and professionally for a terrific 2015 that I look forward to sharing with each of you.
To that end, I am writing to request a favor. There is something I’d like for you to share with as many people as possible. This week, I wrote an opinion piece for Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper that will run on Monday (it will likely be posted online tomorrow). While the piece is focused on education reform battles in Nashville, it contains some big ideas that are familiar to any of us who do this work. It speaks to our shared belief that kids in failing schools can do so much better—a belief not shared by many of our detractors.
We know that national anti-reform efforts are zeroing in on Tennessee’s education battles at an increasing pace (the NEA bussed teachers in from out of town to attend ASD-hosted parent meetings last month here in Nashville) and the ASD is becoming a target of their nationally coordinated efforts. This makes good sense. Some ASD-authorized charter schools earned over 10 point gains last year and are already proving what is possible when we set high expectations, support our kids in reaching them, and treat educators like professionals by giving them the autonomy to make decisions based on what’s best for their kids. Stopping us is critical for those who want to protect the status quo.
Like many of you, I get frustrated whenever there is an appearance that there is more opposition than support for positive change. As we know, parents want good schools for their kids. Period. Unfortunately, the colorful tactics of our detractors get more attention in the press than the voices of positive change. But we can help make these voices louder. And sharing an opinion piece is a major way to show support for what we Dad Gone Wild | Are we funding a School District or a PR Firm?:
I hope this note finds you doing well and enjoying a wonderful holiday with friends and family. I am gearing up both personally and professionally for a terrific 2015 that I look forward to sharing with each of you.
To that end, I am writing to request a favor. There is something I’d like for you to share with as many people as possible. This week, I wrote an opinion piece for Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper that will run on Monday (it will likely be posted online tomorrow). While the piece is focused on education reform battles in Nashville, it contains some big ideas that are familiar to any of us who do this work. It speaks to our shared belief that kids in failing schools can do so much better—a belief not shared by many of our detractors.
We know that national anti-reform efforts are zeroing in on Tennessee’s education battles at an increasing pace (the NEA bussed teachers in from out of town to attend ASD-hosted parent meetings last month here in Nashville) and the ASD is becoming a target of their nationally coordinated efforts. This makes good sense. Some ASD-authorized charter schools earned over 10 point gains last year and are already proving what is possible when we set high expectations, support our kids in reaching them, and treat educators like professionals by giving them the autonomy to make decisions based on what’s best for their kids. Stopping us is critical for those who want to protect the status quo.
Like many of you, I get frustrated whenever there is an appearance that there is more opposition than support for positive change. As we know, parents want good schools for their kids. Period. Unfortunately, the colorful tactics of our detractors get more attention in the press than the voices of positive change. But we can help make these voices louder. And sharing an opinion piece is a major way to show support for what we Dad Gone Wild | Are we funding a School District or a PR Firm?: