The Battle for Seattle, Part 2: Hijacked!
For the first post in this series see: The Battle for Seattle, Part 1.
The Battle for Seattle, Part 2: Hijacked!
“We take an untraditional approach to giving. We don’t simply write checks to charities. Instead we practice “venture philanthropy.” And we expect a return on our investment.” -Eli Broad
The Broad Foundation was established in 1999 and Eli Broad wasted no time in providing funds to school systems around the country including Seattle.
In 2000, the Broad Foundation provided the Seattle Public School system with $800,000 for “teacher training” by way of the Alliance for Education.
Teach for America Founder Wendy Kopp
That same year, according to the Broad Foundation’s Annual Report for 2009-2010, “Wendy Kopp, whose decade-old venture called Teach for America grew out of her senior thesis at Princeton University, visits Eli Broad seeking guidance and support. The Broad Foundation makes its first investment of $800,000 in the organization, which recruits and trains recent college graduates to work in urban and rural school districts for a minimum of two years. By 2009, the foundation’s investment in Teach for America exceeds $41 million.” As an aside, Wendy Kopp has no experience teaching and has no degree in the field of education.
In 2001 the Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, Joseph Olfchefske, participated in the New Schools Venture Fund Summit and spoke on the subject of Convergence of the Sectors: Public, Private, and NonProfit. The moderators included Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dan Katzir, Director of Program Development at the Broad Foundation along with Wendy Kopp, Founder and President of Teach for America and an assortment of representatives from KIPP and Aspire charter schools.
According to the same annual report, the Broad Foundation awarded a $2.5 million grant to New Schools Venture Fund in 2002. The annual report states that NSVF “invests in public charter school management organizations and other entrepreneurial ventures working to increase the number and quality of charter schools nationwide. By 2008, the foundation’s total investment in New Schools Venture Fund exceeds $13.6 million.”
New Schools Venture Fund has funded and promotes the KIPP charter school franchise, the Green Dot charter school franchise as well as Aspire charter schools and Teach for America.
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten.
In 2002, Don Nielson participated in the Broad Center for Superintendents Inaugural classtraining as a faculty member along with Randi Weingarten who was then President of the United Federation of Teachers and Don McAdams.
Also in 2002, Mr. Olchefske participated in the The Battle for Seattle, Part 2: Hijacked! | Seattle Education: