Idaho superintendents tell foundation to stop lying about public schools - The Washington Post

Idaho superintendents tell foundation to stop lying about public schools - The Washington Post:

Idaho superintendents tell foundation to stop lying about public schools

 For years now, private foundations run by the very, very wealthy have been pouring money into their pet school reform efforts, many of them taking the view that traditional public education is broken and that it should be privatized. Education activists have called out these foundations, but now, in Idaho, it’s the school superintendents who are are speaking out.

They are taking on the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, which consistently portrays traditional public schools in a negative light and pushes for alternatives, and their public statements underscore growing opposition around the country to school reform efforts that support the the privatization of  public education.

Don Coberly, superintendent of the Boise School District, led the public opposition to the foundation’s “Don’t Fail Idaho” campaign with a February update to district staff that says in part (you can read the full statement below):

Over the last few weeks you may have heard or seen the latest advertisements from the J.A and Kathryn Albertson Foundation’s “Don’t Fail Idaho” campaign. Perhaps the most controversial claim is that four out of five Idaho students are not prepared for life after high school. There are four facts we want you to understand about this campaign:

1. It promotes an agenda that is designed to undermine public schools.
2. It is highly inaccurate.
3. It offers no real solutions to increasing post-secondary readiness.
4. It is a disservice to the work you do every day for the youth of this district.

Undermining public schools

Why would someone want to undermine public education in Idaho? The motive is quite clear. At a recent Downtown Rotary Club meeting, the executive director of the Albertson Foundation stated that the goal of the Foundation is to increase charter school seats by 20,000 in the next few years. That will only happen if Idahoans lose faith in their public schools.

In addition, Coberly and all seven members of the Boise School District trustees board signed a joint statement that said in part:

Let’s be clear; this campaign promotes an agenda designed to undermine public schools. It is highly inaccurate. It offers no real solutions to increasing post-secondary readiness. It is a disservice to the work public school teachers, parents, and students do every day.

Then 13 Idaho superintendents signed a joint statement saying in part:

In recent weeks, many of your readers may have seen an advertisement presented by the “Don’t Fail Idaho” campaign which dramatically drops four Idaho students in the middle of the 

Idaho superintendents tell foundation to stop lying about public schools - The Washington Post: