Walton-Funded Reformers Stealing Union from Black Parents?
I might be partially to blame for this one. Several years ago I was invited by the National Urban League to serve on a panel about education and school choice. The panelists included Steve Perry and Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. Watch the panel here. I stressed community-based solutions for education instead of privatization and private control. Well, I found out after the panel that it was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. After I came off the stage, a high-level representative from the Walton said to me “Julian, we agree on more than we disagree on.” I looked on, not knowing how to respond. I had never thought of my thinking about community-based reform as being aligned with the Walton Family Foundation’s agenda. The representive said it again and reached out to shake my hand, “Julian, we agree on more than we disagree on.” I looked on again. Well, now the comment is making more and more sense. I wrote some time ago about this emerging astroturf (fake grassroots) strategy when I discussed Innovate, a Walton Funded “community-based” organization. Today I am publishing an exclusive letter about reformers stealing a community-based parents union from Mona Davids, a Black parent and one of the original founders of the original National Parents Union.
‘The Hypocrisy of the Education Reform Movement
There is a quote that is erroneously attributed to Albert Einstein. The author is unknown but there are citations to the quote appearing since 1982. The quote:“The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.” – UnknownWhile the author is unknown, the quote reminds me of Education Reformers and the moneyed foundations that fund their AstroTurf organizations.I have lost count of the defunct local and national AstroTurf organizations during my decade of being an independent, grassroots, unbought and unbossed, parent advocate. The inauthenticity, arrogance, chicanery and lies, of the many AstroTurf organizations seeded by tens of millions of dollars is what inevitably leads to their failure and downfall.For those that do not know me, I am a New York City parent. I am the founder of the New York City Parents Union. My two children have both attended district schools and charter schools. I fight for the rights of students and parents in the district schools and charters. I fight for a parent’s right to choose the school that best fits the educational needs of their child. I hold district schools and charters accountable to the parents and for educating our children. I fight for school funding and I fight for parents to have a seat at the education policy table. The only side I belong to is the side of students and their parents. I am not paid by anyone and I do not have contracts with anyone. Nobody controls me. Nobody can bully me. Nobody can silence me. You can find my receipts here.The arrogance and hypocrisy of many (not all) education reformers, their billionaire funders and their AstroTurf leaders who purport to care and advocate for low income, Black and Hispanic parents, is always exposed. They shoot themselves in the foot every time.Walton Family Foundation (Walton), Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) and John King’s latest, grand, national AstroTurf group, they are planning to launch is to be called the National Parents Union. Read Walton’s document about the new AstroTurf here.The problem is the National Parents Union already exists and was founded in 2012. I know because I am a founding member and it is incubated under the New York City Parents Union since 2012.
The president is supposed to be Keri Rodrigues Lorenzo, a White woman from Boston. She is not Latina although she purposely misleads everyone to think she is. Rodrigues Lorenzo is founder of Mass Parents United, that was created in 2017. She is the former Massachusetts state director for the defunct, AstroTurf, Families for Excellent Schools. The ones responsible for the biggest, most expensive, education reform defeat in history. It was epic. Not only did the parents and people of Massachusetts see through and reject their hypocrisy, but the chicanery, corrupt, unethical and illegal actions of the education reformers resulted in historic huge fines and banishment from Massachusetts.The other co-founder is supposed to be Alma Marquez from California who heads up another AstroTurf. Marquez clearly has failed because education reform defeats in California keep coming with school districts seeking charter moratoriums. Even high school students are speaking out against charters and for charter moratoriums in California. Walton has wasted their millions on AstroTurfs in California and Massachusetts led by the same people they plan on giving more millions to steal and hijack a grassroots parents group name.The new AstroTurf’s advisory board include John King, the former New York State Commissioner of Education, who was chased out of New York by parents and did a phenomenal job of disrespecting grassroots parents throughout the state resulting in the OptOut Movement. Because of King, everything education reform related CONTINUE READING:Walton-Funded Reformers Stealing Union from Black Parents? | Cloaking Inequity
