Christine Langhoff Describes the Charter-Friendly Power Elite in Massachusetts
Christine Langhoff, retired teacher and education activist in Massachusetts, describes the power elite in the Bay State. After losing the charter referendum in 2016 by 68-32%, they keep pursuing ways to bypass the voters.
Massachusetts has 3 Walton-connected members of the state board of education, appointed by the governor, who was formerly the executive director of The Pioneer Institute. The Pioneers are funded by the Kochs and State Policy Network (worth checking out, as they like to fly under the radar). The Pioneers are affiliated with ALEC. The secretary of education, Jim Peyser, formerly ran Pioneer and in between serving Republican administrations in MA, he also ran Education Next, which posted this bio:
“Jim Peyser is Managing Partner for City Funds at NewSchools Venture Fund, a non-profit grant-making firm that seeks to transform public education by supporting innovative education entrepreneurs. In this role, Jim leads NewSchools investment activity in Boston, Newark and Washington, DC. From 1999 through 2006, Jim served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jim was Education Advisor to two Massachusetts Governors, where he helped shape state policy regarding standards and assessments, school accountability, and charter schools. In 1995, he served as Under Secretary of Education and Special Assistant to the Governor for Charter Schools. He spent more than seven years as Executive Director of Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, where he helped to launch the Massachusetts Charter School Resource Center, which supported the CONTINUE READING: Christine Langhoff Describes the Charter-Friendly Power Elite in Massachusetts | Diane Ravitch's blog