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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

What Has the Gates Foundation Brought to Memphis? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

What Has the Gates Foundation Brought to Memphis? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:


What Has the Gates Foundation Brought to Memphis?

Yesterday I voiced concerns about Randi Weingarten's decision to co-sign an article on teacher evaluation with Vicki Phillips of the Gates Foundation. The reason I am so concerned is because we are now more than a decade into Gates-sponsored education reform, and the substance of the change they are driving is profoundly destructive. We can remain in dialogue with them, but we cannot get anywhere by smoothing over core disagreements in a false show of unity.
Diane Ravitch today shared a message from a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, that sheds light on what the Gates Foundation is bringing to the poverty-stricken schools there.

Public education in Memphis/Shelby County is on the verge of collapse.

Gates gave $90 million to Memphis City Schools, and now he's calling the shots: increased class sizes, no extra pay for advanced degrees, merit pay based on test scores, etc.
The initial budget for the first year of operation for the merged district is already $145 million in the