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Monday, September 9, 2019

Tulsa: How Data and Gates Consultant Persuaded Public to Close Public Schools and Cut Their Budget | Diane Ravitch's blog

Tulsa: How Data and Gates Consultant Persuaded Public to Close Public Schools and Cut Their Budget | Diane Ravitch's blog

Tulsa: How Data and Gates Consultant Persuaded Public to Close Public Schools and Cut Their Budget

This is a curious article about the makeover of Tulsa Public Schools, where the superintendent is Broadie and former Rhode Island Superintendent Deborah Gist.
Under the previous superintendent, a plan called “Project Schoolhouse” resulted in school closings and consolidations. The leaders persuaded the public to accept these “reforms.” In the background was a management consultant brought in by the Gates Foundation; he had no education experience but understood how to use data analytics to persuade the public to go along with his ideas.
When the fate of Rogers High School was on the table, the superintendent was stunned that people cared whether the school remained open.
About nine years ago, a public meeting in the Rogers High School library was so packed that former Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard had to shoulder his way to the front.
Alumni drove from out of state to attend. Neighborhood residents, students, parents and community leaders CONTINUE READING: Tulsa: How Data and Gates Consultant Persuaded Public to Close Public Schools and Cut Their Budget | Diane Ravitch's blog