Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race

In a crowded field of candidates in the Democratic primary, only two are opposed to expanding the number of charters in a city with hundreds of them: Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley.

The other candidates support more charters at a time when the national Democratic Party seems to realize that charters are a key component of the rightwing’s longtime goal of privatization of the public schools. Charter advocates started a PAC for Eric Adams. Andrew Yang supports charter schools and is advised by former Mayor Bloomberg’s advisor Bradley Tusk (Bloomberg was very pro-charter). Financier Ray McGuire’s campaign relies on Bloomberg’s chancellor Joel Klein for advice (his campaign manager is pro-charter).

Betsy DeVos loves charter schools, so does the anti-union Walton family and Charles Koch. Across the country, Republican legislators and governors are passing legislation to expand charters and vouchers, while Democrats put public schools first.

This article explains how deeply entangled one of the CONTINUE READING: Ka-Ching! The Charter Lobby Buys into NYC’s Mayoral Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Charter Lobby Backs Leading Candidates for NYC Mayor | Diane Ravitch's blog

Charter Lobby Backs Leading Candidates for NYC Mayor | Diane Ravitch's blog

Charter Lobby Backs Leading Candidates for NYC Mayor

The executive director of StudentsFirstNY, Jenny Sedlis, has taken a leave of absence from her job to manage a fundraising PAC for Eric Adams, one of the leading candidates for mayor. The election is this November.

Sedlis previously was the lead spokesperson for Success Academy, Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain.

The new entity plans to run digital and TV ads supporting Adams’ candidacy, without being beholden to the strict spending limits imposed by the city’s Campaign Finance Board. Ahead of Sedlis establishing the PAC with the Board of Elections, StudentsFirstNY released a poll showing Adams closing the gap with frontrunner Andrew Yang. A poll published yesterday showed Adams in the lead.

Sedlis has not begun raising money yet, but the group is hoping to secure $6 million — matching the stated aim of political consultant Lis Smith in her fundraising effort for Andrew Yang, Adams’ chief rival in the race…

“New York City’s comeback starts with Eric Adams as CONTINUE READING: Charter Lobby Backs Leading Candidates for NYC Mayor | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas: Stand Together Against the Voracious Charter Industry | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas: Stand Together Against the Voracious Charter Industry | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas: Stand Together Against the Voracious Charter Industry

PTC is joining with many parent groups and school boards to fight this direct assault on local control and democracy.

Pastors for Texas Children is a staunch ally of public schools and of separation of church and state. They have vigorously fought vouchers and now they are fighting an all-out attempt by the yet the aggressive charter industry to open wherever they want, without the approval of local elected officials. The lobbyists also want to slash the state board of education’s power to veto new charters.

PTC is working with parent groups and other activists to stop this direct assault on local control and democracy.

PASTORS FOR TEXAS CHILDREN

SB 28 HEARING IN HOUSE COMMITTEE TOMORROW

The public education advocacy community–which includes YOU–has had some great success despite this being a very difficult legislative session.

First of all, one piece of legislation that PTC is hoping to see made into law is the “community schools bill.” HB 81 by Eddie Rodriguez would give struggling schools the CONTINUE READING: Texas: Stand Together Against the Voracious Charter Industry | Diane Ravitch's blog

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education - The Washington Post

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education - The Washington Post

Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education

A few years ago I ran a piece by Joanne Barkan about the long history of the movement to privatize public education. It began:

When champions of market-based reform in the United States look at public education, they see two separate activities — government funding education and government running schools. The first is okay with them; the second is not. Reformers want to replace their bête noire — what they call the “monopoly of government-run schools” — with freedom of choice in a competitive market dominated by privately run schools that get government subsidies.

Today, that privatization movement is alive and pushing ahead, with Republican legislators in 16 states actively pushing bills to create or expand school vouchers and/or charter schools that are part of that movement.

What and who are fueling the movement to privatize public education — and why you should care

This post — a continuation of sorts of the Barkan article — is a discussion with a man named Charles Siler, who was once a lobbyist for school privatizers but who came to oppose the very thing he was working toward. Siler worked for two privatization organizations, including the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, where his job was to convince legislators to pass laws that privatize public services, especially K-12 schooling.

In March, Siler had a conversation with education historian and activist Diane Ravitch as well as with podcaster Jennifer Berkshire, in which he provided insight into the playbook used by “school choice” proponents, the belief system that drives them and their long-term objective. He makes it very clear: their ultimate goal is to dismantle K-12 public schools. CONTINUE READING: Former lobbyist details how privatizers are trying to end public education - The Washington Post

April 2021 ACCS Meeting Agenda - Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (CA Dept of Education)

April 2021 ACCS Meeting Agenda - Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (CA Dept of Education)

April 2021 ACCS Meeting Agenda

Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS) April 13, 2021, meeting notice of agenda items and attachments.

Important Notice

Please note, the April Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS) meeting will be held as a teleconference; Room 1101 (board room) will be closed to the public. Please see ACCS Meeting Logistics section below for options to view and participate in the meeting.

Advisory Commission on Charter Schools
Meeting Notice

An Advisory Body to the State Board of Education

Tuesday, April 13, 2021
9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.±*

California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Room 1101
Sacramento, CA 95814-6029
916-322-6029

 

• Jared Austin
• Esau Berumen
• Stephanie Farland1
• Andrea Fazel
• Gayle Garbolino-Mojica
• Erika Jones
• Wesley Sever
• Matt Taylor
• Mike Walsh

State Board of Education Liaisons

• Sue Burr
• Ting Sun

AGENDA

• Call to Order
• Salute to Flag
• Welcome and Introductions
• Review and Adoption of Meeting Notes
• Charter Schools Division Update
• Review/Reordering of Meeting Agenda
• Public Comment2

*MEETING MAY END EARLIER OR LATER THAN SPECIFIED DUE TO TIME NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE AGENDA.

AGENDA ITEMS

Item 1(DOCX)

Type of Action: Information

Subject: Consideration of Requests for Determination of Funding as Required for Nonclassroom-Based Charter Schools Pursuant to California Education Code sections 47612.5 and 47634.2, and Associated California Code of Regulations, Title 5.

• Item 1 Attachment 1: Proposed Determination of Funding Recommendation for Nonclassroom-Based Charter Schools(XLSX)
• Item 1 Attachment 2: Determination of Funding Request for Agnes J. Johnson Charter, Charter #2103(PDF)
• Item 1 Attachment 3: Determination of Funding Request for Banta Charter, Charter #2104(PDF)
• Item 1 Attachment 4: Determination of Funding Request for Liberty Independent Study, Charter #2102(PDF)
• Item 1 Attachment 5: Determination of Funding Request for Pathways Charter Academy, Charter #2089(PDF)

CONTINUE READING: April 2021 ACCS Meeting Agenda - Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (CA Dept of Education)

Florina Rodov: What Turned Me Against Charter Schools - LA Progressive

What Turned Me Against Charter Schools - LA Progressive

What Turned Me Against Charter Schools

I fell for the charter school hype. I agreed with former President Obama’s education secretary Arne Duncan who advocated for “school choice.” I trusted the research that said charters “close [the] achievement gap” for Black and Latino students.

When I saw “Waiting for ‘Superman,’” I rooted for the kids in the documentary to escape their failing public schools by snagging spots at charter schools. And though I encountered very few bad teachers in my four years teaching and 12 years learning at public schools, I never questioned why Time published stories about “Rotten Apple” teachers being swept out of classrooms by wealthy education “reformers.”

I believed the hype so much that in 2012, knowing almost nothing about charter schools and having no administrative experience, I joined a friend in submitting a half-baked petition to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with the intention of starting our own charter school. When LAUSD denied it, we presented it to the Culver City Unified School District, which also, rightfully, rejected it.

Still intrigued by charters, in 2016 I interviewed for an English teacher position with a woman I’ll call Ellen Peters, the principal and co-founder of Savior Academy, a charter school serving grades six through 12. (The names of the school, administrators and students have been changed for this story.)

Her assertion that the close bond between students and staff made it feel “like a family” inspired me to sign a non-union contract on the spot, though the school had recently lost its co-founder Cathy Reynolds (name changed), who stepped down from the board, and several teachers, who CONTINUE READING: What Turned Me Against Charter Schools - LA Progressive

Darcie Cimarusti: K12 Inc. and Charter Lobby Pushes for $$$ in Iowa | Diane Ravitch's blog

Darcie Cimarusti: K12 Inc. and Charter Lobby Pushes for $$$ in Iowa | Diane Ravitch's blog

Darcie Cimarusti: K12 Inc. and Charter Lobby Pushes for $$$ in Iowa

Darcie Cimarusti, communications director for the Network for Public Education, reports on the assault on public school funding in Iowa. K12 Inc., the for-profit virtual charter chain, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is noted for high attrition rates, low graduation rates, low test scores, and high profits. Its top executives are each paid millions of dollars.

In multiple states across the country omnibus schools choice bills with sweeping charter and voucher provisions have been introduced. NPE Action has been following these bills here. Just such a bill was introduced in Iowa, SSB 1065 which would modify the state’s existing charter CONTINUE READING: Darcie Cimarusti: K12 Inc. and Charter Lobby Pushes for $$$ in Iowa | Diane Ravitch's blog