SPOTLIGHT BLOG OF THE WEEK: Wrench in the Gears – A Skeptical Parent's Thoughts on Digital Curriculum

Wrench in the Gears – A Skeptical Parent's Thoughts on Digital Curriculum

Wrench in the Gears – A Skeptical Parent's Thoughts on Digital Curriculum

Stanley Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones: The Billionaire Networks Behind Harlem’s Human Capital Lab

by wrenchinthegears / 13h

Stanley Druckenmiller, also a hedge fund manager, recruited Gary Cohn of Goldman Sachs for the board of the Harlem Children’s Zone. As board chair, Druckenmiller shaped the leadership of the organization, which came from the highest echelons of New York’s finance sector. Druckenmiller and Geoffrey Canada had gone to school together at Bowdoin in Maine. Druckenmiller serves on the endowment manage

Will We See A Pre-K TARP? (Toxic Assets Relief Program) In 20 Years?

by wrenchinthegears / 17h

Over twenty plus years, HCZ grew from a one-block pilot offering integrated social service delivery to a vast enterprise overseeing 20,000 children and adults within a ninety-seven block area. Under the leadership of Geoffrey Canada, hundreds of millions of dollars flowed from finance interests into HCZ’s programs, including Promise Academy Charter Schools, which were prominently featured in the

Could “Community Schools” Be Today’s Sugar Refineries?

by wrenchinthegears / 18h

Global finance has not underwritten “cradle to career” interventions to empower the poor or eliminate the source of their suffering. No, the intent of the 168 pages of calculations paid for by Paul Tudor Jones and the Robin Hood Foundation is to harness the human capital of oppressed communities so it can be scrutinized for “impact,” thus creating a poverty-mining pipeline to enrich themselves an

Interoperable Data To Fuel Human Capital Hedge Funds

by wrenchinthegears / 19h

An influential network of economists and billionaire-backed foundations have laid out this nefarious plan for a futures market in human capital data with the help of complicit academics and think tanks ( here , here , here , here , and here ). They did it piece by piece, so gradually that few realize the dangers that loom on the horizon. Sitting in oak-paneled rooms and minimalist C-Suites, these

Accounting Ledgers Connect The Dots: From Jamestown To Harlem And Beyond

by wrenchinthegears / 19h

168 pages 168 pages of calculations 168 pages assessing people as commodities 168 pages estimating economic returns on “investment” in the poor 168 pages of financial depravity, inequality, callousness 168 pages of too few with too much and too many with too little 160 pages built on the trans-Atlantic slave trade 400 years from Jamestown’s ledger books 400 miles between Jamestown and the Harlem

JAN 23

Could Newsom’s “Choose Children” Budget Advance Digital Slavery in CA?

by wrenchinthegears / 4d

In the aftermath of the well-funded “Choose Children” campaign, we are left to ponder what Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2019 budget really means for California’s children. Will he use his position to do the will of the people, or instead sacrifice the state’s youth on the altar of technological surveillance and venture capital? I see alarming connections between elements of his budget, early

JAN 15

What Could Be Wrong With The “Community School” Model? Revisiting A November 2015 Piece, Post-FEPA

by wrenchinthegears / 12d

I wrote the piece below in November 2015 during the lead up to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which passed the following month and cemented into place “Pay for Success” finance of education delivery in the United States. The Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools hosted that post, since I had not yet started my own blog. I am thankful for the hospitality they extended to me then. I want

JAN 08

Is Universal Pre-K Legislation A Set Up For “Lifelong Learning?”

by wrenchinthegears / 18d

I’m worried about universal pre-k. Let me repeat. I’m VERY worried about universal pre-k. I worried when Michael Bloomberg and John Arnold supported it in Philadelphia. I worried when I learned about social impact bonds and “pay for success” finance. I worry few people know about these new methods of intrusive pre-k data collection: vests holding digital recorders that count words spoken to babie

JAN 04

When “Community Foundations” Go Global (Or Coastal)

by wrenchinthegears / 22d

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Part Five Here for the introduction and parts one , two , three , and four . Community foundations were established a century ago to aggregate assets from individuals, families and businesses and advance the activities of nonprofits operating in a particular geographic area, hence the “community” designation. The first example is generally considered to be The

Charter, Public Health, and Catholic Charity Interests Help Launch “Disruptive” Pay for Success Program

by wrenchinthegears / 22d

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Part Four Go here for parts one , two , and three . In a 2013 interview for the Mission Investors Exchange publication, “Community Foundation Field Guide to Impact Investing,” Chief Giving Officer Ellen Clement Glass stated there had been talk of exploring impact investing as early as 2006, before the Silicon Valley Community Foundation had even been officiall

Philanthropy’s lesser known weapons: PRIs, MRIs and DAFs

by wrenchinthegears / 22d

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Part Three Go here for parts one and two . Last year, the 800+ community foundations in the United States held a combined total of over $91 billion in assets and awarded $8.3 billion in grants. As non-profits are incorporated into the “evidence-based” impact agenda, it is important to keep in mind $8 billion+ buys a lot of influence. All you need to do is spen

To Serve Man: It’s A Cookbook!

by wrenchinthegears / 22d

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Part Two Go here for part one. Not only is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) among the largest foundations in the country, it is also situated in the belly of the beast. The Bay Area is where vast amounts of venture capital have combined with public and privately funded research to propel advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning,

Silicon Valley’s Social Impact Deal Maker

by wrenchinthegears / 22d

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Part One Here for parts two , three , four and five. Feature image is from this New York Times article . The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) has been a key player in outcomes-based contracting test cases emerging in the Bay Area over the past five years ( here for more information). It is the largest community foundation in the United States with as

Toxic Philanthropy Part Three: The Silicon Valley Community Foundation

23by wrenchinthegears / 22d

I spent quite a few hours over winter break exploring various aspects of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s (SVCF) operations and have prepared a series of posts documenting what I have found thus far. This series is 

Wrench in the Gears – A Skeptical Parent's Thoughts on Digital Curriculum

The Winners and Losers of the LAUSD Strike

The Winners and Losers of the LAUSD Strike

The Winners and Losers of the LAUSD Strike

For six days Los Angeles teachers and an overwhelming majority of students stayed out of LAUSD schools. Instead, many walked picket lines in front of the schools where supportive parents honked their horns and donated coffee. Tens of thousands attended rallies downtown, sometimes in the pouring rain. The resulting contract was approved by teachers, but not without some vocal apprehension as both teachers and parents wondered if enough was won for the sacrifice that was made. Who actually came out ahead in the final agreement and who lost?

Winners:

LAUSD Students

As pointed out by Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, a Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at California State University, Sacramento, “class size reduction [has] 400% more impact [on student performance] than charters.” Just on this factor alone, this contract is a great victory for students. The elimination of Section 1.5 from the agreement means that the District can no longer unilaterally ignore caps as mandated by contracts and the state education code. For years the LAUSD School Board has talked about reducing class size. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) finally forced them to act.

During the Great Recession, full-time nurses were pulled from schools and libraries were left dark. A decade later the funding had returned but not these vital services. As a result of this contract, every school will have a full-time nurse and every secondary school will have a librarian five days a week by the 2020-2021 school year. The return of these services is long overdue and an important victory for students.

LAUSD Parents

With this strike, LAUSD parents seemed to have found their voice. Started in the weeks before the strike, the Facebook page Parents Supporting Teachers grew to over 25,000 members. By overwhelmingly refusing to have their children cross the picket lines, CONTINUE READING: The Winners and Losers of the LAUSD Strike