The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform | Cloaking Inequity

The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform | Cloaking Inequity:

The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform

Eli Broad is infamous for his book The Art of Being Unreasonable. Broad is also know for venture philanthropy, the approach billionaires have taken to influence and direct educational policy by inserting billions of dollars. Is the Broad “disruptive” and “unreasonable” trickle-down approach to school reform the right fit for the United States? For your community? (For all of Cloaking Inequity’s posts on Trickle-down reform click here) Today Cloaking Inequity will explore the Broad Foundation, Eli Broad’s philosophy of venture philanthropy and the guiding tenants of The Broad Superintendents Academy. In a future post here at Cloaking Inequity, I will take up Houston’s selection as the the first two-time winner of the Broad Prize.

Birth of the Broad Foundation

Billionaires Eli & Edythe Broad come from humble beginnings in Detroit. The couple both worked their way through the Detroit public school system, then Eli Broad continued on to Michigan State University (Go Blue!). Eventually graduating with a degree in accounting and later becoming a CPA. In 1957, Eli Broad started up a construction business with family member Donald Kaufman. Kaufman and Broad formed KB Homes; a company that would eventually be publically traded and turn sizable profits.[3] In 1971, Broad purchased a life insurance company called SunAmerica. SunAmerica grew and was ultimately merged with AIG in 1999.[4]

The sale and merger of SunAmerica in 1999 marked a turning point for the Broads. Although the couple established a foundation for charitable giving back in the 1960s, the 1999 sellout spurred the growth of the foundation with Eli taking the lead. Then in 2010, Eli and Edythe Broad signed The Giving Pledge, stating they would pledge 75% of their wealth to venture philanthropy. The Broads identified public education as a focal point of their giving.[5] As of 2011, the Broads have given $500 million to public education and $2 billion to The Broad Foundation.[6]

Venture Philanthropy

Eli Broad is guided by his self-defined criteria of venture philanthropy. In Eli Broad 2012 book, The Art of Being Unreasonable, he outlines criteria for his giving. Eli Broad prescribes to the notion that running The Broad Foundation more like a for-profit than a non-profit. He further clarified that he is not operating a charity and that he expects results for each dollar spent.[7] Some have called Eli Broad a “control freak” and a “bully” as his giving is 

Previews STEM Task Force Report - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Previews STEM Task Force Report - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Previews
Expert Task Force Report on Boosting STEM Education

WALNUT CREEK—To stay on the cutting edge of STEM, California needs to start laying educational foundations in the early grades, boost professional development for teachers, and more, according to an upcoming report to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson by a task force of experts.

Torlakson previewed the report today before the Assembly Select Committee on Integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.) in Education in California K-14 schools. He and Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla, D-Concord, who chairs the select committee, convened the task force last year. It comprises 55 volunteers, including higher education leaders, business and industry representatives, teachers, administrators, and others.

"STEM education holds great value not only for our kids, but for our businesses, our economy, and our entire state," Torlakson said. "A strong emphasis in STEM will help keep California on the cutting edge of improving our quality of life and ensuring a diverse workforce. Job growth is more pronounced in the STEM fields than anywhere else; if we want our students to succeed outside our classrooms, we have to prepare them with the knowledge and skills they will need."

The task force was charged with examining the state of STEM education in curriculum, instructional practices, professional learning, student testing, existing resources, and community and business partnerships. Its report remains under development, but Torlakson highlighted some of its early recommendations in his testimony. Among the recommendations are:

• Begin building the foundation for STEM learning in the early grades by highlighting the value of problem solving and other 21st century skills. Also, begin instilling a value for the STEM fields in underrepresented groups, including women.
• Promote STEM instruction in teacher training programs to help candidates understand the value of including STEM instruction in a broad-based and integrated curriculum.
• Continue the STEM emphasis over the arc of a teacher's career by developing guidelines for high-quality professional development in the STEM disciplines.
• Create a STEM leadership academy for educators to build STEM professional learning networks.
• Establish a central, searchable clearinghouse of STEM partnership programs, regardless of whether they are housed in public schools, higher education institutions, nonprofit agencies, or industry.
• Use assessments as a way to model teaching and learning of 21st century skills, which Torlakson said is already being accomplished under Assembly Bill 484, signed this week by the Governor, which paves the way for California's switch to modern, computer-based assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards that measure student readiness for careers and college.

"With new standards and new assessments, we have a rare chance to remodel our education from the ground up," Torlakson said. "The simple fact is, the world is changing and our schools have to change too. Kids need very different knowledge and skills today and tomorrow than they did 15 years ago."

Related Content

• STEM Task Force - A volunteer group appointed by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to explore the status of STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics) education in curriculum, instructional practices, professional learning, etc.
• STEM Task Force Announced - State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Creates Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Task Force.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Organization to look out for: ScholarMatch Project combines Philanthropy and Education Student Voice

Student Voice:

Organization to look out for: ScholarMatch Project combines Philanthropy and Education

Today the crowdsourcing campaign ScholarMatch Project has launched, aiming to send 12 deserving students to college. As an online fundraiser, it makes it makes it easy for students to help other students receive an education by donating as little as $25. The following is a repost from http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-make-these-students-educational-dreams-a-reality

What do Walt Disney and Oprah Winfrey have in common, other than the fact that they both have possessed large amounts of wealth and fame?  Both of these remarkable individuals are philanthropists, people that had a strong desire to promote the personal well-being of others.  In the cases of Walt Disney and Oprah Winfrey, both of these individuals had a strong belief that through higher education, society as a whole would benefit significantly.  Ms. Winfrey opened the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa and Mr. Disney created the California Institute of the Arts, two educational institutions that are still helping to form young minds today for the next generation.

The consistently higher costs of college tuition has resulted in 12 very deserving high school students in the California Bay Area, without the financial resources to achieve their goals and dreams of graduating with a college degree.  Following in the footsteps of Walt Disney and Oprah Winfrey, a small group of reputable professionals in San Jose have created an online scholarship drive through the collaborative efforts of Indiegogo.com and ScholarMatch.

The hope is to achieve a total of $16,150 which will be used to send these 12 remarkable students on to

- See more at: http://stuvoice.org/blog/2013/10/04/organization-to-look-out-for-scholarmatch-project-combines-philanthropy-and-education/?utm_source=feedly#sthash.1y1Ouu2D.dpuf

REPOST: Students Speak Out on the Biggest Issues in Education

Reposted from PBS NewsHour, September 23, 2013 On American Graduate Day, community organizations, celebrities and educators acknowledge their commitment to keeping at-risk students in school. PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs participated by asking students around the country about their most pressing issues in education.

by Miranda Hubbard / 27min 

How Congress flunked basic Schoolhouse Rock lesson:

How Congress flunked basic Schoolhouse Rock lesson

By Valerie Strauss, Published: October 4 at 3:45 pmE-mail the writer

(By J. Scott Applewhite/AP )

With the federal government shut downbecause Congress failed to fund it, it seems reasonable to ask just how far astray our lawmakers have gone from doing what school children learn as being its basic job. In this post, Stuart Kasdin, assistant professor of public policy and public administration at George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, explains.

By Stuart Kasdin

Does routine exposure to violent music lyrics or video games desensitize people to the underlying brutality of their contents?  As we get accustomed to indecency are we more accommodating to more extreme forms of inappropriate behavior?  We can see a test of these questions going on now in Congress.

One of Congress’ primary Constitutional responsibilities is the power of the purse.  Accordingly, Schoolhouse Rock taught children that Congress completes the regular annual appropriation bills before the start of the fiscal year.

These appropriation bills are detailed: they provide specific funding for each line item across all government programs, along with guidance and instructions, on program implementation and execution, some of which is excessively controlling and micro-

Support teachers! The key to our future is in their hands

On World Teachers' Day' , October 4, the International Labour Organization (ILO) salutes Teachers and commits to supporting their key role in building the citizens and societies of the future, says Guy Ryder, the ILO's Director-General.

Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers series | Daily Sundial

Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers series | Daily Sundial:

Matt Damon visits CSUN to introduce NYU professor Diane Ravitch, a representative of the Education on the Edge speakers series

By Alex Vejar
October 3rd, 2013
Section: News - Photos

Matt Damon and Dr. Diane Ravitch embrace at the “Education on Edge” speaker series. Dr. Ravitch an avid advocate for education, spoke of her experiences and promoted her book “The Reign of Error.” Photo credit: John Saringo-Rodriguez / Photo Editor

Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University, spoke for the first inaugural Education on the Edge speaker series in Northridge Center of the USU Wednesday, and discussed her views on the problems within American education and what should be done to fix them.

Matt Damon, Academy Award-winning actor known for such films as “Good Will Hunting” and the “Bourne” movies, introduced Ravitch, who is acquainted with Damon’s mother.

“I’m very honored to have the opportunity to introduce Diane tonight,” Damon said. “She’s somebody that I have admired for a very long time. She’s an amazing person. She’s America’s foremost historian in the areas of education policy, she’s a champion of public education, she’s a courageous speaker and she’s a truth-teller.”

Michael Spagna, dean of CSUN’s college of education (COE), felt Damon’s appearance was important because actors, artists and athletes have gained cultural relevance, which could make an impact on others by publicly supporting an educator.

“I think if we can transfer some of that cultural appreciation that we have for actors like Matt 

10-4-13 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform

A study in evil from Julian Vasquez Heilig   The Broad Foundation and Broadies: Kings of “Distruptive” and “Unreasonable” Trickle-Down Reform.    

by Michael Paul Gold... / 0min mark as read  //  save

The Problem With Charter Schools

Reblogged from Moi Naturale: In the fall of 2008, I decided I wanted to transition from journalism to education.  While I was in a master's program studying broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California, I started volunteering at a local community center called the Jackie Robinson Community Center.  Through this experience, I realized I […]

by Michael Paul Gold... / 25min 

10-3-13 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: More on LAUSD: Bond Money, Aquino, Broad, and (Again with) PearsonYesterday, I wrote a post on some of the conflicts of interest and obvious profiteering posed by the involvement of Deasy, Apple, Pearson, and Gates in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) iPad fiasco. In this post, I examine more of the situation as I reflect upon issues raised by the June 2013 Los Ange

by mike simpson / 2h 

Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We! | WeArePCAPS

Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We! | WeArePCAPS:

Tom Corbett’s Back and So Are We!

Posted on October 4, 2013by wearepcaps

• This Thursday we unwelcomed Tom Corbett when he rode into Drexel to dedicate a new school of business. Now he’s coming to join Urban Outfitters to unveil a new project at the Navy Yard. We will be on hand to remind the Governor that Philadelphians hold him responsible for the crisis in our schools. We call on people to join us in fighting back against the class warfare policies that Corbett and his allies are imposing on people across our state.

  

• 1201 Market St. Downtown Philadelphia Marriot IEDC Conference -Exhibit Hall -Franklin Hall Pennsylvania Booth 502 8:30 A.M

Join at http://www.facebook.com/events/558436057538810/

Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education

Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library! — Whole Child Education:

Pin to Win Your Dream ASCD Library!

 

by Tina Byland / 1h mark as read  //  save

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning

Post written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian Connelly Although research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive effect on school success—has been largely overlooked (Mager & Nowak, 2012; McNulty & Quaglia, 2007; Mitra, 2004). Student voice and academic success are inextricably link

by ASCD Whole Child ... / 1h 

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education

Student Voice and Resilience in Learning — Whole Child Education: Student Voice and Resilience in LearningOctober 3, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost written by Kristine Fox, Megan Bedford, and Brian ConnellyAlthough research has a lot to say about how to foster academic resilience, encouraging student voice—which an abundance of research shows to have a positive effect on school success—has

by mike simpson / 14h 

10-2-13 — Whole Child Education

Home Page — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGED Pulse Poll Results: Does More Recess Increase Academic Learning?October 1, 2013 by Kit Harris, ASCD ResearchASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. Recently the ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll addressed the debate about recess in elementary schools.READ MORE »Answers to Your Top Six Shu

by mike simpson / 20h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch:

Stern crawls out from under his rock to attack Ravitch

I haven't heard much from ’60s ultra-radical turned far-right think-tanker Sol Stern since 2008 when he tried to paint Barack Obama as a commie symp and make Bill Ayers the focus of the presidential election debate. He used to write me letters, trying to befriend me. He says he went to the same summer camp as me as a kid but I can't believe that Kinderland would ever turn out a creep like Stern. He even offered to take me to a Yankee game (yuck, I was born with Brooklyn Dodger blue in my veins)  if I would only give him some inside dope about Ayers for a book he was working on.

Last I heard, he had fled the country and was living in Israel. Now I see he's crawled out from under his rock once again, to attack think-tank apostate Diane Ravitch whose new book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools, has his and other former fellows' shorts in a twist.

Back in '08, Stern worked for the right-wing Manhattan Institute (he obviously still does) and raged against progressive and social-justice education, calling it akin to "Stalinism." Stern's job at the Institute included hunting down and “exposing” social-justice teachers, whom he accused of “trashing the American system.” In another post Stern, responding to the UFT'sLeo Casey, called the teachers union "a shill for Obama" and referred to me as a "good 

10-4-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

A retired Bridgeport principal speaks: Leaving the “Education Reform” movement in tatters

Ann Evans de Bernard, Ph.D recently retired as principal of Waltersville School in Bridgeport.  In a two part commentary piece, she asks When is school reform not reform? And then, with the power and authority that only comes from having served on the front lines of the effort to provide Bridgeport’s children with a quality education, […]The post A retired Bridgeport principal speaks: Leaving the

8 by jonpelto / 1h 

Child Abuse in the form of the “No Excuses” education model

The new Jumoke Academy at Dunbar (AKA The Paul Dunbar School, A FUSE Family Urban Schools of Excellence) recently posted job announcements that it was looking for four new teachers. Putting aside why Jumoke, the charter school management company that was hired to take over and run the Dunbar elementary school is looking for four […]The post Child Abuse in the form of the “No Excuses” education mod

8 by jonpelto / 34min 

10-3-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Achievement First’s Teacher Certification Violations lead right into State Department of EducationAchievement First – Bridgeport Academy is among Connecticut’s worst offenders when it comes to charter schools that fail to provide students with properly certified teachers. According to the records filed with the State Department of Education, of the 59 teachers working at Achievement Fi

by mike simpson / 2h 

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Hearing On Hostile Takeover of MPS Buildings To Be Held Wednesday October 9 in Madison

Filed under: MPS Buildings,Privatization — millerlf @ 11:57 am 

A hearing will be held Wednesday October 9 on legislation that authorizes seizure of MPS buildings. This is a hostile takeover of MPS facilities so that buildings can be leased or sold by private entities for a profit.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

9:30 AM

Capital Building 411 South

Please attend and express your opposition!

Senate Bill 318 proposes:

That any property that is designated as surplus, underutilized, or vacant on any resolution adopted by the MPS board within the previous five year can be taken from MPS and purchased by an “education operator.”

The bill defines “underutilized” as:  

a)      less than 40 percent of the square footage of the school is used for the instruction of pupils on a daily, school day basis;

b)      the school is not staffed on a full-time basis by a principal and instructional staff assigned exclusively to the school; or

c)       the number of hours of pupil instruction offered in the school building in the previous school year was less than 80 percent of the number of hours of pupil instruction required to be offered by MPS.

Under the bill an education operator is:

a)      an entity/company engage in real estate operation, sales, lease or development of schools;

b)      private companies investing in charter schools;

c)       the operator of a charter school established by the common council of the city, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, or the Milwaukee Area Technical College district board;

d)      the operator of a private school;

e)      the operator of a charter school that is not an instrumentality of MPS;

f)       a person that is pursuing a contract with MPS to operate a school as a charter school that is not an instrumentality of the school district;

g)      an entity or organization that has entered into a written agreement with any of the education operators identified in the above items to purchase or lease a building within which that education operator will operate a school.

Senate
PUBLIC HEARING

Committee on Government Operations, Public Works, andTelecommunications

The committee will hold a public hearing on the following items at the time specified below:

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

9:30 AM

411 South

Senate Bill 318

Relating to: authorizing the city of Milwaukee to sell eligible school facilities to eligible purchasers.

By Senators Darling, Farrow, Vukmir, Lazich and Grothman; cosponsored by Representatives Sanfelippo, Stone, Hutton, Kooyenga, Craig, Kapenga, Kuglitsch, LeMahieu, Jagler, Ballweg, Bernier, Knodl, Pridemore and Kleefisch.

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher - SFGate:

Class lets parents learn to be child's 1st teacher

By LINDSEY ZILIAK, Kokomo Tribune

Updated 8:10 am, Friday, October 4, 2013

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — Markanna Huffer panicked last week when she left her 10-month-old son with a stranger for the first time.

She ran down the staircase at South Side Christian Church to where a group of women were caring for him. Huffer scooped baby Jeorge up in her arms and returned to her class upstairs at Baby University.

If it were anywhere else, Huffer said people probably would have judged her. Not there, though.

"They gave me no problems with my separation anxiety," she told the Kokomo Tribune(http://bit.ly/174ZFgx ).

Baby University is a nine-week parenting class developed five years ago by Kokomo Urban Outreach. It touches about 600 people in the Kokomo community each year.

Great emphasis is placed on the importance of the parent's role as their child's first teacher. Curriculum is designed to stimulate discussions about various parenting topics.

The program's director Sue Bond said it's a safe place for moms and dads to go to ask child-rearing questions — even tough ones — without being judged.

In a past class, a family asked Bond how to deal with an abused child. A couple had adopted