I live in Michigan, and together with my wife, raise one of our grandchildren. We have other grandchildren that attend the local public schools. The Michigan experiment has moved the focus from the education of children to the production of widgets that keep the scores up on the state tests the children are always taking. When the teachers are not teaching to the test they are struggling to maintain the competitive edge. This is not education. It is production. It is an assembly line. It is a profit center. Children deserve better.
8
Charter schools are a bad solution to real education problems.
We do have a unionized teacher pool which protects ineffective teachers.
We do have a teacher education systems that cranks out poorly educated teachers
We do have social economic issues in communities which impact students and their capabilities to learn.
We do have parents struggling to earn a basic wage who should be more involved in their child's education.
However privatization adds a corporate economic incentive to make money regardless of producing an effective educational product.
The solution? A national commitment to improving our primary educational system.
Education determines the future of our students and our country. We need to recognize its importance and treat is accordingly. There are no simple fixes.
We do have a unionized teacher pool which protects ineffective teachers.
We do have a teacher education systems that cranks out poorly educated teachers
We do have social economic issues in communities which impact students and their capabilities to learn.
We do have parents struggling to earn a basic wage who should be more involved in their child's education.
However privatization adds a corporate economic incentive to make money regardless of producing an effective educational product.
The solution? A national commitment to improving our primary educational system.
Education determines the future of our students and our country. We need to recognize its importance and treat is accordingly. There are no simple fixes.
3
The problem no one wants to discuss or confront is that the differences in educational experience and attainment are virtually the same in any single school as the ones discussed in this article. In any school that offers calculus or AP classes or gifted programs, the vast majority of the students taking them are white - and it's not because the black or Latino students are discouraged from taking them or kept out. Until we address the elephant in the room - that black and Latino culture (not individual black or Latino parents or students - please read all the words) don't value education the way white or Asian parents/students do, we're never going to close the achievement gap in America.
2
There is this thing called the community which in Michigan with the loss of manufacturing jobs and automation of farming has become dysfunctional. Education or attitudes for it begin at home. and unfortunately children return from school to highly dysfunctional homes. Unemployed and too young parents, violence, no regular meals or bedtimes, no help w/homework, meth
and other drugs. Most families are fine but those that aren't and if the child has a learning disorder as many do, home may really not help. However, our notion of what education is-- sitting at the desk all day has got to change back o where we have no just enough but additional physical activity for kids who after school often do not go outside but sit in front of the TV with something sweet and something starchy. Schools cannot be singled out and are only part of the educational system. Changing programs every three years in math and English benefits Wall ST. and in no way helps either teachers or kids. And public TV has dreadful programming in terms of education -- guaranteed to make one ADHD if one wasn't to begin with. Not sure as to what is the afterschool line-up.. There could be study halls in public libraries which IMO should be open til 10PM so kids have a place to go to study... ad yes, why not serve a healthy snack.
and other drugs. Most families are fine but those that aren't and if the child has a learning disorder as many do, home may really not help. However, our notion of what education is-- sitting at the desk all day has got to change back o where we have no just enough but additional physical activity for kids who after school often do not go outside but sit in front of the TV with something sweet and something starchy. Schools cannot be singled out and are only part of the educational system. Changing programs every three years in math and English benefits Wall ST. and in no way helps either teachers or kids. And public TV has dreadful programming in terms of education -- guaranteed to make one ADHD if one wasn't to begin with. Not sure as to what is the afterschool line-up.. There could be study halls in public libraries which IMO should be open til 10PM so kids have a place to go to study... ad yes, why not serve a healthy snack.
1
Free market it ain't. Until government federal, state or local--gets entirely out of the education business, nothing worthy of the name free market can exist. If that ever happens there will be no Secretary of Education, no school boards, no political influence whatsoever. And the result will be the highest quality education the world has ever known for a fraction of the cost of today's public jailhouses for children.
Education should not be a profit center nor should it be an indoctrination center for Christianity.
10
Excellent reporting on how the DeVos family and the Republican Party have wrecked Michigan schools.
5
Yes, charter schools are not a panacea to today's educational problems (many of which are the effect of socioeconomic problems and disparities that start OUTSIDE the schools).
Blaming teachers' and teacher unions often only reflects the disinclination of a lot of citizens to ignore or misunderstand the consequences of how contemporary capitalism undermines equity, democracy and the very values of ell-rounded education (as opposed to mere job training that above all serves the profit motives of corporations, CEOs, investors and financiers). The public sector again falls victim to a private sector mostly benefitting the elite. Even middle-class citizens frequently pass the buck on these issues by taking the easy-- and lower taxation --way out by blaming teachers alone, and then wondering why its getting harder and harder to ge tthe best people into a profession that's, less and less respected by many Americans and increasingly ill-paid to boot.
Blaming teachers' and teacher unions often only reflects the disinclination of a lot of citizens to ignore or misunderstand the consequences of how contemporary capitalism undermines equity, democracy and the very values of ell-rounded education (as opposed to mere job training that above all serves the profit motives of corporations, CEOs, investors and financiers). The public sector again falls victim to a private sector mostly benefitting the elite. Even middle-class citizens frequently pass the buck on these issues by taking the easy-- and lower taxation --way out by blaming teachers alone, and then wondering why its getting harder and harder to ge tthe best people into a profession that's, less and less respected by many Americans and increasingly ill-paid to boot.
2
I keep asking myself why this article does not put as much attention onto how the public education system was performing and whether going back to it would be better. So easy to criticize when no other improved option is offered. Looks to me like this style of Charter in economically devastated areas did not work so well but neither did the Standardized public model. Michigan, at least the eastern portion needs to build back it's economies so it can attract good teachers. The Charter Schools my Grandkids are in in San Diego are stellar. Let's ask why and start from there.
2
I have friends that live in Michigan, and they have some stories--all bad--about the charter schools that some of them had to attend.
I shudder at the fact that someone like Betsy DeVos, that has never had a public school education, much less college, is the Education Secretary.
Heaven Help Us.
I shudder at the fact that someone like Betsy DeVos, that has never had a public school education, much less college, is the Education Secretary.
Heaven Help Us.
7
Charter schools were not the start of Michigan not educating students. Facts may be here but tou can't tell the story unless tou tell the whole story. Also why are there no pics of the half dozen vacant public schools that forces parents to choose http://detroitschooltalk.org/2017/09/mark-binelli-picture-michigan-schoo...
1
"the virtues that made America great in all areas where they have been tried: competition, private initiative and, of course, consumer choice.” ~ which article of the Constitution are those in?
1
charter schools are a joke. every. single. one. you want to improve public education, stop denying that there is not a link between poverty and poor test results, invest in your human resources, train your management team better and train the local community on how to engage with the school boards to ensure that the right people are in the right seats on the school buses in each school. we somehow lost prospective in public education. probably because there is so much money in it.
3
I think education boards out-smarted themselves: they should have kept it simple before they went complex. Now it's all cybernetics; sort of like untangling fishing line.
4
All the Money in the world cannot change a culture where Education VALUE and respect by the Majority of the Parents is not Valued.
2
Thank youCharter schools were not the start of Michigan not educating students. Facts may be here but you can't tell the story unless tou tell the whole story. Also why are there no pics of the half dozen vacant public schools that forces parents to choose http://detroitschooltalk.org/2017/09/mark-binelli-picture-michigan-schoo...
When we lived in East Grand Rapids, MI in the sixties, the state announced the $2,400 per pupil for each school district program.
At time EGR had an exceptional school. The state also permitted local millage initiatives and our district voted to increase our taxes to main the school'l "excellence."
Too bad they can't do that today!
At time EGR had an exceptional school. The state also permitted local millage initiatives and our district voted to increase our taxes to main the school'l "excellence."
Too bad they can't do that today!
3
Profits out of schools = robbery from children.
They can talk innovation all they want but the main innovation is privatization of everything to squeeze a little more dough out for the investors... schools, jails, & the military.
They can talk innovation all they want but the main innovation is privatization of everything to squeeze a little more dough out for the investors... schools, jails, & the military.
3
So what happens, do I go to jail, if I refuse to give my taxpayer dollars to private schools which teach religious and scientific curriculum's which I believe to be unconsitutional or demonstrably false?
Can the Supreme Court force me to pay my tax dollars to support a school that teaches a religion or a false science that says the earth id 6,000 years old?
I will gladly go to prison over that one.
Can the Supreme Court force me to pay my tax dollars to support a school that teaches a religion or a false science that says the earth id 6,000 years old?
I will gladly go to prison over that one.
2
Mankind has existed just over 6,000 years not the Earth its around 4.5 billion years old.
Why is it that monopolies are always and everywhere considered bad things, except to Leftists when it comes to education?
The latest con by Cons,charter schools.
1
OK, Mark. Your guys have run Detroit's public schools your way for fifty years and it's an unmitigated disaster. I'm not saying it's your fault. Poverty is the big fact. But for goodness sake, can't we try some other approaches? You cherry-picked your data--which Joy Pullman in the Federalist exposes--but for the good of all children we need some new, creative approaches and all you are offering is the same old madness that has accomplished absolutely nothing. Get out of bed with the teacher's union and into the streets, fighting for these poor kids.
1
Going corporate is not the answer.
2
Charter schools were not the start of Michigan not educating students. Facts may be here but you can't tell the story unless tou tell the whole story. Also why are there no pics of the half dozen vacant public schools that forces parents to choose http://detroitschooltalk.org/2017/09/mark-binelli-picture-michigan-schoo...
I think Betsey DeVoss is guilty of wide spread criminal child abuse...what else would you call taking away the rights of our kids to have a good education and destroying their futures? She comes from a family that has become wealthy from pyramid scheme-racketeering, Amway. When will she be removed? Our kids are at risk as long as this dangerous woman remains in office. Her plans are sinister...just follow all the money.
5
Although I'm a proponent of free market operations, such an approach fails in the case of public goods. Students are not commodities. Their potential represents a public good that we all benefit from in the sense that a fully educated and developed child evolves into a creative and inventive leader that shapes the future of our society. Michigan's free market approach, with zero regulation on charter schools and a web of financial profit-takers proves that education has been devalued. It's a case of misplaced incentives. We're not incentivizing collaborative or unique approaches to education. Rather, we're turning the education of children into a profit incentivizing game. Every state senator that was bribed by the DeVos group and failed to support the modest effort to invoke the mildest of regulatory controls in Detroit's charter system should be voted out of office. What a terrible waste of resources. Very sad.
5
obviously the situation in Michigan was dire long before some charter schools opened. Highland Park in particular - a community 3 square miles - with a school system debt of $10 million dollars was too small to economically support itself. it should have been folded into whatever the next largest town was and combined its meager resources. why not regional schools, shared between several communities? The exodus of citizens and the destruction of the tax base over the past 20 years was not a hurdle some charter school could make up for. ridiculous to blame them for the results, they were a long time coming. I applaud the local governments for trying to be creative and find a better solution for their kids, looks like a large chunk of Michigan small cities and towns will have to go through bankruptcy and reorganize.
2
What can you expect when even public schools are locally funded for a large part, unlike what happens in most of the civilized world, where schools are funded by the state (in the US, that would be the FEDERAL state) on the sole basis of the numbers of pupils ?
1
I am struck by the photos of the schools that accompany this article. What cold, soulless buildings! They certainly don't say welcome, or hint at any joy of learning. I can't think of a single school in my town that looks so barren and corporate. Just from the look of those schools, I would rate Michigan's experiment with charter schools and "school choice" a failure. For goodness sake, get the kids outside and let them at least plant some flowers or paint a mural, or build a mosaic!
3
Meanwhile, as the grownups fiddle, whole generations of children burn.
3
So glad to see an in depth article on the issues surrounding Michigan's schools, and specifically the problems with for-profit charter schools. As the article stated, National Heritage Academies operates for-profit charter schools, and rents/sells real estate to them at handsome profits. What the article did not say is that National Heritage operates more for-profit charter schools in Michigan than any other entity. This information is available on the State of Michigan's website listing authorized charter schools. The article also did not mention the close personal friendship between Ms. DeVos and J.C. Huizenga, the person behind National Heritage Academies. Ms. DeVos' extensive lobbying to allow for-profit charter schools in this state has resulted in considerable financial gain for her friend Mr. Huizenga.
3
Systems don't teach children, neither do mission statements, free market philosophies, or intractable bureaucracies- teachers do.
To do that they require clean, safe space, books, chalk and a reasonable amount of students.
Charters never provided the magic words, neither did the public schools per se, only some lone teacher who made a connection with a lone student via empathy, intelligence, and a skill set that could break down and share concepts and ideas.
To do that they require clean, safe space, books, chalk and a reasonable amount of students.
Charters never provided the magic words, neither did the public schools per se, only some lone teacher who made a connection with a lone student via empathy, intelligence, and a skill set that could break down and share concepts and ideas.
7
People asking for vouchers always couch the issue as one of choice, a very American, freedom loving term for taking my tax dollars and forcing me to be spend it on something I never agreed to contribute to, and, in fact strongly disagree with.
I spent 5 years in the public school system, teaching English and Reading to high school students with emotional and behavioral disabilities - some boys (mostly boys) as old as 22 who came to me from juvenile facilities but the public schools were charged with their educations as long as they had these disabilities, to the age of 23. Not cognitive disabilities - they were sharp - but control and anger problems.
I got to many - not all - of them by showing them my love of the written word - reading to them -letting them have a good experience with a book - letting them know that if they read and write they can talk to people long dead and long after they die - a way they thought about the subject before.
But you tell me I do not have a choice. I must pay the tuition for schools who there is so much I don't know: the teachers credential, the hours and days, the discipline code, any religious instruction included, the history curriculum, the science curriculum - if their taught man and dinosaurs walked together on the earth. And for schools my children are not allowed to attend because of their religious belief or lack of.
Where's my choice? Betsy DeVos, billionaire of guns and grizzlies in school tells me I have none?
Not me.
I spent 5 years in the public school system, teaching English and Reading to high school students with emotional and behavioral disabilities - some boys (mostly boys) as old as 22 who came to me from juvenile facilities but the public schools were charged with their educations as long as they had these disabilities, to the age of 23. Not cognitive disabilities - they were sharp - but control and anger problems.
I got to many - not all - of them by showing them my love of the written word - reading to them -letting them have a good experience with a book - letting them know that if they read and write they can talk to people long dead and long after they die - a way they thought about the subject before.
But you tell me I do not have a choice. I must pay the tuition for schools who there is so much I don't know: the teachers credential, the hours and days, the discipline code, any religious instruction included, the history curriculum, the science curriculum - if their taught man and dinosaurs walked together on the earth. And for schools my children are not allowed to attend because of their religious belief or lack of.
Where's my choice? Betsy DeVos, billionaire of guns and grizzlies in school tells me I have none?
Not me.
8
"I must pay the tuition for schools who there is so much I don't know:" So true. Here's what I DO know: As a teacher in a public Detroit Elementary school, I got to know many who worked for various charters. One teacher in Detroit said she received no health insurance. Another said the school refused to buy books for her students telling her to, "develop your own curriculum." Another friend taught at a charter outside Detroit that catered to the Arabic population. All major questions, from curriculum to how to handle Valentine's Day, were referred to de facto leader behind the scenes, an imam located in the Middle East. (So your tax dollars are fully funding what is basically a private school for Arabic speakers who do not necessarily want to assimilate or follow American traditions and run by a foreign religious leader.) Another teacher I knew promised me that their so-called, "lottery," was no such thing and rigged to prevent certain types of students from attending.
America is busy and hasn't fully digested what charter schools and schools of choice are all about, but they are waking up to the reality.
America is busy and hasn't fully digested what charter schools and schools of choice are all about, but they are waking up to the reality.
4
I want to thank the New York Times for finally publishing an article that reveals the sad and dangerous truth about the businesses known as charter schools.
While there are undoubtedly people working at charters who have the very best intentions, the push for this movement to "charterize" as many of our public schools as possible, comes from a very well funded right-wing attack machine that despises almost anything with the words "public" or "union" attached to it.
It's very telling that the funding for this "Public Bad/Charter Good" propaganda effort comes from billionaires--- none of whom send their children or grandchildren to our public schools but patronizingly assume that they know better then we parents and taxpayers who DO.
While there are undoubtedly people working at charters who have the very best intentions, the push for this movement to "charterize" as many of our public schools as possible, comes from a very well funded right-wing attack machine that despises almost anything with the words "public" or "union" attached to it.
It's very telling that the funding for this "Public Bad/Charter Good" propaganda effort comes from billionaires--- none of whom send their children or grandchildren to our public schools but patronizingly assume that they know better then we parents and taxpayers who DO.
12
You have no idea what you're talking about. I am a lifetime resident of Michigan and the gross mismanagement of funds and programs in Detroit has been ongoing and increasing over the span of my 60 years. State taxpayers have been bailing out the city government, the arts and the board of education for.. ever. The corruption just grows - Kilpatrick being only the last of the worst. Artificially propped up by the auto-crats, the auto industry withdrawal from the market expedited an already sinking ship. Now Detroit has found a sugar daddy in the owner of Quicken Loans attempting to revitalize inner city neighborhoods. The bureaucratic corruption in the city and schools is so inbred today that to blame DeVos or vouchers is ludicrous. As if righting this situation in Detroit could be as simple as dropping Charter schools or vouchers.... years and years of nuts running the asylum.
BTW the report quoted in this article misrepresents the findings.
BTW the report quoted in this article misrepresents the findings.
2
As a long time school board trustee and a owner of an 8-figure business, the math is pretty simple; if your primary motive is profit and return on shareholder value, you will make business decisions accordingly. The fundamental reason why this strategy cannot and never will work in education is that you don't have the same levers as a typical business; you can't increase prices, end the life of low performing products, alter your distribution channel, and even take advantage of tax laws that favor business and investment. Heck, even the whole accounting framework is different than your standard GAAP practice.
Education is the single most important investment a society can make and ensures it's long-term viability and economic growth. We are killing education in this country and that will kill innovation and economic prosperity. Education should be free and available for all. Yes, there is plenty of room to improve, just s there is with everything else. Want to help? Join your local school board, don't sit back and Monday-morning quarterback.
One key solution to better education starts with teacher training. Let's look at successful education systems and apply what we can here. Then get out of the way of teachers and let them teach. Let's stop also the corporate pigs from feeding at the trough of taxpayer dollars - charters are not the answer, they are simply a way to divert our money as taxpayers into the greedy hands of those who already have plenty.
Education is the single most important investment a society can make and ensures it's long-term viability and economic growth. We are killing education in this country and that will kill innovation and economic prosperity. Education should be free and available for all. Yes, there is plenty of room to improve, just s there is with everything else. Want to help? Join your local school board, don't sit back and Monday-morning quarterback.
One key solution to better education starts with teacher training. Let's look at successful education systems and apply what we can here. Then get out of the way of teachers and let them teach. Let's stop also the corporate pigs from feeding at the trough of taxpayer dollars - charters are not the answer, they are simply a way to divert our money as taxpayers into the greedy hands of those who already have plenty.
17
not a word by the writer or commentators about teacher unions cozy relationship with democrats. this relationship prioritizes,1 electing democrats,2 pay and benefit packages for unaccountable teachers,3 conflating indoctrination with teaching kids to think for themselves.
2
I attended public schools from kindergarten to high school, spanning 1992-2004. My teachers never "indoctrinated" me into any particular political views, but if they had, I certainly wouldn't be a Democrat. At my schools, we pointedly had Christmas Vacation and put on Christmas plays in December; in music class, we sang "Go Tell It On the Mountain" at Easter time, and literally no one paused to consider whether that might be incredibly offensive to any students in the room. When my science classes began studying space and thus the big bang theory, arrangements were made so that any kids who "disagreed with those teachings" could just go to the school library and read a book of their choosing for that class period each day.
Granted, I lived in a small town. But this was during the Clinton administration, not Eisenhower. Public schools inevitably reflect the communities they serve. In that community, the teachers were like most local parents; the opposite of plotting, secular liberals. But they were also part of a union, and I recall the few times that came up, though they only went on strike once. The idea that labor unions go hand-in-hand with liberal brainwashing is just utterly ludicrous.
Granted, I lived in a small town. But this was during the Clinton administration, not Eisenhower. Public schools inevitably reflect the communities they serve. In that community, the teachers were like most local parents; the opposite of plotting, secular liberals. But they were also part of a union, and I recall the few times that came up, though they only went on strike once. The idea that labor unions go hand-in-hand with liberal brainwashing is just utterly ludicrous.
3
Yes, because our privatized health care system works so well (we spend the most for middle-of-the-pack outcomes), let's privatize the schools! This is all about profits for the well-connected (DeVos, Jeb Bush, etc), cutting tax money going to public schools, and raising another generation of illiterate morons who will vote GOP because Fox tells them to and they can't think for themselves.
20
Virtually all of these so-called "public private partnerships" are ways that privates have figured out how to con dollars out of the unaware public. A group called "ALEC" (American Legislative Exchange Council) has been behind this by writing the laws for state legislatures which transfer money from the next generation of taxpayers to private pockets. Charter schools are the "best" of the bad lot. See "private prisons" and "P3 toll roads." If a private is building a toll road in your area, most likely it is doing so by taking a loan from Uncle Sam and selling "private activity bonds" to major operations like retirement funds. The private is almost never putting up any real money, usually less than five percent of total cost, and after a few years of gathering tolls, it moans the projected traffic didn't show up (which it never does because the projections were spiked to convince bond buyers the toll road would pay them back) and then a few years later, the P3 goes bankrupt, leaving taxpayers to NOT get back the loan and having to pay off the bond holders. An Australian law professor told me P3s are "legalized corruption" and the Royal Scottish Accountants said they are "financial black holes." A Canadian province's auditor general did an evaluation of their P3 projects and discovered taxpayers had paid $8 billion MORE than if the state had built the projects themselves.
"Indiana Toll Road," "Pocahontas Parkway," "SH130"...massive bankruptcies, screwed taxpayers
"Indiana Toll Road," "Pocahontas Parkway," "SH130"...massive bankruptcies, screwed taxpayers
11
The Trump University model
10
America - where you can fly United, bank at Wells Fargo, send your kids to charter school, and vote Republican.
9
Think long and hard about what this statement means to this United States of America. I
Public education is the foundation of our democracy.
There will never be a "privatized" replacement as the objectives are in direct conflict.
Public education is the foundation of our democracy.
There will never be a "privatized" replacement as the objectives are in direct conflict.
7
In my own community, I have seen hundreds of thousands of precious education dollars being thrown at educational technology. I was floored to learn that my children's school was buying Chromebooks at more than *double* the internet price.
If you ever wonder what happened to Harold Hill of the Music Man and the other snake-oil salesmen of his ilk -- they've moved on to hawking education quick-fixes. And desperate parents of school-age children are left holding the bag.
If you ever wonder what happened to Harold Hill of the Music Man and the other snake-oil salesmen of his ilk -- they've moved on to hawking education quick-fixes. And desperate parents of school-age children are left holding the bag.
6
Betsy DeVos and her ilk from around the State of Michigan have been a parasitic plague on Detroit. She has not intended well and hasn't done well by Detroit.
The article fails to report that at the time the state took over Detroit schools, Detroit had millions of dollars in a surplus, having just reaped from a increase millage. The surplus was wiped out by spending on charters, a split school district and high salaries for operators within the new state system.
Also, absent is a reference to the open long-term hostility of out state Michigan communities that have felt dwarfed and overshadowed by Detroit. Considerable efforts have been made to promote the City of Grand Rapids in Western Michigan, a base of DeVos' and the power center of the Michigan Republican Party, as the new flagship Michigan city--leaving Detroit to die on the vine. The Grand Rapids experiment failed. Grand Rapids couldn't be sexy enough to draw tourists and millennial into the middle of no where.
Still. the State resisted Detroit until it succeeded in gutting black leadership in the City. Now, since a the election if a white mayor 4 years ago, the State cooperation abundant and money flows. A lot of this money, however, has been to develop the City to draw in a new demographic to the state, -not necessarily to assist current residents. The millennials the state wants will come to desire close quality education. When they do, DeVos and ilk finally will abandon this charter charade.
The article fails to report that at the time the state took over Detroit schools, Detroit had millions of dollars in a surplus, having just reaped from a increase millage. The surplus was wiped out by spending on charters, a split school district and high salaries for operators within the new state system.
Also, absent is a reference to the open long-term hostility of out state Michigan communities that have felt dwarfed and overshadowed by Detroit. Considerable efforts have been made to promote the City of Grand Rapids in Western Michigan, a base of DeVos' and the power center of the Michigan Republican Party, as the new flagship Michigan city--leaving Detroit to die on the vine. The Grand Rapids experiment failed. Grand Rapids couldn't be sexy enough to draw tourists and millennial into the middle of no where.
Still. the State resisted Detroit until it succeeded in gutting black leadership in the City. Now, since a the election if a white mayor 4 years ago, the State cooperation abundant and money flows. A lot of this money, however, has been to develop the City to draw in a new demographic to the state, -not necessarily to assist current residents. The millennials the state wants will come to desire close quality education. When they do, DeVos and ilk finally will abandon this charter charade.
3
The idea of 'choice' in education is akin to saying that one can 'choose' what mathematics suits you or what laws of physics you care to subscribe to. Clearly, the successes of science, such as the astonishing visions of our solar system given to us by the Voyager space probes were not the result of an 'alternative science'.
The same science that has elucidated physical reality is applicable to Darwin's theory of evolution, which has itself been supported in great detail by the science of genetics, clearly makes some people, who are likely not to have been well educated, uneasy to the point of rejecting the science that conflicts with their fantasies, personal or cultural (aka 'religious').
The 'alternative reality' given by to us by various religions, whose practitioners would gladly have the educational system dismantled so that children can be more easily persuaded to renounce science, is akin to blinding them, figuratively speaking, to avoid them from being lead astray while making them relatively easy to lead.
Seeing reality as we know it has taken thousands of years, and is more a continuing process than an arrival at some absolute 'truth'. It is our duty to keep our children free to continue to refine our knowledge of reality without restriction, as this is of importance to all of humankind. Education should not be sullied by privatization and students should not be seen as 'consumers' who 'choose' what they do not yet know.
The same science that has elucidated physical reality is applicable to Darwin's theory of evolution, which has itself been supported in great detail by the science of genetics, clearly makes some people, who are likely not to have been well educated, uneasy to the point of rejecting the science that conflicts with their fantasies, personal or cultural (aka 'religious').
The 'alternative reality' given by to us by various religions, whose practitioners would gladly have the educational system dismantled so that children can be more easily persuaded to renounce science, is akin to blinding them, figuratively speaking, to avoid them from being lead astray while making them relatively easy to lead.
Seeing reality as we know it has taken thousands of years, and is more a continuing process than an arrival at some absolute 'truth'. It is our duty to keep our children free to continue to refine our knowledge of reality without restriction, as this is of importance to all of humankind. Education should not be sullied by privatization and students should not be seen as 'consumers' who 'choose' what they do not yet know.
4
Not unexpectedly, given the focus of this piece, most of the comments do not call into question who is overseeing these charter schools. In particular, many are overseen by public universities in the the tri-county (something which is not the focus of this piece).
I was a long-term professor of education (25 years) at one of these suburban universities who oversee several of these charter schools. For many years, I argued that we should not do so without examining whether or not charter schools were a worthwhile idea, and then as faculty take a stand on what we should do. Neither among my faculty colleagues nor the university administration was there even a smidgen of support for this. In short order, the university began to oversee - and continues to oversee - several charter schools. This is replicated across the suburban metro Detroit are - Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Oakland, etc.
Universities still have standing in most communities, and so their decisions have impact. It would be very useful for someone to do investigative reporting on the oversee of charter schools by suburban public universities.
I was a long-term professor of education (25 years) at one of these suburban universities who oversee several of these charter schools. For many years, I argued that we should not do so without examining whether or not charter schools were a worthwhile idea, and then as faculty take a stand on what we should do. Neither among my faculty colleagues nor the university administration was there even a smidgen of support for this. In short order, the university began to oversee - and continues to oversee - several charter schools. This is replicated across the suburban metro Detroit are - Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Oakland, etc.
Universities still have standing in most communities, and so their decisions have impact. It would be very useful for someone to do investigative reporting on the oversee of charter schools by suburban public universities.
5
Blame shady for-profit education companies, Betsy DeVos, or the Trump administration all you like for the mess in Michigan, but save some of your indignation for "progressive" opinion elites who cheered on school privatization over the past two decades. I include among these voices a number of New York Times columnists as well as its editorial writes. I'd like to think it was good intentions, rather than snobby distain for working class teachers who didn't go to the right schools, that led these pundits to dismiss the views of professional educators and in favor of education "reforms' championed by corporate executives and hedge fund managers.
1
I work for a well-run independent non-profit charter school but previously worked in public schools.
I dislike the for-profit charter model, think that many charters are ineffective, and am suspicious of the motives of many who aggressively push charters and vouchers but think that when properly implemented the concept can work for many students and can empower educators. Not every student is the right fit for a traditional school.
I have no interest in going back to work in a local system. I have a substantial amount of freedom with my curriculum, assessments, and policies and am not bogged down by having to waste time with useless paper work, meetings, and poorly targeted trainings. This frees time for planning, tutoring, grading, and communicating with parents and helps to improve the quality of education that I can offer my students. I also find it rewarding to get to know students over the course of four years in a way that I could not when I was at a large school. I like knowing everyone by name as I walk down the hall and I like the fact that there is a high level of communication between teachers about individual students. I also like the fact that educators play a large role in making decisions.
Charter schools are not the panacea that many make them out to be but neither are all of them cynical corporate boondoggles. Good and properly overseen charter schools can offer an excellent choice for some students for whom large public schools are not a good fit.
I dislike the for-profit charter model, think that many charters are ineffective, and am suspicious of the motives of many who aggressively push charters and vouchers but think that when properly implemented the concept can work for many students and can empower educators. Not every student is the right fit for a traditional school.
I have no interest in going back to work in a local system. I have a substantial amount of freedom with my curriculum, assessments, and policies and am not bogged down by having to waste time with useless paper work, meetings, and poorly targeted trainings. This frees time for planning, tutoring, grading, and communicating with parents and helps to improve the quality of education that I can offer my students. I also find it rewarding to get to know students over the course of four years in a way that I could not when I was at a large school. I like knowing everyone by name as I walk down the hall and I like the fact that there is a high level of communication between teachers about individual students. I also like the fact that educators play a large role in making decisions.
Charter schools are not the panacea that many make them out to be but neither are all of them cynical corporate boondoggles. Good and properly overseen charter schools can offer an excellent choice for some students for whom large public schools are not a good fit.
6
Let's encourage competition, not just in school -- everywhere. Let's start by eliminating public government. That can be outsourced internationally to the lowest bidder. Public utilities: gone. Water treatment, storage, and delivery, fire protection, police protection, judiciary: 86; not needed. Roads and street? People can build their own. Don't get me started on health care! How hard can it be?
2
A school building with a $6million mortgage is estimated at a worth of $600,000. Huh? Why would a funding organization approve a mortgage of that size without a building whose worth provides adequate collateral in case of default? This is something I just couldn't understand with the 2008 housing scandal and don't understand in this case. Guess I'm naive.
1
I don't think I have yet to see an article in any newspaper or magazine about how one school or district has vastly improved the test scores of its very underprivileged minority students. Most such schools get a great deal of "extra" funding from the federal government. I know in my city, the poorest schools with the worst performance, get over twice the dollars per pupil that the top performing schools get. They have extra aides, special ed classes for those with learning issues - you name it. So that didn't work...test scores are still abysmal.
Then there are the Charter Schools. The only ones who do well are the ones who can cherry pick their students. These are ones where the parents cared enough to figure out how to apply and the students were working at least at grade level. The others? Very few have made any progress.
School vouchers? Most are so small that they really only help pay for a parish parochial school. A school voucher will not pay for Exeter! Many of the parochial schools are not much better than the public schools but they are popular with Christian parents as they would like some religion for their children, or at least religious values.
So, just what DOES work? Can someone please give me an example? I doubt that they can - it they could, all schools would be following their example.
At what point are we willing to point the finger at parents and put the responsibility of this squarely on their shoulders.
Then there are the Charter Schools. The only ones who do well are the ones who can cherry pick their students. These are ones where the parents cared enough to figure out how to apply and the students were working at least at grade level. The others? Very few have made any progress.
School vouchers? Most are so small that they really only help pay for a parish parochial school. A school voucher will not pay for Exeter! Many of the parochial schools are not much better than the public schools but they are popular with Christian parents as they would like some religion for their children, or at least religious values.
So, just what DOES work? Can someone please give me an example? I doubt that they can - it they could, all schools would be following their example.
At what point are we willing to point the finger at parents and put the responsibility of this squarely on their shoulders.
4
Money money money... it gets in the way of humanity and humane treatment of people. When those people are children, ironically the future of our country, it is the epitome of folly and absolute greedy stupidity. Our president is evidence of both: he is obviously a victim of a very lousy education and, now, he perpetuates his own mediocrity and pushes it on others by supporting for-profit schools.
Until our daily school regimen in every public school, that is funded fairly, in every state includes quality fitness programing combined with MEANINGFUL nutritional guidance/programing, our nation is just another country catering to the quality development of a few chosen ones...mostly rich at the cost of pain, suffering and misery of masses of human beings. Fitness and nutrition are integrally tied to a healthy populace which facilitates a more educated, thinking, problem-solving workforce. We may be, relatively speaking, a lot better off than millions of others around the world, but we sure can do much better with schools that genuinely put the development of the whole person first....NOT profit, not money for investors, not outside vested interests.
It is time for a paradigm shift...AFTER Trump and his horde does their damage...if we survive it.
Vote and push others to do the same.
Until our daily school regimen in every public school, that is funded fairly, in every state includes quality fitness programing combined with MEANINGFUL nutritional guidance/programing, our nation is just another country catering to the quality development of a few chosen ones...mostly rich at the cost of pain, suffering and misery of masses of human beings. Fitness and nutrition are integrally tied to a healthy populace which facilitates a more educated, thinking, problem-solving workforce. We may be, relatively speaking, a lot better off than millions of others around the world, but we sure can do much better with schools that genuinely put the development of the whole person first....NOT profit, not money for investors, not outside vested interests.
It is time for a paradigm shift...AFTER Trump and his horde does their damage...if we survive it.
Vote and push others to do the same.
1
Find me an Asian family in a failing school district. I bet their kids are doing well whether they attend the local public school or a charter school. It's not politically correct to point out that most of the academic success comes from the importance the family puts on education. Poverty? Certain immigrant groups came to this country as poor as any comparable group. Their stomachs growled. They were constantly hungry for food. They were even hungrier for knowledge and academic success.
This is absolutely heartbreaking. These poor children who are suffering because of failed policies of arrogant people like DeVos. Most of the kids who are going to these underperforming schools will face lifelong impacts on their ability to attain good paying careers and additional education.
3
Mich gain is a mess in every way. He city isn't worth saving...
So, welcome Michigan to the land of reality, where people who are devout Christians can't make kids read better than I can, a devout atheist for the many years I taught and excelled at English an Reading in high school teaching. '' You know what you need to teach kids of all races and colors, of different genders and backgrounds?
One thing only. You need to have and convey a deep and abiding love and respect for the written word and the ability to make them feel it - above and beyond spoken language a love of human communication.
You need to read to them, every day, and with your voice and tone and temper communicate to them the human feelings expressed by the word, the magic words that only good writers can find and put together in the right order, only once if they are lucky.
I have thought so long and hard on the blessing to have a supernatural being bless you. But what is the harm?
One thing only. You need to have and convey a deep and abiding love and respect for the written word and the ability to make them feel it - above and beyond spoken language a love of human communication.
You need to read to them, every day, and with your voice and tone and temper communicate to them the human feelings expressed by the word, the magic words that only good writers can find and put together in the right order, only once if they are lucky.
I have thought so long and hard on the blessing to have a supernatural being bless you. But what is the harm?
27
Charter schools are a scam with one purpose above all others: to divert public funds into private pockets, a financial goal that comes at the expense educational goals.while they
Even so-called non-profits are not always as innocent as the term makes them sound. First, while they are legally precluded from paying stockholders, there's nothing to stop their executives richly rewarding themselves. Secondly, they are often fronts for related for-profits that contract to manage any or all of their functions.
Whoever charter schools account to, taxpayers, students and parents are last on the list.
Even so-called non-profits are not always as innocent as the term makes them sound. First, while they are legally precluded from paying stockholders, there's nothing to stop their executives richly rewarding themselves. Secondly, they are often fronts for related for-profits that contract to manage any or all of their functions.
Whoever charter schools account to, taxpayers, students and parents are last on the list.
33
One huge difference between the charters in Michigan, like George Washington Carver Academy - and the New York charters like, "Success Academy", is that while the New York charters are filled with students placed there due to applications filed by interested parents, ALL students in the Michigan districts were sent to Carver, no application process required. In other words, by the very process used by New York charters, the NY Charters only get students whose parents ACTIVELY participate in their children's education. One hundred percent of children whose parents are un-involved, in jail, addicts, or just completely distracted by life crises, never apply to NY Charters and all of THEIR children go to public school. In other words NY Charters are allowed to skim off students with the most involved parents. With an advantage like that it's no wonder "Success Academy" can claim success compared to public schools. Try taking every single student, whether or not they apply, and see how "Success" does then.
25
Charter schools in Michigan generally *do* require some sort of an application.
The biggest way that students are skimmed off is that virtually none of the schools have special education. I know several kids in my neighborhood who attend public schools specifically for speech therapy.
There are weird consequences of this. My neighbor's grandchild was enrolled in college to be a special ed teacher, and left the state because she would not actually be able to do student teaching with special ed students. The student teaching would all be done at charter schools associated with the university; the charter schools have no special ed departments. Even though the university claims to grant degrees in special ed teaching!
The biggest way that students are skimmed off is that virtually none of the schools have special education. I know several kids in my neighborhood who attend public schools specifically for speech therapy.
There are weird consequences of this. My neighbor's grandchild was enrolled in college to be a special ed teacher, and left the state because she would not actually be able to do student teaching with special ed students. The student teaching would all be done at charter schools associated with the university; the charter schools have no special ed departments. Even though the university claims to grant degrees in special ed teaching!
1
Betsy DeVos is a cancer on the American education system. That she has a cabinet-level position is an outrage. But then, as a Republican she's determined to ensure that American children remain stupid and uneducated, lest they see through the Republican BS.
The most essential pillar of a healthy and thriving empire is education. But all empires eventually crumble, I suppose. Thank goodness Betsy and #45 are doing their level best we crumble quickly!
The most essential pillar of a healthy and thriving empire is education. But all empires eventually crumble, I suppose. Thank goodness Betsy and #45 are doing their level best we crumble quickly!
37
Betsy deVos in married to a billionaire who founded Amway, which, at least when it started and perhaps still is, a classic pyramid scheme, A pyramid scheme makes lots of money for its founders, for they enlist an army of people to sell Amway products, which profits Amway directly, to their own friends and associates who are enlisted to sell Amway products to their friends, etc & so forth, until the market is saturated, leaving the final generation of Amway converts holding an inventory of products they cannot sell. Meanwhile, at every level a certain amount of money is paid to an ever-decreasing number of people at the top, hence the name 'pyramid scheme'. People who have been burned by Amway for good reason refer to it as Scamway.
As if this were not enough, deVos is the sister of the guy who founded the mercenary army Blackwater (now renamed) that was hired by the Bush administration to help fight the illegal war in Iraq.
In short, two prominent men in her life are very rich and evidently morally challenged, so it is hardly surprising that Betsy DeVos herself seems to be a True Believer in Milton Friedman's market solution to education.
As if this were not enough, deVos is the sister of the guy who founded the mercenary army Blackwater (now renamed) that was hired by the Bush administration to help fight the illegal war in Iraq.
In short, two prominent men in her life are very rich and evidently morally challenged, so it is hardly surprising that Betsy DeVos herself seems to be a True Believer in Milton Friedman's market solution to education.
4
DeVos is just another billionaire who feels she is entitled by her wealth to remake public school systems to her liking. She has been at the game longer, and done more damage than most (in the sixties and seventies, Michigan had a fairly good public school system), but there are many all over the country...this country needs to rein in its billionaires, they have gotten out of control.
3
Either get rid of charters or give all kids in urban districts a voucher. Unless you teach in one or have kids currently in one, you have no idea how bad they are.
Vouchers will collapse the completely corrupt public and charter systems and that's what kids need.
Vouchers will collapse the completely corrupt public and charter systems and that's what kids need.
5
How many years of their lives would that take?
Kids need an education, not a multi-year process to destroy and then (best case scenario) eventually reconstruct an educational system.
Kids need an education, not a multi-year process to destroy and then (best case scenario) eventually reconstruct an educational system.
2
'' A major victim of the city’s borderline insolvency was its public-school system, which had been under state control since 2012. (Six different state-appointed emergency managers have run the district since then.) ''
There is the majority of the problem right there. The dictatorial Snyder regime has done more damage than good. ( let alone poisoning people\kids via the drinking water )
How do you expect anyone to put any effort into their community ( let alone extra effort while taking pride ) when they have no say in how they can run things\in their government ? ~ You can't,
The symbol of a vibrant public educational system is a vibrant community with a vibrant tax base. It is as much as matter of dollar and sense as it is a matter of families and priorities.
Taking away every public educational dollar for a private one is pure theft.
There is the majority of the problem right there. The dictatorial Snyder regime has done more damage than good. ( let alone poisoning people\kids via the drinking water )
How do you expect anyone to put any effort into their community ( let alone extra effort while taking pride ) when they have no say in how they can run things\in their government ? ~ You can't,
The symbol of a vibrant public educational system is a vibrant community with a vibrant tax base. It is as much as matter of dollar and sense as it is a matter of families and priorities.
Taking away every public educational dollar for a private one is pure theft.
16
This is not about the market nor is it about public schools - why not stop with the euphemisms.
Ultimately, what matters is the education, socialization and aspiration of the parents and the community. Even one disruptive child can completely derail the education process for all kids in the classroom. Hence, white flight.
I think the inner city communities need to organize and come together, decry the violence and dysfunction in ways that are practical (i.e., turn in and/or penalize miscreants before they get in trouble with the law; do something about promiscuity and fatherless families instead of complaining about racism and shirking accountability).
Ultimately, what matters is the education, socialization and aspiration of the parents and the community. Even one disruptive child can completely derail the education process for all kids in the classroom. Hence, white flight.
I think the inner city communities need to organize and come together, decry the violence and dysfunction in ways that are practical (i.e., turn in and/or penalize miscreants before they get in trouble with the law; do something about promiscuity and fatherless families instead of complaining about racism and shirking accountability).
11
that kind of discourse is so devoid of empathy, it makes you doubt the tought process that got you there.
The rule of thumb of education is ALL students deserve the most opportunity possible, this makes it an expensive venture, and unlikly to be privately profitable if well executed.
Of course, socieaty as a whole benefits tremendously, as long term returns on education are the highest amongst any investment.
The rule of thumb of education is ALL students deserve the most opportunity possible, this makes it an expensive venture, and unlikly to be privately profitable if well executed.
Of course, socieaty as a whole benefits tremendously, as long term returns on education are the highest amongst any investment.
Hard to tell if this is a bona fide education analysis, a fashion critique or just another reveal for Michigan's woeful Detroit mess. I think it's the latter two. As a Motown native, I get to say so. And throwing Ms. DeVos into this mix is yet another hideous effort to grind more Trump administration in the mortar and pestle of lefty alchemy.
3
Ms DeVos jumped of her own volition in that mortar. She knows she as is incompetent for her cabinet position as she would be for orthopedic surgeon. It appears that she quite enjoys that mortar.
So he wants to go back to the "good old days" of Detroit public schools run by the unions?? Well that would be good for the teachers but not for the kids, who seem to get the short end of the stick regardless. Like in Chicago where teachers strike at will, holding students hostage so that they can retire with gilded pensions and live the high life. What a total scam.
6
That's right- if you want a gilded pension and live the high life, be a --teacher?
Forget investment banking- teaching is where the big bucks are made!
Forget investment banking- teaching is where the big bucks are made!
3
I read some comments that purport to argue that "schools are businesses". This is a foolish, short-term outlook. Good students are an investment in the future. Good students develop the economy and the country. Good students promote society. For the good of the country, the country must have good schools. This is no idle comment. It has promoted German society for 200 years and has even more helped immigration countries, like the USA. Since schools are so important, for profit school are not to be encouraged, and even outlawed. DeVos and her ilk are a danger to the USA.
23
For profit charters should be abolished.
20
Charter schools started with the anti science religious right who wanted creationism taught in classrooms, paid for by taxes, and they've gone downhill from there into straight up profit making
19
The entire school choice movement is fueled by a desire for less expensive schools, not better schools. Don't fall for the sophistry of these knaves. Betsy D. cares nothing for kids from the inner city. She is promoting a two tier school system
19
I beg to differ- school choice and charter schools receive the same per-pupil funding so they are NOT less expensive, they are just more PROFITABLE. The question is- why is the public allowing their tax dollars to be converted into profit by outsiders who don't care about the kids, teachers, or communities? The naive public should also wrestle long and hard with the important question: Is the VERY NOTION of a for-profit school at odds with the VERY NOTION of public education.
These schools are NOT sustainable on any level, morally, financially and otherwise. They are contributing to the de-stabilization of public schools in the long and short run, and they decrease the motivation for teacher education, leading to teacher shortages.
These schools are NOT sustainable on any level, morally, financially and otherwise. They are contributing to the de-stabilization of public schools in the long and short run, and they decrease the motivation for teacher education, leading to teacher shortages.
1
What does Brown's outfit have to do with anything?
5
This is a nice slice of the issue, but one wonders why there are not multiple, broad assessments/studies of the Charter School movement across the nation. If it works, why not pinpoint the successes and let everyone including the public schools know what will improve education. The answer is fairly obvious: It simply doesn't work.
It is not that teachers don't care in Charter schools, it is simply that many have no effective training in teaching and there is no ongoing education which makes them less qualified to teach now AND in the future. Charters also frequently do not have to take state standardized tests, so there are few benchmarks to compare them to public schools. Finally, the "successful" charter schools can usually be explained by looking at the demographics of the school. They simply cherry-picked the cream from the local public schools meaning they had fewer disciplinary problems, they didn't have deal with slow learners or Special Ed kids, and could readily kick anyone out if they wished (a luxury public schools do not have).
The Charter School philosophy was intriguing before it had been tried, but the current lack of evidence of its success and unwillingness to compete on an even playing field (same standardized tests and other research on school effectiveness) suggest even the charter schools know they don't really work.
It is not that teachers don't care in Charter schools, it is simply that many have no effective training in teaching and there is no ongoing education which makes them less qualified to teach now AND in the future. Charters also frequently do not have to take state standardized tests, so there are few benchmarks to compare them to public schools. Finally, the "successful" charter schools can usually be explained by looking at the demographics of the school. They simply cherry-picked the cream from the local public schools meaning they had fewer disciplinary problems, they didn't have deal with slow learners or Special Ed kids, and could readily kick anyone out if they wished (a luxury public schools do not have).
The Charter School philosophy was intriguing before it had been tried, but the current lack of evidence of its success and unwillingness to compete on an even playing field (same standardized tests and other research on school effectiveness) suggest even the charter schools know they don't really work.
58
There is pretty overwhelming evidence charter schools benefit no one except the fianancers of the charter schools.
5
The New York Times should do a story on Summit Academy in Ohio - a cesspool of charter school corruption, where teachers are forced to do their own manual labor, are not told what their teaching assignments are until right before school, have no rights at all regarding their "contracts," are NEVER backed up by the administration, which is made up of exploiters who are in this for the money they get for each special needs child they purport to "educate." Truly a travesty for all involved - the students and teachers, and a gold mine for the craven, conscienceless owners.
15
This article is anti-business as is clear from its improper focus on students/customers. a business is not run for the benefit of customers. That's just silly. Businesses are run for profit and this blatantly biased article by failing to mention that many schools have turned a profit in the Michigan market, makes it look like the system is broken. Yes, unprofitable schools have been forced out of the market but that is what happens to shareholders who make unwise investments. It's only fair. But these people aren't stupid. Soon investors will examine their lessons and return to Michigan, offering new hope of a resurrected market. People need to be patient. Finally, I can't help but question what business school trained the journalists who wrote this story, not to mention the business acumen of the NY Times. They all seem to know nothing. The market always works in the long run as long as we let businessmen do what they do best. Betsy de Vos knows this. President Trump knows this. Praise be!
9
Do you really think of elementary school students as "customers"? Is there no societal good other than businesses turning profits for you free market cultists?
Here's an economic argument for you: using taxpayer funds to educate our children results in better educated adults who are then able to get better jobs and in turn will contribute a lifetime of tax revenue to the state. A small investment now leads to better results down the road.
Why is this concept so mystifying to people who claim to understand economics better than the rest of us?
Here's an economic argument for you: using taxpayer funds to educate our children results in better educated adults who are then able to get better jobs and in turn will contribute a lifetime of tax revenue to the state. A small investment now leads to better results down the road.
Why is this concept so mystifying to people who claim to understand economics better than the rest of us?
6
This is satire, right?
3
The only reason this reader comment doesn't have more "recommend" notations is that apparently nobody recognizes satire when they see it.
Think Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Keith, you are brilliant.!!
Think Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Keith, you are brilliant.!!
10
All to make a profit based on kids as a product. A scam. Of course Trump would choose it's leading proponent because of the size of her wallet- not competence. Another crime committed in Trumpland, as the swamp gets filthier ever day.
18
It is the biggest crime to play with our children's future. Children should not used as guinea pig. Children are the future of our country and education is the foundation of a nation. When children education is for profit then we know something is wrong. The responsible for this crime should be punished.
9
Another Republican scam to siphon off public money and put it in the pockets of themselves and their business criminal friends. Like everything Republican, it's all affront for their owners and masters: plutocrats Wall Street shysters, Koch Brothers crooks.
14
I would suggest to you that these scammers consist of both Republicans and Democrats. Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood all supported Clinton, as did trial lawyers. Corruption in Democratic-coltrolled cities is notorious. I'm afraid I'm a lot more cynical about the human business condition than you are. Corruption and swindling are not specific to parties.
5
We tried to tell all the members of the Senate. Hundreds of us in Michigan called members of the committee.
She is the worst possible person to put in charge of education in this country. No one listened. So now everyone's kids, not just the kids in Michigan, are subjected to her nutjob ideas and those of the "for profit" school system they espouse.
We have "for profit" medical care, "for profit" drug companies, and now the Secretary of Education espousing "for profit" schools. Anyone see a pattern? Who pays? The citizens and children of this country.
NOTE: If millionaires or billionaires are trying to direct your school system, understand that money is all that drives them. Not student success. Not graduation rates. Just how much money they can make.
She is the worst possible person to put in charge of education in this country. No one listened. So now everyone's kids, not just the kids in Michigan, are subjected to her nutjob ideas and those of the "for profit" school system they espouse.
We have "for profit" medical care, "for profit" drug companies, and now the Secretary of Education espousing "for profit" schools. Anyone see a pattern? Who pays? The citizens and children of this country.
NOTE: If millionaires or billionaires are trying to direct your school system, understand that money is all that drives them. Not student success. Not graduation rates. Just how much money they can make.
30
DeVos, a pseudo Trump, and her profiteers have no business in education: their motives are simply dollars. I have seen for prorit education fail time and time again. Boot them out of town and your state and replace them with professional educators who truly care about the students.
11
Republican run for profit corporate schools have destroyed education in Michigan. Betsy DeVos and her cabal of right-wing fascists destroyed the Detroit Public School System when it was running surpluses before the state took it over under the phony pretenses of Emergency Management nearly 20 years ago. This amounts to nothing more than right-wing social engineering designed to extract profit from public tax dollars when we all know charter schools could never survive if they had to self finance, or obtain loans from Wall Street.
10
The vulture capitalist raped our healthcare system in the 1980's and 1990's, now they've moved their Ponzi schemes into the education of our future generations. Thank, GOP, for making money for rich people more important than our most precious and priceless resource of our country's future - our children. And we wonder why Trump got votes.
14
Why would any normal jurisdiction name a school after Timbuktu? Is that where Einstein and Shakespeare came from? What are they giving the kids to aspire to?
1
Mike: Political correctness.
2
The name is Afro-centric as Timbuktu was a great center of learning in Africa.
10
How about historical correctness?
Betsy talks constantly about "choice", about the ability of any child, with a voucher, to magically be accepted at any elite, taxpayer accepting place -while we the nations women and people of color and poor people who pay the taxes you rich don't provide, and we pay the rest should Federalism cross our beloved state lines and use national tax dollars to fill the needful coffers of them that are not like us, - hands and skiln not right and before try design and open and run schools dor the migrant,
2
Nancy, what did you just say?
3
Following their failure, the wealthy elitist DeVos group now claims Charter Schools are about 'choice." ...like how Betsy chose to send her kids to a religious school to which they donated $ millions.
7
A $7 million mortgage on a $500k property sounds like a combination of scam and incompetence. No one, not the best principal in the world can make it through with an albatross like this around their neck.
Teachers in areas such as Detroit do much more than teach: they often function as social workers, community organizers and adoptive parents. Are teacher colleges preparing them for this?
Teachers in areas such as Detroit do much more than teach: they often function as social workers, community organizers and adoptive parents. Are teacher colleges preparing them for this?
7
The problem is not the schools or the kids. It's the kids' loser parents.
What can we expect when kids come from homes where no one speaks English correctly, (and I am not talking about homes where foreign languages are spoken), where there are many kids with no father, where the kids do not have normal names. No one helps them with their school work or supervises them to get that school work done. What are their job prospects?
When you come right down to it, the schools are not failing, the kids and their parents are failing. The schools can only do so much. The schools that are classified as "good" and the schools that are classified as "bad" get their teachers from the same pool of teachers who have pretty much the same educational backgrounds.
One strategy which I would employ is to keep the kids in school as long as possible, maybe to about 6 p.m., away from their useless, destructive parents. Hire a second set of teachers to come in and relieve the main teachers to get this dine. Break this cycle of non-education.
What can we expect when kids come from homes where no one speaks English correctly, (and I am not talking about homes where foreign languages are spoken), where there are many kids with no father, where the kids do not have normal names. No one helps them with their school work or supervises them to get that school work done. What are their job prospects?
When you come right down to it, the schools are not failing, the kids and their parents are failing. The schools can only do so much. The schools that are classified as "good" and the schools that are classified as "bad" get their teachers from the same pool of teachers who have pretty much the same educational backgrounds.
One strategy which I would employ is to keep the kids in school as long as possible, maybe to about 6 p.m., away from their useless, destructive parents. Hire a second set of teachers to come in and relieve the main teachers to get this dine. Break this cycle of non-education.
12
"Where kids do not have normal names"? I'd ask you to define normal if I wasn't beyond sad about the blatant prejudice and generalizations in your post. The "no fathers" pseudotheory is just a catch-all excuse for inaction in the policy realm. A good education system equips kids to overcome adversity and disadvantage - it doesn't seek to profit from their disadvantage.
"The results in the classrooms are far more complicated." Actually, if one reads the whole article, the results of unregulated charterization in Michigan are not complicated at all: they are disastrous! The idea that unbridled competition among for-profit school providers will improve educational achievement for students and lower expenses for the system as a whole is almost as silly as suggesting that unbridled competition in the medical world will result in better health at lower costs for sick people.
8
This is why most thinking people in Michigan, who care deeply about the education of children vehemently opposed the appointment of Betsy DeVos. Her ideology and initiatives for education are totally useless and perhaps detrimental to the welfare of children. Just to note, I am not a teacher, but I am a parent and grandparent who wants the best for all children not just the religiously conservative or wealthy children.
15
I opposed Betsy, and the whole concept of billionaires funding and directing major educational initiatives to shape education in the US to their liking. Why should software billionaires, or soap heiresses determine what and how children in this country learn?
1
Why isn't DeVos coming up with federal regulations that ensure charter schools meet minimum standards? "Today in Michigan, hundreds of nonprofit public charters have become potential financial assets to outside entities.."? How is it that a nonprofit entity becomes an asset? Betsy should be prohibiting such. Seems like the poor Highland Park kids have "school choice" alright, worst and worster.
7
I had not thought it possible that we could have worse Public Schools
than we had twenty years ago but the Government has accomplished
the impossible.
Mrs. Brown seems to be doing the best possible job that can be done.
So why are the students in the bottom 5th ?
It takes about 3 years to become a good/confident teacher.
How many teachers at her school have taught for 3 or more years ?
What is/can be done about "troublemakers" among the students ?
As for turning Elementary and Secondary Schools into Profit Makers -
perhaps Lenin was right:
" The Capitalist will sell us the rope we will use to hang them with -
at a "mass discount". "
If you won't spend the Public Money to help these children for 12 years
of foundational learning what makes you think you won't be spending
their next 60 years paying for their inability to find a job and to stay out of
prison ?
America - why are you so blind to what you are doing to your future ?
than we had twenty years ago but the Government has accomplished
the impossible.
Mrs. Brown seems to be doing the best possible job that can be done.
So why are the students in the bottom 5th ?
It takes about 3 years to become a good/confident teacher.
How many teachers at her school have taught for 3 or more years ?
What is/can be done about "troublemakers" among the students ?
As for turning Elementary and Secondary Schools into Profit Makers -
perhaps Lenin was right:
" The Capitalist will sell us the rope we will use to hang them with -
at a "mass discount". "
If you won't spend the Public Money to help these children for 12 years
of foundational learning what makes you think you won't be spending
their next 60 years paying for their inability to find a job and to stay out of
prison ?
America - why are you so blind to what you are doing to your future ?
8
Cost of Public Schools = X
Cost of Charter Schools = X + Profit
X is the same in both equations, yet the Right continues to tell us "less government" and "more private sector" will cost taxpayers less. Huh? I think the right should go back to elementary school & learn basic math. Then perhaps an accounting class or 2. They claim to be the "business" party - meaning they want to own the businesses that make a profit off or our tax dollars. Sad.
Cost of Charter Schools = X + Profit
X is the same in both equations, yet the Right continues to tell us "less government" and "more private sector" will cost taxpayers less. Huh? I think the right should go back to elementary school & learn basic math. Then perhaps an accounting class or 2. They claim to be the "business" party - meaning they want to own the businesses that make a profit off or our tax dollars. Sad.
8
To BeTheChange:
A change to your math:
Cost of Public Schools = X + a bloated administration + a politically correct syllabus + a teachers' union.
Equally important, in many cases they are dangerous because of what are termed "problem children"
But it does not mean that Charter Schools are any better for education, just less costly and more favorable to the owners.
A change to your math:
Cost of Public Schools = X + a bloated administration + a politically correct syllabus + a teachers' union.
Equally important, in many cases they are dangerous because of what are termed "problem children"
But it does not mean that Charter Schools are any better for education, just less costly and more favorable to the owners.
1
how is a pollitically correct syllabus a cost? how do you define that?
Also, please not that when you have a teachers union, there is better teacher pay, and more money in the local economy, which is a net plus.
Also, hedgefund managers are administration, evidenced by the amount of time detailed in article when wrangling about funding. that sound bloated to me...
Also, please not that when you have a teachers union, there is better teacher pay, and more money in the local economy, which is a net plus.
Also, hedgefund managers are administration, evidenced by the amount of time detailed in article when wrangling about funding. that sound bloated to me...
Charter schools is doing to public schools what Walmart did to the economy.
Deplorable.
Deplorable.
11
Free markets have their place. However, a child's education, or a person's health for that matter, should not be a constant (or a variable) in the equation of some company trying to make a profit. Money is a tool. It should be used to increase people's health and education; not the other way around.
7
There is a terrific (and maddening) report in the This American Life podcast.
Betsy DeVos accused the teachers unions of caring about a system instead of individual children. Yeah. it's true: They care about the children so they want the system to be better for all the individual children. DeVos cares about the corporations.
It made my blood boil !
Betsy DeVos accused the teachers unions of caring about a system instead of individual children. Yeah. it's true: They care about the children so they want the system to be better for all the individual children. DeVos cares about the corporations.
It made my blood boil !
6
OK. Give this an adult break.
You know as well as I the main goal of private industry, any private company, is to make more profit to be distributed to their CEO's ,Board Members and stockholders. Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad .
You- you employees at any length of service or value to the company, do not get any distribution of any part of the profits you made for the company because it doesn't enrich us and you have no power, individually to demand it. Simple.
You have given u more of your money and taken home less every year for decades. while producing record profits every quarter, and letting us steel them from you. Nobody to blame...
And now when you object to a more "fair distribution", we cry like thieves being required to return your purses..
How un-Amerincain, unpatriotic, to demand your own money back
You know as well as I the main goal of private industry, any private company, is to make more profit to be distributed to their CEO's ,Board Members and stockholders. Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad .
You- you employees at any length of service or value to the company, do not get any distribution of any part of the profits you made for the company because it doesn't enrich us and you have no power, individually to demand it. Simple.
You have given u more of your money and taken home less every year for decades. while producing record profits every quarter, and letting us steel them from you. Nobody to blame...
And now when you object to a more "fair distribution", we cry like thieves being required to return your purses..
How un-Amerincain, unpatriotic, to demand your own money back
1
For-profit charters will never produce successful schools on a large scale because children aren't widgets. One size can't fit all. Successful schools are ones that are locally controlled and funded (with some over-arching mechanism to fund lesser advantaged districts). Michigan public schools are failing because of the funding mechanism known as Prop A, legislation passed in the early 1990s. The article contends that it allowed local districts to continue local funding. This is inaccurate. Districts were no longer allowed to raise money for curricular purposes, including teacher salaries, but only for infrastructure. Even the best public school districts were unable to maintain excellence with state funding that failed to keep pace with inflation and no mechanism to raise revenue. And that is how Michigan began its slide from one of the best public education states to the bottom tier. Any references to the continued greatness of affluent Michigan districts is ignoring the smoke and mirrors those districts are using to maintain appearances. As for the bottom districts in the state, Detroit, Pontiac, Flint -- the current public funding mechanism won't allow them to improve significantly. And no for-profit educational business will ever be able to "afford" to fix it.
9
the problem of funding locally is that richer areas will always get more, exacerbating inequiality - much better to have a unified funding mecanism.
Some things should never be privatized - schools, police, fire fighting, defense, social security. In each instance, one puts the fate of these institutions in the hands of people who only see the bottom line v. the so-called inept government. The big problem with he government, of course, are the unions and race quota hiring policies. The big problem with the "bottom line" people is that the service is less important than making money. And these are basic government services, which should not be sacrificed to make a few people wealthy.
6
the BIG problem with governement is racequotas? really? you cant compete on your merit, and need your white privilege to push you over the bar?
And how dare people band together to fight for their future in unions! why banding together to get a better deal for yourself and yours is nothing short of treason! Never would the founding fathers have banded together to fight for what they beleived in! NEVER!
And how dare people band together to fight for their future in unions! why banding together to get a better deal for yourself and yours is nothing short of treason! Never would the founding fathers have banded together to fight for what they beleived in! NEVER!
Privatizing schools is like privatizing prisions. They are turned into profit centers and the incentives are perverse.
12
When education is offered up by profit-oriented entities, profit is the primary goal. So whether it is education, food, housing, or public safety, it does not matter: profit is the focus.
It is not complicated at all.
It is not complicated at all.
6
'School Choice' is the brainchild of the late economist Milton Friedman. Friedman also advocated for 'Shareholder Primacy' - saying the responsibility of business is first to shareholders - held above customers, employees and society http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/the-crisis-of-shareholder-primacy
One of the gods of Libertarians, Friedman's legacy includes both the degradation of our once great public school system and our extreme wealth inequality.
One of the gods of Libertarians, Friedman's legacy includes both the degradation of our once great public school system and our extreme wealth inequality.
7
Forget charter schools.
Provide a public education option for early, voluntary, summertime enrollment for Pre-k students across the nation geared towards poorer communities.
Provide a public education option for early, voluntary, summertime enrollment for Pre-k students across the nation geared towards poorer communities.
Education is a long-term investment in future generations - taking 12-20 years to accomplish.
To corporate America, 'long-term' means the three months between quarterly earnings reports.
To expect the latter to be able to support the former is delusional.
To corporate America, 'long-term' means the three months between quarterly earnings reports.
To expect the latter to be able to support the former is delusional.
4
Mark does a thorough job of laying out some of the challenges faced by an unregulated charter school system. The issue is not charter or public: the issue is good for students or not. Accountability such as the DEC Geof Hansen proposed is critical. It's also paramount to use the same accountability standards for both private and public schools.
Rather than villainize teachers, we need to effect some oversight that begins to rebuild Michigans schools. It's not just Detroit. Where ever a student fails to get a good education, the failure is on us.
Rather than villainize teachers, we need to effect some oversight that begins to rebuild Michigans schools. It's not just Detroit. Where ever a student fails to get a good education, the failure is on us.
3
We largely have and education system built for family structures that exist at decreasing levels and for economic structures that no longer exist at all. School hours bear no correlation to most people's work hours. The school year is still based on summers off to work on the farm, when a very small percentage of the population works on a farm. We have assembly line education when creativity and collaboration are the truly necessary skills. The problem is far larger than just charter schools, and gets to the question of whether we want a decent nation in the future or whether we want to reinforce and reproduce the inequalities of the past and present. I believe that just about all parents want what is best for their children. However, the current structure is set up primarily to deliver the best to that small and shrinking subset of families who have two parents, one of whom can afford to not work or work part time, who have extended family nearby to pick up the slack, and who can speak the professional language of education. It needs to functionally partner with all sorts of families to have an educated and functional nation going forward.
6
I was reading about an old Sowell article about Blacks in DC post-emancipation. He cited a missive from an early school leader that demanded that students be sent to school ready to learn with respect for teachers. If this couldn't be maintained then there was no place for these students at the school. Eviently this message was heeded as over the years before Brown vs Board black schools in DC were pretty good often regularly sending graduates to elite schools during a time where affirmative action didn't exist.
Both sides of the school debate are simply not dealing with reality. Very little of what occurs at school leads to good outcomes. It's what happens outside school.
Both sides of the school debate are simply not dealing with reality. Very little of what occurs at school leads to good outcomes. It's what happens outside school.
5
The excitement over "experimentation" and "innovation" boggles and is totally paradoxical and circular. This woman seems to think that charter schools are the bees' knees because she was able to get art classes reinstated, and bring in teacher's assistants, counselors and highly-trained specialists, without red tape. Tell me: is it "innovative" to just bring back the things that work to educate kids, but were cut from public schools because state-house Republicans decided in the early-oughts they were a waste of money and that we should, instead, make deals with testing companies and force overburdened, underpaid teachers to do test-teaching all the time? The "innovation" then was to test children into oblivion and cutting all the "pointless" humanities classes. Now it turns out art does make kids better learners. So, in 2017, bringing back humanities classes is "innovation."
Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy in this country.
Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy in this country.
103
This is nothing more than a hit piece on Betsy DeVos and fails to address the underlying issues in the districts these schools operate in. Fake news.
11
Whatever underlying issues are it is clear that charters could not solve them. Question is why DeVos is keeping pushing them. It's time to look for other solutions. What other ideas beside charters does DeVos have? How does she propose to fix the eduction problems, considering failure of charter schools?
1
Not really. There are plenty of districts where the students in public schools perform vastly better than the charters; for example, in my district, one of the well regarded charters has averaged SAT scores several hundred points below the average public school scores. There have also been several other charters involved in financial investigations that uncovered fraud and corruption.
2
Which part is fake news? The part about some communities having grave difficulties with poverty, drugs, and crime where, as a result, the children are struggling educationally or, the part where charter schools often don't have a magic bullet to do any better than public schools or, the part where nobody really wants to spend enough to fix the problem?
6
What an article! Treating schools and kids as "profit centers" while depriving them of the necessities (well paid teachers with good resumes and motivation) to excel paints a harrowing scene.
From this article, I gained an understanding of a basic truth: for every public school scandal involving bad administration or insufficient funds to teach kids adequately, there's three horror stories attributed to charter schools.
Profiting off the dollars associated with kids in a state with too many EMOs competing for a limited number of students is more than Darwinian--because it involves the futures of children who will either break the cycle of dependency or contribute further to it.
Is there anything people like Betsy deVos won't do to get her hands on public funds so she can make a buck? The fact she or her family never even attended a charter school makes me suspect her cause is all about power and money.
It must be fun to profit off the misery of people your own kids don't have to associate with, and use your religion to justify it.
From this article, I gained an understanding of a basic truth: for every public school scandal involving bad administration or insufficient funds to teach kids adequately, there's three horror stories attributed to charter schools.
Profiting off the dollars associated with kids in a state with too many EMOs competing for a limited number of students is more than Darwinian--because it involves the futures of children who will either break the cycle of dependency or contribute further to it.
Is there anything people like Betsy deVos won't do to get her hands on public funds so she can make a buck? The fact she or her family never even attended a charter school makes me suspect her cause is all about power and money.
It must be fun to profit off the misery of people your own kids don't have to associate with, and use your religion to justify it.
31
don't forget: one of the major forces behind the private charter school push is satisfaction of a longstanding Republican goal - to undermine and eliminate teachers' unions. this is both an economic and a political motive.
kids? who cares about kids, except as TV networks care about viewers: a product to be sold to the market by the thousand count.
this is really disgusting. why don't we just boil the kiddies up, wrap them in brightly colored wrappers, and sell them as food?
kids? who cares about kids, except as TV networks care about viewers: a product to be sold to the market by the thousand count.
this is really disgusting. why don't we just boil the kiddies up, wrap them in brightly colored wrappers, and sell them as food?
3
I have used one adjective in each comment I have written since this administration and its motley crew of ideologues, money grubbing thugs have taken office. Morally corrupt, self serving creeps, democracy killing do nothing's, Russian oligarch wanna be group, supremacists( they actually believe they are better than everyone) . One word handles all of them Shame. Shame on all , shame on GOP? Congress , administration will go down as worse in history. Knew better, but did worse. Shame.
41
Nicely said! Don't forget to include their "bogus Christian" status too.....it's time they stopped prancing around claiming they are Big Christians and how they alone are doing God's work. How ego driven can one be? Some would call it insane to think you speak directly to God....many people have actually be institutionalized for saying so.
Part of the Jeb Bush legacy (along with mentoring Rubio and run amok NRA insanity). In Florida, and I suspect most places, all one needed for certification is an office space lease and rube with an M.Ed- Administration.
19
Everywhere Conservatives and Republicans get a free hand, the end result is devastation. Check Kansas, Wisconsin and the South.
60
There's a serious teacher shortage here in Michigan. The Republican party, Betsy DeVos and the Mackinac Center have done a thorough job demonizing teachers as lazy overpaid public leeches. Nobody wants to teach here. Who could blame them? During elections, the DeVos's and Koch's goet these local yokels running for office to take a pledge in essence to destroy public schools in exchange for cash. It's obscene what's happening to education here.
34
There are plenty of people who want to teach in Michigan, I am one of them. I cannot afford to live on a starting teacher salary as I do not have a parent's basement to live in rent free. I also cannot afford the nearly $100,000 cut in pay. It has been my plan to retire from my day job in 5 years and teach. However, I have found that schools, not just those in Michigan, but all over do not want to hire experts in their field. Schools are also not interested in hiring people over 50, nobody is for that matter. I have also taught in universities and for businesses. The current pedagogy is failing to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to get a job and keep it. I also care more about what I am teaching and how my students are absorbing/learning what is being taught than the pedagogy because that must change from student to student. Schools care more about how information is taught, instead of how much is being internalized and retained by students. When my pay depends upon student and their employer's satisfaction along with certification achievement rates, I take great care to see people internalize what I teach and I teach material that will lead to better job performance.
My best teachers were industry retirees and old-school instructors who refused to teach "new math" and use faddish teaching methods. It also scared me to see a billboard outside of Grand Rapids advertising for online teacher certification courses.
My best teachers were industry retirees and old-school instructors who refused to teach "new math" and use faddish teaching methods. It also scared me to see a billboard outside of Grand Rapids advertising for online teacher certification courses.
I'm a little confused about the math being used in this article.
The article states "The Academy of Warren was operated by a large, for-profit E.M.O. called CS Partners. Of the Academy’s 646 students, 99 percent qualified for free or reduced breakfast and lunch; it had fallen into the bottom fifth percentile in 2014-15, but notched back up to the bottom sixth percentile last year."
How is being in the bottom sixth percentile (lowest 16.6%) a step up from being in the bottom fifth percentile (lowest 20%)? Did the author mean that the school had improved to the fourth quintile (21-40%)?
The article states "The Academy of Warren was operated by a large, for-profit E.M.O. called CS Partners. Of the Academy’s 646 students, 99 percent qualified for free or reduced breakfast and lunch; it had fallen into the bottom fifth percentile in 2014-15, but notched back up to the bottom sixth percentile last year."
How is being in the bottom sixth percentile (lowest 16.6%) a step up from being in the bottom fifth percentile (lowest 20%)? Did the author mean that the school had improved to the fourth quintile (21-40%)?
6
Charter schools will never be particularly successful because their owners are more interested in the money they can scam, at the expense of children. Down with Charter schools! UP with quality public education for every child! Ask Denmark, Finland, Norway, etc, HOW they succeed. Get some quality advice, and turn your backs on corrupt Betsy DeVos and her nasty family.
35
The 3 countries you list pay decidedly more taxes than we do in the States. They do this gladly, as the education and public services provided by the government make for richer more secure lives than we have here in the U.S. We are seeing everywhere that services, once considered a given, have been replaced with "fee for service" costing more than our collective taxes once covered. Greed is the guiding principle of modern American governance.
2
You might have missed the part of the article that said only 16% of charters nationwide are for profit.
1
I'm with you: charter schools as described are a miserable scam and worse than criminal.
I've been told, however, by those who should know (teachers),that in some districts, such as here in LA, there are actually two types of charter schools. I calls them as I sees them, to whit:
type A charters are still part of the local school district and their teachers are still professional district teachers, represented by the union and vetted in the conventional way and paid at the regular rate. these schools have a lot of choice in curriculum and facilities management compared the regular public schools.
type B charters are independent of district control; they are like private schools, except they have hoodwinked the district into providing the school buildings and overhead costs. their teachers are non union, possibly not actually even credentialed, and work longer hours for much less lay than district teachers, all at the whim and mercy of their private employers. consequently, few have any experience or any reason to stay on the job long enough to gain any; they're dewey eyed newbies and they're taken advantage of. these schools still get the per pupil state subsidy...or you could say, pilfer the subsidies for their student from the budget of the school district like leeches.
I've been told, however, by those who should know (teachers),that in some districts, such as here in LA, there are actually two types of charter schools. I calls them as I sees them, to whit:
type A charters are still part of the local school district and their teachers are still professional district teachers, represented by the union and vetted in the conventional way and paid at the regular rate. these schools have a lot of choice in curriculum and facilities management compared the regular public schools.
type B charters are independent of district control; they are like private schools, except they have hoodwinked the district into providing the school buildings and overhead costs. their teachers are non union, possibly not actually even credentialed, and work longer hours for much less lay than district teachers, all at the whim and mercy of their private employers. consequently, few have any experience or any reason to stay on the job long enough to gain any; they're dewey eyed newbies and they're taken advantage of. these schools still get the per pupil state subsidy...or you could say, pilfer the subsidies for their student from the budget of the school district like leeches.
2
The seductive promise of charter schools has wasted an entire generation with their failure to educate children from disadvantaged communities. That time could have been spent addressing the issues of public schools while keeping communities together. But maybe that's the whole point of charter schools -- fragmenting neighborhoods of color so they can't organize and press for accountability. Divide and conquer by using that slick word, "choice".
24
In a free society, failure must be an option. Whether the schools are good or bad, they are a reflection of local priorities, culture and values. Families that place a high value on education vote with their feet; picking up and moving, even if they have to move to other states to find better educational opportunities. Individual families can solve this issue on their own. Move.
4
"Whether the schools are good or bad, they are a reflection of local priorities, culture and values."
You left out the most important one: tax base.
Not every family has the financial wherewithal to move to a good school district. We might as well blame the children for choosing the wrong parents.
You left out the most important one: tax base.
Not every family has the financial wherewithal to move to a good school district. We might as well blame the children for choosing the wrong parents.
3
When is walking away ever a solution? That is why we're in this mess. ...as if everyone can just pull up - what is that like, living in a bubble?
Republicans, in conjunction with private business have wanted our education tax dollars for 30+ years. Not because they think they can do a better job but because of greed, bottom line greed.
Republicans, in conjunction with private business have wanted our education tax dollars for 30+ years. Not because they think they can do a better job but because of greed, bottom line greed.
1
You mean families who value education AND HAVE THE MONEY TO MOVE TO GOOD SCHOOL DISTRICTS can vote with their feet. Kinda like Mitt saying young people can borrow money from their parents to start a business.
4
The term "free-market" is a bogus term for what charter schools and how they operate, as we've seen on NYC over the last 10 years or so. Backroom deals (between the likes of Eva Moskowitz and Joel Klein) for space and resources in public schools (built and paid for by public monies and often competing with public schools operating in the SAME space), lack of public disclosure on procedures and "results", and of course the all-too-osual windfall profits for the "CEOs" of these businesses! (To wit, the $1 million a year Moskowitz nets, more than the total of 5-8 NYC public school principals combined!)
18
Is there any corner of America left that is not dictated by profit and greed. We truly have become a banana republic.
27
I went to public and Catholic schools growing up, and spent the majority of my career teaching in a traditional public school system. Then I taught in Thailand. When I returned to Detroit, I taught in two charter schools (both shut down), and became the Director of two more – at the same time, to save the schools’ money. The management companies and authorizers mentioned in this story are quite familiar to me. I could fill pages with horror stories.
The State of Michigan has been in decline for decades. Why?
The fundamental reason is not that complicated. Some intelligent people set up a system to change children directly into money. Think about it. Not children into citizens, or well-rounded adults, or any number of flowery statements typically found in a school’s mission statement. Children into money - a mouth breather in a chair on count day = success!!!
Sure, there are other reasons why charter schools in Michigan are dysfunctional: No elected school board, lack of certified teachers (the permanent sub. scam), conflicted authorizers, etc...
There are a handful of good charter schools in the Detroit area, but for-profit public education - the concept makes me ill.
The State of Michigan has been in decline for decades. Why?
The fundamental reason is not that complicated. Some intelligent people set up a system to change children directly into money. Think about it. Not children into citizens, or well-rounded adults, or any number of flowery statements typically found in a school’s mission statement. Children into money - a mouth breather in a chair on count day = success!!!
Sure, there are other reasons why charter schools in Michigan are dysfunctional: No elected school board, lack of certified teachers (the permanent sub. scam), conflicted authorizers, etc...
There are a handful of good charter schools in the Detroit area, but for-profit public education - the concept makes me ill.
37
It appears that the job held by Ms. De Vos is much bigger than her abilities and our expectations. One would think that Donald Trump is so weak in so many areas that he could at least get the education problem right. But then, it was probably Obama's fault...........
8
I can't imagine why anyone would wish to opt out of an "inner-city" public school, they seem to be purveyors of excellence.
A real test would be to test a graduating student's academic proficiency and simultaneously test the parent (or both, if available) of the student.
I feel quite certain that the "urban" student's academic achievement will be higher than the parent's, whether public or private.
As to this article, I'm not sure what point it is attempting to make. In fact, it seems that the Charter schools, on average, are doing as poorly or better than their public school equivalents.
Also, this article should have looked at schools based on race and ethnicity. I know someone who teaches at an urban Michigan public school and it sounds like a nightmare.
A real test would be to test a graduating student's academic proficiency and simultaneously test the parent (or both, if available) of the student.
I feel quite certain that the "urban" student's academic achievement will be higher than the parent's, whether public or private.
As to this article, I'm not sure what point it is attempting to make. In fact, it seems that the Charter schools, on average, are doing as poorly or better than their public school equivalents.
Also, this article should have looked at schools based on race and ethnicity. I know someone who teaches at an urban Michigan public school and it sounds like a nightmare.
3
The popularity of private and "Christian" schools showed a dramatic upswing in the wake of the Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas in 1954. A coincidence? I don't think so.
It's also no coincidence that the privatization movement's strongest supporters still come from the religious right.
It's also no coincidence that the privatization movement's strongest supporters still come from the religious right.
13
Teachers and schools can only be responsible for so much. Parents have the biggest influence in a kid's life. If the parents don't value education, no matter how good the school or teachers are, their kid is not going to do well in school. Add on top of this kids from families with 1 or 0 parents at home, where learning is never considered a priority, who can't get a proper meal because their parents/guardians don't have enough money, etc. and we end up with what we have. We can't keep putting all the blame on teachers and schools--parents and the culture in which these kids grow up in are a big part of the problem.
9
The playbook is entirely predictable.
1. Criticize, relentlessly, using 'Perfection' as the unreasonable standard.
2. Unrealistically promise the world.
3. 'Invest' in politicians. Deceive the gullible.
4. Invoke the 'magic of the market'.
5. Target the poor.
6. Highlight successes, hide failures.
7. Run a way with a bundle of money, leaving a trail of destruction in your wake.
In every facet of modern American life, we see the undermining of our social fabric for greed.... Sad....
1. Criticize, relentlessly, using 'Perfection' as the unreasonable standard.
2. Unrealistically promise the world.
3. 'Invest' in politicians. Deceive the gullible.
4. Invoke the 'magic of the market'.
5. Target the poor.
6. Highlight successes, hide failures.
7. Run a way with a bundle of money, leaving a trail of destruction in your wake.
In every facet of modern American life, we see the undermining of our social fabric for greed.... Sad....
22
Betsy DeVos is the subject of a 'This American Life' segment on the radio. It aired last week. Everyone should listen to it. It explains that she believes kids should be helped INDIVIDUALLY, not as a group. She has taken a few kids under her wing. Great for those kids, but how is that going to help the education system? Unless she lives for many more decades and has enough energy and time to reach each of the thousands of kid in the nation, her ridiculous strategy won't work. It is loopy. And cruel, because it actually destroys dreams. End of story.
15
85% of charter schools in the state of Michigan are for-profit. Betsy and her posse have made sure that 'government schools' have been raped of meaningful funding, and that's just the way they like it. I grew up just a few miles from Highland Park, and I received a superlative education from my public schools. Now we have schools whose primary concern is starving the student intellectually while fattening the bottom line. The zealots who don't want their children to learn about science may like these choices, but most of the families who are losing here don't have a choice, and they continue to fall to the bottom of the opportunity heap.
18
In effect, this article presents a strong argument for locally-controlled public schools funded through property tax.
Local funding is associated with inequity, but nowhere near the inequity we see in the Michigan system.
Local funding is associated with inequity, but nowhere near the inequity we see in the Michigan system.
11
When will the U.S. finally wake up and move to more successful models of Education such as the Nordic countries? I realize a one size fits all approach may not necessarily work in every case, but we can in part take some lessons for these places. The U.S. isn't a society that for the most part values education. The wealthy in the U.S. value it and pay to keep its golden gates open to their children. The rest of the country is still trying to produce good little factory workers for an economy that doesn't exist anymore. Like any other good advice, follow the money. The things a society values is what it spends its money on. When big businesses and "education disruption" equates teachers to tablets, what do you really expect? Compensate teachers, support working families, end housing discrimination, and stop propping up sports as the main point of high schools. Just some thoughts.
22
I can't help but think of one past example when reading this story of experimentation on the poorest American children for profit or maybe just for whim: Tuskegee.
Some day there will be a reckoning with this unguided experimentation on poor black kids. Right now, as the writer notes, Michigan has been unwilling to ask for accountability (thanks, Betsy). Some day there will be accountability and those experimenting with people's lives will have a hard time defending this, I think. It's another Tuskegee, this time thrown open to profiteers as well as misguided "physicians" and education "researchers" blinded by their own desperation.
Some day there will be a reckoning with this unguided experimentation on poor black kids. Right now, as the writer notes, Michigan has been unwilling to ask for accountability (thanks, Betsy). Some day there will be accountability and those experimenting with people's lives will have a hard time defending this, I think. It's another Tuskegee, this time thrown open to profiteers as well as misguided "physicians" and education "researchers" blinded by their own desperation.
16
Public schools are still the right answer. They need to be standardized and funded at a state-wide level, not based on local zip code with monitoring and mentors for teachers. The ability to fire teachers when mentoring is not working is also necessary, but by an unbiased authority, not the local principal or school board. Paying taxes to fund private, charter schools is so wrong. Pay teachers more, not a profit-maximizing corporation.
28
Some important questions to figure the results out:
1. What is the pay differential btwn private school and public school teachers? I'll bet it is significant
2. Are staff qualifications the same in charter as in public, i.e. are they hiring anyone with a BA?
3. Since for profit is the goal, what is considered a reasonable margin? And does that take away from money spent on students?
4. What are the additional costs to families to attend private? If significant that in itself makes the charters less fair or attractive.
1. What is the pay differential btwn private school and public school teachers? I'll bet it is significant
2. Are staff qualifications the same in charter as in public, i.e. are they hiring anyone with a BA?
3. Since for profit is the goal, what is considered a reasonable margin? And does that take away from money spent on students?
4. What are the additional costs to families to attend private? If significant that in itself makes the charters less fair or attractive.
6
I practiced pediatrics in Detroit for 30 years. When I heard that a patient was attending school at some "academy" or other, I almost automatically assumed that the school was for-profit institution at best, and a fly-by-night scam at worst.
24
the best investment a country can make is in educating its children, develop their talents, so to reap the benefits of their imagination and creativity, and entrepreneurship. And a well funded public education is of the essence. If charter schools are competing for funds, as it seems the case in Devos's myopic vision, untold waste of minds may be the result, and translated in lost opportunities (financial, technological, cultural, and otherwise). She claims the virtues of competition. However, just look at one of the best educational systems in the world, Finland, where the spirit of cooperation, coupled with excellent and dedicated teachers, whose aim is that students excel their own abilities and knowledge...in due time. The United States continues to live under the illusion of being exceptional, but that may be in mediocrity rather than the opening of minds of our precious youth to rational thought, a product of been taught to think for themselves...and act in consequence. If any doubts remain, just look at the brutus ignoramus we have as president, a shameful example of a misguided education.
8
Surely, no one's surprised that a school system in a republican run state has failed. Education of children is not much of a goal let alone a priority for conservatives.
4
From what I have read here and other places, Charter Schools, if used in moderation and with governmental education oversight, can address difficult problems of de facto segregation and advanced special education for gifted students in particular. However, as this article suggests, if you leave public education to private money making organizations, allow unregulated chartering which generates fees for the chartering institution and provide no state or other governmental oversight, the result is catastrophic for public education and is destined to reduce America's ability to compete in the world, and deservedly so. This is part of the troubling times we find ourselves in today as American, where thinkers who are so instinctively against progressive thought have taken control and determined to take America back to a comfortable time they imagine in their heads that never existed, and in the process, are willing to destroy all of the Progress the United States has championed for decades.
6
Our various models of public education have evolved over the past century.
The neo-liberal warriors noted here confused this system with an opposing ideology, rather than a set of historical accommodations to various claimants (students, taxpayers, teachers unions, industry, etc.). When you see a system as representing an opposing ideology, it is much more likely that you can politicize it and replace it with your own ideological system. One thing that history has proven over and over again is that practical democratic accommodation in our social systems are rarely ideal, but they are much less likely to be catastrophic than the impractical and untested ideologies that replace them in political haste.
The neo-liberal warriors noted here confused this system with an opposing ideology, rather than a set of historical accommodations to various claimants (students, taxpayers, teachers unions, industry, etc.). When you see a system as representing an opposing ideology, it is much more likely that you can politicize it and replace it with your own ideological system. One thing that history has proven over and over again is that practical democratic accommodation in our social systems are rarely ideal, but they are much less likely to be catastrophic than the impractical and untested ideologies that replace them in political haste.
1
Ben Franklin said it best "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest". This idea of education for profit is madness. The children should be able to access a good education no matter where they live. If the public system is not working it should be fixed for the benefit of all. Putting schools at the mercy of hedge funds, of all things, is madness writ large.
13
I'm not really surprised by the outcomes of total school choice, after all, the ultimate goal of programs like the ones in Michigan is to completely defund public education.
Look what is now occurring in Arizona. A new program began just this fall that gives the per student funding allotment from the state directly to the parents. The parents can then use these funds to educate their children however they choose, public school, private school, charter school, homeschooling, etc. Once again, who benefits the most from this model?
We are headed back to a time when educating your children is solely your responsibility. No more free, quality education for all.
Look what is now occurring in Arizona. A new program began just this fall that gives the per student funding allotment from the state directly to the parents. The parents can then use these funds to educate their children however they choose, public school, private school, charter school, homeschooling, etc. Once again, who benefits the most from this model?
We are headed back to a time when educating your children is solely your responsibility. No more free, quality education for all.
23
What I wouldn't give to have the state give me the money to educate my own kids. When our public school dropped the ball on my kids education my wife picked it up. She has no education degree but with her hard work my kids test in the 95th percentile of kids in the nation. I'd love to put my tax money in my wife's pocket. She deserves it! And what about the kids in the inner city whose parents want a better education to help give them a better life than they had? When I was a kid my mom went back to work and we moved to the suburbs. I had a good education, but most inner city kids who don't have two loving parents working hard can still have the choice of a better school district here in Michigan. I hope you can see that different education experiences are needed for different kids to succeed.
3
Believe me, I understand the desire to applaud this effort to turn the money over to the parents. I homeschool our kids! But I would never take money from the state to subsidize our choice, because I think it's wrong.
Currently in AZ, if your child attends a failing school, you can get a voucher to send your kid to another public school or charter (charters here are overseen by the AZ Department of Education). Parents have to get their kids to the new school. Same applies to kids who are receiving special education, but the old school district has to provide and pay for transportation.
What bothers me about this new program is that state funded money is now being used to pay for private school and homeschooling. Private schools and homeschool parents are not required to submit any kind of testing or assessment to the state ever. And in the case of private schools, they get to pick and choose who to admit. Who does that leave behind at the public schools? Special education students (who can require a lot of extra money), kids with behavior problems, and kids whose parents can't get them to a different school. And now these schools have to do a lot more with a lot less. It's just not right.
Currently in AZ, if your child attends a failing school, you can get a voucher to send your kid to another public school or charter (charters here are overseen by the AZ Department of Education). Parents have to get their kids to the new school. Same applies to kids who are receiving special education, but the old school district has to provide and pay for transportation.
What bothers me about this new program is that state funded money is now being used to pay for private school and homeschooling. Private schools and homeschool parents are not required to submit any kind of testing or assessment to the state ever. And in the case of private schools, they get to pick and choose who to admit. Who does that leave behind at the public schools? Special education students (who can require a lot of extra money), kids with behavior problems, and kids whose parents can't get them to a different school. And now these schools have to do a lot more with a lot less. It's just not right.
4
In New York City, the head of Success Academy Schools, Eve Moskowitz, earns more than the public school Chancellor. Success Academy gets contributions from financiers as well, while they siphon off tax payer dollars to fund those schools.
This movement is designed to tap public education money, previously out of reach, for private gain.
If Betsy DeVos has her way, wealthy parents will even be able to use public education funds to help defray the costs of their children's private school tuition. Donald Trump would be able to do this for Barron!
This movement is designed to tap public education money, previously out of reach, for private gain.
If Betsy DeVos has her way, wealthy parents will even be able to use public education funds to help defray the costs of their children's private school tuition. Donald Trump would be able to do this for Barron!
24
Obviously, Binelli is anti-charter. But let's be clear. Here's his own description of the public school system BEFORE charters came into the picture - "Plummeting enrollment, legacy costs and financial mismanagement had left the school system with a projected deficit of $10 million."
But if we want to generalize, it's worth asking why MI appears to be an anomaly. Last week, the state of NY released state math and reading scores. Despite being overwhelmingly poor and minority, Harlem's District 5 jumped 12 spots in the city's 56 districts. Even if you exclude charters, scores increased suggesting that charters improve overall performance - even those who attend district schools competing with charters.
But MI is certainly an exception. Here's a summary of why -
1. Resistance to charters - Like any new organization, charters need funding just to get off the ground. This often comes from charitable organizations like the Education Achievement Authority. But, it "drew strong opposition from teachers unions and community members who saw it as a power grab by Gov. Rick Snyder."
2. Money - Though it's easy to setup a charter in MI, the funding is low - only $7,500/student. There are over 30,000 empty seats.
3. Lack of Top Schools - As a result of the resistance and lack of money, you don't see schools that have worked elsewhere - e.g. KIPP, Success, etc.
So MI has not worked. But overall, charters have given poor and minority families a real chance.
But if we want to generalize, it's worth asking why MI appears to be an anomaly. Last week, the state of NY released state math and reading scores. Despite being overwhelmingly poor and minority, Harlem's District 5 jumped 12 spots in the city's 56 districts. Even if you exclude charters, scores increased suggesting that charters improve overall performance - even those who attend district schools competing with charters.
But MI is certainly an exception. Here's a summary of why -
1. Resistance to charters - Like any new organization, charters need funding just to get off the ground. This often comes from charitable organizations like the Education Achievement Authority. But, it "drew strong opposition from teachers unions and community members who saw it as a power grab by Gov. Rick Snyder."
2. Money - Though it's easy to setup a charter in MI, the funding is low - only $7,500/student. There are over 30,000 empty seats.
3. Lack of Top Schools - As a result of the resistance and lack of money, you don't see schools that have worked elsewhere - e.g. KIPP, Success, etc.
So MI has not worked. But overall, charters have given poor and minority families a real chance.
5
It is faulty logic to claim that the presence of charter schools in the district is what accounts for the rise in test scores in public schools. Doing so discounts all the other variables working on the district and on the city as a whole. Obviously you are pro-profit driven charter schools.
7
Crony capitalism is an economy in which businesses thrive not as a result of risk taken for them, but rather, as a return on money amassed through a nexus between a business class and the political class. - wikipedia.com -
10
I live at the center of the Charter school experiment in NW Indiana. Gary Indiana shuttered many of its charter schools thinking they were the solution -- they were the answer.
It didn't take long before people started realizing that not only were these for-profit-institutions not up to the challenge but were worse in many ways. The charter school industry isn't just a jab at collecting tax dollars, but a way to shutter unions and lower professional pay in the field. It's working, however, the students are paying for it.
It didn't take long before people started realizing that not only were these for-profit-institutions not up to the challenge but were worse in many ways. The charter school industry isn't just a jab at collecting tax dollars, but a way to shutter unions and lower professional pay in the field. It's working, however, the students are paying for it.
18
Teacher unions in Michigan were for many years powerful contributors to the Democratic Party and it's candidates, so the Republicans effectively pummeled them into irrelevancy. Charter schools were one way of doing it. As this excellent article points out, Republicans DeVos and Engler were instrumental in the effort. Thanks to big John Engler (who balanced his budget each year by not maintaining Michigan's roads), now, each day, parents get to drive their kids many miles over decomposing roads and bridges to drop them off at failing schools.
I see new charter schools popping up everywhere I drive here in Michigan. Unlike the pictures in the article, these new schools are impressive modern (and large!) buildings. Undoubtedly there is much profit to be made.
I see new charter schools popping up everywhere I drive here in Michigan. Unlike the pictures in the article, these new schools are impressive modern (and large!) buildings. Undoubtedly there is much profit to be made.
17
The assault on public education started 20 years ago with Rush Limbaugh and his ilk. Do not give them more money, he said, the public schools are wasting it with liberal ideas and programs. He and his minions have been doing their best to transfer the federal education dollars to for profit charters and bogus for profit colleges which take the money and do not educate. Here in Utah, we called it the two to four week dump. The Charters took in the students, figured out who needed extra services and dumped them into the public schools, keeping the funding for the students at the Charter. Charters often do not test students for learning disabilities and offer no help when they occur. My daughter is paying a huge amount to a special Academy to get my youngest grandson the help he needs. He has been at the Charter since kindergarten. She is a Limbaugh devotee. It is costing he family a bundle.
18
The assault on public ed actually started THIRTY-FIVE yrs under Reagan w/the publication of "A Nation at Risk"-- a report debunked just a few yrs later by Sandia Labs under contract to Dept of Ed-- which then w/held the results for a decade until publ-ed-bashing & 'ed-reform' accountability> privatization movements were well underway.
1
All children in America deserve a quality education - since funding appears to be based on local neighborhood propoerty tax, it only seems right that federal dollars should shore up schools with less funding. No textbooks ... that's a shame.
7
Charter School: A mechanism for the transfer of public money into the hands of corporations and hedge funds. Education is way down the list of outcomes.
26
I worked in a popular charter school in Oregon the first two years of my career. The abuses left me traumatized, and the rate of pay (averaged out per time spent teaching and prepping) equaled $2.25 hr. I also had to buy nearly all classrooms equipment and materials out of my own pocket. But it was the abuse from admin with no recourse that would have had a unnerve lawyer 'on point' that ultimately forced me out of the profession. "THE BOX IS THERE FOR A REASON!" Just fund public schools already.
20
Zip code is destiny. Where we are born often defines our opportunities in life. Consider the advantages and disadvantages faced by the average child born and raised in poverty vs. born and raised in wealth. School failure, broken families, crime, substance use, mental health and physical health problems are all parts of the "tangle of pathology" as stated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The level of social problems rise as the level of poverty rises. The solutions to school failure are better parents, better neighborhoods, better family income and better funding. Charter schools are an experiment gone bad.
115
T, try to tell that to the inner-city parents who riot when their kids don't get vouchers. Be sure to be wearing a catcher's mask -- you'll need it.
1
Zip code is indeed destiny here in Michigan. The solution is organization of schools at the county level, aggressive integration in the middle and high school years, with the goal of reducing the percentage of children with emotional and learning problems stemming from family disturbances and generational poverty to 15 to 20 percent of a given classroom. Middle class values are contagious. Let's spread the children around where they are catching.
1
This is an excellent distillation.
And in some ways, a harbinger of the future of this country.
And in some ways, a harbinger of the future of this country.
The biggest problems in our educational system are the amount of rote learning (teaching to the test) and funding by districts.
People who live in rich area have schools with plenty of money and in poor areas they struggle. Once I went to a school in San Francisco that was an arts immersion school in a great neighborhood. Every subject was taught from an arts perspective and the kids and teachers were happy. The next day we went to a school in Hunter's Point and the principal said, "As long a they aren't fighting we don't care what they do." It was a zoo. We left after 5 minutes because we could accomplish nothing.
Rote learning is epidemic in our schools now and it's no surprise to me that students are turning off. I was at one of the nation's highest performing high schools in Silicon Valley. I was coaching 13 kids and not one of them had ever heard of Rembrandt. Only one had heard of Picasso. Those names aren't on standardized testing so they didn't have to know about them.
When I was in school we got 3 days to learn our concert and competition music. Now they get their Christmas music in August and play it 1000 times. It's all about the concert (the test) now, not about educating young musicians.
People who live in rich area have schools with plenty of money and in poor areas they struggle. Once I went to a school in San Francisco that was an arts immersion school in a great neighborhood. Every subject was taught from an arts perspective and the kids and teachers were happy. The next day we went to a school in Hunter's Point and the principal said, "As long a they aren't fighting we don't care what they do." It was a zoo. We left after 5 minutes because we could accomplish nothing.
Rote learning is epidemic in our schools now and it's no surprise to me that students are turning off. I was at one of the nation's highest performing high schools in Silicon Valley. I was coaching 13 kids and not one of them had ever heard of Rembrandt. Only one had heard of Picasso. Those names aren't on standardized testing so they didn't have to know about them.
When I was in school we got 3 days to learn our concert and competition music. Now they get their Christmas music in August and play it 1000 times. It's all about the concert (the test) now, not about educating young musicians.
5
In my opinion, the teachers, school administration and management do their best wherever you go in the US. Failing schools in Detroit and around the country correlate strongly with children in the school getting free meals, which is a result of poverty stemming from single parent families. It does not matter whether the school is managed by the public sector or private, if two parents are absent, there is very little a school district, social services, government or private agency can do to fix that. Where is the conversation fixing the responsibility where it belongs, on the parents.
63
Ah, the familiar refrain. Schools are bad, it's the parents' fault. Kids are fat, it's the parents' fault. Kids take drugs, it's the parents' fault. Always missing in that refrain, however, are specifics about how to fix the problem. So, do we mandate that parents do better? Punish parents if they separate? From where I sit, the solution is simple, though expensive. We need a strong public school system that benefits all, particularly the poor and minority students, with highly paid, highly qualified teachers, administrators and counselors. Can we afford it? Yes (we cannot afford not to pay for it). Will we commit to it? Don't hold your breath. We as a nation have to determine what our priorities are. If good opportunities for a select few are good enough, then be prepared to continue to have a society filled with poor, under-educated people who will live on public assistance, contribute little if anything, abuse drugs and each other, commit crimes, etc. We can do so much better.
16
Students who get free meals often come from families with two parents. There can be two parents in a household along with poverty. Those two parents can both work and still live in poverty.
14
Everybody makes choices in life. Getting a education and job is a choice. Getting married before having children is a choice. Only having children you can afford is a choice. If you have children in the hope that your boyfriend will stick with you, there is a price to pay for that. There are shortcuts to everything in life but sometimes the children will suffer from the shortcuts. Even two parent families get overwhelmed with all that it takes to bring up a child. No matter how qualified the teachers, counselors or administrators, they cannot make up for parenting that is lacking at home. Seems to me that we somehow feel that the poor are absolved from making good choices that the middle class has to make everyday. Make good choices in life, your children will turn out good, it is that simple. Don't blame government, charter schools, teachers unions, counselors etc. for your own failings.
3
I went to public schools in Michigan from 1955 - 1972. Michigan's school system was considered one of the best in the country. Now it's one of the worst. What happened? Could it be that treating everything like a business - schools, healthcare, government - is a recipe for disaster? Could it be that mission is more important than money?
93
This is what privatization brings, be it schools, prisons or the army. Billionaires such as Devos and Prince buy the legislators who authorize it, then skim the tax money that pays for it. Revolting hypocrites with no shame.
97
I see these siblings as openly un-American in their actions....I feel deeply disgusted by Betsey DeVoss & her blood covered mercenary brother Eric Prince. They represent the very sinister dark forces that have grown like a cancer in our country.
I still think that Charter Schools were created for two reasons, one to allow campaign contributors to make profit off of taxpayer funded enterprises and by reducing tax money going to "public schools", financial pressure could be created to break the "teachers unions".
Education was never a goal.......
Education was never a goal.......
65
I would like to remind everyone that it was Democrats, led by Very Special President, who paid off donors with massive expansion of charter "schools," Common Core and other obscene and unconstitutional endeavors into public education.
3
Correct. Democrats have been in bed w/Repubs since day1 on this travesty. [My] party is infested w/ neoliberals, they talk out of one side of their mouth to keep union leadership loyalty, but sign onto anti-public-good legislation w/the other to keep their robber-baron WallSt/ finance backers fat& happy. Obama has been the worst pres for public ed ever, but I voted for him twice (to vote against Romney & Trump). Clean-up reqd: publically-financed campaigns & egislation overriding Cit-United decision would be a start.
Let's not forget about John Engler and his efforts to dismantle public education in Michigan.
10
I thought that this article would, once again, cover the gasbag rhetoric of the ideologues.
Instead, I learned about the underbelly parasitism of loan sharks, adults becoming nothing but pimps in cutting their deals of 3% on every child, and zombie loans with an aim to eventually convert "schools" into "apartments".
Silly me. And here I thought "charter schools" were hotbeds of religious frevor, a la Betsy's "education".
Instead it is simply hedge fund hucksters and Libertarianism: In their Platform the Libertarians keep banks and the Dept of Defense - but education is 100% up to the parent, both to "do" and to pay for. No schools. You're on your own.
I guess this is the logical extension of "local standards". No oversight. No accountability. No one breathing over your shoulder. No one shutting you down even if you are a smiley-crook. Folk walking off with the bucks.....
The only hope this country has ever had was in an equal education for every citizen. Our Constitution never wanted equality on sex, never wanted it on race, has never demanded it on economics..... so education was our only hope. And, now, even that hope is gone.
How surprised am I that the new sham coming down the pike is "virtual schools"? Not a bit..... but, just remember, the same Republican folk bringing you these "virtual schools" are the same folk that killed Big Bird and said we don't need no stinkin' tv education for kids.
Wow. This article is stunning. I could weep.
I shall weep.
Instead, I learned about the underbelly parasitism of loan sharks, adults becoming nothing but pimps in cutting their deals of 3% on every child, and zombie loans with an aim to eventually convert "schools" into "apartments".
Silly me. And here I thought "charter schools" were hotbeds of religious frevor, a la Betsy's "education".
Instead it is simply hedge fund hucksters and Libertarianism: In their Platform the Libertarians keep banks and the Dept of Defense - but education is 100% up to the parent, both to "do" and to pay for. No schools. You're on your own.
I guess this is the logical extension of "local standards". No oversight. No accountability. No one breathing over your shoulder. No one shutting you down even if you are a smiley-crook. Folk walking off with the bucks.....
The only hope this country has ever had was in an equal education for every citizen. Our Constitution never wanted equality on sex, never wanted it on race, has never demanded it on economics..... so education was our only hope. And, now, even that hope is gone.
How surprised am I that the new sham coming down the pike is "virtual schools"? Not a bit..... but, just remember, the same Republican folk bringing you these "virtual schools" are the same folk that killed Big Bird and said we don't need no stinkin' tv education for kids.
Wow. This article is stunning. I could weep.
I shall weep.
90
Rosa, you are right on the mark here! Thank you for you respons!
2
It would be nice to see a map of how this carver "district" situates within Motown
2
"Charter school" is a dog whistle for those opposed to unions. Nothing less nothing more. Undermine education for private profit.
403
Wrong. Charter school staff can organize like anyone else.
3
"Profit?" As opposed to deeply-entrenched education unions -- who threaten to strike constantly, refuse to be held accountable, and refuse to let young people rise in the organization?
This is not a time for comedy. Detroit went bankrupt in 2012, with many others closely behind. This is a time for responsible adults, not political huffers/puffers.
This is not a time for comedy. Detroit went bankrupt in 2012, with many others closely behind. This is a time for responsible adults, not political huffers/puffers.
4
And often, 60% in Florida, to teach religious doctrine with public funds.
6
The charter vs public school is a simple issue. in charter schools the profit margin is the goal in order to prop the stock price. in public schools the education is the goal since teachers have no financial incentive other than maintaining their job by doing good work.
In NJ. all of the bottom teacher paid schools are charter schools (i stopped counting at 44). what kind of teacher are you going to get for 24K a year to work in poverty Trenton? young, no experience, probably not a masters degree. why stay? anyone with talent will leave for the burbs for more pay. charter schools dont care - since the teacher isnt a resource but a cost burden.
yet, those charter schools are not cheaper. they cost the same as the public school. where is the $ going? into the stock price and profit margin. say what you will about "greedy teachers" - they live in your neighborhood and shop in your malls and eat in your diners. how does a billion $ corp. help your neighborhood? so public money to teachers comes back through purchases, taxes. charter school profits get shifted to wall street, the hamptons, Napa.
it is all about incentives. private corporations dont care about your kids (look at textbook companies). public schools - owned by the town/city - with public school teachers - paid for by taxes by the town/city - do. they have to. the neighborhood is their employer. charter schools are employed by wall street investors and answerable to profit margins not to the public
In NJ. all of the bottom teacher paid schools are charter schools (i stopped counting at 44). what kind of teacher are you going to get for 24K a year to work in poverty Trenton? young, no experience, probably not a masters degree. why stay? anyone with talent will leave for the burbs for more pay. charter schools dont care - since the teacher isnt a resource but a cost burden.
yet, those charter schools are not cheaper. they cost the same as the public school. where is the $ going? into the stock price and profit margin. say what you will about "greedy teachers" - they live in your neighborhood and shop in your malls and eat in your diners. how does a billion $ corp. help your neighborhood? so public money to teachers comes back through purchases, taxes. charter school profits get shifted to wall street, the hamptons, Napa.
it is all about incentives. private corporations dont care about your kids (look at textbook companies). public schools - owned by the town/city - with public school teachers - paid for by taxes by the town/city - do. they have to. the neighborhood is their employer. charter schools are employed by wall street investors and answerable to profit margins not to the public
53
Thank you, Mark Binelli, for this extremely comprehensive and prize-worthy unveiling of the educational cesspool into which Michigan's poor and minority students have been thrown.
Shame on Donald Trump for his endorsement of this practice. Shame on Betsy DeVos and all the other greedy exploiters of a system that takes bright- eyed kids and almost certainly guarantees them a life of misery. Shame on all of those who say that caring poor and minority parents need only change their "culture" in order to make this hideous system work.
Shame on Donald Trump for his endorsement of this practice. Shame on Betsy DeVos and all the other greedy exploiters of a system that takes bright- eyed kids and almost certainly guarantees them a life of misery. Shame on all of those who say that caring poor and minority parents need only change their "culture" in order to make this hideous system work.
35
You think the education is bad in HP...try driving through it; the most ticketed happy uniformed officers you ever want to see. From there go to city hall and deal with the one municipal court that exists and feel the wrath of their judiciary where you pay now or pay more later.
3
Always skip to the last paragraph if you want the news. Charter schools are twice as bad in student achievement as public schools. That should have been the first line in the story. This story is dense with redundant, irrelevant economic indicator anecdotes. It prevents any but the most dedicated readers from learning the naked fact that Charter schools are bad for education. That is the result, and I argue the intention, of privatizing public schools: make people dumb enough and they will be easier to dominate by the 1%.
36
it seems to have worked. Who is our president? Who elected him?
3
Let's look at each of the criticisms of Carver and see who is really responsible. Charter schools doesn't mean no union rules about who does what. Who wasted money fixing the building wrong? Who is responsible for the leaky roof? For the embezzlement? The first is probably awful local contractors somebody was required to hire under some contract. The second is the criminal herself. Who is responsible for the crime around the school? Not the charter. The Times can actually research its complaints or it can write another silly "charters are just bad" screed. It would be nice to see some honest investigation instead. Unions created this mess in the schools, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the residents who didn't raise their own kids right and voted in corrupt politicians They made their own reality. Sixty years of Democratic policies, chosen by Detroit, made Detroit a dysfunctional mess and sped destruction of the nuclear family, all of which is really responsible for the state Detroit found itself in. Now Republicans have to clean up another Democrat created mess. Show some gratitude, might be the conclusion. Or, don't make your lives a mess.
6
Charters ARE bad, this is certainly not the only article reaching this same conclusion. This is the result of reduction of public funding, something republicans have been pushing for decades. You've only to look at real red districts, such as in Kansas, to know that your accusation towards democrats is patently ill-informed.
8
Thank you for this well-researched piece on charter schools and the DeVos tenure in Detroit. Depressing! Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face! This "lesson" on poor brown and black human subjects, in addition to chicanery, greed, and spectacular failure with other people's children, teaches us that ideology--that quasi-religious faith in "market forces" and the one-note demonization of teacher unions (the locus of female power in the U.S.-think about it) is no way to run America's public schools. Americans are actually paying twice, once to overseer capitalists and their boards expecting "a monetary return on investment" and again as tax payers to run the public schools that become the last resort for students with disabilities, ELL students, as well as some higher achieving students whose parents reject the over-promises of the charter operators. Unions are actually good! Charter school teachers mostly try to become public school teachers, because they want the protections of the profession (including freer speech), on-going training, and a halfway decent wage that rises with inflation. Charter operators want to pay a little bit better than McDonalds while working (young or inexperienced) teachers from sunup to sundown. Slave to slave, I guess is their thinking. Do you think the wealthier districts surrounding Detroit have any charter schools? Nope! If people want private school-religious or otherwise-they should pay for them.
11
Google.."charter school fraud"...and a massive dark cloud of financial and academic fraud cases will fill your screen. The charter school panorama has unfortunately attracted the zealous but incompetent, the seemingly pious but mostly greedy, the con men and some proficient and capable folks.
13
It's all about money !!!! Get money out of politics and things will change . Politicians will be acting in our best interests and not their wealthy donors . Override Citizens United or all is lost .
10
"Charters, she told me, had less bureaucracy, more freedom to experiment. At Carver, Brown had started an intervention program for at-risk students, brought a reading specialist on board, reinstated art classes."
This is the thing, isn't it.
DeVos and her free marketeering education pirates loaded down a once-cherished system of universal education with demands for evaluation, with their sick insistence on throwing God (their own personal, particular God) at students whenever they could, deep and pathological resentment of teachers, administrators, schools of education as lackeys of liberal government, and a bizarre belief that they could make themselves rich off the woes of children desperate for help and a decent education.
The proof is in the kid glove treatment these charlatans demand for their favored schools: limited testing, vast instructional flexibility to the point of negligence, and an ongoing campaign to impune anything to do with public education.
On the legislative front, the Right continues to defund, micromanage, and breed deep-seated mistrust of public schools, blaring nonsense about government control and liberal indoctrination; turning education into weak-tea trade school, discounting the value of education generally.
The results are plain to see and, perversely, become a further source of complaint. While the Right babbles on about illegal immigrants taking work from Real Americans, 6,000,000 jobs go begging for lack of properly educated candidates.
This is the thing, isn't it.
DeVos and her free marketeering education pirates loaded down a once-cherished system of universal education with demands for evaluation, with their sick insistence on throwing God (their own personal, particular God) at students whenever they could, deep and pathological resentment of teachers, administrators, schools of education as lackeys of liberal government, and a bizarre belief that they could make themselves rich off the woes of children desperate for help and a decent education.
The proof is in the kid glove treatment these charlatans demand for their favored schools: limited testing, vast instructional flexibility to the point of negligence, and an ongoing campaign to impune anything to do with public education.
On the legislative front, the Right continues to defund, micromanage, and breed deep-seated mistrust of public schools, blaring nonsense about government control and liberal indoctrination; turning education into weak-tea trade school, discounting the value of education generally.
The results are plain to see and, perversely, become a further source of complaint. While the Right babbles on about illegal immigrants taking work from Real Americans, 6,000,000 jobs go begging for lack of properly educated candidates.
17
The deVos family is only out to make money ... quality of experience means nothing to them. In this case, by raking in the dough without a twinge of conscience, on the backs of children, puts Betsy in the same league as her D.C. boss.
17
And her brother-in-law wants to privatize the war in Afghanistan. Does that sound like a good idea?
10
He's her brother, not BIL. Even scarier
1
For profit doesn't work in schools; it doesn't work in prisons; it doesn't work in health care.....at least not for students, inmates and the public, patients. Privatizing or profitizing government activities does a couple of things...it raises the costs of those services; it deminshes the quality of those services and it makes bags and bags of money for the people who own the corporations who are supposed to be providing those services.
By the way DeVose isn't religious unless of course you define religious as committed to the continued collection of $$$$$ at the public expense religious. He alleged devoutness is a smoke screen for her mean spirited cut throat capitalism. If she was really religious as she claims she wouldn't be in public life now would she?
By the way DeVose isn't religious unless of course you define religious as committed to the continued collection of $$$$$ at the public expense religious. He alleged devoutness is a smoke screen for her mean spirited cut throat capitalism. If she was really religious as she claims she wouldn't be in public life now would she?
16
Trump gave DeVos over $1B to market charter schools at the Dept of Education. He cut $100M of "waste" intended to market health insurance to the needy.
Priceless. Bigly.
Priceless. Bigly.
12
When you hear the words deregulation and privatization run for your lives.
364
Did you miss the part about State Senator Hansen's efforts to increase regulation and gain some measure of government oversight of the charter schools? It seems the politicians were prone to bribery by the Devos group. So, the moral of story is follow the money...it's more a story about corruption than a expose about the workings of a free market economy. True that a public good such as the delivery of education should involve some regulation. Perhaps Michigan charter schools would work better if the corruption was kept in check. Every state rep who accepted DeVos money should be voted out of office.
2
Only if you're a Democrat, where big government is supposed to control everything, including all aspects of your life. Much like it does in a communist country.
Charters and private schools are different. Most private schools have excellent track records.
Charter operators do not want to students to get vouchers because they know students would choose private schools and they (the charter operators) would lose out.
As a teacher in a huge urban district and as a parent, I'm here to tell you the public system in most large cities has been looted and damaged beyond repair. If we are going to allow tax dollars to fund charters, let's go ahead and give vouchers to students who live in the failing urban districts.
Charter operators do not want to students to get vouchers because they know students would choose private schools and they (the charter operators) would lose out.
As a teacher in a huge urban district and as a parent, I'm here to tell you the public system in most large cities has been looted and damaged beyond repair. If we are going to allow tax dollars to fund charters, let's go ahead and give vouchers to students who live in the failing urban districts.
5
I lived in Michigan during the rise of John Engler He was a mediocre intellect and largely inept socially. He fell in love with the money of Republican elites and fell for their anti-teacher union philosophy. They often called public schools--government schools.
In proposing and enabling charter schools they saw a way to undermine the unions and to make a buck at the same time. Educational outcomes were less important than some type of ideological purity.
Along with reform came lower property taxes and higher sales tax. It was a sop to richer districts so that poor districts would be bled and then ripe for charters. Excellence in education was less important than choice. And the choice came to mean choosing poor schools.
In proposing and enabling charter schools they saw a way to undermine the unions and to make a buck at the same time. Educational outcomes were less important than some type of ideological purity.
Along with reform came lower property taxes and higher sales tax. It was a sop to richer districts so that poor districts would be bled and then ripe for charters. Excellence in education was less important than choice. And the choice came to mean choosing poor schools.
21
When the NYT says "far more complicated" it means, "it is working but we do not want to admit it."
Our school system is broken. I rather doubt that teachers or teachers' unions are at fault. I also doubt that charter schools can be more than a bandaid, even when they work.
Perhaps the real problem is our tacit assumption is that education is the responsibility of the teachers and that the students need do nothing to learn.
As long as we allow unlimited TV watching and unlimited sexting, education is NOT going to improve. We need to bring back a party which needs to be part of the process of education and that party is the student.
Our school system is broken. I rather doubt that teachers or teachers' unions are at fault. I also doubt that charter schools can be more than a bandaid, even when they work.
Perhaps the real problem is our tacit assumption is that education is the responsibility of the teachers and that the students need do nothing to learn.
As long as we allow unlimited TV watching and unlimited sexting, education is NOT going to improve. We need to bring back a party which needs to be part of the process of education and that party is the student.
12
Although we believed in the promise of public schools, had attended public schools in our youth, my son attended Walker Heritage Academy (which I think is connected to the DeVos family) for kindergarten -- a choice my wife and I made when we counted the amount of broken glass in the asphalt-paved playground of the local Grand Rapids school to which he was assigned. I don't know that the kindergarten experience was any better or worse -- both had roughly the same class sizes, teachers and teacher's aides, etc. -- but one had a playground without broken bottles.
1
You could have enrolled your child in the community school, and then rallied your community to sweep up the glass and encourage pride and ownership in the school's facilities. What a great lesson that would have been for your child. Parents are the "public" in public schools -- step up!
4
It is disgusting to allow for-profit companies to buy a school for a couple of hundred thousand dollars and then sell it to a charter school for several million. It is morally wrong and economically idiotic to allow real estate profiteering from the education of the poorest children in the country. Then these stats get used to argue to Michigan politicians that more money won't help. If the money is going to feed the unending greed of these companies rather than to reading and math specialists, then of course it won't help the students. How horrifying.
15
I'm from Minnesota, and have watched the Charter School model play out. Initially, charter schools were developed by parent or community groups, not for-profits. There were charter schools for kids with autism, for muslim kids, for kids from specific neighborhoods, and was often in response to what was perceived as public schools failing to meet a specific need. And what followed was the slow understanding that you can have a great school that meets a need run by parents, but they rarely have the financial acumen to succeed. Too many schools would do well, and then suddenly in August, the school's doors wouldn't open. Now each charter school has to have a financial authorizor who has the knowledge to keep the schools finances on track. There has also been a bigger focus on academic performance, but that seems to be a bit difficult to measure. All charter schools in Minnesota MUST be non-profit, so that has played a role in how things have gone. 6% of the state's kids attend charter schools, and while charter school's receive state funds, it is less per pupil than public schools. So, when you talk about MInnesota's charter schools, there are some regulations that have sculpted these programs over time.
5
Growing up in West Los Angeles from the late 1940s, I enjoyed a middle class upbringing. My mother was a teacher at Santa Monica High School from 1939-75. I went through the local public schools like everyone else. Districts like Santa Monica had enjoyed the economic benefits of property taxes collected from the wealthy enclaves of Malibu and Pacific Palisades. But, Los Angeles, like most big cities in America, also had a reputation for ignoring the needs of schools in the mostly black and Latino districts. Then came the 1970s.
I had long graduated from college by the time California had succombed to what became known as Prop. 13, a bill made popular because it promised to cut property taxes. It sounded like a great idea to those who suffered from rising property taxes owing to the recent real estate boom driving home prices ever higher. People, like my mother and our neighbors, were seeing their property taxes rise from about $700 per year, to more than $2,000, a crushing situation for the middle class and below. And, of course, it had been California's property taxes that paid for what had arguably been one of the finest public school-driven states in the nation, and that included our highly-praisaed public universities. Then, the conservatives demanded tax cuts citing their beliefs that police officers, firemen, teachers and nurses were "over-paid." Prop. 13 was the low-hanging fruit of tax relief for many. But it also gutted the funding for public education.
I had long graduated from college by the time California had succombed to what became known as Prop. 13, a bill made popular because it promised to cut property taxes. It sounded like a great idea to those who suffered from rising property taxes owing to the recent real estate boom driving home prices ever higher. People, like my mother and our neighbors, were seeing their property taxes rise from about $700 per year, to more than $2,000, a crushing situation for the middle class and below. And, of course, it had been California's property taxes that paid for what had arguably been one of the finest public school-driven states in the nation, and that included our highly-praisaed public universities. Then, the conservatives demanded tax cuts citing their beliefs that police officers, firemen, teachers and nurses were "over-paid." Prop. 13 was the low-hanging fruit of tax relief for many. But it also gutted the funding for public education.
9
In June, Taylor International Academy in Southfield, Michigan closed two weeks before the term ended, leaving students high and dry. Its story was right in line with what's desribed in this NYT article: too much debt including some possible corruption, a decline in student population, and lot of mismanagement and finger pointing.
Although there's no easy solution to Michigan's charter school problem, it seems that a simple reform would be to require an appraisal by a disinterested professional real estate expert before a school is allowed to sign on the dotted line for one of these dubious leases or loans. Surely even DeVos isn't in favor of fleecing the taxpayers for the benefit of few wealthy school-finance companies.
Oh, wait, it turns out that DeVos and her wealthy husband own or run charter-school finance companies? Then never mind. They would never allow even simple reform in this area. Sorry, Michigan taxpayers.
Although there's no easy solution to Michigan's charter school problem, it seems that a simple reform would be to require an appraisal by a disinterested professional real estate expert before a school is allowed to sign on the dotted line for one of these dubious leases or loans. Surely even DeVos isn't in favor of fleecing the taxpayers for the benefit of few wealthy school-finance companies.
Oh, wait, it turns out that DeVos and her wealthy husband own or run charter-school finance companies? Then never mind. They would never allow even simple reform in this area. Sorry, Michigan taxpayers.
14
I love the NYT. Thank you so much for publishing this piece. I have been watching the systematic destruction of Michigan's once spectacular (including Detroit's PBS) public school system for years. Michigan's republican party has been diverting money from the education of Michigan students for years and years. Then as schools inevitably began failing, they blamed the teachers and the teachers' unions, leading to horribly failed takeover policies. In the meantime, as this article correctly notes, republican politicians lined their pockets with millions from the likes of the DeVos family whose sole agenda was the destroy the state's public school system. In Michigan, public schools were once the anchor of neighborhoods and communities - in academics, sports, extracurricular activities. In summertime the schools were opened and used for other community benefits. My local elementary school hosted a well-attended summer recreation center year after year. It's been gone for years. No money. Now Michigan has only two (yes, just two) functioning school districts, both in the only wealthy counties in the state - Oakland and Washtenaw. Michigan republicans are all about cutting taxes, then complain that we do not have the skilled workers needed to run the state's economy. They have no one to blame but themselves. When more money was needed, they spit in the faces of Michigan's children. What Michigan needs are new politicians and fewer DeVoses.
34
I am from Michigan. I voted against school reform. It was sold as saving money and keeping cost of education low and lowering taxes. It did reduce the increase in property taxes and destroyed our education system. Michigan used to rank in the top 20 percent now we are in league with Mississippi. But I saved a 1000 per year. Not a good trade off.
22
With all things being equal, ie, starting with the minimum physical requirement of schools, teachers etc., the next three most important things re education are:
1-Parents
2-Parents
3-Parents
From what I experienced, read, observed if the parent gets involved success is almost all but assured.
If the parent doesn't get involved, failure is almost all but guaranteed.
1-Parents
2-Parents
3-Parents
From what I experienced, read, observed if the parent gets involved success is almost all but assured.
If the parent doesn't get involved, failure is almost all but guaranteed.
5
The concept of dividing public funding between 'public' and 'charter' schools simply makes no sense. Public money should be focused on a single 'public' system, providing a high-quality education for all children. Those who wish to provide their children with a private education are free to do so, at their own expense.
Outsourcing the military results in Blackwater, outsourcing prisons results in an absence of oversight. We must expect our government to efficiently perform its crucial roles, not outsource them to profit-making organizations.
Outsourcing the military results in Blackwater, outsourcing prisons results in an absence of oversight. We must expect our government to efficiently perform its crucial roles, not outsource them to profit-making organizations.
13
Only one factor matters in education: the involvement of the parents.
Children with parents who care about and are involved with their children's education will do well. Those with out such parental involvement will not. The occasional exceptional child who overcomes this on his or her own is just the exception that proves the rule.
Building maintenance, school supplies, hot lunches are incidental. You need them, but they do not make children learn.
Parents do. Teachers help. That's it. Every teacher knows this.
It's amazing that it's not even mentioned here.
Or is it?
Children with parents who care about and are involved with their children's education will do well. Those with out such parental involvement will not. The occasional exceptional child who overcomes this on his or her own is just the exception that proves the rule.
Building maintenance, school supplies, hot lunches are incidental. You need them, but they do not make children learn.
Parents do. Teachers help. That's it. Every teacher knows this.
It's amazing that it's not even mentioned here.
Or is it?
5
When public school buildings are literally falling apart and more than a few schools current housing students should be condemned, how can we expect kids to learn and parents to support their local schools, public or charter. The author also left out the Muskegon Heights privatization due to poor performance fiasco.
Charter schools are a.failed experiment, not just in Michigan but everywhere. Those few charter school that seem to thrive have very selective admissions policies. We need to go back to the old model of local schools under local control. This worked much better than what is being done today. My family left Michigan at the start of Engler's reign because we knew where Michigan was headed. I moved back to complete additional college degrees and see that things have changed - and not for the better. Charter schools are a profit making scam. In the grander scheme of things, given a choice between educating a kid in Texas (where I lived before MI) or Michigan, I would put my kids in a Michigan school.
As a side not not mentioned in the article, vouchers are the next step in the further destruction of the US public education system.
Charter schools are a.failed experiment, not just in Michigan but everywhere. Those few charter school that seem to thrive have very selective admissions policies. We need to go back to the old model of local schools under local control. This worked much better than what is being done today. My family left Michigan at the start of Engler's reign because we knew where Michigan was headed. I moved back to complete additional college degrees and see that things have changed - and not for the better. Charter schools are a profit making scam. In the grander scheme of things, given a choice between educating a kid in Texas (where I lived before MI) or Michigan, I would put my kids in a Michigan school.
As a side not not mentioned in the article, vouchers are the next step in the further destruction of the US public education system.
8
Were we to look at inner city schools in any state in the Union, we would find a similar condition but different circumstances. The bigger question that needs to be addressed is why do inner city schools, in less affluent areas fail, and how do we turn the tide? Perhaps the answer lies in looking at educational models outside the US for guidance. Vilifying charter schools and DeVos is not the answer. This downward spiral predates their entrance to the educational scene. Substantial financial and educational resources have been employed to address this problem, yet it still remains.
2
As this article points out, charters have been around long enough to have been throughly studied. All sorts of educational evaluations have been done and even the most forgiving simply show that charters are educationally no better than the system that they replaced.
But charters have been amazingly successful at transferring public dollars into private hands. Where else can you have a failing business that is still turning a profit? Where else but in education do you have such an enormous pot of public money to draw from?
States and cities have been contracting out municipal services for decades. Everything from collecting parking meters to providing janitorial services have all been privatized. But the last and most lucrative target has been the educational budget.
There of course are some charters that sought independence from a local school board for religious reasons. Others wanted theme schools or single sex classrooms. But slipping in behind these local initiatives were the big corporations that simply saw a better return on the cost per pupil game than other typical main street investments.
At the end of the day it is the public and our children that have been gamed and the head of this scheme is now the Secretary of Education.
But charters have been amazingly successful at transferring public dollars into private hands. Where else can you have a failing business that is still turning a profit? Where else but in education do you have such an enormous pot of public money to draw from?
States and cities have been contracting out municipal services for decades. Everything from collecting parking meters to providing janitorial services have all been privatized. But the last and most lucrative target has been the educational budget.
There of course are some charters that sought independence from a local school board for religious reasons. Others wanted theme schools or single sex classrooms. But slipping in behind these local initiatives were the big corporations that simply saw a better return on the cost per pupil game than other typical main street investments.
At the end of the day it is the public and our children that have been gamed and the head of this scheme is now the Secretary of Education.
10
This isn't just the destruction of poor children or just black and brown children. This is the wholesale price of an entire states children. They are a commodity that is being sold.
" In little more than a decade, Michigan has gone from being a fairly average state in elementary reading and math achievement to the bottom 10 states. It’s a devastating fall. Indeed, new national assessment data suggest Michigan is witnessing systemic decline across the K-12 spectrum. White, black, brown, higher-income, low-income — it doesn’t matter who they are or where they live. ..."
" In little more than a decade, Michigan has gone from being a fairly average state in elementary reading and math achievement to the bottom 10 states. It’s a devastating fall. Indeed, new national assessment data suggest Michigan is witnessing systemic decline across the K-12 spectrum. White, black, brown, higher-income, low-income — it doesn’t matter who they are or where they live. ..."
6
As someone with 37 years experience in education ( K-16, public, private and parochial) for-profit education for the broad spectrum of students has disaster baked in. The shareholders in education are the students and their families, not a cadre of investors who have vision that extends only through the next financial quarter. Non-profit does not mean you can't make money on something - it means the money after expenses has to be put back into the capital needed to improve the business. Which is the best way to do education so that money is not siphoned off and moved to the pockets of others. The ROI on education is not money to others, it is contributory power of the recipients of that education.
5
Charter schools are a natural response to the failing systems in most inner cities. Communities with vibrant, successful school systems have not experienced competition from charters. Teachers unions, tenure and other supporters of self-serving mediocrity have created a demand for alternatives. New York's "rubber room", housing hundreds of incompetent, sometimes dangerous, union protected "teachers" is a good example of why parents are demanding alternatives. Fix public education by making the system accountable to its "customers" and charters will disappear.
4
Study the bottom-to-top perspective of education: one teacher and fifteen students. Or twenty-eight students. Or thirty-five....
And then ask yourself how each student each day can receive positive strokes and positive assessment and positive learning. HOW???
We have not, as a society, established basic rules that assure that we will have an educated population. Instead, everywhere, education especially, we have a dollar valuation/evaluation. Our quality of life is measured in dollars. We're able to run our Defense Department on a money-is-no-object basis. Shouldn't we do the same for the education of our population?
And then ask yourself how each student each day can receive positive strokes and positive assessment and positive learning. HOW???
We have not, as a society, established basic rules that assure that we will have an educated population. Instead, everywhere, education especially, we have a dollar valuation/evaluation. Our quality of life is measured in dollars. We're able to run our Defense Department on a money-is-no-object basis. Shouldn't we do the same for the education of our population?
5
This has been going on for decades, as it has in many other city school districts. I really don't see a solution.
Parental involvement is key. Not money. We throw more money at these public school districts, but to no avail. Witness Baltimore.
If someone here disagrees, then give me an example of inner city schools with predominantly minority students succeeding. And then let me know how it happened.
Parental involvement is key. Not money. We throw more money at these public school districts, but to no avail. Witness Baltimore.
If someone here disagrees, then give me an example of inner city schools with predominantly minority students succeeding. And then let me know how it happened.
3
Wow, talk about blaming the victim! It looks like you're trying to remove yourself from any claim of accountability for the societal constructs that have led to schools in neighborhoods that are predominantly POC and poor being left in ill-repair, underfunded, and assumed to be failures. Of course there are successful schools in these neighborhoods! One factor seems to be high expectations. Your comments suggest that you have very low expectations of what thrse children and communities can achieve. Do you see how you are part of the problem?
1
Thank you for this detailed report. As a former educator and teacher educator in Indiana, I am witnessing the same pattern of development. Devos' influence here with the misinformed ideas promoted by Pence is devastating to public schools here. Each year they function with less funding as funding for charters grows -- with less accountability. This uneven playing field challenges public schools tremendously and it is areas of poverty where these horrific ideas take hold. Wealthy districts do not see the proliferation of charter schools -- it is the bottom feeders who seek to get rich off the backs of poor children and poorly resourced families. These capitalists close shop and run, leaving messes for the communities, when they do not make the profits their shareholders expect. And now with DeVos leading educational policy, we will see a push nationally from the federal level that will further compromise public schooling because of capitalist ideology.
5
Of course the children lost. This is just one more means by which a necessary public function is turned into a wealth transfer mechanism. See also, American health care.
8
When John Engler. the Mackinac Center, republicans, etc. sold Michigan on charter schools, etc., they touted that all parents should have the same choice as the wealthy in choosing schools for their children. It was a fraudulent claim from the start since the primary choices for wealthy parents included Cranbrook, University Liggett, Roeper, Detroit Country Day, et al. These private, tuition based schools charged rates many times higher than the standard charter school stipend.
Second, a series of emergency managers were assigned as overseers to the Detroit public school system by Governor Snyder. Their primary responsibility was balancing the books and not educational performance. This is the system of emergency manager assignments that resulted in the poisoning of Flint's citizens and children with lead. In fact, one of the DPS emergency managers was previously assigned to Flint and has now been indicted for his role in Flint's poisoning.
Third, given the state of Michigan's role in devastating Detroit schools, most parents with financial ability abandoned Detroit for the suburbs and beyond. This has left Detroit with the poorest and most vulnerable families and children attending DPS schools. Meanwhile, Detroit's political regime continues to direct money and resources to the central, downtown district essentially abandoning the neighborhoods and neighborhood schools.
Sad for the children of Detroit and sad for Michigan - once a leader in educational achievement...
Second, a series of emergency managers were assigned as overseers to the Detroit public school system by Governor Snyder. Their primary responsibility was balancing the books and not educational performance. This is the system of emergency manager assignments that resulted in the poisoning of Flint's citizens and children with lead. In fact, one of the DPS emergency managers was previously assigned to Flint and has now been indicted for his role in Flint's poisoning.
Third, given the state of Michigan's role in devastating Detroit schools, most parents with financial ability abandoned Detroit for the suburbs and beyond. This has left Detroit with the poorest and most vulnerable families and children attending DPS schools. Meanwhile, Detroit's political regime continues to direct money and resources to the central, downtown district essentially abandoning the neighborhoods and neighborhood schools.
Sad for the children of Detroit and sad for Michigan - once a leader in educational achievement...
10
I like the idea that where we have a state sponsored Charter School, we devise a way to have Uber or others transport children from the inner city to these schools. Let's get the balance in the school of all children the same as the demographics for 50 miles around each school.
That will push "Charter" into a new conversation, and maybe knock some fairness into the dialogue.
That will push "Charter" into a new conversation, and maybe knock some fairness into the dialogue.
This quote was touched on before: "Brown’s own children attended public school in West Bloomfield, the affluent Detroit suburb where she and her husband had settled. (Her husband, also an educator, taught at a well-funded public school in Ann Arbor.) At her daughter’s orientation, Brown met teachers who had been at the school for 20 years. She said she’d love to have the financial ability to retain teachers like that."
You cannot retain teachers like that when you don't pay them. Sure, you can spew whatever you like regarding classroom freedom and being unencumbered by unions and the like... but even the most free of spirits like to be able to pay them decently and value them as more than a contracted employee.
As it stands I will never understand the free maverick way of dealing with public education, particularly given how our country has shrunk tremendously due to travel innovations and more people moving around for schools, jobs, and opportunities. Small wonder many colleges are fearful of their incoming classes.
You cannot retain teachers like that when you don't pay them. Sure, you can spew whatever you like regarding classroom freedom and being unencumbered by unions and the like... but even the most free of spirits like to be able to pay them decently and value them as more than a contracted employee.
As it stands I will never understand the free maverick way of dealing with public education, particularly given how our country has shrunk tremendously due to travel innovations and more people moving around for schools, jobs, and opportunities. Small wonder many colleges are fearful of their incoming classes.
5
The for-profit charter school movement is not about doing what is best for kids, it's about companies making money. Period. For profit companies will always prioritize making money above the well-being of their students. The current U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, helped set up Michigan's failed system and is a huge supporter of companies that puts profits ahead of kids. I fear for our nation's children.
62
I just don't understand why as a country we have lost the ability to provide a basic education to students without someone making a profit off it.
119
Will the Times acknowledge its role as staunch defender and promoter of charters?
7
But Eva Moskowitz told us that Betsy DeVos was a terrific choice and strongly endorsed her in op eds and interviews demanding that the Senate approve DeVos. Was Moskowitz lying to the public?
12
Together with other stories I've read, this article makes a good case that the charter sector in Michigan is not living up to expectations; but given that the traditional public schools in the state have also struggled, as the state as a whole loses population, it is not clear that a pendulum shift back towards traditional state schooling will prove any real solution. Michigan's education sector comes across as underregulated; optimizing the amount of regulation on educational provision may require, in particular, removing the for-profit operators from the field, and reducing the financial incentive for the many authorizers to keep bad schools from exiting the market.
34
Michigan's school problem boils down to white flight and a racist reluctance to fund schools attended by mainly black students at the same rate as schools attended by mainly white students, compounded by the desire of very conservative, very religious people to "protect" their children from the liberal ideas applied in public school education, such as teaching students the scientific method, respect for cultures and religions other than your own, and how your own body works. When I moved to Michigan from the state of Wyoming, I was and still am, appalled at the low quality of the education provided white students in suburban public schools, let alone the chronically underfunded charter schools attended by minority students. The anti-intellectual bias and provincialism of local officials results in schools that don't work. Anyone who loves their children should move out of state to put their kids in a functional school system.
What do you mean? There are MANY traditional public schools that are great in Michigan. Like other comments have said it is not surprising that these are in rich districts that have plenty of money due to high tax bases. It's not complicated. People just don't want to pay the price to fund the schools fairly.
Good Morning: Kansas experimented with taxes. Michigan experiments with children. May I suggest something? How about less experimentation upon the people, and more service to them?
100
Charter schools among last in proficiency. Not surprising, since they are in geographic areas where the public schools were the last in proficiency. The worst large public school system in the country is in Michigan. It's a more complex problem than this article acknowledges, and the solution has to do more than just schools, it's a larger cultural issue. Not much penetrance of charters in geographic areas with successful schools. One of the perennially highest ranking high schools in the country is the international academy (public) in the northern suburbs of Detroit. The neighboring districts Birmingham, Bloomfield, Troy, and others match up well with the leading schools in other states. Why? It's not a money thing. It's parents, peer group, and community that value education, walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Buy your kid a book, volunteer at school, support arts and vote for your mileage, don't ask someone else to do it for you.
140
You claim it's not a money thing yet you ask parents to "buy your kids a book." Books cost money. Public libraries where presumably one can get books "for free" also cost money - tax dollars no less! Support the arts? That cost money too. It's not a big mystery why successful school districts correlate strongly with wealthy school districts. More money, resources, tutoring, afterschool programs, and financially stable homes equal better outcomes for children.
Want better educational results for poor children? Pay a living wage to working families and fight housing discrimination.
Want better educational results for poor children? Pay a living wage to working families and fight housing discrimination.
473
J Anderson: And thank you for not including "go to your public library".
It closed in 2002, 15 years ago.
It closed in 2002, 15 years ago.
18
For readers unacquainted with suburban Detroit, it should be noted that this comment comes from someone who lives in the wealthiest county in Michigan. The other wealthy county is Washtenaw county (Univ of Michigan). These two counties have the only functioning school districts in Michigan. ALL others are struggling. Yes, children in Oakland county have excellent public schools. They also have a lot of money. The exposure of this kind of inequity is something we've learned a lot about this in the past several years. While these comments may be superficially correct, the racial animus is poorly disguised.
29
"School reform" usually been faddish nonsense or, at best, inept implementation of worthwhile and even evidence-based ideas. My schooling included chaos justified as being "progressive education" and numbing boredom predicated on being "back to basics". I received enough "new math" late enough in my schooling to have gotten some benefit to subsequently pickup algebra, but i could imagine it being bewilderingly abstract at earlier grades. Everyone thinks they know what will work in the classroom and the textbook publishers happily indulge whatever dumb idea has taken hold. There are evidence-based curricula. There are proven classroom management techniques to deal with disruptive behavior. None of this is flashy, so none of it gets attention. Michigan is just this random nonsense being allowed to run amok with lots of money to chase it. If people in West Bloomfield (a relatively sophisticated high achieving district) wouldn't tolerate this nonsense, perhaps that should be the criterion for what flies rather than what some ideologue who's never spent time in a classroom wants.
82
I taught "new math" in third grade in the sixties. The children caught on very quickly and my training helped me understand math as I never had. Then parents couldn't understand it and help their children with homework so it soon was ditched for the old-style math. My grandchildren go to elementary school in Northern Virginia and are taught according to the Virginia Standards of Learning. Their math education is very much like the old "new math." The pendulum of education continues to swing!
1
"When I asked Brown her thoughts on DeVos, she said the secretary’s confirmation hearings had raised concerns about her level of understanding. Nonetheless, she appreciated DeVos’s support of charters and hoped she would push for increased funding. Brown’s own children attended public school in West Bloomfield, the affluent Detroit suburb where she and her husband had settled. (Her husband, also an educator, taught at a well-funded public school in Ann Arbor.)"
Good enough for thee, but not for me...
Good enough for thee, but not for me...
95
And Mitchell, are you going to discuss Mr. Obama who sent both his daughters to private school? The compliant that you make of Brown could equally be leveled at Mr. Obama. True, security in a public school might pose some issues. But if Mr. Obama had been determined to send his daughters to public school, the nation would have footed the bill for security.
But you say nothing about Mr. Obama and his daughters.
A one sided discussion of an issue is not a real discussion. And what is more, it will only convince those who are on the same side of the discussion as you. It is not going to end the sharp divide which we see these days in America.
But you say nothing about Mr. Obama and his daughters.
A one sided discussion of an issue is not a real discussion. And what is more, it will only convince those who are on the same side of the discussion as you. It is not going to end the sharp divide which we see these days in America.
3
I lived in Michigan for 20 years and I was excited at first about how children had the chance to get a better education. After all, these are my friends' children and children of the community. I pay taxes to help these little ones learn and excel. I don't pay taxes for giant for-profit companies to come in and use the policies of big finance to turn little ones into profit. The more I saw these changes come, the more I was concerned. Those giant finance deals just aren't fair. When a bill came up in Georgia to do something similar, I knew right away that "no" was the right vote. Even this reddest of red states said no way to bringing in for-profit companies to fix the failing schools. I have no idea what the solution is for this, but I know my heart is broken. Students need to learn. They're not numbers on a spreadsheet.
444
And what about the appalling inefficiency of teachers' unions?
2
Thank you, Mr. Binelli for this meticulous and depressing account of exactly how public education in Michigan has been destroyed over the last 20+ years - for the profit of a few and to the detriment of students and teachers. That those most dramatically harmed reside in majority black communities is not a coincidence. That the most vocal proponent of this colossal disaster is now US Secretary of Education should alarm everyone even marginally interested in the quality of K-12 public education in the US.
233
Welcome Back to all educators! Yes we live in a country that has a strong capitalist fiber running through it. However, I do not think that education should be based on this for-profit model. When you do the main focus is, as mentioned in the article, the ROI to the backers.
I will make my students into critical thinkers, able to see the forest for the trees, who will someday become the leaders who will rectify this terrible situation
I will make my students into critical thinkers, able to see the forest for the trees, who will someday become the leaders who will rectify this terrible situation
108
Bronxteacher, if all of your students become leaders, who is going to FOLLOW them?
What army consisting entirely of generals has ever won a war?
Your talk about leaders ultimately panders to the narcissism which is a huge problem for America.
What army consisting entirely of generals has ever won a war?
Your talk about leaders ultimately panders to the narcissism which is a huge problem for America.
3
Given the graduation rate, and percentage of college bound seniors from Bronx public schools, perhaps you should focus on the 3Rs and prepare theses young adults for the real world. Dewitt Clinton and Roosevelt High Schools immediately come to mind when conjuring thoughts of the public schools you mention. This presumes that you are not a teacher at one of the expensive private schools in Fieldstone/ Riverdale, or Bronx High School of Science ( which by the way DeBlasio, mental genius that he is, believes should lower its admission standards)
2
This is un-American. Even in states where charter schools aren't as terrible (like Massachusetts), these schools undermine whole communities and make it very difficult for low-income folks to climb out of poverty.
There are three charter schools in my small city, but only 7% of kids choose them because they are not as good as the public schools. Families I know can see that while the state-sponsored test scores are high at charters, all other indicators are decidedly bad.
This era can't end soon enough, though leadership will hardly come from the top. Fortunately, most school decisions are made on the local or state level.
There are three charter schools in my small city, but only 7% of kids choose them because they are not as good as the public schools. Families I know can see that while the state-sponsored test scores are high at charters, all other indicators are decidedly bad.
This era can't end soon enough, though leadership will hardly come from the top. Fortunately, most school decisions are made on the local or state level.
123
DeVos is only a symptom of the greater disease that is compromising our children's futures by triangulating away their education. Michigan is hardly the only state in which charter schools have left a mess. In the best of circumstances, charters are no better than the public schools they usurped.
When this season of folly we are now living comes to an end and we need to remake America, it is my hope that public education will be among the very first sectors to immediately be reformed from the roots on up. We used to give our children a much better education than we do now. We did that when corporations paid a much fairer share of taxes and politicians weren't so intent on selling off public institutions.
Education is right up there with healthcare, when it comes to basic rights that should never be compromised on. The choice should be to invest as much as is needed into our society's future, and not which robber baron masquerading as educator to give public money to. What we teach, not who does the teaching, should be the central issue.
The charter movement is a collaboration between the conservative and neoliberal establishments. I hope it will be one of the first things to go when this nation finally decides it has had enough of these charlatans and those who make deals with them.
--
https://www.rimaregas.com/2017/09/04/triangulation-when-neoliberalism-is...
When this season of folly we are now living comes to an end and we need to remake America, it is my hope that public education will be among the very first sectors to immediately be reformed from the roots on up. We used to give our children a much better education than we do now. We did that when corporations paid a much fairer share of taxes and politicians weren't so intent on selling off public institutions.
Education is right up there with healthcare, when it comes to basic rights that should never be compromised on. The choice should be to invest as much as is needed into our society's future, and not which robber baron masquerading as educator to give public money to. What we teach, not who does the teaching, should be the central issue.
The charter movement is a collaboration between the conservative and neoliberal establishments. I hope it will be one of the first things to go when this nation finally decides it has had enough of these charlatans and those who make deals with them.
--
https://www.rimaregas.com/2017/09/04/triangulation-when-neoliberalism-is...
157
" .. My guess is she doesn’t hang out with a lot of people who know what it’s like going to a school with 50 percent people of color. And I haven’t seen evidence that she’s taken the time to learn.”
Fact: both WashPost and NYTimes have had stories that, in fact, DeVos' staff is diverse, including LGBT persons.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/politics/betsy-devos-gay-transgend...
"Fake news?" You decide.
Fact: both WashPost and NYTimes have had stories that, in fact, DeVos' staff is diverse, including LGBT persons.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/politics/betsy-devos-gay-transgend...
"Fake news?" You decide.
4
Bing,
There is a lot of nuance that is being missed here, I suspect, wilfully. DeVos' staff is diverse in the same way that Trump's is. Not a pretty picture.
There is a lot of nuance that is being missed here, I suspect, wilfully. DeVos' staff is diverse in the same way that Trump's is. Not a pretty picture.
3
Madam, you've never been to Mrs. DeVos's office, have you? Never met her, have you? And the inner-city kids she personally tutored?
As opposed to NYTimes reporters and photographers?
I didn't think so. (((mic drop)))
As opposed to NYTimes reporters and photographers?
I didn't think so. (((mic drop)))
1
"Despite the policy ignorance displayed in her [Betsy DeVoss] confirmation hearing, she’s an ally, and one whose influence on the 2018 Trump administration budget is already evident. . . ."
Betsy DeVoss is what in the old days was called a "patronage appointee." It means that Trump appointed her to an influential position in government due to her wealth and political support for him and the Republican party. Patronage appointees aren't required to have any knowledge or expertise about the position to which they're appointed, nor are they required to have any particular level of education. The term "patronage" or "patronage appointee" is no longer commonly used in the media.
Betsy DeVoss is what in the old days was called a "patronage appointee." It means that Trump appointed her to an influential position in government due to her wealth and political support for him and the Republican party. Patronage appointees aren't required to have any knowledge or expertise about the position to which they're appointed, nor are they required to have any particular level of education. The term "patronage" or "patronage appointee" is no longer commonly used in the media.
246
All government jobs used to be patronage appointments...Theodore Roosevelt, as head of the Civil Service Commission, succeeded in changing that. Trump would dearly love to go back to the model, and is starting at the top. Only those with obscenely large fortunes need apply!
3
The area of southwestern Michigan from which DeVoss and her brother Erik Prince went forth to plunder has close ties with northern Indiana. It may be that our extremely religious VP Pence knew the Amway DeVoss and Van Andel families and recommended Betsy to Trump. Appointing Betsy may have been just a sop to the religious right of the Republican party rather than a reflection of Trump's probably non-existent educational philosophy,
It does fit ms DeVos to a T though.She is supremely unqualified for any thinking position. This woman is incredibly anti American in her beliefs as is her brother Eric (hire mercenaries!) Prince. he is clearly anti public education. This is what happens when bogus Christians w/ Amway racketeering wealth try to take over our government. Get rid of DeVoss now before she does more damage and wastes more precious resources...and do not let her brother in the door. These are dangerous people who feel entitled and superior for some bizarre reasons and they have their own agendas that do not include the best interests of most Americans.