KIPP is a taxpayer-subsidized school franchise that pays no taxes on its revenue and provides a tax-deductible vehicle for uber-wealthy families to promote the school “choice” agenda. KIPP charter schools have been touted in Washington State as the savior of … Continue reading The grifters of corporate ed reform: KIPP charter schools with the aid of the DOE
Leonie Haimson posted this in 2012 and I have linked to it several times over the last few years. Because I seem to be on a roll about KIPP charter schools, I decided this is an appropriate time to post … Continue reading How KIPP charter school handles special ed/IEP students
From KIPP’s own website: (And not to fret, I took a screen shot.) KIPP’s innovative approach is grounded in the research of Dr. Martin Seligman and the late Dr. Chris Peterson (the “fathers“ of Positive Psychology). Building off a partnership with KIPP NYC, Dr. Angela … Continue reading KIPP charter chain and torture adviser Marty Seligman: A match made in hell?
In the last few days I was alerted to some information that I find the most egregious about Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess’ Preschool for All plan that is now Proposition 1B and I am therefore placing it as #1 on the … Continue reading 11 Reasons why Seattle’s Preschool for all Proposition 1B is a bad idea
I have written two posts on Universal pre-K which in Seattle is now termed “Preschool for All”; Race to the Tots: Universal (for profit) Pre-K, DFER and the suits and Universal Pre-K in Seattle: Reasons to be cautious. Now it’s time to … Continue reading “Pre-School for All” in Seattle, student information sharing, Jump Start, Teach for America and more
First, a word from Noam Chomsky about our educational system. This was filmed at the Syracuse Peace Council’s 75th Anniversary event on May 11, 2011. And from Henry Giroux: When Schools Become Dead Zones of the Imagination: A Critical Pedagogy Manifesto If the right-wing billionaires and apostles of corporate power have their way, public schools will become “dead zones of the imagination,” reduced to anti-public spaces that wage an assault on critical thinking, civic literacy and historical memory. Since the 1980s, schools have increasingly become testing hubs that de-skill teachers and disempower students. They have also been refigured as punishment … Continue reading The Weekly Update: Charter schools, zero tolerance and minority students, the profiteering and scandals
With the Race to the Top (RTTT) funds dwindling, charter schools are having to balance their books and keep their CEO’s well paid by cutting out face-to-face class time with teachers and instead, placing those students in front of computer screens. They refer to this as “blended learning”. I have another word for it but I won’t use that word here. First KIPP was replacing qualified and certified teachers with Teach for America, Inc. (TFA) recruits with five weeks of training now it’s cutting costs by adding computers and subtracting teachers. This is a trend that is, unfortunately, catching on … Continue reading For KIPP charter schools, more computer time, less class time
Initiative 1240, which is a resolution to set up charter schools in the state of Washington, circumvents our State Constitution because it would set up an alternative state school system not under the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Randy Dorn, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, July 2012 Bill Gates and the Walmart Walton’s are waging a campaign against democracy and public education and for the privatization of our schools through the tool of Initiative 1240. Bill Gates, the Walton’s and others from the “business community” in our state, have financially backed a campaign to get enough signatures … Continue reading The inconvenient truth about charter school Initiative 1240
The Seattle Education Weekly Update, news you might have missed. “Systems in history are defined above all by who controls the wealth. The top 400 people own more wealth now than the bottom 185 million Americans taken together. That is a medieval structure.” Gar Alperovitz’s Green Party Keynote: We Are Laying Groundwork for the “Next Great Revolution” Speaking of the 1% , the WalMart Waltons just contributed $600,000 to support the charter school Initiative 1240. In doing some research on the Waltons and their influence on education, I came across this great website, WalMart 1%, with a section devoted to … Continue reading Weekly Update: The Zone of Doublethink, are charter schools leading to more gang violence in Chicago? and a legislator in Mississippi asked the question “Who ARE these people?!”
Sue sent me what seemed to be the practiced lines of one well rehearsed in arguments that we will be hearing to support having charter schools in our state. These lies and half-truths were found in the comment section of an article on Slog, the Stranger’s blog, Surprise! Billionaire Charter Schools Backers Buy Enough Signatures. I will go through this person’s remarks and respond to each comment made: “President Obama supports the expansion of public charter schools.” President Obama is listening to his Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who as CEO in Chicago started the boom in charter schools as … Continue reading More deceit and lies about charter schools
KIPP is one of the charter school franchises that’s been tossed around in Seattle by ed reformers as an option if charter schools were to be legalized in our state. I’ve been following KIPP and several articles that I have come across are listed in the right column of this blog under “KIPP”. It could possibly be the worst example of a school experience a child could have but they do market well. I was reading a post by Leonie Haimson that is well worth a read “At KIPP, I would wake up sick, every single day”. The post is … Continue reading A former KIPP teacher comments on her experience
Washingtonians, we must be able to look back at the track record so far of charter schools and learn from others’ mistakes. Charter schools are not the magic bullet and in fact distract from the real issues of poverty and the need for “wrap around” support for students in need. The discussion regarding charter schools in our state is moving us away from focusing on the real issue of adequate funding. That is what we must rally around. To follow is an article about the recent history of what has been termed “ed reform” or “school reform” in our country. … Continue reading The Time of the Corporatization of our Public Schools in the Form of Charter Schools Has Come and Gone
