Welcome to Cashing in on Kids, a weekly email newsletter for people fed up with the privatization of America’s public schools—produced by In the Public Interest.
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A charter school teacher on the smoke and mirrors of “school choice.” Florina Rodov writes, “I fell for the charter school hype. I agreed with former President Obama’s education secretary Arne Duncan who advocated for ‘school choice.’
I trusted the research that said charters ‘close [the] achievement gap’ for Black and Latino students. When I saw ‘Waiting for Superman,’ I rooted for the kids in the documentary to escape their failing public schools by snagging spots at charter schools.” AlterNet
And the rest of the week’s news…
How for-profit charter schools operate. A new report from the Network for Public Education details how many for-profit management companies (referred to as EMOs) evade state laws banning for-profit charters. The Washington Post
Arkansas Republicans help defeat private school voucher bill. The Arkansas House has defeated a bill to double the number of students who could receive public money for vouchers to attend private schools. Rep. Jim Wooten (R-Beebe) said the bill would be “the final nail driven in public education in this state.” Arkansas Times
Corporate ed reform Minnesota-style. Minnesota writer Rob Levine shines a spotlight on recent efforts by corporate education reformers to further their decades-long attack on the state’s public schools. EdHiveMN
Some good news…
Georgia school district enlists community to tackle complex attendance problem. The Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Education Service Agency struggled with low academic performance and high absenteeism rates until they identified that female students were in need of feminine hygiene products. K-12 Dive
Take action
Listen to National Education Policy Center Researcher Christopher Saldaña interview Bruce Baker and Preston Green about COVID-19 relief funds, school vouchers, and reparations. National Education Policy Center
Play the game, Fund Education Instead, created by the Partnership for the Future of Learning and produced by Root + All and Skylight. Partnership for the Future of Learning
Photo by Elvert Barnes.