[ad_1]
SEATTLE – Dollar for dollar, the besieged movement to bring charter schools to the state of Washington has had no greater champion than Billionaire Bill Gates.
The co-founder of Microsoft gave millions of dollars to see a law failing electoral referendums. And her private foundation has not only helped to create the Charter Schools Association of Washington State, but she has sometimes contributed to a full year of revenue for the five-year charter advocacy group .
The Gates Foundation gave about $ 25 million to the charter group that is credited with keeping charter schools open after the state invalidated the law and then pressuring lawmakers to revive schools financed by public funds.
How Billionaires Influence State Education Policy by Giving Money to Charter Supporting Organizations to Support, Defend and Develop the Charter School Movement Across the World
Since 2006, philanthropists and their private foundations have donated nearly half a billion dollars to these groups, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Foundation 's income statements and data. The review focused on 52 groups identified by a US Department of Education website as official resources of charter schools in the 44 states plus Washington, DC, which currently have a law on the Charter and the National Alliance for Public Schools. money went to the first 15 groups, which received $ 425 million from philanthropy. The Walton Family Foundation, headed by the heirs of Walmart's fortune, is the largest donor of state charter advocates, giving $ 144 million to 27 groups
"We should grant more than $ 50 million. who these organizations are, and what kind of vision they have, and what motivates them, many of these organizations have extraordinary influence, and their influence is often unobtrusive, "said Jon Valant, policy expert of Education at Brookings
. Charters are not subject to the same rules or standards as traditional public schools. Gates and other philanthropists see them as investments in developing better ways to educate those struggling in traditional school systems, especially children in poor urban areas. School success studies are mixed
. Charter support groups, as non-profit organizations, are generally prohibited from participating in political campaigns, but the same wealthy donors who support them directly fund charter-seeking candidates. committees or their own contributions. The Georgian lieutenant-governor was registered saying that he was motivated to support school choice laws to counter the Walton Foundation's favors for his governorship campaign, which testifies to the success of philanthropy to affirm its priorities. The Walton family has denied any connection to the candidate.
At the national level, about 5% of students attend charters. They have become a polarizing political issue, while some blame teachers' unions for depleting the resources of hungry schools and eroding the schooling model of neighborhoods that defines communities.
The Walton Foundation Notes that Groups Philanthropic support is essential for a small group of schools that represents disadvantaged families without their own political power, said Robin Lake, director of the Center's Reinvention of the University. Public Education, a think tank affiliated with the University of Washington that was funded by the Gates Foundation to support charter schools.
But John Rogers, an expert on educational policy and UCLA professor, said that it is a problem for democracy that billionaires who support a certain model of educational reform can go end-to-end with a m
"A handful of billionaires who advance their vision of education reform is very different from 200,000 – some weird teachers across the state representing their understanding of education through their union representation, "said Rogers. 19659002] In California, the Waltons are the largest funders of the California Charter School Association, which has received more than $ 100 million since 2006 with support from Gates, Michael and Susan Dell and Silicon Valley community foundations supported by Mark Zuckerburg.
"We are proud of our partners and very open about our desired results, and honestly, access to better schools," said Marc Sternberg, who runs the Walton Foundation's education program. . foundation does not set the agenda, but wants to strengthen the local vision, which has included the charter association fight for more money and access to public school buildings to through lawsuits against Los Angeles Unified, the country's second largest school district. The California charter group said that he works aggressively when he is painted in a corner.
A political arm of the association has also been a force in the Golden State policy. He is now focusing on promoting pro-charter candidates in the November elections, including former charter school director Marshall Tuck for the Superintendent of Public Schools, and a number of legislative seats. entire charter school network. He gave at least $ 4 million to help pass a law on state-run schools, although the concept failed three times in the polls. Voters finally approved a Charter Schools Act in 2012, making Washington one of the last states to adopt the school model
After the Supreme Court's decision in 2015, the funding model for the Charter was unconstitutional. He helped nearly six million to maintain lighting in six charter schools and urged legislators to pass a new law. In 2016, his political arm called Washington Charters Action was created, and an affiliated political action committee has already given small sums to dozens of state lawmakers in the elections this fall.
Today, the union of state teachers is challenging the second version of the law. The spokesman for the Washington Educators Association, Rich Wood, said the charter group had inserted the case after the union sued the state.
Washington charter group and all state charter schools. The Gates Foundation said in a statement that she was not involved in the lawsuit but that she valued the technical work of the association to help charter schools.
Some critics say that money can set the advocacy itself, so all charter support groups do not accept money from billionaire philanthropists According to director Eric Premack, the Charter Schools Development Center, a second pivotal organization in California, has programming rights that allow it to maintain its independence. , they are on different sides of the test question: how and how to use the test results to determine the quality of education. Mr. Premack said he rejected test-based accountability – adopted by the California Charter Schools Association and many of his backers – as being antithetical to the pioneering spirit of the charter movement.
. Premack said:
—
Associated Press reporter Larry Fenn contributed from New York.
—
Follow Sally Ho, AP Education reporter, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ -SallyHo
[ad_2]
Source link
