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In reply to the discussion: A 13-Year-Old's Slavery Analogy Raises Some Uncomfortable Truths in School [View all]HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)Gates Foundation selects Rochester for District/Charter Compact
A foundation started by one of the wealthiest men in the world is teaming up with the Rochester City School District. Superintendent Jean Claude Brizard announced the district is taking part in the Bill Gates District/Charter Collaboration Compact.
It's a program geared to bring public and charter schools together to enhance learning for students. The Rochester City School District and local participating charter schools including Urban Choice will have the next few months to develop a plan. The plan will then compete with surrounding cities for a multi-million dollar grant from the foundation.
http://cityliving.whec.com/content/gates-foundation-selects-rochester-districtcharter-compact
Rochester City School District (RCSD) Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard earlier today announced a new charter school partnership project between the city school district and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The partnership proposes to create opportunities for new and existing charter schools and city school buildings to share various resources, including training and data systems.
This is indeed a blockbuster announcement but creates a whole bunch of questions. For starters, did the school board sign off on this partnership? How long have discussions between the RCSD and Gates Foundation been in the works? Are city residents going to have meaningful opportunities - referendum, community meetings - in which to voice their opinions? Would their opinions even matter? Are those principals who are deemed successful considered as such based on what criteria? Test scores, for instance?
http://www.examiner.com/article/rcsd-gates-foundation-partnership-will-lead-us-down-slippery-slope
In this Rochester collaboration compact, the school district is committed to providing no-cost lease or rental of buildings to charter schools in the city.
http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/view/csr_pubs/424
That's what I thought: CO-LOCATION, i.e. take over public school space, push public school classes into closets, take their playfields, etc.