"Parent Revolution"? Not really. Not grassroots. Started by charter school companies.

[madfloridian]

There is such deviousness in the school reform movement. The California Trigger Law, which is spreading to other states, is used by these organized parents to recruit parents to sign petitions to convert their public schools to charters. It only takes 51% to do it.

There is nothing grassroots about them.

From the Pasadena Sun:

Parent Revolution? Not really

About the author:

Shirlee Smith is an Altadena resident, parent and author of “They’re Your Kids, Not Your Friends.” She can be reached by email at [e-mail]. and online at www.talkaboutparenting.org.

Parent Revolution claims to call for increasing parental authority over public education. But as a longtime advocate of parents taking active roles in education both at home and at school, I find this organization’s message to be a fraudulent promissory note, asking parents to believe that — when their note is cashed with the parents’ signature — Julio and Jamal will learn to read.

....Parent Revolution? Not really. The organization was founded by a group of charter school operators led by Green Dot Public Schools, which already operates several schools in Los Angeles. Green Dot’s founder, Steve Barr, also served as chairman of Parent Revolution’s board of directors.

..."I next met up with the well-financed organization in Sacramento, where it shuttled a busload of wishful parents, wearing Parent Revolution T-shirts, to testify before the State Board of Education.

With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wasserman Foundation, the Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, Parent Revolution has more than enough dinero to keep up the rhetoric and the supporting antics. But that obscures real educational issues and keeps their followers from asking about the group’s real agenda, which unfortunately is all about charter schools, and not about Julio and Jamal or their sisters and brothers ever becoming educated.

How in the world can public school teachers with limited funding compete with groups like that?

Here is more about Green Dot leaders and the Parent Revolution. From Daily Censored 2009:

Just what is the Los Angeles Parents Union/Revolution?

The Los Angeles Parents Union, through its subsidiary the Parent Revolution, seeks to dismantle traditional Los Angeles public schools by getting parents to organize petition drives to have the schools ‘decertified’ or in the case of Locke High School and the hostile takeover by Green Dot, the mission was to organize disgruntled teachers. The Parent Revolution is funded at least in part by billionaire Eli Broad, however Service Employee International Union (SEIU) is also chipping in, making for another set of interesting bedfellows and a discouraging platform for the future of organized labor. Don’t forget about Bill Gates, he helps out when he can.

Ben Austin, who brought EMO Green Dot Public Schools in for the Los Angeles Locke High School “turnaround,” started the Parent Revolution. Austin , conveniently, is a city attorney for Los Angeles but he is also an executive employee of Green Dot, which raises grave issues of conflict of interest and obvious appearances of impropriety.

There's a good find at Schools Matter by a blogger there. In effect the Broad Foundation admits its donation to Parents Revolution is to form more charter schools.

Interesting.

However, the most important discovery made during this investigation was a sizable $50,000 contribution from the Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation to Parent Revolution on their 2009 990 Form. Corporate charter charlatan Ben Austin constantly states that his organization supports "parent empowerment" and is leading a "dynamic social movement" "committed to a kids-first agenda where parents have a real voice in their kids’ futures." Sounds very noble no? Well, in a rare lapse of candor, the Broad donation defines both the purpose of their contributions and Parent Revolution's raison d'être:

"To support efforts to help Charter Management Organizations apply for new LAUSD schools under LAUSD's School Choice Resolution"

This puts to lie all of Austin's bluster about a "kids-first agenda" and reminds us that school privatization and growing charter school market share is Parent Revolution's only agenda.

Just like the town hall riots funded by Freedom Works and Rick Scott, just like the Tea Party which is basically corporately funded as well.....the fraud of "grassroots" "astroturf" is carrying over to the school "reform."

[madfloridian]

1. I have noticed that Dems understand the corporate attacks on other professions....

But when it comes to teachers and public schools.....it seems to me that they must not believe it because to do so would be criticism of this privatization policy of Obama and admin.

Teachers can't easily go to OWS, they can't easily speak up at all..they are at the mercy of principals who can mark them down.

So bring on the unrecs, I think many of us understand now.

My anger over the attacks on teachers is real, it is intense. I am not the only one. I am retired, but I stay in contact with those still teaching. They are in fear. It should not be that way.

[madfloridian]

2. Rick Scott planning the Parent Trigger law in Florida.

So I guess he will have to enlist a Parent Revolution style group. Paid recruiters visiting parents in their homes and telling them they need to take over their schools. What a mess we have now in this country's education.

http://bobsidlethoughtsandmusings.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/will-rick-scotts-parent-trigger-push-bring-california-style-fraud-to-florida/

"Largely escaping the notice by Florida’s ed policy observers this week was a blurb from the Miami Herald that the so-called “parent trigger law ” is part of Rick Scott’s agenda for schools in the next legislative session. Scott’s mouthpieces just didn’t call it that.

* EDUCATION — The governor appears to be reviving the proposal to require a percentage of a school’s budget be spent on the classroom with a plan to require the classroom spending in districts “not meeting standards.” He also is considering asking legislators to adopt the Texas approach to higher education “and better link job market demands to degrees.” A Tier 2 priority is creating “Education Spending Accounts” so that parents can take money from the public school system and spend it on outside educational needs.

* PUBLIC PENSIONS — Unnamed reforms to the Florida Retirement System appear on the governor’s agenda again this year as a Tier 2 priority. Police, paramedics and firefighters will be stroked, however, this political year as the governor considers reversing his proposal — and the legislature’s passage — of a law to raise the retirement age for special risk workers from 55 to 60.

* CHARTER SCHOOLS — Charter schools would continue to gain strength if the governor succeeds with his proposal to allow a public school to become a charter school with a majority vote of the parents, instead of a majority vote of the teachers."

[Reader Rabbit]

3. Similar to non-profit education reform groups.

Here in Oregon, Stand for Children actually was a grassroots movement. Sadly, it was co-opted by corporatists such as Jonah Edelman. Another local (supposed) grassroots ed reform organization is the Chalkboard Project. I know a few teachers involved in programs spearheaded by CP, and these programs are basically just about more testing, scores, and "data-driven" reform—nothing human or humane in the equation whatsoever.

[madfloridian]

8. They are getting puff type media coverage. It's a scary thing.

I went through 3 pages of searching until I found even one telling the truth. The money and power behind them buy off the media I fear.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/parent-revolution-incorporated/29704

"The problem is that you are getting the for-profit and charter school industry’s script—word for word—by most major news outlets, print and broadcast. Here’s some of the story you didn’t get:

+ The Compton parents didn’t rise up on their own; they were among half a dozen communities targeted for door-to-door sales campaigning by Parent Revolution, an “Astroturf organization” (i.e., fake grassroots) spun off by Green Dot, a charter group managing fifteen Los Angeles schools.

+ As calculated by Caroline Grannan: by Parent Revolution’s own standards, all but one of Green Dot’s schools are failing, and on average have a California Academic Performance Index of 632, well below the 670 average of the schools that Parent Revolution has targeted for “trigger law” applications.

+ The school will now be taken over by Celerity, a four-school charter operation infamous for firing two teachers who included “A Wreath for Emmett Till” in their 2007 seventh-grade Black History Month celebration."


Much more at the link. This group is getting glowing reviews from media, yet it is not what it purports to be.

It's scary to me. Public schools don't have a fighting chance.

[roody]

4. I'm still blessed to be a public school teacher, member

of a strong union, in a great school with "low test scores." Our dual language school is fantastic; our kids are fantastic---majority poor.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. Devious agendas require devious methods:

I don't trust these so-called "Rhee-formers." Not one bit.

[madfloridian]

6. Very true indeed.

They are not trustworthy.

[madfloridian]

7. Parent trigger misfires by disrupting and dismantling local schools

http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/03/17/parent-trigger-misfires-by-disrupting-and-dismantling-local-schools/

"The parent trigger was created by the organization Parent Revolution, which is not a parent group but was founded by charter school operators, backed financially by billionaires and corporate interests.

The law allows parents to petition to: hand the school over to a charter operator, close the school, replace the staff and create a new administrative structure, or replace the principal.

Parent trigger drives are under way at two California schools. At Compton’s McKinley Elementary, the situation has exploded into chaos after more than 60 percent of the school’s parents signed a petition calling for takeover by the Celerity Educational Group charter operator.

McKinley parents did not initiate their parent trigger. Rather, Parent Revolution targeted their school to be a test case by pre-selecting the charter operator and then deploying a sophisticated, secretive operation, sending paid signature-gatherers door to door. With no transparency or public discussion, parents never learned about the options or heard opposing views. After the petitions were submitted, 200-plus parents protesting the charter takeover packed a Compton school board meeting, news reports said."

This angers me. Arne Duncan needs to be fired, and Obama needs to distance himself from these devious reforms.

[highplainsdem]

9. And ALEC is behind the Parent Trigger laws, too:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x867471

[madfloridian]

13. Aha! That is the list of Race to the Top requirements as well. Thank you.

From your link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x867471


"1. Closing the school;

2. Turning the school into a charter school;

3. Replacing school's administration;

4. Implementation of a turnaround for staff."

Change a few words and you have Arne's Race to the Top plans.

[prairierose]

10. Thanks for bringing this article here....

madfloridian and for keeping this issue at the top of my mind. and the corporate media is not to be trusted. It is full of lazy, ignorant "reporters" who are really just stenographers for the various corporate interests determined to destroy this country. Destroying our public education would be a big step in what they consider the right direction.

It is very important for people to be aware of the various scams out there and be prepared to understand and deal with them because they will be coming to a school near you.

[madfloridian]

14. "lazy, ignorant "reporters"

Sadly so true. They just spout whatever nonsense comes their way.

[Starry Messenger]

11. That's why fake grass is called astroturf, kids!

I'm glad to see all that hard work by bloggers is getting picked up by print journalism. These ugly front groups are worse than Scientology.

[madfloridian]

16. Astroturf is all around us.

They are indeed "ugly front groups."

[SoCalDem]

12. "Biddness 101"

Create a need..make it seem like it's exclusive..fill it.

[madfloridian]

15. Exactly. This is the corporate takeover of education....

I have to admit they are winning.

My main regret is that our party is so into it.

There should be an OWS for education. :shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. I heard Michael Moore is making his next movie on education

Not sure though. I watched his interview on BookTV on Sunday and he said he never talks about what his next project will be. Then Sunday night a teacher on Facebook reported that she had gone to hear him speak at a book signing (in Florida I think) and he had told the audience his next film was on education.

I want to hope he'd tell the real story. But it's hard to be optimistic anymore. Sigh.

[distilledvinegar]

17. Ben Austin, Jeb Bush, Rupert Murdoch - in the same room

Ben Austin is going to be a panelist at the upcoming http://www.excelined.org/Pages/Programs/Excellence_in_Action/National_Summit/2011_Agenda.aspx">"National Summit on Education Reform 2011" in San Francisco, put on by Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education - and Rupert Murdoch is appearing as a keynote speaker.

How much more grassroots can you get?

:eyes:

[kag]

19. "which unfortunately is all about charter schools"

Which is just the same as saying it's all about $$$$$$$. The same people who want to "privatize" Social Security, the same people who make millions on other people's illnesses want to make money on our children's education. It's all about dumbing down the masses and turning us in to automatons that work cheap and don't make noise.

Fight this as hard as you can!

[certainot]

20. and just like the teabaggers all those others- laundered into 'popular' movements by RW talk radio

locally and nationally, whatever works best for the think tanks that produce this shit.

and the collective left still has no clue that talk radio is kicking internet ass