Bill Gates Pushing Charter Schools

[JailForBush]

Check out this editorial in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, at
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/156022_chartered.html

Monday, January 12, 2004

Charters: Worthy idea, no miracle

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

Educational choices, including charter schools, offer opportunities for innovation. But success depends on how that choice is implemented.

That's the conclusion of a national body of experts, whose work was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The clear-eyed realism of the National Working Commission on Choice in K-12 Education will be important to keep in mind nationally and in this state.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act pushes districts to allow students in failing schools to transfer to the school of their choice. The 2004 Legislature will see another attempt to allow charters operated by school districts. As long as the measure is carefully limited, focuses on underachieving students and doesn't require any district to participate, new options make sense.

Unfortunately, the new Seattle School Board has rushed to oppose charters. As a national leader in one form of choice -- letting families choose among public school assignments -- Seattle should be open to letting others innovate.<snip>

1. Bill Gates doesn't give a rat's ass about children or education. Washington State's last charter school initiative was bankrolled by his partner in crime, Paul Allen. Washington's Democrats and corrupt teachers unions did amazingly little to fight that initiative, shoring up my theory that they're in bed with Republicans.


2. The Seattle P-I is itself a very corrupt newspaper.


3. The Seattle School Board wrote the book on corruption and is also in bed with Bill Gates and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. So why are they officially opposing charter schools?

I don't know yet, but I think it's mostly a matter of show. Liberal Seattle is SUPPOSED to be against school choice, and the school board is supposed to at least pretend to represent the community - especially with a major school levy just a few weeks away.


4. I support school choice in principle. But, in actual practice, it's a lost cause. The entire system is simply too corupt.

But the writing's on the wall. Washington's public school system has already been effectively privatized, and the same clueless conservatives and liberals who let that happen aren't going to stop charter schools.

What a sick joke.

[leftyandproud]

1. scew em..

he was right about the estate tax...wrong about this

[noonwitch]

2. I wonder what brand of computer equipment those schools will use?

I don't hate Bill Gates, but he does have some questionable business practices. He donated a whole lot of money and equipment to the Detroit Public Schools, in defiance of the ex-governor, who told major companies not to donate anything to them prior to the state taking over the district and dissolving the school board.

I have some familiarity with the Annie Casey foundation, as they run a program called "Family to Family" and sell it to state social services/CPS/Foster Care agencies. It is one of the biggest waste of workers' time. Every time a kid gets removed from his parents' home, moved from one program to another, or comes in from truancy, there has to be a Family to Family meeting before any plan can be implemented or new placement can be done. This is in addition to court hearings, even though the courts have the ultimate power in these matters.
We (CPS and CFC workers) are annoyed by this program also because the workers in it are fellow workers with the same civil service classification as the rest of us, yet the AC foundation underwrites their pay so they make $2 more an hour than us, and their jobs involve less work than ours, less risk to life and safety, and most were given those cake jobs without any regard for seniority or merit.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Charter Schools are not private schools

In Alachua County, Florida we have been very successful with this concept. Small rural communities are now able to have their own community run schools. There are schools for disadvantaged students. We have one of the only schools in the country for students with reading disabilities. There is one that focuses on the creative arts...

Under the right circumstances charter schools are a very good idea.

[truthspeaker]

4. ditto in MN

as long as there is oversight and accountability they can be very successful.