This is what happens when you privatize education and take decisions out of the hands of educators

[erodriguez]

From the NY Times:

Inexperienced Companies Chase U.S. School Turnaround Funds

With the Obama administration pouring billions into its nationwide campaign to overhaul failing schools, dozens of companies with little or no experience are portraying themselves as school turnaround experts as they compete for the money.

A husband-and-wife team that has specialized in teaching communication skills but never led a single school overhaul is seeking contracts in Ohio and Virginia. A corporation that has run into trouble with parents or authorities in several states in its charter school management business has now opened a school turnaround subsidiary. Other companies seeking federal money include offshoots of textbook conglomerates and classroom technology vendors.

Many of the new companies seem unprepared for the challenge of making over a public school, yet neither federal nor many state governments are organized to offer effective oversight, said Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy, a nonprofit group in Washington. “Many of these companies clearly just smell the money,” Mr. Jennings said.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/education/10schools.html?hp

[MichiganVote]

1. K&R

[erodriguez]

2. No +1, Probably unrecced a bunch of times already.

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. It's a revealed truth....

...of America's real state religion: Everything private is better than anything public.

It doesn't need 'oversight' -- it has to work, ipso facto.

[erodriguez]

4. Unemployed teacher starting a school turnaround company

Hey I'm figuring maybe I should get a piece of this.

I know I have a lot more experience than most of these people when it comes to teaching and learning. And it sure would be nice to have a paycheck.

[Davis_X_Machina]

5. You're outranked....

...you need at least an unemployed former state commissioner of education.

Because no one can fix schools like the people who broke them in the first place?

[erodriguez]

6. Haha That's the Truth!

[immoderate]

7. Kick

--imm