Up North Progressive

A Former National Heritage Academy teacher left a comment on this blog that must be shared. They know first-hand that for-profit charter schools are failing our children.

I once worked for this company for three years in Ohio as a teacher and couldn’t be happier to be back in a public school that is getting results without the high stress NHA puts on it’s teachers and administrators all coming from corporate. The corporate world and educational world should never combine – this is a perfect example, but, as long as they have the $$$, they’ll never go away…. someone should really research the turnover rates in these NHA schools. Within three years, almost the entire staff was new (most teachers hired have < 2 years experience). Young teachers are being eaten alive – chewed up and spit out. I’ve never been happier to be in a public school setting where the word “fairness” comes into play not only for students and families…. but the staff working 50+ hours a week, dedicating themselves to better the education world.

The turnover rates are in fact very high for a number of reasons. For-profit charter schools have to make a profit off of our tax dollars. If they can’t, the school closes down, and the staff employed there have to find a job elsewhere. If the teachers working there are from an organization part of the corporate ed reform world, such as Teach For America, they only teach for two years, then TFA assigns them other jobs within their company. Members of TFA only spend time in the classroom when they are the bottom step of that particular pyramid scheme. And then, as this former NHA teacher states, turnover rate is high due to the terrible working conditions and dealing with a corporate administration that puts profits over educating children. Dedicated professionals burn out and leave the teaching field.

The corporate world and educational world should never combine. This is the best statement that accurately explains the demise of America’s once excellent public education system. Corporations fail our children and always will.

Another commenter asked an important question:

Thanks for exposing the truth about the destruction for profit of our public school system. I for one do not want my taxes going to pay these thieves! How can we stop it??

Excellent question! Here are ways for people to get involved and stop the for-profit charter school cancer from spreading.

• Register to vote and get out and actually vote. The main reason these corporate thieves get away with stealing funding from real public schools is because the wrong people get elected. Don’t assume any Democratic candidate is safe either. Far too many Democratic party politicians support corporate education reform unfortunately, including President Obama. His Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has been the most devastating to public education so far. All Republicans are in favor of dismantling public education.
• Take the time to research who funds these anti-education politicians. If they take ANY DeVos money or are endorsed by organizations such as Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) DO NOT VOTE FOR THEM. There are other organizations and institutions in Michigan also part of the education reform movement. They are all terrible and determined to destroy public education, not improve it.
• Get involved in your local community’s school district. Attend PTA/PTO meetings and school board meetings. Republicans, especially the religious right targeted taking over these institutions that set policy for school districts decades ago.
• Any article published in the newspaper claiming 4th graders are failing or statistics show public schools are doing worse than ever and the spokesperson quoted belongs to some “education reform advocacy group” you’ve never heard of before, it’s likely they are a dummy group set up by one of the corporate education reformers putting out negative propaganda. Take the time to research the name of these groups and they always can be traced back to any of the well-known education reform organizations.

Stopping corporate ed reformers will take effort from all of us. Our children’s’ future depends on putting these organizations out of business, and electing candidates into office who support public education.