'Teacher evaluation': Real agenda appears to be school privatization

IN AN urban Head Start classroom, a 3-year-old has just been dropped off by her father and sits on the lap of a volunteer from the "Granny Brigade." As he leaves, she begins to wail, "Daddy! Dadeeeeee!" Her "granny" holds her gently until she calms down and is ready to join other young children in their morning activities. They go through this ritual for several days until the little girl gradually adjusts to the new experience known as preschool.

All children depend on the adults in their lives to establish the basic trust that they will be safe. When parents lead especially disordered lives, there are at best few positive supports for their children, and at worst, abuse and neglect. Subjected to relentless toxic stress, the developing brains of perfectly normal babies literally fail to grow, creating lifelong emotional and cognitive disabilities. Without early intervention, the toll is often irreversible and tragic.

So what happens to these stressed-out children when they come to school; who is responsible for their academic progress?

The message of former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is that the adults immediately in charge of the classroom are most accountable. No one else has the same level of responsibility for student achievement; not parents, administrators nor the students themselves. And certainly not the politicians who vote to limit school funding while demanding high test scores from all children.

To spread this peculiar school-reform message, Rhee founded a national school-choice advocacy group called Students First. They and a sister group called Pennsylvania Students First are affiliated with a third organization called the American Federation for Children, headed by privatization activist Betsy de Vos.

AFC's mission statement from its website reads: "The American Federation for Children is a leading national advocacy organization promoting school choice, with a specific focus on advocating for school vouchers and scholarship tax-credit programs."

In 2010, with huge donations from AFC and the Susquehanna Investment Group, Pennsylvania Students First PAC contributed to the failed gubernatorial campaign of Democratic state Sen. Anthony Williams. He is one of the sponsors of Senate Bill 1, which would authorize new pathways to charter schools, vouchers for private schools, and expansion of the $75 million corporate-tax-credit allowance by Pennsylvania's Education Improvement Tax Credit Act.