National research shows that charter schools, on average, perform no better than public schools.
Upon examination, it appears that charter privatization proposals are driven more by financial and ideological grounds than by sound pedagogy: Above all, the report questions why an educational model deemed substandard for more privileged suburban children is being so vigorously promoted-perhaps even forced-on poor children in Milwaukee. This briefing paper also explains how such proposals might fit within the broader economic agenda of both local and national corporate lobbies. This report evaluates the “blended learning” model of education exemplified by Rocketship and seeks to understand how the “school accountability” legislation debated during the most recent legislative session would likely affect Milwaukee schools. Yet-as is detailed later in this report-these same organizations have traditionally opposed what are typically considered two of the fundamental building blocks for improving education, particularly for poor children: adequate school funding and effective anti-poverty policies.
In advocating school privatization, MMAC, allied corporate lobbies, and corporate-funded think tanks claim to be acting out of social altruism, motivated by the tragedy of poor children whose needs are unmet in the public school system. It is these groups, rather than parents or community organizations, that provided the impetus for legislators to consider proposals for mass school closure and privatization in Milwaukee. The call for public schools to be replaced by such tech-heavy, teacher-light operations comes from some of the most powerful actors in local and national politics: the major corporate lobbies, including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Americans for Prosperity, and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). Rocketship proposes that its model-dubbed “blended learning” for its combination of in-person and computerized instruction-can cut costs while raising low-income students’ test scores (Rocketship Education 2011). To help inform these deliberations, this report addresses the most comprehensive set of reforms put forward in the 2013–2014 legislative session.īackers of these reforms are particularly enamored of a new type of charter school represented by the Rocketship chain of schools-a low-budget operation that relies on young and inexperienced teachers rather than more veteran and expensive faculty, that reduces the curriculum to a near-exclusive focus on reading and math, and that replaces teachers with online learning and digital applications for a significant portion of the day. Nevertheless, the more ambitious proposals will likely remain at the core of Wisconsin’s debates over education policy, and legislative leaders have made clear their desire to revisit them in next year’s session. Ultimately, the only legislation enacted was a bill that modestly increases school reporting requirements, without stipulating consequences for low performance.
These proposals were particularly targeted at Milwaukee, the state’s largest and poorest school district.
#DREAMBOX WRONG SOUND EFFECT SERIES#
During the past year, Wisconsin state legislators debated a series of bills aimed at closing low-performing public schools and replacing them with privately run charter schools.
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