http://stopcommoncoreinmichigan.com/2016/11/stop-cc-mi-respectfully-request-president-elect-trump-drain-swamp-pull-plug-betsy-devos/

Stop CC in MI respectfully request President-elect Trump to “drain the swamp” and pull the plug on Betsy DeVos

Karen Braun

We, the leadership team at Stop Common Core in Michigan, respectfully ask President-elect Donald Trump to immediately remove Betsy DeVos’s name from consideration as Secretary of the Department of Education.  We do not make this request lightly but with considerable knowledge regarding her negative influence in Michigan as a proponent of Common Core.

Michigan turned red for Trump for the first time since the 1980’s.  A large number of voters in Michigan were attracted to the Trump campaign because of his emphatic message against Common Core.  Michigan voters know that most Republicans in our state say they are against Common Core but do nothing to stop it.  We believed Trump would be a different kind of Republican and “drain the swamp” in education.  We believed that until the nomination of Betsy DeVos.  DeVos is part of  “the swamp” in Michigan.  She represents both a special interest AND as an influential Republican fought EVERY effort to stop Common Core in Michigan with her money and political influence.  

We respectfully submit that Betsy DeVos’s recent claim that she is against Common Core is not an accurate representation of her actions regarding  Common Core or the competency-based centralized education system the standards help build from prenatal to career.  We have done our “homework” as she encouraged; we support our claim with the following reasons:

1.  Betsy DeVos funds and serves on the board of the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP).
DeVos founded GLEP in 2001 and served as chair until 2008; she currently serves as a board member.  GLEP is a special-interest education political action committee.  One of the stated priorities of GLEP is “implementing” and “maintaining” Common Core “high standards” reform.  The GLEP document “The Conservative Case for Common Core” clearly articulates their support of Common Core.  No retraction has been issued.  Only after President-elect Trump nominated DeVos for Secretary did she attempt to distance herself from the pro-Common Core position of organizations such as GLEP.   She wrote on her very new web page Q & A,

 “Have organizations that I have been a part of supported Common Core? Of course. But that’s not my position,”

DeVos cannot distance herself from GLEP and their position that easily.  As a founder and major donor, DeVos’s mission IS GLEP’s mission.   Now that the standards are implemented in Michigan, GLEP’s mission is to maintain the so called “high standards” and build the assessment and accountability framework around them.

2.  Betsy DeVos and GLEP are lobbyists for Common Core. 
DeVos is a business woman who advocates for education reform in Michigan.   DeVos and GLEP lobbied the Michigan legislature to implement and maintain Common Core and related reforms.   Former MI State Representative, now State School Board member-elect,  Tom McMillin recently spoke to our team about DeVos and her claim that she is against Common Core.  McMillin, a strong opponent of Common Core, recalled that in 2013 DeVos specifically told him she was for Common Core during the very contentious legislative debate to stop implementation.  With the help of DeVos and GLEP,  resolution (HR-11) was abruptly passed through the Senate on a voice vote.  The hasty vote allowed Common Core to continue.  GLEP publicly applauded the resolution and the continued implementation of Common Core.

3.  DeVos and GLEP seek to influence elections in order to continue implementation of a Common Core aligned centralized education system. 

DeVos appeared very depressed and unhappy at the 2016 Republican National Convention during Trump’s acceptance speech. (Photo credit: Tami Carlone)

It is not a secret that Betsy DeVos or GLEP seek to influence elections with endorsements and campaign assistance.  Like all investors, DeVos expects a return on her investment.  Candidates who receive a GLEP endorsement face intense pressure to continue the reforms she desires.  Those reforms include the continued implementation of Common Core or so called, “high standards,” accountability, and school choice.

DeVos did not initially get on board the Trump train. Trump’s anti-common core rhetoric did not match her own position and agenda.  She indicated she would work on down ballot races and to push school choice.   The DeVos definition of school choice is the freedom to choose which Common Core aligned charter school will test and track your child from cradle-to-career. Local and parent control do not exist in DeVos’s education reform model.  Data and government funding drive the decision.  In a nutshell, school choice is centralized control to meet the demands of the state and regional business not the dreams of the child.  If confirmed, DeVos will hire people who share the same vision of common core aligned centralized education system to help her run the Department of Education.   The exact opposite of his goal to “drain the swamp.”

4.  GLEP director Gary Naeyaert threatened legal action against Stop Common Core in Michigan.

Screen capture of email Naeyaert sent to Melanie Kurdys threatening legal action.

In 2014, we began talking about DeVos and GLEP and why their endorsements matter.   We were also tracking candidates who were “for” and “against” Common Core.  We began a roll call of the candidates and noted if they received the GLEP endorsement on our website.   We explained our reasons clearly.  We believed there was “a high correlation between those who accepted the GLEP endorsement and their future votes on legislation.”  On June 8, 2014 we received an email from Gary Naeyaert requesting that we refrain from referencing GLEP or their endorsements in any future communication.  We did not reply.  On June 9, we received a second email:

“Let me be as clear as possible. If you continue to make false statements about [our] organization, you will be hearing from our legal counsel.”  – Gary Naeyaert, Executive Director of GLEP.

These are the intimidating tactics of a bully who is determined to get his way and silence any opposition.  After the 2014 election, Naeyaert bragged on Twitter about the results and sent Karen Braun the following tweet,

@SpunkyBraun If tonight’s election results are a referendum on #CommonCore, looks like we’ll continue implementing them. #miprimary

— GLEP (@GLEP_MI) August 6, 2014

Naeyaert’s actions occurred under the leadership of Betsy DeVos.  Threatening ordinary grassroots moms that oppose DeVos or GLEP and bragging about continued implementation of Common Core is NOT the kind leadership needed if President-elect Trump is serious about fulfilling his campaign promise to get rid of Common Core or removing federal intrusion in education.

5. DeVos or GLEP  have NOT reached out to the Stop Common Core in Michigan team.
They do not owe us a phone call or a follow-up tweet.  But one would think that after fighting us for so long and threatening legal action that either DeVos or Naeyaert would have made some attempt to reach out and let us know they changed their position. They have not. The first time we heard about Betsy DeVos’s new position on Common Core was last week when she posted her statement after the nomination.  Now is not time to trust our children’s educational future to a candidate whose only evidence that she is against Common Core is a single statement on a recently created web page.

6.  DeVos and GLEP have NOT supported Michigan legislation SB 826 or HB 5444 to Repeal and Replace Common Core.
Legislation to repeal and replace Common Core and related assessments was introduced in the spring of 2016.  Neither DeVos nor GLEP have expressed support for the bills.  In fact, GLEP  partnered with pro-Common Core Governor Snyder and others in the Michigan Coalition for Higher Standards to OPPOSE the bills.  The bill quickly passed the Senate Education Committee but has not been voted on by the full Senate.  We believe that GLEP and the coalition’s opposition to SB 826 is a significant reason it has not passed.

7.  Betsy DeVos supports  “high standards” on a national level.
DeVos, like Huckabee and many others, knows that the term “Common Core” has become toxic.  In her statement, she now makes the claim she is against it while still supporting “high standards.”  A change in terminology does not mean a change in mission.  DeVos has never renounced national common “high standards” but understands that they are a necessary component of her goal to deconstruct local/parent control in education.  If Betsy DeVos is confirmed, it is appears that national common “higher standards” will continue unabated regardless of what they are called.

8.    Betsy DeVos’s nomination was praised by stalwart common core advocates Jeb Bush and Michigan Governor Snyder.
Jeb Bush, an unwavering supporter of Common Core, praised the nomination of Betsy DeVos.  That should not be a surprise to anyone.  DeVos serves on the board for Bush’s Foundation For Excellence in Education.   The nomination was also praised by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.  Bush and Snyder have been vocal in their support of Common Core and a “new vision” for “prenatal to life-long learning” seamless education pathway.   Few grassroots activists who are truly anti-Common Core have praised her nomination.  That is telling and speaks louder than any recent website statement about the true vision of Betsy DeVos.

9.   Betsy DeVos will continue the push toward a “new vision” in education.
In his praise of DeVos, Bush referred to her ability to take bold leadership in a “new education vision.”  We very much doubt that he is referring to Trump’s promise to get rid of Common Core which is the opposite of Bush’s plan.   When a pro-Common Core advocate talks about a “new vision” it usually means more control not less.  Common Core (or any common national higher standard) is a necessary component of a new education system.  This vision is  often referred to as school choice.

Betsy DeVos is one of its strongest advocates.   The goal of school choice is a competency-based education system federally-funded in partnership with private organizations and businesses.  Federal dollars and student data follow the child from prenatal to career.  When government funding and data follow the child so does government control over the child’s life.

10.  Betsy DeVos’s recent statement against Common Core is insufficient to counter the weight of evidence over many years during which she worked to see Common Core and related reforms implemented in Michigan.  We have no confidence that she will stop Common Core at the national level and every reason to believe she will continue to “fill the swamp.”

We respectfully ask President-elect Donald Trump to immediately remove Betsy DeVos from consideration as Secretary of the Department of Education.  After her immediate removal, we invite Betsy DeVos to join the grassroots efforts in Michigan to undo the damage common core and P-20 (prenatal to life-long learning) competency based education has brought to our state’s educational system under her very persuasive influence.

The Stop Common Core in Michigan Leadership Team

Melanie Kurdys

Deborah DeBacker

Tamara Carlone
Michelle Frederick

Category: Uncategorized

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https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2016/11/donald-trump-betsy-devos-secretary-of-education/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork

What Will Betsy DeVos Bring to the Role of Secretary of Education?

November 23, 2016 By Shane Vander Hart  1 Comment

President-elect Donald Trump announced today that school choice advocate Betsy DeVos will be his Secretary of Education. DeVos will have to be confirmed by a Republican majority Senate.

“Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate,” Trump said in a released statement. “Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families. I am pleased to nominate Betsy as Secretary of the Department of Education.”

“I am honored to accept this responsibility to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again,” DeVos said. “The status quo in education is not acceptable. Together, we can work to make transformational change that ensures every student in America has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential.”

DeVos is a native of Michigan and has spent the better part of two decades advocating for school choice there, as well as, nationally. She is the chairman of the American Federation for Children which is a national school choice advocacy group. She is also a member of the board for the Foundation of Excellence in Education and the Great Lakes Education Project both of which are supportive of Common Core, but also school choice.

DeVos has served as the National Republican Committeewoman for Michigan and was elected as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party four times. Her husband, entrepreneur and philanthropist Dick DeVos, ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign against former Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-Michigan).

DeVos chairs the Windquest Group and has also served on national and local charitable and civic boards, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, American Enterprise Institute, The Philanthropy Roundtable, Kids Hope USA, and Mars Hill Bible Church.

She is a graduate of Holland Christian High School in Holland, MI and received her bachelor’s degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. DeVos and her husband Dick have four children and five grandchildren.

What about Common Core? 

Throughout the presidential campaign Donald Trump has said that he is against Common Core and that he would get rid of it. Those of us who oppose Common Core are concerned that she sits on the board of not one, but two organizations that avidly advocate for Common Core.

DeVos this afternoon asserts that she is against Common Core. She tweeted this:

Many of you are asking about Common Core. To clarify, I am not a supporter—period. Read my full stance, here: https://t.co/qB2nAXvX0B

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) November 23, 2016

Her statement was part of a Q&A, and I’m not certain when it was written.

Certainly. I am not a supporter—period.

I do support high standards, strong accountability, and local control. When Governors such as John Engler, Mike Huckabee, and Mike Pence were driving the conversation on voluntary high standards driven by local voices, it all made sense. 

Have organizations that I have been a part of supported Common Core? Of course. But that’s not my position. Sometimes it’s not just students who need to do their homework.

However, along the way, it got turned into a federalized boondoggle.

Above all, I believe every child, no matter their zip code or their parents’ jobs, deserves access to a quality education.

Up until this Q&A was put up she had made no public statement about Common Core, and this one is rather vague. So like former Governor Mike Huckabee she’s saying she supported the American Diploma Project. She’s saying she doesn’t mind voluntary standards provided they are not “turned into a federalized boondoggle.”

Does she disagree that Common Core is “higher standards” or does she just oppose them because of the federal influence due to Race to the Top? She wants accountability, but is that at the state level or the federal level?

Those opposed to Common Core are concerned by the company she has kept.

She helped fund an effort influence the Republican primaries in her home state of Michigan and provided financial support to an organization, Great Lakes Education Project, that was part of an effort to defeat Michigan’s Common Core repeal bill.

Former Michigan State Representative Tom McMillin told Caffeinated Thoughts, “she and GLEP were one of the main leaders defending Common Core when I was fighting it in the legislature. In 2013 I know she was strongly supportive of Common Core and high stakes testing.”

“Gates won again.” Dr. Sandra Stotsky, a staunch opponent of Common Core, told Caffeinated Thoughts.

“Parents and teachers have been seemingly double-crossed by the DeVos appointment.  One huge issue is to what extent DeVos lied on her website that she was against Common Core when parents in Michigan see her as someone who has acted against parents’ interests and has served the forces of Common Core well,” Stotsky added.

Some activists are concerned, but are taking a “wait and see” approach.

“Nominating a person who has such ties to the pro-Common Core movement (even though she now disclaims support) is worrisome, to say the least. Parent activists had suggested multiple highly qualified people who would have been devoted to shutting down fed ed and returning all control to the states and localities. Their suggestions were apparently ignored. They had reason to hope for better from the Trump administration. We’ll have to see how willing Mrs. DeVos is to help Mr. Trump keep his campaign commitments,” Jane Robbins, senior fellow at American Principles Project, told Caffeinated Thoughts.

Some activists are cautiously hopeful that she will represent a change in the U.S. Department of Education.

“She says she wants high standards, but indicates that she thinks they should be local, or at least ‘driven by local voices.’ Assuming that means she will brook no federal influence over state standards–and I’m not sure her statement is entirely clear on that–that’s good news,” Neal McClusky, director of Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, told Caffeinated Thoughts.

What DeVos will do to actually untangle federal involvement with standards and accountability is unclear. I hope along with McClusky that this means she will walk back federal involvement and influence over state standards. Perhaps some of my earlier questions will be fleshed out in the confirmation process.

It should be noted again that DeVos’ involvement with the organizations in question could be due to their school choice platform, not Common Core. While she has not been a vocal opponent of Common Core, she has not been a vocal advocate for it either.

A champion of school choice.

DeVos deserves credit for her support for a parent’s right to choose what education is best for their student and this is appears to be a priority in the Trump administration.

Her support of school choice has earned her accolades among many Republicans such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Betsy DeVos will be great Secretary of Education.her passion for every child having a good education is proven by years of work in Michigan

— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) November 23, 2016

.@BetsyDeVos has been a champion of education reform for decades and is a fantastic choice to lead the Department of Education.

— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) November 23, 2016

Texas Governor Greg Abbott also points to her selection as signaling Trump’s support for school choice.

Trump shows support for school choice by selecting Betsy DeVos for education secretary. #txlege #schoolchoice https://t.co/9BsacH1isT

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 23, 2016

One of Michigan’s Congressman applauded the nomination citing school choice. “Betsy DeVos has been at the forefront of the effort to ensure every child in America has access to a quality education no matter their zip code,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) who represents Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District. “Betsy will be a tremendous advocate, who parents can count on, to disrupt business as usual in Washington. For too long, the educational status quo has failed too many children. Betsy has the knowledge and skill set to improve education by cutting through the bureaucratic red tape, restoring local control, and empowering parents to have a greater say in their children’s education.”

Her own Representative, Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) who represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District praised Trump’s choice.

“Congratulations to Betsy DeVos on her nomination as secretary of education. She is a friend, a resident of Michigan’s Third District, and a longtime community leader. I can think of few people as prepared to meet the challenges ahead,” Amash said in a released statement.

“Betsy is intelligent, creative, experienced, and passionate about reforming education. I look forward to working with her to empower parents and local communities, advance school choice and competition, protect the right of homeschooling, and stop federal mandates and harmful initiatives like Race to the Top and Common Core,” Amash added.

Caffeinated Thoughts has also been told that DeVos is incredibly popular in the Michigan Christian School community, and nationally as well for her support of those schools and advocacy for school choice.

McClusky, a school choice supporter, was uncertain how much can be done at the federal level.

“On the spectrum of education policy people, her support for choice puts her well on the correct side. But I have concerns, especially that President-elect Trump, or she herself, will see Ms. Devos as not just the education department head, but the national education boss,” McClusky said.

He’s concerned about strings that could be attached to federal money for school choice.

“Even though choice is great, it is not something people should want Washington providing. Nor—outside of the DC voucher program, military families, and maybe Native American reservations—is it something that the feds can constitutionally provide. My fear is that DeVos and Trump might not recognize the myriad problems with taking private school choice national. More concerning, the American Federation for Children, which DeVos chairs, has tended to favor more rules and regulations on choice than I would prefer. That could become a much bigger concern were rules and regs attached to national-level vouchers,”  McClusky added.

I also appreciate her support of homeschooling and she provides quite a contrast with current Secretary of Education John King. In an interview with the Philanthropy Roundtable she said, “Homeschooling represents another perfectly valid educational option. To the extent that homeschooling puts parents back in charge of their kids’ education, more power to them. . . . We think of the educational choice movement as involving many parts: vouchers and tax credits, certainly, but also virtual schools, magnet schools, homeschooling, and charter schools.”

King on the other hand said he was concerned about homeschooling kids were not “getting the range of options that are good for all kids,” “not getting kind of the rapid instructional experience they would get in school.” King also said, however,  he’s aware of homeschooling families “doing it incredibly well” and he knew of homeschooled students in college who had “very tremendous academic success.” He also acknowledged a parent’s choice, “Obviously, it’s up to families if they want to take a homeschool approach.”

She won’t push radical liberal agendas. 

DeVos is respected among the Christian school community in Michigan. I’m impressed with her involvement with KidsHope USA which is a Christian-based mentoring program based out of in Michigan doing great work in local schools throughout the nation.

Because of the praise I’ve seen from social conservatives I don’t see her pushing a radical LGBT agenda from the U.S. Department of Education.

National Right to Life released a statement earlier recognizing her support of the right-to-life cause. I suspect under her leadership the U.S. Department of Education will not push comprehensive sex education.

Keeping a focus on education instead of a social agenda will be a radical improvement from the outgoing administration.

She is not beholden to teachers’ unions.

Teachers unions don’t love her so, in my mind, that is a positive.

“Every day, educators use their voice to advocate for every student to reach his or her full potential. We believe that the chance for the success of a child should not depend on winning a charter lottery, being accepted by a private school, or living in the right ZIP code. We have, and will continue, to fight for all students to have a great public school in their community and the opportunity to succeed no matter their backgrounds or circumstances,”  NEA President Lily Eskelsen García said in a released statement.

“Betsy DeVos has consistently worked against these values, and her efforts over the years have done more to undermine public education than support students. She has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers — which take away funding and local control from our public schools — to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense. These schemes do nothing to help our most-vulnerable students while they ignore or exacerbate glaring opportunity gaps. She has consistently pushed a corporate agenda to privatize, de-professionalize and impose cookie-cutter solutions to public education. By nominating Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration has demonstrated just how out of touch it is with what works best for students, parents, educators and communities,” García added.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, hates DeVos.

The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education.

In nominating DeVos, Trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America.

DeVos has no meaningful experience in the classroom or in our schools. The sum total of her involvement has been spending her family’s wealth in an effort to dismantle public education in Michigan. Every American should be concerned that she would impose her reckless and extreme ideology on the nation.

As if AFT doesn’t promote reckless and extreme ideology.  She is also an outsider and frankly I don’t see that as a bad thing.

Conclusion

While Betsy DeVos wouldn’t be my first (or second or third or fourth) choice Trump could have picked someone far worse (like Michelle Rhee). I don’t believe it is likely that her nomination will be blocked unless Senate Democrats hold together in opposition and are joined by some Republicans.

I do hope she will work to increase real local control. I hope she does not exercise influence over state standards and tests. I hope that in this spirit she will approve state plans required by the Every Student Succeeds Act instead of micromanaging states like we have seen under the Obama administration. I hope that under the Trump administration we see federal funds sent to states in the form of block grants in order to give them the most control.

Trump has hinted at closing the U.S. Department of Education. I suspect that will be an empty promise, but if she can help lead an effort to reduce the federal role in education that will be praise worthy.

I will give Mrs. DeVos a chance, just like the one I’m giving President-elect Trump, to lead and see what she will do.

Filed Under: Education, U.S. Politics Tagged With: American Federation of Teachers, American Principles Project, Betsy DeVos, Bill Huizenga, Bobby Jindal, CATO Institute, Common Core, Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, homeschooling, Jane Robbins, Justin Amash, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Neal McClusky, Newt Gingrich, Randi Weingarten, Sandra Stotsky, school choice

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School Choice: Fig Leaf of the Pro-Common Core Right

https://www.nas.org/articles/school_choice_fig_leaf_of_the_pro_common_core_right

School Choice: Fig Leaf of the Pro-Common Core Right | National Association of Scholars

This article was originally published by the New Boston Post.

A recent report by the conservative Heritage Foundation suggests that the best way to fight the controversial Common Core educational standards is to oppose the “centralization of education.” The report tells dissident parents that the best way to fight Common Core and improve schools is to promote “school choice.”

But the truth is that mediocre standards, a poor curriculum based on them, and academically underqualified teachers are the biggest problems facing our schools – and they are likely to persist even with decentralization.

In part, that is because public charter schools (a major symbol of school choice) must also address Common Core-aligned tests and its standards.

But, even were they not required to “get with the program,” charter schools and vouchers are unavailable to most parents of public school children because these choices, when they exist, are mainly for urban communities whose children are trapped in failing schools. In fact, the kind of school choice studied by education researchers in most education journals has no meaning for the vast majority of American students. For the parents of these students, opting them out of federal and state mandated tests, or simply home schooling, is a far better weapon against the damaging centralization of education in this country than charter schools and vouchers.

Moreover, the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed by Congress in December 2015 and immediately signed into law by President Obama, now requires that every state adopt ‘college- and career-ready’ standards (like those contained in Common Core).

So, although the new law purports to somewhat decentralize educational decision-making, it in fact all but guarantees that Common Core’s standards — or a set of standards that lend themselves to a Common Core-based test — will likely remain in place in most states.

Even left to their own devices, many state and local education elites — a fair number of whom are heavily invested in the Common Core regime — would continue to push Common Core-type standards, even if under another name.

In fact, in some states, public officials and activists have deliberately deceived the public in outright defiance of the expressed will of the legislature to revise or eliminate Common Core’s standards. (This was the case in South Carolina, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Jersey, and seems to be happening in Texas.)

Although “rebranding” is the generic name of the strategy, the specific mechanisms used by state departments of education to ensure they maintain Common Core or Common Core-aligned standards vary and include: (1) changing the test’s name; (2) using a restricted online review methodology that limits reviewers of state standards to a standard-by-standard review; (3) stacking review committees and granting them limited purview; (4) skewing public discussions on the matter or not allowing the public to weigh in at all; and (5) relying on rigged external reports.

It’s time the media and our education researchers looked more closely at what’s happening on the ground in each state. And Massachusetts is a good place to start.

In Massachusetts, the Gates Foundation is funding an existing but weak and virtually unknown organization — the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) — to oppose parents who don’t like the state’s current Common Core – aligned standards (standards that do not apply to Bill Gates’s children at their expensive private school in Seattle).

MBAE is desperately fighting a grassroots effort by parents across the state to ditch Common Core and restore the state’s former standards – which were both more substantive and more rigorous. Despite opposition from the education elites, Massachusetts parents have collected enough signatures for an initiative petition that would put the abolition of Common Core on the November 2016 election ballot.

But the elites at MBAE are paying the pricey Boston law firm of Foley Hoag to sue the state Attorney General (a Democrat) claiming that the petition was unconstitutionally certified.

Massachusetts parents would like to let all its citizens — teachers, parents, taxpayers, and others — vote on whether to get rid of Common Core’s standards and to restore the superior standards they once had.

But even if the public rejects Common Core, dissident parents and educators will need to be vigilant if they are to ensure that Common Core is not re-imposed through the back door.

Only by consistently staying on top of curricular changes; advocating high quality, substantive standards; and electing school committee members who demand high standards for their teachers can we make schools better for all children.

Activists who believe that charters, choice, and decentralization can solve the problem are in for a rude awakening.

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Betsy DeVos: Funded Pro-Muslim, Anti-Israel Curriculum; Affirmative Action Pimp

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/83731/betsy-devos-affirmative-action-pimp-islamo-panderer-guess-who-her-brother-is/

Betsy DeVos: Funded Pro-Muslim, Anti-Israel Curriculum; Affirmative Action Pimp; Guess Who Her Brother Is

November 23, 2016, - 4:26 pm

By Debbie Schlussel

A lot of conservatives are gushing over Betsy DeVos, the rich chick whom Donald Trump chose today as his Education Secretary. They claim she’s a good choice because she supports charter schools and school choice. Don’t believe the hype. I have personal experience with this woman, and she’s an alarming choice–especially if you are concerned about America’s kids being indoctrinated with Islam at school. Here’s why . . .

As many readers know, I’m a lifelong Michiganian (I HATE the term “Michigander”–I ain’t a male goose). So I know a lot about Betsy DeVos, most of it not very good.

* She funded ANTI-ISRAEL, Pro-Muslim curriculum in America’s Public Schools.

Betsy DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos, financed anti-Israel, pro-Muslim propaganda posing as “curriculum” in America’s public schools. The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation financed the anti-Israel, pro-Muslim MidEast Policy Council’s “Teach MidEast” and its “Bridges at School” curriculum. (She’s also a Common Core supporter and fought to make this anti-Israel crap part of the Common Core agenda taught at America’s public schools.)

Bridges at School is a topical curriculum developed for American middle school classrooms. Contextualizing the Arab World and providing a unique series of both critical thinking and creative exercises that shed light on the rich historical, scientific, mathematical, religious, and cultural legacy of the region, this program focuses on the themes of global citizenship and identity through a series of analysis-based activities. Bridges at School highlights poetry and values-based paired texts; fashion and style; visual art; food and spice; drama; music; language; medicine and science; and media. Activities are available free of charge via the online platform NextLesson. Development funding for Bridges at School is courtesy of Donna Pearson Chapman and The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation.

* She supports extremist Muslims who aid and abet Islamic terrorist groups, bring terrorism-supporting Muslim illegal aliens into the United States, and boycott Israel.

Betsy DeVos and her husband Dick DeVos (also born into money) are donors and contributors to ACCESS–the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. And they also attend ACCESS annual fundraising dinners.

As I’ve reported on this site previously, ACCESS–which receives millions of dollars in government grants and aid–actively brings Muslim illegal aliens into the United States and helps them stay here. ACCESS continues to date to bring thousands of pregnant Muslim women from around the world into the United States to defraud Medicaid and give birth to their children here–making them U.S. citizens and eligible for entitlements and voting privileges. 

ACCESS was founded by Ismael Ahmed as a campaign to get the Big Three automakers to divest from Israel and companies that do business with it. ACCESS sponsored the Divestment (from Israel) Conference at the University of Michigan. ACCESS opposed and lobbied Congress against making it illegal to donate to Islamic terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, HAMAS, and Islamic Jihad. Fortunately, the efforts failed and Bill Clinton signed a package into law.

As I’ve also noted, ACCESS also spent thousands of dollars in government money to provide job training and training for commercial drivers licenses and HazMat haulding certificates to members of the Detroit Al-Qaeda terror cell. And its tax-funded Arab American National Museum features several anti-Israel, anti-Semitic “exhibits” and “art.”

When Betsy DeVos’ husband, Dick, was running for Governor of Michigan (he was trounced), I asked him why he and his wife supported ACCESS and why they opposed our efforts to end government-sponsored discrimination in the form of affirmative action.

He was flustered, didn’t have an answer, and had his handlers escort me out of the event.

* She’s An Affirmative Action Pimp and Plays the Race Card.

I was general counsel for the courageous Ward Connerly’s Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI), for which Michigan voters voted in overwhelming numbers in 2006. MCRI’s purpose was to eliminate race-and-gender-based preferences in admissions, hiring, and promotions in public institutions and government in Michigan. In other words, get rid of institutional racism against White males and in favor of Blacks, Hispanics, women, etc.

Betsy DeVos, as then-Chair (yup, a piece of furniture–‘cuz, G-d-forbid, you use the term “chairwoman”) of the Michigan Republican Party, came out repeatedly and very publicly against us. She called us “RAAAAAAYCIST!” Yup, lily-White, privileged Betsy DeVos–who was born into and then also married great wealth and never had to work a day in her charmed life–called Ward Connerly, a self-made Black man, a “racist.” She worked against MCRI and brought the full power of the Michigan Republican Party to bear against us. She also put her daddy’s and hubby’s daddy’s money to work against us. And she tried to pressure Republicans who sat on the committee that certified what qualified for the ballot, to vote against us.

Despite DeVos’ siding with the likes of Jesse Jackson and Weird Al Sharpton and their acolytes in Michigan (and she was our loudest critic–louder than anyone on the left), we won overwhelmingly by a margin of 3-2 in a virtual election landslide unheard of for a ballot initiative in Michigan.

As a lifelong Michiganian, I can tell you that Betsy DeVos is and always has been part of the GOP establishment here in Michigan. She’s never been seen as a conservative.

And, now, Betsy DeVos is Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education. Look for her to pimp her anti-Israel propaganda further into America’s education system. Don’t look for her to end the wasteful, highly-discriminatory, Department of Education efforts at “diversity” and affirmative action at schools and universities. And look for her to keep up her usual efforts at being a dhimmi Islamo-panderer. In other words, look for those anti-Israel, anti-American, pro-Muslim textbooks to continue to be in the curricula throughout America’s public schools. Betsy won’t lift a finger to change the crap that America is teaching our kids.

In other words, it’ll be biz as usual at the Trump Department of Education. Same as it ever was.

***

One other thing: Betsy DeVos’ brother is Erik Prince, the founder and chief of Blackwater for many years. I’d much prefer him running anything in government to her. He knows what Muslims are like. He had to deal with them in their natural habitat and managed to keep the American dignitaries his company was hired to protect, safe.

Sadly, his sis just doesn’t get it. And she never will.

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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/12/rhetoric-bipartisan-every-student-succeeds-act-cant-mask-federal-control-education/

Rhetoric of ‘Bipartisan’ Every Student Succeeds Act Can’t Mask Its Federal Control of Education

File Photo: David Jones/PA Wire URN:21969286/AP

by Dr. Susan Berry12 Dec 20158

Establishment Washington Republicans could not say enough this past week about how the 1,061-page Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reduces the federal government’s role in education and that it eliminates the fed’s coercion of states to stick with the unpopular Common Core standards. Perhaps most significant to these Republicans is that the bill was a self-proclaimed model of “bipartisanship.”

With the demise of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the signing into law of the ESSA, some Americans could be swayed into believing the U.S. Department of Education had practically been dismantled. This is hardly the case.

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“In fact, ESSA will have pretty much the opposite effect,” writes Jane Robbins, senior fellow at American Principles Project, at The Pulse 2016. “It lays out particular requirements for state standards and uses code language throughout that gives the federal government the tools to pressure the states to stick with Common Core rather than risking their federal money by adopting something better.”

“It maintains the federally dictated testing regimen and requires states to implement assessments that are expensive, that have been proven to be ineffective and unworkable, and that operate not by assessing students’ academic knowledge but rather by measuring their attitudes and dispositions,” she continues.

Contrary to what Republican leaders such as Sen. Lamar Alexander are asserting – that the law provides for a more “limited” role for the federal government in education – ESSA cements into law a new federal preschool program, so that what used to be the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), of which the ESSA is now the latest version, now extends federal control to preschool as well.

The new law also provides for President Obama’s special project known as the “21st Century Community Learning Centers.” Robbins explains:

[This] means that schools will be expanded to replace family and church as the center of every child’s life, offering myriad “services” including mental-health programs. Few things should alarm parents more than the prospect of the government’s assessing their child’s mental health and proceeding to fix any problem the government claims to find. But this is what the Republican Congress has given us.

The fact that Obama signed the bill the day after it passed the Senate, referring to it as a “Christmas miracle” of bipartisanship; that it was supported in a floor speech by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; that its advocates include the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the owners of the copyright of the Common Core standards – the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers – may say it all.

Coming from the left, The Atlantic also asserts the D.C. rhetoric on the ESSA is “bloated.” While NCLB had clearly become a bureaucratic boondoggle, and its death “is certainly cause for excitement,” the publication asserts, “In reality, schools may not see much on-the-ground change.”

The Atlantic continues:

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia already have waivers from No Child Left Behind’s “most troublesome and restrictive requirements”—flexibility granted several years ago by the Obama administration in exchange for states’ commitment to “setting their own higher, more honest standards for student success.” This means that most of the country’s students have already been learning under a system that eschewed much of No Child Left Behind’s most obvious and onerous aspects—and looks a lot like the system envisioned in Every Student Succeeds. States with waivers were essentially allowed to set their own goals for raising achievement, come up with their own strategies for turning around struggling schools, and design their own methods of measuring student progress.

In fact, however, states must still have their standards approved by the U.S. Education Secretary under ESSA – which still sounds like a substantial amount of federal control.

The New Hampshire-based Cornerstone Policy Research observes as well that federal control of private schools is also provided for in the ESSA. Page 186 of the law states:

(3) EQUITY.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Educational services and other benefits for such private school children shall be equitable in comparison to services and other benefits for public school children participating under this part, and shall be provided in a timely manner.

(B) OMBUDSMAN.— To help ensure such equity for such private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel, the State educational agency involved shall designate an ombudsman to monitor and enforce the requirements of this part.’’;

(i) IN GENERAL.— Expenditures for educational services and other benefits to eligible private school children shall be equal to the proportion of funds allocated to participating school attendance areas based on the number of children from low- income families who attend private schools…

In addition, an entire section of the law, beginning on page 833, is titled, “Participation by Private School Children and Teachers:”

(A) IN GENERAL.— Educational services and other benefits provided under this section for private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel shall be equitable in comparison to services and other benefits for public school children, teachers, and other educational personnel participating in the program and shall be provided in a timely manner.

‘(B) OMBUDSMAN.—To help ensure equitable services are provided to private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel under this section, the State educational agency involved shall direct the ombudsman…

Cornerstone notes that while the provision for private schools is intended to channel federal funds to private schools, “We know that with federal dollars comes federal control.”

“We’re still waiting for a candidate to offer full-voiced leadership on the education crisis (which is a constitutional crisis) in our country,” Robbins concludes. “Who will lead the ‘Repeal ESSA’ campaign?”

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http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/11/23/trump-announces-gop-mega-donor-betsy-devos-education-secretary/

Donald Trump Announces Pro-Common Core Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

by Dr. Susan Berry23 Nov 20169459

President-elect Donald J. Trump will nominate Betsy DeVos, a brilliant and passionate education advocate, as Education Secretary.

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— Transition 2017 (@transition2017) November 23, 2016

Anti-Common Core grassroots groups of parents and teachers urged Trump to abandon DeVos as his choice, citing her support for the education reform policies of pro-Common Core Jeb Bush and her influence through the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) in favor of Common Core.

Karen Braun who writes at Stop Common Core in Michigan noted:

GLEP is a strong supporter of the Common Core and its continued implementation in Michigan. They are part of the Michigan Coalition for High Student Standards which opposes SB 826 to Repeal and Replace Common Core, science, social studies, and aligned assessments with pre-common core Massachusetts standards. Stop Common Core in Michigan believes there is a high correlation between candidates who accept the GLEP endorsement and their future votes on legislation.

GLEP claims NOT to have a litmus test on Common Core. This allows candidates to say they are against common core and still gain the endorsement of GLEP.  But DeVos is a champion for “school choice” while at the same time continuing the implementation of common national standards. The DeVos definition of “school choice” is the freedom to choose which common core school will track your child from cradle-to-career (P20). All Michigan charters must use common national standards. That’s NOT true choice.

Like Bill Gates, Betsy DeVos has some money and has some things she’d like to see different. Like all good investors, DeVos likely expects a return on her investment. And if you don’t play the game under their rules and vote the way you want her to vote, you may find yourself challenged the next time you run for office.

DeVos, whose family founded Amway, was an at-large delegate for pro-Common Core Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Kasich received a grade of “F” at The Pulse 2016 for his support of the controversial standards. The former presidential candidate referred to parent activists in his state fighting against the Core as a “runaway internet campaign.”

Trump likely chose DeVos because of her support for public/private partnership charter schools. While on the campaign trail, Trump said Common Core was a “disaster,” and criticized Jeb Bush for his support for the standards. Trump also said he would get Washington, D.C. out of education, and said he favored local control of education and the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

Frank Cannon, president of American Principles Project, said in a statement prior to the announcement of DeVos’ nomination:

President-elect Trump rightly slammed Governor Jeb Bush for his support of Common Core on the campaign trail. Betsy DeVos would be a very Jeb-like pick, and the idea that Trump would appoint a Common Core apologist as Secretary of Education seems unlikely.

President-elect Donald J. Trump will nominate Betsy DeVos, a brilliant and passionate education advocate, as Education Secretary.

— Transition 2017 (@transition2017) November 23, 2016

In a news release, the campaign says:

“Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate,” said President-elect Donald J. Trump. “Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families. I am pleased to nominate Betsy as Secretary of the Department of Education.

I am honored to accept this responsibility to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again,” said Ms. DeVos. “The status quo in education is not acceptable. Together, we can work to make transformational change that ensures every student in America has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential.”

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