Susan O'hanian on The Broad Foundation --

Another tidbit from Susan's site. Here she expounds on a source of the money that is driving the push for education change in this country. It is a long read but worth it, especially if you are not aware of the corporate agenda and money driving current educational reform in this country.

"...On September 9, 2003, President Bush announced a partnership between the Broad Foundation and the U. S. Department of Education,” To improve our country’s public education system.” They call it an unprecedented public-private collaboration. The third partner is Just for the Kids. They’re combining “$4.7 million of federal funds with $50.9 million in private philanthropy to effectively lower the cost barriers associated with the data collection, analysis, and reporting mandates of NCLB.” Standard and Poor’s is lending a hand...They call it private philanthropy. McGraw-Hill, owner of Standard and Poor’s, Open Court, and Direct Instruction, not to mention one of the top producers of standardized tests, as a leader in philanthropy for the good of children?

It is difficult to present all this information in a way that approaches comprehensibility. Keep your eye on Broad and you’ll be watching a sophisticated, many-faceted plan for dismantling the local control of schools.

Worth an aside, perhaps, is another recipient of Broad largesse: the Broad Foundation supports coverage of leadership issues in Education Week. One can wonder if “America’s online newspaper of record” will ever bite the hand that feeds it. "

There is a lot more.

This article is excerpted from Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools? by Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian (Heinemann 2004)

Well worth the read if you are interested in learning more about the background of NCLB.