One of the leading advocates for charter schools, education reform
President-elect Donald Trump tapped one of the nation’s top charter school advocates, Republican philanthropist Betsy DeVos, to lead the Department of Education on Wednesday.
DeVos is the chairman of the American Federation for Children, the nation’s largest school choice advocacy group. The federation has worked at the state and local level to advance the expansion of charter schools and other education reforms. She and her husband, entrepreneur Dick DeVos, created the West Michigan Aviation Academy, a charter high school in Grand Rapids, in 2011.
Nearly 40 percent of the academy’s student body is economically disadvantaged and more than one in three students are minorities. It has reached parity with other district schools and was one of just 93 Michigan schools to earn a Silver Medal from the US News & World Report‘s high school rankings. US News & World Report ranked the school among the top 70 schools in the state, which had about 900 public and charter schools in the 2015-2016 school year, and named it one of the 1,800 best schools in the country.
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Trump picks GOP megadonor Betsy DeVos for Education secretary despite past support for Common Core:https://t.co/qluSruFyey pic.twitter.com/ORJbwH4fLx
— The Hill (@thehill) November 23, 2016
With Betsy DeVos as Sec. of Ed and Lamar Alexander chairing the senate committee, so much for not repeating the mistakes of the Bush years
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) November 23, 2016
Parents beware: Trump might be close to picking a major Common Core backer for ed secretary https://t.co/nTGXkiBj39
— Daniel Horowitz (@RMConservative) November 23, 2016
Betsy DeVos does not support Common Core. She did, and then she turned against it.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) November 23, 2016
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
Pence tried to sell a version of Common Core as not CC in Indiana. Conservatives shouldn't take DeVos at face value when she says she's anti
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) November 23, 2016
Common Core has become like "amnesty" on the right — everybody says they oppose. But when they talk fed standards, it's CC by another name
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) November 23, 2016
I guess we’ll ave to wait and see. I pray that this is a sensible choice. It’s hard to tell from rants from all different people!
Pray for righteousness to be restored and for the peace of Jerusalem
How does DeVos explain this? https://t.co/uTZDg6Acga
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 24, 2016
“His transition team reported Trump’s “discussion with Ms. Betsy DeVos was focused on the Common Core mission, and setting higher national standards and promoting the growth of school choice across the nation.” See that “setting higher national standards”? That’s an education establishment euphemism for Common Core. National standards are what Common Core was designed to be. Pursuing them is how we got Common Core.Setting “high standards” is the job of parents and local communities, not the U.S. education nanny. Tying “high standards” to school choice is also troubling, because this is again bureaucrat-speak for “requiring all private schools to teach Common Core using the control mechanism of tests.”
When DeVos touts “school choice,” she’s pushing an education agenda that includes requiring all the schools that take voucher money to use state-determined curriculum, like Common Core. This is how she has used her millions of dollars in the past. If she’s education secretary, we have every reason to believe it’s how she’d use even more power.”
Why do we still have a Department of Education? This is a job for the states. And the schools should be the ones determining the curriculum.
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