First of a series
The recent controversy over the Urban League of Greater Madison’s proposal for a Madison Preparatory Academy has been framed primarily as a local story pitting contending interests within the city. The charter school’s promoters, supporters and mainstream media have portrayed the ULGM’s CEO and President, Kaleem Caire as the Prep’s public champion and native son returned home on a mission to help “close the achievement gap,” the racial disparities in Madison’s schools.
But Caire’s well-established national ties, spanning more than a decade, to numbers of conservative foundations, think tanks and individuals bent on privatizing public school coffers, creating for-profit schools, and destroying teachers’ unions, certainly suggest that there is more to the story.
Caire has consistently dismissed any suggestion of his links to various right-wing efforts. On occasion he has admitted some distant connections but asserted his independence by saying, “They have their agenda, but we have ours.” Lately, he has taken to waving off critic’s references to such ties as nothing more than “guilt-by-association crap” or part of a “conspiracy” and “whisper campaign” coming from those trying to discredit the Mad Prep Academy project. However, a readily traceable history reveals some truth to the charges.
180K PDF version.
Much more on the proposed Madison Preparatory IB charter school, here.
Clusty Search: Allen Ruff, Blekko, google, bing.
I have little doubt that right-wing wing nuts like ALEC are behind Madison Prep, Walker, etc. But, why should that be a surprise?
It’s been 62 years since Brown v Board of Education. Where is the equality of education? Yes, it’s been the “liberals” who have championed, at least on paper, and in courts, and in politics for equal education. That’s laudable, but success has not be forthcoming.
So, I ask? If 60 years of promises by the liberal types have not resulted in success of minorities, it would be foolish for minorities to the look elsewhere for support. (It certainly might be that the ALEC types are using the issues for their own, nefarious gain — of that I am certain. I’m also relatively certain that Bill and Melinda Gates, personally, are not aligning with ALEC types for the same nefarious reasons. I’m more likely to think Gates is being taken for a ride.)
In fact, the split of minorities from the liberal educational establishment is too long in the making. Both James Howard and Lucy Mathiak have castigated Nerad for failing to even attempt to hire minority educators for the Madison schools. I certainly think that substantial hiring of minority educators in our schools is a minimum requirement for engaging minority students.
I don’t believe Mad Prep will succeed in their educational goals, and I don’t believe real educational success is a goal of ALEC or Walkerites. But, I’ve not seen any evidence of success in delivering educational goals by MMSD either.