National education reform group's spending shown
(Reuters) - The national education reform group StudentsFirst, which has set out to transform U.S. schools by introducing more free-market principles to public education, raised $7.6 million in its first nine months - and spent nearly a quarter of it on advertising - according to partial tax records released on Monday.
Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, launched StudentsFirst in the fall of 2010 with the stated goal of raising $1 billion over five years. Among the reforms it advocates: abolishing teacher tenure; permitting more teachers without formal education training to take charge of classrooms; evaluating teachers in large measure by their students' growth on standardized tests; and expanding charter schools, which are publicly funded but typically run by private corporations, including for-profit management firms.
Rhee has pressed her agenda in states from Connecticut to Alabama to Michigan, spending millions on TV and radio ads, public rallies and lobbying as well as campaign donations for friendly candidates.
In each state, Rhee has drawn ferocious opposition from teachers unions, which say her policy prescriptions have not been shown to improve student learning.
more . . .http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/26/us-usa-education-reform-studentsfirst-idUSBRE85O1CN20120626