Politics and Power

Politics and education don’t belong together. They are, in fact, the worst possible combination for actually meeting the needs of children. Politics means bureaucracy and relies on relationships and established power structures - who likes who, who knows how to play the game, who holds the levers and calls the shots. And no one involved in politics these days - sorry, very few who are involved in politics these days - genuinely care about the children in our schools. The children who will be our future, the children who bear the brunt of every decision that is made, the children who live the results and effects of politicians’ whims. No politician is in schools, meeting these children and forming relationships with them, getting to know their stories, learning about the true impacts of policy at the deepest levels. No politician is familiar with the nitty gritty of being an educator - what it means to truly connect and do effective work with students. But they get to make the rules that educators have to play by and children have to live in.

I am livid at the CTA, the CA Teachers’ Association, one of the strongest and most powerful unions in the country, for their vicious attacks on charter schools in California right now. They are doing everything in their power to bring charters down, claiming we steal money away from public schools by stealing students, and working to eliminate parents’ ability to choose schools that can meet their children’s needs. Let me make it real simple - if we had quality neighborhood schools there would be no need for quality charters. But we don’t. Schools don’t have the funds and the level of care needed by those in power to become quality institutions and as long as that is the case, we need charters who can run free from politics and layers of bureaucracy, to give families an alternative and give students what they need. Students wouldn’t attend charters if they were happy with what districts - and the CTA by default - offered. And, shockingly, the students and families most affected by this attack on charters? Those of color and those who are poor. Those who don’t have political power.

I am also livid at a can’t-be-named organization that my own charter school partners with. We have been partners for a long, long time; they provide vocational training and we provide education to students in need of a job and a diploma. We have a signed MOU with this partner, stating that all of their sites will be served by our school unless a site has a major grievance. Well, there’s a site with a major grievance. Their complaint? We - a publicly funded school (read: not a money-making machine with unlimited power to spend money however we want) - don’t pay for ride-sharing services for students to use (Lyft and Uber), a full time counselor, two teachers for 16 students, hot meals, unlimited technology as requested and vocational certifications for students. And just to be clear here, I’d like to clarify what we DO pay for as a publicly funded school - bus passes, local counseling services to come on site once a week, one teacher for 16 students, shelf-stable meals, all necessary technology that is updated as needed AS WELL AS basic vocational certifications (even though the MOU clearly states we provide academics, they provide job training). But it doesn’t matter. Despite the MOU and the protocols in place for separation, this site received approval to separate and sign with a different charter school for their educational services.

What angers me the most is not the illegality of the decision, the lack of understanding regarding school funding, the precedent this may set for our school. No. What angers me the most is the politics behind this decision and the impact it will have on our students. It comes down simply to who likes who and who has the power to get their way. And you know who does not have any power in this situation? The students. The students will have their teacher yanked, their curriculum pulled, their credit tracking systems dismantled, their routines upended. A new school will come in with new teachers, new systems, new curricula and new styles of instruction. Students will be forced to build new relationships with their teacher, navigate multiple changes and, as has happened to them so many times in their lives, be left to figure out new systems and expectations. Because one guy didn’t like another and wanted more money. While the demand on the table was more services for students, that’s not really what this was all about. This was about power, who could wrest control from who and get access to more money. I know this because I know this new school coming in cannot legally give this site everything it wants. It would be a violation of their charter. But the power players don’t know, or don’t care, about that. And they don’t know, or don’t care, about the effect this will have on the students. As usual, our students are the pawns in this nasty game who will feel the effects.

Politics don’t belong anywhere near the classroom. Get out - and leave the education to the educators. Or get in - and get in deep, stay, learn and build relationships that will inform decisions, decisions grounded in the future (real live students) instead of decisions grounded in power grabs.