14 of 15 Green Dot schools are "failing," by Parent Revolution's definition

"The lowest-performing, based on test scores, is the large Green Dot chain." — Los Angeles Times

Caroline Grannan's brilliant 14 of 15 Green Dot schools are "failing," by Parent Revolution's definition article points out that neoliberal darling Ben Austin's capricious standards for failings schools, when applied to his employer's schools, leaves only one of them considered "passing." Lacking a way to refute facts, several right wingers attacked Caroline Grannan over her article. I had this to say:

The reason these "rumors" persist is that so many parents from Garfield High School (GHS) have made the charges. I've personally had a score and a half of parents from Garfield tell me they were offered money, gift certificates, or other compensation. However, when I asked them for proof they were unable to produce anything worthwhile other than t-shirts. I been informed by an even larger number of parents that Green Dot/LAPU/Parent Revolution's Mary Najara, would go to their churches after the Misa, approach monolingual Spanish speakers with English petitions and tell them to sign it if they wanted their children to go to college. Ironically, after all of Green Dot's mendacity and shady manipulations, they abandoned Garfield High School in the end to chase after a shiny new building paid for by hardworking taxpayers.

While Ben Austin's reactionary sycophants take misguided shots at Caroline over these rumors, we need to ask why they are so persistent. Given Green Dot's other organizing incidents, like those documented here, and the ongoing conflict of interest with Ben Austin's two jobs (City Ethics Case # 2010-36), could it be there's more than meets the eye? Let's follow the money. What's more likely; that a self-serving Beverly Hills [1] lawyer, whose ongoing employment, bonuses, and future are tied to increasing Green Dot Corporation's market share might bend or break rules, or dozens and dozens of parents and students are liars? I'd wager the former and not the later.

Given the abject performance of most of Green Dot's campuses, if Austin was genuine, he'd have his blue shirts petitioning parents at the Animos. I guarantee that'll never happen. The cavalcade of corporate CMO charter executives are only interested in parent involvement up to the privatization conversion. Then parents learn they aren't welcome to the secret board meetings held by unelected boards packed with plutocrats. So much for parent power, choice and accountability or really caring about kids. If Green Dot spent as much time fixing their own failing schools as they did on hostile takeovers, they might actually help children.

[1] More accurately an exclusive gated community in the most coveted part of Beverly Hills — Franklin Canyon. We all know about how Beverly Hills loves parent choice (read Jim Crow), they choose to throw out all children who don't live in Beverly Hills. But the wealthy west-side isn't about segregation at all — rIght Bill Grundfest?