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Who's in Your Wallet????

1/28/2020

 

Get a Flashlight, we are about to enter the Dark Money Zone...

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Less than a year after Jason Zachary, who shall forever be known as the Farragut Flipper, cast the swing vote to approve school vouchers, the program has taken off at warp speed. In just the past week, it has been reported that 57 private schools including one in Knoxville have submitted applications to TDOE to receive ESA voucher dollars.

Could someone let the eager beaver, First Lutheran School of Knoxville, know that Rep. Zachary was given the utmost assurances by Governor Bull-Lee and then Speaker Glenn Casada that Knox County would be "protected" and removed from the ESA voucher bill? Seriously, we want to know how a school in Knoxville is going to participate in an ESA voucher program that is eligible only to students in Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools? Does the First Lutheran School of Knoxville knows something we don't know… Is there a plan to expand vouchers to Knox County??? That would not surprise us in the least. Voucher programs always expand to include more students 'cause more students mean more dollars.

And the first rule to being a Momma Bear is to ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY. So, let's do that…. 

Back in November, Andy Spears reported that "ClassWallet started work on Nov. 4 after signing a two-year contract worth $2.53 million with the Department of Education, according to documents obtained by Chalkbeat." On Monday, we learned a little more about that deal with ClassWallet. Originally, the ESA voucher program was granted nearly $25M in funding but that money was reallocated to fighting Hepatitis C among prisoners leaving ESAs unfunded this year. So, how is TDOE going to pay for the contract with ClassWallet when there is no money in the state budget for it?

The funding is coming "from a defunct merit based teacher pay program that began in the 1980s under Lamar Alexander's administration," according to Deputy Education Commissioner Amity Schuyler who is tasked with overseeing the Tennessee ESA voucher implementation. But the teacher merit pay program may not be so defunct after all as there are still Tennessee teachers receiving Career Ladder salary supplements. And these teachers' salaries may be impacted by the redistribution of funds to the new voucher program. 

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Another interesting tidbit revealed during the Government Operations Committee hearing was that "the department did not go through a competitive bidding process or the legislature’s fiscal review committee to secure its contract with ClassWallet." Well, well, well…another shady no-bid contract deal. Sound familar? It should. We warned you that screwy Penny Schwinn had experience in no-bid contracts. 
​
While she was Deputy Commissioner of Academics for the Texas Education Agency, Schwinn gave a SPED services contract to one of her TFA (Teach For America) buddies, 
Richard Nyankori causing a huge uproar. ​Given Schwinn's history with no-bid contracts, Momma Bears decided we needed to take a closer look at this ClassWallet company.

ClassWallet Connections

ClassWallet is the brainchild of attorney James "Jamie" Rosenberg, who created Adopt-a-Classroom, a crowdfunder, designed to help teachers meet their classroom needs. The story goes that "Rosenberg found that the mechanics of getting and tracking money for teachers and school systems was time-intensive, diverting precious time and energy from their core mission. He conceived ClassWallet as a tailored solution." 

​So, he created "a tool designed to make it easier for teachers to raise, manage, track and spend money for the classroom" and relaunched 
EarlyShares, a Miami based real estate crowdfunding platform, under the name, ClassWallet in 2014. Of course, there has to be a real estate connection. What Florida reformy education scheme would be complete without a real estate deal somewhere in the mix?

Also hailing from south Florida is none other than Amity Schuyler who now runs Tennessee's ESA voucher program as the state's Deputy Education Commissioner. 


"[Schuyler] comes from Florida where they already have education savings accounts, she's done lots of voucher-ESA work, and she understands what it's like from a district perspective," Schwinn said of Schuyler.

"She also believes in education savings accounts. And to take the lead on this project, I need someone who believes in it," Schwinn said.

Schuyler was chief of staff for the superintendent of Palm Beach County Schools when she was recruited from Florida this spring.

Schwinn previously said her department will look to states such as Florida to identify "best practices" to develop Tennessee's version, which will start with up to 5,000 students in the first year.

Florida has been at the forefront of developing programs that supporters say provide parents with more education choices and critics say are ploys to privatize public education. The state has the nation's largest tax credit scholarship program and was one of the first to adopt education savings accounts.
​

Not so coincidentally, Palm Beach County Schools is under contract with ClassWallet. Hmmm, do you think it was a no-bid contract? Well, we took a look at that contract and found a little surprise. If a teacher makes a purchase that is later deemed to be an inappropriate use of funds then ClassWallet can deduct the amount from the teacher's paycheck. Take a look for yourself:

If purchases or paid reimbursement requests made through ClassWallet are deemed to be an inappropriate use of funds, a payroll deduction will be made for the amount of the inappropriate purchase and the recouped funds will be returned to the school's FY21 School Advisory Council (SAC). 

While that might seem fair. It isn't because the Florida "State statute mandates that teachers spend the money on 'classroom materials and supplies for the public school students assigned to them.' It doesn’t explicitly say what items can and cannot be purchased, but says that the money cannot be used for equipment." 

This became problematic in Polk County where "Teachers were buying items that were definitely good for the classroom, but the understanding of what is not allowed under statute is not comprehended by all because these statutes are so clear,” Pitts said sarcastically. “It’s clear as mud what teachers can buy.” To remedy the problem, the school district contracted with ClassWallet paying $5 per card.

However, ClassWallet was clearly not well received by Polk County teachers. When the Polk County Education Association conducted a survey, 1,400 teachers responded and identified the following problems with ClassWallet:
  • Teachers have a difficult time using ClassWallet when it comes to setting up accounts, putting in bank information and being confused about what they are allowed and not allowed to buy.
  • Some vendors on ClassWallet charge “excessive amounts” for shipping costs, limiting the money teachers can use on classroom supplies.​
  • Teachers prefer to buy from local stores and do not want to be charged money to upload receipts.​

From Crowdfunder to Company Store

It is painfully apparent that a company which started a little over 5 years ago as an effort to help teachers fund their classroom needs has now morphed into a monopoly. ClassWallet has become a monopoly which operates along the lines of a coal mine company store where script is king. And nowhere is the company store scenario more apparent than Miami-Dade. In a blog entitled, Why Teachers Hate ClassWallet, a Miami-Dade teacher had this to say:
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More complaints about ClassWallet arose last year over a proposed North Carolina Classroom Supply Program. Under the bill, the use of ClassWallet would be mandatory for traditional public schools but optional for charter and independent schools. Teachers pushed back against the proposal calling it a sham where vendors are limited and prices are high. One North Caroline blogger explained that giving ClassWallet "the power and money to track [teacher] purchases without LEA oversight was met with great resistance from teachers and educational leaders." 

Among the objections, the proposal failed to provide a new infusion of funds to offset teachers' out of pocket costs. Instead the program would be funded by the 
nearly $50 million normally allocated to school districts for school supplies. In essence, the bill would funnel monies earmarked for school districts to ClassWallet prompting some critics to call it a “shell game” where "politicians are benefiting financially from promoting Class Wallet." Allegations continued that lawmakers were listening more to lobbyists representing Ed Tech companies than to parents and teachers. 

Follow the Money...

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We are not the least bit surprised that politicians are listening more to lobbyist and big money tech companies than to Momma Bears. Ed Tech is rapidly becoming big business with tremendous profit potential. "With education businesses there is opportunity for magnificent profits because of the large scale of education spending. The United States alone spends $650 billion a year on public education. This allure of lavish profits is driving education technology."

Among ClassWallet's big investors is NewSchools Venture Fund which is described as "the most strident in its commitment to disrupting pubic education." We believe it. Just take a look at the dark money donors of the NewSchools Venture Fund. 

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We are on to these scoundrels who want to profit off our kids.

​We recently blogged
 here and here
 about another Ed Tech company, YouScience. We told you all about how YouScience, with its connections to high ranking members of Gov. Lee's cabinet, was making money off Tennessee's school children. 

And Surprise, Surprise…. YouScience and ClassWallet are both represented by none other than Koch Brother lobbyist, Mark Cate
. 
​​
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Ooopsies… Did we make a rich feller mad????

1/17/2020

 
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Several weeks ago, Momma Bears was contacted by a concerned momma who wanted to know more about this YouScience thing. So, we did a little digging and was shocked by some of things that we discovered. Then, we did what Momma Bears do…. We blogged about it.

An alert reader asked us if the guy in the blog was really named Rich Feller? It is, and it also appears Rich Feller is connected to the US Chamber of Commerce. Of course, he is. Aren't all rich fellers somehow connected to the Chamber of Commerce? But that was not the only response we received on that blog.

YouScience posted the following comment on our FaceBook page:

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Momma Bears Respond— 

YouScience:   
"YouScience has never and will never sell student data. We’ll say that again – we have never and will never sell – or otherwise profit – from students’ private data. Period. Our goal is simply this – to help students better understand their natural abilities and how, when combined with their interests, they align with real-world careers." 

Momma Bears Response:
We’re glad you are not selling student data but are you collecting it? Or transferring it? If so, for what purpose? Are you adding our children's data to Tennessee's statewide longitudinal data system? Because if you are, then you need to disclose that to our students. And we want to know why the state is collecting aptitude data on our kids and how it will be used? If you are not collecting data then we think, that if, you were sincere about helping our kids then you would be good stewards of their personal information and destroy it after achieving the goal of “helping students better understand their natural abilities.” 

Not that we don't trust YouScience but… WE URGE any entity (school boards, TDOE, etc.) contracting with YouScience to add a provision for the destruction of student data after use and ensure compliance with strong penalties for violations. 
​

YouScience: ​
"Because we use performance measures of aptitudes…"  Blah, Blah, Blah

Momma Bears Response:
Oh, wonderful! Thanks ever so much for using our FaceBook page as an advertisement. But we did notice that you never denied our New Year's prediction that "'free career exploration' to be provided under Tennessee's Best for All plan will be a current pilot program called YouScience created in 2012." So, we suspect you are on the verge of a lucrative deal with the State of Tennessee. Is that why you have a Koch Brother lobbyist?

YouScience: 
"Neither Stuart McWhorter nor Clay Associates are current or former investors in YouScience. We have reached out to the website in your story and are awaiting a response and correction. If you would like to see – and share – an accurate version of our investors, we recommend PitchBook and Crunchbase, both reputable sites.
We would be happy to further discuss the YouScience platform and share the third-party research that has been done to confirm our validity."

Momma Bears Response:
First of all, it's Clayton Associates, not Clay. So, maybe that is where the confusion lies but as for Stuart McWhorter...

Per your suggestion, we looked up
your company on Crunchbase and it lists 3 investors:
Ball Foundation
Philip Hardin

Launch Tennessee 
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We don't have a rich feller on staff at Momma Bears, so, we could only afford the free version of Crunchbase which provides limited information. So, instead of making us search the internet and you picking & choosing which site is more credible or making us buy a subscription to Crunchbase, maybe you should clear this up by listing all current and former investors? Does that work for you?

​In the meantime, we did a little googling...


Based on our limited research, we are pretty sure that YouScience has more than three investors listed on the free version of Crunchbase. The original SEC filing in 2013 shows 10 investors. There have also been various investors over the years including five investors in 2017. Venture Nashville Connections reports that in addition to Hardin who is listed on Crunchbase, Betsy Wills, Richard Patton and John Ingram also are investors. "[YouScience's] current investors and board members include Co-Founders Betsy Wills and Richard Patton, the latter CEO of Courage Capital Management; and, John Ingram, chairman of Ingram Industries and CEO of Ingram Content Group. Hardin serves as its chief financial officer, as well as CEO. Other investment has come from about 10 other investors, including "a couple" of strategic investors, Hardin confirmed. Total capital-in thus far includes a $1,316,667 from the INCITE fund created by Gov. Bill Haslam's administration and administered by LaunchTN." 

Interesting side note: Richard Patton is married to Robin Ingram, yep, that Ingram Family, same one as John. We have blogged on them before and how they made money off Tennessee adopting Common Core. These rich people—always making money off our kids.

Now, let's talk about Launch Tennessee which is listed, by YouScience's recommended source, Crunchbase, as the lead investor in YouScience. With our free version of Crunchbase, we can only see limited information about Launch Tennessee and its investors. But we do know that back in 2013 when Launch Tennessee invested in YouScience, its vice chairman was none other than Stuart McWhorter. 
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One More Thing…

We did a final check and CB Insights is still listing Clayton Associates as investors in YouScience, so you be sure to let us know if that changes, ok?
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A New Year, A New You

1/7/2020

 
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YouScience, That is…

It may be a new year but education reformers are up to their same ol' tricks. As far back as 2013, we have been warning Momma Bears to wake-up and protect your babies from data mining.

Six years later, we are still warning you. This time, our children are being targeted by the Lee administration through his focus on vocational education. And it should come as no surprise that he picked Penny Schwinn to be his Education Commissioner. She has experience with this sort of dirty work. In fact, she has become quite the expert on letting third party vendors data mine school children. 
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Time for a little History lesson...

The past seems to be repeating itself. Remember when we told you about Lee's Screwy Choice for Tennessee's Education Commission?

We told you all about when Schwinn briefly served as the Deputy Commissioner of Academics in Texas. It was during that time, she got into big trouble for giving a no-bid contract to her old Teach for America
 buddy, Richard Nyankori. ​

​Despite having virtually no SPED experience, Nyankori operated a for-profit company called SPEDx that was tasked with helping Texas Education Agency to develop a strategic plan for special education services. Nyankori was given access to student IEP records containing highly confidential information about disabled children and their families. The 
"controversial data mining company" was supposed to develop a more efficient IEP process. Instead, critics accuse the company of gathering data to justify cuts in SPED services. Mercedes Schneider has all the details her blog. 

We wonder...

​Is Schwinn is up to her same old tricks here in Tennessee with her recently unveiled "Best for All" strategic plan?

Best for Who?

"Commissioner Penny Schwinn told reporters Monday that high schoolers were part of the creation of the 'Best for All' plan. And, she said, older students in the state worry high school is too late to learn about what fields they might be interested in.

So, the state will address career readiness sooner, Schwinn said.

"By Giving students the opportunity to identify what they like and what they are good at before high school, they will better able to navigate the opportunities available to them and select pathways that are a best fit," Schwinn said.

According to the plan, the state will provide school districts with free career exploration for students starting all the way back in pre-K and continuing through middle school. The plan will also create grants for districts to give high schoolers hands-on opportunities."

The focus on job readiness also lines up with Gov. Bill Lee's focus on vocational education after high school."

​—Nashville Public Radio
​
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Momma Bear's 2020 Prediction

We predict the "free career exploration" to be provided under Tennessee's Best for All plan will be a current pilot program called YouScience created in 2012. The pilot program began in Tennessee during 2017 when the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce funded YouScience for all 9th grade students in MNPS Academies. The following year, Shelby County Schools and Rutherford County Schools implemented YouScience for their 8th graders.
​

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What exactly is YouScience???

YouScience is an online aptitude assessment that appears to be a harmless computer game. The program claims to "use psychometrically-valid brain games to uncover users' natural talents, then combine those aptitude measures with interests to generate the YouScience Profile. Within their Profile, users can explore their aptitudes, review personalized career matches, and develop affirming language to better highlight their assets in interviews and resumes."  This computer game is much more than an aptitude assessment, it is an opportunity for a business to have access to data mine our children. 

You never gonna guess who is behind this program to access our children's aptitude data...

YouScience is a for-profit business that was created in Brentwood, Tennessee. Its big investor is a venture capitalist firm called Clayton Associates whose co-founder and chairman is Brentwood resident, Stuart McWhorter.

Yup, that Stuart McWhorter!!!

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Talk About a Conflict of Interest!!!

Stuart McWhorter is none other than Tennessee's Commissioner of Finance and Administration. McWhorter was tapped for the powerful position last year by Gov. Lee after serving as Lee's campaign finance chair. McWhorter also acted as the Chairman for Gov. Lee's Inauguration and served on the board of directors for Lee Company. McWhorter and the Governor live in the same town and go way back. 

But that is not the only reason McWhorter's name sounds familiar. He has been in the news lately, named as a key player in the Lee administration's 
$4M so-called slush fund scandal. Accusers claim the new grant program was created on the sly to reward lawmakers who voted in favor of the controversial ESA bill last Spring. 

"Critics say the former House speaker put together the grant fund to push the governor’s education savings account bill through the House. Amid an initial tie vote, it passed 50-48 in late April after Casada held the vote board open for nearly 45 minutes to work the chamber."

According to the Tennesseean, McWhorter initially denied knowledge of a list of grant recipients. "But emails between employees in the state’s economic and community development office suggest otherwise. According to a July 26 email between Rolfe and McWhorter, with several ECD employees attached, dozens of 'commitments' had already been identified for the $4 million fund."
​
And of course, no Williamson County conspiracy to privatize public schools would be complete without a Koch Brothers connection. So, there is this.... The YouScience lobbyist, Mark Cate, is also the Koch's lobbyist. 

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Speak Out, Momma Bears!!

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​Let your school board know that as a parent you have some serious concerns about YouScience and giving a third party vendor access to psychometric personal data on your child.

​Momma Bears want to know: Is YouScience really a program designed to help students discover their natural talents? Or is it a nefarious attempt to data mine and force our kids into career paths that best serve Governor Lee and his rich, business buddies?

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