Category: Grassroots

TN's Governor buys Astroturf for the Super Bowl!

1/30/2015

After our blog posted yesterday, we were tipped off that there will be ASTROTURF at the SUPER BOWL this year! Governor Haslam's faux-parent astroturf group we just wrote about, Tennesseeans for Student Success, is footing the bill for the most expensive prime-time commercial spot on Television of the year... a Super Bowl commercial!

How badly do these education marketplace investors want you to believe their plans for Common Core, charter school "choice," and vouchers are necessary? Bad enough they will pay a ton of money for a Super Bowl Commercial instead of funding teacher raises and classroom resources. Crazy, isn't it?

Governor Haslam can certainly afford it. After all, he was just crowned "The Richest Politician in America" by Forbes.

Wondering what the video will say? You can see it below. (Warning: it is rather Stepford Wife-ish.)

But, wait! They're not done spending money!
The Tennesseeans for Student Success astroturf group is apparently so $ucce$$ful, they just hired another "grassroots" staff person! Every grassroots advocacy group needs a Coalitions Director, right??? Their new Coalitions Director, Weston Burleson, not only isn't a public school parent, he's apparently not even a Tennesseean. He's from North Carolina and Georgia where he was a Deputy Political Director for NC Republicans and an Account Executive with Stoneridge Group. Stoneridge's motto on their website says: "We serve conservatives who want bleeding-edge campaign know-how combined with an avant-garde approach to campaign execution. Our record speaks for itself. We're story cultivators, with a world-class technical edge." Yikes. Bleeding-edge story cultivators for a grassroots parent group? Stoneridge Group has handled high-profile big-dollar political campaigns including: Speaker Beth Harwell, Americans For Prosperity, and SCORE. His bio on their website says:

Over a year ago, one of the Momma Bears blogged about "grassroots" organizations and included a checklist. This is the perfect time to share that list again (and update it):

If you see a "grassroots" organization with these:

a slick marketing campaign,
professionally-printed signs,
free t-shirts,
glossy pamphlets,
pens with their logo,
squishy balls with their logo,
frisbees with their logo,
beer can cooshies with their logo,
billboards with their logo,
television or radio advertisements,
fancy charter busses full of their supporters,
glowing newspaper articles from their professionally-written press releases,
copy machines that cost more than your minivan,
staff members that make 6-figure salaries,
a rented office located in an office-park,
a lawyer on retainer,
if they pay parents $ and give them a free t-shirt to attend school board meetings,
if they take charter bus-loads of cute children wearing their free t-shirts to legislative events, and drill those children on exactly what to say to the politicians,
if they give campaign contributions to elected officials,
if they host fancy luncheons, dinners, or retreats for elected officials,
if their organization's members are in your Superintendent's cabinet (despite having little or no experience in education or classrooms)
if their organization's members are strangely appointed to positions of authority (despite having little or no experience in education or classrooms),
if they only answer emails and calls about their organization during business hours.
if they buy a freaking Super Bowl commercial spot!!!

They are definitely NOT grassroots!

Liar liar pants on fire: StudentsFirst

12/29/2013

This is a series of posts to educate people about non-profit organizations that disguise themselves as supporting children, but, in reality, do not.

FACTS about StudentsFirst:
Started in: 2010
Founder: Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee's salary: about $300,000 from StudentsFirst + profit from book sales + speaking fees of $50,000 per event
StudentsFirst budget: $??? (unknown because they funnel money through so many of their organizations)
Funding from: billionaire foundations, corporate investors, and hedge fund managers
Staff: 50+ people
Spent in TN to influence TN legislators: over $525,000
Headquarters: California (with offices in 16 states)

StudentsFirst does not put students, first.
They put PROFITS and POLITICIANS first.

Momma Bears aren't fooled. This is definitely NOT a grassroots organization. "Astroturf" is a better description. There are no healthy roots, only an expensive layer of fake green plastic that doesn't fool anyone. (Click HERE to read our Momma Bears blog about grassroots)

As StudentsFirst pretends to support children, StudentsFirst attacks the very teachers and school environments that nurture and educate children. Through millions of dollars from corporate interests, StudentsFirst influences campaigns and laws that benefit their wealthy supporters.

In Tennessee, StudentsFirst by far leads the pack of outside funding to influence elections and legislators. Why is an organization in California spending so much money in Tennessee? or any state? Because of the huuuuge profit to be reaped with public tax dollars by turning our public schools into profitable charter schools.

StudentsFirst has publicly celebrated budget cuts to school systems and announced its intent to do away with locally elected school boards, particularly those in urban areas. Why? School boards are the gatekeepers of taxpayer dollars, made up of locally elected individuals representing the people who pay those tax dollars. Without pesky school boards in place, StudentsFirst has far less accountability and can funnel all of its resources into the campaigns of just a few city and state leaders who agree with its agenda. That way, they can have more control no real checks in place. Why focus on urban school boards? Because urban school districts have more students (ie, more $), more per pupil spending (in general), and less-involved parents to protest (in general).

Here is what StudentsFirst supports with its money and paid lobbyists:

privatizing our public schools by turning them into profit-generating charter schools
getting rid of locally elected school boards
politicians
campaigns
decreasing teacher pay
testing kids with lots of expensive tests
common core standards
using test scores to fire teachers
using test scores to close neighborhood schools
hiring cheaper inexperienced teachers that don't have teaching licenses
eroding trust in teachers and public schools with manipulated test scores

Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst. In Washington, DC, where she was appointed Chancellor of Education by the Mayor (who wasn't re-elected because of her), there still lingers a dark fog of suspicion over suspected wide-spread cheating in 103 schools during her time there. Though she denies knowing about the cheating, a memo has surfaced that proves otherwise. Liar liar pants on fire.

Here's what happened to schools who followed Rhee's advice:
(according to an article by John Merrow):
• "Six years after Michelle Rhee rode into town, the public schools seem to be worse off by almost every conceivable measure."
• With tight security after the cheating scandal, math and reading scores have plunged more than 40 percentile points.
• Half of all newly hired teachers leave within 2 years. "It has been a revolving door for principals as well."
• The per pupil expenditure has increased 27%, and the district has lost 13% of its students.
• "The most disturbing effect of Ms. Rhee’s reform effort is the widening gap in academic performance between low-income and upper-income students, a meaningful statistic in Washington, where race and income are highly correlated."

With all that money in their coffers, we can't help but wonder what would happen if StudentsFirst used the money on students, first? Use it for things that have been PROVEN to help students succeed, like:

smaller class sizes
teacher training
funding for art, music, PE, sports, enrichment, etc. (like private schools and nations with higher test scores have).
Heck, even basic supplies for our schools like copy paper, tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper would be better than what they're spending all that money on! (Yes, some schools in TN really have asked parents to send in toilet paper).

Momma Bears has dubbed the StudentsFirst motto to be:
"Students LAST, after we take care of our corporate investors."

Momma Bears are smoking grassroots

10/2/2013

3 Comments

First, let me say that I don't smoke anything. Keep reading, though, you might be surprised...

Quite a few organizations call themselves "grassroots." It sounds so earthy and wholesome, doesn't it? "Grassroots" doesn't mean what you think it does.

If you see a "grassroots" organization with these:

a slick marketing campaign,
professionally-printed signs,
free t-shirts,
glossy pamphlets,
pens with their logo,
squishy balls with their logo,
frisbees with their logo,
beer can cooshies with their logo,
billboards with their logo,
television or radio advertisements,
fancy charter busses full of their supporters,
glowing newspaper articles from their professionally-written press releases,
copy machines that cost more than your minivan,
staff members that make 6-figure salaries,
a rented office located in an office-park,
a lawyer on retainer,
if they pay parents $ and give them a free t-shirt to attend school board meetings,
if they take charter bus-loads of cute children wearing their free t-shirts to legislative events, and drill those children on exactly what to say to the politicians,
if they give campaign contributions to elected officials,
if they host fancy luncheons, dinners, or retreats for elected officials,
if their organization's members are in your Superintendent's cabinet (despite having little or no experience in education or classrooms)
if their organization's members are strangely appointed to positions of authority (despite having little or no experience in education or classrooms),
if they only answer emails and calls about their organization during business hours.

That is NOT grassroots!
You can bet some sugar-daddy company paid for all of it. This is what we Momma Bears call: "astroturf." Some may even go so far as to call those types of groups: "weeds." (Gosh, I hope their lawyer doesn't sue us for saying that.)

True grassroot parent groups don't have that kind of money to spend on marketing. Heck, we spend all our money on our children and on school fundraisers because public schools aren't funded adequately. (Would you like to buy some wrapping paper and chocolate bars so our band can purchase more drums for all the students who want to play percussion?) Instead, we Momma Bears publicize by word-of-mouth, email, Facebook, Twitter, and maybe some photocopies from our little desktop printers (which reminds me: I need to get my ink cartridges refilled at Costco soon).

What does the root of grass look like? Grass roots are really quite shallow so they can quickly suck up nutrients. Grass is a fickle seasonal plant (as my husband can attest to). If it doesn't get enough water, it withers and dies. If it doesn't get enough light, it dies. If it gets too much water in the hot sun, it scorches and dies. Grass has to be fertilized and aerated, and sometimes even needs a layer of sand on top so the roots don't rot. Grass is high-maintenance. Grass is expensive. Somebody has to chop grass heads off every week or two (so code enforcement doesn't come to your house and give you a citation for having an unkempt yard). Also, dogs poop in grass.

Momma Bears is definitely NOT grassroots. We are deeper than that... we are a TREE ROOTS organization. Our roots run deep and wide into the ground to create a strong support system. Even when trees are dormant, they are still full of life. Trees are permanent and unmovable. You can't just dig them up, roll them up, and put them in another yard like you can sod. Trees give cooling shade and are, for the most part, low maintenance. They grow and flourish wherever they take root in many climates. Trees offer protection for birds and animals. Trees offer enjoyment for children who swing and climb in their branches. As pleasant as trees are, you should never underestimate tree roots one bit, because tree roots are strong and expansive. Powerful roots can damage foundations, sidewalks, and sewer lines without anyone even realizing what is happening under ground.

Here is my favorite part:
What doesn't grow under a tree?
Grass.
My husband can tell you this is a truth because he had to add more stinky mulch last year to cover up the areas under our big trees where grass would not grow.

Momma Bears is not grassroots, we are TREEroots. We are growing quickly and meeting other Trees that grow in other parts of the state and country. We can make a difference. The grassroots organizations are terrified of us. They can't outspend our intelligence, and they can't buy our votes. We are smart. We are informed. We are powerful. We will do what is right for our children and their schools.

Coming up in future blogs:
Momma Bears is going to tell you about some of these so-called "grassroots" organizations that claim to be advocating for your children. Parents, you need to know about them, so that your branches can block their light.
Click HERE to read our "Liar, Liar Pants on Fire" series about so-called Grassroots organizations

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3 Comments

TN's Governor buys Astroturf for the Super Bowl!

Liar liar pants on fire: StudentsFirst

Momma Bears are smoking grassroots

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TN's﻿ Governor﻿ buys Astroturf for the Super Bowl!

Liar liar pants on fire: StudentsFirst

Momma Bears are smoking grassroots

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Momma Bears

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TN's Governor buys Astroturf for the Super Bowl!