charter schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos heads for the exits, leaving a legacy of turmoil
WASHINGTON—In four years in office, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos failed to broaden her appeal beyond the moment she won a wild Senate confirmation fight by the closest of margins. She didn’t even try. Instead, the billionaire Michigan native and Republican megadonor championed private and charter schools, often trying to funnel federal funding toward them. […]
Small business loan data show big payday for private schools that also get public funds
When the federal government created its small-business loan program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear from the start that public schools would not be eligible for the aid. But data for Wisconsin released on Monday shows a large number of voucher and charter schools that describe themselves as public schools, and receive […]
What do Beloit children need?
This is the second installment in a two-part series on the Lincoln Academy, a proposed charter school in Beloit supported by billionaire Republican activist Diane Hendricks. The first installment explored Hendricks’ influence on Beloit through her philanthropy, and the views of parents and community leaders in the troubled Beloit school district, some of whom see […]
Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks’ controversial charter school
Diane Hendricks, the Beloit billionaire caught on film in 2011 urging former Gov. Scott Walker to make Wisconsin a “completely red” “right-to-work” state, has a new project — a charter school that will focus on serving low-income students in her adopted hometown. The Lincoln Academy, which received conditional approval from the Office of Educational Opportunity […]
Report: millions wasted on Wisconsin charter schools that closed or never opened
A new report by the Network for Public Education, a group founded by public-education advocate and former U.S. Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, provides extensive, state-by-state data on waste in the federal charter schools program. In Wisconsin, 46% of charter schools that received federal start-up grants between 2006 and 2014 shut down or never opened […]