Reading, Writing, and Revenue

Author Chuck Sudetic of Mother Jones writes:

On a weeknight in early February, the front line in the battle to privatize America’s public schools reached the top floor of a five-story walk-up in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Marie Jeanty, an immigrant from Haiti, had just come home from her job at a Manhattan hotel. She was preparing dinner for her 11-year-old son, Marc Antoine, when the bell rang. Jeanty opened the door, and a smartly dressed man introduced himself as a representative of Edison Schools Inc., the nation’s largest company in the business of managing public schools.

The salesman explained that Edison needed Jeanty’s support. The parents at Marc Antoine’s middle school, M.S. 246, one of New York’s worst-performing schools, were going to vote the following month on whether to turn over its operation to Edison. The salesman wanted Jeanty to vote yes. He handed her a glossy brochure filled with color pictures of happy students in Edison schools around the country. Jeanty understood that if Edison won the vote, Marc Antoine would get a new home computer to use free of charge.

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