Betsy DeVos Watch: On Charter Schools and possible new Student Loan Chief

Last week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke to a gathering of people at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is an organization committed to the growth of Charter Schools and lobbies at both the state and national level on education policy. You can see from the graphic below, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has spent several million dollars over the years to influence federal education policy, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Last week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke to a gathering of people at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is an organization committed to the growth of Charter Schools and lobbies at both the state and national level on education policy. You can see from the graphic below, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has spent several million dollars over the years to influence federal education policy, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. 

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools relies on some of the richest family foundations, like the Walton and Gates Foundations and they boast being in partnership with some of the most anti-Public School groups in the country. A few of the groups they partner with have strong ties to Dick & Betsy DeVos, such as the Alliance for School Choice and…

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Senators: Protect Medicaid. Vote NO On Healthcare Bill. – The Catalysts for Change

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Source: Senators: Protect Medicaid. Vote NO On Healthcare Bill. – The Catalysts for Change

Georgia District 06 2018 Race • OpenSecrets

OpenSecrets.org coverage of the Georgia District 06 election held in 2018

Campaign spending vs Outside Groups

Jon Ossoff’s personal campaign committee vastly out performed Karen Handel’s in fundraising thanks to a national grassroots effort. At the same time, conservative outside spending groups supporting her (and attacking him) helped close the gap, outspending the outside groups that were supporting him.Source: Georgia District 06 2018 Race • OpenSecrets

GVSU Magazine, the Westside, and Gentrification

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Developers, whether they are private or public, always have an impact on neighborhoods no matter how much they try to hide it.

This is the case with a recent Grand Valley State University Magazine article, which depicted the impact that campus was having on the westside of Grand Rapids.

The article, entitled, West Side Story: Grand Valley Strengthens Connection to Neighbors Through Collaboration, paints a very one-sided picture of what the school’s impact has had on the lower westside since they first moved to that part of town beginning in 1988, when the Eberhard Center opened. 

The first person interviewed in the article is a student who was involved in a project called Civic Studio. Civic Studio has not been shy about exploring the history and contemporary dynamics that impact the westside of Grand Rapids, with a significant emphasis on gentrification. This writer has attended many forums on this…

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