We hear that AUSL was handing out flyers opposing HB 363 at the "community" forum yesterday.   

Their hypocrisy is breathtaking. They participate in a "parent survey project" that finds that parents and the community want to be more involved in school decision making, but they refuse to have LSCs in their schools and oppose a bill that would provide for more community input into school closings. 

Thanks to District 299 for posting the full press release about the astroturfers' survey. It confirms the criticisms I raised last week about the hidden agenda behind this Gates-funded project.

Here's what the group claims they found out from parents (with my comments and emphases added):

Parental Knowledge Gaps:  

* Tremendous lack of awareness regarding the troubled state of public education in Chicago, including systemic problems like current low academic performance levels, graduation rates, and post-graduation college achievement levels. (Comment: That is their main goal - to create public mistrust of the public schools) . 

* Lack of knowledge regarding potential school closures and student transfers, and a feeling that existing transfers are not going well for students. (Comment: Clearly they are going to "educate" parents about how well those transfers are actually going....)

* Lack of knowledge about charter schools, including how they are funded, and who can attend them. (Comment: Of course, parents need to learn the two key charter school mantras: "We have waiting lists!" and "Charter schools are public schools!" - but will they also address the knowledge gap about how charters push students out when they're not a good "fit", the fees and contracts required by some charters, and the research showing that charters are not educating children any better than the "failing" neighborhood schools?) 

PURE's parent survey

On his blog, Curtis Black compared this report with PURE's 2006 parent survey, which actually found some useful new connections between parent involvement and student achievement. In light of this week's events, it''s interesting to note that the Gates Foundation had agreed to provide funding for a parent conference as a follow-up to our survey, but then backed out of the agreement, which is very bad behavior for a foundation. I guess our findings didn't serve their school choice agenda, so they went out and found some folks who would.