THE LEFT VS. THE POOR

A truly gut-wrenching and important piece in Salon.com by Joan Walsh. It’s about the war against successful for-profit schools in the inner-cities. Many of these schools, funded by the Edison Project, have been making real progress in raising test scores, improving teaching and helping minority kids. You’d think public school boards would be ecstatic. Instead, one of the best Edison schools in San Francisco faces being shut down because it is not p.c. enough, even though it is doing great work with minority children. Similarly, New York City Schools Chancellor Harold Levy’s attempt to hand over a few schools in New York City to Edison looks doomed, because of visceral hostility to anything smacking of profit. It’s a classic case of leftist ideology prevailing over the interests of children. Ballsy of Salon to run with this. And timely too.