Beware of groups which advocate public school reform. Always check out the membership, and you are likely to find a “wealthy technology businessman” or group. These people can assemble a team of high powered lawyers to attack what they believe is the major obstacle to learning for children in low income areas, that is: teachers unions. These evil unions protect “less qualified teachers” from being replaced so that “high need” students can achieve better results. In other words, the old “blame the teacher” policy in action. Republicans have introduced several bills attacking the teachers unions’ job protection policy, and are pursuing their ill advised and underhanded attempts to shift control of education from local public school boards to national, for-profit private school chains. Please note that these are big money people who know nothing, literally nothing, about education, but know a lot about the profit potential of “school reform.” What is so sad about this situation is the opportunity lost when the big-money crowd does nothing, again nothing, to correct the real cause of underachievement by high need students, which is: the grinding poverty which is simply too prevalent these days.