City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2017 Networked: New York City’s Charter Schools and the New Profiteers Christina Johnson The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2334 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] NETWORKED: NEW YORK CITY’S CHARTER SCHOOLS AND THE NEW PROFITEERS by CHRISTINA A. JOHNSON A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2017 © 2017 CHRISTINA A JOHNSON All Rights Reserved ii Networked: New York City’s Charter Schools and the New Profiteers by Christina A. Johnson This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Urban Education in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Anthony Picciano Chair of Examining Committee Date Wendy Luttrell Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Nicholas Michelli David Bloomfield THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Networked: New York City’s Charter Schools and the New Profiteers by Christina A. Johnson Advisor: Anthony Picciano This dissertation examines the extent to which corporate players and interests are represented on New York City charter school boards by collecting and analyzing board member data for all approved charters as of January 2013. The affiliations of individuals sitting on charter school and charter management organization boards are identified. The implications of those affiliations as well as their potential to affect school governance are explored within a modern educational landscape in which policy-making favors market-based approaches and provides new entry points for profiteering. The empirical analysis and conceptual framework for this study are informed by research on interlocking directorates as well as on more contemporary forms of power, or “flex-nets,” situated within social networks. The results show that individuals tied to corporations – particularly hedge funds and other financial organizations – fill a significant number of charter school board seats, especially in comparison to parents, teachers and community members without those ties. Many of these board members have explicit ties to each other as well as affiliations with charter advocacy organizations, political action committees, and niche markets working behind the scenes to shore up pro-market education reforms. The study explores the potential ramifications of their dominance over charter schools, and proposes that financiers and their networks may stand to benefit more from charter school iv proliferation than schoolchildren and local communities. Findings suggest that students in many of the charter schools across New York City are being trained for lives of relegation and regulation by the keepers of power, rather than its skeptics. v Acknowledgements This dissertation took longer to complete than it should have for several reasons. Some of those were wonderfully welcome, the most splendid being the birth of my daughter, Nancy Grace Johnson in spring 2010. Others are universally known to anyone who has tried to take on a task of this complexity and magnitude. And one, the death of a beloved teacher-scholar and my first advisor, Jean Anyon, was an unexpected and heartbreaking loss just as I was gaining momentum and confidence. Jean was an inspiration, not only because of her verve, extraordinary scholarship and activism out there in the real world, but also because, behind her office doors and in her classroom, she gave so much to her students. She made me believe that I might ultimately be able to harness my overwrought and disjointed indignation about the corporatization of public education and write something worthwhile. I didn’t have the full benefit of her faith or guidance throughout the long slog to complete this dissertation, but I will always be grateful for the years I was able to talk with her about radical possibilities. I would also like to extend my deep gratitude to Anthony Picciano, who graciously agreed to take over Jean’s role after she passed away, and Nicholas Michelli, both of whom provided structure, support and excellent suggestions during the subsequent years. Along those same lines, I would also like to thank David Bloomfield for agreeing to join my committee and see one of Jean’s former students through to completion. I am privileged to have studied and grappled with “big ideas” in a group of scholars as brilliant and stimulating as the folks from Cohort 7 at the Graduate Center, especially those of us who worked together with Jean. I am also grateful for the support of a wide circle of wonderful friends and family. All of them helped me along this incredible journey, but there are a few I vi want to specifically mention because they never failed to ask – over far too many years – “how things were going with that dissertation of mine,” and they never doubted my ability to see it through to the end, however much I might have hedged on offering specifics. Their genuine interest and never-ending faith were invaluable. They are, in alphabetical order, Shannon Allen; Jennifer Bryning Alton; Virginia Baldwin; Uncle Rich & Aunt Karen Browder; Denise Johnson; Bethany Lisi; Julie Davis McCoy; Vera Melella; June & Steve Quarfordt; and Dorothy Weaver. I especially extend my appreciation, love, and a hearty Skål to my wonderful husband Kirk, who maintained a laid-back, yet seemingly unyielding, belief in me even when I thought very seriously about giving up. And finally, to all of the progressive thinkers and giants working in education and policy and their shoulders: So many talented and dedicated scholars and activists have asked, studied, considered, written, provoked, and prodded us all into an “unending conversation” about what public education should be for children and families. When I grow up, I hope to be just like them. “Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.” Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1941. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Overview of the Study Background of the Problem: “It’s the Confluence, Stupid!”..…………………………1 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………5 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………9 A Brief History of New York City Charter Schools…………………………………..11 What NYC Charter School Boards Do………………………………………..14 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….17 Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction to the Relevant Literature………………………………………………..19 Mayoral Control……………………………………………………………………….22 No Child Left Behind (NCLB)……………………………………………………......26 Race to the Top……………………………………………………………………......29 Big Money: Focused Philanthropy and Charter Schools………………………….......32 Giving to Think Tanks & Other Advocacy Organizations…………………....36 Direct Giving to Charters and Charter Management Organizations ……….....38 Conceptual Framework – Interlocks & Flex-Nets…………………………………….42 The Causes of Interlocks……………………………………………………...46 Organizational and Individual Motivations for Interlocks……………………52 The Consequences of Interlocks: Similar Governance & Political Decision-making……………………………………………………...57 Flexians and Charter School Boards……………………………………….....63 viii Conclusion………………………………………………………………….....66 Chapter 3: Methodology & Data Analysis Introduction to Research Procedures…………………………………………………68 Subjects of this Study………………………………………………………………...70 Data Sources……………………………………………………………………….....72 Data Collection and Organization……………………………………………………74 Grappling with the Data……………………………………………………………...78 Chapter 4: Results Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..84 Findings………………………………………………………………………………85 Charter Management Organizations - Who’s Minding the Store?...................93 Case Study: An In-depth Look at Eva Moskowitz’s Flex-Net……………………….97 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..110 Chapter 5: Conclusions & Recommendations for Future Research Implications of Findings…………………………………………………………….113 Charter School Facilities in the New Educational Marketplace…………………….117 Limitations & Future Resear………………………………………………………...122 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...123 ix List of Tables, Figures, and Appendices Table 1: Charter Schools Authorized in NYC as of January 2013, By Borough Table 2: Individual Board Member Matrix – Brooklyn Ascend Charter School-Lower Table 3: CMO/EMO