Teach for America gets 5% from sales at GAP, Banana Republic, or Old Navy.

[madfloridian]

For the last week of August.

The education blogger called Teacher in a Strange Land has some thoughts about why they need this in addition to the 50 million from a federal i3 grant.

She quotes from an email a colleague got from Whitney Tilson, strong charter school advocate.

Whitney Tilson, Banana Republic & Public Education

So--a colleague of mine just got a friendly e-mail from Whitney Tilson, urging him to buy some new khakis and support Teach for America in the process. Here's what the e-mail said: "I helped Wendy Kopp start Teach for America just after I graduated from college in 1989, so I wanted to pass along this win-win offer: you can save 30% at any Banana Republic, Gap or Old Navy store this Thursday through Sunday (August 26-29) and Teach For America gets 5% of what you spend. To date, this campaign has raised over $800,000 for TFA. Just print the coupon at..."

Who's Whitney Tilson, you may be wondering? And why would Teach for America be needing extra bucks, seeing as how they just got $50 million through a federal i3 grant--to "grow the talent force to ensure all our nation's students have access to a quality education?" And just how, precisely, is this a win-win? Who are the two winners? Teach for America and Old Navy? Because it sure isn't our nation's students.

Tilson is a hedge fund manager who raises funds for TFA and charters from his hedge fund buddies.

I first became acquainted with Whitney Tilson when he pitched a virtual fit over Obama's choice of Linda Darling-Hammond as his education adviser during the campaign, saying Darling- Hammond was "as bad as it gets in terms of education reform." Presumably, this is because Darling-Hammond was one of the first serious critics of Teach for America (although she later modified her stance, given changes in TFA programming that included actual training for the corps members), and has used her incisive research analysis skills to ask many hard questions about market-based policies popular with both Republican and Democratic administrations.

What Tilson has done here--tapping his hedge fund manager buds and Yale alumnae network for a pet cause--happens all the time. Even in public education-- the Chicago Public Schools Foundation, for example, supported lots of Arne Duncan's favorite initiatives, in his days as CEO. A little extra philanthropy--it's all for the kids. Drop a little cash, get a new bomber jacket, plus a warm glow in knowing that while you're looking stylish, another Ivy Leaguer gets a two-year resume-building position in a lousy public school.

There's an interesting story about Tilson at the Perimeter Primate....gives a look at his personal attitudes.

Periodically I’ll take a look at Whitney Tilson’s blog. The first time I became aware of Tilson was when word went out about his account of Ben Chavis’ verbal attack on New York City Council Member Charles Barron at Sharpton’s National Action Network EEP forum. Chavis, Oakland’s notorious and poorly-behaved American Indian Public Charter School founder, had been invited to sit on the panel.

According to Tilson, Chavis approached Barron and said, “You're a mother f-ing black pimp, you're f-ing our kids. Come to the reservation and I'll beat your ass. You want our kids to take Home Ec? YOU should wear a dress!"

For those of us in Oakland who have been experiencing Chavis for years, hearing something like this was nothing new. But then there was Whitney Tilson’s enthusiastic response of, “I LIKE this guy!”

I like this closing comment from the Teacher in a Strange Land article.

While Whitney Tilson's pals are investing in TFA, colleagues in my neighborhood school are trying to decide how to spend the $1300 they got from the Target Community Giving program (a .5% return): copy machine paper or library books?

The rich get richer; so it goes. And so much for equity. Who wants to organize a teacher boycott?

[bettyellen]

1. FYI: there are four or five other charities that the employee could have chosen, they only get some

i chose a different charity

[madfloridian]

2. That's fine you get to choose.

TFA is not a charity, though. It is a company that districts pay thousands of dollars to in order to recruit beginning teachers with 5 weeks training.

My point went deeper than that.

[bettyellen]

3. my point was that your OP was completey inaccurate, and non profit and charity are used as synonyms

they do not get 5% of sales for F+F , they are lucky if they get %5 of 10% of the sales w/ coupons since there were other nonprofits to choose. Most coupons used have no none profit attached at all.
They are not a charity, huh? They take donations... hmmm.and are a nonprofit ? You do realise most peopleuse those ternms interchangably? Just checking.
Im sure you're right, and they aren;t not worthy, but many non profits are not. Not a big shocker there, and not especially deep,

[madfloridian]

4. No, my post was fine. Your interpretation of it is lacking.

When someone tells me I am posting inaccurately, I want them to back it up. So please do that.

[bettyellen]

5. i work for Gap. they gave us five nonprofits to choose from - and you ASSUMED there was only one

choice. If we were partneringwith one specific non profit you'd find a heck of a lot more PR about it, sorry!
They gave us all from 3-10 books to give out, but only one book gets registered to the charity. I remember from past experience that more than half the coupons do not get registered to any charity- ooops non profit, but it's great PR.

[madfloridian]

7. No, I quoted an email. My post was fine.

[bettyellen]

6. it's only part of sales over a three day weekend, and they are splitting it with 4-5 others.

so no, your OP was not fine.

[madfloridian]

8. Then please alert that I posted something not true.

I am sorry but you are really going out on a limb here.

You alert, I will back off.

I am tired of being on guard everytime I post.

[bettyellen]

9. it was inaccurate, so frigging what. u should maybe just accept it and move on. Bye.