The Oscars are over and I wonder where the celebrities are when it comes to supporting public schools. Especially when so many dislike President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, you would think at least one movie star would champion democratic public schools.
Hello out there! Hey Hollywood and beyond! All of you who love your old teachers…we need you!
Many movie stars went to public schools and took part in their drama programs. A lot of actors thanked their teachers last night. So where are they in support of their own public schools?
It would be nice if we had some actors and celebrities who backed public schools. Due to their popularity and visibility, their words are powerful and influential.
But most celebrities don’t seem to understand what is happening with school privatization.
Meryl Streep
Like so many people, I admire Meryl Streep. She’s a great actress and seems like a down to earth person. Many were impressed that she spoke out at the People’s Choice Awards.
Educators were especially happy to hear her say, “I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey.”
What does it mean we wondered? Is she going to wave the flag in favor of saving our schools?
A check on Streep’s background involving education, shows that she has donated to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (Scholastic is a publishing company), and she gave books to the Segue Institute for Learning, a charter school in Central Falls, Rhode Island.*
This is well-meaning, but it is not really supportive of public schools.
The Segue Institute for Learning advertises itself as a community school, but it runs by its own rules. If students and/or parents don’t follow the school’s requirements it appears clear there is no place at the school for the students.
They favor school choice which is against traditional public schooling. School choice is what Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is all about.
No real public school can or should reject students. All students are welcome and it is why public schools often struggle to help students with the greatest challenges.
Meryl Streep is unlikely aware of this. My guess is she doesn’t understand the war on public schools by corporations—a war that has been going on for 30 years.
Celebrities most likely don’t understand that public schools have struggled with insufficient funding for years– since the Reagan administration!
Viola Davis
Viola Davis, another popular and fine actress, won a well-deserved Oscar last night. She also has a background involving public schools. She played a starring role in the 2012 movie Won’t Back Down which was about parents fighting for options to choose their schooling—charter schools.
Most charter schools drain funds from traditional public schools and are not accountable to the public. President Trump favors charter schools.
The movie involved the Los Angeles group Parent Revolution, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Broad Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation, which pushed for such parent options through “parent trigger” laws.
It is also a movie that is critical of the teachers’ union. It contained damaging falsehoods—like saying the union would not permit teachers to do extra work with students.
Davis, like Streep, was a huge fan of Hillary Clinton as demonstrated in this video.
Yet, Hillary Clinton was endorsed immediately during the primary by the teachers’ unions. Both the AFT and NEA had presidents that were her biggest fans throughout the election!
Won’t Back Down, on the other hand, could be used as a poster ad for President Trump’s current education secretary —Betsy DeVos—a cheerleader for choice.
Which Celebrities Support Public Schools?
Matt Damon showed up at the 2011 Save Our Schools march, and he was vocal about his support of public schools and teachers. He has backed several documentaries about schools, but he has other issues that he works on–like water. No one can blame him for that. Damon’s mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, is a popular and well-respected early childhood educator.
John Oliver of the HBO Program Last Week Tonight also made a splash a while back criticizing charter schools.
Taylor Swift has donated to New York City’s public schools.
Dolly Parton created an organization that provides free books to children.
Eddie Van Halen started a nonprofit to collect instruments for poor public school music programs.
But I don’t know of any celebrities who carry a torch for real public schools. It would be nice to see that change, especially since under President Trump our democratic public schools are more in danger than ever.
If you have any celebrity scoop involving movie stars or celebrities that support public schools in any way, let me know and I will add them to the list.
Below is also a list of celebrities who started their own charter schools which are not really public schools. I’m sure there are others that could be added to that list as well.
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* Central Falls High School grabbed national headlines when it fired all of its teachers, counselors, and a principal back in 2010 because of poor test scores and graduation rates.
The state education commissioner at the time was Deborah Gist—a Broad Academy graduate. Eli Broad is a billionaire, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He promotes a charter system in Los Angeles and around the country. Broad academy graduates are known for moving school districts towards that end.
The fired teachers were later rehired by the district, but the firings left Central Falls High School badly tarnished.
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Here is a list of celebrities who have started their own charter schools. Charter schools drain funds from traditional public schools and many are not accountable to the public.
Andre Agassi
Pitbull
Jalen Rose
Deion Sanders
Joshua says
Almost all celebrities will never pay more than lip service to public schools. If their children do attend public schools, they attend the finest money can buy. If they don’t like something at their public schools, a statement and a donation fixes it. And if you are happy with your kids’ school, why advocate for change?
I only am very involved in education because my kids’ public schools don’t have resources and options for gifted learners. If my kids’ schools were sufficient for gifted students, I wouldn’t be attending BOE meetings, serving on the Strategic Planning committee, meeting with district administration. and starting a gifted magnet school. I might attend some PTA meetings and help out at events, but I would likely put my advocacy time elsewhere.
Now, I know that in communities just a few miles west of me and several miles south of me, students attend public schools that are in horrible condition and may close, have dangerous walks to school, and abysmal learning rates. But I am not out there advocating for those schools. Why? I have other issues that directly affect my family and I am not in those schools regularly. And neither are celebrities. They have no personal experience on most issues they advocate for and struggling public schools are one of them.
I get that you don’t like charter schools and school choice, but those celebrities are the only ones who care enough about education that they try to help some kids. I don’t know about you, but I would rather work with people who are passionate about an issue, even if I don’t like their ideas, than people who are apathetic to an issue. Until the kids of these celebrities walk the halls of struggling public schools, celebrities will never fight for them.
Nancy Bailey says
Joshua, I don’t think most celebrities understand the current attack on democratic public schools. I believe some believe they are helping by supporting charter schools.
But many liberal and conservative actors and other celebrities have causes they believe in. I am suggesting they consider their home public school, or public schools in general
I think it would be a wonderful cause for activism…especially since so many attended public schools and got their start in their school drama club.
But I understand that as a parent it is the focus on your own children that takes up a lot of your time. Been there. Thanks for your post and hope all is going well with the gifted program! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Holly Delants says
“No real public school can or should reject students.” —-Please explain this statement.
Charters are REAL public schools. And they cannot pick and choose their students. Charters must comply with the same state and federal laws barring discrimination in enrollment practices.
“Most charter schools drain funds from traditional public schools and are not accountable to the public.” ??? WHAT?
Charter’s are public schools and get the same per pupil funding as other public schools. No different than building a second neighborhood school to account for overpopulation.
Additionally, charter schools must meet all the same state academic requirements as any other public school. BUT They also have an additional layers of accountability. Charter schools are held accountable to the state, district, AND the charter board. So they have WAY MORE public accountability that a standard public school.
Nancy Bailey says
Charter schools are known for creaming the top students and rejecting students with disabilities or ELL students. Parents and students must comply with the charter school rules, if they don’t the student can be dismissed. Real public schools cannot do such a thing. They must take all students.
Real public schools are run through a school board and are open to the public.
Many charter schools have no oversight. If they close, the charter owners don’t have to pay back the public school the money they got for the child. Yet the student returns to public school.
Also, charter schools were originally supposed to be for teachers and educators to run, now in some places almost anyone can start one. They have few innovations to offer. Most are simply strict schools. But let me know of a charter school you believe is innovative if you would like.
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/press-release-federal-government-wastes-hundreds-of-millions-on-defunct-charter-schools/