The Attack on Public Education and Social Equity

It is increasingly well known that the conservative Boston think tank the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy and its affiliates are involved at virtually every level in undermining public schools and derailing the quest for social justice. But even many education activists are shocked by the far-reaching influence of those connected with Pioneer. Pick any issue - the attack on bilingual education, vouchers, opposition to affirmative active and racial justice, commonwealth charter schools, teacher bashing, reduced education funding, the media barrage against public schools - and you will find that the leaders are closely tied to Pioneer. Supporting these destructive campaigns are the vast financial resources of Pioneer-affiliated corporations, foundations and individuals. It all ties together at the top.

Pioneer By the People

Charles D. Baker Jr. Member of Pioneer’s board of directors. Former executive director of Pioneer. As Secretary of Administration and Finance in Weld Administration was instrumental in crafting a generous tuition formula for charter schools. Sits on state Board of Education which awards and renews charters and supposedly oversees charter schools.

Linda Brown - Director of Pioneer's Massachusetts Charter School Resource Center which has raised millions of dollars to promote and sustain commonwealth charter schools. The center regularly publishes studies, reports and opinion polls claiming popular support and academic superiority for charter schools. Served on Gov. Paul Cellucci's transition team education task force.

Cornelius J. Chapman - Member of Pioneer’s Center for Restructuring Government Committee. Organizer of initiative petition and lead attorney in court suit against the Secretary of State seeking to remove the state’s Constitutional protection against using public funds for private and religious schools.

Rachelle Cohen - Judge of Pioneer’s 2001 "better government" competition, Editorial page editor of the Boston Herald, makes op-ed page space regularly available to Pioneer staffers to promote charter schools, attack public education and criticize teachers.

Nancy Meyers Coolidge - Member Pioneer’s board of directors. One of the founders of the pressure group Citizens United for Charter Schools. Wife of Laurence Coolidge, chairman of the board of the Mifflin Memorial Fund, a Boston-based foundation that donates hundreds of thousand of dollars to Pioneer and to commonwealth charter schools.

John Davis - Member of Pioneer's Charter School Advisory Board. Principal of the Davis Foundation which contributes heavily to Pioneer and Mass Insight's pro-MCAS campaign.

Tamara Davis - Member of Pioneer’s Center for Restructuring Government Committee. Sits on state Board of Higher Education making decisions on cost and admissions policies at the state’s colleges and universities.

William S. Edgerly - Member of Pioneer’s board of directors. Founder of charter school pressure groups CEOs for Fundamental Change in Education and Partnership for Better Schools. Co-founder of the for-profit charter school company Advantage Schools. Also promotes pro-MCAS Business For Better Schools as well as funding and presenting "Edgerly Awards" to schools that boost MCAS scores. Uses income from two foundations he controls to bankroll MCAS promotion and fund anti-union and privatization initiates.

Lovett C. Peters- Founding chairman of Pioneer, director of Save a School Foundation, a pro-MCAS and charter school group that seeks to turn public schools into charter schools and claims it will raise MCAS scores. Offers school districts $1 million if scores do not increase once in 5 years.

James Peyser - Former Pioneer executive director, leading proponent of charter schools, vouchers, and standardized testing and critic of affirmative action and bilingual education. Chairman of the state Board of Education. Chief education advisor to Gov. Jane Swift.

Christine Rossell - Author with Keith Baker of Bilingual Education in Massachusetts, an attack on native language instruction published by Pioneer in 1996. A professor of political science at Boston University, Rossell has no direct experience of bilingual education or K-12 education.

Roberta Schaefer - Judge of Pioneer's "better government" competition. Collaborator with Pioneer on a number of speakers and forums. Member of state Board of Education. Made introductions in Worcester to open doors for Bill Edgerly's charter school company Advantage Schools.

Abigail Thernstrom - Member of Pioneer's board of academic advisors. Leading opponent of affirmation action and voluntary integration programs. Serves on the state Board of Education. Wife of Stephen Thernstrom, one of the first ten signers of the Ron Unz-financed initiative petition to dismantle bilingual education in Massachusetts. Thernstrom also serves on the board of directors of the pro-MCAS MassInsight Education.

Rebecca Wolf - Former member of Pioneer's Charter School Resource Center staff. Now with the Department of Education's Charter School Office overseeing charter school accountability.