Natomas Charter School of Sacramento, Calif., has won the $100,000 prize offered by the Center for Education Reform to tell comedian John Oliver to back off the abusive rhetoric about charter schools.
Back in August, Oliver went on a rant about charter schools around the country on his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight.” He tarred just about all of the 6,700 charters in 42 states and the District of Columbia with mostly old tales of mismanagement at a few schools. As proof of how thoroughly he eviscerated charters, AFT public-school teachers’ union president Randi Weingarten tweeted out her review: hilarious.
To counteract what it saw as “a very unfair, unfortunate, unbalanced, unwarranted and generally unhinged tirade against charter schools,” the CER offered the big prize. It got more than 250 three-minute videos from schools using the theme, “Hey, John Oliver, back off my charter school.”
The video from the K-12 Natomas starts off with one sweet little girl looking up from her coloring and saying into the camera: “Hey, John Oliver, I heard you had not nice things to say about my school. Made me sad to hear how poorly you think of my education”
A number of students – from youngest to oldest – then aim some barbs at Oliver while strolling the campus.
“We need more people who are passionate about equitably challenging the status quo,” says one of the older students who concludes the video. “So I challenge you: partner with us instead of poking fun? Because this isn’t about changing schools, this is about changing the world, one student at a time.”
Oliver decided to weigh in on the education debate again in October with a rant about segregated schools and the benefits of forced busing. “Getting to attend a good middle class school can be transformative,” he opined, forgetting that is the goal of most parents who opt out of their zip-code enforced local school for a charter.
He then seemed to make an appeal for school choice:
“Black and Latino children are more likely to attend schools with inexperienced teachers, which are then less likely to offer a college prep curriculum. On top of which, because race and class are inextricably linked, those students are six times as likely to be in high poverty schools. And while there are teachers and students working incredibly hard in those places, they are often doing so with fewer resources.”
Natomas opened in 1993 and serves children in kindergarten to 12th grade. It offers five “school within a school” options including a performing and fine arts academy and an online high school.
Honorable mentions in the contest went to:
• Southland College Prep Charter High School, Richton Park, Ill.;
• Gary Comer College Prep, Chicago;
• Inlet Grove Community High School, Riviera Beach, Fla.
• STRIVE Prep-Smart Academy, Denver, Col., and
• Purpose Preparatory Academy Charter School, Nashville, Tenn.
