Six Ways The Walton Family Wants To Walmartize Our Public Schools

The Billionaire Walton Family, which controls Walmart, is spending billions to re-shape public education. But, do we really need our schools to be more like Walmarts? Here are some of the ways the family's education agenda could make our schools more like Walmart Supercenters.

Low Pay for Teachers

Walmart's low-wages, averaging just $8.81/hour , are legendary.

And, teachers know from experience that already low salaries are often lower at charter schools. The Texas Association of School Boards found that :

"Charter schools pay teachers less, have greater than twice the percentage of less experienced (0-5 years) teachers, and have fewer teachers with advanced degrees than school districts."

Temp Teachers

Via theonion.com

Who needs full-time, long-term teachers when you can have temps! It has been widely reported that Walmart uses temps and part-time workers on a massive scale.

Meanwhile, the Walton Family is pouring millions into an ideologically-driven push to eliminate job security for teachers, including the funding of Teach for America which, despite the good intentions of many involved, has been criticized as "a glorified temp agency" for teachers. Walton Family member and Walmart Board Member Greg Penner is also a member of the Teach for America Board of Directors.

No Investment in Students or Teachers

Opportunities for most Walmart workers are few and far between. Company documents obtained by the Huffington Post outline a "rigid pay structure for hourly employees that makes it difficult for most to rise much beyond poverty-level wages."

At the same time, despite , overwhelming evidence about the value of pre-school for children's education success Walton family member and Walmart Board Member Greg Penner , gave $250,000 to oppose an initiative that would have provided universal pre-school for four-year olds in California through an increased tax on the wealthy.

Silencing Worker and Teacher Voices

We all know that Walmart has a history of attempting to silence workers, including recently firing workers who have stood up for respect and the right-to-speak out.

So, it won’t come as a surprise that the Walton Family Foundation has a record that many teachers find disturbing, including contributions to the anti-union National Right to Work Foundation and generally “treating parents, students and teachers like cogs in what they must think are education big-box retail stores.”

Eliminating the Competition

Despite claims to the contrary, Walmart is not a job creator. In fact, the company destroys roughly 3 jobs for every two they "create." How? Essentially, "Wal-Mart captures spending from existing stores, driving them out of business and replacing existing retail jobs with lower-paying Wal-Mart jobs.

And, the Waltons are doing the same thing when it comes to public schools that "compete" with their vision of charter schools. In Chicago, the Walton Family Foundation recently funded a series of public meetings surrounding the closures of roughly 50 public schools. Just months later, the City is asking for more charter schools.

Seems like an example of putting ideology ahead of the kids.

Performance Bonuses for Executives, Take-Aways for Teachers and Walmart Workers

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At Walmart, they lowered the performance standards in 2011, in order to reward their friend, CEO Mike Duke, with millions in bonuses.. One analyst called that move “a failure to admit failure.”

In education, the Walton Family and those they support have aggressively supported proposals to punish teachers on the basis of arbitrary performance standards, that are unsupported by research on educational outcomes. Meanwhile, the Walton Family has generously funded education "reformers" like Michelle Rhee, who came under fire for failing to act on evidence of widespread cheating on standardized tests during her tenure as DC schools chancellor.

But Teachers, Parents, Students and Walmart Workers are Standing Together!

Americans are increasingly understanding the ways in which the Walton "reform" agenda is hurting schools and hurting kids. Increasingly, teachers, students, parents and Walmart workers are standing together, understanding that their fights are linked. Find out more here, here, or here.