John White Speaks at a San Francisco TFA Board Meeting… for the Benefit of Louisiana

According to a Louisiana ethics filing dated January 16, 2019, Louisiana state superintendent John White spoke in San Francisco, California, at a Teach for America (TFA) board meeting on January 09, 2019, and was comped by TFA for his lodging ($1,186.75) and transportation ($605.33).

The particular ethics form for the filing above has undergone a revision as of August 2018; the form it replaced used to require the signature and seal of a notary. That is no longer true.

Now, it’s only White certifying himself.

As his own agency head, White now approves his own attendance and certifies that his speaking at a TFA board meeting “is of direct benefit to the agency” (the “agency” being the Louisiana Department of Education).

Next, as the public servant for the agency, White was also able to attest that his own agency-head declaration was “true to the best of his (“public servant,” not “agency head”) knowledge” by signing as the public servant for the agency of which he is the agency head.

Of course, one might rightly wonder how, exactly, John White’s speaking at a TFA board meeting in San Francisco is of benefit to the Louisiana Department of Education.

My ready guess is that the reverse is true– that it is LDOE benefiting TFA through offering TFA contracts with LDOE and through employing TFA alumni at LDOE.

White is a TFA alum whose has never stopped championing TFA, the single org that has enabled him (albeit in White’s characteristically shady fashion) to creatively fashion five years of classroom “teaching” experience out of his time as a TFA executive director in Chicago and New Jersey.

Moreover, it should come as no surprise that in years past, White has helped advance the TFA cause in Louisiana via contracts with the state-run Recovery School District. He has also employed former TFAers at LDOE in jobs for which they lack practical experience (e.g., Molly Horstman as “COMPASS director”).

I’ve placed a couple of public records requests and hope to have more soon on this front.

Until then, enjoy this 10-minute video of White the TFA Innovator as he speaks about “joining ranks with the morally righteous” (no kidding) at TFA’s 25th anniversary summit in February 2016:

John White: Louisiana State Superintendent of Education from Teach For All on Vimeo.

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Schneider is a southern Louisiana native, career teacher, trained researcher, and author of two other books: A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who In the Implosion of American Public Education and Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools?. You should buy these books. They’re great. No, really.

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