Bill Gates, Common Core and Agenda 21

The imposition of federal Common Core standards, which were developed using money from the loudest and wealthiest corporate school reform proponent, Bill Gates, and are suspiciously promoted by Exxon-Mobil (Rockefeller-owned), will exacerbate the high-stakes testing problem. Corporate school reform folks can’t wait for Common Core tests to be implemented so that they can claim that more public schools are “failing.” They will swoop in with fancy plans for new, for-profit charter schools and start stuffing their pockets with public funds that were supposed to be used educating our children. [Source]

Top Ten Scariest People in Education Reform: # 5 – Bill Gates

This is the fifth in a countdown series of introductions, a list of the top ten scariest people leading education in America.  For numbers 6, 7, 8,  9 and 10,  click here.

WhatIsCommonCore.WordPress.com - The biggest philanthropist on earth comes across as the epitome of sincere, nerdy nice-guy.  And he probably is very nice and very sincere. But does sincerity trump truth?

The truth is, Bill Gates’ herculean attempt to fund and market Common Core to Americans, and to circumvent the voting public on educational issues, is dangerously, dangerously misguided.

Thus, not everybody is happy in philanthropy land. The biggest philanthropist in the world got behind the unproven experiment of Common Core. Using money rather than the voice of the American voter, pushed it into schools, circumventing any vetting by legislative, educator or parent groups.

Gates’ astronomical wealth has persuaded millions that Common Core is the solution to education problems, the argument from everywhere, approved (by him) and beyond debate. But let me repeat the fact: regardless of whether the standards are horrible or glorious, the truth remains that whenever unelected philanthropists are permitted to direct public policy, the voting public gets cut out of the process. 

It’s happening all over the U.S., but not just in the U.S. The Gates-directing-world-education effect is happening everywhere.

Since Gates has no constituency, he can’t be un-elected; so it’s not the the wisdom of experienced educators, but simply one man’s money that is directing implementation of  the controversial Common Core. His  money has bought, besides technology, work groups, and a seat at the policy making table, extreme marketing success.

He’s got control of the education opinion factory. When Common Core was debated at the Indiana State Capitol, who showed up to advocate for Common Core?  Stand for Children, which Bill Gates funds.   

He also funds Common Core advocates: 

• the League of Education Voters, 
• the Center for Reinventing Public Education and 
• the Partnership for Learning. 

Gates owns Editorial Projects in Education, parent of Education Week magazine.

No wonder, then, even educators don’t seem to know the full truth about Common Core. They’re reading Education Week and  the Harvard Education Letter.  Translation: they are reading Gates’ dollar bills. (By the way: want to make some money selling out your fellow teachers?  Gates is searching for a grant recipient who will receive $250,000 to accelerate networking of teachers toward acceptance of Common Core.)

Wherever you see advocates for Common Core, you see Gates’ influence.  

• He gave a million dollars to the national PTA to advocate to parents about Common Core.  
• He gave  Common Core developer NGA/CCSSO roughly $25 million to promote it (CCSSO: 2009–$9,961,842, 2009– $3,185,750, 2010–$743,331, 2011–$9,388,911; NGA Center: 2008–$2,259,780.)  
• He gave $15 million to Harvard for “education policy” research.  
• He gave $9 million to universities promoting “breakthrough learning models” and global education.   
• Gates paid inBloom $100 million to collect and analyze schools’ data as part of a public-private collaborative that is building  “shared technology services.” InBloom, formerly known as the Shared Learning Collaborative, includes districts, states, and the unelected Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).  
• The list goes on and on and on.

It’s hard to know exactly how much money Gates has put toward the promotion of Common Core because of the chameleon-like wording of  educational granting areas. 

For example, he gave $3 million to Stanford University and $3 million to Brown University for “college and career readiness.” (The average person wouldn’t know that college and career readiness is a code phrase defined as common core by the Department of Education.)

Sometimes he’s promoting “support activities around educational issues related to school reform” for the CCSSO (common core developer) and other times he’s “helping states build data interoperability,” which not everyone would recognize as Common assessments’ bed-making.

According to Gates himself, he’s spent $5 billion to promote his vision of education since 2000.

He really,  reeally believes in Common Core.  So it doesn’t matter that Common Core is an experiment on our children that’s never been tested and has been rejected by countless top education analysts. It doesn’t matter that Common Core is an un-American, top-down, nonrepresentative system  that state legislatures didn’t even get to vet.  Bill Gates wants it.

And not just in America– he wants global education standards.

Gates’ company, Microsoft, signed a cooperative agreement with the United Nations’ education branch, UNESCO. In it, Gates said, “Microsoft supports the objectives of UNESCO as stipulated in UNESCO’s constitution and intends to contribute to UNESCO’s programme priorities.” 

UNESCO’s  “Education For All” key document is called “The Dakar Framework for Action: Education For All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments.”  Read the full text here:  http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001211/121147e.pdf

So Gates partners with the U.N.’s educational and other goals via UNESCO’s “Education for All”, which seeks to teach the same standards to all children (and adults) on a global scale.  Why is this a problem?  It supercedes local control over what is taught to students, and dismisses the validity of the U.S. Constitution, all in the name of inclusivity and education and tolerance for all nations.

At this link you can learn about how Education For All works:

“Prior to the reform of the global EFA coordination architecture in 2011-2012, the Education for All High-Level Group brought together high-level representatives from national governments, development agencies, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. Its role was to generate political momentum and mobilize financial, technical and political support towards the achievement of the EFA goals and the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). From 2001-2011 the High-Level Group met annually.”

The six goals of “Education For All” are claimed to be internationally agreed-upon. On the linked Education and Awareness page of the U.N. website, we learn:

“Education, Public  Awareness and Training is the focus of Chapter 36 of Agenda 21. This is a cross-sectoral theme both relevant to the implementation of the whole of Agenda 21 and indispensable”   http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/susdevtopics/sdt_educawar.shtml

Did you get that?  Education is indispensable for the U.N. to get its agenda pushed onto every citizen worldwide.  They just admitted it out loud.  They want a strong hand in determining what is taught worldwide.

So then we click on Chapter 36.  In 36.2 it says we should “reorient” worldwide education toward sustainable development.  (No discussion, no vote, no input needed on this reorientation plan, apparently.)

Chapter 36.3 says:  “Both formal and non-formal education are indispensable to changing people’s attitudes…. It is also critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development…  To be effective, environment and development education should deal with the dynamics of both the physical/biological and socio-economic environment and human (which may include spiritual) development, should be integrated in all disciplines, and should employ formal and non-formal methods.”

The take-away?  What does Bill Gates agree to in his Microsoft – UNESCO partnership?

• Environmental education will be incorporated in formal education.
• Any value or attitude held by anyone globally that stands independent to that of the United Nations’ definition of “sustainable education” must change.  Current attitudes are unacceptable.
• Education will be belief-and-spirituality based as defined by the global collective.
• Environmental education will be integrated into every subject, not just science.

The stated objectives (36.4) include endorsing “Education for All,” and “giving special emphasis to the further training of decision makers at all levels.”

Hence the need for people like Gates to influence the training of decision makers.  When asked what matters most to him, Gates said: education. His version of education as reported by The Huffington Post:

“I’d pick education, if I was thinking broadly about America,” Gates responded. “It’s our tool of equality.”  Is it coincidence that equality and redistribution are also concepts that Linda Darling-Hammond, Chaka Fattah and Arne Duncan are promoting in the federal Equity and Excellence Commission?

How committed is Bill Gates to the United Nations having a say in American education?

In his annual letter, Gates emphasized the importance of  following the United Nations’ Millennial Goals and measuring teachers more closely.  One of those UN Millennial goals is to achieve universal education.  Also, Gates helped create Strong American Schools (a successor to the STAND UP campaign launched in 2006, which was an outgrowth of UNESCO’s Millennium Campaign Goals for Universal Education). It called for U.S. national education standards. (link 1) (link 2)

Also,  Gates’ Foundation funded the International Benchmarking Advisory Group report for Common Core Standards on behalf of the National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, and ACHIEVE, Inc. titled, “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education.” This report showed the United Nations is a member of the International Benchmarking Advisory Group for Common Core Standards. (link)

It appears that Bill Gates is more than a common core philanthopist; he is a promoter of global sameness of education as defined by UNESCO and the U.N.

That’s scary.

Houghton Mifflin Harcout Partners in Common Core 

From their Website: Making a successful transition to the Common Core State Standards is as much about the tangibles—comprehensive, personalized curricula; tools and skills for analyzing data effectively and productively; informed staff and leader development; and parental involvement—as it is about the intangibles. It will require the positive energy generated by working together to achieve a common goal and the momentum that carries you from implementation to assessment and beyond. In Houghton Mifflin Harcourt you have a trusted partner to rely on as you take on this opportunity, a partner who will share the responsibilities that come with achieving all that the Common Core promises. We have created a wide range of content, curricula, and services to support school leaders, teachers and educators, parents, and especially students with this transition—because ultimately your energy is focused not just on implementing the Common Core standards, but on realizing their intent: guiding all students to 21st-century college and career readiness.

Check out the Executive Leadership and Board of Directors for confirmation that big corporations are profiting from Common Core.

Linda K. Zecher President, Chief Executive Officer and Director 

Linda K. Zecher joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2011 as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, bringing a strong track record of business transformation and results.  Her extensive sales, marketing and technology experience contribute to her ability to successfully lead HMH’s transformation into a global leader in educational content and media.  Previously, she served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's $8 billion Worldwide Public Sector organization, where she led a team of nearly 2,000 sales and marketing professionals serving government, education and healthcare customers in more than 100 countries. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2003, Linda held leadership positions with Texas Instruments, Bank of America, PeopleSoft, Oracle and Evolve Corp. Zecher currently serves on the board of Cradles to Crayons and has also served on the U.S. State Department’s board for overseas schools, the Emily Couric Leadership Forum, the Intelligence and National Security Association board, and James Madison University’s board of visitors.

Eric Shuman Chief, Financial Officer 

Eric joined HMH in 2009 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in late 2011 following the appointment of CEO Linda Zecher. He brings a long track record of leadership and results in media and content, and deep experience in business model transformation.  Prior to joining HMH, Eric served as Chief Executive Officer of Thomson Lifelong Learning Group, a division of The Thomson Corporation specializing in training, skills assessment, and higher education publishing. Previously, Eric was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Thomson Learning, and Chief Financial Officer for Thomson Newspapers. In those capacities, he led several business integrations, restructurings and significant mergers and acquisitions, spanning fifteen years with Thomson. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College.

William Bayers Executive, Vice President and General Counsel 

Bill joined Houghton Mifflin in May of 2007 as Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel and was made Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel in March 2008. Previously, he served as Vice President and General Counsel of Harcourt Education Group. Bill oversees all legal, regulatory and corporate matters for the Company. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Dr. Tim Cannon, Executive Vice President, International Operations and Global Strategic Alliances 

Tim's career in business, organizational and IT strategy spans nearly three decades. Before joining HMH, Tim was Senior Director of Business Strategy for Microsoft's Worldwide Public Sector organization, where he oversaw the development and execution of business strategies to better serve Government, Education and Health customers and partners worldwide. Prior to that role, Tim was Senior Director of Business Strategy for Microsoft’s U.S Public Sector. He has also held leadership roles at companies like Digital Equipment Corporation and Oracle, and helped many large organizations cope with the dynamics of change by implementing responses to maximize shareholder value. Tim is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Florida.

Brook Colangelo, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Brook joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in January 2013 from the White House, where he held the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) since 2009. With over ten years’ experience in technology strategy and implementation, Brook joined the White House team in 2008 to spearhead the Obama-Biden transition project. Prior to that, he held several senior IT leadership roles, including within the Democratic National Convention Committee, The American Red Cross’ Hurricane Recovery Program and QRS Newmedia. Brook holds an honors degree in Political Communications from The George Washington University.

Mary Cullinane, Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs 

Mary is HMH’s first Chief Content Officer. She has led the transformation of the company’s content development capability, bringing a unique combination of education and business experience. Prior to joining HMH in 2012, Mary spent ten years spearheading Microsoft′s education-related innovation programs and initiatives worldwide, including its national 1:1 access programs and its groundbreaking School of the Future in Philadelphia. With another decade of experience as an educator, Director of Technology and administrator in the public sector, Mary is a recognized thought leader in the area of education reform and the effective use of technology. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, and co- authored the book What Next?, which documents lessons learned during the building of the School of the Future. Mary holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from The College of New Jersey. Mary is a member of the board of the Boston Children's Museum.

John K. Dragoon, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

John joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2012. Previously, he served as Chief Marketing Officer and Channel Chief of Novell, where he led the company's Marketing and Partner programs for over seven years. Prior to joining Novell, John served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Product Management at Art Technology Group (ATG). Before ATG, John served as Vice President, Operations at Internet Capital Group, where he served on the board of nine partner companies and guided strategy, marketing, business development, financing and product development. John also spent more than 16 years at IBM, where he held a number of marketing and sales positions. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Union College. 
 
Gary Gentel, President, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Consumer Publishing 

Gary joined Houghton Mifflin in October of 2003 as Corporate Vice President and Director of Trade Sales and was promoted to Interim President of the combined Trade Group in July 2007. He was given the permanent position in December of that year. Previously, he served as President of Candlewick Press—a children's publisher based in Cambridge, SVP of Trade Sales at Scholastic Books, and SVP and Publisher of The Grosset and Dunlap Group at GP Putnam's Sons—now a division of Penguin Books. Gary started his publishing career as a Sales Representative at Random House in 1980, rising to VP of Children's Sales by 1990.

James G. Nicholson, President, Riverside Publishing 

Since 2010, Jim Nicholson has served as President of Riverside Publishing — the professional and educational assessment arm of HMH.  Prior to his current position, he served as Riverside’s Chief Operating Officer, where he was responsible for the company’s strategic planning and product development, overseeing the integration of the Edusoft® Assessment Management System.  With more than 20 years of experience in educational publishing, Jim previously held senior leadership positions at Pearson, including Vice President of Finance for its Literacy business unit.  He holds an MBA from DePaul University and a BS from Indiana University.

Lee Ramsayer, Executive Vice President, U.S. Sales 

Before joining HMH, Lee served as Senior Vice President of sales for Monster’s Government Solutions sector. While at Monster, Lee built a dedicated sales team that addressed workforce and economic development in regional economies, and also drove change management and new strategy development sales and system integration partnerships. Prior to Monster, Lee served as General Manager, Government Sales and Consulting Services for Microsoft. In this role, Lee led the development of Microsoft’s strategic approach to state and local governments including the development of go-to-market strategies. Lee currently serves on the board of Innovate Education, a national organization focused on STEM education.

Lesa Scott, President, Heinemann 

Lesa Scott is President of Heinemann, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt dedicated to the development of professional resources and educational services for teachers – from kindergarten to college.  A former science, social studies, and health teacher, Lesa’s career in education spans more than thirty years. She left the classroom to market and sell textbooks for Laidlaw Brothers Publishers, subsequently rising to sales and marketing leadership roles at Scott Foresman Educational Publishers, McDougal Littell and Scholastic.  Lesa received a BS and MS in education from Arkansas State University and completed post-graduate studies at Texas Women’s University.

Dr. Nicole Melander, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy 

Nicole joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in January 2014 as Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy. Previously, she served as the Chief Technology Officer of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national reform network dedicated to community college student success and completion. Prior to joining ATD, Nicole held education and technology leadership positions at Deloitte Consulting, Microsoft and Oracle. In the academic world, she taught on the topics of collaboration technology and social media for business at American University where she won the campuswide “Teaching with Technology Award."

Lawrence K. Fish, Director and Chairman of the Board

Lawrence K. Fish has served as a member of the board of directors since August 2010 and Chairman of the Board since January 2011. Mr. Fish served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (“Citizens”) from 2005 to 2008 and before as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, from 1992, of Citizens. Mr. Fish is a member of the Corporation (Board of Trustees) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves on the boards of Textron Inc., Tiffany & Co., and NBH Holdings Corp. He is also an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. Mr. Fish’s extensive experience in the areas of finance, marketing, general management and corporate governance enables him to provide the Company with effective leadership on the board of directors.

Sheru Chowdhry, Director

Sheru Chowdhry served as a member of the board of directors from March 2010 through March 2012 and rejoined the board in June 2012. Mr. Chowdhry joined Paulson & Co. Inc., a hedge fund, in 2004 as a Senior Vice President and has been a Managing Director and Head of Distressed & Bankruptcy Research since 2008. Previously, he was a research analyst at DebtTraders Inc., covering distressed and bankrupt securities, and an investment banker in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at JP Morgan Securities. Mr. Chowdhry’s financial expertise and significant experience with debt and equity capital markets render him a valuable member of the board.

L. Gordon Crovitz, Director

L. Gordon Crovitz has served as a member of the board of directors since August 2012. From 1980-2007 Mr. Crovitz held a number of positions with Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal culminating in his role as Executive Vice President for Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. He was co-founder of e-commerce software company Press+ in 2009. Mr. Crovitz serves on the Board of Directors at Minneapolis Star Tribune, Business Insider, Blurb, Dunn & Bradstreet and Marin Software. He is on the board of the American Association of Rhodes Scholars. Mr. Crovitz’s management roles in the publishing industry and extensive experience as a director enables him to provide the Company with valuable guidance.

Jill A. Greenthal, Director and Chair of Nominating, Ethics, and Governance Committee

Jill A. Greenthal has served as a member of the board of directors since June 2012. Ms. Greenthal has been a Senior Advisor in Private Equity at the Blackstone Group since 2007, working closely with the company’s global media and technology teams to assist in investments in those sectors. She also currently serves as a director of Akamai Technologies, Michaels Stores and The Weather Channel Companies. Prior to 2007, Ms. Greenthal was an investment banker and partner at Blackstone and Credit Suisse First Boston. Ms. Greenthal has extensive experience in the media industry and in advising technology and media companies, which enables her to provide valuable guidance to the Company.

John F. Killian, Director and Chair of Audit Committee

John F. Killian has served as a member of the board of directors since January 2011. Mr. Killian was Executive Vice President for Verizon and served as Verizon’s Chief Financial Officer from March 2009 through October 2010. Prior to becoming CFO, Mr. Killian was President of Verizon Business from October 2005 until March 2009, the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Telecom from June 2003 until October 2005, and the Senior Vice President and Controller of Verizon Telecom from April 2002 until June 2003. Mr. Killian serves on the board of directors at ConEdison Inc. and is a Chairman of the Board of Providence College. Mr. Killian brings extensive financial expertise to the board, as well as significant management and leadership experience.

John R. McKernan Jr., Director and Chair of Compensation Committee

John R. McKernan, Jr. served as a member of the board of directors from August 2010 through June 2012 and rejoined the board in September 2012. Mr. McKernan is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McKernan Enterprises, Inc., in Portland, Maine. He is the former Chairman of Education Management Corporation, a provider of post-secondary education in North America, where he served as Chief Executive Officer from September 2003 until February 2007 and continues to serve as a director. Mr. McKernan is a director of BorgWarner Inc. and served as Governor of the State of Maine from 1987 to 1995. Mr. McKernan is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges and serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce. Mr. McKernan brings to the board superior leadership capabilities, knowledge of the legal and legislative processes and significant prior experience as a director.

Jon Miller, Director

Jon Miller joined the board of directors in May 2013. Mr. Miller served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Media Group at News Corp. and was its Chief Digital Officer from April 2009 to September 2012. Previously, Mr. Miller was the Founder and Partner at Velocity Interactive Group, an investment firm focusing on internet and digital media, from its inception in February 2007 to April 2009. Prior to founding Velocity, Mr. Miller served as the Chief Executive Officer of America Online, Inc., or AOL and previously as Chief Executive Officer and President of USA Information and Services. Mr. Miller is a trustee of the American Film Institute and The Paley Center for Media. Mr. Milller serves on the boards of TripAdvisor, Radio Télévision Luxembourg and Shutterstock. Mr. Miller has extensive experience in the internet and digital media industry, which enables him to provide valuable guidance to the Company.

E. Rogers Novak Jr., Director

E. Rogers Novak, Jr. has served as a member of the board of directors since November 2012. He is a founder and managing member of Novak Biddle Venture Partners, an early-stage venture fund focused on investment opportunities in businesses focused on education, security, big data analytics, and business-to-business-to-consumer. Roger formerly served as Lead Director of Blackboard which was acquired by Providence Equity Partners. Roger currently serves on several private company boards and is a member of the External Relations Council for the Department of Homeland Security’s Predict project. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Kenyon College where he sits on the Budget, Financial and Audit Committee and the Information Resources Committee. From 2008 to 2011, Roger held a seat on the Board of the National Venture Capital Association and was their Treasurer and a member of their Executive Committee from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Novak’s significant prior experience as a director, especially in the education technology sector, render him a valuable member of the board.

Linda K. Zecher, Director

Linda K. Zecher joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2011 as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. Previously, she served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's $8 billion Worldwide Public Sector organization, where she led a team of nearly 2,000 sales and marketing professionals serving government, education and healthcare customers in more than 100 countries. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2003, Linda held leadership positions with Texas Instruments, Bank of America, PeopleSoft, Oracle and Evolve Corp. She currently serves on the U.S. State Department's Board for Overseas Schools, the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation Advisory Council, and the Emily Couric Leadership Forum. Linda is also a former member of the Intelligence National Security Association, the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council, and James Madison University's Board of Visitors.  

Related: 

The Bill and Melinda Gates (of Hell) Foundation
Bill Gates' Agenda for the 21st Century
Tax-exempt Foundations in the U.S. Operate to Promote Collectivism (Communism)
The World's Richest Give Billions to Remake the World in Their Image
The Gates Foundation, Vaccines World Population from Seven Billion Down to 500 Million Using Vaccines
Gulen Islamist Charter School Movement in the U.S. is Funded By Taxpayers
Common Core standards shake up the education business
Rupert Murdoch Wins Contract to Develop Common Core Tests
Klein’s Amplify Tablets Crack the $17 Billion Market
Following the Money Trail: Who Profits From the Implementation of Common Core State Standards?
A Common Core of Corporate Profit
Is Profit Driving the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative?
Obama program making these people filthy rich
How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution
THE BUSH FAMILY WILL PROFIT HANDSOMELY FROM COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION
Profit motive behind Common Core Standards
Flow Chart Exposes Common Core's Myriad Corporate Connections





CCS: A Cash Cow For Corporate Education Raiders 
David Coleman is one of these consultants (see Schools Matter and Susan Ohanian) and the “chief architect” of CCS. Like many of the most well-known Ed Deformers (e.g., Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Walton Family, Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, Mike Bloomberg), Coleman had virtually no real experience in the classroom. In fact, according to Schools Matter, his only pedagogical experience was a little tutoring he did while an undergrad at Yale, where he studied English. After this, he went on to work in business, making a lot of money with the Grow Network, which was bought by McGraw-Hill in 2005. In 2007 he left McGraw-Hill and co-founded the nonprofit Student Achievement Partners, which played a leading role in creating the Common Core Standards. He now leads Student Achievement Partners in their work helping teachers and policymakers to implement the Common Core State Standards.