The Fix Goes to Private School

Phillips Andover Academy, 1937 (Library of Congress). Not your typical high school lunchroom.

One tier for the wealthy, another tier for everyone else.

Introduction

DeVos uses problems with public schools to construct a sham two-tier system: Public Schools vs. Everyone Else (Charter, Private, Home Schooling). The real two-tier system is Schools for the Working and Middle Class vs. Schools for the Wealthy. Here’s a simple chart to represent the two tiers for K-12:

Two Tiers: K-12

I’ve created the term “exclusionary” to designate schools that use selectivity to keep out the non-wealthy (i.e. to maintain the power of wealth inequality). Tier 2 private schools may use selectivity (e.g. gender or religion) but (theoretically) anyone within that category can attend. Exclusionary K-12 schools typically use academic proficiency and exorbitant tuition and expenses to keep students out; exclusivity is the goal. If you persevere, you get a diploma and skills / knowledge from a Tier 2 school. From a Tier 1 school, you get prestige and connections as well. Tier 1 schools are the Harvards and Yales of K-12, and they make it easier to get into Harvard and Yale:

Over the last three years, dozens of graduates [of Phillips Andover Academy] went on to attend all…