When I was a charter school leader, I constantly heard reformers justify district takeovers, teacher firings, ineffective voucher programs, and abusive “no excuse” discipline policies by saying, “It’s all about the kids.” They insisted that if we could get rid of the adult problems — replacing teachers, parents, and administrators — students could overcome poverty.

Many reformers viewed poverty as an inadequate excuse for students’ academic failings, citing flimsy research that claimed 90 percent of low-income students of color can and do meet the highest academic standards — the so called 90/90/90 schools. The problem with the concept was the originator used a low bar to make sure 90 percent of students met the standard, equating “basic” or barely minimal competency with high achievement. And it shrugged off the mounds of research that show a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement.

After more than a quarter century, reformers’ actions have laid bare the fact that education reform was more about advancing a political agenda than helping kids. Under the guise of helping children, many reformers used the mantra of innovation to cover a boilerplate conservative agenda that aimed to privatize schools, upend teachers’ unions, and disempower school districts.

These “innovative” ideas made it more obvious that charter schools and vouchers are no match for poverty when it comes to academic outcomes. It also became clearer that reforms that reduce the number of Black workers, remove political representation and ignore poverty make matters worse for communities.

But there’s been a reckoning around the racism that denies the effects of poverty; even mainstream politicians have recognized that the best way to cure many of society’s ills is to reduce the level of poverty.

Read the full article about the child tax credit by Andre Perry at The Hechinger Report.