Dive Brief:
- Jeb Bush's education advocacy group Chiefs for Change is expanding, and with that growth comes the severing of ties with Bush's other organization, the Foundation for Excellence in Education.
- Chiefs for Change, which was created to promote policies like the Common Core and assessment-based teacher evaluations, will no longer receive funding from the Foundation for Excellence in Education — previously the source of all of its funding.
- Louisiana Superintendent John White has been selected to head Chiefs for Change.
Dive Insight:
Not only did Chiefs for Change receive all of its funding from Bush's other foundation, but much of that foundation's staff also ran the advocacy group. Growing pains may be in store, especially since John White will keep his job as Louisiana's state superintendent — a potentially difficult balance.
The decision to separate Foundation for Excellence in Education and Chiefs for Change appears to be not just a desire to grow the latter, but something of a political move as Bush moves toward a potential presidential run. According to Politico, the Common Core is Bush's greatest challenge, as the former governor of Florida embraced the national standards in 2010. The controversy now surrounding them in some states is seen as potentially impacting Bush's platform as the "education governor."
That said, given how polarizing the Common Core is, Bush also appears to be removing his direct connection to his organizations, which make very clear in their missions that they support the use of the Common Core. In January, Bush stepped down as the head of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and appointed Condoleezza Rice to serve as its new chair. Separating Chiefs for Change is possibly another step to create distance.