RiShawn Biddle gives the NAACP and UFT well-deserved smacks, but also has good advice for we reformers:

This isn't to say that school reformers can simply celebrate the fall from grace of these two organizations. Reformers still have to do a better job of working with grassroots leaders and church leaders, especially those in black communities who have strong ties to the NAACP and view outsiders with skepticism. Charter school operators must also figure out how to bring more community members onto their governing boards and advisory councils; the lack of diversity on those boards is one of the main reasons why some blacks still view charters with skepticism. And similar battles in other cities will eventually become the norm, especially as reform-minded mayors and districts embrace charter schools and support efforts to let them share space with traditional counterparts.

But the NAACP and the AFT have found themselves on the same side — and in the same pit as others with failed visions of American public education.

------------------