School choice champion Betsy Devos fights for America’s children

“The federal teachers’ union and all of their aligned allies have really centralized their power…everything that flowed from that has ultimately been to the detriment of the student.” DeVos is an outspoken critic of union control of education
Photos: Mishpacha archives, AP Images

America’s Orthodox Jewish community may not send its children to public schools, but we do have an interest in the system responsible for educating and molding the nation’s future leaders from an early age. Few people understand that system — and its many flaws — better than Betsy DeVos, who served as America’s 11^th secretary of education in the Trump administration. DeVos has devoted her career to advocating reform of what she terms a “failing system” that’s dominated by teachers’ unions who care more about adults than kids.

In advance of next week’s release of her new book, Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child, DeVos spoke with Mishpacha editor-at-large Binyamin Rose about her book and a wide range of educational issues. She expressed both her admiration for yeshivah education and optimism that her signature measure to provide tax credits for scholarships will one day become law of the land. She also clarified why she is certain she made the right move leaving the Trump administration in the wake of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots

The ink was barely dry on Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as secretary of education in February 2017, when she scheduled a visit to the Jefferson Middle School — a public school in Washington, D.C., whose students are primarily African-American and hail from low-income families. A small cadre of protesters, including parents, activists from Black Lives Matter, and teachers’ union members, carried placards and blocked her path, chanting “Shame, Shame” at DeVos. To them, she was public enemy number one due to her longstanding support for education reforms, including charter schools, which unions view as a threat.

DeVos looked stoic as a security officer provided by her department quickly escorted her into the backseat of a waiting black SUV, which drove off, but not before another protester laid his hand on her car and continued to shout at her.

It’s a visit she called a “debacle” and a “close call.” From that point on, federal marshals were called in to escort her to many of the school she visited as part of her job.

Contrast that with the reception she received in May 2018, when she arrived at two Orthodox Jewish schools. Both Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway and the Manhattan High School for Girls welcomed Betsy DeVos with open arms.

“Her visit — the first by a sitting secretary, to the best of our knowledge — gave the community chizuk, especially as it came at a time when many felt we were under attack,” said Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of state relations at Agudath Israel of America.

Maury Litwack, founder and executive director of the TEACH Coalition, said DeVos was unique among education secretaries in that she viewed her job as being a champion within the executive branch representing public and parochial schools alike.

“She was instrumental in implementing the record amount of funding and critical aid the yeshivos received for Covid relief,” Litwack said. “This was predictably attacked, but again she spoke up and fought for all children.”

For thirty years, Betsy DeVos has made a career out of continually challenging the might of the unions, and the politicians who feed at the trough of their bounteous campaign contributions. The opposition can be fierce, but she has learned to stand up for what she believes in.