CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: St. HOPE Academy

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: St. HOPE Academy

St. HOPE Academy

by The Perimeter Primate

Women Seek Release Of Kevin Johnson Files: Former NBA Player's Campaign Says Effort Is Fargo Tactic (KCRA and The Associated Press, April 29, 2008)

Several women leaders from Sacramento are urging police to release investigation files related to allegations that mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson fondled a 17-year-old girl last year.
Johnson, speaking to supporters in Oak Park on Tuesday afternoon, said he wants to focus on big issues facing the city and dismissed the accusations as an example of the "ugly politics of distraction."
While police found no evidence of wrongdoing and no charges were filed, the women held a news conference Tuesday morning calling upon Police Chief Rick Braziel to let the public see the incident report.
Police said no report will be released because no crime appears to have been committed.
Johnson, a former NBA player who was key in transforming Sacramento High School into a charter campus, is one of six candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Heather Fargo, who is seeking her third term in office.
City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy labeled the women as Fargo supporters, and in an earlier statement called the move a "desperate tactic" by Fargo to combat Johnson.
Genevieve Shiroma, a member of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District board, said Tuesday she felt the police investigation into the case was "mishandled."
"There is a terrible cloud over this investigation and we think that the police chief could clear this up very quickly by releasing the files," said Shiroma said, who was joined by former Sen. Deborah Ortiz, former Sacramento Mayor Ann Rudin and others.
Shiroma added that she would like to receive assurance from Braziel that police are properly

Robert M. Hughes Academy

by The Perimeter Primate

Mass. investigating a charter school: Springfield facility’s leap in MCAS scores preceded allegations(The Boston Globe, November 25, 2009)

By any standard, the rise was meteoric. The Robert M. Hughes Academy’s math scores this spring improved at the fastest pace in the state, with English scores not far behind.
It should have been a cause for celebrating this Springfield charter school, which was ordered by the state in January to improve its MCAS scores or face possible closure.
But yesterday, the state announced that it has launched a formal investigation into possible irregularities in the school’s administration of the exam, as well as additional allegations of mismanagement and fiscal improprieties that have subsequently surfaced.
“I take all of these matters very seriously,’’ Mitchell Chester, the state’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education, said in a prepared statement. “Our investigation is continuing. As always, my primary concern is the well-being of the students, and I am committed to minimizing any disruption to their education.’’
Chester’s comment broke two months of silence on the issue. His office had previously denied the Globe’s repeated requests for information about why the department was probing the test results, and said that the state’s public records law allowed officials to with hold information about ongoing 

Raising Horizons Quest Charter School

by The Perimeter Primate

Department of Justice: For Immediate Release April 8, 2008

TWO FORMER CHARTER SCHOOL EXECS CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING SCHOOL FUNDS PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Pat Meehan today announced the unsealing of an indictment1 charging Martha Russell and Viola Bush with one count of conspiracy and one count of alteration of records with the intent to impede the proper administration of a matter within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice. The indictment alleges that from 2003 to 2005, Russell, as the Chief Executive Officer of Raising Horizons Quest Charter School, and Bush, Russell’s sister and Chief Financial Officer of the school, stole funds intended for the school and later attempted to hide their unlawful activities while being audited by the Philadelphia School District in January 2006.
INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANTS

Preuss School

by The Perimeter Primate

School test scandal claims decorated principal (USA Today, December 21, 2007)

A decorated San Diego high school principal has resigned in connection with a case of alleged cheating and grade-tampering. Observers say this is part of a growing problem, as educators' and students' lives increasingly rest on the results of a handful of high-stakes tests.
Preuss School Principal Doris Alvarez, a former national Principal of the Year, submitted a letter of resignation on Tuesday, said the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), a week after a university audit found that three-fourths of reviewed Preuss transcripts had one or more grades changed — most of them to benefit students. Alvarez denies any role in changing grades.
Preuss, a lauded charter school for middle- and high-school students, was founded eight years ago by a UCSD professor and earned several prestigious awards during Alvarez's tenure. Just last month, the school, which prepares low-income and minority students for college, ranked 10th out of 18,000 U.S. high schools in new rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Preuss ranked second