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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Schools Matter: Imagine in New Orleans: Will They Ever Learn?

Schools Matter: Imagine in New Orleans: Will They Ever Learn?

Imagine in New Orleans: Will They Ever Learn?

Below are some snippets from a review of an Imagine Schools application for a charter school in New Orleans. The independent review board recommended denying the application, and for very good reasons. In case you weren't aware, Imagine's track record is less than stellar, and the company has come under fire multiple times for issues of money and control.

Here is a summary of the Evaluation Teams' recommendations (my bolds). You can read the full document here(Imagine's review starts on page 123):
The Evaluation Team recommends that the application be denied.

Although many aspects of the application were sound, the board did not demonstrate the capacity to effectively iplement and govern a charter school. There are potential conflicts of interest with three of five board members who are employed directly by the proposed education service provider (ESP), Imagine Schools. During the interview board members did not recognize the potential conflict of interest. The board demonstrated no due diligence in