Whistle-blowing teachers to open a charter school
They lost their jobs during a cheating scandal at Crescendo schools. Former union chief and charter foe A.J. Duffy will lead them.
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 A.J. Duffy, left, former teachers union leader and director of the new charter school, celebrates its approval with teachers Elise Sargent and Tanisha Patel and with David Cunningham Jr., president of the Apple Academy board. (Katie Falkenberg, For The Times / January 17, 2012) Los Angeles teachers who became whistle-blowers during a cheating scandal won the right Tuesday to open their own charter school. The new enterprise, called Apple Academy, won unanimous approval from the Los Angeles Board of Education. The school's chief executive, former L.A. teachers union president A.J. Duffy, had been a longtime critic of charter schools. The cheating, which came to public attention last year, ultimately led to the shutdown last summer of all six Crescendo charter schools. As a result, the families of about 1,200 students had to enroll elsewhere on short notice. And Crescendo employees, including teachers who reported the cheating, were left without work. "It was a rough ending to last year," said former Crescendo |
