New Heights Academy
*“Fired exec: Charter-school chief fudged books.” *New York Post (NY), 3/21/2012 The founder of one of the city’s largest charters schools falsified financial records and okayed illegal construction work while serving as its principal, according to a whistleblower suit filed by a former school exec. Stacy Winitt, executive director of the New Heights Academy in upper Manhattan, allegedly justified her shady practices by claiming her school was “too small to get caught,” court papers charge. Former COO Gene Fisch Jr. says he was fired after warning two members of the board of dire... more »
Better Research Needed on the Impact of Charter Schools
“Better Research Needed on the Impact of Charter Schools.” Science, 1/13/2012 View pdf of article @ http://sandera.ucsd.edu/news-and-events/Science-2012-Betts-171-2.pdf * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *“Report: We still don’t know much about charter schools.”* The Answer Sheet, The Washington Post, 1/14/2012 A new study on the effectiveness of public charter schools concludes that most of the research on the subject has been conducted with methods that “tell us little about causal effects.” The study, just published in the journal Science, was conducted by two w...more »
Regis Academy
*“Parish seeks to evict group.”* CourierPostOnline (NJ), 3/16/2012 CHERRY HILL — A Catholic parish here wants a judge to allow eviction proceedings against Solid Rock Worship Center, a church that plans to host a controversial charter school at its Ashland complex. Holy Eucharist Parish said Solid Rock continues to owe back rent under a lease-purchase agreement and that it has missed a deadline to buy the compound at Burnt Mill and Evesham roads. The parish says those actions violate an agreement the parties reached in June, about a month after Holy Eucharist sued for Solid Rock’s... more »
Ohio charter schools (mishandled finances not uncommon)
*“Mishandled finances not uncommon in charter schools.”* The Columbus Dispatch (OH), 4/2/2012 Spend first, ask permission later, and don’t bother with receipts. The loose financial systems at some of Ohio’s charter schools have led to questionable spending in recent years. Some schools hired treasurers with spotty track records; others hired qualified treasurers but disregarded their advice when they insisted on better checks and balances. The recent case of a charter-school treasurer who misspent more than $600,000 in public money over a decade at several schools has highlighted ...more »
Smith Leadership Academy
*“Charters chool’s layoffs raise ire.”* The Boston Globe (MA), 3/12/2012 Several parents at a Dorchester charter school are calling for the ouster of the executive director and the chairman of the school’s trustees, following a firestorm over the layoffs of the principal and five other employees... “We don’t want Smith Leadership Academy to close,’’ said Ayesha Moore, whose son is in the eighth grade. “We want the people who are ruining it to leave.’’ But Karmala Sherwood, the academy’s executive director, said the school had to lay off the employees, mostly administrators, to re... more »
Context Middle School
*“Financial woes, doomed charter school.”* The Press-Enterprise (CA), 3/11/2012 Temecula’s Context Middle School was billed as a small learning environment where teachers would emphasize how lessons related to the real world. When it opened in August, the charter school set out to focus on technology and the arts, with dozens of laptops for students and music lessons during and after school. Less than six months and more than $800,000 in taxpayer dollars later, Context was gone. It joins a list of 26 other Inland charter schools that have closed or had their charters revoked in... more »
Friendship Public Charter School
*“Teacher at Friendship Public Charter School Accused of Taping Visually Impaired Student To Chair; Teacher has been placed on administrative leave.” * WTTG FOX 5 (DC), 3/8/2012 WASHINGTON - A teacher at Friendship Public Charter School has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly taping a nine-year-old visually impaired student to a chair. The alleged incident happened Wednesday afternoon during an after school tutoring program at the Friendship Blow Pierce Junior Academy Campus in Northeast. Christian Washington, a fourth grade student, says he asked his teacher if h... more »
The Equity Project
*“125G pay, low grade for charter teacher.”* New York Post, 3/4/2012 She has appeared on “60 Minutes,” starred in the documentary “American Teacher” — and makes $125,000 at an unusual Washington Heights charter school. But celebrity teacher Rhena Jasey, 32, scored a low 18 — on a scale of 0 to 100 — in the recently released Department of Education teacher ratings. Jasey, a 32-year-old Harvard grad, works at The Equity Project, a publicly funded but privately run charter school that has garnered nationwide attention for its huge teacher salaries — $125,000 a year, plus performance ... more »
Manatee School for the Arts
*“US Department of Labor's OSHA sues Manatee School for the Arts for violating OSH Act whistleblower protection provisions; Employee of Palmetto, Fla., school allegedly fired for complaining about safety issues.” *U.S. Department of Labor press release, 3/12/2012 PALMETTO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sued Renaissance Arts and Education Inc., doing business as Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, to reinstate a former employee with full back wages and benefits. The lawsuit results from an OSHA investigation that found ... more »
Heritage Academy
*“Clock ticking for students, teachers at failing Flagler charter school.”*Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL), 3/15/2012 PALM COAST -- School officials are determining the next steps for Heritage Academy, a Bunnell charter school slated to be closed this spring. The Flagler County School Board reaffirmed after a formal hearing Tuesday that it will shut down the long-troubled school as planned. Heritage recently received its second consecutive F grade from the state, violating its contract. Board members voted in January to close the school... Tuesday's hearing may be the final chapt... more »
T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge
*“Former ASCSU treasurer guilty of theft; Money allegedly stolen from Bas Bleu Theater and the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge.*” The Coloradoan (CO), 3/17/2012 A CSU student who held financial-management positions for the university's student government, a local theater company and a Fort Collins charter school pleaded guilty Friday to a single count of felony theft. Matthew Shane Strauch, 24, of Fort Collins, was arrested late last year and accused of stealing money from the Bas Bleu Theater and the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge... According to police, Strauch... more »
School of Success Academy Charter Middle School
*“Duval charter school struggling to survive; The School of Success struggles with poor scores and financial issues.”* The Florida Times-Union, 3/19/2012 One of Jacksonville’s oldest charter schools faces potential closure because of chronic problems including failure to meet state and federal student academic proficiency standards. School of Success Academy Charter Middle School is also about $40,759 in the red this year – continuing an annual deficit trend that began in the 2007-08 term. And its five-year lease with the city for the school’s property ended nine months ago. It i... more »
Missouri Baptist University-authorized charter schools
*“Missouri to Review Charter School Sponsor; Missouri Baptist University has Been urged to address the academic and management issues at the schools.”* Kansas City infoZine (MO); 3/21/2012 The State Board of Education approved issuing a notice to Missouri Baptist University (MBU) that its authorization to sponsor charter schools will be reviewed in April... MBU currently sponsors four charter schools in the St. Louis area with a total enrollment of nearly 4,200 students. Academic performance at four of the six school buildings under MBU sponsorship ranks in the bottom five percen... more »
Career Connections Charter High School
*“Charter school's closure endorsed by Pittsburgh school board.”* Pittsburg Tribune-Review (PA), 3/22/2012 The Pittsburgh school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to pull the plug on Career Connections Charter High School in Lawrenceville. Before the school is shut down, the district will conduct a public hearing followed by a second vote by the board. No date has been set for either follow-up action. The charter school, which is run under the auspices of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania, serves about 245 students. If rejected a second time, school officials say th...more »
Fresno Academy for Civic and Entrepreneurial Leadership
*“Fresno charter school's finances questioned; FUSD board ill at ease with academy's $56,000 shortfall.”*The Fresno Bee, 3/21/2012 The financial health of one of Fresno's charter schools came into question Wednesday night at the Fresno Unified School District board meeting. The Fresno Academy for Civic and Entrepreneurial Leadership charter petition is up for renewal, and district trustees and staff expressed uneasiness about the school's finances. The school, which opened in 2009, will end the fiscal year with a roughly $56,000 shortfall, said Jacquie Canfield, executive director... more »
PleasanTech Charter School
*“Pleasantville charter school set to close.”* NBC40 (NJ), 3/5/2012 It was a filled gymnasium Monday afternoon at the Pleasantech Charter School as officials responded to a letter received Friday from The Department of Education stating the school would be shut down. The Department of Education's letter says the charter school has failed to correctly complete state-mandated reports, has had high administrative turnover, poor student performance, and stated the school failed to provide a structured learning environment... According to state officials Pleasantech has been plagued by... more »
Emily Fisher Charter School
*“Emily Fisher officials make case to keep school open.” *The Times of Trenton (NJ), 3/24/2012 TRENTON — An attorney representing Emily Fisher Charter School has appealed the state Department of Education’s decision this month not to renew the 14-year-old school’s charter. The school is hoping to prevent the shutdown until officials can make their case for keeping Emily Fisher open. The DOE’s decision, which effectively forces the school to shut down by this June, was based on what the department said were serious problems with uncertified teachers, very low test scores, student d... more »
Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School
*“Allentown School Board renews charter school despite concerns about operation, ties with church.”* The Express-Times (PA), 3/23/2012 Despite concerns about its operations and close affiliation with a city church, the Allentown School Board has renewed a five-year agreement with the Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School. But that renewal came with a warning from school board members that the school must be more transparent with the district and adhere to the existing charter, which board members say has not occurred in the last year. "It's a partnership, and this partnership... more »
Greater Achievement Community School
*“Auditor says Ohio charter school misspent $578,000.” *Associated Press, Lancaster Eagle Gazette (OH), 3/24/2012 CLEVELAND -- Ohio Auditor Dave Yost said the operators of a Cleveland charter school that closed in 2010 misspent about $578,000 that should be repaid to the state. The Plain Dealer reported the state audit released Thursday alleged Greater Achievement Community School Superintendent Elijah Scott deposited at least $46,000 in public money into a personal bank account from 2003 to 2010. It also said about $126,000 was spent on OnStar service, dry cleaning, videos, lodg...more »
Improbable test scores twice as likely to appear in charter schools
*“Cheating our children: Suspicious school test scores across the nation.”*Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA), 3/25/2012 Suspicious test scores in roughly 200 school districts resemble those that entangled Atlanta in the biggest cheating scandal in American history, an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows. The newspaper analyzed test results for 69,000 public schools and found high concentrations of suspect math or reading scores in school systems from coast to coast. The findings represent an unprecedented examination of the integrity of school testing... Improb... more »
Redmond Proficiency Academy
*“Redmond charter school leader accused of sexual abuse resigns. He had been in talks to open similar school in Salem.”* Statesman Journal (OR), 3/26/2012 The leader of a Central Oregon charter school accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old female student has resigned. The Bulletin said the board of directors of Redmond Proficiency Academy accepted Michael Bremont’s resignation at a meeting Saturday. Bremont, 39, was charged in February with sodomy, attempted rape and sexual abuse. He is scheduled to enter a plea April 9. The school had put Bremont on paid administrative leave ... more »
Vicki A. Romero High School
*“Financial records reveal school board spent public money on home furnishings.”* 3/23/2012 PHOENIX - A Valley charter high school used public funds to pay for and fully furnish a residential home in a neighborhood less than a half a mile from the school. According to financial documents supplied to the ABC15 Investigators by the Vicki A Romero High School , a Phoenix charter school, the school paid more than $48,681 for upgrades, repairs, and amenities before a salaried school employee moved into the home for several months... According to Arizona’s new accountability letter-gra... more »
Frontier Virtual Charter High School
*“Frontier cyber-school students: All we want is to learn.”* Philadelphia Daily News (PA), 3/23/2012 CAREY STONE is living Ferris Bueller's life - just the complete opposite of it, actually. Every morning, the high-school senior calls her school's administrators, trying to find out where they are, wondering when they'll have classes for her to attend or let her hand in a report on "The Great Gatsby." And every day, her calls go unanswered. "I feel like they're just brushing me off," she said. Carey, 18, and her sisters, Rachel, 15, and Harmony, 14, are enrolled at the Philadelphi... more »
ASPIRA, Inc. of Illinois
*“ASPIRA charter school CEO fired.”* Chicago Sun-Times (IL), 3/28/2012 The controversial president of ASPIRA charter schools was fired late Monday evening during a stormy board meeting that included a chorus of community protests about ASPIRA’s management... [ASPIRA CEO Jose Rodriguez] is no stranger to controversy...More recently, under Rodriguez’s leadership, ASPIRA schools were investigated in 2008 for strip-searching high school girls and altering grades. But in the end, according to sources, it was the test scores of ASPIRA students that led to Rodriguez’s dismissal. ASPIRA st... more »
East Wake Academy
*“Zebulon charter school headmaster dismissed from post.”* WRAL (NC), 3/30/2012 Zebulon, N.C. — The governing board of a Zebulon charter school on Thursday evening fired the school's headmaster amid claims by two female employees that he inappropriately touched them. The board of directors for East Wake Academy met in a closed session for more than an hour before announcing its decision to dismiss Brandon Smith from the post that he held for a decade. Smith, who had been on paid leave since March 14, has not been charged with any crime, but Zebulon Police Chief Timothy Hayworth s... more »
Cesar Chavez Community School
*“APD: Student had assault weapon in car.”* KRQE News (NM), 3/3/2012 ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A student at an Albuquerque charter school has been arrested for having a gun on campus. Someone spotted an assault weapon in Andre Martinez's car at Cesar Chavez Community School near on Palomas Avenue SW near Gibson Boulevard Friday, according to Albuquerque police. When they searched it police found the unloaded gun, a loaded magazine, two folding knives and a bayonet... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *“Teenage stabbing suspect name released; Police say Cecilio Lopez, 17, ... more »