Schools Matter: Vouchers in FL Create Black Christian Madrassahs in Strip Malls

Schools Matter: Vouchers in FL Create Black Christian Madrassahs in Strip Malls

Vouchers in FL Create Black Christian Madrassahs in Strip Malls

Although this commentary by Billy Townsend describes a seed of hope in Florida's education desert, the bigger message points to what you get with laws that allow unregulated and unaccredited private "schools" to replace public schools that have been malignantly-neglected by segregationists who want to close them.

Orlando Sentinel, May 16 

Jones High success story illustrates inadequacy of voucher schools

Six years ago, essentially zero Jones High School students took physics. Today, more than 250 do. That means 250 Orlando-area young people per year now have a better chance of becoming engineers or scientists or doctors. We should celebrate that. Physics is crucial to many educational and professional journeys. 

Unfortunately, as a recent former Polk County school board member, I know all too well the rarity of serious growth in Florida’s education capacity. Our state is steadily dismantling education capacity everywhere through its contempt for public schools and indifference to voucher-school performance. Capacity destruction drives Florida’s chronic educator shortages. 

It’s one reason Florida has among America’s worst state test score “learning rates,” according to The CONTINUE READING: Schools Matter: Vouchers in FL Create Black Christian Madrassahs in Strip Malls

CURMUDGUCATION: NV: Should Charter Schools Hire Licensed Teachers?

CURMUDGUCATION: NV: Should Charter Schools Hire Licensed Teachers?

NV: Should Charter Schools Hire Licensed Teachers?

Nevada is one of the country's leading states for privatizers; in 2015, they went all in on education savings accounts aka super-vouchers. Well, not so super--they were not large enough to benefit the poor families that were the excuse for passing the bill. But they've got tax credit scholarships so that donors can get out of paying school taxes and support private schools at the same time. And, of course, they have charter schools.

Charter schools in Nevada enjoy a couple of advantages. One is that charters are authorized by a state board (the Nevada State Public [sic] Charter School Authority), meaning they can bypass any local boards that are elected by local taxpayers who might not want to foot the bill for additional schools in their area. 

Nevada charter schools are also excused from having to hire licensed teachers. Up to 30% of teaching staff can be unlicensed, as long as they aren't teaching certain subjects (eg English, math, special ed). The rest of the staff must be either licensed or "demonstrate subject matter expertise," whatever the heck that means.

Reportedly the state does not actually know how broadly that waiver is being used. Charter School CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: NV: Should Charter Schools Hire Licensed Teachers?

Shawgi Tell: Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools

Anyone who has carefully followed charter school news and analysis in recent years knows that privately-operated charter schools are not only segregated but actually increase segregation in the sphere of education. It has become common knowledge that charter schools are notorious for consistently under-enrolling English Language Learners, students with disabilities, homeless students, and other groups of students. Even though they are ostensibly public and “open to all,” most charter schools do not serve all students, let alone equally. Privatized education has never paved the way for all students to have an education.

But even when non-profit and for-profit charter schools are publicly exposed, cited, and rebuked for discriminatory enrollment practices, they are usually allowed to operate with impunity and to continue to siphon enormous sums of money from public schools that accept all students at all times. Many are frustrated by this persistent lack of accountability by schools that constantly claim to not only be accountable but to be more accountable than the public schools they continually drain large sums of money from. The public does not want to fund schools that frequently cherry pick students. Publicness is about inclusivity, not exclusivity. Public means for the common good, for everyone. To claim that you are a public entity while acting like a private entity is CONTINUE READING: Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

Wyoming Passes Charter Law that Guts Local Control and Accountability | Diane Ravitch's blog

Wyoming Passes Charter Law that Guts Local Control and Accountability | Diane Ravitch's blog

Wyoming Passes Charter Law that Guts Local Control and Accountability

The Wyoming Legislature passed a charter law that allows new charters to open wherever they wish, without the approval of the elected local school board. Governor Mark Gordon neither signed nor vetoed the law, expressing confidence that kinks could be fixed in the future.

The legislation allows the State Loan and Investment Board to approve a charter school. Typically, local school districts have approved charter schools in the state.

The law allows charter schools to potentially be exempt from teaching standards requirements and oversight from the State Board of Education.

“This bill seemingly makes it easier for charters to be established outside the state’s rigorous educational parameters,” Gordon wrote. 

Wyoming Passes Charter Law that Guts Local Control and Accountability | Diane Ravitch's blog

Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske: States Need an Equity-Oriented Accountability System for Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske: States Need an Equity-Oriented Accountability System for Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske: States Need an Equity-Oriented Accountability System for Charter Schools

Distinguished economist Helen Ladd and her husband, journalist Edward Fiske, studied the accountability system for charter schools in Massachusetts. They specifically addressed equity issues of access, fairness, and availability of a high-quality education, not test scores. They found considerable variation among charter schools, as one would expect. They also found that some charter schools had unusually high attrition rates and unusually high suspension rates. These should concern policy makers, whose goal is to offer better opportunities for disadvantaged students. Their aim in writing the paper is to alert policymakers to the value of an equity-oriented accountability system that goes beyond test scores.

Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske: States Need an Equity-Oriented Accountability System for Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Shawgi Tell: Charter School Accountability Will Remain Weak in 2021 | Dissident Voice

Charter School Accountability Will Remain Weak in 2021 | Dissident Voice

Charter School Accountability Will Remain Weak in 2021

Segregated charter schools have a high failure rate and are notorious for lacking accountability and oversight. Charter schools are also well-known for being non-transparent even though they are ostensibly “public” schools. This has been the case for nearly 30 years when charter schools first came into being. Over the years, endless reports, articles, and books have documented the chronic lack of accountability in the troubled charter school sector.

Privately-operated charter schools have always over-promised and under-delivered on accountability. This is closely related to why fraud and corruption remain entrenched in the charter school sector. The worn-out assertion that charter schools will deliver “results” and be accountable in exchange for autonomy and independence has always been a pretext to privatize education and fool the gullible. It has nothing to do with improving schools. The closing of several thousand charter schools over the years shows that charter schools are not a worthwhile “innovative experiment” or a “better alternative” to public schools. So much for “results-based accountability in education.”

As “free market” schools charter schools operate according to market accountability, which really means no accountability. Market accountability is a way to dodge public oversight and do as you please. The “free market” mainly delivers chaos, anarchy, and instability and allows many “bad actors” to stay in business. Market accountability also means treating parents and CONTINUE READING: Charter School Accountability Will Remain Weak in 2021 | Dissident Voice

What Joe Biden Said About Charter Schools During the Campaign | Diane Ravitch's blog

What Joe Biden Said About Charter Schools During the Campaign | Diane Ravitch's blog

What Joe Biden Said About Charter Schools During the Campaign

Joe Biden was very clear about his position on privately managed charter schools during the campaign.

In this video, he was asked by Lily Eskelsen Garcia what he would do about charter schools, and his position was clear: Charter schools should not be funded at the expense of public schools. No federal funds for privately funded charter schools. Charter schools should be subject to the oversight and governance of school boards. Charter schools should be held to the same standards of transparency and accountability as public schools.

Will he keep his promises?

What Joe Biden Said About Charter Schools During the Campaign | Diane Ravitch's blog

Shawgi Tell: Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing

Unlike public schools, private businesses like charter schools spend millions of public dollars a year on advertising and marketing.

Putting aside widespread fraud and corruption in the segregated charter school sector, this is an enormous waste and abuse of public funds, especially at a time when public schools are being starved of much-needed public funds and struggling to meet the needs of students. This is money that can and should be invested in teaching and learning, where it is most needed.

Many are also wondering why privately-operated charter schools need to spend so much public money luring students and families through advertising and marketing if, as charter school proponents repeatedly claim, they are so good, so attractive, and so superior to public schools?

The situation is doubly absurd when it comes to cyber charter schools, also known as virtual charter schools. These privately-operated online charter schools have even fewer “costs” and less overhead than poor-performing brick-and-mortar charter schools, yet they feel comfortable diverting precious public dollars to lure parents and students. Perhaps the worst part is the bang-for-the-buck part: virtual charter schools are notorious for their abysmal academic record and very low graduation rates. Cyber charter schools CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Spend Millions On Advertising and Marketing | Dissident Voice

Shawgi Tell: Why Are Embezzlement, Fraud, and Indictments So Rampant in the Charter School Sector? | Dissident Voice

Why Are Embezzlement, Fraud, and Indictments So Rampant in the Charter School Sector? | Dissident Voice

Why Are Embezzlement, Fraud, and Indictments So Rampant in the Charter School Sector?

The simple answer is that there are lax standards, poor oversight, and little accountability in the segregated charter school sector. This decades-old set-up is consciously built into many charter school laws, which exist in 44 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

It is no accident that charter schools are deregulated schools.¹   Charter schools are not required to uphold most of the laws, rules, and regulations public schools are required to follow. Public schools, which educate 90% of America’s youth, have to uphold many public standards that charter schools do not have to even consider. In many cases, charter schools even dodge the federal laws they are supposed to follow. In addition, charter schools frequently do not report on things they are supposed to report on. Some commentators have aptly called charter schools “schools with no rules” or “free schools.” The official literature goes so far as to call charter schools “autonomous schools” or “independent schools.” These are all different ways of saying charter schools can essentially do as they please, often with impunity. This is all connected to the antisocial idea that charter schools are “free market” schools that should be treated like any private business. In French, the term “laissez-faire” means “hands off” or “leave us alone.” The “logic” here is that you live and die by the market alone and only “the fittest” survive in this inhumane dog-eat-dog world. Apparently, there is no alternative to a life based on instability, insecurity, and “might makes right.”

While fraud, corruption, nepotism, and embezzlement are endemic to most institutions and organizations in capital-centered societies, charter schools out-do most institutions, organizations, and sectors in this area. Pound for CONTINUE READING: Why Are Embezzlement, Fraud, and Indictments So Rampant in the Charter School Sector? | Dissident Voice

Shawgi Tell: Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds

While they have constantly been at it, every now and then charter school advocates self-servingly complain more vociferously than usual about how they are unable to funnel even more public funds from public schools into the hands of narrow private interests.

A quick review of charter school news in recent days shows no fewer than a dozen well-coordinated articles about how privately-operated charter schools are not receiving their “fair share” of public funds and that public schools are getting more money than them and this supposedly puts charter schools “at a disadvantage.” The well-synchronized news articles revolve around a November 2020 “study” from the University of Arkansas, Department of Education Reform, titled: “Charter School Funding: Inequity Surges in the Cities.”¹ Not surprisingly, the Department of Education Reform is funded by the main billionaire supporters of school privatization such as the Walton Foundation. Such “studies” are usually capital-centered disinformation pieces, not rigorous research conducted on the basis of fidelity to the public interest.²

First and foremost, crisis-prone charter schools are privatized education arrangements that operate according to the outdated ideologies of individualism, consumerism, and the “free market.” Charter schools are contract schools, not state agencies like public schools. Charter schools are not public schools in the proper sense of the word. Charter schools and public schools are different entities with different legal, social, historical, and economic profiles and aims. They cannot be equated. It is a misnomer to call CONTINUE READING: Charter School Promoters Complain About Inability to Pilfer More Public Funds | Dissident Voice

Rhode Island: Critics Object to Charter Expansion Plans | Diane Ravitch's blog

Rhode Island: Critics Object to Charter Expansion Plans | Diane Ravitch's blog

Rhode Island: Critics Object to Charter Expansion Plans

Under the leadership of Democratic Governor Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island is a very charter-friendly state. Raimondo was a venture capitalist before she entered politics. Her husband was TFA.

The welcome mat is out for charter schools in the state. The latest proposal for a new charter comes from Excel Academy in Boston.

Linda Borg of the Providence Journal writes:

PROVIDENCE — Critics of a new charter school application say the Boston-based school will draw millions of dollars away from the traditional public schools and, combined with a proposed expansion of Achievement First, create two parallel school systems.  

Excel Academy hopes to enroll 2,100 students in kindergarten through grade 12 by the time it reaches full capacity in 10 years — at a cost of $7.4 million in lost local revenues to the Providence school district.  

“Frankly, it could be the best school in the universe,”  said CONTINUE READING: Rhode Island: Critics Object to Charter Expansion Plans | Diane Ravitch's blog

CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Fans Dislike This Part of Biden's Plan

CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Fans Dislike This Part of Biden's Plan

Charter Fans Dislike This Part of Biden's Plan

The charter advocacy Twitterverse is unhappy about this part of the Biden plan, as described here by Biden staffer Stef Feldman talking to the Education Writers Association:

And we’ll require every charter school, including online schools, to be authorized and held accountable by democratically-elected bodies like school boards and also held to the same standards of transparency and accountability as all public schools. That means things like regular public board meetings and meeting all the same civil rights, employment, health, labor, safety and educator requirements that public schools must.

In Twitterland yesterday, that quote prompted some conversations like this one

But one has to ask (and one did, but Twitter being Twitter I haven't heard an answer yet)-- exactly how does having an elected board "hamstring" a charter school? How does a requirement for transparency and accountability "paralyze" a charter school?

The mantra for charter schools has been the idea of trading autonomy for accountability. Did charter fans really mean to say "accountability, but only in the ways we choose to the people we choose?" 

After all, a major criticism of public schools in the modern reform era is that they are not held accountable enough, hence the need for state standards backed up by Big Standardized Tests, the results of which are supposed to be used in a very public way to hold the schools accountable. When teachers push back against measures like the BS Tests and VAM as inaccurate, invalid, and unfair, reformsters charge that teachers just don't want to be held accountable. 

So what is the issue here? Part of it likely comes down ownership. Public schools are owned by the CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Fans Dislike This Part of Biden's Plan