CURMUDGUCATION: MO: Longtime Charter Sponsor Leaves the Biz (And Parents)

CURMUDGUCATION: MO: Longtime Charter Sponsor Leaves the Biz (And Parents)

MO: Longtime Charter Sponsor Leaves the Biz (And Parents)

The University of Central Missouri has been sponsoring charter schools since 1999, serving as the major sponsor of charters in Kansas City (in Missouri, the rule used to be that only St. Louis and Kansas City could house charter schools).

St. Louis schools have been a mess, with both public and charter schools having their share of legislatively-inflicted woes. And some legislators have continued to try hard to expand charter reach in the state, right up through this year.

But one notable feature of Missouri charter school law is that it allows institutions of higher education to circumvent taxpayers and sponsor charter schools. That's the biz that UCM got into.

From UCM's point of view, that makes some sense. UCM was founded as a Normal School, aka 19th century teacher training college, and they continue to educate teachers. UCM has used its charter schools as part of the teacher training program, placing their student teachers in charter classrooms. 

But in Missouri, as in the rest of the country, the teacher pipeline is drying up, as fewer and fewer young folks find the conditions and compensation with which they would work particularly attractive. The state is trying to CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: MO: Longtime Charter Sponsor Leaves the Biz (And Parents)

Minnesota: The Money Behind the Effort to Rewrite the State Constitution’s Education Clause + Minneapolis: Segregated But Celebrated Charter School Will Close | Diane Ravitch's blog

Minnesota: The Money Behind the Effort to Rewrite the State Constitution’s Education Clause | Diane Ravitch's blog

Minnesota: The Money Behind the Effort to Rewrite the State Constitution’s Education Clause

Minneapolis: Segregated But Celebrated Charter School Will Close | Diane Ravitch's blog - https://wp.me/p2odLa-u9i via @dianeravitch

In late April, I posted an article by Minnesota blogger and public school advocate Rob Levine about a sneaky effort by elites in the state to rewrite the state constitutional clause on education to protect and encourage segregated charter schools.

This new post digs deeper into the machinations and motivations behind the demand to revise the state constitution.

The campaign is led by the president of the local Federal Reserve Bank but named “the Page Amendment” for a popular local judge.

Blogger Steve Timmer explains that the money and muscle for “the Page Amendment” comes from the president of the local Federal Reserve Bank and the Minneapolis Foundation.

“Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari and former Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice CONTINUE READING: Minnesota: The Money Behind the Effort to Rewrite the State Constitution’s Education Clause | Diane Ravitch's blog

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: One District (Mostly) For Sale

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: One District (Mostly) For Sale

PA: One District (Mostly) For Sale

Chester Upland is a district that has struggled with issues and money and racism for decades; they are the history of every problem facing public education in the last century, right up to and including the gutting of a public education system by privatizing charter operators. Poorer and Blacker than all surrounding districts, they have suffered through one damn thing after another.

Chester Upland School District has been under the state's thumb via a declaration of financial collapse for about a decade. The court has been in charge of the district, and has okayed the idea of letting the charters that have drained the districts of resources go ahead and buy up the last of the bits.

It's hard to track everything that has happened because so little of it has happened in public view, but three charter organizations have now submitted plans for partial charter takeover of the district's schools.

The three proposals were pitched at a meeting that was presented in person and on line, and critics of the plan were not impressed. 

Harris indicated Thursday’s presentation was designed to communicate Friendship’s philosophy CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: PA: One District (Mostly) For Sale

Chicago Eliminates Another Arne Duncan Initiative | Diane Ravitch's blog

Chicago Eliminates Another Arne Duncan Initiative | Diane Ravitch's blog

Chicago Eliminates Another Arne Duncan Initiative

While Arne Duncan was superintendent of schools in Chicago, he received over $10 million from the Gates Foundation to begin “turning around” low-performing schools. He supported the creation of The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), which subsequently took over 31 schools, some of which raised test scores but were criticized for pushing out low-scoring students. One of AUSL’s goals was to train teachers for urban schools.

The leadership of Chicago Public Schools decided to absorb the 31 schools back into the school district, according to Chalkbeat. AUSL will continue training teachers.

Tapped in 2006 to steer improvements at some of the city’s lowest-performing schools, the nonprofit Academy for Urban School Leadership manages 31 schools that together enrolled 14,745 students this school year, mostly on the city’s South and West sides. The contractor CONTINUE READING: Chicago Eliminates Another Arne Duncan Initiative | Diane Ravitch's blog

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?

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

Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

 I sent below to the school board after seeing their plans to approve a second classical charter school. I knew it was going to pass, to fight back against what is wrong takes courage, and as we have seen all year long, the board lacks it, but I had hoped for some toke resistance, but apparently thinking racism doesn't exist and gay people are going to burn in hell doesn't move the needle for our school board.

  I have grave concerns about the expansion of the Classical Charter school. 

They get their curriculum from the Hillsdale Barney Charter school initiative. 

https://www.jaxclassical.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=424057&type=d 

Hillsdale is a small far-right liberal arts college out of Michigan, and recently they have sent out a series of mailers to locals.   

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Imprimis_Mar_3-21_6pgNM.pdf 

 

They espouse some pretty radical theories where they basically say racism is a made-up tool to divide society so the radical left can seize power. 

 

For as long as I can remember, the right has accused public schools of trying to indoctrinate kids; well, friends, this seems like some straight-up far-right indoctrination on their part. 

 

Furthermore, last year, Hillsdale sent out a Facebook poll asking how afraid of socialism people were; I kid a little, but the answers were basically really scared, and really #$@%ing scared, 

 

https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2020/02/troubling-details-about-jaxs-new.html 

 

How can we be sure that far-right indoctrination isn’t going on? Then, however, it gets worse. 

 

If you wanted to contact the classical charter school, the link takes you to the Optima Foundation.  CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: DCPS approves charter with racist and anti-LGBTQ ties

Missouri Times: Stop the Demolition of Public Schools: They Belong to the Public | Diane Ravitch's blog

Missouri Times: Stop the Demolition of Public Schools: They Belong to the Public | Diane Ravitch's blog

Missouri Times: Stop the Demolition of Public Schools: They Belong to the Public

The Misssouri Times is a generally right of center newspaper, But it believes in the promise of public schools and recognizes that the latest push for charters and vouchers is rank privatization funded by wealthy elites. After thirty years of pouring billions into charters and vouchers, there is no reason to believe that privatized schools produce better outcomes. We know they don’t.

Opinion: Public Schools are Public Goods

BY TERESA MITHEN DANIELEY ON APRIL 26, 2021

As the parent of three children enrolled in St. LouisPublic Schools, I am deeply dismayed that so many in the Missouri House — including some Democrats — voted in favor of HB 137, which will shift up to $17 million dollars a year from traditional public schools (specifically SLPS) to charter schools, which will not be required to provide the same services as public schools. We must make sure that HB 137 dies in the Senate.

I am also deeply concerned about the statewide ramifications of SB 55, an omnibus bill with many different privatizing provisions — including the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program (aka vouchers), Charter School Funding modifications, establishing a Charter School Revolving Commission Fund to fund new charters, and changing provisions CONTINUE READING: Missouri Times: Stop the Demolition of Public Schools: They Belong to the Public | Diane Ravitch's blog

Shawgi Tell: Inflated Charter School Waitlists | Dissident Voice

Inflated Charter School Waitlists | Dissident Voice

Inflated Charter School Waitlists

With great frequency, promoters of privately-operated non-profit and for-profit charter schools like to claim that charter schools are so great that they have very long lists of students waiting to get into them. They use such claims and “data” to argue that more charter schools are needed and that more public money should be spent on creating and multiplying more privately-operated charter schools.

However, many reports show that such waitlist numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt because they are usually inaccurate and misleading for various reasons. For example, a recent report from the North Carolina State Board of Education reported that:

During the 2019-2020 school year, over 117,000 North Carolina students were enrolled in [200] charter schools. As of October 1, 2020, over 126,000 North Carolina students are enrolled in charter schools. Self-reported data from the state’s charter schools indicate that 78% of charter schools had a waitlist totaling nearly 76,000 students statewide. (p. 3)

But in a footnote attached to this observation, the report notes that this “Figure may include duplicates, as students are often waitlisted at multiple charter schools.” An article from NC Policy Watch states: “76,000 names on waitlists aren’t the same as 76,000 students.” Names that appear on waitlists at multiple schools can result in a large overcount. Thus, for example, when one student is on multiple school’s waitlists, they are counted as being on each school’s waitlist. In other words, one student could be counted two, three, or more times, thereby inflating the final waitlist number. Such data could cause people to “mistakenly think that demand for charter schools is a lot higher CONTINUE READING: Inflated Charter School Waitlists | Dissident Voice

Big Education Ape: National Education Policy Center: The Myth of Charter School Waitlists | Diane Ravitch's blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/02/national-education-policy-center-myth.html

Education Matters: Gary Chartrand spreads misinformation about charter schools, again.

Education Matters: Gary Chartrand spreads misinformation about charter schools, again.

Gary Chartrand spreads misinformation about charter schools, again

Gary Chartrand really supports charter schools; that is undeniable; however, the same can’t be said for public schools, which he has for decades sought to undermine. His tenure on the state board of education, a position he as a grocer was completely unqualified for saw, high stakes testing go up, and teacher salaries go down as well as the creation of one unfunded mandate after another that, for the most part, charter schools are exempt from. 

Gary Chartrand has his truth; unfortunately, his truth is filled with caveats that he leaves out. Let’s look at his claim about the IDEA charter schools, which are coming to Jacksonville paid for with Jacksonville tax dollars. 

He claimed that 100 percent of their graduates have been accepted to college. I am reminded of the old adage if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, and this definitely seems too good to be true. I could not find anything to independently verify that statement. Still, I was able to find plenty of how they routinely counsel out poor performers, and only sixty-five percent of their ninth-graders made it to graduation. Then it gets worse.

This is from the IDEA student handbook: As required by the IPS charter, a student may graduate and receive a diploma only if the student successfully completes the curriculum requirements identified by the SBOE, has been accepted into a four-year college or university, has completed a minimum of 125 hours of community service, and has performed satisfactorily on required end of course assessment instrument.

They are required to be accepted, not attend or do well, but just be accepted. To give you some CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Gary Chartrand spreads misinformation about charter schools, again.

Bob Braun Explains the Opposition to Billionaire-Funded “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bob Braun Explains the Opposition to Billionaire-Funded “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bob Braun Explains the Opposition to Billionaire-Funded “Reform”

Bob Braun was an education reporter for 50 years. After he retired from the New Jersey Star-Ledger, he began blogging and paid close and critical attention to the state takeover of Newark. This column, posted in 2014, is as timely now as it was when it first appeared.

Let’s get this straight. Those of us opposed to the structural changes to public education embraced by crusaders ranging from the billionaire Koch brothers and the Walton Family Foundation to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama—along with Governor Chris Christie and Microsoft founder Bill Gates—are not opposed to the reform of public schools. We oppose their destruction.

We do not oppose making schools more accountable, equitable and effective—but we do oppose wrecking a 200-year-old institution—public education—that is still successful in New Jersey.

Public schools give students from all backgrounds a CONTINUE READING: Bob Braun Explains the Opposition to Billionaire-Funded “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization

Should we give a cheer that the Indiana Senate eased up on the offensive expansion of vouchers that the Indiana House passed in its 2021 Budget bill?

THE HOUSE VERSION

The House version gave nearly 40% of all new education money to the less than 5% of the state’s students in the form of increased voucher spending, including money for unaccountable ESAs (educational savings accounts).

It also provided an increase in voucher availability to a family of four making nearly $150,000 a year. This House plan was not the “save poor children” voucher plan that Mitch Daniels proposed ten years ago. It very definitely expanded voucher money for wealthier students.

It’s probably good that Indiana Republicans are no longer trying to pretend that their voucher program is so that “poor kids can escape from terrible schools.” Instead they’re all but admitting that public schools don’t interest them. Privatization is the goal no matter what that pesky state constitution says. At least now they’re being honest about it.

THE SENATE VERSION

The Senate still included an increase in vouchers so they’re not backing off CONTINUE READING: No Pause in Indiana’s Push for Privatization | Live Long and Prosper

CURMUDGUCATION: NH: Another Lesson In Charter School Failure

CURMUDGUCATION: NH: Another Lesson In Charter School Failure

NH: Another Lesson In Charter School Failure

Stephanie Alicea has been around education for a while. She was the Community Service Coordinator at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook, NH from 2003 to 2007. In 2010 she went back finished a BA in Psychology and went right into a MEd program at New England College. She taught health and phys ed at various high schools. 

In 2016, her son Samuel, a Black football player at Merimack HS, took a knee at a football game. Alicea's teammates were supportive, but the larger community kicked back hard--years later, Alicea talked about a BB gun shooting at his grandmother's car. So Stephanie Alicea pulled her son from the public school and enrolled him in private Tilton. She said she borrowed money from her mother and took five jobs to help pay for the move. And in 2017, when the New Hampshire senate made an attempt to push education savings accounts, Alicea was one of the spokepeople there to support the voucher proposal.

That was early in 2017. By the fall of that year, she was proposing a charter school of her own. Capital City Charter School would be a service learning charter, she told the State Board of education when looking for authorization. The Board expressed concerns--the application looked a little thin on things like variety of board members and some board members were concerned that the financials were not strong enough. "It just feels like it needs more infrastructure," said board member Bill Duncan. It seems obvious that very little in Alicea's background suggested she was ready to start and operate an entire school. The head of the NH Alliance for Public [sic] Charter Schools said he thought the board was CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: NH: Another Lesson In Charter School Failure