Eva's Empty Seats: The Missing Children of Success Academy

City & State - Eva's Empty Seats: The Missing Children of Success Academy:

EVA'S EMPTY SEATS: THE MISSING CHILDREN OF SUCCESS ACADEMY

If Eva Moskowitz addresses a charter school rally in Prospect Park this Wednesday, she will no doubt complain that the city is not providing more seats for her charter schools.

She will probably neglect to mention an awkward truth – Success Academy charter schools have plenty of vacant seats because more than 800 children have disappeared from Success’ rosters and have never been replaced.

Who were these children? Why did they leave? Where did they go?

Because of Success’ penchant for secrecy and its resistance to outside audits, the answers are not easy to find. But a look at city data does show a disturbing trend.

The 60 third-graders at Success Academy Harlem 1 had in 2009 dwindled to just 32 eighth-graders by 2014, a drop of 47%.

Success Academy charter schools had 482 third graders in 2012. By the time that group of children reached seventh grade in 2016, their cohort had shrunk by nearly a third, down to 327 students, according to city Department of Education records.

Success counted a total 1,079 third graders in 2015, but only 948 fourth-graders this year, a drop of 12% in a single year.

Why do Success’ students leave in such numbers? Is it because of the demeaning attitude toward children demonstrated in a viral video of a Success Academy “model” teacher humiliating a second grader?

Is it because children can be repeatedly suspended for minor misbehavior, or placed on an errant principal’s “Got to Go” list like the one that became public last year at one Success Academy charter in Brooklyn?

Success charter schools regularly suspend a far larger percentage of students than do most traditional public schools; Success Academy Fort Green suspended nearly one-fourth of its entire student body in the 2013-14 school year, according to most recently available state suspension data.

Thirteen parents have gone so far as to file a federal civil rights complaint against Success Academy alleging the charters refused to provide special education services, suspended students multiple times without due process, and harassed parents to transfer children out of Success charters and into neighboring public schools.

What does Success gain when students disappear?

The city’s Independent Budget Office in 2014 made it clear that “leavers from charter schools have lower test scores than stayers.” And while students who leave public schools (and some charters) are replaced by others, Success charters do not generally accept new students after the early grades.

As a result their student cohorts get smaller and smaller over time, and – following the logic of the IBO report – as the number of struggling students goes down, the average reading and math scores of each class presumably go up, and charter cheerleaders can point to their “success.”

A pro-charter advocacy group, Democracy Builders, last year called on the charter industry to stop this disturbing practice, which falsely allowed some charters to “maintain the illusion of success.”

Charter schools claim to be public schools, but if the less successful students continue to vanish and charters refuse to fill the empty seats, they shouldn’t be rewarded with more space in already overcrowded public buildings, or larger rentals paid for by taxpayers in private space. City & State - Eva's Empty Seats: The Missing Children of Success Academy:

New Mexico’s “New, Bait and Switch” Schemes | VAMboozled!

New Mexico’s “New, Bait and Switch” Schemes | VAMboozled!:

New Mexico’s “New, Bait and Switch” Schemes

“A Concerned New Mexico Parent” sent me another blog entry for you all to help you all stay apprised of the ongoing “situation” in New Mexico with its New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED). See “A Concerned New Mexico Parent’s” prior posts here, here, and here, but in this one (s)he writes a response to an editorial that was recently released in support of the newest version of New Mexico’s teacher evaluation system. The editorial was titled: “Teacher evals have evolved but tired criticisms of them have not,” and it was published in the Albuquerque Journal, as also written by the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board themselves.

(S)he writes:

The editorial seems to contain and promote many of the “talking points” provided by NMPED with their latest release of teacher evaluations. Hence, I would like to present a few observations on the editorial.

NMPED and the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board both underscore the point that teachers are still primarily being (and should primarily continue to be) evaluated on the basis of their own students’ test scores (i.e., using a value-added model (VAM)), but it is actually not that simple. Rather, the new statewide teacher evaluation formula is shownhere on their website, with one notable difference being that the state’s “new system” now replaces the previously district-wide variations that produced 217 scoring categories for teachers (see here for details).

Accordingly, it now appears that NMPED has kept the same 50% student achievement, 25% observations, and 25% multiple measures division as before. The “new” VAM, New Mexico’s “New, Bait and Switch” Schemes | VAMboozled!:

MA Receives $12.5 Million from Feds to Expand Charters– Before Public Votes on the Issue | deutsch29

MA Receives $12.5 Million from Feds to Expand Charters– Before Public Votes on the Issue | deutsch29:

MA Receives $12.5 Million from Feds to Expand Charters– Before Public Votes on the Issue

On November 08, 2016, voters in Massachusetts will decide whether or not to lift the state’s charter cap. To date, almost $20 million has been spent on this ballot item,called Question 2, with most of the money being in support of lifting the cap– and coming from out of state individuals and organizations.

Arkansas billionaire siblings Alice and Jim Walton have put almost $2 million into promoting MA’s Question 2, and New York-based Families for Excellent Schools has spent almost $7 million.

We can add to that the influence of the US Department of Education (USDOE), which announced on September 28, 2016, that it will be sending $12.5 million to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA-DESE) for the purpose of allowing Massachusetts “to run its own grant competition for charter school operators to support… new and expanded public charter schools.”

Presumably, MA-DESE applied to USDOE for this charter creation and expansion money, and it did so in FY 2016, likely in anticipation that Massachusetts voters would indeed vote in November to lift the charter cap.

However, despite the out-of-state millions rolling into MA to raise that cap, there is no fantastic, notable grass roots indication that Massachusetts voters are on their way to being bought off by that out-of-state charter expansion push. So, MA-DESE might well find itself in the position of having $12.5 million that it cannot spend because its own state laws will not allow it.

Moreover, the USDOE advertisement of awarding MA charter expansion money prior to the vote on Question 2 could well backfire in the estimation of MA voters, as it adds one more layer to the reality that charter school expansion in MA is being promoted by those outside of MA– and in this case, the federal government, no lessMA Receives $12.5 Million from Feds to Expand Charters– Before Public Votes on the Issue | deutsch29:

 

School Choice via Charter Schools: Individualism vs. the Common Good | janresseger

School Choice via Charter Schools: Individualism vs. the Common Good | janresseger:

School Choice via Charter Schools: Individualism vs. the Common Good

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education announced new grants of $245 million (a quarter of a billion dollars) under its Charter Schools Program (CSP), for the creation and expansion of charter schools. The federal government awards these grants to what are known as SEAs —state educational agencies or, in common parlance, state departments of education—and to charter management organizations—the big chains of charter schools, many of them for-profit. But while the U.S. Department of Education continues to operate the Charter Schools Program as though nothing has changed, there is a whirlwind of controversy these days about the impact of charter schools.

In Ohio, everybody is waiting to see what Franklin County Common Please Court Judge Jenifer French will decide in the case brought by the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT)—a huge online school being investigated by the Ohio Department of Education for collecting hundreds millions of tax dollars over the years for phantom students—students who sign up for ECOT but log-in for only about an hour every day, when the state requires five hours of active participation.  Why has ECOT sued for a preliminary injunction to block the state’s demand for records of students’ computer log-in times?  Because ECOT has not bothered to set up a comprehensive system for collecting this seemingly important information.  On Monday of this week, the Ohio Department of Education reported on an audit it has conducted with a sample of ECOT’s supposed students. Patrick O’Donnell of the Plain Dealer reports: “ECOT was paid about $106 million in state funding last year for a reported 15,322 full-time students.  But after a preliminary attendance review in March and a final review in August that required the school to verify its enrollment through student log-in durations, the department has concluded that ECOT’s actual verified enrollment is 6,313 students.  Based on the final determination, the department could try to force ECOT and its politically influential founder, Bill Lager, to repay about $60 million to the state.”  And potentially much more if there is a retroactive claw-back for over-payments in previous years.  Much hangs on Judge Jenifer French’s decision in what is rapidly becoming an outrageous scandal.

Then on Thursday, Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post published the second installment of Carol Burris’s blockbuster report for the Network for Public Education on financial and academic abuses in California’s charter schools. California serves more students in charter School Choice via Charter Schools: Individualism vs. the Common Good | janresseger:

With A Brooklyn Accent: Data Dictatorship: How the Police State Has Invaded Graduate School Applications

With A Brooklyn Accent: Data Dictatorship: How the Police State Has Invaded Graduate School Applications:

Data Dictatorship: How the Police State Has Invaded Graduate School Applications

Note: This was written by a brilliant graduate applicant who chooses to remain anonymous. Read it and weep!

Merriam-Webster defines the term “excess” as “an amount that is more than the usual or necessary amount.” A second, but equally fitting definition, includes “behavior that is considered wrong because it goes beyond what is usual, normal, and proper.” I would certainly describe the inordinate amount of security measures imposed on me during my recent experience sitting for the GRE exam as excessive—to say the least.

But it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Security is a good thing. As a prospective graduate student, I am expected to be quiet, follow orders, and take my exam. I am not to find any part of the security protocol uncomfortable or disconcerting. I could (and did), but I know I wouldn’t dare express my discomfort, as that would mean the end of my ambition to attend graduate school and earn a doctorate. Even if I had chosen to opt-out that morning and choose another testing center (which like Voldemort, need not be named), the security measures for high-stakes testing would remain the same. I am required to present GRE scores in my applications to graduate programs, and as such, forced to accept all of the requirements regarding test day. But what happens when security measures intended to discourage inequity infringe on a student’s right to privacy? What happens when test center protocol intended to facilitate a successful test day, hinder it?

Before I begin a general overview of the process, it is imperative to point out that the proctors at the testing center were helpful and ready to answer any questions I may have had. The draconian policies that they are required to enforce, however, is a different matter entirely. 

First, I was asked to familiarize myself (quickly) with all of the test center’s policies and copy a statement in which I promise not share the content of my exam—a standard part of any “official” exam. Then, I was monitored as I placed my items in my designated locker and onlyallowed to keep my ID with me. No writing materials (fine), but no water either (even if you were to bring a spill-proof water bottle). Test-takers waited in line as proctors called each of us one by one through an unremarkable metal detector. All of the above were procedures that did not feel intrusive, yet. 

Next, my clothes were examined in case I decided to bring prohibited materials. In essence, I was required to give myself a pat-down as proctors supervised. I had to lift the ankles of my pants so my calves and the tops of my shoes were visible, next my shirt sleeves, and then I had to open and shake every single pocket to prove they were empty. Yes, even the impractical hidden pocket on the inside part of the band on my exercise leggings that I forgot existed (it is big enough to fit a quarter and that’s about it), as one of the proctors so gently reminded me. Then I was led to a hallway in which nervous hopefuls were required to wait outside their particular testing labs until they were With A Brooklyn Accent: Data Dictatorship: How the Police State Has Invaded Graduate School Applications:

Bankers and Teachers: Scandals and Accountability (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Bankers and Teachers: Scandals and Accountability (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Bankers and Teachers: Scandals and Accountability (Part 2)

 Part 1 described how Wells Fargo bank and the Atlanta public schools defrauded large numbers of customers and students. At the bank, over 5,000 employees were fired. The bank’s CEO admitted responsibility for the fraud before a U.S. Senate Banking Committee yet the fine levied by federal regulators ($185 million) wasn’t even a slap on the wrist, given the $80-plus billion in revenues that the bank took in last year. Nor did the bank admit in that agreement to pay the fine any responsibility for for their actions. The CEO is still CEO.

The Atlanta public schools cheating scandal found evidence of 178 principals and teachers in over 40 schools tampering with student scores on state tests. Eleven teachers were indicted, tried, and convicted (over 20 other educators took plea deals).  Those 11 are in prison.

Two questions occurred to me as I read and pondered these instances of corruption Wells Fargo and the Atlanta public schools.

First, why did employees scam customers with bogus bank accounts and educators tamper with test scores?

The familiar answer is: some bad apples caused the problem–which is basically saying it was individuals acting badly not an organizational problem. Over 5,000 fired at Wells Fargo is a lot of “bad apples, however.” Over 40 schools and 178 educators is also a lot of “bad apples.” The “bad apples” answer side-steps the pervasive culture in Wells Fargo and Atlanta public schools that top leaders shaped and drove unrelentingly.

Top officials created an organizational culture of producing results at any cost.Ample evidence exists of top managers  setting very high performance goals that were difficult to meet; the company and district created fear among employees who didn’t meet those goals. Penalties for low performance and retaliation for those who complained fostered a culture of fear. Compliance to do what expected even if it disadvantaged customers was a powerful reason to keep a job. In short, the culture caused employees to peddle bogus accounts and fix test scores.

But–you knew a “but” was coming–not all of the lowest paid employees engaged in the fraud. While cultural pressures can be strong and influential, they do not always determine individual action.  Sure, 5,300 Wells Fargo employees were fired but many more retained their jobs by figuring out ways to perform and not defraud customers. Similarly, all Atlanta  educators experienced the same intense pressure to raise students’ test scores but many principals and teachers followed the rules and did what they were supposed to do in administering and scoring tests. Yes, organizational culture surely shapes behavior but it does not determine how every individual acts.

Top officials were greedy; they thought they could get away with the fraud and cheating and boost the reputation of their organizations.   Over the years, bipartisan policies deregulated industries (e.g., financial companies, airlines) creating a climate where profit seeking is highly prized. Billionaires become Bankers and Teachers: Scandals and Accountability (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Questions Of Race And Charter Schools Divide Education Reformers : NPR Ed : NPR

Questions Of Race And Charter Schools Divide Education Reformers : NPR Ed : NPR:

Questions Of Race And Charter Schools Divide Education Reformers

LA Johnson and Chelsea Beck/NPR

What does it mean to declare that #blacklivesmatter in education?

Last month the Movement for Black Lives, representing elements of the Black Lives Matter movement and related groups, issued a detailed policy platform denouncing what it called "corporate-backed," "market driven" "privatization" in school reform, and helped set off a furor over this question.

Under the section labeled "community control," M4BL called for an end to state and mayoral takeovers of school systems in favor of local, democratically elected boards, more equitable school funding and a de-emphasis on standardized testing. The group also demanded a moratorium on new charter schools, on school closures and on out-of-school suspensions, which they link to the school-to-prison pipeline.

If we don't start having these conversations, people explode. And not just conversations, but fix things, fast.

Kaya Henderson, Superintendent of DC Public Schools

The NAACP also backed a moratorium on charter school expansion in a preliminary resolution over the summer. It cited "weak oversight" of privately managed charters, instances of mismanagement of public funds, "exclusionary discipline," and "increased segregation" as a result of the expansion of charter schools.

Then, this month, the Black Alliance for Educational Options, a pro-charter group, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools launched a campaign called ChartersWork to push back against the moratorium.

Some education leaders are rushing to embrace the newly frank conversation about the racial impact of education reforms. Others are caught awkwardly in the middle. And, some, especially conservative, reformers feel alienated.

"We're watching the old NCLB/Race to the Top coalition come apart, and we'll see what will come out the other side," says Rick Hess, director of the education policy center at the American Enterprise Institute.

NPR Ed reached out to men and women from across the country, engaged on all sides of this debate, for their thoughts via email and phone.

The Organizers

Hiram Rivera is a co-author of the Black Lives Matter platform. As the executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, he's spent decades as an advocate for local voices in public schools.

Hiram Rivera is a co-author of the Movement for Black Lives platform and executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union.

Chelsea Beck/NPR

"I think the charter moratorium is the part that has angered the reformer movement the most, but it's a very small piece of the overall transformation of the public school system.

"The moratorium calls for a halt in expansion, not closure, until assessment can be done of the entire school system.

"Transformation starts by looking at the root causes of the problems we have today ... the criminalization of black youth. The use of standardized testing to justify the closure of schools. The gutting of funding."

Jonathan Stith is a co-author of the platform and national coordinator of the Alliance for Educational Justice, a coalition of grassroots student groups.

Jonathan Stith is a co-author of the Movement for Black Lives platform and national coordinator of the Alliance for Educational Justice.

Chelsea Beck/NPR

"We're not the first to call for a moratorium [on charter schools and school closures]. It's been interesting to see who cheers for what. The teachers' unions applaud the privatization piece, but are silent on our call to get police out of schools.

"We see a really big hemorrhage in education affecting hundreds of thousands of black young people in this country.

"A lot of charters are just shiny versions of the school-to-prison pipeline. There are reports of fraud.

"I have yet to see a black community that has voted directly for charter schools. They always are imposed. Districts are being taken over by governors or mayors and given very little voice. And so there's this false language around choice.

"At the same time, we're not with the status quo. We're clear that 50 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, public schools have never served black children."

The Charter Backers

Jacqueline Cooper is the president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, which promotes school choice.

Jacqueline Cooper is president of the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

LA Johnson/NPR

"The NAACP moratorium is inexplicable to me. Over 700,000 black students are enrolled in public charter schools. Studies show that charters are working for low-income black students.

"Who is anyone else to tell a parent where their child Questions Of Race And Charter Schools Divide Education Reformers : NPR Ed : NPR:

CPS parents angry students' personal info sent to charter schools | abc7chicago.com

CPS parents angry students' personal info sent to charter schools | abc7chicago.com:

CPS PARENTS ANGRY STUDENTS' PERSONAL INFO SENT TO CHARTER SCHOOLS

CHICAGO (WLS) --

Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools parents want to know who gave away their contact information.

They said the looming threat of a teacher strike has a charter school network soliciting them to switch schools.

A mailer the size of a post card with a glossy cover was mailed out from the Noble Charter Network targeting Chicago Public School students between 6th and 8th grade. Parents have received charter solicitations before, but not one like this.

"They were addressed to my 11-year-old son with home address and his school," said Jeff Jenkins, a CPS parent and LCS member.

Parents are furious that CPS is sharing their children's personal information with other parties.

"The bigger issue is the confidentiality issue of students info. What else are they giving out social security numbers, health info?" said Kiki Kouchoukos, a CPS parent.

"That is only all the info anyone needs, so they trust that information will be protected," said Julie Greenberg, a CPS parent.

Parents want to know who released the information to Noble Charter Network. According to the CPS Code of Conduct book, directory information about students can be disclosed to a specific party with an educational interest.

"What this tells me is, I need to opt out of everything as far as information goes for my child. Do I stay out of directories?" Kouchoukos said.

On top it, some CPS parents say it is in poor taste for the Noble Network, which includes a charter high school named after CPS Board President Frank Clark, to solicit students during volatile times.

"The fact that Noble would use this to reach out at this time with potential strike, they see it as an opportunity," Jenkins said.

The Noble Network responded with a written statement. It said public charter schools use a variety of methods to let parents know they have the option of a charter in their district. Noble said it also contacts families through third party companies that distribute their information cards.

CPS issued a statement late Thursday night, which said, "Chicago Board of Education policy requires CPS and its vendors to secure student data, and we do not tolerate the sale or unauthorized distribution of student records. We have no reason to believe that any CPS employee shared this information or allowed it to be shared."CPS parents angry students' personal info sent to charter schools | abc7chicago.com:

MN teacher licensing reform group breaks from national

MN teacher licensing reform group breaks from national:
Group pushing Minnesota teacher licensing reform breaks from national backer

An education reform group pushing to overhaul Minnesota’s teacher licensing system plans to break away from its national parent organization.

The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now, or MinnCAN, will close up shop Friday and re-emerge next week as Ed Allies. MinnCAN is part of the national 50CAN network, which recently decided itself to step back from its work in Minnesota to focus on other priorities.

Daniel Sellers, who led MinnCAN until July when he left to work on the new venture, will head Ed Allies. Most of MinnCAN’s existing staff will join him, and most of MinnCAN’s local funders plan to support the new organization. 

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“This work is about people and about relationships,” Sellers said. “When I go talk to legislators, they don’t care what name is on my lapel.”

KEEPING IT LOCAL

The new autonomy will help Ed Allies as it continues much of MinnCAN’s work and partners with other local education reform advocates, Sellers said.

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Al Fan, executive director of the Minnesota Comeback, said philanthropies that fund education efforts are increasingly focused on local groups that will have a “collective impact.” The Minnesota Comeback is a new coalition working to create 30,000 “rigorous, relevant” classroom seats in Minneapolis by 2025.

“The idea is to collaborate more closely around shared goals and initiatives,” Fan said. “We all want to row in the same direction.”

There has been turnover in the education lobbying groups working at the Capitol in St. Paul and across the state.

Earlier this year, Parents United for Public Schools dissolved after more than a decade of work. In 2014, Students First, a reform group founded by the controversial former Washington, D.C., schools leader Michelle Rhee, pulled out of Minnesota.

Meanwhile in April, a national group called the Partnership for Educational Justice backed a lawsuit from four Minnesota parents that challenges Minnesota’s teachers union protections. The organization also supports a similar ongoing case in New York and one that was defeated in California.

TEACHERS UNION CRITICAL

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht (AP Photo/Education Minnesota, Janet Hostetter)

Denise Specht, president of state teachers union Education Minnesota, has been critical of national education reform groups like 50CAN, saying they try to impose narrow national agendas on local policy decisions.

“The best ideas for schools come from students, educators and parents, not the handful of billionaires behind these networks,” Specht said. “… Meaningful change to public schools requires experience, knowledge, passion and years of commitment.”

Vallay Varro, who founded MinnCAN and is now president of 50CAN, said her organization prides itself on the local leadership of individual chapters. The national group is pulling out of Minnesota because there are enough local groups to carry on the work, Varro said.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., 50CAN is active in 10 states including Minnesota. It receives funding from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, the Walton Family Foundation and other education reform-minded groups.

ACTIVE AT LEGISLATURE

MinnCAN came to Minnesota in 2011. The organization’s most recent annual budget was $1.2 million, and it receives funding from local philanthropies like the St. Paul Foundation, 3M, the Bush Foundation and Ecolab.

MinnCAN has lobbied the Legislature about teacher and principal evaluations, preschool scholarships, improvements to charter schools and other issues.

Sellers and other MinnCAN staffers were some of the most vocal advocates for overhauling Minnesota’s highly criticized teacher licensing systems. The organization supported a lawsuit against the Minnesota Board of Teaching that alleges out-of-state educators were denied licenses for unfair and arbitrary reasons.

Ed Allies plans to continue working on many of the same issues MinnCAN supported. “We won’t miss a beat,” Sellers said.MN teacher licensing reform group breaks from national:

The lengths that charter schools go to when their teachers try to form unions.

The lengths that charter schools go to when their teachers try to form unions.:

How Charter Schools Bust Unions

By intimidating teachers. By scaring parents. And sometimes by calling the cops.

This article was reported in partnership with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.

As a little girl growing up in Thousand Oaks, California, Alisha Mernick liked to play make-believe teacher. She never imagined then that as a real teacher she would one day find herself facing off with the head of her school, not to mention an armed county sheriff. But one morning this July, that’s what happened to Mernick, 31, a New York University–educated visual arts teacher in her sixth year at Los Angeles’ Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School, while she and a union organizer from the United Teachers Los Angeles handed out leaflets to new Alliance hires near the parking lot of a school building. The handouts contained information about the ongoing effort by teachers at Gertz-Ressler and several other schools operated by Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a Los Angeles–based charter network, to unionize Alliance teachers and counselors.

Alliance educators began their push to unionize in large measure, Mernick says, because they were concerned their employer was not “actualizing its core values,” including the establishment of smaller classes and a personalized learning environment for its students, most of whom are poor and Latino or black. Mernick says that teachers who have signed on to the union effort want more input into decisions regarding curriculum and pedagogy. They’re also questioning how the school assesses their performance and discloses how it spends its funds. Making changes in these areas, Mernick believes, will help Alliance retain the kinds of qualified teachers it prides itself on hiring.

But speaking up can feel risky for nonunionized charter teachers. Indeed, one of the animating impulses behind the push for more charter schools and the broader school-reform movement has been an antipathy toward some of the entrenched institutions of public education—like teachers unions and the teacher protections they champion, which many charter advocates often see as an impediment to accountability and student achievement. Unlike their counterparts in traditional public schools, charter teachers work for private companies or nonprofits, which typically hire them on annual contracts and are legally allowed to fire them without cause or a formal grievance process.

A 2014 study found that in 2012 about 7 percent of charter schools were unionized. That same year, 68 percent of traditional public school teachers were members of unions.

Mernick stood her ground that July morning as she faced the sheriff. Even though she was not violating any laws, he told her that the head of her school wanted her to leave the premises. Mernick told him she “had a protected right” to be there. And she was clear that her employer, Alliance, which had already been slapped with a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order for interfering with union organizing, “knows I’m allowed to be doing this.”

But that didn’t end the encounter, during which Mernick and the other organizer were threatened with the possibility of arrest for trespassing. Finally, after about 45 minutes, the head of the school emerged to tell them they could continue leafleting until 9 a.m., when the professional development for new teachers was set to start. (Teachers and organizers are allowed to talk to employees on campus during nonworking hours but are barred from doing so on company time.) The experience left Mernick shaken. In using law enforcement to try to intimidate her, her boss had turned Mernick’s outreach into a public example of what interested teachers might face if they joined the fight.

Attempts by charter school administrators to thwart teachers’ efforts to unionize are hardly unique to Alliance. While there are charters that have voluntarily agreed toThe lengths that charter schools go to when their teachers try to form unions.: