Friday, October 21, 2016

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/21/16


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/21/16

Featured Post

School choice too often leads to segregation - Baltimore Sun




How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea - The Washington Post
by mike simpson / 39min
How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea - The Washington Post : How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea Back in March I published a post titled, “ Now some schools are testing kids for their ‘grit’ and ‘joy’ levels. Really .” For years we’ve heard of schools viewing “grit” as a character strength and moving
Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate - Wait What?
by mike simpson / 34min
Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate - Wait What? : Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate For pictures and a video of the debate go to: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/ The following is the media coverage from the debate; Norwich Bulletin – Congressional candidates do battle on guns, climate change – http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/201
NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity | Schott Foundation for Public Education
by mike simpson / 42min
NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity | Schott Foundation for Public Education : NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity In 2003, parents and advocates marched 150 miles from New York City to Albany to herald a court case that claimed New York State was failing to provide quality education to public school students. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and the state committed to allocating
World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia | Diane Ravitch's blog
by mike simpson / 45min
World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia | Diane Ravitch's blog : World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia If you live anywhere near Philadelphia, you should not miss the premiere of the stunning documentary “ Backpack Full of Cash .” It is an expose of the corporate education reform movement. It has the potential to inform the public about the billionaire-funded
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead
by mike simpson / 55min
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead : PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead Like that bad enchilada that you just can't keep down, Pennsylvania's HB 530 just keeps coming back. In fact, it appears it will be back this Monday. I wrote about this damn thing last summer , and it has ben kicking around since early 2015. The bill was floated by Mike Reese , who was actually trained to be
Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools - The Washington Post
by mike simpson / 6h
Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools - The Washington Post : Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools President Obama went to a high-performing D.C. high school this week to tout the “progress” his administration has made in public education, America’s most important civic institution. To mark the legacy moment, he brought along the two
Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School - [Sponsored Message By NEA]
by mike simpson / 6h
[Sponsored Message] Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School : Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School Charter schools as a form of K-12 education have been around for 25 years. In those 25 years however, many charter school founders and managers have sought increased public funding and decreased public oversight into school operations, resulting in schools that are essentially privatized. Cha
STUDY: Race Impacts Student Referrals for Gifted, Special Education | Colorlines
by mike simpson / 6h
STUDY: Race Impacts Student Referrals for Gifted, Special Education | Colorlines : STUDY: Race Impacts Student Referrals for Gifted, Special Education Study author Rachel Fish: “This subjectivity has implications for inequalities in education by race and ethnicity.” School buses and drivers at the Atlantic Express Transportation Crop. in Queens, New York, on February 20, 2013 in New York City. Ph
Magnolia charter schools fight to stay open after LAUSD ‘death sentence’
by mike simpson / 6h
Magnolia charter schools fight to stay open after LAUSD ‘death sentence’ : Magnolia charter schools fight to stay open after LAUSD ‘death sentence’ A leader of two high-performing, independent charter schools in the San Fernando Valley says she’s “very confident” they can avoid shutdowns by appealing their denied renewal petitions to the county and possibly the state. The Los Angeles Unified scho
Reflections from a Nasty Woman: What's at Risk for Women Who "Come Forward"? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
by mike simpson / 7h
Reflections from a Nasty Woman: What's at Risk for Women Who "Come Forward"? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher : Reflections from a Nasty Woman: What's at Risk for Women Who "Come Forward"? Never let anyone say that this election season hasn't been a remarkable series of teachable moments. Just one example: the terms "rape culture" and "sexual assault" have become part of the o
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Looking back on the Chicago anti-Trump protest
by mike simpson / 7h
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Looking back on the Chicago anti-Trump protest : Looking back on the Chicago anti-Trump protest "I was wondering what happened with my rally in Chicago and other rallies where we had such violence. She’s the one, and Obama, that caused the violence. They hired people, they paid them $1,500, and they’re on tape saying, be violent, cause fights, do bad things." -- DT
CURMUDGUCATION: My Visit To Preschool
by mike simpson / 7h
CURMUDGUCATION: My Visit To Preschool : My Visit To Preschool I'm in Seattle for almost a week, visiting my daughter, her husband, their newborn son, and their almost two-year-old son. This provides all manner of entertainment (you'll notice blogging has run a little slow), but today it provided an opportunity for me to be a visiting grampa (actually, my grandparental name is "Gump") at my grands
As MA Question 2 Funding Nears $32 Million, DFER Files a New Ballot Committee | deutsch29
by mike simpson / 7h
As MA Question 2 Funding Nears $32 Million, DFER Files a New Ballot Committee | deutsch29 : As MA Question 2 Funding Nears $32 Million, DFER Files a New Ballot Committee On November 08, 2016, Massachusetts voters will be deciding whether or not to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the state. The ballot measure, known as Question 2, would open the door for “up to 12 new charter scho
Courts Dividing Over Transgender Students' Rights, Creating Problems of Authority and Predictability -Education Law Prof Blog
by mike simpson / 8h
Education Law Prof Blog : Courts Dividing Over Transgender Students' Rights, Creating Problems of Authority and Predictability Earlier this summer, a federal district court judge in Texas rejected that the Department of Education's position that Title IX protects transgender students' access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. That opinion was in contrast to the Fourth Circuit Cou
Greed Is Destroying K-12 Education System | Huffington Post
by mike simpson / 8h
Greed Is Destroying K-12 Education System | Huffington Post : Greed Is Destroying K-12 Education System We now know the results of rampant greed among the politicians in those states that are cutting education budgets in their K-12 school systems. They would rather preserve the wealth of the wealthiest one percent than see any value in governments or governing of any kind. The cuts are for the mo
Man who hit mayor with pie calls charges ‘trumped up’ | The Sacramento Bee
by mike simpson / 8h
Man who hit mayor with pie calls charges ‘trumped up’ | The Sacramento Bee : Man who hit mayor with pie calls charges ‘trumped up’ Sean Thompson, the activist facing assault charges after shoving a pie into the face of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, criticized the charges against him Thursday. “These are trumped-up charges. This was a pie to the face of a mayor. It didn’t create a lasting injury
Let's Hear it for Michelle Rhee one more time: Ex-California Sen. Ron Calderon to be sentenced in corruption case | The Sacramento Bee
by mike simpson / 9h
Ex-California Sen. Ron Calderon to be sentenced in corruption case | The Sacramento Bee : Ex-lawmaker Ron Calderon to be sentenced in corruption case More than three years after FBI agents raided the Capitol office of former state Sen. Ron Calderon , the corruption case against the Montebello Democrat finally comes to an end. Calderon, who pleaded guilty in June to one count of mail fraud for acc
Discussing race in the classroom: 'Are all white people racist'? - CSMonitor.com
by mike simpson / 9h
Discussing race in the classroom: 'Are all white people racist'? - CSMonitor.com : Discussing race in the classroom: 'Are all white people racist'? UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER A high school teacher in Norman, Okla. is under fire for this assertion. But how should the conversation about race relations be framed? One high school teacher’s bold premise – that "all white people are racist, period" – is
School choice too often leads to segregation - Baltimore Sun
by mike simpson / 9h
School choice too often leads to segregation - Baltimore Sun : School choice too often leads to segregation One of Donald Trump 's sons, in a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, stated that through his father's plan for school choice, every student would have the same educational opportunities that he and his siblings received. Does he mean that everyone should be able to attend th
See New Details on ESSA Funding for Healthy, Safe, Well-Rounded Students - Politics K-12 - Education Week
by mike simpson / 9h
See New Details on ESSA Funding for Healthy, Safe, Well-Rounded Students - Politics K-12 - Education Week : See New Details on ESSA Funding for Healthy, Safe, Well-Rounded Students One of the big goals of the Every Student Succeeds Act was to give states and districts significantly more say in how they spend their federal dollars . As part of that effort, Congress collapsed a bunch of small feder

YESTERDAY

Congressional candidates do battle on guns, climate change
by mike simpson / 19h
Congressional candidates do battle on guns, climate change : Congressional candidates do battle on guns, climate change WILLIMANTIC – The candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District sounded off on college affordability, defense spending and gun control at their debate Thursday at Eastern Connecticut State University. Republican Daria Novak and Libertarian Dan Reale joined Green Party ca
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/20/16
by mike simpson / 1d
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/20/16 Featured Post SANDRA STOTSKY: Test-based accountability: The best we can do? | NewBostonPost The US Department of Education’s Digital Promise to advance the ed-tech field and 

Top Posts This Week


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How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea - The Washington Post

How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea - The Washington Post:

How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea



Back in March I published a post titled, “Now some schools are testing kids for their ‘grit’ and ‘joy’ levels. Really.” For years we’ve heard of schools viewing “grit” as a character strength and moving to measure how much grit students have while attempting to build it up in those deficient. Now one of the co-authors of that post is back with a piece on a similar effort with “joy” — and why this effort to elicit joy in students is not authentic social-emotional learning but instead counterproductive.
This was written by Joan Goodman, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania who has served as a director of the school’s Teach for America program. Goodman is a psychologist who has spent her career combining applied psychology with teaching. She is also an expert in moral education and she studies the practices and moral underpinnings of school discipline and authority in classrooms.
This appeared on the EduShyster blog of Jennifer Berkshire, a freelance journalist and public education advocate who worked for six years editing a newspaper for the American Federation of Teachers in Massachusetts. She gave me permission to republish this piece.
[Now some schools are testing kids for grit and joy. Really.]
By Joan Goodman
“No excuses” charter schools face a teaching predicament.
Their long school day/year with few diverting extracurricular activities and heavily rule-governed pedagogy is tough on students. Inevitably, strict behavior restrictions, aimed not just at controlling common misbehaviors but also behaviors that might lead to misbehavior, result in a gulf between student desires and teacher demands.
To close the gulf and avoid constantly admonishing students, charter management organizations have layered onto their culture an expectation that learning is to be approached joyously. Indeed, joy has been elevated to a central value at many charter management organizations (CMOs).
[Why ‘no excuses’ charter schools mold submissive students — starting in kindergarten]
The j-factor
Uncommon Schools promotes “joy” as one of its five values; Democracy Prep advertises a “joyous culture” with enthusiasm as one of its DREAM values; Mastery lists “joy and humor” among its nine core values; and Achievement First includes the child’s joy in its assessments of How schools are turning ‘joy’ into a character strength — and why it’s an awful idea - The Washington Post:


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Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate - Wait What?

Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate - Wait What?:

Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate
For pictures and a video of the debate go to: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/
The following is the media coverage from the debate; 
Norwich Bulletin – Congressional candidates do battle on guns, climate change –http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/20161020/congressional-candidates-do-battle-on-guns-climate-change
WILLIMANTIC – The candidates running for the 2nd Congressional District sounded off on college affordability, defense spending and gun control at their debate Thursday at Eastern Connecticut State University.
Republican Daria Novak and Libertarian Dan Reale joined Green Party candidate Jonathan Pelto and incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, on the stage of the Fine Arts Center at Eastern. The debate was sponsored by The Bulletin and moderated by Bulletin Opinion Page Editor Brendan Cox.
All had differing views on how they’d address hot-button issues such as gun control.
Courtney said he supports “common sense measures that are long overdue,” such as a background check bill that would close loopholes, and the “no fly, no buy” law that would prohibit people on the no-fly watch list from buying a gun.
“Those are common-sense measures with bipartisan support,” he said.
Novak said such measures as “safe zones” and “no fly, no buy” don’t work, and Reale has said it’s an issue best left to the states.
“This no fly, no buy nonsense, come on,” he said, “There’s no due process there. You don’t know if you’re on the list or not.”
Novak said solving “the core reasons of the violence, not taking away guns,” is what’s Media Coverage from last night’s 2nd Congressional District Debate - Wait What?:


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NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity | Schott Foundation for Public Education

NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity

In 2003, parents and advocates marched 150 miles from New York City to Albany to herald a court case that claimed New York State was failing to provide quality education to public school students. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and the state committed to allocating $5.5 billion distributed throughout the state’s public school districts. This is when the story should have ended, but it didn’t.
$3.9 billion is still owed to New York State public schools. And that is why this October – ten years after that first court hearing – parents and advocates have made the same walk again. Another 150 miles from New York City to the steps of the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, fighting for educational funding long overdue.
It began in 1993 with a group of parents. They launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), which sued New York State for “failing to provide students with the quality education that is their right under the New York State Constitution.” Ten years later, in 2003, the case had finally reached the New York State Court of Appeals – the state’s highest court. In 2006, the court ruled that the state was failing to provide students with the classroom resources necessary to receive a “sound, basic education.” Consequently, the state adopted the Foundation Aid formula, and committed to adding $5.5 billion in basic classroom operating aid over four years to all state school districts. An initial $2.3 billion was allocated, but subsequent funding froze during the financial crisis and has yet to resume.
As most public education funding in New York state comes from property taxes, districts in low-income communities especially need Foundation Aid to ensure that all children have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed, regardless of their ZIP code. The financial crisis and housing crash hit the tax base of low-income districts the hardest. While it is easy for policymakers to think of education funding as simply numbers on a ledger, every year that goes by without the promised Foundation Aid means thousands of children who are denied the education they deserve.
The Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) led the ten day, 150 mile walk (#EdWalk) this year, from October 2th to 11th. Robert Jackson was a lead plaintiff in the original 1993 Campaign for Fiscal Equity case. He walked in 2003, and again this year. At the start of this year’s NY Advocates Walk 150 Miles for Equity | Schott Foundation for Public Education:


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World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia | Diane Ravitch's blog

World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia | Diane Ravitch's blog:

World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia

backpack1
If you live anywhere near Philadelphia, you should not miss the premiere of the stunning documentary “Backpack Full of Cash.” It is an expose of the corporate education reform movement. It has the potential to inform the public about the billionaire-funded effort to privatize our public schools.
The producers and director are the same team from Stone Lantern Films that created the award-winning PBS series called “School” a decade ago.
“Backpack” is narrated by Matt Damon.
The producers found it far harder to raise funding for this film than for their “School” series. Try to see the film but also consider a contribution to their crowd-sourcing fund. They need our help to tell the story of an unprecedented assault on American public education. They have started a Kickstarter campaign to get your assistance in telling the story of the efforts to privatize public education. Please give whatever you can. This is a very professionally made film and it will help to educate the public about the dangers of corporate education “reform.”

BACKPACK FULL OF CASH 

WORLD PREMIERE

PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL 25 

Dear Friends and Supporters, 
We are very happy to announce the world premiere of our 95-minute documentary BACKPACK FULL OF CASH at the Philadelphia Film Festival with screenings to be held on two Saturdays, October 22 and October 29, 2016. BACKPACK producers Sarah Mondale and Vera Aronow will present the film and participate in a Q&A session after the screenings.
The film examines major threats to public education from the movement for market based reform, including the rapid growth of privately-run charter schools, vouchers and tax credit “scholarships”, cyber World Premiere of “Backpack Full of Cash” in Philadelphia | Diane Ravitch's blog:


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CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead

CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead:

PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead


Like that bad enchilada that you just can't keep down, Pennsylvania's HB 530 just keeps coming back. In fact, it appears it will be back this Monday.

I wrote about this damn thing last summer, and it has ben kicking around since early 2015. The bill was floated by Mike Reese, who was actually trained to be a history teacher before landing in admissions offices on the college level. Nevertheless, his bill is a terrible bill for public education in Pennsylvania. He states that his bill has two goals:

1) Save taxpayers money by changing the cyber funding system

2) Improve school choice.



Those are unimpressive goals, both disconnected from an desire to maintain strong public schools, and certainly not addressing issues with "the worst charter law in the country."

It's worth noting that the bill is not fully beloved by players in the charter business. Back in 2015 the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public [sic] Charter Schools complained about three aspects of the bill. In PA, cyber schools receive 100% of the per capita costs for students in the sending school regardless of the cyber's actual costs, making the profitability of PA cyber schools somewhere up there with "selling crack" and "printing your own money." HB 530 says that sending schools can exempt the per capita costs of running a cafeteria (after all, cyber schools do not provide lunch), but the charter folks still find the deduction unfair. The bill also allows deductions for previous years cyber costs, and while this will only be a thing for two years, the charter folks are afraid it CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Bad Charter Bill Still Not Dead:



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Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools - The Washington Post

Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools - The Washington Post:

Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools

Image result for big education ape obama

President Obama went to a high-performing D.C. high school this week to tout the “progress” his administration has made in public education, America’s most important civic institution. To mark the legacy moment, he brought along the two men who have served as his education secretaries — Arne Duncan and John King Jr., along with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Gen. Colin Powell and his wife Alma.
It’s what he didn’t say that was most revealing. A fuller evaluation of the Obama education legacy would look somewhat different from the one he offered.
[Read: Obama’s speech on his education legacy]
Obama charmed the student audience at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, joking with them and telling them he remembers some of the awkward social moments of being a high school student. As the White House text shows:
So, by now you’ve settled into the new year. Right? Adjusted to classes. You’re preparing for Spirit Week. (Applause.) Learning how to ballroom dance. (Laughter.) I remember having to do that. Getting the nerve to text that cute girl or boy in your English class. (Laughter.) I don’t remember that; we did not have texts. We had to send little notes. And then we used to actually have to go up to somebody if we liked them and talk to them. So that may happen to you someday. (Laughter.)
He reminded the kids that he had visited Banneker in 2011 and was so impressed that he wanted to return “because you’re an example of a school that’s doing things the right way.” Later he said he wanted every school to be “as great as this one.”
Students take photos of U.S. President Barack Obama following remarks at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, 2016. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)
There’s no denying that Banneker is a top-performing school in the nation’s capital, and that 100 percent of its seniors graduate. But it’s unclear if Obama knows that if every school did what Banneker does, the high school graduation rate might plummet. That’s because Banneker is a magnet school where students must apply to get in — but the only entry grades are ninth and tenth. And they must maintain a B- average to stay. Kids who can’t cut it leave, but that attrition isn’t counted against the school’s graduation rate.
Obama did touch on graduation rates, touting the newly announced, highest-ever national high school graduation rate of 83 percent. He noted that “D.C.’s graduation rates grew faster than any other place in the country” this past year. He didn’t say that that “fastest-growing” Obama’s real education legacy: Common Core, testing, charter schools - The Washington Post:


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Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School - [Sponsored Message By NEA]

[Sponsored Message] Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School:

Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School



Charter schools as a form of K-12 education have been around for 25 years. In those 25 years however, many charter school founders and managers have sought increased public funding and decreased public oversight into school operations, resulting in schools that are essentially privatized.

Charter schools are not structured and do not function in the same way as a neighborhood school or local school district or directly elected Board of Education. With each passing year, charter schools more resemble the privatization of education to private foundations or for-profit companies. In 2015, the Washington State Supreme Court found its state law creating charter schools to be unconstitutional because public education is the sole function of an elected government authority – and charter schools were found to be privately operated.

Recent studies conclude that 40% of the country’s 2 million charter school students are at schools operated by private, for-profit companies while the vast majority of the other 60% of students are in schools operated by private non-profit foundations.


MOST CHARTER SCHOOLS are governed private boards – in many cases, these private boards set their own rules and by-laws with no direct public oversight whatsoever.




In 2009, Kevin O’Shea and Rosemary DiLacqua were charged with defrauding the Philadelphia Academy Charter School (“PACS”). DiLacqua, as PACS’ board president, authorized the quick rise of O’Shea, who had no educational qualifications, from facilities manager for the school, to its CEO, earning $200,000. The malfeasance included using approximately $710,000 to buy a building with the aim of reselling it to another charter school for a $1 million profit; demanding kickbacks from PACS vendors; using approximately $145,000 to outfit offices for themselves with posh amenities including at-screen televisions, executive bathrooms and granite countertops; submitting for reimbursement at least $40,000 in fraudulent invoices for personal meals, entertainment, home improvements, and gas and telephone bills; billing approximately $50,000 worth of home repairs to PACS; collecting approximately $34,000 in rent from entities using PACS facilities, attempting to destroy computer evidence to obstruct the investigation against them, and ling a false tax return.



MANY CHARTER SCHOOL BOARDS further hire distant school management companies that are either for-profit or not-for-profit corporations.



In Ohio, dozens of charter school boards turn about 96 percent of their taxpayer funding over to White Hat Management Company, a for-profit EMO. White Hat takes in more than $60 million in public funding annually for its charter school management services, yet refused to comply with requests from the governing boards of its own schools for detailed financial reports. Despite two Ohio court rulings compelling White Hat to release the requested documents, the company refused.



MANY CHARTER SCHOOLS remove tax dollars from traditional public school classrooms leaving those schools and their students underfunded.



A recent independent study of the fiscal impact of independent charter schools in Los Angeles found unmitigated charter growth resulted in over half a billion dollars each year in lost revenue and added costs for the Los Angeles Unified School District. When a student leaves a district school for a charter school, the district immediately looses per pupil funding for that student but critical education infrastructure, oversight costs, and a larger portion of higher-needs students stay with the district. Siphoning resources from traditional public schools in Los Angeles limits educational opportunities for the more than 540,000 students who continue to attend traditional LAUSD schools.



MOST CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS are simply private citizen volunteers with no public certification or approval but they make decisions controlling millions in public dollars.



For example, a 2015 investigation by the North Carolina State Auditor found that Kinston Charter Academy’s board’s “lack of experience and involvement resulted in insufficient oversight.” No one on the board of the School, which shuttered in 2013 leaving nearly 200 students and their parents in a lurch, had an education degree or previous experience in teaching or school administration. Amid strained finances, the board approved payments to family members of the CEO nearly $100,000. Despite not being able to pay the school’s teachers in the final month of operation, the board approved vacation leave payouts to the school’s CEO and his wife who served as board chair.



MOST CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATORS claim they are exempt from public sunshine or freedom of information act laws because they are private entities.



For example, Pennsylvania’s charter schools routinely ignore the state’s Right-To-Know Law, despite being legally bound to comply with it. In May 2013, the director of the state’s Office of Open Records testified that her office had received 239 appeals in cases where charter schools either rejected or failed to answer requests from the public for found that only about half of that city’s charter schools posted minutes from their board meetings on the school’s website.[Sponsored Message] Five Signs Of A Privatized Charter School:
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