Will The Charter School authorized Today, on this list Tomorrow? CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

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CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS

Southwest Learning Center *HEAD OF CHARTERS EARNS $204,000. **Albuquerque** Journal* (NM) 11 Mar 2010 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/112311207866newsmetro03-11-10.htm The head of three charter schools with fewer than 500 students combined earns $204,000, more than any ...

Fulton Science Academy Middle School *FULTON** COUNTY SCHOOLS, CHARTER INTERIM COMPLIANCE REPORT, FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY MIDDLE SCHOOL**, January 2011 *(emphasis added) http://fsamiddle.org/images/stories/interimcompliance.pdf Requested Actions (pp. 2-3) While the school continues a ...

Bonita Springs Charter School *FOUR WOMEN SUE BONITA SPRINGS CHARTER SCHOOL FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT.* * Naples** News* (FL) 04 Jun 2010 http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jun/04/four-women-sue-bs-charter-school-administrator-sex/ Four women have sued Bonita Springs Charter School in ...

Morningstar Academy Charter School In 2003, the for-profit Educational Administrative Services opened Morningstar Academy. EAS also operated the now-defunct California Charter Academy. Read about the CCA scandal @ ...

Sequoia Choice Arizona Distance Learning ***CHRISTIAN** SCHOOL** EXPELS CHILDREN OF INQUISITIVE WOMAN.* *The Arizona Republic* 13 Oct 2009 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/10/13/20091013expel1013.html A Christian school in Glendale expelled the children of a ...

Coral Academy of Science - Reno *REACTION TO ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING AT CORAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL. **MyNews4 * (Reno, NV) 12 May 2010 …A 15 year old girl was approached by a man, who grabbed her arm and tried to kidnap her. The girl screamed, struggled and pulled away. Then the man ...

Eagles Peak Charter School (4000 students) *FORMER SCHOOLDIRECTOR GETS $1M.* *North County Times* (San Diego County, CA) 20 Aug 2010 A jury awarded the former executive director of the now-defunct Eagles Peak Charter School $1 million this week in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed ...

Eagle Ridge Academy Eagle Ridge Academy was established after the closure of Brighton Collegiate High School (formerly Brighton Charter School) which was plagued by a series of sexual scandals involving teachers and students. Read about that *HERE*. --------- ...

Aventura City of Excellence School *FIRED CITY CHARTER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL CLAIMS HARASSMENT IN SUIT. **Law.com*03 Apr 2008 A lawsuit filed by the fired principal of Aventura, Fla.'s city-owned charter school gives a peek into the soap operatic world of such institutions… [Katherine ...

Deborah Brown Community School *CHARTER** SCHOOL** SUED BY TEACHER. **Tulsa** World* (OK) 24 Sept 2009* * A woman who quit her job to become a teacher at a new prekindergarten expansion program of the Deborah Brown Community School is suing the charter school for breach of ...

Vanguard Charter School Academy *NEW CHARTER SCHOOL FACES CRITICISM OF ITS CURRICULUM*. Business Courier (Cincinnati, OH) 21 July 2003 Cincinnati's newest charter school will be managed by a national for-profit company that has faced lawsuits for allowing religious instruction and ...

Imagine College Preparatory High School *STUDENT IS AWARDED $145,000 IN ALLEGED ASSAULT AT ST. LOUIS CHARTER SCHOOL- SETTLEMENT INVOLVES ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OFF-DUTY CITY COP*. *STLtoday.com*(St. Louis, MO) 29 May 2010 A student who was allegedly assaulted by an off-duty St. Louis police ...

Richard Allen Schools-Salem Avenue campus This school is one of five schools operated by Richard Allen Schools, currently under investigation by Ohio state auditors. Read about that *HERE* . * * ------------ *FORMER KINDERGARTEN TEACHER HELD ON SEX COUNT;* *Dayton** Daily News* (OH) 09 Jan ...

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy This is an extensive article which is packed with information. Be sure to read the whole thing. ----- *CHARTER’SCONSERVATIVE BACKERS RAISE QUESTIONS. **North Carolina Policy Watch* 20 Apr 2011 The Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, a public ...

Cape Lookout Marine Science High School *JUDGE FAVORS APPEAL EFFORT.* *News-Times* (NC) 02 Mar 2011 MOREHEAD CITY — Attorney Mike Lincoln, representing Cape Lookout Marine Science High School, said Tuesday he has been informed that Superior Court Judge John Nobles planned to rule in favor ...

Prairie Crossing Charter School *FEUDING CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD SEEKS GUIDANCE FROM STATE.* *Daily Herald*(Arlington Heights, IL) 13 Aug 2007; Prairie Crossing Charter School's board president says she doesn't want bickering among her colleagues to hurt education there, so she's ...

LEAP Academy University Charter School *******LEAP ACADEMY ENDS BASKETBALL EPISODE**. The Star-Ledger* (NJ) 14 Jun 2007 LEAP Academy University Charter School has given up a costly battle over enrollment practices that netted out-of-state basketball players and ran afoul of state law. ...

Gulen charter schools in Nevada *State* *# of active schools* *# pending (approved or under review)* *# denied, withdrawn, or of unknown status* *TOTAL* NV 2 0 1 3 ===================================================================== *CORAL** ACADEMY OF SCIENCE – RENO* *Status* ...

Cross-Cultural Academy of Arts & Technology *CHARTER** SCHOOL** CLOSING DOORS-MONEY RUNS OUT BEFORE YEAR ENDS.* Hartford Courant (CT) 05 May 2007; State officials scrambled Friday to salvage the rest of the school year for students at a small Hartford charter school that will close its doors ...

Don Bosco Charter High School *UCM SPONSORED CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSING.* *digitalBURG.com* (University of Central Missouri) 04 May 2011 Officials from Don Bosco, a charter high school in Kansas City, Mo., recently announced that the school will be closing at the end of this school ...

Chula Vista Renaissance High School & Chula Vista Academy Elementary School *2 CHARTER SCHOOLS CLOSE OVER FINANCES*. *San Diego Union-Tribune* (CA) 27 Feb 2007 San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) CHULA VISTA – Two small charter schools in Chula Vista abruptly closed Friday, leaving seven educators looking for jobs and 65 students ...

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"Ravitch: Test scores reflect student work, not teacher quality." May 17, 2011. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

"Ravitch: Test scores reflect student work, not teacher quality." May 17, 2011. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

Ravitch: Test scores reflect student work, not teacher quality

NYSUT Communications - May 17, 2011

Diane Ravitch, education historian, author and New York University professor, received an honorary degree from Siena College during its commencement May 15. Here are her remarks:

When I ask students and faculty at Siena why they came here, they all gave me the same answer, the same word: community. This is a community where people care about one another. That caring and that sense of responsibility are the heart of the Siena experience.

There are many challenges facing our society, and none more critical than in education. In higher education, we see the rise of for-profit universities, which invest their funds not in scholarships but in profits for their investors, and in online universities, which by their nature deny the importance of community. When learning online, there is no human interaction, no discussion, no give and take with fellow students and a knowledgeable professor. And no one knows who answered the questions with a click or who wrote the essay that was submitted.

In K-12 education, there is no challenge more critical than the misguided attempt to judge teachers by the test scores of their students. This is wrong on many counts. Test scores reflect student work, not teacher quality. If students don't come to school regularly, their scores will suffer, but only the teacher will be held accountable. If

Regent Tilles: Why we shouldn’t link teacher evaluation to test scores

Unfortunately, the regulations - which link 20-40 percent of a teacher's evaluation on the results of student standardized test scores - don't have some of the elements necessary to make them either fair or effective...

An Urban Teacher's Education: Stupid Education Policy Stresses Me Out

An Urban Teacher's Education: Stupid Education Policy Stresses Me Out

Stupid Education Policy Stresses Me Out

by The Reflective Educator

Yesterday I went to the neurologist after two long weeks of visits to different doctors. I had an EKG, an EEG, some inner-ear/balance test, blood tests, an echocardiogram, that thing where they put stickers on your chest and make you run on the treadmill, and an MRI. All of this to determine what was causing my adrenaline rushes, chest pains, headaches, and vertigo. The MRI found a larger than average cyst on my Pineal gland, which, if you didn't know, is pretty much right in the center of your brain. But the neurologist, who was pretty much my last stop in my tour of Upper East Side specialists, told me confidently that my symptoms had nothing to do with anything but stress.

"Are you sure? I don't feel stressed out? Isn't there some surgery you could do and make this all go away?"

"Nope," he said. "What you need is a vacation and a girlfriend."

Great.

I guess I wasn't being totally honest. I do feel a little stressed out, but not stressed out to the degree that I would expect to having such serious physical conditions (the kind that are beginning to seriously interfere with my life).

School District Needs Breastfeeding Education « MomsRising Blog

School District Needs Breastfeeding Education « MomsRising Blog

School District Needs Breastfeeding Education

by Ashley Boyd

Honestly, I had to read the article three times before I really believed it, though the opening line is pretty clear: “Breast feeding is now officially banned in Dougherty County schools.” Excuse me?

The recent report from a local TV station in Albany, Georgia explained that the Dougherty County School Board unanimously approved a policy that prohibits breast feeding by employees and students on school property. The action came after a teacher had requested permission to breast feed her infant during her non-instructional break times.

Ironically, the school board used the option to pump breast milk as a reason why breastfeeding was not required.

“As a board, and as a superintendent of schools, we looked at this and said they can expel milk.

There will be no Senate vote on Pensions. Will Madigan and Cross have their way? « Fred Klonsky's blog

There will be no Senate vote on Pensions. Will Madigan and Cross have their way? « Fred Klonsky's blog

There will be no Senate vote on Pensions. Will Madigan and Cross have their way?

by Fred Klonsky

I printed the response my teacher colleague who teaches down the hall got from her state senator Ed Maloney when she wrote him about messing with our TRS.

He promised not to vote to cut benefits.

When we were in Springfield, we asked Park Ridge Senator Dan Kotowski the same thing. He gave us pretty much the same answer.

But it is hard to imagine a more disingenuous response, even from a bunch of politicians.

Nick Nosek writes me:

He wrote a nice response and on then did the opposite as on March 30th he voted in favor of SB512. Please go to the legislature’s website enter SB512. Click on the third reading link and you will see how your elected officials voted. SB512 was a shell bill that said nothing. It is now in the pension committee of the house. An amendment adding the third tier is likely to be added on

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Should You Have Command of "American" English to Graduate?

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Should You Have Command of "American" English to Graduate?

Should You Have Command of "American" English to Graduate?

by Melissa Westbrook

From New London, Connecticut comes a story that the district there will make " knowing American English" a requirement to graduate from their high schools by 2015.

From MSNBC:

"We know from colleges and employers, that our students are going to have to know how to read and write in English if they are going be successful," Supt. Nicholas Fischer, told the Day.

That is not to say that the school is instituting an "English only" program in which where students are told they can only speak English in the schools. New London's program is a literacy program in which students will be required to achieve a certain level of English reading and writing literacy by the 10th grade.

The school system will offer several ways for students to fulfill their English language requirement and they have until the age of 21 to meet it. "

I'm thinking some of this is driven by district costs but they may very well feel kids are not being served by graduating without English-language competency. (And, if you call an elevator a "lift", I guess you get dinged for

Schools Matter: Tennessee Farms Out Poorest Students to Corporate Chain Gang Charterrs

Schools Matter: Tennessee Farms Out Poorest Students to Corporate Chain Gang Charters

Tennessee Farms Out Poorest Students to Corporate Chain Gang Charters

by Jim Horn

Yes Prep is another KIPP knock-off for middle and high schoolers with the same total compliance organizational scheme and the same demeaning lockdown discipline policies designed for the urban poor. Ten hour days with white missionary TFAers learning to teach on poor people's children, constant surveillance, and poor facilities that are lacking in libraries, art rooms, gyms, etc. The remaining urban public schools outside of Mr. Barbic' control will function as dumping grounds or schools of last resort for those who are pushed out or become Nos of the Yes Preps. From HuffPo:

By accepting a job as superintendent of a new Tennessee school district, Chris Barbic has positioned himself as the face of an up-and-coming governance model for reforming failing schools.


The state of Tennessee tapped Barbic, a successful charter school organizer, to run a new special “Achievement School District” that encompasses five of the state’s worst-performing schools, officials announced this week. The arrangement puts the state in control of these schools and allows the state to contract the schools out to charter school networks or form partnerships with

Heroic First Book Marketplace Can't Do It All

by skrashen

Sent to the NY Times, May 17David Bornstein's "A book in every home, and then some" (May 16) documents the fact that children of poverty have little access to books, and that providing access results in increased reading and better reading achievement. As Bornstein points out, studies show that improved access to books can eliminate the gap between in reading achievement between children from high and low income families.
Organizations such as First Book Marketplace are heroically trying to improve the situation by providing books to children of poverty at low cost. But at the same time, public and school library funding is being cut, and the US Dept of Education has shown little interest in supporting libraries, despite the pious pronouncements of politicians about the importance of reading.
First Book and similar organizations dedicated to providing access to books, such as Colorado's Book Trust, can't do it all: Over 20% of American children live in poverty.
Stephen Krashen
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/a-book-in-every-home-and-then-some/?smid=tw-nytimesopinion&seid=auto






Supporting school and public libraries would cost a fraction of what the Dept 

The fuzzy math of teacher layoffs - SNOG - May 17, 2011 - Blogs - Sacramento News & Review

The fuzzy math of teacher layoffs - SNOG - May 17, 2011 - Blogs - Sacramento News & Review

The fuzzy math of teacher layoffs

The California state budget has absolutelywhipsawed public employees for the past two years, none more so than teachers.

For example, the Sacramento City Unified School District has been facing a $22 million budget gap—culminating in nearly400 pink slips for teachers and counselors this year.

This was always assumed to be the worst case budget. But with Governor Jerry Brown’s May revised budget–and right on the heels of some very well-attendeddemonstrations by teachers at the State Capitol–it looks like the worst case may not come to pass.

Thanks to better-than-projected revenue flowing in after tax day, the Governor’s budget restores about $3 billion in education funds.

That’s a long way from having a budget deal, but that could mean a bit of a reprieve for local schools. Members of the SCUSD Board of Education will

Robert Reich (The Great Switch by the Super Rich)

Robert Reich (The Great Switch by the Super Rich)

The Great Switch by the Super Rich

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Forty years ago, wealthy Americans financed the U.S. government mainly through their tax payments. Today wealthy Americans finance the government mainly by lending it money. While foreigners own most of our national debt, over 40 percent is owned by Americans – mostly the very wealthy.

This great switch by the super rich – from paying the government taxes to lending the government money — has gone almost unnoticed. But it’s critical for understanding the budget predicament we’re now in. And for getting out of it.

Over that four decades, tax rates on the very rich have plummeted. Between the end of World War II and 1980, the top tax bracket remained over 70 percent — and even after deductions and credits was well over 50 percent. Now it’s 36 percent. As recently as the late 1980s, the capital gains rate was 35 percent. Now it’s 15 percent.

Not only are rates lower now, but loopholes are bigger. 18,000 households earning more than a half-million dollars last year paid no income taxes at all. In recent years, according to the IRS, the richest 400 Americans

Jersey Jazzman: NY Post to Newark's Parents: STFU

Jersey Jazzman: NY Post to Newark's Parents: STFU

NJ's Worst Pundit Bob "Hoover" Ingle is just appalled when a politician intentionally uses bad grammar to create some light humor: Sen. Nick Sacco is one of your grandfathered-in triple-dipper pols — state senator, mayor of North Bergen and an assistant superintendent ...

NY Post to Newark's Parents: STFU Rupert Murdoch is "appalled" that you Newark parents are questioning your betters: Why isn't it surprising that Cami Anderson, the newly appointed superintendent of Newark's failing school system, got a Cathie Black-style reception -- boos and ...

solidaridad: Dr. Stephen Krashen featured on People Make a Difference

solidaridad: Dr. Stephen Krashen featured on People Make a Difference

Dr. Stephen Krashen featured on People Make a Difference

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

People Make a Difference with Danny Brassell 03/14/2011 interviewing the distinguished Dr. Stephen Krashen. A real education expert discusses real solutions for education and places blame for struggling schools squarely were it belongs, on poverty.



[click here if you can't view this video]

Stephen Krashen, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California

NYC Educator: Teacher Evaluations: Don't Judge the Mayor by Test Scores, but Teachers Are Fair Game

NYC Educator: Teacher Evaluations: Don't Judge the Mayor by Test Scores, but Teachers Are Fair Game

Teacher Evaluations: Don't Judge the Mayor by Test Scores, but Teachers Are Fair Game

by Miss Eyre

Hey, don't blame the Mayor or the Schools Chancellor when state test scores plummet, like they did in 2010. Standards are tougher now than they used to be. If the kids can't cut the new mustard, the thinking goes, it can't possibly be our fault, or so the thinking goes.

But it sure could be the teachers' fault. The Board of Regents is so sure of that that they're willing to stake up to 40 percent of teachers' total evaluation scores in a forthcoming new evaluation system on state test scores. So if these test scores that certainly aren't reliable enough for judging the Mayor's or the Schools Chancellor's performance happen to plummet, well, too bad. Or if you're teaching a group of students that are already pretty well-equipped so that there's not much room for improvement, maybe you should have thought of that before accepting your job.

I’m not booking room at the Hyatt in Chicago no matter what the IEA says. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I’m not booking room at the Hyatt in Chicago no matter what the IEA says. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I’m not booking room at the Hyatt in Chicago no matter what the IEA says.

by Fred Klonsky

The hotel workers union has been involved in a labor dispute with the Pritzker owned Hyatt Hotel chain for several years.

Long-time readers of this blog know that I engaged the IEA leadership in a debate for over a year to pull the state convention out of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Which they finally did this past March after a personal appeal by the Unite Here Local 1 president.

At that RA in March, the delegates voted for a New Business Item calling for an IEA boycott of all Pritzker owned properties.

As an aside. The Pritzkers are huge local funders of Stand for Children, which put tons of effort into getting SB7, the phony Illinois school reform bill passed.

The NEA RA is scheduled for Chicago in July.

Where is the Illinois delegation scheduled to