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Monday, July 7, 2014

At National Charter Conference, the Numbers Add Up | EduShyster

At National Charter Conference, the Numbers Add Up | EduShyster:



At National Charter Conference, the Numbers Add Up





Except for the ones that don’t…
numbers*The numbers add up.* That was the theme of this year’sNational Alliance for Public Charter Schools conference in Las Vegas, an event that drew me like a moth to a high-performing flame. The numbers that are adding up, of course, refer to the growing number of charter schools, their students, and their scores (their scores!), not to mention the swelling ranks of advocates, politicians, actors, TV news personalities, pollsters and [insert unlikely charter supporter here] that have leaped aboard the charter express, now headed direct to achievementville. But what of the lesser numbers—the ones that are, well, less than prime—and hence, don’t quite add up?  Was there anyone who would speak for them? 
numbers 2
793 
If there was one thing that I learned during my time in Las Vegas it’s that Vegas is an apocalyptic hellholecharter schools are public schools.This fact was impressed upon me constantly by virtually everyone I talked to. And yet even as I attempted merely to avoid catching fire in the 112 degree (dry???) heat, a heated debate was taking place some2,326 miles away over North Carolina’s Senate bill 793, which would have kept secret how much charter school employees in the state are paid. In fact, if my math is correct, the At National Charter Conference, the Numbers Add Up | EduShyster: