Jonathan Pelto reminds us of the national publicity about a homeless woman who was arrested and fined for the crime of enrolling her child in the Norwalk public schools when she was not a resident of that city in Connecticut.
Now Governor Dannell Malloy has nominated a woman to the state board of education even though she was in the same dispute with the Windsor schools a decade ago. But it is okay for her because she is not an indigent woman. In fact, she is the Chief Operations Officer for FUSE/Jumoke, the charter school management company that operates Jumoke Academy.
That makes a big difference.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Be sure to read the comments. Comer herself responds.
Yes, she appeared for a bit and then when readers/citizens, the ones she would serve, asked some questions, she disappeared. Hmmm?
The homeless mother charged with stealing an education by illegally enrolling her 6-year-old son in a Norwalk school was arrested Friday on numerous drug charges, according to her attorney, Darnell Crosland.
Police said Tanya McDowell, 33, was caught in front of Columbus Magnet School on Chestnut Street in the middle of a drug transaction
The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the keynote address during a rally Tuesday in front of Brookside Elementary School where McDowell enrolled her child for several months this past year
Looks like she also has served on a local school board, if the comment below is accurate: This comment was posted in response to Mr. Pelto’s blog. Seems like she has extensive experience that could be useful to a state board of education.
In some states, such as Minnesota, families are allowed to send their children to school districts in which they do not live, if that district has room. It’s not a crime here, as it is in some states, to enroll your youngster to attend school in a different district. Here’s the comment that another person made about Ms. Comer.
Since most of the people commenting on this post don’t know Andrea, I want to tell you who she is. We know firsthand the kids she has serviced – the kids, their parents, the home visits to families who has lost their children. We watched as she chaired the North Hartford Education Task Force to ensure the needs of children in our community were served.
As a Hartford school board member, we found in her a powerful voice for the under served. We don’t care about what kind of school she works for because the 8,000 parents we have engaged and communicated with don’t care. They want a good education and they want an advocate. Andrea has been that for us – we are grateful that she has made untold sacrifices for her community and the Voices of Women of Color applaud Governor Malloy for recognizing her ability to think critically and act passionately. Maybe Mr. Pelto lives too far away in Storrs to know how Andrea has served Black and Brown children in urban communities in countless ways. Last week, Reggie Hales, publisher of the Inquiring News wrote an op-ed about mainstream media’s lack of coverage of the positives that take place in our communities. Maybe if the coverage was more accurate, you would know how much Andrea has done. Don’t try to simplify an intelligent, thoughtful, and committed woman because you have an ax to grind with charters.
Janice Flemming, CEO, Voices of Women of Color
Joe,
You accidentally omitted some of the responses back to Ms. Flemming and then she never appeared again:
I am an Ct educator of color and a parent with a school age child. I am also a law student. My M.A. degree specialized in constitutional and intellectual history. I am passionate about civil rights and the future of our kids and our country.
I am sure Ms. Comer is a good person who believes she has her community at interest.
I believe serving with a charter organization is not in our community’s best interest.
The reasons are many but suffice it to say that when charter schools start springing up in the ‘burbs then I will take notice.
Until then, this “reform” is the new Jim Crow and remember an old verse: My people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge.
I forgot to add this is from brutus 2011
Yup, people within communities of color, just as people who are “white”, do not always agree. The Ct. person of color who questioned charters commented about charters established in suburbs.
Charters have been created in suburbs in a number of states. Some parents are not satisfied with large traditional junior or senior high schools found in many suburban districts. Some students do far better in small, more focused schools. I’ll be writing about this soon and will post the column when it’s available.
Some suburban district educators have recognized that families need options as well. Glad that some suburban boards recognize that there is no one best kind of school for all students or educators.
Joe,
I just want to make sure you didn’t cherry pick your comments off Jon’s blog. Have a great day.
One more you must have missed. Jonathan to Andrea:
Andrea, it is not meant as a personal attack. You have been nominated by the Governor of the State of Connecticut to serve on the State Board of Education – the very body that sets public education policy in the State of Connecticut. You serve as the Chief Operations Officer for a charter school management company that receives millions in public taxpayer support and has major expansion plans.
In addition, you served for two years as an employee of Achievement First, the company co-founded by the Commissioner of Education.
And, as a parent seeking to do what was best for your daughter you chose to keep your child enrolled in the Windsor School System despite the fact that you knew it violated the law.
Raising those three issues is not a personal attack. It is a statement of fact and those three facts directly relate to your potential service on the State Board of Education.
Some people would argue those factors would make you a better candidate for the position, others would argue the opposite.
A personal attack would be about a topic not related to education that seeks to impugn your character.
Your relationship with charter schools, especially Jumoke is a fair issue to discuss.
The issue of enrolling children in a different town than you live in is an extremely important topic that has and will come before the State Board. I have no doubt that you were doing what you felt was in the best interest of your child.
My point is that your experience is relevant to the job you have been nominated for…both because of the direct relevance to serving on the State Board and the issues raised during the Norwalk situation in 2011
I might very well have taken the same exact action you chose to take but I would have expected and wanted to explain to the Legislative Committee and to the public how that decision impacts or does not impact your potential service on the State Board of Education.
Bronx to Janice:
Well Ms. Flemming, as charters are scrutinized and it becomes very evident additional layers of segregation are being created by them with far lower percentages of ESL, special ed., and children living below the poverty line amongst their student population, perhaps we can refer to Andrea Comer as serving ” SOME… of the Black and Brown children in urban communities in countless ways” which seem to make certain individuals very rich.
Last one, JMC to Janice:
Ms. Flemming, perhaps there is a legimate concern on the part of supporters of Public Education in CT that a candidate for the State Board of Education who is an important figure in the charter school movement – a movement which has a major interest in expansion and financial gain – should serve in a capacity with other State BOE members who have a similar interest in the the expansion of charter schools and financial gain.
P.S. Our commissioner is a charter and a charter management founder. He is not a teacher. As a matter of fact, he never taught…I think he dabbled as a for a whiler once a long, long time ago.