Today, Eva Moskowitz closed her Sucess Academy charter schools for the morning to lead a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio’s intention to declare a moratorium on charter co-location and to charge charters rent for the use of public space, as the law stipulates. The very fact that Moskowitz has closed her schools to take the children, staff, and parents on a political march is proof that her schools are not public schools. If they were, they would not be permitted to close for a political march that uses the children. And any principal who did it would be fired.
This is a statement released by advocates for public education:
For immediate release: Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Arthur Z. Schwartz, Advocates for Justice: aschwartz@advocatesny.com; 917- 923-8136
Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters: leonie@classsizematters.org ; 917-435-9329
Sam Pirozollo, NYC Parents Union: sam@nycparentsunion.org ; 917-533-3437
Today, Eva Moskowitz and other charter school operators have closed their schools and are holding a political rally of students, parents and teachers, to try to pressure Bill de Blasio, Democratic candidate and frontrunner for Mayor, to go back on his campaign pledge that if elected, he will call for a moratorium on charter co-locations and charge charter schools rent. What she and others in the charter lobby have ignored is that while Section 2853(4)(c) of the NY State Education Law allows districts to lease public school “buildings and grounds” to charters and to “contract for the operation and maintenance thereof,” it also requires that “any such contract shall provide such services or facilities at cost.”
Arthur Schwartz, attorney with Advocates for Justice, who first filed a lawsuit on behalf of public school and charter school parents on this issue in 2011, says: “New York State Education Law requires that when a district provides space or services to a charter school it shall do so at cost. Yet the DOE provides free space and services for more than 100 co-located charter schools. Using figures from the NYC Independent Budget Office, we estimate that the space and services these charter schools currently receive is worth more than $100 million a year. A large chunk of that unfair subsidy goes to Success charters, which operates 22 schools across New York City, all of them co-located, with plans for seven more schools in 2014. Yet Success had an operating surplus of more than $23 million in 2012, and probably enjoys an even larger surplus this year.”
“We have now been instructed by Justice Barbara Jaffe to take the issue to the State Education Commissioner. But in light of a recent ruling in a related case, we are asking the judge to reconsider. If she sends us to the Commissioner again we will appeal, in time to face off with a new Mayor. Success Charter Schools, which has organized the upcoming rally, is trying to exert political muscle. It will not succeed, in the public arena or in the courts. That $100 million will go back to our public schools, starved for resources, and hopefully allow them to reduce class sizes, which are now the largest in 15 years.”
“This ‘protest march’ is yet another example of separate and unequal treatment afforded to charters, especially Eva Moskowitz’s Success Charters,” says Noah Gotbaum, a public school parent of three and a Vice President of Community Education Council District 3 on the Upper West Side and Harlem. “Success claims its schools are public, but what other public school could close their doors and demand that its parents and students attend a political rally? What other public school could sue the State Comptroller to avoid the transparency of a state audit? And what other public school could use our tax dollars to pay its CEO almost $500,000 per year?”
As Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters points out, “A 2011 study from the Independent Budget Office showed that co-located charters in NYC receive more in public dollars per student than regular public schools, and city spending on charters is expected to exceed one billion dollars next year. A report released by the charter lobby attempts to contradict the IBO analysis but has little credibility, especially since its author, Harry Wilson, is personally close to many in the charter school movement , according to Whitney Tilson, prominent board member of Democrats for Education Reform. Indeed, Wilson promised not to “harass” charters by auditing their books when he ran for NY State Comptroller in 2010.”
Karen Sprowal, whose own son was pushed out of a Success charter in Kindergarten, observes: “Over the last few months we have learned of even more cases of troubling disciplinary and push-out policies in charter schools, in a series of investigative reports from Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News. There needs to be an immediate moratorium on expanding charters as well as co-locations, so that these abusive and potentially illegal practices can be carefully examined by authorities before any new charters are allowed to open in New York City.”
Mona Davids, President, NYC Parents Union, said: “As a former charter parent who spearheaded the charter reforms in 2010, I’m disgusted that Eva Moskowitz and other charter leaders are using parents and students as political pawns while continuing to violate the law by not serving their fair share of students with disabilities and English Language Learners, by not establishing Parent Associations and by refusing to be audited by the State Comptroller. This march is an abuse of power by Eva Moskowitz and other charter leaders because no public school would be allowed to shut down for an entire morning to have their students engage in political activities.”
According to Sam Pirozzolo, president of the Community Education Council in District 31, Staten Island: “I find it ironic that Ms. Moskowitz, a leader who has been given the task of eliminating the achievement gap has done little more than increase the divide between the haves and have nots. It is unfortunate that Eva Moskowitz has chosen to intimidate mayoral candidates by closing her schools for a day. She is hiding behind parents and children for the sake of profits and a paycheck. Since their inception, charter schools have been creaming only the best students from our public schools.”
###
Where can we go to file complaints about Moskowitz and her latest shenanigans?
Calling Joe Nathan, calling….
But he did 4 good things for traditional public schools and “public” charters already today!
And besides some traditional public school employee did something wrong once.
So there.
😉
Sadly, that march pales in comparison to the hordes of charter teachers and students that regularly descend on Albany to lobby their cause. Bussed in, matching tee-shirts, clever chants and signs. A lesson in civics? I think not. Using my tax dollars to weaken my public schools.
I have been to legislative hearings where the hearing room was packed with charter students and parents in matching T-shirts bussed in for the occasion. Their cause: Close more public schools. Give us their space. My question: They already attend a charter school. They can only attend one school at a time. Why do the students want more? Because the charter chain wants more.
“Because the charter chain wants more.”
Exactly!
HUFFPOSTLIVE gave this ‘march’ full court press this morning…. Of course HP/HPL have been drifting rightward since their merger with AOL, even this morning giving right wing economist NIALL FERGUSON a platform to lambaste ad hominem Nobel laureate PAUL KRUGMAN in one of the most ridiculous columns I’ve ever read…..
You still read Huff post????
I’d like to know why public school parents are ordered to “cooperate” with reforms that are destroying our schools but charter parents are considered advocates when they’re marching to compete for funding.
Why are charter parents permitted and even encouraged to battle public schools for funding (as here) but when public schools parents do the same thing we’re dismissed and ignored or told we’re divisive and hurting children?
Where is Arne Duncan with a stern lecture on how this charter school operator isn’t working in a cooperative manner? Where are the calls for her to “relinquish” her schools and submit to the new mayor’s plans?
Reformers set up an adversarial, competitive system and then they ordered one side not to compete.
Not working out great for existing public schools or the children who attend them. They’re losing. Unsurprisingly.
How do you think this Hunger Games approach to publicly-funded schools ends up? Who will be the big losers here when adults battle for funding between two and three different school systems?
I think I can guess: “the children”.
If it continues as it has it will be one very specific group of children, those children who attend existing public schools who will lose, but eventually it will also harm the children in charters and publicly-funded private schools.
Good going, reformers. Nice work.
“The very fact that Moskowitz has closed her schools to take the children, staff, and parents on a political march is proof that her schools are not public schools. If they were, they would not be permitted to close for a political march that uses the children. And any principal who did it would be fired.”
Amen.
Moskowitz pays herself at least $475,000 a year:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/charters-send-kids-march-blaz-plan-article-1.1465408
They have the audacity to proclaim: “Success Academy is a network of free, public elementary schools founded on a simple premise: Every child can succeed at an exceptionally high level.” Free? Subsidized by whom? Taking money away from real public schools? Paying an obscene salary to whom? Nasty and unctuous. A slap to public school students and educators.
“And what other public school could use our tax dollars to pay its CEO almost $500,000 per year?” Indeed, what public school even has a CEO???!!! When I stopped a parent who had marched with her kid today to inquire what was the issue(s) as far as she was concerned, she simply repeated Ms. Moskowitz’s party line. And when I then asked this same parent whether she was aware that charter schools are, in many respects, like corporations, and whether she knew exactly who was running her school, she just shrugged and pleaded ignorance—she had absolutely no idea! Yikes!!! I guess ignorance IS bliss.
And when public school students demonstrate, the media blames the teachers’ union. This on the other hand will get a pass.
When your local CBS news channel starts the report that this protest “puts de Blasio is a tough spot”, you know the report will be biased. Marsha Kramer instead reported the PR handed to her by Eva trying to make it about the “poor”. And it was no coincidence that Joe Lhota was there as well.
de Blasio had no qualms standing up to business leaders, and I have no doubt he will do the same here. Charter operators are cashing in big. In fact the de Blasio camp issued a statement that supports public education.
Marsha tried to make it appear that this protest will cause him votes. That may be true, but when you counter it by the more than thousands of public school parents who are supporting him, the numbers pale.
I just find it interesting that the media is doing all it can to bring de Blasio’s poll numbers down. The more they try, the more they fail. It’s about time public schools were given the support they deserve. Parents still have choice, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of public schools.
Here’s NACSA’s perspective.
Dear DARCIE,
Thousands of New York City charter school parents are marching today across the Brooklyn Bridge, worried about the fate of charter schools with the departure of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After their march, they should send to the mayoral candidates copies of today’s international report showing American adults lagging behind their peers in developed countries in literacy, math, and technology skills.
While the average performance of the United States trailed most countries, two sets of numbers within the numbers are most troubling:
Younger Americans performed worse than older Americans. Americans age 55 to 65 did better than their international counterparts. Those age 45 to 54 were roughly equal to international averages. Those who were younger did worse.
Poorly educated Americans performed worse than poorly educated peers around the world. While Americans with advanced college degrees performed similarly to their peers abroad, Americans who did not finish high school had significantly worse skills than their international peers.
These two sets of data together paint a worrisome picture for our nation’s future. They also underscore the urgency of NACSA’s One Million Lives campaign to expand outstanding educational options for our nation’s children.
Yes, let’s march today and then work even harder tomorrow to create more excellent education opportunities for America’s youth.
You can find the report, produced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, here.
NACSA’s One Million Lives campaign, launched in November 2012, aims to create better schools for one million children by opening 2,000 excellent charter schools and closing 1,000 failing charter schools. #1millionlives
Subscribe to One Million Lives updates.
National Association of Charter School Authorizers | 105 W. Adams Street, Suite 3500 | Chicago, IL 60603-6253
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Don’t let your kid sit next to any of that poorly integrated riffraff! Join our march for exclusivity today!
I read this report and think, “Jeez, we have GOT to have another war on poverty.” The reformers say, “Jeez, we must close schools, fire teachers, and give more tests.”
“Younger Americans performed worse than older Americans. Americans age 55 to 65 did better than their international counterparts. Those age 45 to 54 were roughly equal to international averages. Those who were younger did worse.”
What a load!
Did not some current NYT best seller debunk this old tale?
😉
Anthony Cody, 10-7-13, has a posting on his blog entitled “Charter School Defenders Insist They are ‘Private Entities’.”
Turns out that charters are not ‘public’ when it comes to oversight and accountability. Argued in a court of law, no less.
Link: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/10/charter_defenders_insist_they_.html
Repeat after me: student rights, worker rights and parents rights are different in charter schools and public schools, but charter schools are just like public schools.
Rheeally!
😦
Eva is evil, plain and simple.
Eva’s no martyr.
She’s all about charter.
Eva is greedy.
Her motives are seedy.
Yes indeedy.
Moskowitz
is full of wits
her corporate backers
are a pack of twits.
but beware
all ye civic minded
your taxes are grinded
into Eva’s machine
and children’s education
is more than obscene.
She should be sued
Let’s place her on the docket
for all the public funds
she’s siphoned
into her pocket.
Eva’s schools
are a private affair
not public, not a trust
and they must
be
anything
but fair . . . .
TAGO!
What is TAGO?
That’s a good one!
Pensaba que era algo en espanol, pero no tuve razon . .
Gracias.
A proposito, no crees nunca en examenes por lo general? Todos medidas son malas? Todo tipos? Estoy confundido . . . . Disculpeme mi espanol incorrecto.
Roberto,
So that all may follow along, I’ll respond in English.
One thing that is imperative is to use words/language in such a fashion so that all can understand and all the subtleties that arise from using “A” word instead of “B” or “C” word can be distinguised. For me I use the term assessment as a general catch all for any type of evaluation/determination/estimation or check of student comprehension/capabilities/mastery etc. . . . Testing is just one, hopefully veryminor, component of assessment.
It’s not that I’m always against all testing as I do have the students complete a vocabulary quiz and a chapter test for each chapter. What I emphasize with the students is that those are just a quick written assessment of an admittedly small part of the materials/activities covered. I also use the test as a review in the overall teaching and learning process because in Spanish one has to be able to “access” all prior learning to continue on learning.
The more I think this through the more complex “assessing” becomes including all the unspoken curriculum/practices that we hardly ever acknowledge such as “teacher as diagnostician” or “testing as means of assessing” or of all that we teach, which parts are given the status of a “formal” assessment through testing, rubrics or other written and/or verbal means. Who has determined that teachers have to “assess”? Or maybe better in a Foucauldian sense, “How have these practices become so embedded in educational discourse that to question them is to be seen as being “crazy”, as being “out in left field”?
But when it comes to educational standards (and I have no problem with having a curriculum to go by but curriculum is completely different to me than “standards” which imply measurement), standardized testing and the grading of students, I see them as abominable, pernious, etc. . . educational malpractices.
Your Spanish is fine. But yes all “medidsa” (measurements) are “malas” (if you’re referring to tests being the measure) for the simple fact that it is logically impossible to quantify the qualities of the teaching and learning process.
I hope that helps to unconfundido you!
Eight hours of P/T conferences today, off tomorrow and I’m tired from staying up and celebrating the Cards win last night! Bring on the “Big Bucks Dodgers”!!
P/T = Parent Teacher
ohhh… http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/12/10/michigan-schools-closed-due-to-mass-teacher-sick-out/
Dear Diane!
This is intended not as a response to a previous blog, but as a new story. It is a child’s first days in kindergarten told through the eyes of his grandmother, a well-known Early Childhood professional in this area. His grandmother is Blakely Bundy , Community Partnerships Interest Forum facilitator for NAEYC , the National Association for the Education of Young Children. It was in Defending the Early Years . and forwarded to me by a colleague who knows both me and Blakely .
Thank you!
Marie Kielty