Remember Central Falls? That is the small district in Rhode Island where the superintendent Frances Gallo decided to fire every staff member at the high school in spring 2010 because of low test scores. Gallo got the support of State Commissioner Deborah Gist, and the firings got the approval of Arne Duncan, who was supported by President Obama. The Rhode Island firing squad was hailed as heroes, even though none of the fired staff had been individually evaluated. The firings set the stage for the national conversation about “reform,” and reflected Duncan’s belief that the first step in reform was to fire everyone and start over. That fall, “Waiting for Superman” was released with a mammoth publicity campaign about bad teachers, failing public schools, and amazing charter schools.
Central Falls has now become a magnet for charter schools. Superintendent Gallo welcomes them, as does the mayor. One-third of the students in the district are enrolled in charters, and more are on the way.
“A nonprofit organization backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is spending $7.5 million to buy and renovate a former Catholic school for the Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy.
“The group, Civic Builders, of New York City, has purchased the former St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Academy on Lonsdale Avenue. According to Civic Builders, the sale will provide a permanent home for BVP’s middle school while helping the Holy Spirit Parish pay for improvements to its buildings….
“Roughly a third of Central Falls’ students attend a charter school. But rather than view charters as a threat, Central Falls Supt. Frances Gallo welcomes the diversity of choices they offer.
“Blackstone Valley Prep has proven itself as a model of academic success,” she said. “Don’t we want what’s best for our kids?”
The success of charter schools such as BVP is linked to a longer school day and setting high expectations, Gallo said, noting that homework is mandatory.
“It’s not because our teachers can’t compete,” Gallo said.
“These kids get only one shot at an education,” said Central Falls Mayor James Diossa. “It’s important that if parents feel strongly about a school, they can go. We welcome the almost 400 students, teachers and staff to Central Falls, more than 100 of whom call our community home.”
Not everyone was happy to see charters picking off students and resources from their public schools.
“Because of its size, Blackstone Valley Prep has come under criticism from some surrounding districts, which fear the charters will siphon limited resources from district-run public schools.
“We have way too many charters serving the Central Falls area,” said Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers Union. “But we have a mayor and superintendent who have supported charter schools. That sends the wrong message to parents.”
Sessums said Gallo and Diossa “should be advocating for our public schools.”
“The nonprofit also has access to New Market Tax Credits, a program set up by the IRS to encourage development in needy communities such as Central Falls.” These tax credits enable investors to double their money in seven years.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
http://www.plunderbund.com/2014/09/13/ohios-public-schools-outperform-charters-again/
“The Ohio Department of Education released the state test results Friday, so we feel obliged to tell you that once again, Ohio’s public school districts significantly outperformed their charter school “competitors”. We’re growing tired of beating this dead horse…”
This is true every year but it simply doesn’t matter. It’s not even an apples to apples comparison because charter schools may pull from a much larger student group than public schools, charters can pull from more affluent public districts, and they STILL underperform public schools.
Yet every headline in this state will bash public schools along with every lawmaker in this droning, incessant lock-step narrative that is now set in stone, and there will be more charter schools next year, and fewer public schools.
We will regret this, and there won’t be any way to undo it once it’s done. They aren’t going to recreate the public systems they deliberately dismantled. That will never happen. Once it’s done, it’s done. The whole ed reform theory was supposedly grounded in test scores, yet the test scores don’t matter either! Public schools cannot win this game. They were designated the losers at the outset. There can be no other explanation for this.
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Disheartening. I hope the people of Central Falls organize and find candidates to run and win against the mayor. Demand the ouster of the school superintendent as well.
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Not to be a cynic, but if I were a mayor I’d want to relinquish public schools to contractors too. It’s hard to run a public school system and the mayor would be held accountable for results. If it’s fragmented into a group of contractors, the public won’t have one unified voice and there will be a lot less accountability for political actors.
The mayor provided “choices”, right? Don’t like your public school? Find a charter! Done and done. “Vote with your feet” as the US Secretary of Education likes to say. Markets are wonderfully convenient for political actors. It’s market forces! They’re not responsible!
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx “We own the building and lease it back to the school at below-market rates,” Bellafiore [spokesman for Civic Builders] said.
Wonder how long the ‘below-market-value’ arrangement will last? Or if it’s even true (since neither contractor nor school can be audited).
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It depends on what you mean by “below market” (thanks Bill Clinton). I think it means just a little less than I will charge in a few years, I want the scam to get started without too much attention.
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According to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/atgnmtc.pdf
“In essence, an investor in the NMTC program gets 39 cents in tax credits during the
seven-year credit period for every dollar invested and designated as a QEI.”
and “only a for-profit CDE is permitted to provide the NMTC to its investors. Thus, if a non-profit CDE receives an allocation of NMTC, it must “sub-allocate” its NMTC allocation to one or more for-profit CDEs.”
I am not sure, but perhaps in addition to the nearly 40% return they may also be able to claim depreciation on the building.
Perhaps these credits are paid for through the phase-out of itemized deductions and exemptions.
Who owns the building after the first seven years? Can they then raise the rent?
Though this type of tax credit could be a revitalization tool for local restaurants, manufacturing, and small businesses, does school construction (to reduce the tax burden on distant investors who are already typically paying less for their income than a middle class wage earner) improve the business climate in an impoverished area?
Here’s what it looks like to me.
Dollars will be siphoned away from local districts to support the charter.
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Also in Rhode Island, the Providence Student Union is competing against five other organizations for a $100,000 grant. None of the others are student run. Here’s an email I received:
“Christine,
I’m the director of the Providence Student Union in Rhode Island. We work to build student power through democratic youth organizing and to win youth-led campaigns for school- and system-wide education improvements. Just last year, we’ve successfully banned high-stakes testing in Rhode Island, halted the closing of a local high school, and expanded access to bus passes for thousands of Providence high schoolers.
I’m writing because we need your help. PSU has a chance to win $100,000 grant. Only thing they have to do is be the top vote getter in a contest that has only 6 contestants.
Will you help me support these students by clicking through to vote?
–zack mezera.
PS: If people want to learn more about PSU, they can visit our website.”
To vote: http://www.nmefoundation.org/grants/larry-o-toole-award.aspx
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“Blackstone Valley Prep has proven itself as a model of academic success,” she said. “Don’t we want what’s best for our kids?”
The success of charter schools such as BVP is linked to a longer school day and setting high expectations, Gallo said, noting that homework is mandatory.
Gallo ought to fire herself. If she thinks BVP is a model of academic success, she should be forcing all schools to go that way. But she hasn’t.
After all, isn’t it what’s best for the kids?
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