Blogger “Education Matters” reports the news from the charter industry in Florida:
According to the FLDOE the total is 308. Think about that, 308 charter schools have taken public money and then closed leaving families and communities in a lurch. Untold millions of dollars wasted and thousands and thousands of lives interrupted.
Then according to a June 26th article in the Tampa Times of the 657 remaining one in six of them either are running a debt or “had material weaknesses with their internal financial controls.”
“Education Matters” (also jaxkidsmatter) concludes: the charter cure is worse than the disease.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
NCLB = RTTT = TT$AR
Reformers will say that is how the system is supposed to work. Poor performing schools are to be close. They don’t seem to consider that families and communities will indeed be left in a lurch.
Well, they won’t be left in the lurch because they have the public system as a backup so there’s no political risk.
If they didn’t have the public system as a backup these schools would have to be planned and then regulated.
You’ll notice what’s missing in that equation, right? The effects of choice “churn” on existing public schools. Those schools aren’t included in charter/voucher analysis. Good for those schools, bad for those schools? No one knows or cares, apparently.
It amazes me. Most of the time “charter school studies” don’t mention public schools at all. They’re invisible.
DIANE……I posted your article on FB and here is a response I got back that you might want to address.
Dianna Cook DesJardins Read this little blurb- unfortunately I have had a problem with Diane Ravitch’s info being incomplete. She did a blog during our school board elections about how our district had passed a “resolution”
about over testing. Used by the incumbents to help themselves get reelected. The resolution was a joke and useless – and similar to another one they had passed in another election cycle – that info was not included in her piece – so I view this blog through skeptical eyes. 308 out of how many – 308 since when? why did they close? Looking at a link on the education matters site (had to follow links ) – some of these schools closed in the 90’s. Thousands of kids where? What districts? Why are they in the lurch? Do they not have a public school in their district? We have failing schools all over the country – some of them should be closed. Are there going to be bad charter schools – yes – parent’s responsibility to know what, when, and where about their child’s education – and have a back up plan – for ANY school – public, private, charter. Public schools are not a gift from the federal governement – we pay for them and they waste it. Look at the top heavy admin in so many district large districts across the country – waste – Charter schools are another choice -and I am glad to have it. This site is obviously oppposed to charters – POV on homeschooling?
brackenkaren: what strikes me most about the comment you post is that the person thinks that parading willful ignorance as studied fact makes for any kind of an argument.
In other words, the furious insistence on refusing to do one’s homework. It’s not just that unbridled skepticism leads nowhere—if one starts with the attitude that any questioning or assertions besides one’s own are a joke, then it is easy to dismiss legitimate concerns. Plus it excuses the skeptic from having to exercise “grit” and “determination” in spending the time and effort to do the research necessary to answer the questions raised.
Just for myself, I find the “back up plan” line of reasoning just another variation of the “don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good.” Tired empty line of attack. *Note: since when did those pushing eduproducts like charters include in their sales pitches the disclaimer that “we could close at any time due to mismanagement and malfeasance so have a back up plan for your child/children because you cannot rely on us to provide the educational miracles we promise”?
Ah, and the following: “Public schools are not a gift from the federal governement – we pay for them and they waste it.” [Typo in original.] How can you ever satisfy someone who displays such a stern adherence to the “soft bigotry of low expectations” of public schools?
And what, in the name of logic, reason, facts, and decency, does any of the above have to with home schooling?
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, haters gotta hate…
No need to play their game.
😎
There are something like 650 charter schools active an the list of failures is since 1998 though most have failed in the last few years. The answer to our problems and I agree we have them is not to replace them with something worse which is what you seem to be advocating.
Here in the Sunshine State we are ground zero for stupid! Tallahassee should be held accountable for all the waste, fraud and disruption caused by their bad choices. They have allowed the taxpayers of the state to underwrite their folly. Please in the future, let’s shake up the state and stop voting for pinheads and crooks.
New charter schools motto: Rape. Rip. Run. The Hedge Fund managers dream comes true. How a small well-organized minority set out to destroy American education. It’s not only Florida, but Florida attracted the worst of the bottom-feeders – or is that Arizona? No one wants to count the numbers of children damaged – possibly for life. Hey, maybe it’s not okay to drop kids on their heads!
“… How a small well-organized minority set out to destroy American education.It’s not only Florida, but Florida attracted the worst of the bottom-feeders – or is that Arizona?…”
Or perhaps Ohio. Ohio has to be high on the list for electing corrupted state officials who allow billionaire boys to Rape, Rip, and Run away with public money that is supposed to be spent to educate children.
Jeb wonders why he is lagging in the beauty contest for POTUS. People are waking up to the damage he and his ilk have done.
Add this to the billions lost in Iraq and Afghanistan by Bush. America could have rebuilt schools, bridges, roads and fund pensions.
The problem with charter schools in Florida is complex. I will use myself as an example. My husband and I bought a house in a nice middle class area that was assigned to a quite good public elementary, junior high and high school. Two years after our son was born the city redistricted us to its worst public elementary school and junior high in the county but allowed us to keep the good high school.
The reaction was immediate. Some parents moved to follow the good lower school, Others signed their kid up for the local virtual school and those that could afford it sent thier children to religious schools. Which left the rest of us in a bind. Our son is social and would not do well with a virtual school. We tried a religious school for a year and it did not work out at all. Moving is not an option since we would have to make about $10,000 in repairs and upgrades to make market value on the house. We do not have that kind of money. In addition the value of our house has gone down since the school system redistricted us, so we would have to make the maximum in our area in order to afford a house with the schools that were taken from us.
We felt our only option was a charter school. I have seen a few other kids in the neighborhood wearing the uniforms for various charter schools in the area. We chose a stem charter school with a great reputation. It is located close to our house, has small classes, and 100% of the graduates go to college. If we had the option we would have sent our son to the local public school. However I am not sending him to a school known for its gangs and violence. I don’t know how common our situation is, but what alternative do we have but go to a charter school?