The Erik Wemple blog in the Washington Post wrote about the infamous Success Academy video, which has gone viral. Wemple interviewed the Metro Editor of the New York Times, Wendell Jamieson. Jamieson rejected Eva’s claims of media bias.
Wendell Jamieson, the New York Times’s Metro editor, isn’t in a ground-yielding mood. “I reject Eva Moskowitz’s criticism of our coverage,” he says in a chat with the Erik Wemple Blog. In October, Taylor stung Success with a story about a “Got to Go” list of students one of the schools. According to the story, “school leaders and network staff members explicitly talked about suspending students or calling parents into frequent meetings as ways to force parents to fall in line or prompt them to withdraw their children.”
Nor does the school’s talk of anomalies and bad days impress Jamieson. “It seems impossible to me that the one time she did it there was a video camera there,” he says. Speaking of the students assembled in the classroom, Jamieson continued, “You can see a sort of in their body language an accepting that this is the way they are treated.” Even if it is an exception: “These are first graders. You can’t have a bad day like that with a 1st grader — I don’t care,” says the Metro editor. As the father of an elementary school girl, the Erik Wemple Blog endorses the no-abusive-eruptions-ever school of pedagogy.
Wemple writes about the power of a 1:16 minute video:
Video rules accountability journalism in a way that all the interviews in the world with “current and former staffers” will never manage to. Success Academy defenders may take issue with the emphases of the New York Times story, its presentation, its thrust, its language, whatever — but they cannot refute that videotape. Nor did they try: Moskowitz made clear at the press conference that neither she nor Dial condoned the teacher’s classroom behavior. Though thus busted, she and other Success proponents found plenty of reasons to bash the outlet. Asked about the academy’s record of media refutation, Jamieson responds, “They make it a bigger story every time they do it.”
We read recently that Success Academy is represented by the super-duper PR firm, Mercury LLP. It is hard to believe that Mercury advised her to escalate her battle with the nation’s most powerful newspaper. As the old axiom goes, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Poor Eva, she’ll have to do a stint at a soup kitchen now.
I believe that the phrase “counseling out” should be replaced with ‘targeting’ Because that is what it all adds up to: the GtG list, executed though teachers’ abusive behavior and admin requiring frequent meetings with parents, plus demerits for very minor concerns. They target kids and make them miserable so parents will pull them.
Very cruel.
“Counseling out” is how private and parochial schools avoid kids they don’t want to teach.
We read recently that Success Academy is represented by the super-duper PR firm, Mercury LLP. It is hard to believe that Mercury advised her to escalate her battle with the nation’s most powerful newspaper. As the old axiom goes, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
I’d guess Eva thinks she is her own best PR agent. In any case, her actions are NOT great PR for her PR firm: Mercury LLP
It’s almost operatic – perhaps she could play the Queen of the Night.
After watching her ‘performances’ at the recent press conferences, and in the words of another queen, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Hamlet Act 3, scene 2
Now that the initial news of the video itself is passing, is it a good time to start addressing the shocking realization that Ms. Dial was not certified to teach in New York State? Isn’t that a real a takeaway here? (As she hails from Indiana, it may be a good time to point out that no one named Charlotte Dial is certified to teach in that state either). That, to me, is shocking as I always just presumed charter teachers possessed the same professional qualifications as public school teachers. It raises three questions that I don’t think have ever been addressed (and probably should):
1) Are all charter school teachers not required to be licensed to teach?
2) Given the assertions from charters that they ‘perform’ better than public schools, what does this lack of certification from among their teaching corps say about the allegations of the need to improve teacher prep programs on every college campus across the country? If uncertified teachers are doing ‘so well’ then why invest so much money in teacher prep programs?
3) What it that say about charter schools that they do not even require their teachers to be certified? How does that mesh the claim of high standards and high achievement?
I think these are fair questions.
Charter school teachers are not required to hold a teaching certificate in Florida.
#1 In most states teacher certification laws don’t apply to charter and/or private schools.
#2 The vast majority of CHARTERS DO NOT PERFORM BETTER than community public schools, even with their skimming, counseling out, attrition rates, fewer and less costly IEP students and fewer ELLs.
#3 It doesn’t mesh with those claims because those claims are specious deceptive self-serving quarter truths at best.
Another inequity, if public school teachers are required to be certified and highly qualified, those privateers who claim charters are public schools(erroneously) are violating state and local laws. Many charter school teachers are uncertified, esp amg the TFA ranks.
New York State allows charter schools to hire up to 30% of non-certified individuals to teach. 100% of teachers in New York State PUBLIC schools must be certified.
Bleah, please excuse my confusing explanation. I should have written something more like this: “In New York State, 30% of a charter school’s teaching staff can be non-certified individuals”.
Paula,
The FTC has an easy-to-use complaint form to report false advertising.
In Ohio, the description of charter schools as “public”, implying the assets are owned by taxpayers, warrants review as false labeling.
Today’s Lessons…
1. Abusive teaching behavior has been documented multiple times at Eva Moskowitz’s “Success Academy” charter school network. Ms. Moskowitz never denies these abuses happened—she simply attacks the newspaper or journalist who reported the abuses.
2. The PR firm handling Ms. Moskowitz’s damage control here is none other than Mercury LLP—the same spin doctors retained by Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder to handle the damage control for Mr. Snyder’s bungling of the Detroit Public Schools and Flint water poisoning scandals.
3. When caught abusing or poisoning children, hire Mercury LLP. They are the masters at deflecting, obstructing and distracting. Notice how we are only now starting to hear about lead poisoning in other cities and states? This is Mercury’s strategy to make it seem like Flint isn’t the only place this stuff is happening, and Success Academy isn’t the only school where teachers raise their voices.
How about instead of governors and charter school leaders spending millions on slick PR firms to cover their tracks, they spend that money on the children in their charge?
The whole point of charters is to bust the lazy teacher’s union. This is why they get so much money from the billionaire boys. Having certified teachers would defeat their union busting purpose. But, who cares about the children – right?
“This is Mercury’s strategy to make it seem like Flint isn’t the only place this stuff is happening, and Success Academy isn’t the only school where teachers raise their voices.”
Quite correct, mrobsmsu!
It is a variation of the excuse/reason I used to use as a boy/teen when my mom wouldn’t agree to letting me go somewhere to do some cockamamie scheme. “But everyone is going/is doing it”! I’d plead. Mom’s response “And if everyone is jumping off a cliff are you going to jump off also? Not while I’m alive!”
Immature adults spouting immature reasons/excuses is what it is.
Spend the money on the children and certified, highly qualified teachers. Simple isn’t it.
Duane, your mom and mine must have gone to the same mom training academy. My mother used the same “cliff” line. I am beginning to think it is a tribal memory passed down from generation to generation. I mean, how many of us midwesterners had cliffs around the corner?
In my many years of teaching under the harassment of a test-score-based school reform I have seen many meltdowns, and yet, even with the public admission of school abuse or reform failure, close to zero reformers held accountable…for anything at all.
Charter promoters are going to have to resolve the contradiction between “standardization” and “scaleability” and their insistence that anything bad that happens is a one-off.
Moskowitz boasts that she has a system- the same things are taught on the same day the same way. Obviously this helps with turnover- they can burn employees out and just replace as needed (locating in NYC makes that a heck of a lot easier) but it’s also the reason she says she’s successful. The reason people think this draconian approach is systemic is because that’s 99% of her sales pitch- replicable- she can produce these test scores over and over, anywhere.
I also think she’d get a lot more leeway with the claim that this was error if she didn’t spend a good part of her time making sweeping pronouncements about how public schools are inferior to charter schools.
Maybe conclusive, reductive framing of really complex systems that involve human beings was unwise. Those tend to boomerang.
Chiara: this and the above comment are spot on.
More than anyone else, SHE is fueling the fire of criticism.
And in the spirit of “methinks thou dost protest too much”—
So just what else is she trying to hide?
😎
And your last sentence KTA is the most important.
Do we have to wait for her “I’m not a crook!” moment?
Duane, I’d much, much, much rather a “you won’t have Eva Moskowitz to kick around anymore” moment.
Thanks to the assistant teacher who sent the video to the NY Times. She’s the hero.
I’m certain there’s more to come. Let the case workers employed by the NY Department of Child Welfare investigate all of Eva’s classrooms for emotional abuse of young children in their care by the “no excuses” teachers and principals.
http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/cps/
“The abuse or maltreatment of children is against the law. Victims need an effective child protective service to prevent them from suffering further injury and impairment.”
Where is the parental outrage. If this was filmed and disseminated in a public school, the vulture attorneys would be circling her schools. If parents don’t care that their kids are being abused, something that could hamper the kids whole school experience, they need to just keep drinking the Kool aid.
The parents are vetted as much, if not more so, than the kids at the Moskowitz sweatshops and Skinner Boxes. They are interviewed prior to the child’s admission and sign agreements relating to their children’s overwork, regimentation and training. They are obliged to drink the Kool-Aid, and at least a few do it happily.
I also think the students who aren’t doing well aren’t treated with the same “how can we make you miserable enough to leave” attitude. So if you aren’t a parent of one of “those” kids, you aren’t aware of it. In my opinion, that’s why the video was so incriminating. It’s not just the child who was punished for her wrong answer — it was all the children sitting there watching it happen and thinking it was perfectly fine. Many parents watched and said, “I don’t want my child learning those values.”
Where is Campbell Brown? She only concerns herself with the alleged misbehavior of public school teachers. Doesn’t her husband Dan Senor sit on the Success Academy Board?
Abigail Shure: good questions.
Or is this a case of honor among thieves?
😡
I wonder, did anyone notice that the kids are wearing ties, First graders – sitting over a carpet – wearing ties. An insult to the English – Students wearing a tie studying over a carpet; and an insult to the Americans – Kids studying over the carpet wearing a tie.
Am I the only one to notice this mockery, or has it become a common practice?
Kids wearing ties, is a costume, which conjures up colonialism, and that appeals to the richest 1%, who fund the education non-profits.
A former TFA state chair, described as her favorite illustrative work of the “philanthropy” (where she currently works), the purchase of blazers and ties for 3rd graders. She went on to say, a member of their community came to read to the children, wearing “his OWN suit”.
In a democracy, the richest lose their control.
I wan’t thinking about rich or poor. I just feel uncomfortable with kids this young wearing a tie. It ain’t a fashion statement, nor are they supposed to face a job interview any time soon.
Moreover, carpet learning is about letting kids exercise choice – how and where they want to sit and learn. If I am allowed to make a choice, the first thing I would do is remove the tie. You can’t implement two opposite pedagogies at the same time – and not create trouble. I am not supporting the teacher’s behaviour – however, anybody would lose her go in such an arrangement. This is a messed up class(room) arrangement.
The basic “creaming” strategy that Eva employs is this:
STEP 1) Make a list of suspension-worthy infractions that is ridiculously long, arbitrary and all-inclusive, a list that includes minor, trivial transgressions as “not being in a ready-to-learn” position.
(In the COMMENT’s section to the John Merrow article on the SUCCESS ACADEMY infractions list, a military veteran wrote in and said,
“I was a military officer, 1967-69 and we did not experience disciplinary processes as asinine as these. In my book manuscript, I produce a memorandum of the policies of Democracy Prep (charter chain), which are even worse.
“Utterly shameful.” )
STEP 2) Identify various undesirable students who are in undesirable categories … in other words, kids who won’t score as high on standardized tests, no matter how many hundreds of hours of mindless test prep to which they are subjected, or kids who are expensive to educate, if mandatory guidelines for Special Ed. are followed—
a) undesirable because they’re Special Ed, i.e. have innate disabilities that require expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive intervention — mandated smaller class sized; teachers with advanced certification; regular I.E.P meetings with an I.E.P. team composed of teacher, social worker, adminstrator, psychologists, etc.
b) undesirable because they come from challenging backgrounds — homeless kids, foster care, etc. — and have no parents that can fulfill Success Academy’s demanding parental involvement;
c) undesirable act out through no fault of their own — an innate inability to sit still in the same position for long periods of time due to ADD, ADHID, etc.
d) undesirable because they are brand new to English, and there’s no one in the home who speaks English.
… the list goes. Indeed, the SUCCESS ACADEMY HANDBOOK (BELOW) says:
“Please keep in mind that the list of unacceptable conduct and consequences is not exhaustive. Teachers and staff can supplement this Code of Conduct with their own rules for classes and events.”
STEP 3) Use the suspension-worthy infractions list created earlier — that ridiculously long and arbitrary list — so that you can easily target and justify the “counseling out” …
“It’s in our handbook right here, the one we gave you when your child first started here. That’s why we suspended your child. Both you and your child knew the rules. If you don’t like it, leave… and go to one of the public schools that are being starved of funding to fund this school.”
Again, the handbook even says the list is “not exhaustive”, and a teacher, on her own, can arbitrarily add to it as she wishes.
4) Keep suspending the until the parent just gives up in frustration, and removes the child from the school:
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John Merrow actually got a copy of the Success Academy’s suspension-worthy list, and wrote about it here:
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JOHN MERROW: “Below you will find, verbatim, the disciplinary code for Success Academies, taken from the Success Academies handbook, which is distributed to all parents and perhaps others. I discussed aspects of the rule book in my interview with Success Academies founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz.
(If you missed the NewsHour segment when it was broadcast on October 12th, you can find it here:
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When you read this list, keep in mind that this list currently applies to Kindergartners — 5 & 6 year-olds (!!!) , or as young as 4 (!!!), if the child has a late birthday.)
Should Eva’s Pre-K program be approved and funded — even though Eva refuses sign any agreement that would include any outside oversight of the school or of lists like the one below — this will then apply to Pre-K students — 4 & 5 year-olds (!!!), or as young as 3 (!!!), if the child has a late birthday.
Without further ado, here’s the list: (thanks to John Merrow)
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“1. DISCIPLINE:
“1. VIOLATIONS
“Anytime a scholar violates school or classroom rules or policies, it is considered a behavior infraction. Behavior infractions include, but are not limited to:
— Non-compliance with the school dress code
— Non-compliance with the school attendance policy
— Non-compliance with the code of conduct
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“1. VIOLENCE and AGGRESSION
“We must ensure that our scholars are safe at all times in our schools. Success Academy has a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to aggressive or violent conduct that puts the safety of our scholars or staff in jeopardy.
“In the classroom, we teach our scholars strategies to peacefully handle disagreements. We teach them that violence is never the solution. Scholars who engage in aggressive or violent conduct will be suspended. Scholars who hit because “he hit me first” will also be suspended.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“1. SUSPENSIONS and EXPULSION
“Scholars who repeatedly disregard directions, compromise the safety of others, or violate our policies may be suspended.
“A short-term suspension refers to the removal of a scholar from the school for disciplinary reasons for a period of five days or fewer. A long-term suspension refers to the removal of a scholar for disciplinary reasons for a period of more than five days. Expulsion refers to the permanent removal of scholar from school for disciplinary reasons.
“If your scholar is suspended, a member of the school leadership team will call to inform you. You will receive a suspension letter at pick up or within 24 hours. You should make arrangements with the school for mandatory alternative instruction for your scholar during his or her suspension.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“1. DISCIPLINARY POLICY and CODE OF CONDUCT
“In order to establish and maintain school culture, the following Code of Conduct contains a list of possible infractions and potential consequences. Please keep in mind that the list of unacceptable conduct and consequences is not exhaustive. Teachers and staff can supplement this Code of Conduct with their own rules for classes and events.
“In addition, violations of the Code of Conduct and resulting consequences are subject to the discretion of the Principal and may be adjusted accordingly. A scholar’s prior conduct and his or her disciplinary history may be factors in determining the appropriate consequence for an infraction.
“The Code of Conduct will be enforced at all times. Scholars must adhere to the Code of Conduct when at school on school grounds, participating in a school sponsored activity, and walking to or from, waiting for, or riding on public transportation to and from school or a school-sponsored activity. Serious misconduct outside of the school is considered a school disciplinary offense when the misconduct or the scholar’s continued presence at the school has or would have a significant detrimental effect on the school and/or has created or would create a risk of substantial disruption to the work of the school.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“CODE OF CONDUCT:
“LEVEL 1 INFRACTIONS
— Slouching / failing to be in “Ready to Succeed” position (SPORT or Magic 5 position)
— Calling out an answer
— Chewing gum or bringing candy to school
— Minor disrespectful behavior
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“RANGE OF SCHOOL RESPONSES, INTERVENTIONS, & CONSEQUENCES for LEVEL 1 INFRACTIONS
— Warning/reprimand by school staff
— Scholar is reminded of appropriate behavior and task at hand
— Scholar is reminded of what he/she is like at his/her best and of past good behavior
— Scholar is reminded of past poor decisions and provided with productive alternatives/choices that should be made
— Scholar is given a non-verbal warning
— Scholar is given a verbal warning
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
” LEVEL 2 INFRACTIONS
— Committing a Level 1 Infraction after intervention
— Verbally or physically dishonoring a fellow scholar (which includes, but is not limited to, teasing, name calling, being rude, mocking, etc.)
— Verbally or physically dishonoring faculty, staff, or other Success Academy community members (which includes, but is not limited to, being rude, disobeying instructions, etc.)
— Using school equipment (e.g. computers, faxes, phones) without permission
— Bringing electronic equipment to school of any kind without school authorization (which includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, Game Boys, iPods, headphones, pagers, radios, etc.)
— Unauthorized possession or use of a cell phone
— Failing to follow directions
— Failing to complete work
— Being off-task
— Arriving late to school/class and/or violating school attendance policy
— Violating the Dress Code
— Being unprepared for class (which includes, but is not limited to, failing to bring a pencil, not completing homework, etc.)
— Wearing clothing or other items that are unsafe or disruptive to the educational process
— Failure to obtain signatures for required assignments
— Disrupting class or educational process in any way at any time (which includes, but is not limited to, making excessive noise in a classroom, failing to participate, refusing to work with partners, etc.)
— Leaving the recess area during recess without permission from an authorized adult
— Being in an off-limits location without permission
— Failing to be in one’s assigned place on school premises
— Getting out of one’s seat without permission at any point during the school day
— Going to the bathroom without permission or at undesignated times
— Making noise in the hallways, in the auditorium, or any general building space without permission
— Inappropriate noise levels in lunchroom, gym, and during arrival and dismissal
— Engaging in unsafe behavior, failing to use recess equipment properly, or failing to follow directions during recess
— Excluding classmates in games/activities during recess
— Littering on school grounds
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“RANGE OF SCHOOL RESPONSES, INTERVENTIONS, & CONSEQUENCES for LEVEL 2 INFRACTIONS
— Scholar is reminded of appropriate behavior and task at hand
— Scholar is given a verbal warning
— Removal from classroom for ”Time Out” outside of the classroom (administrator’s office)
— Student-Teacher-Parent conference
— Student-Parent-Administrator Conference
— In-school disciplinary action (which includes, but is not limited to, exclusion from recess, communal lunch, enrichment activities, sports, school events, trips, or activities)
— Verbal or written apology to community
— In-school suspension (possibly immediate) in a buddy classroom
— Out-of-school suspension (possibly immediate)
— Other consequences/responses deemed appropriate by school (including, but not limited to, extended suspension for a fixed period or expulsion)
– – – – – – – – – – – –
“LEVEL 3 INFRACTIONS:
— Committing a Level 2 Infraction after intervention
— Dishonoring a fellow scholar using profanity, racial slurs, or any foul or discriminatory language
— Dishonoring a faculty, staff, or other Success Academy community member using profanity, racial slurs, or any foul/discriminatory language
— Disobeying or defying school staff or any school authority/personnel
— Using profane, obscene, lewd, abusive, or discriminatory language or gestures in any context (which includes, but is not limited to, slurs based upon race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability)
— Posting or distributing inappropriate materials (which includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized materials, defamatory or libelous materials, or threatening materials)
— Violating the school’s Technology and Social Media Acceptable Use Policy (which includes, but is not limited to, using the Internet for purposes not related to school/educational purposes or which result in security/privacy violations)
— Forgery of any kind
— Lying or providing false or misleading information to school personnel
— Engaging in any academic dishonesty (which includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, copying another’s work, or colluding/fraudulent collaboration without expressed permission from a school authority)
— Tampering with school records or school documents/materials by any method
— Falsely activating a fire alarm or other disaster alarm
— Making threats of any kind
— Claiming to possess a weapon
— Misusing other people’s property
— Vandalizing school property or property belonging to staff, scholars, or others (which includes, but is not limited to, writing on desks, writing on school books, damaging property, etc.)
— Stealing or knowingly possessing property belonging to another person without proper authorization
— Smoking
— Gambling
— Throwing any objects
— Engaging in inappropriate or unwanted physical contact
— Fighting or engaging in physically aggressive behavior of any kind (which includes, but is not limited to, play fighting, horsing around, shoving, pushing, or any unwanted or aggressive physical contact)
— Leaving class, school-related activity, or school premises without school authorization
— Repeatedly failing to attend class, school, or any school activity or event and/or repeatedly violating school attendance policy
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“RANGE OF SCHOOL RESPONSES, INTERVENTIONS, & CONSEQUENCES for LEVEL 3 INFRACTIONS
— Sent to principal/school administrator
— Loss of classroom/school privileges
— Additional assignments which require scholar to reflect on behavior in writing or orally (depending on grade)
— Call home to parents/guardians
— Removal from classroom or “Time Out” outside of the classroom (administrator’s office)
— Student-Parent-Administrator Conference
— In-School disciplinary action (which includes, but is not limited to, exclusion from recess, communal lunch, enrichment activities, sports, school events, trips, or activities)
— Verbal or written apology to community
— Staying after school or coming in on Saturdays
— In-school suspension (possibly immediate) in a buddy classroom
— Out-of-school suspension (possibly immediate)
— Other consequences/responses deemed appropriate by school (including, but not limited to, extended suspension for a fixed period)
— Expulsion
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“LEVEL 4 INFRACTIONS
— Committing a Level 3 Infraction after intervention
— Repeated in-school and/or out-of-school suspensions
— Exhibiting blatant and repeated disrespect for school code, policies, community, or culture
— Engaging in gang-related behavior (which includes, but is not limited to, wearing gang apparel, making gestures, or signs)
— Destroying or attempting to destroy school property
— Engaging in intimidation, bullying, harassment, coercion, or extortion or threatening violence, injury, or harm to others (empty or real) or stalking or seeking to coerce
— Engaging in behavior that creates a substantial risk of or results in injury/assault against any member of the school community
— Engaging in sexual, racial, or any other type of harassment
— Possessing, transferring, or using drugs, alcohol, or controlled substances
— Participating in an incident of group violence
— Possessing a weapon
— Charged with or convicted of a felony
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“RANGE OF SCHOOL RESPONSES, INTERVENTIONS, & CONSEQUENCES for LEVEL 4 INFRACTIONS
— Sent to principal/school administrator
— Loss of classroom/school privileges
— Additional assignments that require scholar to reflect on behavior in writing or orally (depending on grade)
— Call home to parents/guardians
— Removal from classroom or “Time Out” outside of the classroom (administrator’s office)
— Student-Parent-Administrator Conference
— In-school disciplinary action (which includes, but is not limited to, exclusion from recess, communal lunch, enrichment activities, sports, school events, trips, or activities)
— Verbal or written apology to community
— Staying after school or coming in on Saturdays
— In-school suspension (possibly immediate) in a buddy classroom
— Out-of-school suspension (possibly immediate)
— Other consequences/responses deemed appropriate by school (including, but not — limited to, extended suspension for a fixed period)
— Expulsion
————————————————————————————–
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The PDF of the relevant pages is here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5mXKGS4xL6iVnlZMzIyWi05eHc/view
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