Thanks to the reader who sent the link to this editorial in the Philadelpia Inquirer.
The editorial warns that charter schools are no panacea; that many of them are no better than the public schools they replace; that opening charters does nothing for the vast majority left behind in public schools for which there is no plan at all.
Opening escape hatches that skim off the most motivated kids solves no problems.
Most children will be left behind. Remember them?
And it will cost a bankrupt district $139 million to open new charters.
Where is this heading? Has anyone thought this through?
The Boston Consulting Group has not.
What’s the end game?
The editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer is asking good questions.
Does the School Reform Commission have any answers?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This reminds me of the suave, good looking guy that comes along and you fall for him because on the surface he looks so great. However, after a while the shine fades and you should have picked the steady, reliable guy….slow and steady wins the race.
They will tire of children and schools when they realize how much work it is and when eventually held to the same standards….interest will wane when they can’t make a quick buck and their failures are eventually exposed, so they will fade away. The question is how long will that take?
LikeLike
Another Bloomberg DOE scam:
School insiders say giving out credits like candy can boost a high school’s rating and cut down on teaching costs, but only at the expense of hundreds of students.
“We all think it’s a joke. A lot of people are hurt by it,” said one school source. “The kids don’t waste their time working during the semester; they just assume they’ll get the credits in summer school.”
At Bronx Health Sciences HS in Baychester, students said they collected credits equivalent to a half school year’s worth of work in just 10 days, which works out to 7.5 hours of class time per course.
Yet state and city guidelines call for six times as much instruction (45 hours total) over the summer to earn a single full credit.
Principal Miriam Rivas did not respond to multiple e-mails seeking comment, but told the Department of Education that students had mistakenly believed they were earning full credit when they were getting only partial credit — roughly 0.2 credits per class.
Her claim came despite students confirming that they’ve seen full credits appear on their transcripts for summer courses each year.
The DOE is looking into the matter, officials said.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/schools_give_credit_where_it_not_UMV14avMzOhjVxNgiTEn4I#ixzz21S186r9Y
LikeLike
This huge moral default is a resounding indictment of Nutter. What good has it done Newark to have a state run school system for twenty years? Nutter is just another charter whore neolib punk, although the bigger question is where is the federal money? Even Nixon knew that just because the IRS collects it doesn’t mean it should always stay with the federal government. Our children need some of that gelt now, while inner ring DeeCee shines like Rome while the provinces starve.
LikeLike
What good has two years of a state run school system done Newark? Nutter is just another neo lib pawn. The real question is where’s the federal money? Even Nixon realized that just because the IRS collects it doesn’t mean it should all stay with the federal government. Our kids need the gelt now. Inner ring DeeCee shines like Rome, while the provinces starve.
LikeLike
Without warning, Delaware Valley High School – a for-profit education firm whose records were recently subpoenaed by a federal grand jury – has laid off all 50 teaching and administrative employees at the four alternative schools it operates in the region.
Staffers said lawyer David T. Shulick, whose company operates the schools, owes them each thousands of dollars for work during the 2011-12 academic year. They had been expecting back pay last week but got furlough notices instead.
LikeLike
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120723_Education_firm_linked_to_Fattah_s_son_lays_off_all_its_teachers__administrators.html
More to come?
LikeLike
I find the worst thing happening is the use of the world “reform.” What the corporations are doing to our school system is not improvement. It is nothing more than destruction for the sake of profit. Eventually these people and their organizations will become bored and move on leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces.
LikeLike