Labor lawyer comments on the Rocketship post:
“Rocketship operates charters that enroll students via application. Therefore, it necessarily follows that the Rocketship will enroll a different mix of students than the low-SES-area neighborhood public schools. In low-SES areas, many parents are too unconcerned/dysfunctional to learn about the charter, to successfully complete the application process, and to provide daily transportation to the charter. The neighborhood public school will enroll all of the children of the unconcerned/dysfunctional parents as well as some of the children of he concerned/functional parents (who decide not to enroll in Rocketship). Rocketship, by contrast, will enroll only children of the concerned/functional parents.
“For this reason, it is comparing apples to oranges to compare Rocketship test scores with neighborhood public school test scores.
“If Rocketship thinks it has discovered the secret to effectively educating low-SES-area students, let Rocketship take over a low-SES-area neighborhood school — enrolling all the neighborhood school children and only the neighborhood school children — and let’s see how Rocketship’s model works when Rocketship has the same apples as the neighborhood public school.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Use the “Correction Factor” to compare charter and regular public schools. In order to actually compare them you must factor in the differences such as charter schools not having to follow much ed code and local regulations, cherry picking parents and students, not dealing with behavioral problems, ESL and special ed. When this is “Factored In” charter schools do not do well at all. Then you have to read the latest DOE OIG report on the total lack of accountability for charter schools in Florida, Arizona and California. This report is DOE-OIG/A02L0002. Sure has blown back those charter schools hustlers when presented to them. At the California State Board of Educations last meeting their staff made a powerpoint presentation on how wonderful charter schools are and how accountable they are. Then I read the most damning part of the report and the place went quiet. Their staff had just lied to them. The board admitted they already had the report.
LikeLike
We have authorized Rocketship to open 8 charters in Memphis and another 8 charters in Nashville. When they open, they will replace low-performing neighborhood schools and serve ALL of the students zoned to that school.
LikeLike
Chris,
Will the Rocketship charters in Nashville teach art and music? Apparently, those important subjects are not available in The Rocketship charters in San Jose.
Diane
LikeLike
Are all the finances transparent so parents and other taxpayers can see where the money is going?
LikeLike
Great question, jerseybill. How much do the administrators get? Does that amount compare to what the neighborhood principals earn?
LikeLike
Charter schools do not have to open up their books to anyone only their tax records are public, This is how Steve Barr from Green Dot was caught with his hand in the cookie jar for $60,000. This is another fallacy about charter schools. How can you hold something accountable if you cannot review the books? It is impossible. Go read the latest DOE OIG report on the total lack of accountability of charter schools in Florida, Arizona and California at every level up to the top of the state. This report is Sept. 2012, DOE-OIG/A01L0002. I am willing to bet that your state has the same problems with charter schools as Florida, Arizona and California do.
LikeLike
Well, that will be an interesting challenge for Rocketship. Will there be funding in excess of the local tax dollars?
LikeLike
This strikes me as implausible at best. Rocketship is out to prove that its business model is effective, and the Achievement School District has four years left to move the bottom 25% of students up to the top 5%, a project that thus far has failed to achieve “take off.” In other words, there is a strong impetus on both ends to get creative with enrollment. Fortunately there is an increasingly emboldened group of teachers, parents and community leaders keeping an eye on things in Tennessee, and I hope they’ll be monitoring student enrollment at the new charters. As for your question, Diane, it seems unlikely that an arts component will be added given that Rocketship seeks to demonstrate that test scores can be increased on the cheap. That’s a goal that the Achievement School District shares given that they’re consuming an *astronomical* amount of $$$ on administrative salaries. The superintendent alone earns more than the governor of Tennessee. Just sayin…
LikeLike
How about opening just ONE, and from a pool of interested parents (providing there are enough to do this) pick students totally and openly randomly (and openly verified), making sure that those picked have the same exact student make-up as the school being replaced. If there is enough interest to fill 8 new schools in the area, surely there are more than enough students to create such a school population. Then, prove to the world how great and successful the Rocketship Program is!
LikeLike
Rarely have we met parents who were unconcerned about their children’s education. It is, however, easy for recent immigrants and limited English populations to buy into the charter curriculum (no art, no music and lots of time used for online learning). After all, what’s so bad about higher test scores?
LikeLike
Yes — this is a good point. One also has to watch out for divide and conquer tactics. There are low-income parents who understandably see charters as a viable alternative to overcrowded public schools. The long-term effects of these charters are not evident, which is why grassroots education is so important.
GEM in New York City has some great parent organizers who make sure their community is aware of what trouble charters can bring. But it takes a lot of organizing.
LikeLike
I happened to see the segment on PBS about the Rocketship charters that Diane wrote about. I would not send any children to that school. The administrator even had to admit that the computer learning labs (which the children were subjected to every day) would probably not be tried after this year because they were disappointed that they couldn’t readily use the data from them. The camera panned over a very large room with small children sitting in rows of computer cubicles, each working on their own individualized tasks. The school hired a handful of hourly workers to monitor the children. Some of the children were mindlessly pressing keys or slouched over in boredom. Who knows what was really going on in their minds. It was not an inspiring picture. I think the percentage of TFA teachers mentioned was 75%. The program interviewed two of the teachers, each of whom claimed: Why would they need to be in a union? They felt that their jobs were secure because they were doing a good job, and they were earning more money than they would in a public school. The children in the school were ethnically diverse; the teaching staff shown were all white and mostly female. One good aspect of the school is their engagement of parents. Several parents were interviewed and were happy that they were able to spend time in their children’s classes. This is one step in the right direction, but for the most part, the school’s practices are troubling to me.
LikeLike
I saw the piece too and noticed that the school does not provide music and gym (or art-I can’t remember which). I was blown away by the fact that someone would want to send their child to this school. They showed a bunch of kids in brightly painted cubicles. The narrator noted that many of the kids were disengaged and others just guessing when answering questions. I noticed that the people monitoring the large group of children were not teachers. I was disgusted when they interviewed the teacher who said she was paid well -better than a public school. I thought- well, of course you are because they have shorted the staff of positions in the arts, etc. and have low paid babysitters watching kids peck away at computers. I was also disgusted when they interviewed the CEO. I wondered how much money he was making off of the children while actually short-changing them of a well developed curriculum including the arts. I heard a parent say, “If a parent wants their child to learn music or art they can send them to a private class.” Huh? How many low-income parents can afford this and why would a parent tolerate a CEO making a profit off of their child while short-changing their education. I can’t believe Obama and Duncan have alllowed this nonsense to flourish. This is a crime. It looked to me like most of the children were monorities.
LikeLike
Most (all?) charter schools have school choice. It is not parent choice or student choice. What happens if a student enrolled in a charter school becomes a vandal or creates other problems? Back to the public school. Thus the public schools will have a bigger concentration of students that require more resources. Again, comparing apples to oranges.
LikeLike
The only way you make it apples to apples is with the “Correction Factor.” This allows for comparison purposes the fact that charter schools deal with very little ed code or local rules and regulations. They also cherry pick parents and students, do not deal with behavioral problems, ESL and special education. When this is factored in charter schools do not do so well.
Now, for the lack of accountability we need to all read the latest DOE OIG report on the total lack of accountability of charter schools in Florida, Arizona and California. This report is DOE-OIG/A02L0002. It shows that there is no accountability of oversight at any level in these states all the way to the top. This report is September 2012 so it is real recent and the information is good now.
Why isn’t anyone else talking about this? Is anyone else paying attention? It is time to wake up.
LikeLike
I think you will find there are a number of charter schools that do accept special education students and there are some that are somewhat specializing in special education.
LikeLike
It would be valuable to find lists of charters which do accept special education and English language learners versus those who don’t. Do you have that information?
LikeLike
Also, if there are such charters, what qualifications do the administrators and teachers need to meet to provide for the needs of special ed and English language learner students? Do the schools have the range of services that the IEP may require them to provide, such as speech/language therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists knowledgeable about the particular special conditions of the students, as well as sign language interpreters, etc?
LikeLike
I suggest you use google to look up the charter schools that specialize in various special needs students.
LikeLike
Here is a link to the GAO study that notes “However, when compared to traditional public schools, a higher percentage of charter schools enrolled more than 20 percent of students with disabilities.”
The link is here: http://gao.gov/products/GAO-12-543
LikeLike
TE,
We went through this when the GAO report was published. The point of the report was that charters enroll a smaller proportion of special education students than regular public schools.. That is the TITLE of the report. Some charters are completely devoted to children with special needs, but many charters have few, if any, special needs students. Perhaps you recall Bruce Baker’s studies of high-performing charters in Newark and NYC with few of these children. Google them. At the time the GAO study appeared, Matthew Di Carlo at the Shanker Blog explained that the report understates the disparities because urban districts have more than 11% special education.
http://gao.gov/products/GAO-12-543
Here is the summary of the GAO report, not just the snippet you quoted out of context:
CHARTER SCHOOLS
Additional Federal Attention Needed to Help Protect Access for Students with Disabilities
GAO-12-543, Jun 7, 2012
Contact:
George A. Scott
(202) 512-7215
scottg@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
What GAO Found
Charter schools enrolled a lower percentage of students with disabilities than traditional public schools, but little is known about the factors contributing to these differences. In school year 2009-2010, which was the most recent data available at the time of our review, approximately 11 percent of students enrolled in traditional public schools were students with disabilities compared to about 8 percent of students enrolled in charter schools.
GAO also found that, relative to traditional public schools, the proportion of charter schools that enrolled high percentages of students with disabilities was lower overall. Specifically, students with disabilities represented 8 to 12 percent of all students at 23 percent of charter schools compared to 34 percent of traditional public schools. However, when compared to traditional public schools, a higher percentage of charter schools enrolled more than 20 percent of students with disabilities. Several factors may help explain why enrollment levels of students with disabilities in charter schools and traditional public schools differ, but the information is anecdotal. For example, charter schools are schools of choice, so enrollment levels may differ because fewer parents of students with disabilities choose to enroll their children in charter schools. In addition, some charter schools may be discouraging students with disabilities from enrolling. Further, in certain instances, traditional public school districts play a role in the placement of students with disabilities in charter schools. In these instances, while charter schools participate in the placement process, they do not always make the final placement decisions for students with disabilities. Finally, charter schools’ resources may be constrained, making it difficult to meet the needs of students with more severe disabilities.
Most of the 13 charter schools GAO visited publicized and offered special education services, but faced challenges serving students with severe disabilities. Most charter school officials said they publicized the availability of special education services in several ways, including fliers and placing ads in the local newspaper. Many charter schools GAO visited also reported tailoring special education services to individuals’ needs, but faced challenges serving students with severe disabilities due to insufficient resources. About half of the charter school officials GAO interviewed cited insufficient resources, including limited space, as a challenge.
The U.S. Department of Education’s (Education) Office for Civil Rights has undertaken two compliance reviews related to charter schools’ recruitment and admission of students with disabilities in three states, but has not issued recent guidance covering admission practices in detail, nor has Education conducted recent research about factors affecting lower enrollment in charter schools. The three states GAO visited already have taken steps to monitor charter schools’ admission practices. In addition, officials in these three states reported prohibiting disability-related questions on charter school admission forms, in part to protect students with disabilities’ access.
Why GAO Did This Study
While the number of charter schools is growing rapidly, questions have been raised about whether charter schools are appropriately serving students with disabilities. GAO was asked: (1) How do enrollment levels of students with disabilities in charter schools and traditional public schools compare, and what is known about the factors that may contribute to any differences? (2) How do charter schools reach out to students with disabilities and what special education services do charter schools provide? (3) What role do Education, state educational agencies, and other entities that oversee charter schools play in ensuring students with disabilities have access to charter schools? GAO analyzed federal data on the number and characteristics of students with disabilities; visited charter schools and school districts in three states selected on the basis of the number of charter schools in the state, among other things; and interviewed representatives of federal, state, and other agencies that oversee charter schools.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education take measures to help charter schools recognize practices that may affect enrollment of students with disabilities by updating existing guidance and conducting additional fact finding and research to identify factors affecting enrollment levels of these students in charter schools. Education agreed with our recommendations.
For more information, contact George Scott at (202) 512-7215 or scottg@gao.gov.
Status Legend:
Review Pending
Open
Closed – implemented
Closed – not implemented
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To help charter schools recognize practices that may affect enrollment of students with disabilities and improve the information available for monitoring and oversight, the Secretary of Education should update existing guidance to ensure that charter schools have better information about their obligations related to the enrollment of students with disabilities.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Review Pending
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: To help charter schools recognize practices that may affect enrollment of students with disabilities and improve the information available for monitoring and oversight, the Secretary of Education should conduct additional fact finding and research to understand the factors affecting enrollment of students with disabilities in charter schools and act upon that information, as appropriate.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Review Pending
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
LikeLike
Yet unfortunately the quote I cited is accurate. I understand that it is not consistent with your story, and it is difficult when the world is not consistent with ones preconceived notions.
I have often referred to the Community Roots Charter School in Brooklyn as the only charter school I have actually stepped foot in. Will you please once and for all condemn this school as contributing to the distruction of education in the United States and call on Beth Lief and Katharine Darrow to immediately resign from their positions on the board of directors of such an evil organization.
LikeLike
The normal numbers are that generally charter schools only allow the lower levels of special education. This is true across California and the rest of the country. There are always a few exceptions to the rule, we are talking about in general. This is all about controlling costs and being able to say “We are better than they are” until the
“Correction Factor” is used.
LikeLike
In my view it is not all about controlling costs and saying we are better then you. It is about a better match between student and school than the current geographically based admission system allows.
I also think using averages hide to much of what is going on, both when talking about school scores on exams (a position usually accepted by the vast majority of posters here) and when talking about charter schools (a position not accepted by many posters here)
LikeLike
Diane, Thank you for posting a fuller account of the situation with charter schools and special needs students. I am more concerned with the qualifications of the teachers that the charter schools employ to teach these students if they come to the charters. I earned a two year masters degree from Gallaudet University to become a teacher of the deaf. Other special needs students also deserve fully trained teachers. At some point when job searching in RI, I stumbled on a posting for special ed teachers at a charter school, and essentially there were no special credentials required. This may have changed, but I doubt it.
LikeLike
Perhaps The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is a charter school that has qualified teachers.
LikeLike
Teachingeconomist wondered if the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf is a charter school with qualified teachers. I just checked on their website. I don’t know if PSD is a charter in the technical sense, but here is the description from the website:
“About PSD
•Founded in 1820, PSD is the 3rd oldest school for the Deaf in the United States.
•PSD currently educates about 205 deaf and hard of hearing students, ages 3 -21, in preschool through high school classes.
•PSD offers an Early Intervention program for newly diagnosed deaf infants and toddlers with services provided at PSD and off-site.
•PSD educates an ethnically and geographically diverse student body. While the majority of students live in the city of Philadelphia, we also have students from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Berks counties as well as southern New Jersey.
•At PSD students learn in the language most appropriate for them– American Sign Language as well as written and spoken English.”
This is a far cry from the start-up charter chains like Rocketship.
LikeLike
It seems to be organized as a charter school. It is of course not like other charter schools, but that is the whole point of choice, trying to move away from the one size fits all model of education.
LikeLike
Plus, there is no choice if your parent can’t afford a bus ticket, etc to get you to school. What if your only choice is to walk to the nearest school? When politicians talk about parents/students choosing with their feet I know it is a big fat lie.
LikeLike
My children are not assigned to the nearest high school. The nearest is about a mile away, but my children go to a high school 5 miles away. If only they could choose with thief feet!
LikeLike
I am decidedly uncomfortable with this writer’s deficit model description of the “many parents” who are “too unconcerned/dysfunctional” to choose a charter school. There is a deep well of assumptions we need to explore whenever we start making the argument that “many” parents and students in high poverty communities are less capable, that charters, as the saying goes, ‘cream’ the best students. These assumptions speak to how we understand the purpose of school, how we understand the nature of knowledge, and how we see and know people who are poor, marginalized, and excluded. When we confront our deficit models, we have to confront our system–the one we want people to have access to–and question what is wrong with the system that so many people are identified as “unconcerned/dysfunctional” in the face of it. This means addressing racism, classism, ableism, and the inherent and necessary inequities of capitalism. I don’t use those ‘isms’ loosely. I am thinking about the actual human beings who work endless hours, who are subject to daily experiences of being pushed aside and dismissed, whose voices are never considered, never heard, who we so easily determine are “unconcerned/dysfunctional.” If we are to build schools that serve the whole community, the whole child, the possibility of democracy and liberation, we need to stop with the deficit thinking about other human beings. We need to speak to each others strengths, knowledge, and humanity.
We need as well, to consider who “we” are.
LikeLike
I agree here. It is disturbing to me to hear the writer describe parents of children in poverty as unconcerned. While they may be caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty, it is my experience that they are nonetheless concerned about the wellbeing of their children. Even the most dysfunctional parents want the very best future for their children.
LikeLike
Certain elements want people dazed and confused especially those in the lower income levels. These people also want to protect their children, however, they do not have the tools, experience or income to take on an organization like LAUSD with unlimited funds. It is a meat grinder to most and that is how they get away with what they do. The districts usually make it hard for people to obtain information and then put it into a form that is hard for most people, even educated, to understand. This also is not by accident. The interesting thing is that they are the parents who understand the best and get it first when the scams that are being run on them by the school districts because in the world they live in everything is a scam with gangs and such all around. So when they get it they really get it and are usually willing to try to do something. Then it is leadership.
LikeLike
I have a question: Who administers, collects, corrects and reports the test scores for these schools?
LikeLike
I have 2 daughters. One of my daughters has attended public schools. Hacienda Science Magnet Elementary, Bret Harte Middle School and now Leland. All 3 all excellent public schools in San Jose Unified School District. With my youngest I wanted to try something different so I enrolled her in Rocketship Mateo Sheedy which is only 1 block from where we lived at the time.
Rocketship Pros:
-All teachers give you their cell phone and you can call them anytime for any reason!
-The kids are in school from 8-4 everyday. You would think they would be tired and grumpy but they are not. It’s pretty amazing.
-No one is too busy to talk. The principal and assistant principals are always around. They are involved. They know your kid.
-Whenever my daughter is around other kids her age that don’t attend Rocketship you can tell right away. Her vocabulary and math skills are above average.
-By the time my daughter was in 1st grade she had a life plan. “Mommy, will you miss me when I go to Stanford to become a teacher?”.
-The kids are well mannered. The kids are not babied and parents are held accountable for missing homework and projects. Yes, parents may get detention haha
-The staff, students and parents CARE about the success of every child.
Cons:
-The only subjects taught are Math, Literacy, some Science and some Social Studies. It took some getting used to. We just make sure we pick up those subjects at home.
-The teachers are young so don’t expect them to relate to anything that has to do with parenting.
-Sometimes there’s a “robotic” feeling about the whole thing. Kinda creepy at times.
I will let my daughter finish out elementary at Rocketship since she’s been there since kinder but for middle school I will put her in public schools. Although math and literacy are important so are all the other subjects.
By the way, we live in the neighborhood and from what I can tell so are most of the kids. Many of us that grew up in that neighborhood now take our kids to Rocketship so that API was earned by our neighborhood Rocketship Rocketeers!
LikeLike
Bev, isn’t that the age when those other enrichment subjects like the arts and related subjects are the most important. When a baby is born they are a super sponge. They are soaking up and learning all the time at the same time those connections in the brain are wiring up their pathways. The arts helps this from the earliest age. At a Committee Meeting on Arts and the Aerospace at Northurp-Grumman CORE-CA was at we heard the representative from Boeing state “We at Boeing believe that arts should start when a child is born. The reason for this is they then learn to think outside of the box. In the business which we, Northrup-Grumman, Boeing and JPL, are in demands people at all levels not just in engineering to be able to think outside of the box or we are out of business. Many of our ideas come from the shop.” They have a $675,000 grant for the arts and will supply tours and mentoring. This is just one example of enriching the possibilities of children being more able to think with both sides of their brains and to wire them up with connections which are better for being creative and thinking.
When people think they produce better and are happier. Also, they are harder to fool which is not what the billionaires want. What if they get our game and we cannot play it anymore and we have to actually earn our income. What will we do?
In fact, I just talked my arts friend into moving into the pre-K to 3 just for these reasons and the other day I took him to a school which had requested him to come over and in 20 minutes he had another school. It is so much fun to watch them come out of school like they are on springs going home with their parents.
We will stick we a well rounded education as this is more important than limited high test scores and that is all you know. That does not prepare you to be a whole human being.
LikeLike
George,
I completely agree with you and that’s the reason why I enrolled my daughter in dance and drama outside of school. Public and Charters schools don’t have good art programs.
There are a lot of things that don’t feel right about Rocketship. It almost feels like the other parents have been brainwashed into believing this is the only and best education out there for their children. It’s just not true. Unfortunately, in the neighborhoods that Rocketships are popping up in that may be the case but if the parents did some research they would find that Graystone is an excellent school in our district.
The other 2 public schools in our area are Washington and Gardner. The demographics are identical. Washington and Gardner are public schools. Parents who don’t cut it (not the kids), pull their kids from Rocketship and put them back in the failing public schools. The parents don’t or can’t keep up with everything that is asked of them. I would prefer my daughter go to school with children who have parents that care about their education.
I don’t know it just all seems like a big experiment. My daughter has 1 more year to go and then she will go to Bret Harte Middle school like her big sister. I don’t have a problem with her spending 1 more year there because she is in an advanced class and the top student. She can spend 1 more year with her friends before they all move on yo middle schools. You are absolutely right, it’s not all about scores.
LikeLike
Bev, thanks. It is not a flat world. Everyone is different. I was lucky with my exposure even though I am the oldest of 11. I have changed a lot of diapers, bottles and rocking in my time before getting out of high school. We had great parents who just died at 84 and 94. My mother died from dementia. Because researchers needed her brain to be with her sisters in San Diego at the Brain Insitute my last time with my mother and the three days before were arranging for her brain for study. They do not have sibling brains and now our family, those who want to participate, through a sister are ready to go get preliminary tests for the future for study. We also have two early onsets who are in and getting into those programs as our families feel a responsibility to help stop this terrible disease. I was lucky to have the one moment my Mom was clear before she died as I told her that he and Pops legacy was going far beyond their family.
I later talked with a friend who has done a lot of genetic work at her lab in San Diego and she told me that my Mom’s brain was more important to this work than even I thought. Soon I am going to contact them to see what is going on.
We need these young students not just taught to the test. We need them to be fully rounded people who can think outside of the box to solve these complicated problems. By the way, my genetic friends former husband is Kip Thorne from Cal Tech. One of Hawkings best friends. We need more of them don’t we?
LikeLike