Kudos to Nancy Flanagan, for reporting on the mess at the Jalen Rose Academy charter school.
Why do sports celebrities think they are qualified to run a school?
At the Jalen Rose school, 100% of the teachers quit at the end of the first year.
Nancy asks an obvious question:
“Here’s my question: What would parents think if all the teachers in a traditional public school quit? If their children had no sinks in the science rooms, but flew to Las Vegas to meet a basketball team? Or if students couldn’t access necessary instructional materials because their laptops didn’t work?
“When the Academy (which gets the same per-pupil state funding as all public schools in Detroit) ran out of money in May, they held a private party to make up the shortfall. And in spite of what looks like a poorly managed train wreck of an inaugural year, the article [to which she links in her post] is full of upbeat adults praising Rose’s vision for education.”
Is there some special Kool-Aid that inoculates people from seeing what is happening when a charter school is involved?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Is there some special Kool-Aid that inoculates people from seeing what is happening when a charter school is involved?”
Yes, the green kind.
Maybe that’s the problem I have with all the rephormy stuff. I’ve been drinking the purple Kool-aid!
Gives a new meaning to “Rose” colored glasses… and YES, I’ve noticed that the depth of denial is growing insidiously deeper in the “reformer” camp. For example, Beverly Hall was quoted about being disappointed that teachers didn’t have more “faith” in the students (which is supposedly why the cheating occurred). What a pile of dung! This just reeks of the “believe to achieve” idea that if only you believe something hard enough, it will happen! Guarantee that it wasn’t a lack of faith in the kids, but a lack of faith in the tests, lack of faith in a system designed to set the kids & teachers up to fail, a lack of faith in the LIES! Believing in a lie won’t make it the truth… and the reform camp seems to continue doing what their doing because they BELIEVE in it in spite of the evidence… Kool-Aid, denial, mass-hypnosis, … whatever it is, how can these people be snapped out of it? They’re certainly not “listening” to reason.
sorry… name is Hannah
I’ve said for years the the education reformers simply watched “The Music Man” and stole the “Think System” from Professor Hill.
“Why do sports celebrities think they are qualified to run a school?”
Because they earn in a short 4-5 year span many times more than a teacher could hope to make in three lifetimes of teaching. We all know that those with the most money are the smartest, best and brightest, otherwise they wouldn’t have that much moolah and, therefore, we should admire their “expertise” in areas in which they have no experience.
Actually, it’s probably due to a certain sense of altruism on the part of the athlete, that of wanting to “give back” to communities. Unfortunately, they listen to the wrong people at times when it comes to disbursing their $$$.
Jalen Rose, on the Board of Directors at Students First
http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/jalen-rose-studentsfirst-board-of-directors
and gave the keynote address at the Indiana school choice rally titled Ed Reform Rocks.
http://www.studentsfirst.org/press/entry/board-member-jalen-rose-keynotes-indiana-school-choice-rally-meets-charter
He was arrested for drunk driving when the school opened. If your super. was arrested for drunk driving would they still be in charge?? He has no education credentials but is somehow the head of a school. This is an example of what Michigan allows.
Go look at their MEAP scores and tell me how this school is improving education in Detroit. Isn’t that the metrics reformers use???
The Ed week column which is referred to was published in Sept 2012. Some of the comments above appear to be inaccurate, based on a reading of the Ed Week article article, 2 part Detroit News coverage, and a column by Mr. Rose
For example, Mr. Rose is, according to the Detroit News, not the school’s director. He is the president of the Board.
http://www.freep.com/article/20120902/NEWS01/309020150/A-year-inside-J-alen-Rose-s-Detroit-charter-school
The two part Detroit News stories give an overview of some things that have gone well and some things that have been changed (including hiring a veteran Oakland, California administrator to be the school’s principal.
In this Huffington Post commentary, Mr. Rose notes he has given more than $1.2 million to various groups in Detroit, including about 40 scholarships for Detroit Public School students. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jalen-rose/jalen-rose-leadership-academy_b_2600716.html
Personally, I’m glad Mr. Rose has given some of his wealth to help inner city Detroit students via scholarships – and helped start a school. Perhaps it will succeed, perhaps not. Starting a new schools is very difficult, whether it’s a district or charter school.
We’ll see.
Why start a new school? there are plenty already there. refurbish and fix what you have.