This comment was posted in response to a report by Education Trust Midwest about Michigan’s expansion of low-performing (and failing) charter schools. The irony is that the original theory of charters was that they would either meet their goals or lose their charter. twenty plus years ago, no one considered the possibility that for-profit and even nonprofit charters would make political contributions and assemble a political base that outweighed the quality of the schools.
The reader writes:
“Yes, there are charters of varying quality. The problem in Michigan is that the state has no real authority to close a charter (even though it gets state money). A member of the state board of education noted in an article months ago (on the same topic) that it’s up to the authorizers to close the school. So in the case of a for-profit organization (like Leona Group) the only motivation to close a school would be a lack of profitability rather than a poor quality school.
Also understand that Michigan’s ideological legislature (particularly the House) doesn’t really care about school quality when it comes to charters. Charters don’t typically unionize and they underpay their teachers relative to public schools. This is in the interest of the legislature (and governor). So they really don’t mind that many charters underperform.
In 2011, Michigan passed many policies that seemed to make some sense. Public school couldn’t really debate accountability measures too hard. In some ways, those laws were well-intended. But the state’s magnificent investment in charter expansion and the money-pit EAA (which is getting so much outside money and additional state money that it is unbelievable) has revealed an ideological approach rather than an educational reform.
Charter schools have become the “out” for parents who want their kids away from other kids more than anything. Some charters are really just a way for churches to have a school funded by the state. One local charter is really just the kids from a local mega-church. As has been noted many times, charters are not a game changer. They vary in quality. This is particularly noteworthy in that the report comes from EdTrust who is no friend of public schools, by the way.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There’s very little doubt that the fix is in in Michigan, as it’s been more blatantly in Ohio for a while. It’s not hard to trace the money that’s buying legislative votes in that state back to its source, as much has been exposed by various sources .
In time, I’m sure similar exposure will make clear whose “paying the bills” to keep the government from acting properly in Michigan against incompetent charter schools and their management companies. But of course, it’s not crystal-clear in this GOP-dominated state that it would cost anyone much to call off the dogs. Because the dogs in Michigan only hunt things that might benefit poor people, people of color, etc.
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I thought the move here in Wisconsin was worth bring up as a dramatic privatization effort. The reasons given by one voucher advocated to “empower” parents, so they can decide what kids learn and not professional educators, is stunning.
http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2013/06/let-parents-decide-on-curriculum.html
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“Charter schools have become the ‘out’ for parents who want their kids away from other kids more than anything.”
I think this is a legitimate desire for a lot of parents. Naturally that’s leaving aside all the other issues you raise (Church/state separation, quality, accountability).
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The Michigan experience also makes clear that there’s a huge market out there for “bottom feeder” charters–schools whose main contribution is to deliver education on the cheap. If Leona is judged by how little it pays its teachers, then the schools are actually a success. The goal of the secret Skunk Works group set up by Governor Snyder had as its mission creating “value schools” that would cost just $5K per pupil. The per-pupil-spending at Leona schools, by the way, is $3,683.
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I think there’s another group who choose cybercharters (which OH has had for years) and it’s parents of teenagers who had behavioral problems in our public high schools.
The general complaint is their child is being “picked on” by teachers or administration, but it’s impossible to tell, hearing only the parents’ side. The kid could just as easily be a genuine behavior problem.
I don’t know what happens to them after they drop out and go cybercharter. These parents are working people, the kid is alone all day, and it’s a rural area, so there simply isn’t much of anything outside of public school activities for teenagers.
This is acknowledged here. It’s been going on for years. Locally, the cybercharter kids would be the LEAST successful students, not some elite group. It’s sad.
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Cyber charters scare me. There is no way to ensure integrity. The next step is “The General,”from the 60s TV show “The Prisoner.” (http://askingquestionsblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-prisoner-what-classic-cult-tv-can.html)
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I see value in the ability of online classes to expand the curriculum available to students, especially in small rural high schools.
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Thanks for the link, John. Very interesting 🙂
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Group sues Detroit “Grossly Inferior” Charter School for pregnant teens, young moms
Jennifer Chambers
The Detroit News
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130604/SCHOOLS/306040318#ixzz2VidKR8LG
Detroit — A group of students and former students from Detroit’s only high school for pregnant teens and young mothers is suing the school, its charter operator and Detroit Public Schools, alleging the girls’ civil rights are being violated because their educational needs are not being met.
More than a dozen students and former students from Catherine Ferguson Academy as well as some parents and one CFA teacher together filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit against charter school operator Blair Evans and his company, Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy. Blanche Kelso manages the academy, which has on-site child care.
Also being sued are DPS, which operated the school through June 2011, and the district’s emergency manager, Roy Roberts, as well as the Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency and its superintendent, Christopher Wigent, the charter school authorizer.
In the lawsuit, students allege that CFA students are being discriminated against because they are being provided with an education that is “grossly inferior” to that of other students in DPS, as well as within the Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy School District.
DPS transferred the school to the charter operator at the end of the 2010-11 school year. The suit alleges that many Ferguson students were forced to leave their DPS high schools while pregnant.
Students say in the suit that CFA has “terminated many state mandated courses, done away with all classes and ordered teachers not to teach classes.”
The complaint also states that the school “failed to employ certified teachers in math, physical education, computing, health education and music.”
The lawsuit says these actions violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act 453 of 1976 and the right to due process under the 14th Amendment.
Wigent and spokespeople for DPS and Evans declined to comment Monday.
The school got national attention in recent years for its unique programs, including a working farm. It served 249 mothers and 120 children under age 6 in 2011, its last year as a DPS school. It now has about 100 students.
A new curriculum, “The Big Picture,” has replaced the usual hourly schedule, with individual learning plans for every girl. Students pick a goal, work with an adviser and must land an internship that provides work experience two days a week.
jchambers@detroitnews.com
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Detroiter, how much money do you think Evans is making from all this. I hope someone at the Detroit News begins investigating to find out how much money is being made, etc. It is time.
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Please keep sharing I formation that we can share with others so we can be united in our understanding of the issues and experiences in other parts of the country. Committees of correspondence revived!
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I hate to interrupt your anti-charter rant here, but authorizers have closed 68 charter public schools in Michigan over the years (and only 3 via our mandatory closure law for charters). Michigan’s authorizers are doing their jobs. By comparison, not a single traditional public school has been closed for poor performance by a district or the MDE to date, despite abysmal outcomes in many areas of the state.
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You imply a double standard. You may be right.
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Gary,
How do you feel about the fact that more than 80% of the charters in Michigan are operated for-profit?
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Diane,
Profit motive is not inherently evil. In its purest sense, capitalism calls for an entity to generate profit by producing the best and most desirable products. In otehr words, true capitalism requires integrity on the part of all participants of the system. The practice of generating profits by deliberately putting forth an inferior product and/or deliberately cutting necessary corners to get that profit off of others’ pain, then that is not capitalism… or at least, it is a mutant, dangerous, radicalized form of capitalism much in the same way that radical Islamic terrorists represent a mutant, dangerous, radicalized form of Islam. The well-publicized actions of a few cutthroat moguls should not be expanded to the whole of all wealthy and powerful.
However, it does seem that, with regard to charters, they seem to b gravitationally attracted more and more to one of a small number of charter maintenance organizations/companies, each of which has dozens of schools. Like franchises. That trend is a little disturbing, I think, maybe.
Now, I’m right there with you if you mean to say that in the process of their for-profit ventures, Michigan charter schools are deliberately behaving in such a way that diminishes the quality or value of their product, at the expense of the students and their educational experience, for the purpose of making that profit. That is exploitation, and evil, I agree. But I cannot accept as axiomatic the notion that charter + for-profit = de facto a bad thing.
I think you have a good point: “The irony is that the original theory of charters was that they would either meet their goals or lose their charter…” I thought that was the way it was supposed to be. It’s almost as if the overseeing agencies (State boards of ed, counties, etc…) are afraid to admit they made mistakes by granting charters to everyone who wanted one, and pulling a school’s charter would be essentially an admission of culpability, and they won’t do anything that would diminish their own stature publicly.
What a mess.
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Diane – This is another myth perpetrated by some of Michigan’s harshest charter school critics, and it simply isn’t true. There is no such thing as a “for profit” charter school, as every school board granted a charter must (by law) be a non-profit entity. What is true is that a majority of charter school boards in the state contract with an outside firm or organization for some kind of professional service, such as human resources, janitorial, food service, transportation, or entire school management — as do more than 50% of traditional school districts in the state, The firms providing these services are both for-profit or non-profit. When you consider the textbook companies, office supply stores, lawyers, accountants and PR firms involved, you’ll see there is plenty of “profit” in the $13 billion K-12 school aid budget!! For those charter schools that have full-service management companies, however, a recent study by Bridge Magazine indicates that for-profit firms have better academic outcomes than non-profit management companies. Check it out here: http://bridgemi.com/2013/02/pursuit-of-money-learning-mix
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Gary
Are you suggesting that corporations like Leona, Mosaica, and National Heritage are not for-profit?
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There is no capitalism in the purest sense. Talk about a myth, ay, ay ay!
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Gary, why are charter operators in Michigan allowed to operated when the teachers, etc. do not have enough supplies. This is going on while the operator makes a profit. The schools aren’t high performing either. Why is this acceptable? Something needs to be done.
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I don’t see this as an anti-charter rant. I can’t see that anyone could possibly lump ALL charters into the same category and bash them.
I do think charters are more predisposed to spectacular an catastrophic failure, because most of them (that I’ve seen) put a social agenda ahead of pedagogy. At least in the San Francisco Bay Area, charters almost unilaterally are designed to assuage some particular anxiety or cater to a particular cultural or political or social idiosyncrasy. They’re not about pedagogy per se, they’re about whatever flavor-of-the-month trendy vibe. As soon as you create a school that has as its primary mission something other than, you know, schooling, it seems to me that the school is doomed to failure.
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I think you’re on to something. But, one of the biggest problems I see is that operators view it as a “cash cow”. There is definitely something wrong.
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I think you’re probably right.
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With regard to the post itself, I have to say that the following quote seems more like the writer projecting his or her feelings or beliefs, rather than actual documented fact (it may be correct, but I’m objecting to its presentation):
QUOTE: “Also understand that Michigan’s ideological legislature (particularly the House) doesn’t really care about school quality when it comes to charters. Charters don’t typically unionize and they underpay their teachers relative to public schools. This is in the interest of the legislature (and governor). So they really don’t mind that many charters underperform.”
I can only speak about California, and a little bit about NY, but here are my thoughts:
“Michigan’s ideological legislature… doesn’t really care about school quality” – sounds like an unsubstantiated claim based on emotional response.
“Charters don’t typically unionize…” True, I’ve never known one that did.
“…and they underpay their teachers relative to public schools.” True-ish, but at least in CA, you don’t need a credential to teach at one; they can hire much more liberally. One at which I taught even knowingly hired an illegal immigrant. When I taught at that particular charter, I was paid $74K, which was approximately what I would have earned at many area public schools, so the way I see it, the non-standard teachers’ salaries drag down the average, so at least anecdotally, this seems like a misleading statement.
“This is in the interest of the legislature (and governor).” Just because numerically, it works out to the coffers’ benefit does not make it “in their interest,” this de facto characterizes the legislature as a saboteur. (Which may be true, I’m only asserting that its implicit claim is unproven.)
“So they really don’t mind that many charters underperform.” — An absurd claim on its face. I doubt there is any governmental so craven as to be okee-dokee-fine with failing schools and suffering students.
Look, I’m all about criticizing the government and its corporate lackeys for educational malfeasance. I have issues with corporate charter chains (as do most teachers, I think), and I’m more than a little nervous about the proliferation of Gulenist schools that have been popping up here and there. All told, they do a pretty spectacular job of cocking up in some very obvious ways. But it can be done without emotionalizing and sensationalizing.
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Andrew, you really don’t know what is going on in Michigan. There are for-profit operators who are underpaying teachers in every way. The turnover is extremely high. They are underperforming too. The legislature lifted the cap on charters knowing full well that there are a large number of underperforming schools. For what purpose? To undermine the public schools for petty political reasons. It is all about pleasing cronies. You are very naïve if you think legislators are ok with failing students. If they aren’t part of their political base, many just don’t care!! It’s sad but true.
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Andrew,
Let me clarify as I was the poster on this.
“Michigan’s ideological legislature…”
Truly and hugely ideological. This extends far beyond education policies (RTW, abortion laws, resistance to Obamacare exchanges). When I say they don’t really care about school quality I’m suggesting that mediocre is ok by them as long as its not a public school.
“Underpay relative to public schools” is definitely true in Michigan. At teaching conferences, charter teachers are always asking if we have openings in our district. Perhaps the disparity is not that great elsewhere but I can’t speak to that.
“In the interest of…” True in Michigan. A major thrust of education in Michigan is to do it on the cheap. Check out the “skunkworks” project promoted by close aides to the governor. They very much want cheap schools. I can’t say that cheapness means more than quality to them but it seems that given the choice, they would opt for low cost.
“They don’t mind that many charters underperform.” Charters are cheaper and non-unionized (typically). Many low-performing charters are expanding without comment or reservation from Lansing. On its face,it would be logical to assume that they believe that any charter is better than any public school. Allowing poor performing chains to expand so rapidly suggests that they don’t mind.
In reference to the post stating that 68 charters were closed in Michigan (from another poster), the reasons might be for something other than poor performance. For example, it could be a lack of profitability or a lack of interest from the surrounding communities. If it is for financial or enrollment reason, then the argument that only three public schools have closed is a fallacy. The district I worked for closed four schools in the last five years due to lower enrollments and funding.
Yes, I am projecting emotionally but I don’t believe that it is sensationalistic. No more so than those who endlessly promote charters and cybers as the panacea. Some charters are good, which I acknowledged.
Thanks for your feedback though. It did provoke me to think more about what I had written.
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I appreciate both your clarification and your even tone. Thanks!
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Steve you are correct in every way. People just don’t know what is going on here. The legislature doesn’t give a hoot that Muskegon, etc don’t have qualified staff, etc. Yes, virtually every charter teacher is looking for a job in public schools due to pay and retirement.
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The problem I see is that there is no way to accurately compare schools. Different kinds of schools are better for different kinds of students and parents. If they insist on comparing schools by test scores on a few select subjects, then that is not a true comparison. “Failing” schools in Michigan (mostly African American) are being taken over by the state. We’ll have to see how that turns out, but again, now will they measure success?
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Diane,
The facts of academic performance for Michigan charter public schools are grossly ignored in your post. Not only are authorizers closing poor performing charters, by use of their existing authority, the vast majority of Michigan charter schools ARE performing at rates higher than their counter parts. Perhaps that is why parents are choosing them at increasing rates.
Here are facts noted by Stanford University’s CREDO:
DETROIT, Michigan (January 14, 2013) – A study released today by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) shows that students in Michigan’s charter schools are learning more than their peers in traditional public schools.
Overall, the study found that the typical charter school student gains more learning in a year than a typical peer in a traditional public school – an additional two months of learning in math and reading. The results were even more impressive in Detroit, where charter school students experienced an additional three months of learning every year.
The CREDO study found that Michigan’s charter school students outperform similar students in traditional public schools in every part of the state, and across all demographic lines. It also found that Michigan’s charter schools educate special education students at roughly the same rate as traditional public schools.
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“Here are facts noted. . . ”
Please show how what you state are facts!
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As a foreign language teacher in Michigan, I am surprised that more documentation hasn’t been collected and published as to the profitting of charter CEO’s on the backs of teachers’ pay and job security. The charter school movement here is completely unleashed, leading all schools in a race to the bottom!
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