Thank goodness, there is one journalist at the New York Times who sees the big money behind the charter “movement.” It is Michael Powell, who writes a political column.
Michael Winerip used to write a clear-eyed weekly column on education for the Times, but for no reason, his column was dropped, and there is no more regular education columnist. Winerip used to be a scourge of those who love high-stakes testing and privatization. Maybe he disagreed with the predictable editorial board once too often. Now he covers “boomers” or something equally vital.
This is a snippet from Michael Powell’s insightful column:
Speaking of Eva Moskowitz, he writes:
“It’s worth noting this is a nicely gilded crusade. She oversees 20 schools, and is paid $485,000. She is no outlier.
“Deborah Kenney, chief executive of Harlem Village Academies, which runs two schools, has Charles Bronfman and John Legend, not to mention Hugh Jackman, on her organization’s board. Ms. Kenney is paid $499,000.
“Then there is Ian Rowe, leader of the well-regarded Bronx Preparatory School, who receives $338,000. And Our World Charter, a charter school in Astoria, Queens, where the C.E.O. makes a smidgen under $200,000.”
He adds:
“The problem is that the hedge fund chaps who adore charters tend toward the triumphalist. Keep offering more, they suggest, and any parent with a wit will divine the obvious choice.
“They rarely note the downside to these hothouse flowers. At Harlem Village Academy Leadership School, where Ms. Kenney makes her half-million, 50 percent of teachers with less than five years’ experience left last year. Her other school had a 60 percent teacher turnover rate, and suspended 38 percent of its students in 2010.”
And more:
“Ms. Moskowitz’s schools paid $519,000 or so last year to SKD Knickerbocker, a prominent political consulting firm. She gave $254,000 to Education Reform Now, which in its federal tax forms notes that it educated the public on the “harm caused” by the 2012 Chicago teachers’ strike.”
But she can’t pay rent.
Now that a judge has ruled that the State Comptroller may not audit Success Academy because it is “not a unit of the state,” the obvious question is: if it can’t be audited, if it is not a public school, why should it get free public space?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Winerip was dropped because the functionaries for the plutocracy who run the Times did not want anyone writing a clear-eyed weekly column about education – they wanted the drivel the guy from the editorial board writes about how wonderful corporate education reform is (especially the “accountability” measures), how swell the CCSS are and how great the education system would be if only we could charterize the whole thing.
And now they have Frank Bruni, a food critic, writing articles about the CCSS and how kid should learn. . . . .
How do you like this for accountability???
Lack of regulations, accountability and transparency invites charter school fraud
Pet care, alcohol, vacations and other personal purchases were charged to taxpayers via Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy charter school, according to a 2013 state audit. The school misspent $520,000 in public money. Two former officials from the Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy are awaiting trial in Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas for theft in office and tampering with public records. Based on the states past record of recovering misspent funds by charter schools, the school districts from which these funds were extracted will not receive reimbursement
In the now-closed Lion of Judah charter school fiasco, $1.2 million in public funds were lost but the court agreed to a settlement of $195,000 in restitution from the charter school operator. It is interesting that the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge approved a payback of less than 20% of the funds misspent and indicated that a prison sentence was not proper because the state didn’t properly anticipate the mistakes that could be made when citizens tried to run charter schools. It appears that the charter school operator received a lenient sentence for the fraud committed due to the judge’s view that the charter school law in Ohio is defective.
On February 25, the State Auditor issued a finding for recovery in the amount of $507,206 against a Cleveland businessman who had unlawful interests in public contracts awarded to the now-closed Greater Heights Academy. Other persons involved in this charter school operation have been charged with a conspiracy to defraud the charter school of over $400,000.
In a news release regarding the Greater Heights Academy charter school case, the State Auditor said, “…I’ll never understand what motivates people to steal from children.” An equally puzzling incomprehension is what motivates state officials to enact and continue to support charter school laws that provide for a license to steal.
When will lawmakers regulate charter schools in ways to stop the fraud on the public and the low quality education provided to charter school students? Not until the public becomes outraged and demands that state officials refuse campaign contributions from charter school operators and advocates and begin to regulate charter schools.
But hey, you know they are all in it for the kids. Aren’t you just wowed by the “innovation”? I’m sure people in NYC would love to know what is happening in the charters that they pay for.
For Twitter: Just copy and paste then ReTweet often. This short link was created at Bitly to allow more room for content. The link leads to this post. https://bitly.com/shorten/
The Gov of Calif with pop of 38 mil
& $106 Bil budget
Earns $165,288
Guess who earns
485,000
499,000
388,000
200,000
http://bit.ly/1isuvrV
Winerip simply follows Richard Rothstein as someone who was too clear-eyed and honest for the folks who pay off the higher-ups at the NYT to push neo-liberal b.s. when it comes to education. I wrote to the NYT over a decade ago to complain about dropping Rothstein and got a perfunctory note dripping with corporate bullcrap. That settled any question about how the Times planned to cover education for the foreseeable future.
Michael Winerip was removed as Education reporter after he questioned whether Arne Duncan should have appeared on a panel with Michelle Rhee when she was under investigation for cheating. I wonder whether Michael Powell will receive the same fate. Sidney Shanberg was kicked off the Times when he dared to report on New York’s real estate interests, and the Times took great pains at first not to reveal that Joel Klein was the defense attorney for Rupert Murdoch for whom he now works. The Times, too relies on corporate interests for its advertising.
“Michael Winerip was removed as Education reporter after he questioned whether Arne Duncan should have appeared on a panel with Michelle Rhee when she was under investigation for cheating.”
Thanks. I didn’t know that.
It’s tough because Obama’s ed reforms are the same as Republicans’ ed reforms, so there’s no vigorous oversight or debate. The usual push/pull of political battle doesn’t apply, and that politically-motivated oversight is really the only check and balance we get these days, since so many politicians are completely captured.
Ed reform is like a perfect storm of political and media capture. There’s just no pushback at all. It’s frightening to watch it happen.
There is pushback, Chiara. I don’t agree.
But it’s in its relative infancy and will only continue to grow, especially at the polls and poll surveys . . . .
Chin up. . . . I love your posts. . . .
Robert Rendo: yes, yes, and yes.
Please pardon if this seems offensive to you and others but we should never take the seeming indifference of the leaders of corporate education rheephorm to be a true indicator of the strength of public school advocacy. That crowd includes the MSM, the moving forces in the Dem/Repub/Tea Party, educrats and edupreneurs— the latter most prominently represented in the MSM by celebrities enjoying playing the role of educators with their vanity charter/privatization projects.
Just look at a few very narrow indicators. Diane Ravitch is monitored by the WH. Hmmm… Michelle Rhee and David Coleman are due to engage in public discussions with the aforementioned historian of American education and these cage busting achievement gap crushing stars of Edu$uccess abandon all dignity and even the pretense of believing in the power of their ideas by committing Rhee Flees. Hmmm… Shills and trolls of the “new civil rights movement of our time” periodically flood this blog with invective, shamelessly transparent lies, and eduproduct hype in order to counter the supposed falsehoods made/allowed by the “Stalinist” [and allegedly worse] owner of this website. Hmmm…
Remember the latest Big Lie? Opposition to Common[ers] Core and its associated high-stakes testing and such like are part of a plot by tinfoil Tea Party types. But what and who are they really targeting?
Let me guess… Uh, how ludicrous can it be that the political operatives of the education status quo lump together Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier and Alfie Kohn and Linda Darling-Hammond and Karen Lewis and Jesse Hagopian and Hannah Nguyen and Mercedes Scheider and Randi Weingarten and George Schmidt and Gary Rubinstein??? [I stop here—but informed viewers could easily add dozens more to my list—yes, I should have included Edushyster & Jersey Jazzman!]
It’s a sure sign of their fear. As evidenced again by a narrow indicator: shortly after hitting 10 million views, this blog is well on its way to matching digits, 11 million.
So don’t despair when you see the eduvultures trying to encircle us. Hold fast to the best of our American traditions:
“I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.” [Sojourner Truth]
😎
Michael Powell obviously hates kids.
Look for him, a la Michael Winerip, to soon be covering the annual Steuben Day Parade, or some other form of professional exile.
Thanks Crazy TA! I am upset nearly all the time and ready to abandon hope. My mother was a librarian and I am a teacher. I love books, teaching and learning. I confess to not being data driven. I teach in an elementary school and at a community college. I am sickened by all these billionaires telling me how to do the job I have been doing for twenty-five years. Did I ever presume to tell Bill Gates how to run Microsoft? Have I called any Wall Street tycoons to advise them on how to destroy the economy? Did I contact the Christie administration to make suggestions on the use of Hurricane Sandy money? Let me do my job! Yes, I know how to teach!
My district just made all of the students and teachers do a survey. I have no idea for what reason–which is another red flag! Anyway, the questions were innocuous enough about school climate and such. But on the teachers’ survey, at least 20 of the 55 questions asked questions about how our school uses “data.” When it came time to make comments at the end, I put that “heavy focus on data means that we are not focusing on people.” I was pretty mad!
I think in this “corporate ed reform” time period, “illogical” is the new “logical” and anything for most humans that is logical is deemed “illogical”. So your rather logical question at the end of the article JUST MAKES TOO MUCH PLAIN SENSE. I just finished reading a description of VAM which supports this kind of new reformy “logic”. Logic tells me that a seasoned teacher who has gone on to become a principal is quite capable of determining whether or not a teacher is reaching his/her students in the classroom by observing the teacher over time. But when the corporate “ed reform” world gets involved.. they come up with a “hard data” model that nobody understands and this is the “NEW LOGIC”.. Do read the article, “Teacher: What it Feels Like to be Evaluated on Test Scores of Students I Don’t Have”.. from Valerie Strauss’s posting today to see Florida’s “logic” that is right up there with Eva Moskowitz’s schools not “being a unit of the state” but being entitled to free rent! The article linked below includes a hefty algorithm. No it is not a satire either!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/15/teacher-i-was-evaluated-with-test-scores-of-students-i-dont-have/
Regarding the “logic” of so-called education reform, Melville saw it all.
Ahab, in a fleeting moment of honesty and lucidity while in deranged pursuit of the White Whale, reveals, “All my means are sane, my motive and object mad.”
🙂
Gina Bellafante writes the occasional clear-sighted column, but she’s not reporting on the money. I see more discussion in places where the moneyed interests can’t always follow–or at least not as effectively–on the neighborhood parents listservs and in the comments sections of Inside Schools. Heaven knows the charter people are trying their best to blanket the latter with propaganda, but occasionally a bit of truth slips through. Typical of the neighborhood forums was a recent post on a parenting listserv that Students First organizers were blanketing a Brooklyn playground, suggesting to parents of toddlers that the zoned school attached to the playground wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t have known about this from the actual news media. Not everyone pays attention to those online discussions, but I believe a few do, and so the seeds of doubt are planted.
So Moskowitz gave $519,000 to SKD Knickerbocker, the same PR firm that ran ads against laying off teachers by seniority (fire high cost vets first) under the pseudonym “KeepGreatTeachers.org”. SKD is run by Anita Dunne and was communications director for Obama’s 2008 campaign. She’s married to Robert Bauer who was Obama’s chief white house counsel & personal legal assistant while these ads were run.
I read somewhere that Moskowitz’s husband also runs a charter school(s) so i wouldn’t be too surprised if their household income approached one million.
Moskowitz’s husband is Eric Grannis, who runs something called the Tapestry Project, whose goal, from what I can tell is brand building for charters that target middle-class/upper middle class families. Grannis was behind Citizens of the World Charter School, in Williamsburg, as well as a new school, Compass Charter School, that is opening this fall in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
“Now she is the proprietor of the Success Academy charter school chain”
How bizarre is it that a private individual is the proprietor of a public school system?
No one questions this. She wasn’t elected or even appointed, and she’s running a parallel public school system.
A NY judge ruled that charter schools are non-government entities. Charter schools receive tax dollars and occupy space in public buildings, but they are not public schools.
Michael Winerip of the New York Times, who was reporting the facts about the fraud in education before he was “reassigned,” was born in 1951. This means he is approaching retirement age, so let’s hope he has the opportunity to report on one of the biggest stories of our time: the silencing of our great newspapers by Corporate America.
The education thought leaders are in Dubai next week:
“This event is under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President & Prime Minister for the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.”
Wendy Kopp @wendykopp 12h
Can the public and private sectors come together to effect not just incremental change but systemic change? @GESForum
You really can’t make this stuff up. They’re like a parody of an elite 🙂
https://twitter.com/wendykopp
Unreal
Maybe we could stage a coup of TFA while she’s out of the country?
Christine,
The coup could be run by a brigade of experienced teachers!
“…but for no reason, his column was dropped, and there is no more regular education columnist.”
Oh, there was a reason alright. You give it in your very next sentence: “Winerip used to be a scourge of those who love high-stakes testing and privatization.”
“if it can’t be audited, if it is not a public school, why should it get free public space?” Logical question, especially if the money to pay for the public space comes from school taxes paid by taxpayers with the understanding that these school taxes will go to benefit public schools…. which now the charters, legally speaking, are not.
” if it can’t be audited, if it is not a public school, why should it get free public space?”
Or for that matter, ANY kind of public money. I am now, and have been critical of public money going to any entity where it is not transparent and accountable for our tax dollars. How dare they ask for free space and not open their books? Free space has a monetary value too. I suspect the public pays for its water, heat and electricity as well.
This has become a giant PR hoax.
Next thing you know, Lockheed Martin will be demanding free use of public space because they get public money. But of course, when it comes to things like audits and labor relations, they will, like charters, remain a private entity.
The idea of a public – private partnership is the biggest lie of them all. As soon as public tax dollars are given to private companies the public is no longer allowed to see how their tax dollars are being spent. Corruption is quick and constant until there is no public space or democratic oversight what-so-ever. Thus we destroy our democracy and build a plutocracy. Innovation? yeah right….
“The idea of a public – private partnership is the biggest lie of them all”
+1
Regarding the issue of charter honchos’ salaries:
In WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, it was despicable of Davis Guggenheim not to mention that the salaries of prominent figures in the film—i.e. Geoffrey Canada’s—$550,000 / year; Dave & Mike at KIPP—$450,000 each / year; and on and on—while portraying these same figures as Mother Theresa-like missionaries to poor, inner-city children of color… like they’re the educational Albert Schweitzer’s of the inner-city, taking a vow of poverty, or of near-poverty, all to “close the achievement gap”.
Telling the truth about their salaries would have spoiled the film’s false narrative of…
noble, modestly-compensated charter folks VS. corrupt, greedy unionized teachers.
As time passes on, and the mass of people get a true perspective on the whole “corporate reform” movement, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and WON’T BACK DOWN will eventually rank with Veit Harlan’s JEW SUSS, or Leni Riefenstal’s TRIUMPH OF THE WILL as one of the most evil, corrupt, dishonest, and destructive-to-our-democracy films ever made.
In the meantime, the damage these films will inflict will be incalculable.
I remember reading Michael Winerip’s brilliantly researched and written stories on the corruption of Michelle Rhee and how she was being protected, every step of the way, by Arne Duncan and others connected with the entire effort to demonize public schools and gradually phase in a corporate takeover of public education.
I remember thinking, after reading the story that spelt it all out, with all of the connections made clear, that Duncan probably threw something against the wall and called the NY Times offices, demanding that they exile Winerip ASAP.
No doubt, something like that obviously happened. This is what the Interlocking Elites do for each other; they live in a privileged, cloistered world in which seasoned, intrepid reporters become “hired hands” when they dare to challenge The Powers That Be.
Heck, they may have demoted Winerip just to “show him who’s boss” and put a scare into everyone else working as a journalist, particularly if they’re covering K-12 education, which so much of the Ruling Elite has been salivating over for more than 30 years.
So, you know what, WE THE PEOPLE, bloggers, leakers, the “troublemakers” who show up at public meetings, ask “difficult” questions, write letters to the editors, blog, telephone journalists and so forth can help create a climate for stories that simply CAN’T be ignored or glossed over: Why? Because at a certain point, the story is a “sellable item”; a “product” that is “hot” and that you can’t afford NOT to feature on your shelves.
As a determined group of individuals did with “Occupy Wall Street”—which has permanently shifted the dialogue about inequality of wealth, privilege and power in our society—we can do the same with K-12 Public Education. And we will.
The same 1% who have concentrated so much wealth—or more accurately the same .010%—are the same people who are now apparently bored with all their riches and have decided that they want to dictate public policy
Let’s not wait for politicians, reporters or anyone else to tell the story of “How A Small Wealthy Elite Is Trying To Take Control Of Our Public Schools And Hand Them Over To Private Companies!”
All of us can tell that story—and tell it to our friends and neighbors, fellow parents, our PTA or PTO, our elected officials (regardless of which office they hold), teachers, and, most definitely, reporters. Remember, reporters are always LOOKING for a story, and you make their job easier when you can hand them a new story, or a series of stories.
Let’s take matters into our own hands, join Parents Across America and one of their state affiliates as well. The time is now. Let’s Save Public Education Today!
My ex worked at Bronx Prep…he’s got horror stories about emotionally abusive practices and a nasty atmosphere toward any area of learning that was not directly related to test scores…and this was well over a decade ago. It was all about raising scores and kissing up to donors.
Having just read today’s NYT editorial that chides de Blasio for “divisive” rhetoric critical of charter schools, I wondered what is known about that editorial board’s links to charters. Do any members send children to NY charters, or have other close personal or financial connections to charter schools? Readers should demand full disclosure.
Where I live, the professional middle class benefits substantially from selective, segregative charters. It is apparently hard for such families to discern the glaring inequities in our state’s (expanding) dual system of public ed. I suspect something similar affects the NYT board.
For those who take and have read the “Columbia Journalism Review ” for the last decade or so will understand. “News?” now is a money making scheme, not seen as a provider of fact checked news items. The best reporters, as was the case here, are way too often fired or reassigned. Yet again, money usurping quality as a fundamental premise on which to build.
Those traveling overseas, even those going to Canada, will see a HUGE difference in reporting. Small wonder that the British press asked “How could [I forget the figure now – the number of people in the U. S. at that time-] be so dumb”.
AND the Constitution gives specific unequaled attention to the press because of its vital importance to democratic governance.
Thank you so much for writing about this issue.
Zeneida
As a parent of Charter School scholars, I am relieved that there is a coordinated effort to raise private money to help with the start up costs for the schools. Unlike traditional schools, charter schools do not receive public funds to establish a school. They need this money to purchase desks, chairs etc for the school to operate.
Prior to my children attending a charter school, my family spent three years at a District 3 traditional school where I was a member of the PTA Board and a Class Parent for my children’s classrooms. The burden of fundraising is placed on the parents. It is an all consuming job to troll the community and corporations to ask for funds. These funds are used to buy copy paper and copier toner for the office. If we raise enough we can fund special electives such as chess or dance that would get offered for a 10 week period.
In addition to the fundraising burden placed on the parents, there were great inequities across schools and even classrooms within a single school. The traditional school my children attended raised approximated $100,000 a year vs. a school 20 blocks south which reportedly raised over $2,000,000 a year. The perceived quality of the traditional school relies so heavily on how much money is raised.
Now at the charter school, my time is focused on supporting my children’s education and community building activities. I know that the administration is in charge and proactive in every way. There are no fundraising burdens placed on the parents. My children were in a G&T program at their traditional school, yet joined the charter school being months behind academically from their new charter school peers. The school has done an amazing job helping my children get caught up.
Traditional school parents to need focus their attention on demanding that the DOE and City Hall administrations deliver quality. I will stand next to them on THEIR march to City Hall or Albany if this is the focus. No more excuses on why the administration can’t deliver a consistent, equitable education across all schools not just the ones where parents fill the gaps with raised funds. Charter schools are not the problem for these schools. In fact we can help traditional school families. They can point to our success and the fact that we can reach these levels with less per pupil public funding and demand that the DOE accomplish the same.
As far as Eva Moskowitz’s salary, we’ve been asking for educators to be valued in our society as much as other professions. We have a strong educational leader who delivers on performance and we question why she is paid her salary. We’re sending the wrong message. We should be demanding that other educators who match Eva’s consistent scholar performance levels across all schools in a network or district then they too should be paid based on merit.
Laurie,
A few things you should think about. If Success Academy needs more money, why did its friends spend $3.6 million to attack Mayor de Blasio? Remember that he gave Eva five (5) new schools. Why didn’t that satisfy her? If Success Academy needs more money for school supplies, I suggest that it should not pay over $500,000 to a Beltway public relations firm called SDK Knickerbocker. That money could have paid for a lot of school supplies.
Second, I agree that educators should be paid more, I often say so. But I wasn’t thinking of Eva Moskowitz. She is a lawyer and a politician, not an educator. Do you really think she should be paid more than the President of the United States?
You have a choice of where to focus time and attention to solve the education crisis. There is a money trail of donated funds on both the traditional public schools and charter schools. The Teachers Union donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to support politicians at the same time they say schools don’t have enough funds to educate children. But as I mentioned, I am relieved that the burden of fundraising is not placed on the parents at our charter school. Success Academy knows that parents’ time is best spent working directly with their children. As a parent with direct experience in both the traditional and charter schools in NYC I can tell you that without radical change in the traditional public schools, they will never match the quality of education my children are now getting at Success Academy. It shocks me that people and politicians who speak against the charter schools have never taken tours or met with parents who have the first hand experience. I can share deplorable stories of what is acceptable in the traditional school system and my children were lucky enough to attend a well regarded traditional school and G&T program. I worked hard as a parent to help fill the gaps as did many other parents but we are working against a system of apathy and unaccountability. Wonderful teachers get little support. I feel like I left families behind in a system that will fail their children and that makes me angry. This is why I am willing to fight with them if the focus is on quality not attacking a charter school that has proven success. You should also note that Eva Moskowitz is an educator. She was a child of educators and was an educator herself. She fought for quality education for the traditional school system as a City Council Member and when she couldn’t cut though the politics she started her own school network. Eva’s Success Academy is truly everything that people have been saying was possible. The difference is she is delivering and she deserves every penny she earns. I see it everyday in my children’s new found love of learning. Every child deserves this level of education and respect. I am happy to share my experience in more detail.
“The Teachers Union donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to support politicians at the same time they say schools don’t have enough funds to educate children.”
The funds that are used to support politicians are separate from any union dues. These funds are donated by members who wish to contribute–the funds are used to support those policy-makers who support public schools. The members who wish to make these contributions give whatever they wish, but surely you cannot fund public schools with the measley donations of a small percentage of members. Your argument is disparaging toward union members who deserve to make a living at their jobs–no union members are getting rich as teachers, and certainly no collective union contributions can fully fund public schools–nor is it the responsibility of teachers to fund their community’s public institutions. Ridiculous notion!
I completely agree. Teachers and parents should not have to personally fund schools which is exactly what is happening in the traditional school system and one of the many reasons it is broken. The amazing teachers my children had in the traditional school paid hundreds of dollars of their own money to buy basic supplies and books for their classrooms. This is unacceptable and it only adds to the inequities across classrooms and schools. This is another great benefit of Success Academy. Teachers are provided with amazing supplies, books and ongoing professional development. When I share this with the traditional school teachers in my family and who I have friendships with, it almost brings them to tears. They dream of a day when children are put first and when they are given support from their administration at the same level as Success Academy.
I cannot speak to other charters, but my ex-husband taught briefly at one where he was treated like a second-class citizen by the “principal.” The only thing that mattered was the school’s overall test results in language arts and math. There was no education, and certainly not all subjects AND teachers were treated with the respect they deserved. Was he paid well? Yes, but it wasn’t worth the belittling of his students and his program to stay there. When he dared to speak up for his students, he was fired on the spot and escorted out of the building by security as if he was a criminal. It is my understanding that many charter schools operate similarly which contributes to a very high attrition rate of charter school teachers. Public school teachers make an investment in the community schools which in turn make investments in them. Charters tend to invest only in whatever mode of “educating” will raise reading and math scores, all other subjects be damned. This is not what I would want for my child or any of the children in the community.
I’m sorry to hear about your ex husband’s experience. It is not acceptable. I don’t see that in our school. Our school teaches critical thinking which by default prepares scholars for any test or challenge that comes their way. For example, my 3rd grader told my husband and I that this week was his best week ever. So while other kids and families stress over the ELAs, Success Academy has helped my son view the experience as his best week ever to prove what he knows via the ELAs.
I’m finding you comments increasingly hard to believe. I believe your involvement with Success Academy goes beyond having your child enrolled in that school.
Your 3rd grade child told you and your husband this was the “best week ever”??? Really? Doesn’t sound like “third grader speak” to me.
Michael I am a parent of three scholars. Although I was on the PTA board at our traditional school, I have not taken on that role at Success Academy. I can understand why you may have a hard time believing my story, my children’s story. For so long we’ve been told excuses of why a high performing school can’t happen. My words are the truth. They are my personal story. The good news is that we can have successful and high performing schools with accountability and good leadership. We need to stop the finger pointing and blame game. For example, co-location has not caused the fundamental dysfunction in the school system. And co-location is not a charter school issue alone. PS 452 was co-located with Computer School and Anderson and to make room for PS452 another school was moved out of the building. I’ve attended many Community meetings to ask our elected officials to require new development to include school space. This is a city-wide problem that needs to be addressed but the more we spend our energy pointing fingers at fellow parents and schools the less likely we’ll ever really see a solution.
As for your comment about third grader speak, I don’t find stating ‘Best Week Ever’ to be beyond a third grader’s capability. My first grader is capable of this. I was very happy to hear he sees the state tests as a chance to prove what he is capable of doing. It is exactly how I want him to view the experience. The test itself is not very important at this point in his life but the learning he has done along the way is invaluable.
My friend, a charter school teacher at a big charter chain in a big Midwest city, has no math textbooks for his math students, all 62 of them, this entire year. He had to work through lunch 5 days a week until recently. Now he works through lunch 2x a week. As for as the admin, they have swallowed the Kool Aid and bombard him with a daily onslaught of phony charter edu-speak in lieu of real supports for students with socio-emotional issues who disrupt class.