Texas State Commissioner Michael Williams overrode the veto of the state board of education to bring Arizona-based Great Hearts Academy to Texas. The state board thought they could veto the commissioner’s choices. But, well, it didn’t work that way, especially after Great Hearts hired Governor Rick Perry’s former chief of staff as its lobbyist.
Williams was impressed by Great Hearts’ excellent test scores and frankly didn’t care that most of its charters are located in white, affluent neighborhoods, and that its schools did not enroll any English language learners. Williams said that no one should hold against them the fact that most of their students are white and not poor.
“Williams’ decision has been so contentious not only because of the procedural issues, but because education leaders question whether Great Hearts—a chain of 19 schools in the Phoenix area (as of this fall), all but one of them in the suburbs outside the city—can replicate its program for Texas students.
“Great Hearts advertises SAT scores hundreds of points above the national average, glowing college attendance rates and an “A” rating from the state for most of its schools. Williams told the board this morning that Great Hearts’ track record suggested they clearly fit the bill for a “high performing” network. But critics—like those who rallied to keep the chain from expanding into Nashville—say Great Hearts gets those results because its student body reflects the white, affluent neighborhoods where it opens. None of Great Hearts Arizona’s 7,617 students are classified as “English language learners,” according to the Arizona Department of Education, and just two of its schools have any students on free or reduced lunches—a common shorthand measure of student poverty.
Roberto Gutierrez, who leads Great Hearts’ nationwide growth efforts, said in a statement that they’re committed to serving a diverse student body in Texas. “Our first campus in central San Antonio is in a neighborhood that is more than 61% Hispanic/Latino,” Gutierrez wrote. Great Hearts’ school in that city is set to open this fall on two campuses in the Monte Vista neighborhood near Trinity University. “The Dallas and Irving neighborhoods we seek to serve are also diverse, urban communities full of parents and students who support these new public school offerings for excellence.” They’re still looking for a campus in Old East Dallas, Oak Cliff or downtown Dallas.
“Speaking to the board this morning, Williams allowed that in Arizona, “the bulk of [Great Hearts’ students] are white and probably not poor.” But he said it’s wrong to hold that against them. “There is nothing in Texas law, and nothing in the public policy of this state, that says that one cannot have a charter, or an expansion amendment, that serves kids who are not poor and who are not minority. Quite frankly, I think the latter part would be against the law. … State law doesn’t say that you can only have charters for brown, poor and black kids.”
I’m sure that the Catholic high school that I went to has great SAT and ACT test scores. And it was 98% white (and still seems to be that close) with probably no free and reduced lunches. But IT’S NOT A PUBLIC SCHOOL as the lying bastard Gutierrez wrote of Great Hearts “these new public school offerings”.
Go ahead Great Hearts, open your private selective schools but do it without stealing public monies from the community public schools. Go ahead and stand free in the vaunted free market of private education, refuse to accept those “gubmint handouts”.
Yup. It’s moving into a wealthy white and Asian section of Irving where all the tech people are moving to. There is a dearth of schools there, for them to choose from, that won’t put them in contact with”those” kids…the other choice that they have is pricy private schools.
Gee, I wonder what some of them will choose.
Esp infuriating given that Williams is a minority: hypocrite!!!!
I once taught in Tucson and I’d bet Greater Hearts is not “serving” kids with anything resembling the socioeconomic backgrounds of some of the students that I taught.
“Greater Hearts (and profits)”
The hearts and minds
Are what we’re after
(And public funds
So, cue the laughter)
Is the current rapid increase in charter schools similar to the housing bubble?
Comment on Naked Capitalism financial website today:
“The Derivative Project took a look at what the firms have stuffed into money market funds and sent our request for transparency on MMF (money market financing) on to the FSOC (Federal Stability Oversight Committee), during the open comment period. Yikes, financing charter schools, other small muni entities’ long-term needs with short-term MMF, packing the stuff with VIE’s (Variable Interest Entities: A VIE is an entity meeting one of the following three criteria as elaborated in FASB ASC 810-10 [formerly FIN 46 (Revised)]:
1. The equity-at-risk is not sufficient to support the entity’s activities (e.g.: the entity is thinly capitalized, the group of equity holders possess no substantive voting rights, etc.);
2. As a group, the equity-at-risk holders cannot control the entity; or
3. The economics do not coincide with the voting interests (commonly known as the “anti-abuse rule”).
and a bank guarantee…This is a disaster about to explode if rates trend up. Take a look in today’s MMF what type of credits big banks are guaranteeing for a fee. Disastrous when rates rise…”
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/07/tbtf-strike-back-sec-commissioner-calls-fsoc-vast-left-wing-conspiracy.html
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Nice to have numbers backing up one’s common sense, which says: how much $ is there in ed, anyway? Even if you’re stealing it hand over fist from the public ed system, there’s a limit to the taxpool (as public ed can attest). The way this thing plays out: grab the $ as fast as you can (before democracy, regs, lawsuits catch up)– keep moving from place to place; recognize there’s a short-term end-game; hand it off to a sucker & bank the sale proceeds in the Caymans.
We are in a race: hasten the arrival of democracy (via voting & election campaigns) & regs (pressure on legislature) & lawsuits (teachers? ACLU?) before the corporate interests have laid waste to the American public school system.
The cycle between financial disasters e.g. housing to charters, is getting shorter.
The east and west coast moguls robbed the middle class of their home equity, their pension money and now they’re stripping them of tax money, intended for their children’s education. Distortions from media and economists built the scaffold for the thievery.
I can feel the nation getting closer to the quote from Daily Kos, “If they won’t let us dream, we won’t let them sleep.”
Shouldn’t name be changed to
” Greater Hearts of a Darkness”!
…typo…. make that….
Greater Hearts of Darkness
TEA Commissioner Williams’ ignorance of how children learn, in addition to his overall bafoonery, cause us Texans to think he is developmentally delayed, or else he is a more primitive species than what we recognize as normal for human Texans?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or perhaps just your typical bought&sold politician
There are “human Texans”??
I always thought they considered themselves first and foremost Texans which from my understanding doesn’t have anything to do with being human. Being Texan is far greater than mere human.
Well, it appears the goal of the prevailing power in Texas is to move to vouchers and charters and this follows that line of thinking. Williams is being a good soldier — doing the job as he was assigned. Odd thing to me is this conflict between him and the SBOE. What a shock to discover they aren’t as aligned as I thought they were.
The racism in William’s comments is sickening … and, let’s be honest, this isn’t about education – heck, even the Board of Education can see that – it’s all about money, playing upon desperate parents who are afraid of “the stranger” in their midst and want little White Bread Johnny and Susie to go to Harvard, learn about oil and business, and make millions. Why even bother with the Board of Education? – heck, just let Perry and his cronies make all the decisions. Shoot, close down the public schools … who needs ’em? If you’re not rich enough to send your kids to private or charter schools, well, that’s too damn bad; you should work harder … or home school ’em. Sink or swim, and we’ll be happy to see you sink!
So obviously the SBOE doesn’t want to be too obvious about expanding charter schools unlike Williams that is more than obvious. Crazy no one cares that the very people ruining education are the same people claiming they will save it.
http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Education-board-OKs-paid-trips-to-charter-schools-5631073.php