Under former State Superintendent Tony Bennett, five schools–four in Indianapolis and one in Gary–were taken over by the state and given to private operators. Students are leaving, there’s not enough money, and there is acrimony between the private operators and the schools.
The new State Superintendent Glenda Ritz prefers improving schools rather than taking them over, but she is working with a hostile state board of education, appointed by a hostile governor. After two years of privatization, all five schools are still F-rated.
The losers? The children.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
How true. The only ones who profit in political game playing are the players. The children are always the losers.
Once again a supportive educator is thwarted by politics. And, the children lose yet again. How sad!
This makes me want to cry! None of these billionaires or anyone in politics seems to understand or even care about what they’re doing to children let alone teachers. It’s heartbreaking to know that greed has brought us to this point. God help us please!…show us the way.
Everyone keeps asking teachers for data to support curriculum decisions (when they actually get to make any decisions that is), so where is the data that this concept works? If it did work and if there was hard proof, that data would be all over the place.
Reblogged this on Jack Of All Trades and commented:
Everyone keeps asking teachers for data to support curriculum decisions (when they actually get to make any decisions that is), so where is the data that this concept works? If it did work and if there was hard proof, that data would be all over the place.
Here is the thing: What happens when these 5 particular schools close? Are they returned to public schools? Are they shuttered for good?
One has to wonder about charters that pop up, and after a while disappear. Where do THOSE kids now attend school? What happened/happens to the brick and mortar of a turned around school? What happens to the location that was being rented, etc. of a charter school after it closes, that was privately managed, etc. – THAT location is simply gone, right?
In AZ the charter operator gets to keep assets valued at less than $5000. That’s public money becoming private money.
We who live in Indiana are painfully aware of this. I questioned our school board about this and if the board itself or any members supported G. Ritz and if II understand the president of the board correctly, she at least does not wish to get involved in “politics”. My view: who better to push than school boards. I intend to push them at their next meeting but they have a very limited time limit for audience participation.
I have seen first hand the political interference in education and it “ain’t pretty”.
It is unfortunate that political ideology trumps attempting programs and ideas that may work. These schools should become community schools that provide a wide range of services to their students and their families. Obviously, it will never happen because you have an insane governor. And he is insane. f you keep doing the same failed policies over and over and expect different results, you are definitely insane.