Archives for the month of: August, 2014
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Louisiana School Board Sues State to Block Funding of Charter in Its District

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
6

The Iberville Parish school board decided to sue the state when it learned of the state’s plan to divert a sizable portion of the district’s basic funding to a new, for-profit charter school.

“The Iberville Parish School Board decided Monday it would fight to retain more than $3.8 million in state funding by suing the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“The school district is seeking an injunction to stop BESE from funneling the state Minimum Foundation Program funding to a new charter school, which opened on Monday, until the matter can be heard in court.

“The board made the decision during its regular meeting Monday night at the recommendation of Superintendent Ed Cancienne, who previously called the opening of the Iberville Charter Academy “an intrusion on the school district’s rights and tax money.”

“Chief Financial Officer Jolain Landry said the Iberville Parish School System was set to receive more than $15.8 million in funding from the state’s Department of Education for the 2014-15 school year. But the district received notice over the summer that approximately $3.8 million of the money was instead being allocated to the Iberville Charter Academy, she said.”

Members of the local board were outraged by the raid on their Minimum Foundation Funding and suggested that it was inspired by campaign contributions:

““This parish shouldn’t have to suffer; to take our local dollars to support a private business and make a profit off of our kids in this parish, it’s not right,” board member Brian Willis said before voting Monday.

“Board member Nancy Broussard chided the Education Department for allowing the charter school to receive MFP funding based on enrollment projections instead of actual student counts. She also berated the department for giving charter schools more lax accountability standards compared to public schools.

“Board member Tom Delahaye called charter schools a hoax and theorized the state’s push to welcome charter schools into local districts was being driven by campaign contributions.

“Delahaye presented to the board a print-out from the state’s Ethics Administration Program website showing itemized campaign contributions from Charter Schools USA, the company managing the Iberville Charter Academy, to BESE members and Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“Charter Schools USA has given right at $25,000 in campaign contributions in the past three years,” he said. “This for-profit organization is giving them money to buy influence to set up a school in our parish and take advantage of our children — that’s what’s happening here.”

The Parish board voted 12-2 to sue the state. One of the two dissenters said she was not opposed to the suit but wanted other local boards to share the cost of litigation.

Categories Charter Schools, Louisiana

Michigan: State Superintendent Flanagan Slaps Wrists of Failing Charter Authorizers

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
1

As we learned from the Detroit Free Press series on the state’s charter industry, it collects $1 billion from taxpayers without producing better results than public schools for the state’s neediest children.

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan acted to warn the authorizers of the state’s lowest performing charters that he was warning them they were “At Risk of Suspension.” This warning applied to 11 of the state’s 40 authorizers.

He said:

““We want all public schools to provide a quality education for Michigan’s kids,” Flanagan said. “I am using the authority provided me in state law to push for greater quality, transparency, and accountability for those who aren’t measuring up as charter authorizers.”

“The authorizers on the At Risk of Suspension list are being given until October 22 to remediate those deficiencies before Flanagan makes his final determination in November to suspend the authorizer’s chartering ability.

“If an authorizer were to be suspended, it would not be a death sentence, and we’re not closing down their existing charter schools,” Flanagan said. “They wouldn’t be out-of-business. They just won’t be able to open any new charters until their deficiencies are fixed and the academic outcomes of their schools are improved.”

So he won’t close down their failing schools, he just won’t let them open new ones.

Here are the authorizers:

“The charter school authorizers At Risk of Suspension are:

Detroit Public Schools
Eastern Michigan University
Education Achievement Authority
Ferris State University
Grand Valley State University
Highland Park Schools
Kellogg Community College
Lake Superior State University
Macomb Intermediate School District
Muskegon Heights Public Schools
Northern Michigan University

“Each of the named authorizer’s charter school portfolio; that is, all of its charters schools considered as a whole, is in the Bottom 10 percent of the state’s academic Top to Bottom list. They, likewise, have deficiencies in their contract and transparency requirements.”

Categories Charter Schools, Michigan

Michigan State Board Calls for Sweeping Changes in Charter Law

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
9

The Michigan State Board of Education passed a resolution calling for reform of the state’s charter law. The vote was along party lines; the state board is dominated by Democrats but the legislature is not.

The resolution was passed following a series in the Detroit Free Press showing that the state spends nearly $1 billion each year on charters, which are neither transparent nor accountable.

“Among the recommendations: The board wants the Legislature to require private management companies that run charter schools to post online the same kind of information that traditional public schools must post, bar management companies from also being a charter school’s landlord, require lease agreements to reflect fair market values, set clear standards for who can open charters and hold charter authorizers accountable for the academic performance of their schools.

“The resolution, which was rejected by the two lone Republican members of the eight-member elected board, came after more than an hour of debate. Eileen Weiser, R-Ann Arbor, argued the board should delay voting because she believes some of the recommendations are already covered in state law.

“And then we can have a conversation that’s different than what we’re having now,” Weiser said.

“She and Richard Zeile, R-Dearborn, developed an alternate report…..

“The “State of Charter Schools” series showed that Michigan charters receive nearly $1 billion per year in taxpayer money from the state, often with little accountability, transparency or academic achievement. No state superintendent has ever suspended an authorizer since the charter law was adopted in the mid-1990s.”

Categories Charter Schools, Michigan

Stephen Krashen: Are Their Rich Kids Smarter Than Our Rich Kids?

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
44

Stephen Krashen, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California and a noted linguist and researcher, wrote the following commentary:

“Hanushek, Peterson and Woessmann (2014) claim that when we examine students from “advantaged” families, American students do poorly in math: Our rich kids do worse than rich kids from other countries. Hanushek et. al. conclude that this shows that poverty is not the only factor affecting school performance. Their conclusions are based on their analysis of data from the 2012 PIRLS examination, tests given to 15-year-olds in a large number of countries.

“Berliner (2014) argued that Hanushek et. al. used an invalid measure of “advantaged”: at least one parent who graduated college. He also argued that a more valid measure is parental income. Many college graduates, Berliner pointed out, are not in high-income professions.

“Here is Berliner’s paper, followed by my analysis, confirming that Berliner is, for the most part, right: Parental education is not the way to define “advantaged.” Poverty, defined by parental income, predicts math and reading achievement for 49 states in the US even when parental education is controlled, and predicts math achievement on international tests.

“Berliner, D. 2014. Criticism via Sleight of Hand https://dianeravitch.net/2014/07/29/david-berliner-responds-to-economists-who-discount-role-of-child-poverty/

“http://skrashen.blogspot.com/2014/08/do-american-rich-kids-do-worse-on_3.html”

Categories International, Testing

George McKenna Wins Close Los Angeles School Board Race

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
21

In a close election, veteran educator George McKenna won a seat on the Los Angeles school board. His opponent, Alex Johnson, outspent him. McKenna supporters bit their nails for hours, waiting for the final tally, which was 53-47 in McKenna’s favor. It was a special election to fill the seat of the late Marguerite LaMotte. McKenna had 50 years experience in education. Johnson was a favorite of the charter industry.

According to the Los Angeles Times,

“The winner is likely to cast pivotal votes on such issues as how teachers are evaluated and how large a pay raise they will receive, and whether L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy has the board support to pursue his vision of reform on these and other matters.

“McKenna, 73, entered the contest with strong and generally positive name recognition based on five decades of experience in local school systems.

“He achieved national acclaim for his decade-long tenure as principal at Washington Preparatory High School in South L.A. before becoming superintendent of the nearby Inglewood Unified School District for six years. He then held senior posts in Compton Unified, Pasadena Unified and L.A. Unified. These districts made incremental progress, but nothing like the success he’d had as a school principal.

“Over the last four years, Johnson, 34, has been an aide to L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, focusing on education and safety.

“Before that, the L.A. native worked as an attorney in the New York public school system for two years. He also served as an entry-level prosecutor for three years in the Bronx.

“To offset McKenna’s advantage of experience and personal connections, Johnson forged key alliances.

“Several major political action committees backed Johnson, including one for charter schools; a second with ties to Ridley-Thomas; a third that drew on connections with civic leaders in support of Deasy; and a fourth funded by Local 99 of Services Employees International, which represents most low-wage, non-teaching district employees. Johnson had pledged unequivocal support of their salary demands in contract negotiations.”

GEORGE MCKENNA
14,940

53.18

ALEX JOHNSON
13,153

46.81

Categories Los Angeles

Mike Klonsky: Why Is Illinois Governor Quinn Losing to “the Worst Person in the World”?

By dianeravitch
August 13, 2014 //
16

Mike Klonsky tries to figure out why Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois is running behind in the polls to hedge fund manager Bruce Rauner, whom he dubs “the worst person in the world.”

Rauner has spent a boatload of money on the race, but Klonsky doesn’t think that explains it.

Quinn’srunning mate Paul Vallas has been no help, but that doesn’t explain it.

Klonsky’s analysis: Quinn has run a bad campaign and failed to excite his own base.

He writes:

“My assessment? This is one of the worst the-other-guy’s-a-crook (“unpatriotic”) campaigns in recent memory, which has to work in favor of the guy with the most money. Quinn’s campaign has been pitiful, giving even the most avowed Rauner haters little to get excited about. Despite receiving gobs of money from the state’s unions, Quinn has done nothing to win back the trust and support of the state’s 850,000 union workers and especially its 87,000 retired teachers who he shafted with his support for the (unconstitutional on its face) pension-robbing SB-1 legislation. That is precisely the group of angry, activist voters who could put Quinn back on top.

“Even Quinn’s support for an increase in the state’s minimum wage has been tepid. On an issue that could rally the base, the governor supports a measly buck-seventy-five-cent increase in the minimum wage (hardly livable) and that, only in a non-binding resolution. Pathetic.

“And barely a word since April regarding public education funding, charter school expansion, school closings or much of anything else.”

If you can’t win your base, you are in big trouble.

Categories Illinois

Breaking News: Florida School Board Wants Entire District to Opt Out!

By dianeravitch
August 12, 2014 //
34

The Lee School Board in Florida wants to opt out of all standardized testing. They have listened to parents. They are tired of enriching Pearson.

“FCAT. Florida Standards. Common core.

“No matter what you call it, the school board wants it gone.

“Board members unanimously expressed their disdain for standardized testing at the school board meeting Tuesday, pledging to research the possibility of “opting out” the entire district from standardized testing.

“There needs to be a come-to-Jesus meeting … to talk about these issues point blank,” Chairman Tom Scott said.

Board member Don Armstrong said the district cannot afford to continue testing at the current rate.

“A lot of our money is being poured out of this county to go to one company, I won’t say names,” he said. “But on this board or not on this board, I won’t stand for it anymore.”

Dozier asked the board to vote to “opt out” the entire district from testing. Some school districts have done this in Texas, but none in Florida.

“Why can’t we be the first?” Dozier asked, prompting an applause in the audience……”

“State assessments have been designed for kids to fail,” Fischer said. “I’ve worked in school since 1960. Just follow the money, look it up on the Internet, it’s about people making billions of dollars.

“Scott urged the public to get involved.

“This is your school district, and the more parents making noise, the more likely people are going to hear it in Tallahassee,” he told the audience. “I ask everyone here to find 10 other people who feel the way you do and start making some noise.”

“Superintendent Nancy Graham said the board should carefully research the possible ramifications of opting out.

“I’m not saying we can’t do it, but we need to think about these things purposefully and intentionally,” she said.

“Three moms in attendance from the group Teaching Not Testing echoed the board’s sentiment.

“Tess Brennan, the mother of a second-grader, said her daughter can usually read at a fifth-grade reading level. But when her daughter missed answering three questions on an exam to take a bathroom break, it significantly hurt her overall score.

“She missed three questions because she had to poop,” Brennan told the board. “It took three weeks to convince my child that she can still read. She can. She can devour a 100-page book in 45 minutes.”

Categories Florida, Standardized Testing

Breaking News: Michelle Rhee Will Step Down as CEO of Students First

By dianeravitch
August 12, 2014 //
40

Joy Resmovits of Huffington Post reports that Michelle Rhee is stepping down as leader of StudentsFirst, a group she founded in 2010. She is likely to remain a board member. She recently changed her name to Michelle Johnson.

“StudentsFirst was launched on Oprah’s TV talk show in late 2010 and immediately set ambitious goals, such as amassing $1 billion in its first year and becoming education’s lobbying equivalent to the National Rifle Association. Its policy goals focused on teacher quality, teacher evaluations, school accountability and the expansion of charter schools. But the group has failed to achieve some of its major goals. After revising its fundraising goal to $1 billion over five years, the group only netted $62.8 million in total: $7.6 million in its first year, $28.5 million in its second year and $26.7 million between August 2012 and July 2013. The group also has seen much staff turnover, cycling through at least five prominent spokespeople since 2010.

“After the group began, it saw some legislative and electoral successes. It claims credit for changing more than 130 education laws in many states. It has released report cards ranking states on their education policies, supported candidates through political action committees, and lobbied state legislatures and governors on reform issues.”

Although Rhee always claimed to be a Democrat, most of her group’s campaign contributions went to conservative Republicans. Last year, StudentsFirst honored Tennessee State Representative John Ragan as “education reformer of the year,” despite the fact that he was co-sponsor of the infamous “don’t say gay” bill). She opposed unions, tenure, and seniority, and she supported vouchers and charters. She was a leader of the privatization movement as well as the movement to evaluate teachers by test scores. Ironically, her successor in the District of Columbia announced yesterday the suspension of test-based evaluation of teachers, a move supported by the Gates Foundation.

Resmovits speculates that former CNN news anchor Campbell Brown will become the face of the movement to strip due process rights from teachers. StudentsFirst, however, is unlikely to have the national visibility that it had under Rhee’s controversial leadership.

Categories Charter Schools, Rhee, Michelle, StudentsFirst, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure, Unions, Vouchers

Michigan: State Board of Education Debating New Rules for Charters

By dianeravitch
August 12, 2014 //
31

Lori Higgins reported in the Detroit Free Press on Monday that the State Board of Education was debating new rules to make charter schools more transparent and accountable. Most charters in the state operate for profit and don’t believe in opening up their operations to prying eyes. We will see how this turns out.

She wrote:

“The State Board of Education on Tuesday is set to debate a proposal to call on the Legislature to adopt comprehensive changes to the state’s charter school law that addresses transparency, accountability and educational quality.

Among the recommendations:

■ Require management companies that run charter schools to make public the same information traditional public schools must make public — including salaries, benefits and contracts.

■ Bar a company from serving as both a charter school’s management company and landlord
.

■ Require an open bidding process for contracted services.

■ Prohibit authorizers from unilaterally removing charter board members.

■ Reinstitute a “cap” that allows high-performing charter schools and operators to replicate and expand, while precluding poor-performing charters from replicating and expanding.

■ Hold authorizers accountable for the academic performance of their charters.

Categories Charter Schools, Michigan

New York: Report on Inequitable Funding

By dianeravitch
August 12, 2014 //
19

Governor Cuomo oftens complains about spending on public schools. But he fails to mention budget cuts and inequitable funding. A new report by the Alliance for Quality Education lays out the facts and their consequences for Néw York’s public schools.

Good report /summary below of funding gap and education cuts since CFE.

New York state’s public schools have suffered devastating budget cuts over the past several years. As is so often the case around the country, the burden is overwhelmingly placed on the students and communities who most need support.

The details of this tragedy are described in a new report released today by the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) in partnership with Opportunity Action. “Billions Behind: New York State Continues to Violate Students’ Constitutional Rights” does more than illuminate the problem: it also lays out solutions to New York’s school funding crisis.

There is a way to more equitably distribute school aid across the state — it’s a formula called Foundation Aid — but seven years after its unveiling, policymakers in Albany have still refused to fully fund it.

Quality education is a constitutional right for every New York student, a right denied to many children thanks to these budget cuts. As AQE’s Zakiyah Ansari put it, “This report doesn’t just show a funding problem, it’s also a civil rights problem.”

In light of this week’s announcement of a $6.2 billion state budget surplus heading into next year, now is the time to close the funding gap and ensure an opportunity to learn for each and every New York student.

Read the full report here.

Read the press release here.

Opportunity Action
1680 Duke Street | Alexandria, VA 22314
http://www.opportunityaction.org | 703-838-6722

__._,_.___

Categories Budget Cuts, New York
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