A reader responded to an earlier post about the likely closing of two more charter schools in Albany associated with the Brighter Choice Foundation. The Brighter Choice charters were once called “the holy grail” of school reform by conservative admirers. The reader left a comment describing her experience in one of the Brighter Choice charter schools (BCCS) in Albany that closed:
She writes:
As a former employee of one of the BCCS that closed, I have to say that there are positives and negatives to charters. I have worked in both district and charter schools so I could compare. Behavior wise, I found the charter schools equal to the district schools. However, the charter schools lacked the resources to manage many of the behavior problems. Due to needing to keep enrollment numbers up, children were not expelled and continued to behave poorly (walking out of class, yelling at teachers, etc.). The BCCS I was in really cared about the children and there was a family-like atmosphere. However, many of the students did not perform well academically due to several factors. 1) Many of the students entered the school below grade level academically. Even improvements would not have been enough to be proficient on the state exam. 2) not sure about other schools, but our school had very little parent involvement despite outreach from the school, 3) behavior issues impacted the ability to learn, 4) middle schools are much different with elementary. A lot more outside factors impact in-school learning.
Although I think it is good to have alternative school choices, I do not approve of spending tax dollars to fund multiple schools that are all performing the same.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I have said this before, but it bears repeating. If charters are not getting substantially better results, they should have to return the students to the public schools. Why should taxpayers foot the bill for a failed experiment that is less efficient and often less effective than what public schools offer? With charter schools, residents often pay for a total new staff including administration, utilities, building lease, insurance, materials, etc., while many of these costs could be more efficiently rolled into existing public budgets. Why pay for duplicated services? For all this inefficiency, taxpayers have no say over curricula and budget, and they have lost a democratic right to a voice in establishing policies. Why should taxpayers be kept in the dark about where their tax dollars are going? Do you think most taxpayers would be pleased to know that their tax dollars are going to line the pockets of an already wealthy non-educator so he can purchase a multimillion dollar estate on the Gulf coast of Florida? Charters schools require rules and regulations, and it is up to us to force our legislators to take action ASAP.
You said “I have said this before, but it bears repeating. If charters are not getting substantially better results, they should have to return the students to the public schools.”
It should also be true that “if public schools are not getting substantially better results, they should have to return the students to the charter schools.” Fair is fair.
The reason for the existence of charters is that public schools failed to provide good education to the students in the first place. Parents pulled the trigger.
“Parents pulled the trigger.” Thanks for the laugh. Parents were duped, harassed and bullied and still only a slim majority “pulled the trigger”, many of whom tried to revoke their signatures when they found out what the real deal was, only to be told that they couldn’t.
As far as charters vs. public, it’s not a two-way street. Charters promised that they could do more for less. They haven’t. There’s no further reason to be diverting public money to private (often profit) interests.
Raj Acharya,
I live in Albany, and students from the public schools are not always welcome in the charter schools. Many schools are extremely reluctant/do not admit students that do not start in the early grades of that school. This is part of the reason why the number of students graduating from charters is so small. As students leave, new students are not accepted to take their place.
I have mixed feelings about charters. I am not totally opposed to them. But it is difficult to compare them to public schools because their way of operating and their students are very different.
The 2009 article is worth reading:
“Standing a few feet away, as Joseph plunged on, a man leaned against the wall, smiling. It was not a smug or obvious smile, nor the smirk of a man who was mocking or scornful. Tom Carroll was smiling because he had heard the speech before and because he knew, as founder of the charter school foundation that had siphoned off nearly a quarter of Dr. Joseph’s 10,500 students, that he was at least an immediate cause of the vitriol. It was the smile of victory.”
“You might say that our success is the revenge of the amateurs,” jokes Carroll, over a recent lunch at a downtown Albany bistro. “We didn’t really know anything about education when we started—and perhaps that’s why we have succeeded.”
Later we learn they wrote NY’s charter school law, so that’s good to know. Helpful to find out who is drafting state law. I wonder what elected state representatives do all day now that they’ve outsourced their work to private parties. Attend fundraisers? Do they worry they’ll become completely irrelevant?
http://educationnext.org/brighter-choices-in-albany/
In 2009 the public school superintendent said the public schools were destabilized and weakened due to the influx of charters. According to the triumphant Education Next piece, this warning was ignored.
Are the public schools now in worse shape than they were in 2009?
Every one of the problems listed by the former charter school teachers are the same problems faced by traditional public school only these schools have far more students the teachers have to face daily. Remember, charter schools have made the promise across the country to take care of students having trouble learning to provide them with a better education than traditional public schools. There are very good charter schools. There are very poor charter school. The same can be said for traditional public schools. On the whole, charter schools are really NOT doing any better than traditional public schools. There are too many parents and students looking for the easy way out for the student’s education. They want education spoon fed to the student while they are being entertained.
[My comment on a thread of 12-4-2014 entitled “Ben Austin Stepping Down as Leader of ‘Parent Revolution’.”]
I reprint in its entirety—solely minus the emoticons—what I wrote on this blog under a posting of 10-24-2014:
[START REPEAT]
Old Teacher: excellent points.
Let me reinforce what you said about the undemocratic nature of this whole “parent trigger” [i.e., shooting the gun of self-styled “education reform” at unsuspecting parents) business as it has worked itself out in reality, not in rheeality.
I reprint the first part of a comment I made on this blog on 1-14-2014 under a posting entitled “Two Anti-Parent Revolution Parents Accused of Vandalizing Charter School.” Also see my comment on this blog, 6-28-2013, under the posting “A Sad Graduation Day at Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, CA.”
[START REPRINT]
Simply as an aid to the owner of this blog—and to head off distracting molehills of tiny correction that divert from serious discussion—I include two excerpts below re the numbers involved in the charterization of Desert Trails Elementary School.
Please go to the articles linked below (and others; google) for more context.
I simply remind those viewing this blog that the parents who voted—53!—were not only a very small minority of the original petitioners, but also voted for the huge number of parents past and future. Among the charterites/privatizers, this is called “choice” — which as Chiara Duggan has pointed out, substitutes in their minds for “voice.” And in my mind, substitutes for “democracy.
[start quote]
Only 53 of the original 466 parent petitioners voted, and amongst those who did, the vast majority voted in favor of LaVerne Prep.
[end quote]
Link: http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/trails-38493-adelanto-approved.html
[start quote]
But some school officials and parents expressed concern that only 53 ballots were cast in the charter election. Although the school has about 400 families with 610 students, only 180 parents who signed the petition for a charter campus during the campaign last year were eligible to vote under the parent-trigger law.
“Fifty-three votes cast the direction of the school,” said LaNita M. Dominique, president of the Adelanto teachers’ union. “That’s a little disheartening.”
[end quote]
Link: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/22/local/la-me-parent-trigger-20121023
[END REPRINT]
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/01/14/two-anti-parent-revolution-parents-accused-of-vandalizing-charter-school/
But why let decency, compassion, facts and logic stand in the way of self-proclaimed “education reform”? Parent Trigger! Parent Revolution! Choice! Miracles!
Or am I exaggerating? Surely this is an outlier. Or maybe, as in the case of Steve Barr and his offhandedly cruel abandonment of John McDonough High School in New Orleans, this is just another example of ed business as usual in the pursuit of $tudent $ucce$$. Which in rheephormish, as Bob Shepherd would remind us, means that, most dear and near to the hearts of those leading and enabling the charterite/privatization movement are the acronyms “ROI/MC” aka “ReturnOnInvestment/MonetizingChildren.”
For McDonough, see this blog—
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/10/23/the-miracle-that-wasnt-steve-barrs-failure-in-new-orleans/
Just my dos centavitos worth…
[END REPEAT]
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/10/24/capital-and-main-the-failure-of-the-parent-trigger/
It is worthwhile going to the links provided above and reading the related threads.
I also refer people to a comment I made on a thread on this blog six days ago—
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/11/29/albuquerque-parent-speaks-out-against-testing-despite-efforts-to-silence-her-and-teachers/
Ben Austin is to “parent” and “revolution” what—
Well, it is so outrageous to associate him with either of those words in a positive sense that one can only wonder if he has a secret desire to make himself a hideous caricature of a decent caring human being:
“Ridicule dishonors a man more than dishonor does.“ [François de la Rochefoucauld]
But then, when $tudent $ucce$$ calls—“it’s all about the kids!”—some homegrown talent already knew the type:
“Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.” [John Steinbeck]
Wonder if Ben Austin and John Deasy are planning a get-away adventure together anytime soon? I hear that North Korea has a great jobs program for people that think democracy and compassion and honesty are not part of this cage busting achievement gap crushing 21st century…
They should think, however, about the retirement/severance plan, which (according to the usual unconfirmed rumors) involves 120 dogs that are having a very very very bad day…
Just sayin’…
😎
I think this get to the central issue facing schools: how do schools structure an environment that supports teaching and learning; and how much time is need to do it? As I read the BCCS teacher reflection, I ask: why are student enter a school below grade level? Where are they coming from? If these student are leaving public schools, should the teachers in those public schools not be held responsible for failing them in the first place? Passing failing kids onto charter schools to be “fixed” within a year is not the answer. It should not be a blemish on the charter school if they cannot make two or three grade level gains one year, with significantly less financial support and public belly aching and attacks.
Except that magically “fixing” kids and putting out “excellent” test scores all with less money was exactly what charters promised to do. But now charters are discovering – surprise! – that “fixing” issues that are a result of poverty and other life issues – whodathunkit? – is hard work and even, maybe, impossible, at least to do it that rapidly. But let’s all remember – poverty is not an excuse!
EXACTLY!!! Charter schools, freed from those troublesome regulations and (gasp) union interference, were going to be able to instantly turn around students who had been forced into low performance because of the failing public school.
Now they are learning the truth about teaching and learning. It is a daily battle, albeit one worth fighting. Success comes in small steps that we treasure. And those small steps are not usually measurable on a standardized test.
I would like to see news of these charter closings shouted from the rooftops along with all of the studies showing that they are not the magic bullet.
And yet York PA is being handed over to a for-profit charter group, despite all this evidence.
It has come to my attention that this blog has been graced by a visitor from Rhee World. If I may, a return to Planet Reality.
#1), charter schools that can’t work the miracles they promise are violating one of their own most sacred and inviable rules: no excuses. Period. End of discussion. *Refer back to “Dr.” Steve Perry if you disagree.*
#2), charter schools promise to do what public schools supposedly don’t and can’t and won’t do. They promise to lead the way in solving what public schools supposedly don’t and can’t and won’t solve. Refer back to #1: No excuses allowed.
#3), charter schools, if they don’t want to be labeled as cynical hypocrites, should not absolve themselves of the responsibility of meeting the same standards they demand of public schools. Refer back to #1: No excuses allowed.
To give one example of what 1 + 2 + 3 equals in that New Math of $tudent $ucce$$, let’s go to a creatively innovative charter school practice, the [in]famous “midyear dump.”
And to what, inquiring minds might ask, do I refer?
For one small example, this blog, 2-15-2014, large excerpts, in order, from a thread exchange between myself and Jack and Louisiana Purchase.
[start excerpts]
KTA: Jack: correct me if I’m wrong, but it is my understanding that the “midyear dump” described by Dr. Dewayne Davis occurs AFTER the charters collect the funding attached to the students for the school year.
So students that would and should require greater resources—the kind paid for with dollars like, say, more desperately needed classroom aides or at least more hours for those already stationed at the school—are left behind at the charter.
From the POV of the advocates for charters & privatization, a fair tradeoff: the charters get $tudent $ucce$$ and glowing reports in the MSM, the public schools get punished and pilloried for not accomplishing unrealistically under-resourced miracles.
Please clarify if you can.
Thank you.
Jack: Yes, when a charter dumps a child, the money does NOT follow that child. They have to keep the students for a week—or a month—and they get to keep the entire year’s money allocated for that child.
Put another way, there is no pro rata amount of money that goes along with the child. If the charter kicks the kid out after a month, a nine-month allocation does not go along with that child.
Whenever public school advocates try to change this, the charter folks throw up every roadblock and obstacle that they can.
KTA: Jack: ok, being a “choice & voice” [thank you, Chiara Duggan!] type of person, and not a part of the charterite/privatizer “my voice determines your choice” crowd—
Just how does this differ from legalized robbery and abuse of public school students, staff and parents?
A charter gets a kid for 1 month out of 9 but gets 9 out of 9 months of funding.
The public school that works with the kid for 8 out of 9 months gets 0 months of funding.
Is this another new math fad? Or am I just behind the curve in this cage busting achievement gap crushing twenty first century?
It seems to make ₵ent¢ to some but it makes no sense to me…
Go figure.
Louisiana Purchase: In Utah, anyway, once the “October 1st Count” has occurred, the charter school keeps ALL of the money for those students for the entire year. Thus, any students sent back to public schools after that date come with no money. My colleagues are getting tired of me complaining about this. I have a student this year who left two days before the count to the “better opportunity” of a charter school. He was back within 6 weeks, now credit deficient. His public school now has to pick up the slack of his missing credits, and we have no extra money to do it. Happens every year, although not at the staggering numbers of Audubon Middle.
[end excerpts]
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/02/15/reader-offers-a-dose-of-common-sense-about-high-test-scores/
And let me add: charter schools get other big bonuses like dumping those pesky test suppressors and behavior problems back into public schools, then putting on a big show at the end of the year, telling all and sundry of how their test scores have risen a smidgeon and how their students are better behaved than those ‘non-strivers’ and ‘uneducables’ in traditional “government monopoly” public schools.
After which the MSM trumpets on their major media platforms: public schools are “factories of failure” and charter schools are Centres of EduExcellence!
😳
But do the enforcers and enablers and advocates and supporters of charters & privatization really believe that when they sucker punch the vast majority of us they are the victims of sucker punches?
Yes, and the type was already known very long ago. As a very old and very dead and very Greek guy put it:
“A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wises to be true he generally believes to be true.” [Demosthenes]
😎
P.S. But will they ever leave Rhee World and its Rheeality Distortions Fields for Planet Reality and face up to their own self-serving distortions and lies? I think not, for they’re stuck like superglue to bedrock Marxist principles:
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
And they will never, ever, abandon Groucho. On that you can be sure.
😏
Thanks for the info. about the mid-year dump. This reminds of a story I read in the NYTimes about the K12 virtual charter school company. They churned through a lot of students, but always tried to keep the money.
“However, many of the students did not perform well academically due to several factors. 1) Many of the students entered the school below grade level academically. Even improvements would not have been enough to be proficient on the state exam. 2) not sure about other schools, but our school had very little parent involvement despite outreach from the school, 3) behavior issues impacted the ability to learn, 4) middle schools are much different with elementary. A lot more outside factors impact in-school learning.”
Really? Glad we do not have any of these factors at the public schools!
I am sorry to hear about the disillusionment of many earnest hard working young teachers who believed the charter rheetoric and poured their heart and soul into their work only to be slapped in the face by reality when there was no miracle. I hope they stay in education and learn to treasure the smaller victories that build an education.
Hi, I too worked in an Albany Charter and now work in the Albany City School District. I can agree with the post that there are a lot of teachers and administrators who really care about the kids and want to do everything they can to help them. In my time in the charter school I met and learned from a few really fantastic and committed teachers. I can also say most of these teachers and administrators are generally very young and inexperienced. The majority of administrators do not have administrative licenses. The majority of the teachers are still completing their Master’s degree and have limited-no experience.
The problem with the Albany Charters is the Brighter Choice Foundation and the tone of the schools. They need to make their money and run the schools like a business. The BCF (which is somehow now called the Albany Charter School Network, not sure why?!) sits on the third floor of the MS that may close. Mr.Carroll, Bender, and the other white, wealthy and older men who run this organization make no effort to get to know the students or interact with the staff. They park in their reserved spots and jet to their cushy offices to send down orders. I don’t really understand how the school can have Board Members who carry the lease of the school and profit from it, work for the BCF or have other clear, financial interests in the school. I think they should have to post all of their board meeting materials in the same manner ACSD does (http://albanyschools.org/district/board/2014-15/12-11/12-11-14.documents.html). Perhaps the public should start attending their board meetings. It is strange that although each school has a separate charter, the four board meetings happen at one time, in one building. I have never seen an agenda or minutes of a meeting, but I understand they are only an hour or two long as well.
There is too much pressure on the students, teachers and administrators. Yes, they do not expel as many kids but I have seen them “counsel out” a large, large number of students. They suspend students, have their parents come in and eventually say “maybe the district schools will be a better fit for your family”. The Brighter Choice Middle Schools also do not enroll students in the 7th or 8th grades because “it takes so long to teach the expectations of the school that at 7th grade it is too late”. Their special ed. and ELL population is limited and entirely different than the population of ACSD. They have no self-contained classrooms for students with autism, learning disabilities or emotional disturbances. They have no ELLs who are refugees and have never been to school or learned to read. This is probably a good thing for these students because they teach directly to the test and rarely differentiate instruction. The inexperienced and young teachers are pressured by administrators (who are in turn pressured by the Foundation) to drill test prep and test taking skills. They rarely read novels. Students are pulled during Sci/SS (which they receive in rotation instead of daily) for AIS services. With the high focus on test prep, students receive little to no humanities education. Lunch are often silent and the students do not even have the freedom to stand up to throw away their own lunches. The students know little freedom, so they often rebel any chance they get.
The interesting thing about the Brighter Choice MS for Boys and Girls failing is that it is in a way very reflective of both the Albany Charter Schools and the fact that it is not easy to run an effective urban middle school. The majority of the students at BCMS-Girls and Boys are from the area charter elementary schools. This means that the elementary schools (BCCS-Girls, Boys, Henry Johnson, ACC) are not preparing the students for the challenges of middle school as well. Could it be that there is no “quick fix” to better urban middle schools?
I imagine the BCF will put up a big fight to keep these schools open as they stand to lose a lot of money if this building closes. I imagine their deep pockets will end up keeping this school open for a few more years. I am sure Cuomo will fight tooth and nail for his friends at the Foundation as well.