During the Christmas holidays, the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School in Philadelphia announced that it was closing, due to financial problems. The School Reform Commission had already initiated action to close it for poor academic performance. The Philadelphia school district said that the charter school had claimed $1.5 million more than it was entitled to, and the school could not find the money to repay the debt. Why is this kind of turmoil and instability called “reform”?
Citing insurmountable financial obstacles, the Palmer charter sent letters to families and staff on Friday informing them that the school would close permanently Wednesday.
The move sent teachers on quests for new jobs and information about filing for unemployment, and left families of the school’s 675 students in kindergarten through eighth grade scrambling for new schools.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20141230_Shuttered_charter_school_leaves_students__staff_scrambling.html#yrkLWoFxtuixU2Th.99
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Public school teachers will graciously accept these students and integrate them into their classrooms. Their new schools, however, will receive no funding for the additional students. This is yet another example of the reform miracle.
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And then these underfunded schools will be vilified as “failures” by the MSM.
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Diane, I don’t know why you’re always picking on charter schools. Everyone knows that public schools abruptly close their doors without warning too.
Oh, wait….
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The zealots promoting charters are responsible for this mess. They are backing thieves.
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It’s amazing to me there’s no consideration of the fact that students have relationships with other students in schools. It’s such a huge part of “school” for them, or always was to my kids. It’s really not just a matter of finding them a “seat”. They’ll all be split up and sent all over the place.
How long have some of the kids at this school been together? It’s as if they’re just 100% solo actors in a “market”. Adults would have trouble with this kind of upheaval in a workplace, because people form relationships with other people. How do kids do with it?
“A private Milwaukee high school run by a voucher-school operator that’s come under scrutiny this year has been barred from receiving more taxpayer money, state documents show.
And now Travis Technology High School on Milwaukee’s north side has closed, forcing about 200 teenagers, almost all of whom attended on a taxpayer-paid voucher, to find different schools to attend when winter break ends.”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/milwaukee-voucher-school-closes-after-dpi-bars-it-from-program-b99416973z1-287051201.html
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I genuinely think we’d have to go back and examine the basic premise of this. What are charter school founders and operators told about any duty and responsibility they have (or don’t have) to the broader system of “public schools” in any area or city?
Obviously public schools have a duty, and that puts them in a default “safety net” role. Do charter schools have a duty and responsibility too? Do they have to do any analysis of how their actions impact the “system of public schools”?
If districts don’t have any control over charters (as has been done, deliberately, in many areas) is it fair to then give districts all the responsibility for what happens to the system as a whole when a charter opens or closes? Ordinarily responsibility FOR an outcome comes along with some measure of control OVER the outcome. Will district schools end up with all of the responsibility for “a school system” and none of the control over the “charter sector” of that system? Because no one in their right mind would make that deal.
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Why can’t charter be required to carry insurance that will provide funds for operation for a full school year?
Parents also use district schools as a fall back and will pull their children out midyear or see enrolling in a charter as a low risk option because they know “their base school has to take them”.
I think it would be in everyone’s interest that, unless a family moves, students must remain in a school for the duration of the school year. Charters can’t counsel out until the end of the year and parents can’t pull their children out midyear.
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Mid year closing is bad for everyone.
? for NJ Teacher. In many states there is an adjustment during the year for state $, based on attendance (that is, there is an official count in the fall and then adjustments during the year). Is this not true in Pa?
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Yes, Joe, mid-year closing is bad for everyone. But it’s an inherent risk of charter schools that does not apply to public schools. That’s a fact that you need to acknowledge if you’re going to go promoting charters. What do you propose to do to mitigate that risk?
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Dienne, first, our center and I are advocates for excellent public schools, whether district or charter. We see both having value as part of public education. Here’s a column from Minnesota’s largest daily newspaper saying this (one of many places I’ve said it)
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/50494982.html
Second, oversight of charters clearly needs to be improved in some places. The same is true of district public schools in some places. Yesterday there was a long exchange about problems in NYC district and Hempstead NY district.
There’s a lot of work going on to help improve oversight of charters. It’s a work in progress, just as improving oversight of district schools is a work in progress.
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Way to not answer the question, Joe. The problem is that sudden closure is an inherent risk in any business and charters are businesses. How can you mitigate (or better, eliminate) that risk? Or, alternatively, what is so great about charters (that can’t be done in public schools) that makes that risk acceptable?
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Sorry, Dienne, can’t spend the day responding to questions. All over the country educators and parents are finding that some needs are being met in district, some in charter – and sometimes being met when district & charter work together.
Chartering is a lot like other freedoms in this country…one of the basic ideas is that people would be allowed to create new approaches, so long as they are willing to be responsible for results and operate within some guidelines. That applies to freedom of speech and many other areas.
We’ve made progress as a country when people were allowed to question existing ways of doing things…like allowing only white males with property to vote, or coming up with new ways to move people from one place to another, or any other expansion of opportunity. We’ve valued those freedoms but recognized that sometimes people will make mistakes. We do many things to avoid mistakes (hence the development of laws that restrict and monitor). But we also have laws to encourage new approaches.
Sometimes districts give educators and parents the opportunity to try new approaches. That’s great…and no one should be forced to participate in new approaches, whether district or charter.
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I never realized that leaving school children in the lurch mid-year was a freedom enshrined in our Constitution. Learn something new every day.
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Joe is obviously talking about the Freedom to Fail and Fall in the school marketplace where children are not guaranteed schools that can finish out the year.
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Dienne: as it turns out, the answer to your question is silence. Deafening silence.
And why silence? Because that’s all that’s left when deflection and diversion and straw men are exhausted.
I will recycle some of the concerns you have raised on this blog: 1), why isn’t this headline news throughout the country?; 2), who abdicated their responsibilities to properly take care of the public good?; and 3), this is what choice without voice looks like.
As for me, this just seems like another variation of the midyear dump.
Thank you for your comments.
😎
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No, not silence. An attempt to describe tradeoffs, problems and opportunities. Fortunately opportunity continues to expand, though sometimes there are bad bumps. Fortunately democracy provides opportunities for people to create new potentially more effective institutions.
“The people yes” is a magnificent poem that describes the relentless movement ahead, even when some people take advantage of them. Yes, there are charlatans in the charter movement. Some in teacher unions and district schools too. That does not excuse any of them. But I’ll stand with those willing to try something new, and to help expand what’s working well.
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So, Joe, would you support concerned mom’s suggestion above that charters be required to have insurance to guarantee their operation throughout the school year? Should that be mandated by law?
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No. That’s because I would want to require the state (which of course means the public) to continue funding a school that lost a significant portion of its students, or whose board or staff committed serious crimes.
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Actually, now that I think of it, I’d go further than concerned mom. I’d say that at least part of such insurance should have to come in the form of a personal guaranty. Charters should have to contract to remain in continuous operation for at least a set amount of time or else the personal assets of the charter’s financial stakeholders would be forfeit in order to pay back the district. Would you support that? I mean, in the real business world, the person(s) who stand(s) to gain the most profit are also supposed to be the ones taking the biggest risks, right? If I attempt to open, say, a candy store and my business fails, I’m the one who loses my shirt. Why should opening a school be any different?
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Duly noted. You want the state to bail out failed businesses. From your mouth to God’s ears.
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Actually the reverse, I want the state (which of course would pay for the insurance) NOT to continue support schools that are clearly not meeting most of their students needs.
Now, Dienne, Krazy, concerned mom and othres, what would you like to happen in this district scandal:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/state-audit-highlights-numerous-fiscal-flaws-at-hempstead-school-district-1.9757636
“The Hempstead school district overpaid its superintendent by tens of thousands of dollars, routinely held closed-door meetings to the exclusion of the public and failed to screen and provide services for some special-needs children, a state audit has found.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said the district repeatedly disregarded sound fiscal and administrative practices…”
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Joe, you seriously do not want to try to get into matching scandal for scandal charter vs. public. You will lose.
But in any case, that’s not what this thread is about. Mid-year closure is something that can only happen at charters, at which point, its the public school(s) that take the hit as they have to suddenly re-absorb all of those kids. You will never find a public school that closes mid-year, leaving charters to scramble to accommodate all the displaced kids.
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It’s not about “losing or winning,” Dienne. I think it’s about what will help youngsters.
I’d like to know, what you and others would do about the Hempstead or NY City scandals.
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Oh, please, Joe, of course it’s about winning or losing to you – that’s why you constantly have to distract from the issue at hand when your precious charters are losing. This issue at Hempstead has nothing to do with mid-year closings, but you’re bound and determined to avoid that issue, right?
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So again, you don’t want to discuss district scandals. Only charter scandals.
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If you can find a scandal involving a public school closing mid-year, I’ll be happy to discuss it.
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I suppose the definition of “scandal” is open to debate, but this definitely happens. Didn’t an entire district (or more) in Michigan shut down mid-year recently?
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Flerp, I am guessing that you will find that any school district closing in Michigan is associated with reform shenanigans.
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I was thinking more of financial distress. Michigan has a lot of districts that have been under severe financial stress for many years, even before “reform” as such.
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Michigan’s problems are a little deeper than poor financial management, an the state apparently drags its feet when it comes to supporting public schools.
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Are you talking about Muskegon Heights? That was an all-charter district. If you’re talking about something else, I’d be interested in a link.
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No, not Muskegon Heights. I’ll see if I can find it.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-bankrupt-michigan-district-school-year-comes-to-an-abrupt-end/2013/05/15/72f05202-bcd9-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html
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Interesting case. But the school did re-open after a week. Sounds like there were many problems with funding and financing at both the state and local level. The formula for having money follow the child appears to have been a big problem. But you’ll note that the teachers offered to work for free to keep the school open.
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You state that all of this choice should be “democratic,” Joe. How do you justify, then, the very UN-democratic all charter take-overs of places like New Orleans, Newark, Muskegon Heights, and now York?
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Good question. In each case, someone who was elected ultimately is responsible.
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That may be true, but it is very hard to hire additional teachers midyear even if enrollment increases to the point of justifying it.
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Concerned mom- looks like unfortunately there will not only be some families looking for a new school, but also some educators looking.
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The issue is sometimes the district won’t approve the hiring of teachers. Also, if a new teacher is hired, the students in the school will be affect because they pull students from existing classes to create a new class. Many parents become concerned/unhappy with the changes this causes, especially for students in lower grades. There should be a way to limit school closes to the end of the school year. I think that would be best for all students.
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I teach in NYS, so I’m ignorant about the details, but I have to ask-
Are the fired teachers certified, or were the charters allowed to hire non-certified teachers because “pesky regulations like that get in the way of charter success”‘ or something like that?
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At least in my area, it’s highly unlikely that new teachers will be hired. The district just piles “one or two more” into each class. That’s not a big deal, right (sarcasm there)? The funding base is set even before the school year begins, on district estimates of how many students a school will have. My district doesn’t take into account the transitory population of my school. As a result, we are always overcrowded. Occasionally an elementary school will get a new teacher midyear when a grade is really crowded, but I’ve never seen it in a secondary school, because “only” one or two students are added to each class–the pain is spread around. I’ve gone from having 190 students in 2008 to 230 this year.
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Does anyone in Philly care about the 100% FLP students?
The Charter was told in April that their Charter was revoked but they refused to release students to enroll at District schools. The Charter blamed everything from pension payments to politics for the school problems with a 12% proficiency in Math. They were capped at 675 students but had an enrollment of 1300.
Who (if anyone) was watching this Charter? The money they received was taken from the District schools, so I guess the State really didn’t care! In addition, the audits showed that “a company related to a Board member provided curriculum services for fees of $144,000 in 2010 and $183,000 in 2012,”
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/67170-philly-school-district-wants-to-close-down-walter-palmer-charter-school-as-of-july-
What will happen when the York City Charter shutters its doors?
Does anyone care?
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“Take the Money and Run” (apologies to Steve Miller)
This is a story about “Dr.” Joe and Dr.” Sue
Charter shysters with nothing better to do
Than sit around the house, get charters and scam the schools
And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose
They headed down to, ooh, old El Paso
That’s where they ran into a great big hassle
“Dr.” Joe got outed while robbin’ the pub schools
“Dr.” Sue took the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Diane Ravitch is a professor born in Texas
You know she knows just exactly what the facts is
She ain’t gonna let those two escape justice
She bursts their bubbles, that’s how she relaxes
“Dr.” Sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away
“Dr” Joe caught up to her the very next day
They got the money, hey
You know they got away
They headed down south and they’re still running today
Singin’ go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
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Hope you find ways to use your creativity to help kids as compared to ridiculing others.
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He makes my day and if my day is happy it’s good for my kids. Hopefully he will continue to spread the fun. There is often truth in jest and his poems are right on. Just skip them if they trouble you so.
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Those people who hurt children and take advantage of parents should be ridiculed. They certainly should not be defended and supported, right,Joe?
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I’ve found that creativity generally extends well beyond the bounds of online comments. I’m sure our poet’s creativity is used to even greater effect in the classroom.
I’m just glad we see some of it here.
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“Ridicule”
If ridicule can rid a school
Of shammers and of scammers
Then mocking song can not be wrong
‘Cuz scammers warrant slammers
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http://www.newsobserver.com/welcome_page/?shf=/2014/12/31/4441499_wake-county-school-system-wants.html
o/t, but this seems odd to me…
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Great. So now school districts will be able to form their own charters? And that improves public education how? Sounds odd to me too, concerned mom.
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Actually a number of districts provide options allowing creation of new in-district options. Boston and LA Pilot Schools are good examples.
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Merrill told school board members that operating their own charter schools would allow Wake to have flexibility about when to start the school year, the length of the school year and how many teachers need to be certified.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/31/4441499_wake-county-school-system-wants.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
I find it interesting that he mentions certified teachers….
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concerned mom
They’re called “Innovation Schools” in MA and they are basically charters housed within public schools offering some type of specialized focus without the public school constraints. So no…teachers are not required to be certified.
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Diane
Thanks for bringing this to national attention. My fear about the demise of York, PA public schools’ corporate takeover is amplified.
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Does the word “prison” sound like n appropriate consequence? Why aren’t these fly by night charter school operators thrown in prison. Theft is a felony!!!
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The charter law in PA is not serving the best interest of most PA students. Just read about the federal investigations of charters in PA. The charter law has been on the books since 1997. Charters were suppose to be innovators for public schools. Time has proven that most do not perform better and often times worse than PA public schools. It is time for the unions and the public to pressure legislators to over turn this law. It would help drive the lobbyist and reformers out of PA. Again the charter law in PA is not in the best interest of most PA students.
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SomeDAM Poet, Ms. Cartwheel Librarian, and TheMorrigan: y’all made my day and started the new year off with just the right touch and tone.
And what would a discussion of values and goals be without commentary from the other side?
Courtesy of that world famous edupreneur, Mr. Pittbull his own bad self, regarding the core values of that most cage busting achievement crushing innovation called MSC[MainStreamCharters] that he’s gotten into:
I want, I need, I like, to get — money, money, money, money,
I want, I need, I like, to get — money, money, money, money,
(Juice Box, 2007; these two lines repeated over and over)
Nobody, I repeat, nobody, can ridicule and caricature the leaders and enablers of the self-styled “education reform” without them doing us the favor of taking on all the heavy lifting.
Leading me to an unexpected thank you to one and all, without exception.
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” [Charlie Chaplin]
This day, on this blog, was not wasted.
😎
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What would you like to happen in this situation, where an outside audit found that more than 2,000 computers in the NY City district “were either unused — still swaddled in their original wrapping — or could not be located at all…Seven hundred and twenty-seven computers were listed as having gone to particular sites, but when the comptroller’s office went to check, they were nowhere to be found. More than 1,000 additional computers were listed as “asset location unknown” by the Education Department.
During the course of the audit, 400 laptops and tablets were found to have never been unpacked. At Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, which is considered by the state to be one of the two most troubled schools in the city, 78 laptops and iPads were found unopened. Some of them had been bought in 2011.”
Somehow this December 2, 2014 NY TImes was not posted as an example of a district mess.
Reactions welcome to this one.
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Hey Joe!
I never heard of mid-year funding adjustments. Would you happen to have any documentation handy?
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NJ Teacher, good question which I’ve just send to the Education Commission of the States.
You might want to check with the state department of education finance office. In my work with various states around the country, I’ve asked state officials about this. Most affirmed that there is an adjustment during the year based on enrollment. That is, the state does not provide $ just on the basis of a one -time count in October. But I am asking ECS which is a non-partisan research organization that tracks state education legislation if they keep track. Thanks again for asking.
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NJ Teacher (and others interested in how schools are funded based on student enrollment), here’s a link to apaper that the Education Commission of the States sent to me today.
file:///Users/joenathan/Downloads/Count_Date_Mechanism.pdf
The paper shows states use several different mechanisms. For example, 16 states including Pa and Minnesota, used what’s called “Average Daily Membership.” They fund districts on an average of a count conducted every school day. NJ, which I assume is where you are from, is one of 13 states that uses a single count day. There are other approaches. Clearly, approaches vary from state to state.
Thanks again for asking. Please let me know if this link does not work.
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Thanks Joe! I did not realize that it varies from state to state. Yes, I am in NJ.
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Sure. Learning from others and haring what I hope is accurate, useful info is what keeps me coming back. Happy New Year.
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The spin on this one would be to blame Bloomberg , preferably while referring to “cronies” and suggesting that this is part of a a scheme to enrich technology companies and/or consultants. Mike Bloomberg is to most NYC teachers what Bill Clinton used to be to Republicans.
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Wouldn’t you think that some of our colleagues would have ideas about how to do a better job of monitoring computers? This was an audit of only 10 schools and thousands of computers were either missing or still wrapped up.
But I understand for some this is a place to ignore district scandals and write angrily about charter scandals.
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Joe,
I guess you have missed all the LA IPad fiasco posts. In addition, I have posted my fair share of stories from my district. I have read reports from all over the country. Next time, do your homework.
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Agreed that the LA mess has been well documented. It appears I missed your description of scandals in your district. My apologies.
Still waiting for comments about the NYC and Homestead scandals.
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Joe: I’ve also mentioned the $3 million dollar embezzlement in my district in Utah.
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Joe Nathan-
I understand your point of views in some ways regarding charter schools, and I would like to thank you for being thoughtful and civil in many of your responses on this blog- and on others that I have seen on this subject. For instance, I think I saw a post of yours elsewhere in which you called out Mike Petrelli for his inflammatory, neoliberal and ultimately incorrect view of charter schools.
However, I have some pretty serious disagreements in your thinking regarding the nature of charter schools at a system level that I would love to hear your thoughts on. From what I gather, the general argument you, and your organization, and charter advocates make is: Charter Schools create a free market for school choices, which raises the overall level of quality of all schools. You would argue that the more choices were available (supply), the more all schools would have to compete and raise their overall quality. The demand would come from parents who choose based on the quality of the school. This is the basic free-market argument for Charter Schools. I think this is pretty easily taken apart when looking at the barriers to the market for all “consumers” (parents) and the lack of full information on school quality itself.
In true free market school choice environments, bad actors consistently show that they are willing to manipulate the system for personal profit. This is very clear in Ohio, in Philadelphia, in Florida, and any district that commits to freedom from regulation for charters. When a charter school closing has no effect on the actual owners of the school, and has a huge effect on everyone else, it becomes pretty easy for owners to make a lot of money with a no risk investment. It is easy for charter operators who have failed in the past to simply start over again.
Of course there are examples of public schools or superintendents or teachers even that can take money and be corrupt. It is easy to find these examples because they public entities are audited by the city and state governments, and the public has access to all records, all emails, all purchases, and all committee meetings. Charter Schools in many states do not need to share any of this! It is easy for charter school operators to be corrupt and take money, but very hard for public school operators. I would argue that the following two facts create a hard dilemma for charters to get around.
A) A free market model demands freedom for all actors. The more freedom you give charter schools, the more likely they are to be corrupt.
B) The more freedom you take away from charter schools, the more similar they will become to public schools- they will be bogged down in the same bureaucracies, the same slow reaction times, and the same inefficiencies.
At that point, what is the purpose of having charter schools at all? Do we really need two different systems? How would you address the dilemma I propose above?
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GS – long before the charter movement started, we had a dual system that gave affluent families, and those who could pass traditional tests, lots more options. The biggest tax support school choice system in the country and the most unfair, is called the suburbs. People can and do buy expensive homes and pay high real estate taxes, in part to keep their youngsters away from students from low income families. Some of these districts hire detectives to insure that only district residents attend these schools. People can deduct interest from their house payments and real estate taxes from their taxable income – so their choice to live in exclusive suburbs receives major tax subsidies.
My work has focused since 1970 on helping expand options for low income families and families of color. We’ve done this in rural, urban and suburban districts. Some involve district options some involve allowing high school students to take courses full or part time on college campuses, some involve charters.
I think school choice is a lot like electricity. It can be very useful or very harmful (or both). has to be done carefully. When done well (and it’s not always done well)
* Students who had not been successful in traditional schools are much more successful because the option is smaller, or focuses on an interest they have or uses a strategy that works better for them – like Montessori, or in any of a variety of ways helps them be more successful. This is not about markets – it’s about recognizing that there is no single best kid of school
* Educators have an opportunity to create a distinctive public school that reflects how they want to teach…Montessori, Core Knowledge, Project Based, are a few of many examples that some educators really like and others don’t. So school choice done well empowers educators.
* School choice helps strengthen a community. There are examples of distinctive public schools that have reached out to their community in many ways and helped increase local community pride. In some cases this has happened in rural communities, in some places urban.
* IN some places the availability of options has produced new opportunities within districts. For example, the Boston Teachers Union proposed giving teachers a chance to create new district options. The school board (aka Boston School Committee) said “no.” They a charter law passed and the School board decided to say “yes.” Boston district teachers have created a number of wonderful within district options called Pilot Schools.
Our work has included both district and charter options.
To sum up, the wealthy will have options, including tax supported options. The only question is what options low income families will have.
Sorry to go on at such length. Hope that helps.
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Poor Joe, still wedded to “school choice,” the favorite school reform of Governor George Wallace and the other segregationist leaders of the 1950s and 1960s. Now, he finds himself in the same corner with the Koch brothers, ALEC, Governor Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, the Walton family, and others who never think of themselves as “progressives.” Despite the cascade of exposes of financial frauds, in which tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds end up in the pockets of charter leaders, he must defend school choice to the end. He cannot admit that he is now in league with people who want to destroy public education. School choice is not a progressive cause. Charters do not get better results unless they skim or have high attrition rates. But he can’t let go, no matter how many scandals there are. He has to find something bad that happened in a public school to try to negate the crimes of deregulated, unaudited, profit-seeking charters. Yet he can’t produce a single example of a public school principal or superintendent who was able to bank millions of dollars of public money—legally, in public view, as some charter operators have.
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School choice varies, as you know Diane. There are many progressive educators and political leaders who favor some, but not all forms.
I’ll stand with people like Rosa Parks (who worked to help create charters in Detroit) and Kenneth Clark (who called for new public school systems outside the control of district schools), Deborah Meier, Sy Fliegel, Harvey Newman, the late US Paul Wellstone, Howard Fuller (former supt of Milwaukee), Deborah McGriff, former supt of Cambridge and Detroit, all of whom were advocates of some form of public school choices. They didn’t always agree.
But fortunately a variety of policy-makers listened, so that it is not just the wealthy who can afford to send their children to exclusive suburban districts.
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As you know, Diane, some people who send their children to private and parochial schools did so to avoid sending their children to school with students of color. That was true in parts of the north, as well as the South. Does that mean all families who selected private schools are racists? I’d say no, but it appears you are lumping a lot of folks together.
You equate people like progressives like Paul Wellstone, Rosa Parks, Kenneth Clark, Deborah Meier, Sy Fliegel, Harvey Newman, Deborah McGriff, Howard Fuller, Bob Peterkin (former Cambridge Mass, and Milwaukee supt ) etc. etc. and others who have promoted various forms of school choice with those who opposed civil rights.
In terms of corruption – no I don’t have the name of a district educator who stole millions. But I’ve cited several recent cases of corruption from NY CIty and Long Island – and you have no comment.
Does that mean you are ok with what the auditor found in NY City and Long Island? Or does it mean that you will criticize corruption in charters and avoid comment when there are documented cases of district corruption and scandal?
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If we’re taking about fraud, the big-money cases in district school systems usually and perhaps exclusively happen in two contexts. First, there’s contracting, which creates opportunities for kickbacks, self-dealing, and billing fraud. Second, there’s benefits fraud. Financial fraud at charter schools arises from the same set of incentives as fraud in the contracting context.
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I’m not sure it makes sense to compare principals, or even superintendents, with “charter operators” in for-profit jurisdictions, which are more analogous to many other private companies or individuals that contract to provide services to districts. But I suppose that’s sort of your point.
Arlene Ackerman almost hit the million-dollar mark, though, didn’t she?
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Joe-
Thanks for responding. I agree with a lot of what you are saying in terms of differentiated education for different types of learners- and I don’t think that you are wrong about alternative education options for students who need them. No one is vilifying all alternative choices for urban families. For instance, a music magnet school in the city I work in is very successful, and students have to audition to get into the high school program. This is a choice they make, and they are selective. I don’t think many would think of this school as damaging the entire system.
However, you did not answer the question. We are not talking about all choice everywhere. We are not talking about the economic inequality that leads to economic segregation. We are talking about charter schools, which in this day and age have certain policy characteristics that enable corruption. This is not the fault of individual charter operators, teachers or parents who send their children. It is simply bad policy. Charter schools have different rules for operation as public schools, yet they draw money from the same pot (and extra pots that schools don’t have access to).
You say that charters should provide alternative settings, with different options from public schools. What state mandates these differences? Charters do not necessarily lead to innovative or differentiated education, as a group. Where does the law say a charter school even has to have different curriculum or practices from the public school? Many use the same curriculum, the same textbooks, the same test prep, and the same disciplinary systems. What specifically is different, aside from the management and fiscal structure?
Why do you refuse to discuss their implications on a system level, rather than an individual level?
Until Charters change their practices throughout the entire country, and states change their laws, they will be an inefficient and damaging force in an already challenged education system.
I guess my main argument is:
At best Charters can educate a tiny percentage of the population, with an even smaller percentage getting high quality services.
At worst they can fund multi-million dollar scams at the expense of tax payers from the most needy cities in the country.
Either way they funnel a lot of money from schools that need that money to survive.
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I’ll be glad to talk at a systematic level. At a systematic level, wealthy people have a lot more publicly funded or publicly supported educational options that poor people.
Increasing the number of options moves low income families in the right direction. More options does not solve all the problems, of course. But it can and has helped.
The same arguments were made 40 years ago when some of us began creating new options within districts…”You are taking away money from existing schools. Why not concentrate on improving existing schools.” As noted, some youngsters thrive in traditional schools. Others thrive in non-traditional schools.
Over the last 20 years, the high school graduation rate has climbed to the highest level it’s been at. There are many reasons, but one of them is that many communities and states have recognized that there’s no single best approach for all kids. IN some communities, there are more strong district options (I cited Boston, I could cite St Paul and Minneapolis and other communities) because charters exist.
Fortunately, the US is moving toward more opportunities for educators to create the schools they think make sense, as well as more opportunities for families and students.
In fact, the two states that are doing as well or better than Finland on international comparisons are Minnesota and Mass – both of which use various approaches, including chartering.
The system and the students have benefitted from having more options.
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At the risk of restating the obvious, the wealthy have more choices in everything. Well heeled citizens have more housing, vacation and clothing choices. Have you noticed any rich parents choosing to send their children to inner city charter schools?
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Actually yes, there are wealthy families sending their youngsters into inner city charters with low income students. The St Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts brings together suburban and urban youngsters, from very low income and very affluent families. Unlike some performing arts magnets, there is no admission or audition required for entrance.
Avalon Charter is a St Paul project based charter run by the teachers who work there. It attracts a variety of suburban as well as urban students.
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dianeravitch: what you said.
Let me add: iPad + MISIS = The direct results of having zealous enforcers from the charterite/privatizer crowd running the second largest public school district in the USofA—
Putting $tudent $ucce$$ and dedication to dogma ahead of children, community and decency.
And they love the twofer: just who gets the blame for the shamelessly immoral deeds and endlessly repeated dishonest words of the heavy hitters of the self-proclaimed “education reform” movement?
Public education. Teachers.
But don’t expect straightforward answers to straightforward questions from the “choice not voice” crowd. it’s today, tomorrow, and forever, unadulterated Marxism:
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
And they never have, and never will, abandon their Groucho. On that you can rely.
😎
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Joe-
I think you are right to support multiple options. But the charter movement is different today than forty years ago. There are political and corporate influences that are having a huge effect on their management, growth, and curriculum. Would you agree that this new private influence is having a negative effect?
Finally, charters just don’t require any innovative curriculum. Wouldn’t it be better to require they focus on some creative change on programming? Shouldn’t they be open to all students and families?
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GS – the charter movement did not exist 40 years ago. The first charter law was adopted in 1991.
As to changes…like any other movement, it has evolved with a variety of individuals and organizations. There are some people who exploiting the opportunity. There also are some who are making great use of the opportunities. This has been true from the beginning, as it is true of other major institutions.
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