Larry Miller, a member of the Milwaukee school board, reprints here an article from a Milwaukee newspaper. It shows that 4 out of Milwaukee’s 10 charter schools are failing schools.
“Four of these taxpayer-funded schools are doing so poorly that, according to their annual review, a case could be made for shuttering them.
And major pieces of information haven’t been offered to the Common Council members who are ultimately responsible for the 3,500 students who attend city charters—including the fact that the FBI raided the national operator of one local charter school.
“Yet last Thursday, in a Steering and Rules Committee meeting, the Charter School Review Committee (CSRC)—an appointed body made up primarily of charter advocates who provide oversight of and evaluate the city’s charter schools—only recommended putting two schools on probation, Milwaukee Math and Science Academy (MMSA) on West Burleigh Avenue and King’s Academy on North 60th Street.
“The CSRC gave Milwaukee Math and Science Academy a rating of 66.4% on its scorecard, a D grade, for the 2013-2014 school year, making it a “problematic/struggling” school. The state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) gave it 48.1 out of a possible 100 points for the same year. The DPI said it “failed to meet expectations.”
“King’s Academy earned a 67% rating and a D+ from the CSRC but fared slightly better with its DPI scores: 67.3 points, which “meets expectations.”
“But as dismal as those scores are, MMSA and King’s Academy aren’t the worst performers.
“That dubious honor goes to North Point Lighthouse Charter School on West Douglas Avenue, which earned a 58.1% or F from the CSRC and a 29.4% from the state DPI. Since the 2013-2014 academic year was only its second year of operation, the CSRC recommended some strategies for improvement and a mid-year assessment of its progress. The school, part of the national Lighthouse Academies network, got financial assistance from tennis pro Andre Agassi’s Canyon-Agassi Charter Facilities Fund for its building.”
Some of the charters began as voucher schools, failed, then reopened as charter schools.
“Jack Norman, a consultant for Schools and Communities United, argued that the charter advocates were providing an incomplete picture of the program for the council members. The CSRC doesn’t discipline schools that are new to the program, but Norman argued that some of the city’s failing charters have long track records as taxpayer-funded voucher schools that should be taken into consideration. The struggling King’s Academy, for example, began as a voucher school in 1999 and became a city charter school in 2010 and has been operating continuously for 15 years. MMSA can trace its lineage to Wisconsin Career Academy, an MPS charter school that was closed in 2012, as well as Wisconsin College Prep Academy, a voucher school that was shut down in 2013. He accused Lighthouse of “charter hopping or shopping” because it had received a charter from MPS and UW-Milwaukee before becoming a city charter.
“Milwaukee Collegiate Academy, whose board chair is voucher architect Howard Fuller, opened as a voucher school in 2004, changed its name and became a charter in 2011, then changed its name again. The high school received a 68.2% or D+ from the CSRC, a “problematic/struggling” school.”
As easy as taking candy from a baby…
“Concept Schools is run by a Turkish Islamic cleric who lives in the Poconos and the organization brings in Turkish teachers on H-1B visas, which are meant for recruiting hard-to-find workers, primarily in the high-tech sector, and not K-12 teachers, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.”
I saw this today:
“National Education Minister, Nabi Avcı, presented the details of a draft law to the Cabinet on Monday that proposes the closure of Gülen schools in over 160 countries, and the assignment of the schools to the National Education Ministry or their replacement with other schools. The draft mandates that these operations be conducted either by an agency like the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), or under a foundation, sources close to the National Education Ministry say.”
Turkey can regulate Turkish schools in the US, apparently, but US politicians cannot.
It’s just nuts.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2015/01/28/govt-prepares-to-confront-gulen-schools-abroad-with-new-institutions?utm_content=buffer0920e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Chiara. . . .
That situation is so . . . . .
AMERICAN.
I love how crazy it is, and it’s completely ignored. That must be one powerful lobby, whoever they are. It’s like there’s a gag order or something.
Let’s debate this when Scott Walker runs for President:
“the organization brings in Turkish teachers on H-1B visas, which are meant for recruiting hard-to-find workers, primarily in the high-tech sector, and not K-12 teachers, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.”
Pro or con on bringing in foreign workers to staff Wisconsin “public” schools, Governor Walker? Yay or nay?
I’d pay to watch the ed reform politicians stumble through that. Probably NOT a huge vote-getter in the “buy American” midwest.
Also off the above link from the Daily Sabah….if Gulen schools hand out the answers to their police academy exams, maybe that is what they do in other schools….
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2015/01/28/gulenists-accused-of-handing-police-academy-exam-booklets-to-students
Maybe! They sure wouldn’t know about it in Milwaukee:
“Jeanette Mitchell, chair of the CSRC, told the Steering and Rules Committee that she wasn’t aware of the FBI raids on Concept Schools, even though it’s been widely reported in the press.”
That’s the chair of the charter school committee. The review is very rigorous and thorough, obviously.
Its very interesting how far voucher and/or corporate charter advocates—appointed by higher up corporate Charter advocates who were elected to office thanks to campaign contributions from oligarchs who clearly want to do away with democratic public education—are willing to go to keep a failing corporate Charter schools open while they quickly rank teachers, attack teachers’ unions and close public schools without offering the same support.
Very revealing for anyone who thinks on their own and is not easily fooled by all the corporate media hype.
I thought this was a good local piece out of Florida. It’s about how Duncan relied on Jeb Bush for his education agenda. The reporter uses the word “parrot” to describe Duncan’s fealty to Mr. Bush.
If you were wondering why Obama and the Democrats are exactly the same as Jeb Bush and the Republicans on public schools, it’s no mystery. They’re the same because Democrats adopted Bush’s entire agenda. It’s a carbon copy. It’s like we elected Jeb Bush.
Joke’s on us, huh? No matter who you vote for, you get Bush education policy.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/jeb-bushs-bond-with-barack-obama-on-education-poses-2016-challenge-for-him/2215805
I think we got both G. W. Bush and Jeb Bush with the Obama administration. One for two. What’s interesting is that Jeb Bush’s policies may lose him the tea party vote.
All roads lead to money; always follow the money. Privatization is a money game that both parties are playing without regard for the welfare of American students.