A Nashville blogger who calls himself “Dad Gone Wild” went to a school board meeting, not knowing it would be a charter school pep rally. That means the meeting was packed with students and parents, no doubt wearing matching T-shirts, primed to cheer on cue. I have seen the same phenomenon at meetings of City Council hearings and State Legislature hearings. Even if it is school time, 9 am, 10 am, no matter. The buses are outside, the kids and parents have their scripts. What do they want? More charters! More closings of public schools! I always wonder, “If they are already enrolled in a charter, why do they want more? How many charters can one student attend? Whose agenda is this?”
Dad Gone Wild writes (open the link for his links):
“Sitting at that meeting, it suddenly dawned on me that I was in the middle of yet another charter school publicity stunt. I’ve written previously about what happens when charters get angry and I guess they were angry again because they had astro-turfed yet another meeting.
“The thing that really opened my eyes with this incident though, was the number of leadership people present. The folks present were equivalent to the top leadership at MNPS. I can only imagine what would happen if I called up Jay Steele, chief academic officer for MNPS, and asked him to get his office to show up and leap to applaud a letter that I’d written to disavow charter schools. He’d stop taking my calls. Not neccesarily out of disagreement or agreement, but because he’s kinda busy educating kids.
“That line, between educating and marketing, doesn’t seem to exist with charter operators. It all begins and ends in the marketing department. How is what they are doing perceived and if there is the slightest provocation, then they pull out the full public relations machine to attack. Things getting a little heated right before testing time? Time for a brand new shiny brochure. When a legislative session opens on the Hill, its time to get some kids up there. You’ve been to Public School Day rally’s with kids on the hill right? Didn’t think so, because they don’t exist. You see a group ushering kids through the capital building hallways during session and, dollars to donuts, its a charter school. If people are still questioning the purpose of charters schools, then it’s time for a straw man building op-ed. This is a very organized movement that does not allow dissent. It’s also a zero sum game.
“I’ve heard more than one charter operator argue that they are just part of the solution and that nobody plans on privatizing the whole district. Yet, they continue to grow at an alarming rate. Metro has 19 applications pending this year. Ever ask a charter operator when enough is enough? You’ll never get an answer because the true end game is to eradicate public education like it’s been done in New Orleans and being proposed in Atlanta and York. But they can’t really tell you that, can they? They’ll tell you its all about demand.
“In fact, this week I actually heard the argument put forth that just because all existing charters aren’t full, it doesn’t mean there is a lack of demand. If you had charters in every neighborhood, the demand would go up. Of course they won’t mention that if there was a charter in every neighborhood, since Public Schools don’t have the private monetary support that charters enjoy, it would starve the local public school. This demand argument probably has something to do with that goofy disruption theory that’s been circulating and I’ve been trying to make heads or tail of over the last 6 months.
“In the reform world, New Orleans has been nothing short of a booming success. Unfortunately, a closer look at the numbers tells a different story. Mercedes Schneider points to ACT scores to show the disconnect between the myth and the reality. A charter supporter might ask, but what about that 2013 CREDO study on charter schools? Well, let’s look at one of the reform movements champs Neerav Kingsland’s very own words to see how that was pulled off – by closing schools. The CREDO study shows massive improvement over the last couple of years by charter schools. But, the way this was accomplished was by constantly closing low performing schools and further destabilizing schools in the neighborhoods were children are starved for stability….
“The thing that most baffles me about this conversation is the complete and utter lack of evidence-based dialog that takes place. There are countless, and I could literally sit here and write a whole blog of hyper-links, that show that charters don’t educate the same students as public schools, that charters perform no better than public schools, that charters rob a district of precious resources, and that charters have a higher attrition rate. Yet, when confronted with the evidence, the conversation becomes about whether or not we believe all children can learn. A fact that I don’t think anybody has ever disputed, yet somehow has gotten twisted into a t-shirt slogan that plays on past prejudice.
These past prejudices give fuel to the desire to stifle dissent by labeling the choice movement as the civil rights issue of our generation. News flash, civil rights are the civil rights issue of our generation. We still have a long march ahead of us before we achieve actual civil rights for all. Claiming otherwise is just a distraction that deflects and prevents the evidence from being considered. Any evidence based argument is written off as biased or anecdotal. You know, like the story about how Johnny’s mother was a drug addict and his father used to beat him. Public schools were failing him and his 8 brothers and sisters that he had to tend to, but he thrived once he got into KIPP. Yea, that’s not anecdotal. Just more rules that apply to thee but not for me….
“It takes me back to childhood and there would always be that one kid who would create a game that only he knew the rules to and if you started to win the game he’d change the rules. Object to the rule changes and you were considered a bad playmate and he’d take his game and go home. This discussion on charter schools and education policy is the most bizarre conversation that I’ve ever been involved in. There seem to be no tenets or touchstones and it seems to be a small minority that constantly drives the conversation. In Metro Nashville we expect kids in charter schools to make up only 10% of student body in 2016-2017 yet charter schools are discussed at virtually every school board meeting. They are a constant looming specter over the system preventing focus on real issues.
The charter conversation is also the most serious conversation I’ve ever been involved in, because, not only will increased growth financially hurt the overall system, but because, despite the fact that charter supporters refuse to acknowledge that the delivery system matters, what our schools look like is what our society will look like. Create a stratified school system and you create a stratified society….
“It’s imperative that we demand a system that will educate ALL children. We have to demand a system that doesn’t attempt to determine winners and losers. A system that supports ALL children’s needs so that they can truly learn at their full capacity, because its not enough to just say, “all children can learn.” True civil rights can only exist when all children are given an equitable opportunity to shape their future. We need to confront the opposition with the truth about their proposed system and the impact it will have on children and their communities.
“Charter schools have grown exponentially out of the fears that have been instilled in parents and fanned by the reform movement. This leads me to think about some advice my father once gave me. His words were to, “Always make sure you are running towards something and not away from something.” That idiom has served me well over life and is applicable here. Charter operators want you to flee the current system. I choose to run towards a stronger more responsive public system that reflects our democratic ideals. I urge you to join me and make this a evidence-based story and not an added chapter to Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
I support excellent schools. Some public schools are excellent and some perform poorly. Some charter schools are excellent and some perform poorly.
Same goes for teachers. Just because you’re a public school teacher doesn’t mean you’re effective. Just because you’re a charter school teacher doesn’t mean you’re effective.
I’m not totally sure I understand the resentment between people on these two paths toward schooling kids. Underneath each broad category is a range of quality.
If, as you yourself say, charters are no better or worse on the whole than existing public schools, then your question answers itself: why should we pay money out of the public coffers to re-invent the wheel ? It’s a duplication of effort and a convenient way to union-bust, and not much more.
I think reinventing the wheel can be worth it- SOMETIMES. Do I think replacing a low performing public school with a low performing charter school is a good trade off? Absolutely not! When that happens I’m with you 100%. Not worth reinventing the wheel.
However, in the cases where a low performing school is closed, replaced or transformed into an average performing school or a high performing school- that to me IS worth re-inventing the wheel.
The risk of change or reinvention is always failure. I think what I was trying to express in my original comment is the importance of looking underneath the broader labels of public or charter to figure out whether the trade-offs are worth it.
Either you’re being very disingenuous or you’ve had your head in the sand for the past decade or two.
Charter schools have actively worked to perpetuate the myth of the “failing” public school. They have claimed that they can “save” kids from said “failing” schools. They have siphoned money and the easiest students away from public schools, leaving public schools to do more with less. They have made it all about the “BS Test” as Peter Greene would say (the Big Standardized Test), to the point that no other assessment matters, so the whole curriculum is geared toward the BS Test (and then they turn around and petition to get out of having to administer the BS Test). There has been scandal after scandal involving charter school self-dealing, leaving kids out in the cold. Charter schools routinely expel or “counsel out” students after the date that counts for funding but before test date, again leaving public schools with the harder to educate kids with less money to do so. There’s probably a dozen other reasons that I’m not thinking of right off hand why public school supporters may “resent” charter schools.
If you really are that much of a babe in the woods, I recommend daily reading of this blog (and numerous others). If you’re not, well, I still recommend daily reading of this blog.
I don’t appreciate being called a babe in the woods, but do appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I am reading. I am engaging in the conversation. I am eager to understand.
I agree with you that it is problematic and insulting for anyone to claim that public schools are failing. The implication is that ALL public schools are failing, which is not true.
What is true, though, is that SOME public schools are failing. And these schools need to be addressed. These schools need change.
Likewise, on the charter school side. You mention that there has been scandal after scandal involving charter schools. The implication is that ALL charter schools are scandalous, which is not true.
What is true, though, is that SOME charter schools take part in scandal. And these schools need to be addressed. These schools, too, need change.
And above all of the failures, scandals, and bickering- there are success stories on both sides, public and charter, that are worth understanding and learning from… so that we can improve education for kids in all kinds of low quality schools- whether they be public, charter, or even private.
Tough crowd, Sara, but you would do yourself well to continue reading this blog and responding.
“I’m not totally sure I understand the resentment . . . ”
The two responses hopefully give you an idea why there is such antagonism.
Thanks for the encouragement, Duane. I will keep reading and responding. I genuinely want to understand the antagonism.
Sara, you shouldn’t be surprised if people on this site see you as being disingenuous, especially with your “tell” that “even private” schools should receive support from the public. After all, public schools and their teachers have been scapegoated and demonized for years now, while charter schools continue to receive undeserved hype for the “miracles” they supposedly perform. To hear that “bad charters” should be closed, just like “bad public schools” should be, echoes the dissembling we hear from Arne Duncan and other so-called reformers. In practice, it is overwhelmingly public schools, with unionized teachers a living wage and benefits, that are closed, and non-union charters staffed by temps (intentionally so) that are expanded.
The false equivalence you pose between troubled public schools (many of which have been community anchors for decades) and charters (many of which are fly-by-night operations staffed by people with little or no experience in the classroom) comes off as glib, shallow and disingenuous to readers of this site, since we’ve been listening to deceptive so-called reformers saying the same things for years.
You yourself state that you are largely uninformed about these matters, yet you insist on maintaining a false sense of equivalence between public schools and charters, with no reference whatsoever to the political dynamics at work. An afternoon spent researching this topic would amply demonstrate to you that charter schools are receiving financial and propaganda support from the richest people on the planet, largely in their own perceived self interest, while the public schools have become political orphans.
Perhaps you should educate yourself on these matters before making blanket statements that come off sounding shallow and remarkably similar to the talking points of so-called education reformers and edu-privateers, who are doing actual, real-world damage to children, adults and communities.
Well, many charter schools are the result of hostile take overs: all teachers get fired without due process. Almost all charter schools in New Orleans or Memphis were created like this.
Then many of the charter schools manipulate the composition of the student population to show great improvement. Public schools can’t and won’t do that.
It’s like the mafia taking over all grocery shops, and then turn them into liqueur and porn shops. “Look, these are much better shops now: they make muuuuuch more $ then the old ones were with their boring bakery and cheese sections”.
And they are absolutely correct if we accept their metric, which is $.
Now, isn’t it true that even if the mafia turn some of the shops into great grocery shops, they need to be stopped?
Which brings us to the question: when do we start calling the charter movement organized crime? The Charter Maffia or CharMa. Sounds exotic and charming, doesn’t it?
Finally a branch of organized crime which is not imported from an exciting foreign country, it’s organized at the highest level, and we can take full credit for it.
Indeed, if we did not live in an Age of Impunity on the part of the Overclass, we’d already have dozens of RICO indictments against the so-called reformers.
Looks like DC is being heavily lobbied for more charter school support:
“Sharing the success of public charter schools is especially important now, as we work with federal policymakers to raise awareness and support for the Charter Schools Program (CSP). This brilliant article by Neerav Kingsland and Richard Whitmire in Real Clear Education makes a compelling case for why the CSP is the federal government’s best educational investment – and why Congress and the Administration should “quadruple down” on their commitment to high-quality charter schools.”
Gosh, I hope public schools don’t get screwed, again, in the new NCLB just like they did in the old NCLB. Is anyone in Congress working on behalf of the schools 90% of children attend?
do you have a link to the article you quoted?
Franklin Academy (Florida Charter Foundation, Inc. and Charter School Services Corp., Inc.) does the same thing. The parents dress in yellow tee shirts and get credit toward the required 20 hours of volunteering.
The audits for Franklin Academy A, B, and F show Florida Charter Foundation taking $230,587, $341,833, and $186,223 in addition to the agreed costs for administration and management of $609,950, $80,603, and $291,500. Franklin Academy E had costs of $325,441, but no additional money was taken. Are they giving themself interest free loans at the taxpayers’ expense?
The audit also shows Florida Charter Foundation lost its tax-exempt status for failure to file a timely 990, and that there is no written agreement.
Link to Florida Auditor General website for Charter schools. http://www.myflorida.com/audgen/pages/chschools_efile%20a-h.htm
Tried my d*****st to qualify to comment on Nashville Dad’s blog. I think I may even now have a registered wordpress blog (??!)… to no avail. Anyway, my comment was:
Excellent article, hitting all the stops. The most important point: “Make it an evidence-based search.” As you note, the “New Orleans Miracle”– NM, AZ, & now GA still looking to duplicate– is, according to Mercedes Schneider’s’ recent posts on Deutsch29, a sham. 2014 ACT scores show that after a full decade of 100% school choice [that means virtually NO public schools], there is not a single graduate w/an ACT score high enough to get into a state 4-yr college, or even qualify for a govt subsidy for a community college.
This is important info & we need to get it out there. Even the reddest anti-gov, anti-union, anti-public school voter will take note that govt policies supposedly targeted to lower cost of govt (i.e. school taxes), in fact raise costs for all those expensive Pearson accountability tests– taken on computer (incurring tech upgrades to public schools). And re: those ‘school choice’ options which in many states can ignore state accountability testing & even hire non-certified teachers? Guess what: sorry, your property taxes don’t go down there either— and your student scores are, as before… SUB-PAR! (but be happy, ed-corporations are profiting… oops, doesn’t trickle down? sorry!)
Nashville Dad writes “It should be noted that Ms. Kim is the Executive Vice President, Recruitment and Admissions for Teach for America Greater Nashville. I know, you’re probably thinking, isn’t that a conflict of interest? Apparently not because she also works closely with MNPS Human Capital on the recruitment of teachers for the district, and nobody thinks that’s an issue either. Yeah, it all gets a little goofy, but that’s the world I live in.”
Seriously, where are the lawyers helping parents, teachers and the kids out?
You are right on the money with this blog. I call what is happening here in NOLA Charterland. Only it’s not a fun game for kids, it’s a game of monopoly with public schools, public dollars and our democracy. A very scary game indeed.