Mike Klonsky reports that Chicago suburban districts have thus far been able to block charters from moving in.
These are not affluent districts.
“Chicago Heights is a south-of-the-city suburb with a high concentration of poverty and a rapidly-growing Mexican immigrant population. District #170 schools have in many ways borne the brunt of an eroding tax base, loss of manufacturing jobs and the recession of the past decade. While the schools struggle to implement the district’s reform plan, including a new middle-grade STEM academy, and prepare at the same time, for the next round of PARCC tests, progress remains slow. Test scores remain the carte du jour for judging schools and teachers, leaving districts like the Heights vulnerable to interventions by the state.
“Gov. Rauner now threatens even more draconian cuts to school budgets and health and social services that will negatively impact the schools and communities in Chicago’s inner-ring suburbs. He’s proposing that suburbs’ income tax revenue be cut in half
“Towns like Chicago Heights have become the new target areas for poorly-regulated, expanding networks of privately-run charter schools which have already saturated the inner-city market. Recently, District #149 in Dolton/Calumet City was able to beat back a charter takeover attempt by over-hyped Urban Prep.
“Nearby South Holland also rejected an assault on their district by a company called LIFE Academy Charters. Their board also voted unanimously in September 2013 to reject a charter proposal by Urban Prep.”
The charter chains are eying the suburban districts. Governor Rauner loves charters. Will he override the will of the local school board?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What’s horrible to watch is this happening in state after state in the midwest. It isn’t just Ohio. It may be worse in MI. This is the Detroit Free Press:
“Michigan taxpayers funnel $1 billion a year to some 380 charter schools exempt from much of the regulations and oversight that constrain the state’s traditional public schools.
It all adds up to an urgent, unambiguous imperative for the governor and legislators who designed this Wild West marketplace:
Lansing needs to impose an immediate moratorium on chronically failing charter authorizers and insist that they meet tougher accountability standards before they are allowed to authorize new charter schools or expand existing ones.”
The kinds of editorials we’re seeing in OH and MI would have been unimaginable even 5 years ago amid all the charter cheerleading and craze for expansion.
Why on earth would Illinois repeat the exact same mistakes that were made in OH and MI? Lawmakers don’t even have to drive very far to see this disaster up close.
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/02/22/charter-authorizer-moratorium/23775183/
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“Why on earth would Illinois repeat the exact same mistakes that were made in OH and MI? Lawmakers don’t even have to drive very far to see this disaster up close.”
My guess is that they don’t see it as a mistake. This is all very purposeful, and high quality outcomes hardly matter at all.
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Not surprisingly, Rev.James Meeks has been appointed State Ed Super. Meeks was one of the few African American leaders to support Rauner. He strongly supports charters on the South Side and near south burbs.
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This is a new Propublica piece on charter authorizers in OH. MI, IN and MN
http://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-wild-world-of-charter-regulation
The first thing to look at is the “nonprofit” claim.” Non-profit” doesn’t mean anything without more information.
I wasn’t surprised by IN, OH or MI but I assumed Minnesota would do better. Nope.
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Chiara,
Thank you. You are right about many “non-profits” being FOR PROFIT. Look at the National Football League, a not-for-profit organization.
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I’d love to know the backstory of the public universities and colleges sponsoring charters. What’s that all about? How much revenue are they generating off K-12 public ed? Were they pressured by donors or politicians?
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Chiara, the authorizers are paid a fee for every student in their charters.
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I thought that there is at least one charter in the south suburbs. Do all states require that a university sponsor the charter? There have been some bills to let Mayors sponsor charters, but I don’t know how many have passed. Chicago Heights has been experiencing a “demographic, socioeconomic transition” for decades.
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There is a serious disconnect between many governors and the people they serve. Too many leaders have been compromised by corporate graft while they get to make decisions about the future of education in their state. If a governor wants to make sweeping changes to public education, it should have to be put to a democratic vote before such a change can be made. It should not be the decision of one person, particularly when the outcome impacts so many people We need more checks and balances on the state level. The current system gives too much power to one person.
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Tell that to Governor Christie.
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I would if I lived in NJ, which I did until six years ago. I doubt he’d interested in input from a Florida retiree, or anyone else for that matter.
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Christie broke the law by under funding NJ pensions. FYI-http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/02/judge_rules_christie_must_make_15b_pension_payment.html
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This looks like a good result, although who knows, politically, it could end up as a positive for Christie.
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There is a charter in the south suburbs; specifically Rich Township H.S. District 227. It was ok’d by the state as part of Race to the Top. The effects have been devastating to our district. More than 8 million (actual figure–I’m one of our union negotiators) dollars of our already diminished general state aid goes straight to the charter because it is a public institution serving students from our district. We have had our school day shortened from 7 periods to 6, This, of course resulted in fewer choices for our students, particularly in the areas of electives, and massive lay-offs in both our certified and classified staff groups. As for their results: they graduated their first class last May. Of the original 125 in the class, only 71 remained by graduation. They of course claimed huge success because all 71 were accepted into some kind of post secondary education. Not many people thought to ask about the other 54 students who came back to us.
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What do you know about the charter school in South Holland? Have the Concept charter school people tried to open a Concept charter in the Chicago suburbs?
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We are having a major push from the Pro-Charter people here in my city of Waukegan, IL. I had a door hanger left at my house about 2 weeks ago, proclaiming that parents, not POLITICIANS, should have the right to decide if their kid goes to a public, private, religious, or charter school. Then, just last week, we got a push-poll telephone call about charters and the “ineffective” schools in Waukegan. A major push is coming here…and we in the community will have to push back.
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Tony in Waukegan,
Defend your community. Defend your children. Defend your schools.
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Also, Tony, this on the heels of the long teachers strike authorized, of course by the teachers–dare I say the word?–union, which was successful at the end. And, of course, this is one of those low income districts that will “benefit” from SB 1, which I described below. Right–& if Waukegan or any districts like it obtain more money from funds taken away from more affluent school districts–the money will go to–cha-ching!–those new charter schools (& operator$$$)–1% people, all.
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Yes, & if the new, renumbered SB 1 (it was SB 16–confusingly renumbered {same # as the SB 1 pension reform bill now in the courts! Wait, what?!}) passes in the ILL-Annoy legislature, taking money away from the more affluent suburbs (to purportedly give to those suburbs like Chgo. Hts; Elgin U-46 was told it would receive 24 million {yeah–when pigs fly!}), those ‘burbs, too, will soon have charter schools knockin’ at their doors, Taking almost $6 million, for example, in one suburb, from the elementary & high school districts will begin the process of cash-depriving more school districts, just as CPS has done to its schools. Who is behind all this? Why, the Lake Forest Steans Family–you know, patriarch Harrison Steans, owner of financial corporations & banks (& Steans Foundation villainthropist, making education better for ILL-Annoy children by…privatizing schools) with daughters Sen Heather Steans (of the ILL-AnnoyCharter School Commission–you know, that group that overrides local schools’ authority insofar as approving a charter application), & last–but certainly not least–daughter Robin Steans, Director of Advance ILL-Annoy, the group that is behind…SB 1. I recently attended a panel meeting set up by an ILL-Annoy rep. (anti-SB 16, because he truly represents his constituents, & they don’t want it), which was 1.5 hours. Over 35 minutes of that meeting was taken up by an A.I. spokesman (Ms. Steans, herself, did not appear–too close to home, I guess), who presented an “if -you-can’t-dazzle-them-with-your-brilliance-baffle-’em-w/your-B.S.” power point, as to how wonderful it would all be when $$$ was re-allocated to the more “low income” school districts. Now, this was truly attempted–in good faith–numerous years ago, right after Jonathan Kozol’s tragic book,
Savage Inequalities was published. The question of re-allocating property tax monies was put on the ballot–I voted for it at the time because, yes, I would like to see the Monsanto-ravaged children of East St. Louis get the kind of education my daughter was able to have. Sadly, it did not pass.
That having been said, this is a whole new ball game, and we’d better be aware. I would instruct all of us who are ILL-Annoysians to make sure that this new SB 1 fails.
After having heard Rauner’s plans, we’ve got more than enough on our plates. Don’t react,,,act. And don’t just write to this blog & others and agonize–organize!
Yes, WE can…and we WILL! (Speaking of Will–as in Rep. Will Guzzardi, who is sponsoring/proposing several excellent counteractions, PLEASE make sure to read/subscribe to Fred Klonsky’s Blog. All the news we need to know. {And Will is Fred’s State Rep., so there’s the conncet.})
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Let every reformer substitute for a month in an urban poor setting, implementing Common Core and differentiating for all the various linguistic and learning needs of their children in their classrooms. Evaluate them with the same accountability measures they want to use on teachers. Then publish heir scores in he NY Times.
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