The Néw York Times said that teacher turnover at the Success Academy charter schools is more than 50%. Eva Moskowitz says it is 17%.

Matt de Carlo of the Albert Shanker Institute has the raw data, and he says they are both wrong.

Categories Charter Schools, Harlem Success Academy, Teachers

45 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

shelley says:

April 9, 2015 at 4:11 pm

Any way you look at it, that’s a lot of people coming and going. Wonder if teachers with poor results have their names on the wall beside a thick red line…

LikeLike

Reply
- Jack says:
  
  April 10, 2015 at 9:25 am
  
  Watch this video and see Eva duck the question about whether her charter chain’s lotteries self-select parents who are more involved, who are more upscale, and who deliver easier-to-educate children to Success Academy schools: (why, that’s “unknowable”… doncha know?)
  
  In the process of answering, Eva inadvertantly lets slip the selective outreach she engages in to attract a more desirable cream of students… note the graphics superimposed as she talks.
  
  NOTE: she was being interviewed by a friendly source—the union-hating libertarian REASON TV.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
- Jack says:
  
  April 10, 2015 at 9:41 am
  
  My favorite part of the video is when the Eva’s charter shill Jeremiah Kittredge condemns public schools with the claim that that “over 50% of public schools serve a less-than-average number of special ed. kids.”
  
  Yeah… that’s the definition of “average”, as the video points out.
  
  Hmmm… what other brilliant defenses will Kittredge, Eva, and their ilk be making and publicizing next?
  
  (Here goes my audition for THE ONION!)
  
  —————————-
  
  Re: teachers’ attrition & the longevity of TFA teachers (the vast majority of whom leave after two years, three at the most… RINSE & REPEAT ad infinitum) –
  
  KITTREDGE: “Oh… Attrition Schmmattrition. The numbers don’t lie, and they back us up here. An impressive result from a key study indicates that up-to-49% of our TFA Corps Members staffing our charter schools have longer-than-average teaching careers, and remain in the classroom longer than their fellow TFA colleagues. In turn, our charter scholars reap the benefits of this selfless dedication.”
  
  or
  
  “And what about the sky-high attrition among unionized public school teachers and THEIR career length? Nobody ever talks about THAT. Is their record so much more impressive? A damning statistical analysis reveals that over 50% of teachers in unionized schools leave teaching and abandon their students, on average, earlier than their fellow unionized teachers. Just think of the resulting negative impact that is then visited upon their students. Shame on them! The system is broken!”
  
  – – – – – – –
  
  re: student attrition –
  
  EVA MOSKOWITZ: “We’re extremely proud of our record on this issue, and never moreso than on Graduation Day. To see the glowing satisfaction on the faces of our SUCCCESS ACADEMY scholars and parents makes all that we do so worthwhile. Indeed, we’re proving those cynics wrong, as the data incontrovertibly shows that a whopping 100% of our Success Academy scholars who are not kicked… err… ‘counseled out’ prior to Graduation Day actually walk across that stage to get their diplomas. I mean, come on! 100 PERCENT??!!! You can’t do any better than THAT!”
  
  – – – – – – –
  
  re: co-location –
  
  EVA MOSKOWITZ: “This so-called ‘co-location crisis’ in NYC schools is way overblown by our detractors. Indeed, 100% of the public schools that do not yet have a charter school co-located on their campus—and there are hundreds of them, mind you—report ZERO percent of the problems typically associated with charter school co-locations. Why aren’t our critics reporting this fact?”
  
  – – – – – – –
  
  re: charter school leaders’ refusal to pay rent for the public school buildings—originally built and now maintained by taxpayers—that the charters do/will occupy –
  
  KITTREDGE: “Look, this is just Business 101. It’s a basic market principle: the more you SPEND, the less you HAVE… so how can you then charge us rent, and steal money from the education of poor children? Didn’t you see our TV commercials with all those adorable Charter School kids? How can you do this to them?”
  
  – – – – – – –
  
  re: enormous Charter industry executive & administrator salaries… in the mid-six-figures (i.e. Kittredge, Eva, Dave & Mike at KIPP, Deborah Kenney, etc.) –
  
  KITTREDGE: “Look, we don’t overpay our top people. Across the city, we see it again and again… and this needs to be reported more… over 50% of charter school executives and administrators take home a less-than-average salary in comparison to their fellow charter school administrators and executives. The enormous amount of money saved then goes to the classroom, and to meet the needs or our scholars. Why can’t our critics see this, then get off this topic, and find something new to whine about?”
  
  – – – – – – – –
  
  re: intensive test-prep for standardized tests, sometimes two hours or more a day (N.Y. Magazine reported this, along with a comment from a Success Academy administrator proudly describing the students as “little test-taking machines”) –
  
  EVA MOSKOWITZ: “”Look, what’s wrong with a little practice before a standardized test? We make it fun, and it’s not even that much to begin with. Our tracking of our scholars shows that an impressive 50% or more of our students spend a less-than-average time doing drill-and-kill test prep compared to their fellow Success Academy scholars. That frees up time for … what, exactly… oh… I dunno… I forget… “
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - John says:
    
    April 10, 2015 at 9:57 am
    
    Jack,
    You’re obviously not a math teacher. For example, if all special ed kids were in 1% of schools, 99% of schools would have “less than average”.
    
    LikeLike
  - Jack says:
    
    April 10, 2015 at 10:10 am
    
    I guess that’s my point. One can state a statistic that is literally truthful, and that initially seems supportive of one’s point of view, but when analyzed, means nothing, and is thus, just some misleading nonsense…. a la Kittredge’s claim.
    
    LikeLike
Dienne says:

April 9, 2015 at 4:40 pm

Regardless of whether they go to another SA, another charter besides SA or another place altogether, they are still leaving the students, families and fellow teachers they had been working with. That’s churn and should be counted as such.

LikeLike

Reply
Chiara says:

April 9, 2015 at 4:57 pm

Selling a lack of financial and employment security to middle class people as “exciting!” is a big part of the ed reform push.

This is their latest film:

“McKinsey predicts by 2020 40-60 percent of skilled labor will be contract/contingency based”

Nothing like economically secure academics, lobbyists and politicians lecturing the economically insecure US workforce on how they have to “embrace change!”

“Out of touch” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I am so, so sick of these scolding lectures to the peons.

http://mltsfilm.org/

LikeLike

Reply
- Reteach 4 America says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 7:35 pm
  
  Being hired as an independent contractor is the absolute worst position workers can find themselves in, because they are not considered to be employees; they are deemed to by the government to be “self-employed.”
  
  Hiring people as contract workers is how employers have figured out they can circumvent virtually all labor rights, including minimum wage and hour laws. Employers also don’t have to pay unemployment compensation, workers comp, or any payroll taxes, etc., so there is no safety net whatsoever when workers lose their jobs or are injured on the job. AND the workers have to pay all those taxes themselves, which are at a higher rate for people who are “self-employed.”
  
  IRS has regulations governing who can be considered a contract worker, but I work at a school that IRS has allowed to get away with calling EVERY teacher on faculty an independent contractor for years. From the first day of our employment, we were told we were to be on duty 24/6 (and the school repeatedly lowered our pay rate at whim). Clearly, IRS has no intention of enforcing their own regulations and labor laws don’t apply to us since we’re considered to be “self employed.”
  
  Contract work has been growing in many industries and it is the biggest scam that our government has permitted employers to get away with foisting upon employees since the first Gilded Age!
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - John says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 7:40 pm
    
    Reteach,
    I’m very surprised that any teacher could possibly be considered a contract, rather than exempt employee. Do you have more info on how this is possible? Definitely not a good thing.
    
    LikeLike
  - John says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 9:12 pm
    
    Reteach,
    Has anyone there contacted the NLRB or the IRS? I know in my industry employers are very careful with 1099s because you have to pay back payroll taxes, back unemployment, and back employee benefits if employees get reclassified.
    
    Under the tests that I’m aware of, I can’t see how a full time teacher could be considered contract under any circumstances. See http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/x-26-07.pdf for the “20 factor test” of what is considered when making the determination.
    
    LikeLike
  - Reteach 4 America says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 9:36 pm
    
    Ask the IRS. In my experience as a teacher who has been hired as an independent contractor by a few schools, we are typically told not only what to do but also how to do it –which is a red flag for miscategorizing employees as contract workers under IRS regs– so when all faculty at a school are hired as contractors year after year, you’d think that would raise a lot of government eyebrows. Not.
    
    LikeLike
- jb2 says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 10:51 pm
  
  I remember when the name “McKinsey” really meant something …
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    April 11, 2015 at 10:25 am
    
    You mean all those sexuality reports???
    
    Oooppss, that’s Kinsey without the Mc.
    
    LikeLike
John says:

April 9, 2015 at 5:25 pm

Another reason that the numbers may disagree is people who change roles. For example, someone moving from teacher to curriculum coach, grade chair, CAO, etc. would be counted as leaving by SED.

If teacher mobility is happening within the network of SA schools, and it doesn’t happen mid-year, I think it’s fine. They’re growing, and it is important to have great teachers in new schools to get them started.

LikeLike

Reply
- michaellangford2012 says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 6:13 pm
  
  You keep drinking that Kool-Aid, John.
  You’ll never notice the cyanide…
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 7:05 pm
    
    Exactly. It’s The Hunger Games.
    
    LikeLike
- Threatened out West says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 8:18 pm
  
  Losing one third of teachers at a school every year causes chaos. The parents and students don’t know how to deal with all the new personalities, and the teachers take a while to get up to speed with the community. I have taught at a school with that kind of turnover. It’s a disaster.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - MathVale says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 9:35 pm
    
    One school I finally left had probably 50-60% turnover. Could have been higher as I didn’t keep track. Turnover and churn leads to higher costs in training and administration. Often, the wheel is reinvented. Team building takes time.
    
    LikeLike
aagabor says:

April 9, 2015 at 5:27 pm

Retention is a huge and sensitive issue among no-excuses charters. It’s interesting that di Carlo’s figures cover just one academic year. Over two academic years, I suspect that the majority of teachers at Success schools will have left the network. New Orleans, where almost all schools are charters, provides a good indication of what happens to teacher retention at no-excuses charter schools, as well as the reporting of relevant charter-school statistics. In New Orleans, the pro-charter Cowen Institute has changed the way it reports statistics for teacher-experience and retention to mask the high turnover among non-selective no-excuses schools. In its most recent 2013 report, Cowen estimates the average teacher-turnover rate at public schools in New Orleans from 2010 to 2011 was about 27 percent and ranged from a low of 6.7 percent to a high of 72.7 percent. You can bet that the former (with a 72.7 percent turnover rate) is a non-selective charter and the latter (with a 6.7 percent turnover rate) is one of the elite selective charters. Cowen doesn’t break out the turnover rates among selective, non-selective and what few public schools remain.
But its 2012 report on teacher experience, which breaks out the results for the city’s three-different authorizing organizations, gives a much more realistic indication of turnover: It shows that among the schools controlled by the city’s largest authorizer, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, close to 60 percent of teachers had less than three years of experience; at the small and elite Orleans Parish School Board, which is home to the city’s highest performing and selective charter schools, only 28 percent of teachers have less than three years of experience.
The Cowen Institute’s most recent 2013 report conflates the teacher- experience data for all New Orleans schools and charter-authorizers; by doing so, it appears as though the experience numbers for teachers has improved; the conflated numbers show that just 38 percent of the teachers at all New Orleans schools—including selective and non-selective charters and the very few publics that are still left—have less than three years of experience. But the following quote is telling: “On average, teachers at public schools in New Orleans had 16.2 years of experience; average years of experience ranged from 0.5 at one RSD charter school to 28.5 at an OPSB charter.

LikeLike

Reply
Paula says:

April 9, 2015 at 5:48 pm

Lies, damn lies and statistics

LikeLike

Reply
- Duane Swacker says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 6:23 pm
  
  Fine ingredients (plus a little malt) for a malted bullshit shake.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
KrazyTA says:

April 9, 2015 at 6:58 pm

For all those that toil in the vineyards of creatively disruptive charter math, a terribly inept reworking of a Pete Seeger classic:

To every stat, spin spin spin
There is a reason, to spin spin spin
And a time to squish every number
Under Heaven.

A time to enroll, a time to expel,
A time to hire, a time to fire,
A time to keep, a time to dump,
A time to cast away test suppressors, a time to gather test raisers together.

To every stat, spin spin spin
There is a reason, to spin spin spin
And a time to squish every number
Under Heaven.

A time to expand for-profit charters, a time to co-locate in public schools,
A time to invest, a time to garner $tudent $ucce$$,
A time to kill the public good, a time to do rheeal good for themselves.

To every stat, spin spin spin
There is a reason, to spin spin spin
And a time to squish every number
Under Heaven.

A time to gain market share, a time to eliminate the competition,
A time to prep, a time to take the test,
A time to embrace the black bottom line, a time to refrain from embracing the red bottom line.

To every stat, spin spin spin
There is a reason, to spin spin spin
And a time to squish every number
Under Heaven.

Important Caveat: Believe me when I say, SomeDAM Poet, that I know I cannot steal your thunder, but when the temptation arose, as was said in MY FAIR LADY, I gave right in.

And as I’ve written before, for those offended by the above—

I am unable to ridicule, caricature or poke fun at the zealots of the charterite/voucherite/privatizer movement. I am powerless in that regard. Only they have the power—the power to hoist themselves on petards of their own making.

As some homegrown talent put it:

“Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.” [John Steinbeck]

All I do is point out what they’ve done to themselves.

Complaints? They need only look in a mirror to see the source of their discomfort.

😎

LikeLike

Reply
Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

April 9, 2015 at 7:07 pm

Corruption to the core. When profits drive schools, it’s always a disaster.

LikeLike

Reply
- John says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 7:11 pm
  
  Yvonne,
  Who exactly profits?
  Yes, Evangets paid to much, but to say the schools are driven by profits implies more than that.
  Who? How much? And since you can get their financials via 990s and DOE, please send some data or links.
  If not, you’re just repeating something you heard somewhere.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - Donna says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 7:33 pm
    
    well, we know what salary is reported for Eva, and is also reported that the teachers are underpaid and likely TFA, so it isn’t the teachers…..where else does the money go? She doesn’t pay for buildings. SOMEONE is getting return on their investment.
    
    LikeLike
- MathVale says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 9:40 pm
  
  Profits become the focus. How to increase profits? Maximize revenue by charging the most you can. Minimize cost by cutting operations to the bone. And throw in obfuscation so you aren’t caught. So glad corporations are people, too.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
Old Teacher says:

April 9, 2015 at 7:18 pm

That is exactly what we want to know John, these “public” charter schools have closed books.

LikeLike

Reply
Jack says:

April 9, 2015 at 7:52 pm

Last August, I cut-‘n-pasted the first 24 employee reviews from mostly former (but a few current) Success Academy teachers: (from the site “GLASS DOOR”.

These are way more damning than the New York Times article.

(It’s long, so skip it if you’re not into it.)
———————————————–

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Hey, why don’t we hear from the current and former instructors at Eva Moskowitz’ SUCCESS ACADEMY Network? Thankfully, we can actually do that, and hear the unvarnished truth that they have anonymously shared, thanks to the “Glass Door” website that provides employees an opportunity to share the good, the bad, and the ugly about the people for whom they work, and the workplace culture that they’ve experienced.

(Get it? The “glass door” gives transparency.)

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools-Reviews-E381408_P2.htm?sort.sortType=OR&sort.ascending=true

——————————————————————————-
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 1:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The most miserable experience I’ve ever had. ”

CON’s:

“One personal day, horrible work-life balance,
— micromanagement of employees,
— no chance for professional or personal growth,
— dictator-like school.”

ADVICE to Management:

“I think it’s too far gone.”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 2:

“Do your research before accepting a job here.”

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON’s:

“Unethical treatment of students and teachers,

— competition at all costs,
— little support for students with disability,
— retains an average of less than 50% of students,
— retains an average of 30% of staff,
— leadership and staff are replaced with no communication or explanation,
— humiliation used as main motivational tool for both students and staff,
— students struggle with anxiety,
— very little emotional or social support
— students stay silent 80% of the day, silent hallways in upper grades,
— young students told to stop crying when dealing with personal trauma,
— no work-life balance,
— CEO is in constant conflict with city government which causes ongoing location uncertainty,
— network is rapidly opening new schools while neglecting to fix all of the other dysfunctional sites first.”

Does NOT Recommend — Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 3:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Toxic Enviorment, Developmentally Inappropriate Abusive Culture of Fear ”

CON’s: “Worked for one of the highest performing schools in the network in the Bronx.

“— Entire school focused on remaining at top of network schools assessment wise while pushing students in completely developmentally inappropriate and emotionally ABUSIVE ways.

” — When I brought up that Eva and the network and research disagrees with practices at my location, I was told the network didn’t know what they were talking about, haven’t I seen our top assessment scores, and that my primary responsibility was to make sure my classroom assessment data was up.

” — Teachers openly MOCKED 6 year olds with learning disabilities telling them they would see them in the same grade again next year because they were neither smart nor hard working and hopefully would not be in their student again- in front of the entire classroom.

” — Left work every day feeling angry at the school until I left permanently.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Teacher culture needs to be totally reformed-
— experienced total lack of professionalism by newer teachers in front of children we were meant to be models for.”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – No Opinion of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 4:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The mission provides so much potential, but falls short in practice ”

CON’s:

“Employees are seen as dispensable and the environment is toxic.
— Leaders rule through fear and intimidation.
— At the network office, pay is low for the hours worked.
— Turnover is extremely high.
— The organization has grown too fast.
— There are other rewarding education organizations that treat their employees better.”

Does NOT Recommend — Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 5:

“Will not shape you into the the teacher that you want to be. ”

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON’s:

“Lack of support.
— Militaristic style of teaching to the test.
— Students did not learn content.
— Teachers had no work-life balance.”

Does NOT Recommend — No Opinion of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 6:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Great mission, terrible culture ”

CON’s:

“The leadership team is more interested in making political statements than about choosing the right growth strategy for the organization.”

Does NOT Recommend — Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 7:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“I was an Associate Teacher ”

CON’s:

“Everything.
— Extremely high turnover due to many reasons, just a few of which are listed here.
— Hours are insane,
— management doesn’t care about the employees,
— the style of teaching and discipline is horrifying,
— I didn’t like who I became after working here,
— there are unrealistic expectations of teachers (like I need to log every phone call I make to a parent!?),
— and the feedback is ALWAYS negative without any sense of “you can do it” or “we can do this together”,
— it’s “Get your f*cking sh*t together!”

ADVICE to Management:

“You’ll have a much happier staff if you recognize that employees are PEOPLE who want to have lives outside of work, don’t want to be micromanaged, and will see better results if you approach criticism in a more constructive way rather than beating up your teachers.”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 8:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Overworked and unreasonable expectations on staff, micromanaging”

CON’s:

” — 1. Micromanaging by leadership

“— 2. No autonomy in your classroom, it’s like they’re making all their teachers into replicas of the one model they’re looking for

“— 3. Overworked school day – I would arrive by 6:45 am and I felt like I was running behind already.

— I would work till 5:00 pm at school, then bolt out the door to get home to my family.
— I would tirelessly grade papers while on the subway, try to respond to the absurd amount of emails and constantly changing meetings, expectations, etc.
— I would work on school work for extra hours at night and it was never enough.

— If this had been my first teaching job out of college, I would have hated teaching.

— Luckily I had 6 years experience in a great school district in a different state.

“The stories I had to tell about this job made everyone in my life tell me to quit. There was so much stress and anxiety going into each week of the job.”

Does NOT Recommend — No Opinion of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 9:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Very low morale”

CON’s:

“All teachers are extremely overworked.
— 12-hour work days are the norm.
— Very, very little prep time during the day, as meetings are held during “prep” periods. — Management encourages bizarre competition between teachers, and as a result, morale is low.

” — Students are pushed out of the school if they exhibit any negative behaviors or if their data is low.
— In either case, management will meet with the family to tell them that this school is ‘just not the right fit for them’.
— If that doesn’t work, they will suspend the child ad nauseum or even push them down into a lower grade, so that their exhausted parents give in.
— It’s absurd that this school is publicly funded when it does not serve the population it purports to serve.
— It is honestly more a school for gifted students than a school working to close the achievement gap.
— I include this in my review because it contributes to the low morale of the school – your students who you love are constantly being kicked out.”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 10:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON’s:

”

ADVICE to Management:

“Value your teachers more by making their workday more manageable.
— This will lead to teacher retention.
— 6:30am – 6:30pm is not sustainable, as the teacher turnover rate clearly attests.

” — Also, value the children who are told they don’t belong at our school.

“If we can’t help them, what are we doing in the education business?”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 11:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Not fulfilling, will not help you with career. ”

CON’s:

“I worked exceptionally hard and efficient, and they rewarded me by not hiring me after the internship ended saying “There was not enough work to be done”. There was not enough work to be done because I completed all the tasks. 1 month later surprisingly they found enough work again to open up the position.

” — They will not give you reference letter, its against company policy.

” — You spend days working on projects that they themselves do not want to work on. Some of which include creating thousands of addition and subtraction problems.

” — You’re supposed to work with the Math team however they are never in the office, and you are left alone to do meaningless tasks.

” — You get paid terribly, and not treated as part of the company or team.

” — They exclude interns from meetings, both company and team.

” — Terrible pay despite working you to the bone.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Recognize talent and hard work.
— Be honest about work performance instead of hiding behind HR.”

Does NOT Recommend — Positive Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 12:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“High Turnover, Poor Work Life Balance, Unprofessional Managers ”

CON’s:

“Unprofessional Directors and poor work-life balance. Focus on test scores and nothing else.
” — Staff usually stay less than one year.
” — There are so many HR/Recruiting positions available because the staff turnover is so high,
” — they are constantly searching for other candidates.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Look at the Enrollment and Talent/HR Team and Teacher Dept turnover. Why do certain directors have extremely high turnover and are not being held accountable?”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 13:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“High Turnover, Poor Management ”

CON’s:

” — 1. Poor Management: Management tends to fire those who voice opposition. Look at the turnover data for the Network office…team Ops, team Enrollment…etc.

” — 2. Mostly young, inexperienced staff. The poor management is directly reflective of inexperienced staff.

” — 3. Unrealistic work expectations with no additional compensation or concern for staff well being. In a “no excuses” environment, even being ill with cancer is no excuse for taking a day off.

” — 4. I cannot stress enough how poor the management of department directors and other senior staff is. My manager was the most unprofessional, unqualified person I had worked with in my career.

ADVICE to Management:

“Examine the high turnover rate and be honest about it. There are several directors whose turnover rates for their departments should be analyzed.”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 14:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Abusive, panic-driven environment justified with high reward potential ”

CON’s:

“— Erosion of any work/life balance – actually highly, HIGHLY discouraged in culture
— Constant environment of panic maintained to encourage high effort and self-doubt
— Eva is abusive and no one is willing to admit it
— Recommended to young individuals who believe in giving 115% for “the cause,” and have not yet developed concept of “self-boundaries” or “self-care”
— Upon school visitations, their very strict classroom rules for students also border on abusive
— While building critical reading and writing skills in kids, also severely stamps down on self-expression or autonomy (punishments are plentiful, harsh, and unexplained)
— Absolute silence in hallways, even teachers are discouraged from speaking
— Teachers are kept in constant fear of surprise visits and sample collections for evaluation.”

ADVICE to Management:

“To management? Why bother? The network team waited weeks to “introduce me” to the Director, waiting for the right moment. WEEKS. I began to wonder if I should chew on a leaf in an office corner until she became accustomed to my scent. This is how afraid her staff members are, or at the least, this was the culture they tried to project.

“Her direct inferiors are constantly insulted, sent to run on impossible tasks, validated for their submission to her, or ridiculed/fired if not. I had extreme difficulty maintaining any hard boundaries — much less soft ones — during my time there. The literacy team is stressed out beyond belief; they put so much work into what they do but it is never good enough. It was incredible to watch.

‘THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA’ — except not funny and you actually can damage hundreds of kids lives in the process.

Any advice will fall on deaf ears because hers is a method that works well. Google “sick system” and you will find Success, in its shiny, primary colored glory.”

———-

“My advice goes out to the staff.

” — The high turnover occurs because those able to identify the system for what it is and recognize that when faced with self-respect/self-care vs. ‘the cause,’ they should choose to protect what’s left and move on.

” — In addition, once you step quietly back from the whole thing, you will learn that ‘the cause’ has gotten lost in politics, panic and upkeep. ‘The cause’ is potentially damaging to the students that attend the school.

” — If ‘the cause’ is yourself — meaning, you are a young, vibrant, 20-something year old who wants to feel that you’ve single-handedly changed the world — this is probably a better place for you than the ACTUAL NYC education system, which can be disheartening, without guidance or such ripe upward mobility. Here you’ve got micromanaging overhead, and if you ‘survive’ long enough, you can really take your experience everywhere.

“Dear prospective employee: In many aspects, teaching is like social work. Social Work institutions highly, highly encourage you to maintain self-boundaries and self-care. Otherwise you will burn out in a ruthless, demanding, draining career of unrequited love.

“The same way many social-work industries can take advantage of the big hearts and self-validating determination, so can ‘well-intended’ charter schools. Once you find yourself in a position where you have to negotiate your ‘non-negotiable’ (I highly recommend you walk in with one) on a consistent basis, consider stepping back for a long, long moment. Breathe. You will probably ride a cycle similar to breaking up from an unhealthy relationship, but I promise you your quality of life is not worth it.

“In any case, they can replace you so quickly. I think that is what scares everyone the most.”

Does NOT Recommend — Positive Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 15:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON’s:

“—Culture – the tone of the organization is driven top-down. Eva and her direct reports are unafraid to bully others and do not show appreciation for those working for them. That trickles down through the organization in a very significant way.

” — Highly-political / not-business minded – Though the organization is a non-profit there is ZERO business sense in making decisions which is sorely needed. Decisions are almost always motivated by political motives.

” — Physical work environment – the actual office is pretty terrible. They signed a 10 year lease on a space that they outgrew in about a year and a half. Some of us were in the former storage spaces with no actual desk phones or any natural light. Some people are in satellite offices with significantly longer commutes.

” — Extremely high turnover with no institutional memory – because people leave so often and the organization does not do a good job of standardizing procedures or capturing information there is a lot of reinventing the wheel that happens when someone comes into a job.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Listen to what your employees are telling you – both current and former – and actually try to take some steps to make a change!”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 16:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The worst—I repeat—The WORST teaching job I have ever had in my life! ”

CON’s:

” — Long hours (minimum 60 hours a week…if your lucky). They have no regard for work-life balance.
— Awful management-Management (Principals, Vice Principals, etc) are trained to run schools like factories and they do.
— Employees are treated like they are just another number not like human beings.
— They have no intrest in teacher retention.
— If you don’t believe me, Google the turnover rate for thier schools.
— Some are at 60%! Lastly, at time the expectations are unrealistic.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Learn how to manage people in a way that makes them want to work for your company for the rest of their lives. I have seen some of the most passionate teachers quit this job.

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 17:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Too miserable to stay, no matter how much you are there “for the kids” ”

CON’s:

“— Arrogant young management
— ZERO personal AND ZERO sick days
— little prep time when accounting for extra meetings
— leadership talks to teachers like they are students

ADVICE to Management:

“I LOVE the mission of Success Charter Network. I love the kids there.
— But I simply cannot stay on board with the unprofessional tone of leadership and the unrealistic demands on us as teachers.
— Working 80 hour weeks and still not completing my ‘assignments’ at a high level tells me there is something wrong with the model. \
— I actually wish the work environment was better so I could stick around for the kids and their families. I am a well educated professional and a highly effective teacher that should not be talked down to by a 26 year old supervisor.

“Until major changes are made, I will look for another charter network… ”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 18:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Bad Work Environment”

CON’s:

“Working longer school years, longer school days (7 AM – 5 PM is mandated… and that includes a flexible prep time… some days you have all of your prep, other days you have none), with less pay.

“Couple this with no tenure, no unionized safety, no days off.
— There are no substitute teachers; if a teacher is absent, you lose your prep time to cover a class.
— And there is no compensation (of time or money) for this. As a result, the average worker sticks around till 8 PM. 7 AM-8 PM = a schedule that is not conducive to most people’s lifestyles.

— Clubs are practically mandated for certain teachers. No choice in this privatized industry.

“This job is not good for anybody who wants to do anything outside of Success. This includes having a family.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Consider changing your mentality towards teachers. Yes, students come first, but so do our personal lives. Make it more family friendly, and maybe there will be less of a teacher turnover in future years.”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 19:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Great Company…if you prefer ambiguity and lack of work/life balance ”

CON’s:

“Few standard operating procedures
— Unclear organizational structure
— Poor work/life balance
— Zero opportunities for mentorship and coaching due to youthful management, which leads to
— Young managerial staff with limited experience

ADVICE to Management:

“Stop reinventing the wheel.
— Develop basic policies and procedures.
— Hire competent, experienced staff.”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 20:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Good schools, terrible work environment (unless you are a teacher). ”

CON’s:

“Toxic work environment
— culture of fear
— you could lost your job at anytime, work harder.

Does NOT Recommend — Disapproves of CEO

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 21:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Mission driven, but a cult of personality ”

CON’s:

“High turnover,
— low employee satisfaction,
— incredibly top-down,
— poor upper and middle management,
— over-promotion,
— young workforce that exudes professional immaturity,
— heavy test prep that no one speaks of outside of the organization,
— layers of mismanagement and heavily politicized environment,
— doesn’t care about teacher turnover.

“Teachers are not trusted to do their jobs,
— staff on all levels are micromanaged,
— scaling and expanding too quickly without an adequate strategy or plan in place.

“The CEO, while an incredibly dynamic and intelligent woman, is too heavily involved with the day-to-day instead of focusing on higher level strategy and management of the organization. The organization runs on a cult of personality that revolves around pleasing her, which makes me skeptical that they can truly scale this model of education.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Change your policies towards teachers:
— Try to retain them,
— give more flexible time-off/sick day policies,
— place more trust in their abilities and truly develop them.
— Improve internal communication skills,
— treat employees like they are human,
— stop micromanaging and empower employees to do their jobs well.

“When you are leader and you constantly complain about the incompetencies beneath you – well, the apple never falls far from the tree. The culture starts at the top.”

Does NOT Recommend — Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 22:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Great benefits and salary, good mission, poor execution ”

CON’s:

“Not a lot of autonomy;
— conflicting feedback and management styles;
— too many managers;
— poor work/life balance;
— poor employee culture (encouraged to backbite and compete rather than collaborate)

ADVICE to Management:

“Streamline management of lower level employees:
— teachers do not need and suffer under 4 different managers, particularly when they have varying styles of management and conflicting advice;
— too frequent observations actually contributes more to stress than to accountability.”

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Approves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 1:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Very Low Morale.”

CON’s:

“Depressing environment.
— Unreasonable workload.
— Teachers have low morale and are stressed.
— No work/life balance.
— Uncertain how much school cares about kids (it’s more about the numbers).

ADVICE to Management:

“The turnover rate is high.

“There are people who want to quit, but can’t because they
— 1) care about the kids,
— 2) need the money,
— 3) signed a 2 year commitment contract,
or
— 4) can’t get a day off to go on another interview.

“Management should be worried about the long-term viability of this organization.
— No one can work at this pace for 10 years.

“Management should invest in retaining their employees instead of hiring new ones constantly.
— Intellectual capital cannot be replicated.
— The hours are terrible. 6:30 am- 7pm stresses everyone out, including the kids.
— One has to wake up four or five am depending on commute and try to get to sleep early for the next day.

“However, the work never ends so there is never enough time to get everything done. You never feel as if you’re doing your job well enough. Ever.”

Does NOT Recommend — Negative Outlook – No Opinion of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 23:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Well-funded, high expectations, don’t value their employees ”

CON’s:

“I felt completely taken advantage of as a teacher.
— Way overworked (even relative to a prior career that was extremely demanding),
— felt very little respect from network.
— Didn’t care about my work-life balance, personal health, emotional well-being.
— Was assigned way more tasks than what I believe a teacher should be asked to do (which resulted in lower quality work in the classroom).
— Extremely micromanaged, which was forced upon me in my work, and forced upon students as well.
— Little creativity encouraged in learning.”

ADVICE to Management:

“It’s been noted that the network doesn’t care about employee turn over–but this school turned me off from teaching.
— Literally worked me until I was sick.
— Actually care about your employees well-being and sanity–work smarter, not harder. — Allow kids to be kids, and let the teachers teach.

Does NOT Recommend — Neutral Outlook – Disapproves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 24:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“The Reality is Nothing Like the Image ”

CON’s:

“Employee happiness is on the bottom of the priority list.
— The model seems to be based on bringing in young, idealistic men and women ready to put up with anything and asking them to work around the clock and devote their lives to the job.
— Few last longer than a year, which weakens the culture…some people don’t bother learning colleagues’ names since turnover is so high.

“Vast majority of senior staff are not good managers.
— Just so many terrible management practices that make no sense.
— Management seems to have no respect for employees.
— We are kept in the dark about major issues affecting us,
— management does not solicit employee opinions,
— huge discrepancies in salary between the top tier and the rest.

“Huge focus on testing and test scores.
— The image of multi-disciplinary ‘whole-child’ curriculum just isn’t true in Grades 3 and up, when the students spend months on end preparing for the state tests.”

ADVICE to Management:

“Employee happiness might not seem like a pressing problem, but a model based on constant turnover undermines the organization.
— Some respect toward the employees goes a long way (and I don’t mean casual Friday or free snacks).

Does NOT Recommend — Approves of CEO
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

LikeLike

Reply
- dianeravitch says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 8:31 pm
  
  Jack, after you posted the Glass Door reviews, the website was suddenly flooded with positive reviews.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - Teacher Ed says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 9:43 pm
    
    Try this link to see the recent negative reviews shown first (the one Jack provided starts on page 2):
    http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools-Reviews-E381408.htm?sort.sortType=OR&sort.ascending=true
    
    LikeLike
  - MathVale says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 9:45 pm
    
    Would have loved to read that email that went out at SA.
    
    LikeLike
  - Rodriguez says:
    
    April 10, 2015 at 11:56 am
    
    I have to say the reviews are very accurate. I have seen and experienced the things mentioned. Some of the positive reviews are clearly false and not written from the perspective of a teacher. Those teachers and leaders that DO write positive comments are usually the ones within the organization that are looking to move up and are not actually interesting in teaching. Many have no knowledge about how children develop, learn, and how to treat special education students. Did I forget to mention most of the teachers are not certified? While employed many teachers “play along” until the year ends or until they are certified and then leave. I use to believe in the organization, but knew deep down it was too good to be true. I wish I could repeat the racist comments I heard people say about children’s families or “hair” or “music”, or “communites”, number of children they had.
    I bet those same families wouldn’t show up to rallies. P.s I only overheard these comments because I “blend in well” skincolor wise. The organization does have its positives but are strongly overshadowed by the way in which children and employees are treated. Sadly, many employees are too young (don’t have enough work experience) to recognize the unethical behavior.
    
    LikeLike
Robert Rendo says:

April 9, 2015 at 8:54 pm

Really. . . .

WHO cares what the attrition rate of teachers is at SA?

Anything over 5% is a workplace that is unstable. And besides, who wants to work and learn in an environment so stifling and militarized? Rigor and engagement are great things in a child’s education, but rigor without a delight and enchantment of learning and reading is abusive.

Charters do not solve the problem of poverty. They merely suppress its symptoms and mask them in test scores and test prep. China does this as well, with a its test prep factories that produce highly literate graduates who cannot think critically or creatively. Just ask Yong Zhao.

Charters offer no life-work balance, and they offer no pensions to offset the lower pay that is mired in 14 hour work days. Yet, it’s okay for Eva Mosowitz to earn over half a million dollars.

LikeLike

Reply
- Duane Swacker says:
  
  April 11, 2015 at 10:29 am
  
  “Really. . . .
  
  WHO cares what the attrition rate of teachers is at SA?
  
  Anything over 5% is a workplace that is unstable. And besides, who wants to work and learn in an environment so stifling and militarized?
  
  EXACTO.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
KrazyTA says:

April 9, 2015 at 9:17 pm

Donna—

From a NY DAILY NEWS piece of 12-19-2014:

Headline:

“Success Academy charter schools’ revenue doubles in a year; CEO Eva Moskowitz’s pay jumps to $567K”

Subheading:

“EXCLUSIVE: The charter school network hauled in a whopping $34.6 million for the financial year ending June 2013, which is up from $16.7 million the previous year, according to tax documents obtained by the Daily News.”

Link: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/success-academy-charter-schools-revenue-doubles-year-article-1.2050561

Read the entire article.

Inconvenient facts from the above:

1), “Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter school network lived up to its name in 2013, tax documents obtained by the Daily News show.

The financial documents show Moskowitz’s network of 32 city charter schools took in a whopping $34.6 million for the financial year ending June 2013.

The stunning figure is up nearly $18 million from $16.7 million the high-performing charter school network received in income in the prior year.”

2), “Success Academy board member Campbell Brown said Moskowitz is worth every penny. “We believe in rewarding high performance — whether it’s the CEO, a principal or teacher,” said Brown.”

3), “Moskowitz has said she aims to have 100 schools by 2024, and state charter school authorizers have already approved another 14 Success Academy schools to open by 2016.”

When an old dead Greek isn’t handy, an old dead Roman will do in pinch:

“For greed all nature is too little.” [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]

Because, Donna, Eva Moskowitz is a saint.

Rheeally! And in the most Johnsonally sort of ways too…

But not really…

😎

P.S. And Donna, the best part about Saint Eva is that whatever she makes has nothing— absolutely, positively, nothing—to do with the essence of $ucce$$ Academy. She’s just the founder, leader and core of $ucce$$ Academy. You’re confusing the two when they have nothing—absolutely, positively, nothing—to do with each other.

Got that straightened out now, right?

😏

LikeLike

Reply
- Jonathan says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 9:43 pm
  
  Inconvenient fact # 2:
  
  ….“We believe in rewarding high performance — whether it’s the CEO, a principal or teacher,” said Brown.”
  
  Who is “we”
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - KrazyTA says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 10:01 pm
    
    Jonathan: if you were in TFA, posing that sort of query would be tantamount to lacking that all-important “right corps-member mindset.”
    
    [Google Gary Rubinstein’s blog]
    
    I see you are a fan of Ionesco:
    
    “It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.”
    
    😎
    
    LikeLike
  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    April 9, 2015 at 10:05 pm
    
    The answer to your question is whoever said the we + their fleas.
    
    LikeLike
Jonathan says:

April 9, 2015 at 9:31 pm

High Stakes testing is bad for any school culture because it becomes the reason for teaching. Charter schools, unlike public schools, were conceived under the full influence of the testing culture, and are creatures whose genetics reflect this. The aspect of Success Academy that I find most disturbing is just how singularly focused the whole school culture is on passing those darn tests. It’s a cult of hard facts, and high scores on narrow assessments, that support the macho bragging rights of shallow educators. It becomes their raison d’etre- their reason for existing. If Eva Moskowits defines the academic success of Success Academy by these test scores, then what does it mean to be human?

No one denies the practical needs for an education, but they shouldn’t become all that matters in learning…

LikeLike

Reply
- Robert Rendo says:
  
  April 9, 2015 at 11:07 pm
  
  American culture is not about being human. It’s about being competent, competitive, and superior.
  
  In that culture, there will always be winners and losers, and in its extreme form, it becomes the Hunger Games . . . . .
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    April 10, 2015 at 8:01 am
    
    “American culture”?
    
    Surely, you’re talking about Native Americans, right? (Sacagawea, Lady Gaga, etc)
    
    LikeLike
Ken Watanabe says:

April 10, 2015 at 9:36 am

Between 17% and 50%. Don’t know the exact number, but one thing is for sure. It’s way higher than traditional public schools–and even some private schools( not charters or vouchers).

LikeLike

Reply
- Jonathan says:
  
  April 10, 2015 at 10:19 am
  
  I wonder how it compare to other professions.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
SomeDAM Poet says:

April 10, 2015 at 10:05 am

“Completely Cooked”

Turnover in the school
Is something to extol
As operating rule
It really should be whole

LikeLike

Reply
- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  April 10, 2015 at 10:07 am
  
  make that “Well Done”
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply