Students at the Amistad High School, the crown jewel of the no-excuses Achievement First charter chain, walked out to protest the lack of diversity among the school’s teachers and the arbitrary discipline.
“Administrators overseeing the Achievement First Amistad charter high school promised to “do better” Tuesday after hundreds of black and Latino students walked out in protest to air longstanding complaints about racial insensitivity.
“The students massed on the football field of the Dixwell Avenue charter school after arriving on buses, then marched on the street chanting “What do we want? Diversity! When do we want it? Now! Now!”
“Some 98 percent of the school’s 498 students are black or Latino, according to its website. Most of the teachers are white.
“The school emphasizes that it grooms students to be leaders — and the students took them up on that mission at Tuesday’s orderly protest.
“They charged that a racially insensitive climate had led most of the black teachers to leave and to indiscriminate discipline.
“The protests brought into the open complaints students and parents have had about the racial climate in the school.
“The school has young teachers that can’t handle the classroom,” said Kordell Green, one of the organizers.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Well, I retweeted and posted this to Facebook. Spread the word. Especially if you are connected to the Waltons, Gateses. Broads, Michael Bloomberg etc. Remember Amsted is the Charter former CT Ed Commissioner Stefan Pryor (a Bloomberg & Paul Vallas pal) founded.
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Lessons from Amistad.
I wonder how many of the teachers know some of the lessons from Amistad?
I wonder if the school has a teacher of art that gets kids to study Hale Woodruff’s Amistad murals? Probably not: unless that is on the test.
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Reblogged this on Lloyd Lofthouse and commented:
Is this a sign of the revolution to come to stop the autocratic and often fraudulent for profit at any price corporate war against community based, democratic, transparent and non profit public education in the United States.
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I’m a former teacher at Amistad Middle school, and I can attest to the abhorrent discipline system they use. It starts in elementary school and by the time a kid is in high school, they cannot take the zero tolerance policy anymore. We teachers had to walk around with clipboards literally at all times, giving out “deductions,” many of which led directly to detentions. I was personally criticized for not giving out enough Level 2 deductions (automatic detentions). The principal at the time sent a memo stating that, “there is no such thing as warnings at Amistad. Only deductions.” Administrators and teachers at a meeting once debated what a “sigh” was from a student, and whether or not it deserved a deduction. That discussion lasted 1/2 hour.
On the topic of diversity, bravo to the students on the walkout. When I was working there, they had a thing called, “the fist.” Whenever a teacher put their fist up in the air, every student had to shut their mouths and do the same. Imagine a white teacher in a cafeteria full of black students putting their fist into the air, and then everyone else doing it. Talk about a weird black panther irony.
All “No Excuses” chain charters should have a special place in hell reserved for what they are doing to education and to children. It’s horrifying.
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Peter: although a difficult read, thank you for your comments.
😧
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Peter, All I can say is OMG! This is a horror story.
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Maybe the die was cast when those charter honchos chose the name of this school — referencing the ship where a famous rebellion of an (obviously) all-black group of slaves against an all-white ship’s crew.
That may have planted ideas in the students’ heads … history repeating itself, and all that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Amistad
WIKIPEDIA:
” ‘La Amistad’ was a 19th-century two-masted schooner built in the United States[citation needed] but owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. It became renowned in July 1839 as the site of a slave revolt by Mende captives, who had been enslaved in Sierra Leone, and were being transported for sale between Havana, Cuba, and other Caribbean islands.[1]
“The African captives took control of the ship in July 1839, killing some of the crew and ordering the survivors to sail the ship to Africa.”
—————-
At least this time, none of the all-white staff was slaughtered.
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Jack,
Nice observation. Funny, too.
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Especially disturbing are the comments posted by readers of the article (in the newhavenindependent.org). Some of them, in the most depraved fashion, voiced disgust and contempt for these brave young Americans who stood up for themselves and articulated what they need and have a right to.
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From the article:
1), “Some 98 percent of the school’s 498 students are black or Latino, according to its website. Most of the teachers are white.”
2), “‘Some 27 percent of Amistad High School “staff members identify as black, Latino or multi-racial,” reported AF spokeswoman Amanda Pinto. “This is an increase from 21 percent in 2013-14.’”
3), [start]
Students are also disciplined through a “merit system,” in which demerits start at a minimal Level 1 for small infractions and go to Level 3 for more serious ones. A second level demerit automatically gets a student detention. Three first level demerits send a student to detention.
Alvarado said teachers give students demerits whenever they want, often without good reason. He said students don’t feel listened to by teachers.
Students can now be suspended for playing cards during lunch, he said.
Amistad junior Denaja Green said the system works through favoritism, with a select group of students never being disciplined for the same actions that get others suspension or detention.
[end]
4), “Alicia Jones, parent of I’onna and T’onna Roselle, joined the alders in the meeting. She said the school was failing the students by not hiring more teachers of color. The only staff of color in the school are behavioral managers, not teachers, she said.
‘I don’t completely disagree with you,’ Sudmyer responded. ‘We need to do a better job.’”
5), [start]
“You have to hold your staff accountable,” Jones said. “They’re very rude and nasty to our students.”
“I don’t want staff to be rude and nasty to the kids,” Sudmyer responded. “Come around and take a look at the classes.”
“They’re not going to do it when you’re there,” Jones snapped back.
[end]
If this were a public school, this would be touted as a case study in why big gubmint monopoly schools need charters and choice and privatization and such—if not outright elimination and replacement by the aforementioned.
When it comes to corporate education reform and the fierce urgency of doubling down: worst pedagogical and management practices are the norm in a exceptional example of $tudent $ucce$$.
And what are we to make of this classic from AF Regional Superintendent Jeff Sudmyer of rheephorm mealy mouthed deflection and avoidance of responsibility?
[start]
“I don’t completely disagree with you,” Sudmyer responded. “We need to do a better job.”
[end]
I urge viewers of this posting and blog to catch up with the latest on Trump University.
Just one example, from HuffingtonPost entitled “Inside The Trump University ‘Playbook’” with the subtitle “Salespeople were instructed to deliberately mislead potential customers and manipulate their emotions.”
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-university-playbook_us_574dff7ee4b0af73af95b726?utm_hp_ref=politics
Anything to learn about the former from the latter?
😏
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What you describe is a management by negativity system. It seems so oppressive, out-dated and prison like.
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If students walked out of every school and classroom that treated them unfairly, I believe there would be more students outside than inside.
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And maybe that’s exactly what needs to happen.
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Safe to say it would grab our attention, and make us reconsider lots of stuff…
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These “no excuses” schools, with arbitrary discipline, silent halls and lunchrooms, high suspension rates of young children, etc., have struck me as racist ever since I learned about the abusive treatment of these kids. It’s as if there is an ingrained belief by the administration that is any freedom at all is given (like even the right to not have your eyes on the teacher at every movement or to unclasp your hands) then chaos would ensue. It’s a lack of trust in and respect for children and families of color, especially those that struggle with poverty. Take this quote from Success Academy’s Eva Moskowitz (SA has very high enrollments of minorities); it’s amazing that she was never sanctioned for this racist remark: “you spend time in schools, you know they are rough places. Many people would not feel safe in many of the buildings. … We are old-fashioned. We don’t believe that children should curse at teachers. We do not believe that children should throw chairs, either at teachers or other kids. Not only do we not believe that children should hit, we have a no-hitting-back rule. And that’s very challenging for parents. Many of our parents say to us, “I teach my kid, you get hit and you stand up for yourself and you hit back.” And we have to say, you know, that might be an appropriate rule for the street, but we are in a house of learning. And that’s not what we do here.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-eva-moskowitz-charter-schools-success-perspec-0522-20150521-story.html
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Apart from the racial stuff, another aspect of this story bothers me.
Call the following criticism the “Bugsy-Malone-ization” in the process by one become corporate charter school principals, administrators, etc. … or the “Doogie-Howser-ization”, if you will:
(the former is a reference that late Baby-Boomers might catch, the latter is one Gen-X-ers that might get)
In the article, the school’s principal in the picture is Claire Polcrack, who has a Linked-in page:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-polcrack-37340411b
According to this, Principal Polcrack’s career trajectory was the following:
Age 22, TFA teacher for two years, (right out of college in 2009)
Age 24, TFA aluma and staff teacher (2011)
Age 26, Academic Dean (2013)
Age 28, Principal (June 2015)
Age 29 (today), 1st-year Principal facing a public relations disaster
Wow, that was fast!
Actually, this is nothing. In Los Angeles, I’ve heard of charter school principals as young as 24. Chew on that for a while. Mark my words, if and when Eli Broad commences his program of adding 260 more corporate ed. reform charter schools to the LAUSD landscape, this “Doogie-Howser-ization” of school site management will become a routine and a widespread practice. The charter folks will be forced to do so, as there simply isn’t enough seasoned talent with years of experience to fill those administrative positions. Nobody will ever be able to tell me that this will be good for the kids being educated in those schools, or for the teachers working under the amateur principals.
Indeed, this is very common in corporate Charter World. Charlotte Dial, the Success Academy teacher from the rip-and-redo video, is only in her 20’s and is in charge of training Success Academy teachers system-wide.
Contrast this with LAUSD, where the process of becoming a principal is not so rushed. There’s more of a dues paying process, with greater requirements and demands for who aspiring to achieve the role of principal. A future principal usually teaches at least 10 years, before moving up to the position of Coordinator, a sort of hybrid administrator/teacher position, where he or she remains part of UTLA, A Coordinator has one foot in management’s camp, and one foot in labor’s.
After a few years — at least two — as a coordinator, they may move up to serve as Assistant Principal for a few more years. They attend a district training program while serving as coordinator to prep for the move to A.P. Only the most select move up to be an A.P. After several years as an A.P. — sometimes more than a decade — they finally achieve the role of principal.
In short, one attains a principalship, at the very earliest, in your late 30’s (mid-30’s at the absolute earliest.) Throughout the entire decade-plus process, one is mentored by principals, seasoned pros with decades of experience, and are followed and monitored closely to see if they can cut it, or have what it takes. I’ve seen many Assistant Principals get moved back to a teaching position, after being deemed not up to snuff.
Anyway, by the time one survives this and becomes a principal, they know what they’re doing. (with the rarest exceptions… another story.)
This is not a slight on Ms. Polcrack, who appears to have been a top-notch Math teacher (TFA ain’t all bad 😉 ). It’s just that she may be in over her head as principal, at least moreso than she would have in a program run like LAUSD’s.
For a little late Baby Boomer nostalgia, here’s Bugsy Malone (which first put Scott “Chachi-from-HAPPY-DAYS” Baio on the map)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwMzhJW7IB4
For some Gen-X nostalgia, here’s the pilot episode of “Doogie Howser”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4JF1b-0ZfQ
Re-watching the opening of this Doogie Howser pilot, it brings to mind YouTube videos that I’ve seen of oh-so-young, 20-something charter school principals blathering away so authoritatively about education, like they just know it all … just sayin.’ (I’m not posting any of those here… that would be a cheap shot… but trust me, such videos are ubiquitous.)
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Here’s a better link to the Doogie Howser pilot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIMYgFe5MDk
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Here’s the trailer or commercial for the “Doogie Howser” show. You get the point, as the front office of far too many privately-manged charter schools are led by too many too-young, inexperienced, untrained “Doogie Howser”-types:
(Go ahead, you corporate ed. reformers. Have this one taken down, too!)
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I live in a majority minority district. We actively seek out faculty and staff of color. Yes, there are not that many certified teachers of color, but we manage to hire several every year. Supply and demand. Why would these applicants go to the local charter schools, of which there are many, when they could come to our district with better pay and benefits, more job security, and union protections? If Amistad is like the charters in our area, I don’t see the faculty getting much less white any time soon.
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