Last spring, there was a heated debate about a proposed charter school in Brockton, Massachusetts. Many members of the Brockton community said that they did not want a private charter to compete with their public schools. Some said they did. The state board of education approved the charter 7-3.
It was supposed to open this fall. But it won’t be opening because it is not ready. Worse, it is under enrolled. No lottery, no waiting list.
Tracy Novick wrote on her blog (and includes a link to the discussion at the state board’s meeting) about the Brockton situation.
Also, as of the July 19 Brockton School Committee meeting, parents of only 170 students filled out the required release forms to transfer student records to the New Heights Charter School. The charter school said it plans to serve 315 students in its first year. Deputy Superintendent Michael Thomas broke down the numbers, stating that release forms were signed for 65 sixth graders, 60 seventh graders and 45 eight graders.
Almost half the seats in the unopened charter are empty.
Strange, because right after the charter school was approved over local opposition, its leaders claimed that it had received more than 600 applications and more arrived every day. As the Boston Globe put it, the charter was “deluged” by applications, with 40 or more new ones every day. Yet only 170 students actually were prepared to enter.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From the Boston Globe article … the one falsely claiming hordes of families clamoring for the charter to be authorized and opened:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2016/02/26/just-approved-brockton-charter-school-already-deluged-with-applicants/XSkyrTi4sX68o4aCfYU1sN/story.html
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“Brockton Superintendent Kathleen A. Smith said in an e-mail that she would be watching the new school ‘closely to be sure it is not only accountable to its mission, but true to promises made to the residents of Brockton, Randolph and Taunton. We will also be watching the flow of public dollars to the charter to be sure it goes to educating children, not padding the coffers of educational speculators.’
“Brockton officials have said they worried that the charter school would siphon off state education funds from the existing public schools.”
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In addition to the low (true) enrollment figures, the fact that those charter operators would be under the spotlight and intense scrutiny by the Brockton Schools Superintendent may have also scared them into backing off opening the school. I mean, really. You can’t pull down ridiculously high six-figure salaries — to be paid out of the Brockton parents’ and citizen-taxpayer’s school budget — after being exposed blatantly lying about and/or greatly exaggerating the number of applications and the amount of parent demand for opening your charter school. In this case, it was 50% less than what you claimed earlier.
Like roaches, they ran from the light. … for the time being, at least.
The imposition of a charter school on the hard-knocks city of Brockton demonstrates that the state board of education has been taken over by a cabal of charter advocates. Brockton High School, led by its own staff, not taken over or churned around, accomplished the remarkable feat of dramatically improving school climate and student outcomes through tenacious and incremental improvements. Andrea Gabor has the details:
https://andreagabor.com/2011/09/30/a-school’s-decade-long-literacy-obsession-and-how-it-transformed-brockton-high/
If MA DESE was truly acting in the best interests of MA students, it would have disseminated Brockton’s successful model across the Commonwealth. Instead, over community objections, they have inserted a charter into a community which neither needs nor wants one.
This is why it is imperative to defeat MA Ballot Question #2. It would allow the addition of 12 more charters every year, ad infinitum. Communities, which will have to fund the charters, cannot veto their presence.
Here’s a story about a charter opening up in Kearny, NJ, which plans to bus students in from Jersey City. Interesting that the article states the charter school, part of the “ilearn” chain (is it a chain?) plans to do lots of marketing to promote interest. http://www.theobserver.com/2015/07/1st-charter-school-due-in-2016/ Catholic schools, to stay afloat, increasingly accepted students from surrounding towns, of any religion, turning their backs on their intended purposes – to raise “good catholics.” Now, abandoned catholic schools are leasing to charters chains, and often, for out of towners. That is what Lady Liberty charter school in Harrison, NJ did – and bused in Newark students. To each his own.
This school will be a part of the Gulen charter schools. They already operate 7 schools in Northern NJ.
Even more reason to beware I suppose. Honestly, I hope the place closes as quickly as it opens. Kearny is a very small town with plenty of good elementary schools. It really doesn’t need this charter, excepting the fact that the catholic schools have abandoned their missions and have buildings to rent to out of town operators.
Wait lists are vaporware.
http://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/update-state-overestimates-charter-school-waitlist-numbers-again/
Ohio lawmakers are devoting yet another week to charter promotion:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/chartersummit?src=hash
Doctor Steve Perry is there pushing vouchers. Maybe he doesn’t know Ohio already has vouchers.
Must be tough to get up to speed when the lobbyists parachute into these states.
Dave Yost @Yost4Ohio 7h7 hours ago
Looking forward to opening the Auditor of State’s Charter School Summit it a few minutes! Hundreds coming from around Ohio & beyond.
I wonder when Ohio lawmakers and other public employees in Columbus will find time in their busy schedules to hold a public school summit.
Oh, well. Maybe next year.
There’s an on-line comment form, at the State Auditor’s site. Shocking, I’ve had no reply.
Plunderbund reported that Yost won’t respond to Denis Smith.
Is Yost’s office still fraudulently calling charters, “public” ?
I find this baffling about ed reform:
“Charter schools aren’t right for everyone. In fact, the vast majority of children will attend district schools,”
If they believe this, then why don’t the ed reform politicians and lobbyists ever advocate on behalf of public schools?
They thought people wouldn’t notice they never do anything at all for public schools WHILE claiming to support “public education”? Public schools are mentioned only as an afterthought. It’s true across the ed reform “movement” from the Obama Administration to all of the various lobbying groups.
http://www.bostonherald.com/opinion/op_ed/2016/08/walz_a_democrat_s_case_for_charter_schools
This is Bellwether Ed. Try to find a single mention of an actual public school. It is 90% charters. The only time public schools are mentioned is when they’re proposing ratings systems or assorted other sanctions of punishments.
Diane, thanks for picking this up. What I find particularly egregious is that the Board of Ed was told and shown, repeatedly, that there was no need for such a school in Brockton. The Board majority repeatedly said that they were certain that there was an unrepresented silent population in need of the school. There isn’t. It is, however, representative of the frame of mind of those pushing to lift the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts.
Note also that Brockton is home to the those named in the lawsuits (first McDuffy, then Hancock) brought against the state, charging that the state was not appropriately funding public education. Superintendent Smith has been speaking of renewing the suit.
…state not adequately funding public education.
The MA Board of Ed has this annoying habit of not really listening to communities. At all. I saw it in Brockton, in Holyoke, at public forums across the state regarding PARCC and MCAS. At EVERY event that I’ve attended, the community outcry has been strong and passionate. I left the Holyoke community forum feeling confident that the community fighting the imminent receivership had won the day. The next morning, BOE announced the city would go into receivership. Brockton was another sad story where the community lost. The state needs to have an uprising and be fierce about taking back our schools. The governors at least last three appointments on the MA BOE have all been charter school advocates. Those folks are not working on behalf of MY grandchildren and I want them replaced. The public board of education should be run by public school advocates. And, to head off one argument, no, charter schools are NOT public schools. Time to adequately fund our traditional public schools where 95% of our students attend and lose resources and support every year.
A 3-minute video at Network for Public Education explains how charter schools destroy public schools.
And let’s remember that Jim Peyser remained on the board of Families for Excellent Schools after his appointment as Secretary of Education. http://edushyster.com/all-in-the-family/ …
Would it be helpful at all to use the freedom of information act to find out how much each charter school costs in replicating services and how that effects public schools? If the charterz won’t pony up the information then there is more proof that they aren’t public in any way shape or form.
Can a freedom of information act FOIA request shine any light? They claim to be public …
The Massachusetts charter-school-loving Department of Secondary and Elementary Education approved a shortened year for the school. They found another location with a brand new LLC that was formed this March and bought a building they can move into. Odd coincidence? So much is shady about this school. http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20160811/shortened-school-year-approved-for-brockton-charter-school-due-to-delay-in-opening
The shortened year was approved. It sounds like he has a loan for about $650K to renovate the first building and plans to use that one later when he gets older grades, and is now renting a different building this year from a brand new LLC that bought a building in April after just forming this March. There are about 6 people making 6 figures at this charter school, and they are hiring 24 teachers, the highest paid will make $45k. Two buildings being rented now for less than 300 students. This all stinks to high heaven. But our charter-school-loving commissioner of education and our public-school-hating secretary of education love this charter school for the Brockton Schools, which has elimated over 100 teaching positions in the last few years. http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20160811/shortened-school-year-approved-for-brockton-charter-school-due-to-delay-in-opening
I posted twice in error and made a few typos, but it still all stinks to high heaven.
Dear Diane:
I am a loyal reader of your highly informative & educational blog. Thank you for taking the time daily, to write on the state of education in this country. It’s highly helpful to me especially because, by virtue of being a foreigner, it’s a somewhat fresh, frustrating & overwhelming picture. I am not sure how you do it…writing daily, but I applaud you. Somedays I feel like in NYC, when not born here, one needs a PhD to navigate the clouded education system, a science degree to eat & of course, Vogue magazine to dress up..lolol. Anyway, on a much more serious & tense note:
I am parent at Success Academy & my 6yr old son is about to begin Grade 1. I am looking for your insight & experienced input. I currently am forced to file a harassment report against a SA principal just to secure my peace-of-mind, but also with the hopes of protecting the safety of my son. What bothers me mostly about this picture is that Eva Moskowitz is fully aware of this harassment & has chosen to quiet about it – I proof of anything I am saying here. Please let me know how best you would handle this matter? Upon visiting the Precinct on 54th St., an officer said they would go to the school to speak to the principal. I am still waiting to hear back.
It would be helpful to hear your perspective.
I thank you: YpM (Yolande)
Sent by Xoshidada-fied…
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Reader B (Yolanda):
You asked me this morning how you could register a complaint about the mistreatment of your child at a Success Academy charter school. I checked with the administration and learned that you should contact this person:
MelissaHarris@schools.nyc.gov