Bill Phillis posts disturbing news about one of the nation’s lowest performing schools, a virtual charter name ECOT, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.
He writes:
“$3 million of Straight A state funds went to Straight D-F ECOT in 2014
What kind of twisted process was conjured up to permit the transfer of $2,951,755 of Straight A state funds to the ECOT man in 2014? This disgraceful governmental malfeasance is an affront to Ohio taxpayers.
This $3 million went to a business enterprise that has collected nearly a billion dollars from school districts but cannot verify that students are being engaged in learning for more than an average of one hour per day.
The travesty of the ECOT saga is that state officials in charge of the Statehouse may continue this colossal waste of tax money. As the August 19 Columbus Dispatch editorial suggests, ECOT appears to be running the clock out hoping that the legislature will eventually permit online operators to collect funds merely on the basis of enrollment.
Public school officials, educators and advocates should confront their legislative representatives and the Governor on this matter.”
William L. Phillis | Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding | 614-228-6540 | ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net |
Ohio E & A
100 S. 3rd Street
Columbus OH 43215
Diane Ravitch's blog 
To think that Kasich ran for POTUS with this and all the rest of the blatant charter sector corruption in Ohio already in the news, just waiting for anyone to use against him. Talk about hubris, the fool has enough for the entire city of Cleveland.
This reflects the level of corruption in chartering within Ohio, paying for students who are not online and charter laws written to permit fraud, waste, and abuse.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
I want to start a charter in Ohio. It will be great because I can be terrible and still get more money.
Money, Money, Money
As long as ECOT keeps giving money to politicians …
Politicians will keep giving money to ECOT …
It’s for computer-directed learning:
“Academic achievement in mathematics will improve by providing teachers a
comprehensive assessment and instructional platform that provides the
functionality necessary to design and deliver a truly personalized education
for students in grades 6-12 math. The assessment functionality of the
platform includes formative and summative testing with real-time, detailed,
standards-based analytics identifying specific instructional needs, while the
instructional functionality of the platform uses these results to automatically
search for and deliver content options aligned to individual standards”
They can’t make enough money off just charter schools. They have to get the same captured lawmakers to jam this garbage into every public school.
That’s the future market for ECOT. Public schools. Cheap commercial garbage for low and middle income public school students. Charters are only 7% of schools. They can’t continue to grow unless they expand into public schools.
It’s an amazing business plan, really. The public picks up the cost of product development and then the vendor sells the product back to the public. We pay them twice and we STILL don’t own it.
And that isn’t even the worst of it.
Gee, I wonder if I can get a job writing their marketing copy?! I can spill out that hogwash. You would think they were applying for a teaching job online with all the required buzzwords they included. In a way I guess they are!
What is amazing is that the corruption is right out in the open and no one is going to jail.
Bill Gates says “personalized learning” is awesome and perfect:
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Education/Why-I-Love-This-Cutting-Edge-School-Design?WT.mc_id=08_22_2016_10_BTS2016Summit_UMED-media_&WT.tsrc=UMEDmedia
It’s funny how none of these over-hyped ed reforms pan out in Ohio. Charters, vouchers, computer-led instruction. We take any and all ed reform fads that come down the pike and I can’t think of a single one that performed as advertised.
This is deregulation at its worst. Breaking down unions that in many respects holds em accountable .creating a low pay, high turnover, high stress teaching environment . Saving are not put back into the system they go to a few that are making millions, as well as, paying our elected official to buy into this and drink the kook aide.
Capitalism running amuck.
To paraphrase Noam Chomsky: Defund, make sure things fall apart, get the populace upset, hand things over to private entities.
It’s like a Taxnado …
Politicians are the warm front, charterbaggers are the cold front, and taxes are the surrounding air that just keeps getting sucked into the vortex.
Why doesn’t information like this ever make it to national news such as 60 Minutes? Total scam, but it is really sickening because children are the victims of these robbers.