Last week, federal authorities raided the offices of Celerity charter schools in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at the Celerity charters in this article.
Teacher Tien Le worked at Celerity Dyad Charter School, where she
taught in a portable classroom on an asphalt lot — not unheard of in this city of tight squeezes and little green space, but her students also had no library, cafeteria or gymnasium. The school didn’t provide most supplies, Le said, so when her sixth-graders needed books, or an extra pencil and paper, she spent her own money to buy them.
Months into her first year at Dyad, Le and her colleagues were invited by the organization that managed the school to a holiday party at a large house on a winding street in Hollywood. She parked in a lot rented for the occasion and took a shuttle to the house with other teachers and staff. Inside, there were two open bars, casino tables for poker and blackjack, and a karaoke room. At evening’s end, a limousine ferried guests back to their cars.
“I remember being really confused that night,” Le said. “When I asked for basic supplies, I couldn’t get those things, yet you have money for this expensive party? I know at big corporations and for-profit places these parties are normal, but for a public school it was not normal.”
Celerity operates seven charter schools in Southern California and four in Louisiana.
The investigation is ongoing. I can’t help but wonder whether Betsy DeVos will call a halt to the investigation when and if she becomes Secretary of Education. True, the FBI is involved, but a phone call to her friend in the White House….
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