Archives for the month of: April, 2017
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Michigan: Officials Promise Investigation of Charter Board Decision Not to Seek Repayment of $5 Million from Convicted Director

By dianeravitch
April 26, 2017 //
8

Blogger Anita Senkowski has kept a close watch on the Grand Traverse Academy charter chain in northern Michigan. Two years ago, its founder was convicted of tax evasion, but apparently the board of directors did not require repayment of the $5 million that went missing. Now, due to Senkowski’s persistence, the state has promised an investigation. The founder of the charter chain, Steven Ingersoll, is an optometrist who claimed to have a unique way of teaching children through a method he called “integrated visual learning”; he recruited other optometrists to serve on the charter board.

Two years after Steven Ingersoll’s March 10, 2015 federal tax evasion and conspiracy convictions, Michigan authorities, including the office of its Attorney General, Bill Schuette, are finally investigating Ingersoll’s related-party financial transactions, the GTA’s debt write off process and its decision not to seek repayment of the money that may have been misappropriated by Ingersoll between 2007-2013, estimated at $5.0 million.

Kicked into action by a formal complaint I filed on March 31, 2017, the Michigan Department of Education confirmed to me in an April 4, 2017 that it is investigating the decision by the GTA’s Board of Directors to “write off” a $1.6 million debt owed to the school by Ingersoll, its calculation of the amount—and the three optometrists who looked at a charter school full of children and saw only a cash-rich “golden goose”: Steven Ingersoll, Mark Noss and Brad Habermehl.

After dithering publicly for months in 2014 about its “plan” to collect money owed to the Grand Traverse Academy (GTA) by its former manager, optometrist Steven Ingersoll of Smart Schools Management, Inc. (SSM), the Traverse City, Michigan, charter school’s annual fiscal audit revealed its board decided to just “write off” $1,623,000 to bad debt, and not pursue collection.

The GTA board included a $1,813,330 “repayment” by Ingersoll into its write off calculation — an amount credited against his debt, estimated in by Ingersoll at $3.58 million as of June 30, 2012.

Ingersoll began serving his 41-month prison sentence in February in Minnesota.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Fraud, Michigan, Privatization

Rob Levine: The Walmart Plan to Kill Public Schools in Minneapolis

By dianeravitch
April 26, 2017 //
42

Rob Levine describes in this post the concentration of corporate reformers on Minneapolis, where millions of dollars are pouring in to the city to turn it into the New Orleans of the north, a mecca for charter operators without public schools.

He writes:

In Minneapolis there are now 34 operating charter schools that enroll almost 12,000 students. In St. Paul there are now 37 operating charter schools enrolling more than 13,000 students. By comparison both districts currently enroll about 36,000 students. While it’s obviously true that students who enroll in a charter school in one city don’t necessarily hail from there, the numbers are a good benchmark.

The Walton Family Foundation has started 46% of all open charter schools in Minneapolis

And charter advocates are hard at work enlarging that total, in Minneapolis, at least. The charter advocacy and startup organization Charter School Partners (CSP – now Minnesota Comeback), is in the middle of a five year plan to open 20 new charter schools in Minneapolis. Last year Comeback announced that it had secured $30 million in commitments from philanthropies, which it plans to use to create “… 30,000 new rigorous and relevant seats – particularly for students of color and low-income students” by 2025 in Minneapolis.

Though it has existed for barely a year Comeback has already collected $1.4 million in grants from the Minneapolis,Joyce and WEM (Whitney MacMillan) foundations.

Whatever “rigorous and relevant” means, 30,000 new “seats” in a district that has a student population of about 36,000 students is essentially a plan to kill that public school district. As Alejandra Matos wrote in the Star Tribune a year ago, some Minneapolis education officials “…suspect Minnesota Comeback is out to undermine the traditional public school system by replacing it with a vast network of charter schools, like in New Orleans or Washington, D.C.”

How might that happen? In 2013 Moody’s Investors Services issued a report warning that charter schools could drain enough money from regular school districts to in effect create a mini death spiral. It warned that in response to lost revenue districts might “…cut academic and other programs, reducing service levels and thereby driving students to seek educational alternatives, including charter schools…”

It’s worth remembering that in 2016 the Minneapolis school district experienced an unexpected $20 million shortfall.

So the corporate reformers plan to add “30,000 new rigorous and relevant seats.” Where is the store that sells those seats? Can anyone buy one? Or are those high-quality seats sold only to charter operators?

Funny that so many evaluations show traditional public schools outperforming charter schools, even though the charters say they have a monopoly on those special chairs. Maybe it is because the traditional public schools are staffed by real teachers, not TFA.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Privatization, Teach for America, Walton Foundation

North Carolina: Legislators Propose Special Perks for Corporate Charters

By dianeravitch
April 26, 2017 //
13

Under a bill proposed in the North Carolina legislature, corporations would gain the power to set aside half the seats in a new charter for their employees if they contributed funds, land, or equipment. For their generosity, the corporation would also have seats on the charter boards. The charter would become a perk for corporate leaders and valued employees, kind of like a company store.

The state House is considering a collection of bills that would change who can start a charter and how quickly the schools can grow. Corporations would be able to reserve spaces in schools for their employees’ children, and two towns would be able to set up charter schools for their residents. Under current law, charters are open to any student in the state, although schools can give preference to siblings and school employees’ children.

“This is loosening the restrictions on how charters operate and what they’re allowed to do,” Rep. Graig Meyer, an Orange County Democrat, said of the collection of bills the House Education Committee approved Monday in divided votes.

Under one bill, up to half a charter school’s seats could be reserved for children whose parents work for companies that donate land, buildings or equipment to the school. Employees of those companies would also be able to join the charter school’s board of directors.

Rep. John R. Bradford III, a Mecklenburg Republican, framed the bill as an economic development tool that could help attract companies to rural counties. Companies would be able to offer classroom seats as employee perks, Bradford said, equating charter enrollment to companies paying for employee meals.

“This creates a vehicle where a company can create an employee benefit,” he said.

Meyer objected, saying the provision would have taxpayer money going to company schools.

“This moves closer to privatization than North Carolina has ever allowed before,” he said.

Another bill would allow charter enrollment to grow 30 percent a year without approval from the State Board of Education. Charters are now limited to 20 percent annual growth without board approval. Some Democrats objected on the grounds that it could fuel growth in schools that aren’t good. Allowing charters with bad records to expand would not be fair to taxpayers, parents or students, said Rep. Bobbie Richardson, a Louisburg Democrat.

At the same time, the legislature imposed a mandate to reduce class size without any new funding, which will cause layoffs of thousands of teachers and overcrowding in grades not included in the mandate.

North Carolina blogger-teacher Stuart Egan calls the corporate-control bill “The Privatization of Public Schools Bill.”

Can there be any question that the NC legislature is systematically privatizing the schools of the state?

Categories Charter Schools, Class size, Corporate Reform, Education Reform, North Carolina, Privatization

Jane Andrias and Deborah Meier: The Fate of Central Park East 1 Elementary School

By dianeravitch
April 26, 2017 //
17

Parents and many of the staff at Central Park East 1 Elementary School in New York City have been protesting the current principal. CPE was founded by Deborah Meier as an experimental progressive school. It has had many wonderful principals over the years, and it draws a cross-section of students from out of district. About 2/3 of the parents are opposed to the principal because they believe she does not share the vision of CPE and is trying to destroy it. The failure of the New York City Department of Education to find a solution to this imbroglio is inexplicable and puzzling.

Jane Andrias and Deborah Meier wrote this comment to explain the background:

Deborah Meier has been having difficulty with her vision and is now dependent on voice activated devices for reading and writing. As a result an earlier response to the blog was incomplete.

In early April, Deborah and I wrote a response to Kate Taylor’s article in the NY Times on the conflict at Central Park East 1 (“CPE1”). The letter was not published. Taylor’s article raised many of the right questions confronting the institution but failed to explore why there has been no constructive solution to address the continuing conflicts within the school community and restore the safe and supportive learning environment for children and adults, which had been the hallmark of the school.

CPE1 was founded in 1974 as part of an East Harlem initiative to show what could be possible in what was at that time one of the poorest and most educationally deprived communities in the city. The then District Superintendent, Anthony Alvarado, invited us to start a small, progressive and democratically governed school. Over the ensuing 30 years the school developed a national and international reputation for success in educating its children while maintaining a democratic culture. Faculty, staff, families and children all felt respected and heard even in times when internal differences or external policy changes challenged the integrity of the school’s core beliefs and highly developed practice. All important decisions were made collectively. One of the most notable features was the relationships that developed among staff, families and children, many of which last to this day. This continued and flourished long after Deborah left the school in 1985 under the leadership of the two principals who succeeded her.

While many of the attributes of the school have been threatened over the last decade, a third principal, who was the choice of the school community, succeeded in supporting the school culture and mission until she left to form her new school based on the principles and practices of CPE1.

The next principal who followed was also recommended by the school community but was not a strong enough leader to sustain and build on the mission of the school and the school began to erode. Three tenured teachers left the school at the end of her last year. Monika Garg was then appointed as the principal without the input or support of the school community. During the past two years with Ms. Garg as principal, the school’s mission has been totally undermined. Three more tenured teachers and one promising new teacher left the school at the end of last year.

A community that was once built on trust, compassion, the power of ideas and democratic process of decision making has become too distracted by controversy to function as a united and safe learning community for children and adults alike. Unless the unstated intent of the recent failure to end the turmoil of these past few years has been to close CPE1 so the space could be used for other purposes, it’s clear that we now face a choice between either replacing the principal or replacing the students, families and the school’s mission. We have made efforts over the past two years to join with the DOE to identify leadership that would build on the foundation of the past and restore the school’s excellent educational and democratic principles and culture. We are disappointed by the resistance of the DOE to take the necessary steps to constructively resolve this unrelenting and destructive conflict at CPE1.

Deborah Meier-1974-85-Founding Teacher/ Director, MacArthur Award Winner
Jane Andrias-1981-2003 Art Teacher and Principal

Categories Accountability, New York City, Parents, Principals

UPSET: Working Families Party Candidate in CT Wins Seat in Legislature

By dianeravitch
April 26, 2017 //
11

Joshua Hall, a teacher and VP of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, won an upset victory in the race for a seat in the Connecticut legislature on the Working Families Party line.

Here is the background.

The WFP calls itself the “progressive conscience of Connecticut.”

Joshua Hall Becomes First Working Families Party Candidate to Win State House Election

Joshua Hall Wins in Historically Democratic Stronghold

Working Families: We can help you win and we can also help you lose

Hartford – With five polls and absentee votes reporting in the 7th State House District, Joshua Hall has won the election with approximately 625 votes. The endorsed Democrat Rickey Pinckney received 512 votes and petitioning candidate Kenneth Green, a former Democratic State Representative, received 367 votes.

Joshua Hall, Vice President of Hartford Federation of Teachers:

“I’d like to thank all the candidates for running a competitive race focused on issues that Hartford voters really care about. And I especially want to thank voters and our union brothers and sisters for the outpouring of support they’ve given me throughout this race.”

“The 7th district made it clear tonight that they’re not satisfied with the direction that our economy and state are moving towards. They’re concerned about the quality of education in our schools, having good jobs and vibrant neighborhoods, and making sure that we have a just budget that strengthens their ability to earn a good living and care for their families. That starts with eliminating backdoor tax increases on working families and setting budget policy that generates revenue without harmful cuts.”

“I look forward to working with Democratic and Republican legislators, and representing my constituents as we work to fix our budget in a way that is fair for hard working taxpayers.”

Hall’s victory marks the first time that an independent Working Families Party (WFP) candidate wins a State House election, and the second time a WFP candidate wins a legislative seat in Connecticut. Ed Gomes was the first WFP candidate to win a State Senate seat in a 2015 special election. Prior to 2015, the last time an independent party candidate won a legislative seat was in 1938.

Lindsay Farrell, Executive Director of the CT Working Families Party:

“The Working Families Party congratulates Joshua Hall on a hard fought victory, and thanks him for his hard work on the campaign and deep commitment to the residents of the 7th district.”

“Joshua ran a campaign that all North End voters can be proud of and the results show it. He’s a lifelong 7th district resident. It’s communities like his where the harm created by bad budget policies is usually felt first and deepest. Joshua has been fighting for the 7th his whole life. Voters know that and they know that he stands for working families. As a public school teacher, he’s seen first hand how education cuts have hurt students and families in his district. His connection to the community, record of hard work and strong progressive vision is what motivated voters to come out and vote for him on a rainy day. He’ll bring fresh, new leadership to the 7th and will be a great State Representative.”

“Joshua Hall’s victory comes at a time when more strong, progressive leaders are sorely needed in Hartford and in our state. The city is in fiscal crisis and without state help, Hartford residents will be hurt by deep cuts, the effects of which will resonate across the region. The health of Hartford’s economy affects our entire state, making it critical that legislators step up and find progressive economic solutions that help families thrive and bolster our economy. Joshua gets this and so did voters today.”

“With budget negotiations underway, his election could not come any sooner. His voice at the Capitol will be a welcomed addition to the growing list of legislators fighting hard for fair and sustainable budget solutions that generate revenue for our state and creates jobs. He’s not afraid to go against the grain at the Capitol. He’s a fighter.”

“Joshua’s victory today is further proof of the growing appetite among voters for progressive reform, budget justice and fair taxation. Despite all the doom and gloom, voters in the 7th have demonstrated their support for tax reform and a fair budget proposal that doesn’t shift the state’s economic burden onto lower and middle income families struggling to stay afloat.”

“In a city with arguably the strongest party machine in the state, tonight’s results show that the WFP can help you win and we can also help you lose.”

Hall’s victory may reflect the Trump effect, bringing progressive voters to the polls, or a backlash against the conservative policies of Governor Malloy, or just on-the-ground organizing.

Categories Connecticut

Ohio: Kasich’s Proposal to Require Teachers to “Job Shadow” a Business Dies

By dianeravitch
April 25, 2017 //
18

Well, this is good news!

Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposal that teachers should be required to “job shadow” a business to learn about “the real world” has been shot down (thanks to Ohio Algebra Teacher for sharing!).

Democrats’ counterproposal that Kasich be required to spend 40 hours annually job shadowing people who work in public schools. That won’t pass either, but it was a nice response.

Categories Ohio, Teachers and Teaching

David Remnick Interviews Elizabeth Warren about Trump and the Democratic Party

By dianeravitch
April 25, 2017 //
3

I think you will enjoy this radio show.

David Remnick, the editor of “The New Yorker,” interviews Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Twenty minutes.

Categories Education Reform

Wonderful News! Kevin Welner of NEPC Honored by American Educational Research Association

By dianeravitch
April 25, 2017 //
3

One of the most reliable sources for analysis of education research is the National Education Policy Center.

The American Educational Research Association has just honored the NEPC director Kevin Welner for his role in leading the organization and the fine work that it does. If you recall, in addition to its regular reports on research and its reviews of think tank products, NEPC produces an annual Bunkum Award to the worst education research of the year.

BOULDER, CO (April 24, 2017) – NEPC Director Kevin Welner has been awarded the 2017 American Educational Research Association’s Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award. The award honors scholars exemplary in their capacity to communicate important education research to the public, including education communities. It recognizes a scholar who has demonstrated the capacity to deepen the public’s understanding and appreciation of the value of education research in civic decision-making.

Welner is a well-known interpreter of education research for general audiences. He appears regularly in the media, presents at public forums, and has authored numerous op-ed essays on education policy topics. His work has been showcased in the Washington Post “Answer Sheet” blog as well as on NPR’s “Here and Now.” In addition he was a keynote speaker at the White House Reach Higher conference “Beating the Odds: Successful Strategies from Schools & Youth Agencies that Build Ladders of Opportunity.”

After learning of his award, Welner commented, “The accomplishments this award recognizes rest on a foundation laid over the past two decades by many others. Alex Molnar’s work at the Center for Education Research Analysis and Innovation (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and the Education Policy Studies Laboratory (Arizona State University); Jeanne Oakes’s work at the Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (UCLA); and Ken Howe’s work at the Education and Public Interest Center (CU Boulder) have all helped make what I’m doing possible.” Welner went on to note that he works with talented colleagues on the NEPC staff and across the country. “The NEPC staff and NEPC’s 125 fellows make enormous contributions to our collective effort. Providing high-quality research and analysis in support of democratic deliberation about ​education policy is the mission of NEPC. This award tells me that we are on course.”

NEPC co-founder and Publications Director, Alex Molnar, praised Welner, commenting, “I can think of no one more deserving of this award. It is an honor to work with such a talented and ethical scholar whose enduring commitment to equity, social justice, and democratic decision-making enriches our scholarship, improves education practice, and strengthens our civic life.”

I am happy to add Kevin Welner to the honor roll of this blog, an award that is harder to achieve than the Academy Award or an Emmy.

Categories Honor Roll, Research

Pennsylvania: More on the Disastrous HB 97 for Charter $$$$$

By dianeravitch
April 25, 2017 //
2

Lawrence Feinberg of the Keystone State Education Coalition writes about HB 97, which is being considered today:

HB97 is on the House calendar for today.

Instead of insisting on an omnibus charter reform bill, the legislature should consider a stand-alone, separate bill creating a charter school funding commission modelled after the successful Basic Education Funding Commission and Special Education Funding Commission, with a task of work limited to charter school funding issues and comprised solely of legislators and executive branch members.

This would be a significant first step in untying the Gordian knot that PA charter reform has become.

HB97 would stack the state’s Charter Appeals Board in favor of charter proponents.

HB97 would increase the terms of charter authorizations and renewals; shouldn’t taxpayer’s elected officials be able to review and approve the expenditure of tax dollars annually?

HB97 does virtually nothing to address the total lack of transparency for public tax dollars spent by charter management companies.

Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts never authorized the 13 chronically underperforming cyber charters and many districts offer cyber programs at significant savings to taxpayers yet all 500 districts are required to send tax dollars to cyber charters.

The legislature should consider a separate piece of legislation dealing solely with cyber charter issues.

#HB97 None of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman .@SenatorBrowne’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter.

In 2015-16 they had to pay over $19.5 million in cyber charter tuition.

Not one of Pennsylvania’s 13 cyber charter schools has ever achieved a passing score of 70 on the School Performance Profile.

Many school districts have in-house cyber programs that are able to serve students at considerable savings over cyber charter costs.

#HB97 None of House Appropriations Committee Chairman .@RepStanSaylor’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $3.8 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 None of gubernatorial candidate .@SenScottWagner’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $11.9 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 None of Senate Education Committee Minority Chairman @SenatorDinniman’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $13.4 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 None of House Education Committee Chairman Eichelberger’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $11.6 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 Neither of House Speaker .@RepTurzai’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $1.8 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 None of Senate President .@senatorscarnati’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $9.4 million in cyber charter tuition.

#HB97 None of Senate Majority Leader .@JakeCorman’s school districts ever authorized a cyber charter. In 2015-16 they had to pay over $5.1 million in cyber charter tuition.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Pennsylvania, Privatization, Virtual Charter Schools

Pennsylvania: Call Your Legislator at Once to Stop “Horrible” Charter Bill

By dianeravitch
April 25, 2017 //
3

Pennsylvania’s state auditor said not long ago that the state has the worst charter legislation in the nation.

It is about to get worse if HB97 passes. Public school advocates at the Keystone State Education Coalition say the bill is in trouble and can be defeated. If you live in Pennsylvania, get on the phone at once and contact your legislator.

EdVotersPA: PA House Poised to Ram Through Horrible Charter Bill

Education Voters PA

We need your help to stop HB 97…

We had hoped that the PA House would work toward charter reform that would protect taxpayers and students and improve PA’s system of public education.

Our hopes were misplaced.

On Tuesday this week, members of the House Education Committee passed HB 97 out of committee on a vote of 17 to 10. Before they voted, lawmakers were assured that HB 97 was a work in progress and would be amended to address many significant problems and deficiencies in the bill.

That didn’t happen.

During the House session on Wednesday, Republican leadership and most Republican lawmakers opposed nearly every substantial amendment that was introduced to fix HB 97.

Tell your state representative to oppose HB 97. The House will be in session next week and is poised to ram through HB 97 without any further improvements.

· HB 97 does not address the $100 million profit (and growing) that charters reap off students with disabilities each year from the broken special education funding system.

· HB 97 does nothing to address the continued abysmal academic performance of the state’s cyber charter schools — none of which have met the minimum proficiency standard on the state’s school performance profile.

· HB 97 creates separate performance standards by which to evaluate charter/cyber charter schools and district schools, making a comparison of education quality between the two sectors impossible. Cyber charter performance won’t look as bad if cyber charters are compared only to other charter schools, many of which are also very low-performing.

· HB 97 strips local control from school boards. If HB 97 becomes law, local school boards would be prohibited from requesting any information from charter applicants beyond the information in a state-created application form; local school boards would be subjected to the whim of charter operators to amend their charter; and local school board decisions regarding charter applications and renewals would be at the mercy of the state’s Charter Appeal Board, which would be stacked with charter school supporters.

HB 97 improves ethics and transparency standards for charters and temporarily makes very small reductions in school district payments to cyber charters. In exchange for these modest modifications to the current law, legislators are handing charter lobbyists their wish list with a bow on top.

Making charters play by similar rules as other publicly funded entities should not earn the PA legislature high praise. These are necessary and important changes to the PA legislature’s broken law that should have been made years ago.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Pennsylvania, Privatization
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