Ivy Prep Gwinnett Charter School is not reopening. It was once held up as an example by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal as proof of the charter school success story. Charters come and go like day lilies.
“Ivy Preparatory Academy, a once-esteemed Gwinnett County charter school, will not reopen next year, and signs point to permanent closure.
“In a unanimous vote on August 16, 2018, the school board reluctantly decided to end all planning efforts to reopen,” says a statement from a spokesman.
“The decision was reached after “an exhaustive” review of the financial situation that led the charter school’s board to conclude that reopening next year, as a former director and the board had previously told parents would happen, is not “a viable option.”
“The decision marked a sharp turnaround from early in the decade, when the all-girl school became a symbol of the charter school movement. Girls, in their iconic green blazers, filled the halls of the state Capitol to lobby lawmakers.
“In 2012, Gov. Nathan Deal used the school in his argument for passage of a constitutional amendment for charter schools, writing in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was “a great example” of superior performance relative to traditional public schools.
“Voters were convinced, and that November they changed the constitution to create the State Charter Schools Commission.
“For a time, the future looked bright, as Ivy Prep expanded to DeKalb County, opening a second campus. Then, last year, the AJC revealed problems at the Gwinnett campus, where the academics were slipping, enrollment was plummeting and costs were outpacing revenue.”
The students were abandoned and left to find another choice.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There’s more information on the Detroit charter that closed with no notice:
“The last day of classes will be Friday, said Ronald Rizzo, director of the charter school office at Ferris State University. Ferris State is the school’s authorizer.
Rizzo said enrollment concerns prompted the board to close.
“It’s really unfortunate,” Rizzo said. “It’s a terrible time to have this happen.
“They opened this year … hopeful that with all the shuffling that occurs in the Detroit area,” enrollment would improve, Rizzo said.
At its peak, the school enrolled 344 students during the 2016-17 school year.
He said the board opted to close now rather than wait until November or December.
“They weren’t certain they were going to be able to be financially viable throughout the year,” Rizzo said. …
Jack Elsey, executive director of the Detroit Children’s Fund, was critical of Ferris State in a statement Wednesday.
“Authorizers have a responsibility to their students and their families first and foremost, and closing any school just a month into the new school year is, at best, problematic for families and at worst, could have a long-lasting negative effect on students. Detroit Children’s Fund believes that authorizers need to be advocates for the children that attend their schools.” …
Ferris State is 200 miles away from Detroit. Why are they running schools in Detroit? How would they know anything about whether Detroit can support yet another charter school? Why is Michigan taking Detroit public school funding and shipping it managers at a university 200 miles away?
Ed reformers actually added TWO layers of managers here- there is Ferris State taking a cut of the schools funding and then a professional management company taking another cut. That’s before a single dollar gets to that school.
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“Ed reformers actually added TWO layers of managers here- there is Ferris State taking a cut of the schools funding and then a professional management company taking another cut. That’s before a single dollar gets to that school.”
A point that needs to be hightlighted and repeated every time that anyone brings up the supposed “benefits” of private charter schools.
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Saturday is supposed to be the school’s homecoming. It’s unclear whether it’ll still happen, said King, who is upset because she believes the school should have given parents a heads-up that this might happen.
“I’m just disappointed. I entrusted her education to a group of people — they’re making me feel like I failed her, like I didn’t do enough research.”
This is why so many politicians love school privatization, it’s “let the buyer beware”.
They’re no longer responsible for or accountable to “public schools”- they can outsource the entire issue to contractors and parents- if the contractor is substandard, well, that’s the parents fault- they should have done more research.
This is a real triumph for ed reform- the political branches are completely disconnected from public education, which is what the political branches wanted- they’re thrilled they’re off the hook for public schools. Hence., the cheerleading we see from so many politicians.
heck, if I told you I had a plan that allowed you to completely evade responsibility for one whole part of your public sector responsibilities you would jump at it too.
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The US Department of Education is holding yet another event run by ed reformers:
I object to the fact that public school supporters and advocates are routinely and deliberately excluded from events held by a public entity.
85% of kids in this country attend a public school. Whether ed reformers ideologically oppose public schools or not, our schools deserve a place at the table when decisions are made.
They can hold their echo chamber events on their own time with their own money- I don’t want to fund this. Saying you’re working for “public education” while excluding 85% of schools is nonsense.
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day lilies are a beautiful flower
Isn’t there an ugly, toxic plant that would work better for this image like poison hemlock?
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How about mosquitoes: the short life span of a mosquito, the vampiric habits of a mosquito, the societal health risks associated with too many mosquitoes, and the pain that occurs when even one mosquito descends on you.
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JIM CROW = CHARTER Schools
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