The Unity Charter School suddenly closed, without any advance notice to parents, students, or teachers.
Parents at Unity Charter School are having to look for new arrangements for their children after the school suddenly closed Thursday and is being foreclosed on. Parents received an automated message Wednesday evening reporting that there would be no school Thursday, due to circumstances beyond their control. Calls and emails to the school on Thursday received no response.
A bank foreclosed on the property for nonpayment on the mortgage. The property will be auctioned off in a few weeks.
School leaders had some personal financial issues involving misuse of school funds that turned up in an audit last year, but none rose to the level of criminal acts.
Isn’t “School Choice” wonderful (not)?
Charter schools open and close like day lilies. The entrepreneurs lobby legislators to get money and tax breaks. They pay teachers as little as they have to. They siphon money away from public schools, which are stable fixtures in their community.
And the Florida Legislature, controlled by choice zealots and by people who have a direct financial interest in charters, are diverting more money away from real public schools to benefit charters. Nearly half the charters in the state are now run by for-profit operators.
Real public schools don’t close without a struggle to keep them open. Real public schools are the heart of their community. Real public schools don’t close on a whim of their corporate owner, because they are public schools, not charter schools.
Make no mistake: the growth of the charter sector in Florida is driven by greed, not by the needs of children.
#GreedNotNeed
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Take the money and run! Politicians will never learn! Some even are the ones doing it!
More like, voters will never learn. Politicians know exactly what they’re doing.
YES.
Education Dive, Dec. 6, 2018, “Education Corporation of America Shuts Down After ACICS pulls accreditation…was one of the largest for-profit college operations still standing”.
The final paragraph about Betsy DeVos’ decision making involving ACICS is interesting.
You always seem to cherry pick the charter schools that don’t cherry pick their students, Diane.
What?
Poorly worded. Meant to say something like the charters that shut down are the ones that don’t cherry pick students…and I don’t even really know if that’s true. (And you get after the ones that cherry pick students, as well). Wish I could edit…
I understood, but then I have been reading your most astute and cutting sarcasm for some time.
And PS
Given that the school was in Florida, they probably avacado picked the students, which might have been the problem. Avacados are picked before they are ripe.
Thank you, SDP. And LOL on the avocados.
When real public schools are struggling everyone knows it. These fly by night operations don’t have to tell anyone anything.
they so often tell no one, not even the kids, teachers or parents — they often close so suddenly, and without any previous conversation about the possibility
School leaders had some personal financial issues involving misuse of school funds that turned up in an audit last year, but none rose to the level of criminal acts.
Of course, misuse of school finds is not a criminal act in Florida.
Grass is green
And sky is blue
Fraud is keen
And theft is too
Florida is
As Florida does
Usual biz
Is criminal buz
Misuse of charter school funds is not a criminal act.
If you misused a legal book in a public school as a door stop, Floridas Secretary of State would pick it up and throw it at you.
Damn, SomeDam, you’ve done it again!
Also, don’t you love the use of the word “issues” in these contexts?
Yes, personal financial issues makes it sound like these people simply made an honest error balancing their check book.
They wrote $10,000 worth of checks when they only had $100 in their checking account.
No biggie.
Well, the school leaders took school money and put it in their personal bank accounts. That’s not a crime in Florida.
Wow.
This isn’t Florida but it is a state that is having severe problems. Red states don’t want to fund and Idaho is very close to the bottom. I grew up in Boise public schools.
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IDAHO REMAINS NEXT TO LAST IN PER-PUPIL SPENDING
Kevin Richert 12/06/2018
Idaho’s per-pupil spending is No. 50 in the nation — and holding, ahead of only neighboring Utah.
That’s one takeaway from a U.S. Department of Education report released Thursday.
In 2015-16, Idaho spent $7,178 per pupil.
Across the United States, per-pupil spending came in at $11,841 — meaning Idaho spent about 61 percent of the national average.
Utah ranked dead last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, at $7,006 per pupil. New York ranked No. 1 nationally, spending $22,231 per pupil, more than tripling Idaho’s spending rate.
When adjusted for inflation, Idaho’s per-pupil spending increased by 2.9 percent, slightly ahead of the national increase of 2.8 percent.
The new report, issued by the feds’ National Center for Education Statistics, also breaks down where states get their education dollars — and, ultimately, where those dollars go.
Idaho schools are more heavily dependent on state and federal dollars than their counterparts across the country. Local dollars account for only 24 percent of Idaho’s education spending, compared to 45 percent nationally.
Idaho spends about 80 percent of its education funding on employee salaries and benefits, mirroring the national average.
I taught in Utah and one of the direct outcomes of the abysmal per pupil spending is huge class sizes, often 35 and sometimes 40 or more students per class.
Utah is one of those places where people are always complaining about government interference (eg, taxes) but at the same time want as many (Federal) government handouts as they can get their hands on.
A good example of this is the ranchers who graze their livestock on public lands for next to nothing (far below the fees charged for grazing on private lands) and are nonetheless incessantly complaining that the government is telling them what they can and cannot do — on land that belongs to the American people!! , NOt just the people of Utah and certainly not just the ranchers.
The hypocrisy is just stunning.
And of course, Utah wants to get paid taxes from the Federal government for Federal lands or just take them over so they can get mineral and oil extraction royalties.
Utah officials have adamantly opposed designation of BLM and forest service land as wilderness, monuments and parks because they view it as locking up the land, even though the tourism generated by these so called locked up lands makes up a significant part of the Utah economy.
Unfortunately for Utah officials, these lands do not belong to them.
Fortunately for the rest of us, these lands belong to all of us — you and me. And I intend to continue to do my small part (eg, by writing to my Congressional reps) to ensure that it stays that way. The greedy folks in Utah will NOT get those lands as long as I and the rest of the American public have some say about it.
A for-profit Indiana college just closed its doors abruptly, too, leaving students w/no transferrable credits (the college was discredited) but w/ large student loans.
I hope all those in charge are indicted and imprisoned for fraud, with their personal assets seized to be used as some form of payback to those students.
retiredbutmissthekids: Thanks for the information. I get SO disgusted with the things that happen in Indiana. I feel for the students who took out loans to attend these fraudulent colleges. DeVos wants these kids to pay back their loans. How capitalistic. Get in debt and have nothing in return. That’s the ‘choice’ for these kids.
…………………………………………………….
Brightwood College to Close Indiana Campuses
Posted: Dec 05, 2018 4:41 PM CST
Updated: Dec 06, 2018 8:02 AM CST
By Alex Brown, Multimedia JournalistCONNECT
INDIANAPOLIS –
Another for-profit higher education institution is shutting its doors. Brightwood College will close all of its campuses in the U.S., including Indiana locations.
Brightwood has not released a full statement on the closures. The college’s social media pages have been deleted and its website only says it is no longer accepting new student enrollments.
Brightwood has locations in Indianapolis and Hammond, according to its website. In Indy, the closure will affect 450 students and 95 employees, 45 of whom are full-time.
The college is the latest for-profit institution to close in Indiana. In 2016, Carmel-based ITT Education Services Inc. announced it was shutting down and in September, Indianapolis-based Harrison College detailed its closure.
For profit Brightwood College will close all of its campuses in the U.S., including Indiana locations.
I just put in a bunch of BS to find out how much I’d have to pay to attend Brightwood College to get a degree as dental assistant. This is at the Hammond, IN campus. I have no idea where this place is but Hammond is about 20 minutes from my place in NW Indiana. I pretended that I was single, 21 years old and earned $10,000 last year. The total amount I would pay to Brightwood would be $10,655. The tuition is $16, 500.It is estimated that my total cost would be is $23,518 but I could get a Federal Pell Grant for $6,095. [My family didn’t make enough to contribute anything to my college costs.]
……………………..
Estimated Financial Planning Information
Direct Costs
For attending Brightwood College
Indirect Costs
Estimated living expenses used to calculate potential financial aid eligibility. (These are NOT funds paid to Brightwood College)
Tuition $16,500.00 Room and Board $4,104.00
Application Fee $0.00 Transportation $1,548.00
Book Fees Included Personal $1,116.00
Other Fees $250.00
Total Direct Costs » $16,750.00 Total Indirect Costs » $6,768.00
Cost of Attendance (COA)
Total Direct Costs + Total Indirect Costs
This amount is used to calculate potential financial aid eligibility.
$23,518.00
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
EFC $0.00
Estimated Grants
Federal Pell Grant $6,095.00
Total Estimated Grants $6,095.00
Direct Cost Balance
Total Direct Cost (paid to Brightwood College) – Total Estimated Grants
Balance may be covered with cash, loans, military benefits, or by other means.
$10,655.00
This is totally off topic but is something that really bothers me. I always had Christmas programs at every school in which I taught. Some schools allowed religious songs and some only allowed generic songs like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. I would have HATED this principal. What is the music teacher supposed to do? Maybe the whole music program has been cut due to lack of funding so it no longer is a problem.
………………
Did a Principal Ban Candy Canes Because They Are Shaped Like J’s for ‘Jesus’?…True from Snopes
An elementary school principal in Nebraska banned candy canes from schoolrooms because they supposedly represent Jesus.
Manchester Elementary principal Jennifer Sinclair sent a memorandum to parents and students informing them that candy canes were off limits because “Historically, the shape [of the candy cane] is a ‘J’ for Jesus. The red is for the blood of Christ, and the white is a symbol of his resurrection. This would also include different colored candy canes.”
The list essentially banned any Christmas-specific decor or activities, including Christmas carols and music, reindeer, Elf on the Shelf, and red and green items, but it allowed for non-Christmas winter imagery such as yetis, penguins and “snowmen, snow women, snow people, snowflakes”:
Not acceptable:
Santas or Christmas items (clipart) on worksheets
Christmas trees in classrooms
Elf on the Shelf – that’s Christmas-related
Singing Christmas Carols
Playing Christmas music
Sending a Scholastic book that is a Christmas book – that’s Christmas-related
Making a Christmas ornament as a gift – This assumes that the family has
a Christmas tree which assumes they celebrate Christmas. I challenge the
thought of, “Well they can just hang it somewhere else.”
Candy Cane – that’s Christmas-related. Historically, the shape is a “J” for
Jesus. The red is for the blood of Christ, and the white is a symbol of his
resurrection. This would also include different colored candy canes.
Red/Green items – traditional Christmas colors
Reindeer
Christmas videos/movies and/or characters from Christmas movies
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/candy-can-ban-school/
Agree. Bothers me, too, & I’m Jewish.
Message to children: NO fun for you!!! Proceed directly to Noble Charter School/Success Academy…do not pass GO, do not collect childhood memories…