Larry Lee is a native Alabamian who is an expert on rural schools. A few years ago, he wrote an excellent report about the rural schools of the state and how communities help them, take care of them, treasure them.
When he learned that the state charter officials granted a charter to a Gulen school in Washington County, he did some checking and this is what he found.
“If you are looking for peace and quiet and not many neighbors, my advice is to head for Washington County, AL. The first county north of Mobile County and bordered on one side by Mississippi and the Tombigbee River on the other, the last census showed only17,629 population. For a county that covers 1,080 square miles, that is a density of 16.3 people per each one of them. By comparison, density in Jefferson county is 592.
So it meets all of anyone’s definitions of “rural.” And like most rural counties, its public school system is a major part of community life. The Washington County school system has seven schools in five communities. Communities that are remote from one another. Chatom is the county seat. From Chatom to Fruitdale is 14 miles, to Millry is 13 miles, to Leroy is 21 miles and to McIntosh is 26 miles. These are where schools are located. It’s easy to understand why 59 buses travel 3,200 miles a day ferrying students.
And I can testify from personal experience that there is not much except lots of pine trees, a few houses and some small churches between any of these sites. Like the majority of rural school systems, Washington County is losing enrollment. Twenty years ago there were 3,798 students. Over the next ten years this decreased by six percent. But in the last ten years, the decline was 24 percent. During the last decade McIntosh high school dropped from 344 to 272. That is 43 percent.
All of which leads to this question: why does Washington County need a charter school?
It’s a question on the minds of many local residents, the majority of whom don’t think they do.
Yet, because folks on the Alabama Charter School Commission apparently failed to do their homework and realistically consider the impact of a charter on a declining system, Woodland Prep has been approved to open this coming school year.
At best, it is a very questionable decision and one that leaves lots of people in Washington County wondering who is setting the rules and who are abiding by them.
For example, the charter law passed in 2015 says the charter commission should “take into consideration the quality of school options existing in the affected community.” Washington County got a B on the state’s latest A-F report card. The same score as Shelby and Baldwin counties, two of the top systems in Alabama. (Of the state’s 67 county systems, only ONE received an A.)
So this is not a failing system, nor a C system or a D system. It has an excellent career tech program with the only pipe-fitting program in Alabama. They offer health science, building science, welding and pre-engineering/drafting. They also have dual enrollment courses with Coastal Alabama Community College. Enrollment has grown from 112 in 2013-14 to 192 last fall.
The law also says the commission should “require significant and objective evidence of interest for the public charter school from the community the public chart school wishes to serve.” However, such support is almost non-extent.
Harold Crouch is in his sixth-term as mayor of Chatom. He told me that not a single parent has told him they plan to send their child to the charter. “I am opposed to the charter, my council is also and I don’t know a single public official in the county who supports it,” says the mayor.
Crouch also thinks those involved with the charter school have been overly secretive about what they want to do. He met with the charter board one time. They wanted the city to give them a prime piece of property for the school site. He told them they would have to make a proposal to the city council. They refused to do so.
“This is not in the best interest of the county,” he adds. “Our resources are too critical now. We are struggling to do the things we need to do now. Bringing in another school and taking money from the system we have makes no sense.”
The school system’s annual budget is $27.3 million. Because a charter gets money intended for the local system, at 260 students (which is what their application says enrollment will be the first year), this would be a hit to the system of at least $1.5 million or more.”
Larry Lee went to Washington County and talked to local residents. No one understood why their county is getting a charter school run by a guy from Texas.
It will be interesting to see how many people sign up for this charter. Wouldn’t it be great if it opened with 2 students? Then it wouldn’t have the funds to pay Mr. Soner Tarim the $300,000 that he expects. And the charter school would go away and give up on its plan to grow its portfolio in rural America, dividing communities and defunding their public schools.
Where will this Gulum charter’s students come from? The children will be immigrants from Turkey who will get a green light from Betsy the Brainless who will use her influence (bribes paid by her family) to make sure all of these grade school children and their families get student Visas and Green Cards.
Where will the teachers come from? Same place the students come from.
According to the 2010 census the area is diverse with 65.5% of the population being white and 24.9% black. Other sub groups are under 1%. I don’t know how integrated the schools are, but they have the potential to integrate. The schools are doing well, and a Gulen School, managed by outsiders, especially one earning $300,000 is unneeded. This is just another example of mismanaged, reckless privatization.
The residents should boycott this fake “choice” school. The collapse of their public schools will hollow their community out at its core. They should ignore all the advertising, and look the Gulen Schools up on the web. They do not have the best interests of the community at heart. All that glitters is not gold. It’s fool’s gold.
“…a Gulen School, managed by outsiders, especially one earning $300,000 is unneeded. This is just another example of mismanaged, reckless privatization.” It is the very UN-NEEDEDNESS of so many charters — charters nonetheless endlessly pushed as an educational solution by the federal government — which opens the door to this type of public money abuse.
I greatly approve of your work and pay attention to your messages. I’m a fan of yours and read one of your books, Please keep up the good work and keep it coming.
Still, I feel I should point this out pertaining to the article above: *”During the last decade McIntosh high school dropped from 344 to 272. That is 43 percent.”* The correct math shows it is actually just under 21%.
Bart Zehren
On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 12:03 PM Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: ” Larry Lee is a native Alabamian who is an expert > on rural schools. A few years ago, he wrote an excellent report about the > rural schools of the state and how communities help them, take care of > them, treasure them. When he learned that the st” >
Thank you for the correction. I didn’t do the math. I just quoted the original. Next time I will check!
Compare the ed reform rhetoric about ed reform and rural schools with the reality:
https://www.educationnext.org/improve-rural-schools-focus-on-strengths-facilitate-school-choice-charter-conversions-solutions/
There’s no connection between what the national lobbyists say and what ed reformers actually do in these places.
The people who lived there opposed the charter 10-1. The people who lived there had absolutely no input on the charter, and in fact have no earthly idea who runs it and they can’t find anyone in government who will claim responsibility for it. The charter serves no specific underserved group that wasn’t being served by the public schools and offers nothing new or innovative at all. It also layers a whole new group of managers over the existing managers, and pays one of them 300k a year, which is just an UNHEARD of amount in a rural district.
Compare the ed reform rhetoric with the reality. They are misleading people. Maybe they don’t know the reality, but if they don’t, why are they selling this?
“Because a charter gets money intended for the local system, at 260 students (which is what their application says enrollment will be the first year), this would be a hit to the system of at least $1.5 million or more.”
Luckily this is a completely invented number. They wildly overstate proposed enrollment in Ohio and they will in Alabama too. That’s why so many of the schools close. But who cares about risk, right? It’s all public funding. They’re building the plane in the air.
This sounds like a scam. My bet is that some quirk of state bookkeeping will land a portion of the money in some pocket and the scam will move on. Likely they thought a rural county would never notice.
Has Stacey Abrams said anything criticizing this?
I think Roy Turrentine has identified this problem correctly: it is a scam. The charter school is obviously unneeded, but there is state money involved. The questions are how much money, who is the money going to, and who created this situation? This proposal merits further investigation. Does the Mobile, AL, city newspaper perform investigative journalism? Please bring this situation to its news editor’s attention. Or perhaps the problem is centered in Montgomery where the state’s education board is located. Write to the newspaper there, too.
This charter school from what I understood is run by Muslims. This town needs to fight this!
Not only that, but they only hire Turkish citizens (who get a green card) to teach in those charter schools. They do not hire American teachers.
I do not think the word “Rape” should be used in this headline? Really? Choose your words carefully. And personally. I am not for a Charter school if it is not for God . But I am not in favor of SOME of the so called public schools in Washington County either. There are ALOT of things that NEED to be investigated but not from the Charter school…….by the way. I my child is no longer a part of that corruption that some fail to take the blinders off and get real!
Miss Bennett, so sorry you were offended. The headline was written by the author of the post, who is a native of Alabama. What do charter schools have to do with God?
Miss Bennett:
The use of the word rape in this posts title is totally correct. Look at the second definition on the following list
Definition of rape
(Entry 1 of 4)
1 : unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception — compare sexual assault, statutory rape
2 : an outrageous violation
3 : an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rape
Miss Bennet, do you know what the word allege means? I’m going to allege that you are a Trumpish troll, a minion of the greedy, vampire corporate rapists of public schools.
Not to be rude. But I do not care where HE comes from? The word Rape is a very strong word to be using. Especially in the now “me too” movement and what some may have experienced. And as far as what God has to do with the Charter schools? Everything. For EVERYTHING comes from God.
This is not a religious blog. This is a blog that supports public education.
The comment I submitted was meant for Miss Bennett. Sorry for the glitch.
As a teacher in a Washington County public school, I will be the first to say that there are problems that need fixing. So let’s work on fixing them. Bringing in someone who has been banned from two countries because of how he pushed his cultural beliefs into the curriculum and how he scammed others out of money is not the way to go. The charter school is upsetting to me because teachers are going to lose jobs just so all of this can take place. But to be honest, what upsets me the most is that fear and corruption have been brought into our small county. How did you feel when the terrorists struck the Twin Towers in New York? It horrified me, but I don’t think I ever really expected to face that type of attack here one day. Now, I fear that we may very well we pulled into a similar situation. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But I hope those opinions are made after knowing all of the facts and not on negative personal experiences. There is just too much at stake right now.
I apologize to you Mrs. Diane. I was in no way trying to make it Religous. I Pray that supporting PUBLIC EDUCATION that there will be those who actually investigate ALL the corruotion inside of the system to make PUBLIC EDUCATION fair to ALL students. This comes from personal eye witnessing things that have been allowed for years and maybe caused some of why those who may have secretly or publicly wanted a Charter School in the first place. And to you sir. Do not judge me. You do NOT KNOW MY PERSONAL STORY and if you did. You would still have no right to judge me.
I had a child in a PUBLIC SCHOOL. but ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS are not the same. I still live in America where Freedom of Speech does still exist. It was my opinion. Not yours. I still have nothing but love for you too. God Bless you!
You allege corruption in the county schools that you say needs investigating. Tell us what you mean. Don’t hang that kind of accusation out on folks who have no way to defend themselves because they don’t know what you’re talking about.
I say someone needs to burn it down hell they already taking enough stuff from us damn