A few days ago, I published a post about a longitudinal research study about the importance of stability in children’s lives. Changing schools may sometimes be necessary, but it is not optimal. The charter industry believes that the frequent opening and closing of schools is a demonstration of accountability.
Caroline Beck of the Indianapolis Star reported on the high closure rate of the city’s charter schools.
When Lindsay Holley heard that her son’s charter school would be closing in the middle of the school year, she was at work.
“I couldn’t even focus because I was like, Oh is my gosh, I can’t have him sitting out of school for too long,” the east side resident said.
Holley had to scramble to find a new school for her son, Jhace Moore, a second grader who had attended the HIM by HER Collegiate School for the Arts since it opened three years ago. The Martindale-Brightwood school closed suddenly in January, citing low enrollment that led to financial woes. The closure left Jhace and about 200 other students in the lurch.
While it’s rare to see a school close mid-year, it’s not uncommon for charters to close their doors. Out of the nearly 100 charters that have opened in the county since 2001, when the state passed a law allowing charters, 31 have closed. More than half of those, including HIM by HER, closed because of financial concerns and or low enrollment, an IndyStar analysis found.
And while no one likes school closures, charter school advocates often highlight closures as a sign that the accountability process is working.
“It’s hard to say this when you get a school that closes in the middle of the year, but charter schools closing is a feature of the system, not a bug,” Marcie Carter-Brown, the director for the Indiana Charter School Network, told IndyStar.
But others say these closures can be a disruptive force for a group of students that are already vulnerable to low student outcomes, particularly students of color.
When the HIM by HER school closed, the IPS Community Coalition, Baptist Minister’s Alliance and Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis called for a pause in approving more charter schools in Indianapolis.
“It’s high time to stop this insane experiment in letting almost anybody with some idea about how to educate children to be legally authorized to do so,” Concerned Clergy said in a statement. “Taxpayers are throwing good money after bad.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Taxpayers are throwing good money after bad.”
Taxpayers that have to pay the bill rarely get the opportunity to express their opinion on either charter schools or vouchers. The decisions are generally made by corrupt politicians, and they impose the decision on those that must pay the price for these reckless decisions that undermine the public schools while benefiting private interests.
Funny that certain issues are seldom put on the ballot to get voters’ opinions.
Charters, vouchers, abortion.
Vouchers actually have been put up for a popular vote 20 times and lost every time.
Now their advocates claim how popular they are while doing whatever is possible to block a referendum.
Abortion: red red Kansas voted for abortion.
DeSantis signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation. 33% of Floridians approve.
Democracy?
“… and Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis called for a pause in approving more charter schools in Indianapolis.”
Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis 5Qs Core Principles:
• Quality Education
• Quality Economics
• Quality Housing
• Quality Health Care
• Quality Legislation
to Improve Humanity
Arguably, Quality Education is central. Still, each Q is interrelated and interdependent with every other Q.
And each Q is an aspect of “the interrelated structure of reality.”
Mess up one Q, mess up all Qs. Humanity suffers.
Hmm. Just thought to abbreviate Dr. King’s profound insight as TISOR.
Googling TISOR gets ‘tisser,” a French word meaning “to weave.”
And weave means to “make (a complex story or pattern) from a number of interconnected elements.”
So, Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis is right about charter schools, and profoundly so.
One single charter school authorizer in Indiana that is completely unaccountable to voters collected over $3 million in fees for approving charters that closed. One charter that authorizer approved is online. The mayor’s office took one million. They’re paying themselves for steering public funds into private hands. The kids in the charter schools pay the heaviest price, but everyone in Indiana loses something. That is some serious corruption.