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Tom Ultican: Credit Recovery and the Farce of Rising Graduation Rates

By dianeravitch
June 12, 2017 //
15

Tom Ultican left the private sector to teach physics and mathematics in a California public school.

He writes here about how setting targets for graduation rates has produced the same corruption as NCLB’s mythical target of 100% proficiency on tests. It is the inexorable workings of what is known as Campbell’s Law in social science: “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.”

The corruption is by no means limited to California. It is nationwide, as Ultican shows.

It is promoted by schools eager to meet targets but also by for-profit entrepreneurs, who make easy money with inferior products.

The unanswered question in this discussion is what to do to help the students who don’t earn a legitimate high school diploma. Without it, they will have trouble getting a job. How do we restore the meaning of a high school diploma without leaving hundreds of thousands with no job prospects. The best answer is very likely career and technical training, especially if it is not forced into the same college-prep mold as other paths.

This is one of those brilliant posts that I am honored to share with you:

“A miracle has occurred. America’s high school graduation rates peaked at about 77% in 1970 and then drifted down for almost four decades to 69% in 2007. Astoundingly, even with increased graduation requirements rates have shot up.

“Many school districts in California now require all students to meet course requirements for entering the University of California system to graduate from high School. That is a dramatic increase in academic rigor. Yet, in 2016, over 83% of California’s freshman cohort graduated on time. In 2012, 81% of the freshman cohort in America graduated on time. These record setting numbers are the result of knuckleheaded political policy, cheating and credit recovery.

“What is Credit Recovery and Where did it Come from?

“In the 1990’s politicians like Bill Clinton and Jeb Bush were pushing for standards in education and accountability measures. Jeb Bush’s infamous school grading system called for 25% of a high school’s grade to be based on graduation rates. Bill Clinton wrote in 1998,

We have worked to raise academic standards, promote accountability, and provide greater competition and choice within the public schools, including support for a dramatic increase in charter schools.”

“We know that all students can learn to high standards, and that every school can succeed if it has clear instructional goals and high expectations for all of its students; ….”

“Donald T. Campbell’s 1976 paper presented a theory about social change that is now widely revered as Campbell’s Law: “The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.”

“Exactly as the Social Scientist, Campbell, postulated, this national push to increase the standards of school rigor and to use social indicators (graduation rates and high stakes testing) to evaluate schools has introduced distortion and corruption.

“How were school leaders going to protect their institutions and their own jobs from the ravages of horribly shortsighted and uninformed education policy? The solution was obvious; teach to the test and find a way to raise graduation rates.

“To the rescue, came both the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation along with many other lesser contributors. They perceived it was time for advancing the privatization of public education and accelerating the adoption of technology in education. Credit recovery was a perfect vehicle.”

Read on to learn about the roles of many other organizations that pushed the naive narrative that setting a goal and punishing those who didn’t reach it would produce great results.

Categories California, Campbell's Law, Education Reform, High School Graduation

California: Audit Says Charter School Founder Misappropriated Millions of Dollars

By dianeravitch
June 11, 2017 //
16

California must be so flush with cash that it simply doesn’t care how many millions are lost to charter school scams.

In California, accountability ranges between lax to non-existent, and charter leaders use public money with no oversight. Sometimes they are honest; sometimes they are not. Does it matter? Apparently the public doesn’t mind squandering its tax dollars to help charter owners get rich.

Here is the latest:

“LIVERMORE — An audit released Thursday suggests Livermore’s two charter schools misappropriated public funds, including a tax-except bond totaling $67 million, and mainly pointed the finger at former CEO Bill Batchelor.

“The audit was ordered by the Alameda County Office of Education in November and conducted by the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT).

“Analysis shows that the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation, which oversees the charter schools: Failed to disclose numerous conflict-of-interest relationships; diverted, commingled and/or misappropriated public funds, including tax-exempt public bonds totaling over $67 million with various private entities; and contributed to an environment of significantly deficient internal controls, according to a county statement.

“The lack of internal controls coupled with financing schemes designed to divert millions of dollars by Batchelor and others through relationships fostered between board members, close associates and other professionals with his nonprofit public and private companies created an environment that made it possible for the essential elements of fraud to occur,” the report states.

“The audit states that internal controls were “so weak” that Batchelor was able to divert $2.7 million of public charter school funds without any supporting documents, covering a span of five years.

“Nathan Ballard, Batchelor’s spokesman, maintained Batchelor’s innocence.

“Mr. Batchelor is innocent of any wrongdoing, and this audit doesn’t change that fact. He is just seeing the audit for the first time, but one thing is clear: Its conclusions are vague and are based a series of inaccurate assumptions,” Ballard said.

“The audit revealed that Batchelor controlled to some degree eight different entities at once during the time that a 2015 bond was issued for TVLC.

“TVLC and California Preparatory Academy went before the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to seek approval for a $30 million municipal bond to finance the purchase of a new high school building at 3090 Independence Drive in May 2015.

“The bond was approved and the Livermore Valley Charter Prep high school and the private school now share the same space.

“At the time of the bond, Batchelor, was the manager of Goldstone United Investments — the seller of the buildings and owner of the land purchased with public bonds. Batchelor was also the owner of California Preparatory Academy and San Francisco Bay Preparatory Academy, which were the co-tenants to the property at 3090 Independence Drive in Livermore.

“FCMAT points out conflicts of interests that Batchelor did not report. The paperworks reveals “a significant lack of disclosure of numerous entities in which Batchelor represented both sides of contracts and lease agreements, which benefited him personally.”

Here is a link to the audit.

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

California Legislator: For-Profit Charters Are Ripping Off Taxpayers

By dianeravitch
June 8, 2017 //
11

Kevin McCarthy, State Assemblyman from Sacramento, published a terrific article in the Sacramento Bee with Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, explaining what a rip-off for-profit charters are.

The last time the Legislature tried to prohibit for-profit charters, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed it. Let’s hope that as more legislators understand the frauds in both for-profit and non-profit charters, the Legislature will bar for-profits and regulate non-profits.

They write:

“Across California and the country, corporations are expanding their ownership and operation of charter schools and their profits, subsidized by taxpayers.

“In California, 34 charter schools operated by five for-profit education management organizations enroll about 25,000 students. These for-profit charter schools siphon hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money away from students to generate massive corporate profits, and in many cases provide an inferior education.

“They exploit loopholes in California’s charter school law allowing them to cheat our students and reap huge profits at taxpayer expense.

“We have a long way to go before California’s public education system is adequately funded and cannot afford to line shareholder pockets with scarce state revenues.

“The Legislature has the opportunity to fix this flaw in state law. Assembly Bill 406, authored by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers, would prohibit for-profit corporations from operating public charter schools. The bill was approved by the Assembly on Wednesday and now heads to the state Senate.

“It is estimated that California taxpayers provide these companies with more than $225 million a year with little public transparency or accountability.

“K12 Inc., the state’s largest for-profit education management organization, received $310 million in state funding over the past dozen years. In 2016, it reported revenue of $872 million, including $89 million paid to its Wall Street investors.

“It pays millions to top executives while its average teacher salary is $36,000, thanks to heavy recruitment among young, inexperienced teachers, plus burnout and turnover.

“K12 Inc. operates 16 schools in California with about 13,000 students. The average graduation rate of its charter schools is 40 percent, while the statewide rate is 83 percent.

“Like many of these for-profit companies, K12 also overstates student performance and attendance data. Students who logged onto their computers for one minute per day were reportedly counted as full-time students, giving the corporation full average daily attendance funding from the state.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article154084079.html#storylink=cpy

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

California: Deal Struck in Legislature to Reform Charters’ Enrollment and Discipline Policies

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2017 //
18

Kyle Stokes of public radio station KPCC reports that a deal has been struck between the California Teachers Association and the California Charter Schools Association to allow rights for charter school students.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/05/25/72181/kicked-out-of-a-charter-school-deal-struck-in-sacr/

“Parents who believe their child is being “counseled out” of a charter school in California could soon have the right to request a hearing to challenge the student’s removal.

“This provision is part of a broader deal State Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) brokered between charter school lobbyists and teachers union leaders in Sacramento, potentially paving the way for state lawmakers to change state laws governing charter schools’ enrollment or discipline policies this session.

“The deal would amend Assembly Bill 1360, which members of the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee could take up and send to the House floor at their meeting on Friday. Bonta said the legislature’s lawyers are still working out the exact wording for the changes.

“But if the new language meets with all sides’ approval, Bonta will have sewn up a rare agreement between two rival Sacramento heavyweights: the state’s largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association; and the California Charter Schools Association….

“Under terms of the deal, the amended AB 1360 would strengthen or clarify several state charter school laws:

“Discipline policies. The bill would require charter schools to publish a specific list of acts for which a student could be suspended or expelled. The bill also spells out the “due process” rights of a charter school student facing discipline. Depending on the length of the student’s suspension, she could be entitled to oral or written notice of the charges, the right to present alternative evidence or even a hearing overseen by a neutral arbitrator.
”
‘Non-disciplinary’ dismissals. Critics often allege charter schools attempt to push out students who are costly or difficult to educate, such as special education students. (Charter school advocates say the charges are often overblown.) The amended AB 1360 would outline a similar “due process” procedure for charter school students who are transferred or dis-enrolled for “non-disciplinary” reasons, giving parents up to five school days to request a hearing challenging the students’ dismissal.

“Enrollment preferences. Charter schools are supposed to admit any student who applies so long as there’s space. When applicants outnumber available seats, charter schools must hold random drawings to fill those seats. State law allows charter schools to set limited admissions preferences, such as for pupils who reside in the district — but current law also leaves a big grey area, saying charter schools can enact “other preferences” so long as they’re not discriminatory. Under the deal, AB 1360 would officially allow two “other preferences” that have become common practice among charter schools — preferences for children of charter staff members and for siblings of current charter school students.

“Mandatory parent volunteer hours. California Department of Education officials have said parents cannot be compelled to volunteer their time or donate money to any public schools. Still, last year, the report from the ACLU and Public Advocates found more than 60 California charter schools which required parents to commit to a set number of volunteer hours as a condition for enrollment. The amended AB 1360’s language would explicitly prohibit these volunteerism requirements. (By the way, half of those 60 schools have since changed their policies.)”

This is a big step forward for charters, which have consistently fought off any efforts to regulate their practices.

Categories California, Charter Schools, Discipline

How the Richest County in California Got Its New Charter School

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2017 //
17

Marin County in California is the wealthiest in the state. The seemingly idyllic Ross Vallley is now torn between two factions of parents: one supporting the traditional public schools (organized as STAND with Ross Valley schools), the other determined to break away and have their own charter school, RVC, or Ross Valley charter school.

Bill Raden, writing at Capitol & Main, writes:

“California’s 1992 charter school law waived much of the state’s education code for charters, under the theory that they would be dynamic classroom laboratories capable of closing the state’s education gap for children traumatized by the poverty and social stressors of their neighborhoods. What the law doesn’t do is limit charter schools to low-performing communities, and for small, highly rated districts like Ross Valley, charter schools carry substantial costs that STAND parents maintain have already negatively impacted classrooms.

“What concerns me is that [Ross Valley Charter] is going to eventually take over one of our neighborhood public schools,” said Eileen Brown, who is a STAND member but also a former parent of RVC’s predecessor, a district-run Alternative Schools program called MAP. “They will grow and they will get enough parents to buy in, so that one of our neighborhood public schools that serves all the children is not going to have enough numbers to justify staying open.”

“Besides being California’s wealthiest county, Marin is one of its best educated. The high value its residents place on a quality education has given Marin County some of California’s highest-performing and most competitive schools — including the four top-rated elementary schools and one middle school that serve the RVSD towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo.

“It has also given Ross Valley a blistering charter fight, in a Bay Area community long renowned for its laidback lifestyle and 1960s counterculture past.

“What has turned parent against parent, neighbor against neighbor, and even split up children’s friendships is MAP (Multi-Age Program), which was installed at Fairfax’s sole neighborhood school, Manor Elementary, in 1996. In August, the program will reopen its doors as the Ross Valley Charter School to 130 students, or six percent of RVSD’s 2,300 enrollment — becoming only the fourth charter in Marin county — in a co-location at White Hill, the district’s lone middle school.

“But many Fairfax parents already had their fill of MAP when the program was allowed to operate for 18 years under its own board as, essentially, an elite private academy within the district — much like a charter school. But because MAP was co-located at Manor Elementary, which includes the bulk of the district’s English Language Learners (ELL) and Free and Reduced Price Lunch populations, it was Fairfax’s traditional K-5 students who paid a disproportionate price in resources, enrollment and especially, said the Manor parents, the program’s rigid culture of keeping the two programs socially segregated.”

When parents complained about discrimination, MAP parents decided to take advantage of California’s lac charter law and break away as a charter, free of any obligations to the district.

You can see where this is going, can’t you? It is an invitation to affluent parents to break away and self-segregate, avoiding contact with “those children.” Better yet, they get to have a socially and racially segregated school at public expense. Deja vu?

Categories California, Charter Schools, Segregation

Oakland Charter School in Trouble Again

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2017 //
16

The American Indian Model School in Oakland has a checkered history.

It began as a school for American Indians. It was taken over by a swaggering, authoritarian leader named Ben Chavis. Chavis quietly got rid of the American Indians and replaced them with Asian and white students. The scores escalated, and the charter became famous and celebrated for its “no excuses” discipline and its high test scores.

Rise and Fall of California’s Most Celebrated Charter School

Governor Schwarzenegger visited the school, as did a parade of media luminaries. Chavis became a hero on the right, as he excoriated unions, multiculturalists, liberals, and anyone who questioned his harsh methods.

In a book called “Sweating the Small Stuff,” David Whitman cited AIMS as an exemplary charter school. Whitman’s book was published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Whitman became Arne Duncan’s speech writer.

The ceiling fell in on Ben Chavis, leader of AIMS, when a state audit discovered that $3.8 million was missing from the school’s account–and had been deposited in Chavis’s personal and business accounts.

Chavis retired, but the school lives on.

Earlier this year, Chavis wS arrested and charged with fraud.

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/14922402-ex-charter-school-leader-charged-with-fraud-money-laundering-what-woul

The latest news is that the school is in turmoil. Parents, teachers, and students are angry at the administration.

https://m.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2017/05/24/parents-teachers-and-students-at-oakland-charter-school-accuse-leadership-of-mismanagement

AIMS is listed by Jay Mathews as one of the best high schools in America, positioned as #11 on his list.

Categories Accountability, California, Charter Schools, Discipline, Education Industry, Fraud

California: Charter School Will Close Because of Founder’s Audacious Misuse of School Funds

By dianeravitch
May 14, 2017 //
8

The California State Board of Education accepted its staff recommendation and voted not to renew the Oxford Preparatory Academy charter school in Chino. The school will close June 30.

Parents defended the school, and one member of the board made a last-ditch plea for the school but he was outvoted.

“But board members grappled over the fate of the high-performing school that might be fatally encumbered with unknown debts accrued by its ousted founder, who is under investigation by district attorneys in two counties for alleged fraud.

“Did the school do wrong, or did an individual do wrong?” asked state school board member Bruce Holaday. “I’m still wrestling with that.

“Holaday offered a motion to approve the school’s appeal, but with a long list of new oversight requirements. The motion died, with a 4-6 vote. No other board members offered another motion, and 14 months after Chino Valley Unified staff first publicly raised questions about the financial health of the school, Oxford Preparatory Academy was out of options…”

“California Department of Education staff recommended that the state school board deny Oxford’s appeal, based on what Charter Schools Division Director Cindy S. Chan called “unrealistic” recovery plans.

“This audit report is horrific,” Chan said of a 2016 report from the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, made up of financial staff from districts across the state. The audit accused OPA founder Sue Roche of “laundering” money through Yorba Linda-based Edlighten Learning Solutions, a company she and her family ran.

“An open investigation by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office also factored into the department’s recommendation to deny the appeal, Chan said.

“We are skeptical that any corrective action addressing all of the issues could be put in place” in time for the new school year, she said. “It looks like they’ve made efforts, but it’s just too short of a time.”

“Founded in 2010 by former Chino Valley Unified principal Roche, the school initially had a warm relationship with the district. Superintendent Wayne Joseph urged the school board to approve its initial charter and its first charter renewal request.

“That changed last year, when district officials expressed doubt about Roche setting up for-profit companies to provide services to OPA, using public school tax dollars for private profit.

“An audit commissioned by the school showed Edlighten still controls $900,000 in OPA funds, according to Joseph.

“In part, we included this list of items to follow up on, for law enforcement,” Michael Fine, chief administrative officer of FCMAT, told the state school board Thursday. “We don’t know that fraud has occurred. We believe there’s sufficient evidence that there may have been.”

“Among that evidence is a letter to the Internal Revenue Service, in which OPA reportedly characterized the company as being an integral part of the school. But two months later, to the district and FCMAT, OPA officials “disputed that they were one and the same and that (Edlighten) held assets,” Fine said.”

Categories Accountability, California, Charter Schools, Education Industry, For-Profit, Fraud, Privatization

Thomas Ultican: Shakespeare and the “Ocean God”

By dianeravitch
May 13, 2017 //
4

Thomas Ultican teaches physics and mathematics to high school students in San Diego.

In this post, he describes a wonderful day at the home of one of the nation’s greatest oceanographers, where middle school students performed scenes from Shakespeare.

The event was sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society to raise funds for middle and high schools.

You will enjoy his account of a very wonderful day in a fabulous setting.

This is one of many events sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society. Inspired by the idea “Teach a child Shakespeare at an early age and they can learn anything,” the Society sponsors many events for K-12 students. Amongst the largest of these is the annual event held on the various stages in Balboa Park’s Prado area at which about 500 students perform 10-minute scenes.

Ultican concludes his post by noting the virtue of philanthropy motivated by civic spirit:

It was such a pleasure to see how great people share their largess. After years of watching pseudo philanthropy harm public schools, it was refreshing to see genuine public spirit on display.

Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, Michael Bloomberg, the Walton Family, Doris Fisher (the Gap), John Arnold, Michael Dell, and the other billionaires spent their millions enriching the lives of students and teachers, instead of trying to privatize their public schools. I recently saw Bette Midler in “Hello, Dolly” on Broadway (wow wow wow–she was fantastic!), and learned in the program notes that she (though not a billionaire) raises money for a program called “Stages for Success,” which renovates public school auditoriums so that students have a performance space. Now, that’s philanthropy!

Categories Arts Education, Billionaires, California

California: How the Charter School Association Bought Power and Democrats with $$$

By dianeravitch
May 7, 2017 //
57

Ten percent of the children in California attend privately-managed charter schools. But that small number of students has the most powerful and richest lobby in the state, funded by billionaires.

The overwhelming majority of charters are non-union, which appeals to the Walton family, the richest family in America, with a net worth of $130 billion or more, produced by their non-union Walmart stores. It appeals to billionaire Eli Broad, who never saw a charter he didn’t like. It appeals to billionaire NETFLIX founder Reed Hastings, who wants to eliminate the nation’s school boards.

The charter lobby gives large sums to individual candidates, both Democrats and Republicans. Their major adversary, the California Teachers Association, spends most of its lobbying money on issues, not individual candidates. When there is more funding, both charter schools and public schools benefit.

The charter lobby uses its influence to increase its power and its numbers. It wants more: more money, more schools, more students. It wants less accountability, less regulation, less transparency, and less oversight.

In the past, the charter lobby relied on Republicans to sponsor its bills. Because of its spending, it now has Democrats on board too.

“Though the union gave nearly $29.5 million in political contributions in 2015 and 2016, most of it supported measures on the November 2016 ballot, and only $4.3 million of that went toward candidates and other committees. Conversely, the charter association spent more than $17 million in those years to help finance the campaigns of 137 local and state candidates, plus an additional $340,000 on various local and state measures.

“The teachers union instead focused most of its financial fire power on ballot initiatives, having spent roughly $21 million in 2015 and 2016 to support Proposition 55 – the successful measure that sustained past increases on income taxes to raise funds for schools – and an additional $1.7 million in 2016 on Proposition 58, which largely overrode restrictions on bilingual education in public schools.

“The charter school association committed just $4,678 to Proposition 55’s passing in 2016, state records indicate. Charter schools are also major beneficiaries of the revenues generated by Prop. 55’s passage…

“And while in past years the association partnered with Republicans to craft legislation, this year’s slate of sponsored bills was drafted entirely by Democrats. “That’s a big change for us,” Rand Martin, a lobbyist for the charter school association, told the March conference.”

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Sen. Bernie Sanders Endorses Steve Zimmer and Imelda Padilla for L.A. School Board!!

By dianeravitch
May 7, 2017 //
17

Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Steve Zimmer and Imelda Padilla for the Los Angeles school board. The election will be held May 16.

““Billionaires should not make a profit off of public school children. That’s why I’m supporting Steve Zimmer and Imelda Padilla for the Los Angeles School Board. They will fight against the Trump/DeVos agenda to destabilize and undermine public schools,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders in a statement.”

Zimmer’s opponent Nick Melvoin is supported by billionaires who hope to privatize public schools in Los Angeles.

Zimmer is committed to fighting the Trump-DeVos agenda of charters and vouchers. His opponent is not.

I recommend that citizens of Los Angeles vote for Zimmer and Padilla. They will fight for public schools and the common good.

The Network for Public Education has endorsed both Zimmer and Padilla.

Send a message to Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos! No privatization! No corporate control! No vouchers! The public schools belong to the people, not the billionaires!

Categories Betsy DeVos, Billionaires, California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reform, Education Industry, Los Angeles, Privatization
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