Archives for category: California
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California Charter Founders Convicted of Embezzlement

By dianeravitch
April 8, 2013 //
18

The founders of Ivy Academia in the San Fernando Valley in California were convicted of embezzlement and a variety of other charges stemming from their use of $200,000 in school funds for personal expenses.

From the LA Times:

“”This message is going to resonate throughout the charter school community,” said prosecutor Sandi Roth. “You can’t spend the charter school funds for anything you want. It has to be money spent on the kids and the schools.””

And this:

“”The prosecution seeks to undermine the cornerstone of what makes charter schools successful — their freedom from the rules binding traditional district schools,” said attorney Anne A. Lee, in a brief on behalf of the California Charter Schools Assn.”

Recently, the American Indian Public Charter schools in Oakland lost their charter after an audit revealed that $3.8 million of school funding was directed to businesses owned by the school leader and his wife.

The continuing scandals at charter schools is indicative of the near-complete absence of supervision of the state’s more than 1,000 charter schools.

The state–which has more charters than any other state–and the Los Angeles school district, which has the largest number of charters of any district, should develop a strategy to establish accountability and transparency for these unregulated schools. The reason for the huge number of charters? Former Governor Schwarzenegger appointed a state board dominated by charter advocates, even though less than 5% of the public students in the state attended charters.

Plus, big money in California–starting with Eli Broad–invests heavily in charters.

Without oversight of expenditures, a charter is a license to get public money and do with it whatever you want. You won’t get caught unless someone squeals, because no one at the State Education Department or the local school district is paying attention. No one is watching.

And here is an interesting sidenote: the teachers at the charter school voted in February to form a union and affiliate with the UTLA.

Categories California, Charter Schools, Education Industry

Do Americans Believe in Equality of Opportunity?

By dianeravitch
March 24, 2013 //
27

Governor Jerry Brown of California gave a brilliant state of the state speech in January, where he pledged to change fundings of public schools so that more money went to children with the greatest needs.

It sounded reasonable. It costs more to educate a child who can’t speak English than one who can. It costs more to educate a child with disabilities than one without them. It costs more to educate children with high needs.

But a Los Angeles Times poll finds that only half of the public support the idea of spending more for those with the highest needs.

This raises the question: Do we really believe in equality of educational opportunity? Or do we feel that it is okay that schools for children from affluent families have more resources than those for children of the poor?

Categories California

A Frank Letter from the Principal of Venice High School

By dianeravitch
March 23, 2013 //
27

The Venice High School in Los Angeles has been offered a choice by the district administration: accept a pilot school or a charter school to share your space. The community was not asked for its input nor offered the choice to say no to a pilot school and a charter school.

The first pilot school was going to be created by non-educator Steve Barr, but the LA board decided to backtrack so they approved the plan to co-locate in the VHS building but to locate Barr’s school elsewhere.

The principal of Venice High School was told that a decision about the future of the school will be made during spring break. A typical reformer trick to make sure that the people most affected are not asked to participate in the decisions that affect them.

The principal sent out the following appeal to the Venice High School community, inviting them to deliberate the future of the school. It was a bold move to assert the concept that the public schools belong to the public, not to John Deasey, not to Monica Garcia, not to Eli Broad or Bill Gates or Michael Bloomberg or Wall Street. Its about an old-fashioned but nearly forgotten idea called democracy, where the voice of the public matters.

They met yesterday, and I look forward to hearing what was decided.

She wrote:

Pilot School Information

Dear Venice High School Community,

I wanted to give you an update to the LAUSD School Board vote regarding the Incubator Pilot School.

The School Board decided yesterday, 3/19/13 to approve the Incubator Pilot School but not the location. The board specified that either Venice High School’s SBM OR SSC vote on whether the Pilot School should be placed on our campus. The alternative is that if Venice denies the Pilot, a charter school would be offered the 14 empty classrooms.

At first, we thought we had until the next time the board meets, which is in April to make a decision.

During a late afternoon, phone conference today, with several central and ESC-W staff members, I was informed that the district has a legal deadline to meet in regards to offering space to a charter school, which is next Friday, March 29, 2013 (when we are on Spring Break). Venice High School therefore has to make a decision by this Friday, March 22 on whether we are approving the Pilot School to co-locate on our campus or not. Again, if we decide not to have the Pilot School co-locate on Venice HS, the empty classrooms will be offered to a charter school.

The Incubator Pilot School Design Team and Sponsors will be here all day tomorrow, 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. to facilitate optional informational sessions for teachers and parents during the different periods. They will also speak with the Leadership Class tomorrow. Please feel free to see them and get more information if needed.

I am calling for an emergency SBM and SSC meeting for Friday, March 22, 2013 at 12:40 p.m. Under the Brown Act an emergency meeting can be called with a 24-hour notification. I think it is best that we come together as a big group to hear the same information and then we can break and vote as individual groups. The Incubator Pilot School Design Team will also be available on Friday, 12:30 p.m. to 3 :00 p.m. to provide any additional information. I apologize for the inconvenience but this is truly out of my hands. We have tough decisions to make for the future of Venice High School but I have the confidence in each and every one of you that you will vote with your heart and mind and do what is best of our students.

Please know that I will share any and all information I get regarding the Pilot School in a fast and transparent manner and that might include late night emails. I will also be sending out an automated call to the entire Venice HS community informing them of this change of plans and post information on the website. Again, I thank you for all that you do.

Elsa Mendoza, Ed. D.
Principal
Venice High School

Categories California, Charter Schools, Los Angeles

Why Steve Barr Did Not Get Venice High School

By dianeravitch
March 22, 2013 //
12

I received an urgent message from a parent of a student at Venice High school in Los Angeles. She was desperate because had just learned that the privatization-friendly LA school board was about to vote on whether to give half of Venice High School to Steve Barr, eduentrepreneur (founder of Green Dot charters but now running a new charter chain). He wanted to start a “pilot school,” and this parent was outraged because, she said, Venice is a good school and didn’t need another school to take half its space away.

She wrote later to tell me that Venice High had narrowly escaped.

This reader offers his perspective:

“At the Tuesday LAUSD Board Meeting Deasy’s and Steve Barr’s sneak attack on Venice High School was stopped. The board voted to approve the plan but not the location because LAUSD and Barr made sure that until the last moment the public did not know. In fact a board member brought up Barr’s name and said it was in their documentation. I looked at my large printout and it was in theirs not ours. A student obtained in less than 2 days about 1,000 signature to not have that school on their campus.

“Previous to this as a result of Steve Zimmer being elected instead of the corporate privatizer put up by Rhee and friends Monica Garcia, every privatizers bought and sold friend, will not be board president after this term. She has had six and that has never before happened. Now no one can have it for more than 2 years.”

Categories California, Los Angeles, Privatization

Sacramento Will Close Schools Serving Neediest Students

By dianeravitch
March 18, 2013 //
10

I am late posting about the school closings in Sacramento, but better late than never.

In Sacramento, the Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and the Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education are working together to protest the closing of seven elementary schools. The closing of these schools will have a disparate impact on children of color and English-language learners. The “savings” to the district will be miniscule.

The HIP press release against the closings follows here:

For Immediate Release Contact
March 7, 2013 Jonathan Tran
626.607.1897
Press Release
School Closures Disproportionately Impact Sacramento’s Most
Disadvantaged, Budget Woes to Continue
SACRAMENTO, CA – On Thursday, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and four members of
the Sacramento City Unified School Board of Education finalized the last of their “wrong-sizing”
plan. While Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) is extremely happy for the students and parents of
Mark Twain and Tahoe Elementary; we also recognize that the District’s poorly devised
proposal, arbitrary saving projections and disregard for community input will have devastating
impacts on the Sacramento’s most vulnerable communities. In total, the Board voted to close
seven neighborhood schools—ALL in low-income and socioeconomically disadvantaged
communities.
With poorly developed transition plans and only a month of public discourse, it is clear that the
Superintendent and Board Member’s irresponsible decision will hurt Sacramento’s most
vulnerable populations. According to the California Department of Education, two of every five
displaced student will be Limited English Proficient (LEP). Moreover, while students of color
account for 80.9-percent of the total SCUSD Elementary school population, they account for
more than 93.4-percent of the displaced student population. Finally, students enduring
‘socioeconomic disadvantages’ make up 97.8-percent of the total displaced student population,
compared to only 72-percent of the total Elementary school population.
Overall, the detrimental impacts of these school closures outweigh any fiscal gains. Originally
anticipated to be a savings of $2.3 million, the District’s projected savings has dwindled to $1
million or less than 0.8% of the total budget. These projections do not reflect the drop in
Average Daily Attendance (ADA) that historically follows school closures nor does it include the
unexpected expenses of transition impacted students. In addition, Thursday evening’s board
meeting highlighted the possibilities of on going budget deficits. HIP has maintained that rather
than closing schools, the District must seek out innovative solutions that attract more students—
not disenfranchise parents. Ultimately, the Superintendent and Board Member’s actions will
exacerbate issues of under-enrollment, undermine student achievement and jeopardize student
safety.

Categories Budget Cuts, California, Closing schools

Why California Tightened Oversight of New Teachers

By dianeravitch
March 12, 2013 //
32

In a recent post, I referred to a decision by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to set higher standards for those who teach the state’s neediest students, especially English-language learners.

Some readers thought this decision was unfair to Teach for America recruits, who get only five weeks of training before assignment to difficult jobs.

However, a reader who closely follows the work of the Commission described the decision, as follows:

“In a nutshell, when TFA teachers as a group are compared to other teachers in their same schools (who are also less likely to be fully prepared and certified than most teachers), they typically do about the same in reading and sometimes better in math, especially in middle / high school.

“However, when entering TFA teachers are compared to fully certified teachers, they tend to be less effective, especially in their first year (and also often in their second year) and especially in elementary reading. Some studies also find them significantly less effective in elementary math. TFA recruits become equally effective after they are certified but then they are ready to leave.

“Of relevance to the California situation are two studies finding that TFA teachers are less effective than certified novice teachers when teaching Hispanic or Spanish-speaking students.

“Anne Ware, R. Jason LaTurner, Jim Parsons, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, Marshall Garland, Kristin Klopfenstein, Teacher Preparation Programs and Teach For America Research Study, The University of Texas at Dallas, Education Research Center, January 2011: Study of TFA teachers in Texas: Data on p. 16-17: Although in general, TFA teachers showed relatively strong outcomes for their students in comparison to novice beginning teachers, Hispanic students of TFA teachers had significantly lower gains than students of novice non-TFA teachers in reading / English language arts at the elementary and high school levels, and in math at the elementary level in 2009-10.

· “Darling-Hammond, L., Holtzman, D. J., Gatlin, S. J., & Vasquez-Heilig, J. (2005). Does teacher preparation matter? Evidence about teacher certification, Teach for America, and teacher effectiveness. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 13(42), 1-51.Controlling for teacher experience, degrees, and student characteristics, uncertified TFA recruits In Houston were found to be less effective than certified teachers on 6 tests over 7 years, and the negative effects were largest for limited English proficient students who were tested in Spanish.

“Also of relevance to the CA situation are another two studies finding that they are less effective than certified novice teachers when results are looked at on the SAT-10 test (which measures more conceptual understanding). TFA recruits tend to do relatively better on the Texas TAKS (basic skills, high-stakes). Their training is increasingly focused on how to teach for the current high-stakes tests. This is relevant because of the state’s move to the Common Core, which aims at higher level skills, which require greater skill to teach to.”

Categories California, Teach for America TFA

California Tightens Rules for Teacher Interns

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2013 //
29

In a move clearly intended to require greater supervision of Teach for America teachers, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing tightened the rules about the training and supervision of interns.

At hearings, civil rights groups argued that it was unfair to put poorly trained interns in charge of students with high-needs, especially English-language learners and students with disabilities. Supporters of TFA argued the other side, claiming that the rules were simply bureaucratic hurdles. The “reformers,” in other words, demanded lower standards for those who teach the neediest children.

This excerpt from the article shows the two sides at their best:

“For us, it’s a fundamental issue of equity and a constitutional right to equal educational resources,” said Tiffany Mok of the American Civil Liberties Union of California. The daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, Mok teared up as she told the commission her parents always believed she should have the same opportunities as everyone else.

“But a powerful coalition of school boards, administrators, charter operators, reform advocates — and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy — had signed a letter to the commission arguing that state law explicitly allows interns to teach students with limited English and that they should be allowed to continue to do so. Placing more state regulations over them would create needless burdens, they argued.

“This is bureaucracy at its best,” said Jessica Garcia-Kohl of Rocketship Education, a charter-school chain based in San Jose.”

Categories Alternate Route To Certification, California, Charter Schools, Teach for America TFA

NBCT Teacher Beats Rhee Candidate in West Sacramento

By dianeravitch
March 7, 2013 //
5

National Board Certified Teacher Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez won a hard-fought election to the school board in West Sacramento, beating a man who works for Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst. She got more than 50% of the vote, he got about 25%.

As we saw in Los Angeles and earlier in Louisiana, the corporate reformers have decided that they can use their huge funds to buy state and local school boards.

It worked in Louisiana, where their conquest of the state school board cleared the way for vouchers and charters and efforts to destroy the teaching profession (so far, the courts have ruled that the funding for vouchers is unconstitutional and struck down the law dismantling the teaching profession on procedural grounds).

But the billionaires failed miserably in Los Angeles, where their primary target was Steve Zimmer. Despite the millions of dollars of out of state money used to distribute scurrilous attacks on Steve, he won by a 52-48 margin.

Now, the Wall Street hedge fund managers (DFER) are crowing that they “won,” because the board president Monica Garcia (with $1 million) beat four unfunded candidates. Robert Skeels, who came in second, raised $20,000.

Goliath looks foolish.

Beaten by an NBCT.

Beaten by boots on the ground.

Give up, Goliath. Your day on the hill is coming to an end.

Categories California, Corporate Reformers, StudentsFirst

Great News from San Diego!

By dianeravitch
March 1, 2013 //
5

The San Diego school board has selected a highly respected, successful elementary school principal as its new superintendent.

Cindy Marten runs a terrific school that is child-centered and community-centered.

It is an exemplar of the San Diego concept of community-based school reform.

When I was in San Diego last year, the superintendent Bill Kowba made sure that I visited Cindy’s school to see what a great school in a diverse neighborhood looked like.

Cindy is an inspirational principal and she is a great choice for superintendent.

She knows what schools need and how to support schools and encourage collaboration among students, parents, communities, and educators.

What a breath of fresh air!

An experienced educator as superintendent.

In these times, that is truly innovative!

 

 

Categories Administrators, superintendents, California, Support for public schools

An Outrage in Sacramento

By dianeravitch
February 20, 2013 //
12

The Sacramento school board is rushing to shut down 11 elementary schools. That’s 20 percent of the elementary schools run by the Sacramento City Unified School District.

The process has been indefensible. Board members and the Superintendent have short-circuited the usual decision making process on school closure in order to jam these through. The California Department of Education recommends a 6 month process, which includes formation of a citizen advisory committee. But the district has given just five weeks between announcing the list of schools on the chopping block, and the final vote on Thursday. There is no citizen committee.

The fierce urgency of now requires immediate action, and no democratic process whatever.

The district has wildly exaggerated the under-enrollment numbers at these schools, cherry-picked numbers regarding costs and revenue, and refused to take into account the impact that displacing so many students will have on enrollment–as students leave the district for charter schools and other districts. Charter operators are already checking out some campuses, eager to take them over. The superintendent is a graduate of the Broad Academy, which suggests that the mass closure is more about about ideology than cost savings or efficiency.

This is an outrage.

Why don’t they hold hearings?

The lights are going out on public schools in city after city because some billionaire thinks it is a good idea.

Some smart and sophisticated young activists in the Hmong and Latino communities have organized to fight this plan. Listen to them here.

Are there no public-spirited citizens on the Sacramento school board? Don’t they feel a civic obligation to protect public education against privatization?

Categories Broad Foundation, Budget Cuts, California, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization
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