Archives for category: Closing schools
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Chicago Parents Grill City Officials About Budget Cuts

By dianeravitch
July 17, 2014 //
40

At a public hearing, Chicago parents and teachers demanded to know why the city closed 50 public schools while opening charter schools.

“How could CPS continue to cut budgets at neighborhood schools while opening new charter and contract schools — even after shutting down a record number of schools just a year ago?

“We need to pull the money from the plan of expanding charter schools, reinvest in neighborhood schools in our communities,” said Scott Hiley, a special education teacher at Lincoln Park High School whose classes have so many desks jammed in that he has little room to move around.

“Still, “my school is fortunate. We’re still open. Kids don’t have to bring their own toilet paper,” he said at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Van Buren, the West Side location of one of three simultaneous two-hour meetings held throughout the city Wednesday night on the proposed $5.76 billion spending plan.”

“That plan, to be approved on July 23 by the Board of Education, includes about $67 million in cuts to district-run neighborhood schools and $62 million in increases for charter schools over last year, including to the scandal-ridden UNO Charter Network, and the Concept Charter schools that are under federal investigation. Neighborhood high schools have suffered the largest cuts, according to budget documents. CPS links the cuts and raises to enrollment shifts.”

The audience erupted in laughter and derision at some of the officials’ efforts to justify cutting public schools while opening charter schools.

Categories Budget Cuts, Charter Schools, Chicago, Closing schools

Jill Lepore: What the Theory of Disruptive Innovation Gets Wrong

By dianeravitch
July 14, 2014 //
29

If your school has been closed, if the staff was fired in a “turnaround,” you have experienced the theory of disruptive innovation, which is associated with Harvard Business Professor Clayton Chistensen.

Or perhaps your neighborhood school fell victim to Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of “creative destruction.”

Just so you can see these ideologies from a critical perspective, be sure to read Harvard historian Jill Lepore’s critique of Christianson’s work on disruptive innovation, which first appeared in “The New Yorker.” She challenges his thesis and argues that those bold start-ups flamed out, while stable institutions live on. And yet the idea of disruption has become wildly popular, as we now see in education policy.

Charters and vouchers are disruptive. Firing entire staffs is disruptive. The results of these “innovations” have been unimpressive and sometimes disastrous, yet their champions continue to demand more and more. To understand why, read this article.

Categories Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform

Peter Greene: Who Would Replace Duncan?

By dianeravitch
July 6, 2014 //
19

Peter Greene responds to the NEA resolution. Calling for Arne Duncan to resign. he first deals with the debate on Twitter, about who would replace Arne Duncan. The assumption behind the discussion is that President Obama has no idea what Duncan has been doing and that when he finds out, Duncan will be ousted.

Then he takes on the NEA resolution.

Greene quite rightly points out that Duncan is doing exactly what the President wants. Were he to leave, which is unlikely, he would be replaced by someone as committed to high-stakes testing, privatization, closing schools, and undermining the teaching profession as Duncan. A likely replacement: Ted Mitchell, the newly appointed Undersecretary of Education, was most recently the CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund, the epicenter of privatization and anti-public school activism. Then there is always Michelle Rhee, whom the President and Duncan have lauded.

I can personally vouch for the fact that Duncan is doing exactly what Obama wants. In the fall of 2009, I had a private meeting with Secretary Duncan, just the two of us, no staff. It was very pleasant. He was charming, pleasant, and took notes. I asked him, “Why are you traveling the country to sell Race to the Top accompanied by Reverend Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich? Why Gingrich?” His answer: “because the President asked me to.”

Categories Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Duncan, Arne, Obama

Arthur Camins: “Reform” Policies Are Unsubstantiated

By dianeravitch
July 6, 2014 //
8

Arthur Camins, Director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ., points put that drug makers are not allowed to make unsubstantiated claims. They are required to gather evidence and to disclose possible negative side effects. They can make boasts, offer up dubious facts, and get away with it. They speak about the individuals’ “right to choose” without acknowledging the harm to the community’s public institutions.

In a thoughtful article, Camins says that the debate about school reform has been obscured by “the fog of war,” a public relations blitz that appeals to individualism and self-interest, replacing evidence and any sense of the common good.

He writes:

“One weapon in the arsenal of opponents of current policies has been to point out the absence of evidentiary support. In fact, there is no system inside the U.S. or around the world that has made substantial systemic progress through charter schools, merit pay or test-driven accountability. Resistance is growing, but so far this line of attack has not built enough widespread public understanding to deter policy makers. Maybe that is because the supporters of these policies have effectively obscured their real goals and values.”

He concludes::

“Stories of dysfunctional, conflict-plagued, private agenda-driven local school boards abound. There are countless examples school boards making uniformed decisions that do not serve the interests of children. However, privatization and shrinking of public participation in decision-making is not an antidote to ineffective, uninformed democracy. Public knowledge and clear-eyed evidence are. History is replete with evidence that the side effect of disenfranchisement in the name of improvement is benefits to the few and disaster for the many. Arguments that restricting democracy will benefit everyone have always been the coins of autocrats and self-appointed experts driven by blind faith or ideology and narrow self-interest.

“The drive to privatize educational governance, especially with respect to expansion of charter schools, has two unstated goals. One is to open up the vast education market to individuals looking for a new profitable place to invest their capital. Another is more cynical. Some people have given up hope for systemic improvement. Instead, they are willing to settle for a system that only provides an opportunity for those they deem to be the deserving and capable few among the unfortunate many. Hence, the negative disruptive side effects of school closings in poor communities are the price that the many will pay to save the lucky few.

“Let’s report the evidence and side effects so the public can decide: Which side are you on? Are you willing to give up your right to democratic participation and risk the future of your child or your neighbor’s to privilege the lucky few? Are you ready to give up on the common good?

“For the sake of clarity, I’ve attempted to present complex issues in binary terms. Assuredly, there are gradations. In reality, ensuring the wellbeing of individuals is inseparable from advancing the common good. The old labor slogan, an injury to one is an injury to all, said it simply, but well. Put another way, my personal gain is diminished or even negated when it comes at the expense of another.

“We need an educational system based on these values. I think, when asked, the public may agree.”

Categories Charter Schools, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit

Paul Bruno: What if There is No Crisis in U.S. Education?

By dianeravitch
July 1, 2014 //
53

Paul Bruno, a science teacher in California, assembled a few charts to show that there is no “crisis” in American education.

What we have today was aptly named “a manufactured crisis” by David Berliner and Bruce Biddle, in their book “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools” in the mid-1990s.

Last year, my book “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools” showed how the phony “crisis” rhetoric is cynically used to undermine public support for public schools and advance privatization through charters, vouchers, and virtual charters.

Chris Lubienski and Sarah Lubienski published “The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools.”

David Berliner and Gene Glass recently published “50 Myths and Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools: The Real Crisis in Education.”

John Kuhn published “Fear and Learning in America: Bad Data, Good Teachers, and the Attack on Public Education.”

Mercedes Schneider published “A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who in the Implosion of American Public Education.”

So, if you want evidence that the “crisis” in American education is a cynical fiction, that it is used to divert attention from the true social and economic crises of inequality, poverty, and segregation, you have quite a selection of books to read. Arm yourself. Read them.

Categories Charter Schools, Closing schools, Corporate Reformers, Privatization, Vouchers

Virginia: Governor McAuliffe, Please Let the OEI Disappear

By dianeravitch
June 30, 2014 //
13

Blogger Rachel Levy sends out an alert to everyone in Virginia: Please contact Governor McAuliffe and ask him not to appeal the court decision saying that the state’s plan to take over low-performing schools violates the state’s constitution. The decision stopped the state from creating an anti-democratic bureaucracy called the Opportunity Educational Institution.

Levy writes:

“I am urging you to contact Governor McAuliffe’s administration (804-786-2211) to tell him to let the court’s ruling stand. The OEI is bad for democracy, it’s bad for local control, it’s bad for public education, and it will add another layer of expensive and superfluous bureaucracy. If people want charter schools in their local communities, let them work that out among members of their local community, via a democratic process and under the umbrella of the local school division; charter schools and privatization should not be imposed from up high by the state.”

She wrote last year:

“There’s no evidence that state takeover of struggling schools and districts helps. In fact, the evidence is at best mixed. The Governor and his policy allies are basing this approach on the system in New Orleans, which thus far has not proven successful. That Virginia would use as a model a city that hasn’t had much educational success doesn’t make sense. Michigan has also turned many public services over to the private sector, including the schools of Muskegon Heights. So far, that approach has been a disaster.

“Elliminating democratic institution and processes in a democratic society is not a cure for dysfunction or low test scores. Certainly, mass failure on the SOL tests signals a problem, but before the state blames and disenfranchises school communities, it really needs to figure out what that problem is and then target its resources accordingly. While many majority poor schools do just fine on standardized tests, I think we all know that the schools with low standardized test scores are often majority poor. Last I checked, being poor isn’t a reason to disenfranchise communities and hand their schools over to outsiders.”

Categories Closing schools, Virginia

Question for Researchers about School Closings

By dianeravitch
June 28, 2014 //
24

Does anyone know an authoritative source for the number of public schools closed because of NCLB and Race to the Top? Either turnarounds, turned over to charters, or just closed?

Categories Closing schools, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Race to the Top

Co-Locations Cheat Kids of Educational Opportunity and Equity

By dianeravitch
June 7, 2014 //
24

The Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia, just released a report describing the ways that co-location of multiple schools into the same building reduces educational equity. The report is called “THE EFFECTS OF CO-LOCATION ON NEW YORK CITY’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE ALL STUDENTS A SOUND BASIC EDUCATION.”

Co-location was a primary goal of the Bloomberg administration, which closed many large schools and opened many small schools. Today, almost 2/3 of the city’s schools are co-located: “In 2013, 1,150 (63%) of the city’s 1,818 schools were co-located. Charter schools made up 10% of co-located schools (115); the other 90% were traditional public schools.”

Many of the small, co-located schools “suffer from inadequate facilities, oversized classes and instructional groupings, inadequate course offerings, insufficient student supports, and inadequate extracurricular activities….” In many cases, these conditions violate state statutory, regulatory, and constitutional requirements.”

The report spells out in detail how these conditions limit students’ educational opportunities.

Small elementary schools are unable to provide adequate instructional time in the arts, science, or physical education.

Some high schools were unable to provide basic chemistry or physics classes, or foreign language classes

No school was able to provide the academic intervention services to which students were entitled.

Many middle and high schools were unable to provide required arts courses.

Many lacked the support staff for struggling readers or English language learners or others in need of extra time and attention.

These, and many more shortages of staff and resources, short-change children.

Co-locations have meant that many children do not get the academic opportunities or the social services they need.

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Categories Accountability, Closing schools, NYC

Triumph of Reform: Last Public School in New Orleans Closes

By dianeravitch
May 29, 2014 //
55

Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post describes the triumph of the reform movement in New Orleans: The last public school has closed for good.

A few observations.

All schools in New Orleans are now charter schools. .

It’s hard to compare achievement pre-and post-Katrina because so many students never returned after the hurricane. Test scores are up, graduation rates are up, but populations are different. “By most indicators, school quality and academic progress have improved in Katrina’s aftermath, although it’s difficult to make direct comparisons because the student population changed drastically after the hurricane, with thousands of students not returning.

“Before the storm, the city’s high school graduation rate was 54.4 percent. In 2013, the rate for the Recovery School District was 77.6 percent. On average, 57 percent of students performed at grade level in math and reading in 2013, up from 23 percent in 2007, according to the state.”

There are no more neighborhood schools.

Almost all the teachers were fired. Almost all the fired teachers were African American. They were replaced mostly by white Teach for America recruits. The fired teachers won a lawsuit for wrongful termination and are owed $1 billion.

The central bureaucracy has been swept away.

“The city is spending about $2 billion — much of it federal hurricane recovery money — to refurbish and build schools across the city, which are then leased to charter operators at no cost.”

A curious fact: “White students disproportionately attend the best charter schools, while the worst are almost exclusively populated by African American students. Activists in New Orleans joined with others in Detroit and Newark last month to file a federal civil rights complaint, alleging that the city’s best-performing schools have admissions policies that exclude African American children. Those schools are overseen by the separate Orleans Parish School Board, and they don’t participate in OneApp, the city’s centralized school enrollment lottery.”

Observation by State Superintendent John White: “The city’s conversion to charters promises the best outcome for the most students, White said. “These kinds of interventions are never easy things,” he said. “When you look at overall outcomes, they’ve been positive. Does it have collateral negative effects? Of course. But does it work generally for the better? Yes.”

Formula for success: close public schools. Open charter schools. Fire veteran teachers. Replace them with TFA. Spend billions to refurbish buildings. This is the same formula that is being imported to urban districts across the nation. Is it sustainable? Did it really “work” or is this a manufactured success, bolstered by billions from the Waltons and other philanthropists who favor privatization?

Categories Charter Schools, Closing schools, New Orleans, Teach for America

Cleveland Elementary School: Why Close an Excellent School?

By dianeravitch
May 28, 2014 //
42

Cleveland Elementary School in upstate Cleveland, New York, was once designated a “failing school.” But with a united community and hard work, the school improved and was named a Blue Ribbon school of excellence in 2010. It was recognized again in 2013. It continues to enjoy strong community support, but the Central Square Board of Education decided to close the school because of declining enrollment, state budget cuts, and rising costs.

The parents are trying to save the school but the local school board is adamant.

Why close an excellent school?

Below is a letter from a parent at Cleveland Elementary School. My advice: Organize the community, run candidates for the school board, write letters to the editor, meet with elected officials, appeal to Governor Cuomo.

Here is a letter from a parent:

Dear Ms. Ravitch,

I am reaching out to you because of your strong views and commitment to the education of our children. It is my hope that raising your awareness to the situation our community is facing will gain your support in our fight to save the community schools in our district.

Cleveland Elementary School is a school in Upstate New York that has experienced a transformation in the past seven years – due entirely to character education and an intentional focus on building relationships with students and the larger community. The school now stands as the pride – and hub – of the community.

The Central Square School District, one which was recently honored in Albany with a NY State District of Character Award, voted to close Cleveland Elementary – a National School of Character, only days apart in the same week. This noble district-wide achievement would not be conceivable without the model and leadership of Cleveland Elementary. Cleveland Elementary, Home of the Shamrocks, was honored by the US Department of Education as a 2010 Blue Ribbon School for Academic Excellence. In 2012 Cleveland Elementary sought and received a New York State School of Character Honorable Mention Award and continued on to earn a 2013 National School of Character Award. This school of academic and character excellence, who also proudly serves as the local food pantry, is among less than 1% of the schools across the country with such distinction.

To many, a school is nothing more than brick and mortar. While that may be the case in other schools, I have to say Cleveland Elementary has been so much more to us. Behind its doors is a sense of community—a family. A culture of developing ethical, responsible, and caring children- in addition to academic principles. The teachers and staff are passionate about their roles as mentors to the children; their dedication and love for what they do is evident in every interaction. If given the opportunity I am certain every parent would want this for their children. This type of education is LOST in over-crowded class rooms and schools….positive relationships cannot be fully developed due to time constraints and demands on the teacher; a student becomes just a student. Our Cleveland Family wants to maintain the ability to engage ALL children—get to KNOW them as people, TEACH them how to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I will never understand how anyone could put a price tag on our children’s development when it matters most.
As a parent of a first grader, the decision to close Cleveland Elementary is truly disheartening and unacceptable. What does it say about the value of education? Cleveland Elementary is so much more than brick and mortar…..It is the HEART of our Community….and the children are our future. Our community takes great pride in the collective efforts and accomplishments our school has achieved. The reputation of our school has been a draw for many families to move to this rural area. Closing this vital part of our community will have devastating effects to us, our community, as well as to those that rely on the services the school provides outside of the academic day.

Although I am certain this decision was not taken lightly, I am concerned it was made in haste under the pressure of a budget crunch. There are detailed options that are more viable and fiscally responsible than closing a Nationally Recognized School that only represents 1% of the tax levy. Perhaps it is easier to target schools that are in less economically prosperous areas. The district has not shared information with its members or been open to conversations regarding these options. We are unaware of a projected long term plan, and truthfully it does not appear there is one. Our concerns lie in knowing the impact closing ANY school with have on ALL of the children in our district? Over-crowding the class room is not the answer to our current situation of low enrollment. This consolidation will put students at 107% capacity. While I know there are no easy answers….I would ask that someone revisit the numbers, the current aid our district just received ($960,055 above what was expected), as well as the goal for our district as we move forward.

What is the incentive for dedicated teachers to strive for excellence in the education of children, if the reward is having your successful award winning school closed? How will our Country ever be Leaders in Education if we cannot see the value in community schools?

Please take the time to visit our Facebook Page, and see for yourself the struggle we are facing.

https://www.facebook.com/saveclevelandelementary

Our concerns have not been addressed by the board. They will not answer any questions, and have been dismissive and rude. There has yet to be even a letter to parents from the Administration regarding the closure, which is not only a little over a month away.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and time. I appreciate your anticipated support for our Community Schools.

Sincerely,

Jennifer S. Leahy

Proud Parent, Community Member &
President of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 858
Cleveland, NY

Categories Closing schools, New York
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