The Charter Industry has insisted that charter schools need no regulation, supervision, or oversight so they can have maximum flexibility. But where government money flows, accountability is imperative.
Donna Houston-Woods, CEO of Nova Academy charter school, was convicted of all four counts against her: three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
Houston-Woods, 65, the school’s longtime chief executive, approved the $337,951 federal contract for the firm by copying the bid of a competing company that was initially selected for the job, the government alleged.
ADI’s owner, Donatus Anyanwu, returned the favor by secretly paying Houston-Woods about $50,000 in kickbacks, prosecutors said.
Anyanwu, 61, pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in July. He did not testify during the weeklong wire and mail fraud trial in downtown Dallas.
Houston-Woods and Anyanwu were indicted in December 2017. Houston-Woods was accused of using her position as head of Nova Academy to steer the federal contract to ADI in return for kickbacks. ADI botched the job and shouldn’t have gotten the contract in the first place, prosecutors said.
After their failed experiment with Mike Miles, a Broadie who surrounded himself with young but very well-compensated aides from TFA, the elites decided to buy control of the school board. It became too expensive for an ordinary citizen to compete with the money that the elites were pouring in. One candidate, Lori Kilpatrick, almost upset an incumbent, even though her resources were meager. The corporate elites decided not to take any chances in the run off. Her opponent won by outspending her 34-1.
The business elites have an agenda. Hire as many TFA as possible and drive out experienced teachers. Close public schools and replace them with charter schools. So far, none of their plans has benefitted the children of Dallas.
It is a sad story and I hope you will take the time to read it.
Tom Ultican often refers to the “Destroy Public Education” movement.
Dallas elites are in the forefront of that movement. Shame on them. They belong on the Wall of Shame.
Mike Miles, former superintendent of Dallas public schools and former superintendent of a Colorado district, was turned down by the Colorado Springs school board when he applied to open a charter school in a former Macy’s department store in a large shopping mall.
Miles led the Dallas district for three tumultuous years, during which time there was a sizable teacher exodus and stagnant test scores, which he had pledged to raise. Miles is a military man who attended the unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy.
“The district’s board rejected Miles’ 210-page proposal 6-1 on Wednesday night and relinquished charter authorization, which means Miles will need to petition the Colorado Charter School Institute, a state authorizer, for approval to open in the fall of 2019…
“District administrators and members of the District Accountability Committee raised numerous concerns about the proposal at a Nov. 14 board meeting, including the governance model, finances, not providing transportation for students and the location being in close proximity to marijuana dispensaries and alcohol outlets such as a Hooters restaurant.
“It would be in both of our respective interests” for D-11 to relinquish exclusive chartering authority and permit organizers to apply to CSI, D-11 Superintendent Michael Thomas said.
“I believe the conditional requirements and expectations that would need to be addressed would not be able to be done in a timely fashion,” he said Wednesday, in issuing a recommendation to deny the application.
“Miles agreed to the relinquishment, Thomas said.
“Board member Teresa Null cast the sole opposing vote, saying sending organizers to the state authorizing body won’t remove the concerns of D-11 representatives who reviewed and analyzed the application.
“We do not think this charter school can be ready for our students by next year, and going to CSI is not going to change that dynamic — they’re still not going to be ready,” Null said.
“Among her personal concerns: “They want to put a playground in a parking lot.”
“Coperni 3 would be the second school in a charter school network Miles is building under the name Third Future Schools. The first school in the network, Academy of Advanced Learning, opened in the fall of 2017 in Aurora, as part of Aurora Public Schools.”
John Thompson, teacher and historian in Oklahoma, has been researching the lives and times of the superintendents trained by the unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy, funded by billionaire Eli Broad. This post features the three-year tenure of Mike Miles in Dallas. Miles was a West Point graduate, military veteran, and foreign service officer before he entered the Broad program.
My recent series on failed Broad Academy superintendents, and the links sent by commenters, even surprised me. The similarity between the Broadies I’ve tried to communicate with, and the behaviors of their counterparts across the nation is astounding. And as Thomas Frank explains, the long sad story of neoliberal school reform is extra depressing during this time of budget cuts that are so extreme that they have provoked strikes in so many states.
To borrow Frank’s excellent terminology, what could have happened in Colorado had corporate reformers not set out to “Fire teachers, specifically,” teach educators “fear and discipline,” and “slay the foot-dragging unions and the red-tape rules.” For instance, what could we have done to improve schools had the state, and the rest of the country, not gambled on Broad graduates like Mike Miles?
Sadly, what we know for sure is the discord and the failure Miles produced in Harrison County, Colo. and Dallas, Texas. As Julian Vasquez Heilig documents, during the pre-Miles 2003-2004 school year, 82% of the Harrison County’s students graduated. During the Miles yeas, it fluctuated between 74.1% and below 65%. Heilig then recounts the:
Disconcerting data trends in the years spanning Mr. Miles’ time in Harrison, specifically the rates of attrition at the secondary level and academic performance for minority, Free and Reduced Price Lunch, English Language Learners (ELLs), Special Education, and Students “needing to catch up.”
Reformers believed Miles’ spin, which exaggerated his gains that occurred in some areas, but teachers didn’t. As Chalkbeat Colorado reported, Miles efforts:
Have proven less popular with teachers unions in the state and with some Harrison parents and community members, who are openly advocating the recall of board members supportive of his work. “Prayers answered” wrote one poster about the Dallas announcement on a Facebook page titled “Mike Miles – Get Him Out.”
When he arrived in Dallas, Miles “told principals during a training session, ‘The best-trained principals in this country are in Colorado Springs. You’re not trained as well as they are, but you will be in one year.’” He mandated a new principal-evaluation system and “hired 60 aspiring school leaders that were trained for a year before letting them compete for principal jobs in the district.” This introduction “was received like a verbal middle finger” to administrators.
Even so, Miles said afterwards:
I’m not sure I’ll ever get totally used to the amount of scrutiny and some of the negativity. … I mean, I think that’s part of any job—I mean, any job where you’re trying to change things, so I’m not saying that. But, I don’t know, does anybody ever get used to getting beat up?
The Dallas Morning News described Miles’ approach in a similar manner. It recounted the “frayed relationship” between Miles and his board, illustrated by a first-year board meeting which lasted until 1.03 am. It noted that Miles “isn’t one to dwell on the details of his plans and wants to be judged on results”
As Heinig writes, the Miles approach couldn’t have been more different than the successful policies under his predecessor, Michael Hinojosa. At first, Milesand his multi-million dollar experiments produced mixed results, but he mostly presided over a district on a downward trajectory.
Retired middle school teacher, Bill Betzen, documented Miles disappointing record in terms of student achievement, as well as the costs to educators. Before Miles, teacher turnover fluctuated between 8.5% and 12.2%, but under Miles it rose to 21.9%. Every year from 2014 to 2016 was the highest Dallas ISD teacher turnover on record! It is now down to about 14%.
As a result, the experience levels of all teachers, but especially the newest teachers, fell rapidly. There was a significant increase in inexperienced teachers, including those who didn’t make it through their rookie year.In the FY2012 school year, 10 teachers left the job before they had completed 3 months in the classroom. By FY 2015, 97 teachers left within 3 months or less.
Betzen published charts documenting, “The best concentrated years of progress in Dallas ISD history since WWII were 2007-2013” but “then the progress stopped!” He further shows how the “teacher turnover explosion” increased the number of no-experience teachers by 250%, as principal turnover nearly tripled. The DISD achievement gap, in comparison with the rest of the state, had been steadily decreasing under Hinojosa, but then seven years of progress were wiped out in 2014 and 2015.
Miles’ biggest defeat grew out of the opening of the new $36 million Dade Middle school. It was later dubbed, “the sixth nail in his coffin.” The Dallas Observer explained, “Dade was where Miles’ shortcomings as a leader — his prickly ego, his tin ear for politics and community relations, his hamfisted personnel decisions — were laid bare.” It was also the conflict which led to his final battle with DISD trustee Bernadette Nutall. This dispute, along with the way that Miles defied the board when firing three principals, led to his resignation.
Miles had previously fought with the school board over a review of his handling of a service contract. An early conflict resulted in Miles’ house being picketed, and near the end of his time in Dallas:
The Oakcliff Advocate acknowledged that “a common criticism of Nutal” is that she is “heavy-handed,” but, “In the Dade situation, however, even her critics believed Miles had gone too far.”
After Miles resigned, the Dallas Morning News explained that “in Texas, superintendents are graded by state STAAR results, and DISD scores have stayed flat or dropped under him.” His supporters “praised him for his tireless passion and dedication to education reform.” But Miles “marginalized many who found him to be stubborn and arrogant.” It added, “He also battled a revolving door of top administrators, including his former chief of staff who resigned days before he was indicted on federal bribery charges that led to a prison sentence.”
The Morning News wrote about Miles:
His tenure was marked by his expansion of the district’s communications, public relations and advertising efforts, creating flashy campaigns touting DISD’s accomplishments. He spoke in grandiose terms, often calling on the district’s “heroes” to carry out his vision. At the news conference Tuesday, Miles compared the district to Camelot and himself to King Arthur.
After Miles left, Michael Hinojosa returned as superintendent and Dallas schools progressed once again. And that brings us back to the question of what would have happened if educators could have just battled poverty and other problems in our schools, as opposed to fighting off Broadies and other corporate reformers with our left hands, while defending our students from reformers with our right hands.
By the way, one reason why I studied the Miles administration was that I hoped to see his infamous video of his dance with students. Apparently it has been taken down, but maybe readers will find and share it. If not, this video documents his hubris:
“Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway on Monday urged the National Rifle Association to find a new home for its annual meeting in May.
“Caraway said that the NRA event, scheduled for May 3-6 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, is inappropriate for Dallas after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last week. The NRA’s meeting will include firearms displays and exhibits, and the group’s national elected officials will participate in leadership meetings. According to the website, ammunition sales are permitted, but on-site firearm sales are not.
“In a written statement, Caraway said that it’s “time to put the heat on the NRA.” He followed up his written comments with a news conference outside City Hall in which he decried high-powered civilian-owned weapons and gun violence in Dallas, referencing both the 1963 Kennedy assassination and the July 7, 2016, ambush on police.
“Caraway said asking the NRA to reconsider was “a tough call” but would put the city’s residents first. He said the NRA’s political positions would lead to demonstrations that Dallas would be forced to handle and that the organization needs to “come to the table” and be part of a solution.
“I would hope they would be sensitively moral themselves at some point,” he said of the powerful interest group that has not bowed to past criticisms. “I would hope that the NRA would be watching, as I’m sure they are, around the country what has just taken place. They have children. They have families. At some point, they need to understand, and I think they do, that there will be opposition when they come here.”
Other officials said it would not happen. The contract is signed and the event is May 3-6.
Expect protestors.
Expect students. Maybe survivors of the Parkland Massacre.
Expect parents. Maybe parents of the dead children at Sandy Hook or Columbine.
Expect teachers and principals and superintendents.
Maybe they will carry posters with pictures of students and teachers killed because of NRA’s refusal to regulate access to guns.
“Accelerated Intermediate Academy – the charter school network criticized for its purchase of a Houston condominium with taxpayer dollars – also owns a second condo in downtown Dallas where similar units have been appraised at more than $300,000.
“The network also shelled out nearly $120,000 in property taxes on the Houston property, including $45,700 in late fees and attorney costs, in 2016 after the Harris County Appraisal District denied a request for a property exemption, tax records show.The two-school charter network, which served fewer than 300 students last year at two campuses, spent $427,238 for the Houston condo and an undisclosed amount for the high-end Dallas residence, property records show. Both were purchased in June 2011…
“The property purchases and tax payments mean hundreds of thousands of dollars less for the academy’s classrooms, raising additional questions about the network’s leadership.
Accelerated Intermediate Academy has received about $55 million in taxpayer dollars since opening in 2001, producing solid academic results. It is one of dozens of charter school networks that are publicly funded and privately governed by nonprofit boards to provide parents an option in place of traditional public schools.
“A Houston Chronicle investigation last month uncovered the Houston condo purchase in 2011 and reported that the school’s superintendent, Kevin Hicks, earned more than $250,000 each of the past three years despite several parents and former teachers saying he rarely appeared on the Houston campus….
“School officials told appraisers in Dallas that the unit would be used for office and records storage, even though the school already had a 9,600-square-foot campus in the nearby suburb of Lancaster. That campus has never enrolled more than 17 students since opening in 2012, according to state reports. The Houston unit also was described as an office and storage facility.
Following both purchases, school leaders sought full property tax exemptions, which routinely are granted for charter schools. The network noted in a letter to Harris County appraisers that “the only funds we receive are state and federal funds….”
“Accelerated Intermediate Academy’s properties had high-end touches befitting their price tags, according to online real estate listings. The Dallas unit came with hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, a wine cooler, granite countertops and access to a rooftop deck with a hot tub. The 1,118-square-foot Houston condo has floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors and access to a pool with skyline views.
“As Accelerated Intermediate Academy has sunk money into buying properties, however, the charter network has paid teachers salaries that are well below average, payroll data shows. Most of its educators have earned about $35,000 to $45,000 in recent years. By comparison, the starting salary at traditional public school districts in the Houston area is about $50,000.
“The school also has stockpiled $12.5 million in cash, enough to cover six years’ worth of operating expenses; most schools keep three to six months’ worth of operating expenses in cash.”
Every storage space should be equipped with a wine cooler, granite countertops, and access to a rooftop hot tub.
Deion Sanders was a superstar in sports. He opened charter schools in Texas, which have closed. Now, he is joining with the notorious Koch brothers in a plan intended to end poverty in Dallas. The program, called Stand Together, aims to raise $21 million.
Chalk this one up to innocence. Or ignorance. Or naivete. No one has done more than the Koch brothers to rip apart the social safety net that helps Americans who are down on their luck than the Koch brothers.
The story in Inside Philanthropy begins:
As we’ve pointed out time and again, David and Charles Koch are eager for an image makeover. After decades spent attacking governmental overreach and financing the right’s policy infrastructure, as well as bankrolling GOP candidates, the Kochs found themselves with a family and company brand that had become synonymous with extremist and self-interested politics. Among other things, their recent efforts to repair that damage have included large-scale grants to institutions that help African Americans and stepped up work on bipartisan criminal justice reform, as we’ve been reporting.
What’s received less attention is Koch backing for a new national anti-poverty group Stand Together, which recently led Charles Koch to find a surprising ally in Deion Sanders, a larger-than-life figure also known by the nickname “Primetime.” Sanders has the distinction of being the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Following such an illustrious sports career, Sanders wants to give back, and he’s doing so in partnership with Koch and Stand Together.
According to Sanders, Koch is hardly the profit-hungry villain he’s sometimes made out to be. Commenting on a new joint effort between himself and the Koch-backed “venture philanthropy” organization, Sanders says, “I saw firsthand how wonderful and gracious and giving and kind the Koch family was in regards to really trying to make this country a better place for everyone.” High praise indeed, especially from a celebrity with very different roots than the usual Koch set.
Sanders’ charter chain, which opened schools in Dallas and Fort Worth in 2012, closed in 2015.
The result was a significant reversal from May’s three-way race between Marshall, Kirkpatrick and Richard Young. Kirkpatrick almost won the seat outright, beating Marshall by 291 votes, but falling 23 votes shy of the required 50 percent threshold.
Kirkpatrick’s election would have flipped the board. Marshall’s election keeps it where it has been, in the status quo grip of fake reformers.
Dallas is holding a crucial school board election. Early voting started on May 30. The election is June 10.
The balance of power hangs on this run-off election.
Lori Kilpatrick is a teacher and a mother of a child in the Dallas public schools.
Lori is in a run-off with businessman Dustin Marshall. Marshall supports all the failed corporate reform ideas, like Jeb Bush’s A-F school grading system, which is highly correlated with family income. His children attend private schools.
I just heard from Lori Kirkpatrick, the school board candidate in Dallas who pledged to oppose privatization and end the insulting programs that rate, rank, reward and punish teachers. She is a parent of a child in the DISD.
The election was last Saturday. Last night, she sent a blast email to supporters saying that the final tally showed her 14 votes shy of reaching the 50% mark that she needed for a win. 14 votes!
She is heading for a runoff.
Her election will shift the majority on the Dallas school board and empower people who want to help students, teachers, and schools instead of ranking, rating, and punishing them.
Help her in any way that you can. If you are in Dallas, volunteer. If not, send a contribution of any size.
You can bet the Dallas Morning News will support her opponent, a businessman whose children are in private schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 