Archives for category: Discipline
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John Merrow: “I Was Just Following Orders”

By dianeravitch
March 15, 2019 //
50

 

John Merrow asks, who makes the rules? Who decides? He describes the many elementary classrooms he has visited over the course of his four decade career. Usually there is a posted set of rules for behavior. Not at all complicated. Some classrooms, however, have rules that the children devise, which end up looking very similar to the rules posted in other classrooms. It seems everyone wants an atmosphere of respect and good behavior in which to learn and play.

But then, he says, there are the “no excuses” charter schools, which have long lists of offenses that can bring suspension, even expulsion. He uses Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy as a leading example of a punitive environment where children learn to follow orders without question.

The flip side, the draconian opposite that gives children no say in the process, can be found in charter schools that subscribe to the ‘no excuses’ approach.  The poster child is Eva Moskowitz and her Success Academies, a chain of charter schools in New York City.  A few years ago on my blog I published Success Academies’ draconian list of offenses that can lead to suspension, about 65 of them in all.   Here are three that can get a child as young as five a suspension that can last as long as five days: “Slouching/failing to be in ‘Ready to Succeed’ position” more than once,  “Getting out of one’s seat without permission at any point during the school day,” and “Making noise in the hallways, in the auditorium, or any general building space without permission.”   Her code includes a catch-all, vague offense that all of us are guilty of at times, “Being off-task.”   You can find the entire list here.

(Side note: the federal penitentiary that I taught in had fewer rules.)

Does being able to help decide, when you are young, the rules that govern you determine what sort of person you become?  Schools are famously undemocratic, so could a little bit of democracy make a difference?  Too many schools, school districts, and states treat children as objects–usually scores on some state test–and children absorb that lesson.

Fast forward to adulthood: Why do many adults just fall in line and do pretty much what they are told to do? I am convinced that undemocratic schools–that quench curiosity and punish skepticism–are partially responsible for the mess we are in, with millions of American adults accepting without skepticism or questioning the lies and distortions of Donald Trump, Fox News, Alex Jones, Briebart, and some wild-eyed lefties as well.

The question, I suppose, is whether a democratic society wants “discipline” or “self-discipline.”

Go to The Merrow Report to find this article. I could not create a link for some reason.

Categories Discipline, Education Reform, Harlem Success Academy

“No Excuses” Charter Chain Has a Reckoning with Its Harsh Disciplinary Policies

By dianeravitch
March 4, 2019 //
29

The Achievement First charter chain is committed to re-examining the value and purpose of its harsh disciplinary policies after a white principal was videotaped shoving a black student, and a behavioral specialist resigned and blasted the oppressive climate at one of the charters.

No-excuses charters claim that their draconian policies produce high test scores but critics have long criticized the inhumanity of their rules, which smack of colonialism.

Turmoil at an Achievement First high school has escalated into a larger reckoning for the charter school network spanning three states.

The spark was two videos released in January. In the first, the former principal of Achievement First Amistad High School in New Haven, who is white, is seen shoving a student. In the second, a former staff member, who is black and who released the first video, described the school as “oppressive.”

The ensuing backlash — including over the fact that the principal was not immediately fired — has pushed the network’s leaders to accelerate planned changes. Now, they say they’re open to reconsidering things big and small, from how students are expected to sit in class to even the network’s leadership.

The two CEOs have recently sent a series of candid emails to the network’s staff, who work across 36 schools in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. Those emails, obtained by Chalkbeat, illustrate how the events at Amistad raised significant questions about the network’s approach to racism, discipline, and leadership.

“The last 3 weeks have been the hardest weeks we’ve ever had leading our network,” CEOs Dacia Toll and Doug McCurry wrote. “What happened at AF Amistad High School is a failure of our leadership.”

Many of those questions connect the controversy to a long-standing debate about so-called “no excuses” charter schools, which emphasize strict discipline, high expectations, and an academic focus. Research has found that these school networks, including Achievement First, substantially increase students’ test scores and, in some cases, help more of them attend college. But critics and some scholars argue that the discipline-heavy approach amounts to a racist, even abusive form of control over mostly students of color, while failing to prepare them to lead independent lives.

In the last two months, more Achievement First teachers and parents have called for change. The network’s leaders say they are committed to improving students’ experiences — and everything is on the table as its principals gather this week.

“We’re going to remain a high-expectations organization. The provocative question is, what does high expectations actually look like?” Toll told Chalkbeat in a lengthy interview. “Is it high expectations or low expectations to insist that kids fold their hands?”

‘This is not a proud moment for AF’

The controversy broke into public view because of Steven Cotton, a behavioral specialist with Achievement First who worked for the network for five years.

Cotton says he saw the security footage in October showing principal Morgan Barth grabbing and shoving a student emerging from a classroom. By January, Cotton had resigned and posted a lengthy Facebook video criticizing Amistad’s treatment of teachers and students, including its merit and demerit discipline system.

“There’s not a place in that building at this point where a kid can be a kid,” he said. “Yes, we’re here for education, but we’re not here to be robots.”

The New Haven Independent published a story featuring the security camera footage and Cotton’s video. In the piece, the brother of another student said that Barth had shoved his sibling at a Bridgeport Achievement First school Barth led in 2013. (Toll told Chalkbeat that, because it was a personnel matter, she could not comment on whether she or the network had known about that allegation.)

Barth resigned that day, hours after the Independent story.

 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Discipline, Education Industry, Privatization

New Haven: Charter School Principal Resigns After Video Released

By dianeravitch
January 21, 2019 //
25

Achievement First Amistad in New Haven is known for two things: high test scores and high suspension rates.

https://fox61.com/2019/01/17/principal-of-new-haven-charter-school-quits-after-video-surfaces/

But when a video captured the principal
exercising the usual harsh discipline, the principal stepped down and a former “behavior specialist” spilled the beans.

“The State Department of Education has reprimanded the leadership of AF Amistad in the past for what the state says amounts to three times more suspensions as any other New Haven public school. Now, a video obtained by the New Haven Independent, shows AF Amistad principal Morgan Barth grabbing a male student, who tried to leave his office, while discussing previous discipline.

“The school’s Chief External Officer, Fatimah Barker, calls the principal’s conduct “unacceptable,” in a statement. It continued:

“When this incident happened, we conducted an internal investigation, documented the incident in accordance with state laws, and worked with the student’s family – including sharing the video with them. In addition, Mr. Barth was disciplined and also required to attain additional restraint training.”

“From the time I met that man, very intimidating to the kids,” said Steve Cotton, a now former AF Amistad employee. “Multiple staff always referred to his style as intimidation, basically.”

Categories Accountability, Connecticut, Discipline, Education Reform, Privatization

D.C.: Ferebee Nomination as Chancellor Questioned Because of Inaction in Sexual Abuse Case in Indianapolis

By dianeravitch
December 21, 2018 //
1

D.C. Muriel Bowser, hoping to build on the legacy of Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson, selected Indianapolis Superintendent Lewis Ferebee as the District’s new chancellor.

However, Ferebee is under renewed scrutiny because of his inaction in a sexual abuse case of major proportions in February 2016. Some of Ferebee’s underlings were fired for the mishandling of the case, but Ferebee won a bonus from the school board, which was thrilled by his willingness to privatize large parts of the school district.

In February 2016, a mother found “sexually explicit text messages” between her 17-year-old son and a guidance counselor. That same evening, Superintendent Ferebee was informed about allegations of an “intimate relationship” between a student and a staff member. Ferebee is now a defendant in three civil lawsuits. Six days passed before outside authorities were informed about the complaint. Two employees were criminally charged and two others were fired. Nothing happened to Ferebee.

Ferebee was one of more than a half-dozen Indianapolis Public Schools officials who had some degree of knowledge about the alleged relationship and did not report it. But only four suffered known consequences, fallout that struck some of those involved as unjust.

Shalon Dabney, a human resources official who was charged with failure to make a report, a misdemeanor, said it is unfair that Ferebee emerged unscathed — and appears set to move into a new high-profile job.

Ferebee said that student safety was his highest concern.

“I learned that there was a report from a parent of a possible inappropriate relationship between a staff member and a student,” Ferebee told the school board, under questioning by an attorney for the two administrators who were later fired.

“What was it about? Inappropriate poetry relationship?” asked the lawyer, Kevin Betz. “You knew it was sexual; right?”

“I did not know that,” Ferebee replied.

The initial email alerting Ferebee to the allegations included no specifics but said that a “parent claimed this evening that her son is having an intimate relationship with a female teacher.” The email, which has not been previously reported, was reviewed by The Post after it was entered into court records this year as part of the litigation against Ferebee and other school officials.

In the interview, Ferebee declined to comment on his contention that he was not aware the relationship was sexual…

Indiana law requires teachers, principals and other school officials — including superintendents — to “immediately” report suspected child abuse to law enforcement officials or child protective services. Indianapolis Public Schools policy and procedures say staff must report to child protective services.

The obligation to report immediately is intended to avoid exposing students to further risk. In this case, after human resources officials interviewed guidance counselor Shana Taylor, she went straight to the victim’s house “in an attempt to interfere with or influence” him, according to a lawsuit filed by the student against Ferebee, the school system and Taylor.

Taylor declined to comment.

Taylor, then 37, was arrested and charged with 11 counts, including child seduction, for her interactions with two boys. She pleaded guilty to three felony counts and was sentenced to six years of home detention.

The victim, identified in court records only by his initials, told police that he and Taylor had sexual intercourse on about 20 occasions between October 2015 and February 2016, including at his home, at her home, in her car and at a hotel, according to a detective’s probable cause affidavit.

Of course, it all depends on the definition of “immediately.” Does it mean “now,” “at once,” “in good time,” or “in six days?”

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Discipline, District of Columbia

Fred Klonsky: Charter Teachers in Chicago Are Organizing, So Are Charter Students

By dianeravitch
November 5, 2018 //
20

Fred Klonsky has reported on the vote to organize a union by teachers in one of Chicago’s big corporate charter chains.

He reports here that charter students too are asserting their right to be treated with dignity. The students in the Noble Network, Chicago’s most politically connected corporate charter chain, are pushing back against abusive “no e causes” policies. The schools in this chain are named for the billionaires who fund charters, including billionaire Governor Bruce Rainer and Hyatt Hotels billionaire Penny Pritzker, who was Obama’s Secretary of Commerce. High school students can’t be bullied the way young children can. Even if they have been taught for years to be compliant, they can’t help but ask questions. My partner, who was a high school principal, always says she loves adolescents because they have an innate sense of justice.

The students expressed their demands:


We, the students, parents, families, staff, and community members of the Noble Network of charter schools demand that CEO and Superintendent Michael Milkie and the Noble Board of Directors meet the following three demands all across the Noble Network of Charter Schools.

1) Petition to Abolish the Bathroom Escort Rule

We, the undersigned, hereby demand the abolishment of the bathroom escort rule.

The student body agrees that the bathroom escort rule is unnecessary and comes with many pushbacks. We believe that:
Bathroom escorts fail to show up when requested, leaving students waiting for extended periods of time, from five minutes to not showing up at all. This can lead to infections and other health problems. It is dehumanizing to require students aged 15-18 to have an escort to the bathroom.

Female students are left to bleed through their pants. In numerous instances, female students have been left to soil themselves due to the escort rule. In addition, Noble Schools restrictive policy requires teachers to adhere to a rule instead of listening and responding to students needs. The bathroom escort rule is extremely embarrassing and unnecessary.

2) Petition to reduce homework and reform the conditions under which a lasalle can be received

Lasalles are often issued for small mistakes and it is unfair to make students stay after school and take away from their personal time for minor mistakes.

It is unreasonable to issue Lasalles simply because a student forgot to write their name or have turned in an assignment written in pen rather than in pencil. Thus, Lasalle should only be given if the work itself has not been turned in rather than for other unreasonable circumstances.

The amount of homework given on certain days leaves students with no choice but to stay up all night in order to avoid receiving a lasalle.

Teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best, and students are barely receiving half of that. Without enough sleep, students are more likely to fall asleep in class and lose focus.

Some students have after-school activities such as jobs, clubs, tutoring, etc. Thus, students are forced to stay up even later due to the burden of homework. Students then have no choice but to turn in work of low quality and end up doing the homework to get it done rather than to actually learn from it, rendering it useless.

After going several nights without receiving enough sleep, many students are showing early symptoms of sleep deprivation. This results in demerits being issued for falling asleep in class, and it is something students simply cannot control.

A Stanford study showed that 56% of students report homework as their number one stressor. This seems like unnecessary stress and does nothing to create an enviroment for knowledge seeking. The purpose of schooling is to foster a lifelong pursuit of learning and knowledge.

3) Petition to have more Freedom of Expression with less restrictions

Noble students lose their self-identity at the doors of Noble charter schools. Freedom of expression is heavily restricted and there is no opportunity for students to express themselves and distinguish themselves from the crowd.
Since “there is no funding for more art classes during school time,” we demand more funding for afterschool programs such as art, music, photography, poetry/writing.

Allow tattoos to be visible

Allow ribbons and pins to be worn

Allow hair to be dyed any color

Give student council/government more power to influence the school and its culture

Congratulations to the high school students who want freedom of expression. Break those chains that bind you!

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Chicago, Discipline, Education Industry, Privatization

Andrea Gabor: When School Choice Means No Choice

By dianeravitch
October 13, 2018 //
32

Andrea Gabor is the author of the new book, “After the Education Wars,” a penetrating account of the mistakes of the reform movement.

She writes here about the wrong turns taken by charter enthusiasts. How did a movement intended to unleash grassroots energy turn into an industry dominated by national corporate chains?

“When Albert Shanker, the legendary teachers’ union leader, promoted the idea of charter schools 30 years ago, he was hoping to create flexibility from the constraints of education bureaucracies and union contracts so teachers and communities could experiment and innovate.

“In the years since the first charter-school law was passed in Minnesota, in 1991, the charter movement has strayed far from Shanker’s original vision. Instead of community-based, educator-driven innovation, charters have grown into an industry dominated by like-minded management organizations that sometimes control hundreds of schools — some nationwide.

“These charter organizations have proliferated with the help of deep-pocketed philanthropists and businesspeople who have sought to transform the public-education system so that both charters and traditional public schools operate like companies competing in an economic market. Schools survive by producing the greatest gains, usually measured by test scores. The rest lose students as families choose the highest-performing schools or have their charters revoked by state-designated organizations that authorize charters.

“Now the charter industry is reaching an inflection point. Business backers are pushing to expand charter schools at an unprecedented rate, doubling down on the idea that free markets are the best approach to improving K-12 education. At the same time, critics — some from within the charter movement — are shining a spotlight on the industry’s failures and distortions…

“That faith in markets isn’t supported by the evidence, however. Studies show that, on average, charter schools and traditional public schools produce similar results. But freedom from regulation is associated not with success but with especially high failure rates; charter-school performance tends to be weakest in states with the laxest rules for ensuring education quality.

“Paradoxically, deregulation has also tended to narrow choices rather than expand them. New Orleans, for example, which has turned most of its public schools over to charter organizations, is dominated by charter-school oligopolies that enforce uniform curriculum and disciplinary standards. Instead of fostering creative pedagogy, the charter industry has focused on producing high test scores, the key measure by which philanthropists determine which charter organizations to finance. Teachers are typically required to teach canned curricula and rarely last more than a few years, and students are often subjected to one-size-fits-all discipline policies…

“Education policies should protect children and their schools from the brutal realities of the market while leaving room for the kind of teacher- and community-led experimentation that the charter movement was originally meant to foster.”

Gabor is the Bloomberg chair of business journalism at Baruch College of the City University of New York. This article appeared at Bloomberg.com. Michael Bloomberg is a major supporter of charter schools nationally.

KIPP did not like Gabor’s article. But KIPP Is wrong, and Gabor is right. The original idea of charters was that each would be unique, and they would be teacher-led to try out new ideas. Neither Shanker nor the other charter originator Ray Budde ever imagined corporate charter chains with cookie-cutter “no excuses” policies. KIPP is the Walmart of charter schools, which may explain why the rightwing, anti-union Walton Family Foundation showers millions on them.

Categories Accountability, Bloomberg, Michael, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Discipline, Education Industry, KIPP Charter Schools, Privatization, Walton Foundation

Democracy Now: Meet Fighters for Educational Justice

By dianeravitch
October 8, 2018 //
14

This is a great and pertinent segment of Amy Goodman’s “Democracy Now,” featuring leaders of the fight for Educational Justice in our schools.

The activists on the front lines include Jitu Brown, National Director of Journey for Justice (and a member of the board of the Network for Public Education); Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, the co-founder of Racial Justice NOW! and field organizer for the Dignity in Schools Campaign. And in New York City, we speak with high school teacher and restorative justice coordinator E.M. Eisen-Markowitz and Mark Warren, co-author of “Lift Us Up, Don’t Push Us Out!”

The transcript begins:

AMY GOODMAN: As Brett Kavanaugh objects to being held accountable for his behavior in high school, we look at the criminalization of black and brown students that’s led to what is known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The movement saw a setback on Sunday when California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have expanded a statewide ban on suspensions for students in kindergarten to third grade to include fourth through eighth graders. The ban focused on suspensions for, quote, “disruption and defiance.” A recent UCLA study found black seventh and eighth graders lost nearly four times the number of school days to such suspensions than white students.

Just last week at Oak View Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia, two teachers resigned after students complained they punished them by zip-tying their hands behind their backs like they were under arrest by police. The students were 4 years old. Writer and activist Shaun King tweeted, “This is the (pre) school to prison pipeline.” One of the girls’ mothers spoke to WSB-TV.

MOTHER: This has really shaken me, to the core. … She said that one teacher tied her up and the other cut it loose. And she said, “Mommy, I was scared to tell you, because I thought I was going to get in trouble.” … I want them to pay. I want them to not have any license to teach, because they don’t need to teach. Who would do this? I mean, would they like this to happen to their own kids?

Where do schools get the idea that children should be treated like criminals? Is this an effort to replicate the no-excuses model of punitive discipline?

Categories Cruelty, Discipline

Gary Rubinstein Writes a Letter to the Mega-Donors Who Support Success Academy: “You’ve Been Scammed!”

By dianeravitch
September 18, 2018 //
42

Gary Rubinstein notes that Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain has been a “success” in attracting huge donations from hedge fund managers. Gary was a charter member of Teach for America and a part of the Reform world. But he got woke in 2010 at the TFA 20th anniversary celebration. He just can’t stand lies and boasting; honesty is in his DNA.

In this post, he warns that the big donors are being scammed. They believe what the PR department of Success Academy tells them. It has an obvious interest in putting out information that portrays the chain as a miracle, a miracle that can be easily copied by others. But as he shows, no one has been able to reproduce Success Academy’s test scores, and attention should be paid to how those test scores are generated.

Rubinstein has made a reputation as a miracle-buster. In this post, he does it again.

Dear Seven Digit Success Academy Donor,

Obviously if you have seven (or eight!) figures to donate to Success Academy, you are a person who does not easily fall for scams. But this time, I’m afraid you did.

There are really only two possibilities: Either Success Academy is the greatest miracle in the history of education — or the greatest Hoax…

If Success Academy is hiding some secret methods that could be scaled around the country so that other schools could achieve results even in the same ballpark, these methods would be worth billions of dollars to Eva Moskowitz. If she is for real, she has found the equivalent of Ponce De Leon’s famed fountain of youth…

I assume you were inspired by the mind-blowing statistics from Success Academy’s PR department. I assume you were impressed by the way that their 3rd grade through 8th grade test scores would make them the top district in New York State. You assume that their methods can be replicated, but no other charter school in the state has done so…

Success Academy is built on a foundation of lies and it is only a matter of time before it comes crumbling down.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Discipline, Education Industry, Harlem Success Academy, Privatization, Standardized Testing

New Jersey: Civil Rights Complaint about Newark Charter School

By dianeravitch
September 13, 2018 //
10

ELC CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF EXCLUSION OF STUDENTS FROM NEWARK CHARTER SCHOOL

Education Law Center has filed an official complaint with the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) regarding the recent exclusion of students from Marion P. Thomas Charter School (MPTCS) in Newark. As depicted in videos and news articles, MPTCS excluded dozens of students at the opening of school for non-compliance with the school’s uniform policy. The school also did not notify parents that their children could not attend school, resulting in students congregating in a neighborhood park without supervision.

The ELC complaint explains that MPTCS’s exclusion of students for minor infractions of the school’s uniform policy raises legal violations requiring NJDOE investigation. The complaint is based on reports from parents, including allegations that MPTCS falsely accused one parent of failing to submit residency documentation after her son was featured in one of the videos of the incident. Other parents reported having to expend time and money to buy new shoes conforming to the MPTCS uniform to prevent their children from losing more time in school, even though they were excluded for wearing the exact same shoes deemed appropriate attire the year before.

The complaint asks the NJDOE to investigate the incident and take corrective action, including a thorough review of the school’s uniform policy and whether MPTCS enforcement of the policy is fair and legal. The complaint also asks the NJDOE to conduct training of MPTCS staff to prevent future recurrences and for disciplinary action, if necessary, to be taken against the school and school staff responsible for any violations of student and parental rights. Finally, the complaint asks for recourse for the families, including reimbursement for double expenditures and any necessary corrections to student records.

“It is obvious that these students believed they were in compliance with the school’s uniform policy, because they wore similar or even the exact same shoes last year,” said ELC Legal Fellow Richard Frost. “Excluding these students without notifying parents was an extreme, poorly reasoned, and unlawful punishment for what should never have become a discipline issue in the first place.”

Education Law Center Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Policy and Outreach Director
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x 24

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Discipline, Education Industry, New Jersey, Newark, Privatization

Nancy Bailey: What’s Better than Grit? Reading Books and a Good Teacher

By dianeravitch
September 10, 2018 //
59

Nancy Bailey opened her mail and saw that Angela Duckworth was on the cover of the handout for Costco Connection, touting the virtues of grit and why every child needs it.

I had somehow hoped we had passed through the “grit” phase and moved on to something else. Probably, the fact that it is featured on the cover of the Costco flyer means that it is already passé.

Duckworth has has list:

Her grit goals for children include the following:

I am a hard worker.
Setbacks don’t discourage me.
I finish whatever I begin.
I don’t give up easily.
I am diligent.
I will never give up.
Numbers 3 and 6 might especially give us pause.

Nancy rightly notes that teachers have been instilling “grit” since time immemorial.

For starters, grit is a repackaged idea. If you’ve read “The Little Engine Who Could” by Watty Piper to your child, you’ve taught them to try their best. Many children’s books incorporate the idea of endurance. It’s a timeless virtue.

Teaching character traits like perseverance through children’s literature seems more meaningful, and enjoyable, than browbeating students to carry through on every task to prove their stamina.

Lots of good ideas here. Nancy warns about the “strictness” imposed by KIPP-style no-excuses.

It’s important to remember, that with grit and high-stakes standards, including Common Core, children are not always setting their own goals. They aren’t dreaming of passing tests. They want to do well on them, or they fear them, because it’s what adults tell them to do. They’re being set up to please adults.

That’s a huge problem with grit and what makes it disingenuous.

Categories Accountability, Character, Discipline, Grit, Testing
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