Archives for category: District of Columbia
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Brett Bymaster: Rocketship’s Rocky Expansion

By dianeravitch
January 7, 2015 //
6

Brett Bymaster, a community activist in San Jose, California, here describes the chain’s current plans to increase the number of its charter schools. Rocketship withdrew its applications for 8 schools each in Dallas and San Antonio. But it is moving forward in Nashville and D.C.

Bymaster writes:

Recently released board material from Rocketship Education indicates that the charter school corporation intends to grow significantly, tripling in size over the next 5 years. Rocketship is known for its high stakes test prep K-5 schools that minimize arts and extracurriculars, packing 650 kids on a 1.25 acre campus, running 41:1 student to teacher ratios, and elementary aged children receiving > 90 minutes of computer time in massive labs staffed by uncredentialed aids. Local and national pushback earlier this year led to Rocketship delaying school openings and committing to less aggressive growth. But board documents released last month indicate that Rocketship is ramping up growth plans again, hoping to triple in size nationwide by 2019. In the next 5 years, Rocketship hopes to double San Francisco Bay Area schools, opening 5,000 new seats, while opening 4,000 new seats in Tennessee, and around 3,500 new seats in Washington DC.

Rocketship recently announced plans for school takeovers in Tennesse through the statewide Achievement School District, with takeovers slated for August 2015. Rocketship’s executives worried that the Nashville and Memphis “community may be resistant and potentially obstructive” to school takeovers, and then stated that they intended to “aggressively build relationships and identify parent ambassadors” to mitigate the obstructive community in Tennessee. Labeling the low income minority communities that Rocketship targets as “obstructive” seems worrisome, even more so when one considers that Rockteship intends to take over the community’s local public school and replace it with a high stakes corporate charter school that is run from distant offices in Silicon Valley’s ultra-wealthy Redwood City. Rocketship’s aggressive stance in minority communities in San Jose has led, sadly, to division and rancor in communities that should be working together.

Rocketship’s newest school in Washington D.C. provides a good example of what to expect. Rocketship let Andre Agassi’s for-profit hedge fund corporation pick the site of the proposed D.C. school in the Anacostia community. Agassi chose a site adjacent to a halfway house. Rocketship’s V.P. of growth, Katy Venskus (who was convicted for felony embezzlement in 2002 working for a different non-profit) said that Rocketship did not participate in the process of selecting a school site, abdicating their responsibility to Agassi’s for-profit hedge fund. Rocketship attempted to hire a local D.C. outreach coordinator, who quit shortly after taking the job. Rocketship was unable to replace him and seems to have lost track of the project. Rocketship’s CEO Preston Smith recently told the Washington D.C. school board, “We’re really proud of our community outreach and partnership that we’ve done in other communities and it’s very clear that in D.C. we’ve still got some work to do” and then told Rocketship’s board that “during the process of approving this charter however, it became more apparent that we could do a stronger job in engaging the Washington D.C. community, especially the Anacostia neighborhood.” Agassi also just acquired another site for Rocketship in Tennessee. I have to ask the question, is Rocketship leading Agassi, or are the for-profit hedge fund managers really in charge?

The Progressive Magazine just did a special issue on Rocketsihp, with a satire video called “Profitship Learning” by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mark Fiore


http://www.progressive.org/news/2014/12/187929/profitship-learning
http://www.progressive.org/content/dec-jan-2014-issue-table-contents

For more information on Rocketship’s growth plans, see:
http://www.stoprocketship.com/2014/12/15/rocketships-aggressive-new-growth-plans-triple-5-years/
http://www.stoprocketship.com/2014/12/07/rocketship-considers-forced-takeover-conversions-in-nashville/

Categories California, Charter Schools, District of Columbia, Tennessee

How Clueless Can D.C. Bureaucrats Be?

By dianeravitch
September 12, 2014 //
55

Avery Gigliano recently turned 13. She is a world-class pianist who has won international competitions. To play in international competitions, it is necessary to travel. To the D.C. public school system, she is not a champion, she is a truant. I forebear from using the words that come to mind. The D.C. schools should be celebrating her success. Instead, they drove her out of the school system. Great story by Petula Dvorak in the Washington Post.

“The prodigy, who just turned 13, was one of 12 musicians selected from across the globe to play at a prestigious event in Munich last year and has won competitions and headlined with orchestras nationwide.

“But to the D.C. public school system, the eighth-grader from Mount Pleasant is also a truant. Yes, you read that right. Avery’s amazing talent and straight-A grades at Alice Deal Middle School earned her no slack from school officials, despite her parents begging and pleading for an exception.

“As I shared during our phone conversation this morning, DCPS is unable to excuse Avery’s absences due to her piano travels, performances, rehearsals, etc.,” Jemea Goso, attendance specialist with the school system’s Office of Youth Engagement, wrote in an e-mail to Avery’s parents, Drew Gagliano and Ying Lam, last year before she left to perform in Munich.

“Although administrators at Deal were supportive of Avery’s budding career and her new role as an ambassador for an international music foundation, the question of whether her absences violated the District’s truancy rules and law had to be kicked up to the main office. And despite requests, no one from the school system wanted to go on the record explaining its refusal to consider her performance-related absences as excused instead of unexcused….

“Too bad, so sad. After 10 unexcused absences, it doesn’t matter whether a child was playing hooky to hang at the mall or charming audiences in Hong Kong with her mastery of Mozart. D.C. bureaucrats will label the kid a truant, will mar her transcript with that assessment and will assign a truancy officer to the case.

“When Avery returned in March from winning the Grand Prix at a big competition in Hartford, Conn., for her performance of a Chopin Waltz, she didn’t get calls of congratulations from her school. That was her 10th absence, so a truancy officer was called.”

The parents decided not to fight the system anymore. Avery is being home-schooled.

Hello, Kaya Henderson. Isn’t this embarrassing? Bring Avery back and honor her accomplishments.

Categories District of Columbia

G.F. Brandenburg:What Michelle Rhee Promised the Billionaires

By dianeravitch
September 7, 2014 //
3

G.F. Brandenburg writes here about what then-D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee in exchange for $64.5 million. She would have the power to fire any teacher anytime, and she would get great results. Brandenburg says Rhee and Henderson didn’t meet the goals he checked. Will they give the money back?

Brandenburg is researching all the promises. Here are some more of his findings. See here and here and here and here, and here.

There were 78 goals. Brandenburg is researching all of them. This is an ongoing series and there is more to come.

Categories Corporate Reformers, District of Columbia, Rhee, Michelle

Schneider Challenges Amanda Ripley to Write Another TIME Cover Story About Rhee

By dianeravitch
August 27, 2014 //
22

Mercedes Schneider reviews Michelle Rhee’s time in office as chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools. She concludes that Rhee was a failure. She wanted principals and teachers to be accountable to her while she was accountable to no one.

Schneider concludes that Amanda Ripley’s adulatory TIME cover story about Rhee as the person who would “fix” D.C. Schools and show the rest of the nation what to do was the basis of Rhee’s rise to national prominence. Schneider challenges both Rhee’s record and Ripley’s undeserved praise.

Schneider ends by challenging Ripley to write another story ifor TIME about how Rhee failed to accomplish her goals in D.C. and as CEO of StudentsFirst. Time for a correction. Will Ripley do it?

Categories District of Columbia, Rhee, Michelle, StudentsFirst

Breaking News: D.C. Halts Evaluating Teachers by Test Scores

By dianeravitch
August 11, 2014 //
100

District of Columbia Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced the suspension of the practice of evaluating teachers by their students’ test scores. This practice was considered the signal policy initiative of Henderson’s predecessor Michelle Rhee.

Henderson described the move “as necessary in order to allow students to acclimate themselves to new tests built around the standards established by the Common Core.”

The Gates Foundation applauded the retreat on test-based evaluation, as did Randi Weingarten of the AFT. The U.S. Department of Education released a statement expressing its disappointment. It said: “Although we applaud District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) for their continued commitment to rigorous evaluation and support for their teachers, we know there are many who looked to DCPS as a pacesetter who will be disappointed with their desire to slow down.” Since test-based evaluation is the centerpiece of Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top, this is surely a setback for Duncan and his theory of change. On the other hand, D.C.’s test scores have been stagnant since 2009, which does not speak well of test-based evaluation, whether pushed by Michelle Rhee or Arne Duncan.

By the way, Michelle Rhee has apparently changed her name to Michelle (Rhee) Johnson.

Categories District of Columbia, Rhee, Michelle, Teacher Evaluations

The Failure of “Reform” in D.C.

By dianeravitch
August 7, 2014 //
43

Valerie Strauss shows in this post that there were NO gains in reading in the District of Columbia Public Schools during the tenure of Michelle Rhee and her successor Kaya Henderson. G.F. Brandenburg noted these facts on his blog on July 31. Brandenburg asks: “So where are all those increases that Michelle Rhee promised in writing?”

Strauss writes that this is more than just a personal failure. This is a failure of the entire reform strategy.

Bernie Horn of the Public Leadership Institute writes:

“If this isn’t failure, what is?

“The latest results of the DC-CAS, the District of Columbia’s high-stakes standardized test, show that the percentage of public school students judged “proficient” or better in reading has declined over the past five years in every significant subcategory except “white.”

“This is important, and not just for Washington, D.C. It is an indictment of the whole corporatized education movement. During these five years, first Michelle Rhee and then her assistant/successor Kaya Henderson controlled DCPS and they did everything that the so-called “reformers” recommend: relying on standardized tests to rate schools, principals and teachers; closing dozens of schools; firing hundreds of teachers and principals; encouraging the unchecked growth of charters; replacing fully-qualified teachers with Teach For America and other non-professionals; adopting teach-to-the-test curricula; introducing computer-assisted “blended learning”; increasing the length of the school day; requiring an hour of tutoring before after-school activities; increasing hours spent on tested subjects and decreasing the availability of subjects that aren’t tested. Based on the city’s own system of evaluation, none of it has worked.”

There were no gains, no miracles. Except for a very small improvement in the proficiency rates of white students, every other category declined: low-income students declined; black students declined; Hispanic students declined; Special education students declined. Whites saw a small uptick of 1.6% from 2009-2014.

Horn writes:

“In truly Orwellian fashion, DCPS presents these disastrous numbers under the heading “Long-term progress in Reading has been maintained.” The Mayor, the DCPS Chancellor, and the powers-that-be all act like there’s nothing wrong.

“But clearly, this is what failure looks like. If a school had scores like this over the past five years, it would be targeted for closure. If principals or teachers had scores like this, they would be fired. If a student had scores like this, s/he would be made to feel like a failure. Where is the accountability in this supposedly “data-driven” system?”

Yet remember that TIME magazine had a cover story on December 8, 2008, about Michelle Rhee (written by Amanda Ripley) saying that this was the woman who knew how to “fix” America’s schools?

Does Michelle Rhee know how to “fix” America’s schools? There is no evidence that she does. She didn’t do it in D.C. She is still collecting millions of dollars from unnamed donors to persuade legislators to follow her disastrous strategies.

We should know by now that the data-driven, test-driven approach doesn’t work. We should know by now that schools need experienced teachers and leaders to help children and new teachers. We should know by now that schools need stability and constancy of purpose, not disruption and high teacher turnover. We should immediately end the war on public schools and teachers and give our schools the resources they need and give our professionals the respect they deserve.

Categories District of Columbia, Education Reform, Rhee, Michelle

Is the District of Columbia Making Gains or Playing Games with Data?

By dianeravitch
July 9, 2014 //
5

Media Advisory: BBA to Hold Press Call on Real vs. Claimed Achievement Trends among DCPS Students

Washington, DC | Jul 8, 2014

On Thursday, July 10 at 11:00 am ET, the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education (BBA) will hold a press call to discuss a new BBA memorandum that assesses achievement trends of District of Columbia Public (DCPS) students. Elaine Weiss, national coordinator of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, will provide an in-depth analysis of DCPS/OSSE claims that the percentage of students who are “proficient” and “advanced” by the standards of the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS), the district’s standardized achievement test, has steadily grown. Using both publicly available and non-available DC-CAS data, as well as data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Weiss will show that the true pattern over recent years has been one of little actual progress and substantially widening achievement gaps. Weiss will also highlight important data to look for when DCPS releases the new student scores, and provide key questions to ask. This memo builds on last year’s Market-Oriented Reforms’ Rhetoric Trumps Reality, and will be followed by a full report after 2014 DC-CAS scores are released later this month.

For the past several years, the Office of the State Superintendent for the District of Columbia (OSSE), has released new numbers on the percentage of students who are “proficient” and “advanced” by the standards of the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS), the district’s standardized achievement test. Only selected numbers are released, and DCPS uses them to claim gains in proficiency and progress in closing large achievement gaps. However, the DC-CAS scores are manipulated in ways that make it impossible to understand how raw scores—the number of correct answers on the tests—are translated into scale and “cut” scores—levels of Basic, Proficient, and Advanced – and thus what and how much students are actually learning. Moreover, many key data points and other information are concealed to avoid any bad news.

This memo will illustrate, via an example in a high-profile district, the types of conflicts and problems that inevitably arise when undue pressure is put on student standardized tests. Our hope is that shedding light on the consequences of poorly conceived federal policies, misguided philanthropic contributions, and other pressure will spur a balanced and thoughtful discussion of more effective strategies that would boost all students and their communities, rather than sustaining and exacerbating existing disparities.

To RSVP, email Donte Donald at ddonald@epi.org.

What: Press call on real vs. claimed achievement trends among DCPS students
Who: Elaine Weiss, national coordinator of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education
When: Thursday, July 10th at 11:00 a.m. ET
Call-in number: 1-800-311-9403
Passcode: 960316

###

ABOUT EPI

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States.

Economic Policy Institute
Media Relations Department
1333 H Street, NW
Suite 300, East Tower
Washington, D.C. 20005
CONTACT

Categories Accountability, District of Columbia, Testing

D.C. Gets Its First Gulen Charter School, and Kaya Henderson Doesn’t Like Its Location

By dianeravitch
July 9, 2014 //
51

D.C. has approved its first Gulen-connected charter school. Fetullah Gulen is the reclusive Muslim cleric who lives in the Poconos, rus a vast political network in Turkey, and is associated with the largest charter chain in the U.S.

D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson is upset because the Gulen Harmony charter has leased a building directly across the street from a traditional public school serving the same age children with the same math-science focus.

“Henderson called Harmony’s move an inefficient use of tax­payer dollars and a sign of a choice that the city is going to have to make: Does the District want to plan for the coexistence of charter schools alongside a system of traditional neighborhood schools? Or does the city want to continue with a laissez-faire approach that Henderson said could give rise to a “cannibalistic environment” in which “somebody gets eaten”?

“Either we want neighborhood schools or we want cannibalism, but you can’t have both,” Henderson said, adding her voice to a growing chorus of people who have called for joint planning between traditional and charter schools and perhaps a limit on the number of independent charter schools in the District.

“A citywide conversation about how many schools do we need, and how do we get to the right number of schools, as opposed to continuing to allow as many schools to proliferate as possible, is probably a necessary conversation to have at some point,” Henderson said.

“Charter schools do not have to specify or propose a location when they apply to the D.C. Public Charter School Board for approval. The board considers applications on their merits, without taking into account the impact on existing schools; once a school is approved, it goes about finding a home, and then must notify the board of its location before opening its doors to students.”

Categories Charter Schools, District of Columbia

A Teacher Quits the D.C. Public School System

By dianeravitch
July 5, 2014 //
14

Olivia Chapman taught for five years in the public schools of the District of Columbia. Then she decided that her philosophy of education was diametrically opposed to the District’s demands. She resigned her position. Her letter of resignation was first posted on Rachel Levy’s blog, All Things Education.

When she resigned, she was asked what DCPS could have done to retain her. Her letter of resignation began like this:

“I truly don’t think that there is anything that you could have done to retain me in the district. Our educational philosophies do not align, specifically what those philosophies look like in action, not necessarily how they are written and presented. Although it would seem that your will and proclaimed dedication to educating all students and improving struggling schools are aligned to my own beliefs; stating your beliefs and acting on them can be extremely different.

“In my opinion and based on five years of experience in a struggling school (which I believe you now call a “40-40” school), the actions that you have imposed that are supposed to be helping to educate all students and improve the education of underprivileged students are backfiring. I know some of your test scores are going up, but that means so little when morale decreases and discontent from the community, teachers and students increase. Additionally, student behavior continues to worsen as their teachers are “impacted out”, the students are over-tested and the constant change in leadership causes students to lose faith in anyone sticking around long enough to invest in their successes. Your standards are higher while our resources are lower and the teachers are less effective because of constant turnover and poor training programs (Yes, I am referring to Teach for America and DC Teaching Fellows).

“IMPACT and high stakes standardized testing are deteriorating education. I have enjoyed working with each and every one of my students, as challenging as some of them may be, but I can no longer participate in a system that is tearing them down, wasting their time and breaking their spirits. I can no longer participate in the rigid guidelines of IMPACT/Common Core/Standardized testing; it is not what my kids need or ever needed to be successful. Yes, they need quality teachers, learning standards and assessments-but the manner in which you have delivered these three essential components of education are not effective. I have been witness to this for five years. You can throw data and numbers at me all you want, but it is not working for my students nor my school, and I know I am not alone in stating this, especially in Ward 8. You have poured enormous amounts of money into IMPACT and testing and not nearly enough into professional development, technology or character education programs for students. We have lacked the supplies and trainings to properly implement Common Core for the last three years. Honestly, you can call the standards whatever you want, revise them, increase their “rigor”, do whatever you please; but until communities, families, parents and students are held accountable for their participation in education, none of this matters…”

Read on.

Categories Common Core, District of Columbia, Resistance, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

D.C. Suspends Use of Test Scores in Teacher Evaluations

By dianeravitch
June 20, 2014 //
16

The District of Columbia has suspended the use of test scores as part of teacher evaluations, a practice which was the hallmark of Michelle Rhee’s tenure as chancellor of that district and which led to the firing of hundreds of teachers.

Chancellor Kaya Henderson said the district needs time to phase in new Common Core tests.

“Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced the decision, saying officials are concerned it wouldn’t be fair to use the new tests until a baseline is established and any complications are worked out.

“The District has fired hundreds of teachers under the system, which was put in place by Henderson’s predecessor, Michelle Rhee. Test scores make up 35 percent of evaluations for those who teach students in the tested grades and subjects.

“Last week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined the two largest teachers’ unions in calling for a temporary halt to evaluating teachers based on Common Core tests. The foundation has spent more than $200 million implementing the Common Core standards nationwide.

“The U.S. Education Department has not backed the idea of a moratorium, which is also being considered in New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced a bill on Thursday that would remove test scores from teacher evaluations for two years, and a handful of states have delayed using test scores to make personnel decisions. But no state that already includes test scores in evaluations has committed to pausing the practice.”

Categories Common Core, District of Columbia, Teacher Evaluations, Testing
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