Archives for category: Privatization
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Michigan: President of State Board Explains Why It Declined to Spend $47 Million for New Charters

By dianeravitch
May 26, 2019 //
17

 

Casandra E. Ulbrich, president of the Michigan State Board of Education, responded to an editorial in the Detroit News complaining that the State Board rejected $47 million for new charter schools. She explains why the Board declined to spend the money awarded to the state by the federal Charter Schools Program. It doesn’t need new schools or new charters. About 80% of the charters operating in the state are “for-profit.” Furthermore, as Michigan has invested in charters, its test scores have dropped dramatically.

She writes:

This month, the State Board of Education was presented with grant criteria that ultimately could spend $47 million in taxpayer money on new and expanding charter schools. As elected board members, we raised legitimate questions about the need and the nature of these expenditures, following the release of a national research report indicating that over $1 billion of similar grant funds have been awarded to entities that either never opened a school, or opened and then closed.

In the 2002-03 school year, Michigan educated 1,713,165 public K-12 students. Last year, that number fell to 1,507,772. That’s a drop of over 200,000 students. The National Center for Education Statistics predicts that public school enrollment will continue to decline by another five percent by 2025.

Despite these declines, Michigan’s public education system continues to expand. Since 2008, 226 charter schools have opened in Michigan (38 have closed). For every new school, there are additional costs to the system, including administration and, as often is the case with Michigan charters, profit.

All this new school creation has not led to increased achievement for students. In fact, Michigan has seen the opposite. According to the Nation’s Report Card, in 2003 Michigan fourth-grade students were ranked 28th in the nation for reading scores. Last year, we ranked 35th, and in fourth-grade math, 38th….

The second major concern we expressed relates to the results of the last round of federal charter school grants. From 2010-15, 186 Michigan entities were approved for funding under this grant program. Of those, 67 received funding but never opened a charter school….

The editorial also indicates that charter schools “dominate” the list of Michigan’s highest performing high schools. Based on the state’s index system — approved by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos as Michigan’s school accountability system — this simply is not true. Only three charter schools that offer high school grades rank in the Top 100 of Michigan’s federally-approved Index system.

The lesson from Michigan: Choice produces profits, not better education.

Michigan has been Betsy DeVos’s petri dish to demonstrate her theories about school choice. It undermines public schools without producing better results by any metric. But it does enrich investors.

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

Sonoma County Creates Charter to Stop White Flight

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2019 //
36

 

Capitol & Main reports that the Healdsburg school district in Sonoma County in wine country was worried about white flight, so it opened a charter school and put it in the same building with the public school. That’s called co-location.

However, the two schools in the same building have very different demographics.

Taking advantage of California’s co-location rules regarding charters, 266 charter school students share the same campus with the public elementary school’s 323 kids. The two student bodies aren’t exactly similar, however. The public school is 89 percent Latino, while Latinos only account for 36 percent of the charter’s enrollment. The divide vividly extends to learning achievement…

Last year only 23 percent of the public elementary school’s students in grades three to five met or exceeded state math standards, while the figure was 55 percent for Healdsburg Charter kids in the same grades. A full 88.5 percent of the public school students were socioeconomically disadvantaged, compared to just 33.5 percent of the charter school students. And 70.6 percent of public school students were English-language learners, while only 13.7 percent of charter school students were ELLs.

One school mostly for white kids, another mostly for Latino kids. One for the middle-class and affluent, the other for the farmworkers’ children.

Categories Accountability, California, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, Inequity, Privatization

Samuel Abrams on the Coming Charter Expansion in Puerto Rico

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2019 //
3

 

Samuel Abrams, director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, writes here about the likely effects of the influx of charter schools in Puerto Rico.

This is the abstract.

With the passage of the Education Reform Act in March 2018, Puerto Rico joined states across the mainland in authorizing charter schools as privately managed government-funded alternatives to conventional public schools. In this article, Samuel E. Abrams describes the origins of charter schools, their formal introduction with legislation in Minnesota in 1991 and evolution since, and their probable impact in Puerto Rico. While conceding that charter schools may diversify the educational landscape and serve many students well, Abrams cautions that charter schools can generate untoward division, as they tend to enroll fewer children with academic and behavioral challenges and more children of engaged parents. The exit of such parents from conventional public schools, he writes, compounds this division, as they take with them their voice to advocate for better schooling for all children. Abrams contends this problem of exit stands to have an especially strong effect in Puerto Rico given that 25% of K-12 students on the island already attend private schools compared to 10% across the mainland.

Citation: Samuel E. Abrams, Exit, Voice, and Charter Schools, 88 Rev. Jur. UPR 894 (2019).

Here is the full article. 

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Privatization, Puerto Rico

Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh School Board Rejects Charter School, But State Overrules Decision

By dianeravitch
May 24, 2019 //
7

The elected School Board of Pittsburgh unanimously rejected a charter school called Catalyst Academy because of concern about its proposed disciplinary policy and its ability to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The School Board’s decision was overturned by the state’s Charter Appeals Board, which was appointed by the former Republican Governor. The members of the CAB have ties to the charter industry.

This is NOT how democracy should work.

Why should a highly conflicted board appointed by a former Governor have the authority to override the decision of a democratically elected community school board?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Democracy, Education Industry, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Privatization

Jan Resseger: Teachers in West Virginia Forego a Pay Raise to Block Charters and Vouchers

By dianeravitch
May 23, 2019 //
5

 

Teachers in West Virginia stunned the nation in February 2018 by going out on strike and staying out while demanding a pay raise and a commitment from the Governor and Legislature not to support charter schools and privatization. Theywon a pay raise and they had a commitment from Governor Jim Justice to veto charter legislation. Justice is a billionaire, the richest man in the state.

A year later, the Legislature was ready to abandon its promise not to introduce privatization. The teachers struck again.

Jan Resseger has the story here. 

The Legislature wants to put the camel’s nose under the tent. Just the nose. Promise. Cross my heart.

Don’t believe them. They are lying. Once the privatization starts, the camel gets into the tent. The tiny voucher program becomes a massive voucher program. The experimental charter becomes a major lobbying industry.

Fight for public education.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Teachers, Vouchers, West Virginia

XPRIZE: $10 Million Prize for Teaching Without Teachers!

By dianeravitch
May 23, 2019 //
33

You knew this was coming, didn’t you?

The XPRIZE awarded $10 million in awards to programs that teach children basic skills without a human teacher! One of the funders of the award was our very own Betsy DeVos, who loves teachers so much that she wants to get rid of them. They cost too much, and they tend to want unions. They even think for themselves, which is dangerous.

The XPRIZE Foundation has announced KitKit School and onebillion as the winners of the $10 million Global Learning XPRIZE.

Launched in 2014 with support from the Merkin Family, Dick & Betsy DeVos Family, and Tony Robbins foundations, Elon Musk, and other funders, the Global Learning XPRIZE challenged innovators to develop scalable solutions that enable children to teach themselves basic reading, writing, and math skills within fifteen months. Each of the five finalists received $1 million to field test their solutions in Tanzania, where three thousand children learned on tablets donated by Google that were preloaded with one of the five solutions. The two winning organizations will share the $10 million grand prize for enabling the greatest proficiency gains in reading, writing, and math. 

According to XPRIZE, two hundred million children globally cannot read or write, while one in five school-age children are not in school. Based in Seoul, South Korea, and Berkeley, California, KitKit School developed a program featuring a game-based core and flexible learning architecture designed to help children learn independently, irrespective of their knowledge, skill, or environment. London- and Nairobi-based onebillion’s software solution merged numeracy content with literacy material to offer directed learning and creative activities alongside continuous monitoring that enables the software to respond to children’s individual needs. 

Selected from among nearly two hundred teams from forty countries, the other three finalists were CCI (United States), Chimple (India), and RoboTutor (U.S.). All five finalists’ solutions are open source and available in both Swahili and English on GitHub. XPRIZE will work to deliver tablets preloaded with localized versions of the finalists’ software. 

The really cool thing about the scripted curriculum is that the designer can not only program skillsbut control content and determine what children learn.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Education Industry, For-Profit, Privatization, Teachers

Journey For Justice Had a Busy Day

By dianeravitch
May 22, 2019 //
18

Don’t believe the right wingers who claim that  charter schools are supported by Black and Brown people.

Not only did the NAACP, the nation’s most venerable civil rights group, call for a moratorium on charter schools but so did Black Lives Matter.

The Journey for Justice Alliance is a true grassroots civil rights organization. It led demonstrations across the nation today. One of its demands: No more public funds for charter schools, which are a tool of gentrification. J4J knows what matters most: full funding of Title 1 and special education, not privatization and charter schools.

 

May 22 PRESS RELEASE FOR NATIONAL ACTIONS:
We Choose Equity So Fund Our Future! National Day of Action
May 22, 2019

Thousands rally nationwide for education justice on May 22, 2019!

On May 22nd coalitions from 20 cities are uniting forces to hold 11 powerful actions to demand equity and end racial injustice in schools nationwide. As we commemorate the landmark Brown V. Board Decision we will renew our call for an end to the egregious disparities in resources allocated schools serving Black and Brown youth. We will also demand for full funding of Title I and IDEA. The Journey for Justice Alliance will also hold Equity Bus Tours and Forums throughout the country. Many city and statewide coalitions are organizing large rallies with bold actions connected to their local demands for fair funding, sustainable community schools and progressive revenue. Our May 22nd Day of Action will galvanize our communities as we create the momentum to make education a pivotal issue in the 2020 Presidential elections.

May 22nd Calendar

WASHINGTON DC Coalitions: Journey for Justice Alliance (New York, Baltimore, Newark, Camden, Patterson and Pittsburgh), the Alliance for Educational Justice, and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools

• Actions:

1) Rally at Supreme Court with parents and youth from 6 cities, President Randi Weingarten (AFT) and Sen Chris Van Hollen to commemorate Brown V. Board and a renewed demand for equity
2) Equity Bus Tour in DC’s Wards 7 and 8 to highlight resource disparities in local schools
3) Press Conference at Hart Middle School with US Rep. Susie Lee, Liz Davis and President of the Washington Teachers Union

BIRMINGHAM. Coalition/Organization Name: Citizens for Better Schools and Sustainable Communities
• Action: We Choose Equity Bus Tour
• Demand: Fully Fund, IDEA, Title I and call on federal legislations to implement policies that honor mandate of Brown v. Board

CINCINNATI. Coalition: Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition
• Action: Protest/Rally in front of campus of new charter school “Regeneration Schools” set to open in August, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Demand: No more public $$ to charter schools. Demand for equity in school funding, including local campaign demands for tax abatement policy changes. ( The proposed charter school is pushed by local deep pockets organized as the Cincinnati Accelerator started as an offshoot of MindTrust in Indianapolis. These people talk about high-quality seats–a dead give away thet the are using test scores and the absurd Ohio report card as a reason to push for a charter. Key players here are a retired banker and the family that owns CINTAS.)

CHICAGO. Coalition: The Grassroots Education Movement and Chicago Teachers Union
• Action: Fair Contract Rally–Keep the Promise: Equity & Funding for our Schools, Students & Community Thompson Center (110 W. Randolph, downtown Chicago)
• Demand: Call for new mayor to agree to a fair contract that improves educator pay & benefits, reduces class sizes and increasing critical staffing needs (ELL and SPED teachers, paraprofessionals, librarians, nurses, counselors, social workers, restorative justice coordinators) Demands include expanding sustainable community schools and increasing affordable housing.

DENVER. Coalition/Organization Name: Breaking Our Chains
• Action: We Choose Equity Bus Tour
• Demand: Fully Fund, IDEA, Title I and call on federal legislations to implement policies that honor mandate of Brown v. Board

DALLAS. Coalition/Organization Name: Texas Organizing Project
• Action: We Choose Equity Bus Tour
• Demand: Fully Fund, IDEA, Title I and call on federal legislations to implement policies that honor mandate of Brown v. Board

BATON ROUGE. Coalition/Organization Name: Step Up Louisiana, LAE
• Action: Rally and Press Conference regarding harm done by charters and their lack of accountability (due to ‘autonomy’ given by state laws)
• Demands: Stop the proliferation of charters and a fair plan to address budget deficit

HOUSTON. Coalition/Organization Name: Save Our School Houston and Texas Organizing Project
• Action: Rally and Protest
• Demand: End Punitive dress code policies that police parents of color and prevent their engagement in school activities

JACKSON. Coalition/Organization Name: IDEA and One Voice
• Action: Forum on School to Prison Pipeline and Education Equity
• Demand: End Punitive tactics to police our children

PEORIA. Coalition: Peoria’s People Project
• Action: Organizing for Racial Equity in Education Training co-sponsored by the NAACP
• Demand: Full funding of Title I and IDEA

SACRAMENTO + (Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento) Coalitions: Oakland Public Education Network, Reclaim Our Schools LA, Close the Gap, Oakland Education Association, UTLA, United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Families Union, Coleman Advocates, California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers
• Action: We Choose Equity Bus Tour & Coalitions will unite at a rally of 1,000 people in Sacramento (Rotunda of State Capitol)
• Demand: The statewide coalition is calling on legislators to support legislation for fair school funding and bills aimed at ending school privatization. They are also demanding full funding of Title I and IDEA and the fulfillment of the mandate to honor Brown V. Board decision.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Civil Rights, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding, Privatization, Resistance

Los Angeles: At First Meeting, Jackie Goldberg Changes Board Dynamics by Challenging Co-Location of Charters

By dianeravitch
May 22, 2019 //
16

 

Jackie Goldberg was sworn in to her new office as representative for District 5 on the Los Angeles school board, and she hit the ground running. 

She criticized co-locations, when charters take space in an existing public school, especially when charters are given preferential treatment.

Goldberg’s concerns arose minutes after the board began moving through its agenda. The item was $16 million to prepare space for charters operating on up to 79 district campuses. In all, about 11% of campuses host charters, according to the California Charter Schools Assn. Charters enroll nearly one in five district students.

Goldberg noticed that some of the money would pay for computers and wanted to know if the host school would have comparable technology.

“I have a school that lost its computer lab and the charter school went in there and put in a computer lab,” which it used to recruit students, Goldberg said during the meeting. “That’s crazy.”

Goldberg declined to name the school.

Another board member, George McKenna, raised similar points. And board member Richard Vladovic asserted that this sharing of campuses is “real bad for kids.”

More surprising were comments from two board members elected with substantial support from charter backers.

Nick Melvoin said it was difficult for staff and families at a district-run school to see a charter move in with fresh paint and new furniture on only the charter portion of the campus. He suggested that both parts of the campus should get upgrades…

Goldberg also raised questions about district bond funds being used to help build new facilities for charter schools when declining enrollment was already resulting in empty seats at both traditional and charter schools…

Even before Goldberg could get to it, staff withdrew a third charter school grant from consideration — at least for Tuesday.

Her supporters were thrilled.

“OMG,” texted parent activist Sara Roos. “It’s electric in here.”

The public schools, which enroll 80% of the district’s children, have a forceful advocate on the board.

Categories Accountability, Education Industry, Education Reform, Funding, Los Angeles, Privatization

Nikhil Goyal: Bernie’s Plan for Public Schools

By dianeravitch
May 22, 2019 //
23

 

Nikhil Goyal, a graduate student and veteran activist for public schools, is deeply impressed by Senator Bernie Sanders’ ambitious and sweeping plan to pour billions into the schools and to protect public schools from privatization pirates. 

Writing in “The Nation,” Goyal describes Sanders’ plan as “the most progressive education platform in modern American history.”

As a historian, I would drop the adjective “modern.”  No President or Presidential candidate has offered a proposal so bold and sweeping, which directly addresses the fiscal starving of American public education at the same time that the federal government  got into the business of regulating, mandating, and controlling the nation’s schools and classrooms.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, For-Profit, Funding, Privatization

Los Angeles: Charter Chain Founder and Executive Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison

By dianeravitch
May 22, 2019 //
6

 

Vielka McFarlane, founder of the Celerity charter chain in Los Angeles, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for misappropriation of $3.2 million from the schools’ accounts. 

In January, Vielka McFarlane pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to misappropriate and embezzle funds for personal use. McFarlane, 56, had for years used her charter schools’ credit card and spent taxpayer money on expensive clothing, luxury hotel stays and first-class flights. The bulk of the money spent was for the purchase and renovation of an office building in Columbus, Ohio, where McFarlane intended to open another charter school.

McFarlane was also ordered to pay restitution of $225,138.15 within 60 days.

The case dates to 2012. A routine request for Celerity’s financial records from L.A. Unified’s charter schools division revealed credit card statements of lavish purchases beginning in 2009 — five years after McFarlane had founded the first charter school. The school district’s inspector general opened an investigation and eventually, the federal government got involved.

Her conviction and sentencing raise the question of why Ben Chavis, founder and operator of the American Indian Model Charter Schools in Oakland, had all charges dismissed a few weeks ago after a state audit found that he had redirected $3.8 million of the schools’ funds to his personal accounts and that he used federal charter funds to pay the lease for the charters, which were located in buildings he owned. Are there any investigative reporters tracking this story?

Categories Accountability, California, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Fraud, Los Angeles, Privatization
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