Archives for category: Privatization
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A Market Failure: Kids, Teachers, Tough Luck

By dianeravitch
July 27, 2012 //
19

A reader sent an article about a for-profit firm in Pennsylvania that runs four alternative schools for “disciplinary” students. It furloughed its 50 teachers and administrators and closed down without warning. What happens to the students? The teachers? No one knows.

The teachers are in the dark about whether they have jobs in a month. They are paid very low salaries: $31,000 if they have benefits, $36,000 without benefits.  The company is owned by the son of a Congressman. All calls are referred to a lawyer’s office, which has no information.

This is the sector that Republican governors want to expand. Government contracts with minimal or no oversight. At-risk kids put even more at risk in the hands of vendors.

Remind me about the superiority of the private sector. I forget.

Perhaps coincidentally, another reader commented on an earlier post about the market model:

Markets in education are insufficient, because they do not include the overriding public purpose and public interest in educational outcomes. Educational quality is not simply a matter to be settled between “education service providers” and parents. Our entire society has a critical stake in educational outcomes, and public governance  and funding of education is a very effective way to make sure

Categories Education Reform, For-Profit, Pennsylvania, Privatization

Privatization in Pennsylvania: Worth Your Attention

By dianeravitch
July 27, 2012 //
9

One of my most valuable sources of information is an email blast from the Keystone State Education Coalition, which reports on school-related news from Pennsylvania and links to articles in the Pennsylvania press.

I have been watching with fascination and horror the ongoing efforts of Governor Tom Corbett to undermine public education in his state.

One of his closest education advisors and campaign donors also owns the state’s largest charter school.

He now wants to take over and replace K-6 public education in Pottstown with a charter school owned and managed by his corporation.

Please take the time to read the very last link, which includes the emails between the charter operator and the staff of the district.

 

These daily emails are archived at http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

How many years away from this privatization scenario is your school district?

Poking around on the internet, this right-to-know request surfaced.  In a series of emails, it details efforts to privatize the Pottstown School District in 2011 and includes correspondence between the district, legislative staff, Vahan Gureghian, CEO of Charter School Management, Inc. and Mr. Max Tribble.

 Mr. Gureghian’s company is under contract to operate Pennsylvania’s largest brick and mortar charter school in Chester.  Mr. Gureghian was Governor Corbett’s largest individual campaign donor and was recruited to serve on the Governor’s Education Transition Team.  Mr. Tribble is registered as his lobbyist on the state’s lobbying registration website via the Washington Advocacy Group and Greenlee Partners, LLC.

Keep in mind that in the 54 page charter school reform amendment to SB1115 (page 75, section 1732-A, paragraph (8)) introduced by Rep, Tom Killion (R-168, Chester and Delaware) on the last day of the legislative session there was language that would have specifically exempted a vendor (like Charter School Management, Inc.) from the state’s right-to-know laws.  SB1115 passed in the Houseby a vote of 120-77, but was not considered by the Senate. You might want to consider asking your legislator why they voted for it.

There has been a right-to-know request pending for Charter School Management’s financial records for several years. Although it was recently upheld by Commonwealth Court, it is anticipated that it will be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

It is anticipated that charter school reform will be on the short list for consideration by the legislature during their short session this fall. 

http://www.pottstowncitizens.org/2011pdf/2011-5-19Hyltonstatementtoschoolboard.pdf

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Reform, Pennsylvania, Privatization

Governor Rick Snyder’s Plan

By dianeravitch
July 25, 2012 //
15

Governor Snyder’s plan for education in Michigan sounds just like Romney’s and Bobby Jindal’s.

The money should follow the student anywhere and everywhere, to any vendor of education services, regardless of who owns it or manages it.

So, students may take their money to private schools, to hawkers of services, to online courses, whatever. Welcome to anyone who wants to start a school and collect public money.

That is a plan to undermine public education, and the rightwing knows it. That’s their goal.

Education costs won’t go down without increasing class sizes, and the way that will happen is by shifting more dollars to online schools of dubious quality.

It may be worth pointing out that this is not the formula of any high-performing nation in the world.

An editorial writer for the Detroit Free Press sees an issue with the Snyder approach. His column is called “It’s Time to Reshape Public Education.” My suggestion, take care not to destroy it. The entrepreneurs who will flood the new marketplace will care more about their bottom line than about children. Surely, Governor Snyder knows that. This is the governor’s prescription for education spending:

“Any time, any place, any way, any pace.”

It’s a catchy way of saying state money should follow students through all kinds of educational options, from traditional neighborhood schools to charters and online coursework — whatever best enables the student to learn.

Snyder calls it “unfettered flexibility” and hopes to foster more “free market ideas for public schools in Michigan.”

Sounds good, but let’s make sure we have quality controls in place for educators who want to set up shop here and take in our tax dollars.

And let’s not leave decisions about learning entirely up to the students. A few may do just fine taking a physics class online at 2 a.m. from a teacher based in Arizona. But most will probably be better served by a little more structure — and a mandatory gym class.

Categories Accountability, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Michigan, Privatization

Another Charter School Scandal: Ho-Hum

By dianeravitch
July 25, 2012 //
3

I guess we will have to get used to this sort of thing.

Some charter schools in Florida padded the enrollment–er, made a miscalculation–of the number of students in their program.

Here is the story:

An audit of Coronado High School found there was no documentation to show 465 students participated in an on-the-job course. The school could provide documentation of 13 students in the course. The audit at North Nicholas High revealed 102 of 372 students were incorrectly reported.

Nice to see they were audited.

The governor had three charter school executives on his transition team.

He named one of them to the State Board of Education.

Does anyone care?

Remember when we used to worry about conflicts of interest?

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Florida, For-Profit, Privatization

Prosecutor Pledges to Pursue Charter School Scams

By dianeravitch
July 25, 2012 //
1

After a federal grand jury returned a 62-count indictment against a charter school founder and her associates, claiming that $6.5 million in public funds was misused, the U.S. Attorney declared that he would pursue any charter school operators who abused the public trust. The attorney for the defendant said she was innocent and would offer a strong defense against the charges.

“This indictment in this case alleges that June Brown and her four co-conspirators used the charter school system to engage in rampant fraud and obstruction,” Memeger said during an afternoon news conference. “My office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue those charter school operators who defraud the taxpayers and deprive our children of funds for their education.”

He was joined at the announcement by FBI Special l Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos and Steven Anderson, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General for the Mid-Atlantic region. Agents from both federal agencies were involved in the years-long investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Kyriakakis that led to the indictments.

“The bottom line is running a charter school does not give you a license to steal,” Venizelos said.

Every penny that was lost due to fraud was taken from the public schools of Philadelphia.

The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia hopes to expand the charter sector, adding dozens more deregulated and lightly supervised schools.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Philadelphia, Privatization

Astonishing News from Philadelphia

By dianeravitch
July 24, 2012 //
11

As readers of this blog know, the School Reform Commission of Philadelphia has recommended a vast expansion of charter schools.

It is acting on the recommendation of the Boston Consulting Group, business management consultants with no deep knowledge of education but a deep love of privatization.

The business leaders of Philadelphia are pushing hard for the privatization plan.

But today, the U.S. Attorney for Philadelphia charged a major charter school leader in Philadelphia with multiple violations of the law:

A charter school mogul was charged today in a multimillion dollar fraud case by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Dorothy June Hairston Brown, who received accolades for students’ test scores and gained notoriety for collecting large salaries and suing parents who questioned her actions was indicted on multiple counts of wire fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Brown, a former Philadelphia school district principal, founded three small charter schools in Philadelphia: the Laboratory which has campuses in Northern Liberties, Overbrook and Wynnefield; Ad Prima in Overbrook and Planet Abacus in Tacony.

In addition, in 2005 she helped create the Agora Cyber Charter School, which provides online instruction to students from across the state in their homes.

An article in another paper says that $6.5 million was misappropriated.

Really, in light of the latest charter school scandal in Philadelphia, can the city’s leaders continue to demand the creation of even more unregulated, privately-managed schools? 

Categories Accountability, Boston Consulting Group, Philadelphia, Privatization

ALEC in Salt Lake City This Week

By dianeravitch
July 24, 2012 //
13

I just learned that ALEC is holding a meeting this week in Salt Lake City.

One block away, ALEC critics will meet to discuss privatization, school vouchers, and other ALEC activities that undermine the public sector.

If you are in SLC, consider stopping by.

Categories ALEC, Privatization

Is a Struggling School Like a Failed Restaurant?

By dianeravitch
July 24, 2012 //
20

Here is a blog that says that a school with low test scores is like a failed restaurant.

We know what happens when a restaurant fails.

It closes. It goes bankrupt. The hungry customers go somewhere else.

He is an entrepreneur who is now in the business of reforming schools.

Here is his analysis:

Struggling schools are like failed restaurants.  The kitchen staff are the educators. Maybe the chef is the chapter union leader.  The restaurant owner/manger is the school administration.  Customers are the kids.  And Eli Broad or one of the education agencies he funds is Gordon Ramsey.  He comes in with honest, straightforward observations, and tells you what’s going wrong.  Sometimes it’s the chef that’s the problem and the management is too disengaged to fix it.  Sometimes it’s the management, inhibiting the talent of a bunch of great cooks.  In most cases, the restaurant is neglected – dirty and infested.  Disgusting actually, especially if you look in the secret places, behind and underneath things, as LA Unified knows all too well.

Well, gosh, wouldn’t you be thrilled to have Eli Broad come to your school and tell you how to fix your problems? Wouldn’t you want to have a guy who made billions in the home-building and insurance industry tell you what’s wrong and what to do?

Or are you just a lousy chef working in a rat-infested building without the sense to do anything about it?

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization

Who Is Paying to Privatize Public Schools in Philly?

By dianeravitch
July 24, 2012 //
2

The William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia paid for the services of the Boston Consulting Group (the group that spawned Bain).

BCG recommended privatization of a large number of schools in the city, allegedly to save money. But as we know, charters don’t save money and on average, they don’t get better results. But they do manage to compete with public schools for limited public funding.

Now we learn that the foundation was not content to bring in the hired guns of BCG, it also put $160,000-180,000 into PR to promote the recommendations to the citizens and legislators.

These guys will do whatever they can to make sure public education does not survive in Philadelphia.

To whom is the William Penn Foundation accountable? Who elected them to rearrange the lives of the people of their city?

Categories Boston Consulting Group, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Philadelphia, Privatization

Murdoch’s Bold Move into Education Market

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2012 //
24

Make no mistake. The privatization movement is in full cry.

There are big profits to be made in the education industry.

Rupert Murdoch’s corporation just split into two divisions, with one focused on education and publishing, headed by Joel Klein.

Says the story: Mr. Klein said being a part of the spunoff publishing company (which would include the troubled British tabloid The Sun) could help ease concerns among educators.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any data about my grandchildren in Murdoch’s data base.

According to the story linked above, Rupert Murdoch tweeted: “Only way to restore American dream and have real meritocracy is fix terrible public K-12 education.”

And of course, Murdoch and Klein know how to fix it.

Trust them.

I wish someone would tell them that NAEP scores are at their highest point in history, in reading and in math, for grades four and eight, for whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians.

But they wouldn’t listen.

They have a business to run.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, For-Profit, On-Line Education, Privatization
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