Archives for category: Virtual Charter Schools
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Sara Stevenson: Why Do Texas Politicians Hate Public Schools?

By dianeravitch
March 6, 2015 //
10

A few days ago, I posted about a proposal by powerful Republicans to “reform” public education with a grab-bag of failed policies that punish public schools and demoralize teachers while creating a flow of public dollars to the private sector.

 

In this article, the brilliant and persistent Sara Stevenson explains the details of the proposal. Stevenson, a member of the blog’s honor roll, is a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in Austin. She has had more letters published in the Wall Street Journal than anyone I know. She believes in setting the record straight, and she believes in public education. That’s why this destructive proposal made her blood boil.

 

The bill could well have been written in ALEC’s corporate offices. It has everything on the corporate free-market wish list.

 

Stevenson writes:

 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry
Taylor, R-Friendswood, delivered the terrible news last week: The
Senate education plan contains no financial help for school districts,
600 of which are already suing the state for inadequate and
inequitable funding. It offers no testing relief for students in
grades 3 through 8 who must sit for up to four hours at a stretch
taking multiple standardized tests.

 

Furthermore, their proposals are
merely warmed up, stale leftovers written by the American Legislative
Exchange Council, a corporation-funded group that emphasizes free
markets and limited government. Here’s a sample serving:

 

Giving letter grades (A-F) to individual public schools.

A “parent trigger” law, which allows the majority of parents at
individual failing schools to petition for new management.

Removing limits on full-time virtual schools and online courses.

Tying teacher performance to compensation.

Creating a “college and career readiness” course for Texas middle
school students.

Creation of a statewide district to manage failing schools.

 

The most dispiriting part of this education plan is that it proposes
absolutely nothing that will help educators with the serious charge of
preparing our young citizens for their adult lives. Our schools are
terribly underfunded. After the Texas Legislature cut $5.4 billion in
education dollars in 2011, Texas ranked 49th among the fifty states in
per pupil spending. Today we are spending less money per student than
we did ten years ago. How can the Legislature’s continued starving of
school districts help us with the very real challenges we face?

 

Less state funding for schools translates into larger class sizes,
fewer teaching assistants and painful cuts to electives, arts, PE,
libraries and clinics. Texas educators are willing to work hard in
daunting circumstances, but the more our legislators insult us with
unoriginal, ineffective schemes as they deprive us of necessary
resources, the more those of us with choices will flee our beloved
profession. The best teachers will refuse to work in an environment in
which they cannot be successful. I give this lazy, irresponsible
education plan a big, fat zero.”

 

Never mind that not one of these proposals is new or that not one of them has been successful anywhere.

 

Ideologues don’t care about evidence. The goal is to dismantle public education, a fundamental, essential institution of our democracy. In doing so, they override local control and funnel taxpayers’ dollars to entrepreneurs and religious institutions. There is not a shred of evidence that any of their proposals will improve education.

 

These men are not conservatives. Conservatives conserve. Conservatives don’t blow up community institutions. These men are radicals and anarchists, destroying heedlessly, mindlessly, zealously, without regard for the damage they do to the lives of children, families, educators, and communities.

Categories ALEC, Charter Schools, For-Profit, Funding, Parent trigger, Privatization, Standardized Testing, Teacher Evaluations, Texas, Virtual Charter Schools, Vouchers

North Carolina: Legislators Throw Away Taxpayer $$

By dianeravitch
March 5, 2015 //
17

There is no aspect of “reform” that has failed more decisively than virtual charter schools. They provide instruction online and receive full state tuition. Their students dropped out at high rates–usually 50% annually–they spend millions on marketing and advertising to lure new students, who her low test scores and abysmal graduation rates.

North Carolina’s legislature just invited two online charters to open. They will siphon funds from public schools. North Carolina has, in a short time, gone from being one of the most progressive southern states to one with underfunded public schools and poorly paid teachers. The legislature seems to want to introduce every failed idea into education. They even killed off the state’s successful teaching fellows program, which prepared career teachers, and replaced it with $6 million for TFA.

Categories North Carolina, Virtual Charter Schools

New Yorker Reviews Jeb’s Record on Education: A Must-Read

By dianeravitch
January 23, 2015 //
21

The Néw Yorker has a long article about Jeb Bush’s passionate interest in reforming public education by high-stakes testing, report cards, and privatization. Since his own children attend private schools, they are not affected by his grand redesign of public education.

To boil down his approach, regular public schools get loaded down with mandates and regulations. Charter schools are free of mandates and regulations, and many are run for profit. As public schools are squeezed by the competition with charters, they get larger classes and fewer programs. Meanwhile, Bush’s friends and allies get very rich.

It is a thorough story about Jeb Bush’s mission to turn public education into an industry.. One conclusion: If he were elected President, it would be the end of public education as we have known it for more than 150 years.

Categories Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Florida, For-Profit, Virtual Charter Schools, Vouchers

The Astonishing Cost of Ohio’s Lowest Performing School

By dianeravitch
January 11, 2015 //
16

Ohio’s most expensive failing school is ECOT, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow. It has theoqesthfaduation rate of any school in the state, yet is never held accountable. It is financed by taking funds away from much more successful schools and districts.

“The Columbus Dispatch wrote recently of the academic failures of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) where the graduation rate of 38% is among the worst of any school in the state. Among Ohio’s 613 traditional public school districts , the lowest graduation rate is 60.9%. In addition, ECOT received all Fs and one D on the state’s most recent report card.

“Despite its abysmal performance record, ECOT continues to expand. More than 14,500 children are currently enrolled, making ECOT the equivalent of the 10th largest school district in the state. The Dispatch story noted that ECOT founder William Lager has donated more than $1 million to Ohio politicians in the last five years as his school has grown exponentially.

“Information at KnowYourCharter.com helps clarify the burden that local public schools must bear to cover the costs of students who chose to attend ECOT. Kids in all 88 Ohio counties are impacted. More than 95% of school districts – 586 of 613 districts – have students and money being transferred to ECOT. As one of the state’s 9 statewide e-schools and one of the country’s largest for-profit K-12 schools, ECOT’s poor performance is exacerbated by its extraordinary financial impact on children throughout the state.”

Categories Funding, Ohio, Virtual Charter Schools

If Jeb Bush Runs for President, Remember This

By dianeravitch
December 20, 2014 //
40

If Jeb Bush should run for President, this article bears re-reading.

Bush spoke at a rightwing policy conference in Michigan, where he “trashed” public schools.

“MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — Jeb Bush praised charter schools and slammed traditional public schools and teachers unions in a speech here Wednesday, saying that public education “dumbs down standards to make adults look better,” a phrase often used by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

“We must expand [school] choice,” said Bush, delivering a keynote speech at the annual Mackinac Policy Conference in northern Michigan. “Our governance model includes over 13,000 government-run monopolies run by unions.”

“Since he left office, the former Florida governor has become an evangelist for a certain strand of education reform; through his $19 million Foundation for Excellence in Education, he advocates for online education, grading schools based on test scores and forcing students to repeat grades if they don’t pass standardized exams.”

Bush is also an ardent fan of vouchers.

In his speech, he praised Michigan’s charter sector. Not everyone agrees with his enthusiasm. The Detroit Free Press ran a series of articles in July 2014 concluding that the state of Michigan spends $1 billion every year on charters with no accountability.

Here are the newspaper’s findings:

“What the Free Press found:

A yearlong Free Press investigation of Michigan’s charter schools found wasteful spending, conflicts of interest, poor performing schools and a failure to close the worst of the worst. Among the findings:

Charter schools spend $1billion per year in state taxpayer money, often with little transparency.

Some charter schools are innovative and have excellent academic outcomes — but those that don’t are allowed to stay open year after year.

A majority of the worst-ranked charter schools in Michigan have been open 10 years or more.

Charter schools as a whole fare no better than traditional schools in educating students in poverty.

Michigan has substantially more for-profit companies running schools than any other state.

Some charter school board members were forced out after demanding financial details from management companies.

State law does not prevent insider dealing and self-enrichment by those who operate schools.”

Categories Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Common Core, Education Industry, Privatization, Testing, Virtual Charter Schools, Vouchers

North Carolina May Allow Virtual Charters to Open

By dianeravitch
December 18, 2014 //
15

Previously, the North Carolina state board of education rejected online virtual schools, which are eager to open up the “market” in that state. Now that the board is business-friendly, it appears that it may allow both K12, Inc. (launched by the Milken brothers and listed on the New York Stock Exchange) and Connections Education (owned by Pearson) to open. The issue will be decided at the next board meeting. 

 

These corporations receive full tuition, while giving students a “free” computer and instructional materials. Their parents are their coaches. It is a profitable business since the “school” has no facilities, no custodians, no playgrounds, etc. Online teachers monitor large numbers of screens and are low-paid. Essentially, the state is paying for home schooling. Online virtual charters typically have high attrition rates, low test scores, and low graduation rates.

Categories Education Industry, For-Profit, North Carolina, Virtual Charter Schools

Jeb Bush Stands Firm for Common Core and Choice

By dianeravitch
November 21, 2014 //
31

Politico reports that Jeb Bush won’t back down on Common Core, choice–vouchers, charters, online charters–and the rest of corporate reform that offers huge opportunities for entrepreneurs. It was his conference, and he offered a line-up of star speakers, including Condoleeza Rice, a newly minted education expert who promotes charters and vouchers, and Amanda Ripley.

Rice apparently doesn’t know that vouchers have produced no academic gains in Milwaukee, Cleveland, or D.C.

“- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio concluded the conference on Thursday night with a wide-ranging discussion about education reform. Rice said the public school system is in and of itself unequal, and defenders of the “status quo are on the defensive.” Critics of school choice like to say that it’s taking money away from public schools, she said. “Well, what can they do? They can get better,” she said to applause. Wealthier families are already sending their children to private school and disadvantaged families are trapped in failing schools, she said. “We need to give parents that wouldn’t otherwise have the means to send their children to a school system that works for them,” Rice said.

– The national summit continues today with a lineup of guests including OECD Director for Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher, New Mexico state education chief Hanna Skandera, Louisiana Recovery School District Superintendent Patrick Dobard and author Amanda Ripley. The agenda: http://bit.ly/1zDYtjJ Watch live: http://bit.ly/1F4X74r”

Will Bush’s full-throated support of Common Core hurt him in Republican primaries? Will choice mean anything if every school has the same standards and the same tests?

Categories Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Common Core, Virtual Charter Schools, Vouchers

Wendy Lecker: This is Your Child’s Brain on Education “Reform”

By dianeravitch
November 20, 2014 //
30

This is a terrific article by civil rights attorney Wendy Lecker about the madness of our nation’s obsession with standardized testing.

 

She writes:

 

Last year, President Barack Obama committed hundreds of millions of dollars to brain research, stressing the importance of discovering how people think, learn and remember. Given the priority President Obama places on the brain in scientific research, it is sadly ironic that his education policies ignore what science says is good for children’s brains.

It is well known that play is vital in the early grades. Through play, kindergarteners develop their executive function and deepen their understanding of language. These are the cornerstones of successful reading and learning later on.

At-risk children often arrive at school having heard fewer words than more advantaged children. This deficit puts at-risk children behind others in learning to read. Scientists at Northwestern have recently shown that music training in the early years helps the brain improve speech processing in at-risk children.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have demonstrated that physical activity, coupled with downtime, improves children’s cognitive functions.

Scientists have also shown that diversity makes people more innovative. Being exposed to different disciplines broadens a student’s perspective. More importantly, working with a people from different backgrounds increases creativity and critical thinking.

These proven paths to healthy brain development are blocked by Obama’s education policies, the most pernicious of which is the overemphasis on standardized tests.

Despite paying lip service to the perils of over-testing, our leaders have imposed educational policies ensuring that standardized tests dominate schooling. Though standardized tests are invalid to measure teacher performance, the Obama administration insists that students’ standardized test scores be part of teacher evaluation systems. Both under NCLB and the NCLB waivers, schools are rated by standardized test scores. Often, a high school diploma depends at least in part on these tests. When so much rides on a standardized test scores, tests will drive what is taught and learned.

Just last month, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan declared that yearly standardized testing is essential to monitor children’s progress. Setting aside the fact the new Common Core tests have not been proven to show what children learn, data shows that a child who passes a standardized test one year is overwhelmingly likely to pass the next year. Therefore, yearly standardized testing is unnecessary.

 

She adds:

 

The result? More than 10 years of high-stakes test-based education policy under NCLB and the waivers has narrowed curricula. Schools de-emphasize any subject other than language arts and math. In kindergarten, play has all but been eliminated in favor of direct instruction, and social studies, art, music, science, physical education and other subjects are disappearing. School districts at all grade levels are forced to reduce or eliminate these subjects to pay for implementation of the Common Core and its testing regime. Lansing Michigan last year eliminated art, music and physical education from elementary schools and the state of Ohio is considering the same. Recess has disappeared from many schools. The Obama administration promotes policies that increase school segregation yet have questionable educational value, like school choice. Consequently, school segregation continues to rise.

 

If we don’t end our obsession with picking the right bubble, marking the right box, we will ruin the education of a generation of children.

 

 

Categories Charter Schools, Childhood, Pre-K, K, Race to the Top, Research, Standardized Testing, Virtual Charter Schools, Vouchers

HECHINGER: What Went Wrong at K12 Inc.?

By dianeravitch
November 17, 2014 //
22

John Hechinger, one of the narion’s top investigative reporters, here presents a balanced but nonetheless devastating overview of K12 Inc., the for-profit virtual charter chain listed on the Néw York Stock Exchange.

K12 is the biggest purveyor of online homeschooling, paid for with public funds drawn away from traditional public schools.

This approach may be effective for some students –students training to be athletes or performers, students with illnesses–but K12 reaches out to recruit as many as it can.

“Plagued by subpar test scores, the largest operator of online public schools in the U.S. has lost management contracts or been threatened with school shutdowns in five states this year. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ruled in April that students can no longer count credits from 24 K12 high schools toward athletic scholarships.
While the company says its investments in academic quality are starting to pay off, once-soaring enrollment at the more than 60 public schools it manages has dropped almost 5 percent. Targeted by short sellers, who benefit from a company’s decline, K12 shares have tumbled by two-thirds since reaching a near-record high in Septeber 2013…..”

“Of the full-time online schools assigned ratings by their states, only one-third were considered academically acceptable in 2012-2013, the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado reported this year. The percentage of K12 students achieving proficiency on state math and reading tests is generally below state averages, according to the company’s 2014 academic report.

“Ohio Virtual Academy, which accounts for 10 percent of K12’s annual revenue, received failing grades on a state report card last year for student test-score progress and graduation rates. Only 37 percent of its ninth graders receive diplomas within four years.”

Several online charters have cancelled their contracts with K12. Tennessee may soon cancel its Tennessee Virtual Academy.

“In Tennessee, education commissioner Kevin Huffman is moving to close a K12-managed school unless it can improve results by the end of this school year. Tennessee Virtual Academy has test results “in the bottom of the bottom tier” and is an “abject failure” in improving student outcomes, Huffman said in a telephone interview.”

Categories K12 Inc., Virtual Charter Schools

Florida and Maine: If You Live There, Get Involved

By dianeravitch
November 3, 2014 //
4

Politico.com, in its useful summary of happening events, posts the following two items:

 

FSU REVOLTS AGAINST THRASHER: Florida State University students are calling for a national day of action as the university’s Board of Governors is set to finalize the appointment of state Sen. John Thrasher as FSU’s next president. Students have railed against Thrasher for months, questioning how a politician with no higher education experience can run the school. They’ve also questioned [http://bit.ly/1rmitpk ] Thrasher’s ties to the billionaire libertarian Koch brothers, who have previously given him campaign cash. Today, students are rallying against the “corporatization of education” by taking to social media with hashtags like #UnKoch and #FSUisNotforSale. They’re asking supporters to change their profile pictures on Facebook in solidarity. And they want to see pictures of students holding signs that read “We support FSU students in their fight against corruption” posted online. The students are also denouncing what they call the corrupt influence of Republican Gov. Rick Scott and the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. Twenty schools are supporting the effort, the protesters tell Morning Education, in addition to five organizations including the American Federation of Teachers. More information: http://on.fb.me/ZEGKvA

 

HOW EDUCATION IS PLAYING IN THE PINE TREE STATE: The Maine gubernatorial race is a competitive three-way battle between incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage, Democratic candidate Rep. Mike Michaud and Independent Eliot Cutler. Michaud wants to give students enrolled in public colleges a free sophomore year as a way to reduce dropouts. He also wants to ditch A-F grades for schools, which he has called “demeaning,” and he has said he worries about the financial impact that charter schools have on traditional public schools [http://bit.ly/1tQYBvu ]. LePage, however, is a big fan of charter schools and has led a major expansion effort in the state. In 2011, he signed legislation [http://bit.ly/1qlEpNp] that made Maine the 41st state to allow the creation of publicly funded charter schools. That legislation allows a state commission to approve up to 10 charter schools over 10 years, but LePage wants to expand beyond that limit. LePage has also been a strong support of virtual charter schools, which Michaud opposes. Cutler has said [http://bit.ly/1lSoXpB ] he supports capping the number of charter schools, including virtual charters, at 10.

 

 

FLORIDA: State Senator John Thrasher has no qualifications to be president of Florida State University. As the item says, he has close ties to the powerful Koch brothers. The Koch brothers have generously funded programs in higher education to spread their message of free-market libertarianism. Apparently one of the brothers bought control of the Economics Department at Florida State University, so why not the Presidency? A staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times wrote in 2011:

 

 

A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.

A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University’s economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting “political economy and free enterprise.”

Traditionally, university donors have little official input into choosing the person who fills a chair they’ve funded. The power of university faculty and officials to choose professors without outside interference is considered a hallmark of academic freedom.

Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it’s not happy with the faculty’s choice or if the hires don’t meet “objectives” set by Koch during annual evaluations.

 

It is good news that the students at FSU are standing up for their university and for academic integrity. Will the Koch brothers care? Probably not. Will the Board of Governors? We will see.

 

MAINE: Governor LePage is a Tea Party radical who wants to tear down public education in the state by opening charter schools to splinter communities and even a virtual charter school, which will extract cash from local school districts and transfer it to shareholders in a for-profit corporation. Two years ago, the Portland (Maine) Press Herald published a blockbuster story about the profit motive behind the governor’s push for a virtual charter school. The writer, Colin Woodard, won a prize for investigative journalism for reporting on the links between Maine education officials and Jeb Bush’s “Foundation for Educational Excellence,” while following the money trail behind Maine’s sudden interest in having a virtual charter. LePage won last time when he received a plurality of votes, as two candidates split the majority. Maine does not have a run-off. Once again, he is facing two good candidates, and neither will drop out. If I lived in Maine (one of my best friends does), I would vote for Congressman Mike Michaud, who is well-qualified and likelier to defeat LePage. He was president of the Maine Senate before his election to Congress.

Categories Bush, Jeb, Charter Schools, Florida, Virtual Charter Schools
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