It's been a rocky year for charters in Los Angeles Unified, which hosts the most charter schools of any district in the nation—183 currently, with roughly another 20 slated to open in the fall. Besides financial mismanagement and the cheating scandal, a principal at another charter was sent to prison for embezzlement and another school was closed for a poor academic record. -- AP Wire
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| Deasy (L.A. Times) |
Deasy approves charters despite cheating scandal
Things may be looking up for the six Los Angeles charter schools caught in a highly organized cheating scandal. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has decided to keep the schools open. The LA Times reports:
[Deasy] was satisfied that the Crescendo charter school group had taken appropriate steps to deal with the problems on the South Los Angeles campuses.
ATLANTA:
State school board rescues 11 charter schools
Eleven charter schools whose operating agreements were voided by a state Supreme Court ruling got the final approval they needed Tuesday to serve more than 15,000 students in the fall. The schools, among 16 in limbo since the Georgia Charter Schools Commission was overturned, are slated to open in August. - AJC
Why are these failed charters being given public funds? The answer is because this is not an educational issue. It is really and political and economic issue. The ultimate goal of those who support charters through their political muscle, i.e., the Gates and Broads, is to destroy the teacher unions and pauperize most educators.
ReplyDeleteLiberalteacher,
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of people who support charter schools who are not about destroying unions or "pauperizing" educators. Many, in fact, are educators themselves. Thousands of others are parents looking for alternatives to their decrepit, violent, or poorly functioning neighborhood public school. We are not billionaires, like Gates and Broad, as you claim and most of us have very little in the way of political muscle. If we did, our communities wouldn't be suffering as they are and our schools would be properly funded. Neighborhoods with political muscle don't need charter schools. Their public schools are fine. Ours are not. You would do well to look at us as allies in the struggle for school improvement and badly-needed change.
Don't miss Martha Woodall's series on charter schools at Philly.com http://www.philly.com/philly/education/124514289.html
ReplyDeleteOr NPR's "Investigating Charter Schools Fraud In Philadelphia" http://www.npr.org/2011/06/27/137444337/what-happens-when-charter-schools-fail?sc=tw&cc=share
The number of charter schools in Chicago whose percentage of student exceeds expectations on the ISATs in 2011 is eye-catching and would deserve a close look.
ReplyDelete