Did you know that New Orleans was once the most integrated city in the U.S.? Now it is one of the most racially and economically segregated cities and a school reform target. After all, how can you not help struggling students whose homes were ravaged by floods? The Broad and Walton foundations are pouring in money. They also are funding elections to make the reforms stick. Is this the future of American education?
Category Archives: Charter School Management
False Promises Bring Big Profits?
The numbers are ringing alarm bells. I discovered something about charter failure rates and the number of years they were open. The Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch has compiled a state by state list of charter school failures. Florida has the second largest number of failures (308) next to Arizona.
The cost of failure is high. CMD reports that the federal government has spent 3.3 billion dollars on charter school development. The funding is sent to the states to distribute. Federal auditors estimate that $200 million has been lost due to fraud and waste in the past decade. In 2011-12, Michigan had 25 charters that were awarded $3.7 million and never opened. Florida’s case is more dramatic.
In Florida, charters may receive up to $350 thousand before they open. In 2011, the Florida’s legislature created a new fund with an additional $30 million to expand charters. The Department of Education used the money to create a partnership with a venture capital group headed by a former KIPP school executive. There is a lot of money in starting charter schools.
What did the tally of the number of years charters were opened before they closed reveal? First, a third of the closed charters appear to have never opened! I knew this happened, but I did not realize how big the problem was. An additional thirty four schools closed after one year. Only one-third of these schools remained open for three or more years. We do not know how much start up money these schools received. The Florida Department of Education did not keep track. In a recent post, we reported that in a four year period, over $67 million in federal start up costs in Florida could not be accounted for. Strange business practice for a state that touts its strong accountability process.
A recent State Board of Education rule now allows districts to do background checks on groups who propose new charters. It is easy to assume the independent operators are more likely to be inexperienced managers with inadequate financial resources. They do account for many school failures. The SBE rule, however, may not go far enough. Two of the largest charter management firms, Academica and Imagine, had many schools that failed to open. Given that these firms have substantial resources, one wonders why these schools closed before they opened. Did these companies also receive large start up funds? We do not know. Will some agency in charge of charter accountability take notice? Who is in charge?
Charter Corruption and Chaos
AlterNet published another story on the origins of school choice in Florida. The story begins with Jeb Bush’s term as governor. What may have been intended to dramatically improve schools only turned out to be dramatic in the number of reports of corruption and chaos. The article ties together the power brokers and the growth of for-profit charter schools.
It is a money and politics tale. You can read it here: How Jeb Bush’s Florida Plan School ‘Choice’ Created Industry Corruption and Chaos. You will find reports about the League of Women Vote’s study including data from Sue Legg and Pat Hall (LWV Hillsborough).
School Choice Climate of Corruption
Jeff Bryant has done it again. In today’s AlterNet, he writes about How Jeb Bush’s Florida Plan for School Choice Created an Industry of Corruption and Chaos. Bryant quotes Rosemarie Jensen, from United OptOut and Nan Rich, former State Senator whose views on charters have changed as they watched the consequences of school choice in Florida. As early as two years after Governor Bush launched school choice, it became clear that money, not improving education was the driving force in Florida.
Much of the profits in charter schools derive from real estate dealings. Charter management companies have their own companies. They build or purchase facilities and lease them to charter school boards, often at exorbitant rates. Bryant summarizes reports of corruption and abuse that has ensued. The case in Broward County quotes League studies of rapid expansion at the cost of traditional public education.
This is a comprehensive article that underscores the problems associated with inadequate planning and oversight of charters. The Senate Education Committee is planning hearings. They need to hear from you.
Newark’s Lessons Learned on Charter School Reform
The State of New Jersey took over Newark’s public schools in 1995. Fifteen years later, Newark schools were still struggling. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, donated $100 million to the district in 2010. The Education Commissioner, Chris Cerf, had formerly served as deputy chancellor of New York’s schools. Prior to that he was president of Edison Schools Inc., a private for-profit management company that failed. He hired Cami Anderson, former head of Teach for America and New York’s District 79 at risk schools. What happened next is alarming. It could lead to something constructive.
Perspectives on Reform: Another Time to Step Back and Reconsider
You may have noticed a shift in focus on the blog recently. Every once in awhile this happens. I will tell you why. Call it critical thinking and problem solving? Continue reading
Who Pays When Charters Fail: Another Case
This is beyond belief. Broward School District, according to the Sun Sentinel, must pay the State for funds that two charter schools cannot verify. Evidently, their enrollment may have been inflated to get more State money.
Is the Jeb Bush Florida Education Miracle Hogwash?
Follow the trail of AlterNet’s story of Jeb Bush’s charter school hoax in Florida. In the middle of Jeff Bryant’s piece you will find his interview with me about charter management issues. The story begins with Jeb Bush’s conversations back in the 90’s that started the charter school movement. If you do not know this story, you will find it illuminating.
A Twin Study in Broward
by Margery Marcus, LWV of Broward
Margery’s compares two schools located across the street from one another, Pinewood traditional elementary and North Broward Academy charter school. Pinewood used to earn a ‘B’ school grade. The schools could be fraternal twins, but now one earned a ‘D’ and the other an ‘A’. I was intrigued. So, I went back through the data for the last three years to see if there were changes in the schools over time. There were.
- For two of the years, Pinewood had twenty percent fewer students proficient on the kindergarten readiness test than North Broward (74%-92%). In 2012-13, there was a 40% difference. Clearly, North Broward has attracted better prepared students.
- Broward’s district achievement levels are nearly identical from one year to the next. However, Pinewood’s FCAT proficiency levels go down somewhat over time, especially in third grade, and North Broward’s go up.
- Pinewood’s staff is stable; they had 16% new teachers compared to 43% new teachers at North Broward. They were not likely to become less effective in three years. Yet, school grades kept declining.
- Pinewood lost 100 of its 716 students in three years. North Broward gained fifty students (683) over the same period.
- The mix of students also changed. Pinewood gradually increased its percentage of economically disadvantaged students to 80% in 2014 compared to 75% at North Broward.
Margery states that CSUSA is doing something right. What do you think it may be? Numbers do not always tell the whole story.
Waste, Fraud and Abuse or Something Better?
The 2014 report on Charter School Vulnerabilities to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse by the Annenberg Foundation was triggered by the U.S. Inspector General’s warning about mismanagement in charter schools.
I compared the report’s recommendations to Florida’s laws. We have laws. We are short on enforcement. What can we do to clean up the mess? It is a mess. Florida has over 600 charter schools, and its closure rate is nearing 50 percent. I made some recommendations.