Rent for Eva's 3 charters to cost city $5.4 million a year-- without a whimper from UFT or de Blasio

If rent for three of Eva’s charter schools will cost $5.4 M per year, can you imagine the hundreds of millions of dollars in future costs to the city and state as every existing co-located, new or expanded charter can demand free facilities and/or rent?... Leonie Haimson

REPORT: IBO’s analysis of the Mayor’s Executive Budget for 2015 includes our latest economic forecast and tax revenue projections for the city as well as estimates of spending under the Mayor’s plan. We incorporate the revised financial plan, issued just yesterday afternoon by the de Blasio Administration, in presenting our estimates of budget gaps and surpluses. The report also includes our most current projections for local job growth: http://bit.ly/1kaP0v4. 

Excerpt: State funding for charter schools in New York City, which flows through the education department’s budget, is increasing by $77 million. Some of the additional city-generated funding is being used to expand arts education ($23million) and to pay the rental costs for three charter schools as required under new state legislation ($5.4 million). The new state charter school funding is a supplement to the city’s current share of spending for charter schools, which IBO estimates is $1.1 billion this year.

 

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Eva Moskowitz/Success Academy Once Again Prove It's About Real Estate, not Children

Today's reports at Chalkbeat point to the phony show Eva put on yesterday about gaining space for her 3 poor little denied charters. Even the usually fawning press looked through the cracks to see that there were actually negotiations going on while Eva openly lied to say they were not.

What the press is not getting is that what Eva is really complaining about is that she is not getting the 3 hand-picked public school buildings she really wanted:

• The beautiful building in Harlem housing the Mickey Mantle school for special ed kids - PS 149.
• The very large August Martin campus in Queens.
• And the  Murry Bergtraum massive building in lower Manhattan.

I've been saying since day 1 of the Moskowitz political operation - this is about real estate -- the long-range plan is to totally take over public school buildings in targeted locations where the buildings themselves have value -- imagine the day when Eva occupies the entire building after getting the public schools kids tossed -- like she wants the autistic kids out at Mickey Mantle. Her hedge fund pals offer to "buy" the building for a song -- "hey, the DOE won't have to pay to maintain it -- we'll help you out by taking it off your hands - then shortly after - whammo -- air rights and condos. Imagine what Murry Bergtraum in lower Manhattan is worth?

She will not satisfied with the substitute buildings de Blasio is offering and will look to any excuse to raise a ruckus to try to get back into the buildings she wants.

Here are the links from Chalkbeat.

Inn fighting

Success CEO Eva Moskowitz ratcheted up pressure on the de Blasio administration to find new space for three of her schools.

• Chalkbeat,
• Capital New York,
• Daily News,
• New York Post

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Norm in The Wave: Countering the Propaganda About Eva Moskowitz Success Charters

Published Friday, March 28, 2014

Countering the Propaganda About Eva Moskowitz Success Charters

By Norm Scott

If you happened to read Peter Stubben’s ridiculously misinformed pro-charter article in last week’s Wave, you might ask Stubben why he wants to throw autistic children into the street. Because that is exactly what would result if Eva Moskowitz, who makes almost half a million dollars a year to run 22 schools and is supported by $4 million dollars in advertising, gets her way. That money could have been spent to buy the Success Charter operation an entire building. But this is about politics, not education.

Poor Peter must be living in an alternate reality given that De Blasio allowed Eva to get almost everything she was handed by Bloomberg except for 3 spots ­– 2 high schools which would need millions of dollars in renovations to keep the young children apart from the high school kids – and an expansion in a Harlem school that would toss out autistic kids.

You would have thought pro-charter Joe Lhota had won the election instead of losing by an enormous margin. How inept was de Blasio that he took such a public relations beating because he couldn’t effectively defend the autistic kids against the onslaught of TV commercials about the “poor” 194 Success “scholars” who were shoving special ed kids into the street? Stubben is a perfect example on how to get duped by the lies. Unfortunately, Chancellor Farina caved and said she would work to find the 194 Success kids seats. Eva doesn’t want seats in another building. She wants the building. This is also about real estate, not education.

We hear the lies about all those high achieving children being tossed. Remember that 2 out of the 3 schools de Blasio denied don’t even exist yet. But they would have been part of the Moskowitz political plan to set up outposts in certain neighborhoods in large high school buildings. She will take more and more space and ultimately toss out the public schools. It is an outrage that De Blasio actually gave her all the other schools she wanted. The school community at Seth Low middle school in Bensonhurst is outraged and have held 2 rallies demanding de Blasio rescind this decision.

Do we think it OK that Moskowitz got away with closing her schools and bussing all the kids, teachers and parents to Albany for a phony rally when she gets public tax money to run her schools – and skims a 15% commission off the top?  What a blatant misuse of children for political ends. How much outrage would there be if the Mayor closed all the schools to hold a rally to defend his decisions?

Distortions about Success achievement
Oh those supposed high scores. Experienced teachers know this game very well. Push out the potential low scorers as early as possible and leave a big bunch back early on so they will be a year older for each testing grade.

Some truths as a DOE insider reported on Success tactics as reported on the Diane Ravitch blog: “Not only do classes contain disproportionately few students with disabilities and English language learners (ELLs), but their numbers almost invariably decrease with each passing year. The ranks of students with disabilities consistently dwindle. In the first two years of available data, there were hardly any ELLs. In 2010 Success suddenly came up with a nearly representative portion of these students, but their numbers more than halved by the next year.  83 students entered kindergarten in 2006-07, the school’s first year of operation. When that class reached 4th grade in 2010-11, it had only 53 students — a drop of 36 percent. Harlem Success also took in a 1st grade class with 73 students in 2006. When that group reached 5th grade, it too had shrunk appreciably — by 36 percent. The attrition accelerated as the classes advanced. The 2006-07 1st grade class, for example, did not shrink at all as it entered 2nd grade, but
saw one sharp falloff between 2nd and 3rd and another between 4th and 5th.” If they ‘lost’ many students, these scores are tainted. Only one Success school has been around since 2007. That school started with 83 kindergarteners and 73 first graders. Those cohorts just tested in 6th and 7th grade, respectively. The school has ‘lost’ a big chunk of those original 156 kids. Of those 73 first graders in 2007, only 35 took the seventh grade test. Of the 83 kindergarteners, only 47 took the sixth grade test last spring. Overall, they have ‘lost’ 47% of the original two cohorts. The bulk of the attrition at
Harlem Success Academy 1 seems to have come in the tested grades. Success Academy’s approach of holding many students back a grade level which creates a 3rd grade bulge as those students don’t move on to 4th grade. Attrition rates approach or exceed 50% by the end of middle school.”

Video: 12 Days to Being Tossed Out By Eva Moskowitz Success Charter, an interview with former Success Charter parent exposes shady tactics. Karen Sprowal tells the story of her kindergarten son's 12 days at Success Academy Charter School and how her son was pushed out of the charter school and eventually embraced by a neighborhood public school, PS 75. https://vimeo.com/88615316

Follow the Evil Eva story on Norm’s blog: ednotesonline.org

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Video: 12 Days to Being Tossed Out By Eva Moskowitz Success Charter

Interview with former Success Charter parent exposes shady tactics.

Great work by GEM's Darren Marelli.

An interview with New York City Parent Karen Sprowal.  Ms. Sprowal tells the story of her kindergarten son's 12 days at Success Academy Charter School. Ms. Sprowal describes how her son was pushed out of the charter school and eventually embraced by a neighborhood public school, PS 75.


https://vimeo.com/88615316



Interview with former Success Academy Charter School parent from Grassroots Education Movement.

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The Wave - The Lies Eva Moskowitz Tells: More Destructive Than Global Warming

In my speech at the PEP the other night I didn't have time to make a better case against the Success Charter scam. I wanted to quote from a Ravitch post (Fact-Checking Eva’s Claims on National Television) exposing the lies. The Moskowitz machine has rolled de Blasio, with 3.5 million bucks spent on commercials, enough to buy space for Eva's so-called scholars. At least I have The Wave to try to inform the few locals who read my School Scope stuff on what Eva is all about: politics, real estate, making money - anything but education. My prediction: she will use the parents and children in the mini-school system she has built to challenge de Blasio in the 2017 election. And given the constant assault deB will face over 4 years and the increasing ineffectiveness of the UFT don't be shocked if she wins. Hey, I have an idea on how to stop her. The UFT should just endorse her.

Published in The Wave, Friday, March 21, 2014


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The Truth About Eva Moskowitz Charters: More Destructive Than Global Warming

By Norm Scott

I went to a funeral out on Long Island last week and two people asked me why Mayor de Blasio is so against charters, especially Success Academy run by Eva Moskowitz who makes half a million dollars to run 22 schools. De Blasio allowed her to get almost everything she was handed by Bloomberg except for 3 spots ­– 2 high schools where to accommodate Eva there would have to be millions of dollars in renovations to keep the young children apart from the high school kids – and an expansion in a Harlem school that would toss out autistic kids. But why should we worry about autistic kids getting screwed? They won’t score as high as Eva’s so-called “scholars”?

You would have thought pro-charter Joe Lhota had won the election instead of losing by an enormous margin. How inept was de Blasio that he took such a public relations beating because he couldn’t effectively defend the autistic kids against the onslaught of TV commercials about the “poor” 194 Success “scholars” who were shoving special ed kids into the street? Chancellor Carmen Farina caved and said she would work to find the 194 Success kids seats. Eva doesn’t want seats in another building, she wants the building. This is about real estate, not education. Imagine if those millions spent on the ad blitz actually went to buying a building.

We hear the lies about all those high achieving children being tossed. Remember that 2 out of the 3 schools de Blasio denied don’t even exist yet. But they would have been part of the Moskowitz political plan to set up outposts in certain neighborhoods in large high school buildings that over the years she will take more and more space and ultimately toss out the public schools. De Blasio actually did give her all the other schools she wanted. (People at one of them, Seth Low in Bensonhurst, are outraged.) Don’t be surprised to see her run against the mayor in the next election.

Then she got away with closing all her schools and bussing all the kids, teachers and parents to Albany for a phony rally. How much outrage would there be if the Mayor closed all the schools to hold a rally to defend his decisions?

And oh those supposed high scores. Experienced teachers know this game very well. Push out the potential low scorers as early as possible and leave a big bunch back early on so they will be a year older for each testing grade.

One DOE insider reported on Success tactics as reported on the Diane Ravitch blog:

“Not only do classes contain disproportionately few students with disabilities and English language learners (ELLs), but their numbers almost invariably decrease with each passing year. The ranks of students with disabilities consistently dwindle. In the first two years of available data, there were hardly any ELLs. In 2010 Success suddenly came up with a nearly representative portion of these students, but their numbers more than halved by the next year.  83 students entered kindergarten in 2006-07, the school’s first year of operation. When that class reached 4th grade in 2010-11, it had only 53 students — a drop of 36 percent. Harlem Success also took in a 1st grade class with 73 students in 2006. When that group reached 5th grade, it too had shrunk appreciably — by 36 percent. The attrition accelerated as the classes advanced. The 2006-07 1st grade class, for example, did not shrink at all as it entered 2nd grade, but saw one sharp falloff between 2nd and 3rd and another between 4th and 5th.” If they ‘lost’ many students, these scores are tainted. Only one Success school has been around since 2007. That school started with 83 kindergarteners and 73 first graders. Those cohorts just tested in 6th and 7th grade, respectively. The school has ‘lost’ a big chunk of those original 156 kids. Of those 73 first graders in 2007, only 35 took the seventh grade test. Of the 83 kindergarteners, only 47 took the sixth grade test last spring. Overall, they have ‘lost’ 47% of the original two cohorts. If this is one of the costs of having such high test scores, I’m not sure if it is worth it. The bulk of the attrition at Harlem Success Academy 1 seems to have come in the tested grades. Success Academy’s approach of holding many students back a grade level which creates a 3rd grade bulge as those students don’t move on to 4th grade. Attrition rates approach or exceed 50% by the end of middle school.”

Follow the Evil Eva story on Norm’s blog: ednotesonline.org

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PEP Tuesday Night/CEC Members/Parents Urge Tish James to Press Co-Loco Law Suit

I am going to be there and film. Rumor is that Eva is bringing the Success people out to enforce the idea that their 194 kids are more important than autistic kids they want to throw out at PS 149 and the Mickey Mantle special ed school -- and backed by millions of dollars for commercials - which could have been used to get the 194 kids a building of their own.

This was just sent by Leonie Haimson:

Dear CEC members and parents:

The signed letter in support of the Council Speaker and Public Advocate continuing the lawsuit vs. 35 co-locations previously approved by the PEP is below.  Meanwhile, there is a PEP meeting tomorrow night in Brooklyn – and we hope you can attend.  PA Tish James will be there, as will be members of the media.  Info here:

Panel for Educational Policy Meeting

–

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 6 PM (come early if you want to speak)

Prospect Heights Campus

883 Classon Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225

2,3 to Eastern Parkway or 4,5 to Franklin Avenue.

If one or more of you would be able to read aloud our letter, that would be appreciated. CEC members are allowed to speak first.  Please email me if you are willing.

Hope to see you there, and please forward to others especially those parents at the affected schools  thanks Leonie

AN OPEN LETTER TO

PUBLIC ADVOCATE TISH JAMES

AND CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO

WE NEED YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

_______________________________________

Dear Public Advocate James and Council Speaker Mark-Viverito:

Let us begin by thanking you for your longstanding support of all public school students and all public school parents.  You have been outspoken supporters of parents and teachers having key input into shaping the schools our children attend.  You have been outspoken supporters of reducing class size, alleviating school overcrowding, and working to implement our children’s right to a sound basic education.  Unfortunately, despite the change in administration, we continue to need your assistance in achieving these goals.

Under the administration of Mayor Bloomberg, the Department of Education pursued a reckless program of closing schools and starting new small schools and charters, and inserting them into existing  buildings were schools were already located, oblivious to their impact on students and the existing schools and programs.

The DOE under Bloomberg ignored the nearly unanimous complaints of parents and the objections of administrators and teachers, and approved hundreds of co-locations that caused more overcrowding, the loss of critical classroom space, as well as art, music and science rooms, caused children with disabilities and learning issues to be pushed out of the rooms required for their mandated services.  The creation of hundreds of new schools also caused a sharp increase in administrative spending and bureaucracy, concurrent with a sharp decline in the number of classroom and a sharp increase in class size.

In the last months of the Bloomberg administration, the DOE pushed through 45 co-locations, ignoring the input of communities and the harmful impact of these proposals on students and school communities. 

We were thrilled when you, along with others, sued to void this massive round of co-locations, and waited patiently, as you did, with the hope that Mayor de Blasio would reverse most if not all of these plans. 

He has not done that, and instead chose to go ahead with most of these proposals, many of which will have devastating effects on existing schools.   We oppose 35 of these proposals, 16 of which will push the building at or above 100% utilization, according to the DOE’s own figures. 

If the Blue Book formula was accurate and pegged to reasonable class sizes, as well as allow sufficient space for special education services, art rooms, music and science, and adequate access to lunchrooms, libraries, and gyms, every one of these co-locations would be seen as pushing the existing schools into unacceptably overcrowded conditions.

This is why 35 of these co-locations must be reversed.

1. In every case, they will either result in an increase in class size, or make it impossible to reduce class size in the future, despite the fact that class sizes in many grades are now the largest in 15 years and the mayor has pledged to reduce them significantly by the end of his term. Moreover, the state’s highest court has concluded that the class sizes of NYC students must be lowered for them to receive their constitutional right to an adequate education.

2. They will hinder the ability of schools to address the needs of students requiring special education services by providing adequate space, as well as the ability of schools to address the learning needs of English language learners. 

3. They will also restrict the amount of space available to expand preK, an important program and one of this administration’s top priorities.

4. Because the DOE has in recent years redefined a full-size classroom as only 500 square feet, down from 750 square feet, and the building code requires 35 sq. ft per Kindergarten student and 20 sq. ft. per student in other grades, many of the classrooms in these schools will trigger violations in the building code, risking children’s safety.

5. In all cases, the addition of new schools requires the creation of new, unnecessary bureaucracy with excessive numbers of administrative positions when resources could be better used on instruction.

6. None of these damaging impacts on safety, learning conditions and/or spending are reflected in the Educational Impact Statements.

7. In cases involving co-location of charter schools, the allowance of rent-free space results in their receiving more funds per capita than non-charter schools, creating inequities within school buildings, with two classes of students, one with smaller classes, more resources and programs, and the other with larger classes, and fewer resources and programs.

8. In all cases, the DOE has ignored the input of parents, community members, and Community Education Councils, who have opposed these co-locations for the reasons cited above and more.

To be sure, these proposals were approved only because the public hearing process was a sham, the public input process was a sham, and because the Panel for Educational Policy rubberstamped them without serious review.  In all cases, the voices of parents were not heard, and this was unlawful.

We urge you to proceed with your lawsuit and to see that the process going forward adheres to the law.  We pledge to join you in that effort.

Sincerely,

Leonie Haimson, Executive Director, Class Size Matters

John Englert, Co-Chair, Citywide Council on Special Education

Shino Tanikawa, President, Community Education Council District 2*; member of DOE “Blue Book” Taskforce

Bryan D'Ottavi, President, Community Education Council District 8

David Goldsmith. President, Community Education Council District 13*

Tesa Wilson, President, Community Education Council District 14; member of DOE “Blue Book” Taskforce

Felicia P. Alexander, President, Community Education Council District 16

Heather Ann Fiorica, President, Community Education Council District 21

Deborah Perkins, President, Community Education Council District 22

Alicia Hyndman, President Community Education Council, District 29

Sam Pirozzolo, President, Community Education Council District 31

Naila Caicedo-Rosario, President of Community Education Council District 15  

Adam Wilson, Vice President, Community Education Council District 15

Eduardo Hernandez, Ph.D., Treasurer, Community Education Council District 8

Barbara Denham, Treasurer, Community Education Council District 3

Tamara Rowe, Member, Community Education Council District 2*

Olivia Rychter, Treasurer, Community Education Council District 1

Ben Greene, CPAC Representative, District 13; 1^st VP, Community Education Council District 13

Olaiya Deen, Member, Community Education Council District 3

Eduardo Hernandez, Ph.D.Treasurer, Community Education Council District 8

Gloria Smith, President of District 75 President Council and 1^st Vice President, Citywide Council of D75

Linda Dalton, Member, Community Education Council District 21

Randi Garay, Member, Community Education Council District 21

Joyce Finger, Member, Community Education Council District 21

Ericka Williams, Member, Community Education Council District 29

Tricia Joyce Chair, Youth and Education Committee; Community Board 1*
Michelle Kupper, Community Education Council District 15

Josh Karan, former President, Community Education Council District 6

Evelyn Feliciano, Parent Leader District 10; Member, Bronx Community Board 5

Monse Santana, Title I chair, PTA Tompkins Square MS*, and District Leadership Team, District 1

Christine Kroening, PTA President, I.S. 78 Roy H. Mann School

Vishnu Mahadeo, PTA President, Richmond Hill High School

Irene Abraham, I.S. 78/P312 Parent

Carlos M. Lopez Garcia, SLT Chair, Safety Chair & UFT Chapter Leader, PS 30X

John Lawhead, ATR Teacher, District 21

Harlan Mathieu, Former Teacher, PS222Q; District 30 Parent PS78Q, IS227Q

Julie Fraad, Former Assistant Principal, Secondary School for Law, District 15

David Rosenberg, Public School Parent, PS3 PAC

Deborah Alexander, Member, Community Education Council 30

Alexandra Zisimos Lopez, PTA President, Seth Low Middle School

Jim McKay, Parent, BNS/District 15

Angelica Salgado, Parent and SLT Member, PS143 District 24

Kent Atkinson, PS 106,123K D32; Retired TSI

Juanita Laboy, District 15

Dinine Signorello, Parent, LMC/PS 3/District 2

Beth Bernett, Former Public School Parent

Maureen Pricci, Retired Teacher, PS184, District 1

David Dobosz, Parent, Retired Teacher and Education Activist, District 14

Tanya Pollard, Parent, P.S. 107, District 15

Kari Steeves, Public School Parent, District 6

Annette Brown, Public School Parent, I.S. 59 Springfield Gardens, District 29

Tina Schiller, Public School Parent, District 2 

(* for identification purposes only; list in formation)

 

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Dora Taylor: What is a Charter School

Dora reminds us of her 2010 piece on charters at the Seattle Education blog.

What is a Charter School?

The basic difference between a traditional public school and a privately run charter school is that with a charter school there is complete control of the school by a private enterprise within a public school district. Although taxpayer-funded, charters operate without the same degree of public and district oversight of a standard public school. Most charter schools do not hire union teachers which means that they can demand the teacher work longer hours including weekends at the school site and pay less than union wages. Charter schools take the school district’s allotment of money provided for each student within the public schools system and use it to develop their programs. In many systems, they receive that allotment without having to pay for other costs such as transportation for students to and from the school. Some states, such as Minnesota, actually allocate more than what is granted to public school students.

The money that is allocated for each student by the school district, stays with the charter school whether the student remains in that school for the entire school year or returns to a public school.

A charter school can expel any student that it doesn’t believe fits within its standards or meets its level of expectation in terms of test scores. Because it is a charter school, parents and students do not benefit from the regulations and oversight that would protect them in a public school.

The reason for the emphasis on test scores is because when a state agrees to provide a charter, there are requirements for that charter school to meet or exceed a certain level of performance in terms of test scores. Therefore, charter schools establish unspoken policies in terms of the admission of ELL or IEP students as well as students who the charter school doesn’t believe will meet the state standard.

Also, according to a recent study by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), charter schools do not necessarily perform any better than public schools. In fact, 37 percent performed worse. Forty-six percent demonstrated “no significant difference” from public schools. Only 17 percent of charter schools performed better than public schools.

Charter School Myths
To follow are charter school myths that reverberate throughout the media and among the proponents of charter schools but have no basis in fact.

Myth #1: Charter schools have this incredible and truly unbelievable success rate at graduating students on time.
It’s easy when a school can cherry pick their students or counsel them out for a school to have a high success rate in graduating their students. The reality is that there are few English Language Learners (ELL’s) in charter schools and most charter schools will not accept or will counsel out IEP students (Individualized Education Program) who have special requirements. Students in this category include children with learning disabilities, ADHD, emotional or cognitive disorders, autism, speech or language impairment or developmental delay. These are students that public schools not only accept but provide individualized programs for under the law and with as much of a budget that a school or district can muster.
Charter schools don’t want these students because states mandate that for a charter school to keep their charter, the school is required to show a certain level of performance and this is reflected in test scores. It a student is going to test poorly, the charter school does not want that student. It is also expensive to provide additional support for IEP and ELL students and most charter schools are looking at their bottom line in terms of profitability.

This leads me to the second myth about charter schools:
Myth #2: Charter Schools do not take funding away from public schools.
They do.
What has happened in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia is that as students leave the public schools, the money has followed the student to the charter school.
The way that public schools manage to maintain a budget for special instruction of ELL and IEP students is to pool the financial resources that come with each student. Every district has a certain amount of money per student that is to be used for their education. It varies from district to district depending upon the district’s budget. The majority of students in a typical school population require less in terms of actual costs than their IEP and ELL counterparts so the money is distributed to where the funding is needed.
When students who require less in terms of actual costs leave the school population and a greater percentage of students who remain require more funding, overall there is less money to go around for the students who require additional support.
Also, if a student attends a charter school in the fall and is then “counseled out”, the money stays with the charter school for that school year. This is another racket that some charter schools are involved in, expelling students after getting the cash from the district for that student.
When I met with Arne Duncan two years ago, a teacher from Chicago asked Arne what he was going to do with all of the special ed students who had been left behind in the public schools. She said that the school and the teachers were overwhelmed with the growing percentage of IEP and ELL students who needed additional time and resources that the school no longer had. Arne gave his goofy smile that is supposed to be disarming and said nothing that addressed her concerns.

Myth #3: Charter schools are public schools
So far we’ve seen that charter schools use public funds to stay afloat and even to make a profit but that’s where the term “public” begins and ends.
The intention of public schools was to ensure that all children received an education that would be the foundation for a productive future. The funding for education would be provided using tax payer dollars and schools would be run in a democratic and transparent manner.
None of the above applies to charter schools.
Typically there is no oversight of charter schools by publicly elected school boards and little to no protection of students from charter school violations. Typically charter schools have well-paid CEO’s who run the schools and a selected board to oversee how the school is run. Most charter schools do not support parent or teacher involvement.
There is also the fact that charter schools have created highly segregated school populations. See UCLA Report Says Charters Are Causing Resegregation Of American Schools and an interview with UCLA’s Civil Rights Project co-director Gary Orfield:

Myth #4: Non-profit charter schools are OK, for-profit charter schools are not.
Just because an organization is a “non-profit”, doesn’t mean that a profit cannot be had. Look at Teach for America, Inc for instance. TFA, Inc. is an organization that started out as a good idea but is now pushing its way into one school district after another demanding yearly fees for their uncredentialed and poorly trained recruits to populate minority public schools. Kopp is making a fortune off of what was once an admirable idea between receiving millions from her donors and $50M grants from the government on top of the average $5,000 per recruit per year fees that she garnishes from school districts. The atrocity is that these recruits go broke having to pay for their expenses.
There is nothing inherently altruistic about a non-profit. Many times it’s simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing. An example would be Michelle Rhee, another proponent of the privatization of our schools. She’s raking in millions between her donors and speaking engagements and exactly where is that money going?
Another fact to keep in mind is that most charter schools are managed by CMO’s, Charter Management Organizations such as White Hat Management, or EMO’s, Education Management Organizations, which add another layer of cost to school districts.
Which brings me to another myth that is related to charter schools, you don’t need to be credentialed, experienced or educated in education to be a good teacher.
This myth is related to charter schools in two ways. First, charter schools rarely hire union teachers or teachers with much experience. This is a way to keep the cost down so the myth is perpetrated that students don’t require teachers who are experienced, credentialed or have received a degree, particularly a Master’s degree, in education.
The second reason is that it supports the action by charter schools in hiring TFA, Inc. recruits to staff their schools with cheap labor.
What’s interesting about this myth is that you hear it repeated by people who have their children in private schools where they would consider the best teachers to have all of the attributes listed above including Bill Gates.

Myth #5: Charter schools are better than public school in terms of student performance.
Not only are their several peer-reviewed studies that show otherwise, but we see in states like Florida and New York that the proliferation of charter schools has not raised test scores or closed the much touted “achievement gap”.
Studies regarding charter schools include:
The Stanford Credo Report: Charter School Performance in Pennsylvania
New Charter Study by Mathematica With More Bad News for Corporate Ed Reform
NEW STANFORD (CREDO) REPORT FINDS SERIOUS QUALITY CHALLENGE IN NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOL SECTOR
REVIEW OF THE LOUISIANA RECOVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT: LESSONS FOR THE BUCKEYE STATE
Schools Without Diversity: Education Management Organizations, Charter Schools, and the Demographic Stratification
Vanderbilt Study: Instructional Conditions in Charter Schools and Students’ Mathematics Achievement Gains

What we need is for all of those folks who are putting millions into backing the privatization of our schools to pay their fair share of taxes including Bill Gates.

Then, the population needs to realize that for our children to have a good education, we have to pay for it. Funding in education has been woefully lacking over the years and it is finally made itself painfully apparent in terms of the condition of our schools, the lack of resources that teachers have including up to date text books, a shorter school day and school year, and a loss of classes in music, drama, art, physical education as well as other classes that help spark an interest in learning.

And finally, our values need to change. The Secretary of Education Arne Duncan started his campaign for the privatization of our schools with a $5B plan that he termed Race to the Top. That money seemed like so much money to people and unfortunately schools districts and states fell for it and tried to comply with the demands of the Department of Education for what turned out to be a small pittance and did not cover all that each state was to do to receive RTTT money. What makes this so terrible in comparison is that last year we spent $5B every two weeks in Afghanistan. $5B for 50 states as a one shot deal to educate our children and $5B to Afghanistan every two weeks. As I said, our values as a nation need to change and we need to start demanding that federal funds be diverted away from spending on the corporate/military complex and the propping up of financial institutions and instead be used to educate our children. That’s where our future is.
Other articles and video’s of interest:
The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman
Access Denied: New Orleans Students and Parents Identify Barriers to Public Education
Parents say special-ed kids falling victim in charter battle for space inside city schools
Teach For America: A False Promise
Teach for America: The Hidden Curriculum of Liberal Do-Gooders
Does Teacher Preparation Matter? Evidence about Teacher Certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness
Charter law forced school’s closure
Charter discipline policy under fire
Dirty job: charter teachers janitors
See also on this blog:
The Shock Doctrine
The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman
A teacher’s perspective: Firing day at a charter school
Are charter schools public or private? Neither or both?
Charter Management Organizations (CMO’s) and Education Management Organizations (EMO)

Dora Taylor

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De Blasio Allies Counterattack on Moskowitz - the Real Civil Rights Issue of the Time

As a candidate for mayor, Bill de Blasio electrified crowds of parents and education activists with a pledge to charge rent to charter schools, one of the starkest policy departures from his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg... NY Times, March 10, 2014

Well, finally, a word or two that gets to the heart of the issue. The Mayor ran on an anti-charter platform and beat the guy who ran on a pro-charter platform. But then the article in the Times drifts into the admitted failure of deB to articulate a firm policy.

These groups don't have the money or resources but the de Blasio election with 75% of the vote over the pro-charter Lhota does mean something.

I'm betting the UFT is putting some resources into this but far behind the scenes and in fact is crippled by the fact that they have a co-located charter school and don't pay rent. So on the biggest ed issue of the day, the UFT must play in the shadows. (I will post some video of the rally the UFT did help organize at Seth Low -- but that is the great district UFT rep doing the heavy lifting.)

And notice how much more press the Moskwitz law suit is getting over the Tish James law suit to stop even the co-locos deB gave Eva. How delicious would that be?

Parents and Allies of Mayor de Blasio Debunk Charter Lobbyists’ Misinformation Campaign

*They Will Respond to Success Academy's Lawsuit over Co-locations and Defend de Blasio's Policy*

At Harlem Event, PS 149/PS 811 Parents, Rev. Michael Walrond, and Allies of Mayor de Blasio Will Rally for Reversal of Co-locations and Set the Record Straight

On the Heels of a New Video Campaign, Harlem Parents Will Discuss Why the Expansion of Success Academy in Their Schools' Building Would Have Been Harmful

WHO: Parents and Teachers from PS 149 and PS 811; Harlem Congressional Candidate Rev. Michael Walrond; Top Supporters of Mayor de Blasio.

WHAT: PS 149/PS 811 parents and their allies speak out in support of Mayor de Blasio’s decision to reverse the co-location in their school building. This event will come on the heels of a new video ad campaign these parents will launch Monday to debunk the misinformation and distortions that charter school lobbyists have been pedaling to the press.

WHERE: PS 149/PS 811, corner of 117^th St and Lenox Ave., Harlem

WHEN: Monday, March 10, 4 p.m.

WHY: PS 149 and PS 811 lost several classrooms and a lot of space when Harlem Success Academy 4 was first co-located in their building in 2008. PS 811, a District 75 school for students with special needs, would have lost five additional rooms, including its only therapy room and a state-mandated room for conflict resolution, if Success Academy had been allowed to expand. Parents will speak about how Mayor de Blasio’s new process for evaluating co-locations strikes the right balance and takes into consideration the impact on existing district public schools.

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Dan Morris

Progressive Cities
917.952.8920
www.progressivecities.us

@dmorrispress

		Stand With The Parents of P.S. 149 and P.S. 811!. Click Here to Thank Mayor De Blasio for defending the parents and students of P.S. 149 and P.S. 811! Dear Norm, The hedge-fund cronies behind Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy are spending millions on TV ads to tell people that Mayor de Blasio is hurting children by refusing to allow her corporate-backed schools from moving into any public school they please. What her ads don't tell you is the truth. Were it not for de Blasio's decision to prevent the co-locations of P.S. 149 and P.S. 811 in Harlem, the building would be at 132% capacity. It would force students at the existing schools, many of them special-needs students, to hold classes and occupational therapy in the hallway. Check out this video made by students and parents from the two schools. Fortunately these parents don't have to worry about finding another school for their children, and they're thanking Mayor de Blasio for standing up against the corporate education movement and standing with public school parents and students. We are too.  Click here to thank Mayor de Blasio for protecting the students of PS 149 and PS 811! During the last 12 years of the Bloomberg administration, thousands of public school parents and students in our communities have been under constant threat of being forced out of their local schools, or forced to compete for resources and space with co-located schools. That administration is gone; it's time to rebuild and reinvest in our public school system, and to defend students like those in PS 149 and PS 811. Join the parents of PS 149 and PS 811 in thanking Mayor de Blasio for taking a stand for special-needs students, parents, and NYC public schools. Best, Olivia Leirer Communications and Social Media Director New York Communities for Change

Bertha Lewis Condemns Success Academy Lawsuit

New York, NY— Bertha Lewis, President of The Black Institute and a nationally-recognized civil rights leader and progressive advocate, released the following statement tonight condemning the federal lawsuit filed by Success Academy against Mayor de Blasio’s recent reversal of three co-locations:

“This lawsuit is not about civil rights, it's about the privatization of public education. Mayor de Blasio has stood up to the Wall Street bullies and said they cannot seize classrooms from students with disabilities to advance their political agenda. The civil rights community stands with him,” said Lewis.

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Monday March 10, 4PM: Rally at Harlem School for Victims of Moskowitz Attempt to Push Out Special Ed Kids

Which kids are really getting hurt in the charter wars?

Rally To Support de Blasio and Public  Schools in Harlem Tomorrow
Where:  Outside PS/ MS 149
When : 4: 00- 5:00  March 10
41 W.  117th St between Lennox Ave and Fifth
Subway:  2 or 3 to 116th 

Even as Mayor Bill de Blasio’s  handling of the issue of charter school co-locations has disappointed many, it has signaled the end of the era when the likes of entrepreneur Eva Moskowitz is granted whatever entrepreneur Eva Moskowitz  wants, regardless of how many public school children are displaced, short changed and treated  as if they are second rate citizens.    

Over the past week and more, Moskowitz has received absurdly favorable press in New York City papers, even as she once again removed children from schools during school hours, this time to bus  them to Albany as if they were adult lobbyists.  After years of incredibly favorable treatment by the Bloomberg administration, de Blasio has had the political courage to stand up to Moskowitz and her billionaire backers.   

As a result, Moskowitz  and her  friends in the media are doing all they can to paint her and Success Academies  as victims and create the false appearance of overwhelming public support for Moskowitz and the  horrific and destructive policies of Mike Bloomberg.  

They have flooded the air-waves with slick, heart-tugging commercials, engaging in a multi-million dollar public relations campaign designed to do nothing less than trick the public into forgetting that de Blasio won by a margin of 75% over Joe Lhota, in large part because of de Blasio’s rejection of Bloomberg’s education policies, of which Moskowitz  is such a perfect example.   

Today we have an opportunity to once again reaffirm the public will, let Moskowitiz’s billionaires know that they do not own our schools and our city, and let de Blasio know he is not alone.
Please, if you can, come and let your voices be heard loud and clear.  Come and remind Moskowitz’s billionaire backers that we live in a democracy. Above all, come and help insure that all of our children are shown the dignity that all children deserve.
Patrick Walsh
Chapter Leader
PS/ MS 149
Harlem

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Putin Crimea Annexation Modeled on Eva Moskowitz Invasion of NYC Schools

Kremlin insiders have revealed that Vladimir Putin modeled his invasion of Crimea on the successful takeover of numerous public schools by Eva Moskowitz and her Success Charter chain. Sending shock troops into a building in advance? Check. Rolling local political forces in a media blitz? Check. "Eva Moskowitz has more power than Kim Jong-un," said a Putin spokesman.

Two who lust for Moskowitz-like power

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Brooklyn Community Education Councils Slam De Blasio Giveaway to Moskowitz and Other Charters

The Community Education council of District 20 and 21 invites all community members to join them at I.S. 96 Seth Low to Rally on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 2:30 PM.

Imagine if these communities and the principals closed all the schools in these 2 districts so people could attend the rallies.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Community Education Council District 21 calls on Chancellor Farina and Mayor de Blasio to reverse the decision to implement co-location plan for I.S. 96, Seth Low, and I.S. 281, Joseph B. Cavallaro.

            Last Thursday’s announcement regarding the continuance of charter co-locations at I.S. 96, Seth Low, and I.S. 281, Joseph B. Cavallaro, is a major setback for our community.  There was such hope that Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Farina would finally listen to the voices of parents and community members.  Many of us now feel only disappointment and frustration. In the fall of 2013, the Community Education Council District 21 passed two resolutions opposing both co-locations, we have rallied, gone to both PEP meetings and still our voices were not heard.  2014 had such potential for parents and yet again, we have been pushed to the side.  We have been given a promise that they will do things better in the future.  What about the children and their families that are already attending I.S. 96 Seth Low, and I.S. 281, Joseph B. Cavallaro, don’t they count too?  I understand that they based their decisions on families that applied for seats for September 2014 and the deadline was coming.  Our children’s educations should not be about deadlines.  We provide excellent educational opportunities for all children in this district and have seats in our traditional public schools for the children who have applied.  More time should have been taken to visit and speak to schools, families, and community members regarding the co-locations. There is no need to rush putting two more elementary schools in our district. We have and always will supply a high quality education for every child in our district’s traditional public schools.   Mayor de Blasio's plan is to provide full day, high quality Pre-K programs to
53,000 students in 2014. With two elementary Charter school co-locations opening in 2014 in our district, what middle school space can the Chancellor guarantee will be available for these students in the future?

            It’s time to come together once again as a community! Let our voices be heard loud and clear “We say NO to the co-locations decisions on I.S. 96 and I.S. 281, Joseph B. Cavallaro”. The Community Education Council District 21 calls on Chancellor Farina and Mayor de Blasio to reverse the decision to implement co-location plan for I.S.96, Seth Low and I.S. 281, Joseph B. Cavallaro.

The Community Education council of District 20 & 21 invites all community members to join them at I.S. 96 Seth Low to Rally on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 2:30 PM.

Video from PEP meetings where the PEP was slammed by CEC 21:   http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2014/03/brooklyn-rally-friday-to-oppose-de.html

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De Blasio Wasting His Charter Election Mandate - It is Time for He and Tish James to Make a Stand

Candidate de Blasio promised he’d start charging well-financed charter schools that got rent-free use of space in public schools. He did not like the idea of two different sets of kids getting different educations under the same school roof. One group gets a quasi-private school with no overhead in public school space.
Grade that F — for favoritism.
Mayor de Blasio is just doing what he promised to do during campaign... There has been a lot of barking over Mayor de Blasio's plans to tax-the-rich to fund pre-K and take a hard line on charter schools that take resources from public school students. But that's what got him elected in the first place... Daily News columnist Dennis Hamill

Finally, a piece that makes this point. Didn't he defeat pro-charter Joe Lhota with 75% of the vote? How inept politically on his part. But Michael Powell in the Times has the wrong take on the ineptness.

He decided last week to let most plans for charter expansion go forward — save for three schools run by Ms. Moskowitz. As a result, many dozens of children are without schools for next fall. Credit is due the mayor. With this decision, he succeeded at the devilishly difficult task of making a martyr of Ms. Moskowitz.

WTF, Michael. You mean deB's mistake was not giving in to everything she wanted? No, his big error is NOT going on the attack -- pointing the money she spends on advertizing, her salary which is higher than his, the chancellor and the president. Or her voracious attacks on schools she occupies. There is just so much stuff out there. But we get silence.

And the charter lobby alliance with Cuomo may well cow the other charter critics like Public Advocate Tish James, who is holding a meeting Saturday regarding this issue (Tish James Calls for March 8 Meeting: Dear CEC, PTA presidents and Elected Officials Impacted by Co-Locations)
and will "update" people on the status of the lawsuit she and City Council speaker Mark-Viverito filed but put on hold. My guess is that they are both being scared off. The James powerful speeches at the PEP meetings (here and here) seem to be turning into little squeaks. Just to remind you, let me run the first James clip from the Oct. 15 PEP.



Dennis Hamill seems to be the only media person who gets it.

So this week, it’s charter schools.
Every week, his sore-loser critics want Mayor de Blasio to break another campaign promise to those who elected him.
De Blasio, a progressive Democrat, ran on a platform of complete reform of the NYPD’s out-of-control “stop, question and frisk” policy under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Joe Lhota, his Republican opponent, promised to continue the policy and reappoint Kelly.
The city went to the polls and gave de Blasio about 75% of the vote.

And when de Blasio appointed Bill Bratton police commissioner to implement stop-and-frisk reforms, the mayor’s “shocked, shocked” critics painted him as a Socialist Sandinista who is inviting a return to the bad old days of the crack epidemic.
They wanted de Blasio to break his campaign promise.
This is ridiculous. Especially since under de Blasio/Bratton, this city has already enjoyed a 21% dip in murders during the first two months of the year.
De Blasio the candidate promised to tax the rich a paltry sum to help fund universal prekindergarten in public schools.

When Mayor de Blasio moved to keep that promise, his critics had a meltdown. They preferred a different plan suggested by Gov. Cuomo, who, in an election year, must appeal to a much broader statewide electorate.
De Blasio’s critics got headlines. But they are the minority who either voted for his opponent or did not have the civic pride to vote at all.
Now de Blasio’s sore-loser critics demand he break this campaign promise, too.
And this week, it’s charter schools. 

Candidate de Blasio promised he’d start charging well-financed charter schools that got rent-free use of space in public schools. He did not like the idea of two different sets of kids getting different educations under the same school roof. One group gets a quasi-private school with no overhead in public school space.
Grade that F — for favoritism.
De Blasio’s critics like to point out that many charter school students are minorities. So what? So are most New York City public school students.
The mayor’s critics even resort to making this a contest of how many people show up at rallies in Albany. One thousand people at a pro-de Blasio prekindergarten rally as opposed to 7,000 at an anti-de Blasio save-the-charter-school rally. Both are laughable numbers out of a public school system of 1.1 million students.

But Dennis Hamill gets this part wrong too. People showed up at the Moskowitz rally because SHE WAS ALLOWED TO CLOSE HER DAMN SCHOOLS AND FORCE PARENTS, STUDENTS AND STAFF TO ATTEND.

Not one word about that outrage in the press. What if de Blasio closed Brooklyn schools tomorrow so they could support the rally at Seth Low? Oh, would the press be screaming. 

Hamill finishes with a powerful point.

The only rally that mattered was the election last November.
De Blasio ran as a liberal Democrat on a progressive platform against Lhota. The choice was clear: Turn left or turn right.
De Blasio won in a landslide.
Some rich and powerful people don’t like the people’s choice of taxing the rich for pre-K. The police union doesn’t like the new stop-and-frisk policy. Parents of charter school students don’t like de Blasio’s new policy.

But the people have spoken.
The bottom line is: De Blasio was elected to reform stop-and-frisk, tax the rich to fund pre-K and curb the freeloading charter schools in public school buildings.
Now his sore-loser critics want him to break all those campaign promises.
Which would make de Blasio a phony and a liar to all those who elected him.

The NY Times' Michael Powell has a different slant. While absolutely correct on the inept de Blasio politically on the charter issue, Powell focuses on the Cuomo factor.

“Cat in Albany Is Outfoxing New York City’s Mouse”: “Credit is due the mayor. … [H]e succeeded at the devilishly difficult task of making a martyr of Ms. Moskowitz.” http://goo.gl/h8IY1m

Maybe the problem was with the metaphor.

Mayor Bill de Blasio took office and talked “progressive,” with ambitious plans for an income tax on the wealthy and an increase in the minimum wage. He rallied unions and activists and parents, and the sense was of a dog howling, and putting on notice the bigger dog in Albany.

Two months later, it turns out that the more apt metaphor was of cat-and-mouse.

Mr. de Blasio has taken the role of the impulsive mouse, demanding this cheese and that, and not quite knowing how to end his game. And Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has taken the role of the big cat who can treat the mouse kindly — and, with a whack, send it tumbling back into its hole.

Evidence of the mayor’s diminished state came on Tuesday, when he took his crusade for a tax to fund universal prekindergarten to an armory in Albany a few blocks north of the Capitol. The turnout was not much to boast of, and it was made up mostly of union members who were in town to lobby for various causes.

Continue reading the main story

Related Coverage below the jump

• Cuomo Burnishes His Political Brand, Using de Blasio as His FoilMARCH 6, 2014

• 

  De Blasio and Operator of Charter School Empire Do BattleMARCH 4, 2014

• 

  Cuomo Vows to Defend Charter Schools, Setting Up Another Battle With de BlasioMARCH 4, 2014

• De Blasio, a Critic of Charter Schools, May Need Them for His Pre-K AgendaJAN. 16, 2014

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