Search Results for 'charter schools'
HB 424 – Eliminating The “Special Interest” In Charter And VoTech
On July, 1,2014, Rep. Darryl Scott introduced HB 424: Primary Sponsor: Scott CoSponsors: { NONE…} Introduced on : 07/01/2014 Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Synopsis of Orginal Bill: (without Amendments) This bill eliminates the ability of charter schools to give an enrollment preference to […]
Charter School Cherry Picking Was Predicted
Mike O., The Seventh Type blog, found an interesting document in his inbox. Go over to his place and read the whole thing – the link to the entire document is at Mike O’s place. I’ll post some of the highlights from this 1995 Delaware Senate debate on SB 200 (DE Charter School Law). This document pretty much puts an end to the but, but… whocouldhaveknown debate.
Here’s part of the question and answer segment with Bill Manning (Red Clay’s School Board President at the time)
SENATOR MARSHALL: Understanding that the harshest critics of charter schools around the nation where they’ve been in place and operating, is the issue of the schools skimming off the top and creating an elitist academy with public money.
My concern is looking at the focus of the charter schools by attracting the best at times for a specific educational discipline offered by that charter school; and the concern of recruitment.I looked at children throughout New Castle County in moderate low income neighborhoods, I looked at the City, the west side, the east side, hilltop, I need to understand how your board and how you will guarantee fairness and equal access to every student from every unit.
Finance Committee Hearing on the Bonds for the MBNA Charters on Monday
We talked about this here, when this item first came onto the City Council calendar. Monday — January 6, 2014 — at 5:00 is the Finance Committee hearing that will explore this proposal in some detail. You can see the agenda for the meeting here — this is the only item on the schedule. The meeting is open to the public, and is going to be held in the 1st Floor Council Workshop room (next to the Council Chambers) in the Redding Bldg. Pass this info along to anyone you think will be interested in what happens here.
The Deliberate Destruction Of Public Schools
First, Education Reform has very little to do with improving education. It does, however, have a lot to do with union busting and corporations tapping into all that delicious tax payer education money. It also thrives on propaganda.
When discussing education today there’s one theme that remains consistent: Public education is failing our kids! Our children aren’t learning! Just look at the test scores!
Okay, let’s look at the test scores:
- The chart below shows overall reading and math scores for 9-year-olds starting in the early ’70s. Since then, reading scores have gone up 12 points and math scores have gone up 24 points. Ten points on the NAEP roughly equals one grade level, which means that today’s 9-year-olds are performing more than a full grade level better in reading and two grade levels better in math compared to the ’70s.
- Scores for blacks and Latinos are up more than scores for whites. In reading, as the chart above shows, white kids’ scores are up 14 points, while Latinos’ have risen 24 points and blacks’ 34 points. In math, scores for white kids are up 25 points, while Latinos’ have jumped 32 points and blacks’ 34 points. There’s still a significant gap between whites and other groups, but we’ve been making steady—and largely unheralded—progress for the past 40 years.
- Private schools have done well, with reading scores up 10 points and math scores up 22 points, but public schools have also improved in reading (4 points) and math (25 points). Overall, the rise in test scores is due to improvements at both private and public schools.
Interesting, no? And yet you rarely, if ever, hear about these results. Don’t get me wrong. There are problems, especially when children reach high school, and that must be addressed, but the idea that public schools aren’t educating children is nothing more than the Ed Reformers’ Marketing Strategy.
Here We Go Again… Pencader Charter School
I detest hostage situations, especially when the hostages are children. Pencader Business and Finance Charter School is in financial trouble again. Shocking, I know. Seems they’ve run out of money and are threatening to close the school on April 30th.
The News Journal has the story:
In a letter addressed to parents, students and teachers last week, president Frank McIntosh said Pencader didn’t have enough money left to pay teachers’ salaries through the end of the year, putting it at risk of bankruptcy. He said the school needs $350,000 to pay its debts and enable its students graduate.
McIntosh said transferring students back to their feeders schools so late in the year would be a mess. Traditional public schools, especially those in the Christina and Colonial school districts, would have to accommodate hundreds of students on short notice with little additional resources, he said.
State Votes To Close Pencader Charter School
Pencader has struggled for quite a while. I’ve written about the school last July here, and last August here and here. I’ve watched all this come to a head, and held off calling for outright closure once the new Pencader Board came into being, but this passage from Nichole Dobo’s article had my eyebrows raising.
The new school leadership submitted plans for moving forward that contained errors and omissions, said John Carwell, director of the charter school office in the state Education Department.
For instance, Pencader’s leaders reported that the school outperformed the state average on student achievement tests, Carwell said. In reality, the school was below the state average on math and reading assessments, he said. This mistake, and others, showed the school’s leaders were “ill-prepared, at best,” he said. Subsequent reports did not convince state leaders otherwise, he said.
Ill-prepared, at best? At best?
If it’s true that the new school leadership reported false achievement test scores, as well as other errors and omissions then they should be investigated. Isn’t this sort of thing against the law?
A Look Inside The Mind Of A Charter Advocate
Over at Kilroy’s an interesting comment from Publius e decere was posted laying out his/her vision concerning charter schools and vouchers. It is quite enlightening. Come inside to see.
Someone Needs To Address The Pencader Charter School Situation
I wrote about the problems at Pencader Charter school this past July. You can read what I wrote here. Here’s a snippet: What’s a Pencader parent to do? And that’s the main point of this post. I am calling on Pencader leadership, the DOE, politicians and the Governor to give these parents answers. Will Pencader […]
It’s Past Time For The DOE And Elected Officials To Speak Out On The Pencader Charter School Saga – And The Fate Of That School
I was planning on waiting until I had more concrete information on what is going on at Pencader Charter High School before writing a post, but information on the school’s fate is slim on the ground. So, forgive me. This post will ask more questions than provide answers. Basically, it’s going to be a bit of a mess. Try and bear with me.
ACLU Weighs In On Newark Charter School
The ACLU sends a letter to Secretary Lowery and Governor Markell. Check inside for the full letter. In the past I’ve been on the fence with Charter Schools, but my opinion is changing – mainly due to their admission policies, the way they can disinvite students, and, in the case of NCS, the way they can shape their population by not having a cafeteria, thereby eliminating a Free and Reduced Lunch program. Which leads me to ask… Are Charter Schools really public schools? Other than public funding and having to provide their own space (for now), how are Charter Schools comparable to public schools. The more I learn the more I think that Charters have more in common with Private Schools. Are Charter Schools really publicly funded private schools?
Wilmington City Council vs. Newark Charter School
Anyone else get the feeling that education in Delaware is about to explode?
Personally, I’d like to slow the entire Charter (and Choice) train down. I can’t keep up, and can’t shake the feeling that these Charters and our legislators are privy to information that the rest of read only after the deal is done. Basically, I’m not supposed to keep up or catch up. Meanwhile, things are moving forward in City government.
NAACP Issues Charter School Resolution
Here’s what caught my attention:
WHEREAS, in some cases, charter schools have become a school model that is used
to segregate students; and
Ya think? Charter Schools have also allowed School Districts to shift their responsibilities to these students to Charters. Which is why I’ve always wondered why Charter proponents wanted to serve on Public School Boards. Always struck me as being an employee of Pepsi, but promoting Coke. And you gotta love the way a Public School District Board’s plan for your public school is to give it away. It’s almost as if they’re saying, “Hey, we stink at this education thingy, so we’ll give it to someone else.”
Over At Kilroy’s: What About The (Charter) Children?
I’ve been having a back and forth with Kilroy over at his blog. It all started with this thought in his post entitled: Pennsylvania moves towards school voucher.
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