General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFlorida charter school shuts down during school day. No buses to get kids home.
Even the website was down. The students were in the middle of testing. The same charter company closed another school one day later.
But here's the kicker...there is no law to keep them from taking even more public money from public schools and opening another charter school.
Fred Grimm: Failed charter schools can always come back for more
Two weeks ago, the kids who attend Acclaim Academy in Jacksonville discovered that their charter school no longer existed.
The Florida Times-Union described how classes had come to an abrupt and unexpected end, no matter that the 250 students were in the midst of end-of-school year testing. The children came to class to discover school employees were packing up supplies. The school website was down. There were no buses to transport pupils home that afternoon.
Another ignoble experiment in Floridas barely regulated charter school education had gone kaput, leaving 250 students in the lurch. Apparently the charter operator didnt have enough money budgeted to finish out the school year. To hell with the kids.
One day later, the same operator shut down another Acclaim Academy, this one housed in a former Target store outside Orlando, leaving 181 kids on the outs with just three weeks left in the school year.
The article points out that local districts were left with the mess, though they had no say in any of it. Imagine having to watch these charter schools waste the money that is taken from district public schools.
And another shocker is who owns these schools.
Both schools were run by Corey Alston, the former city manager of South Bay in Palm Beach County, who just happened to plead guilty to grand theft last year for running up personal charges on his city-issued credit card (Alton received six years probation). His criminal record has no bearing on whether he can run a charter school operation. Not in Florida.
Taxpayer money is being given to someone with a known criminal history. It doesn't matter if he wants to run a charter school in Florida.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)I say, don't let them have any more, until they are regulated.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)nikto
(3,284 posts)By completely eliminating them, forever.
AuntPatsy
(9,904 posts)lpbk2713
(42,759 posts)I would like to say I am appalled but I have to consider this is Rick Scott's Florida.
So I can't be too surprised.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)I think there is evil in him.
KG
(28,751 posts)Exilednight
(9,359 posts)Should be banned from working in the education field. If they can't run a "better" school, then they shouldn't be allowed to run any school.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Florida has no such rules though, and I wonder if other states are more careful?
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)In Florida everybody has a story and it's never good.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)He instituted the voucher program, diverting public school funding to these fly-by-night schools.
Thespian2
(2,741 posts)RSnot and the Repukians have turned Florida into an International Joke...and they love doing it...because... they can...
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)The charters can keep dropping their bucket into the public well for another load of sweet, sweet moolah. Because contracts. Meanwhile, public employees who put in a career in public service find their pensions unfunded, slashed, and the only advice the Republicans offer is, "Well, you should have a different career. Nothing but a moocher, looking for your contractual benefits."
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)No one is taking responsibility for the harm being done. Dead silence out of DC.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)Where did they go?
So many issues that have "fallen by the wayside." We just can't get anyone who cares, anymore.
The Duggers are so much more important. But, that they are shows how we are just being run by "MSM Outrage of the Day" about these peoples serious family issues ...that led to them being some kind of CELEBRITIES on Some Cable Channel...which most in America seem to think is the Hugeist Issue on their Plate.
Look...I'm glad the Dugger Families hypocrisy has been Exposed....and it's probably Important to Moving Citizens Forward to understanding that what you see PROMOTED is often the dark underbelly of the Religious Right and it has its Place.
But why can't we focus on MORE THAN ONE ISSUE AT A TIME? And, why is EVERYTHING so CORPORATE MEDIA PROMOTED
that it confuses people these days as to WHICH & WHAT ISSUES are REALLY DRIVING all of this.
I apologize for SHOUTING.......I'm really needing a break from this these days. But, it's all too Important to not expose.
They_Live
(3,236 posts)I couldn't think up a more twisted pathetic scenario if I tried, and even if I did, no one would believe it. Preposterous. Bungling thieves have taken over. They have no talent, not even being talented thieves.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Arne Duncan or some Dem leader will speak up and say oh we only want "good" charter schools.
But no one is changing the rules...they just keep allowing the same stuff over and over.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)NBachers
(17,120 posts)If the skeeters don't get him, then the gators will.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Good one.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)usually between the 10th and the 15th of May. SMH. (Oh, and the charter school stuff I don't even flinch at anymore, it's all just a big scam).
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)I usually keep up with Fred Grimm better than that.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)Blue_Adept
(6,399 posts)Snow days were used a lot this year and has impacted a lot of regions because of it.
But we also don't start in the fall until after Labor Day.
gopiscrap
(23,761 posts)who own or run them are scum!
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)some are actually run by people from the communities they serve and offer specialized curricula like art or Hawaiian immersion.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)And public schools are being deprived of these resources given to these unregulated schools.
Sancho
(9,070 posts)It's happening all over the state.
Rick Scott is the worst governor ever. A new education commissioner every few weeks, and none of them have a clue.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Usually one party or the other will stand up against such outrages. But there is really no one speaking out this time.
Arne and Obama say they only want "good" charter schools....but there is no enforcement.
Sancho
(9,070 posts)I don't think the younger folks realize what they lost with no more tenure contracts, vouchers, charter schools.
What a mess Rick Scott and the legislature have made with the DOE!
Obama has been a disappointment on education. In the early 80's, I worked for Richard Riley (2 term Governor of SC and Clinton's Secretary of Education). He was so much better than Arne or anyone recently - and came from a crazy conservative state, but still got a lot done. He would not consider vouchers and charter schools.
In Tampa, Gates and Rhee have taken over everything, but there's a bit of a revolt with the teachers.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-25/story/after-duval-charter-school-closes-many-ask-wheres-money
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/plato-charter-school-to-open-in-pinellas-park/2225798
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pinellas-charter-schools-come-under-scrutiny/2198333
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pinellas-charter-schools-new-lottery-leaves-parents-searching-for-spots/2193044
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/as-florida-charter-schools-grow-critics-watch/2207658
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/to-open-in-hillsborough-charter-schools-need-to-clear-the-gates/2225128
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/pinellas-county-charter-schools-growing/2159351
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)What's the story with Elia...wasn't she brought in with the Gates money? I have heard one person say she was fair, others that she wasn't. But NY grabbed her up with no hesitation.
Have you got a take on that?
BTW bookmarking to read your links.Thanks.
Sancho
(9,070 posts)she came up through the ranks, and at first was well liked. Recently, the teachers got tired of the crazy evaluation system, spending money on "projects" while cutting special education, etc. She also replaced Principals with abandon. I think the Gates money turned her to the dark side. She had Michele Rhee visiting and advising a few times too.
In the last couple elections, school board members warned her about the teachers being unhappy, with no visible effects on minorities from MILLIONS of extra money. They got tired of it and voted 4-3 to fire her.
Meanwhile, she can be impressive to talk to, so NY state picked her up. Haha, Florida could use a good state commissioner!
We'll see how she does up there. I'm curious too.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Arne's speech on the New Normal..doing more with less. Big joke.
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/new-normal-doing-more-less-secretary-arne-duncans-remarks-american-enterprise-institute
My post about Elia.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026732032
Sancho
(9,070 posts)she will likely promote the charter agenda.
Arnie and Obama bought into "bash the teacher". Neither one really supports collective bargaining either.
Some CBA's with teachers say that IF you have a VAM score or low rated school, the Principal must all suffer the same fate of any teachers - and district statistics must "improve" or you can't blame the teacher. That way, it's much harder to non renew teachers arbitrarily. If a states doesn't have a union contract, the teachers are on their own.
Hillsborough teacher fought back in the CBA and in court over the new evaluation program - and it frustrated Elia.
I think Elia is an insider with Rhee, Gates, and Scott.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)This paragraph really worries me, should worry NY
She served as a transition advisor to Florida Gov. Rick Scott alongside former Washington, D.C., education Chancellor Michelle Rhee. She also designed and implemented a merit pay system for teachers.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)wake up parents!!!
What a travesty
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)How shocking...
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)and we're trying to find a good place for our little one to start kindergarten after next year.
Everything near us is D or F rated, which means we can elsewhere, but I'll have to drive her across town for a decent chance.
The charter schools here remind me of the failed banks from Georgia five-ten years ago. People find a way to exploit a system and take advantage before it all comes crashing down.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)So that might be making many schools look bad even if they are not. Also they are making EVERY student take the test now. There have been articles about it. One story about a blind boy forced to decide which picture fit best is ridiculous. Those scores count.
Here's one article:
Parent of dying boy has to prove her son cant take standardized test (update)
(Update: It is with sadness that I report that Ethan Rediske passed away on Friday, Feb 7, 2014.)
Andrea Rediskes 11-year-old son Ethan, is dying. Last year, Ethan, who was born with brain damage, has cerebral palsy and is blind, was forced to take a version of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test over the space of two weeks last year because the state of Florida required that every student take one. His mom has to prove that Ethan, now in a morphine coma, is in no condition to take another test this year.
Ethan wasnt the only brain-damaged child in Florida to be forced to take a standardized test; I have written in the past about Michael, another Florida boy who was born with only a brain stem not a brain and cant tell the difference between an apple and an orange, but was also forced to take a version of the FCAT last year. (See here, here and here.) There are many others in Florida and across the country as well.
Why does Florida and other states, as well as the U.S. Department of Education force kids with impaired cognitive ability to take standardized tests? Because, they say, nearly every child can learn something and be assessed in some fashion. Even, apparently, a boy born without a brain.
Here's another
http://neatoday.org/2014/03/05/high-stakes-testing-for-disabled-students-a-system-gone-horribly-wrong/
CrispyQ
(36,478 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Sancho
(9,070 posts)Charter school company Summit Academy Management sues teachers who quit
Joel Kovitch quit his teaching job in 2013, a month into summer vacation plenty of time, he thought, for his employer to replace him.
He said he enjoyed teaching physical education and health at three Akron-area charter schools run by Summit Academy Management. It was demanding and rewarding to work with mostly special-needs students, he said.
It was kids who fell through the cracks.
He resigned not because he was unhappy, but for a better position.
Thats when it got ugly at Summit Academy.
They flipped out, he said.
I was just trying to better my family, Kovitch said, thinking of his wife, his toddler son and the job offer in Richmond Heights, where he now makes $10,000 more and has greater job security.
He gave his two weeks notice, and a month later, an attorney for Summit Academy Management filed a lawsuit against Kovitch for breach of contract. He would be the first of 19 teachers to be sued, collectively in the past two years, for $28,900 the amount the company alleges it cost to replace them.