22 yr old charter school owner outed by principal of his high school. More discrepancies as well.

[madfloridian]

This is crossposted in General Discussion Give a rec if you can.

Now one has to wonder about his advanced degrees.

A former principal of Rochester, School Without Walls, calls him out.

NY: 22-Year-Old Charter Founder Did Not Graduate from Rochester High School

The 22-year-old who received a charter from the New York Board of Regents said he graduated Rochester’s School Without Walls when he was 16, received an online bachelor’s degree at 18, then earned a master’s and doctorate in four years.

The following email just arrived:

Hi Diane.

I was the principal of Rochester, New York’s School Without Walls from 1987 to 2010. Ted Morris, the young man awarded permission to open a charter school in Rochester, NY, and claiming to be a graduate of School Without Walls in 2008, attended SWW for less than a year and then voluntarily left to be home schooled. He never graduated nor received a diploma from School Without Walls.

Dan Drmacich

Here is more about Ted Morris being awarded the chance to run a charter school called Greater Works Charter School.

*Note about the following article: I just found it online very late evening last night, saved the quotes from it. The article either is no longer there or is behind a paywall. Hard to tell.

Since all of these educators and bloggers saw the same article I am going to post it.

22-year-old gets OK to open Rochester charter school

Unlike most school leaders, Ted Morris' days in a high school classroom are still very fresh in his memory.

It was only six years ago that he graduated from School Without Walls at age 16. Now, at 22, he's armed with a freshly minted doctorate degree in education and permission from the state Board of Regents to open a charter high school in Rochester in 2015.

"I remember being in school and feeling I was a bit more advanced and (not having enough options)," he said. "I wanted to grow up and open a school that's predicated on each student's needs and interests. ... I did it sooner than I expected."

....After graduating from School Without Walls in 2008, Morris got a bachelor's degree at age 18 from Western Governors University, an online college based in Salt Lake City. He then received master's and doctoral degrees from Concordia University near Chicago.

Morris has an educational consulting firm and said he has worked with the Rochester Prep schools, among others. He also helped start three non-profit organizations, he said: Sparq Rochester, a youth arts outfit; Greater Works Education Network, a fledgling statewide charter advocacy group; and Victory Living Christian Faith Center.

Another blogger has picked up on this, has noticed other discrepancies, has contacted him for more info.

Since Los Angeles now retired superintendent John Deasy also had problems in his educational background, one he never responded to, ones others appeared not to notice....then I think my usual saying is true.

I say accountability is only for public school teachers and advocates.

I just added a link to the other post....Curmudgucation blog is on this now.

[bigbrother05]

1. Wouldn't it be nice if all charter school "founders" were as well vetted

Not defending this kid's background or intentions, but credentials and accountability for all school officials/teachers are important.

You don't have to have PhD level education to be a good teacher, most of us can point to non-professionals that molded our lives, but some standards are needed.

Am quite sure many will point to this guy as a scammer while ignoring the huge corporate scheme that has drained our educational system in the name of parental choice for charter schools.

[madfloridian]

2. Oh trust me, ed bloggers do lots of research on them.

It's just that those in authority really don't want to hear it

[lenrely]

3. Re:

Thank you for posting this.