Charter school operators have San Jose in the crosshairs

[KamaAina]

and they're being aided and abetted by a faith-based community group!

http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_18227745

The public questioning of officials who run schools in East San Jose was organized by People Acting in Community Together, a church-based advocacy group that 10 years ago successfully pressed Alum Rock to close a failing school and make way for charters and small autonomous schools. Tuesday, parents also put officials from the Santa Clara County Board of Education, San Jose Unified and East Side Union High School District on the spot.

They asked just how low a school's performance would have to sink before officials would close and reopen it "using a proven model." On state tests, seven of East Side's 11 high schools perform significantly worse than high schools with similar demographics.

The "proven model" appears to be Rocketship, Silicon Valley's homegrown version of Charters, Inc.:

http://www.rsed.org

but Rocketship only has five schools, and they're K-5. So where would East Side Union High School District turn?

Leaders of charter schools, including Rocketship, KIPP, ACE and Summit, pledged to partner with districts to improve education.

So all those Rocketship Rocketeers will morph into button-down KIPP junior suits when they reach sixth grade. :(

Of note is that San Jose is a crazy quilt of school districts, stemming from the city's raid expansion in the '50s and '60s: smaller districts such as Berryessa avoided being folded into San Jose Unified in order to save thewir cushy administrative jobs. The Alum Rock district itself straddles the line between east San Jose and a surrounding unincorprated area much like East L.A. Perhaps PACT should be focusing its energies on getting rid of the Alum Rock district through consolidation, rather than throwing their lot in with the privatizers.

[saras]

1. If they'll claim that charters are 'proven', they'll tell ANY lie