Some Charter Myth Busting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having worked at a charter school for years as an administrator (back in the classroom in Virginia as a teacher because I had it with the corruption in the system), I can attest to a few things. First, charters absolutely skim off the "top" of a population because we pull from families who care enough and are knowledgeable enough and have the times and means to navigate the system. That said, we absolute got behavior cases, most of whom did eventually end up being counseled out of the school. What killed me about working in a charter was the short-cuts and lack of fairness we gave special needs children. We didn't have the resources to support an IEP, we just stonewalled and made the process as difficult as possible before the parent either took their kid elsewhere or caved and accepted subpar services. We did this because we didn't have a choice -- our management made it clear that if we went out of bounds in terms of budget, etc. we were fired. And people were fired constantly.

The other thing I found frustrating was the teachers. They mostly meant well, but they were untrained, didn't have classroom management skills, and they would get overwhelmed and quit. I was constantly trying to hire teachers because people would just walk off the job. I imagine the average tenure was about two years at the school I worked in (basically long enough for someone to either run off to law school or get certified and leave to teach in Maryland and Virginia). Also, charter performance is massively overrated. Compared to DCPS, sure, they are better than most. Compared to the poorest Title I in Montgomery or Fairfax counties? They are a million times worse.

Anyway, I ended up leaving because I couldn't stand by ethically and let the bottom line screw kids. But I get why charters exist, I've seen OSSE and DCPS nonsense first hand. I just think it's a shame that the title I school I work in now (in FCPS) is giving kids a million more resources and better tools to learn than the "massively successful" charter I worked in.

My kid's charter is far better than many MOCO schools.

[Anonymous]

MoCo public schools offer middle school test-in programs, and permit kids who are proficient in target languages to test into language immersion programs to replace drop-outs from K-8th grade.

Without being able to screen for high-performers/GT students and language proficient students, DC charters can't attract and retain a critical mass of these kids through high school. Other than BASIS, our elementary and middle school charters hold a good many kids back academically. The arrangement promotes pointless white and high SES flight from DC, with no end in sight. Congress should stop shoveling money at this idiocy. The poor kids don't benefit when high SES families bail on an epic scale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having worked at a charter school for years as an administrator (back in the classroom in Virginia as a teacher because I had it with the corruption in the system), I can attest to a few things. First, charters absolutely skim off the "top" of a population because we pull from families who care enough and are knowledgeable enough and have the times and means to navigate the system. That said, we absolute got behavior cases, most of whom did eventually end up being counseled out of the school. What killed me about working in a charter was the short-cuts and lack of fairness we gave special needs children. We didn't have the resources to support an IEP, we just stonewalled and made the process as difficult as possible before the parent either took their kid elsewhere or caved and accepted subpar services. We did this because we didn't have a choice -- our management made it clear that if we went out of bounds in terms of budget, etc. we were fired. And people were fired constantly.

The other thing I found frustrating was the teachers. They mostly meant well, but they were untrained, didn't have classroom management skills, and they would get overwhelmed and quit. I was constantly trying to hire teachers because people would just walk off the job. I imagine the average tenure was about two years at the school I worked in (basically long enough for someone to either run off to law school or get certified and leave to teach in Maryland and Virginia). Also, charter performance is massively overrated. Compared to DCPS, sure, they are better than most. Compared to the poorest Title I in Montgomery or Fairfax counties? They are a million times worse.

Anyway, I ended up leaving because I couldn't stand by ethically and let the bottom line screw kids. But I get why charters exist, I've seen OSSE and DCPS nonsense first hand. I just think it's a shame that the title I school I work in now (in FCPS) is giving kids a million more resources and better tools to learn than the "massively successful" charter I worked in.

Thank you for sharing. I taught in a charter in DC and now teach in a Title I school in DCPS. I had a very similar experience in my charter school.

As an interesting note, KIPP opened a "Learning Center" two years ago under the guise of providing services for special needs students, but it's mostly a place to send kids with behavior problems so they don't have to expel them and report those numbers.

And keep their test scores all in one place as opposed to having those kids' score drag down everybody else's scores. A friend of mine stopped providing services to KIPP because she was so ethically opposed to this move of theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want a list of high school and middle school arrests assigned to schools. When those are equalized across the system I'll start to believe some of the other stats. I still feel pretty confident the most disruptive, problematic students happen to exit PCS for DCPS and not the other way around.

Agreed. DCPS hides suspensions and arrests purposefully to deceive parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want a list of high school and middle school arrests assigned to schools. When those are equalized across the system I'll start to believe some of the other stats. I still feel pretty confident the most disruptive, problematic students happen to exit PCS for DCPS and not the other way around.

What? Unless my advanced, zero-behavioral issue kid goes to a school with arrests, disruptions, and problematic students, you won't be happy?

This makes no sense. It's like DC people want their housing values to go down (attached to school options). If you want DC housing values to go up and school ratings to go up in DC, there has to be great (zero arrest, zero bullying, zero disruptions, zero problematic student) options in every single ward -- it can't just be for the so-called rich white people who can afford the deal/wilson boundary.

Sorry but public schools cannot guarantee "zero problematic students."

Especially DCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having worked at a charter school for years as an administrator (back in the classroom in Virginia as a teacher because I had it with the corruption in the system), I can attest to a few things. First, charters absolutely skim off the "top" of a population because we pull from families who care enough and are knowledgeable enough and have the times and means to navigate the system. That said, we absolute got behavior cases, most of whom did eventually end up being counseled out of the school. What killed me about working in a charter was the short-cuts and lack of fairness we gave special needs children. We didn't have the resources to support an IEP, we just stonewalled and made the process as difficult as possible before the parent either took their kid elsewhere or caved and accepted subpar services. We did this because we didn't have a choice -- our management made it clear that if we went out of bounds in terms of budget, etc. we were fired. And people were fired constantly.

The other thing I found frustrating was the teachers. They mostly meant well, but they were untrained, didn't have classroom management skills, and they would get overwhelmed and quit. I was constantly trying to hire teachers because people would just walk off the job. I imagine the average tenure was about two years at the school I worked in (basically long enough for someone to either run off to law school or get certified and leave to teach in Maryland and Virginia). Also, charter performance is massively overrated. Compared to DCPS, sure, they are better than most. Compared to the poorest Title I in Montgomery or Fairfax counties? They are a million times worse.

Anyway, I ended up leaving because I couldn't stand by ethically and let the bottom line screw kids. But I get why charters exist, I've seen OSSE and DCPS nonsense first hand. I just think it's a shame that the title I school I work in now (in FCPS) is giving kids a million more resources and better tools to learn than the "massively successful" charter I worked in.

Thank you for sharing. I taught in a charter in DC and now teach in a Title I school in DCPS. I had a very similar experience in my charter school.

As an interesting note, KIPP opened a "Learning Center" two years ago under the guise of providing services for special needs students, but it's mostly a place to send kids with behavior problems so they don't have to expel them and report those numbers.

And keep their test scores all in one place as opposed to having those kids' score drag down everybody else's scores. A friend of mine stopped providing services to KIPP because she was so ethically opposed to this move of theirs.

I find it interesting that people are so grossly misinformed about KIPP's learning center. It's not a school, it's a location of services for students who have full-time IEPs. Their scores count for their school of origin. And IEP decisions are made collaboratively with families and the school - it's not a place that kids are sent, but a highly specialized program with low ratios and the services that low-incidence high-needs students need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having worked at a charter school for years as an administrator (back in the classroom in Virginia as a teacher because I had it with the corruption in the system), I can attest to a few things. First, charters absolutely skim off the "top" of a population because we pull from families who care enough and are knowledgeable enough and have the times and means to navigate the system. That said, we absolute got behavior cases, most of whom did eventually end up being counseled out of the school. What killed me about working in a charter was the short-cuts and lack of fairness we gave special needs children. We didn't have the resources to support an IEP, we just stonewalled and made the process as difficult as possible before the parent either took their kid elsewhere or caved and accepted subpar services. We did this because we didn't have a choice -- our management made it clear that if we went out of bounds in terms of budget, etc. we were fired. And people were fired constantly.

The other thing I found frustrating was the teachers. They mostly meant well, but they were untrained, didn't have classroom management skills, and they would get overwhelmed and quit. I was constantly trying to hire teachers because people would just walk off the job. I imagine the average tenure was about two years at the school I worked in (basically long enough for someone to either run off to law school or get certified and leave to teach in Maryland and Virginia). Also, charter performance is massively overrated. Compared to DCPS, sure, they are better than most. Compared to the poorest Title I in Montgomery or Fairfax counties? They are a million times worse.

Anyway, I ended up leaving because I couldn't stand by ethically and let the bottom line screw kids. But I get why charters exist, I've seen OSSE and DCPS nonsense first hand. I just think it's a shame that the title I school I work in now (in FCPS) is giving kids a million more resources and better tools to learn than the "massively successful" charter I worked in.

Thank you for sharing. I taught in a charter in DC and now teach in a Title I school in DCPS. I had a very similar experience in my charter school.

As an interesting note, KIPP opened a "Learning Center" two years ago under the guise of providing services for special needs students, but it's mostly a place to send kids with behavior problems so they don't have to expel them and report those numbers.

And keep their test scores all in one place as opposed to having those kids' score drag down everybody else's scores. A friend of mine stopped providing services to KIPP because she was so ethically opposed to this move of theirs.

I find it interesting that people are so grossly misinformed about KIPP's learning center. It's not a school, it's a location of services for students who have full-time IEPs. Their scores count for their school of origin. And IEP decisions are made collaboratively with families and the school - it's not a place that kids are sent, but a highly specialized program with low ratios and the services that low-incidence high-needs students need.

I love DCUM! Never let facts get in the way of a narrative that reinforces your preconceived notions. And by all means repeat it and just sit back and wait for other people in your echo chamber to reinforce your world views. You know what I would love to see just once? One of these people chime back in to say, ''Hey, I guess my understanding was wrong. Sorry abut propagating misinformation."

P.S. "...stopped providing services to KIPP because she was so ethically opposed to this move of theirs." Do you have nothing better to do than make things up? Or maybe you really do have a friend who used to work for KIPP and stopped, but clearly your friend wasn't being honest about why that relationship ended. And maybe this is an object lesson in repeating what one person told you as fact?