The state took over Houston ISD after one of its schools continuously failed to meet academic standards. But an analysis of records shows it’s been more generous with underperforming charter schools, waiving expansion requirements at least 17 times.
Charter schools are just one of the newest ways conservatives have come up with to control education so only those they believe deserve it get good ones while simultaneously allowing for more religious education in the classroom and a way to reimpose segregation in schooling
It also lets businesses profit off of kids’ education money while starving public schools of funding. Here in NY, charter schools take money from the public school fund. However, they are allowed to pick and choose which students they want and there is little to no oversight. So they reject any students with special needs (IEPs, 504 plans, etc) and take only students that they can teach for as little money as possible. Anything extra is profit for the business.
Public schools are left with a greater percentage of special needs students to help, but with less money to do it. Then, the charter schools point to the public schools as failing and push for more charter schools. More charter schools open and the public schools are left with less money. Repeat again and again as public funds are diverted to private businesses.
To be fair, not all charter schools are conservative.
There’s a group of charter schools in my area that cater to the extreme fringe of the left and are just as crazy:
There are lines on all floors of the schools, and students must stay on those lines when travelling from class to class at all times. If a student is spotted not walking on the line, they can receive disciplinary action. (I once made a student cry because I saw him walking in the halls to the bathroom while not on the line and he thought I was a staffer who was going to turn him in and give him detention, which is how I found out this even exists)
The school is staffed almost entirely by members of the LGBTQ community. While this in and of itself is not a bad thing, they do not try to hide the fact that they believe that being so heavily staffed by LGBTQ members means that they’re “woke” (in the stereotypical sense of the word) and therefore better than you. These people are the reason why the “woke” stereotype as envisioned by the GOP exists, to ridiculous extremes. They make no attempt to hide the fact they believe heterosexuals are “beneath” them, and they act accordingly.
You know the Trump cult of personality? Picture that, but take out Trump and substitute it with Obama. Ceiling-to-floor murals of the Obama family are everywhere.
They are constantly butting heads with district officials, in that because they cater so heavily to minority populations, the rules simply don’t apply to them and they should be allowed to do whatever they want.
Any student with any kind of special needs is not accepted at all, and they will find a reason to get rid of any student who is falling behind and dragging down their averages or develops a need for any kind of services that they are unwilling to provide.
Yes, their teachings, on paper, almost entirely align with the teachings of the left. But their overall methodology – March in extreme lockstep, no dissention is tolerated, those who disagree are beneath you and therefore “the enemy”, worship the “leaders” – is just as dangerous to our children as the cult on the right.
The bigger issue I’m worried about, as someone else said below, is that these schools can all just cherry pick the best students out of the district to attend their schools (and therefore get all the funding that goes along with them), leaving the school with a higher percentage of underperforming and special needs students, but with even less resources, harming the ability of all of our public school students to get a quality education.
(EDIT: Some people seem to believe that my mention of the LGBTQ issue is some kind of attack on the LGBTQ community. It is not. I am merely saying that the staff has a very high percentage of LGTBQ members and the general demeanor and attitude of the school is that because they are, they are therefore above the community, rather than a part of it, to the point where they end up being an example of the exact “woke” stereotype they don’t want to be labelled as. )
I’ve had to deal with this school on a number of occasions. This article is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the day-to-day realities of the school.
They don’t allow pictures generally, but this article does show the lines on the ground in the first picture, and you can see the students standing accordingly. Several reports (look up achievement first criticism) validate that students can receive extreme discipline for even minor infractions including not being on that line. And they do show one of the signs that says “Team is more important than individual”. Similar “motivational slogans” can be found throughout the school.
There are some things you have to experience for yourself. It’s not like they post on their website “Our extreme diversity has led us to a level of enlightenment that puts us above and beyond most normal human beings” or something. It’s just one of those places where you walk in and spend about 15 minutes talking to them, and then you’ll get it.
As someone on the left, the school presented by that article sounds like a laundry list of anti patterns that make schools ineffective education. Teachers should be leaders and partners in education, not arbitrary authorities punishing deviation from strict expectations. Kids should learn to respect people helping them to set and achieve their goals, not to fear authorities. Really, they should learn to question arbitrary exercises of authority.
They should learn how to think critically, solve problems, and work with their peers to do more than they could alone. Not just to test well.
Having a diverse set of teachers is neat, but doesn’t make up for the other claims.
Charter schools are just one of the newest ways conservatives have come up with to control education so only those they believe deserve it get good ones while simultaneously allowing for more religious education in the classroom and a way to reimpose segregation in schooling
It also lets businesses profit off of kids’ education money while starving public schools of funding. Here in NY, charter schools take money from the public school fund. However, they are allowed to pick and choose which students they want and there is little to no oversight. So they reject any students with special needs (IEPs, 504 plans, etc) and take only students that they can teach for as little money as possible. Anything extra is profit for the business.
Public schools are left with a greater percentage of special needs students to help, but with less money to do it. Then, the charter schools point to the public schools as failing and push for more charter schools. More charter schools open and the public schools are left with less money. Repeat again and again as public funds are diverted to private businesses.
Don’t forget another way to funnel tax money to their friends!
To be fair, not all charter schools are conservative.
There’s a group of charter schools in my area that cater to the extreme fringe of the left and are just as crazy:
Yes, their teachings, on paper, almost entirely align with the teachings of the left. But their overall methodology – March in extreme lockstep, no dissention is tolerated, those who disagree are beneath you and therefore “the enemy”, worship the “leaders” – is just as dangerous to our children as the cult on the right.
The bigger issue I’m worried about, as someone else said below, is that these schools can all just cherry pick the best students out of the district to attend their schools (and therefore get all the funding that goes along with them), leaving the school with a higher percentage of underperforming and special needs students, but with even less resources, harming the ability of all of our public school students to get a quality education.
(EDIT: Some people seem to believe that my mention of the LGBTQ issue is some kind of attack on the LGBTQ community. It is not. I am merely saying that the staff has a very high percentage of LGTBQ members and the general demeanor and attitude of the school is that because they are, they are therefore above the community, rather than a part of it, to the point where they end up being an example of the exact “woke” stereotype they don’t want to be labelled as. )
Im going to need some evidence that this place actually exists.
https://dianeravitch.net/2019/10/29/rhode-island-a-frightening-tour-of-an-achievement-first-charter-school/
I’ve had to deal with this school on a number of occasions. This article is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the day-to-day realities of the school.
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/education/2016/12/04/tough-love-and-high-marks-at-providence-charter/24416140007/
They don’t allow pictures generally, but this article does show the lines on the ground in the first picture, and you can see the students standing accordingly. Several reports (look up achievement first criticism) validate that students can receive extreme discipline for even minor infractions including not being on that line. And they do show one of the signs that says “Team is more important than individual”. Similar “motivational slogans” can be found throughout the school.
Neither of your articles prove what you said about LGBTQ people, but no matter what this school shouldn’t exist.
There are some things you have to experience for yourself. It’s not like they post on their website “Our extreme diversity has led us to a level of enlightenment that puts us above and beyond most normal human beings” or something. It’s just one of those places where you walk in and spend about 15 minutes talking to them, and then you’ll get it.
As someone on the left, the school presented by that article sounds like a laundry list of anti patterns that make schools ineffective education. Teachers should be leaders and partners in education, not arbitrary authorities punishing deviation from strict expectations. Kids should learn to respect people helping them to set and achieve their goals, not to fear authorities. Really, they should learn to question arbitrary exercises of authority.
They should learn how to think critically, solve problems, and work with their peers to do more than they could alone. Not just to test well.
Having a diverse set of teachers is neat, but doesn’t make up for the other claims.
Yes the extreme far left, well known for their love of Obama
Charter schools, by definition, are conservative. Regardless of what they actually teach.