#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
The charter school industry can’t acknowledge its documented failures
News broke recently about what may be the single biggest charter school scam ever in which an online charter school organization is alleged to have bilked the state of California for $80 million by enrolling tens of thousands of students into their programs, often without the students’ knowledge, and charging the state for nonexistent education services and bogus expenses related to operating the schools.
School District wants answers from Lincoln Memorial charter school
In six notices over two weeks, the school district questioned the finances, transparency and leadership at Lincoln Memorial Academy.
When Charter Schools Fail, Parents Are Left Scrambling
There has been no shortage of charter school closures. The most recent implosion was that of Southern California-based A3 Education, which mostly involved online academies. Charter school closures are more than a Los Angeles problem or a California problem. The rate of charter school failures is very high across the nation.
FPPC finds three conflicts of interest with former Oasis Charter School Executive Director.
The ghost of Juanita Perea’s tenure as executive director of Oasis Charter Public School has come back to haunt her. Now a teacher at Salinas City Elementary School District, Perea’s time at Oasis was plagued with allegations of mismanagement and poor leadership.
Financial audit questions whether Gary charter school can continue
A top-rated Gary charter school is planning to begin its fourth year of classes next month, despite financial issues identified in a new audit that questions the school’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Chartergate: Austin Beutner’s Transparency Problem
An email thread documenting the unseemly coziness between L.A. schools superintendent Austin Beutner and the California charter school lobby set off political pyrotechnics late last month when the investigative blog — and indefatigable California public records miner — Michael Kohlhaas dot org published a cache of documents revealing the covert relationship in the midst of last year’s contract stalemate with UTLA.
Wendy Lecker: Charter schools bypass racial imbalance laws
The law supports Connecticut’s constitutional prohibition against intentional and incidental racial segregation in public schools. However, when it comes to privately managed, publicly funded charter schools, laws prohibiting racial segregation seem not to apply. SDE’s implementation of the racial imbalance and charter laws subverts legislative language and intent, as well as Connecticut’s educational goals.
Feds give green light to controversial contract between Memphis charter school and Catholic diocese
The U.S. Department of Education said a charter school network’s lease prohibiting it from teaching anything considered “gravely immoral” by the Catholic Church does not violate federal guidelines, state officials wrote in an email obtained by Chalkbeat.
Grand jury indicts two former Alma d’Arte employees
New grand jury indictments have been filed in district court naming two former staff members of Alma d’Arte Charter High School in Las Cruces.
The school’s former business manager, Juliette Rivera, was charged last December with embezzling more than $120,000 across a 14-year period from 2004 to 2018.
Epic obtained personal information of state teachers
In late April, Norman High School teacher Jeremy Davis received a recruitment email from Epic Charter Schools, an online Oklahoma charter school that has earned praise, criticism and scrutiny in recent years during a period of rapid growth.
Hillsdale College will officially sever ties with Mason Classical Academy in August
Hillsdale College will cut ties with Mason Classical Academy in August after board members missed Hillsdale’s deadline to resign in the wake of a Collier County School District investigation and newly revealed concerns from Hillsdale about the school’s management.
New Orleans becomes first major American city without traditional schools
On a typically hot July 1 in south Louisiana, when many students and educators are enjoying long holiday vacations, New Orleans has quietly become the first major American city without any traditional schools.
Oklahoma Watch Response to Epic Commentary
Last week, Epic Charter Schools issued a lengthy commentary on our reporter Jennifer Palmer’s story, “Former Epic Teachers Describe Pressure to Manipulate Enrollment.” Most of the commentary was written by two former journalists now employed by Epic.
As executive editor of Oklahoma Watch, I want to emphasize one point above all others in response: We absolutely stand by our story and the facts presented.
Alma d’Arte sacks principal after a rocky year
Through the year, the arts-based charter school saw a decline in enrollment amid changes of disciplinary policies, felony embezzlement charges brought against former staff members (which, for two, were later dismissed), and an ongoing dispute with the state Public Education Commission over insufficiencies in the school’s services for special needs students.
Einstein charter network failed to give students required state social studies exam
Einstein Charter Schools failed to give state-required social studies exam to its middle school students this spring, an error that will negatively affect the charter schools’ state performance scores, according to a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Education.