#ANOTHERDAYANOTHERCHARTERSCHOOLSCANDAL
REVEALED: Tennessee charter school commission accused of ‘enormous conflict of interest’
The charter school commission isn’t composed of school superintendents, school board members or teachers. It’s an unelected group of true-blue believers in charter schools, and even some Republicans are starting to question whether they should have such power.
Rafael expected he would go to a university — the system never did
This is a story about one student’s high expectations for himself, and the people who didn’t share them: the educators who put him on a non-university path, the public charter school that never questioned it, and the state that keeps funding schools with low graduation rates and little accountability.
Charter schools got $1.4B from the state last year. They don’t always have to say how it’s spent.
Michigan’s state Board of Education sent out 278 Freedom of Information Act requests earlier this year to charter schools and traditional school districts, too, asking for copies of a few common contracts.
It was a test of financial transparency, an effort to find out whether charter schools, which got $1.4 billion in state money last year, would give an adequate account of how that money was being spent.
Utah students protested body-shaming after homecoming dress code. Now their teacher is calling them a ‘mob.’
A teacher at a Utah charter school chastised students for protesting a dress code they felt body-shamed girls at their homecoming dance, suggesting that the students overreacted and formed a “mob” when they were the ones “intentionally pushing the limit.”
Nashville charter schools seek financing from Arizona
Two Nashville charter schools have ventured to Arizona for bond financing as recently as this year.
Why it matters: Pathways to out-of-state funding help charter school leaders avoid skeptics involved in local funding decisions.
Metro Schools to recommend shutting down Nashville charter school, school plans to fight
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is recommending its board revoke the charter of Knowledge Academy in South Nashville.
Knowledge Academy High School was identified by the State Department of Education as a priority school, meaning it is one of the bottom five percent of the schools in the state.
Tuesday classes canceled at Muskegon Heights High School
Classes at Muskegon Heights High School will be canceled Tuesday, according to a letter sent to parents by principal Erica Patton.
The letter says the cancellation is due to “concerns about various occurrences” at the high school. All other schools in the district will remain open.
Audit of charter school program finds big problems
The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Inspector General has released a new audit of the federal Charter Schools Program that found some alarming results about how charter school networks have used millions of dollars in funding. Among other things, the audit found that charter school networks and for-profit charter management organizations did not open anywhere near the number of charters they promised to open with federal funding.
Lack of teachers, resources impeded Fort Worth middle school’s progress, ex-principal says
The former principal of a struggling Fort Worth middle school said teacher vacancies, a lack of resources and miscommunications between the school district and its charter partner created an almost impossible situation at the school last year.
Students upset after nearly 60 girls kicked out of homecoming dance over dress code
Students who attend a charter school in Spanish Fork said around 60 students were not allowed into their homecoming dance over the dress code, a claim the school later refuted.
Natalia and Isabella are seniors at American Leadership Academy, which hosted the dance Saturday night. Both girls were not allowed in the dance due to their dresses.
REVEALED: Written public comments show strong opposition to Hillsdale charter schools
Written public comments submitted to the state Public Charter School Commission reveal widespread opposition to the three Hillsdale College-affiliated charter schools that are requesting permission to open in Tennessee over the objections of the local school boards.
In Rutherford County, opponents of the taxpayer-funded schools outnumbered supporters by a four-to-one margin, while the differences were less stark in Madison and Montgomery counties. There was evidence on both sides of organized efforts to solicit submissions to the state board that will decide the fate of all three schools.
‘I don’t think it’s fair’: Newark charter school community wants answers over inequities
Great Oaks Legacy Charter School administrators, teachers, parents, alumni, and students packed a third-floor classroom at Downtown Elementary School on Thursday to unleash frustrations that they say have been building for years.
One by one, at the monthly meeting of the board of trustees, they described their failed attempts at getting board members to address pay inequity, lack of resources, and the recent firing of the high school’s dean of students. They also raised concerns about racist practices, disparate treatment, and emails about their concerns that had gone unanswered for months.
IPS hopes to keep school buildings that might close by lobbying legislature
Seven Indianapolis Public Schools buildings would shut down at the end of this school year under the district’s proposed reorganization plan, which would make them available to charter school operators for the low cost of $1.
Devastated’: Weeks after opening, Red Hills Academy charter school set to close
Leon County’s latest charter school is already closing its doors.
Red Hills Academy cited low enrollment and processing issues as reasons for shuttering just weeks after its grand opening. The last day of school will be Sept. 30.
Political payback? One wealthy donor may have influenced GOP primary defeats
When three Idaho senators spoke out against a charter school bill earlier this year, it sparked what they say was an aggressive effort to unseat them that was partly driven by one wealthy businessman who is the subject of a recent campaign finance complaint.
The complaint, filed on Aug. 24 by a Nampa resident who is not employed in politics, alleges that Boise resident Larry Williams over-contributed to 14 legislative candidates by thousands of dollars, under his own name, his wife’s name and the names of four of his businesses.