Failing Charter Public Schools Are Shut Down; Conventional Public Schools Remain Open

Capitol Confidential ^ | 7/15/2014 | Tom Gantert

[MichCapCon]

There are 51 schools that have been in the bottom 5 percent of the Michigan Department of Education's Top-to-Bottom rankings three years in a row. Of those 51 schools, four were charter public schools and three of those four were closed.

Meanwhile, the conventional public schools on the list remain open.

"Charter schools have traditionally been the only public schools that have been held accountable for their performance," said Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan Quisenberry. "If they fail their students, they're closed down. That's never happened with a traditional public school, ever. What we need is this same level of accountability for all schools — charter or traditional."

Twenty-nine of the 51 schools that finished three consecutive years in the bottom 5 percent were conventional schools in the Detroit Public Schools district, or were former DPS schools that have recently been converted to charter public schools or are now under supervision of the Educational Achievement Authority. The EAA was created to help the lowest performing conventional public school districts improve.

Claims about a lack of accountability in charter public schools has been a topic in the news recently since the Detroit Free Press did a series on what it determined were problems with some charter public schools. The series quoted various officials insisting on more accountability for charter public schools in Michigan. It did not address problems with conventional public schools

The Free Press series looked at school districts that were in the bottom 5 percent in the state's Top-to-Bottom rankings, which evaluates student performance in mathematics, reading, writing, science, social studies and for graduation rates.

The three charter public schools that made the list that closed were: Academy of Flint in Flint Township; Aisha Shule/Web Dubois Preparatory Academy in Detroit; and the Center Literacy & Creativity in Detroit.

The Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy is still open. That charter school is located in Wilson in Menominee County and services primarily Potawatomi students.

The Michigan Association of Public School Academies has offered a "School Accountability Pledge" to conventional public schools asking those schools to adhere to the same accountability, transparency and oversight laws as the state's charter public schools. One of the standards in the pledge includes closing any school that is in the bottom 5 percent of the Top-to-Bottom list for four straight years.

As of July 7, no conventional school districts had signed the pledge.

"People concerned about Michigan's failing schools should be concerned about conventional schools," said Audrey Spalding, education policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

[DaveA37]

The NEA is so afraid of Charter Schools and the potential successes these same schools have/will achieve, they will do anything to get them closed.

[cripplecreek]

The democrat candidate for governor is all about shutting down charter schools.

[RushLake]

Yeah, and I bet the undocumented democrat governor could effect the removal of the State Board of Education President who says, in effect, that parents aren’t smart enough to make a school choice. There won’t be a peep from the undocumented democrat governor because there isn’t a dimes worth of difference between him and the democrap candidate for governor in any respect.

http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/20281

[cripplecreek]

So vote democrat you drunken moron. (I’m guessing you already do if you’re sober enough to stagger to the polls on election day)

[TBP]

They’d shut down all the private schools too, if they could.

Apparently, they’ve forgotten that Michigan is home to one of America’s most fiercely independent (and successful) academic institutions.

[Roses0508]

My grandson attended a charter school in another state. When he first went to enroll and was tested, we were told they didn’t have any seats in the gifted classes (for which he qualified), but they put him at a desk in those classes anyway. Why? Because someone had decided that gifted classes were too white and yellow. So they set up a set of “soft” qualifications and a certain number of students who do not meet the normal qualifications, but who meet the “soft” qualifications are admitted to the gifted classes every school year. They knew that almost all of those students admitted under the “soft” qualifications are going to withdraw from the gifted classes and in a matter of days there would be an available seat for my grandson. Which is exactly what happened.