the Charter Schools report and the election

[Cocoa]

Bush's education reform program is supposedly based on the concept of accountability, but when a key report is completed which has some VERY bad results for charter schools, Bush hides it.

Kerry hasn't said anything about it yet, but I think he will. Education is a huge issue for voters in the swing states, and this report, and the way Bush handled it, is about the worst Bush could ever have hoped for.

[senseandsensibility]

1. As a public school teacher,

what I find so patronizing about charter school advocates is that they claim it is possible to take away regulations and, presto, you have good schools. Mostly what they want to take away is teachers' bargaining rights and right to organize, of course, although they'll rarely say that. But, surprise, (not), it turns out that running schools is a very complicated enterprise that actually takes money, and isn't easy. Who knew? Now I want to see these results on the mainstream media.

[Cocoa]

3. in case you missed this...

a very good discussion on PBS last night. The AFT representative was very very effective destroying the lame defenses by Bush's political hack.

A main point: this measure has been used as a club against public schools for years, but now it comes out with unfavorable results for charter schools and suddenly it's no good.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec04/charter_8-18.html

[senseandsensibility]

4. Thanks!

I did miss it, and I guess I'd be stupid to think it will ever be picked up by anyone else. :)

[liberalitch]

2. I have been a charter school teacher for three years...

and I left the charter school program at Hampton city schools for many reasons:
-Seemed like a good idea to start, especially since we did it all off R&D grants... not pulling money from other sites.
- Although all of us teachers were certified many were unfit for duty because they had failed accountablity wise else where,... so the kids showed no improvement.... or were jus plain idiot-nuts (the teachers... not the kids, honestly)
- we had a hard time meeting test standards because EVERY OTHER SCHOOL in the system sent their "unfunctioning" student body to us.... with no allowances for the KNOWN FACT that this was happening.
- When we brought it to the state's (va.) attention, they said "So what? You still have to get these scores."

So that is what NCLB did to charter schools

[klook]

5. Campaign to kill public education

I think the charter schools initiative is, instead of a program to help "left-behind" kids, part of a long-range plan to destroy publicly funded education in this country. The privatize-everything crowd is using charter schools plus vouchers to eat away at public education's foundations.

[Cocoa]

6. I agree

public education is not part of their world-view.