Harlem Village Academy: touted by Bloomberg, 75% teacher turnover

[Hannah Bell]

Harlem Village Academy Retained Only 4 Full-Time Teachers While Losing 75%



Last year Mayor Bloomberg visited Harlem Village Academy high school and called it "the poster child for this country."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_qM5tLTxv4VD6iAzd2A8pcJ;jsessionid=B6F2EB5549FF300018C58001CDD43800

Here is a selection from the Post piece:

Another student offered a stark comparison between her experience at Harlem Village and her former public school. "The teachers didn't care (in the public school)," she said. Asked by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein how many planned to attend college, every hand shot up. Harlem Village achieved national prominence last year when 100 percent of its eighth-graders passed the state math exam.

Nice to see her teachers cared more than her public school teachers even though most of them left.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_qM5tLTxv4VD6iAzd2A8pcJ;jsessionid=B6F2EB5549FF300018C58001CDD43800#ixzz102Qc7dI3



This year Harlem Village Academy opened its doors with only 4 full time teachers returning, a turnover of more than 75%... Teachers were told they would be working 9 hour days when they were hired, but the week before school started they were told they would be working 12 hour days. School starts at 7:30 so teachers arrive around 7. School ends for children at 4:15 and there is a mandatory meeting for teachers from 5-7pm from Monday-Thursday....The school sent a letter home addressing parents' concerns over the turnover without saying what caused it or how it will be fixed.

The Post article also references a 100% passing rate on the state math exam in 8th grade. In order to be promoted in middle school you must have an 80% in each class... A number of students that do not have an 80 in each class choose to leave the school rather than be held back or go to summer school. In fact DOE numbers show that they lose 32% of their students between 6th and 8th grades (See the link below.) Understanding their standards for promotion, it is easy to see that the 32% of students that leave are almost all the lowest performing students.

If traditional public schools withheld students that got less than an 80 it would be easy to have high passing rates, but we would have to build 30% more schools. Essentially HVA dumps its lowest third of students back into public school system.

http://gothamschools.org/2010/06/09/left-behind-but-not-gone-forever-augmenting-the-ufts-vanishing-students-report/

[RandomThoughts]

1. Did they contact there union on the extended hours?

It is making more sense, they probably pay better, so are setting a situation to get the best teachers with the students with the most money. An error.


Different schools for differently talented youths are ok, if it is not based on how much money they have, and if the same education effort is put into other schools. And if it is not based on money they have, then the teacher pay in that school and other schools would be the same.


Just a guess, but with all the 'smarter' billionaires setting the policy, years of being in school with some 'lesser' students holding back the class may be part of where their opinions come from.


Note, that gives certain freedom of action against lesser billionaires that try and hold me back, by not correcting issues.

[Hannah Bell]

2. they don't have a union, they're charter school teachers.

[stray cat]

3. If you lived in Harlem would you send your kid to the public schools instead?

[msanthrope]

4. An interesting point.....I hope you will get an answer. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

5. you might want to check out the reviews of harlem public schools now that harlem's gentrified.

you seem to be in a time warp.

here's a clue: on average, school performance tracks income.

however, not sure what that has to do with a 75% turnover.