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MARGIN NOTES

April 27, 2010

State teachers union makes its case for charter school reform

by Maura Walz, at 8:07 pm

The state teachers union has been complaining about charter school mismanagement for a long time. Now, we have their complaints in writing.

The New York State United Teachers released its report today cataloging cases of documented and alleged financial mismanagement, conflicts of interest and counseling out of needy students. The report, which NYSUT based on a review of records from 60 of the state’s approximately 140 charter schools, estimates that the state’s charter schools have an 8 to 10 percent student turnover rate each year. It also argues that state charter law doesn’t prevent financial abuses such as those at East New York Preparatory Charter School, which the city is closing at the end of this school year.

The union’s arguments will sound familiar to those who followed New York State United Teachers representative’s testimony at State Senator Bill Perkins’ hearings on charter school oversight last week. At the hearing, charter school authorizers responded that many of the cases of mismanagement the union cites were uncovered through their current oversight practices.

The full report is below the jump:

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  • http://www.nycharterparents.org Mona Davids, New York Charter Parents Association (NYCPA)

    The New York Charter Parents Association (NYCPA), the FIRST AND ONLY INDEPENDENT charter parent organization advocating for parent, student and teacher rights in charter schools supports charter school reform. We are not controlled by the NYC Charter School Center, the NYC Department of Education or any charter school.

    We believe ALL schools should be great schools and ALL children should have equal access to a great education. The New York Charter Parents Association will always put children first. We are deeply concerned about the lack of accountability and transparency in charters schools. We need charter school reform now in New York State to protect our children’s future.

    We applaud charter schools who are serving ALL students and respect their parents. No system is perfect, let’s improve the charter school system and ensure situations like East NY Prep Charter School and others do not happen again.

    NYCPA will be at the HEAD of the table with our legislators advocating for charter school reform. We challenge those who are against our recommendations that will benefit our children. Change will come.

    The Charter Schools Act must be amended to include:

    1. STUDENT RIGHTS – Charter schools MUST be required to retain Special Ed and ELL students. No longer push out, counsel out or expel them out of the school.
    2. PARENT RIGHTS – Every charter school board MUST have a parent board member who is the President of the school’s independent parent association.
    3. BILL OF RIGHTS – There MUST be a universal Parents Bill of Rights and Students Bill of Rights for charter schools.
    4. INDEPENDENT PARENTS ASSOCIATION – Every charter school MUST be required to have an independent parents association.
    5. CO-LOCATIONS – The state MUST develop a better process in determining co-locations in public school buildings in New York City because it is pitting parents against each other.
    6. ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY – Charter school board members and employees MUST be held to rigorous financial disclosure requirements and conflict of interest prohibitions as all other organizations receiving public money. There MUST be more oversight of Founding Boards. Board members MUST NOT be allowed to be permanent trustees. All employees (principals, directors, staff) MUST not be allowed to serve on the board. All schools must be audited by the State Comptroller.
    7. CHARTER CONTRACT & BY-LAWS – Every charter school MUST be required to post their charter and by-laws online to increase accountability and transparency in charter schools and their governing boards. Every board meeting MUST be held at the school.
    8. STATE RECEIVERSHIP – The state MUST have the authority to take over a charter school and re-constitute the board of trustees.
    9. MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS – For Profit Management organizations MUST NOT be allowed to manage charters. Public money should be spent on public students.
    10. COMPLAINT & GRIEVANCE PROCESS – The state MUST develop a formal complaint and grievance process that includes tracking and resolving issues within 30 days.
    11. TEACHER RIGHTS & PROTECTIONS – Teachers in charter schools MUST be provided with whistleblower and job protections when exposing corruption, financial mismanagement and corporate chicanery in charters. No teacher should be fired for standing up for their students. E.g. East New York Prep Charter School.
    12. CHARTER AUTHORIZATION – Authorization MUST only be granted by the Board of Regents.

  • Mustafa

    Ms. Davids, please include that charter teachers must be unionized. Then your list of recommendations would be near perfect.

  • Michael Fiorillo

    Mona Davids,

    The goals you propose are laudable, and charter students and parents (current and prospective) deserve them.

    The danger is that if they are put into effect and actually enforced they will likely result in the immediate departure of the Big Money people who see charter schools as a vehicle for their self-interested social policies (privatization, at will employment, schools mirroring the Social Darwinist ethos of the so-called free market, etc.) and personal aggrandizement.

    What then? Should there be a process to “re-absorb” the remaining schools into a reconstituted public system, one where all schools must abide by acceptable labor standards and just treatment of all students?

    Shouldn’t that have been the effort all along, to actually reform the public schools, rather than fragment, weaken and de-stabilize them? And haven’t charter schools been at best a diversion from that?

  • http://www.nycharterparents.org Mona Davids, New York Charter Parents Association (NYCPA)

    Michael Fiorillo,

    Yes, many so-called corporate supporters will flee charter boards faster than parents fleeing our failing, unsupported, district schools for charters. More importantly, it will put the Charter Center out of business since they exist to be the vehicle for the self-interested parties that believe public funding does not equal public accountability and transparency (A&T).

    We do need a process to “re-absorb” failed charters into the district school system. The parents of East NY Prep Charter School (ENYP) are suffering because of the lack of A&T at ENYP. The best Chancellor Klein/Charter Center Board Member can do is come up with a 1 year “re-absorption” process in the same public school building ENYP was co-located. State law must allow for charter boards to be re-constituted when it’s proven they’re dysfunctional, corrupt and incompetent so that parents and children don’t suffer because of the school leaders and/or board members’ greed.

    Mustafa,
    No one can dispute the high teacher turnover at charters. At ENYP they had 100% teacher turnover in one year. This was because those teachers stood up against the principal for the kids she pushed out and were fired or harassed to leave. Teachers must be protected. We, parents are not in the schools everyday, teachers see more of the operational and governance problems in charters than we do. They must be protected so that they can continue to stand up for our children. Considering the problems and debacles that have come to light, NYCPA believes teachers should be unionized in all charters. We also want to thank the courageous teachers at ENYP and other charters throughout NYS. We stand with our charter school teachers!!

    We just started a petition for charter school reform. Check it out and spread the word. www(dot)ipetitions(dot)com/petition/charterschoolreform/

    Join our movement for charter school reform now. Go to
    www(dot)nycharterparents(dot)org

  • Michael M.

    Mona is making a great case for a public school system with parent input.
    Gee, how novel.

  • Mariama Sanoh New York Charter Parents Association/NYCPA

    Charter School Reform is long over due. Parents, students, and teachers of charters schools deserve rights and protection! NYCPA is the only INDEPENDENT city/state wide PARENT organization supporting charter reform. NYCPA has and continues to push for accountability and transparency to ensure that ALL students are treated fairly and equally regardless of their needs. I am a parent of a special needs child. My charter school had attempted to “counsel” my child. So far I have spent $2,400 for a private tutor which services him twice a week in school due to the fact they( the school) have made claims that they could not “provide” or “did not” have the services there. My child’s related services mandated on I.E.P did begin until late December but the charter school started their “counseling out” meetings with me in the beginning of October. I also have a 6th grade general ed. child who is currently on her 5th teacher for this academic school year alone! How is she suppose to thrive in school if teachers enter and leave the school like a revolving door. My circumstances are just few of the reasons why greater accountability and transparency is needed. This not just a NY State issue, across the country there are many documented cases of issues similar to mine but also we hear of the abuses of financial mismanagement as well. There needs to be a check and balance system for charter schools. ALL schools need to be GREAT schools for ALL of our children!

  • Michael M.

    Is it even LEGAL for a TPS parent, or an association OF parents, to hire IN-SCHOOL tutors?

    Can you even imagine how the NYPost would go apoplectic if some TPS on the UES allowed similar? Oh wait. They have. Use Google.

    Kids need services. Some kids more than others. I’m not begrudging any of the parents — just the double standard.

    Irony alert: Counseled out kids from Charterville land in their friendly neighborhood TPS.

    Sheesh.

  • ENYP Parent

    Mona Davids keeps referring to ENYP….but has not yet to reached out to the parents of ENYP to offer any support….. and I know for a fact that ENYP is NOT the only Charter that has been revoked….

  • QueensParent

    Perhaps NYSUT would also issue a report entitled “A $50 Billion Decision: Reforming New York’s Pension Programs for Teachers.”

  • Mariama Sanoh New York Charter Parents Association (NYCPA)

    ENYP Parent-

    I would have to say that your comment could not be further from the truth.
    Mona and I are currently working with EYNP Parents as we speak. On Thursday April 22nd, we meet with your fellow ENYP Parents outside 250 Broadway whom were protesting your schools closure. NYCPA has extended full and unconditional support the parents of ENYP. ENYP parents had gotten the opportunity to testify at the charter school hearings after NYCPA had asked Senator Perkins to make an exception. NYCPA knew that ENYP Parents had a story that needed to be told. Because of their testimony, people can clearly see why accountability and transparency is needed in charter schools. It is unfortunate that you are not abreast as to what support services NYCPA is doing for ENYP, but please do not hesitate to contact myself (917.822.9203) or Mona (917.822.9203) directly to learn further details.

  • Peter

    I don’t know why the ENYP parents haven’t approached one of the other operators of charter schools with good reputations to come in and take over the management.  I would think the Department of Education would be willing to keep the school open if there was a housecleaning of the board and management.   It sounds like there are good teachers, students and parents involved with the school, it’s just an issue of management.

  • Tim

    It’s those same old chestnuts, Peter: time, energy, expertise, knowing where to start. In a perfect world, sure, ENYP parents would have recognized the warning signs early on, organized seamlessly, reached out to charter operators, deftly managed all the bureaucratic red tape, and kept the school running without a hitch. One can only hope that the next time their children’s charter school implodes, they will respond a little better.

  • Peter

    But my point is that I don’t think it’s too late even now. I suspect DOE would relent if the parents and teachers came along with a plan and the board was willing to resign (which one hopes they would at this point).

  • ENYP Parent

    @ Mariama I was one of the parents at the meeting AND I’m also on the parent invovlement commitee… it was only when mona saw parents from ENYP at the meeting she wanted to “GET INVOVLED” She spoke with 1 parent and that parent told her that we did not need to be prep on what to say to the senator…We have NOT heard the name mona davids since then! She has not been to ANY of our other meetings nor has she been in contact with our parent commitee…It’s the parents of ENYP that has been getting our story told to various media outlets she has NOT extented any invitations to public hearings or rallies to the parents of ENYP. We do our own research and we get where we need to be…So you see I’am very abreast as to what is going on and I’am also very aware of who’s been giving the parents and the scholars support at ENYP(or do I need to go on?!)…..Now go tell mona if she REALLY wants to get involved contact Latisha Lane our Executive Chair of our parent commitee…I’m quite sure she has her number, matter of FACT I KNOW she has her number!!!!

  • ENYP Parent

    Thanks Peter, That’s what the parents of ENYP is currently working on!

  • Mariama Sanoh

    ENYP Parent:

    There clearly seems to be two points of views. I can only wish you and your fellow ENYP parents success on fighting to keep your school open. The bottom line is that 160 children do not deserve displaced. It was the actions of Shelia Joseph and the board that has caused ENYP charter to be revoked. No parent or child should pay the price for their mistakes.

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