If you read all the media outlets in the Metropolitan area, one would think that the Eva Moskowitz's charter schools were taking over vacant space and not causing any negative consequences to the existing school. That's far from the truth. Besides taking precious funding from the public schools. The Harlem Success Charter School #4 (middle school) will have 194 carefully selected students who survived the extremely high student attrition rate approaching 50%, to make it into the middle school. To make sure the "elite 194" has enough space they will take over many areas that are used for the PS 149 "Special Education:" population such as the Science, Art, and Music rooms and causing some services to be preformed in storage closets, hallways, and anywhere else the staff can squeeze into to give these Special Education students services that they are required, by law to have.
Had the City approved the Eva Moskowitz charter school for the "elite 194", it would make the PS 149 building at 132% of capacity. How was the Bloomberg Administration going to get the building back to the 100% utilization rate? Let's just kick out the Special Education students in PS 149! That's right, the most needy and severely disabled of students were to be removed from their only school they knew for the "elite 194". Yet, except for Juan Gonzalez, no media outlet bothered to show what would happen to the Special Education students when the Harlem Success Academy charter school moved into the PS 149 building.
Where will the severely disabled students be bused to for their services? Probably to the already overcrowded District 75 "Mickey Mantle school" on the West side of Manhattan which already lost space to Eva Moskowitz's Harlem Success Charter School #1. Or to schools further downtown. Did the Bloomberg Administration care what the community thought? The answer is no of course.
I can't understand why the De Blasio Administration doesn't counterattack and show that Eva Moskowitz's Success charter schools are taking away space from the severely disabled students in the NYC public school system. The very same "Special Education" students that will never be accepted to Eva's charter schools in the first place, add these students with other no-entry students such as English Language Learners, and "high needs" students with academic, behavioral, and attendance issues. Heaven forbid that Eva allows these students to attend her "elitist schools" and take the State and National tests. No way would any of these students make it to the "elite 194". Only the best make it and goodbye to the rest.
Its too bad the other side of the charter school story is ignored by the media but its been that way for years and with Chancellor Carmen Farina bumbling her way through the school year, I expect nothing will change.
P.S. Leonie Haimson was on MSNBC last night and did a great job in presenting the case against charter schools. You can find it on her blog NYC Public School Parents Here.
10 comments:
I concur.. It seems that DeBlasio and Farina are running scared. Perhaps they are over their heads?? The Media blitz is too much for them to handle?? Big bad Eva and her followers with the pitch forks are too much for Bill DBlasio and Carmen??
Chaz you are not an elected official and you can articulate the unjustice out there so I am as baffled as anyone out there WHY does the mayor and the chancellor seem to always be on the defensive?? I know Bloomberg was a jerk..A RICH JERK but at least he had a determined look in his press conferences and came across as a leader..BIll and Carmen seem to be afraid of the big lights and the big issues..I hope they come out of this funk they are in and stand up for the fact that most of the children in the city go to NYC public schools not Charter..you 2 dingbats
I wish someone what but up the real stats about charter schools. That for every five charter school created three of the close within two years. How charter schools don't accept special ed and ELL students.
Don't understand how BdB made it through a grueling campaign, came out from being the underdog, wins, and now just lets it all slip away.
Surely, he must have understood what he would be facing as Mayor when he ran for the job. Now, it's time for him to ACT like a leader, and stick to his guns.
Don't disappoint us, Mr. deBlasio, please!
Salon has an interesting interview with Diane Ravitch. Dr, Ravitch is predicting that in 10 years there will be no public schools. Just go to Salon.com
All public schools should be handed over to charters and private corps. We are spending billions and billions on public Ed where the students are basically inferior and really amount to nothing. It's a total waste if money. Let the private corps waste there money, not the public. Fire all the teachers etc and let the charters take over. Forget about 10 years from now, do it right away.
Eva 4:50
Thanks for commenting on my blog. I know you don't give a shit about the "high needs" students of the City and if you want to see what a City full of charter schools look like. Just go to New Orleans that is the lowest performing district in the lowest performing sate in the country.
How about the fact that charter schools have teachers with 2 years or less experience. How is it that these teachers in these charter schools are in desire?? You mean to tell me that parents of NYC want their kids to go to charter schools with 1st and 2nd year teachers? Come on people stop the bullshit with all of this. This is about private people like greedy me me eva moskowitz wanting to make as much money as possible - the scheme is to spend millions on promotional campaigns and spread the crap as much as possible or as much as money can buy. The charter school PR and advertising campaign is trying to SELL parents the school the same way johnson & johnson sell parents baby formula.
Anon at 4:50 p.m.:
Well, what an interesting solution.
However, exactly what do you think will happen to all of those "inferior"students that aren't able to get into the fabled charters or private schools for whatever reason?
Obviously, you're not thinking of the dire consequences down the road for a country that has a largely uneducated population. Public schools give all people the opportunity to pursue an education.
I wouldn't want to live in such a world. Do You?
How come forward a make note of the Bloomberg tactic of closing larger poor perfoiming schools and then warehousing students in former good schools like Norman Thomas and Murray Bergtraum which were once considered two of the best business schools in NYC
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Berlin rules that charter schools are not units of the state and can't be audit. So I guess that means no more tax dollars for you EVA
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