Christie’s charter school nightmare: “White flight, and they’re bankrupting us”

[DonViejo]

“We are creating separate but equal school systems,” Hoboken school board president warns Salon

JOSH EIDELSON

While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie deals with burgeoning scandals surrounding accusations he used the Port Authority and development deals for political ends, he now finds himself in a flap surrounding charter schools in Hoboken.

As charters in the city have exploded in number and size, “they’re fostering white flight, and they’re bankrupting us,” the city’s school board head charged in a Wednesday interview. “We are creating separate but equal school systems,” warned Hoboken Board of Education president Leon Gold. (As Salon has reported, Christie-style ed reform has also sparked controversy in Newark.)

Gold, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Engineering & Applied Science, decried the Christie administration’s approval of the HoLa charter school’s bid to add middle school grades, which was opposed by the city’s superintendent. (Gold emphasized that he is speaking in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the entire Board of Education.) State data shows that 11 percent of HoLa students qualify for reduced-cost or free lunch, whereas 72 percent of their counterparts in Hoboken’s traditional public schools do, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. Ninety percent of charter enrollment costs are paid by the Hoboken school district.

Asked about Gold’s arguments, a Christie spokesperson referred Salon to Education Department spokesperson Michael Yaple, who cited a letter from HoLa president Barbara Martinez, which Yaple said explains “the school’s aggressive outreach efforts and how the school’s demographics reflect the neighborhood.” (“I myself have knocked on doors in public housing” to offer info to parents, Martinez said elsewhere.) Yaple also cited “an insightful piece” backing the HoLa expansion by the Newark Star-Ledger editorial board, and said that his agency considers factors including “a review of performance data, academic trends, financial reports, and information gleaned from site visits, classroom observations, and interviews with stakeholders.”

more
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/13/christies_charter_school_nightmare_white_flight_and_they%E2%80%99re_bankrupting_us/

[n2doc]

1. Separate is never equal n/t

[gordianot]

2. I may be old fashioned but I always equate; Charter Schools=Publicly Funded Private Schools

I have been throughly chastised for that comment but I am retired who cares?

[leftyohiolib]

3. they are, and theyre designed to bust the teachers union

[gordianot]

5. I agree they go after Unions even though Unions share some cause for reform, are not alone.

At its heart are many issues to control the student population the most common then there is the movement to make education a commidity as a source of profit. Educational reform is the last thing Charter Schools promote.

[kcr]

4. Nothing old fashioned about it. That's fact.

It's a part of the whole school reform scam package, which is a plot to destroy the public schools and line the pockets of those pushing this agenda.

[Xyzse]

7. Very much agreed

I just can't support them.

[HockeyMom]

6. State issued F to Florida Charter.

This was a few years ago. The CEO (no k-12 school should HAVE a CEO) said, "Well, all we are getting are the D and F students from public schools". Well, duh? If your child is an A or B student in public school, why would you put them in a Charter?

I now hear their ads on the Radio with a kid saying, "Mommy and Daddy, I can wear a really cool UNIFORM at this school!" WHAT??????