Charter school offers to give $100 to each student who recruits someone new.

madfloridian

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Mon May-31-10 02:50 PM
Original message

Charter school offers to give $100 to each student who recruits someone new.

Edited on Mon May-31-10 02:54 PM by madfloridian

My first thought was where the heck did they get the money for such a thing. Probably from one of the foundations funding them generously. It's for sure public schools can't use schemes like that. They don't have the money.

From the NYT City Room.

Students at $100 a Head?

Yes, that was a sign in the school.

A sign in a charter high school offers one way to build up enrollment.

Last night we were sent a photo purporting to show a sign posted on the third floor of Public School 126 at 424 Leonard Street, which houses the Williamsburg Charter High School as well as its two spinoffs, Believe Northside Charter High School and Believe Southside Charter High School.

Evoking the old “Wanted” posters of the Wild West, the flier asks for help to “recruit students who you feel would benefit from the exceptional opportunity to attend Believe Schools in all grades.” It promises $100 for each student recruited, provided they enroll and “remain for at least one term with us!” (The same picture also turned up Tuesday night on Education Notes Online.)

Jacqui Lipson, a spokeswoman for the schools, declined to comment but did not deny that the sign was up.

While one of the school execs insist they have the power to do this, the chief executive officer of NY City Charter schools say no.

James D. Merriman, the chief executive officer of the New York City Charter School Center, said that he had not been able to speak to officials at the school or confirm precise details of the circumstances, but added “if a school is paying students to recruit other students, it is inappropriate.”

The blog called Education Notes Online has covered this, and he plans to post more about some threatening words he has received for doing so.

Recruitment poster for charter school

Sources are saying that as a result of our exposure and the Medina story (followed up by the Post and News) the DOE may be looking to punish the people (grilling the gang at 126?) who revealed the story while ignoring the school's attempt to bribe the kids. Also see Caroline Grannan comment about similar stuff at KIPP in San Francisco.

"When I visited KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy, there were posters plastered all over the school offering prizes (Gap and Old Navy gift cards) to get new families to apply. I think someone is being naive to think that’s novel. And that’s at KIPP, where (all chorus together) “all KIPP schools have long waiting lists,” according to Paul Tough in your very own newspaper."

Ahhh. Those waiting lists. I hear that just about anyone who wants into a charter who meets the smell test (no ELL, Special ed, parent signs pledge to give pint of blood every day, etc) can get in.

And some charter school teaching buddies are telling me that getting and keeping good teachers is getting tougher and tougher and they're even trying to lure teachers away from each other. Wait 'till the cap is lifted. It will be the wild west. But demand even in a down economic market may drive some salaries higher. However, I get loads of teachers looking for jobs contacting me and all of them are desperate to get into a public school and look at charters as a last resort. Yes, the young do think of pensions and health care and the stability of seniority protections that a public school teaching career can bring- at least until the UFT sells that out too.

By the way, over the past few months I and Susan Ohanian have received some "lovely" notes from this particular charter school operator (and buddies), some of which I will share with you real soon.

Here is more about the school sharing going on at PS 126. I believe there are now 3 charters

Adams for News. At JHS 126 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, memo grants its three charter schools the lion's share of access to the library (below), which got an overhaul just last year.

Students and parents at a Brooklyn middle school are fuming after they were pushed out of their newly spruced-up library by an expanding charter school.

Junior High School 126 kids have severely limited access to the cozy, mural-painted reading spot this year so the three charters sharing the Greenpoint building can use the space for planning, meetings and small classes.

"It's unfair," said JHS 126 parent association President Janeen Echevarria. "Kids need to get in there to get books out to do their reports, to read, to further their education."

Access to the library for more than 400 middle schoolers will be restricted to one side of the space for less than two hours each day, with an extra hour on Wednesdays. Eddie Calderon-Melendez, founder of the Believe High School Network, which runs the charters, said the use of shared space is negotiated every year.

"We figure out what's in the best interest of all the children in the building," Calderon-Melendez said.

Calderon-Melendez runs the charter schools....when did he get the power to decide what is best for public schools students? Infuriating.

I gather Eddie Calderon-Melendez is the one who has said unpleasant things to the Education Note blogger and Susan Ohanian, who also wrote about it.

There was an interesting comment at Ed Notes directed to Susan Ohanian.

I am a current teacher at a Believe school
Dear Ms. Ohanian,

Thank you for posting the story "Students at $100 a Head?" from the New York Times blog. I saw your note that the CEO of the school wrote threatening emails after you posted the story.

I am a current teacher at a Believe school, and a commenter on Ms. Medina's blog. I implore you to publish Melendez's comments, or to comment on Ms. Medina's blog. It may seem small or irrelevant to spend more time thinking about this single charter school, but I assure you that it matters to me, my fellow teachers, and most of all, to our students, that Melendez's misdeeds do not continue to go unnoticed.

There are very interesting comments posted also at the City Room blog listed above. Here is one of the comments that indicates scores there as not as they should be.

Check out this school’s scores on the Regents:

http://projects.nytimes.com/new-york-schools-test-scores/counties/kings/districts/new-york-city-district-14/schools/williamsburg-charter-high-school

Across the board, it’s performing significantly below the state median for high schools. In most subjects, only around 50% of test-takers are meeting the minimum score required to receive a New York state diploma.

How is this supposed to be an improvement over traditional public schools? The only difference is diminished accountability and oversight.

Good question.