Louisiana charter school whistle blower fired from state job. Alarming story.

[madfloridian]

What happened about a year ago in the Louisiana Department of Education was absolutely stunning to me. I can not imagine something like this happening in a country like ours with a strong tradition of public education.

From July 15 of this year:

Records show glaring faults at school with ties to Turkish charter network


Folwell Dunbar. Picture from Nola.com

Inci Akpinar, the vice president of a company called Atlas Texas Construction & Trading, sat down with an official from the Louisiana Department of Education a little more than a year ago and made him an offer.

As the state official, Folwell Dunbar, recalled in a memo to department colleagues, Akpinar flattered him with "a number of compliments" before getting to the point: "I have twenty-five thousand dollars to fix this problem: twenty thousand for you and five for me."

At the time, Dunbar was investigating numerous complaints against Abramson Science & Technology Charter School in eastern New Orleans, which shares apparent ties to Akpinar's firm as well as charter schools in other states run by Turkish immigrants.

In fact, state auditors had already turned up startling deficiencies at Abramson. The records they kept of unannounced visits to the campus, as well as interviews with former teachers, paint a chaotic scene: classrooms without instructors for weeks and even months at a time, students who claimed their science fair projects had been done by teachers, a single special-needs instructor for a school of nearly 600.

Dunbar "recommended more than a year ago that the state board of education yank Abramson's charter."
The board instead gave the school a year to "shape up." Seems they ignored the attempted bribe.

Folwell Dunbar was recently fired from his state job.

Abramson charter school whistle-blower has been fired from state job

Folwell Dunbar, a state education official who warned of problems at Abramson Science and Technology Charter School more than a year ago, confirmed Thursday that he was fired this week along with his boss at the department, Jacob Landry.

The two were let go amid a new state investigation at Abramson prompted by fresh revelations about what Dunbar and other experts found during an audit of the school carried out in April and May of 2010. State records show Dunbar let his colleagues know last year that someone associated with the school tried to offer him money during the audit, an incident that brings to light the connections that Abramson apparently shares with Turkish-run businesses and charter schools in other states. He concluding that Abramson was at the very least "terribly mismanaged" and recommended that the state board of education take away its charter.

The school has denied the bribery allegation and says it has addressed shortcomings the audit found in its special education services.

..."Tyler provided few details behind her decision to fire two department officials this week. She did not mention their names and only cited a need for "new direction and leadership" at the department's charter school office.

The latest I can find is that the school is still being investigated, and there is some fear among teachers who have concerns.

N.O. school district chief to lay out plans for Abramson as state investigation continues


Eliot Kamenitz, The Times-Picayune Four teachers at the Abramson Science & Technology Charter School reported a 'general feeling of fear' among the school's staff because of what appeared to be retaliation against teachers, parents and students who had spoken up about the school's practices.

The school is under a state investigation over allegations of attempted bribery and other issues. The state department of education is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether the Pelican Educational Foundation, the nonprofit that runs both Abramson and Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School in Baton Rouge, will be able to keep its charters. That decision will also need the backing of the state board of education.

I would say the teachers there are right to be uneasy considering what happened to the state official who told about the attempted bribery.

Where's the outrage over this? Shouldn't it be a criminal offense to bribe a state official. Not anymore, I guess, not in this crazy new world of education reform.

[madfloridian]

1. Apparently 2 young teachers were fired for making complaints to the state.

http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2011/07/charter-school-scandal-expands-to-state.html

"Two more educators have fallen victim to the botched efforts by the LA Dept. of Education to deal with irregularities at a New Orleans charter school. The article linked here by reporter Andrew Vancour of the Times Picayune identifies Folwell Dunbar and Jacob Landry as the two Education Department staff members fired this week connected with the problems at Abramson Science and Technology Charter School.

But it looks like once again the wrong educators have been fired. The questionable firings started at the school when two young teachers were apparently fired for making legitimate complaints to the State Dept. about possible violations of education and child protection laws by charter school operators. Now the firings have extended to at least one of the Dept. staffers who tried to properly report and correct the problems at the school. According to the Picayune article, Dunbar after an attempt was made to bribe him last year, insisted on corrective actions by the Dept. including suspension of the school's charter. Now that the charter has been suspended and the charter operators removed, it's mystifying to observers why Mr Dunbar and his boss Landry, would be fired."

Dunbar had made several recommendations, one of which was whistle-blower protection.

.."Maybe if BESE had seen his recommendations and adopted at least the whistle-blower protection, Dunbar would still have his job today. Possibly the two young teachers fired by the charter operator may have been allowed a hearing and had a chance to be reinstated by BESE which is supposed to have authority over all state approved charters. But because of a State Superintendent dominated-dictatorial culture at the State Department, BESE never got a chance to do its job."

[madfloridian]

2. Specific complaint from one teacher.

"Mary Elise DeCoursey arrived at Abramson as a first-year TFA instructor in the fall of 2009. The school assigned her to teach 8th and 11th grade English courses along with a journalism elective.
But something odd happened around October, DeCoursey said: the teacher next door, who taught a Turkish language course, disappeared.

The instructor never came back but students continued to show up for the course, sitting unattended in the classroom day after day. Several times, DeCoursey said, she called down to the office and was told that someone would be up shortly. No one ever came, a pattern that she said persisted for months".

http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/07/state_shuts_down_abramson_char.html

Dunbar even contacted the police, but nothing happened.

""Later in the day I joked with my wife, 'I might need to enter a witness protection plan,'" Dunbar wrote. "In retrospect, I'm starting to think it's not all that funny."

A spokeswoman for the state education department said Dunbar reported the incident to the New Orleans Police Department, which couldn't find "hard evidence" to substantiate the incident."

[checks-n-balances]

3. Unreal. Outrageous. Criminal. K&R

Thanks once again for the information, Mad.

[roxiejules]

4. More info on Gulen charter schools in the US

Charter School Scandals

[indurancevile]

6. wow.

[indurancevile]

5. that so-called school looks like a collection of trailers.

[madfloridian]

7. Doesn't it though.

I was thinking the same thing. :hi:

[Starry Messenger]

8. recommend.

[Mimosa]

9. Before Katrina East New Orleans was..

Before Katrina struck East New Orleans was largely Asian and Black. It all depends on where. BUT. Many NOLA district schools in that area hosted high achieving Vietnamese-American students.

I hope some other NOLA people will fill in and inform this topic. I do know a lot because my best buddy cared about the issue so intensely he studied it for several years and got insiders to talk. NOLA's school board in the late 1990s was the most crooked in America. The school board budget repeatedly had 25 MILLION bucks go unaccounted for. There was a Federal attorney named Eddie Jordan (under Bush 43) who had no choice but to investigate. Yet he did nothing. Stealing from the children is what NOLA school board members did.

Look up a documentary named "Left Behind".

[NOLALady]

12. Well actually,

Many NOLA district schools in that area hosted high achieving Vietnamese-American and African American students.

Before I left the city, about 25 years ago, Abramson was one of the best schools.

[KamaAina]

13. And it was a PUBLIC school

They seized upon Katrina as a way to convert well over half of NOLA's schols into charters; the rest are in a state-run "Recovery School District". And it won't stop there. Right now Detroit's under the gun. It could be your city tomorrow.

[madfloridian]

14. Yep, remember Arne's words about hurricanes and school reform.

Arne compares Detroit to New Orleans without Katrina

"NEW ORLEANS – Calling Detroit Public Schools “Ground Zero for education in this country,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said there are big changes in the works for the city schools – but said he is not ready to give details.

“Stay tuned,” he told reporters attending the Education Writers Association national seminar Friday.

...“I see the progress here in New Orleans and I ask, 'Why not Detroit?' We don't need to wait for a hurricane before we can reform schools. I even think Detroit can leapfrog New Orleans.”

[Roy Rolling]

10. the good news

is that the state board of education that failed to act on corruption and pitiful education practices, and fired someone who tried to do right may take over and run the school itself. http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/07/rsd_develops_contingency_to_op.html

Out of the frying pan and into the fire . . .

[madfloridian]

11. So the RSD which fired the whistleblower gets to run the school?

And gets to pick the "non-profit" charter chain to be in charge? I put non-profit in quotes because charter chains are not about to want to go without a profit. Some call themselves non-profit, but the IRS does not agree.

From your link;

"RSD Superintendent John White told parents that the district would step in to manage Abramson Science and Technology Charter School with support from two other charter school operators in the city, if the state decides to take the campus away from the nonprofit that already runs it. The arrangement would represent an unprecedented solution for a problem the RSD has never had to grapple with."

..."If Pelican's charter is revoked, White said, the RSD will step in to manage the school itself, bringing in the ReNew charter network to help provide support and professional development to teachers in Abramson's lower grades, and New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy for Abramson's high school. ReNew already runs two K-8 schools in New Orleans, while, Charter Science and Math, known as Sci Academy, runs a high school on a plot of land adjacent to Abramson along Read Boulevard.

White said the RSD would replace the school's principal and hire two replacements, one for K-8 and another for the high school. He said the district will try to hold on to as many teachers as possible to avoid any major disruption."

I looked up the board of directors of ReNew Charters. It is mostly lawyers and corporate executives.

http://www.renewschools.org/?page_id=24

BTW are there two state education boards? I think the RSD was set up after Katrina...you know how Arne said that Katrina was the best thing to happen to education in New Orleans? But is there a regular public school state entity or has that been done away with?

Thanks for the link...you are right. From the frying pan into the fire.

[blkmusclmachine]

15. So much for the "Change." They can keep it.

[chervilant]

16. Sigh...

Can we just stop calling this 'reform,' and use a more accurate description?! The Corporate Megalomaniacs who've usurped our media, our politics, and our global economy are bent on destroying our system of public education.

AND, our 'democratic' POTUS is right in the thick of it...

[midnight]

17. Can anyone tell us what is going on up at the state levels that

promotes this bulling behavior. I met a retired attorney who worked for Wisconsin education dept. It was a brief encounter... Some how we were discussing education.. And she said if I told you what was going on at the state level it would appall you... Of course after watching/experiencing no child left behind I already was appalled...

[sulphurdunn]

18. After Bunbar exposed

the corruption. the DOE had to investigate. The "new direction and leadership" hit was payback.

[madfloridian]

19. Sounds about right.

He rocked the boat.

[Jakes Progress]

20. Look for more of this as the corporate state takes over our children's schools.

With this administration pushing for that neocon dream it will be here before the next election.

And with the New Democrats and the Republicans looking to starve the government, we can probably kiss free education as an American birthright goodbye. There is a reason they call them reagan democrats. They are not just democrats that voted for reagan. They bought his swill and brought it back to our own party.