California: Charter School Will Close Because of Founder’s Audacious Misuse of School Funds

Diane Ravitch's blog

The California State Board of Education accepted its staff recommendation and voted not to renew the Oxford Preparatory Academy charter school in Chino. The school will close June 30.

Parents defended the school, and one member of the board made a last-ditch plea for the school but he was outvoted.

“But board members grappled over the fate of the high-performing school that might be fatally encumbered with unknown debts accrued by its ousted founder, who is under investigation by district attorneys in two counties for alleged fraud.

“Did the school do wrong, or did an individual do wrong?” asked state school board member Bruce Holaday. “I’m still wrestling with that.

“Holaday offered a motion to approve the school’s appeal, but with a long list of new oversight requirements. The motion died, with a 4-6 vote. No other board members offered another motion, and 14 months after Chino Valley Unified staff…

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Illinois Wants To End Gun Sales. Says Who? The NRA – Of Course.

The Illinois State Senate has just passed a bill which creates a state regulatory process for gun dealers and the NRA is telling its members that the result will be that gun shops will close down.  Our friends in Fairfax claim that this bill “creates an onerous gun dealer licensing scheme within the state.” And according to the NRA, the whole idea of state regulations for gun shops is absurd because after all, the ATF “licenses and closely monitors all FFLs and strictly enforces any infringement of federal law.”

             Let’s begin by getting that lie out of the way.  According to our friends at The Trace, the ATF inspects roughly 7% of all gun dealers every year.  Their stated goal is to visit each shop every three to five years. That’s how the NRA defines ‘close’ monitoring – every three to five years? And let’s remember…

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The Price of Hellfire Missiles: Everything Americans Could Buy at the Cost of Drone Strikes & “Freedom” »

As Donald Trump’s plan to Make America Great Again unfolds, there is at least one thing he will not need to worry about because the United States is already greatest at it — spending the most money to kill people.

Source: The Price of Hellfire Missiles: Everything Americans Could Buy at the Cost of Drone Strikes & “Freedom” »

Ohio’s Notorious E-Charters Evade Regulation: ECOT Saga Drags On and On and On

Ohio’s Notorious E-Charters Evade Regulation: ECOT Saga Drags On and On and On
by janresseger
Ohio’s biggest charter school, the notorious e-school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), held a big rally in Columbus early this week. Rick Teeters, ECOT’s superintendent, told all the school’s teachers and students to show up, even though the rally happened in the middle of the school day. Maybe everybody was expected to go home afterwards and study online until midnight.

ECOT’s founder, William Lager, made an emotional speech bragging that his school has provided more choices for those who have few. Lager didn’t mention, of course, the hundreds of millions of tax dollars the school has been receiving year after year from the state on a per-student basis. Neither did he say anything about the $60 million from last year alone that the Ohio Department of Education says ECOT fraudulently charged the state for students who did not really attend school at ECOT last year. ECOT is trying to avoid paying back the money.

In Ohio, pretty much everybody knows that — read more here – https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2017/05/12/13438/

janresseger

Ohio’s biggest charter school, the notorious e-school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), held a big rally in Columbus early this week. Rick Teeters, ECOT’s superintendent, told all the school’s teachers and students to show up, even though the rally happened in the middle of the school day. Maybe everybody was expected to go home afterwards and study online until midnight.

ECOT’s founder, William Lager, made an emotional speech bragging that his school has provided more choices for those who have few. Lager didn’t mention, of course, the hundreds of millions of tax dollars the school has been receiving year after year from the state on a per-student basis. Neither did he say anything about the $60 million from last year alone that the Ohio Department of Education says ECOT fraudulently charged the state for students who did not really attend school at ECOT last year. ECOT is trying…

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From Digital to analog to … Danalog*

From Digital to analog to … Danalog*
by Lee Laughlin
*Danalog = part digital, part analog.

Last fall, I wrote about my trials and tribulations on my search for planner peace. Eight months later, my epic journey continues.

Things I’ve learned on my quest for planner peace: — read more here https://nhwn.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/from-digital-to-analog-to-danalog/

Live to Write - Write to Live

*Danalog = part digital, part analog.

Last fall, I wrote about my trials and tribulations on my search for planner peace.  Eight months later, my epic journey continues.

Things I’ve learned on my quest for planner peace:

• Using digital methods (Google, GQueues and Teamwork) to collect my appointments and tasks is crucial. I can add things on the go and prioritize during my weekly planning time.
• I need to “write” things down for them to stick in my brain (I’ll explain the quotes in a minute).
• Each part of my life requires its own unique color for clarity and retention.
• I need a both weekly spread and a daily spread.

Perhaps the most valuable thing I’ve learned is that I’m not likely to find a pre-printed paper layout that meets all my needs.

I’ve mentioned I’m part of an awesome paper planning group on Facebook. Recently someone sheepishly posted…

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Happy Mothers Day.

The Chicago Public Schools is about to write the biggest check in the school district’s history. It owes the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund $715.9 million on June 30.

That looming pension payment has been a main driver of the money problems the school district has been grappling with all year. You’ve almost certainly heard about them.

There’s been budget cut after budget cut. There have been threats of ending school early. There was an unsuccessful lawsuit. There’s still a $129 million hole in the budget. And the state is months behind in paying the school district hundreds of millions of dollars.

The rhetoric continues to heat up in a last-minute scramble for money.

One thing is clear: the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund won’t be getting the full $715.9 million owed to it on June 30. CPS plans to subtract $250 million from that total. WBEZ – read more — https://preaprez.wordpress.com/2017/05/14/happy-mothers-day/

Fred Klonsky

Downtown Chicago circa 1972. Photo: David Senner. 

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Federal immigration agents showed up at a Queens elementary school looking for a fourth grader — but were turned away at the door, officials said Saturday.

Officers from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had no warrant when they arrived at Public School 58 in Maspeth, Queens, officials said.

“All students, regardless of immigration status, are welcome in NYC public schools, and parents should rest assured that we will do everything on our power to protect students, staff and families,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. NY Daily News

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The Chicago Public Schools is about to write the biggest check in the school district’s history. It owes the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund $715.9 million on June 30.

That looming pension payment has been a main driver of the money problems the school district has been grappling with all year. You’ve almost…

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Know-It-All School Reformers

Know-It-All School Reformers
Listen to Michael Mann, a climatolgist at Penn State University who talked about the science behind global warming and rising sea levels.

Any honest assessment of the science is going to recognize that there are things we understand pretty darn well and things that we sort of know. But there are things that are uncertain and there are things we just have no idea about whatsoever. (Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise, 2012, p. 409).

Ah, if only federal and state policymakers, researchers, and reform-minded educators would see the “science” of school reform in K-12 and higher education in similar terms. “Science” is in quote marks because there is no reliable, much less valid, theory of school reform that can predict events or improvements in schools and classroom instruction.

Still, for K-12 children and youth there are “things we understand pretty darn well.”…. read more here – https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2017/05/12/know-it-all-school-reformers/

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Listen to Michael Mann, a climatolgist at Penn State University who talked about the science behind global warming and rising sea levels.

Any honest assessment of the science is going to recognize that there are things we understand pretty darn well and things that we sort of know. But there are things that are uncertain and there are things we just have no idea about whatsoever. (Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise, 2012, p. 409).

Ah, if only federal and state policymakers, researchers, and reform-minded educators would see the “science” of school reform in K-12 and higher education in similar terms. “Science” is in quote marks because there is no reliable, much less valid, theory of school reform that can predict events or improvements in schools and classroom instruction.

Still, for K-12 children and youth there are “things we understand pretty darn well.”

*We understand that socioeconomic…

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Do Food Drives End Hunger? Feeding America and the Anti-Hunger Industrial Complex

New post on Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Do Food Drives End Hunger? Feeding America and the Anti-Hunger Industrial Complex
by Jeff Smith (GRIID)
This past week, many in Grand Rapids, in my mail was a grocery bag and a card from Feeding America West Michigan. The grocery bag and the card had the same message, that featured cartoon characters that asked the question – Do We Have an Answer to Hunger? The answer was… https://griid.org/2017/05/15/do-food-drives-end-hunger-feeding-america-and-the-anti-hunger-industrial-complex/

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

This past week, many in Grand Rapids, in my mail was a grocery bag and a card from Feeding America West Michigan. The grocery bag and the card had the same message, that featured cartoon characters that asked the question – Do We Have an Answer to Hunger? The answer was, Yes, It’s in the Bag.

Thousands of households were asked to either fill the bag to stamp out hunger or donate online on May 13th to Feeding America West Michigan. Both of these options are easy, simple and are based on the notion that if we donate food we can solve hunger.

Filling a grocery bag with processed foods will not end hunger, in fact, it is actually a false solution. 

Feeding America wants us all to believe that hunger can be solved through charity. However, the anti-hunger industrial complex does is to keep our attention focused on…

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