Seattle Schools Community Forum

I mentioned - weeks ago - that I had wanted to do a round-up of charter schools and their outcomes in this country.  I am always amused when people say there's just a "handful" of stories being blown up.  Just not true. Here's we go. I don't know how anyone missed this one - a 1st grader in a big-chain charter school in NYC getting bullied by her teacher.  Before the teacher says anything, you should look at the posture and body language of those students.  It's caught on video by another teacher who was very concerned for this class.  Horrific.  The mother of was beyond upset and yet felt marginalized and ignored by the head of the charter system.  She pulled her daughter out.

Just asking because apparently in NYC, there is a group of charters that is so against one mayoral candidate - Bill de Blasio - that their leader shut down all the schools, and told the parents they needed to come and march. Charter law in NY State requires charters to pay for any city services or facilities at cost.  The Success Academy Charter School group - which has 22 schools in NYC, all co-located with a real public school - is upset that de Blasio and others want that law enforced.  From the NYC Public School Parents blog: Arthur Schwartz, attorney with Advocates for Justice, who first filed a lawsuit on behalf of public school and charter school parents on this issue in 2011, says: “New York State Education Law requires that when a district provides space or services to a charter school it shall do so at cost.  Yet the DOE provides free space and services for more than 100 co-located charter schools.  Using figures from the NYC Independent Budget Office,...