From DKos: this is why privatizing schools is BAD
This Florida charter school sounds like every parent and teacher's education nightmare
Paramount Charter school parents and teachers are outraged at the mismanagement of the school
"I just picked them up one day and all their teachers were gone," Brooks said, still incredulous. "I'm looking around like, 'OK, where's your teacher? Where's your teacher?' Nobody had a teacher."And where were the teachers? Looking for new jobs. As many as 20 were fired and many more resigned:
Three now-former Paramount teachers who, fearing retaliation, spoke on condition of anonymity said about 20 teachers lost their jobs, many in a mass firing, the others resigning. "One by one, she would call everybody in and they were getting fired, fired, fired," one teacher said.Those who weren't fired were given a stark choice:
One said that after the mass firings, she was called into the room and told that the school wanted to keep her, but that if she wanted to keep her job she would have to take a cut in pay from $36,000 to $30,000 and that promised benefits, including health care, would be cut.The teachers who spoke with Local 10 News in Miami said the school was a mess from the minute it opened the doors—teachers didn't have lists of their students names, no teaching supplies, no student schedules. Teachers and parents say they feel betrayed and worse yet—their kids are paying the price. See more on the unbelievable mismanagement of this Florida Charter school at Local10News.com. The Paramount Charter School website proudly notes how charter schools are free of those pesky regulations that drag down traditional public schools:
Charter schools are public schools that operate under a performance contract, or a “charter” which frees them from many regulations created for traditional public schools while holding them accountable for academic and financial results. The charter contract between the charter school governing board and the sponsor details the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies but most are granted for five years.
The Florida Legislature, in authorizing the creation of public charter schools, established the following guiding principles: high standards of student achievement while increasing parental choice; the alignment of responsibility with accountability; and ensuring parents receive information on reading levels and learning gains of their children. Charter schools are intended to improve student learning; increase learning opportunities with special emphasis on low performing students and reading; and measure learning outcomes. Charter schools may create innovative measurement tools; provide competition to stimulate improvement in traditional schools; expand capacity of the public school system; and mitigate the educational impact created by the development of new residential units.
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