Must read eschools expose

When the big money hedge fund managers start to bail on corporate education reform and the profiteers, you realize the worm might be turning.

In 123 page powerpoint presentation, titled "An Analysis of K12 and why it is my largest short position," Whitney Tilson of Kase Capital, Chairman Emeritus, Value Investing Congress, lays out the problems with eschool operator K12 Inc.

• its targeting of at-risk students (ones that it knows are going to fail): “They will sign up anyone – as long as that warm body signs in periodically, K12 can draw enrollment money from the district. It isn’t for some noble reason – it’s because these kids demand the least amount of education.”
• its low spending on teachers ($1054 per pupil for educator salaries at K12 versus $2219 per pupil, the average for US public schools)
• its manipulation of enrollment counts, truancy numbers, and withdrawals and refusal to allow external auditors to examine the data
• its refusal to allow external auditors to examine its student achievement data
• the failure of the majority of K12-run schools to make adequate yearly progress (Only 27.7% of K12 schools reported meeting Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010–2011; 52% of public schools met AYP)
• low on-time graduation rates (just 49.1% graduate on time
• poor academic achievement by enrolled students, whose reading levels and math scores are lower than state averages at every grade level
• high student turnover rates
• high dropout rates (roughly 50% in Pennsylvania and Colorado)
• possible IRS violations in its relationship with non-profit charter schools
• a failure to save states money, as promised
• and its lobbying efforts and contributions to political candidates – some $500,000 to state political candidates from 2004 to 2010

The following are quotes from the presentation

A friend of mine told me after reading this presentation:
"I met with Ron Packard years ago and could tell his motivations had little to do with kids, everything to do with manipulating state regulation to protect his interests. I started digging into the results, the business model, the organization, and discovered much of what you lay out in detail in your presentation. As I said, they are terrible and epitomize everything that we should be working against in the ed reform movement."

Another told me:
"You're totally right about K12 and, on top of it, they lie all the time. It's naïve to trust anything they say. So I'm not sure if their schools can be fixed, at least under the company's current leadership. There's no such thing as a successful online school in the entire country. To be sure, it works well for some students, but I'd guess only 15% of the ones cyber charters are currently serving."

Another emailed me:
"I know the company very well and your presentation rings true. They have a well-deserved terrible reputation."

Yet another emailed me:
"I think you are correct about K12 Whitney. I had an inside view of this company early on. They appeared giddy with the fact that they could receive almost the same per-pupil funding levels as brick and mortar schools and use the difference for big salaries and profit (on the public dime). If they are not providing a truly great education it means that, once again, students lose to adult interests."

A former employee of K12 inc. in Ohio, was scathing

Towards the end of my employment with K12 , corporate assumed control of the initial steps in the enrollment process, both at our school and nationally, via call centers that were encouraging enrollment of students who were obviously ill-suited for learning in a virtual environment. It was apparent to those of us operating schools that parents weren't being given the whole story. K12 oversold students' potential to be successful and obligated teachers to do things they wouldn't likely to be able to do. Eventually, it seemed as though K12's enrollment strategy was to cast a wide net into the sea of school choice and keep whatever they caught regardless if the catch was appropriate for virtual learning or not.

During weekly enrollment calls we were constantly pressured to overlook enrollment paperwork that was critical, consistent with best practice, or even compliant with state guidelines. For example, in order to speed up enrollment conversions, we were pressured by enrollment management to enroll students without a birth certificate or proof of custody. In my opinion, the company was totally crossing the line.

I am shocked that the stock continues to rise. I think it's a house of cards that is going to collapse. It boggles my mind when I read about and hear stories about what's going on in schools managed by K12.

The Presentation goes on to detail deceptive "sales" practices, as retold by former employees

Former sales employees at K12's call centers described high pressure to make huge enrollment quotas in order to get a commission. Sales employees were provided with a "script" of what to say to prospective students and parents, including purported "statistics" showing that K12 students were years more advanced than brick-and-mortar school students. Sample quotes:

1. CW2 described a toxic work environment where sales staff were pressured to meet unrealistic quotas, frequently being forced to make as many as 200 outgoing calls daily to keep up. CW2 confirmed that sales staff were never given any actual data of student performance, but were instead fed statistics from K12's website, and were told to tell parents that students who did the K12 program for 1-2 years performed better than their peers at brick and mortar schools.

2. CW4 stated that there was constant pressure to generate sales, describing the Company's sales philosophy as "enroll, enroll, enroll." CW4 stated that enrollment consultants were instructed to refer to the performance of K12 students as "comparable [to] or even better" than the performance of students at traditional schools, and to state that students at K12 schools were "on a better tier" than those at traditional schools.

"Sales staff", "Quotas", "Commission" - language that should be unheard of in public education is driving a $220 million dollar business in Ohio - a business that is generating F's across the board. It's a scandal.

An Analysis of K12 and why it is my largest short position," Whitney Tilson of Kase Capital, Chairman...

E-Schools No Value Added

We received this analysis of the 2012/13 performance of Ohio's charter e-schools from the Ohio E&A Coalition. As you can see, despite the state investing almost $220 million dollars, not a single one of these schools added any value. They all received an F rating for progress.

Before drilling down on e-school finances and operations, an observation about the purpose of public education is in order. Public school educators, historically, have been committed to the growth and development of the "whole" child. As far back as 1918 when the seven cardinal principles of secondary education were set forth in America, it was determined that the concept of democracy must serve as a guide for public education. The seven cardinal principles included growth and development in the areas of health, command of fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, civic education, worthy use of leisure time and ethical character. Can these goals be accomplished by a process that is primarily cyber-based, in isolation of wholesome on-going interaction among student peers and professional educators? Is the goal of education to provide a mere "credential" or to produce "well-rounded educated citizens" who assume personal and civic responsibilities?

American taxpayers fork over about $2 billion annually to mostly, for-profit companies that operate e-schools. In Ohio, last school year six for-profit charter school management companies collected $218,288,669.99 from public school districts' budgets for 33,149 students. The state report card results for these cyber schools were mostly Ds and Fs.

Below is a table which shows enrollment, money received and select state report card results in FY 2013. Source of data is Ohio Department of Education for fiscal year 2013 payment.

Online Charter School	Enrollment	Money received	Per pupil funding	Performance Index Rating (Achievement)	Value Added Rating (Progress)
Alternative Education Academy	2,118	$13,440,600.33	$6,345.89	D	F
Buckeye On-line School for Success	1,241	$7,864,039.31	$6,336.86	C	F
Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow	13,721	$88,370,050.21	$6,440.50	D	F
Ohio Connections Academy	3,122	$19,175,763.86	$6,142.14	C	F
Ohio Virtual Academy	11,817	$81,591,503.56	$6,904.59	C	F
Virtual Community School of Ohio	1,130	$7,846,712.72	$6,943.99	D	F
Total	33,149	$218,288,669.99	$6,585.08

In FY 2014, the e-school coffers will overflow from money extracted from Ohio school districts. Another for-profit e-school has been approved for operation in FY 2014. The e-school expansion moratorium has been lifted and vocational and technical education funding has been made available to e-schools.

At least one of these for-profit operators runs both the virtual school and a company that sells its online curriculum to the virtual school. This cozy deal surely must be profitable-no marketplace competition here!

One of the Ohio online charter school operators contributed nearly $400,000 to a political party and to individual campaign funds in the past couple years. This operation serves less than 13,000 students. This company engaged nearly 50 lobbyists, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for political activities. State policy and funding for public education would look much different if each school district superintendent had $400,000 to use for campaign contributions each biennium.

One of the out of state e-schools operations, K-12 Inc., reported that its income increased 58 percent in FY 2013.

Just more shameful evidence of Ohio's failed charter school experiment.

Traditional schools make up 197 out of top 200

The charter school boosters over at the corporate education reform think tank, Fordham Foundation took issue with our post showing that 97 of the bottom 100 schools in Ohio were charter schools.

Recent blogs by William Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding (posted on Diane Ravitch’s website) and Join the Future highlight the academic woes of some of Ohio’s charter schools. Phillis writes: “The Department of Education’s ranking of schools and districts reveals that 83 out of the bottom 84 schools are charter schools.” Join the Future exclaims “Out of the bottom 200 districts, just 21 are traditional public schools, the remaining 179 are charter schools!”

Both authors make spurious comparisons that ought to be dismissed. Both make the mistake of comparing the performance index scores of charter schools to school districts.

Of course, this is apologetic nonsense designed to once again deflect from the truth, as Steve Dyer points out in response

Most importantly, though, is that Ohio law treats Charters as if they are School Districts for funding and accountability purposes. They are paid like School Districts. They are considered Local Education Agencies for federal funding purposes, just as School Districts are. They are required to have Superintendents and Treasurers, just like School Districts. They have boards that oversee them, just like School Districts. They are, under law, School Districts.

In addition, only one School District did not lose money or students to Charters last year. And 47% of all kids in Charters last year did not come from a Big 8 Urban School District. If Charters take kids and money from every School District, why should they only be compared with 8 of them, especially when 47% of the kids do not come from there?

Dyer goes on to further point out that the worst charter schools are far worse than the worst traditional public schools

One more thing: The average Performance Index score of the bottom 23% of School Buildings (710 total) is 79.54. The average Performance Index score of the bottom 23% of Charter Schools (the 61 in Churchill's calculation) is 62.57.

But let us be charitable and cast aside these differences, and instead of ""wallowing in the dreggs of charter failure" as Fordham claims, lets bask in the glory of excellence. Let's take a look at the top 200 schools in Ohio, and let's compare traditional schools to charter schools. Building to building, not districts as Churchill complained about.

What do we find? Once again we find traditional public schools far exceeding the performance of charter schools. Out of the top 200 school buildings in Ohio, 197 are traditional public schools, and only 3 are charter schools!

If you want to look for models of excellence in Ohio schools, you need to look at traditional schools, not charter schools!

Here's the list of the top 200 performing schools as ranked by ODE

2013 PI Ranking	District Name	School Name	School Org Type	School Type	2013 Grade Span
1	Steubenville City	Wells Academy	Public School	Elementary School	P,K,1-7,SN
2	Madeira City	Madeira High School	Public School	High School	9-12
3	Mansfield City	Mansfield Spanish Immersion School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4,P
4	Indian Hill Exempted Village	Indian Hill High School	Public School	High School	9-12
5	Dublin City	Dublin Jerome High School	Public School	High School	9-12
6	Oakwood City	Oakwood High School	Public School	High School	9-12
7	Oakwood City	Julian & Marjorie Lange School Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K
8	Solon City	Solon High School	Public School	High School	9-12
9	Columbus Preparatory Academy	Columbus Preparatory Academy	Community School	Elementary School	K-12
10	Independence Local	Independence High School	Public School	High School	9-12
11	Aurora City	Aurora High School	Public School	High School	9-12
12	Solon City	Dorothy E Lewis Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K,1-4,UNG
13	Beachwood City	Bryden Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
14	Upper Arlington City	Upper Arlington High School	Public School	High School	9-12
15	Hudson City	Hudson High School	Public School	High School	9-12
16	Rocky River City	Rocky River High School	Public School	High School	9-12
17	Madeira City	Madeira Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
18	North Royalton City	Early Childhood Center	Public School	Elementary School	K,P
19	Kenston Local	Timmons Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-3
20	Orange City	Orange High School	Public School	High School	9-12
21	Solon City	Arthur Road Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4,P
22	Wyoming City	Wyoming High School	Public School	High School	9-12
23	Granville Exempted Village	Granville High School	Public School	High School	9-12
24	Wyoming City	Vermont Avenue Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
25	Menlo Park Academy	Menlo Park Academy	Community School	Elementary School	K-12
26	Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District	Bellbrook High School	Public School	High School	9-12
27	Olentangy Local	Olentangy High School	Public School	High School	9-12
28	Forest Hills Local	Turpin High School	Public School	High School	9-12
29	Mason City School District	William Mason High School	Public School	High School	9-12,SN
30	Mariemont City	Mariemont High School	Public School	High School	9-12
31	Avon Lake City	Redwood Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
32	Maplewood Local	Maplewood Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
33	Avon Lake City	Avon Lake High School	Public School	High School	9-12
34	Indian Hill Exempted Village	Indian Hill Primary Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
35	Olentangy Local	Olentangy Liberty High School	Public School	High School	9-12
36	Russia Local	Russia High School	Public School	High School	7-12
37	Springboro Community City	Clearcreek Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K
38	Dublin City	Henry Karrer Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
39	Sycamore Community City	Maple Dale Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
40	Wyoming City	Wyoming Middle School	Public School	Middle School	5-8
41	Rocky River City	Goldwood Primary Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
42	Solon City	Parkside Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
43	Sycamore Community City	Sycamore High School	Public School	High School	9-12
44	Sycamore Community City	Montgomery Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
45	Rocky River City	Rocky River Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
46	Dublin City	Deer Run Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
47	North Royalton City	Albion Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-4
48	Wyoming City	Elm Avenue Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
49	Akron City	Akron Early College High School	Public School	High School	9-12
50	Fairland Local	Fairland East Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
51	Highland Local	Highland High School	Public School	High School	9-12
52	Forest Hills Local	Wilson Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
53	Boardman Local	West Boulevard Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
54	Rocky River City	Kensington Intermediate Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	3-5
55	Dublin City	Dublin Coffman High School	Public School	High School	9-12
56	Mason City School District	Western Row Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	2-3,SN
56	Mason City School District	Mason Early Childhood Center Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2,P
58	Miller City-New Cleveland Local	Miller City High School	Public School	High School	9-12
59	Dublin City	Wyandot Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5,P
60	Dublin City	Willard Grizzell Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
61	Lexington Local	Western Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
62	Poland Local	Dobbins Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
63	Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Local School District	Stephen Bell Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
64	Ross Local	Morgan Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4,P
65	Indian Hill Exempted Village	Indian Hill Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
66	Bexley City	Bexley High School	Public School	High School	9-12
67	Worthington City	Worthington Kilbourne High School	Public School	High School	9-12
68	Westlake City	Bassett Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
69	Wyoming City	Hilltop Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
70	Mason City School District	Mason Middle School	Public School	Middle School	7-8,SN
71	Cuyahoga Heights Local	Cuyahoga Hts High School	Public School	High School	9-12
72	Brecksville-Broadview Heights City	Hilton Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3,P
73	Indian Hill Exempted Village	Indian Hill Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	3-5
74	Beachwood City	Beachwood High School	Public School	High School	9-12,SN
75	Kenton City	Westview Kindergarten Center	Public School	Elementary School	K,P
76	Dalton Local	Dalton High School	Public School	High School	9-12
77	Kings Local	Kings Mills Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
78	Canfield Local	Canfield High School	Public School	High School	9-12
79	Brecksville-Broadview Heights City	Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School	Public School	High School	9-12
80	Worthington City	Evening Street Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
81	Minster Local	Minster Jr/Sr High School	Public School	High School	7-12
82	Ottawa Hills Local	Ottawa Hills Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
83	Madeira City	Madeira Middle School	Public School	Middle School	5-8
84	Kings Local	South Lebanon Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
85	Aurora City	Harmon Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
86	Avon Lake City	Eastview Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
87	Summit County ESC	Greater Summit County Early Learning Center	Community School	Elementary School	K-3
88	Oakwood City	Oakwood Junior High School	Public School	Junior High School	7-8
89	Fort Loramie Local	Fort Loramie Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
90	Revere Local	Revere High School	Public School	High School	9-12
91	Bay Village City	Normandy Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
92	Solon City	Solon Middle School	Public School	Middle School	7-8
93	Grandview Heights City	Grandview Heights High School	Public School	High School	9-12
94	Avon Local	Avon High School	Public School	High School	9-12
95	Shadyside Local	Jefferson Ave Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
96	Jackson Local	Jackson High School	Public School	High School	9-12,PS,UNG,SN
97	St Henry Consolidated Local	St Henry Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
98	Delphos City	Landeck Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-5
99	North Canton City	Hoover High School	Public School	High School	9-12
100	Chardon Local	Munson Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
101	Dublin City	Mary Emma Bailey Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5,P
102	Brecksville-Broadview Heights City	Chippewa Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
102	Westerville City	Emerson Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-5
104	Lake Local	Lake High School	Public School	High School	9-12
105	Wayne Local	Waynesville High School	Public School	High School	9-12
106	Chagrin Falls Exempted Village	Gurney Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3,P
107	Kirtland Local	Kirtland High School	Public School	High School	9-12
108	Howland Local	Howland Glen Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
109	North Royalton City	Valley Vista Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-4
110	Grandview Heights City	Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
111	Dublin City	Scottish Corners Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
112	Twinsburg City	Wilcox Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-1
112	Twinsburg City	Samuel Bissell Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	2-3
114	Olentangy Local	Scioto Ridge Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
115	Anthony Wayne Local	Monclova Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
116	Kings Local	J F Burns Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
117	Anthony Wayne Local	Waterville Primary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
118	South Range Local	South Range High School	Public School	High School	9-12
119	Anthony Wayne Local	Anthony Wayne High School	Public School	High School	9-12
120	Springboro Community City	Springboro High School	Public School	High School	9-12
121	Hudson City	Hudson Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
122	Ottawa Hills Local	Ottawa Hills High School	Public School	High School	7-12
123	New Albany-Plain Local	New Albany High School	Public School	High School	9-12
124	Lakota Local	Lakota East High School	Public School	High School	9-12,UNG
125	West Geauga Local	West Geauga High School	Public School	High School	9-12
126	Coldwater Exempted Village	Coldwater High School	Public School	High School	9-12
127	Oakwood City	Harman Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-6
128	Marion Local	Marion Local Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-8
129	Westlake City	Hilliard Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
130	North Canton City	Northwood Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
131	Brookville Local	Brookville Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
132	Cuyahoga Heights Local	Cuyahoga Hts Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
133	Oakwood City	Smith Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-6
134	Centerville City	Centerville Primary Village North	Public School	Elementary School	K-1,P
135	Northeastern Local	Noble Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-1
135	Huron City Schools	Shawnee Elementary	Public School	Elementary School	K-2,P
137	Minster Local	Minster Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
138	Solon City	Orchard Middle School	Public School	Middle School	5-6
139	Beavercreek City	Beavercreek High School	Public School	High School	9-12
140	Mariemont City	Terrace Park Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
141	Put-In-Bay Local	Put-In-Bay High School	Public School	High School	7-12
142	South Euclid-Lyndhurst City	Sunview Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
143	Plain Local	Avondale Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
144	Bay Village City	Westerly Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	3-4
145	Revere Local	Hillcrest Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
146	Beachwood City	Hilltop Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	3-5
147	Sycamore Community City	Symmes Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
148	Bay Village City	Bay High School	Public School	High School	9-12
149	Tallmadge City	Tallmadge High School	Public School	High School	9-12
150	Pickerington Local	Toll Gate Elementary	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
151	East Holmes Local	Flat Ridge Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	2-4
152	South Range Local	South Range Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
153	Olentangy Local	Orange High School	Public School	High School	9-12
154	Maumee City	Fairfield Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
155	Botkins Local	Botkins High School	Public School	High School	7-12
156	Stow-Munroe Falls City School District	Woodland Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
157	Perrysburg Exempted Village	Perrysburg High School	Public School	High School	9-12
158	Kings Local	Kings High School	Public School	High School	9-12
159	Lakota Local	Liberty Early Childhood School	Public School	Elementary School	K-1
160	Pickerington Local	Violet Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
161	Wheelersburg Local	Wheelersburg High School	Public School	High School	9-12
162	Olmsted Falls City	Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center	Public School	Elementary School	K,P
162	Olmsted Falls City	Falls-Lenox Primary Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-3
164	Centerville City	Centerville High School	Public School	High School	9-12,SN
165	Copley-Fairlawn City	Arrowhead Primary Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
166	Chardon Local	Park Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
167	Mason City School District	Mason Intermediate Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	4-6
168	Hilliard City	Hilliard Station Sixth Grade Elementary School	Public School	Middle School	6
169	Maumee City	Fort Miami Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
170	Independence Local	Independence Primary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4,P
171	Loveland City	Loveland Early Childhood Center	Public School	Elementary School	K-1,P
171	Loveland City	Loveland Primary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-2
173	Delaware City	Robert F Schultz Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
174	Ottoville Local	Ottoville High School	Public School	High School	7-12
175	Marion Local	Marion Local High School	Public School	High School	9-12
176	Jackson Local	Jackson Memorial Middle School	Public School	Middle School	6-8
177	North Royalton City	Royal View Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	1-4
178	Maplewood Local	Maplewood High School	Public School	High School	9-12
179	Chippewa Local	Hazel Harvey Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
180	Forest Hills Local	Anderson High School	Public School	High School	9-12
181	Southeast Local	Holmesville Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-6
182	Howland Local	Howland Springs Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
183	Cardington-Lincoln Local	Cardington-Lincoln Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
184	Bluffton Exempted Village	Bluffton High School	Public School	High School	9-12
185	Upper Arlington City	Windermere Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
186	Fort Recovery Local	Fort Recovery High School	Public School	High School	9-12
186	East Holmes Local	Charm Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-1
188	Blanchester Local	Putman Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3,P
189	Anthony Wayne Local	Whitehouse Primary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
190	Olmsted Falls City	Olmsted Falls High School	Public School	High School	9-12
191	Copley-Fairlawn City	Fort Island Primary Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4
192	Ottawa-Glandorf Local	Ottawa-Glandorf High School	Public School	High School	P,9-12
193	Parkway Local	Parkway Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-4,P
194	Arts & College Preparatory Academy	Arts & College Preparatory Academy	Community School	High School	9-12
195	Shawnee Local	Elmwood Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-2
196	Granville Exempted Village	Granville Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-3
197	Lakota Local	Wyandot Early Childhood School	Public School	Elementary School	K-1
198	Bluffton Exempted Village	Bluffton Elementary School	Public School	Elementary School	K-5
199	Pickerington Local	Pickerington High School North	Public School	High School	9-12
200	Sylvania City	Sylvania Northview High School	Public School	High School	9-12

Dick Ross blind to charter disaster

As part of the recent school report card revamp, the legislature directed the Ohio Department of Education to rank and sort schools. If the goal was to shame traditional public schools, the release of that ranking has backfired spectacularly. The ranking can be downloaded here.

Out of the bottom 200 districts, just 21 are traditional public schools, the remaining 179 are charter schools!. Considering there are far more traditional public schools in Ohio than charters this is an incredible result.

In the bottom 100, only 3 are public districts (Dayton, East Cleveland, and Warrensville Heights) the remaining schools are all charters. The bottom 100 are all listed below.

In light of this stunning news of charter failure, Dick Ross, the state superintendent was asked about it

Mr. Ross said he visits a lot of high-quality charter schools. "When I hear people criticizing community schools, I say well, yeah, but you know I've been to some and seen some not so good traditional schools," he said.

When asked if Ohio's closure laws for charters are adequate, he said, "I think we probably need to do more with dealing with traditional brick and mortar schools and community schools."

"Right now poor-performing school districts, I'm able to start academic distress committees with them. I probably, to be honest, have more control over closing community schools than I do traditional schools..."

It is stunning that the State Superintendent, when faced with incontrovertible evidence of the the failure of charter schools instead points towards traditional public schools, of which only 3 districts appear in the bottom 100, as an area he wants to focus on. This should come as no surprise as Ross recently hired a tea party reactionary to oversee the charter school disaster in Ohio, even though that reactionary is more interested in bashing teachers unions that addressing charter school quality.

Make no mistake, Dick Ross is failing Ohio's students by the blindness caused by his ideological crusade.

2013 PI Ranking	District Name	District Org Type	2013 Grade Span
762	Horizon Science Academy-Cincinnati	Community School	K-12
763	Summit Academy Toledo Learning Center	Community School	K-12
764	Southern Ohio Academy	Community School	7-12
764	Urbana Community School	Community School	K-12
766	Lakeland Academy Community School	Community School	K-12
767	Groveport Community School	Community School	K-8
768	STEAM Academy of Warren	Community School	K-8
769	Dayton City	Public District	K-12
770	Arts and Science Preparatory Academy	Community School	K-12
771	Summit Academy Transition High School-Columbus	Community School	8-12,UNG
772	Hope Academy Cuyahoga Campus	Community School	K-8
773	Hope Academy Chapelside Campus	Community School	K-8
774	Hope Academy University	Community School	K-8
775	Summit Academy Akron Middle School	Community School	5-10,UNG
776	Summit Academy Akron Elementary School	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
777	East Cleveland City	Public District	K-12
778	Imagine Hill Avenue	Community School	K-12
779	Horizon Science Academy Dayton Downtown	Community School	K-12
780	Knight Academy	Community School	4-8
781	South Scioto Academy	Community School	K-12
782	Horizon Science Academy-Dayton	Community School	K-12
783	City Day Community School	Community School	K-8
784	North Central Academy	Community School	6-12
785	Constellation Schools: Mansfield Community Middle	Community School	4-8
786	Dayton Leadership Academies-Dayton Liberty Campus	Community School	K-8
787	Ashland County Community Academy	Community School	9-12
788	Bella Academy of Excellence	Community School	K-8
789	North Dayton School Of Science & Discovery	Community School	K-8
790	Springfield Academy of Excellence	Community School	K-6
791	A+ Children's Academy	Community School	K-12
792	Midnimo Cross Cultural Community School	Community School	K-12
793	Eagle Academy	Community School	K-12
794	Pearl Academy	Community School	K-12
795	Lakewood Digital Academy	Community School	K-12
796	Northpointe Academy	Community School	K-12
797	Cincinnati Speech & Reading Intervention Center	Community School	K-8
798	C.M. Grant Leadership Academy	Community School	K-8
799	Harvard Avenue Community School	Community School	K-8
800	Educational Academy for Boys & Girls	Community School	K-12
801	Foxfire Intermediate School	Community School	K-8
802	Summit Academy Community School-Parma	Community School	K,1-12,UNG
803	Summit Academy Alternative LearnersWarren Middle & Secondary	Community School	5-12,UNG
804	Focus Learning Academy of Northern Columbus	Community School	K-8
805	Warrensville Heights City	Public District	K-12
806	Lorain High School Digital	Community School	K-12
807	Constellation Schools: Outreach Academy for Students with Di	Community School	K-12
808	Summit Academy Community School - Painesville	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
809	Summit Academy Community School - Cincinnati	Community School	K,1-8,UNG
810	Autism Model School	Community School	K-12
811	Southside Academy	Community School	K-12
812	Lake Erie Academy	Community School	K-12
813	Summit Academy Community School-Warren	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
814	Dayton Leadership Academies-Dayton View Campus	Community School	K-8
815	Summit Acdy Comm Schl for Alternative Learners of Middletown	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
816	Garfield Academy	Community School	K-12
817	Summit Academy Middle School - Lorain	Community School	5-10,UNG
818	Star Academy of Toledo	Community School	K-12
819	Summit Academy-Youngstown	Community School	K-12
820	Columbus Bilingual Academy-North	Community School	K-8
821	Summit Academy Community School - Dayton	Community School	K,1-12,UNG
822	Youngstown Academy of Excellence	Community School	K-12
823	Academy of Educational Excellence	Community School	K-5
824	V L T Academy	Community School	K-12
825	Summit Academy Secondary School - Middletown	Community School	8-12,UNG
826	Imagine Woodbury Academy	Community School	K-8
827	Imagine Cleveland Academy	Community School	K-6
828	Cesar Chavez College Preparatory School	Community School	K-5
829	Klepinger Community School	Community School	K-8
830	Renaissance Academy	Community School	K-12
831	Premier Academy of Ohio	Community School	6-12
832	Summit Academy Community School Alternative Learners -Xenia	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
833	Cincinnati Leadership Academy	Community School	K-8
834	Summit Academy Secondary - Canton	Community School	8-12,UNG
835	Quest Community School	Community School	9-12
836	Summit Academy Middle School - Columbus	Community School	5-12,UNG
837	Summit Academy Community School for Alternative Learn-Canton	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
838	Summit Academy Community School Alternative Learners-Lorain	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
839	Believe to Achieve-Canton	Community School	K-12
840	Summit Academy Community School-Columbus	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
841	Imagine on Superior	Community School	K-6
842	Summit Academy Community School-Toledo	Community School	K,1-10,UNG
843	Accelerated Achievement Academy of East Cincinnati	Community School	9-12
844	Cleveland Community School	Community School	K-12
845	Villaview Community School	Community School	K-9
846	Dow Leadership Institute, The	Community School	K-12
847	Broadway Academy	Community School	K-8
848	Young Scholars Prep School	Community School	K-12
849	Woodland Academy	Community School	K-12
850	Summit Academy Secondary - Youngstown	Community School	8-12,UNG
851	Accelerated Achievement Academy of North Cincinnati	Community School	9-12
852	Brookwood Academy	Community School	3-12
853	College Hill Leadership Academy	Community School	K-8
854	Mollie Kessler	Community School	1-8
855	Theodore Roosevelt Public Community School	Community School	K-12
856	Mansfield Elective Academy	Community School	K-9
857	Imagine Integrity Academy	Community School	K-8
858	Hope Academy for Autism	Community School	K-12
859	Believe To Achieve-Cleveland	Community School	K-12
860	East End Comm Heritage School	Community School	K-12
861	Virtual Schoolhouse, Inc.	Community School	K-12
862	UBAH Math & Reading Academy	Community School	K-8

How can Dick Ross and the Governor look at that list and think that Ohio's charter school status quo is acceptable?

RttT States Implementing Teacher Evaluation Systems despite Challenges

The Government Accounting Office looked at the progress states have made implementing teacher evaluations as part of the Race to the Top (RttT) grants, of which Ohio was one. The results were decidedly mixed.

What GAO Found
By school year 2012-13, 6 of 12 Race to The Top (RTT) states fully implemented their evaluation systems (i.e., for all teachers and principals in all RTT districts). However, their success in fully implementing by the date targeted in their RTT applications varied. Three of these states met their target date while three did not for various reasons, such as needing more time to develop student academic growth measures. The six states that did not fully implement either piloted or partially implemented. The scope of pilots varied. One state piloted to about 14 percent of teachers and principals while another piloted to about 30 percent of teachers. State or district officials in four of the six states expressed some concerns about their readiness for full implementation.

Officials in most RTT states cited challenges related to developing and using evaluation measures, addressing teacher concerns, and building capacity and sustainability. State officials said it was difficult to design and implement rigorous student learning objectives—an alternate measure of student academic growth. In 6 states, officials said they had difficulty ensuring that principals conducted evaluations consistently. Officials in 11 states said teacher concerns about the scale of change, such as the use of student academic growth data and consequences attached to evaluations, challenged state efforts. State and district officials also discussed capacity challenges, such as too few staff or limited staff expertise and prioritizing evaluation reform amid multiple educational initiatives. Officials in 10 states had concerns about sustaining their evaluation systems.

Education helps RTT states meet their goals for teacher and principal evaluation systems through a new monitoring process and through technical assistance. Education officials said the RTT monitoring process differs from other monitoring efforts in the frequency of contact with the states and the emphasis on continuous improvement and quality of RTT reforms. Officials from 8 of the 12 RTT states expressed generally positive views about Education’s monitoring.

When states have not demonstrated adequate progress, Education has taken corrective action. For example, Education designated two states as high-risk, which resulted in additional monitoring. Education provides technical assistance through a contractor; officials from 10 RTT states told us assistance related to evaluation systems was generally helpful. Education officials said they plan to provide RTT and nongrantee states with more information to support their efforts.

We are also hearing that SLO development is a big problem, along with capacity. We've also heard that a number of educators had their initial walk-thru on week one, while they were still getting classes up and running.

HEre's where Ohio stands compared to other states, according to the GAO

You can read the full report, here.

The Real ABC's of Betrayal

This was sent to us (and the Dispatch), and is penned by a 6th gre math teacher, in response to the recent Dispatch article on failing charter schools. The ABC's of Betrayal is a reference to the Dispatch's gratuitous attacks on teachers'

First a short bit of background: I am in my 10th year of teaching, but this is my second career. I spent close to 13 years in the tech industry and have an MBA so I bring a bit of a different perspective to the classroom.

As a teacher I read with interest many of the education stories in the Dispatch, which isn't always easy, especially in the last few years. I understand the necessity for the scrutiny our "industry" receives because of what we do, but I always felt like a large part of the education story wasn't being told. Then I saw your story about failed charter schools.

I hope you will consider looking into charter school funding. It was recently brought to my attention that when a student attends a charter school the "money follows the student". As a taxpayer and parent, I can understand the argument for money following the student. What I find disturbing, and I hope you find compelling enough to write about, is that the money remains with the charter regardless of how long a student stays at the charter. My understanding is that a student could attend the charter for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, etc., decide that it wasn't right for them and return to their home school, but the money,doesn't return with the student.

What a fantastic business model for charters. Charters can heavily advertise the supposed benefits of their schools, not disclose they are for profit institutions, enroll as many students as possible, and not worry about losses. Why should charters even care if they educate children. I was told that ECOT enrolled almost 11,000 students last year, but less than 600 students stayed for the entire year. No wonder more charters schools want to open every year.

If any of this is true, the students of charter schools who don't stay, their families, the public school systems, and taxpayers are all subsidizing a system whose business model is designed, with Ohio law's blessing, to enrich the owners. To me that represents "The ABC's of Betrayal" more starkly than what many public schools are accused of doing.