Harlem Village Academy Retained Only 4 Full-Time Teachers While Losing 75%

This piece came in over the transom tonight. While exposing the disregard some charter schools hold for their own teaching staffs, this piece also exposes the shameful NY Post reporting on the phony grad rate. And of course the exposure of the force-outs and other manipulatives.

Last year Mayor Bloomberg visited Harlem Village Academy high school and called it "the poster child for this country."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_qM5tLTxv4VD6iAzd2A8pcJ;jsessionid=B6F2EB5549FF300018C58001CDD43800

Here is a selection from the Post piece:
Another student offered a stark comparison between her experience at Harlem Village and her former public school. "The teachers didn't care (in the public school)," she said. Asked by Schools Chancellor Joel Klein how many planned to attend college, every hand shot up. Harlem Village achieved national prominence last year when 100 percent of its eighth-graders passed the state math exam.

Nice to see her teachers cared more than her public school teachers even though most of them left.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_qM5tLTxv4VD6iAzd2A8pcJ;jsessionid=B6F2EB5549FF300018C58001CDD43800#ixzz102Qc7dI3

Can a school that can't retain 75% of its teaching staff be considered a poster child?

This year Harlem Village Academy opened its doors with only 4 full time teachers returning, a turnover of more than 75%. There are office staff, department heads and and administrators that returned (some of them teach one period) but only four full time teachers returned.  Teachers were told they would be working 9 hour days when they were hired, but the week before school started they were told they would be working 12 hour days. School starts at 7:30 so teachers arrive around 7.  School ends for children at 4:15 and there is a mandatory meeting for teachers from 5-7pm from Monday-Thursday.  Can be called a model that can't retain 75% of its teaching staff. The school sent a letter home addressing parents' concerns over the turnover without saying what caused it or how it will be fixed.

The Post article also references a 100% passing rate on the state math exam in 8th grade.  In order to be promoted in middle school you must have an 80% in each class (I am not sure if this practice is legal.) A number of students that do not have an 80 in each class choose to leave the school rather than be held back or go to summer school. In fact DOE numbers show that they lose 32% of their students between 6th and 8th grades (See the link below.) Under standing their standards for promotion, it is easy to see that the 32% of students that leave are almost all the lowest performing students. If traditional public schools withheld students that got less than an 80 it would be easy to have high passing rates, but we would have to build 30% more schools. Essentially HVA dumps its lowest third of students back into public school system.

http://gothamschools.org/2010/06/09/left-behind-but-not-gone-forever-augmenting-the-ufts-vanishing-students-report/

Ohanian on Brooklyn Charter School Thug

Susan Ohanian has received a bunch of comments from a Brooklyn charter school operator. I have a few myself. Some anonymous person from the charter has been asking us to do anything we can to publicize the situation.

Here's a reprise from the greatest hits from a few years ago: Teacher Says Charter School Fired Her for Organizing to Improve Pay Scale

Susan had a post a few says ago on the situation:

Another Comment on Believe Charter

In March 2003, about 30 people traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to pay tribute to Steve Orel and The World of Opportunity (The WOO), giving the WOO The Courage in Education award. That's where I met Norm Scott, who made a number of trips to The WOO, taking needed supplies [Ed Note - only one trip]. Those of us who traveled to The WOO formed bonds that will never break. So when I received threatening messages from a New York City charter school thug, I knew who to talk to. So now Norm gets nasty messages too. I just keep thinking about what it must be like to work in such a place. This all started because I was outraged by the denial of public school access to the library which had been lovingly renovated by the librarian and volunteers she solicited. Take a look at the video. If you care about kids and about libraries, it will break your heart.

One of the funny comments at the NY Times Cityroom Blog

What can I say about Williamsburg Charter High School that hasn’t already been said about Iraq?

It has been named the “Believe” Network. Who came up with this name? Belief in what? By whom? At best it is an arbitrary title rooted in the presumption that the students are inherently unable to perform. As a result, success is dependent on faith. This is yet another example of framing the problem as a deficiency in these poor black and brown kids and not the irresponsible adults entrusted with their development (achievement gap, anyone? How about addressing the administration gap?).

The school mascot is the Wolverines. Why? No one knows. No one cares. There aren’t even any wolverines in Brooklyn. The closest wolverine is in Canada. How about a relevant mascot? Let’s go Williamsburg Animal Shaped Rubberbands!

Ultimate charity fund-raising event: A roast of Eddie Calderon-Melendez. Charge $50 a plate and invite current and former employees (mostly former). We’ll make enough to cure cancer.

Williamsburg Charter High School has been unfairly compared to the mob in these comments. The mob has consistent leadership.

Believe Network Definitions:

Irony: The network offices have glass walls yet are the least transparent part of the organization.

Sadism: the tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on other people’s children (e.g. mismanaging a charter school network).

Masochism: the tendency to derive pleasure from one’s own pain or humiliation (e.g. sending your children to your own mismanaged charter school network).