Jackson Jambalaya

Representative Cecil Brown (D-Hinds) pushed a "trigger law" for charter schools in a recent submission to JJ. The only line missing from the column was "the wonderful thing about triggers, is triggers are a wonderful thing." Here is an excerpt from his column:

"Known nationally as a “parent trigger law,” Mississippi’s law allows parents of children in chronically underperforming schools to take over governance of the school. By a vote of parents of more than 50% of the kids in the school, the parents can elect a “local management board” for their school, remove some or all of the school’s teachers and administrators, develop their own curriculum and schedules and, in essence, convert the school to a charter school. The school would remain a public school and would receive the same local, state and federal support it received before the conversion but would no longer be governed by the local school board. Under federal law, the provisions of the “No Child Left Behind Act” would continue to apply, but administration of the school would be left up to the school’s duly elected local management board. Day to day operations could be contracted out to a charter school operator such as KIPP, or the board could hire its own personnel. The law applies to schools that are in the lowest three categories of performance for three consecutive years, and there is no limit on the number of schools that can convert. The three year measurement period has now passed, so the current 2012-2013 school year is the first year that the conversion will be available..." Rest of column

Sounds nice. Responsible. Legislation we can all support. Right? Before you answer that question, check out how trigger laws are used to defeat parents in California. The Wall Street Journal editorial page reported how school boards in California are blocking the parents from converting public schools to charter schools:

A California Superior Court judge ruled last month that several hundred parents in Adelanto, California had successfully pulled the nation's first parent trigger to force change at their children's failing public school. The judge "commanded" the Adelanto school board to let the parents "immediately begin the process of soliciting and selecting" proposals to transform Desert Trails Elementary into a charter school.

At a recent hearing, the school board unanimously refused. Instead, the board wants to implement what it calls "alternative governance" reforms: a somewhat longer school day, a "technology infusion into the classroom," better training of teachers, and a "community advisory committee" to oversee such changes. That is, the board wants to keep tinkering around the edges of a school that's been classified as failing for six years in a row, with 70% of sixth-graders not proficient in English or math.

The board insists that it is following the law—notwithstanding board member Jermaine Wright's vow to stand in the schoolhouse door in handcuffs. The board's line is that because the new school year is about to begin, it's too late for Desert Trails to become a charter school.

But the parents aren't aiming for this year. They want to solicit charter offers for next year. Naturally, the board says next year is also impossible, because that will be too far removed from when the parents filed their petition in January 2012. So having obstructed the parents for as long as legally possible, the school board turns around and says too much time has passed for the "trigger" to still be relevant.

This is an invented standard that no law or regulation empowers the board to apply. And it follows last month's court order that slapped down the board for its "abuse of discretion" in trying to disqualify parents' petition signatures. The parents of Adelanto will now have to return to court to enforce the victory they have already won... Column

One can only imagine how the public school lobby in this state will use the trigger law to fight conversions. Watch them become the biggest supporters of voter ID - on petitions for conversions. How many different ways can they frustrate the parents? Check to see if they live in that district. Do they have children attending that school. Does it apply to all parents in the district or just those with children attending that school (One good way to throw out the votes of parents with children in private schools or schooled at home.). Don't forget, spouses can't sign petitions for each other. How long is the petition valid? Starting to get the idea?

Then there is the matter of the school must be rated in the "lowest three categories" for three consecutive years (failing, low performing, at risk of failing). Academic Watch would not count. That's right. Most of the JPS schools are on academic watch, which is considered to be a "D". The Department of Education bureaucrats do some finagling with ratings for one year and presto, the school gets moved up to academic watch.... and the clock resets. You will be surprised at how creative the dullest public school bureaucrat can be when charter schools appear on the scene. They have all kinds of tricks for tinkering with the ratings. Don't count all the special ed students. Good students that transferred out of the school to get a better education? No problem. They can move their scores back into that school to raise the rating. Get the idea?

The charter school fight is not going away. Watch for more "reasonable" legislation from the public school lobby as they try to escape any accountability and competition in Mississippi.

The House Education Committee is scheduled to vote on a charter schools bill tomorrow and sure enough, here comes the gnashing of teeth from the Clarion-Ledger, Dr. George Schimmel, and Nancy Loome. While they writhe in agony over the thought of anyone but them approaching the altar of public schools, perhaps we should take a look at how well public schools are performing in Jackson.

JJ reviewed the report cards provided by the Department of Education on its website and found there are few bright spots in the Jackson public school system. Check out the data for yourself and I warn you: it's not pretty.

Elementary Schools (33)
Star: 2
High Performing: 7
Successful: 6
Academic Watch: 8
Low Performing:
At risk of failing: 10
Failing:

Middle Schools (9)
Star:
High Performing:
Successful: 1
Academic Watch: 6
Low Performing
At risk of failing:2
Failing

High Schools (8)
Star:
High Performing:
Successful: 1
Academic Watch: 5
Low Performing
At risk of failing: 2
Failing

% of total schools at Academic Watch or below: 66%
% of elementary schools at Academic Watch or below: 55%
% of middle & high schools at Academic Watch or below: 88%

Note: Davis Magnet is rated High Performing and Power APAC has a Star rating. I did not include those in the above descriptions as they are considered "the gifted and talented" schools. An asterisk is placed next to a school with improvement of one level from the previous year. Two asterisks means it declined by one level. The previous level is stated if the change was more than one level.

Haven't seen these results in the media, have you? David Hampton wrote several columns and blogs this year opposing charter schools. Have you seen him write one column this year, last year, or the year before telling you how bad Jackson Public Schools really are? Have you seen him mention the poor ratings of JPS? Actually provide the data? His editorial page published a column by Claiborne Barksdale last week opposing charter schools. He published an editorial opposing current charter school legislation and no less than 15 similar letters to the editor while only two supporting letters were published in the last ten days.

How many letters to the editor or guest columns has the Clarion-Ledger published about the dismal ratings of Jackson Public Schools? Where are the 15 letters criticizing the leadership of Jackson Public Schools for only having ONE middle school and ONE high school rated above academic watch? How many times have you seen the same outrage currently spent opposing charter schools aimed at the poor performance of JPS? Not once did they tell you less than 40% of the boys at Wingfield and Provine graduate in four years or that half of all boys who go to high school in Jackson public schools graduate. Not once. Did Mr. Hampton mention his wife is in charge of public relations for Jackson Public Schools? Does he disclose this fact when opposing charter school legislation or recommending how it can be "fixed"? Earlier post on graduation rates

Then there is quote by Jackson Public School Board member Dr. George Schimmel in a letter published today in the newspaper:

"The charter school bill before the Legislature is less about choice than it is about segregation. It will segregate our children into those who are at high risk to fail and those who are not." Rest of letter

Dr. Schimmel, there will not be segregation if charter schools become reality because there is segregation right now. Children attending public schools in Jackson are held in bondage to schools that are already failing and at risk. They are doomed to a life of failure by YOUR school system, Dr. Schimmel. A school system that does not teach them, does not educate them, and damn sure is not graduating them. Even the children attending George and McWillie, two star schools actually educating children who are poor and black, see that spark of education extinguished when they move on to middle school. As for race itself, the public school system is 98% black.

I've yet to see Dr. Schimmel write letters discussing the graduation rates or pitiful report cards, yet he doesn't hesitate to raise the ghost of segregation in a 98% black school system when anyone discusses charter schools. Dr. Schimmel is a moral coward, more concerned with his position on the school board than actually doing something about the problems facing Jackson Public Schools. Injecting segregation into the discussion shows his intellectual laziness and inability to get off a path that has already led to failure because the JPS school system is a failure by any standard.

I just have one question for Dr. Schimmel, David Hampton, Nancy Loome of the Parents' Campaign, Claiborne Barksdale, and the rest of the public school lobby: How do you defend the record of a public school system such as Jackson's? How can you argue with a straight face a school system that graduates from high school only half its boys should be protected from charter schools? How do you claim a school system is not segregated when it is nearly all-black with most of the secondary schools rated as academic watch or at risk of failing? When will you admit this fight is more about you than it is the children?




Data:

Baker: High Performing
Barr: Successful
Boyd:High Performing*
Bradley: High Performing
Brinkley: Academic Watch
Brown: Successful*
Casey: High Performing
Clausell: Successful**
Dawson: none reported.
French: High Performing*
George: Star*
Green: High Performing* (At Risk of Failing)
Hopkins: At Risk of Failing**
Isable: " " **
Johnson: " "
Key: Successful
Lake: Academic Watch*
Lee: At Risk of Failling
Lester: Academic Watch
Marshall: At Risk of Failing**
McLeod: High Performing* (Academic Watch)
McWillie: Star
North Jackson: At Risk of Failing**
Oak Forest: Academic Watch
Peeples: Academic Watch*
Pointdexter: Academic Watch**
Raines: Successful
Smith: Academic Watch**
Spann: At Risk of Failing** (Successful)
Timberlawn: Successful
Walton: Academic Watch
Sykes: Successful
Wilkins: At Risk of Failing**
Woodville Heights: At Risk of Failing** (Successful)

Blackburn: Academic Watch
Brinkley: Academic Watch
Chastain: Academic Watch
Hardy: Academic Watch
Northwest: Academic Watch**
Peeples: Academic Watch*
Powell: At Risk of Failing
Rowan: Successful* (At Risk of Failing)
Whitten: At Risk of Failing

Bailey Magnet: Academic Watch
Callaway: Academic Watch**
Forest Hill: Successful. Congratulations. The best high school in JPS.
Jim Hill: Academic Watch
Lanier: Academic Watch**
Murrah: Academic Watch
Provine: At Risk of Failing
Wingfield: At Risk of Failing

Note: Adam Lynch covered some of this in the Jackson Free Press last year.

That's right. I said it. This gangsta-wannabe who loves to ply the white wine circuit as yuppies ooh and ah because he likes them offered up an amendment on charter school legislation this week. Here is the amendment, completely unedited:

AMEND by striking lines 249 through 256 and substituting the following in lieu:

SECTION 5. Authorizer. (1) The Mississippi Public Charter School Authorizer Board created under subsection (2) of this section may only authorize public charter schools in a school district rated as Failing, At-Risk of Failing or Low-Performing by the State Department of Education.

Notice what category is not on there? Academic Watch, which just happens to the level of Jackson Public Schools. This website reported several days ago on the graduation rates of JPS. Male students graduate in four years at a rate of only 53%. That's right: only 1 out of every 2 male students in Jackson Public Schools graduates in four years after starting ninth grade. These pointy-heads over at Parents for Public Schools and the Department of Education can twist the statistics all they want but the fact is, if you are only graduating half the boys or girls in your district, you have a disaster on your hands.

NCLB District Report Card (Bailey Magnet p.5, Callaway p.37, Forest Hill p.57, Lanier p.105, Murrah p.137, Provine p.161 Wingfield p.221)

4-yr graduation rates
Bailey Magnet: 74%
Callaway: 61%
Forest Hill: 56%
Jim Hill: 66%
Lanier: 56%
Murrah: 74%
Provine: 49%
Wingfield: 50%

Now, lets break it down even further using the reports provided by the Dept. of Ed. The report doesn't provide schools names but we will use numbers. I am pretty sure these are in alphabetical order so I will take a leap and guess the school names. The 4-year graduation rates for black male students are placed in parenthesis next to the overall graduation rate. The links to the reports are posted below. Column M is the 4-year graduation rate for black males in Jackson public high schools once they enter ninth grade. The actual student is tracked so if he transfers or moves, the rate is not skewed. The Department of Education website states JPS is 98% black. Graduation rates, Dropout rates

Bailey Magnet: 74% (68%)
Callaway: 59% (50)
Forest Hill: 56%(49%)
Jim Hill: 66% (59%)
Lanier: 56% (54%)
Murrah: 74% (69%)
Provine: 49% (38%)
Wingfield: 50% (36%)

Now lets look at the dropout rates for the same group with the black male students in parenthesis:
Bailey Magnet School: 12% (13%)
Callaway: 28% (38%)
Forest Hill: 20% (24%)
Jim Hill: 22% (23%)
Lanier: 20% (19%)
Murrah: 15% (18%)
Provine: 37% (43%)
Wingfield: 31% (38%)

Think I'm picking on JPS? Hattiesburg High School has a graduation rate of 48%. That's it. 48%. The same school graduated only 33% of its black male students BUT the district is labeled successful and Hattiesburg High is placed on the level of "Academic Watch". 91% of the district's students are black. The dropout rate for black males is 37%. Thus under Senator Horhn's amendment, a school that graduates ONLY ONE-THIRD OF ITS MALE STUDENTS is protected from charter schools if the district is carries the academic watch label.

Mr. Horhn thinks a school that has a student body over 90% black and graduates less than half of its students and one-third of its black male students should be "protected" from charter schools. Mr. Horhn is the Klan's best friend because Hattiesburg High School, Provine, Wingfield, Callaway, and others are graduating black male students at rates only the Klan could love. Read Provine again: Only half the kids graduate, less than 40% of the black male students graduate, and the dropout rate is aorund 40%. Yet John Horhn marches lockstep with Nancy Loome and Claiborne Barksdale, fighting to keep these kids trapped in the same system- until they drop out.

Horhn's amendment gives the game away for the public school lobby. This is not about improving the education of our children but control. The public school lobby and their allies have consistently delivered an educational system that is in last place. Now that there is a serious chance the status quo will change, those who make their living off of keeping our children in last place shriek the loudest. John Horhn should explain why he thinks a school such as Provine should be protected from charter schools because if there is a school that screams out for charter school conversion, it is Provine. Twenty-five years ago a redneck legislator said "We don't need no Harvards down here". Mr. Horhn and such rednecks are one and the same as they fight to keep the Provines and Hattiesburgs as they are.

The Parents' Campaign has been making quite a bit of noise lately as it wades into the charter school debate. Who exactly is the Parents' Campaign? The organization's mission statement is "The goal of The Parents’ Campaign is to engender a public education system that affords all students access to excellent schools so that children can become what they dream." It states its 2012 legislative priorities are to improve funding, teacher quality, and school leadership for public schools. Who could be against those goals?

The lightning rod for the Parents Campaign is Nancy Loome, Executive Director and the 2005 Parent of the Year (State Board of Education winner). She sends the blast emails, speaks to the media, and handles the talking points. The Parent's Campaign and Ms. Loome have become very prominent in the charter schools fight in 2012. The organization professes to support charter schools- with a list of restrictions on how and where they can operate. It is this columnists opinion PC opposes charter schools and is using the amendment process to castrate any charter school legislation.

The tax returns for the Parents' Campaign make one thing clear: the organization is a front for Parents for Public Schools, the public school advocacy group. The 2010 Form 990 (posted below) for the Parents' Campaign state it had total revenue of $237,789. Salaries and employee benefits were $194,028 (81% of revenue). It reported an operating deficit of $27,560 (Hmmm.... no wonder the idea of for-profit charter schools is anathema to this group.).

The chairman is Claiborne Barksdale and the Vice-Chairman is Dick Molpus, the leading public school advocate in the state. Mr. Molpus founded Parents for Public Schools and Mr. Barksdale is the Chief Executive Officer of the Barksdale Reading Institute. The 990 states Ms. Loome is paid $99,040 per year and benefits worth $9,540. The old adage is follow the money. Well, the old adage is true in this case as the money leads back to the public school lobby: Parents for Public Schools and the Barksdale Institute.

Parents for Public Schools gave the Parents' Campaign $175,000 while the Barksdale Institute gave $42,000. PPS gave PC $150,000 in 2009, and $150,000 in 2008. The Parents' Campaign only had revenue of $237,789 in 2010. Thus the Parent's Campaign is likely a front for the public school lobby- Parents for Public Schools and the Barksdale Institute.

Lobbying. Lobbying. Lobbying Parents' believes it lobbysts as it pays Ms. Loome $13,283 in 2011 to lobby and reported three other lobbyists in 2011 although none made over $3,000. Camille Scales Young registered as a lobbyist for the Parents' Campaign last Friday. Her compensation is unknown. Given that the Parents' Campaign is a lobbying arm of the public school lobby, they should be recognized as such during the charter school debate.