Charter Schools don't measure up to conventional schools: Submitted by Eddie L. Johnson

On Dec. 14, Lou St. John, president of the New Bedford Educators Association submitted an in-depth and credible op-ed piece to the Standard Times ("Your View: Charter schools 'lose' too many students").

The NBEA's research of the facts, evidence and study of the Global Learning Charter School's enrollment data, is very much on point, very accurate and can easliy be reviewed, accounted for and verified, by contacting the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The graphs and charts submitted, used and provided by St. John to corroborate and confirm the NBEA's collected data, research and correct findings, is available public information, and accessable on DESE's website.

Anyone can read and review this written and documented public information, simply by contacting the state Department of Educaction for both a written and verbal explanation of the bar-charts and findings for the Global Learning Charter school.

The department will also provide a personal explanation by department officials responsible for accurate data and public information, confirming St. John's findings.

That is exactly what I did.

The NBEA's postion on charter schools is supported by a Huffington Post article of Dec. 20 titled "Charter School Proponents Focus on Accountability In Word If Not Deed."

Included in the Huffington Post article are comments from California Charter School Association President Jed Wallace, as charter schools are failing students in other states.

Recently, the California Charter Schools Association trumpeted its call for districts to discontinue 10 charter schools the group identified as culprits of "consistent academic underperformance."

On Dec. 17, Stephen Furtado, the executive director of New Bedford's Global Learning Charter Public School, wrote an op-ed response to the NBEA position paper titled, "Your View: Facts show the true success at Global Learning School."
In Furtado's response, there are many misrepsentaions of the "facts" of New Bedford's Global Learning Charter School, as well as several omissions.

These misrepresentations and omissions do not include the cost per student, the percentage of graduates of the Global Charter School, the number of students who started and completed their education, where the students end up, who do not complete their education curriculm, and the 37 administrators, plus teachers, for 90 students, with a $5 million budget.

At this very high public taxpayer supported cost, failure by charter schools is unacceptable, and cannot and should not be used as an excuse.

Neither does Director Furtado sufficiently explain the percentage or failure rate of the 90 students at Global.

There can be no claim to substantiate a 100 percent success rate by any charter school. Global Learning Charter School as per the Department of Education has documented only one-third completion rate.

I am sure the Department of Education is both accurate and has posted and published complete, credible, authentic facts and validated public information.

In reality, charter schools are siphoning money from New Bedford's public school budget without any oversight from the New Bedford School Committee and superintendent of schools.

It is quite interesting that Catholic and private schools do not collect School Department money, yet they are educating and graduating the majority of these schools' successful students who would normally be in the New Bedford public school system.

I believe in choice, however neither Catholic schools nor private schools are being funded by the local city budget, and in my humble opinion, neither should charter schools or autonomous schools presently being proposed, discussed and presented as New Bedford School Committee agenda items.

Eddie L. Johnson is a member of the Superintendent of New Bedford Public Schools Rountable.