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In Massachusetts, we like our education debates like our turkeys: fact free and stuffed with excellence.
Attrition is just another way to say ‘I love you’
When we last encountered City on a Hill, which is awaiting the state stamp of approval to expand its brand with new schools in Boston and New Bedford, the mayor of the latter city had raised some, ahem, difficult questions about the school and its, ahem, effectiveness in preparing kids for college. Like the fact that COH officials are predicting that 65% of the students at the new charter high school will leave the school before their senior year. Or that pesky business about City on a Hill students having lower AP scores, generally considered the “gold standard” of college prep measurement, than students at union-stifled public high schools in Boston and New Bedford. And may I add, somewhat gratuitously, that City on a Hill has an out-of-school suspension rate of 43.6%?
8 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Interesting, let us keep walking down this path. The path of politics, greed, fancy rhetoric with empty meanings, impressive college degrees coupled with major ignorance of what happens outside in the real world. “Don’t believe in Luck, its hard work that pays off”, so they say…then why the waste of salaries at the top, who is “working” hard there? It is worth mentioning City on a Hill, as known as “Plantation on the Hill” by students, parents and its community, not only manages to successfully keep the drop out rate high but also drives out most of their male, black students. Take a look at the last few graduating classes, we may have an all girls school in disguise? “Leadership” at the school means two individuals who have been there forever, just do what they want, say what they want, scare and intimidate who they want and ruin the lives of hard working people just to save their own overinflated salaries. Teachers have taken cuts in their budgets for years and years but look up the data, these two “leaders” have received huge pay hikes despite the cuts – and don’t forget the bonuses made even when the “goals” are not met. The board members are useless when it comes to actually managing these “leaders”. All on the taxpayer’s dime. Sad – us teachers and students deserve more.
I do LOVE this kind of data blindness. Just let the politics of bleached white teeth Admin play out and put the data aside. Let the theory and myth replace the hard facts, and talk about “saving the children” until your mouth goes dry and you need to sip imported mineral water as provided in the board room.
Importantly, you must pad your salary at the top while simultaneously cutting costs everywhere else. Without this essential component of the City on a Hill success model, the whole program would grind to a halt. Unless your executive director and underling (how many times has he been fired? and who saves him each time?) are making big big money, no one below them can ever survive. Need paper and pencils? Sorry, we’re out of money — oh and I need to go cash my bonus check now that you mention money. Need a raise? Sorry, we have to cut costs. Oh but I do need to renegotiate my salary to be more than double the highest paid teacher, now that you mention money. You lost your key to the front door? Sorry, that will be a month’s pay out of your pocket even though it costs us nearly nothing to rectify the situation.
Spend at the top, slash everywhere below. A model worth replicating for sure, right?
The facts speak for themselves; any school* with such consistently high attrition simply must be an Academy of Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
* = Amend that to “any CHARTER school”, as a district school with such attrition would be up on civil rights charges right quick.
Unfortunately, City on a Hill is not the champion in charter-school attrition; it falls well short of these storied Attrition Academies:
Berkshire Arts & Technology (65.9%) Phoenix Charter Academy (63.1%) Community Charter of Cambridge (60.0%) Match Charter (54.6%)
Here are some recent examples of attrition at this school between 9th and 12 grades:
Class of 2013: 9th grade: 130 students 12th grade: 47 students Attrition: 63.8%
Class of 2012: 9th grade: 99 students 12th grade: 38 students Attrition: 61.6%
Class of 2011: 9th grade: 86 students 12th grade: 50 students Attrition: 41.9%
Class of 2010: 9th grade: 115 students 12th grade: 48 students Attrition: 58.3%
Class of 2009: 9th grade: 107 students 12th grade: 46 students Attrition: 57.0%
Class of 2008: 9th grade: 118 students 12th grade: 48 students Attrition: 59.3%
All classes: 9th grade: 1,249 students 12th grade: 600 students: Attrition: 51.9%
Yes, in its history, this school has “lost” 51.9% of its 9th-graders before 12th grade.
Note that I didn’t say “before graduation”. The 12th-grade figures above are counted on October 1st of the 12th-grade year. This data does not reflect any students who are “lost” during their senior year.
Let's not forget that Mayor Jon Mitchell practically invited charters schools to New Bedford when he was breaking down the school system to get rid of the previous superintendent. His letter to Chester was a day late and millions short, it meant nothing.
Remember, the Standard Times had a full time education reporter and never came close to these issues. They even went on to push for the COH to be approved.
8 comments:
Interesting, let us keep walking down this path. The path of politics, greed, fancy rhetoric with empty meanings, impressive college degrees coupled with major ignorance of what happens outside in the real world. “Don’t believe in Luck, its hard work that pays off”, so they say…then why the waste of salaries at the top, who is “working” hard there? It is worth mentioning City on a Hill, as known as “Plantation on the Hill” by students, parents and its community, not only manages to successfully keep the drop out rate high but also drives out most of their male, black students. Take a look at the last few graduating classes, we may have an all girls school in disguise? “Leadership” at the school means two individuals who have been there forever, just do what they want, say what they want, scare and intimidate who they want and ruin the lives of hard working people just to save their own overinflated salaries. Teachers have taken cuts in their budgets for years and years but look up the data, these two “leaders” have received huge pay hikes despite the cuts – and don’t forget the bonuses made even when the “goals” are not met. The board members are useless when it comes to actually managing these “leaders”. All on the taxpayer’s dime. Sad – us teachers and students deserve more.
I do LOVE this kind of data blindness. Just let the politics of bleached white teeth Admin play out and put the data aside. Let the theory and myth replace the hard facts, and talk about “saving the children” until your mouth goes dry and you need to sip imported mineral water as provided in the board room.
Importantly, you must pad your salary at the top while simultaneously cutting costs everywhere else. Without this essential component of the City on a Hill success model, the whole program would grind to a halt. Unless your executive director and underling (how many times has he been fired? and who saves him each time?) are making big big money, no one below them can ever survive. Need paper and pencils? Sorry, we’re out of money — oh and I need to go cash my bonus check now that you mention money. Need a raise? Sorry, we have to cut costs. Oh but I do need to renegotiate my salary to be more than double the highest paid teacher, now that you mention money. You lost your key to the front door? Sorry, that will be a month’s pay out of your pocket even though it costs us nearly nothing to rectify the situation.
Spend at the top, slash everywhere below. A model worth replicating for sure, right?
The facts speak for themselves; any school* with such consistently high attrition simply must be an Academy of Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
* = Amend that to “any CHARTER school”, as a district school with such attrition would be up on civil rights charges right quick.
Unfortunately, City on a Hill is not the champion in charter-school attrition; it falls well short of these storied Attrition Academies:
Berkshire Arts & Technology (65.9%)
Phoenix Charter Academy (63.1%)
Community Charter of Cambridge (60.0%)
Match Charter (54.6%)
“COH officials are predicting that 65% of the students at the new charter high school will leave the school before their senior year”.
This is actually a reasonable estimate, based on their history:
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=04370000&orgtypecode=5&
Here are some recent examples of attrition at this school between 9th and 12 grades:
Class of 2013:
9th grade: 130 students
12th grade: 47 students
Attrition: 63.8%
Class of 2012:
9th grade: 99 students
12th grade: 38 students
Attrition: 61.6%
Class of 2011:
9th grade: 86 students
12th grade: 50 students
Attrition: 41.9%
Class of 2010:
9th grade: 115 students
12th grade: 48 students
Attrition: 58.3%
Class of 2009:
9th grade: 107 students
12th grade: 46 students
Attrition: 57.0%
Class of 2008:
9th grade: 118 students
12th grade: 48 students
Attrition: 59.3%
All classes:
9th grade: 1,249 students
12th grade: 600 students:
Attrition: 51.9%
Yes, in its history, this school has “lost” 51.9% of its 9th-graders before 12th grade.
Note that I didn’t say “before graduation”. The 12th-grade figures above are counted on October 1st of the 12th-grade year. This data does not reflect any students who are “lost” during their senior year.
What did you expect from Mitchell Chester?
Let's not forget that Mayor Jon Mitchell practically invited charters schools to New Bedford when he was breaking down the school system to get rid of the previous superintendent. His letter to Chester was a day late and millions short, it meant nothing.
Remember, the Standard Times had a full time education reporter and never came close to these issues. They even went on to push for the COH to be approved.
He got rid of a lousy super. How is that connected to longstanding COH plans to expand?
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