So sorry, my video is not working. Glad to be here!

The Clinton-Gore Administration has worked to expand public school choice and to support the growth of public charter schools. In 1993, there was one charter school in the nation; today, there are more than 2,000.

The owner of the zoom can mute everyone

Well $297,000,000 millions dollars later, and the testing is not for the children, its for separating the poor neighborhoods vs property rich district’s. They is no benefit for educational or academic experience towards secondary education. The redlining continues in a different way, the poor neighborhoods get railroaded with gentrification and the neighborhoods schools are getting taking over by for-profit charter schools.

I would like to ask about the best way to approach enrollment declines in a portfolio district in which the central district can not include charters when assessing the criteria for school closures?

This is Kristi - National Heritage Academies is here - they are for profit

Kristi - only the governing board of a charter school in Colorado is prohibited from being for-profit. The way they get around it is hiring a for-profit management company.

A4PEP had a forum on Dark Money - see our website.

Transform Education Now pretty much lives in Adams 14 promoting charters. One of their founders is even on a charter school board that just won it's appeal with the state board. :(

Yes - it seems that Charters in CO can over-ride the local board and appeal to the state. Local school boards are basically forced to approve charter applications from large CMO’s because they know they will be over-ruled.

I tell people that charter schools are PUBLICLY FUNDED schools.

Publicly funded, privately managed.

I ask if they are ok with billionaires making decisions about “what’s best for kids”, or if we want democracy.

we need to be careful to not blame teachers while framing the poor quality of those charters... they are set up to fail

And the lobbyists!

and LOTS of lobbyists

Maybe drawing a connection with for-profit children health care crisis could help people see the danger of privatization of schools.

and lucrative future careers for term-limited legislators

The Gov of TN, Bill Lee is giving Hillsdale College millions to open charter schools across the state.

Tragic story in TN!

After Brown, parents in VA invented school choice to get around sending their kids to integrated schools (I think it is Swann v Macklenberg?)

Milton Friedman was a school choice guru as well

I think that happens because desegregation ended up being assimilation.

school's will always be a microcosm of our society

HBCUs have arguably provided access to a quality education for thousands students in spaces that honor their culture and identity.

^^agreed

Conservative organizations are pushing the idea that the "money should follow the child". Parents should choose what's best for their child not the government. Do you have thoughts on how you speak about this?

Every school needs to be equitable - resources, staff, facilities. Education reform doesn’t really believe that. It believes in competition and winners and losers. DPS has never fully funded neighborhood schools equitably. Student Based Budgeting needs to go.

Agree Jeannie, as well as PTSA fundraisings.

Yes, Nara. When some schools can fundraise $100k + it exacerbates inequity

120k at South and DPS fundation raises like 40k

Agree totally. So inequitable

Every kid should take a sick day or week when the standardized tests are running

@ Ellen - I would argue that we can’t pretend that our choices don’t affect others. We are a society, not a bunch of individuals - how do we know that the decisions we make for our own kid don’t create harm for other peoples children? Surely it is the governments responsibility to provide equal educational opportunities for ALL our nations children, and this should include ways for children from ALL backgrounds and identities to learn together.

and what our children learn in PUBLIC schools should be decided collectively BY THE PEOPLE through our democratic process.

Thanks!

The charter school law here needs to be revisited. Things have changed since 1993. DPS isn’t even looking at how to make changes. How do we as citizens lobby the legislature especially when our legislature is heavily funded by reformer money.

Now "innovation" means the flexibility to not meet requirements and still maintain operation.

Thank you Phil!

I thought the new state board is more favorable to striking down charter appeals.

The new state board hasn't been sworn in yet

Gotcha!

Charter funders have their hands in our local news channels as well.

$$$$ spent!

The charter funders have their hands in the online news services, like Chalkbeat

Paula is a phenomenal writer - lucky to have her on our side.

YES! Thank you Paula for your wonderful work! Thank you for sharing the TRUTH.

The privatizers have a new candidate training program to recruit people to run for school boards.

PLEASE get CASE and CASB on board with that

Phil, not meet requirements and still look good on accountability framework. That framework needs to change because it doesn’t reflect school quality.

Had to...even during COVID when our schools were closed (ACCESS testing).

Steve & Kristi, Jeffco teachers are screaming with you!!!

Nara, agreed. The current framework is designed to allow charters and innovation schools to operate this way.

Adriana can you mute please

Clinton was a leader in the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) that put forward conservative policies like "welfare reform"

It would be interesting to see the data on how many charter school students transfer from a charter school to their local public school AFTER October count.

Would it be worth the time and effort to develop a resolution for a moratorium on establishing any further charter schools during which time the vulnerabilities of the charter school programs can be explored and vetted?

Give me my hospital

Sure Nara. But you might have to drive on my highway to get there.

@Don, I think so, but their dug so deeply into Colorado legislation. They're listed as an option for accountability (external management, charterization…)!

Ha ha!

Humanize the data - YES!!!

We did a moratorium on Metro Districts in Commerce City - so, why not Charters, so I say yes - Kristi

The Clinton Presidency:Expanding Education Opportunity: https://clintonwhitehouse5.archives.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-05.html

Thank you so very much for this !

Thank you so much for putting this together! Really informative

Thank you so much for bringing this opportunity to us!

see our website: www.A4PEP.org

Thank you!

Thank you so much! Yes we have to emphasize the human stories. Gratefully, Don Perl

I encourage everyone to look for NPE's new report coming out within the next week or so which really dives into the problems with for-profit and profit-run charters, especially virtual charters as well as the real estate issue

Can you save the chat?

Thank-you all!

Thank you, Charles and A4PEP!

Can we get access to this recording?

networkforpubliceducation.org

A4PEP is hoping to post this recording on our website.