by David Safier
On the one hand, Arizona exercises far too little oversight of its charter schools. The good schools don't need much in the way of oversight, but charters that slight the students through poor educational practices, misuse of funds or both need to be improved or shut down.
And by far the worst offenders among charter schools are those set up to appeal to students who are doing poorly in school.
So from that standpoint, it seems like a positive step that César Chávez Middle School and Aztlan Academy have been cited for their problems and will be closed. If what I've read is true, the schools, which appeal to struggling students, have been pretty slapdash over the years. Even the heads of the schools haven't found a way to spin their schools' achievements in a positive way.
On the other hand, I wonder if these schools have been scrutinized more carefully than others for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of their education. Are their failings so much worse that they belong at the top of the closure list? Or did politics somehow come into play?
I admit, I know very little about the two schools, and I'm certainly not about to champion schools doing their students no good. But I've heard horror stories about schools that have stayed open. And I know the AZ Charter School Board is underfunded and understaffed, so even if it wants to do a good job of oversight, which I doubt, it lacks the resources.
What is the back story behind the closure of these two schools, I wonder.
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Conflicted? Really?
This Charter schools is an example of why it takes more than teachers to run a school. It takes office staff to keep accurate records and submit them to the appropriate governing bodies.
For goodness sake, this school failed to submit attendance to the ADE for an entire year! This lax record keeping resulted in an overpayment of State tax dollars. Someone should go to jail for theft of public funds. God forbid a public school District report inaccurate counts. Tax payers would be in the streets with torches and pitchforks.