Free Republic

By day, the Balere Language Academy is an A-rated charter school, home to children in kindergarten through middle school. But when the kids are tucked into bed, Balere apparently becomes a playground of a different kind. Party fliers, printed and on the Web, indicate that the campus at 10875 Quail Roost Dr. has been hosting raunchy, booze-soaked bashes into the wee hours (SNIP) The school district received complaints from parents who wondered why there were empty beer bottles at their child’s school. They also complained about a lingering smell of smoke...

A federal grand jury has indicted two former top officials at a charter school in Northwest Philadelphia on charges of stealing $522,000 in taxpayer funds. The 27-count indictment charges Hugh C. Clark, 64, and Ina M. Walker, 58, with conspiracy, wire fraud, and theft from a federally funded program, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger announced Thursday. The pair, both from Philadelphia, allegedly used the money slated for New Media charter school to pay expenses at Lotus Academy, a small private school they controlled; to fund personal businesses, including the Black Olive health-food store and the Black Olive restaurant in Mount...

Hillsdale College Launches Charter School Initiative Hillsdale, Mich. — Hillsdale College announced today it has launched a K-12 charter school initiative to have a positive and lasting effect on the education of young Americans. The school will be based on a classical liberal arts model and will have a strong civics component that will equip students to understand and defend the principles of the American Constitution. “Reform of American public education, to be successful and good, must be built on a foundation of classical liberal arts learning,” said Phil Kilgore, Director of Hillsdale College’s Barney Charter School Initiative. This is...

More than Choice Bethany Stotts, May 6, 2010 At a recent book forum at the American Enterprise Institute, AEI scholar Frederick Hess argued that education reform should move beyond whole-school conceptions of school choice and focus on the dynamics of “supply.” “Now, like I just said previously, opening new schools is only one part of the solution but they’re a useful part of the solution and they’re an important part of the solution but choice doesn’t tell you anything about what’s gonna happen to the supply,” said Hess, discussing his new book Education Unbound: The Promise and Practice of Greenfield...

For the first time since the charter school movement began, the Utah State Charter School Board moved Thursday to shut down an operational school. The vote to revoke the Beehive Science & Technology charter, a state contract that grants the independently run school public education dollars, was unanimous. Beehive's troubles came to the board's attention in July 2009, when a former board member accused the school of having clandestine ties to a controversial Turkish Muslim preacher. Fethullah Gülen, who doesn't recognize al-Qaida as a terrorist organization, was exiled from Turkey in 1998 for reportedly working to overthrow the secular government....

The Kern High School District on Wednesday morning will hold a public hearing and consider a petition for a new charter school named after the nation's president. The Barack H. Obama Leadership Academy aims to teach disadvantaged, at-risk teenagers and at the same time provide mental health services and substance abuse treatment, according to the petition. The school board may vote on Wednesday to approve or deny the charter's petition. The district would not comment on the petition pending the hearing and board discussion.

LARRY SAND We’re All Right-Wing Bastards Now —that is, if the NEA’s logic is to be believed. 20 November 2009 On the last day of the National Education Association’s convention this summer, its outgoing general counsel, Bob Chanin, gave a speech for the ages. After sharing fond recollections of his 41 years as the NEA’s top lawyer, he switched gears and started lobbing grenades at “conservative and right-wing bastards,” including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. The NEA and its affiliates, by contrast, were “the nation’s leading advocates for public education and the type of liberal social and...

More city kids are graduating from high school, but that doesn't mean they can do college math. Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen - suggesting city schools aren't preparing them... "These results are shocking," ... "They show that a disturbing proportion of New York City high school graduates lack basic skills." During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem... Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal. The lack of math skills means the...

TiZA is for Trouble by: Bethany Stotts, September 03, 2009 This August, Minnesota Department of Education [MDOE] officials said they will be investigating the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy’s use of state “lease aid” grants. The charter school has been paying rent to Muslim religious organizations. Chas Anderson, deputy commissioner of MDOE told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the inquiry was sparked by a January American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, reported Tony Kennedy on August 29. “TiZA spokesman Darin Broton said the school will cooperate, but he accused officials of conducting a politically motivated investigation,” he wrote. “[Broton] said the department...

Governor Signs House and Senate Bills House Bill 137 and Senate Bill 57 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-120 Governor Palin Signs House and Senate Bills May 15, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today signed two bills into law that will provide a grace period for charter schools experiencing decreased enrollment and authorize the state to enroll in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. “It is so important Alaska’s parents have opportunities to choose what's best for their children’s education,” Governor Palin said. “I appreciate the hard work of all the legislators who spearheaded these bills...

Obama's Tired of Being in the White House Tue, Feb 3, 2009 He’s only been there for two weeks, but already Barack Obama is “tired of being in the White House.”Probably the first President in history to utter those words. WASHINGTON (AP) - On the rockiest day of his young administration, President Barack Obama did what surely made him happy for a while. He left. With little notice, the president and first lady Michelle Obama bolted the gated compound of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in their tank of a limousine on Tuesday. They ended up at a Washington public school, greeted...

Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Read to Children Updated 3:44 p.m.By Michael D. Shear and Hamil HarrisAs a sense of crisis engulfed his White House Tuesday with the withdrawal of former senator Tom Daschle as HHS Secretary-nominee, President Obama made an unannounced trip to a school to read to kids.His motorcade was seen heading north on 15th Street, and local sources soon reported he was at The Capital City Public Charter School. There was no mention of a trip on the schedule sent out to reporters the previous day.At the school, the president and Michelle Obama read to a group...

In a scene that's becoming frustratingly familiar to supporters of predominantly black charter schools, two Raleigh charters are in danger of being closed by the state.

Last week, Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TiZA) and the Minnesota Department of Education appeared to reach an understanding in the controversy over whether Islam is being promoted at this public school. But behind the scenes, a storm may be brewing. TiZA officials have "taken a confrontational road" in discussions with the department, according to Deputy MDE Commissioner Chas Anderson, the department's No. 2 official. Anderson says that the two sides have not yet reached an agreement on one key issue and that MDE will be closely monitoring TiZA's performance in future months.

The Muslim American Society is a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood, out of which the genocidal terrorist group Hamas emerged. The Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society has been the source of local controversies involving the purported observance of Sharia in public facilities such as taxis based at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society also houses a Minnesota charter school in the Twin Cities suburb Inver Grover Heights. The school is Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy -- named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain. As a charter school, Minnesota taxpayers...

The curriculum at a charter school catering to Muslims complies with federal and state law, the state Education Department said Monday but it directed other changes be made in religious areas. The state said Tarik ibn Zayad Academy should change its busing schedule and its handling of Friday prayer services. The shorter prayer services on other days were found to be acceptable, but not the 30-minute service on school grounds on Muslim's holy day. The department said bus rides home should be available right after school ends; currently students must wait until after a voluntary after-school religious program. State law...

Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA) -- named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain -- is a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Its approximately 300 students are mostly the children of low-income Muslim immigrant families, many of them Somalis. The school is in huge demand, with a waiting list of 1,500. Last fall, it opened a second campus in Blaine. TIZA uses the language of culture rather than religion to describe its program in public documents. According to its mission statement, the school "recognizes and appreciates the traditions, histories, civilizations and accomplishments of the eastern world (Africa,...

When Livermore school district budget cuts closed two popular, high-performing elementaries in 2004, parents created the Livermore Valley Charter School, joining a growing group of institutions that use public funds but operate independently of local school districts.The recently released state Academic Performance Index, ranking schools based on standardized tests, shows that the charter school scored highly during its inaugural year -- among Livermore's 11 public elementaries, its scores were second-highest in 2005-06."It's the programs," said Principal Tina Morris. "They're getting a private school-quality education in a public school."But critics say the school tests well because it has attracted mostly high-...

<p>A federal study showing that fourth graders in charter schools score worse in reading and math than their public school counterparts should cause some soul-searching in Congress.</p> <p>Too many lawmakers seem to believe that the only thing wrong with American education is the public school system, and that converting lagging schools to charter schools would cause them to magically improve.</p>

Chicago Virtual Charter School Allows Students To Complete 20 Percent Of Schoolwork Online (CBS) CHICAGO -- Starting this fall, some Chicago kids will be able to go to school without leaving home. CBS 2’s Joanie Lum reports on the city’s new virtual school, one that will meet online most of the time. Tina Hawkins plans to spend five hours a day, five days a week with her 10-year-old son Ray, supervising his schoolwork. Before the Chicago Virtual Charter School became available, she had planned to home school her child. "With this, you have a teacher to support you, grade papers...