Why Did Eva Moskowitz Publish a Student’s Disciplinary Record?
October 27, 2015 8:00 AM Subscribe
Recently, PBS' NewsHour ran a segment about the overwillingness of some schools to suspend even kindergarten students, in part driven by the desire to boost scores by pushing out weaker students. The segment focused in particular on the charter chain Success Academies, which has been particularly unrepentant in the use of suspensions at early ages. The PBS reporter, John Morrow, had spoken with a number of families, but only found one willing to go on camera: Fatima Geidi and her son, Jamir.
Why there was reluctance became clear very quickly, as the head of Success Academies, Eva Moskowitz, publicly posted Jamir's disciplinary record on the charter's website in response, very much likely in contravention of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Moskowitz is asserting that her doing so is protected by the First Amendment. The bigger problem is that FERPA cases need to be brought by the Department of Education, making them political as well, and Moskowitz is a well connected political player.
Moskowitz is asserting that her doing so is protected by the First Amendment. The bigger problem is that FERPA cases need to be brought by the Department of Education, making them political as well, and Moskowitz is a well connected political player.
Releasing student records without consent is a huge liability matter for schools, as it should be. I look forward to a court judge explaining to her the difference between the First Amendment and malicious, retaliatory behavior that should earn her jail time.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 8:21 AM on October 27, 2015 [35 favorites]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 8:21 AM on October 27, 2015 [35 favorites]
What!? That is SO against FERPA. That was the sort of thing we were specifically warned about. In teacher training
But naturally, charter school. This is the sort of thing that's endemic in charter education.
posted by happyroach at 8:22 AM on October 27, 2015 [12 favorites]
But naturally, charter school. This is the sort of thing that's endemic in charter education.
posted by happyroach at 8:22 AM on October 27, 2015 [12 favorites]
How much taxpayer money are these guys soaking up?
posted by Artw at 8:22 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:22 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
Has there been any word from the DoE that they are considering taking action? There's mention of potential political interference there, but I didn't see any mention of activity either way yet.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:24 AM on October 27, 2015
posted by GhostintheMachine at 8:24 AM on October 27, 2015
> The code of conduct runs six pages and identifies 65 infractions, from bullying and gambling to littering and failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position.
What the fuck does "Failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position" mean? It could mean literally anything a teacher, principal or administrator wants it to mean.
Anyway, what these children are being taught is that the future is going to be a cruel, merciless place, and if they want to be the ones enforcing the rules when they're grownups they'd damn well better toe the company line.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [15 favorites]
What the fuck does "Failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position" mean? It could mean literally anything a teacher, principal or administrator wants it to mean.
Anyway, what these children are being taught is that the future is going to be a cruel, merciless place, and if they want to be the ones enforcing the rules when they're grownups they'd damn well better toe the company line.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [15 favorites]
Either Pump Up the Volume, which made kicking out low-scoring kids one of its plot points, was prescient, or this is an ongoing problem that we have been notable and unforgivably delinquent in resolving.
posted by maxsparber at 8:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 8:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [13 favorites]
In my line of work, we freak out about student data being released unintentionally due to data security breaches or just instructors accidentally downloading stuff in the wrong place. This? Is so incredibly illegal.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:26 AM on October 27, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:26 AM on October 27, 2015 [19 favorites]
I just had to brush up on FERPA. This is not a thing you are supposed to do. Some charter school advocates like to say that not having so many regulations are what help them have success, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the type of regulation they're talking about.
posted by lownote at 8:28 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by lownote at 8:28 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
What the fuck does "Failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position" mean? It could mean literally anything a teacher, principal or administrator wants it to mean.
It's a venial sin, but god charter schools love to abuse the English language. Part of my job involves looking at a bunch of their damn "Reports on Areas of the Scholar's Progress" and god it makes me want to tear my eyes out.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:29 AM on October 27, 2015 [10 favorites]
It's a venial sin, but god charter schools love to abuse the English language. Part of my job involves looking at a bunch of their damn "Reports on Areas of the Scholar's Progress" and god it makes me want to tear my eyes out.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:29 AM on October 27, 2015 [10 favorites]
I'm also sorry to say that charters for some time now have been fairly notorious for propping up their test scores by kicking out low-performing students (or just not accepting them for enrollment in the first place). Charters are under no legal obligation to accept all students, nor to appropriately serve students with disabilities or special needs. Such students are usually told to please look elsewhere for their educational needs.
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [15 favorites]
Moskowitz is asserting that her doing so is protected by the First Amendment.
IANAL, but that claim sounds like absolute nonsense. Just as a hospital could not, for example, publish a critic's medical record in order to embarrass or discredit him or her thanks to HIPAA protection, First Amendment protection notwithstanding. All kinds of legal professional strictures, from non-disclosure agreements to confidentiality laws, trump First Amendment protections, especially in areas of voluntary activity -- such as, say, choosing to open a charter school -- and especially when disclosure results in a tangible harm to another (which is why libel laws exist).
What we see here is yet another example of the so-called "school reform" movement's credentials existing primarily as slick (or not-so-slick) public relations campaigns, with little regard to educational achievement as benefits the students. Disgraceful.
posted by Gelatin at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [13 favorites]
IANAL, but that claim sounds like absolute nonsense. Just as a hospital could not, for example, publish a critic's medical record in order to embarrass or discredit him or her thanks to HIPAA protection, First Amendment protection notwithstanding. All kinds of legal professional strictures, from non-disclosure agreements to confidentiality laws, trump First Amendment protections, especially in areas of voluntary activity -- such as, say, choosing to open a charter school -- and especially when disclosure results in a tangible harm to another (which is why libel laws exist).
What we see here is yet another example of the so-called "school reform" movement's credentials existing primarily as slick (or not-so-slick) public relations campaigns, with little regard to educational achievement as benefits the students. Disgraceful.
posted by Gelatin at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [13 favorites]
Eva Moskowitz published a student's disciplinary record for the same reason that Jay Carney published those ex-Amazon employees' records: intimidation.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [29 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [29 favorites]
Wait, no, the first amendment does not give you license to violate FERPA. And if you doubt that, think about whether the first amendment gives your doctor license to violate HIPAA and release your medical records.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
Anyway, what these children are being taught is that the future is going to be a cruel, merciless place, and if they want to be the ones enforcing the rules when they're grownups they'd damn well better toe the company line.
I often wonder what lesson kids like Jamir are actually learning. It would seem that Jamir and his family are certainly learning that American education is more about certifying good order-followers than instilling knowledge and curiosity. It also seems that they're learning how easy it is for people in a position of power to fuck over the children in their care. Best case scenario, this goes to court, and they get to learn how slow and frustrating our justice system is.
posted by DGStieber at 8:34 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
I often wonder what lesson kids like Jamir are actually learning. It would seem that Jamir and his family are certainly learning that American education is more about certifying good order-followers than instilling knowledge and curiosity. It also seems that they're learning how easy it is for people in a position of power to fuck over the children in their care. Best case scenario, this goes to court, and they get to learn how slow and frustrating our justice system is.
posted by DGStieber at 8:34 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
Moskowitz is asserting that her doing so is protected by the First Amendment.
That's nice. Is the company she runs protected by an impenetrable Bad Publicity Shield? Because charter schools are always waving the banner of Choice, and I sure wouldn't Choose to send my kid to one of hers.
posted by gurple at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
That's nice. Is the company she runs protected by an impenetrable Bad Publicity Shield? Because charter schools are always waving the banner of Choice, and I sure wouldn't Choose to send my kid to one of hers.
posted by gurple at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I often wonder what lesson kids like Jamir are actually learning.
From Diane Ravitch's archive of posts about Harlem Success Academy: "Over the past several years, I have been contacted several times by current and former Success Academy teachers. I met with each of them. They wanted to tell me what really goes on, and their stories sounded alike. They say the atmosphere for teachers is terrible. Teacher turnover is high. They say the children are subjected to pressures that make some of them crack. They say that children pee in their pants while prepping for the tests and taking the tests. They say the schools keep a supply of clean clothes for these incidents. They say that test prep starts in November and doesn’t let up until the tests are ended. They say that students who can’t keep up are subtly pushed out, for example, calling in their parent day after day until the parent gives up and withdraws the student and returns him/her to public school. Each of them has examples of what most would consider child abuse, all in the name of higher test scores." ("Stories from Success Academy.")
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [36 favorites]
From Diane Ravitch's archive of posts about Harlem Success Academy: "Over the past several years, I have been contacted several times by current and former Success Academy teachers. I met with each of them. They wanted to tell me what really goes on, and their stories sounded alike. They say the atmosphere for teachers is terrible. Teacher turnover is high. They say the children are subjected to pressures that make some of them crack. They say that children pee in their pants while prepping for the tests and taking the tests. They say the schools keep a supply of clean clothes for these incidents. They say that test prep starts in November and doesn’t let up until the tests are ended. They say that students who can’t keep up are subtly pushed out, for example, calling in their parent day after day until the parent gives up and withdraws the student and returns him/her to public school. Each of them has examples of what most would consider child abuse, all in the name of higher test scores." ("Stories from Success Academy.")
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [36 favorites]
Also, this is an interesting story to pair up with the police brutality story that broke yesterday.
The point of suspensions to these people are that job one is maintaining a productive class room environment. Removing the students remove the disruptions so that students understand how the classroom is supposed to operate. (It's a real problem that needs addressing, but I don't think this is a good solution).
Schools that don't lean on quick fire suspensions but still have a punitive mindset are the types that have incidents like the one in South Carolina, and don't think for a second that it was an isolated problem. Charter schools (and I work in one), have a lot more freedom to just remove classroom issues while public schools play these dangerous games of escalation. I feel really bad for the teacher in that video who I don't doubt needed assistance with that student. Unfortunately he was only given the option of aggression to handle it, rather than mediation.
The issue is that the classroom environment is not conducive to learning in post-NCLB urban classrooms. Its conducive to breaking students down into test taking automatons so they can become compliant. Suspensions and force are just two bad outcomes from the same scenario.
posted by lownote at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
The point of suspensions to these people are that job one is maintaining a productive class room environment. Removing the students remove the disruptions so that students understand how the classroom is supposed to operate. (It's a real problem that needs addressing, but I don't think this is a good solution).
Schools that don't lean on quick fire suspensions but still have a punitive mindset are the types that have incidents like the one in South Carolina, and don't think for a second that it was an isolated problem. Charter schools (and I work in one), have a lot more freedom to just remove classroom issues while public schools play these dangerous games of escalation. I feel really bad for the teacher in that video who I don't doubt needed assistance with that student. Unfortunately he was only given the option of aggression to handle it, rather than mediation.
The issue is that the classroom environment is not conducive to learning in post-NCLB urban classrooms. Its conducive to breaking students down into test taking automatons so they can become compliant. Suspensions and force are just two bad outcomes from the same scenario.
posted by lownote at 8:38 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Does FERPA actually apply to this charter school? There's this pertinent bit:
The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
My reading of that would seem to mean if the charter school isn't receiving DoE funds, FERPA doesn't apply. Which would suck.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
My reading of that would seem to mean if the charter school isn't receiving DoE funds, FERPA doesn't apply. Which would suck.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:39 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Charters are under no legal obligation to accept all students, nor to appropriately serve students with disabilities or special needs. Such students are usually told to please look elsewhere for their educational needs.
This is a complicated and state law dependent question (and obviously this only applies to the US, but we're talking about FERPA), but those statements are not universally true. If a charter school is organized as its own local educational agency (LEA) and it accepts federal funding then it has to comply with the requirements of the federal law concerning special education students. If a charter is organized as a school within another local LEA then the school district as a whole is responsible for meeting the students' needs, which may include transfer to a different school (if for example, the charter school isn't able to implement necessary services). I don't know numbers for what percentage of charter schools are organized as independent LEAs, but where I am it's the norm and soon they will all be required to be organized in that fashion. There's also some provisions that allow states to shift that responsibility around a bit, and I don't know (outside of my own jurisdiction) whether that has been done many places.
I'm not saying charter schools are doing this, of course. Getting them to comply with federal law can be hard, but they should be mostly be doing it.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:42 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
This is a complicated and state law dependent question (and obviously this only applies to the US, but we're talking about FERPA), but those statements are not universally true. If a charter school is organized as its own local educational agency (LEA) and it accepts federal funding then it has to comply with the requirements of the federal law concerning special education students. If a charter is organized as a school within another local LEA then the school district as a whole is responsible for meeting the students' needs, which may include transfer to a different school (if for example, the charter school isn't able to implement necessary services). I don't know numbers for what percentage of charter schools are organized as independent LEAs, but where I am it's the norm and soon they will all be required to be organized in that fashion. There's also some provisions that allow states to shift that responsibility around a bit, and I don't know (outside of my own jurisdiction) whether that has been done many places.
I'm not saying charter schools are doing this, of course. Getting them to comply with federal law can be hard, but they should be mostly be doing it.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:42 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Oh, I have soooooo many unjustified suspension stories, but I'll skip straight to the charter school problem instead of getting off track with terrible abuses of authority over gum chewing ...
One of the things that's troubling to me about charter schools is that -- well, in a traditional public school system, students have Constitutional Due Process rights when they are suspended or expelled, and various legal procedures have to be followed, and among these rights, laid out in state and federal law, is a right to appeal to the elected school board for a hearing. The school board functions as the judicial body responsible for reviewing expulsions of its students, and must follow quite strict procedures when there is an appeal to an expulsion. (There are various other internal due process rights, including an external hearing officer, before you have to bother with suing the school. You can always go straight to lawsuits if you want.)
So we have a charter school in our district, which is funded by public money, and is a public school, but I spent four years asking, including our lawyers and the state board, and nobody could tell me a) what public body was responsible for reviewing suspensions and expulsions (all must be reviewed and voted on by elected or appointed government officials acting in an official state capacity as agents of the government); or b) whether these students had any process for appealing their expulsions whatsoever, and, if so, what public body was responsible for holding their expulsion appeals. Our lawyers thought it was probably us, the local school board, but there is no legal decision declaring who is the ultimate government authority responsible for this governmental action against private minor citizens and who is therefore responsible for their Due Process rights, and the charter schools just completely ignore this aspect and act as a private school using public money. Probably a student will have to sue, on this specific point, for there to be a decision, but I am certain that students Constitutional Due Process rights are being routinely violated by charter school disciplinary processes, and I am certain that charter schools are failing to comply with state and federal education laws meant to protect those students' rights. But because it's a little bit confusing -- charter schools have private boards, not public elected ones; the government authority can only devolve to an elected body; and it's not clear whose jurisdiction the students are under -- everyone's decided to just ignore it for now.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:43 AM on October 27, 2015 [44 favorites]
One of the things that's troubling to me about charter schools is that -- well, in a traditional public school system, students have Constitutional Due Process rights when they are suspended or expelled, and various legal procedures have to be followed, and among these rights, laid out in state and federal law, is a right to appeal to the elected school board for a hearing. The school board functions as the judicial body responsible for reviewing expulsions of its students, and must follow quite strict procedures when there is an appeal to an expulsion. (There are various other internal due process rights, including an external hearing officer, before you have to bother with suing the school. You can always go straight to lawsuits if you want.)
So we have a charter school in our district, which is funded by public money, and is a public school, but I spent four years asking, including our lawyers and the state board, and nobody could tell me a) what public body was responsible for reviewing suspensions and expulsions (all must be reviewed and voted on by elected or appointed government officials acting in an official state capacity as agents of the government); or b) whether these students had any process for appealing their expulsions whatsoever, and, if so, what public body was responsible for holding their expulsion appeals. Our lawyers thought it was probably us, the local school board, but there is no legal decision declaring who is the ultimate government authority responsible for this governmental action against private minor citizens and who is therefore responsible for their Due Process rights, and the charter schools just completely ignore this aspect and act as a private school using public money. Probably a student will have to sue, on this specific point, for there to be a decision, but I am certain that students Constitutional Due Process rights are being routinely violated by charter school disciplinary processes, and I am certain that charter schools are failing to comply with state and federal education laws meant to protect those students' rights. But because it's a little bit confusing -- charter schools have private boards, not public elected ones; the government authority can only devolve to an elected body; and it's not clear whose jurisdiction the students are under -- everyone's decided to just ignore it for now.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:43 AM on October 27, 2015 [44 favorites]
Legality aside, these are apparently people who would destroy a child's future to protect their own reputations. If they do this in public, think of what they are doing in private.
posted by burden at 8:43 AM on October 27, 2015 [53 favorites]
posted by burden at 8:43 AM on October 27, 2015 [53 favorites]
As part of a FERPA compliance team, ohhhhh maaaaaaaaaan. I can only imagine our counsel would be incandescantly mad about this.
A lot of our work revolves around minimizing the opportunity for, and effects of, accidental disclosures. Mostly this means telling people "folks get their educational records when they ask for it" and "that's an educational record, be careful with that."
I would hope and expect if we discovered and reported this sort of retaliatory leaking of educational records the culprit would be immediately put on leave pending formal investigation and discipline while we braced ourselves for DoE reckoning.
For folks not abiding in the FERPA environment all day every day, this FAQ may be interesting:
FERPA frequently asked questions for school officials
It would appear that Success Academies has and does recieve DoE funds.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 8:49 AM on October 27, 2015 [19 favorites]
A lot of our work revolves around minimizing the opportunity for, and effects of, accidental disclosures. Mostly this means telling people "folks get their educational records when they ask for it" and "that's an educational record, be careful with that."
I would hope and expect if we discovered and reported this sort of retaliatory leaking of educational records the culprit would be immediately put on leave pending formal investigation and discipline while we braced ourselves for DoE reckoning.
For folks not abiding in the FERPA environment all day every day, this FAQ may be interesting:
FERPA frequently asked questions for school officials
It would appear that Success Academies has and does recieve DoE funds.
posted by Matt Oneiros at 8:49 AM on October 27, 2015 [19 favorites]
I had a teacher do this to me during school as part of a dispute with the administration. It was fun.
A few days later she came up to me at my locker and tried to apologize. I made eye contact with her, remained silent, and then went on with my day. It was satisfying.
posted by truex at 8:51 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
A few days later she came up to me at my locker and tried to apologize. I made eye contact with her, remained silent, and then went on with my day. It was satisfying.
posted by truex at 8:51 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
It would appear that Success Academies has and does recieve DoE funds.
Of course they do. Libertarian parasites, the lot of them.
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on October 27, 2015 [20 favorites]
Of course they do. Libertarian parasites, the lot of them.
posted by Artw at 8:56 AM on October 27, 2015 [20 favorites]
Turns out the Superman they were waiting for was Bizarro.
posted by drezdn at 8:57 AM on October 27, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 8:57 AM on October 27, 2015 [14 favorites]
Martin Shkreli may have to move over a tad to make room for Ms. Moskowitz.
posted by Bringer Tom at 9:20 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bringer Tom at 9:20 AM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, and it gets "better" - apparently, Moskowitz has been playing games with the suspension numbers they report federally.
Success Academy Charter School CEO Eva Moskowitz has taken up the issue of school discipline recently, defending the practices in her own schools and criticizing the efforts to reform student discipline in the New York City public schools. A close inspection of available data shows that: first, Success Academy has misrepresented its suspensions to the U.S. Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection, reporting only two suspensions while reporting hundreds of suspensions to the New York State Education Department; second, that when students of the same age groups are compared, Success Academy charter schools suspend their students at roughly seven times the rate of New York City public schools; and third, that the suspended students are overwhelmingly African American and Latino. Moskowitz’s attacks on New York City public schools reform efforts is designed as a shot across the bow of the U.S. Education Department and U.S. Justice Department, which has advised that excessive suspensions of students of color is a violation of U.S. civil rights law.
Sadly, the fact that DoE is in flux at the moment is most likely to her benefit, as is the fact that the incoming SecEd is just as pro-charter as the outgoing Duncan.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:27 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
Success Academy Charter School CEO Eva Moskowitz has taken up the issue of school discipline recently, defending the practices in her own schools and criticizing the efforts to reform student discipline in the New York City public schools. A close inspection of available data shows that: first, Success Academy has misrepresented its suspensions to the U.S. Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection, reporting only two suspensions while reporting hundreds of suspensions to the New York State Education Department; second, that when students of the same age groups are compared, Success Academy charter schools suspend their students at roughly seven times the rate of New York City public schools; and third, that the suspended students are overwhelmingly African American and Latino. Moskowitz’s attacks on New York City public schools reform efforts is designed as a shot across the bow of the U.S. Education Department and U.S. Justice Department, which has advised that excessive suspensions of students of color is a violation of U.S. civil rights law.
Sadly, the fact that DoE is in flux at the moment is most likely to her benefit, as is the fact that the incoming SecEd is just as pro-charter as the outgoing Duncan.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:27 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
Hi there, this is TKPD, the CCO (Chief Culture Officer) here at SiliconVentureSchools, LLC. I just wanted to drop you a quick note about your Learning Partner [child].
It's come to our attention in recent weeks that [child] has not been synergizing well with our TeamPlus+ style of classpod management. SVS, or, as we like to call it, "The Starship", prides itself on a Learning Partner-driven environment, where Learning Partners are free to innovate and disrupt old paradigms while preparing for incredible future gigs in the coding industry.
Sadly, we've noticed that [child] hasn't been much of a team player lately. Excessive vacations, sick days, cries for attention, and failure to attend All Hands on Deck and Pump Up The Fun sessions leads us to conclude that [child] might be better off attending the Crackton-Needletown Public School District, where [child]'s unique personality might be more at home with other's of [child]'s kind. Finding Learning Partners who are a good fit for The Starship is such a difficult process, so we know that you wouldn't want to make it anymore difficult for us.
Moving forward, we think you'll agree that The Starship has an obligation to deliver the best possible learning experience to our Learning Partners, as well as significant returns to our investors. We have little doubt that [child] will feel the same way, eventually.
Namaste,
TKPD, CCO, CFO, Coding Ninja
SVS, LLC.
posted by Tyrant King Porn Dragon at 9:29 AM on October 27, 2015 [28 favorites]
It's come to our attention in recent weeks that [child] has not been synergizing well with our TeamPlus+ style of classpod management. SVS, or, as we like to call it, "The Starship", prides itself on a Learning Partner-driven environment, where Learning Partners are free to innovate and disrupt old paradigms while preparing for incredible future gigs in the coding industry.
Sadly, we've noticed that [child] hasn't been much of a team player lately. Excessive vacations, sick days, cries for attention, and failure to attend All Hands on Deck and Pump Up The Fun sessions leads us to conclude that [child] might be better off attending the Crackton-Needletown Public School District, where [child]'s unique personality might be more at home with other's of [child]'s kind. Finding Learning Partners who are a good fit for The Starship is such a difficult process, so we know that you wouldn't want to make it anymore difficult for us.
Moving forward, we think you'll agree that The Starship has an obligation to deliver the best possible learning experience to our Learning Partners, as well as significant returns to our investors. We have little doubt that [child] will feel the same way, eventually.
Namaste,
TKPD, CCO, CFO, Coding Ninja
SVS, LLC.
posted by Tyrant King Porn Dragon at 9:29 AM on October 27, 2015 [28 favorites]
You see, she cleverly referred to him as John Doe, so it must be ok. Her attorneys, drafted from the elementary school talented & gifted class, are preparing a novel "finders keepers, losers weepers" defense with no backsies.
posted by dr_dank at 9:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 9:32 AM on October 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
What the fuck does "Failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position" mean?
From the Success Academy's standardized Family Handbook and Parent/Guardian Contract, it looks like it means unauthorized slouching.
posted by straight at 9:40 AM on October 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
From the Success Academy's standardized Family Handbook and Parent/Guardian Contract, it looks like it means unauthorized slouching.
posted by straight at 9:40 AM on October 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
I would think that number of suspensions would be a metric that should be of interest to educational boards and accreditation groups....
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:45 AM on October 27, 2015
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:45 AM on October 27, 2015
Oh, for pity's SAKE. Look, I know being on the side of Good means you're not supposed to do this, but can I just shake Moskowitz for a few minutes while I yell "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING YOU MORON?"
Seriously. Maybe out in front of the kids and families she's intimidated.
Grf.
posted by Mooski at 9:50 AM on October 27, 2015
Seriously. Maybe out in front of the kids and families she's intimidated.
Grf.
posted by Mooski at 9:50 AM on October 27, 2015
Look, I know being on the side of Good means you're not supposed to do this, but can I just shake Moskowitz for a few minutes while I yell "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING YOU MORON?"
What she's thinking is simple - she's the politically powerful (she's been mentioned as a challenger to DiBlasio) CEO of a prominent charter chain who is currently in conflict with the state and federal pushes against over suspension, an she's decided that the best defense is a good offense.
Which is why the DoE needs to drop the FERPA hammer on her, to force her to stop trying this case in the court of public opinion, and start trying it in am actual court of law.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:01 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
What she's thinking is simple - she's the politically powerful (she's been mentioned as a challenger to DiBlasio) CEO of a prominent charter chain who is currently in conflict with the state and federal pushes against over suspension, an she's decided that the best defense is a good offense.
Which is why the DoE needs to drop the FERPA hammer on her, to force her to stop trying this case in the court of public opinion, and start trying it in am actual court of law.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:01 AM on October 27, 2015 [7 favorites]
Moskowitz breaks the law. Cowardice drives excessive discipline in schools, and desire for omnipotence at every level.
Narcissism is the classical diagnosis for her activities. She should be put in charge of a mop, somewhere.
posted by Oyéah at 10:46 AM on October 27, 2015
Narcissism is the classical diagnosis for her activities. She should be put in charge of a mop, somewhere.
posted by Oyéah at 10:46 AM on October 27, 2015
Charter schools and their supporters are just another sign that "America" defined as "the land of opportunity" and "the great experiment" has failed. That any official of the DoE can be "pro charter schools" tells you everything you need to know about how awful this has become.
posted by maxwelton at 10:51 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by maxwelton at 10:51 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
. . . she's decided that the best defense is a good offense.
It's weird how she addresses her as "Ms. Doe" in her response and the title of the memo, but the URL is "response-to-ms-geidi".
Moskowitz is just really shitty at FERPA, I guess. It's one of the simpler laws out there, too.
posted by Think_Long at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
It's weird how she addresses her as "Ms. Doe" in her response and the title of the memo, but the URL is "response-to-ms-geidi".
Moskowitz is just really shitty at FERPA, I guess. It's one of the simpler laws out there, too.
posted by Think_Long at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
Charter schools are just another tool for the discrediting of public education. The places that bought into them, like the places that bought into standardized testing, are complicit.
That is all.
posted by Twang at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
That is all.
posted by Twang at 10:53 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Apparently Moskowitz sees the student body and staff as her own personal army:
Eva Moskowitz, the founder of the Success Academy charter network and one of the mayor’s fiercest critics, closed all twenty-two of her schools so that students and staff could participate in what she called “the largest civic field trip in history.” [ . . . ] The teachers and staffers who spoke to The Nation said that although they were never told they would lose their jobs if they did not attend the rally, they didn’t think they had much choice and were afraid to ask for an exception. “An option was not presented. The schools assigned everyone with a job, so you were either going to be an instructional coach or a bus captain,” one teacher explained. “They weren’t really asking us if that’s what we wanted to do. They were telling us that that’s what we were going to do instead of teaching for the day.”posted by Matt Oneiros at 10:57 AM on October 27, 2015
Charter schools are in place to discriminate.
posted by Oyéah at 10:58 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 10:58 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Matt Oneiros: A lot of our work revolves around minimizing the opportunity for, and effects of, accidental disclosures...
I work in (private) higher-ed IT, and a lot of my nightmares "revolve around…accidental disclosures"!
posted by wenestvedt at 11:15 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
I work in (private) higher-ed IT, and a lot of my nightmares "revolve around…accidental disclosures"!
posted by wenestvedt at 11:15 AM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Eyebrows McGee: in a traditional public school system, students have Constitutional Due Process rights when they are suspended or expelled, and various legal procedures have to be followed, and among these rights, laid out in state and federal law, is a right to appeal to the elected school board for a hearing.
I went to a charter school in the mid-1990s that, until saner heads prevailed, had the student council hear suspension appeals. I sat through one case involving a couple of students caught fighting. They each had to make their case to us alone, with no representation and without even a teacher or other adult in the room. Then as a group, we voted on whether or not they should receive a suspension.
Knowing how wrongity-wrong this was I abstained, so my more than willing alternate representative was called in to vote, even though he hadn't even heard the appeals. In the end, one of the students actually got the suspension while the other got off with just an apology, mostly because she was a friend of the student council president, who's father also just happened to be on the school's board of trustees.
When word got out, the school later backpedaled and declared the affair had merely been "peer mediation" and that we were never placed in a position to make judicial decisions.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I went to a charter school in the mid-1990s that, until saner heads prevailed, had the student council hear suspension appeals. I sat through one case involving a couple of students caught fighting. They each had to make their case to us alone, with no representation and without even a teacher or other adult in the room. Then as a group, we voted on whether or not they should receive a suspension.
Knowing how wrongity-wrong this was I abstained, so my more than willing alternate representative was called in to vote, even though he hadn't even heard the appeals. In the end, one of the students actually got the suspension while the other got off with just an apology, mostly because she was a friend of the student council president, who's father also just happened to be on the school's board of trustees.
When word got out, the school later backpedaled and declared the affair had merely been "peer mediation" and that we were never placed in a position to make judicial decisions.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:25 AM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Moskowitz is just really shitty at FERPA, I guess. It's one of the simpler laws out there, too.
Except she isn't. She knows very well that FERPA cases can only be initiated by the DoE, and she also knows that Duncan and King are charter proponents, so they're not as interested in a lawsuit against one of the more prominent charter chains. She's playing politics, and if that means ruining the life of a 10 year old boy, well...he shouldn't have gotten in the way.
Which is why this needs to be publicized to force DoE to do the right thing and force the case into a real court, where Ms. Moskowitz can try explaining her novel theory to a judge.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:42 AM on October 27, 2015 [11 favorites]
Except she isn't. She knows very well that FERPA cases can only be initiated by the DoE, and she also knows that Duncan and King are charter proponents, so they're not as interested in a lawsuit against one of the more prominent charter chains. She's playing politics, and if that means ruining the life of a 10 year old boy, well...he shouldn't have gotten in the way.
Which is why this needs to be publicized to force DoE to do the right thing and force the case into a real court, where Ms. Moskowitz can try explaining her novel theory to a judge.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:42 AM on October 27, 2015 [11 favorites]
What the fuck does "Failing to be in a ready-to-succeed position" mean?
From the Success Academy's standardized Family Handbook and Parent/Guardian Contract, it looks like it means unauthorized slouching.
Honest question: is it typical for charter schools to be full of weird corporate obedience BS like this? The only other data-point I have is a YouTube video of a Kip academy teacher roboteaching, but otherwise I'm ignorant of charter schools. Are there any good ones?
posted by cosmic.osmo at 1:37 PM on October 27, 2015
From the Success Academy's standardized Family Handbook and Parent/Guardian Contract, it looks like it means unauthorized slouching.
Honest question: is it typical for charter schools to be full of weird corporate obedience BS like this? The only other data-point I have is a YouTube video of a Kip academy teacher roboteaching, but otherwise I'm ignorant of charter schools. Are there any good ones?
posted by cosmic.osmo at 1:37 PM on October 27, 2015
There are some good charters, but they are for the most part one-off "laboratory" schools with local control. The chains are pretty much about extracting education budget funds as revenue.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:47 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:47 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
My charter chain is both averse to this sort of Orwellian edu-ese and a chain of schools. Our situation is a bit different as our mission is dropout recovery, and I'd be happy to memail folks. I used to not be a big charter fan. obviously I'm biased now as an employee of one, but I do think there is a place for charters in the educational landscape.
posted by lownote at 2:07 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lownote at 2:07 PM on October 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Honest question: is it typical for charter schools to be full of weird corporate obedience BS like this?
Yes.
My charter school required every student to sign some bullshit contract that included many clauses like that one. The contract was a considered a core part of the school, and the implied enforcement of it was often used in marketing materials as a signal to middle-class suburban parents that undesirables (low-income kids, special needs, minorities, etc) would be quickly gotten rid of ("We make all our students sign an actual learning contract that requires them to always come on time, never disrupt the class, and put all their effort into making this a productive learning environment!")
One year I deliberately forgot to sign it. I knew I was too young to legally sign a contract, and it seemed like such a stupid formality. Almost six months later, I was pulled from a class trip for not having a blanket permission slip on file (also bullshit, and probably illegal). When I produced a specific permission slip my parents had written out especially for that trip, suddenly the fact that I hadn't signed the contract became an EXTREMELY BIG DEAL, and I still didn't get to go.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:24 PM on October 27, 2015 [8 favorites]
Yes.
My charter school required every student to sign some bullshit contract that included many clauses like that one. The contract was a considered a core part of the school, and the implied enforcement of it was often used in marketing materials as a signal to middle-class suburban parents that undesirables (low-income kids, special needs, minorities, etc) would be quickly gotten rid of ("We make all our students sign an actual learning contract that requires them to always come on time, never disrupt the class, and put all their effort into making this a productive learning environment!")
One year I deliberately forgot to sign it. I knew I was too young to legally sign a contract, and it seemed like such a stupid formality. Almost six months later, I was pulled from a class trip for not having a blanket permission slip on file (also bullshit, and probably illegal). When I produced a specific permission slip my parents had written out especially for that trip, suddenly the fact that I hadn't signed the contract became an EXTREMELY BIG DEAL, and I still didn't get to go.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:24 PM on October 27, 2015 [8 favorites]
lownote: Some charter school advocates like to say that not having so many regulations are what help them have success, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the type of regulation they're talking about.
At this point I usually assume it actually is.
posted by traveler_ at 2:42 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
At this point I usually assume it actually is.
posted by traveler_ at 2:42 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
My understanding is that neither FERPA nor The New York Education law's sections regarding the privacy of student records provide an ability of the student or parents to seek relief in the courts. Only government agencies can act.
FERPA isn't protecting your privacy as a student. There are too many loopholes and you basically have no rights if the school discloses your info. You can complain to the Departmebt of Education and they might investigate, then they might decide to hold back federal funds; but this doesn't seem to have ever happened. Which leads me to a further rant that the DOE is terrible. They've let for profit bear diploma mills soak students with loans and then resisted any kind of debt relief for the students. They let Pearson and other big textbook publishers turn common core into joke designed to sell more expensive textbooks. I could go on, but it depresses me so.
posted by humanfont at 5:05 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
FERPA isn't protecting your privacy as a student. There are too many loopholes and you basically have no rights if the school discloses your info. You can complain to the Departmebt of Education and they might investigate, then they might decide to hold back federal funds; but this doesn't seem to have ever happened. Which leads me to a further rant that the DOE is terrible. They've let for profit bear diploma mills soak students with loans and then resisted any kind of debt relief for the students. They let Pearson and other big textbook publishers turn common core into joke designed to sell more expensive textbooks. I could go on, but it depresses me so.
posted by humanfont at 5:05 PM on October 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Just a side note, The Department of Education is the ED. DoE is Department of Energy.
posted by yeolcoatl at 9:03 PM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by yeolcoatl at 9:03 PM on October 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
"Either Pump Up the Volume, which made kicking out low-scoring kids one of its plot points, was prescient, or this is an ongoing problem that we have been notable and unforgivably delinquent in resolving."
My ex went to a high school that did this sort of thing. He got expelled for kicking a trash can.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:28 PM on October 27, 2015
My ex went to a high school that did this sort of thing. He got expelled for kicking a trash can.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:28 PM on October 27, 2015
My understanding is that neither FERPA nor The New York Education law's sections regarding the privacy of student records provide an ability of the student or parents to seek relief in the courts. Only government agencies can act. --humanfont
So what you are saying is that all the posters here talking about how hard they work at FERPA compliance should just relax and take it easy.
posted by eye of newt at 10:03 PM on October 27, 2015
So what you are saying is that all the posters here talking about how hard they work at FERPA compliance should just relax and take it easy.
posted by eye of newt at 10:03 PM on October 27, 2015
So what you are saying is that all the posters here talking about how hard they work at FERPA compliance should just relax and take it easy.
No, it's pointing out how political this is - Moskowitz and Success Academies are relying on the fact that the people in power at the places that are responsible for reining her in are reluctant to go after one of the bigger, more notable charters.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:19 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
No, it's pointing out how political this is - Moskowitz and Success Academies are relying on the fact that the people in power at the places that are responsible for reining her in are reluctant to go after one of the bigger, more notable charters.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:19 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
FERPA is both taken pretty seriously and not really enforced. I don't think the Department of Education would come after my institution if I blatantly violated FERPA, but I think I'd probably get fired (or at least severely disciplined) anyway. I would like to think that someone actually will come after Moskowitz, because that's really a very blatant violation, but that's probably naive.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:22 AM on October 28, 2015
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:22 AM on October 28, 2015
And that's the big problem here - if Moskowitz is allowed to get away with this, then we might as well tear up the student privacy section of FERPA, because confetti is all its good for.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:46 AM on October 28, 2015
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:46 AM on October 28, 2015
humanfront: ...the DOE is terrible. They've let for profit bear diploma mills soak students with...
Whoa, whoa, WHOA. "Bear diploma mills"? Like are you saying that this place doesn't actually require the bears to attend their classes and work to true mastery of their tasks? Dammit, Lynn Rogers, you used me!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:38 AM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Whoa, whoa, WHOA. "Bear diploma mills"? Like are you saying that this place doesn't actually require the bears to attend their classes and work to true mastery of their tasks? Dammit, Lynn Rogers, you used me!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:38 AM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
The New York Times has now picked up this story and uncovered some new details (a "Got to Go" list for unruly students).
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:12 AM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:12 AM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Do we know if the student filed a complaint with ED? That step needs to occur for an investigation to start.
posted by Karaage at 3:08 PM on October 29, 2015
posted by Karaage at 3:08 PM on October 29, 2015
According to the cease and desist sent to Moskowitz, yes.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:59 PM on October 29, 2015
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:59 PM on October 29, 2015
Interesting. Having some experience with this sort of case I doubt ED would be able to comment publicly as to whether they're doing an investigation or not but I'd be interested in seeing how it plays out before declaring that moskowitz is going be "allowed to get away with it."
posted by Karaage at 5:51 PM on October 29, 2015
posted by Karaage at 5:51 PM on October 29, 2015
Whoa, Longdaysjourney, that link is really appalling: At a Success Academy Charter School, Singling Out Pupils Who Have ‘Got to Go’
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:28 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:28 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh MAN. I listened to the original NewsHour piece at work, and then on the next day's ep they actually a brief amends/follow-up statement. It became obvious that Moskowitz (or Success Academy yeasayers?) had sent them "corrections" that... weren't actually corrections... and pressured enough to get it into a "regret the error" type of segment. It amounted to nothing more than her desperately fanning flames, and was just weird to hear (the anchors' voices, while professional, gave a slight "the hell?" impression).
And then, this? Shakin' my damn head.
posted by cluebucket at 5:59 AM on October 30, 2015
And then, this? Shakin' my damn head.
posted by cluebucket at 5:59 AM on October 30, 2015
Well, there's been growing evidence that the success of these charters is pretty much due to nothing more than selection bias. Turns out that it's easy to have high test scores when you can make sure that you have few low performers. What is happening now is that proof is starting to accumulate, and I would imagine that the heads of these companies are scared that the districts may start forcing them to keep the weaker students they've been pushing out.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:08 AM on October 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:08 AM on October 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
We made a system where we pay educators and retain based on student performance. If a student has a problem the incentive is now to get them to leave; rather than try to educate them.
posted by humanfont at 2:00 PM on October 30, 2015
posted by humanfont at 2:00 PM on October 30, 2015
It appears now from that earlier link that the student's mother has submitted a FERPA complaint. I took some time earlier today to look at how the statute is written, and I think the post is misleading in saying that it's "political" or that Moskovitz is somehow banking on Duncan's supposed love of charter schools as a way to be able to flaunt the law. Certainly I don't see any evidence of that.
Rather than banking on her status as a charter school and political connections, frankly, I think Moskovitz is banking on the fact that by statute, FERPA prescribes remedies that are essentially slaps on the wrist for the first offense. The statute provides that the Secretary “shall take appropriate actions to enforce [the law]…except that action to terminate assistance may be taken only if the Secretary finds there has been a failure to comply with [the law], and he has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means.” (The Secretary designation here is a red herring as to his control over the office, since it appears that the Family Policy Compliance Office isn't staffed by political staff - they're likely delegated the duties.)
The voluntary compliance thing is key here - as a first step by statute, assuming a finding of a FERPA violation upon conclusion of the investigation, the Department is required to pursue a voluntary compliance agreement first with the school, meaning Moskovitz can just play dumb and promise to never do it again and that will be the end of the matter. It's only if she repeatedly flaunts the law that an action to take away funds becomes possible.
So in however long it takes to conclude the investigation and the school enters into a voluntary compliance agreement regarding the FERPA violation, there will likely be people complaining that ED let them go with a slap on the wrist, but the statute will be to blame for that.
posted by Karaage at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2015
Rather than banking on her status as a charter school and political connections, frankly, I think Moskovitz is banking on the fact that by statute, FERPA prescribes remedies that are essentially slaps on the wrist for the first offense. The statute provides that the Secretary “shall take appropriate actions to enforce [the law]…except that action to terminate assistance may be taken only if the Secretary finds there has been a failure to comply with [the law], and he has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means.” (The Secretary designation here is a red herring as to his control over the office, since it appears that the Family Policy Compliance Office isn't staffed by political staff - they're likely delegated the duties.)
The voluntary compliance thing is key here - as a first step by statute, assuming a finding of a FERPA violation upon conclusion of the investigation, the Department is required to pursue a voluntary compliance agreement first with the school, meaning Moskovitz can just play dumb and promise to never do it again and that will be the end of the matter. It's only if she repeatedly flaunts the law that an action to take away funds becomes possible.
So in however long it takes to conclude the investigation and the school enters into a voluntary compliance agreement regarding the FERPA violation, there will likely be people complaining that ED let them go with a slap on the wrist, but the statute will be to blame for that.
posted by Karaage at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2015
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posted by Thorzdad at 8:18 AM on October 27, 2015 [59 favorites]