It's happened before in public schools; now it's happening in charter schools as well:
A local charter school principal has lost her job after accusations she altered state exams. Cheryl Ray was dismissed from the St. Louis Charter Academy's south campus.Ray allegedly ordered teachers to return standardized tests to students so they could complete answers they didn't finish in time. Ray's firing comes just one day after a teacher at the school's north campus was charged with assaulting a third grade student. That teacher resigned Monday.
Presumably, this will be more grist for the "tests force people to cheat" mill. The assault charges, however, suggest that the problems at this school run far deeper than the exams:
A 9-year-old student at St. Louis Charter Academy on Linton says Wendell Goins, a teacher at the school, dragged him across a floor and choked him after another student claimed the nine year old was picking on him...Goins' conduct has been addressed before. "His voice is a little loud and we've instructed him to lower his voice when he is talking to the children", says Reverend Solomon Williams, a Board member...Goins is on administrative leave without pay. As of Monday night he had not turned himself in. His mother, Sandra, a board member at the school, declined to comment.
Note, however, that both Goins and Ray are looking for other work. Would parents have seen such swift justice within the public school system? Doubtful. It remains to be seen if the school's sponsor, University of Missouri-Rolla, will shut the place down; other schools are waiting for similar axes to fall:
A St. Louis charter school will appeal to the state today for what may be its last chance to stay open next year. The Thurgood Marshall Academy has had a rough five years - a board president indicted on felony theft, a principal removed for handcuffing a kindergartner, test scores worse than city schools and, expected this summer, the loss of its sponsor.Now, the school on Goodfellow Boulevard in St. Louis has another shot. Today, it will ask the state Board of Education to sponsor it and its 1,000 students. Without a sponsor, Thurgood will close before next fall. But Missouri education department officials have told the board not to sponsor the troubled school. Advertisement
"The department has reviewed the Thurgood Marshall Academy's application and finds that it is not in compliance" with state law, state staffers wrote in the recommendation to the board. The school didn't submit a curriculum, a three-year financial plan, or a clear description of academic standards, said Jocelyn Strand, the state's chief of charter schools.
Again - while it's sad to see the schools going so poorly, it's good to see schools shut down, or faculty dismissed, when the performance is not adequate.
Posted by kswygert at May 4, 2005 11:12 AM