By Sheila Resseger in Rhode Island’s Future
We know that the Achievement First charter chain, with schools
in N.Y. and CT as well as R.I., wants to expand its mayoral academy in
Providence, and the decision to deny or allow this expansion is to be made
soon.
In a way, this is Rhode Island’s version of Massachusetts’
Question 2, the proposal to lift the state’s cap for charter schools that was
resoundingly defeated by Massachusetts voters, despite millions of dollars
having been spent on ads by out-of-staters determined to get it passed.
Rhode Island voters have no opportunity to weigh in on this, as
it is mainly Providence’s problem, but it may nevertheless become a milestone
in the state’s drift toward educational privatization.
Despite the serious misgivings of the Providence City Council,
the Providence School Board, the superintendent, the teachers’ union, and the
mayor, state Education Commissioner Ken Wagner is pushing for expansion.
Providence’s Internal Auditor estimates that the district public
schools will lose between $28 and $29 million annually by the time Achievement
First reaches full enrollment under the expansion plan.
Commissioner Wagner disregards this analysis.
He also disregards the analysis of his fiscal advisors at RIDE, who estimate that the Providence district will lose $35 million–$8 million from the city and the remainder from the state.
He claims that “Providence can expect massive increases in lifetime
income for each child enrolled at Achievement First, a large positive return on
investment, and a further narrowing of the opportunity and achievement gaps.”
With higher test scores, Wagner’s story goes, come more college
applicants, more college graduates, and more high-paying jobs. More students
attending Achievement First “will cumulatively generate between $590.6 million
and $727.3 million in mean lifetime earnings.”(this quote from http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20161202/ri-commissioner-approves-full-expansion-of-achievement-charter).
If they stay in Providence, that is, if jobs are available in R.I, and if standardized test scores are a reliable index of future success–something by no means proven!
Wagner’s discussion of the fiscal benefits of Achievement First
expansion is based on a very recent analysis by Brown University’s Rhode Island
Innovative Policy Lab, spearheaded by Justine Hastings, who has declined
requests for interviews.
Hastings is a member of the Governor’s Council of Economic
Advisors and her work in the past has been funded by the Laura and John Arnold
Foundation, which promotes school choice.
Rhode Islanders may
remember that the same (Enron alum) John Arnold was a big contributor to
Governor Raimondo’s political campaigns and a fan of the pension
“reforms” that cost R.I. retirees their COLAs and gave huge fees to hedge
funds.
Why does Wagner give credence to this particular report? And
will the governor-appointed State Board of Education members dare to reject the
governor-approved message from the governor-appointed messenger?
Rosy projections of the potential lifetime earnings of AF grads
have little to do with the majority of students in or entering Providence
district schools over the next ten years.
What about the students who won’t enter or win the charter
lottery?
What about the already underfunded schools that will suffer
further cuts in programs and personnel because of the Achievement First
expansion?
Isn’t this what the fiscal impact statement is supposed to
address?
Concern for all public school students, not
only those attending charter schools, was Elizabeth’s Warren’s major
emphasis when she spoke out against Question 2 in Massachusetts.
The same concern is central in the recent NAACP Moratorium to
halt all charter school expansion until certain safeguards are in place and we
can be sure that “public funds are not diverted to
charter schools at the expense of the public school system.” (This
quote from http://www.naacp.org/latest/statement-regarding-naacps-resolution-moratorium-charter-schools/)
Wagner believes that Achievement First expansion will benefit
all Providence students. He claims: “More than 60 percent of Providence
students–nearly 15,000 students–are enrolled in a school that has been
identified for many years as in need of dramatic improvement.”
He believes that Achievement First will make things better for
3,000 of the 15,000 in lousy schools and it’s too bad about the other 12,000
whose schools will get even lousier with diminished resources.
Wagner is careful to say “Mayor Jorge Elorza and Superintendent
Maher are making progress” and “Providence teachers are dedicated
professionals” but he clearly has no confidence in this progress, the teachers,
or their plans for the future: “If one is opposed to the Achievement First
proposal, what is the alternative plan for the children of Providence?”
The commissioner has put his faith in the privatized path. He
has no alternative plan and, apparently, no faith in anyone else’. He should
have no problems with the Trump/DeVos regime that will soon be upon us.
Unless otherwise indicated, quotations are from Commissioner
Wagner’s “Achievement First will benefit Providence,” Providence
Journal, Dec.6, 2016
Sheila Resseger,
Retired Teacher
R.I. School for the Deaf
Retired Teacher
R.I. School for the Deaf
Wendy Holmes,
Emerita Professor of Art History
University of R. I.
Emerita Professor of Art History
University of R. I.