Barnstable's Horace Mann Public Charter Schools are unconstitutional...

In 1993 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice, Paul J. Liacos, in his eloquent decision in McDuffy v Board of Education, wrote;

"The responsibility of the Commonwealth had not changed since 1780, when John Adams included these words in the state Constitution:

"It shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this Commonwealth, to cherish ...the public schools and grammars schools in the towns..."

Liacos ruled that the commonwealth has a constitutional duty to provide every child,

"whether rich or poor and without regard to the fiscal capacity of the community or district in which such children live" with an "adequate education."

Further, the court ruled that the state’s duty to provide an education for all children is a duty

"designed not only to serve the interests of the children, but, more fundamentally, to prepare them to participate as free citizens of a Free State to meet the needs and interests of the Commonwealth."

In reaching its decision in McDuffy, the court looked at the resources available to children in four of the plaintiffs’ school districts, Brockton, Leicester, Lowell and Winchendon and compared those schools with the more affluent districts of Brookline, Concord and Wellesley.

The key words in the SJC rulings are “equal educational opportunities for all children in the commonwealth,“

yet the Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Public Charter School (MMEHMPCS),

that is totally funded from the Barnstable general fund,

has far greater resources than the other elementary schools,

and purports to provide better educational opportunities to a select group of Barnstable K - 4 students,

because of the availability of greater funding resources.

MMEHMPCS's website boasts a mission statement of continuous improvement.

The success of our educational philosophy and intent is critically dependent on a change in the paradigm of the teaching staff's time outside the classroom.

Continuous Improvement

 

Creating a culture of purposeful, on-going collaboration; collaboration that happens naturally as a means to continually critique and generate new ideas.

Aligning professional development so that is directly relates to our own professionalism as educators and the strengthening our abilities to advance the education experience.

Redefining our team/leadership structure and our schedules so that collaboration and planning are a systemic part of our work routines.

Establishing methods to formally evaluate and critique our own teaching practices to help assure consistency, continuity and quality.

The Accelerated Schools Program, their Inquiry Process and the governance they propose for schools, will aid us in implementing all of the above continuous improvement practices.

Engagement of Accelerated School Program specifically provides an overall framework, Powerful Learning that will aid us in achieving our goals in support of our Mission. 

Powerful Learning focus on a five-pronged instructional approach: authentic, learner-centered, interactive, inclusive, and continuous.

In MMEHMPCS’s initial application to the Department of Education claims were made the school would host the town’s “gifted and talented” elementary students which has since disappeared from the school’s literature.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE AND TO NOTE THE DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITIES BETWEEN THE CHARTER SCHOOL AND BARNSTABLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.

MMEHMPCS trustees act as if the school operates as a private school in competition with other private schools.

The Barnstable School District is failing;

Over the next four years 10% of the 1,700 kids in Barnstable High School will drop out of school.

37% of the school's Limited English Proficient Students will drop out of school.

17% of the high school's special needs students will drop out.

21% of the high school's low income students will drop out,

35% of the high school's Hispanic students will drop out, and

5% will be permanently excluded (85).

Recent studies have shown that school drop outs is not simply a result of academic failure, but rather often results from both social and academic problems in school.

The same studies determined that these problems often appear early in students’ school careers, suggesting the need for early intervention, and the problems are influenced by a lack of support and resources in schools, communities, and families.

These findings suggest that reducing dropout rates will require comprehensive approaches both to help at-risk students that address the social and academic problems they will face in their lives,

and to improve the at-risk settings that contribute to these problems ranging from early intervention programs serving pre-school students

to supplemental yet comprehensive middle school programs

to alternative middle and high school programs.

Large-school systemic solutions to the dropout problem require

resources,

technical expertise, and

incentives

to restructure existing schools.

School resources and school structure play important roles in the drop-out rate; other factors of poor academic performance are;

absenteeism,

behavioral problems,

family economics,

and family structure.

Social and school structures are integral to each other.

The fact that many poor, English language deficient, and minority students flourish in the current school system indicates that school structure plays a major role in the withdrawal problem.

One way is indirectly, through general policies and practices that are designed to promote the overall effectiveness of the school.

These policies and practices, along with other characteristics of the school (student composition, size, etc.), contribute to voluntary withdrawal by affecting conditions that keep students engaged in school.

Student engagement is the precursor to withdrawal

Another way that schools affect turnover is directly, through explicit policies and conscious decisions that cause students to involuntarily withdraw from school.

These rules may concern low grades, poor attendance, misbehavior, or being overage that can lead to suspensions, expulsions, or forced transfers.

A school’s own agency, rather than just that of the student, is responsible for producing dropouts and transfers.

Students drop out of school, but schools discharge students.

Veteran teachers will tell you they can predict which students will fail/drop out early in elementary school.

If it walks like a duck....

MMEHMPCS violates non-school student’s constitutional rights to equal educational opportunities because the school is funded through public funds,

but acts like it's a private school.

If the learning programs at MMEHMPCS are so great they should be adopted in the four other Barnstable elementary schools.

The fact the two Horace Mann Charter Schools in Barnstable receive annual budgets in cash up front two months before the school term begins,

and are able to retain $700,000 in cash surpluses this year,

while the school district is forced to operate on a $6 million deficit,

is a further example of resource inequity.

Money talks, bullshit walks philosophy applies..

Barnstable's Horace Mann Charter Schools may have been just the ticket in the Third Reich and the People's Republic of Barnstable, but not in the U.S.A, and more specifically; Massachusetts.

Is it any wonder that of the Massachusetts 391 school districts

there are only seven Horace Mann Charter Schools,

two of which are in Barnstable. 

It won't be long until Barnstable again finds itself before the Supreme Judicial Court, only this time as a defendent in a McDuffy-like prosecution.

Comments

[1st Things 1st]

Respectfully, Gary, we have bigger battles than the charter schools right now. They will crash and burn soon enough on their own.

Grenier, her entire staff, the school attorney, and other administrative fat needs to be chopped off the budget and replaced with a single superintendent at half the price with twice the responsibilities.

Help with the search for good candidates who can help make positive change both on the school committee and the council.

Pull papers yourself and sit on your ass - see how many votes you get!

BTW, I wrote you in and put an X next to your name under Jimmy Crocker when voting at the COMM fire station last week. Did you hear about it?

[How does it work?]

Can a person get elected if they do not pull papers but are written in on the ballot? Would this work for school committee and/or the town council?

For example, could we just write you in under Rugo and get you elected???

[Gary Lopez]

Write in's work, but there's lots of time before nomination papers are due.

After the legislative conference committee meets and accepts the Senate's local aid section, the charter school's retention of $700,000 in F/Y09 surpluses while the school district cuts another $1.3 million should be the subject of much debate.

[Listening to Reason!]

"1st Things 1st" still believes she's got a better lock on municipal politics and the current crisis in the school system than the Sultan. Wasn't Gary Lopez that complimented by Dave Still of The Barnstable Patriot for advant garde and exemplary reporting late last fall? If my memory serves me correctly, was Dave Still less than "apologetic" to readers that dared to think otherwise?

By any chance, is this the same "1st, Me 1st" that considers Joe Pino "old and slow"? I'm pretty sure that "selective hearing" is a necessity for the follicularly and auditory impaired.

Is it a miracle that those with wisdom and vintage decline to yield the floor to the impulsive and irrational?

[correcting a misconception]

Just commenting on the ELL student drop out rate. You need to realize that many of these students enter our system at 17, 18, 19, even 20. By law we have to take them and they come to school for a year to learn English and then drop out. Most of the ELLs that arrive before high school or even early high school graduate. We have a a high number that arrive late in high school, work numerous job and attend school just to learn English. That is why that rate looks so disproportionate.

[Gary Lopez]

Sorry but Hispanic drop out rates are not a misconception.

30% of Hyannis East students are Hispanaic, as are 20% of Hyannis West, 5.3% of Osterville Elementary, 1% of BWB, 2% of Marstons Mills East, and 7% of Centerville Elementary.

6.2% of BHS students are Hispanic, as are 6.5% of the Middle School.

Hispanic kids are spread evenly throughout the district which belies your postulation.

The 50% drop out rate is for the Hispanic cohort.

One out of every two Hispanic children in Barnstable will drop out at some point.

If half the Hispanic kids flourish in the Barnstable school district, the other half is being short changed.

[Gary Lopez]

My point in all this is that every Barnstable child deserves the chance to be all that he or she can be.

The teaching philosophy must change; everyone can excel, it's simply a matter of how much time and effort the kids want to put into learning.

Charter schools were adopted as pilot programs from which successful programs are to be introduced into the main districts.

After five years of life an examination must be made of the charter school's successes.

If there is no gain, drop the school. If there is a gain; institute the program in the other elementary schools.

There can be no private schools within the public school system, just like there can be no special town police force within the regular police department for the folks in Oyster Harbor, Cotuit, or Cummaquid.

[How does it work?]

Many parents and teachers still have no idea where they will be in the fall. I agree that the charter schools, especially MME, will self destruct.

The anger of the parents and teachers should be harnessed and directed squarely where it belongs: on the shoulders of old Fatsy Grenier.

So far you have had no good suggestions about how to get rid of this bloated home wrecker. Is she untouchable, or what?

[Gary Lopez.]

Grenier is the alter ego of Cahoon, Murphy, and Tommy MacDonald.

Those three are the only people who can fire Grenier.

It looks to me that Grenier is good as gold until November if two real people are elected to the school committee.

The young MacDonald appears to be honest open, and willing to do the right thing which means he could side with the two new school committee people who see Grenier for what she is.

[Mad Dad]

November is too late. Fatso's contract will be renewed in October, as Cahoon's final FU to the Barnstable School system.

This will give Grenier the third year she needs to be truly untouchable. Once a teacher or school administrater gets three years under their belt here, they are almost impossible to fire.

Just ask Tom Dolby how this works, if you don't know already.

A large group of angry parents and teachers would happily sign a petition or even form a protest of another year of incompetent Grenier & Co before the end of this school year, if it would do any good.

[Sailors for Sultan]

Unfortunately, Greg Milne has lost clout, and the effort to move toward a mayoral form of government was thwarted by association with unsavory characters. Accountability in leadership resulted in misdirection of Barnstable's Schools and the failed efforts of some political initiatives knocked the wind out of the sails of Good Ship Barnstable.

Maybe we'll sail into less choppy water with a better crew and captain. At this point, it's more than a few women overboard, so forget about your first mate and simply protect the children.

[anonymous]

Tom Dolby has poignant ideas and a good relationship with Joe Pino.