Nearly Half Of Indiana's Charter Schools Failing

The out-of-state education profiteers are all about school choice and the great things that come from charter schools. So what happens when the Department of Education grades those schools by the same standards it grades other public schools? Yeah, about half of them are failing. That includes the Carpe Diem charter school run by newly-elected IPS board member, LaNier Echols, whose seat on the IPS board, like those of Mary Ann Sullivan and Kelly Bentley, was purchased by the out-of-state education profiteers. Carpe Diem received a D. WTHR's Sandra Chapman has a straight story on schools you won't read about very many other places:

Indiana charter schools are supposed to provide an alternative to failing public schools, but 13 Investigates has found they're not always living up to the grade.

In fact, nearly half of the state's 76 charter schools are doing poorly or failing . . .

Chapman takes aim at one of the Gulen schools, the Indiana Math & Science Academy West in Indianapolis. It received an F, but none of the parents with whom Chapman spoke had a clue about the school's grade. Chapman runs circles around the lazy reporters at the Star, who are instructed not to report anything that conflicts with their management's agenda.

The Indiana Math and Science Academy West is a charter school option sponsored by the mayor within the Indianapolis Public School district. 

13 Investigates found a chorus of praise by parents in the pickup line . . .  

But insiders at IMSA West told 13 Investigates a different story, saying: 

"Nothing is taught...nothing is learned" with "unlicensed teachers." The tipster is speaking of the "Teach for America" staff members that come and go causing high turnover. And the tipster said the school is "still without textbooks." 

A middle school math teacher and the assistant principal confirm 17 teachers left last school year. 

As for the book supply? 

"Science is a little short, but we use online so we have 60 online text books for them," the math teacher told 13 Investigates during a conversation outside of the facility. 

In 2013, IMSA was deemed a failing school by the Indiana Department of Education. 

None of the parents we spoke with were aware of the rating . . .  

Hey, the school provides good jobs to teachers from Turkey and moolah to promote radical Islam. Does anything else matter?

There was quite at the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, which is populated by the education profiteers' stooges, where board members were focusing most of their attention on unilaterally moving failing charter school grades upwards and blaming the Department of Education staff for "poor customer relations" in dealing with their favored schools. The grades of public schools, which on average improved their performance, seemed of no concern to them.