Mutual Parasitism: Coronavirus and Charter Virus

When Kevin Huffman left Tennessee after four years of running down the State's public schools the way his ex-wife, Michelle Rhee, did prior to being run out of Washington, DC, Tennessee's teachers and superintendents were overjoyed.  Under Huffman's toxic reign as Commissioner of Education,

[m]ore than 50 superintendents . . . publicly questioned his leadership, several teachers unions expressed "no confidence" . . .; and . . . a group of 15 Republicans . . . called for his resignation.

Many believed that Huffman's poisonous reputation among schoolmen and schoolwomen in Tennessee would guarantee him a leading role in the ongoing efforts by billionaires to monetize and privatize public education.  And sure enough, just like the vastly unpopular Chris Barbic, who mismanaged Tennessee's charter school hothouse, the Achievement School District, before he left under a cloud, Huffman landed a leading role as Partner with City Fund.  

City Fund is generously supported by the same group of oligarchic high rollers who have been working to destroy public schools for the past twenty years:

. . . the [Reed] Hastings Fund, Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Dell Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were funding the effort. The Walton Family Foundation and the Ballmer Group are also funders . . .

No doubt Huffman is now hoping for a big shipment of federal coronavirus relief dollars to his portfolio of corporate charter schools.  He hints as much in a recent Washington Post op-ed, where he touts Achievement First charter resources as a partial solution to state takeover of Providence, RI schools, just as he celebrates the good work by the Chiefs for Change, who are offering advice to school districts on how to "collaborate" with charter schools during the crisis. Um.

But the real focus of Huffman's op-ed is to remind readers that homeschooling or virtual schooling are dangerously deficient and could do lasting damage.  Underneath this veneer of concern for children is the real fear of damage to the real estate empires and corporate welfare agencies that charter schools represent and enable. 

In fact, Huffman has some advice for what Congress should do in the next round of relief legislation: 

For the next round of stimulus, appropriators could send significant funding to districts and schools with the most low-income students to make up lost instructional time. 

You know, those communities where City Fund is most intent to spread the charter virus, where resistance is minimal and the opportunity is maximal for running roughshod over parents, children, and teachers.

The Haslam-Huffman Legacy: Arrogant Mediocrity

Haslam is taking this opportunity of dumping the caustic TFA cult member, Kevin Huffman, to spin Tennessee's corporate education failures that began 30 years ago.  

Here and here are a couple of posts to remind us there is nothing for either Haslam or the Tennessee Taliban who run the Legislature to brag about.

Huffman and Barbic Targets of Lawsuit in Tennessee

Kevin Huffman took just one month after his appointment as Commissioner of Education in April 2011 to choose former CEO of YES Prep Charter Schools as Superintendent of Tennessee's new Achievement School District, the State office that would coordinate the charterizing of Memphis and Nashville schools. 

At that time, the betting started on how many months it would take for Yes Prep, where Barbic had been CEO prior to coming to Tennessee, to claim a piece of the action in the lava-hot charter market in Memphis. 

It took just over 24 months, and in September 2013, YES Prep announced plans to open six (6) new charter schools in Memphis. 

Now it looks as if one of the jilted would-be profiteers who missed a cut of the action is suing Huffman and Barbic in Shelby County's 30th Judicial District of Chancery Court.  Stay tuned.

The following report is from TNParents.org:

A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CIVIL LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST KEVIN HUFFMAN, CHRIS BARBIC, TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TENNESSEE ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZERS AND YES PREPARATORY ACADEMY

Rodney O. Ursery, J.D. and Clara D. West, Ph.D. are the Plaintiffs Who Filed the Lawsuit In Pro Se

Memphis, TN (September 8, 2014) – Rodney O. Ursery and Clara D. West, two former applicants for a charter operator’s authorization for the 2014/2015 school year, have filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Kevin Huffman, Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Education (“TDOE”); Chris Barbic, Superintendent of the Tennessee Achievement School District (“TASD”); as well as the TDOE and TASD; along with two other defendants: the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (“NACSA”) and YES Preparatory Academy (“YES Prep”).

Among the thirteen causes of action, the complaint alleges unfair business practices, violations of Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, civil conspiracy, and violations of constitutionally protected rights. The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting YES Prep, a charter school enterprise headquartered in Texas, from opening schools that it illegally obtained in Memphis, Tennessee. The civil action, which also requests a jury trial, was filed in the 30th Judicial District Chancery Court, Shelby County, Tennessee.

Ursery states, “For far too long, it has been recognized and stated in the court of public opinion that Huffman and Barbic have utterly abused the power of their positions when it comes to regulating the Tennessee's school system. Now, I’m confident that their reign of terror, which has been plagued with conspiracies among crooks and cronies, will finally be revealed in a court of law, that is, if justice prevails.” West added, “It's as if we have to fight Brown v. Topeka Board of Education again. Our proposal offered equity in education through student-centered learning using individualized learning plans and iPads, just like the countries that consistently outrank the U.S. in education. We were unfairly denied the opportunity to help educate the lowest-performing students, who the system has already left behind and identified as the future prison population. It's all about leveling the playing field.”

According to the complaint, the defendants deliberately designed and implemented discriminatory selection and approval practices, customs and procedures to deny Plaintiffs’ application. The lawsuit further alleges that during the time when TASD solicited Requests for Qualification to apply for a charter operator’s authorization for the 2014/2015 school year, Barbic, TASD and NACSA conspired to approve charter operator’s authorization(s) for the 2015/2016 school year, an opportunity, which was made available only to YES Prep. It is alleged that Barbic, founder and former Chief Executive Officer of YES Prep, illegally authorized YES Prep to seize nearly 6,000 elementary school students in Memphis, TN.

Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that NACSA, who “partnered with” TASD to provide support and management services for the application process, is not a “professional” organization. NACSA does not have any government-approved, professional standards of operations; nor state licensing or certification; and it is not subject to any government agency, review board or code of ethics to govern its acts. Finally, the lawsuit states that Huffman and TDOE enacted a regulation which granted Barbic and TASD carte blanche to deny due process to applicants who are denied charter operator’s authorizations as there is absolutely no redress, grievance or appeal process to review any of the defendants’ actions.

For more information, contact the plaintiffs at: ru4justice@facebook.com or 901.300.0162.
This lawsuit is brought by two individuals claiming $10 million in damages because they were denied charter operator authorization by the ASD. $10 million dollars!!!  Those damages are a clear-cut case for how profitable a charter operator authorization can be.

Interesting how a potential charter school is suing some big guns in TN over unfair business practices, isn't it?

We've heard for years how there is a severe case of the good ol' boys club, "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine," nepotism within the TN DOE between other self-serving high-dollar organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and SCORE.  

It is hard to ignore the evidence of that nepotism when you read how:

• TN pays more than any other state for Teach for America temporary teachers through a $6+million NO-BID contract signed by Kevin Huffman, who formerly had a cushy job at Teach For America.  
• Our public schools are strangled, teachers and administrators are cut, and then the students, buildings, and tax dollars are handed over on silver platters along with generous grant dollars and tax incentives to their buddies' charter chains (like YES Prep, where ASD Superintendent Chris Barbic has very close ties and has richly profited from).
• The ASD schools have worse results than the public schools they killed ever did, but the ASD schools aren't feeling the wrath of the TNDOE's micromanaging and bullying like the public schools.
• Charter schools are making some people very, very rich. 
• Charter schools get preferential treatment within districts and the state:
  • charters are exempt and/or given waivers from TCAP score accountability (especially if they are friends and/or donors to politicians)
  • charters are exempt from giving the expensive and time-consuming benchmark RTI2 assessment tests that public schools are now being forced to do by the TNDOE.

When we allow corporate greed to infect public education, it is to be expected that profiteers will attack each other over business practices. We hope that this lawsuit will shine a light on these shady practices.

Perhaps this isn't "dog eat dog" but more like a pack of dogs attacking public schools.  If the plaintiffs win, where will that $10 million come from?  Public school funding???
 

Winners = lawyers + charter operators
Losers = students

Interesting legal tidbit:  This suit has been filed in Shelby County in the 30th Judicial District Chancery Court. Jim Kyle, former TN Senator, is a new chancellor in that court.  A new chancellor will be appointed to fill in for Kenny Armstrong, so there is quite a bit of turnover in that court right now. 

Dumber and Then Huffman

Is dumberer a word?  TN's state ed chief and TFA cult member, Kevin Huffman, told the New York Times yesterday that TN would not back down on using invalid, unreliable, and unfair methods to evaluate teachers in Tennessee.  Do "the best interests of children" really require us to ignore science, common sense, and public opinion? 

Some states will continue to use test results in teacher evaluations. In Tennessee, for example, Kevin Huffman, the commissioner of education, said the scores would remain a part of performance reviews. In an email, he added that he hoped states would make decisions on whether to use the evaluations “based on the best interests of kids rather than political expediency for adults.”

Duncan's Latest Party Balloon Just Got Popped in Tennessee

When NAEP reported in May that Tennessee high school seniors finish next to last in NAEP proficieny in the latest testing derby (just behind West Virginia), it took some of the glory from the earlier report on NAEP scores for grades 4 & 8 that Kevin Huffman and his band of TFA lawyers plastered on every available wall space at the TN State Department of Education--even the elevators. 

But Huffman had an explanation for those lower high school scores: you see, high school students came through the system before his antiquarian style of 19th Century educational leadership and management came to Tennessee:

Huffman, who has pointed to new controversial teacher evaluations, higher standards and other policy moves for producing the elementary and middle school gains — to the chagrin of his critics — believes lacking those things early on in their education might have affected results for high school students.

"Kids who graduated from high school last year have gone through the vast majority of schooling before most of the changes that happened in education kicked in," he said. "The other thing is, I think we have to ask the question about whether our high schools are improving at the same rate as our elementary and middle schools are."

Now it seems Huffman has to dream up some other speculation to explain how the latest state TCAP tests and value-added scores have cratered for 3rd grade and pancaked for grades 3-8. Reading scores for grades 3-8 have gone down for the first time since the Haslam/Huffman regime brought the corporate model to Tennessee.

And, somehow, without the benefit of Huffman's misleadership during their elementary years, high school students' scores are the only ones that show any promise, even though ACT scores remain flat and near the bottom in the nation. 

 And statewide the value-added gains are far below (0.6) those projected growth gain (2.3) for the State.  In short, the latest Miracle has just left the stadium.

Control Freak, Kevin Huffman, Told to Get Out by Republicans

from Joey Garrison at the Tennessean:

Citing a "complete lack of trust" and alleging possible manipulation of test results, a group of 15 Tennessee Republicans has asked for the immediate resignation of state Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman in a letter sent to his boss, Gov. Bill Haslam, on Thursday.

"Our trustworthiness has continued to be jeopardized on education reform," reads the letter, signed by several tea party-affiliated House members and senators, including state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, a U.S. Senate candidate, and Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale, who has called for Huffman's resignation before.

"We feel a great source of that mistrust comes from the actions and general attitude of Commissioner Kevin Huffman and that is why we, the Tennessee legislators below, demand the immediate resignation of Commissioner Kevin Huffman for misguided leadership, dereliction of duty, and for failing to uphold and follow the laws of the state of Tennessee in this latest TCAP debacle we are currently witnessing." Citing a "complete lack of trust" and alleging possible manipulation of test results, a group of 15 Tennessee Republicans has asked for the immediate resignation of state Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman in a letter sent to his boss, Gov. Bill Haslam, on Thursday.

"Our trustworthiness has continued to be jeopardized on education reform," reads the letter, signed by several tea party-affiliated House members and senators, including state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, a U.S. Senate candidate, and Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale, who has called for Huffman's resignation before.

"We feel a great source of that mistrust comes from the actions and general attitude of Commissioner Kevin Huffman and that is why we, the Tennessee legislators below, demand the immediate resignation of Commissioner Kevin Huffman for misguided leadership, dereliction of duty, and for failing to uphold and follow the laws of the state of Tennessee in this latest TCAP debacle we are currently witnessing." . . .  .

Legislators File Open Records Request for Huffman Decision Trail to Delay State Test Results

On the day that TCAP scores were to be released in Tennessee, Kevin Huffman's team of TFA lawyers in Nashville called a quick "put down your pencils" timeout just before reporters were ready to write about this year's state test results.  

In a scurry to make sure that "post-test equating" had been done "properly," local systems were left holding the bag, since TCAP is supposed to figure into student final grades and, of course, teacher evaluations.  

What embarrassment and scandal will be required to finally get rid of the lawyers and corporate bottom feeders mismanaging the State's education system!

From Joey Garrison at the Tennessean:

Tennessee Democrats still want more answers from the state Department of Education on the late release of end-of-year test scores — and they’ve filed an open records request to fill in what they believe are gaps.

In a letter to Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman on Wednesday, Reps. Bo Mitchell, Gloria Johnson and Mike Stewart cited the Tennessee Open Records Act for emails and other documents distributed among the commissioner and other employees on the decision to delay the release of Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores.

“We are very concerned about your department’s decision, on the day TCAP test results were expected by school systems, teachers, parents and students throughout the state, to abruptly cancel the long-planned distribution of test score information,” the letter reads. “It seems improbable that your department was simply unaware that such an unprecedented delay would be warranted until the very day that the scores were to be revealed.”

All three of the House Democrats have been outspoken critics of Huffman and education reforms he’s advanced.

The letter outlines the following areas that the department needs to explain: reasons for the delay; the date the department learned it would not be able to release scores timely; the department’s reasons for “not timely informing the public about the delay”; steps taken to ensure that raw testing information would be preserved so that it would be available for review by the public; nature of the “post-equating” process cited as an explanation for the delay; and the legal basis to waive the use of TCAP scores in generating grades.

Democrats are joined by some conservative Republicans in continuing to press Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration on the last-minute delay of TCAP scores that left local districts scrambling. Rep. Rick Womick, R-Rockvale, called for the resignation of Huffman earlier this week. . . .

The Case Against the Kevin Huffmans of the World

Kevin Huffman was an English major at Swarthmore in the late 80s and never studied child development, pedagogy, history/philosophy of education, or any of the other subjects that are now viewed as irrelevant and even harmful to education policy know-nothings like Arne Duncan and, of course, Kevin Huffman.

Considerations of child psychology, historical contexts, and ethical teaching practices are anathema to the new generation of Gradgrinds and McChoakumchilds who make lucrative careers by applying antiquated business and management techniques within a profession that was once focused on child growth, development, and learning.

   

After graduation, Huffman taught for two years in the early 90s as a TFA recruit before going on to law school at NYU. A few years later Huffman returned to TFA as an attorney, where he occupied himself as Mr. Michelle Rhee until the billionaire boys got him placed as Commissioner of Education in Tennessee.

Today Huffman resides over one of the most retrograde departments of education in America, implacably fixated on bullying and harassing higher test scores from children and educators, whatever the cost to child welfare, parents, teachers, communities. In the absence of such higher test scores, poor children who don’t produce them are regularly segregated in corporate reform schools and their teachers replaced by arrogant fascists-in-training like Kevin Huffman and Michelle Rhee.

The CorpEd Model that Huffman resides over in Tennessee accepts child human rights abuses as a matter of course and the cost of doing business.  Huffman and his band of ethically-blinkered lieutenants display all the intolerant, insensitive, sadistic, arrogant, and domineering characteristics of bullies anywhere.

Now if you are a parent or teacher of children who display the following characteristics during the high stakes testing season, you could easily mistake them as victims of bullying, which this list of symptoms actually reflects.  

The fact that victims of bullying and victims of test abuse show the same signs should tell us all something, all except the irresponsible, controlling, and blaming bunch of morally repugnant fools at the your state and federal departments of education.

•      Not wanting to go to school

•      Complaints of headaches or stomachaches

•      Anxiety

•      Sadness

•      Lack of self-esteem

•      Sudden drop in school performance

•                       Trouble sleeping or eating

Below is the State of Tennessee’s own definitions of bullying and harassment, which should be enough to dismiss and prosecute the entire Department, the State Board, and the Governor. 

Bullying

Bullying is defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. The imbalance of power involves the use of physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity to control or harm others.

Harassment

Harassment is any unwelcome conduct based on a protected class under the federal civil rights laws that is severe, pervasive or persistent and creates a hostile environment that interferes with or limits a student's ability to participate in or benefit from services, activities, or opportunities offered by a school. Harassment meets one or more of the following criteria: is an act directed at one or more students that is received as harmful or embarrassing; is directed at one or more students; substantially interferes with educational opportunities, benefits, or programs of one or more students; substantially affects the ability of a student to participate in or benefit from the school district’s educational programs or activities by placing the student in reasonable fear of physical harm or by causing emotional distress; is based on a student’s actual or perceived distinguishing characteristic, or is based on an association with another person who has or is perceived to have any distinguishing characteristics; is repeated over time – is severe, persistent, and pervasive; causes mental duress, or psychological trauma to the victim.

The good news is that this form of official human rights abuse is about to come to a screeching halt.  Parents everywhere are in the process of demanding an end to such wasteful, harmful, and unethical practices.  Within the next five years, the Huffmans of the world will be as forgotten and irrelevant as Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings.  The task is to make sure that humane schools will be created to replace today’s high tech antiquated chain gangs.

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