What's Going On At Passages Charter School?
"Rumor has it all the faculty and white elite parents have threatened to quit. The group that holds the charter is being accused of malfeasance that I don't understand. Sides are in mediation, and apparently trying desparately to keep the public at bay... Sad thing is this is a really good school as I understand it. But the grown ups are in disarray."
Anyone know more about what's going on with the school?
Articles about Passages:
Struggling Asians go unnoticed Tribune 3/30/08
Making schools match the kids Catalyst Feburary 2007
Uptown: Immigrants find educational oasis Catalyst November 2005
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Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 3:59 PM
What's Going On At Passages Charter School?
What is strange about this rumor is that Passages has only about 14% of its families with incomes above the poverty line. It has only 16% white students, so are all of these "white elite" parents? About 30% of the kids are ELL. Passages is not really school that appeals to the white middle class living in that community.
I mean if you look at the school it is really not very impressive in terms of a facility. If you are buying a $900,000 home would you send your kid there. A far better option just blocks away is North Park Elementary School which costs $8,100 a year. I mean is you can not afford $8,100 a year how elite are your really.
I mean if you look at the school it is really not very impressive in terms of a facility. If you are buying a $900,000 home would you send your kid there. A far better option just blocks away is North Park Elementary School which costs $8,100 a year. I mean is you can not afford $8,100 a year how elite are your really.
Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 3:54 AM
What's Going On At Passages Charter School?
Two teachers from Passages (Jane Kimondo and Priya Goel) went before Wednesday's Board of Education meeting accompanied by a large number of parents and asked the Board of Education to empower a parent council. They were actually asking for something like an LSC, but didn't quite say so. They said that the directors of Passages (all from Asian Human Services, I believe) have been mismanaging Passages. Everyone who was there was very shaken.
That should be one of the portions of Public Participation that isn't censored before this morning's TV broadcast of the "meeting" so people should be able to see for themselves at noon today.
Arne Duncan did not give them what they were asking for (the equivalent of an LSC). Instead, he said that he was asking them to meet with Greg Richmond (who is now in the privatization sector and not working for CPS, as many people know) as what sounded like a kind of mediator. Duncan talked the usual blah blah blah about Greg Richmond's fierce commitment and all that stuff, but never mentioned that Richmond was not part of Duncan's staff and had no administrative power within Chicago's Public Schools at this point in history. At best, he was leaving something out when he directed them (as CEO of CPS) to go to Richmond, at worse deliberately misleading them.
As people who have followed this little melodrama of privatization know, there are a few years of controversy back down the road. Because Passages -- like all "choice" schools -- basically tells people, "If you don't like it, get out, your choice..." nothing is every sustained. Also, the people who leave (like those who wind up disappointed with other charter schools) are often so busy recovering their lives (and the lives of their children, who have often lost a year or two of school, like those who've left Mirta Ramirez) that they don't want to take any time to revisit their "mistake."
The big event at Passages within the past year was the firing (by the Board) of the principal. Rather melodramatic.
It's unclear why Arne Duncan sent someone from the private sector (Richmond) to mediate the Passages controversy, when it's supposed to be the job of "New and Charter Schools".
Nobody from the Board asked Arne about that contradiction, even though it involves a "Board" school and the Board has a department for schools like Passages. Is Arne now privatizing the privatization problems, instead of having his own staff do their jobs?
Whatever media interest there might have been Wednesday in the crisis at Passages, it was not to be. The Sun-Times was stuck (thanks to those "media" rules) behind a pillar, the Tribune didn't even have a regular reporter there (tell me they're not having "Medill" cover CPS now), and we (three people from Substance; one was on another story) only had a minute to get information from the Passages people because...
A few minutes after Passages left the microphone, all heck broke loose when the people concerned with the Audy Home came up.
That should be one of the portions of Public Participation that isn't censored before this morning's TV broadcast of the "meeting" so people should be able to see for themselves at noon today.
Arne Duncan did not give them what they were asking for (the equivalent of an LSC). Instead, he said that he was asking them to meet with Greg Richmond (who is now in the privatization sector and not working for CPS, as many people know) as what sounded like a kind of mediator. Duncan talked the usual blah blah blah about Greg Richmond's fierce commitment and all that stuff, but never mentioned that Richmond was not part of Duncan's staff and had no administrative power within Chicago's Public Schools at this point in history. At best, he was leaving something out when he directed them (as CEO of CPS) to go to Richmond, at worse deliberately misleading them.
As people who have followed this little melodrama of privatization know, there are a few years of controversy back down the road. Because Passages -- like all "choice" schools -- basically tells people, "If you don't like it, get out, your choice..." nothing is every sustained. Also, the people who leave (like those who wind up disappointed with other charter schools) are often so busy recovering their lives (and the lives of their children, who have often lost a year or two of school, like those who've left Mirta Ramirez) that they don't want to take any time to revisit their "mistake."
The big event at Passages within the past year was the firing (by the Board) of the principal. Rather melodramatic.
It's unclear why Arne Duncan sent someone from the private sector (Richmond) to mediate the Passages controversy, when it's supposed to be the job of "New and Charter Schools".
Nobody from the Board asked Arne about that contradiction, even though it involves a "Board" school and the Board has a department for schools like Passages. Is Arne now privatizing the privatization problems, instead of having his own staff do their jobs?
Whatever media interest there might have been Wednesday in the crisis at Passages, it was not to be. The Sun-Times was stuck (thanks to those "media" rules) behind a pillar, the Tribune didn't even have a regular reporter there (tell me they're not having "Medill" cover CPS now), and we (three people from Substance; one was on another story) only had a minute to get information from the Passages people because...
A few minutes after Passages left the microphone, all heck broke loose when the people concerned with the Audy Home came up.
Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 4:06 AM
What's Going On At Passages Charter School?
The two questions that were going around regarding Passages for the past year involved the budget and how dollars were allocated by the Directors, on the one hand, and the elimination of principal Sally Ewing by the Directors, on the other.
Neither of those issues has been addressed by CPS, and, to repeat myself, it's hard to see how outsourcing an investigation (which is what is required) to Greg Richmond (which is what Arne did Wednesday) is going to solve anything either under the law or professionally. I'm stopping very short of calling what Arne's doing a cover up. We'll see.
Like a lot of these stories from inside charter schools (as I mentioned above), the families will make a call and share some information, then decide to move on with their lives. Teachers who leave also feel like they've been duped and don't want to talk about it. And those who try to raise questions are sometimes subjected to the worst kinds of personal attacks and slanders (as happened two years ago at Aspira Haugan, courtesy of the Aspira machine and the Sun-Times).
But back to Passages...
Anyone have any information on either of those two most recent problems (cronyism in jobs and expenses; termination of the former principal)?
Neither of those issues has been addressed by CPS, and, to repeat myself, it's hard to see how outsourcing an investigation (which is what is required) to Greg Richmond (which is what Arne did Wednesday) is going to solve anything either under the law or professionally. I'm stopping very short of calling what Arne's doing a cover up. We'll see.
Like a lot of these stories from inside charter schools (as I mentioned above), the families will make a call and share some information, then decide to move on with their lives. Teachers who leave also feel like they've been duped and don't want to talk about it. And those who try to raise questions are sometimes subjected to the worst kinds of personal attacks and slanders (as happened two years ago at Aspira Haugan, courtesy of the Aspira machine and the Sun-Times).
But back to Passages...
Anyone have any information on either of those two most recent problems (cronyism in jobs and expenses; termination of the former principal)?
Mon Apr 28, 2008 at 7:38 AM
What's Going On At Passages Charter School?
Must not be passages readers on this blog. I heard that the Asian Human Services director is not handling the school/ charter well, doesn't have clear lines of communication and decisions making, and this causes problems. I heard from teachers there that this causes confusion, and when the (now fired) principal tried to step up and make things clear, she was perceived as a trouble maker by the AHS leadership. Apparently she was trying to bring structure and clarity to the school so they could make instructional, budgetary, and other decisions in a more orderly manner.
It sounded to me like a non-profit trying to run another non-profit (a school) and not empowering the school to be a strong, separate identity. The appeal was the separate the charter from Asian Human Services, because the school was doing some things right, but needed autonomy from the other organization to grow, flourish. Apparently the move for autonomous budget, decision-making powers was perceived as a threat and squashed (by firing the principal). Now the teachers are trying to get the matter resolved.
It sounded to me like a non-profit trying to run another non-profit (a school) and not empowering the school to be a strong, separate identity. The appeal was the separate the charter from Asian Human Services, because the school was doing some things right, but needed autonomy from the other organization to grow, flourish. Apparently the move for autonomous budget, decision-making powers was perceived as a threat and squashed (by firing the principal). Now the teachers are trying to get the matter resolved.
