NEW: Ed Reformers Blast Oppostion
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) released a statement today challenging the credibility of the group behind a website aimed at distributing propaganda regarding the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academy in Providence. The group responsible for the website, called We-Can, is led by Providence City Councilman Bryan Principe, a resident and representative of the city’s West End.
“The opponents of expanding high-quality public school options in Providence continue to grasp to tired arguments that are not supported by fact,” said Bill Fischer, spokesman for DFER. “Despite the opposition’s attempts to misinform the public, the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academies continue to enjoy the support of a broad coalition of public officials, community and business leaders, and most importantly, hundreds of parents who want more high-quality options for their children.”
“For the most part, we’ve attempted to ignore Councilman Principe’s misinformed observations on this application. But since he has decided to take the lead on this latest effort to spread rumors and innuendo, we felt it was necessary to point out the inaccuracy of his conclusions,” said Fischer. “Instead of protecting a status quo with limited options for less affluent parents, Councilman Principe should redirect his energy towards increasing the high-quality educational options available to all of Providence’s families. Why doesn’t he support choice for his constituents?”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTDFER’s statement directly addressed a number of false and misleading statements posted on the We-Can website.
Myth #1: We-Can asserts it is a myth that Achievement First’s network of public charter schools are consistently high performing.
The Truth: Test results consistently show Achievement First’s charters are making enormous, measurable progress with their students, including in their schools designated as not meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). For example:
Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle, despite not meeting AYP requirements saw a 57 percent improvement in math and reading proficiency from fourth (prior to attending Achievement First) to eighth grade (2011) while the state only saw a 7 percent change. At mastery, Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle saw a 135 percent improvement from fourth (prior to attending Achievement First) to eighth grade (2011) while the state only saw a 13 percent change.
Further, every state has a different formula for measuring AYP and as such, Rhode Island AYP and Connecticut AYP designations are not comparable. Indeed, even the Connecticut State Department of Education has admitted that its system for measuring AYP is broken and does not accurately reflect school quality. Nearly half of schools and districts in Connecticut were designated as failing to meet AYP this year. Source:http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/pressroom/AYP2011/ayp_2011_newsrelease.pdf
Myth #2: We-Can asserts it is a myth that Achievement First schools outperform their surrounding school districts while educating similar numbers of high need students.
The Truth: Achievement First schools are outperforming their surrounding schools, particularly with regard to the performance of their minority and low-income students.
In rankings assessing the performance of all Connecticut schools, traditional and charter, Achievement First schools were some of the highest performing:
AF Hartford Academy Middle School ranks in CT’s Top 10 for Middle School Performance Gains
Amistad Academy Middle School ranks in CT’s Top 10 for Middle School Low-Income Student Performance
Amistad Academy High School is the #1 High School in CT for African-American Student Performance
Amistad Academy Middle School is the # 2 school in CT for African American Performance
Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle School is ranked #4 in CT’s Top 10 for Middle School African-American Student Performance
AF Hartford Academy Elementary School ranks in CT’s Top 10 for Elementary School African-American Student Performance
Source: http://www.conncan.org/sites/default/files/conncan_2011_top_10_lists_final.pdf.
Additionally, Achievement First employs exhaustive, targeted outreach strategies aimed at increasing English Language Learners (ELLs) and special education enrollment. To recruit ELLs, Achievement First produces marketing materials, including brochures, flyers, letters, ads, Web copy and applications, in both English and Spanish. Achievement First also employs bilingual members in their office and street canvassing teams. These targeted strategies are producing results. For example, 25 percent of the kindergarten students who accepted seats at Achievement First Bushwick Elementary School self-identified as ELL, compared to 19 percent in the host district.
Myth #3: We-Can asserts it is a myth that the proposed Achievement First Mayoral Academy has broad community support in Providence.
The Truth: The proposal enjoys broad support from prominent members of the community including Mayor Angel Taveras, City Council President Michael A. Solomon, City Councilman David A. Salvatore, Providence School Committee Chair Nina Pande, Superintendent Lusi, the unanimous support of the Providence School Board, Dr. Pablo Rodriguez (President of Latino Public Radio), Neil Steinberg (the RI Foundation) and Elizabeth Burke Bryant (RI Kids Count), to name a few.
Additionally, over 800 letters were sent to the Board of Regents in support of the AF application. Over 300 people signed a petition supporting the opening of Achievement First at Change.org. There were 400 interest forms signed by residents of Providence and Cranston, indicating interest in Achievement First. Each of these forms was collected in person from residents.
