San Antonio handing over 18 schools to management groups; and celebrate the Power of Pre-K!

by Rob D’Amico, Texas AFT Communications Director
(Follow on Twitter @damicoaustin and @TexasAFT)

Is San Antonio ISD getting out of the business of running public schools?

(Update: The San Antonio ISD School Board approved the management contracts discussed below.)

Disturbing news out of San Antonio, as the Express-News reports that the San Antonio ISD School Board will vote on handing over management of 18 schools to “nonprofits” as part of the state’s “innovation partnerships” program. You may recall that these partnerships were authorized under last session’s Senate Bill 1882, which was concentrated on the misguided notion of districts partnering with charter schools at campuses rated Improvement Required to avoid state accountability sanctions. (More on SB 1882 here.)

Here’s the summary:

The San Antonio Independent School District board of trustees will decide Monday whether to contract with five external organizations to manage a total of 18 of its schools, which would receive greater autonomy and per-student state funding.

….All the proposed agreements would be “innovation partnerships,” meaning they are not intended to save failing schools.

….All the agreements would authorize their respective organizations “the responsibility to manage the schools’ day-to-day operations in collaboration with the District.” They also contain academic targets and financial accountability requirements that the external organizations must meet.

Since these partnerships aren’t intended to avoid sanctions for low-performing schools (five years as Improvement Required mandates closure of the school or state takeover of the entire district) the other motivator for the move comes into play:

SAISD’s chief innovation officer, Mohammed Choudhury, said last month that district schools with partnerships could expect an additional $1,000 per student, at least 10 percent greater than the per-student allocation at most campuses.

We’re not casting judgement on the five nonprofits that would run these schools — at least not yet, since the news is fresh and we haven’t evaluated them. (In fact, this item was put on the School Board agenda with 1,200 pages of documents on the deals to review in less than three days.) But the clear danger sign here is that you have a major urban school district that is handing over a huge chunk of its schools to entities that have almost total control over all management — including hiring and firing of staff and possibly nullification of things like class-size caps and protections for teacher rights — to entities that the community has no relationship with. And SB 1882, when used with charter networks, is a clear danger for opening up the doors to privatization of our neighborhood schools with outside management of campuses.

Quite frankly, if you’re a parent or school employee in San Antonio ISD, you should be up in arms about this proposal. Our local union there, the San Antonio Alliance, certainly is and is ready to fight for our true public schools at the school board level.

The union is effectively turning the election into a referendum on Superintendent Pedro Martinez….Union members’ simmering resentment burst into an outright rebellion last spring, as the board, in quick succession, turned over operations of Stewart Elementary to Democracy Prep Public Schools and laid off more than 160 employees, including 132 teachers.

Even the best intentions with SB 1882 often run into problems, such as those outlined by a recent Austin American-Statesman article on Austin ISD’s partnership at Mendez Middle School, with comments from our local union president.

Seven months since the start of the new school year, though, the school continues to struggle as an in-district charter being operated by the Texas Science Technology Engineering and Math Coalition, known as T-STEM. In a series of interviews with the American-Statesman, various teachers said they witness student fights weekly. Meanwhile, data show at-home suspensions hit an all-time high last semester and students posted lackluster scores on midyear academic assessments, raising concerns that they aren’t making gains quickly enough for Mendez to surpass state standards during testing in May.

“There was a lot of optimism over the summer. … Everyone felt they were moving in the right direction,” said Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin, the Austin district’s labor union…. “But once the school year started, with the many concerns on campus, it makes us wonder if T-STEM is in over their head.”

Meanwhile, for the charter-school boosters who claim their schools are “public,” the New York Times provides yet another glimpse at the inner dealings with these networks that results in a private, for-profit model. This is a must read for seeing how it all works: Southwest Key, Known for Migrant Shelters, Cashes In on Charter Schools — The schools are struggling with debt even as the charity sits on tens of millions.

More of my coverage on SB 1882 looks at the architect of this move in San Antonio ISD, Superintendent Pedro Martinez:

• Superintendents are increasingly like moths drawn to a flame in partnerships for in-district charter schools, and now some are even talking in ‘charterspeak’
• Conflict brewing in Dallas ISD over ‘partnership’ with charters?
• Article on San Antonio superintendent’s drive to attract students with diverse, ‘innovative’ schools neglects to provide details on his penchant for working with charter operators

The Power of Pre-K

Let’s start with positive news for the day — it’s “Power of Pre-K Day” at the Capitol, with the nonprofit Raise Your Hand Texas and Texas AFT leading the charge in promoting funding for early education. Former House Speaker Joe Straus even penned an op-ed for the occasion and notes:

Studies show that children enrolled in quality pre-K programs are more likely to be ready for kindergarten, and students who are ready for kindergarten achieve at higher levels for years after kindergarten. Pre-K helps put children — especially low-income children — on an early path to success and improved academic performance. Providing high-quality pre-kindergarten today prevents many problems that only become more expensive to address later, from sagging academic performance to behavioral issues.

Expect some news coverage on the issue coming out today, and you can follow the rallying cry to support full-day Pre-K funding on Twitter: @TexasAFT, #PowerofPreK, #StopTheYoYo and #ThisIsPreK.