Get out Now!
Despite a last ditch effort to stop their eviction by means of a restraining order, the Minnesota School of Science, a Concept Management – Gulen-inspired charter school, lost – requiring them to vacate the school site that they have held since 2010.
According to an article written by Alleen Brown of the TC Daily Planet, despite the fact that the school’s administrators had ample warning of the eviction, they continued their pursuit of keeping the school open, and lost their final bid on July 31, 2013.
So the parents are pissed off -- as they well should be -- because the boys encouraged the parents and students to stay the course, instead of looking for alternative schools to enroll their children in. Now the beginning of the school year is around the corner and the parents are scrambling to find a school for their kids. Inherent dishonesty is rampant with the Gulenists, and unfortunately people just don’t get it until it’s too late and they are victimized by the ineptitude of the Gulenists – again at the expense of the American taxpayers.
Apparently, there was lengthy laundry list of complaints and issues that plagued MSS, all of which contributed to the District’s decision to shut them down. According to Brown, the “MPS had documented a long list of complaints against the school: failing to follow testing protocol, delivering insufficient special education services, financial missteps, and problems with the charter school’s management company. Moreover last summer, a program for 40 district students with disabilities was forced to vacate the Cityview building two months before school started, because MSS declined to continue providing the students mainstream classroom opportunities.”
And again, let’s examine the miraculous improvement in test scores. We wonder if the boys manipulated enrollment statistics and fudged test scores in order to “validate” their claims to higher test scores.
Some of the concerned parents felt that they were being discriminated against because of their race – but it seems – according to the MPS’ report, that it’s the boys doing the discriminating, especially when it came to children with disabilities (they tend to bring the test scores down which doesn’t sit well with the boys).
Instead of taking care of business, the boys were too busy crying foul, and making grandiose promises that they could not keep – and so -- the District pulled the plug on their shoddy operation.
We sympathize to a degree with the parents, although – it should be noted -- they were amply warned to remove their rose-colored glasses and actually see the Gulenists for who they are, instead of who they pretend to be. They are not our educational saviors, but instead, a cult whose sole purpose is to exploit the American taxpayers by way of our children. Their mission is not an altruistic one, but is instead—a diabolical plot to squeeze as many tax dollars as possible out the American people to funnel back to Gulen and his political agenda.
And a side note to the teachers who now feel like they have to pay the boys a $2,000.00 penalty fee for breaking their contracts – that is most likely illegal, considering that the boys do not have a school for the teachers to actually teach at. Before the teachers line Gulen’s pockets with their hard-earned money, the teachers should seek legal counsel and fight any Gulenist demands to pay the $2,000.00 “breach of contract fee.” A breach of contract works both ways – no school – no teacher – no money.
Below is the article written by Alleen Brown and published on July 31, 2013:
Minnesota School of Science loses in court: Out of Cityview
By Alleen Brown, TC Daily Planet
July 31, 2013
A Hennepin County Court today upheld Minneapolis Public Schools’ decision to evict Minnesota School of Science (MSS), denying the charter school a restraining order that would have allowed it to continue operating out of the North Minneapolis Cityview building.
MSS families are left in the lurch. The charter school has less than a month to find a building before its program is set to start, and it’s unlikely that it will be in North Minneapolis.
Gene Scapanski, a member of the board of directors of MSS said, "We’re very disappointed. Unfortunately the people who suffer are the kids and their families." According to Scapanski, the Minnesota School of Science was looking at options, but had few remaining without the space at Cityview. While they have looked at some buildings, it is unclear what money will be available to rent space.
The district has been promoting a new Cityview school program, but according to a statement issued after the ruling, that school will not be opened until the 2014-2015 school year. The MPS press release said, "We understand that the situation has caused stress and confusion for families. Again, we will work closely with families to connect them with a school option for this school year."
A core group of parents loyal to the charter school has vocally protested MPS’s decision to evict. In interviews over the last few months, several said that they are uncomfortable with the idea of sending their children on a long bus ride to a new MSS across town, but they are equally uncomfortable with choosing any Minneapolis district school.
The night before the hearing, Shayne Vincent joined around 40 other parents, students, board members, and supporters at a rally for MSS at the school. The mother of a second-grader said the summer has been frustrating and stressful. “It’s almost like you’re losing your home. It’s like you’re kind of lost,” she said.
The families are caught in a tangled back-and-forth between the district, the charter, and even the Minnesota Department of Education. Their kids’ unplanned school move takes place within the context of state charter school policies that are still young and in flux, of politics in the age of accountability-based education reform, and of a low-income community of color that’s too often been short-changed by the education system and its politics.
MSS families are left with two choices: follow the charter to a yet-to-be-determined location, likely far from North Minneapolis, or shop for something else. The option to attend a new district school in the Cityview location is no longer available for this school year. The district had only enrolled four students in what, until tonight, MPS had advertised as a new program to begin in late August.
The charter is scrambling to find a new home for its program. They have been unsuccessful in finding a space in North Minneapolis. One option is located in St. Paul.
The ruling settles a dispute that was initiated last fall, when the state education department reinterpreted a section of charter school law. But its roots go back further, to three years ago when another mandate from on high forced families to move out of the now-defunct Cityview school.
Cityview Closes, replaced by Minnesota School of Science
Minnesota School of Science came to exist in the midst of intense pressure from the federal government for districts like Minneapolis to reduce the gap in test scores between low-income students of color and higher-income white students. No Child Left Behind required low-scoring schools to undergo harsh restructuring or to close entirely.
Located in an economically struggling North Minneapolis community, Cityview was one of those schools. Its students’ low test scores left the district with three options: shut the school down, fire and rehire the staff, or replace the program with something entirely new, like a charter.
Meanwhile, MPS was developing a new strategy for its other “underperforming” programs: it opened an Office of New Schools that was supposed to build a portfolio of innovative partner schools. Minneapolis became the authorizer of several charters, including Minnesota School of Science. This marked a change of tack for a district whose relationship with the charter community had been contentious.
The Minneapolis school board voted to authorize MSS in July 2010. In December of that year, the board voted to close Cityview. Minnesota School of Science, part of a chain of high-scoring charters managed by the national non-profit Concept Schools, would move into the space. Cityview became the sixth district school to close in North Minneapolis in three years.
A change in charter law, eviction
It wasn’t Minnesota School of Science’s fault that they didn’t make rent this year. The state Department of Education provides aid that typically covers most of charter schools’ building lease obligations. That’s how MSS paid to operate out of the district-owned building last year.
Given the circumstances: that MPS was forced to replace Cityview with a new program, that the district had just begun authorizing charter schools, and that it had a beautiful and fairly new building that needed a renter, it made sense to put MSS in the district-owned building.
Nationally, many charter schools struggle to find suitable and affordable space. It’s not unusual for charter schools to rent district property. In Minnesota, though, a district acting as charter authorizer is still a new practice. It wasn’t until last year that the state determined that the MPS’s dual role as authorizer and landlord counted as a conflict of interest. The department determined that an authorizer with a financial interest in a tenant-school might hesitate to close it if problems arose. The district fought the decision and lost.
The district made significant budget cuts this year in an effort to balance their books. The charter’s half-a-million dollar shortfall was not a sum administrators were willing to overlook.
Minnesota School of Science intended to clear up any conflict of interest by either switching buildings or switching authorizers. They assumed Minneapolis Public Schools would support either option, and the charter began working on both.
District leaders say the school shouldn’t have assumed. MPS had documented a long list of complaints against the school: failing to follow testing protocol, delivering insufficient special education services, financial missteps, and problems with the charter school’s management company. Moreover last summer, a program for 40 district students with disabilities was forced to vacate the Cityview building two months before school started, because MSS declined to continue providing the students mainstream classroom opportunities.
The district served the charter an eviction notice in April, saying it failed to pay $518,000 in rent. MPS would not be providing the support MSS expected.
Fighting to stay in North Minneapolis
The charter was surprised. It had recorded significant jumps in test scores since the Cityview days and had gained the enthusiastic support of a number of parents.
Arguing that all complaints had been resolved, MSS leaders began ticking through a long list of stopgap measures to keep their program in the North Minneapolis school building. Tuesday’s hearing was their last hope.
They requested that the district allow the charter to switch authorizers, saying that Pillsbury United Communities was willing to take it on. The district denied the request, saying it would be irresponsible to release a school that had so many problems.
On June 11, Minnesota School of Science staff, board members and parents filled a district school board meeting, and put forth an emotional plea to keep the school open. The board said they had no role in the decision.
On June 17, the district held an open house in the Cityview building for Minnesota School of Science families, to inform them of the district school slated to replace the charter in fall. Boycott the meeting, advised MSS board members and a vocal cohort of parents. A few dozen protested outside.
Minnesota School of Science asked the Minnesota Department of Education to step in on the school’s behalf and force Minneapolis Public Schools to hand over the charter to a new authorizer. The Department of Education said they have no legal standing to force the district to let MSS change authorizers.
On July 1, the charter filed for a temporary restraining order. It accused the district of breaching the lease agreement and failing to act in good faith by "poaching" teachers, encouraging MSS students to transfer to MPS, and making public statements the charter argues are false. It asked the court to stop the eviction.
Meanwhile, at the district
The district has been busy, too. MSS was quickly rolled up into Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson’s big plan to turn 20 to 30 percent of the district into “partnership” schools, which will “exchange autonomy for accountability.” In an April community meeting Johnson said the schools will be modeled after high-performing charter schools like Hiawatha Leadership Academy. The schools will operate under performance contracts, and will not be governed by the same central office rules and teachers' contract obligations as traditional schools.
In the last two months, the district made it clear that Cityview’s new program would be the first partnership school on the roster. They negotiated a special contract with the teachers union. Steve Brandt reported in the Star Tribune that in exchange for working 46 hours each week, teaching for 15 extra days, and training for 15 days in the summer, teachers would get a $6,000 pay boost and double the daily prep time.
The district coaxed eight MSS teachers to sign contracts to work at the new school. They’d break their contract with the charter and pay a $2,000 penalty, but the raise from MPS would more than make up the difference.
During the past week, the district began to show signs that two months was too little time. Brandt reported that district attorney Cindy Lavorato told the judge Tuesday, “We’re just not certain” that the plan will work. Lavoroto said MPS might use the school for preschool or other programs if the school doesn’t open.
At a the pre-hearing rally Monday, charter board member Rosilyn Carroll told parents, “Minneapolis is trying to stop us again from having our children succeed, especially children that look like me and like you and you and you and you.”
Whether another new program in Cityview can prove them wrong is an open question.
According to an article written by Alleen Brown of the TC Daily Planet, despite the fact that the school’s administrators had ample warning of the eviction, they continued their pursuit of keeping the school open, and lost their final bid on July 31, 2013.
So the parents are pissed off -- as they well should be -- because the boys encouraged the parents and students to stay the course, instead of looking for alternative schools to enroll their children in. Now the beginning of the school year is around the corner and the parents are scrambling to find a school for their kids. Inherent dishonesty is rampant with the Gulenists, and unfortunately people just don’t get it until it’s too late and they are victimized by the ineptitude of the Gulenists – again at the expense of the American taxpayers.
Apparently, there was lengthy laundry list of complaints and issues that plagued MSS, all of which contributed to the District’s decision to shut them down. According to Brown, the “MPS had documented a long list of complaints against the school: failing to follow testing protocol, delivering insufficient special education services, financial missteps, and problems with the charter school’s management company. Moreover last summer, a program for 40 district students with disabilities was forced to vacate the Cityview building two months before school started, because MSS declined to continue providing the students mainstream classroom opportunities.”
And again, let’s examine the miraculous improvement in test scores. We wonder if the boys manipulated enrollment statistics and fudged test scores in order to “validate” their claims to higher test scores.
Some of the concerned parents felt that they were being discriminated against because of their race – but it seems – according to the MPS’ report, that it’s the boys doing the discriminating, especially when it came to children with disabilities (they tend to bring the test scores down which doesn’t sit well with the boys).
Instead of taking care of business, the boys were too busy crying foul, and making grandiose promises that they could not keep – and so -- the District pulled the plug on their shoddy operation.
We sympathize to a degree with the parents, although – it should be noted -- they were amply warned to remove their rose-colored glasses and actually see the Gulenists for who they are, instead of who they pretend to be. They are not our educational saviors, but instead, a cult whose sole purpose is to exploit the American taxpayers by way of our children. Their mission is not an altruistic one, but is instead—a diabolical plot to squeeze as many tax dollars as possible out the American people to funnel back to Gulen and his political agenda.
And a side note to the teachers who now feel like they have to pay the boys a $2,000.00 penalty fee for breaking their contracts – that is most likely illegal, considering that the boys do not have a school for the teachers to actually teach at. Before the teachers line Gulen’s pockets with their hard-earned money, the teachers should seek legal counsel and fight any Gulenist demands to pay the $2,000.00 “breach of contract fee.” A breach of contract works both ways – no school – no teacher – no money.
Below is the article written by Alleen Brown and published on July 31, 2013:
Minnesota School of Science loses in court: Out of Cityview
By Alleen Brown, TC Daily Planet
July 31, 2013
A Hennepin County Court today upheld Minneapolis Public Schools’ decision to evict Minnesota School of Science (MSS), denying the charter school a restraining order that would have allowed it to continue operating out of the North Minneapolis Cityview building.
MSS families are left in the lurch. The charter school has less than a month to find a building before its program is set to start, and it’s unlikely that it will be in North Minneapolis.
Gene Scapanski, a member of the board of directors of MSS said, "We’re very disappointed. Unfortunately the people who suffer are the kids and their families." According to Scapanski, the Minnesota School of Science was looking at options, but had few remaining without the space at Cityview. While they have looked at some buildings, it is unclear what money will be available to rent space.
The district has been promoting a new Cityview school program, but according to a statement issued after the ruling, that school will not be opened until the 2014-2015 school year. The MPS press release said, "We understand that the situation has caused stress and confusion for families. Again, we will work closely with families to connect them with a school option for this school year."
A core group of parents loyal to the charter school has vocally protested MPS’s decision to evict. In interviews over the last few months, several said that they are uncomfortable with the idea of sending their children on a long bus ride to a new MSS across town, but they are equally uncomfortable with choosing any Minneapolis district school.
The night before the hearing, Shayne Vincent joined around 40 other parents, students, board members, and supporters at a rally for MSS at the school. The mother of a second-grader said the summer has been frustrating and stressful. “It’s almost like you’re losing your home. It’s like you’re kind of lost,” she said.
The families are caught in a tangled back-and-forth between the district, the charter, and even the Minnesota Department of Education. Their kids’ unplanned school move takes place within the context of state charter school policies that are still young and in flux, of politics in the age of accountability-based education reform, and of a low-income community of color that’s too often been short-changed by the education system and its politics.
MSS families are left with two choices: follow the charter to a yet-to-be-determined location, likely far from North Minneapolis, or shop for something else. The option to attend a new district school in the Cityview location is no longer available for this school year. The district had only enrolled four students in what, until tonight, MPS had advertised as a new program to begin in late August.
The charter is scrambling to find a new home for its program. They have been unsuccessful in finding a space in North Minneapolis. One option is located in St. Paul.
The ruling settles a dispute that was initiated last fall, when the state education department reinterpreted a section of charter school law. But its roots go back further, to three years ago when another mandate from on high forced families to move out of the now-defunct Cityview school.
Cityview Closes, replaced by Minnesota School of Science
Minnesota School of Science came to exist in the midst of intense pressure from the federal government for districts like Minneapolis to reduce the gap in test scores between low-income students of color and higher-income white students. No Child Left Behind required low-scoring schools to undergo harsh restructuring or to close entirely.
Located in an economically struggling North Minneapolis community, Cityview was one of those schools. Its students’ low test scores left the district with three options: shut the school down, fire and rehire the staff, or replace the program with something entirely new, like a charter.
Meanwhile, MPS was developing a new strategy for its other “underperforming” programs: it opened an Office of New Schools that was supposed to build a portfolio of innovative partner schools. Minneapolis became the authorizer of several charters, including Minnesota School of Science. This marked a change of tack for a district whose relationship with the charter community had been contentious.
The Minneapolis school board voted to authorize MSS in July 2010. In December of that year, the board voted to close Cityview. Minnesota School of Science, part of a chain of high-scoring charters managed by the national non-profit Concept Schools, would move into the space. Cityview became the sixth district school to close in North Minneapolis in three years.
A change in charter law, eviction
It wasn’t Minnesota School of Science’s fault that they didn’t make rent this year. The state Department of Education provides aid that typically covers most of charter schools’ building lease obligations. That’s how MSS paid to operate out of the district-owned building last year.
Given the circumstances: that MPS was forced to replace Cityview with a new program, that the district had just begun authorizing charter schools, and that it had a beautiful and fairly new building that needed a renter, it made sense to put MSS in the district-owned building.
Nationally, many charter schools struggle to find suitable and affordable space. It’s not unusual for charter schools to rent district property. In Minnesota, though, a district acting as charter authorizer is still a new practice. It wasn’t until last year that the state determined that the MPS’s dual role as authorizer and landlord counted as a conflict of interest. The department determined that an authorizer with a financial interest in a tenant-school might hesitate to close it if problems arose. The district fought the decision and lost.
The district made significant budget cuts this year in an effort to balance their books. The charter’s half-a-million dollar shortfall was not a sum administrators were willing to overlook.
Minnesota School of Science intended to clear up any conflict of interest by either switching buildings or switching authorizers. They assumed Minneapolis Public Schools would support either option, and the charter began working on both.
District leaders say the school shouldn’t have assumed. MPS had documented a long list of complaints against the school: failing to follow testing protocol, delivering insufficient special education services, financial missteps, and problems with the charter school’s management company. Moreover last summer, a program for 40 district students with disabilities was forced to vacate the Cityview building two months before school started, because MSS declined to continue providing the students mainstream classroom opportunities.
The district served the charter an eviction notice in April, saying it failed to pay $518,000 in rent. MPS would not be providing the support MSS expected.
Fighting to stay in North Minneapolis
The charter was surprised. It had recorded significant jumps in test scores since the Cityview days and had gained the enthusiastic support of a number of parents.
Arguing that all complaints had been resolved, MSS leaders began ticking through a long list of stopgap measures to keep their program in the North Minneapolis school building. Tuesday’s hearing was their last hope.
They requested that the district allow the charter to switch authorizers, saying that Pillsbury United Communities was willing to take it on. The district denied the request, saying it would be irresponsible to release a school that had so many problems.
On June 11, Minnesota School of Science staff, board members and parents filled a district school board meeting, and put forth an emotional plea to keep the school open. The board said they had no role in the decision.
On June 17, the district held an open house in the Cityview building for Minnesota School of Science families, to inform them of the district school slated to replace the charter in fall. Boycott the meeting, advised MSS board members and a vocal cohort of parents. A few dozen protested outside.
Minnesota School of Science asked the Minnesota Department of Education to step in on the school’s behalf and force Minneapolis Public Schools to hand over the charter to a new authorizer. The Department of Education said they have no legal standing to force the district to let MSS change authorizers.
On July 1, the charter filed for a temporary restraining order. It accused the district of breaching the lease agreement and failing to act in good faith by "poaching" teachers, encouraging MSS students to transfer to MPS, and making public statements the charter argues are false. It asked the court to stop the eviction.
Meanwhile, at the district
The district has been busy, too. MSS was quickly rolled up into Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson’s big plan to turn 20 to 30 percent of the district into “partnership” schools, which will “exchange autonomy for accountability.” In an April community meeting Johnson said the schools will be modeled after high-performing charter schools like Hiawatha Leadership Academy. The schools will operate under performance contracts, and will not be governed by the same central office rules and teachers' contract obligations as traditional schools.
In the last two months, the district made it clear that Cityview’s new program would be the first partnership school on the roster. They negotiated a special contract with the teachers union. Steve Brandt reported in the Star Tribune that in exchange for working 46 hours each week, teaching for 15 extra days, and training for 15 days in the summer, teachers would get a $6,000 pay boost and double the daily prep time.
The district coaxed eight MSS teachers to sign contracts to work at the new school. They’d break their contract with the charter and pay a $2,000 penalty, but the raise from MPS would more than make up the difference.
During the past week, the district began to show signs that two months was too little time. Brandt reported that district attorney Cindy Lavorato told the judge Tuesday, “We’re just not certain” that the plan will work. Lavoroto said MPS might use the school for preschool or other programs if the school doesn’t open.
At a the pre-hearing rally Monday, charter board member Rosilyn Carroll told parents, “Minneapolis is trying to stop us again from having our children succeed, especially children that look like me and like you and you and you and you.”
Whether another new program in Cityview can prove them wrong is an open question.
