AZ Imagine Charter school fires 2/3 of its teachers, one a Teacher of Year.

[madfloridian]

And they don't care what people think about it because they are getting more students and public money next year.

Imagine Charters have had many problems, and this kind of thing just adds to them. They simply don't seem to care about the harm being done to students and teachers when they do things like firing good teachers.

They should be a little bit worried that six of their schools in St. Louis had their charters revoked this year.

But they are not.

This is being called the largest charter school closing in the country. The Missouri Board of Education is revoking the charters of six Imagine Schools in St. Louis because "the educational needs of more than 3,800 children were not being met." The six schools are among the lowest performers in Missouri.

They even fired the Arizona teacher who let the students know that many of their teachers were not returning.

From the Blog for Arizona:

One of Arizona's Imagine Schools fires two-thirds of its teachers

Imagine Schools' problems have finally surfaced and gotten press in Arizona. According to the Republic, 10 or 11 of the 14 teachers at Imagine Prep at Superstition in Apache Junction have been let go. The reason given is that the school is going in a different direction.

Reporters Patrick Ryan and Chelsey Davis didn't get much in the way of details about that new direction or why those 10 or 11 teachers were let go. That's typical of the Imagine Schools corporate culture, playing its cards close to the vest until things go horribly wrong -- like they did in St. Louis, where the six Imagine Schools had their charters revoked by the state this year because, among other things, their students' achievement scores were awful. The schools were also woefully underfunded by the for profit Imagine corporation which sucks up almost all the state money that goes to the schools and gives back whatever amount it sees fit -- often too little to run a school effectively.

Some details: An English teacher told students during senior graduation that a number of teachers weren't returning, which the students apparently didn't know. That teacher was fired the next morning. The reason given by the spokeswoman was that the teacher "chose a very inappropriate time to make some comments." That firing upset a number of students who "walked to the regional office of the school to ask questions about the firing."

One of the teachers let go, Suna Moon, had been voted teacher of the year.

Catshrink posted a link in my other thread about Imagine Charters. There is more about the charter in AZ that is firing all those teachers.

Students, teachers show anger over firings at Imagine Prep in AJ

Of 14 teachers at Imagine Prep at Superstition in Apache Junction, only three or four may be returning next year after a slew of firings and a student body walkout Friday morning.

At least seven teachers were told to leave campus Friday, the last day of classes at the charter school, according to teacher Sung Moon, one of those who was asked to leave.

Upset students walked to the regional office of the school to ask questions about the firing, but teachers began to bring students to the gymnasium in order to calm them down and prevent them from doing anything unsafe or illogical, Moon said.

..."The controversy came to a head Thursday night when an English teacher made a comment during a senior graduation speech noting that a number of teachers would not be returning next school year.

That teacher was fired. Students began to walk off the campus.

These schools get taxpayer money. Few people seemed concerned at their failures.

Here is the most unbelievable statement from a school official. He simply said they don't care about the consequences of their actions.

The school will be welcoming more than 50 new families next year and is not worried about how the incident may affect future enrollment, Cagle said.

The article points out that the school officials are considering whether to press charges against the students who walked out in protest.

That is the worst kind of hubris.

This is the policy of Obama and Arne, pushing for more charter schools. They seem unaware of the havoc and confusion their policies are causing, and they truly do not seem to care.

[madfloridian]

1. Well, well, could it be because Imagine charter head is Rick Scott advisor??

Hmmmm..

https://twitter.com/madfloridian/status/209021273769123841