Supporters of Wake County's diversity policy are holding another protest, this time against conservative businessman Bob Luddy.
According to a press release today, Students for Social Progress at N.C. State will protest tonight's on-campus speech by Luddy. His $23,000 in donations last fall to the individual Wake County school board candidates, the Wake Schools Community Alliance and the Wake County Republican Party made him the largest financial backer of the new board majority.
The protesters are also targeting Art Pope and the Pope Family Foundation tonight.
Some of tonight's protesters are the same people who were at the raucous March 23 school board meeting. They also protested at a state legislative hearing and at N.C. State last month.
Here's the group's press release:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WHAT: Students Protest Robert Luddy Lecture at NCSU,
WHO: Students for Social Progress at NCSU
WHEN: Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 5:15 PM
WHERE: On the Nelson Hall Steps, on the corner of Hillsborough St. and
Brooks Ave.: 2801 Founders Drive, Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC- This evening, Robert Luddy, influential businessman and founder of Thales Academy, will speak at NC State University.
Students are protesting Luddy's funding of the school board majority's election campaigns (Luddy was the #1 individual funder). This majority voted in favor of dismantling the diversity policy, a measure which would lead to resegregation.
Media is invited to a protest outside the lecture. Protesters will voice their concerns about a very small group of powerful individuals and foundations being a driving influence behind both NCSU and Wake County Schools.
Students are also outraged about the Pope Foundation's interference on campus.
The student group sponsoring the event, SPEL (Society for Politics, Economics, and the Law), also receives funding from the Pope Foundation, which is run by Art Pope, the #2 funder of the WCPSS board majority campaigns. The John W. Pope Foundation also opposes any kind of regulation against racist or sexist speech on campus and has attempted to dismantle women and gender studies curricula, multicultural studies curricula, and the GLBT Center.
“This small but wealthy minority is threatening the future of our entire education. Luddy and his cohorts can't be allowed to freely dismantle public education to further their agendas,” stated Vidya Sankar, sophomore in biochemistry.
Students demand: Robert Luddy: Hands OFF our public education!
Comments
Luddy does own private schools
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 22:43 — nraleighmomFranklin Academy is not the only school Robert Luddy owns. He also owns Thales Academy which is a private school with 2 campuses, one in Apex and one in Wake Forest. He also announced recently his plans to open another Thales campus in Raleigh near Triangle Town Center. He also owns St. Thomas More Academy which is a private Catholic School located in Raleigh. As far as his charter school, Franklin Academy, it is located in Wake Forest, and does not provide transportation. So to say that anyone can go there might be a stretch. I would think that the Economically Disadvantaged students would find it difficult at best to go there.
As with several posts here
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:02 — willynillyAs with several posts here it is true that Mr Luddy bank rolls private education, too. It is not fair to paint a picture of someone who runs ONLY private schools. Just a few points:
Luddy bank rolls both private and public schools.
Anyone who wants to attend (Franklin) has the same chance that any other student has. At that point they can choose to do so with the understanding that they will not be reassigned every year or every other year. The sacrifice is that they may have to provide transportation. Having worked with several charters I know that parents have hired services at times to ferry their children as far as 50 miles in a rented van (school bus). That will show their resolve.
In this charter school misbehaving students and their parents will have a dead end if the student's behavior becomes unacceptable. For any teacher in the WCPSS this is euphoric when a student is sent away when they decide to tell a teacher to shut the f--k up. My experience in the WCPSS was just that.....the student can do NO wrong.
To say that Luddy does not want to teach evolution (as one post indicated) is dangerous when you have no clue what the curriculum is in that school. For example, in many religious private schools evolution is taught because to make an argument for or against anything one MUST understand both sides.
Lastly, Mr. Luddy, like anyone with money, can choose to spend it any way he desires. He can never take away our vote so, like anyone on this blog, I have my voice , too. For the record, I have never met Mr Luddy and I do not work at Franklin Academy.
I would suggest to people here to scroll down and find the way to study demographics and see just how diverse (if it is) Franklin Academy is.
"This majority voted in
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:44 — woodstock"This majority voted in favor of dismantling the diversity policy, a measure which would lead to resegregation."
Once again, there is no such thing in Wake County as a "diversity policy;" there is a student assignment policy that currently uses inaccurate/fraudulent F&R numbers as the basis for some assignments. The student assignment policy will not be "dismantled" it will be revised to reflect the demands by citizens of Wake County for a more family-friendly approach to assignments.
Luddy is not an advocate of public education
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:21 — commongoodLuddy is about moving everything to private schools. The real public ( the poor, the disadvantaged, in addition to the well-off ) don't attend his schools. He has no interest in seeing public schools succeed. His business is private schools that don't teach evolution.
Jim Goodnight probably spent
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:33 — CaryCurmudgeonJim Goodnight probably spent more of his own money to build Cary Academy than Bob Luddy poured into the schools he helped to start up. Just curious, why doesn't Goodnight draw the same accusations of working to put the public school system out of business?
Cary Academy a Charter?
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:41 — Dove314Is Cary Academy a Charter? I thought it was a private school he placed in Wake as many affluent parents were putting their children in Durham Academy and he wanted a Wake County private school alternative. Their website lists some hefty annual tuition costs.
Yes, Cary Academy costs more
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:20 — CaryCurmudgeonYes, Cary Academy costs more than a lot of colleges I know of. Cannon's statement "The real public ( the poor, the disadvantaged, in addition to the
well-off ) don't attend his schools" seems to apply equally to Goodnight's school, yet he is revered by supporters of the old policies as a great supporter of public schools.
From what I've read here, both men are very wealthy, both have started private schools, yet only once is accused of over-stepping his bounds. Seems inconsistent to me.
Luddys Business is
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 07:27 — starsonoursLuddys business is Captive Air Systems, education is something he is involved in outside of his business.
Mr. Luddy does have certain
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 21:03 — willynillyMr. Luddy does have certain beliefs I am sure. However, making assumptions such as these is not a good way to forward ones point. Yes, Mr Luddy does bank roll a good portion of the money that runs Franklin Academy in Wake Forest. However, Franklin Academy, being a Charter School, is in fact a public school of choice. Although often decieded by a lottery system anyone can go there, it is not about having money or not having money. Franklin Academy, like ALL other charter schools, is NOT a private school. For the record, stacked against one another (charters against charters and public and against public) charter schools do about as well as public schools score wise.
The great difference in a charter school is that unacceptable behavior is not tolerated. In a charter school one can be dismissed and then must return to their own school within the system. Unlike many schools a charter school can accept students in surrounding counties, not just from the county in which it is located.
Being Libertartian I have little use for government. However, I know that competition is good for schools as it is for business. It means the ones that are not doing their job get closed down.
Now although I teach science I have to ask if you have ever thought about how evolution works? You see, as soon as sexual reproduction started (a little before fish) there would have to be a change (this used to be attributed to a mutation, but since a mutation usually results in death of the offspring this idea had to be changed to natural selection) in both that would occur in the two of that changing species to create a male and female. Now in that change the reproduction systems would have to compatible. Like a horse and mule can mate but the offspring, a donkey, is sterile (meaning the reproductive systems of a horse and mule are not compatible in that a sterile offspring is produced). This same thing (the natural selection) would have had to happen all through the evolutionary steps up to mankind. Then.....and this is the tricky part, the male and female would have to "evolve" in the same place on the earth (in the same time frame) and the female would have had to find the male attracive enough to mate with him. Hmmmmmmmm and creation takes faith!!!! I'm not saying either is what happened, I am just offering some food for thought.
So you are saying Luddy has
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:54 — woodstockSo you are saying Luddy has no interest in seeing public school succeed, yet he contributed money to candidates and organizations whose sole mission is to improve the public school in Wake County.
Also, Luddy's Franklin Academy is a charter school. Charter schools ARE public schools.
I am sorry, I think you need to rethink your argument as it makes no sense at all.
Do they publish any stats on
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 22:24 — user12345Do they publish any stats on how well their ED and AA students do compares to WCPSS?
What do you mean "compared
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 22:46 — woodstockWhat do you mean "compared to WCPSS?" Franklin Academy is part of WCPSS.
You did not answer the
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:28 — user12345You did not answer the question ... do they have any stats on how effective they are with the subgroup of students WCPSS is trying to improve - EI and AA?
As I understand it,
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:55 — woodstockAs I understand it, Franklin Academy does not stereotype students and put them into meaningless categories. They just educate the ones who show up.
http://www.ncreportcards.org/
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:05 — Eric_Bhttp://www.ncreportcards.org/src/schDetails.jsp?Page=2&pSchCode=000&pLEACode=92F&pYear=2008-2009
AFAIK, Franklin Academy and other charter schools do not participate in the school lunch program, so they do not classify students as ED/NED based on F&R lunch status.
Thanks Eric
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:45 — user12345Incorrect information
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:10 — supportwcpssNot a charter school expert but I'm pretty sure you are wrong. But I think most people on here already know that.
Anyone in the state of NC can apply to Franklin Academy. WCPSS does not own the school.
Please prove me wrong with links to where is says Franklin is 'part of WCPSS'
Charter Schools are what the
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:18 — willynillyCharter Schools are what the name implies. They have a charter from the State of NC to run/operate a public school as kind of a "sub-contractor." In actuality, when you think about it, the WCPSS is a charter school, too, in a way. They operate a NC Public School at the pleasure of the State Dept of Education. Ask any teacher from whom they get their check. My check is from the Satet of NC, my retirement is from the state of NC. My SUPPLEMENT is from my county.
About 3 years ago I looked at a cross section of school scores of about 70 public schools and took an average of their scores. I also took a sampling of the same number of charter schools and did the same averaging. In fairness to public schools the charters seem to do only about as well overall. When I met "Mike" who worked Gov Perdues campaign, he and I both agreeed, charters are either very very good or they are very very bad. Then again, the same could be said for regular public schools.
Charter schools are funded
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:48 — woodstock"Charter schools are treated the same as public schools and are funded by the State and County."
Here is the link:
wakegov.com/schools/charterschools.htm
(add "www" as it would not allow me to post it with it)
As I understand it, WCPSS must provide charter schools the per-student allotment of funds. Although, WCPSS has no control over the charters, they are footing the bill.
LMAO
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:49 — supportwcpssYou stated Franklin was part of WCPSS. That is blatantly not true. Just say "I was wrong' and move on. Or don't - no one takes you seriously anyway.
Don't usually agree with User's approach but this comparison to Woodhouse is starting to become more believable every day.
So, you are saying that
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:58 — woodstockSo, you are saying that charter schools are not part of our public school system, yet they are funded with public dollars. Hmm, that is interesting.
FYI: A lot of people take me seriously, including you. Otherwise you'd just ignore my comments. I invite you to do that in the future.
You do understand that being
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 07:11 — danofncYou do understand that being funded by Wake County and being part of WCPSS are not the same thing, right?
Clarity
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:34 — SDR256I'd like to understand what part of a charter doesn't mesh with the definition of being part of WCPSS? This is an honest question. They are funded by the public schools and they are held to WCPSS curriculum and standards, I believe, right? Just wondering what it is that's different - the application process? But it seems the same as magnets and no one argues that they are not part of WCPSS. The ability to kick a student out? But WCPSS does this in extreme cases with suspensions. Maybe its that there are no WCPSS staff as principal etc? Not even sure that's true. Maybe they are WCPSS staff. Simply wondering what the differences are that you find so remarkable.
Well...
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:02 — Bob_SconceThey're part of the state educational system -- they follow the state curriculum and standards. If WCPSS has added to that curriculum, then charters do not have to follow WCPSS' additions. The state, not WCPSS, has ultimate control over the charters. So, technically, they're not 'part' of WCPSS, unless you view NC public education as one big amorphous blob.
No relationship
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:50 — supportwcpssSDR - My understanding is that there is absolutely no relationship between WCPSS and charter schools in wake coutny except for geographic proximity. They are funded with pulbic money but managed at the state level. If they do use WCPSS curriculum it is pure coincidence. They are not WCPSS staff. Like I said, no relationship between the two.
I was simply calling out an arrogant, rude, anonymous poster who has the history of treating posters poorly and stating erroneous facts. Usually I ignore him but I had to call out a blatant mistruth. (Now comes the bakc pedaling).
Curriculum development is a
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:41 — willynillyCurriculum development is a state mandate, not by county. In what order you teach the 8th grade science curriculum (for example) may be left up to even an individual school or teacher, but the curriculum for an 8th grader in charter or regular public schools is the same (Earth Science, Chemistry, Earths Waters and Cells/Microbiology).
The charters, like regular public schools, submit to state testing and the relsuts of those tests are made public each year.
Does anonymous posting
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:16 — woodstockDoes anonymous posting bother you, "supportwcpss?"
Got it
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:09 — SDR256Ok, thank you. Charters are public schools but not a Wake County Public Schools. Seems like nit picking but I learned something from it nonetheless. Even still I don't see what all the fuss is about regarding alternative schools. Many people have been discouraged and even desperate about WCPSS for some years now. Its not surprising that alternatives have been established. And besides, isn't competition good for all? If the 'sides' had been switched, and the public school system had been on the other side of the societal extreme - hard core conservative (instead of the hard core liberal many consider them today) - you can bet there would be plenty of alternatives as well - - as there should be. Its all good.
If "Public" schools could
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 09:21 — user12345If "Public" schools could pick the students they wanted and retain only the ones who wanted to learn and required parental commitment for admission than "Public" schools would be the same as charter. It is ironic that the state heaps lots of requirements on "Public" schools and requries them to feed kids, transport them, take special needs kids and follow a certain course of study and on the other hand there is a group of charter schools that are free from most government intervention and those schools do better ... the real point is: set "Public" schools free ... let them select the students they want and discard the ones that won't learn and require parents participate for admission.
?
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:33 — SDR256I thought support said that charters WERE public? Do they 'choose' their students? I thought at least Franklin Academy was filled via a lottery. How is it different or the same as magnet school students? Magnets are public schools that 'pick' their students to some degree, no? And Magnets DO use some criteria for 'picking' those students, whereas I thought (perhaps mistakenly!) that Charters were a straight lottery? That was based on what I understood about Franklin, so I could be way off base here. Seriously just trying to understand what the characteristics of Charters are that make them so different to you.
If Charters are indeed 'public', are they not held to the same ACADEMIC requirements as other public schools? I thought they were.
SDR ... have you actuall
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:59 — user12345SDR ... have you actually gone in any public schools ... as I have pointed out a number of times, public schools are stuck with all the losers ... they have to educate them no matter how bad they are ... Willynilly has pointed out the same thing ... FA has no obligation to keep losers, WCPSS has to keep them until they are 18 ... 24? if they are handicapped ... you won't find charter schools trying to track down parents because Johnny is skipping like in public school, you won't find kids with 30 absences still on the roles ... you do understand that don't you? If public schools could eliminate all these student and only keep the good one, they could be a charter school too.
Also, given that charter schools (only looked at FA and RCHS) typically are 90% white in a county where only 50% of the kids are white has always been interesting to me ..how many times can you reach randomly into a bowl of 50% white balls and pick a white ball 9 out of 10 times?
So...
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 12:41 — Bob_SconceIs this a trick question? 9 times. The other time you don't pick a white ball.
You are implying that the charter lottery is rigged because it doesn't yield the same makeup as the surrounding school system. But, the charter lottery is only among students who APPLY to the school, and we don't have any evidence about what the racial makeup of those students.
Reminds me of the old south
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 12:43 — user12345Reminds me of the old south juries that were randomly selected white people all the time ... odd
Charter schools are NOT a
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 14:30 — willynillyCharter schools are NOT a business, but rely on their performance as a school to entice students to attend there. White jurors did not show up at the court house asking to be allowed to sit on a jury. Parents can apply and be accepted to a charter school simply by visiting the school, taking a tour and "deciding" to attend. The lottery is set up so that there are certain seats available to any student that enters themselves into a lottery. Now one may think I have stretched the truth here.....that's easy. Visit a charter and ask, as a parent, to see what the school has to offer. I have seen things on this strand that have been quite surprising. At the same time, for the two years that I taught in a charter school, the teachers were unaware from where their paycheck comes. So there is tons of confusion to go around.
Any charter that does not perform well will close, it's as easy as that. There are MANY that have not made it. In short, one student means that the charter school is forwarded the money from the state (as well as that student's county) for that one student. This is the amount the system would get as a per student amount. While public schools have a rather large budget for infrastructure, cafeteria, salaries, etc charters must raise the money to affset the money they do not have. I think I remember the number per student at a charter school was in the neighborhood of $5500 or so. If you have 20 students in a school that means the charter gets $5500 or $110,000. If those 20 students were all, say, 8th graders then you need at least 2 teachers to create a team of teachers (one sci/math and one ss/language). If both of those teachers make 20,000 then you can subtract that (40,000) from the money from the state/county. That leaves $70,000 in this "lot" of money to buy books (for four subjects minimum for each child). If each book runs $20 (very low estimate) then you would have to put out $80 times 20 students for $1600. Once you factor in rent for a building, pay the bills, etc etc you can see, a "bad" charter school will not last long.
Why do you think ED and
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 11:32 — CaryCurmudgeonWhy do you think ED and minority children are 'losers?'
Who said that?I said that
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 12:33 — user12345Who said that?
I said that kids who do not come to school, do not do their HW, are disruptive, violent, etc. are losers and drag everyone else down. Many of them could be white. But charter schools don't need to accept them nor keep them. Public schools have to make accommodations. That is the difference.
Is your personal bias causing you to misread things?
Look it up
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:46 — supportwcpssSDR - Don't take this personally but look on their website. The application process is right there.
http://www.franklinacademy.org/content/Enrollment_Process_FA.pdf
Yes, I do. I should not have
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:23 — woodstockYes, I do. I should have said Franklin Academy was a public Wake County School and not a WCPSS school.
you're right
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:24 — turnerk1Charter schools are directly overseen by the state and are not part of any county school system. They are public schools because the state provides the funding on a per pupil basis.
County money too.
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 00:00 — woodstockCounty money is also used for funding.
Are schools his main
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:26 — CaryCurmudgeonAre schools his main business?
Franklin Academy (funded by
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 18:31 — willynillyFranklin Academy (funded by Mr. Luddy) gets awesome results. They consistently have good scores on tests and have a great reputation for dealing with problem students. So, why does everyone get mad? Well...... Education speak: diversity, hands on activities, positive behavior support, inquiry learning, ABCI, Multiple Intelligences, safe elarning environment, along with about a thousand other "initiatives" are the edu-speak of the edu-world. Mr. Luddy supports the "old fashioned?" Direct Instruction! Hmmmmmmm
Demographics?
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:02 — Dove314Just curious -- what are the demographics of the students enrolled at the Franklin Academy?
Their website provides information on their location in Wake Forest but not on the demographic make-up of their student population.
Is it a very diverse population in terms of ethnicity? SES? English language proficiency?
Charter school demographics
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 20:41 — lferreriYou can find the demographics by googling "disag.ncpublicschools.org/2009/". Look under charter schools. The EOG results are listed by ethnicity, SES, special education, etc. so you can figure out the demographics.
Thank you!
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 21:38 — Dove314Thank you! I tried that site but could only get information on selected grade aggregates but the numbers within the available grades is similar to below.
I found this website: www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/58809
Which provided the following:
Numbers from charters can be
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:25 — willynillyNumbers from charters can be misleading at times. Since most charters do not provide lunches (they save the money on cafeterias, which is huge expense) the F&R is moot. That is why most charters do not have this issue. Students are required to bring their lunches.
Charter Schools Highly Segregated
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 23:20 — Solon77You will find that charter schools are highly segregated.
Actually, that is not
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 08:25 — willynillyActually, that is not true. There are charter schools that serve the needs of Native Americans in certain areas of the state where public schools miss the boat. Another charter school is also making a name for itself, it is East Wake Academy. Located in Zebulon it is highly diverse with students coming from as far away as Nash County.
not really
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 10:26 — antag0nistno, charter schools in poor areas generally DON'T perform as well as their public counterparts in the same areas. It's a great system for the rich suburban areas (i.e. Franklin Academy, Thales Academy, etc.) , not so much for the poor areas.
ex. PreEminent Charter School in SE Raleigh has some of the worst test scores in wake co.
Oh man I wonder what Tedesco
Fri, 04/09/2010 - 00:07 — carson79Oh man I wonder what Tedesco would say to Malone that he really doesn't value diversity since he doesn't live in a diverse place like Garner or send his child to a diverse school, they may need to fight...