Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special ed services?
The last time we discussed Georgia Cyber Academy was in response to parent comments about their significant roles as academic coaches under the online school’s instructional model.
Now, it is the state board of education discussing the state’s first online school, suggesting it will pull its charter if it does not improve services for students with disabilities.
Georgia Cyber Academy is part of K12 Inc., a for-profit company that is the nation’s largest virtual school provider with online public schools in 30 states.
The charter school’s parent company has been garnering headlines lately, many of which have not been flattering, including a scathing investigation by The New York Times.
A report released this summer by the National Education Policy Center found that less than 28 percent of K12-run schools were meeting Adequate Yearly Progress during the 2010-11 school year, compared with 52 percent of brick-and-mortar schools nationwide. Georgia Cyber also did not make AYP in 2010-2011
K12 refuted the center report in a lengthy statement.
In the last three months, the company has come under fire in several states, including Florida where the state education department is investigating after several K12 teachers refused to sign class rosters showing students the teachers had never taught.
The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting/StateImpact Florida reported: K12 officials asked state-certified teachers to sign class rosters that included students they hadn’t taught, according to documents that are part of the investigation.In one case, a K12 manager instructed a certified teacher to sign a class roster of more than 100 students. She only recognized seven names on that list. “I cannot sign off on students who are not my actual students,” K12 teacher Amy Capelle wrote to her supervisor. “It is not ethical to submit records to the district that are inaccurate.” The documents suggest K12 may be using uncertified teachers in violation of state law.
In Tennessee, state education commissioner Kevin Huffman said in September that student performance at the K12 Inc.-managed Tennessee Virtual Academy was “demonstrably poor.”
Looking at the school’s report card — which is hard to find because the school comes under the umbrella of Odyssey School — Georgia Cyber Academy did not make AYP in 2010-2011 due to academic performance. The state Report Card lists 6,545 students in the school from kindergarten to grade 9.
The state board is concerned with the academic performance of students with disabilities. And the Report Card shows why.
Of the 320 Georgia Cyber students who took the End of Course Test in Math I, 54 percent failed. In the biology EOCT, 36 percent failed. But those rates jump for students with disabilities; the failure rate on Math I was 70 percent and 57 percent in biology.
On the third grade reading CRCT, 7 percent failed to meet standards. In third grade math, 28 percent failed. But looking only at special needs third graders, 52 percent failed to meet math standards and 9 percent failed in reading
In eighth grade, 2 percent failed to meet reading standards; 26 percent failed math.
But among special needs eighth graders, 12 percent failed reading and 58 percent failed to meet math standards. (Sixty-five percent of eighth graders with disabilities failed to meet social studies standards and 38 percent failed to meet language arts standards.)
State Board of Education members blasted Georgia Cyber Academy officials Tuesday, saying the online school is failing to meet the needs of its special education students.
GCA, Georgia’s first statewide online school, has seen its student population explode in recent years. Its number of special needs students has risen to 1,100 from 600 two years ago, according to the head of the school, Matt Arkin.
Board members said GCA has not increased its capacity to assess and teach its special needs students, despite a repeated push from the Georgia Department of Education. In unusually harsh language for a board that typically supports charter schools, members ripped Arkin and GCA.
“We have very serious concerns,” board member Brian Burdette said. “They have been warned several times that they are out of compliance. They have been given second chance after second chance.”
The board refused to take what would ordinarily be a procedural step in moving a $60,000 funding request from GCA’s board of directors toward approval. Seventeen other such requests were moved toward approval.
Board member Larry Winters reminded Arkin that the board has the authority to withhold other funds from the school “and is not afraid to use these powers.”
“This is the last warning,” he said.
Arkin told board members he and his staff will address their concerns. GCA is a charter school that was approved by the state, giving the state board the power to revoke its charter, a prospect Burdette hinted at Tuesday.
“If you don’t meet these benchmarks, your charter will come before us and you will be putting it in jeopardy,” he said.
In May, Georgia Department of Education officials, reacting in part to complaints from parents, reviewed how GCA assesses and teaches its special needs students and told the school it needed to ramp up its staffing in that area. The department gave the school until the end of August to comply.
The school asked for and received an extension to Nov. 1 to meet those requirements. Arkin said the school has hired 10 to 15 special needs staff members since May.
But department officials said a recent review of the school found that it continues to have a special needs staffing shortfall and other problems in that area.
Board members decided to take the unusual step of publicly criticizing the school and urging it to comply.
“This is not new news,” Burdette said, adding that he and his colleagues on the board do not want to revoke the school’s charter but will if it refuses to acknowledge its shortcomings.
“We are being forced to go a route we don’t want to go,” Burdette said. “They’ve got to get out of the denial phase.”
In an interview after hearing from board members, Arkin said he is not sure why they are unsatisfied. “We have not been anything but cooperative,” he said.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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68 comments Add your comment
mom2two
November 14th, 2012
11:59 am
ill probably get blasted for this comment, but if you have a child with special needs is a cyber academy actually the best way to go? I have a child with an IEP and would never consider a cyber academy for them. I know that there are bullying/social issues with many of these kids, which might make “homeschooling” and “cyber academy” seem like the right thing to do, but how do you meet the needs of these kids ? From what I have seen on how this works the parents have to be involved and the children, with a teachers guidence are self teaching themselves.
Tony
November 14th, 2012
12:04 pm
There are many problems with the K12 Inc. business model. We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg since Georgia’s voters have approved the charter amendment. Expect matters to get much worse before the state realizes they have short-changed.
jd
November 14th, 2012
12:04 pm
The legislature, when not on the lookout for Agenda 21 agents, has mandated that every high school kid take a cyber course — hence the reason K12 and others offering cyber course MUST handle IEP students –
b-dawg
November 14th, 2012
12:07 pm
Oh you mean a warm blooded human teaching your kid is better than a computer…really? who would have thought. And as for the idea of bullying being a reason to cyber-educate a kid…please just tell them “welcome to the real world” and toughen up.
Tired
November 14th, 2012
12:09 pm
Maureen, “special needs” is a broad term. Is there any supplementary information about what types of disabilities are covered?
Maureen Downey
November 14th, 2012
12:11 pm
@JD, Did that law pass? I just checked the history of Senate Bill 289 and thought it stalled in the Senate once it came back from the House.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20112012/SB/289
Maureen Downey
November 14th, 2012
12:13 pm
@Tired, I am referring to the students with disabilities as defined by Georgia DOE. These are kid with IEPs.
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education-Services/Pages/default.aspx
indigo
November 14th, 2012
12:20 pm
Most of these parents will be happy if their kids learn the following:
1. The Earth is 6,000 years old.
2. The Earth is flat.
3. Creationism explains how life appeared on Earth.
4. The New Testament is the unerring word of God.
5. Evolution and Science are tools of the Devil and from the pits of hell.
6. Math, biology, reading, etc. are really not important as “we are only strangers here, heaven is our home”.
Ray
November 14th, 2012
12:22 pm
Cyber Academy? Please.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
12:23 pm
Pity this didn’t come out before last week’s Charter Referendum vote since November 1st was the most recent deadline in their non-compliance. Now will we hear from all the state charter supporters how a charter is terminated when a school is failing? They have been out of compiance for three years, when the US DOE mandates correction in one year. How long do they get to continue to fail students and abuse tax dollars before being fired?
lahopital
November 14th, 2012
12:41 pm
I would assume that, in the other states, lying about attendence inflates reimbursement fees, so that is clearly wrong. Are there specifics on what they have or have not done in Georgia? It’s hard to judge a place based on test scores, as low test scores might not indicate a poorly performing school, but simply a school with students who are unable to do well on the tests.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
12:42 pm
@mom2two: No blasting. GCA seemed like the perfect solution for us as my son has a medical condition causing some immune system dysfunction. Implementing a state curriculum at home with services provided seems like a great option to many special needs families. Parents or other adults in the home are supposed to be the learning coach, and the IEP is supposed to be fully implemented (therapies are provided by outside contractors). We did not have the best experience there and did not re-enroll after his first year. I do wish there were notification requirements for all schools if they are under investigation or state mandates to correct deficiencies with IDEA.
Also, I wonder why SACS hasn’t gotten involved? Unless students with IEP’s don’t factor into accreditation status? SACS is the same accrediting agency need to satisfy requirements for Special Needs Scholarship eligibility. If SACS isn’t including the education of special needs students in it’s accreditation approval and monitoring, then why is the state requiring SACS accreditation for schools on the SN scholarship list?
Private Citizen
November 14th, 2012
12:48 pm
Just got a call from a mom who is doing an online course. The teacher gives instruction sheets and the like, online work. She asked me to help and said her mind goes blank. I thought, “aha, the missing link is teaching.” Hey, I’m late. Got to go tutor.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
12:49 pm
Here is a link to a copy of the focused monitoring report from November 2009 outlining GCA’s IDEA implementation strength’s and weaknesses:
http://archives.gadoe.org/DMGetDocument.aspx/GCA_and_Odyssey_Charter_School.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F63F68560A4C99AA8BCC4E659138D35B221077D84A6D145301&Type=D
Private Citizen
November 14th, 2012
12:52 pm
Obviously, traditional sped kids need a supervised nurturing environment, i.e school. Online might work for the high functioning wildcats who get classified as sped because they are unmanageable in general ed classroom. One concern, obviously, is maybe the “sped” classification has been broadened beyond former definitions. Anyway, a thought. Some say sped. classification can be used to try and address kids with basically what I will call personality disorder, repeat need to make chaos. This is different than kids in wheelchairs and the like. I’m not a sped specialist, anything but. Pardon if I say the wrong thing. Nothing but highest respect for the sped. mission.
Atlanta Mom
November 14th, 2012
12:53 pm
How much funding per student does a cyber academy receive? Sorry if I missed this information in the article/links above.
Attentive Parent/Invisible Serfs Collar
November 14th, 2012
1:02 pm
Maureen, Isn’t the second paragraph missing a “not” as in does not improve?
Ed Advocate
November 14th, 2012
1:04 pm
I’d love to slam Cyber Academy and the for-profit company that manages it, K-12, Inc., for this problem, and I think they do share some of the blame. However, I must question why parents want their special ed students in an online school. Is this really the best place for them? I thought it interesting that a poster identifying himself or herself as a dissatisfied parent of a special ed Cyber Academy student commented on Wayne Washington’s AJC story, saying that parents would like to take their child’s money elsewhere. Presumably, since these special ed students are enrolled in a GA public school, they’re eligible for a private school voucher. I wonder if this was the end game of these complaining parents all along. If not, and the parents tried the Cyber Academy in good faith (which may not have been in the best interests of their kids) do we really trust them to make unilateral decisions regarding the expenditure of public dollars at a private school?
Rick L in ATL
November 14th, 2012
1:05 pm
If you’re looking for parents who are ardently pro-charter but willing to oppose ANY for-profit charters in Georgia, look no further. I’m with ya.
I say if you can’t find ten professionals in your school zone who have the dedication and skills to run a school better than the desultory municipal employees who’re running it now, back off and take the thin gruel the government schools are serving you. You don’t deserve a charter. You have to DO THE WORK, not hire some schmoes who are only slightly better than the schmoes you have now.
Does it take special expertise? Don’t make me laugh. The laptop-toting fools we have at APS don’t have any special expertise–only padded resumes and a deep sense of entitlement. If this were rocket science, they’d be disqualified instantly (likely for being unable to spell “science”).
Mary Elizabeth
November 14th, 2012
1:23 pm
From the link, provided above, of an investigation conducted by The New York Times:
“Kids mean money. Agora is expecting income of $72 million this school year, accounting for more than 10 percent of the total anticipated revenues of K12, the biggest player in the online-school business. The second-largest, Connections Education, with revenues estimated at $190 million, was bought this year by the education and publishing giant Pearson for $400 million.
The business taps into a formidable coalition of private groups and officials promoting nontraditional forms of public education. The growth of for-profit online schools, one of the more overtly commercial segments of the school choice movement, is rooted in the theory that corporate efficiencies combined with the Internet can revolutionize public education, offering high quality at reduced cost.”
=============================================
I predict, because of the passage of Amendment One, that there will be more legislation passed in Georgia’s 2013 legislative session which will promote school choice options, possibly including voucher use. Citizens should be aware of, and on guard for, these dramatic changes to traditional public education, and of the political and financial reasons as to WHY this additional legislation may be forthcoming.
Btw, I made a point to see the movie, “Won’t Back Down,” yesterday which was about a group of parents and a few teachers who withdrew from their “union” public school to start a “nonunion” charter school. Having majored in Theatre for a couple of years in college, I can easily recognize a film which is made for propaganda purposes. “Won’t Back Down” was produced mainly for ideological, propaganda purposes, imo, and its propaganda was heavy-handed. That should inform many about the degree of organization in the national movement to dismantle traditional public schools. “Won’t Back Down” was distributed by “Walden Media.” Check it out.
Maureen Downey
November 14th, 2012
1:24 pm
@Attentive, Thanks. Fixed.
@Atlanta Mom, I went to the state site on funding but it only had data on Georgia Cyber — under the Odyssey School name — from 2009. Then, the school reported getting $4,800. At a hearing last year on charter school funding, the state said Georgia Cyber would be getting $5,800 per pupil as a result of the Deal bail-out of commission charter schools.
http://app.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/fin_pack_revenue.entry_form?p_fiscal_year=2009
Beverly Fraud
November 14th, 2012
1:27 pm
@Rick in Atlanta
Saw your post yesterday…it’s utterly perplexing to me how readers have let AJC staffers completely off the hook for their years long shilling for Hall.
Any idea as to why the mindset?
Mary Elizabeth
November 14th, 2012
1:30 pm
About “Walden Media”:
As many well know, names – such as the use of “Walden” (from Thoreau’s “Walden Pond”) – can be deceptive. From Wikipedia, regarding Walden Media:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Media
“The company (Walden Media) is owned by the Christian conservative Philip Anschutz, who has said he expects their movies ‘to be entertaining, but also to be life affirming and to carry a moral message.’ ”
And regarding Philip Anschutz, from Wikipedia:
“In the early 1980s, the Anschutz Ranch, with its 1 billion barrel (160,000,000 m³) oil pocket, became the largest oil field discovery in the United States since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska in 1968. He sold a half-interest in it to Mobil Oil for $500 million in 1982.
For several years, Anschutz was Colorado’s sole billionaire. With his acquisition of land in other Western states, he is thought to own more farm and cattle land than any other single private citizen in the United States.
Anschutz then moved into railroads and telecommunications before venturing into the entertainment industry. In 1999, Fortune magazine compared him to the nineteenth-century tycoon J.P. Morgan, as both men ’struck it rich in a fundamentally different way: they operated across an astounding array of industries, mastering and reshaping entire economic landscapes.’ “
Out the Door
November 14th, 2012
1:30 pm
@Ed Advocate – Many private schools do not accept special needs students. They only want the best and the brightest or those that increase the school’s success in sports!
Angela Palm
November 14th, 2012
1:34 pm
SB 289 did pass. The Senate agreed to the House changes on the final day of the session. The Governor signed it May 1st.
Here is the link to the bill as it passed.
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20112012/127888.pdf
Concernedmom30329
November 14th, 2012
1:35 pm
Maureen
When the state passed SB10, the law that authorizes vouchers for students with IEPs to use in private schools, online discussion forums, for parents of children with special needs and learning disabilities, lit up with the idea that parents could more easily get IEPS for their children from a virtual school. they would then that IEP to use to get the voucher.
Part of what I suspect happened was these same parents had no idea how small the voucher amounts would be as compared to the cost of private schools that would actually meet their children’s needs and these parents opted to stay in the virtual school. From the beginning of Odyssey’s path as a virtual school, they have been behind on serving these students.
I would also argue that traditional public schools do a pretty crummy job of educating students with disabilities as well. That is why so many parents are willing to try any other option.
Maureen Downey
November 14th, 2012
1:40 pm
@Angela, But isn’t the mandate removed? As I read it, the state board has to increase options for kids to take online courses not make sure every kid does.
Or, I am reading it wrong?
The State Board of Education shall establish rules and regulations to maximize the number
of students, beginning with students entering ninth grade in the 2014-2015 school year,
who complete prior to graduation at least one course containing online learning
Maureen
Ray
November 14th, 2012
1:43 pm
$4800 to $5800 per student of taxpayer funds to Georgia Cyber Academy. What a massive boondoggle.
Jim
November 14th, 2012
1:57 pm
Maureen, You are correct. The mandate was removed from SB 289 before it was passed.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 14th, 2012
1:58 pm
I’d like to point out a charter school that specializes in students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). They are trying to open in 2014.
http://www.tapestrycharter.org/
TAPESTRY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL will be an inclusion school designed for students in grades 6-12 who will benefit from a student-driven, experiential, sensory-based learning environment. Tapestry will utilize small, multi-age classrooms with flexible groupings and authentic hands-on learning experiences. This curricular design will allow all children to thrive, but it will be particularly engaging for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), who are often underserved in the traditional middle and high school environments.
Maureen Downey
November 14th, 2012
2:09 pm
@To all, I asked DOE for some info on spending at Georgia Cyber and they sent me a lot of info, including audits. If you want to review, shoot me an email at mdowney@ajc.com and I will send the stuff to you.
teacher&mom
November 14th, 2012
2:24 pm
Wasn’t K12 a major contributer to the pro-charter amendment folks? I wonder what Ed Lindsey’s organization (Families for Better Schools) has to say about K12’s performance?
Did the $100,000 donation win Lindsey’s silence on K12’s performance?
http://boldprogressives.org/for-profit-education-companies-bankrolling-georgia-charter-school-campaign/
teacher&mom
November 14th, 2012
2:30 pm
Throughout the charter amendment debate we were consistently reminded that charter schools are public schools. Therefore, charter schools, under IDEA, must serve students with special needs. They do not have a choice.
Whether or not a cyber academy is or isn’t an appropriate choice for a special needs student is completely irrelevant. The cyber academy receives public funds and must serve all populations….just like their local public schools.
Anyone see the irony?
Pride and Joy
November 14th, 2012
2:43 pm
b-dawg and his comments are the reason why parents are pulling their kids out of a bricks and mortar school “please just tell them “welcome to the real world” and toughen up.”
When an adult is harassed and bullied in the workplace, we don’t tell them “it’s the real world and toughen up”. People go to jail for assault and get fired for bullying and harrassment.
Since we know that it is not right to do it to adults, surely we know it isn’t right to do it to kids. Looks like b-dawg missed that life lesson and is likely raising little bullies of his or her own.
Pride and Joy
November 14th, 2012
2:45 pm
teacher & mom are spot on. If the cyber academy doesn’t help special needs students, it cannot get public funds.
And just like that, when a charter cyber academy isn’t doing what it should — it is investigated and will be closed, as it SHOULD be.
BUT why aren’t traditional public schools held to the same standard?
ALL public schools receiving public tax money MUST be held accountable.
SGA Teacher
November 14th, 2012
3:21 pm
And THIS is exactly what I predicted would happen. Charter schools are great, but when they take students, real students, suddenly the aura and mystique drops significantly.
The exact same thing would happen in a private school, but private schools will shuffle the special needs kids out the door really quickly if they do not perform. Can’t do that in a public school.
Bring on the charters! Fill them to the brim with ALL students and then pass the popcorn.
Ed Advocate
November 14th, 2012
3:22 pm
Agree with Teacher & Mom and Pride & Joy about the responsibilities of ALL public schools, including Cyber Academy and other charter schools. The unhappy parent’s comments (or the commentor portraying herself as a C A parent, anyway) just made me wonder about the parent’s reason for enrolling a sp ed student in C A, and what the parent might hope to gain with a private school voucher.
Batgirl
November 14th, 2012
3:22 pm
@Mary Elizabeth, thanks for the information.
In the next legislative session, look for a push for a parent trigger law, which may have already been discussed here, as well as a repeal of the Blaine amendment which currently keeps public funds out of the hands of religious schools.
Ed Advocate
November 14th, 2012
3:30 pm
@ Batgirl: I fear your predictions will come to fruition. With a supermajority in the Senate and probably in the House (if Independent Rep. Rusty Kidd caucuses with R’s), legislators can repeal the Blaine amendment. And Ed Lindsey has already said publicly that he’s reintroducing a parent trigger bill.
Mary Elizabeth
November 14th, 2012
3:37 pm
Batgirl, 3:22 pm
You are most welcome. Citizens must not fail to see that Amendment One was about more than improving instruction. I hope that most Georgians will continue to agree with me that public education must not be turned over to private enterprise. Profit, in my opinion, is not a lasting, nor a substantial, foundation on which to build public education, for all of our young.
Concernedmom30329
November 14th, 2012
3:43 pm
DeKalb Inside Out
GA doesn’t allow “boutique” charter schools. All lotteries must be conducted blind. So, while their intention may be to serve students on the spectrum, if they have small classes, you better believe that there is going to be a lot of competition for the seats.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
4:11 pm
Here is a link to the Southern Povery Law Center’s complaint to the Justice Department on Georgia’s treatment of special needs students. Please read it if you really want to understand IDEA and how special needs students are categorized and funded.
http://cdna.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/110911_DOJ_Complaint_GA_SPED.pdf
Also, enrolling in GCA is not the “golden key” to getting a private voucher. You only need one year in ANY Georgia public school in order to qualify for the Special Needs Scholarship. Do parents choose GCA out of frustration with their local schools? I did. But it wasn’t to get my evil hands on taxpayer money for a private school. GCA did provide another option, just not a good one.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 14th, 2012
4:23 pm
ConcernedMom,
Excellent point. They don’t have a charter published yet, but they did mention an inclusion school. There’s no way they can keep classes small unless they get a lot of IEP QBE money. I’m curious to see how this goes down. I like the idea of boutique charter schools.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
4:49 pm
@Dekalb Inside Out:
Most of the existing state charter schools are already “inclusion” schools. If the special needs student is served in a general ed classroom, even with assistance, that is “inclusion”. If you read the link I provided above, you will see that the inclusion model would make it more difficult for a charter school to receive IDEA funding as you must have a certain number of special needs students in a general ed class in order to receive the markup percentage in funding. If they are enrolling by lottery, there is no guarantee they will have enough students per grade level to receive funding. That would explain why they would want “multi grade level” classes.
That would also explain why many charters have funding difficulties. They have to provide services to students who enroll with an IEP. How could they estimate from year to year, how many students they will have with IEP’s? When you are planning a budget and classroom assignments and you don’t have enough special needs students in a regular classroom to meet the funding ratios what are you going to do? Combine grade levels or create a special ed class and don’t use the inclusion model. Either way the parent is not deciding placement, the school is. So much for choice.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 14th, 2012
5:06 pm
3schoolkids,
I don’t know anything about IDEA funding. That doc was 23 pages and it didn’t come up with anything when I searched for ‘IDEA’. I just know that some IEPs get as much as 6 times the QBE funding as the standard child. I assumed that was how they hope to get the extra money. I’m very curious to see how this ends up working.
So much for choice? I don’t know what you are referring to. What choice are you talking about and who claims to have it?
The Deal
November 14th, 2012
5:26 pm
I wholeheartedly agree with Pride and Joy. It’s interesting how all of the focus is on Georgia Cyber Academy, when there are tens of schools right here in DeKalb that do not serve their special ed students. I myself do not understand how a cyber academy is supposed to address some of the more severe SPED cases, but maybe I just don’t know enough about the details. I don’t think it can be expected to be successful for some of the SPED children I have seen. So, this will turn into a continuation of the charter school amendment debate. Move past it. It passed. Why don’t all of you who are criticizing GCA also stand up for the SPED kids not being served in the school that is 2 miles from your house? It is happening right under your nose and, in my opinion, there is less of an excuse for the brick and mortar schools to be failing.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
5:37 pm
@Dekalb Inside Out:
Didn’t you make this statement? “There’s no way they can keep classes small unless they get a lot of IEP QBE money.”
Why would you make that statement unless you understand how the funding is documented and paid? The link might be 23 pages long but if you want to understand how it works you should read it. It is the best description I have seen of how special needs funding is calculated.
3schoolkids
November 14th, 2012
5:57 pm
I agree, ALL Georgia schools should be held accountable when they are out of compliance with Federal Law. The article references GCA, not Dekalb County. I’m certainly not defending Dekalb County but saying a school doesn’t serve their special needs students and having audits and compliance documents outining specific non-compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) within GCA is different.
Michelle
November 14th, 2012
5:58 pm
I have to add something to this conversation. I have seen parents of problem children, who have skipped school and missed too many days to pass, allow their kids to stay home and do absolutely nothing. Then when the truancy officer comes around to check, or the kid gets into trouble with police, the parents claim the kid to be enrolled in GCA. It is extremely simple to enroll the kid with only a phone call and limited documents fax to where ever. We all know a telephone call is much easier than appearing before a Juvenile Court Judge. This is one of the reasons the failure rate is so high.
I have 2 sons actually enrolled in GCA, and I can state that the curriculum is wonderful, and above the level of the public schools in my area. The teachers are more than qualified. Every teacher I have run across with GCA has been more than willing to assist any child, in any way possible.
Admittedly, I too wonder if all of this mess being brought up by the AJC and DOE is not just fall out from the recent vote on the Charter School Amendment. Wouldn’t all the tax dollars, from all the school boards, in all the counties, be welcomed in Atlanta, along with all of those new jobs, etc. While the rest of the state sits by with no control over their area schools what-so-ever, or the tax dollars paid in, those cronies at the state level would be really cleaning up!
Cobb Parent
November 14th, 2012
6:40 pm
Georgia Cyber Academy is owned and operated by K12-a publicly traded stock company on the NYSE. The management team are all Wall Street vets – CEO is a former director with Goldman Sachs. K12 is focused 100% on profit not the education of children.
Our ALEC goose stepping Georgia Legislature – Chipper Rogers, Ed Lindsey, Jan Jones, Tricky Deal plus most other GA Republicans are all card carrying ALEC members. Follow the money ladies and gentlemen the Ed Corporations are pushing this agenda to privatize public schools via Charter Amendments. Tax Payer Dollars = Huge Profits with no accountability.
Get your head out of the Faux News, Hannity, and Boortz spectrum and look around to see what is happening to public schools. Skewed biased reports, studies, etc. comparing Georgia pubic schools (apples to oranges) like the SAT rankings. Georgia has the top 3 participation rate for the SAT vs. so called great scoring states like Iowa and South Dakota who only let their Top 3 percent take the test. Of course numbers reflect better for the states who restrict SAT testing.
Public schools have to take any child who walks in their door – Charter, Private, etc. do not. And do not start comparing U.S. schools to other countries again unless you compare apples to apples. Get past the propaganda and dig past the sound bytes you will be shocked at what is being done to undermine public schools.
I believe there is a place for all types of schools-public, charter, and private just not in the hands of Wall Street. Do you want your children’s future and your tax dollars going to the good old boys who caused the Great Recession?
Georgia Cyber Academy responds to state board concerns: DOE not providing assistance or clarity | Get Schooled
November 14th, 2012
6:45 pm
[...] In light of the state board of education concerns about Georgia Cyber Academy, I asked the director of the online charter school to make a statement. [...]
Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special … – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Political Daily
November 14th, 2012
8:09 pm
[...] Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special …Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Now, it is the state board of education discussing the state's first online school, suggesting it will pull its charter if it does not improve services for students with disabilities. Georgia Cyber Academy is part of K12 Inc., … A report released …State education board criticizes online schoolThecoastalsourceall 34 news articles » [...]
Coosabandmom
November 14th, 2012
8:09 pm
I, too had problems with the B&M schools. When a child goes from honor roll in elementary school to barely passing in middle school, there is obviously a problem. I badgered teachers and the counselor to no end. The counselor returned 1 of my calls. 1. I went through 2 years of begging and frustration and watching my son barely pass. Now I have him in GCA and I can see what his problems are and why he was having so much trouble. And they were quick to help me in any way I needed it, up to and including testing. I think that something isn’t right here with the jumping on GCA and forgetting all the B&M’s that do nothing for their students.
Angie
November 14th, 2012
8:27 pm
I was asked by GEE to repost this here: Am I missing it on here somewhere…where on here is the report of the B&M schools “NOT” meeting AYP? Especailly those that dont year after year and get away with it. The county that I am from didnt meet it for a while in one of the schools, hardly ever. The Elem school was meeting it every year…after a while they shut it down..WHAT A SUPRISE!!! Small county BOE’s are the ones that cant keep their hand out of the cookie jar(money) and will not work with you unless they benefit from it. Where are the reports on things like this? You rather attack a great school like GCA in public and say they are doing wrong with the specifics sent to them. My child has flurished with GCA. He is no loner bullied(with nothing being done about it). It took to the begining of the next school year to get his 504 plan updated with this B&M school. Why dont the DOE start with the B&M schools being out of compliance first.
mommamonster
November 14th, 2012
9:07 pm
Cobb Parent…thank you, I could not have said it any better!
mommamonster
November 14th, 2012
9:12 pm
I heard it from some legislators last night…the Parent Trigger bill and vouchers are definitely coming down the pike, guys. I have NO problem with charter schools except those who take advantage of parents and kids who truly need an alternative to the public school setting. Shame on those scam artists who just look for the $$$ and could not care less about the kids. Rep. Setzler stated when he “debated” Hinojosa at Lassiter HS a couple of weeks ago that if a charter school doesn’t meet standards “we can close it”. He did not say however what would happen to the kids AFTER the crooks took the money and ran. DO they have to pay the money back if they fail???
jw
November 15th, 2012
2:01 am
@mommamonster….no the corporation does not have to pay the money back.
Mary Elizabeth
November 15th, 2012
7:53 am
Cobb Parent, 6:40 pm, 11/14/12
Your remarks all ring true. Thank you for posting them.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 15th, 2012
9:28 am
3schoolkids
When you said IDEA funding, I thought you were talking about some other grant or revenue source for IEPs that I wasn’t aware of.
That document is hyper critical of special education in Georgia. Interesting info, biases, but interesting.
Ray
November 15th, 2012
11:05 am
Cobb Parent @ 11/14 6:40 pm has it exactly right. Allowing out of state for profit corporations, run by Goldman Sachs Wall Street folks no less, to come into Georgia and scoop up Georgia tax dollars for an on-line “cyber academy” is an abomination. Totally ridiculous, absurd, a boondoggle, a travesty. Make no mistake, a company like k12 is first and formeost, far beyond all else, about making money — actually providing a quality education (if a “cyber academy” can even do such a thing) is a distant afterthought. Diverting public education tax dollars to companies like k12 is crazy.
b-dawg
November 15th, 2012
1:09 pm
Pride and Joy…so taking kids and hiding them from difficult life situations somehow benefits that child in the long run… really? Of course I’m not talking about “physical abuse” by other children…you should protect them from that…I’m talking about other “bullying” that so many cry and moan about these days. I got bullied…names, rude comments…etc. You know what, I got over it…so will these kids today. Or I guess you can raise children into adults who don’t know how to stand up for themselves
Stop Educational Crimes
November 15th, 2012
8:07 pm
This our opinion:
Taking this LEA Charter is needed and appropriate for all of the Federal Violations and Denials
of FAPE that they have committed in the name of EDUCATION AGAINST STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Stop Educational Crimes
November 15th, 2012
8:17 pm
This is our ongoing and concerning opinions:
To: S. Holland and The Odyssey School Board Members
C. Stokes, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer
C. Hughes, EVP, School Management, K12
We are demanding The Odyssey School Board Members
FIRER T. TRIMALDI and MATTHEW D. ARKIN by 11-16-2012.
Something must be done NOW!
S. Holland as President of this school board, if this board is not able to
do what is Needed and Right in making decisions in the Best Interest
of Students with Disabilities attending this failing school system then
please Step Down.
Taking this LEA Charter is Appropriate and Needed in the
Best Interest of ALL students attending this LEA if this school
board continues to ONLY protect the interest of this LEA Current
Administration.
GCA/K12, The School of Odyssey Parents, Related Service Providers and
Teachers will be forced to start a Petition to remove the following:
S. Holland – Pres
Sholland@odysseycharterschool.net
M. Longmeyer
Mlongmeyer@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Magee
Kmagee@odysseycharterschool.net
M. Blye
Mblye@odysseycharterschool.net
J. DiGiulio
Jdigiulio@odysseycharterschool.net
D. Erickson
Derickson@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Knapp
Kknapp@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Reed
Kreed@odysseycharterschool.net
A. Brown
Abrown@odysseycharterschool.net
-A. Geeter
-Matthew Arkin
-F. Trimaldi
-L. White
-C. McClain
-S. Bullock
-H. Talton
-M. Lowe
-All Current Administrators
Your refusal to comply with this request will result in adverse
actions being taken against this LEA.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE ON NOTICE!
Dedicated Parent
November 15th, 2012
9:52 pm
Cobb Parent,
I’m not sure I understand your comments. You are criticizing GCA for getting their curriculum from a for-profit company. Where do you think you local public school gets their curriculum from? Our local public school most certainly does not make it up on their own, nor do they manufacture their own textbooks, nor worksheets. They pay money to for-profit companies to supply their curriculum and materials as GCA does with K12. They pay K12 for their curriculum. It seems pretty apples to apples to me, so I don’t understand why GCA should be accused of doing some wrong there while you are ok with your own public school doing the same thing. Are you just against the specific curriculum they are paying for, because in my experience the K12’s curriculum far exceeds what our local public school’s purchased curriculum covered. And yet GCA is working on far less funding then the local public school. So who is getting all that extra money exactly?
Dedicated Parent
November 15th, 2012
10:06 pm
b-dawg,
Times have changed. Kids are getting bullied at an all new level that they cannot escape from. They are hit with it at school by students, by teachers, then when they get home online. The suicide rate from all of this bullying has dramatically increased and something needs to be done that is not happening at a lot of school to handle the situation. I for one believe that a parent should bull their child from a school where they are being mis-treated to the point of committing suicide prior to that event taking place and not just telling them to buck-up.
In addition, this original article was in regards to special education students. I’m guessing by your comments that you may not realize this, but often these students are not capable of protecting themselves from even the simplest of bullying from students and teachers. I first hand witnessed a teacher smack a child in the head because he didn’t turn around in line fast enough to head back to the classroom after the teacher escorted all the kids to wait in the hall outside the bathroom while she took a potty break. She continued to berate him the entire way back to the classroom saying she didn’t know why she had to put up with him being in his class since he was obviously stupid enough to need an IEP and it was all his fault for dragging her to having to treat him that way. Unfortunately, the child lacked the ability to recognize he was even being abused. This same goes for my own child and I will not put her in an environment where she can be abused without even knowing it and being able to report it. We are so thankful that we had the option of GCA, where she could receive the special needs and therapy she needs to be able to navigate the real world one day, while being protected and being allowed to work at an accelerated academic pace (which again is not what the public school was going to allow – their solution was that she needed to be “dumbed down” so that her deficits would become less noticeable). She is not sheltered and interacts with children on a regular basis (5 days a week); however, it’s via a supervised method that allows her to be able to work on the skills for interactions that she needs without getting abused or ignored at the same time. The schools solution when she was overwhelmed by the other kids to the point of having a seizure, we will stick her in the corner until she gets over it. My solution, I can take her home and continue on her school work so we can continue to work gradually up. I do not understand why you are so against a parent having a choice to protect their special needs child and feel that these kids should be forced into environments that will result in them never being able to survive in the real-world. It’s sick to think someone would believe it better to leave them in an environment where the child feels they have no choice but to commit suicide because they have no other education options. Does the real-world work like this- no. If someone is being verbally abused or harassed, the law takes that into account. The adult also has the choice to leave that environment for another one, why shouldn’t a child be able to do the same thing which would be a real-world scenario.
b-dawg
November 16th, 2012
10:33 am
times have not changed people have. Everyone is entitled to something because they get themselves identified as having this problem or that problem. Oh I’m ADD so nothing is my fault…please government help me. I’m sick of this entitlement society…especially in the world of education. These parents who make it their business to know every federal statute that has anything to do with SPED so when little Sally comes home al upset they go running to the lawyers office that “my child is not being served” under this statute or that statute. I know a SPED teacher at the local high school. She spends 4 weeks at the start of school each year doing IEP’s for 215 kids out of a high school of 900 students. Then she spends the last 4 weeks reviewing them. thats two months worth the SPED teacher isn’t even in the clasroom helping kids…they are over in the corner catching up on Federally mandated paperwork. Are you freaking kidding me? You mean over 20% of the population has been identified as SPED? Where were all these SPED’s when I was in school? they have come out of the woodwork because SPED is nothing more than a SCAM. A special ed kids gets 2.5 times the money a regular ed kid gets. And for what? They are not going to college. they are not becoming productive high wage earners in our economy. They will most likely be a drain on our economy just like they are draining money away from the students who do have potential. Don’t get me wrong any child who has a legitimate mental defect or physical impairment that prevents them from learning has my sympathy and is deserving of help. I am talking about these made-up diagnosis bs that has been going on the last 10-15 years in our education society.
Velva Muller
November 16th, 2012
11:11 am
I am the mother of a former 2009 Georgia Cyber Academy student. I was forced to withdraw my child by the school. Because his special needs kept him from meeting the guidelines. Upon telling me I needed to withdraw him they never told me about Senate Bill 10. I was left alone trying to figure it out. I just found out about this funding through one of my son`s caseworkers. I tried to put my son back into the public school system this school year due to my health. However, between March and September of this year my son was assulted a total of 6 times on campus and off combined. I have been forced to try and homeschool him again. Well I can`t put him in the Cyber Academy. B.O.E basically said unless he quailifies for “Hospital Homebound,” I`m on my own again. My son and I need help and there seems to be no one to turn to. I can not afford to pay for his education outside of the public school system. I can`t trust them to keep him safe! So what do we do!!!!!!!!!! No one seems to have answers and I have already learned when it comes to money that might be available, no one offers any information up front. Even when I posed the question to the B.O.E a few days ago about obtaining information about the IEP scholarship voucher it were as if I had been speaking Greek. I found out about the IEP funding through one of my sons caseworkers not even associated with the B.O.E. HELP!!!!
NOTE FROM Maureen: This poster included her phone number for folks to contact her with advice, but I would rather people email me with their contact info and I will forward to this mom.
mommybrain
November 16th, 2012
1:08 pm
I am a mom and learning coach of six GCA students. Four of our children are diagnosed with ASD, however, only one of our student is in SPED, and it is for medical reasons. The big fight with Amendment one was money and control. This SPED issue is separate. The SPED issue at GCA is no different than the issues in all the other public school systems, just happens to be more visible. Parents have the right to fight for what is best for our kids no matter the type of school or needs. And yes, many students are better served in an at home environment. Many school districts in GA do not provide adequate services, do not provide even a minimal education, but many parents accept the lack of response by their local schools. Parents who choose to put their children in any type of alternative schooling, do so for the betterment of their children. Many choose not to allow a label to dictate less of an education, and choose to give their children the opportunity to work within their strengths to become productive members of society, rather than to have them ignored and dumbed down as to be less productive. Most parents choosing more for their children, are more involved, and and because of that involvement become more aware of their children’s rights and abilities. Many teachers choose to ignore or overlook needs, weather in GCA or private or traditional schools. But involved parents do not let them get away with it. There are many more hands on parents and educated parents with their students at GCA, as a percentage of the total enrolled, than those in the traditional schools. We speak out for our kids, and everyone else against our choices choose to speak against opportunity because of its shortcomings. The numbers of enrolled students statewide, especially the high percentages of SPED and ALP students, show the bigger picture – our traditional schools are failing our exceptional students. Instead of tearing down a school for its problems, we should all want encourage educational system as a whole to improve. If the traditional wasn’t failing, there would not have been a need for an alternative in the first place. Open your ears, shut your mouths, and turn on the brains. The children grow up to be the backbone of the workforce and society, does America need a wet noodle to stand on?????????????