|
|
9486 in the collection
Fresno charter school in furor: Unusual punishments, testing violations alleged as principal resigns
Ohanian Comment: Multiple outrages here, including the fact that this was allowed to continue for so long. In addition to child abuse, note the testing "irregularities." Note the failure of KIPP headquqrters to take responsibility. Read the report from the Fresno Unified School District, Chartering Authority to KIPP General Counsel. The title of the report is Notice to Cure and Correct Violations.It is a stunner.
The report, dated Dec, 11, 2008, indicates that numerous complaints were received from parents of KIPP students in April, May, & June 2008 but that complaints from such organizations as the NAACP date back to 2004. Complaints were sent to the KIPP board, which informed the district it was unable to "conduct an effective investigation."
From the Report:
Based on parent concerns about the psychological and emotional well-being of students, the District offered to provide the Charter School staff with training by a school psychologist to help identify students with psychological and emotional problems so they could receive appropriate help. Mr. Tschang [the principal] refused the offer.
There's more. Lots more. Read about the start- of-school hazing procedures enforced by this KIPP leader. And much child abuse.
By Anne Dudley Ellis and Kerri Ginis
Fresno Unified officials say the principal of KIPP Academy Fresno charter school has a "problem with anger" and accuse him in a 63-page report of unorthodox disciplinary techniques, including forcing one student to crawl on his hands and knees and bark.
Under pressure from the district, Principal Chi Tschang announced his resignation this week. About 100 students skipped school Friday to protest his departure, chanting "Save Mr. Tschang" and waving signs in front of the school.
The school, recognized for its rising test scores, has 288 students in fifth through eighth grades on a campus in west-central Fresno.
Charter campuses may operate differently than regular public schools, but Tschang's methods violated state and federal laws on student safety, said Debra Odom, coordinator of charter schools for the Fresno Unified School District.
She said more than 50 people -- students and parents -- detailed problems over the past four years at the school during the investigation.
In an interview Friday, Tschang (pronounced "chang") said the district's investigation was a "series of mistruths and misperceptions and, in some cases, exaggerations."
"I've spent the last three months of my life asking why the district has such disdain for me," he said. "I can only guess that they don't like having a man that started a school that's so high-performing, when it's clear other schools in the district aren't doing as well."
He said the report only cites people who have left the school on unfavorable terms and didn't include comments from supporters.
"It just generally doesn't square with the reality of our school; it's very unfortunate," he said.
Seventh-grader Arturo Chairez was on the protest line Friday: "We love him. This makes no sense to us."
Other students said they had no problems with Tschang's strict rules.
"The district thinks they've hurt Mr. Tschang, but they've hurt us," said Maya Moss, also a seventh-grader.
Sugar Watkins, who has a daughter attending the school, described KIPP as "a great program."
"If all schools ran this way, we'd have no students running the streets," she said.
Tschang founded the school, on Dakota Avenue near Marks Avenue, in 2004 under the authority of a nationwide nonprofit chain. The KIPP Foundation trains principals and helps set up college-preparatory charter schools nationwide.
KIPP -- Knowledge is Power Program -- advocates strict discipline, longer school days and preparing students for college. Fresno's KIPP Academy has soared academically and posted a score of 850 on the state testing scale in September. The index ranges from 200 to 1,000, with 800 the goal.
KIPP is a charter school, funded with public money but allowed to operate outside many of the state Education Code regulations to encourage innovation. KIPP's charter to operate was issued by Fresno Unified, but the school is overseen by its own board.
However, state law requires the chartering school district to step in and investigate when problems arise.
Complaints about Tschang's disciplinary methods date to the school's first year, and officials said they had worked "diligently" with Tschang and KIPP officials on the issues, according to the district's report.
At the end of the past school year, the KIPP board for the first time told the district it had "no control over Chi Tschang" and most members resigned, prompting Fresno Unified to launch the investigation, the report said.
Steve Mancini, a spokesman for KIPP Foundation, said the Fresno academy's board has been working to resolve the issues raised in the report, which the board received in January. Fresno Unified officials issued the report, dated Dec. 11, this week.
"The board takes this report very seriously, and we certainly looked at it," he said. "We feel this is the right time for the transition, and we think the school still has things to be proud of."
KIPP did not seek Tschang's resignation, Mancini said.
Phyllis Phillips, whose nephew was an eighth grader at KIPP last school year, said Tschang acted like a dictator and refused to listen to parents' concerns.
"He had no problem telling parents that it was his school and he would run it as he wanted," Phillips said. "I've known a lot of people who just pulled their kids out of the school."
Phillips said Tschang tried to weed out students who didn't perform well academically. She said her nephew was told he couldn't participate in the eighth-grade graduation ceremonies just three weeks before the end of the school year because Tschang wanted him to repeat the eighth grade. But Phillips said Tschang didn't provide the family with any warning about her nephew's grades.
"If you challenged him on his tactics, he would just say he didn't want you there," Phillips said.
Paul Wheeler, whose wife taught at KIPP and whose daughter attended for two years, said his family worked with the district's investigator to provide information about Tschang.
One of the more egregious problems, Wheeler said, was a lack of security for testing materials. The failure to keep test materials locked up was one of the violations listed in the FUSD report.
The school would open state standardized tests and teach the material to students before the tests were given, Wheeler said. The school also left tests out in the open and even had boxes of opened tests sitting in the back of the board room while a meeting was in session, he said.
"They basically taught the test," he said.
Tschang denied that the school had any testing irregularities: "That is absolutely not true, and there is no evidence of that," he said.
Wheeler also said he was concerned about students' safety at the school, because Tschang would often punish kids by having them stand outside the school for hours with no supervision.
"He put these children outside in the cold with no sweat shirts within reach of these less-secure neighborhoods," Wheeler said.
Fresno Unified's investigation cited dozens of alleged examples of Tschang's "unorthodox" methods of student discipline, such as forcing students' faces or bodies against a wall; throwing and kicking students' backpacks, once hitting a student in the head; requiring students to throw away their breakfast if it wasn't eaten in the allotted time; and making racially derogatory comments.
The investigation also concluded that teachers and administrators failed to report to police and parents incidents of alleged sexual abuse after a female student reported that a male student inappropriately touched her.
The report said some teachers at the school didn't have the proper credentials. Tschang, for example, taught English and math classes but lacked those credentials. The school also failed to do criminal background checks and fingerprinting for every faculty and staff member, according to the district report.
Tschang said all of the teachers at the school are credentialed or working toward obtaining a credential. He said there have been occasions when teachers have had to teach subjects outside of their credentials on an emergency basis, but that doesn't happen routinely.
Tschang also suspended students and sent them home in taxis when parents couldn't pick them up, and in at least one instance no parent or guardian was notified, according to the report.
Fresno Unified report: KIPP principal had anger issues
KIPP Academy, a Fresno charter school, violated a variety of state and federal laws regarding student safety, Fresno Unified School District officials said at a news conference today.
Debra Odom, coordinator of charter schools for Fresno Unified, said a report prepared by the district is based on allegations from more than 50 individuals -- students and parents.
Much of the report focuses on principal Chi Tschang's "problem with anger." Tschang has resigned; his last day as principal was today.
The report said Tschang made a student crawl on his hands and knees while barking; forced students to stand outside, even in the rain; and screamed and yelled "all day" at students caught shoplifting near the campus.
11 a.m.: About 100 students and parents are protesting the resignation of the KIPP Academy principal, who founded the high-achieving west Fresno charter school.
Principal Chi Tschang’s last day is today; he said the protestors showed up before 7 a.m. today.
"It’s supposed to be a regular school day, but clearly because of the circumstances it’s an unusual day," he said.
Tschang’s resignation comes as the Fresno Unified School District, which chartered the school in 2004, released a 63-page report detailing alleged mistreatment of students. The investigation was started after parents complained about the way Tschang disciplined students.
Tschang would not comment on the details of the report. Fresno Unified is holding a news conference at noon today to talk about the investigation.
— Anne Dudley Ellis and Kerri Ginis
Fresno Bee
2009-02-20
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1213685.html
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
[1] 2 3 4 5 6 Next >> Last >>
|
