The agreement presented by the BPS & Unlocking Potential to the community was supposed to include "ALL Gavin School Students!" The BPS did not "reserve spots" at UP Academy for Vietnamese SIS students so what school did these students land at? Do we wait and see what school takes a dip into underperforming?  The multi-handicapped students "remained in the building" in a newly created "district run" program! The names of these handi-capped kids are rumored to have satellited and appear on the Murphy School roll! Is this true?  When we see the Murphy School MCAS scores plummet and they are targeted as under-performing we will know why!

Also, it is not the building that gets the test scores that define if a school is "quality," it is the students taking the test. UP Academy was allowed to draw students "citywide" and the Boston Public Schools is required by state law to pay their transportation!  If UP Academy saw any improvement over the Gavin School this year, is it because last year they heavily recruited 5th grade Advance Work Class (AWC) students citywide to attend UP Academy in September?  Nothing will bring up AYP scores faster than AWC students and small class sizes! Note if the AYP scores of the traditional schools with AWC classes, those children would have attended, went down.  What is the breakdown of neighborhoods that UP Academy students are coming from?

Let me pose this, if the Gavin School did not have the Vietnamese SEI students, and the multi-handicapped students, would it have been underperforming enough for UP Academy to take over? UP touts a high sped population but what are the SPED designations? There is a big difference between a multi-handicapped student or .4 LAB student and a Resource Room student who needs a little individual help in math or English.  Then there is UP's Out-of-School suspension rate, first year 38%!  How many days can a parent afford to take off work?  The BPS is only 5%!  When that came to light UP instituted "in-house suspension!”"

Finally, how much is the BPS paying "Unlocking Potential," the "education management organization" (EMO) to "manage" Up Academy in South Boston?  BPS plans on paying Unlocking Potential Dot $500,000. for 1 school!  Is it the same for UP Academy in Southie?  One million dollars to manage 2 public schools is an awful lot of bake sales! 

 
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=04800405&orgtypecode=6&leftNavId=303&

Students left UP Academy at a rate similar to that of other middle schools in the city.  Were new students enrolled in grades 6-8 to replace those who left?  In typical city schools, an equivalent number of new students enroll, including in 8th grade, and those students frequently are more difficult to educate.  Does UP Academy take many of the students who left other regular public schools because of disciplinary problems?  In a number of cities across the country, KIPP schools have been faulted for exactly this scenario (and they refute the charges bitterly - but the data tell the true story.

The true issue here is the high percentage of our Middle Schools that are underperforming yet Carol Johnson's administration along with the Mayor has no plan of action other than subcontracting the schools. The Up Academy has so few students from the neighborhood it serves. The money spent on transportation and the Student Management contract is not a fiscally responsible way to spend what amounts to approximatly 1 Billion of Our tax dollars. All Up Academy has done for South Boston is continue to help the enrollment of Boston College High School.

UP Academy is not only losing students but they are already posting five teaching positions. With their board of directors, even a heavy hitter from Bain and the mayors office, and the external fundraising they have access to, I would have expected better. 

Is Unlocking Potential's business model to sell itself as a "mini Latin"?  What is its operating budget compared to these other schools? Are its teachers members of BTU?

Perhaps ALL of BPS should be part of Unlocking Potential school program; otherwise the BPS has any number of school programs (see varied Charter School programs and sources and operationals).....  Very difficult for one scant pool of overseers (the Boston School Committee) and the Superintendent to effectively manage such a plethora of operation matters----too many cooks.  And, regardless, anything near 20% departure rate among middle school is....  completely unacceptable.

This shell game of "new" education programming has been plaguing the BPS for 40 years...  perhaps its time to impose some consistent, universal quality standards. How much money has been spent, and, really, where's the money gone?  Lots of educational professionals who      get lauded, rewarded ($), but...in a lottery-esque fashion (eg, grant monies)  many schools themselves continue to be run in shamefully austere and in some reckless fashions

Schools should have: consistent resources, ample program offerings (including , strict and enforced disciplinary rules (with concrete program options for kids with serious +/or criminal behaviors, also appropriately funded, housed, and consistenly enforced), capable and accountable adminstration (who don't simply show up at non-profit galas for photo opps)...

Besides, when there is a middle school student population that can barely read and have few skills to be good students and "attend" with all appropriate "citizen" behaviors, test scores are not very pertinent.  Never, ever in the history of US public education has there been a more unrealistic standard of support, ie, that say we only cater to the college-track, and, more precisely, that we most (and sometimes only) reward students and support programming for those who excel in Mathematics and Science.

But, such is also a reflection of the current state of job and economic development in the US---and our schools barely manage to succeed in even "service" job training ---by supporting literacy, basic problem-solving, and---courtesy.  

What are the prospects of the 20% flight risk population, and what's student life like for the 80%---what's the 80% look like?  Are they well-behaved merit students with any sort of life aspirations that are connected to their schools?

Hey, life's not perfect, but some of these kids face very dead-end prospects as per current educational options. 

Up Up And Away!!!!! Up has a PR budget to die for, and enough spin to keep any avid reader breakdancing all night long. Facts: Last year Up Academy a had 38% out house and 12 % in house suspension rates. BPS average is 5%. The ACLU filed suit on a MA public district for a 22% suspension rate. Indeed, Up's policies are ACLU actionable. Ask the multi-handicapped and Vietnamese students who were not welcome to begin with. Ask the students who were pushed to the McCormack. In real public schools when students leave "read not forced out" they are replaced. I wonder how many McCormack students transferred to UP because of behavioral difficulties? The answer is 0. I wonder how much money UP kept for the kids they bounced that were not replaced? Don't believe the PR. UP's budget has money set aside just for SPIN. They will never accept any fallibility, but do accept a hefty service fee. Reminds me of students who refuse to accept responsibility and never a mea culpa. It's time UP's corporate brass admit culpability and fallibility for their cherry picking behavior. Pride comes before the fall.

I am glad to see this article note that UP Academy’s 19% withdrawal rate is well below the 22% district average and among the district’s lowest after transforming the Gavin Middle School. Keeping more students than the district average makes us even more proud of our students’ growth on the MCAS in our first year. In fact, the Gavin’s own historical withdrawal rate averaged 25% in the five years before the UP Academy transition.

However, the claim above that 17 Gavin students with disabilities were “barred” from attending UP Academy is patently false. No Gavin students were ever barred from enrolling in UP. The 17 pupils mentioned were enrolled in the “BEST” program at the Gavin, one of two specialized programs in the district for students with multiple handicaps. Due to state laws requiring charter schools to admit students by lottery after a transition period, it would have been impossible to ensure that enough students with special needs would be admitted via lottery to guarantee the BEST program could continue.  As a result the district chose to separate the BEST program from UP Academy.

We were not surprised that the families of these 17 students chose to remain at BEST, specially designed to meet their needs, rather than enroll at UP Academy, but it is critical to note that they were given the choice. Had they chosen to enroll at UP, we would have been happy and proud to serve them along with the rest of our student population, including our 115 pupils with disabilities who are currently enrolled. 

"I am glad to see this article note that UP Academy’s 19% withdrawal rate is well below the 22% district average and among the district’s lowest after transforming the Gavin Middle School." How is 19% "well below" "22%"? This response immediately sets the tone for the spin that follows. So, according to UP logic, a 38% suspension rate is 7.5 times greater than "well above". I call the this ACLU actionable. You can't be "proud" and then not admit egregious folly. I'll say it again...pride comes before the fall.

"The nonprofit slices off a certain amount from school district appropriations as management fees, which this year amounted to $600,000 (mostly from Boston) out of the nonprofit’s $2.7 million budget. The organization also received a $400,000 state grant and some money from the federal government designated for turnaround schools. The rest comes largely from three foundations.

school districts to run the schools as what was previously allocated. At UP Academy Boston, the appropriation is about $7 million.

Ultimately, Given said, Unlocking Potential’s management fees will grow faster than its expenses. “And when we’re at six or seven schools, we won’t need private philanthropy anymore,” Given said." from: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/print-edition/2012/11/16/public-school-turnarounds.html?page=all 

How much PROFIT does Givens make from corporatizing schools? He will not admit any fallibility and will continue to be a spin doctor because that's his BUSINESS. McDonald's doesn't have ads about heart attacks - just smiling faces and dollar menues. Why would UP's business model be any different? Hey UP Brass - "Where's the beef?" I think it's in the "management fee"....I challenge Givens to produce tax returns. The real motive for school takeover is PROFIT, not "helping kids". If it's really about helping kids Givens should give unneeded management fee to BPS coffers. PUBLIC education should not be for PROFIT. When it is you get 38% suspension rates...Indeed UP only wants to teach a certain type of kid...The "Marshall Plan" is a mess.