Unions try to close South Central charter school that's very successful with blacks and Hispanics!

wordpress ^ | August 13, 2012 | Dan from Squirrel Hill

Full title: Los Angeles teachers’ unions try to shut down South Central charter school that has been very successful at teaching low-income black and Hispanic students!

In 2008, the Wall. St Journal wrote the following about a real world example of a charter school which has done an excellent job of teaching low-income black and Hispanic students who live in South Central Los Angeles, California. As is always the case with successful charter schools, the teachers’ unions want it to be shut down, because they are terrified of competition. The teachers’ unions want these low-income students to be trapped in the horrible public schools:
“This month the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), a charter school network in Los Angeles, announced plans to expand the number of public charter schools in the city’s South Central section, which includes some of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in the country. Over the next four years, the number of ICEF charters will grow to 35 from 13.”
“The demand for more educational choice in predominantly minority South Los Angeles is pronounced. The waitlist for existing ICEF schools has at times exceeded 6,000 kids. And no wonder. Like KIPP, Green Dot and other charter school networks that aren’t constrained by union rules on staffing and curriculum, ICEF has an excellent track record, particularly with black and Hispanic students. In reading and math tests, ICEF charters regularly outperform surrounding traditional public schools as well as other Los Angeles public schools.”
“ICEF has been operating since 1994, and its flagship school has now graduated two classes, with 100% of the students accepted to college. By contrast, a state study released in July reported that one in three students in the L.A. public school system — including 42% of black students — quits before graduating, a number that has grown by 80% in the past five years.”
“Despite this success, powerful unions like the California Teachers Association and its political backers continue to oppose school choice for disadvantaged families. Last year, Democratic state lawmakers, led by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, tried to force Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill that would have made opening a new charter school in the state next to impossible.”
This is absolute proof that these teachers’ unions don’t care about the students.
These teachers unions are evil, because they want children to be trapped in horrible public schools, instead of being allowed to go to this highly successful charter school. I use the word “evil” because that is the most accurate word to describe what these teachers’ unions are trying to do here.