Everybody Hates Chris
In Memphis...
In 2012, Chris Barbic promised to catapult the bottom 5% of schools in Tennessee to the top 25% in five years. But as the years pass, his promises fade as his tenure with the ASD seems riddled with mistakes and failures.
At Lester Elementary School, one of the first schools taken over by the ASD in 2012, parents sounded off against Barbic over how their children were being treated at school. From The Commercial Appeal:
"One mother brought her small daughter to the microphone to tell ASD Supt. Chris Barbic that she wet her pants twice because teachers would not let her use the restroom and then had to wear the same clothes until school was out. The child also said teachers took her shoes and made her walk barefoot, apparently because she failed to ask permission to tie her shoes."
"Dr. Morgan filed suit against the ASD and its officials for violating guidelines set by the Tennessee DOE, Division of Special Education as well as violating federal law including the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her lawsuit essentially accuses the ASD of not adequately preparing and equipping Westside Middle to provide special education services."
According to Tennessee Education Reports:
"The ASD’s student achievement numbers have failed to meet their own ambitious targets and also failed to grow at a rate consistent with that of district schools." And "...it seems irresponsible to allow the ASD to take on more schools."
"The ASD, now in its third year of trying to turn around low-performing schools, is up to its neck in credibility issues." "It is also being sued over how Yes Prep was selected to be part of the stable of charters that receive 10-year contracts to run schools in Tennessee. (Superintendent Chris Barbic, 42, founded Yes Prep nearly 15 years ago.)"