Whoopsies, our bad, Telly is one of the good guys. Let's try this again.
Everybody Hates Chris
From Memphis to Nashville, the ASD, the state run Achievement School District, has become so increasingly unpopular among parents, students, and teachers that communities have gone from begging and pleading to now demanding that the state-run ASD and its system of low achieving charter schools stay away from their children.
In Memphis...
Since the ASD first began operations in Memphis, parents have been complaining that their children are being mistreated at ASD schools. And the complaints from parents are growing even louder. Barbic's own, YES Prep, was recently shouted down by parents at American Way Middle School. While on the other side of town, Raleigh-Egypt High School parents successfully stopped the ASD from handing their school over to Green Dot charter schools.
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:
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."
Also in 2012, the first year of operations for the ASD, a SPED teacher at Westside Middle School was appalled by the lack of care for special education students. She went on to file suit against the ASD suing Chris Barbic personally. Tennessee Education Matters explains:
"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."
And now as 2014 comes to a close, the ASD is drawing more criticism than ever...
According to Tennessee Education Reports:
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."
And the Commercial Appeals says:
"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.)"
Memphis is a prime example of the dismal failures of the experimental Achievement School District and its novice superintendent, Chris Barbic. In his efforts to force success on schools struggling with generational poverty and social injustice, Barbic is leaving angry parents and hurt children in his wake. And now, he has set his sites on Nashville.
Everybody Hates Chris---to be continued
To Read about the ASD takeovers in Nashville click here.
