Cherry Picking Or Just Plain Lying?

   Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Times Gradebook ran this article touching on the Windsor Prep parents fears regarding public schools.



  In it, she quotes a parent whose 6 year old daughter is very low on a six waiting lists for other charter schools and magnet schools.

  "...So far right now, my plan is just freaking out. I don't know what to do," said Tareh, a 30-year-old from St. Petersburg who owns Fight Fitness Center with her husband. "She's not getting accepted anywhere this year. I'm 100 percent sure of that..."

  The prime application period for magnet schools wrapped up months ago, and parents are finding that other charter and private schools are at capacity. Many refuse to go to their zoned neighborhood school, saying they are wary of their school grades and discipline issues. Now, they're getting desperate.

 "If our kids don't go to Windsor, I'm moving to Seminole," said Chris Bateman, a 40-year-old engineer from Kenneth City who has sons in kindergarten and fourth grade at Windsor Prep. "The only really good school is Seminole or Bauder (elementaries). That's the only other ones I'll put my kids in...." 

"...It's sad that she's leaving a place where she feels secure, and to leave that and go to a bigger school for one year," said Weidner, 50, from Clearwater. "My daughter's just devastated. I know a lot of other families have that issue...."

  Most of the elementary students in the troubled charters are zoned for are Blanton, Pinellas Park, Westgate, Lealman Avenue and Sexton. All have C grades from the state except Lealman, a D school. In addition, those schools reported anywhere from two to 14 disciplinary incidents last school year.

Windsor Prep is also a C school, but reported no disciplinary incidents...It gets worse for middle school. Out of 13 zoned middle schools, most of the kids at the charters are zoned for Tyrone, Meadowlawn, Pinellas Park and Azalea. Half of those have D grades and half have C's.

East Windsor and Newpoint Pinellas Academy have C and D grades, respectively, too, but far fewer disciplinary incidents...."(hhhmmmm)

 (me) Until this year, Windsor has been an F school. The parents were happy to enroll their children here despite that fact. Convenient, huh?

I know a lot of families whose kids go to some of those "bad" schools, and they are bright, happy, well adjusted kids, who are getting a solid education...and they have very involved parents who are ensuring that happens. Any child whose parents are actively involved will succeed. 

Schools aren't day cares or baby sitters. 

 Additionally, with the extreme lack of honesty transparency on Windsor Prep's staff, and board, how do we know there were few to no disciplinary cases? ( I mean these are the people that encouraged all those kids to enroll when they knew the middle school wouldn't be ready, then turned all the kids away last minute). 

Windsor Prep is the second largest charter school in the county. There are almost 800 kids enrolled between the two schools. 
800 kids, day in and day out, and no disciplinary actions what so ever? 
Riiiiiight.

Wonder if they have bridges that span the Arizona ocean available for sale too.

  Charter schools are notorious for cherry picking their students via their lottery. It's alleged they structure their enrollment based on grades, behavior, parents, handicaps, etc. Makes you go hhhmmmm, doesn't it? 

  Another thing I have noticed in reading so many of these parents stories, or in figuring out who the nasty parents are (who are leaving comments I am not able to post due to the foul language, or viciousness), is that they are many not from nearby..the neighborhood if you will.  

  Many in fact are fairly well off, if not affluent, which is not the target group this school was ostensibly committed to serving when it applied for it's charter., and certainly not the image they are trying to project as they play for your sympathy.

  I understand that Pinellas County offers school choice, but people also keep going on and on about how many public schools suffer from overcrowding, disciplinary concerns, low performance, etc. 

  But wouldn't those same public schools improve if more parents were more involved like the level of  parental involvement that charter schools mandate? 
  Wouldn't the public schools benefit from the infusion of millions of dollars of public funds that are being poured into these charter schools? 

  Simple..on both fronts...of course they would.

  Further, if some of these parents own gyms, landscaping businesses, coffee shops, pawn shops, consulting firms,etc., and live in communities as far away as Seminole, Clearwater, or affluent area such as Old North East, Snell Isle, Venetian Isles, etc., then why aren't they willing to make the sacrifice and enroll their kids in private schools, or send them to their "better" zoned schools?

  It's been suggested to me many times by these parents that I should just move. After all, if it's good for the goose, then why not the gander folks? 
  Perhaps they should relocate to better school districts or bite the bullet, get rid of a couple of luxuries, and send their kid to private school.

  Double standard much?