A great expose on K-12 in California. From The Mercury News:
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_29780959/k12-inc-california-virtual-academies-operator-exploits-charter
This the playbook for the Ohio E-Schools
Some key findings:
Teachers employed by K12 Inc.'s charter schools may be asked to inflate attendance and enrollment records used to determine taxpayer funding.
Ohio E-School Charters are fighting this accountability issue right now.
Fewer than half of the students who start the online high schools earn diplomas, and almost none of them are qualified to attend the state's public universities.
Check out the report cards for the Ohio E-Schools. Dismal at best.
K12's heavily marketed online model has helped the company reap more than $310 million in state funding over the past 12 years.
Market! market! market! Where do they get the money for the radio and TV ads? SOme interesting accounting. Make sure the school never makes a profit and write off the loss.
Students who spend as little as one minute during a school day logged in to K12's school software may be counted as present in records used to calculate the amount of funding the schools get from the state.
About half of the schools' students are not proficient in reading, and only a third are proficient in math -- levels that fall far below statewide averages.
School districts that are supposed to oversee the company's schools have a strong financial incentive to turn a blind eye to problems: They get a cut of the academies' revenue, which largely comes from state coffers.
Also note the governance issue. K-12 sets up and loads the boards. Same as they do in Ohio
I like pictures
