Monday, October 26, 2009

Jerry Brown’s Two Pet Charter Schools: Part One

Read Part Two HERE.

Jerry Brown wants to have another turn on the Governor of California ride. The "About" page on his campaign website features a little story about him. [UPDATE 5/27/2010: See the new information at the end of this piece]

Of the 1035 words written to summarize Jerry’s long political career, 196 words are dedicated to Brown’s accomplishments while he served as Oakland’s mayor from 1998 to 2006. Of those 196 words, 53 words quite accurately describe Brown’s involvement in education during that time. His interest in the education of Oakland’s school children is explained as such:

Brown personally founded the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute. Both schools serve students from the 6th grade through the 12th and are among the best performing schools in Oakland. Their graduates are now studying in such outstanding universities as Yale, Vassar, Stanford, West Point, UCLA and UC Berkeley.

Now, an astute observer will notice something’s missing – namely any mention of the 50,000 or so students who attended the schools which weren’t either of Jerry’s charters. With so little information about his views on public education or any other possible involvement he had had, an independent critical thinker will be curious how the claims on Jerry’s website mesh with reality.
About Jerry’s Schools
The Oakland Military Institute (OMI) opened its doors in the fall of 2001. For its first three years, OMI was under a charter granted by the California State Board of Education, after which it was granted a charter by the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). The first school year for the Oakland School of the Arts (OSA) was 2002-2003; its charter was granted by OUSD.

Here are the enrollment figures for Jerry’s charters:



Enrollment
OMI OSA Total OUSD Percentage of
Oakland public
school students
served by Jerry’s
charters
2001-2002 157 - 157 53545 0.3%
2002-2003 321 102 423 52501 0.8%
2003-2004 342 176 518 50437 1.0%
2004-2005 420 272 692 49214 1.4%
2005-2006 480 421 901 48135 1.9%
2006-2007 526 285 811 47012 1.7%
2007-2008 546 311 857 46431 1.8%
2008-2009 530 408 938 46516 2.0%

I lived in Oakland during the two terms that Brown was mayor, and I also voted for him both times. Today I am of the opinion that Brown’s attitude toward Oakland’s public schools could be described as one of contempt and increasing distance. Rather being a vigorous advocate and lending strong support to the public schools which contained 12.5% of the population he was supposed to be serving (Oakland’s 2000 US Census report was 399,484), Jerry Brown spent his time and energy on a minute percentage of kids by launching his two charter schools.

Because it is tied into downtown development – and therefore connected to Jerry Brown’s developer friends – the OSA is Brown’s specially-tended “baby.” Despite the fact that OUSD had performing arts programs at the traditional public schools (most notably Skyline High School, alma mater of Tom Hanks), Brown never offered them one lick of support.
Even today, Jerry Brown continues to undermine the traditional public schools by leveraging his connections to bring in millions of extra dollars to his one special “baby.” In this era of “choice,” Jerry Brown is doing his very best to make the traditional public schools look like poor, undesirable half-siblings.

Andrew McIntosh just wrote an online piece for the Sacramento Bee which tells us all we need to know (Jerry Brown's 'kids' get ka-ching from Bing, October 16, 2009):

Brown, the state's top law enforcer and former governor, has raised $9.8 million for two Oakland charter schools that he helped launch while he was mayor of the Bay area city: the Oakland School for the Arts and the Oakland Military Institute.
More than 200 corporations, foundations and people have given to the two schools at the urging or "behest" of Brown since 2006, state financial records show.

That includes an eye-popping $1 million alone from Steve Bing, the uber media-shy Hollywood producer who owns an entertainment company, a green building construction firm and a solar energy venture under his Shangri-La Group of companies.

While state law limits the value of campaign contributions and gifts to politicians, there are no limits on so-called "behested" payments to politicians' favorite pet charity.

Such donations aren't considered campaign contributions or gifts under state law but must still must be reported to the FPPC if they top $5,000 a year from a single source.

Steve Bing made his donation to the Oakland School for the Arts through Los Angeles law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which reported the donor as "B. Co." in records.

Brown spokesman Scott Gerber reports that "B. Co." is Bing. The donation was made Aug. 5, 2008, state records show.

Bing owns green construction firm Shangri-La Construction L.P., corporate records show. It was incorporated in Delaware on Sept. 9, 2008.

The construction firm three months later became a partner in a $100 million green building investment fund, a news release shows.
Paul Bloch, a Los Angeles publicist for Bing, declined to comment on the millionaire's donation or his company, adding: "We don't ever comment on anything."

Gerber said it's "absurd" to link Bing's generosity to the Oakland charter school to Brown’s push for California cities statewide to embrace green building ordinances.

"Jerry Brown has a long record of championing environmental causes and protecting the environment," Gerber said.

Brown relishes his record of raising cash for the two schools, Gerber added. "The schools have achieved an enviable record of helping disadvantaged young people get into prestigious universities such as Yale, Stanford, UC and West Point,” Gerber said.

Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, doesn't think that such donations can be banned. The key, he says, is that they're all disclosed.

"It's great to give, but are they giving because Jerry Brown is a great guy or because he's attorney general?," Stern asked.

Donors backing one or both of the Oakland schools have included oil giants, banks, mortgage lenders, utilities, health plans and telecom giants, and Indian tribes with gambling interests, many of which are regulated and investigated by his department.

Other big donors include:
- General Atlantic Corporation, a private equity giant, $450,000.
- Lytton Rancheria in Santa Rosa and United Auburn Indian Community, both casino operators: $250,000 each.
- PG & E, $75,000
- Wal-Mart Stores, $50,000 [this was probably the Walton Family Foundation]
- Occidental Petroleum: $25,000
- Safeway Foundation, $25,000.
- Clorox Company $40,000; the Clorox Company Foundation, $100,000.
- Dow Chemical Foundation, $10,000.
- Hearst Foundation, $150,000 into to Oakland's Military Institute, while Hearst heir William R. Hearst III personally donated another $50,000.

The Oakland School for the Arts received $10,978,807 in 2006 for 285 students, $1,032,828 in 2005 for 421 students, $1,432,148 in 2004 for 272 students, and $1,088,851 in 2003 for 176 students (Form 990 - EIN 680463892). Just recently Brown persuaded Sean Penn to be the featured guest at a fundraiser which brought in over $1 million dollars.*

This all is being conducted while the performing arts funding of Oakland's traditional public schools is nearly totally neglected!

And keep in mind this information from the FPPC:


The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) was created by the Political Reform Act of 1974, a ballot initiative passed by California voters as Proposition 9.

The FPPC educates the public and public officials on the requirements of the Act. It provides written and oral advice to public agencies and officials; conducts seminars and training sessions; develops forms, manuals and instructions; and receives and files statements of economic interests from many state and local officials.

The FPPC investigates alleged violations of the Political Reform Act, imposes penalties when appropriate, and assists state and local agencies in developing and enforcing conflict-of-interest codes.
The FPPC regulates:
  • campaign financing and spending;
  • financial conflicts of interest;
  • lobbyist registration and reporting;
  • post-governmental employment;
  • mass mailings at public expense; and
  • gifts and honoraria given to public officials and candidates.

So with the gobs and gobs of money, and by reading the glowing blurb on Jerry’s campaign website, you’d think that all would be more-than-well with his two schools. My goodness, millions of extra dollars for just a handful of Oakland kids, along with big boasts of tremendous accomplishments – Yale, Vassar, and Stanford!
Well, it’s about time someone took a closer look.

---

*UPDATE: The following year, it was Robert Downey, Jr.'s turn (Iron Man) to help Jerry raise
dough for OSA. The event was held at the mansion of Ann and Gordon Getty on May 5, 2010. Look at pics of the guests and setting here.

And speaking of gubernatorial elections (Jerry Brown for governor and Gavin Newsom for lieutenant governor), be advised of these generational social connections between Brown, Newsom, Getty, and Pelosi.
  • Jerry Brown is friends with William Newsom (SF Mayor Gavin Newsom’s father, a retired state appeals court judge and administrator of the Getty family trust). Their fathers were close friends (Pat Brown and William II).
  • William Newsom is also a close friend of Gordon Getty (son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, and composer). They met in the late 1940s while attending St. Ignatius Catholic prep school in San Francisco.
  • William Newsom’s (Gavin’s father, Jerry’s friend) late sister Barbara was once married to Ron Pelosi, brother-in-law of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
  • Gavin Newsom’s business ventures were funded by Gordon Getty. Gavin and Gordon’s son (Billy) were friends but may have had a falling out in 2000. http://articles.sfgate.com/2000-08-11/news/17655760_1_getty-money-gordon-getty-gavin

Jerry Brown’s Two Pet Charter Schools: Part Two

Read Part One HERE.

The Oakland Military Institute (OMI) enrolled 530 students in 2008-2009. Two hundred fifty-three were in grades 6-8 and 257 were in grades 9-12.

The Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) enrolled 408 students in 2008-2009. One hundred seventy-seven of those were in grades 6-8, 231 students were in grades 9-12.

The total enrollment at Jerry Brown’s two charter schools was 938 students, or 2% of the students enrolled in all of OUSD (46,516).

Oakland used to have six traditional, comprehensive public high schools (TCPHSs). Several years ago the Gates Foundation paid for the breakup of three of those high schools, although everyone still refers to those campuses by their traditional names: Fremont High (became the Fremont Federation), Castlemont High (became the Castlemont Community of Small Schools), and McClymonds High (became the McClymonds Complex). The three remaining TCPHSs are Skyline High (SHS), Oakland Technical High (OTHS), and Oakland High (OH).

1. Comparing demographics of Jerry’s charter schools with OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools
The schools have quite different demographics, especially in regard to Students with Disabilities, English Learners, and Average Parent Education Level.
  • OSA has a lower percentage of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students (Participants in Free or Reduced-Price) than the lowest percentage of any TCPHS (20% vs. 50%).
  • OMI has a higher percentage of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students than the highest percentage of any TCPHS (75% vs. 73%).
  • OSA has a markedly higher Average Parent Education Level than the other four schools.
  • OMI has the highest percentage of English Learners.


SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 2008-2009
Percentages
SHS
OTHS
OHS
OSA

OMI
African American
37
50
28
57
29
Asian
22
19
48
4
26
Hispanic or Latino
25
16
19
11
36
White (not of Hispanic origin)
10
10
1
15
4
Participants in Free or Reduced-Price Lunch
50
57
73
20
75
English Learners
13
10
23
0
37
Students with Disabilities
12
11
11
0
5
Average Parent Education Level*
2.74
2.85
2.08
3.64
2.46
*Average Parent Education Level: This item is the average of all parent educational level responses for a school where the following scale is used: 1 = Not high school graduate, 2 = High school graduate, 3 = Some college, 4 = College graduate, and 5 = Graduate school.
Looking at the past four years:
  • Both OSA and OMI manage to avoid teaching Students with Disabilities.
  • OSA manages to avoid teaching English Learners.


% STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

OMI
OSA
OUSD
2005-2006
4
7
10
2006-2007
6
1
10
2007-2008
4
3
10
2008-2009
5
0
10

% ENGLISH LEARNERS

OMI
OSA
OUSD
2005-2006
32
0
26
2006-2007
36
0
26
2007-2008
40
0
30
2008-2009
37
0
29


2.Comparing the AYP of Jerry’s charter schools with OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools
The Annual Progress Reports for 2009 reveal that both schoolwide and for the typically lowest performing subgroups, Jerry’s schools aren’t generally doing that well compared to OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools. This is based on the AYP, the federal measure of student achievement using California High School Exit Exam scores of 10th grade students. Keep in mind that OSA has, by far, the most educated parent body.
On a schoolwide basis:
  • OSA’s ELA score was higher than OUSD’s top performing TCPHS (58.6% vs. 50.7%).
  • OMI’s ELA score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (40.3% vs. 43.8%).
  • OSA’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (32.9% vs. 46.6%).
  • OMI’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (29.5% vs. 46.6%).
For African American students:
  • OSA’s ELA score was higher than OUSD’s top performing TCPHS (54.0% vs. 38.0%).
  • OMI’s ELA score was barely higher than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (38.8% vs. 38.0%).
  • OSA’s Math score was nearly identical to OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (23.6% vs. 23.5%).
  • OMI’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (18.8% vs. 23.5%).
For Hispanic/Latino students:
  • OSA’s ELA score was higher than OUSD’s top performing TCPHS (65.0% vs. 46.0%).
  • OMI’s ELA score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (31.0% vs. 32.3%).
  • OSA’s Math score was lower to OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (33.3% vs. 42.2%).
  • OMI’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (19.0% vs. 42.2%).
For Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students:
  • OSA’s ELA score was below OUSD’s top performing TCPHS (42.9% vs. 46.0%) but above the middle performing TCPHS (42.9% vs. 40.9%).
  • OMI’s ELA score was just barely higher than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (38.5% vs. 38.0%).
  • OSA’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (27.5% vs. 37.6%).
  • OMI’s Math score was lower than OUSD’s lowest performing TCPHS (28.0% vs. 37.6%).
You get the idea. 




2009 AYP ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
(Target 44.5%)


SHS
OTHS
OHS
OSA
OMI
Schoolwide
50.7
47.7
43.8
58.6
40.3
African American
38.0
30.2
31.0
54.0
38.8
Asian
69.4
70.0
52.9
58.3
58.6
Hispanic/Latino
38.7
46.0
32.3
65.0
31.0
White
82.1
92.3
na
74.2
na
Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged
40.9
38.0
46.0
42.9
38.5
English Learners
23.3
33.3
28.2
na
39.6
Students
with Disabilities
21.6
22.0
26.2
na
na

2009 AYP MATH
(Target 43.5%)


SHS OTHS OHS OSA OMI
Schoolwide
50.3
46.6
52.2
32.9
29.5
African American
28.8
25.0
23.5
23.6
18.8
Asian
78.9
77.9
70.4
58.3
57.1
Hispanic/Latino
42.9
43.1
42.2
33.3
19.0
White
78.9
94.9
na
48.4
na
Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged
43.9
37.6
55.9
27.5
28.0
English Learners
36.3
39.4
52.3
na
35.0
Students
with Disabilities
29.2
13.5
23.8
na
na

2009 AYP REPORT
GRADUATION RATE
SHS
OTHS
OHS
OSA
OMI
89.2
86.2
83.9
93.0
82.1

3. Comparing the API of Jerry’s charter schools with OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools
The Academic Performance Index (API), a figure derived from a calculation which incorporates the test scores of all students. The state uses this growth accountability model.

Comparative API figures are much better than the federal measure for Jerry Brown’s charter schools, with the exception of the fact that OSA lost 26 API points last year. That is a huge drop.

As far as these figures go, one must be aware that when a school has 10% of its population in a very low performing category (Students with Disabilities), this will affect the overall API, because those scores are included in API calculations of other subgroups. The only way that the API of schools can avoid being affected by this influence is by limiting the number of disabled students who enroll.




2009 API

SHS
OTHS
OHS
OSA
OMI
2009 Growth (school wide)
667
643
633
723
708
2008 Base (school wide)
657
622
630
749
695
2008-09 Growth (school wide)
+10
+21
+3
-26
+13
African American API/growth
596/+15
532/-8
543/+23
692/-17
667/+40
Asian API/growth
790/-4
775/+10
710/-2
nss
797/-19
Hispanic/Latino API/growth
607/-1
653/+7
559/+9
nss
683/+22
White API/growth
791/-5
896/na
nss
nss
nss
Socioeconomically
Disadvantaged API/growth
641/+17
606/+4
641/+6
660/nss
701/+9
English Learners
API/growth
645/+47
668/na
632/+38
nss
718/-7
Students with Disabilities
API/growth
484/+21
410/+38
427/+52
nss
nss

4. Comparing AP Exam results of Jerry’s charter schools with OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools
Apparently, OSA has not been offering AP exams to its students during the year which is most recently posted. I suspect the school doesn’t offer AP classes.


The AP exam pass rate for OMI is absolutely non-impressive. It’s lower than the pass rate of the lowest TCPHS, and even lower than the district’s pass rate. District-wide, 720 passed and 1,838 failed. The total number of tests taken was 2,558, so the pass rate was 28.2%.


AP EXAM RESULTS - Year 2007-08*

SHS
OTHS
OHS
OSA
OMI
Grade 12 Enrollment
451
310
371
54
49
Grades 11 + 12 Enrollment
934
653
806
98
110
Number of test takers
369
207
291
0
45
Exam score = 1
217
83
332
-
53
Exam score = 2
227
77
143
-
25
Exam score = 3
157
67
66
-
10
Exam score = 4
77
69
31
-
4
Exam score = 5
33
64
7
-
2
Number of passed tests
267
200
104
No
AP
tests
16
Number of failed tests
444
160
475
78
Total number of tests taken
711
360
579
94
% of tests passed
37.6%
55.6%
18.0%
17.0%
Average number of tests taken/student
1.93
1.74
1.99
2.01
*The figures in italics are my calculations.

5. Comparing SAT scores of Jerry’s charter schools with OUSD’s traditional, comprehensive public high schools
As one would expect, average SAT scores for all five high schools correlate almost perfectly with their average income and parent education levels. And this is well into the years of NCLB.



SAT SCORES Year 2007-08*

SHS
OTHS
OHS
JB’s
OSA
JB’s
OMI
Grade 12 Enrollment
451
310
371
54
49
Number tested
273
223
242
45
44
Percent tested
60.53
71.94
65.23
83.33
89.90
Critical reading average
477
454
405
512
415
Math average
499
459
452
464
450
Writing average
474
452
406
511
410
Total >= 1,500 Number
120
72
41
25
11
Total >= 1,500 Percent
44.0%
32.3%
16.9%
55.6%
25.0%
Total of average scores
1450
1365
1263
1487
1275
*The figures in italics are my calculations.
Ranking of average SAT scores (totaled)
  1. OSA
  2. SHS
  3. OTHS
  4. OMI
  5. OH
Ranking of SAT scores >= 1,500 Percent
  1. OSA
  2. SHS
  3. OTHS
  4. OMI
  5. OH
Ranking of Average Parent Education Level
  1. OSA
  2. OTHS
  3. SHS
  4. OMI
  5. OH
Ranking of least number of low income students
  1. OSA
  2. SHS
  3. OTHS
  4. OH
  5. OMI
Suffice it to say, despite all the money being poured into Jerry Brown’s charters, they aren’t producing an equivalent amount of stellar academic achievement by any measure. So, other than giving Jerry Brown's "friends" a vehicle to curry favor, what exactly was their point?

All figures were obtained on 10/23/09 at the CDE's DataQuest.