Charter Education Group Urges Improvement For All Schools

News release from the charter school advocacy group Families for Excellent Schools:

Families for Excellent Schools, a parent advocacy group that has been organizing members throughout Bridgeport, and canvassing to register voters and to build support for a united plan to improve schools, has surpassed its petition goal by more than 5,000. Amid increasing concern about the quality of Bridgeport schools, leaders of the Unite Bridgeport campaign delivered 15,821 signatures to the Board of Education tonight in a plea to stop infighting and work together for all of the city’s schools.

“In these petitions is the combined voice of nearly 16,000 people, asking you to stop the bickering, stop fighting over traditional versus charter versus magnet schools, and work together on a plan to improve all schools in this city,” Families for Excellent Schools organizer Khadija Marks told the Board as she presented four boxes of signed forms.

Marks said FES launched the Unite Bridgeport effort in response to a feeling among members that bold progress is needed to improve our community’s schools and frustration the Board’s lack of urgency and leadership.

“Our canvassers got an enormously positive response as they walked the streets of this city, and not because it was a feel-good or an easy issue, but because people are tired of infighting and ready for unity. Things have got to change,” Marks added.

“Bridgeport public school parents are here tonight to say we must work together. We urge the Board of Education to hear this message from parents and families. And we will continue to organize until they do, and until every child has access to a great school,” Marks said of the organization’s 1,920 members.

In addition to gathering signatures, 20 FES canvassers registered 602 new voters, while knocking on doors in every neighborhood in the city. FES has also organized house parties to understand shared education priorities for Bridgeport residents.

The petition, presented in boxes to the Board by a group of FES members, reads, “We parents and concerned citizens of Bridgeport, believe that all children deserve access to a great education, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or the type of school they attend. To create change for our children we must come together as a community. We all share this city and it is time to unite together for better schools. Working together we can unite Bridgeport, where every child has access to an excellent education. Our children can’t wait. Join Unite Bridgeport, a project of Families for Excellent Schools.”

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8 comments

  1. Here is an excerpt from Families for Ex$ellent Shysters’ latest press release.
    “In these petitions is the combined voice of nearly 16,000 people, asking you to stop the bickering, stop fighting over traditional versus charter versus magnet schools, and work together on a plan to improve all schools in this city,” Families for Excellent Schools organizer Khadija Marks told the Board as she presented four boxes of signed forms.

    Lennie, can you please repost the photo of the actual petition FES circulated?

    Where in the petition does it inform signers their signature means they support the Bridgeport Board of Education “stop the bickering, stop fighting over traditional versus charter versus magnet schools”?

    The petition states no such thing. You cannot circulate a petition that states it is for one reason or issue, then decide after it is signed I am going to issue a press release that states 16,000 people signed the petition for a different reason. Families for Ex$ellent Shysters is the next Ex$ell Bridgeport. Absolutely no credibility.

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  2. The original press release stated FES was going to knock on 30,000 doors to have face-to-face conversations with voters. They claim they obtained approximately 16,000 signatures and they exceeded their goal. So their plan was to knock on 30,000 doors and only receive 50% of the residents’ signatures?

    FES claims to have registered 602 voters in approximately four (4) weeks. Let’s do some basic math.

    When I was in the Arcade Mall watching their 1:00 PM shift check in, I counted over 30 canvassers, however let’s just use the number of 20 canvassers per day over a 30-day period. My understanding is the 1:00 PM shift normally worked 6.5 hours per day.
    20 canvassers x 6.5 hours per day = 130 canvass hours per day. Multiply 130 canvass hours per day x 30 days = 3900 hours.
    Now take 602 newly registered voters and divide it by 3900 canvass hours.
    On average, .15 persons were registered to vote per canvass hour. Apparently, FES needs to increase the productivity of their paid canvassers.

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  3. FES organized the troops in the parking lot before the BBOE meeting started last night. One of the leaders and speakers of the huddle was a paid FES organizer who resides in NY. In addition, the FES operations manager was also present and she resides in NY. After the pep talk and the prayer were complete, she got into her vehicle. Of course I wished her a safe trip back to NY.

    There was a well-dressed man in the group as well. A BEZ teacher asked him where he was from. He said he drove to the meeting from Boston. She asked him why he was here. He replied by stating he wasn’t really sure, however he was told to come.

    Ex$el Bridgeport held a workshop on public speaking this past Saturday according to the FES twitter account. FES was present and twittered a photo of both Jessica Martinez and Erica Stanley, paid Ex$el parent organizers, conducting the training.

    We were then honored with Jessica Martinez’s public comments. She said we must unite and stop fighting to help all Bridgeport’s children. Once her moment of togetherness and unity had passed she then attacked Parent Advisory Council leadership for running around the city video recording FES canvassers and how the behavior was “unethical.” Interestingly enough, she made no comments about the “unethical” and “illegal” conduct of an FES canvasser who assaulted me. I guess it is “unethical” to video record FES canvassers even though it is perfectly legal under CT state law.

    The highlight of the evening was when one of Bridgeport’s newest residents, Damien Conners, came to the podium to preach about how we must come together for “our” children and their futures, reprimanded us for our signs that stated “Families for Ex$ellent Shysters” and felt it appropriate to tell those who were born and raised here, graduated from the BPS and have children and grandchildren in the BPS what we should be doing in Bridgeport. This is someone who moved here approximately 30 days ago and has absolutely no roots in this community.

    Steve Nelson, lifelong Bridgeport resident, came up right after him and schooled him. The vast majority of those in attendance could not help but burst into laughter.

    I believe approximately seven people spoke on behalf of FES and the petitions. Two were paid staff from Ex$el Bridgeport, one was a paid canvasser who was in front of Bassick High School and another individual announced she was a paid staff member of Great Oaks Charter School. I believe that left three adults and one admitted they were an Achievement First Charter School parent.

    When you removed all the paid Ex$el Bridgeport, FES, charter school staff and all the young children, I believe there were approximately 20-25 adults. So much for Families for Ex$ellent Shysters’ 1900 Bridgeport members.

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  4. I sat and listened to the first two hours of the BOE meeting. Opening ceremonies included Classical Academy drill team who won a Wing Ding first-place trophy in June and the chorus from Roosevelt School that were part of the Chuck Close art event and a White House visit within the year. Impressive and a reasonable use of public meeting time.
    The three posts above deal with one poster’s opinion, feelings and version of the facts about the next 90 minutes where “public speaking” is featured, but before the substantive work of the Board begins. I guess I have to wait for Linda Connor Lambeck to report on substantive matters.

    Listening to the back and forth I realize there are many who wish well for the youth of Bridgeport … in their own ways … but a common reference to accountability (for public and charter schools on multiple measures) is not available for a variety of reasons. Anyone who has looked for signatures to a petition in recent years knows getting 4000 (like Jon Pelto), or 7500 (with a little help from his scattered friends that did not happen), or more is work and needs many hands, whether compensated or volunteer, whether local or farther afield.

    As criticism continues against millionaires with Park Avenue NYC addresses, there still is no direct linkage with how charitable deductions turn into financially positive investments for the same donors. The dots are not connected but the accusations continue. (If tax credits are the issue, it still does not replace or enhance the $1.00 provided in the first place to become more than a dollar. And criticism would note other local education groups using the same offer to donors.)

    And if the criticism is about folks from out of town, then perhaps the Bridgeport Education Association might share how large their group is, how many of their members live out of town, and how their issues are developed into formal plans to be funded and activated. Rob Traber as President made some good points about specific issues professional teachers ought to be making, but the rancor of many others is not useful to the goals of better education for all Bridgeport youth.

    It is about the money at more than one time and one level. And it still is. But advancing a coherent plan to get the City taxpayer and the CT legislature to embrace the subject is getting no support from most of the words uttered between 6 and 8 PM unfortunately. Can the BOE help the process get off the dime? And become worth far more in real money? Time will tell.

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  5. Rob Traber is a Bridgeport resident and there are approximately 500 true public school teachers who reside in Bridgeport. Bridgeport Public School teachers are vested in this community. They make a difference in the lives of both Bridgeport Public School children and their entire families. They don’t just come into town for eight hours per day and sell clothing or work as a waitress/waiter.

    I suggest you read my fact sheet on Families for Ex$ellent Schools. I listed many of the corporations the three founding officers are associated with. It is easy enough to research all the companies or non-profits they have founded, or whose Board of Directors they sit on. It is clear as day all three officers of the FES Board of Directors financially benefit from charter schools.

    You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

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    1. Dear Ms. Pereira,
      Good research is not easy. That is why folks have looked to you on certain subjects as well as to me on a variety of City subjects. It is easier for someone else to do the research.
      “It is clear as day all three officers of the FES Board of Directors financially benefit from charter schools,” you say above. Please connect the dots for us on the subject.

      Specifically, do donors who contribute thousands or millions to donor advice funds or foundations, public or private “financially benefit” from their gift to Charter Schools or any other cause for that matter? If they do, where are those specific facts recorded? If your allegations are factual and true, I will apologize to you directly. If they are not true, then why do you keep repeating an untruth? It serves to undermine the rest of the statements you make and causes folks to wonder what your real agenda is. That is horse sense, independent of water, according to Mr. Ed. Time will tell.

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  6. I suggest you sit at your computer and research every company and non-profit organization the chair, vice-chair and treasurer of FES are employed by or associated with. It is easily accessible on LinkedIn. That is what I did, and I spent approximately 30 hours of my time doing so.

    Every single one of the three FES officers/founders benefits financially from charter schools.

    These foundations you refer to are frequently heavily invested in charter schools.

    The federal tax credit is not available to every non-profit institution, it is only available to charter schools. There is only one catch, they must be located in impoverished communities. That is why they could care less about opening in Fairfield, Trumbull or Darien. There is no $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to be made.

    By the way, it has been several weeks now and we are still awaiting the information charter schools “require” parental involvement, or as you put it, “sweat equity.”

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