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Word on the street is that the Ben Gamla school application has been pulled again; perhaps Peter Deutsch had a chance to read the latest article by Diane Ravitch,
(http://www.dianeravitch.com/vita.html) called “The Myth of Charter Schools”
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/11/myth-charter-schools/?page=1. In HB that article would be titled “Myth: The Proposed Ben Gemla Hebrew School Is Good For the Local Community". The myth being that the proposed Ben Gamla Hebrew School is a positive for the local community, that it doesn't cater to a small and very specific demographic and that Ben Gamla folks actually care about the non Jewish students currently attending Hallandale schools.
Interestingly, there is an inkling that Mayor Joy Cooper
may actually care about the students in which Ben Gamla pushers have no interest.
The Diane Ravitch article discusses the myth of charter school superiority, citing “the idea that teachers are the most important factor determining student achievement” and that there is a relative consensus (that) teachers statistically account for around 10–20 percent of achievement outcomes…..
But the same body of research shows that nonschool factors matter even more than teachers.
60 percent of achievement is explained by nonschool factors, such as family income. So while teachers are the most important factor within schools, their
effects pale in comparison with those of students’ backgrounds, families, and other factors beyond the control of schools and teachers.” The article continues “charter schools were created mainly at the instigation of Albert Shanker, the president of the American Federation of Teachers from 1974 to 1997. Shanker had the idea in 1988 that a group of public school teachers would ask their colleagues for permission to create a small school that would
focus on the neediest students, those who had dropped out and those who were disengaged from school and likely to drop out. He sold the idea as a way to open schools that would collaborate with public schools and help motivate disengaged students. In 1993,
Shanker turned against the charter school idea when he realized that for-profit organizations saw it as a business opportunity and were advancing an agenda of school privatization.”
Let’s connect these dots shall we?
- Ben Gamla is a Hebrew charter school whose founder has gone on record that the school was started to serve a very small and specific demographic but we are led to believe it is intended to serve the general community. In fact, by Peter Deutsch’s own admission, less than 10% of the students would be from the local community.
- Ben Gamla pushers promote the superiority of their teachers as a plus to the less than 10% of community children that might attend but it’s a fact that teacher efforts “pale in comparison with those of students’ backgrounds, families, and other factors beyond the control of schools and teachers”.
- Mayor Cooper seems to recognize the need to address at risk schools in Hallandale as evidenced by her request that the school district consider spending money “on improving eastern (Broward) schools”. In a letter to School Board Chair Maureen Dinnen, Mayor Cooper stated “We would request that …the eastern (Broward) schools be guaranteed no school closure…” but her vote for Ben Gamla would in fact, result in less students attending local schools which would jeopardize them further. http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/educationblog/parents/
- The Ben Gamla model is in direct opposition to the original intent of charter schools as envisioned by their creator, Albert Shanker.
Additionally, a study by the Center for Public Education “finds that rather than encouraging a race to the top,
charter school competition in fact promotes a race to the bottom in the traditional public school system.” The new study evaluates the record of charter schools in terms of academic achievement, racial and economic segregation, and their competitive impact on traditional public schools….
“Rather than being a solution to the educational problems faced by low-income students and students of color, charter schools are deepening these problems.” Table 5: Average charter school performance relative to traditional public schools by state
Source: CREDO (2009)
The study goes on to say “similar to other studies….varied performance results based on students’ location. In relation to their peers in traditional schools, the average performance of charter school students in reading was significantly positive in Arkansas, California, Colorado (Denver), Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina. In the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois (Chicago) and Ohio, there essentially was no difference between charter students and their traditional public school peers.
In Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas, charter school students underperformed when compared with students in traditional public schools. The math data were similarly varied. Charter students did better than their counterparts in Arkansas, Colorado (Denver), Illinois (Chicago), Louisiana, and Missouri. There was no significant difference in the District of Columbia.
In Arizona, California, Florida,Georgia, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, charter school students did not perform as well as their virtual twins from traditional public schools. http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lvIXIiN0JwE&b=5868191&ct=8101759¬oc=1 So what does the promotion of this MYTH mean for HB residents?
It means that the proposed charter school will do absolutely nothing for local residents and their children. It means that all the propaganda put forth by advocates of the school is just that – self serving propaganda.
And it means that rather than be able to rest assured that city commissioners will vote against the school on the very solid grounds that the local infrastructure and the Master Plan do not support it, HB residents must point out all the misinformation and lies people spread in the interest of getting what they want.
Maybe commissioners already realize approving Ben Gamla is political suicide AND bad for the area in general but maybe not. It’s unlikely any of them realizes the political respect that comes with making an easy decision based on facts and then standing by it with conviction but our commissioners don't inspire much faith, do they?
Not one fact points to the proposed Ben Gamla Hebrew School being good for this community;
NOT ONE.
Hold your elected officials accountable; all over the country people are looking at facts and forcing politicians to change their ways by forcing them out.
Remember to forward this to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to visit the blog at
The study goes on to say “similar to other studies….varied performance results based on students’ location. In relation to their peers in traditional schools, the average performance of charter school students in reading was significantly positive in Arkansas, California, Colorado (Denver), Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina. In the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois (Chicago) and Ohio, there essentially was no difference between charter students and their traditional public school peers.
In Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas, charter school students underperformed when compared with students in traditional public schools. The math data were similarly varied. Charter students did better than their counterparts in Arkansas, Colorado (Denver), Illinois (Chicago), Louisiana, and Missouri. There was no significant difference in the District of Columbia.
In Arizona, California, Florida,Georgia, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, charter school students did not perform as well as their virtual twins from traditional public schools. 
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lvIXIiN0JwE&b=5868191&ct=8101759¬oc=1 So what does the promotion of this MYTH mean for HB residents?
It means that the proposed charter school will do absolutely nothing for local residents and their children. It means that all the propaganda put forth by advocates of the school is just that – self serving propaganda.
And it means that rather than be able to rest assured that city commissioners will vote against the school on the very solid grounds that the local infrastructure and the Master Plan do not support it, HB residents must point out all the misinformation and lies people spread in the interest of getting what they want.
Maybe commissioners already realize approving Ben Gamla is political suicide AND bad for the area in general but maybe not. It’s unlikely any of them realizes the political respect that comes with making an easy decision based on facts and then standing by it with conviction but our commissioners don't inspire much faith, do they?
Not one fact points to the proposed Ben Gamla Hebrew School being good for this community;
NOT ONE.
Hold your elected officials accountable; all over the country people are looking at facts and
forcing politicians to change their ways by forcing them out. Remember to forward this to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to visit the blog at
http://savehallandale.worpdress.com.
