Clark School parents organized a rally on Friday, asking the state Department of education approve their turnaround plan and put Friendship Academy back on the table.

 

 

If you want to know the truth about what John C.Clark School parents really want, look no further than the video above.

Clark School, one of the state’s lowest performing schools, is currently in the process of developing a school turnaround plan, through the Commissioner’s Network.

One option, though it’s not required, is for the turnaround committee to choose a charter school provider to develop the school’s model.

Friendship Academy, a successful Washington DC charter school, was a favorite of Clark School’s parents as well as the school’s governance council, which voted 10-0 in favor of a turnaround plan that included Friendship Academy.

Unfortunately, for no reason other than union strong-arm tactics going haywire, the choice has actually been blocked.

Rather than work with Clark School’s community, the union stubbornly refuses to allow parents to have a say in the turnaround of their school.

The sad fact is that the union’s “no” vote might cost Clark School’s acceptance to Commissioner’s Network — leaving the students stuck in a the same chronically low-performing school for at least another year.

The clock is ticking. If the parents and teacher’s don’t come to an agreement, the state might be forced to deny the school’s acceptance into the program — which would really be a tragedy for the hundreds of Clark kids, their parents and the entire Hartford community.

A similar situation is happening in Bridgeport — there are two solid, proven public charter school models ready and waiting to come to the Park City, and for no good reason the Working Families Party and their union bosses are against the very idea.

And again, the clock is ticking. The State Board of Education is scheduled to approve charter school applications on Wednesday. If they are blocked merely because the Working Families Party and the unions rally their drones, it would be a tragedy for Bridgeport, the thousands of kids who want to attend those schools, and the entire Bridgeport community.

 

 

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