Oh please Mr. Schweitzer, kids with disabilities get modified and accommodated testing environments and if there is no way in the world that your students with disabilities can't pass the test there's something called "Alternative Assessment".

However, as a public school special education teacher, I've had SEVERAL parents bring their children BACK to us right before testing and NOTHING has been done with their alternative assessment. Maybe actually TEACHING these students something other than "It's ok, we know you have a learning problem so we'll 'fix it' for you or won't hold you responsible for anything" would help your OAT scores!

My son went to public school up to grade 6.
He has autism and is a smart wonderful young man. Lake schools did a wonderful job with him up to this time. We chose to send him to a charter school after this because he had problems with the way public schools change classes and other children knowing he is different would learn how to push his buttons to get him upset. This in turn would cause him to have a very bad day and this was not good for him learning or the other children around him. For the last 3 years he has been going to Summit Academy in Canton and since that time we have noticed a transformation with him that I cannot explain. He loves to go to school and has very few bad days throughout the year. They have done a wonderful job with and I have been quite thankful for everyone of them who take the time with my son and other children like him. To say that these children need to have the same learning and testing sets that public schools need is absurd and irrational. Every child learns different and we need to have people in office that see the damaging effect the nonsense of closing these schools will have on the those that need it most. So wake up all you politicians and do something other than sitting there in Columbus and thinking you know everything about this and listen to those who spend days after days with our children.

Good. Close them all down. They are as crooked as pay day lenders.

Yep, close themm down. When they hire 'teachers' such as Mikel that do not even have any degrees - let alone one in teaching - you know they are scammers.

LET BRENNAN'S BE THE FIRST TO GO.

I agree let Brennan schools close - close them all done they're a joke!

Some of these schools are non-profit for disabled learning children but are still put in the same category as regular charter schools. This needs to change. As for Matthew Cohen saying that the tests are a reflection of individual performance. Every disabled child is different and learns at a different rate. How you going to measure that? This entire system is flawed!!!!!Kind of funny how the
for-profit schools get the waiver. Greed rules in politics.

Seriously we need to get a clue. I used to work for Akron Public Schools "charter" Akron Digital. I know where this stuff is coming from. These parents come to alternative schools because the public school system puts them in a roon at the end of a long hall with an "about to retire" teacher who doesn't want to be there. OR they put them in a room with other kids and a teacher who doesn't want them in the room. I saw the reality of what happens at Akron public in four different buildings. These parents are crying for actual HELP - not puffed up attitude. The real story is teacher frequently don't want to be held accountable (and they should be held accountable in the formatt currently required by the states). I've worked with these kids. Teachers kick them out of clas because they don't like their attitude and principals put them on the "10 day plan." If teach at Akron Public, you know exactly what that is, too.

As a parent of an autistic child currently in the public schools and investigating the Summit Academy (on the recommendation of many parents with children in the school), I cannot understand why they would shut them down. You have to fight, scratch and claw to get the public schools to provide the services for your child once they get into the special ed programs. Don't get me wrong, they love getting them into the program to get the funding, but once they are there, it's a sad and infuriating saga to get what they need (as defined by the DOCTORS and THERAPISTS, not by me).

As usual, the question to public schools is, if you aren't going to do the job, what is wrong with choice and competition? Your union agenda should not trump my child receiving a proper education. We are talking about kids' lives here.

Tim,

I don't know who "Mikel" is, but I assume you meant to say "hire a unionized teacher." Don't inject your agenda into this. Don't you think parents are the ones in the best position to judge a "teacher's" effectiveness? And I've met (personally, taught by personally, children taught by) plenty of degreed public-school teachers who aren't exactly the most qualified to be teaching anything. Again, we are talking about kids' lives here.

Um - If I had meant to say 'hire a unionized teacher,' I would have just that. Mikel, for the record, is a 40 something bartender with NO education at all, let alone one that would, or should, allow him to be teaching. Im trying to get at the fact that Charter Schools will hire anyone off the street - regardless of qualifications. The topic of unions is another topic altogether.

Most charter schools are a total sham. All they do is spiff up a mediocure public school education. In some cases, parents have to pay a "tuition", buy uniforms, class supplies and other odds & ends. They claim it keeps costs down and helps to keep parents involved. Yeah Right! Don't believe it. They are only interested in the almighty dollar and the next tuition check.
If one has the financial means, they are better off sending their kids to a private school or seeking after school tuitoring programs such as Sylvan.

Where do people get the idea that just because one is a parent, one has magical knowledge and expertise on teaching. Unfortunately, most parents haven't a clue about effective teaching. They are usually the biggest part of the problem when it comes to the education of our nation's children. I suppose next we will hear how being a parent automatically empowers one to know about open heart surgery.

And I know many police officers who aren't qualified to be one. What's your point "no name"? Are you saying that one doesn't need a degree to be a teacher just because you know of degreed teachers who aren't up to snuff? I'd say that's a pretty contaminated way of looking at the world

There are a lot of negative comments on here ... I know 3 parents from Akron Summit Academy that have sent in information this morning ... why are only negative comments being added?

I was shock to read how low the chapter school's test scores were. Some of schools are doing worse than the public schools and should be closed. I am also wondering if the students who attend the chapter school are really learning anything. Wasting taxpayer's money is a terrible thing to do.

David,

The "no name" was me. Ask ohio.com why "Jason" didn't show up. That point was brought up as a rebuttal to the person inferring a degree as qualification for teaching.

A general question for any teacher is why do you care about the existence of charter schools? If they are inferior, isn't that only to the detriment of the child and their parents (who apparently know nothing of what comes to judging teaching quality - itself a ridiculous statement)? To my original point, I've personally had to fight with the school system to implement the suggestions of DOCTORS and THERAPISTS, often battling the same "all-knowing teacher" attitude you are projecting. So the solution is to provide alternative educational opportunities staffed by people who are collaborative and progressive in nature and place the child's interests over their own.

glenda,

So you're conclusion is that charter school test scores are low, so close those schools despite the fact that many of the comparable public school test scores are also low? If we were to close all of the low score schools, where would almost every kid in Akron go to school? The last three paragraphs of the story reference this exact point.

What most of you don't understand is most of the schools are scoring low because the kids that are enrolled are a lot of the lowest scorers. Take them out of a regular school, that school's scores go up. Put them all in a few select schools, those school's scores go down. Pulling these students together into one school where an out of the box education can be served, best suites everyone. This is not rocket science. Education is the most important thing we can give our children. Why should we give them a boxed one? All children learn different. The only problem anyone can really claim is the fact that there are for profit companies running them. I applaud Akron Digital for their effort in reaching their students in a non conventional way. I wish other school districts would step up to the plate and then maybe we wouldn't have for profit companies doing what is needed.

I work at Summit Academy and I love it! These kids need all the help they can get. If ou have never looked into Summit Academy, you should not be making judgement about us. We are here because of the need and not because we are in it for the money. If public schools, would do their job then there would not be a need for us. I love teaching here and hope to be here a long time.

By the way, we also have parents that moved their family to Ohio just for our school and those students are doing a great job.

Also, please get the facts right! A lot of the facts in the article are WRONG!!!!!

Also, GET ALL THE FACTS RIGHT! The "Mikel" you are talking about does have a degree and is great with all the students. He is also an Instructional Assistant, not the head teacher in the room. Just ask our parents!!!!!

I'm sorry. After a year of the public school turning their back on my son's unusual behavior in 3rd grade, they kicked him out in 4th. It was then he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. (I know NOW that was a violation of the "Child Find Law". Those behaviors were atypical of the diagnosis & testing should have been recommended - too late to act on that.) I kept believing in the school system I was brought up in....BIG MISTAKE!
It wasn't until after 3 more years of continual abuse from them (destroying my son's self esteem, causing him to be cynical, and their inability to follow the IEP that THEY put into place), I realized that somewhere along the way the school system I loved had changed!!! The Union had taken over our schools....which could explain why Supt. Small himself provided me a copy of their contract and asked me to file Due Process against the district. According to him, it was the ONLY way he could get the schools to do what they are supposed to do!!!

After a teacher badgered my son for 1 hour and 20 minutes last year (IEP says if you can't calm him in 10 minutes, get someone else), he went into total meltdown banging his hand on the door. His hand went thru the window and 1-1/4 hours later they tell me to come take him to the hospital for stitches! Oh, did I mention they suspended him because breaking the glass COULD have endangered the teacher who caused it? That kind of stupidity continued throughout the year. THIS YEAR I put him at Summit Academy and am SO GLAD I did...THEY get it!!!! He's back to liking school, and I'm devoted to help them improve ANY WAY I can!!!!

We get it!!! I am glad you found a school that will help your student.

My son went to a public school that has been rated as "excellent"- unfortunately they had no special services for children with autism. When he would get "out of line" he was sent home. 1 year at Summit Academy his reading went up 3 grade levels. Math scores went up 2 grade levels. He was able to learn at his pace and in an environment that was beneficial to how he needed to learn. I really feel that when the No Child Left Behind Policy was created it was not intended to close down schools that are actually doing there job. I'm sure there are Charter Schools out there that are not doing their job - but Summit Academy is NOT one of them. If they could look at a total portfolio of each students education - not just how our anxiety filled students do on one test a year this wouldn't even be an issue. Not only will my son graduate with an education but he will also have the social skills to succeed in life as an adult out in the real world. Maybe Mr. Cohen should actually visit the school before making such life changing decisions for these kids!

why should we as tax paying citizens fund a private school--if you want to sent you child to a private, then find a way to pay yourself. no wonder the akron Public Schools are in such total disrepair--all the money that should be used to educate the public schools is being put into Mr. Brennan's pocket. If he has so much money to own these schools, then maybe he should get out of the hotel business and concentrate on his schools.

Pat,

On the other coin, why should I pay for your kids to go to APS? Yours is an argument so far beyond flawed. Separate your agenda from reality, please.

Pat,

One more thing, state (Federal as well?) law mandates that schools provide services for special needs children. It is the failure to meet this standard that has allowed for the proliferation of charter schools. Bottom line, if the public schools do their job, the issue of charter schools is a moot point.

In response to Pat's uneducated remark above ... what makes you think you pay for my son's education? Last time I checked Summit Academy isn't a "private school" ... and I also pay taxes - Are you saying I shouldn't have a choice of how or where my children are educated? If Akron Public/or any other public school could accomodate these students there wouldn't be a need for special service schools ... I for one drive from Doylestown to Akron twice a day so my son can get the education he deserves - other parents come from as far away as Wooster. We have a teacher who moved to Akron from the Youngstown area because she wanted to teach at Summit Academy - apparently there is a reason why students come and stay - If they were not being educated parents would pull their kids ...

I'm responding to the closing of some or all Summit Academy. First of all if the public schools did their job right there wouldnt be a need for charter schools. Trust me we have 3 young ladies, one of them went to a public school in Parma, Than we found out about summit. First few years with the older one was not to be bad.She started in 2nd grade Now she is in 6 grade and she has come a very long ways. Just last year alone my daughter level went up. Her teacher even given her a special reward for this she done this all on her own. But you wanna know something the teachers at summit is the one who helped her. They helped her so much she came out of her shell and doing great this school year. My 1st grader and my second grader is doing very well. Summit has taught them from the begaining. When my K- was in school last year she was taught K- and 1st grade work and this year most likly 1 and 2 grades. My 2 grader is working on 2 and 3 grade work. Its because of their teachers why my girls are doing so well at school and us as parents that work with their child at home. Summit is a wonderful school and their teachers are very special to alot of the students. We were going to switch our 3 girls to a public school when we found out how they will be taught we dicided to place them back into summit and we are very greatful that they had extra room for them to return after removing them. Most of these kids cant handle a public school. Summit has alot of kids that need extra attention and understanding. They put up with alot and they go out of their way to help everyone who needs help. By closing these school will only hurt the children. We are very proud of being in Summit Academy family.

My children went to one of the top public schools in the area. All three of my children had ADD. They had tutors, IEPs, and went to Sylvan. In fact we spent thousands of dollars to have them tutored at Sylvan, money that we did not have. We had to borrow the money from family members.
I now have a 22 year old that reads at a maybe 5th grade level, and has been so beat up by the public school system that he believes he is unable to learn. I have another 22 year who is going the college but having a very hard time of it and I pray each day she can make it. And I have a 26 year old who was told by the “testing system” in the public schools that she should learn to do things with her hands, maybe a hair dresser. This child was more strong willed then the other two and she said “I WILL SHOW YOU ALL. “ She now has her Special Needs Teaching Degree. She will have her Masters next fall, and will then be working on her PhD. She is one of the many dedicated, and CERTIFED teachers at Summit Academy. She teaches her students that they can be whatever they want to be. And this year she has a young man who IS GOING TO BE President! When this new bill started I told her maybe she should look into teaching at a public school and she told me that her students needed her.
I am very proud of all my children and I wish there would have been a school like Summit Academy for them. No telling how far they ALL could have gone.

Amanda - here is a fact. Mikel's name is Mike. He is a phony. It is window dressing. Kind of like calling a teacher's aid an 'instructional assistant.'

You can put whatever you want but at Summit Academy all teachers and instructional assisstants have to have some type of degree and background check to be able to work with chilldren.

Tim, if what you say is true, your friend Mikel will lose his job in this tough economic time. Congrats!

I have a 10 yr old child with autism that attends the Summit Acedemy in Canton and i wouldn't send him anywhere else. The teachers and administrators that run that school are some of the most dedicated,understanding, hard working,caring people i've ever met.I have tried to send my son to a so called "public school" and what a joke that was, stuck in the back of the class with his so called aide, coloring while the rest of the class was doing math, english,etc. No thank you!! While i'm sure that their are charter schools in it for the $$$$, i know that the Summit Academy and the schools affiliated with them are god sends to parents with special needs children and if you don't have one, than you should do your homework on the subject before you start passing judgement.To make students with mental handicaps compete on the same level with other children who aren't challenged is not fair and in this day and age, i would think that education for special needs children would be a very big priority,especially with the epedmic of autism knocking on all of our doors. Give special needs kids a chance.

The point that most of these reponses are missing is that many of these children have been thrown out of the public school system because they are unwilling to behave in a way conducive for the students in the class to learn. They are verbally abusive, unable to sit still - sometimes to the point of just running out the room. They throw tantrums when things don't go their way and it isn't because they are spoiled. Many of these kids have emotional issues because they have been abandoned by one or both parents, or they are homeless. Summit Academy is the last stop before the detention home. Is that where we would rather these kids be. They are listening and they are learning - just not as fast as everyone else. Why are we dictating how fast kids need to learn this material? It is funny because I always thought that no child left behind meant that if a child transferred from one school to another that they wouldn't have any difficulty with the new school because they could start where they left off. However this isn't true. No child left behind means that any school can decide how the end is reached by whatever means they want. Shouldn't no child left behind mean that when each child gets their high school diploma they can all do the same basic things? Does it have to mean that all students need to complete that work in 12 years? These are kids who were skipping school and causing problems. If we close the schools do we really want them on the street? Do we really want to slate these kids for a criminal career of drugs or stealing? That is where these kids are headed because the public schools do NOT have the ability to deal with all of these kids in the classrooms. Unless you have been in one of these schools to see the behavior of the kids and then try to imagine them in a public school class with only one teacher and thirty students instead of 15, you are not qualified to recommend these schools be closed.

Your quoted comments below make it clear you are not a Special Ed teacher at all, because you would know better. Accommodations don't help if the questions themselves are flawed and unable to be fully comprehended by a child with Asperger's for example. Clearly, you're not familiar with the condition or how it affects the ability to learn.

Likewise, the "Alternate Assesssment" is only for the students with the lowest-level cognitive skills, who can barely even function in a social setting. Asperger or high-functioning autistic students don't qualify for that. I guess you know "something" about it, but not much, apparently.

Please don't try to pass yourself off as something you're not - your ignorance of special education issues and conditions is apparent. Besides, a review of state testing data would show that Summit Academy test results for the subgroup it serves are WAY BETTER than most public schools for the same type of students. The difference is, public schools can hide their 15% of these students, while Summit, who had 98% of these students, cannot.

[QOUTED: Posted by Mary 04:07 AM, 10/10/2008

Oh please Mr. Schweitzer, kids with disabilities get modified and accommodated testing environments and if there is no way in the world that your students with disabilities can't pass the test there's something called "Alternative Assessment".

However, as a public school special education teacher, I've had SEVERAL parents bring their children BACK to us right before testing and NOTHING has been done with their alternative assessment. Maybe actually TEACHING these students something other than "It's ok, we know you have a learning problem so we'll 'fix it' for you or won't hold you responsible for anything" would help your OAT scores!]

Oh, PLEASE Mary....had public schools done right by our kids, we would not have had to pull them and place them elsewhere. Granted, most of the time, it is not the Special Ed teachers that are the problems - it's the rest of them not putting into practice the IEP the district provides.

And, for the record. I couldn't tell for sure if Orysia is for or against charter schools...saying that "The point that most of these reponses are missing is that many of these children have been thrown out of the public school system because they are unwilling to behave in a way conducive for the students in the class to learn." is tainted. These kids are not UNWILLING to behave.
Their behavior is part of the disability. Preventing the negative by PROACTIVE measures is one of the keys to teaching them. EVERY opportunity is a learning opportunity....but many public schools (and I speak from experience) are "too busy" (even if the child is given a one-to-one aide) to do anything but REACTIVE measures usually in the form of "discipline" (Nah, let's call it what it is - emotional abuse! Don't believe it? Check out "Emotional abuse cycle" at
http://www.lilaclane.com/relationships/emotional-abuse/ Sounds like how our kids are often dealt with in the public school system!)