The Reverend Joseph Darby again opines on the P & C's op-ed page in response to an editorial supporting legislative efforts to allow public charter schools to use public school buildings (already the policy in many states). As is his wont, he strongly implies that the new Charter High School for Math and Science is really a plot to introduce segregation to downtown Charleston, when in reality it is a plot to introduce integration to downtown Charleston.
See Tie measurable diversity goals to free rent for charter schools .
Nothing will be gained by another reasoned response to such willful disregard of the facts. Clearly, the Rev. Darby has an ax to grind, and for whatever reason, the P & C sees fit to provide the grindstone whenever Darby wants it.
Notice what is part of his argument here:
". . .the Charter School for Math & Science is a 'start up' charter school that simply wishes to claim a public building and not pay its way. Should the school district choose to allow them to do so, then the same thing should be done for all future and existing charter schools, like the YouthBuild Charter School.Gee, I haven't heard Darby call for "diversity goals" for YouthBuild.YouthBuild has had considerable struggles in finding and paying for operating space. Should the Charter School for Math & Science be given a free building, then the same should be done for YouthBuild.
The reasoning here just doesn't hold water. YouthBuild is in its horrible circumstances because CCSD encouraged it to take on students who the district determined would not return to Murray Hill Academy [for reasons having to do with failures in its McGinley-selected for-profit administration]. The CCSD Board of Trustees was so anxious to have these students at YouthBuild that they didn't look too closely at YouthBuild's director's assurances that a suitable facility had been arranged.
Unlike the charter school under discussion, YouthBuild has never asked for use of a public school building. You might ask yourself why. Obviously that is a solution to its housing problems, as I have said before, and such space does exist.
But don't hold your breath waiting for Darby to call for "diversity" in YouthBuild's classrooms. The de facto segregation in District 20 and in CCSD's other charter schools is part of the outmoded racist thinking of the Charleston branch of the NAACP: under the present segregated conditions it can wield greater power (and get long op-ed pieces into the P & C).
Who cares what's best for the students involved, black or white? Maybe the organizers of CHSMS?
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Ask Darby about the lack of "diversity" in the local branch of the NACCP which he so enjoys using as a platform. The Charleston Branch of the NAACP has the lowest percentage of white membership of any urban chapter in the state and the southeast. It's under 5% when it's typical for most successful local chapters (like the one in Columbia) to have upwards of 30%. The two Joes want to keep it that way, because as long as you can keep the factions isolated, you can keep order on the plantation. What an irony, Joe Darby and Joe Riley, through isolation and fear, together they are keeping us all down. More power to the forward thinking people at CCSMS that are much more representative of who the people really are. They may show us (and Dr. McGinley, if she'll pay attention) the way out of this mess within our downtown public schools.
I am sorry are his eyes open? Do they not see the same thing that I see? Aren't schools that are already 99.9% African American already segregated? Has that been overlooked for the last 30 years? The CCSD had segregated these schools themselves not the Charleston Charter School for math and science which by law must be integrated. Oh I know he must recognize that the CCSD does not follow federal and state laws so he has decided that the charter school will not either? Okay Darby stand up for the African American population for once in your life and go after the CCSD...oh wait, I forgot. You are as corrupt as they are.
CCSD is a horrible organization operated by idoits. Now after 2 years they are dropping the A-Plus program. They need to follow through on their promises. Give the program more time to yeild the success.
Dr. McGinley must go. All schools need to go charter and run themselves.
So where does Joe Darby stand on the new Advanced Placement Academy at Burke? Is he just all about pointing his finger at others or can he actually be in favor of something? OK, Rev, let's see if you can put your collar to some good use. What about helping Burke's AP Academy meet its goals of attracting and challenging a significant number of kids who are coming up through downtown public schools? Or is this just about importing kids who test well to make the school's report card look good while continuing to write off the kids who are there now? It's time CCSD stuck with program long enough to make it successful.
I agree they need to stuck with the A-Plus program and make it successful. They are giving up on that program to fund the AP Academy. After two years they will drop this program too. Nancy has drop every program that Goodloe started because she dont want to put effort to make it work. (Discpline school, APLus, and Teacher Project) all programs that Nancy wanted from her previous jobs. We need more charter schools in Charleston....
...and you can forget about the new Neighborhood Planning Teams, too. I can't see CCSD, principals under the gun or Dr. McGinley honestly encouraging the downtown school communities to look at converting to charter schools. It's all smoke and mirrors. If it wasn't Joe Darby and Joe Riley both would have been advocating every downtown school converting to charter. You see, they aren't seriously trying to improve schools downtown, only to make excuses as to why they fail. The leadership has failed. The schools are only waiting for the opportunity to succeed. Changing programs from the top down every 2-3 years isn't good leadership.
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