Ohio wonders if Patriot Preparatory Academy is the same as Liberty Christian Academy.

[madfloridian]

It is at the same location, staffed by many of the same teachers, serves many of the same students, and was founded by the same founder. Ohio law doesn't let private schools become charter schools, so although Patriot Prep gets public money...they say they are just a public school.

Charter's ties to Christian school draw state scrutiny


COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER | DISPATCH
David McIlrath, executive director of Patriot Preparatory Academy and founder of Liberty Christian Academy, shows off one of the new charter school's mottos.

Out went the private Liberty Christian Academy. In came the public Patriot Preparatory Academy, a charter school in the same location with many of the same students and teachers. The state says the new school has changed enough to receive tax money. A new charter school has the same founder, is staffed by many of the same teachers and attended by many of the same students as a private Christian school that previously used its East Side building.

The state was worried that Patriot Preparatory Academy really was the private Liberty Christian Academy masquerading as a charter school. Was the school (initially to be called Liberty Preparatory) trying to collect taxpayer money illegally when it really should be collecting tuition? No, says executive director David McIlrath: Patriot is an all-new public school, and any links to the private school are superficial.

Here are more similarities.

By the state's count, Patriot has 31 teachers, a dozen of whom taught at Liberty last school year. A few others were hired away from other Christian schools. McIlrath said he thinks about 70 percent of Liberty's staff was replaced in forming Patriot.

"Obviously, it didn't break any laws, or we wouldn't have opened," McIlrath said. He estimates that, of the roughly 460 students enrolled there in its first year - a stunning start for a charter school - about half are former Liberty students. Patriot has chosen a new school uniform, but some students still are wearing their Liberty Christian plaid. Patriot is buying the building and its furniture from Liberty.

Amazing how much the two schools have in common. One gets public taxpayer money, though.

The recent WSJ article about charter schools pointed out that they really are allowed to blur the line between church and education. The article was called 10 Things Charter Schools Won't Tell You

5. Separation of church and state? We found a loophole.

Charter schools are public schools, supported by public tax dollars. But among the thousands of charters nationwide are schools run by Christian organizations as well as Hebrew and Arabic language academies that blur the line between church and state. “What would not be tolerated in a regular public school seems to be tolerated when it’s a charter school,” says Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at New York University and the author of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System.” Even if these schools aren’t explicitly teaching religion, “it’s potentially segregation by religious preference,” Bulkley says.

And that is very true. Many charter schools in several states are openly crossing the line that should separate religion from education.

The second problem is also from Texas. Some charter schools there are venturing into the religion business. The Dallas Morning News reports that 20 percent of the state’s charters have religious ties.

.."Finally, it looks like we’re going to need to keep a close eye on Georgia, where the new chief of staff of the state Education Department is a former staffer of TV Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice.

More about another charter school in Dallas.

Students at Duncanville's Advantage Academy follow biblical principles, talk openly about faith and receive guidance from a gregarious former pastor who still preaches when he speaks.

Advantage's state-funded campuses showcase the latest breed of charter schools, born from faith-based principles and taxpayer funds. More than 20 percent of Texas' charter schools have some kind of religious ties. That's the case for six of the seven approved this year, including ones in Frisco and Arlington.

..."Advantage markets its teaching of creationism and intelligent design. It offers a Bible class as an elective and encourages personal growth through hard work and "faith in God and country." On a recent morning, a dozen uniformed seventh-graders hunched over worksheets, turning fractions into decimals.

An interesting part of the article about the Patriot Academy regarding its motto.

In its letter to Patriot before school started this year, the Education Department made a suggestion: Consider a motto that was more gender-neutral than its proposed "Because It's Easier to Build a Boy Than Mend a Man."

The school went with two: "No excuses" and "Git 'er done."

[somone]

1. Shut them down

Taxpayers have no business helping these scammers.

[glinda]

2. The Charter Schools I have seen in MN. are religion related via staff and other

things. I never knew Charter Schools were supposed to not be Religious. HAhahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[madfloridian]

5. So many here are the same way. They just ignore the school board.

[madfloridian]

7. And one "elite" charter school principal was arrested, held without bail...

for stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend at her school where she taught. That is one of the schools that thumbs its nose at the school board.

[glinda]

8. yikes

[xfundy]

3. A family friend's 14-yr old boy told me he wanted to be a "redneck"

I told him if he closed his ears and rejected all knowledge, other than that his "home skool" non-college grad mom gave him, he'd grow up to be a fine redneck.

He's 17 now, and I expect to hear he's in jail any day now.

[galileoreloaded]

6. This post wins a "Judgie" award! Most judgemental and elitest post of the day!

Congrats!

[MedicalAdmin]

9. Project much?

[mudplanet]

19. I wanted to be a Marine when I was 17. It's called being immature.

[madfloridian]

4. From the blog of a leader of GA schools. Graduate of Pat Robertson's schools

"Finally, it looks like we’re going to need to keep a close eye on Georgia, where the new chief of staff of the state Education Department is a former staffer of TV Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice.

Joel Thornton is already off to a shaky start. On a personal blog, he bemoaned the lack of religion in public schools, writing, “We no longer have that moral center. Now, we find ourselves in a culture that not only does not believe, but actually mocks belief in one God. We have gone from the place where it is okay to make fun of belief in God in limited cases, like a Hollywood movie or a book. At the same time, it was not okay to make fun of the core beliefs that surrounded the belief in God.”

Crusade in the classroom

Here are some words from his blog, courtesy of the AJC.

" Let me be perfectly clear, I am against socialism. I do not care what color you are. I do not care if you are Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Canadian, African, or German, I do not think socialism is a good idea. If that qualifies me as a racist, then it seems we have redefined racism.

Green is the new red. Atheism is the new religion. Socialism is the new racism.

Somewhere, George Orwell is rolling over in his grave with one thought on his mind—when I wrote 1984 I was not aggressive enough. I should have had more insight or more courage. What a fool am I?

Well, George, you might have foreseen it, but we have to live with it. Pray for us!

On global warming:

Is anyone besides me glad to finally be getting some manner of the truth from the Global Warming Nuts? It has been colder at my house. Maybe we need to drive our cars more to heat up the climate so that we don’t have to wear our coats everywhere.I have to admit, it is tough giving up the dream of having my Georgia home become beach front property. I guess we will still have to drive to Hilton Head, South Carolina for our traditional summer beach fun. Now I have to live with my property values not getting spike. Of course, this also means that I do not have to worry about hurricanes hitting the house some four hundred miles inland—so I guess it is a fair trade off."


Leading GA's education? Sad.

[jdadd]

10. "Larry the cable guy" Preparatory Academy

The school went with two: "No excuses" and "Git 'er done."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[James48]

12. Git-R-done!

[madrchsod]

11. and what is our secretary of education doing about this?

could it be he is`t doing anything to stop our tax dollars supporting mad dog christians.

[fascisthunter]

13. religious brainwashing

[DollyM]

14. kind of a paradox . . .

Interesting because most private schools are private schools because they do not want state interference or funding. That is kind of the point. There is more to this story than meets the eye. Also, I believe the quote is "it is better to build a child than repair an adult." Not sure why the male gender why used for the quote. I have never heard it said this way. The original quote is used by many in the social services field, especially those working with children.

[Overseas]

15. Late K&R -- I guess we need more madrassas to try the name change concept.

Maybe then more Americans will get upset about these additional violations of the separation between church and state.

We, as a nation, used to understand families praying at home if they were religious, because they didn't want their kids to get to school and be forced to bow down to a different state-promoted religion.

More people used to understand that public institutions were neutral in order to allow our citizens the freedom to pursue whatever religion or philosophy they wanted to in their private lives.

But I think the reduction in economic power among the poor and working class affected that ideal, just as it has influenced our physical health. Parents have to work multiple jobs to keep their homes or pay their rent and get less time at home with their families to cook meals together and share their spiritual values. So we purchase cheap and easy foods designed to be liked by all --chicken nuggets! mmm!-- and want our schools, that have more time with our kids than we do, to do the indoctrination we no longer have time to do at home.

I had hoped bringing in a pragmatic Democratic president would mean that our country would finally admit that Supply Side Dribble Down Economics has failed, and move forward to a more balanced economy that addressed rising poverty and the shrinking middle class. The Bush Crash made that prospect seem so much more likely to me. Demand-Side Economics is far more pragmatic for our nation's long-term health. Other industrialized countries better understood that. They protected their citizens and workers with much stronger safety nets. After the global economic crash, they're only considering whether to raise an age-60 retirement to 62, or slightly raise co-pays on universal health care, or reduce mandated vacation time from 4 weeks to 3, and things like that. Whereas, our cruel Republicans won't even vote to send seniors and disabled vets a $250 check to compensate for having to forgo cost of living adjustments for another year.

It is amazing how cruel a country so apparently religious can be. I guess all the good stuff has been pushed to the after-life. Maybe that is why we need more Christian schools to inculcate our youth with a judgment day mentality, ready to accept the societal and infrastructure collapse from deregulated capitalism because they, as believers in the One True Son of God, will be whisked away to Heaven where they will no longer be poor.

I guess the New Christian deal is The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth When They Are Dead.

[mudplanet]

21. The "New Christian Deal" is the same now as it was then: You'll get pie

in sky when you die, so shut up and be a slave while you are alive. It's god's plan.

[Creative]

16. What difference does it make?

[madfloridian]

17. Really? Is that a serious question?

[Creative]

18. I am serious--I do not care what they name this school.

[Hannah Bell]

20. kr

[Alcibiades]

22. This is simply a ruse to funnel state money to Jesus

It's a good example of charter schools working exactly as they were intended.