Triad Conservative

The Story of a Game-Changing Charter School in East Greensboro, Part III: Putting It in Context

Earlier this week, I had posted two items regarding the new charter school in east Greensboro-- Gate City Charter Academy. We discussed here the methods employed at the school to assure discipline and order, and boost achievement. We also talked about some of the results and the cost advantage.

This experience could theoretically be replicated in traditional government schools, but various obstacles stand in the way. Nonetheless, it is quite possible to achieve impressive gains in performance; safety; and also lower costs. 

The traditional government school system operates for the benefit of the education establishment. Innovations such as those seen at Gate City are actively discouraged.

Civitas recently had a post that detailed the recent activities of the National Education Association, which has enormous influence over the philosophy espoused by government school systems nationwide. In a nutshell, the organization jumps aboard every loony left bandwagon imaginable.

Winston McGregor is running for a school board seat this fall against Marc Ridgill. She is the embodiment of the education establishment; and previously led the Guilford Education Alliance. Remain mindful that the Guilford County School Board majority typically has not liked charter schools.

But an interesting test would be to see how many of the prominent progressive/socialists locally send their kids to private, religious or charter schools. They will often act in a manner that they perceive to be best for their own children. It is a fairly safe wager that those with resources typically will send their kids to private schools. Those without such resources might try to use charter schools. But the decisions they make are an apt commentary on the government school system for which they politically advocate.

How many, for instance, send their kids to Greensboro Day School? It is pretty expensive. But rest assured that few east Greensboro families can afford that place.

I would invite readers to comment on the choices of which they are aware made by prominent local progressive/socialists with regard to where they have sent their kids to school. I know of at least a couple that decided against traditional government schools.

But they are perfectly happy consigning kids from east Greensboro to the failing government school system.

Once again, kudos to Jeff Hyde and Jeff Phillips for their vision at Gate City that has now come to fruition.

AAPS: Americans Being Deceived on Health Care Costs, Single Payer Coverage

AAPS:

Recent polls show that “healthcare is the No. 1 issue for voters,” writes Robert Pearl in Forbes. Their concerns are quite valid, states the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS): Costs are too high, most Americans can’t afford them, and they are not getting what they are paying for.

However, the fact that 57% cited “universal/single-payer coverage” as the issue of top concern shows that most have been deceived about the cause of the problem, states AAPS.

As Pearl points out, one reason for the rise in business’s health insurance premiums is cost-shifting, as insured patients pay more to compensate for Medicare underpayment. “So how can ‘Medicare for all’ solve this problem, which Medicare created?” AAPS asks.

Another reason for exorbitant premiums is the guaranteed issue/community rating mandate in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and in several states, AAPS points out. Insurers are forced to overcharge low-risk individuals, who decline to buy the product if they can, driving premiums still higher.

Republican Senators propose to make the problem still worse with a bill codifying “protections” for all Americans with pre-existing conditions, AAPS warns, through an amendment to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

“Essentially, this would outlaw real health insurance, which is a voluntary contract to share risk, with premiums based on level of risk,” explains AAPS. “It’s a bill to force healthy Americans to pay more than their fair share if they are to obtain protection against their own unexpected costs.”

“It raises the constitutional issue of whether Congress can force an industry to sell only unprofitable, unaffordable products, and force Americans to subsidize other customers,” AAPS stated. “In casualty insurance, it would force companies to charge the same to insure a fire trap as a well-kept steel building.”

“If we wish to help people who have not continuously maintained insurance while they were healthy and can’t buy it at the same price after they get sick, we need a mechanism other than destroying insurance for all Americans,” AAPS states.

“Most of all, we need to drastically cut costs. These are some things that Americans are paying for unwillingly: kickbacks to Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs) and Group Purchasing Organizations; cost-shifting because of Medicare and Medicaid price controls and underpayments; profits to Medicaid managed-care companies, which get paid whether anybody gets care or not; inflated prices because competition is squelched by Certificate-of-Need laws; layers of administrative costs to comply with massive overregulation; and much more. The best thing Congress can do now is remove privileges to special interests and enable competition,” concludes AAPS.

The Story of a Game-Changing Charter School in East Greensboro, Part II: The Record So Far

Yesterday, we had discussed here the methods used and the environment that has been created at the charter school in east Greensboro-- Gate City Charter Academy. We reviewed the fact that it has provided an option for children and families in east Greensboro of which many have taken advantage-- and in fact, there is a very long waiting list to get in the school.

Today, we will review the record.

It must be understood that Gate City must administer to its students the same end-of-grade testing that all government schools in North Carolina administer.

The key number in which we are interested is the Proficiency Composite grade. This is a composite measurement of the number of students proficient in reading, math and science at four grade levels-- 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th. This composite together with a measurement of student growth comprise the school's ABC score.

The composite scores for those schools that compare best demographically with Gate City Charter Academy-- Bluford, Cone, Gillespie Park, Hampton, Peeler and Washington-- tend to range from 25 to 40.

These numbers are translated to a letter grade that each school is assigned.

Gate City's students started during the school's first year at approximately 25% proficiency. Last year, the scores went up to approximately 33-41, and the letter grade was D-. (Most of the other schools in east Greensboro tend to score an "F".)

In any event, Gate City has received its preliminary grade this year. It has moved up to a 59%, which is the equivalent of a "C". This is much better than the other comparable government schools in that part of town. It must be emphasized that this progress was achieved within the first couple of years the school was operating-- from 25% all the way up to 59%.

A good comparison is Cone Elementary, which earns a composite score of 34%, and the letter grade "F".

Remain mindful that Gate City's demographics is approximately 75% black, 15% Hispanic and 10% white. 75% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch. These numbers are roughly comparable to the other schools in east Greensboro.

Jeff Hyde, one of the school's founders and its board chairman, stated the following:

"Gate City Charter Academy is very pleased with the progress we have made in teaching our students basic learning skills.  We have assembled a fabulous team of educators that care deeply about our students.  The results from our first two years have been made possible by the vision of our Board, the dedication of the school's leadership team and by our families who have committed themselves to an excellent school. We will not be satisfied with our current standing, although we are very pleased with our progress thus far." 

The results for Gate City refute the commonly held perception that these students cannot be taught. 

But here is another amazing aspect to this story.

Gate City receives $7,600 per student in taxpayer funding. The traditional government schools, by contrast, receive $9,400 per student.

Gate City is achieving better results with only 81% of the taxpayer funds the other schools receive. In addition, it provided its own physical facilities, whereas typical government schools rely upon taxpayer-funded construction costs and borrowing through bond issues. Recall the nearly billion dollar bond issue for government school palaces passed one decade ago locally.

So Gate City costs the taxpayer less in per-pupil funding; and costs the taxpayer NOTHING for its physical facility. And again, it is achieving better results.

Congratulations and many thanks to Jeff Phillips and Jeff Hyde, the founders of the school, for their vision and the enormous gift they delivered to the people of east Greensboro and to Guilford County taxpayers. This is a success story we should all celebrate. It is the next best thing to Christian schools and home schooling. 

The GOP Senate and Planned Parenthood

The Story of a Game-Changing Charter School in East Greensboro: Part I, The Secret Sauce

One of the great underreported stories in the city of Greensboro is Gate City Charter Academy in east Greensboro. It is a charter school that started up in Greensboro a couple of years ago. The school is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA) family.

This was an audacious project initiated by Jeff Hyde and Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Phillips. They got the NHA organization involved; and repeatedly applied to the state until they finally received approval to proceed.

When the school opened, it immediately filled as parents-- mostly minority-- chose the school over the local traditional government school system. 

The school now serves in excess of 600 students, and has a waiting list of approximately 400 additional potential students. The big point is that the school is a game-changer for these kids in east Greensboro.

It must be noted that the school demographically is comparable to east Greensboro traditional public schools at the elementary level such as Bluford, Cone, Gillespie Park, Hampton, Peeler and Washington. The student body is approximately 75% black, 15% hispanic and 10% white. Nearly all of the students are from poor families in east Greensboro. The grades offered extend from kindergarten through part of middle school at this point, but an additional grade is being added each year as classes progress.

What is the winning formula used at Gate City? It includes several important elements:

1. The students are receiving some level of moral instruction. Every month, the school focuses on a specific moral virtue that is promoted extensively;

2. The students are required to wear uniforms;

3. Parents and students must sign a civil contract committing to adhere to various rules, policies and expectations;

4. A strict policy regarding absenteeism and tardiness is enforced, and students who miss greater than 20 days during a school year are not permitted to advance to the next grade;

5. Discipline, order and safety are maintained, and the school will expel students if necessary;

6. Good teachers are employed at the school who are accountable for the work they do, and who go the extra mile for their students. A great example is that they refused to shut down the school to go to Raleigh to demonstrate for more money when traditional public school teachers were doing it earlier this year;

7. The school sets high expectations overall for its students.

This approach is entirely consistent, of course, with that employed by the NHA organization which manages the school. The students benefit from the development of more self-disciplined learning habits than they would likely develop within the traditional government school system, and a much better learning environment. It gives them a much better chance for a brighter future.

It is also very important that the parents make a big commitment for their kids to attend at this school. Parents must commit to purchasing school uniforms, and also to assuring transportation to and from school. The school does not provide school bus transportation. But most importantly, parents also must commit to the structure the school provides, and all its policies.

Tomorrow, I will discuss some of the amazing results being delivered thus far at Gate City Charter Academy. The numbers don't lie.

Goolsby Says Silent Sam Will be Reinstalled

Silent Sam Teardown: A Rebuke to the People of North Carolina

College students are just returning to school this week in North Carolina. And a move was orchestrated to take place immediately upon return to tear down the historic "Silent Sam" statue at the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. Police apparently stood by, watched, and allowed it to happen. University and local police had been guarding and/or protecting the statue for approximately a full year.

Of course, the cultural Marxists at the Greater Greensboro Politics page are expressing satisfaction at this vicious act of lawlessness.

Republicans currently possess supermajorities in both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly, and have overarching influence over what happens at UNC campuses. This incident took place in spite of that. Remain mindful that the GOP has also had major influence over what happens on the UNC Board of Governors.

UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt released a statement indicating that the statue had been "divisive for years". No, dear Ms. Folt. The statue is not divisive. It is an inanimate object. It is your students and faculty, however, who are very divisive, and who instigated this cowardly incident.

This was an act that repudiated, rebuked and assaulted the history and memory and heritage of millions of North Carolina citizens. The act was based in profound ignorance because it presumes that slavery was the primary reason southerners fought during the Civil War. In fact, the very idea this act could take place is an indicator of how poorly public high schools and the university itself are teaching history.

These UNC Chapel Hill students stand on the backs of generations-- indeed, centuries-- of North Carolina citizens whose blood, sweat and tears provided them with all the opportunities they enjoy today. To call these students ungrateful would be an understatement. Ingratitude is an inadequte descriptor for the degree of rebellion and hostility they demonstrated toward those who provided the wherewithal for the heavily subsidized education from which they benefit.

Several steps ought to be taken as soon as possible: 

1. Carol Folt must be removed as UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor. She has demonstrated that she is unable to perform her job appropriately. She has presided over an overpoliticized, culturally Marxist university. She needs to be replaced by someone with integrity who will not accede to the radical forces in the university environment.
2. An investigation needs to take place at the state level to determine why university police failed to maintain order. Were they afraid of being disciplined if they had interceded effectively? Were they told to stand down by their leadership? 
3. UNC Chapel Hill needs to be defunded by the General Assembly. Take away all the perks, and all the sources of overfunding that sustain the empire within its enormous reach. Make the students pay the full value of their tuition, and take away all the state subsidies and other assistance provided by state taxpayers. The students' ingratitude ought to be repaid in kind.

Will the Republicans in Raleigh do these things? Probably not. The term used by the alt-right-- "cuck"-- comes to mind. What they ought to do, and what they are willing to do, are two very different things.

Addendum: The Daily Haymaker has some great comments.

The Solution to Unwanted Migration: HAVE KIDS!

The western world was sold a bill of goods a couple of generations ago. The media disseminated evil messaging that suggested men and women should no longer have lots of kids.

The messaging originated within communities advancing radical feminism; and also among radical environmentalists who suggested that the "population bomb" was going to place everyone at risk. Abortion and contraception were hailed as great advances. Young men and women were led to believe that their self-interest entailed having no kids, or very limited numbers at most. It was regarded as bad to have kids.

But then employers wanted and/or needed more workers to hold down labor costs; and businesses wanted and/or needed more consumers to enhance economic growth. Corporate interests wanted more women in the workforce instead of raising kids. Bloated public charity programs, especially for the elderly, required more young workers to support them. And there was simultaneously a move among various elites to change the demographic composition of western societies.

And we thus had mass migration. In the United States, it came from Mexico and Central America. In Europe, it came from the Middle East and Africa.

And it has been an unmitigated disaster for the peoples that had been present in the U.S. and Europe for hundreds or even thousands of years. It was a profound error of enormous proportions.

One of the most outstanding leaders within the western world is Victor Orban in Hungary, who has taken a firm stand against mass migration. And he has now launched a series of proposals to get young adults in his country to have more kids. The rationale, of course, is that if we have our own internal growth in population, there will be less perceived need to import migrants whose culture is incompatible with our own, or who pose a threat to us in various ways.

Allan Carlson reports in Chronicles:

(Orban) reported to us, his cabinet had resolved that 2018 would be Hungary’s Year of Families.  He described plans to raise substantially the tax breaks granted to families with two or more children.  Sharing an idea I had advanced in the U.S. back in 2006, the government would cancel 50 percent of student-loan debt for the parents of two children and 100 percent for three.  The state would also assume $5,000 of mortgage principle for families with three children, and another $5,000 for each additional child.  An existing program of Baby Bonds for maternity support would also be extended...

While Brussels has looked to immigrants as a solution to Europe’s population decline, he said, Hungary has taken a different course: by shaping “a family policy which encourages the birth of children” and secures playgrounds that “echo with the happy cries of children, rather than with the sirens of police cars and ambulances”; and by “renewing ourselves spiritually.”  In the face of a form of invasion, “Hungary will . . . protect its families at all costs, regardless of the opposition that may come from Brussels.”  This restoration of “natural fertility” was not just “one” national cause, but rather “the national cause.”  “And it is also a European cause: not just one European cause among many, but the European cause"...

Simply put, Orbàn and his fellow Fidesz leaders had grown disillusioned with the realities of 1990’s Western liberalism: hedonism, secularism, radical feminism, and the Sexual Revolution instead of ordered liberty.  Most of them, not coincidentally, also became Christians.

Regarding “gender,” Fidesz has always been, in its leadership, a men’s party.  Its early election lists were exclusively male.  Following the 2014 election, Fidesz ruled with an exclusively male cabinet while a mere six percent of its parliamentarians were female.  As the Fidesz “Speaker of Parliament” recently explained, “The crowning of the personal fulfillment of women is that they give birth to as many grandchildren as possible for us.”  The grimy world of politics should not intrude upon this...

Fidesz moved with astonishing speed to implement its agenda.  As a post-election Manifesto declared, “work, home, family, health, and order,” resting on “Christian national unity,” would be the pillars of the new system...

Orbàn also identified “a major European Kulturkampf between, on the one hand, a left-wing International and, on the other, the champions of piety, of the traditional family model and of the nation.”  George Soros, a friend of the young Fidesz Party, now stood as its mortal enemy.  As Orbàn remarked during the 2015 refugee deluge, “this crisis offers the chance for the national Christian worldview to regain supremacy, not only in Hungary but in the whole of Europe. . . . We are experiencing the end of all the liberal babble"...

There is real evidence that Orbàn may be succeeding on economic grounds.  Hungary’s GDP growth is now robust, in comparison with other members of the European Union.

Once again, Orban is a great leader who stands courageously against a cultural left and a business community that wishes to impose great disorder and destroy a nation's identity in order to achieve other goals. And his message to young adults is that they need to have more kids in order to preserve what we have.

What a novel thought.  It will be regarded as outrageous in various circles, but we need that kind of thinking in the United States also.

Skip Wants Chicago-Style Crime-Fighting in Guilford: Will GOP Commissioners Go "Full Robbie" Again?

Some of us might laugh out loud at the prospect of adopting crime-fighting ideas from the city of Chicago to be used in Greensboro. But that is precisely what Skip Alston is proposing to be funded by Guilford County taxpayers. And GOP commissioners are apparently considering the idea.

The Rhino Times provides the details.

Of course, the program provides soft crime-fighting support. It is not focused on police catching the bad guys, arresting them, putting them in jail, and getting them prosecuted. That approach is considered terrible within the east Greensboro political establishment.

Instead, the program sends people out to "talk" to gang members.

My hunch is that this is yet another proposal that creates taxpayer-funded, salaried positions and/or sources of earnings for those connected to the east Greensboro political establishment. Let's think about all the precedents-- Yvonne Johnson's mediation business, Alma Adams' art gallery, Skip and Earl's museum, and the late "Rev." Michael King's Project Homestead.

While it is obvious that this proposal ought to be regarded as laughable, there is no guarantee that the GOP-majority commissioners' board will not fund it. After all, they had gone "Full Robbie" just a couple of months ago and arranged for a new MWBE staff member within county government even though the program is based on racial set-aside goals. They have therefore proven themselves to be prone to curry favor with the media, and with the democratic socialists on the board.

There is another aspect of this problematic proposal that ought to be recognized. Gang violence in Greensboro is a city of Greensboro problem-- not a Guilford County problem. If we are acknowledging that Guilford County ought to play a role in Greensboro's crime epidemic, then perhaps BJ Barnes ought to take over the Greensboro Police Department. Just saying.

In any case, Skip's proposal has been floated. The big question is what the GOP commissioners will do with it.

AlGore's Greensboro Visit: Radical Environmentalism as a Religious Cult

Former Vice-President Al Gore visited Shiloh Baptist Church in Greensboro-- a black church. He was accompanied by the former NC NAACP huckster, the "Rev." William Barber, who now leads the "Poor People's Campaign".

Gore apparently staged quite a show. But that was apparently all that it was.

The virulent anti-industry. anti-fossil fuel message, wrapped in the cloak of religiosity, was a profound misuse of an allegedly Christian house of worship. Suggesting that radical environmentalism is supported or required by the Christian religion is a misrepresentation that borders on cultism. But Gore knows that wrapping the cause in a false admixture of emotion and religion can be very effective politically.

Of course, Gore is a profound hypocrite who has a voracious appetite for consuming energy.

He surprisingly admitted this week that President Trump's rollback of environmental regulations is not causing much damage. But his focus on "environmental justice" is laughable. In fact, minorities are doing much better under Trump with an improved economy. Trump's approval ratings are rising dramatically among blacks.

It is interesting that minorities do much better when there is not excessive environmental regulation because capital is more readily deployed to build businesses and achieve growth. That translates to more stable jobs available for African-Americans.

There is another aspect of Gore's legacy that is not often discussed. He was one of the early advocates within the democratic socialist coalition of encouraging more illegal immigration to bolster the fortunes of their party. That, of course, hurt African-Americans tremendously, because there was much more competition for the same types of jobs that they tend to fill. Blacks are doing better under Trump who is taking action against illegal immigration. But Gore stands before minorities pretending to advocate their interests when he had played a critical role increasing illegal immigration.

The stupid emotionalism at Shiloh Baptist Church led by Gore and Barber attempted to persuade blacks that their interests were with the environmental extremism and open borders agenda of the democratic socialist party. But in fact, Trump's presidency is demonstrating the utter falsehood of that premise.