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Why do Big Banks care about Charter Schools?

Why Does JP MORGAN CHASE want to create a $325 million fund to invest in charter schools?  Because they can make money off of them silly.

JPMorgan Chase Creates $325 Million Funding Initiative For High-Performing Charter Schools$50 Million in Grants Crucial Amidst Challenging Credit Markets

New York, May 4, 2010 – JPMorgan Chase announced today a $325 million initiative to support the growth of high-performing U.S. charter schools in today’s challenging credit environment.

“Many charter schools have expanded access to academic opportunities for students in all types of communities, so we shouldn’t let tough economic times bring them down,” said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon. “Improving educational opportunities is a cornerstone of JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropic giving.”

The bank will provide $50 million in grants to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) focused on funding charter schools. In turn, these institutions will use these grants as permanent equity, which they will leverage to fund top-performing charter schools.

Additionally, JPMorgan Chase will work with the CDFIs to provide about $175 million in debt and approximately $100 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity to support the development of charter school facilities. This will allow the CDFIs to access Obama Administration financing programs designed to help charter schools meet facility needs.

JPMorgan Chase estimates that this initiative will help underwrite about 40 charter schools, which will serve more than 50,000 students throughout the term of the loan.

Initial CDFI partners include The Reinvestment Fund of Philadelphia, The Low Income Investment Fund of San Francisco, and NCB Capital Impact of Arlington, Va. Additional partners will be announced later in the year.

“The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) is proud to be one of the partners with JPMorgan Chase on this initiative. Through this financing initiative, JPMorgan Chase and LIIF will invest in exceptional educational opportunities for thousands of low income students,” noted Nancy O. Andrews, President and CEO of LIIF. “A key constraint to growth for many high performing public charter schools is their ability to finance facility development or enhancement. By providing an equity investment, JPMorgan Chase and LIIF will give schools access to affordable capital in a difficult credit environment.”

The grants to help charter schools are part of JPMorgan Chase’s larger $100 million grant initiative for CDFIs that also support small businesses, community healthcare centers, green initiatives and affordable housing. Details on the rest of the initiative will be announced later this year.

“JPMorgan Chase has been a committed partner to the CDFI industry by providing critical access to capital where it otherwise might not exist,” said Terry Simonette, President and CEO of NCB Capital Impact. “This new initiative continues that commitment by providing the critical capital that is required for charter schools to meet the need for access to quality education in low income and underserved communities.”

Despite the increasing demand by families across the country for charter schools, they have found it difficult to arrange financing for expanded and new facilities.

While public school districts can access the municipal bond market for long-term funding, charter schools almost always pay more for financing because lenders require higher interest rates from the relatively new industry.

“In these next seven years, this new investment by JPMorgan Chase in The Reinvestment Fund projects will allow us to create school opportunities for thousands of students,” said Jeremy Nowak, President and CEO of The Reinvestment Fund. “This major investment certainly positions the bank as a national leader supporting charter schools and meeting their significant unmet financial needs.”

JPMorgan Chase sees high potential for improving childhood education and community development through charter schools, and is committed to their development. The bank has been an active supporter of public school education, donating $181 million in education grants over the last five years. Additionally, the bank provided nearly $12 billion in financing to education institutions and school districts through lending and bond underwriting in 2009 alone.

Community development financial institutions that fund charter schools and are interested in applying for a grant through this new program should contact JPMorgan Chase at CharterSchools.CDFI@jpmchase.com.

About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.1 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

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Achievement First Secret #2 – Just Don’t Deal With Kids. Lock them up and force them Out

Teaching kids is tough work.  Achievement First seems to have found a short cut through the hard stuff though – Here is another story about their track record on New York City from NYDAILYNEWS.COM:

She has served detention for slouching, humming and failing to look her teachers in the eye.

It’s no surprise that former honors student Gianna Boone hates going to Achievement First Crown Heights Middle School.

The East New York Ave. charter school’s strict rules have landed the 13-year-old girl in detention nearly every day this year. And her grades have dropped from an A average to a C.

“I get into trouble every time I turn around,” said Gianna, an eighth-grader who has served detention at least four times every week since school began in August for humming, talking loudly in the bathroom and using a pen during math class. “It’s killing me.”

The five-year-old middle school hands out detention based on a system of demerits – which students earn for infractions such as putting their heads on their desks, not facing forward while walking in the hallway.

With every three demerits, a student must serve 45 minutes of detention.

Some behaviors are considered so bad – rolling their eyes, sucking their teeth or complaining after getting a demerit – students get an immediate 45-minute detention for committing them.

On an average day, one in six kids – about 50 – in the 300-student school stays after class, Achievement First officials said.

“We have high expectations, and we’re really confident that what we’re doing is in the students’ best interests,” said Principal Wells Blanchard, who instituted the policies when he took over the school this year.

Charter school advocates say the strict rules maintain order for kids.

But a group of parents with children at Achievement First Crown Heights say the rules are overkill. More than 20 of them met last week at the Crown Heights public library to discuss protesting the policies.

The group agreed to speak out at the school’s next board meeting Nov. 22.

“I understand that schools need to have rules, but this is like Rikers Island,” said Sarah Dickens, who said she will be at the board meeting to protest her fifth-grade son’s daily detention for things like dropping a pen and failing to address a teacher as “ma’am.”

“They’ve gone too far,” Dickens said.

Education experts say charter schools with tough rules are a growing trend.

“These schools may seem extreme, but the idea is to create an optimal learning environment,” said Chris Wynne, co-author of “Inside Urban Charter Schools.”

“If you don’t address small problems, things can spiral out of control,” said Wynne.

The Crown Heights school is part of Achievement First, a charter school network with 10 schools in Brooklyn.

In February, an Achievement First middle school in Bedford-Stuyvesant made headlines for its strict rules.

About 20% of Achievement First Endeavor Charter School’s students served detention on any given day, and in the first half of the school year, one in 12 students transferred out.

The Crown Heights parents say they are also considering taking their youngsters out of the middle school.

“The school’s worse than a prison,” said Gianna’s mother, who said she blames her chest pains on her daughter’s troubles at school. “The situation has to change.”

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Achievement First Secret #1 – Pick on kids with Autism

Much has been made of the (mostly by themselves) of the untested results of Achievement First schools.  AF is the Charter school operator that wants to run the Mayoral Academy in Cranston.  But where has the scutiny been?  I will give the beat reporters in the Providence Journal credit – I think they have done a very good job laying out the issues (even though their editors are obviously biased) For example: there are a number of horror stories about students having to withstand torments at AF schools.  Ordeals like this one endured by a 10 year old austitisc boy named Brandon Strong. Note the condescending note at the end from the principal:  typical corporate think – blame the victim. From NYDAILYNEWS.COM

An East New York boy diagnosed with autism has gotten dozens of detentions this school year for behaviors caused by his condition, his parents say.

Brandon Strong, 10, who attends fifth grade at Achievement First East New York Middle School, has been held after school and at lunch for fidgeting, talking to himself and failing to look teachers in the eye.

The boy’s parents say his ongoing disciplinary problems at the Richmond St. charter school are out of his control – and the punishments he’s receiving are ruining his life.

“This situation at school is driving my son crazy,” said Laila Strong, 37, a small business owner. “He hates it so much he’s starting to come apart.”

The talkative kid with glasses hasn’t always had such a tough time in class. Brandon was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when he was 3 years old, after preschool teachers noticed he had trouble sitting still. Two years later he was diagnosed with autism but he worked hard with his family to succeed in mainstream classes.

“We built a life for Brandon that worked,” said Strong, who helped the boy with his homework every afternoon and discussed the upcoming school day with him each morning while he brushed his teeth.

Strong said the routines that kept Brandon balanced in elementary school were disrupted this year when he started at middle school.

That’s when he started getting held for “not tracking,” “talking” and “not following directions” during class, according to school documents.

Two months into the school year, he started having trouble sleeping. He began to throw hysterical fits before school when he begged his mother to not send him to class.

“I kept getting in trouble for things I can’t control,” said Brandon. “It wasn’t fair.”

The Strongs don’t want to move him to another school because they say it would disrupt his life even more. “We want to Brandon to succeed in the school he’s in,” said Laila Strong.

Brendan’s parents have had several meetings with school officials over the boy’s disciplinary issues but haven’t agreed with them over how to address his behavior.

Achievement First East New York Middle School Principal David Harding said the boy and his parents have overstated his trouble in school.

“The Strong family unfortunately is not partnering with us to get Brandon into college, and I think that is more of a hindrance in his development,” said Harding

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Wednesday Night: Angel Taveras and Drinking Liberally

Carol Santos Aguasvivas, Andy Andujar, Anthony Autiello, Jr., Peter Baptista, Jake Bissaillon, Hon. Chris Blazejewski, Sandra Cano, Victor Capellan, Suzanne Da Silva, Jeff Dana, Adriana Dawson, Jason Del Pozzo, Doris De los Santos, Hon. James Diossa, Michael Fontaine, Amy Gabarra, Meghan Grady, Teny Gross, Chris Hunter, Arianne Lynch, Daniel Meyer, Alex Moore, Albin Moser, Lauren Nocera, David Segal, Tony Simon, Brett Smiley, Chris Vitale & Cliff Wood
(Host Committee in formation)

invite you to a Young Professionals Event
honoring

Angel Taveras
Mayor of Providence

Wednesday, August 24
6:00 to 8:00 PM

At the Wild Colonial
250 S Water Street
Providence, RI

Host: Raise or Contribute $125
Individual: $25

Please RSVP to rsvp@angelforprovidence.com or (401) 454-0991
Or RSVP online via the link below

Please make checks payable to:

Angel for Mayor
PO Box 2533
Providence, RI 02906

**Please join us afterwards for Drinking Liberally with Rep. Chris Blazejewski** starting at 8PM.