This is a big, big hire.

Kool Aid drinker par excellence.

The reason this is big is because Rysewyk is so well-known and (I think) liked in the community where this school is to be established. He was a principal and assistant principal at Fulton and was the person most involved with the school's redesign (or whatever they call it) before being bumped up into admin. He is one of JMac's prized cogs.
First time I really covered him was when he won a $50K MIlken Award.

What I'd be curious about is his experience at the K-8 level.

Too bad Knox County Schools could not keep him.

"too bad Knox County Schools could not keep him"...out of administration. The best principals are really needed in the schools. I know some ineffective principals who have been "promoted" to the AJ Building where they don't seem to do much which is just as well.

This is a big hire and one I'm sure was planned from day one. Note the author of this memo:
(link...)

Or it could be that it's some really good people who want nothing more than to help kids and believe they can do so with schools.

Someone can actually be good and good intentioned and just not agree with you on how things should be done.

Y'all are smart people...why do you insist on acting like anyone looking at a different approach is inherently evil.

Steve Diggs and his folks have walked the walk for a lot of years. There is nothing in their historic behavior to lead anyone to believe he has some big financial motive.

Trash the approach and the concept of charter schools all you want. That's a policy decision and fair game. But if you want to imply there is some hidden or financial agenda driving the Emerald folks maybe you should fine a single shred of evidence.

And I agree that it is too bad Jon R. is leaving Knox County because he is a total rock star. He was the guy who went to the Board and said he needed the school day to be longer at Fulton, he needed the kids for more time every day. Totally kid and results focused. I don't see him joining this organization for any reason other than he, too, believes he can more successfully help kids that need it.

You think the public schools whose zones Emerald is targeting wouldn't have better results if they could afford to reduce class size, double the number of teachers and cream off the best, most involved parents?

It'll help the kids directly involved at the expense of a whole lot of others.

And, btw, have you noticed that McIntyre isn't nearly as in love with the standardized tests he's been cudgeling his teachers with now that KCS's numbers are sinking?

ALEC holds its 41st annual meeting in Dallas, Texas starting on Wednesday, July 30, 2014. At this largest of its three annual national conferences, state legislators from across the country will meet with corporate and special interest lobbyists behind closed doors to vote on "model" legislation to change state laws.

(link...)

The "Public Charter Schools Act" would expand on ALEC's pre-existing "Next Generation Charter Schools Act" and enrich ALEC members like K12, Inc., the nation's largest provider of online charter schools or cyber schools. It would allow privately-operated charter schools to continue taking public funds, but without public accountability. The bill would give charter schools carte blanche to operate without being "subject to the state's education statutes or any state or local rule, regulation, policy, or procedure relating to non-charter public schools within an applicable local school district

The related "Public Charter Schools Funding Act" restates charters' autonomy from the rule of law and democratically-elected school boards while still giving each charter school "one hundred percent" of the state and federal education funding "calculated pursuant to the state's funding formula for school districts.”

I'm not accusing Steve Diggs of any chicanery. I do not believe he's doing anything he considers wrong.

My point is a philosophical one, with charter schools generally, especially in a revenue-poor district like KCS. This is a zero-sum game, Mike. Instead of 'follow the money,' the money will follow the student. Your fairy godmother's not going to wave her magic wand and refill the trough. Emerald will take $5 mil when its fully operational, and I expect that will adjust upward for inflation, like everything else.

When you say "I don't personally think Emerald is out to skim off the best students or those with the most involved parents. I think Steve will want to serve those who need help the most," you are missing the point. I do not believe that Steve Diggs has any intention of harming the public schools.

But who do you think attends informational meetings and fills out forms and signs onto the parent involvement requirement at a charter school? At Vine Middle, for example, they can hardly get parents to show up for PTA meetings and parent conferences. You seem pretty disconnected from reality in this regard.

When using public dollars, the goal should be the best use of the dollars in the most equitable way, right?

Does a system that sets up better schools for these kids while leaving those kids out do that?

Suppose Emerald shows remarkable gains, but those gains for whatever reasons can't be replicated in all schools.

Then what?

It'd be great if all public schools could have the resources and construct as a private school like Webb, but does it even make sense to believe they can? Especially in a region that has a fear of any raised taxes for the common good, much less education.

Emerald is smack dab in the middle of the federal empowerment zone, meaning banks make big bucks on construction & can double their money in 7 years with a 39% New Market Tax Credit.

Charters drain scarce funds that should go to the public schools into the 1%ers beach houses, tax lawyers, gated mansions, and inbreeding. Parthenon's flim-flam pitch to its investors should tell you all you need to know about who benefits from charters.

The reality for those kids & families in charters is disconnected from the hype sold by the financial masters of the universe. Poor children are NOT IN THIS BOY'S CLUB and will NEVER BE IN THE CLUB. The same liars who crashed the economy in 2008 are better at marketing hype & lies than academics. It's just sad that the media believes their think-tank press- releases rather than actual scholars on education.
Here's one example of charters in ALbany, NY:

They[hedge fund managers] have been contributing generously to lawmakers in hopes of creating a friendlier climate for charter schools. More immediately, they have raised a multimillion-dollar war chest to lobby this month for a bill to raise the maximum number of charter schools statewide to 460 from 200.
According to Gonzalez, “a nonprofit called the Brighter Choice Foundation had employed the New Markets Tax Credit to arrange private financing for five of the city’s nine charter schools.” By 2010, many of those charter schools were struggling to pay escalating rents, which were “going toward the debt service that Brighter Choice incurred during construction.”
examples of the escalating rents:
The Henry Johnson Charter School saw the rent for its 31,000-square-foot building skyrocket from $170,000 in 2008 to $560,000 in 2009.
The Albany Community School‘s went from from $195,000 to $350,000.
Green Tech High Charter School rent rose from $443,000 to $487,000.

(link...)

Education reform is a good cause, innovation is good. But the push coming from Wall St and financiers assures the poor & middle class will lose more while our taxes enrich the 1%ers. This form of financing corrupts short & long- term efforts for improving schools in all of our communities.

Betty, do you have any information about Diggs' and Rysewyk's salaries and other financial perks they may receive?

We are being told over and over that the public schools are failing us, so Knoxville brings in a shiny, new charter school and who do they hire to run it? Someone who's been in public schools for most of his career. Do I have that right?

That's some real innovation for ya!