Is the State manipulating data to give our public schools to charter operators?

Westwood Elementary is a strong neighborhood school.  It has a proud history, has strong support from local church congregations, and is a hub in its community.  In 2012, Memphis residents voted to give up their Memphis City School charter to merge with the successful Shelby County School district.  Westwood parents were eager to be a part of this new merged system. But only 4 months into the newly merged district, Westwood Elementary parents and staff are being told they have no choice:  Their public neighborhood elementary school will be given to an out-of-state charter chain next year against their wishes and despite their protests.

Parents and leaders in the Westwood community know their school's test scores were improving.  Their students were making great gains.  They saw how hard their teachers and students were working.  

They've been researching the other ASD schools that have already been taken over by the state.  They notice that the ASD test scores are dismally low, especially in reading.  They see the crazy new grading scale that the ASD implemented to inflate children's grades.  They question the data and find glaring discrepancies.  

They see these huge red flags:

• An observant Westwood Dad notices that the ASD is fudging the numbers for some strange reason. The rollup TVAAS Composite averages for the ASD are crazy inflated!  Looking at the 6 ASD schools individual scores  6 schools currently in the ASD on the TN Report Card for 2013 (Cornerstone Prep - Lester Campus, Frayser Achievement Elementary, Corning Achievement Elementary, Brick Church College Prep (Nashville), Humes Preparatory Academy, And Westside Achievement Academy), it is plain to see that those individual school's numbers don't add up to the ASD District's glowing Composite score.  Why???

• This next big question they found on the ASD Superintendent search document printed on the Tennessee Department of Education's Race to the Top waiver.  If you look at the bottom of page 2, you'll find a section that states:  "Schools that are eligible for the ASD have either reached the “Restructuring 2” phase (the fifth year of improvement status) pursuant to the State's accountability system, or they are Title I schools that meet the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of “persistently lowest achieving schools.” Based on current AYP calculations, there are currently 13 schools that are eligible to be part of the ASD. Ten of the schools are categorized as the persistently lowest-achieving schools in the state and the other three schools are in Restructuring 2 and beyond under No Child Left Behind designations. The schools are located in five Tennessee districts, including: Madison County (Jackson), Hamilton County (Chattanooga), Knox County (Knoxville), Memphis, and Metro Nashville."  From February 2012 to September 2013 is 16 months; how does 16 months turn into 5 years of restructuring that makes Westwood Elementary eligible for ASD???

• Comparing the "High Priority" schools by year and number, and the years that Westwood Elementary was included as a High Priority School...  Once removed from the High Priority Schools list in July 2008, they did not reappear until the first ASD Priority List was published in February 2012.  Which is odd, because they were not a part of the list in October 2011.  How can a school that was not a High Priority in October 2011 become a High Priority in February 2012, if no high stakes testing is performed within that period??? 
  

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Their neighborhood may be low-income, but they know they are being forced to do something that isn't right for their children and community.  Their public neighborhood school is being handed, on a silver platter, to an out-of-state charter chain.  This is not their choice.  Their choice would be smaller class sizes for their children.  Their choice would be support in their school building from counselors, a full-time school nurse, and assistants.  Their choice would be fixing the leaking windows from the 1950s.  

Their citizens voted to be represented through an ELECTED school board, not a charter chain looking to make money from their children.  The Westwood community isn't fooled.
 
(This was posted anonymously, with permission, to protect the privacy of these parents in Memphis, TN)

Is the ASD targeting the "top of the bottom" schools to try and "cream" the best for their score portfolio???