Charter school leader compares critic to Officer Wilson
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Boys' Latin CEO David Hardy tweets that charter critic shoots black boys
As if the debate over public education weren't vitriolic enough: this morning, Boys' Latin of Philadelphia Charter School CEO David Hardy tweeted "What does Temple law professor Susan DeJarnett [sic] and Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson have in common? They both shoot at unarmed boys."
Wilson, of course, being the controversial Ferguson police officer who shot and killed unarmed black teen Mike Brown, sparking widespread protest and debate.
What did DeJarnatt do?
Apparently, Hardy's tweet was in response to her post on charter schools yesterday at the Philadelphia Public School Notebook. She argues that self-described school reformers have a double standard, using low standardized test scores to declare traditional public schools failures while giving low-scoring charters a free pass. She points out that some charters, including Boys' Latin, have lower poverty rates than many district schools yet still deliver low scores.
It's not clear how DeJarnatt's data-based criticism compares to police killings of unarmed black boys. Hardy has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Hardy's tweet will likely come in for more scrutiny. He is the spokesperson for a new and not-very-well-understood pro-charter outfit called Philly School Choice. The group has run multiple pro-charter ads in recent months but has refused to disclose the sources of their funding. But Hardy and his school sit at a powerful and wealthy nexus of charter school activism—one that points towards next year's mayoral election.
Charter and voucher advocate Janine Yass, wife of wealthy Bala Cynwyd investor Jeffrey Yass, has been (at least in the past) on Boys' Latin's board. Yass also sits on the board, and has funded, the powerful and pro-charter Philadelphia School Partnership. The Yass' are also close to state Sen. Anthony Williams, one of the most outspoken Black supporters of charters and vouchers in Pennsylvania, and a frontrunner in the 2015 mayoral race—and Williams is close to Latin. Dawn Chavous, Executive Director of the reform group Students First PA (backed by Jeffrey Yass and other wealthy investors), sits on Latin's board, and is Williams' former chief of staff (and is also married to City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson). Students First poured more than $5 million into Williams' quixotic 2010 gubernatorial bid.
In the interests of full disclosure, DeJarnatt is one of a few lawyers representing my interests in a current legal fight with the School District of Philadelphia (they are contesting my efforts, under the state Right to Know law, to obtain data on school environmental health quality).
