From: Subject: Date: To: Cc: Shaina Cavazos scavazos@chalkbeat.org Re: Final request for comment for Chalkbeat story October 27, 2017 at 4:09 PM Thomas Burroughs tburroughs@email.asimplereminder.com Julie Topping jtopping@chalkbeat.org Tom, Thanks for your response. It is standard for news organizations like Chalkbeat not to share stories prior to publication, so I cannot do that. But as I said, I am happy to get on the phone to discuss my story in more detail. I have incorporated the feedback you’ve already provided. In particular, it would be helpful to discuss • Student-to-teacher ratios. • AlphaCom’s operations outside of supporting Indiana Virtual School • The school’s contracts with AlphaCom • Each school’s specific student enrollment and teaching force • The timing of Thomas Stoughton’s decision to leave the Indiana Virtual School’s board If you’d like to speak further, I am available until 6 p.m. today or between 9 a.m. and noon on Monday. I’m going to have my editor, Julie Topping, join us on the call, if there are further questions. I have copied her on this email. Sincerely, Shaina Cavazos Reporter & Community Editor, Chalkbeat Indiana chalkbeat.org/in scavazos@chalkbeat.org C: (630) 440-5067 On Oct 27, 2017, at 1:33 PM, Thomas Burroughs wrote: Ms. Cavazos: We did not receive a copy of your proposed blog piece with your email and, accordingly, lack information sufficient to intelligently comment on what may be contained in or omitted from your article. From your spartan description of topics, we surmise the article will be one-sided and will omit positive information regarding the schools. I will take this opportunity to briefly address a few topics, but assume you will not include this information in your editorial. 1. Especially with junior high and high school students, school performance is primarily a function of the abilities of the students who enroll in the schools, and is an inaccurate and misleading indicator of the schools’ performance or quality. By law, each school must enroll students who apply, provided the pupils satisfy the age and residency requirements. The schools cannot “cherry pick” the high performing students while declining the “under-achievers”. Each school must accept and attempt to educate students whose skills and abilities have been molded through years of educational malnutrition and neglect. Many enrollees read at levels well below their cohorts, and are ill-equipped to succeed. As Dr. Clark stated, the schools are predominantly populated with “throw away” students, i.e., students expelled or suspended from other schools who are ineligible to drop out of school and must enroll somewhere. The schools are a last chance for those students. Every student who graduates is one less person likely to be a drain on the state and its citizens. A diploma, or an enhancement of their skills may open doors and allow these “throw away” students to become selfsupporting, tax-paying citizens rather than welfare recipients or correctional facility residents. The schools—including administrators and teachers—celebrate the success of each student and graduate. They have compelling stories to tell, which is a more relevant tale than the one you will likely tell. The schools cannot which is a more relevant tale than the one you will likely tell. The schools cannot undo years of neglect, but they are trying, including developing innovative methods to engage students. Text to speech software will assist those students with deficient reading skills. Gamifying coursework will help students better learn and retain knowledge. The schools, with the assistance of their authorizer, are constantly working on ways to improve performance. 2. You intimate the schools’ student-teacher ratios are inappropriate. If that is your point, you are mistaken. Approximately 6,332 students are enrolled in the two schools. At present, the schools contract with 40 teachers, including eight lead teachers. The student-teacher ratio is approximately 158:1, which is lower than most virtual charter junior and high schools and many brick and mortar junior and high schools. Charter schools exist to innovate and attempt to find alternatives and solutions to the systemic problems which underlie public education in the United States. The school is privileged to work with highly-motivated, skilled educators who strive to engage the students and help them achieve. The schools’ focus should be and is on helping students learn and graduate, and not on employing the maximum number of teachers deemed appropriate by teachers unions. 3. You further intimate the existence of an inappropriate relationship between the schools and AlphaCom, Inc. Presumably, your piece will omit important facts relevant to a fair and balanced assessment of the relationship. Most, if not all charter schools, receive start-up grants and funding. IVS was not so blessed. The school existed solely by virtue of the will and perseverance of AlphaCom. The school operated out of a tiny ranch house on 96th Street in Carmel. Had you visited the school in those days, you could not have failed to observe the spartan environment. There were no funds for new furniture or surroundings. Every dollar AlphaCom could obtain was invested in growing the school and its infrastructure. When IVS moved to Parkwood Crossing, it was solely through the financial wherewithal of AlphaCom that space was procured. The landlord would not offer a lease to a virtual charter school. The landlord was willing to lease to AlphaCom. Even then, AlphaCom had to pay the cost of leasehold improvements and prepay rent for approximately one year. IVS did not then have the money to lease the space, so AlphaCom entered into the lease and sublet a portion of the offices to IVS. Without AlphaCom, the schools would not exist. As to Mr. Stoughton’s relationship to both entities, he recused himself when the school’s board had to consider an issue involving AlphaCom. When he became aware of a “related party” issue, he disposed of his interest in AlphaCom. Now that the schools have a solid operating foundation, he resigned from the IVS/IVPA Board as well. If you genuinely seek comment on your piece, I invite you to share a copy and agree to correct inaccuracies or omissions which are misleading. If you do not so agree, please know that the schools will closely examine your work and will ensure your readers and those who care about the future of online education receive a fair and balance response which will include all relevant facts and considerations. Respectfully, Tom Burroughs Thomas G. Burroughs AlphaCom, Inc. 510 East 96th Street, Suite 180 Indianapolis, IN 46240 (317) 660-9261 (direct) (317) 58-5631, Ext. 124 (operator assisted) tburroughs@email.asimplereminder.com From: Shaina Cavazos [mailto:scavazos@chalkbeat.org] Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2017 4:21 PM To: toms@indianavirtual.com; percy clark ; Thomas Burroughs Subject: Final request for comment for Chalkbeat story Hello, I wanted to let you know that we are getting close to publishing a story about Indiana Virtual School. I have not heard back from you on several of my last questions, but wanted to provide a final opportunity for you to give comment on the story. The story will detail the school’s performance, including graduation rate, test scores and letter grades; its spending, contrasting that with how other virtual schools allocate their funds; and its unusually high student-to-teacher ratio. It will also raise questions about the connections between the school and AlphaCom. If you wish to contribute more to our reporting, I'm asking that you let me know by 3 p.m. Friday and make time to speak by noon on Sunday. If I don’t hear from you, I will let readers know you chose not to respond. Sincerely, Shaina Cavazos Reporter & Community Editor, Chalkbeat Indiana chalkbeat.org/in scavazos@chalkbeat.org C: (630) 440-5067