Nashville

Annette Fuentes, in "Failing Students, Rising Profits" [Sept. 19], refused to let facts stand in the way of her opinion of Community Education Partners as a "Republican-flavored" alternative education program. We gave her access to our schools, provided academic achievement data and supplied documentation that refuted allegations made against us. We at CEP expected an article opposing the program, given Fuentes's statement that privatized education programs are an "abdication" of public schools' responsibility. But we did not expect, and your readers do not deserve, a story with factual errors. Some examples:

§ Fuentes says that there has never been a favorable independent evaluation of CEP, ignoring the fact that CEP provided her with a list of ten evaluations by school districts, state agencies, etc., indicating that students consistently improved their academic performance and CEP met state standards. Temple University recently conducted an independent study for the Pennsylvania Education Department. The Philadelphia School District, not CEP, provided the requested data, and the study's authors had free rein to review CEP's record on state test scores. The study concluded that "while attending CEP, students attend school regularly, stay out of disciplinary trouble, and make, on average, impressive if not extraordinary gains in...student achievement."

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