I watched a local public school teacher I knew, who led the Gifted and Talented Enrichment program and who I had thought better of, have a complete meltdown when our charter school was starting up. Oh boy. That harpy worked like the devil to stop the charter school altogether, for good reason. Our public school here is a worthless hellhole and she knew she'd lose all of her GATE students, and with it her fat little salary boost. She didn't succeed, and yes, those students walked. But I was disgusted by her not-very-private agenda; how she attacked the charter school as meritless, calling it by all the pejoratives that actually applied to the public school. Students who are virtually illiterate are allowed to graduate. It is appalling.