Ben Chavis

Benford Chavis is an American educator known for his leadership at the American Indian Public Charter School (AIPCS) in Oakland, California, and its expanded American Indian Model Schools system, serving from 2001 into 2012. He is a national leader in the education reform movement, emphasizing a conservative philosophy of discipline and accountability. From Robeson County, North Carolina, Chavis received a doctorate in education from the University of Arizona, was a tenure-track professor in 1988 at San Francisco State University, and he served as the superintendent of schools at the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona before working in Oakland.

Chavis was appointed as the principal of AIPCS in 2000 when the school was "among the worst middle schools in Oakland, Calif" suffering from "highest dropout rate and lowest attendance and graduation rates of any ethnic group in the city". It then moved to the #1 position in 2010. Though the school made remarkable improvements under Chavis, at the same time this success attracted controversy primarily for the methods he used on the students to keep them performing well. In 2012, Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team submitted a report alleging Chavis had been involved in mismanagement of school funds. After seven years of federal investigation, all financial mismanagement charges against Chavis were dropped in 2019.

Chavis was featured in the documentary film Flunked (2008). He is the co-author of Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City (2009).

Early life and education Born Benford Chavis, the eldest of six children in a poor Lumbee family in Robeson County, North Carolina, he was soon called "Ben", a nickname he has used all his life. He had a difficult relationship with his alcoholic father, who died when he was young. His mother remarried. None of his parents had much formal education, but Chavis said his stepfather taught him discipline, how to work hard and be accountable—a philosophy he applied as an educator. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in education; he had worked part-time as a school janitor to help pay for it. Chavis continued his studies, pursuing a master's degree through night classes at Northern Arizona University. In 1986 he completed a doctorate at the University of Arizona, in education, with what he said were concentrations in philosophy and anthropology.

Career

In 1988, Chavis became a tenure-track professor in the ethnic studies department at San Francisco State University. In 2000, he was working as superintendent of schools at the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. The school claimed to be just as intolerant of unions as it was of drug dealers, and prided itself on firing under-performing teachers.

He worked with the school's board in 2007 to respond to community demand for more classes, and they added another middle school, AIPCS II, and a high school, AIPHS, under a new charter organization known as the American Indian Model Schools (AIMS) system.

While Chavis stepped down as head of the schools in summer 2007, the board asked him to serve in an executive, consulting role, and he was active in the schools' affairs.

Reception

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said during his visit to Chavis's school in March 2006, "I have taken the tour [of American Indian Public Charter School], and I have to tell you from what I've seen I was really impressed. ... It is an education miracle that has happened here."

The San Francisco Chronicle remarked, “There is much to be learned from this account. It is possible to restore public education to its mission of educating the nation’s citizens. There is a message of hope and possibility in Crazy Like a Fox that we should embrace.”

Representation in other media Chavis was among reform educators featured in the documentary Flunked (2008), directed by Corey Burres, about the failures of the United States public school systems and efforts in educational reforms. Chavis has appeared several times in the television programs hosted by John Stossel. He was also a frequently seen subject of discussion in Stossel's columns.

Controversies California state "extraordinary audit" Chavis resigned all ties at the school system in January 2012 and returned to North Carolina, where he had been resident again for some time. After the results of an "extraordinary audit" by the California financial management system were released later in 2012, Chavis was criticized for allegedly receiving more than $3.8 million in school funds for directing school payments to his and his wife's business without authorized contracts, from 2006 to 2010. In addition, the board of the charter school system was criticized for lax accounting and financial mismanagement. Following the results of the audit and other investigations of Chavis related to treatment of students and faculty, in February 2013, OUSD revoked the school's charter. After Chavis's resignation, the school appealed the revocation and struggled for the next year to keep its charter. It gained a preliminary injunction from the Superior Court of Alameda County allowing it to continue to operate the three system schools. AIMS has since received a 5-year renewal of the charter. During the next years, the charter school system paid Chavis an additional $8.6 million to lease buildings which he owned in Oakland, because it was unable to find other spaces for its operations.

In North Carolina Chavis started a camp on his property to help students improve their math scores.

However, as of April 2019, all financial mismanagement charges against Chavis were dropped. Chavis has pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge. The federal sentencing memo issued by U.S. District Court of Oakland said "Dr. Chavis' conduct, while a violation of federal law, did not cause measurable financial losses to the United States or another identifiable victim", though he pleaded guilty for using false information in board documents and thus was put on probation for a year and a financial fine of $100 was imposed.

Books authored

Blakely, Carey., Chavis, Ben. Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City. United States: Penguin Publishing Group, 2010.