Ben Chavis (educator) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Doctor Ben Chavis
Born	Benford Ben Chavis Robeson County, North Carolina
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Oklahoma City University University of Arizona Northern Arizona University
Occupation	Educator
Years active	1988- present
Organization	San Francisco State University American Indian Public Charter School
Known for	American Indian Model Schools

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". The school made considerable improvements under Dr. Chavis and was named in 2006 as one of the top 250 schools in the US. In 2008 it ranked fifth among all the 1300 odd middle schools in California in terms of academic performance index. 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 Indian 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 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 to be accountable, a philosophy he applied as an educator.

Chavis attended local segregated public schools, where he was most interested in sports. He accepted a track scholarship by Oklahoma City University. Two years in, he was offered an academic scholarship by the University of Arizona, and transferred there, majoring in education. He thought at the time that the field would offer easy conditions. Chavis graduated with a bachelor's degree in education; he had worked part-time as a school janitor to help pay for it. He continued to study, working on a master's degree through night classes at Northern Arizona University. Later 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.

That year he was recruited by a representative of Oakland's Native American community for the position of principal at the struggling American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, starting in 2001. By 2005, he had succeeded in dramatically raising scores of the middle school students and increasing enrollment at the school.

Chavis had generated considerable controversy by his methods. He was criticized by some parents and faculty for harsh treatment of students and teachers. Chavis zealously mocked liberal orthodoxy and was praised by conservatives such as columnist George Will and Andrew Coulson of the Cato Institute.

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. A K-4 elementary school was added to AIPCS II in 2012. During these years, the AIM system student body had a growing proportion of African American, Asian and Latino students, with American Indians comprising a smaller percentage. Chavis resigned all ties in January 2012. By the 2012 school year, some 90 percent of the AIMS students were ethnic Asian. Some critics of the system attributed the high scores of the system schools to the make-up of the student body, known for a culture that demanded high performance.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called Chavis's results an “education miracle.”

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.

Books authored

• Blakely, Carey., Chavis, Ben. Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City. United States: Penguin Publishing Group, 2010. ISBN: 9781101532492