“I’m from the state of Ohio, so I think I look at things a little differently because most of our charter schools are not public charter schools. So, you may hear me coming from a very different vantage point.”
- Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio)
(Just one of the headscratchers from last week’s House Education and Labor Committee hearing on charters.)
NATIONAL
The Push for Preschool
Washington Post, D.C., June 8, 2009
Preschool, which includes various programs for children ages 2 to 4, is less closely associated with public education, and its availability in public schools varies from state to state. In addition, some parents are reluctant to place very young children in a school setting. Over the past few decades, however, states have ramped up spending on preschool, particularly pre-K for 4-year-olds.
Ten Ways To Create World-Class Schools
Detroit News, MI, June 8, 2009
No Child Left Behind is about getting our lowest-performing students to minimum standards. That is nowhere near enough. To get us where we need to go, we propose the National World Class Schools Act to replace NCLB. To get its fair share of federal education funds, a state would need to…
FROM THE STATES
State Law, Attitudes Slow Charter School Movement In Iowa
Des Moines Register, IA, June 7, 2009
The nation’s 4,500 charter schools, free to bend tradition in the name of innovation, are credited with some of the biggest leaps in education reform…. But in Iowa, charter schools have drawn attention for what’s missing. The movement never took off, despite a $4.2 million infusion of federal money and a special law.
Grads Back D.C. Program
Washington Times, D.C., June 8, 2009
Recipients of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship attended a graduation ceremony Wednesday night at Archbishop Carroll High School to honor their accomplishments and plead for reauthorization of the program.
Unusual Phila. Foster-Care Charter School Holds Lottery
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 6, 2009
Lynn Wallace was confident that her foster daughter Samiria would get a chance to attend the nation’s first charter high school for teens in foster care.
Proposal Would Allow More Charter Schools To Open
Star News, NC, June 6, 2009
Last week, the state denied Mitchell’s application to open a third charter school, in Duplin County, criticizing the part of his school’s pledge that stresses obedience, he said. Mitchell said he feels the state is not really looking at the good things his school is doing, and he doesn’t know whether regular public schools are learning anything from the charter school.
School Board Race Hit By - Gasp – Politics
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, June 7, 2009
Ohio’s decade-old controversy over charter schools is emerging in a political brush fire at the state’s most obscure elected body - the state school board.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
48 of 48
New York Times, NY, June 7, 2009
The original plan was that Gaston Prep would grow naturally into a school that encompassed grades 5 through 8, which is the normal KIPP model. (KIPP is short for the Knowledge Is Power Program, an effort that started in Houston and has become one of the most academically sound public school programs in the nation.) The goal was to lift the students out of the academic doldrums that handicapped the life chances of so many of their peers and get them onto a solid college track.
Today, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on charter schools in order to look at “building on what works“, based on the success of schools such as Roxbury Prep in Boston, Green Dot in Los Angeles, and KIPP all over. Some highlights:
- Assistant Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton dispelling the myth that charters cream the best students from their conventional counterparts
- Rep. McKeon’s acknowledgment that charters are essential to turning around our nation’s failing school system
- Steve Barr’s discussion of Green Dots’ efforts to turnaround L.A.’s troubled Locke High School
- John King’s assertion that “our students look the same as conventional public school students, but are outperforming them”
- Jim Goenner’s description of his battle scars earned by closing schools because it was in the best interest of kids
The real takeaway was not replication, but responsibility:
- The responsibility of charters to continue to drive innovation in the education sector
- The primary responsibility states have for improving charter school laws
- The responsibility of authorizers to make certain schools are serving their students first and foremost
One big responsibility all charter advocates must continue to be mindful of is making sure lawmakers understand what charter schools actually are and how they serve their communities and the country at large.
This last point was made painfully clear in the waning minutes of questioning this morning as certain Congressmen and women illustrated their utter lack of knowledge, understanding and/or acceptance of these innovative schools, even after two hours of success stories.
The battle continues…
(For our live impressions straight from the hearing, please follow our Twitter stream.)
