http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/01/30/school-groups-fight-back-against-the-billionaires Comments On: School groups fight back against the billionaires by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Wed, 22 May 2013 18:45:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
I can also think of many examples where traditional public schools (those in those doomed neighborhoods) are indeed able to find the highest quality educators with multiple degrees, plentiful experience, awards, publications to their credit, etc.

We still haven't answered the key question. Why? Why all the erosion of support for traditional public schools without overwhelming, sound evidence that the alternative is so profoundly better?

I don't think more money is the answer. I think building early childhood intervention and parental education programs can certainly benefit us all, even those who choose the charter path. I'm not anti-choice. I'm very much pro public. Believe it or not, for whatever reason, plenty of children have no other choice. We all need to be mindful of that.
Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:48:56 -0600 Arkansas Times
Secondly, I think providing the OPTION to NOT attend a school based upon where your finances constrain you to live (i.e., within certain district lines..the 'poor' neighborhood with the poor tax-base to fund the school that can likely only recruit the less than stellar teachers), is "do[ing] better."

Finally, I doubt that any advocate of school choice and charters firmly believes that this reform strategy is a silver bullet to fixing our education system. But I do think it is a start. Why not give the money to the traditional public schools you ask? Haven't we been giving the traditional public schools larger and larger sums of money each year? (yes, we have...I've read the Adequacy reports and seen the increases to education funding since Lake View). And to what effect? I acknowledge that we have seen our education system in AR get stronger...but there are still components of it that we cannot change overnight without causing harm to the students or the culture of education as a whole.

That said, I think that the idea of creating separate education entities, largely untied to the existing system...that so many find to be too "one size fits all" where we can try new things is "doing better." It's like having our own "Research & Development" unit within the education arena.

I once heard Howard Fuller say that the issue with education in America is not a single-component problem, but a problem with the system as a whole...because not all of the components within that system are running smoothly (paraphrased). Let's take advantage of the unique opportunity that charter schools give us to determine how to fix these 'broken' components and move back into a well-oiled-education machine. That is doing better. Besides...the kids who attend them CHOOSE to enroll there. The beauty of that is two fold: 1) if they don't like it, they can return to the traditional public schools; and 2) if the charter school is not providing a sound education to students (that they could not get elsewhere), then the charter is SHUT DOWN. I think THAT is definitely "doing better." How many traditional public schools in Little Rock do you think would have been shut down by now if they were subject to the same academic oversight that charter schools have been? Food for thought.

TRS
Posted by The Rank Stranger]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:42:22 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:18:04 -0600 Arkansas Times
Always look behind the curtain.

"A nonprofit group released thousands of e-mails today and said they show how a foundation begun by Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and national education reform leader, is working with public officials in states to write education laws that could benefit some of its corporate funders."

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/ema…
Posted by the outlier]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:59:36 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:00:04 -0600 Arkansas Times
In fact, one of the purposes of charter schools is to serve as "laboratory schools" to try out new reforms that could potentially have positive impacts on academic performance of our students.

The vitriol being spit at charter schools is shocking, considering charter schools have only been around for 21 years. I think we are still ironing out the kinks. However, we are starting to see places where traditional public schools are implementing some of the typical policies that we see in charters (teacher licensure waivers, extended school day, extended school year etc. - Google 'Houston Apollo 20 for an example).

That said, let's recall that once charter schools are established, the decision to enroll is the CHOICE of the parent/student. I wish the debate were centered more on empowering parents and students to choose an public education institution that best suits their needs...and one which they do not have to pay an exorbitant tuition. The fact that many national studies have shown that the majority of charter schools have students who perform no differently from their traditional public school peers (CREDO, 2009) is great news. Factor in that these students are at these charter schools on their own volition, and it sounds like a winning concept to me.

Finally, to the point about charters being an elitist institution trying to separate the middle class...looking at publicly available data on the ADE website, a simple average of ALL Arkansas charter schools reveals that 56% of the charter school students in Arkansas are minority...and 50% of them are receiving a Free or Reduced-Price Lunch (FRL). Compare that to the statewide averages (35% minority, 60% FRL) and I am not sure your argument has legs. Also, if we ONLY look at the charters in the Little Rock area, we see that the 70% of the students in Little Rock Area charters are minorities...and 56% of them are receiving an FRL.

But don't listen to me, I am merely using data to back up my argument.

TRS
Posted by The Rank Stranger]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:30:35 -0600 Arkansas Times
That's a good question. It would be interesting to look at the requirements that are most frequently waived for charters and ask if traditional public schools would be better off without them.
Posted by Doc]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:10:47 -0600 Arkansas Times
I'm looking at the core question: if the state sees fit to release some public schools from certain requirements, why not all?


Max has outlined for us before the way they limit enrollment and that doesn't sit well with me.

Note to trolls: Here's an example of how sometimes posters disagree and discuss ideas in a reasonable, respectful manner.
Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:19:15 -0600 Arkansas Times
http://www.arkansased.org/contact-us/chart…
Posted by Doc]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:54:21 -0600 Arkansas Times
Ummm, what?


A.C.A. 6-23-304. Requirements -- Preference for certain districts.

(b) The state board shall give preference in approving an application for an open-enrollment public charter school to be located in any public school district:

(1) When the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches is above the average for the state;

(2) When the district has been classified by the state board as in academic distress under § 6-15-428; or

(3) When the district has been classified by the Department of Education as in some phase of school improvement status under § 6-15-426 or some phase of fiscal distress under the Arkansas Fiscal Assessment and Accountability Program, § 6-20-1901 et seq., if the fiscal distress status is a result of administrative fiscal mismanagement, as determined by the state board.

A.C.A. 6-23-306. Contents of open-enrollment public charters.

An open-enrollment public charter granted under this subchapter shall:

(6) (A) Prohibit discrimination in admissions policy on the basis of gender, national origin, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, or academic or athletic eligibility
Posted by Doc]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:53:28 -0600 Arkansas Times
Because of my beliefs, I think that charter schools pose a real threat to our democratic society. The basic premise of charter schools is that some people are better than others, and deserve a special education, whether the standard is IQ, economic status, artistic talent, or whatever, they contribute to the divide that is growing in our society.

Jim Walton is a decent guy. I know him, but I am not on his invitation list, and never will be. But he can not begin to relate to poor people; to ghetto children, to dirt poor delta children. That is far outside his experience. When he evaluates charter schools, he is thinking about
middle-class, privileged white kids in Bentonville, Arkansas, which I must admit includes my kids (now grown). He has no concept of life outside those safe. pollyana environs.
Posted by plainjim]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:15:38 -0600 Arkansas Times
With this conversion idea, why not eliminate public schools and let them all convert to charters? Where is the cut off? What is the point? Or, wait, maybe, just everyone could pitch in and help public schools educate every student?
Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:54:33 -0600 Arkansas Times
YDD, existing districts can apply for conversion charters. As part of that, they can ask for waivers from regulations.
Posted by Doc]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:46:25 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by plainjim]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:36:35 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:33:47 -0600 Arkansas Times
Once again, take a look at the applications received by the State Board of Education in recent years. Many, if not a majority, come from African-American sponsors.
Posted by Doc]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:10:20 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by plainjim]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:54:29 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by mrprincipal07]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:01:20 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by wannabee conservative]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:51:12 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:59:31 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Verla Sweere]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:58:56 -0600 Arkansas Times
You've got yours, right? So screw the blacks and the browns and the poors. I don't know if you are a mother or not, but if you are, the circle of your love is very small.
Posted by the outlier]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:27:18 -0600 Arkansas Times
This is fantastic news!
Posted by Yellowdogdaughter]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:21:20 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Karen Marlatt]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:18:24 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by Karen Marlatt]]> Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:16:20 -0600 Arkansas Times