Arkansas Blog

Kurrus made a motion to table the discussion until the next meeting. It was approved by all members. The patronizing of the members was so evident it was sickening. I do wonder why Larry Berkley wanted to vote to fund a Math/Science Charter school when it would take $$$$$ away from LRSD. All others voted to send a letter to the ADE proclaiming fiscal distress (my word), if the charters were allowed. Berkley had agreed on all the other charter school denials. Personal interest in this particular charter school? Encouragement from outside sources? To me, Berkley's true colors came out tonight. He isn't FOR the kids in LRSD. The vote to send the request for denial to ADE for the elementary school was 7 - 0. The vote for the middle and high school was 6 - 1. Berkley voted to deny ALL other charter schools. Am I just being petty? Why would a Board member vote to take monies away from the students in LRSD when that member is charged by election with improving the quality of education in LRSD?

Greasing palms!

Another question for the LRSD board to consider: Why, when given a choice, would parents want to take their children out of the district?

What about Mr. Daugherty? He voted to approve one of the charter applications. Personal interest? Encouragement from the outside? Is he not for the kids either?

It's amazing that so many people tend to see charter schools as the savior of our educational community. Just to be clear, I am not against charter schools. As a matter of fact, I belive that they can be used to offer our children opportunities to excel in subjects that are of interest them and should in turn help them achieve in the basic subjects. If you are interested in math, a charter school with an engineering focus might be excellent and challenging.

Having said that, we need to stop acting as if ANY charter school will and should work. There are charter schools across the country that are failing at their mission.

But why do many of these schools succeed? Well let's see... First, the parents that are involved in their childrens education are the ones jumping at the opportunity to place their kids in charter schools. This drains the school district of those interested parents and thier kids that are doing well. Test scores in the district go down.

Second, the charter schools that have low student teacher ratios are doing well. Suprise. This does not equal innovative educational reform. Lower Teacher/Pupil ratios in the public schools would probably have the same effect.

I guesss the real question here is, "where and how can charter schools be most effective within the walls of Pulaski County?" and "How can the public school system recreate the successful practices of charter schools within their system?"

Neighborhood schools? Smaller classrooms? Greater parental involvement? Interesting curriculum? Charter schools can be that proving ground for new and innovative pedagogical techiniques and systems that could possibly work in our public school systems. That can only happen if we are willing to try new systems.

Maybe it's time for a whole new plan for our public school system. I mean, what could it hurt?

O and Z, My apologies for omitting Mr. Daugherty's vote. I would have voted the same, so that was a serious oversight on my part. No matter how patronizing the board, I wonder who is behind the votes. Hussman, the Public Education Foundation, and the Walton Foundation deserve a LOT of the blame/credit for all the disruption in the district. The monies to support the African American candidates seems to mostly to come from the black community and the CTA. My parents taught me (thanks Mom and Dad) to vote with knowledge, conviction, and sincerity.

Curious,

You might be surprised by the fact that many of the charter school applicants from the central Arkansas area, and the state in general, are African-American organizations. The stereotypical rich-white folks have always had choice. Charter schools expand the options for others. In fact, Baker and Max (and Goodwill?) have worried that charter schools will provide a means by which the best African-American students can escape LRSD and widen the achievement gap there. In other words, they should not have choice, and their parents should sacrifice them to LRSD.

Goodwill and Doc, I agree that changes need to be made. However, you did not take into account the NCLB requirements. The goals that are required statistically for LRSD, unmeetable. We have MOST schools on School Improvement from the ADE. Progress is being made. Is progress able to meet NCLB? Nope. Shouldn't one look first at the curricula in the elementary levels to increase reading and math abilities? Instead the focus from the State is on the HIgh Schools. Let's pour more resources into the pot for the little kids. If you are one who analyzes test scores, you will notice a sustained drop in the Middle Schools in reading and math. OOPS! The work got harder and the kids weren't prepared. Somewhere in there is a significant "DUH". Hope LRSD will find out why, correct the problem, and watch the growth? Charter schools be damned. I have worked with outstanding teachers at the elementary level who lack the basic materials to teach, spend their own monies to enhance the learning in the classroom, written grants to help fund books for the library in areas that were lacking.
I challenge y'all, Durangokid and Doc, to volunteer in an elementary classroom in SWLR. You could learn a lot of Spanish while you help a child learn to read. Live outside of the district? No Prob. Drive in, have lunch with your student, and read!

Addendum:
"As a matter of fact, I belive that they can be used to offer our children opportunities to excel in subjects that are of interest them and should in turn help them achieve in the basic subjects. If you are interested in math, a charter school with an engineering focus might be excellent and challenging."

"belive" OK, now I am feeling sorry for you, Goodwill. You must be a product of the NO SPELLING CURRICULUM for Elementary students in LRSD. There is NO ENGLISH CURRICULUM either. What has puzzled me for many years is how is a child supposed to learn how to write "Standard" English for the ACTAAP when they are never taught? Quit experimenting with the kids. Give the teachers the tools to teach and scores should soar. Why aren't the skills for engineering, science, and Math taught in LRSD? The classes would be too small to justify. They should be taught. They were taught once upon a time. Please tell me why a child cannot obtain the same education in LRSD that they would get in a Charter school, IF the courses were offered?
The Board should take a serious look at the curricula for Elementary students, so they would be prepared to take the higher level courses in math and Science, English and Social Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics.

Curious,

Seriously, you if anyone should not be jumping on typos. At times, some of your late-night posts have been much worse.

But yes, the LRSD board should look at what is being taught and try to fix it. Unfortunately, they are not educators but marginally-competent politicians. Maybe that is what is wrong with traditional public schools.

And hey, Durangokid, quit jumping into Curious's head off the blog. It scares the rest of us.

I have a question regarding charter schools.

In a LRSD high school my African-American daughter does Key Club, RCDC, Student Council, edits the school newspaper, has been on homecoming court.

Would these things, to the extent they enhance her college apps, be available at a charter school?

If anyone knows.... This is a genuine question. I have no points to make.

TAP, no. For both financial and philosophical reasons, many of the non-academic extracurricular activities are not prominent. Public charter schools receive none of the ad valorem tax that their students' parents pay; and I am not aware of any that receive significant amounts of settlement dollars, or are allowed to bill the state for phantom students; so the money has to be pretty much concentrated in academics. Public charter schools are subject to the exact same NCLB, IDEA, 504, etc. requirements that govern traditional public schools. However, they are not given the six year AYP grace period that traditional public schools are allowed to meet those standards, so, once again, academics are much more prominent than other social activities.

Many of the activities you mention are not available at rural schools, either. Yet no one would challenge your right as a taxpaying parent to move into an urban area so that your child could have what you value and is only available at large urban schools. No one would chastise you for "forsaking the rural system" and hastening its demise. No reasonable parent will sacrifice their child, in order to save a "system"; nor should they ever be expected.

Many public charter schools believe that one thing that needs to be changed about traditional public schools is the tremendous parental and community responsibilities that have been shifted to schools and teachers need to be reintegrated into the fabric of the family and the community. Somewhere along the way, we have made traditional public schools and their staffs responsible for not only academic instruction, but child care; healthcare; behavior management; nutrition; recreation; the list has just quietly gotten bigger and bigger. And then when we see problems with one school board, it is blown all out of proportion; not because education isn't important, but because the school has taken over the role of community and parent and now has a role in a child's life that reaches far, far beyond the mission of education.

Good charter schools try to make the community important in the life of students again. They encourage and share resources with the city youth recreation sports leagues instead of forming parallel programs. Instead of building many small duplicative libraries, they pool resources and work with the public library system. Students can get those college ap perks by serving on city and church youth committees and volunteering. Artistically talented students are encouraged to participate in community theatre, symphony and such. Ideally, this lessens the burden to be all and do all that schools and teachers face while at the same time opening the circle of influence on a child.

None of the current public school alternatives available; traditional; residential; virtual; charter, are ideal. But parents have the choice to select the option more closely suited to their child's needs, talents, disposition.

TAP,

Depending on the size of the charter school, some or all could be available. How much these enhance college admission applications is questionable. ACT/SAT scores, high school GPA, and class rank would still be more important. But, I would agree that those activities you mention prepare your daughter in other ways for college (i.e., social skills, time management).

I love all the talk about what school boards should do but it is my understanding the Arkansas Department of Education determines what can and is taught at certain levels in all public schools. Also, what material the textbooks should contain and how many units a child must have in each area before graduation. I guess we would all make lousy school board members because we know what we want to see in our schools but can't make it happen. Maybe the charter school thing has some merit.

OnesAndZeros---excellent post!!! Many of the students who attend charter and private schools will have the same opportunities as Anne Ye. She is one of Central's students who attained a perfect score on three of the major exams. The students who attend charter and private schools are not missing anything by not being subjected to the foolishness that is allowed in public schools.

Seriously, you if anyone should not be jumping on typos. At times, some of your late-night posts have been much worse.
And hey, Durangokid, quit jumping into Curious's head off the blog. It scares the rest of us.

I would like to thank you for your defense, Doc. I am beholding to you. However, it seems that Durango, and others think that I am a raving idiot late at night.
Typos? Nope, Doc, the AT spell check nicely underlines my typos unless it is a commonly used word that I happen to mistype. Incorrect sentence structure? Sentence fragments? Yup.
My point was that children in the Little Rock School District are not being taught the necessary skills to succeed. The lack of success has to do with the curricula offered and taught at the elementary level. The elementary level prepares students for the middle and high school levels. If one chooses to focus on the High School or Middle School curricula, then one must surely look for alternatives to assure the children that they have adequate skills to be productive citizens, have the necessary skills to succeed, and teach them that they are responsible for their education.
Public Schools? Private Schools? Secular Schools? Charter Schools? I honestly don't care. My concern has been and will continue to be the education and success of the children, all children.
After all, isn't it about the kids anyway?

OaZ and Doc--

Thanks very much for enlightening posts. I have learned something not only about charter schools but about admissions.

durangokid rises to his feet in righteous self-defense! Curious, I have never said or implied (or even thought) that you are an idiot. You must have me confused with somebody else. Glad I was trolling the various threads this morning; otherwise I might have missed the allegation. By the way, congrats on the retirement!. Hope you're enjoying it..

"And hey, Durangokid, quit jumping into Curious's head off the blog. It scares the rest of us." Doc posted this Durango.
Curious LOVES retirement, Durangokid. Kid, after almost 30 years in a classroom with children like you, perhaps I deserve to be a bit nuts, totally nuts?

I probably would have been among your worst classroom nightmares, Curious. Don't know how you could have stomached the likes of me all those years. But, ya did, and now you're enjoying the payoff! Interesting note: despite the way kids act (or acted) in class, most of them (us) turn (turned) out OK. That is the most amazing part of the story.