On-Line Debate on 1240 Today at Noon
The Seattle Times is having a live chat at noon today, Thursday, Oct. 17th, with Professor Wayne Au, from UW Bothell, opposing I-1240 and Shannon Campion, from some organization supporting 1240.
About Professor Au:
He is an assistant professor in the education program at the University of Washington, Bothell. He is an editor for the progressive education magazine, Rethinking Schools. He is the author of numerous books, chapters, and articles, and his research focuses on issues of equality and justice in education.
Our moderators are Times reporter Linda Shaw and myself. Feel free to send questions in advance to lshaw@seattletimes.com or jbalter@seattletimes.com.
Get those questions in!
About Professor Au:
He is an assistant professor in the education program at the University of Washington, Bothell. He is an editor for the progressive education magazine, Rethinking Schools. He is the author of numerous books, chapters, and articles, and his research focuses on issues of equality and justice in education.
Our moderators are Times reporter Linda Shaw and myself. Feel free to send questions in advance to lshaw@seattletimes.com or jbalter@seattletimes.com.
Get those questions in!
Comments
Had the board voted pro the charter initiative, I am sure the Times would've found room for a much larger story. Maybe they even would've had room for a full-page ad.
-sasquatch
-no 1240
Long gone
(I am not)
Shannon Campion
If the vote was pro charter, it would have been page 1 above the fold!
Except for the fact that the question she responded to was whether she was being paid by an organization officially backing 1240...
-Pants on fire!
My related question (that got sunk in moderation)was that given that I1240 has whole sections simply cut and pasted from I729 and R55, exactly what parts of the initiative were written with the "strong laws" in mind?
Helen Schinske
one of the issue i would like to have a yes- on -I1240 person respond to or if anyone knows. if a student/parent at a charter doesnt follow through with the agreement they will surely have to sign. then what happens, they go to PS. SO this is the cherry pick i see. The PS cannot force parents to follow their guidelines and if they dont they cant get removed from school unless they are expelled.
from what i have read, there are charters who have very strict rules for students/parents and if they are not followed they can terminate their arrangement. i see this a cherry picking. Am i wrong?
SPS Dad, they generally don't have you sign an agreement but there is something to read and if you enroll, you agree this is what you want. And, if you don't follow it, your child will be exited.
As well, they seem to do a great job at "counseling out" Special Ed, ELL and homeless students.
They CAN have an application form to require but it doesn't mean you can't enroll. They just want the application filled out. One of the best charters in the country, Preuss in San Diego, has a 15-page one that says at the top "we can't help you fill out this application."
SPS Dad, they generally don't have you sign an agreement but there is something to read and if you enroll, you agree this is what you want. And, if you don't follow it, your child will be exited.
As well, they seem to do a great job at "counseling out" Special Ed, ELL and homeless students.
They CAN have an application form to require but it doesn't mean you can't enroll. They just want the application filled out. One of the best charters in the country, Preuss in San Diego, has a 15-page one that says at the top "we can't help you fill out this application."
When your child has been sent home for failing to bring in homework, or you have been fined because their shoes were untied, or they didn't say "sir" when speaking to their principal, or their uniform shirt was rumpled -- and you are told they can't make up the work from time they have missed in detention, so they will now be failing (or you could just leave, of course), the unsigned policies work just as well as a contract. Who can you call to complain?
Melissa, I get that, I just want to know which states they say are great so we can specifically point out that charters in those 'good' states aren't doing well either. (If they don't name the states, they can pretend like all 17% of the 'good' schools are in those 'good' states.)
Oompah
Just because the law says it, doesn't mean it won't happen. Charters are notoriously slimy in the way they get around "laws". They "recommend" a donation of $1200 a semester (that'd be the Great Hearts charter chain out of AZ), they "recommend" that parents spend 20 hrs per week volunteering in the school, they "recommend" that a child go to a public school so they can receive the appropriate services.... All of these "recommendations" are against the law in most states, but enforcement rarely happens. They can have an application process but call it "registration". They can choose to hand out the "registration" papers at a particular location (like a ward house or a country club) or on a particular date. If you don't think that will happen in WA with 1240, then I've got a lovely piece of land in the middle of a delightful body of water to sell you.
CT