Charter Struggle Update
Update: in yet another desperate effort, Robin Lake of the Center for Reinventing Public Education put out this writing effort. It's semi-hysteric tone sounds a lot like what comes out of the Washington Policy Center.
To my great surprise, she is one of the few to still say this:
And she makes the claim - without one single shred of documentation of data - that most of the charters are seeing massive improvement with their students. Saying something over and over won't make it true.
And, for the last time, when you hear that there is "fear-mongering," "why are people scared or afraid," you should wonder why you are being talked to like a child.
end of update.
I had wanted to post the plethora (no exaggeration) of stories about charters from around the country that have been stockpiling on my computer.
But I will update you about what is happening in Washington State. The Legislature is slated to end this short session a week from Thursday, March 10th. Tomorrow is March 1st and we can all do the math.
I observe that there are several newspapers calling for the Legislature to "fix" this "mess made by the Court." I have no idea why - from Congress to our own state - so many elected officials do not want to read and obey the constitution that they have sworn to uphold. The Court did its job. We all dislike some court decisions but we have chosen - as a country - to have the system of government and its three branches of government.
What's interesting is that there seems to be this thought that it's just about money. If only the Legislature could find the money. Wait, they did. Oh right, it wasn't just about the money. It's about local oversight and that's seemingly the tougher nut to crack.
On the one hand, there WAS a bill that would make only school districts authorizers and therefore, there's your local oversight. Problem is, that charter supporters know - that for several reasons - many districts would choose not to participate and therefore, charters would be out for some districts/regions in the state. I can see that point.
The current bill tries to end-run that by putting the state superintendent on the Charter Commission. That's not going to work as first, no superintendent would have time even for the once a month meetings (and I personally know how long they last). Second, Superintendent Dorn said he would just send someone. There's goes your elected oversight (Dorn sending someone is akin to the Charter Commission being appointed by the Governor, et al. Not really elected oversight.)
I believe that many legislators, especially Dems (and especially those up for reelection), realize that crunching together a complex bill at the last minute is not a good idea. And especially one that will be constitutionally suspect from the get-go. Why would someone vote for a law that will not have been fully vetted, only to see the whole thing back in court?
Now comes news that the charter schools are going to continue to keep their students out of school.
(Partial- this is from WSCSA or Act Now for Washington or one of those faux groups)
OLYMPIA – Frustrated parents are heading to Olympia every day this week to call on legislators to act quickly and fix the court-created mess threatening to close local public charter schools. Family members of students will camp out outside of hearing rooms and offices, demanding an end to delays and to talk face-to-face with legislators about how closing local public charter schools will negatively impact Washington students. In addition, on Thursday, 40+ public charter school students will join their families in Olympia in urging legislators to pass a solution to keep their schools open before the clock runs out.
Parents’ and students’ efforts this week follow the disappointing failure of the House Education Committee to move forward SB 6194, which passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support.
WHAT: Parents and students camping out outside of hearing rooms and offices in the Legislative Building in Olympia.
WHEN: Parents every day until the current legislative session ends or the legislature passes a solution to keep local public schools open. Students on Thursday, March 3.
WHERE: Halls of the Washington State Capitol/Legislative Building in Olympia.
AVAILABILITY: Parents, advocates and students available for interview upon request. Contact Cynara Lilly at (206) 915-7821 or Maggie Meyers at (724) 263-9826 for exact locations at specific times.
This is certainly what you would expect from any group with a passion for an issue. I would like to know how anyone can legally "camp out" in the Capitol. I would think that would be a safety hazard as well as unfair to anyone else who wants to do business in the Capitol building. I'll be interested to see if this is allowed because it would set a big precedent for other groups.
But I am surprised to see so many students out of school so many times and wonder how it can be said all this is educational for them.
To my great surprise, she is one of the few to still say this:
Our law is one of the best in the country.What?
All of this progress was threatened last September, however, when the state Supreme Court ruled the initiative unconstitutional. This innovative approach didn’t fit into a 1909 definition of “common schools”, leading the court to conclude that the schools couldn’t receive traditional public school funding streams.Right, that pesky state constitution. Here's a thought - write an initiative or bill that is constitutional sound and you will have your charters.
And she makes the claim - without one single shred of documentation of data - that most of the charters are seeing massive improvement with their students. Saying something over and over won't make it true.
The arguments against public charter schools in our state are based on fear-mongering, not facts, and are out of step with the rest of the country. Public charter schools are no panacea, nor are they a replacement for the many amazing public schools we have today, including those that my kids attend. But shame on all of us if we let misinformation and interest-group politics shut the door on new hope and opportunity for the kids who need it most.That's the issue - there are so many facts you can put forth about charter schools that you don't need to make up anything. And "interest-group" politics? How about billionaires - including the ones that support her organization - not trying to shape American public education to their vision?
And, for the last time, when you hear that there is "fear-mongering," "why are people scared or afraid," you should wonder why you are being talked to like a child.
end of update.
I had wanted to post the plethora (no exaggeration) of stories about charters from around the country that have been stockpiling on my computer.
But I will update you about what is happening in Washington State. The Legislature is slated to end this short session a week from Thursday, March 10th. Tomorrow is March 1st and we can all do the math.
I observe that there are several newspapers calling for the Legislature to "fix" this "mess made by the Court." I have no idea why - from Congress to our own state - so many elected officials do not want to read and obey the constitution that they have sworn to uphold. The Court did its job. We all dislike some court decisions but we have chosen - as a country - to have the system of government and its three branches of government.
What's interesting is that there seems to be this thought that it's just about money. If only the Legislature could find the money. Wait, they did. Oh right, it wasn't just about the money. It's about local oversight and that's seemingly the tougher nut to crack.
On the one hand, there WAS a bill that would make only school districts authorizers and therefore, there's your local oversight. Problem is, that charter supporters know - that for several reasons - many districts would choose not to participate and therefore, charters would be out for some districts/regions in the state. I can see that point.
The current bill tries to end-run that by putting the state superintendent on the Charter Commission. That's not going to work as first, no superintendent would have time even for the once a month meetings (and I personally know how long they last). Second, Superintendent Dorn said he would just send someone. There's goes your elected oversight (Dorn sending someone is akin to the Charter Commission being appointed by the Governor, et al. Not really elected oversight.)
I believe that many legislators, especially Dems (and especially those up for reelection), realize that crunching together a complex bill at the last minute is not a good idea. And especially one that will be constitutionally suspect from the get-go. Why would someone vote for a law that will not have been fully vetted, only to see the whole thing back in court?
Now comes news that the charter schools are going to continue to keep their students out of school.
(Partial- this is from WSCSA or Act Now for Washington or one of those faux groups)
OLYMPIA – Frustrated parents are heading to Olympia every day this week to call on legislators to act quickly and fix the court-created mess threatening to close local public charter schools. Family members of students will camp out outside of hearing rooms and offices, demanding an end to delays and to talk face-to-face with legislators about how closing local public charter schools will negatively impact Washington students. In addition, on Thursday, 40+ public charter school students will join their families in Olympia in urging legislators to pass a solution to keep their schools open before the clock runs out.
Parents’ and students’ efforts this week follow the disappointing failure of the House Education Committee to move forward SB 6194, which passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support.
WHAT: Parents and students camping out outside of hearing rooms and offices in the Legislative Building in Olympia.
WHEN: Parents every day until the current legislative session ends or the legislature passes a solution to keep local public schools open. Students on Thursday, March 3.
WHERE: Halls of the Washington State Capitol/Legislative Building in Olympia.
AVAILABILITY: Parents, advocates and students available for interview upon request. Contact Cynara Lilly at (206) 915-7821 or Maggie Meyers at (724) 263-9826 for exact locations at specific times.
This is certainly what you would expect from any group with a passion for an issue. I would like to know how anyone can legally "camp out" in the Capitol. I would think that would be a safety hazard as well as unfair to anyone else who wants to do business in the Capitol building. I'll be interested to see if this is allowed because it would set a big precedent for other groups.
But I am surprised to see so many students out of school so many times and wonder how it can be said all this is educational for them.
Comments
I do wonder though how these students are going to meet their required instruction time when they are out of school so much....or does this count as an elective credit? But there I go again thinking the state laws should apply to places that self apply the label " public" even if the supreme court has shot that theory down.
The whole tone of their actions however smacks of desperation. Its fourth and long and they know it. It sounds like the penultimate scene in the movie trading places when the formerly rich white guy is shouting "turn the machines back on" just after the market has closed and he's lost everything.
Having met the commission and many of these charter supporters at one of the public authorization meetings and seeing their smug faces as they railroaded through an approval it does feel a bit like the sin of hubris has come back to bite them.
You mean what like public labor unions do?
Citizen Kane
Union members pay to be in the union and they do it with their salaries dollars which yes, do come from taxpayers.
Big difference.
And the argument could be made that collective bargaining between public labor unions and government (e.g., public school districts) in and of itself is a political act. But we'll set that aside for the moment.
Taxpayers fund public schools and the employment of public school teachers. The state apportions funds directly to school districts and union dues/agency fees are taken straight from the district budget. Now if political action fees were an opt in rather than an opt out, I would agree with you. But they're not.
Therefore, the SEA/WEA uses taxpayer money to lobby the government.
Citizen Kane
What these charters are doing would be more like if last year during the 1 day walkouts the teachers were still paid for that day and the district paid for the transportation to Olympia -- neither of which would be remotely legal and would be considered a "gift of public funds".
Frankly I'm surprised that no one from the Attorney General's office would be looking into how the charters are paying for these trips -- but given that the AG is pro-charter, and that charters by nature play games with their budgets I'm sure they could easily cover their tracks.
RCW 42.17A.550
Use of public funds for political purposes.
Public funds, whether derived through taxes, fees, penalties, or any other sources, shall not be used to finance political campaigns for state or school district office. A county, city, town, or district that establishes a program to publicly finance local political campaigns may only use funds derived from local sources to fund the program. A local government must submit any proposal for public financing of local political campaigns to voters for their adoption and approval or rejection.
RCW 42.17A.495
Limitations on employers or labor organizations.
(1) No employer or labor organization may increase the salary of an officer or employee, or compensate an officer, employee, or other person or entity, with the intention that the increase in salary, or the compensation, or a part of it, be contributed or spent to support or oppose a candidate, state official against whom recall charges have been filed, political party, or political committee.
(2) No employer or labor organization may discriminate against an officer or employee in the terms or conditions of employment for (a) the failure to contribute to, (b) the failure in any way to support or oppose, or (c) in any way supporting or opposing a candidate, ballot proposition, political party, or political committee. At least annually, an employee from whom wages or salary are withheld under subsection (3) of this section shall be notified of the provisions of this subsection.
(3) No employer or other person or entity responsible for the disbursement of funds in payment of wages or salaries may withhold or divert a portion of an employee's wages or salaries for contributions to political committees or for use as political contributions except upon the written request of the employee. The request must be made on a form prescribed by the commission informing the employee of the prohibition against employer and labor organization discrimination described in subsection (2) of this section. The employee may revoke the request at any time. At least annually, the employee shall be notified about the right to revoke the request.
(4) Each person or entity who withholds contributions under subsection (3) of this section shall maintain open for public inspection for a period of no less than three years, during normal business hours, documents and books of accounts that shall include a copy of each employee's request, the amounts and dates funds were actually withheld, and the amounts and dates funds were transferred to a political committee. Copies of such information shall be delivered to the commission upon request.
But you said you had a problem with it. Besides, arguments have been made to the Supreme Court that the collective bargaining of public labor unions is inherently political.
But what is clear is that you just don't like public charter schools and think what your union does is A-OK.
Citizen Kane
Actually CK, they don't. Union dues are prohibited to going to political activities by state law. For lobbying or other political activities members need to fill out a voluntary WEA-PAC form to provide additional pay out of their salary.
Base union dues and agency fees cannot be spent on lobbying. Period. Your argument is invalid. Period. Please move along to a different point.
Let me also suggest that a handful of similarities do not vitiate a truckload of differences: sure, apples and oranges are both plant products, both fruits, both delicious, but there's a reason why people say "apples and oranges" to indicate a poor comparison. If I, for instance, drove down to Olympia and talked with a Senator or two about legislation, and several charter schools close for a few weeks and go there EVERY DAY en masse, we're both doing exactly the same thing, according to you. Pure sophistry, sir: the two are in no way the same thing. Why you persist in making this ridiculous argument I do not know. Love is blind, they say, and perhaps your obvious love for charter schools and antipathy for unions has blinded you.
My ENTIRE point was about TG's claim that he has a problem with spending taxpayer money to lobby the government. I pointed out the collection of WEA-PAC fees is spending taxpayer money to lobby the government.
I'll admit that I made an error regarding the opt out vs. opt in nature of the collection of the PAC contributions, but that doesn't change my point.
Citizen Kane
Really Greg? With all the BS going on with Seattle public schools this is your big worry. Hey teacher, please try focusing on children. One size doesn't fit all and you seem than willing to focus on your job protection rather than a common good.
If SPS where on the right track all this character school chatter would be moot.
Create a good product with a string image and charters would have no chance.
Voting Trump
The claim, of course, is absurd. People open new restaurants in Seattle. Is that evidence that the restaurants in Seattle are low quality? Of course not. No one tried to open a charter school in any of the many rural areas of the state. Is that evidence that the schools in rural areas are all of high quality? Of course not.
The decision to create a charter school is completely independent of the quality of the public schools in the area.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6194&year=2015
Teacher Greg,
It is important to remember that we are talking about charter schools. Rainier Prep charter school, which is located in Highline School District will take public funds and mix them into their private account.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByRspl25iyiYZWNydjFOeWhhU3c/view
Citizen Kane
Interesting.
Location, location, location.
Urban school locations have the density needed to be successful. With density you could probably avoid transportation cost. In those areas you'll find existing title one schools and with that you have willing customers. Customers tired of the massive SPS bureaucracy, and endless empty promises.
Great location, hungry customers and tax payers dollars. It's a perfect situation.
Voting Trump
Po3, do you have the number of the bill?
You avoid transportation costs by not having transportation.
"It is easy to follow the fortunes of SB 6194, the Charter School re-boot bill, at the Washington State Legislature's website.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6194&year=2015"
Also, read that article stating how successful these newly opened schools are. Interesting that each one seems to be using a different assessment and no links to published data to back up the summary claims.
As has been pointed out by you, Melissa, WA no longer has charter schools, only schools-formerly-known as charters.
What we have right now are mostly now ALEs and in the case of Summit Sierra, homeschoolers (who attend a private tutoring center called 'Summit').
Pulling homeschoolers (including part-time schoolers) out of classes can be legal,
SO LONG AS
a. those parents are actually qualified under RCW to homeschool, or
b. those ALEs are actually legal, (as you've pointed out, SPS refused to play with Mary Walker) and
c. In the case of Summit, so long as these newly-minted HBI families make sure to hit the 1000 hrs of homeschooling for which the parents (not the tutoring centers) are required to be responsible (before august 31), and cover all 11 required subjects, they're probably legal.
On one hand, with regards to your post: Under HBI laws though, they could count a trip to Olympia, and even the sit-in itself, as instructional time (social studies/civics, for sure). On the other hand, these new HBI parents have much less time left to get in their 1000 hrs than someone who started homeschooling Sept 1st... As far as I know, there's NO provision in the law for pro-rating your 1000 HBI hours based on attending a school model that's now been deemed illegal.
I'm not necessarily liking it, but under their current model/organization, it looks like this political use of student time is probably entirely legal. ALE's (under rcw 28A.232.010) were arguably made specifically to allow alternative schedules. I would agree with a parent who said going to Olympia to participate is much more educations than the same hours spent in class reading/lecturing about it.
FWIW, Under the (former)charters' organization back in September, it would NOT have been legal.
What I'm increasingly not getting is what's the difference between charters (hypothetical) that would/could be legal here under WA state law, and the current (old now) ALE education model?
Alternative teaching focus? Check.
Alternative schedules possible? Check.
Privately run but invoicing the state? Check; They've got access to state money already.
Giving another 'choice' to parents (albeit one that's been available for over 5 years or more now)? Check.
The only difference I can discern is the parent-trigger language and the closed books/CEO-run/CorporateShareholder-owned aspect.
If pro-charter lobbyists or families want to argue the state-wide benefit of those two things (hiding liability via corporate entity, and taking schools from others via unpublicized petition) make for truly better education / higher scores / closing the achievement gap, I'll gladly take THAT public debate.
JulietteF
Yes, you serve the students in the neighborhood. They are called neighborhood schools for a reason. Any choice students would get a city supplied FREE Orca card and not just FRL kids.
Neighborhood schools with local control to choose the schools staff, poor performers need not apply.
This is what the people want, who's blocking it from happening?
Voting Trump
Does that imply that SPS has the fall MAP results available for the public? I would be interested in seeing them, but can't find them on the SPS website.
Thanks,
LisaG
What it does mean that WA state public schools have their test results for the state assessments published on the OPSI report card. In SPS, detailed results of state assessments are also published for each school under the School Profile. This means that any person, including you, can assess and drill down to see how a school or district is performing- allowing for a truth check against any claim a school or district is making. In this case, we cannot check the validity of the statements being made by the charter schools, can we?
Since you mention MAPS, remember the intent of this assessment is to measure individual student progress over the course of the year and so it really would not be appropriate to publish as a "schoolwide" report to show gains/losses.
Now, with that said, I am going to assume that all charter students will take the state tests in May and their results will be published alongside all other public schools. At that point, claims to success can be made, not before--unless they are willing to publish the data.
Also, to clarify, I was not complaining, I just thought is was interesting.
Yes, I have found the OSPI webpages very useful and interesting (although I haven't yet figured out how to get disaggregated data on a single page). But as you point out, that is state assessment data, not district assessment data.
MAP, in addition to measuring individual student progress, can also be used (at least according to NWEA) as a schoolwide measure of how many students are on-track for meeting grade level standards. Does SPS not use it that way at all? Or just not make it available?
In the California school district I'm most familiar with, test data like this would be used to drive decisions on where to target spending in after-school homework programs, tutoring, etc.
LisaG
I understand that in your mind, apparently, getting paid for a service performed somehow equates to those dollars still being public funds. Which, according to you, means that the taxpayers are also footing the bill for my Directv and buy me dinner every night. If that is what you are arguing than this discussion is pointless because you are living in a different world than our current legal, poitical and economic system.
When I buy something with the money I'm paid for working, the money paid does not remain public -- it is then my property. If I choose to then give my money to WEA, the ALCU, Safeway or use it for any other legal purpose that is entirely my business and has nothing at all to do with a gift of public funds.
Of course one size doesn't fit all. Have you been in a public school in the past 30 years? In public high schools there are dozens of programs offered to meet the needs of everyone for exactly that purpose. From full day self-contained special education programs, to a full AP/IB courseload (with everything in-between). There are on-line options, things like Running Start, Aviation High School and internships. There are a huge number of various support classes offered at different school (a dozen different reading and math support programs etc.). This doesn't even begin to mention elective courses where students can choose from a large (but not large enough due to limited funding) variety of courses that interest them.
There is literally nothing that charter schools are doing that regular public schools have not been offering for decades. The "choice" argument is totally a bogus argument concocted by some Frank Luntz type.
In my opinion, SPS is a fish out of water, simply flopping around trying to make it back. As each year passes SPS fails a large body of students. SPS has no clear directive, no clear leadership, no paramount duty to educate its students in a manner it should. Flip flopping its approaches and curriculum, like that fish.
My god, some 5th graders have had 3 different elementary math curricula.
It's wonderful to have so many options in high school, but it's a shame so few prosper from them. Could be due to lack of mastery of the basics?
Voting Trump
1. Have them walk, alone or with an escort.
2. Someone could drive them.
3. * Ride metro with free ocra card, alone or with an escort.
* Maybe metro is better suited for 6 - 12 grade
The best solution is for the child to attend their local neighborhood school, which would be in walking distance.
I would also allow for exceptions for , special educational students and other extenuating circumstances...HIB issues. These would most likely need district supplied transportation, like taxis, not expensive yellow buses.
Voting Trump
Citizen Kane
At the school level, the school site councils look at the data to decide whether to spend their money on a reading intervention program for ELL students, or math tutoring for 4th graders, etc.
LisaG
You wrote in the singular - Is it just one type of test? That all grades take? Are they administered more than once a year? End of course exams in MS and HS?
I have a friend whose kids are in a charter school near LA. The district they are in offers no option schools. The charter school her kids are in is much like TOPS here and was started by parents. They tried to open a school up in Seattle but they were not accepted. I told my friend it was because we already have schools like that in Seattle in the public schools.
HP
It's a K-8 district, and it has created assessments for each grade in math and ELA for twice a year. I think they're meant to be like district-wide formative assessments. Every so many years, assessments get reviewed for alignment with state standards, and teams of teachers meet to give input on what should be highest priority.
HP, the district is in San Jose. Don't know what TOPS is supposed to be like, but I guess if only 500 kids are interested, then you're right that you don't need any more schools like it.
LisaG
Interesting it's only a K-8 district - where, then, is the HS?
If the assessments are good, then having district-wide assessments that are used to inform instruction and identify student ability is nice. SPS brings teachers on board to design curriculum, but it's a slog, time consuming, and not enough budget for it....Would that teachers had the non-instructional time to collaborate on curriculum and assessment.....
Your snark and lack of knowledge didn't do much for making a point.
Alt alum
Actually, my lack of knowledge seems to make a different point. If I can't tell from the SPS webpage or the school's CSIP what makes TOPS special, how do other parents find out whether the school might be a good match for their kids?
And it wasn't intended to be snark. I guess I just don't understand why SPS doesn't expand popular programs with waiting lists. Is it on purpose? Does whatever happens at TOPS take lots of resources like the language schools?
LisaG
HP
It does not surprise me in the least that someone like YOU...would be supporting Donald Trump for president. Enough said.
Sincerely,
An Involved And Knowledgeable Parent Who Is On To The Charter Shills and Sellouts