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The Charter Blog
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Friday, May 27, 2011
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Wisconsin Public Charter Schools Gain Access to Public Buildings
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This week, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed SB 20 into law, an important piece of legislation that will increase public charter school access to surplus district school buildings in Milwaukee. What is most significant about SB 20 is that it transfers the ownership and decision-making about these surplus buildings from the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to the City of Milwaukee. Not surprisingly, MPS has been extremely resistant to providing charters approved by entities other than MPS with access to MPS buildings. The City of Milwaukee, on the other hand, is one of three charter authorizers in Milwaukee, and has expressed its desire to put these abandoned buildings to their original purpose – educating the city’s schoolchildren, no matter which type of school is serving them.
This legislation is notable because only a handful of states and school districts have policies and practices that promote the use of available district facilities by public charter schools. Through legislation such as SB 20, charter school students will have a much better shot at the quality facilities they deserve and taxpayer monies will be used more effectively. You can learn more about the facilities challenges charter schools face, as well as innovative ways that seven school districts are sharing public education facilities with charter schools, here.
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Posted by:
Todd Ziebarth, Vice President, State Advocacy and Support and Nora Kern, Senior Manager, Research an
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Monday, May 23, 2011
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In the Area of Nutrition, Charters Are Getting It Done
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A few weeks ago, the Education and Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was signed into law in November by President Obama. Outspoken district food service leaders decried the USDA’s proposed rule that the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs align nutrition standards with national dietary guidelines saying it puts an undue burden on cash-strapped schools.
Second to the money argument was an appeal that the nutrition guidelines might be so restrictive that kids simply won’t like the food. Change is hard; we certainly get it. The charter movement has continually met change head-on time and time again—changed structures of governance, changed ideas of teaching and learning, and changed minds on what a 21st century school can and should look like in today’s public system.
Often receiving far less than their fair shares of the pot, charter schools find ways to be innovative and still provide necessary supports. There’s plenty of evidence that more often than not charter school students are experiencing similar or greater achievement gains than students in comparable traditional public schools. But charters are not only getting it done in academics; they are also working to make schools a place where children learn about healthy eating habits.
Family Life Academy Charter School in the Bronx created a five-year food revolution to get its students to not only like the food being served up, but to understand its nutritional benefits. Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington, DC, has put cost-effective fresh cooking atop its list of priorities, no matter how tough the job. The school recognizes “when children are properly nourished and their bodies are healthier, they can learn, think and play better, and are ultimately better equipped to reach their potential.”
Despite the barriers that district leaders espoused at the hearing—fear of change, pushback from students, the high costs of healthy food—many charter schools are unwilling to sacrifice their mission and goals because of apparent obstacles. We reinvent. We make tough decisions. We learn to change in order to provide what’s best for our students. It’s critical that charter schools continue to have full access to the federal school meals programs as well as the flexibility in choosing partners who care about nutrition.
Do you have a healthy food service program? Tell us about it: http://www.publiccharters.org/Additional-Pages/HealthyLunch.aspx
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Posted by:
Celia Alicata, Coordinator, Federal Advocacy and Support
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Friday, May 20, 2011
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Midnight in Georgia
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Pretty amazing week. Charter School Hall of Famer John King was named New York State education commissioner; New Schools Venture Fund’s Summit 2011 brought the "edurati" together for another exhilarating brainfest; liberal icon Howard Dean declared charters “the future”; the UFT and NYC’s NAACP chapter filed another lawsuit to block closure of failing schools and co-locations with charters; and the who-interrupted-whom saga of Diane Ravitch and Rhode Island Education Commission Deborah Gist took an intriguing turn when it became known that a filmmaker recorded their disputed meeting with Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (hint: Gist is fine with releasing the video). But the central event took place in the Georgia Supreme Court, where the abominable Gwinnett v. Cox decision abolished the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, the statewide authorizer created in the wake of district refusals to approve new charters. No wonder that two days later, hundreds of Georgia parents, and kids rallied against the ruling, which derailed (we hope temporarily) the schools the Commission had chartered.
The 4-3 decision turned on a semantic distinction finer than “what the meaning of ‘is’ is. The Court held that Georgia’s constitution forbids “special” schools unless they’re intended for specific slices of the student population not served by district schools. (Apparently the Court hasn’t heard of IDEA and the fact that districts are actually required to serve those “special” kids.) Nor did they provide more than a footnote about why state-chartered schools approved by the State Board of Education on appeal are OK, but not state-chartered schools approved by a State Commission. Neither have they read up on Georgia’s history of creating other state-approved schools, as the “superbly researched, reasoned and argued” dissent by Justice David Nahmias shows. Nahmias also points out that the state’s $400 million Race to the Top federal grant was awarded in part because the state could claim an alternative charter authorizer. Note to Arne Duncan….
This is a worse act of judicial usurpation than the 2008 Florida appeals court decision that struck down the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission, similarly created as a statewide authorizer. There, the language of the state constitution was clear, if perverse: “The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district.” (Article IX(4)(b). That geographic specificity proved to be an insurmountable barrier to the arguments of charter lawyers. In the Georgia case, the court is taking language far less clear, and using it to reach an ideological – and perhaps partisan -- conclusion.
What both these decisions have in common is the musty odor of senescence. State constitutions that treat local districts as fiefdoms, funded through 19th-century tax schemes that treat land as the source of all wealth, surrounded by a legal moat keeping children in and everything from charter schools to online-learning out, need to be updated. Especially when decisions like this one shred a promise the state made to thousands of families whose aspirations were being thwarted by local school districts.
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Posted by:
Nelson Smith, Senior Advisor, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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National Charter Schools Week Round Up
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Thanks to all who joined us in celebrating charters during the 12th annual National Charter Schools Week!
Our advocacy efforts, both online and on Capitol Hill, were a great success this year:
- 75 participants from 35 states participated in nearly 200 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff;
- Nearly 100 advocates used our text campaign to contact their elected representatives to express support for high quality charter schools;
- The NAPCS honored Rep. “Buck” McKeon (CA-25) with his [Champion for Charters Award] at a reception in the House of Representatives;
- President Obama formally acknowledges National Charter Schools Week by issuing an official Presidential Proclamation.
Participants came to Washington D.C. from as far as Hawaii and as close as Maryland to meet with policymakers to discuss how the federal government can better support the growth and development of high-quality charter schools. In addition to the Washington based activities, National Charter Schools Week was marked across the nation by supporter-hosted rallies, school tours, student competitions and various acknowledgements of charter school success by state level officials.
In Texas, more than 1700 parents of charter students returned rallied to encourage lawmakers to complete their work and send the bills to the Governor’s desk.
In Georgia, charter students pose with Governor Nathan Deal and the National Charter School’s Week proclamation.
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Posted by:
Sarah Johnson, Director, Media and Agency Relations
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Tuesday, May 03, 2011
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It’s Advocacy Day – National Charter Schools Week Continues
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Today a core group of charter school advocates join NAPCS staff members in meetings on Capitol Hill, but all of us can take part in advocacy today - whether or not we’re in Washington.
On Facebook and here on the Charter Blog, we’re asking our social networks to take a few minutes out of their busy schedule to call (202) 609-8587 and let your Representative in Congress know why YOU support charters!
If you prefer to take action online, you can do it at the United States House of Representatives web site by entering your zip code.
Just as you make your voice heard in the House, some of our national charter leaders will be speaking up in the Senate.
Today in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor & Pensions Hearing Room, the following panelists will discuss the merits and opportunities for charter schools.
• Jessica Cunningham, Chief Academic Officer, KIPP D.C.
• Peter Groff, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
• Lisa Graham Keegan, Principal Partner, Keegan Company (Moderator)
• David Hansen, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, National Association of Charter School Authorizers
• Scott Pearson, Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
• Sarah Newell Usdin, Founder and CEO, New Schools for New Orleans
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Posted by:
Sarah C Johnson
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Tuesday, May 03, 2011
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U.S. Rep. Kline Recognizes National Charter Schools Week
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U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement in recognition of National Charter Schools Week (May 1st – May 7th):
“Charter schools epitomize innovation and flexibility – not only do they raise the bar for student achievement, they also encourage parents to play a more active role in their child’s education. Best of all, the success of any given charter school hinges on results – in this performance-based education system, teachers and officials are held accountable for the achievements of every student.
“Washington leaders on both sides of the aisle recognize high-performing charter schools as a valuable subset of the public school system that should receive our unwavering support. As we forge a new path for education in America, we must learn from the accomplishments of these schools and promote federal policies and initiatives that encourage choice, innovation, and excellence.”
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Posted by:
Press Room
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