Vol. 8, No. 42 9/11 AND OUR SCHOOLS
LESSONS FIVE YEARS LATER. It has been five years since the horrific morning of September 11, 2001. That moment opened the nation's eyes and brought people across myriad backgrounds and views together in patriotic fervor. From that day sprang important lessons that should be taught to generations of students across the country. While U.S. students are struggling in geography, civics, and American and international history, the events of 9/11 continue to offer students a chance to put history and world culture in context. Said historian Diane Ravitch a year after the attacks, "U.S. public schools must reclaim their vital role preparing students to become informed citizens who will preserve and protect democracy." She offered seven important lessons, from, "It's OK to be patriotic" to the importance of students learning U.S. and world history. Additional messages appeared throughout the country and continue to be a necessary reminder for all educators, especially at this time of year.
CHARTERS
SUCCESS. From one of the toughest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California, has sprung one of the best schools in the state, according to the state's Academic Performance Index (API). Synergy Charter Academy, founded by former LA district teachers Meg and Randy Palisoc, announced last week that their school ranked an API index of 813, higher than every school - conventional public, magnet, or charter - in South Los Angeles. Synergy's score exceeds the state goal of 800 and is 191 points better than the average school score in the neighborhood. In fact, Synergy's score ranks them in the top of the district, with just 16 percent of all LAUSD schools reaching 800. With an African-American and Hispanic student body that is 85 percent poor or "at-risk," Synergy has defied the conventional wisdom in the two short years since it opened. Their success is proof that the achievement gap can be eliminated quickly and that all children, regardless of their background, can receive the quality education they deserve.
OBSTACLES. The 1,200 to 1,500 students currently enrolled in the Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA) - a virtual school that uses the Internet to connect teachers and students - don't have to experience the nervousness of walking into a new classroom on the first day of school each year. But this year, they still got a surprise on their first day. The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) welcomed them to the new year by threatening to withhold money from the school because it requires parents to be involved in a child's learning. The ODE says that because Oregon Connections Academy requires parents to act as "learning coaches," it will withhold the $6 million a year the school receives in state funding. Is the state's stance really that parental involvement is illegal? Rob Kremer, a veteran education reformer whose efforts helped lead to Oregon's charter law, says that the ODE has had an axe to grind with Oregon Connections Academy from the beginning. "The state got $2 million to develop its own virtual school, has failed to produce anything, and is trying to kill the virtual school that a tiny school district got started for a grand total of zero dollars," Kremer told Newswire. Indeed, when the Scio School District first established ORCA - the state's first virtual charter school - the ODE tried to kill it by sponsoring a bill in the 2005 legislature that would require every virtual charter school to get half of its kids from inside the sponsoring school district. "We are supposed to believe that they are operating in good faith when they unilaterally decide that an enrollment criteria that has existed for more than a year is not legal, then they shut off funding the day school starts for 1,200 students, with total disregard for the effect their action would have on the kids?" Kremer asked in a recent blog. Such moves are not unusual for threatened institutions, but ORCA leaders intend to bring their case through the courts if need be. For more on this, visit http://robkremer.blogspot.com/.
STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
REFORMING THE BIG APPLE. Some of the tenets of the charter school and reform movement are greater school autonomy, less bureaucracy, accountability, and recognition of achievement. This year, despite constant opposition from the teachers unions, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein are moving even closer to achieving those goals for all Big Apple public schools. This fall, Mayor Bloomberg has given 321 principals greater authority over their school budget, staff, and instruction. One principal told the New York Times, "Before I became a principal, what I heard from so many principals was, 'Well, if I could do it my way, I could do X or Y.' Finally, all bets are off." The city also saw 12 new charter schools open, with more waiting in the wings if legislators will come to their senses and lift the cap on charter schools. The mayor noted, "When we came into office, I think the conventional wisdom was that you could not do anything to improve big-city public school systems, and I don't believe that's the zeitgeist out there anymore." Instead Bloomberg and Klein have fought the opposition of the unions to enact valuable reforms and attract more than 100 new math, science, and special education teachers to the city.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Cell phones can be annoying. Whether you're dealing with someone who talks loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear or the person who has conversations in public that should be kept private, cell phones have become an accepted nuisance in society. But in a ridiculous story that Newswire has avoided for months, cell phones in schools are overshadowing the real issues. Parents are now suing NYC schools because of a recent ban on cell phones. The group of parents who filed the lawsuit is claiming that the safety of their children is in jeopardy without cell phones. School officials say that cell phones are a distraction and are often used for cheating. Whichever side of the argument you fall on, the real question should be - is this really our main concern? When many inner-city school buildings are falling apart, achievement is still low, and graduation rates are hovering around 50 percent, are cell phones the biggest issue of student safety? Where is the lawsuit over the condition of the schools?
TV GUIDE
HEARD IT THROUGH THE WIRE. The critically acclaimed HBO crime drama The Wire, which is set on the gritty streets of Baltimore, is spending its fourth season focusing on the city's schools. In the first episode, a public school is portrayed like a prison. A new teacher has to wait at the door - protected by metal gates - to be buzzed in before he can meet with the principal. After many teachers fled the school after the last year, the new teacher's arrival is welcomed by the principal and another administrator - especially because he is an ex-police officer. Sadly, the public schools in Baltimore, and many other failing urban districts have reached a level of disrepair that is alarming enough to be dramatized in this way. Truancy, drugs, violence, and decrepit school buildings are all a part of the image of the current school system in major cities across the country. In just a few scenes, teachers are portrayed as frustrated by students who are out of control, administrators who offer little help, and classrooms that are outdated and falling apart. It would be nice to believe that this depiction of inner-city conventional public schools was an outlandish exaggeration, but unfortunately it is often the truth. So if you have HBO and you don't mind seeing the sometimes-shocking truth about inner-city public schools, put the kids to bed and watch.
In Other News
EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY FOR CHARTER SCHOOL LEADERS! The Charter School Growth Fund is currently seeking applicants for its 2007 business planning cohort to help support the growth of charter schools nationwide. The application for the business planning cohort will become available this Friday, September 15th. The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a philanthropic venture fund founded to significantly increase the capacity of proven educational entrepreneurs to develop and grow networks of high quality charter schools.
SAVE $100 ON TEACHER CERTIFICATION. To celebrate "Back to School," the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence is offering a $100 savings off of its Passport to Teaching program during the month of September. Passport to Teaching is an affordable and flexible alternative certification program that allows certification candidates to prepare at their own pace, on their own time and without taking additional college courses. For more information, visit www.abcte.org.
GOOD POLICY. If free market public policy is your bag, try the K-12 Education Reform Summit sponsored by The State Policy Network with the Alliance for School Choice and the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation on October 4-7 at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. One of the most important networking and training events of the year, the meeting will be a mixture of leadership development and policy mobilization workshops. CER serves as a co-sponsor as well.
