Morning Shots

December 7, 2012

Remember the board game Risk, where the goal was “world domination,” or “to occupy every territory on the board and in so doing, eliminate all other players“? Well unfortunately this scenario is playing out in real life in the charter school world in the form of increasing regulations. The problem is autonomy at flexibility are at the very heart of the charter school movement, and this regulatory creep puts these essential elements in danger.

But as Jeanne Allen notes while discussing these increasing rules on John Stossel: “Good Intentions Gone Wrong”, the name of the board game itself is an important piece of the puzzle as well:

“Even the charter movement is so afraid to make a mistake. It fears risk because they are so afraid that if they don’t show themselves to be the very, very best, then they will go out of business. But the reality is, risk is in every great innovative business. It’s what makes America tick. And so when you want high quality, you want to take a risk on someone who wants to start a school.”

Speaking of making America tick…

Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple, was asked by Brian Williams what it would take for Apple to become a “Made in America” company and what that would do to the price of iphones. “It’s not so much about price, it’s about the skills, etc.,” Cook told Williams. “Over time, there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States. Not necessarily people, but the education system has just stopped producing that. It’s a concerted effort to get them back.”

by Kara Kerwin & Michelle Tigani

I was recently asked by a famous Ed Blogger, Alexander Russo, what I thought of the “audit” by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), over how charter school funds are monitored.
The experience of reviewing this report was a reminder of the disconnect between a new way of doing public schooling and the old fashioned way. Here was my response:

Once again we have a federal agency with a 20th century mentality on schooling attempting to audit an industry it neither understands nor can fully appreciate. The purpose of the federal charter grant program was to spawn the creation of new schools and sustain existing ones through state and local entities to which these schools are accountable for results – outcomes — not process and paperwork. The fact that a reviewer felt uncomfortable or untrained or that the federal lens didn’t see allegiance to the kind of old, worn out paperwork requirements that still plague traditional districts should underscore the problem with compelling reviews like this that chase process over achievement. (By the way, those districts do compliance with financial and operational requirements really well but it has no bearing on real educational accountability!)

Arizona lacked a monitoring checklist to make comparisons between schools? How would a check list result in their being able to compare schools? The federal auditors should have FIRST been in touch with the authorizers who are monitoring accountability and second, or failing that, they could have been simply asking for the kinds of data and financial records that every non-profit should produce– namely, identifying the flow of money through budgets, audits, 990s, P&Ls etc…

Oh, but that might require to actually know something about finance and budgeting.

It might be a cool exercise to see what this supposed checklist that is at the heart

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Promoting Jobs Bill In Denver, Obama Highlights $60 Billion For Schools
Washington Post, DC, September 28, 2011
As he has barnstormed the country to promote the American Jobs Act, President Obama has made the case that spending money now will pay off later for the United States ’ global productivity and competitiveness. And one of the biggest investments he is proposing comes in education.

The President’s Plan For The Economy And Education
Denver Post, CO, September 28, 2011
Imagine Steve Jobs trying to design the next generation of tablet computers using mainframe hardware from the Eisenhower administration. Or American automakers trying to out-engineer foreign competitors on an assembly line with equipment from the 1960s.

Don’t Let Learning Fall Victim To Politics
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, September 27, 2011
During last week’s GOP presidential debate, several candidates drew applause by calling for the elimination of the federal Department of Education.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Horizon Opens New Charter Program in Roseville
Rossville Press Tribune, CA, September 28, 2011
In a seventh-grade science class, student Joel Reedy demonstrates how magicians use light refraction for optical illusions by dipping a test tube filled with oil into a beaker of oil.

State Should OK Smarter Ways To Judge Schools
Sacramento Bee, CA, September 28, 2011
Any family looking to move into a neighborhood with good schools knows the magic “800″ number.

FLORIDA

School District Could Add 2 Charter Schools
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, September 28, 2011
Leon County could be looking at the addition of two charter schools opening as early as next summer.

Seminole Nixes 3 Proposed Charter Schools
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 27, 2011
Plans for three new charter schools in Seminole County were rejected Tuesday by the School Board, which agreed the proposed charters were poorly planned and not needed.

More Orange County Teachers Will Get Low Ratings Under

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Obama Rewrites ‘No Child’ Law
Wall Street Journal, September 23, 2011
President Barack Obama is set to replace key planks of former President George W. Bush’s signature No Child Left Behind education law, allowing many schools to escape looming punishment if their states adopt a new set of standards.

U.S. May Spare Schools From Harsh Penalties In Exchange For Reforms
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 23, 2011
The Obama administration plan would relieve school districts from requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act if they implement reforms such as linking teacher evaluations to student test scores.

Study: Single-Sex Education May Do More Harm Than Good
Washington Post, DC, September 22, 2011
The push for more single-sex instruction in public schools is based on weak, “misconstrued” scientific claims rather than solid research and may do more harm than good, according to a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Plans Move Forward In Banta
Tracy Press, CA, September 22, 2011
Plans to build a technology charter school in the Banta Elementary School District are moving forward, and on Tuesday night officials announced they hope to eventually expand it to include a four-year college.

COLORADO

DPS, Union To Seek Arbitrator’s Ruling On Teacher-Effectiveness Law
Denver Post, CO, September 22, 2011
Denver Public Schools and the teacher’s union have announced they will go to an arbitrator to get an outside opinion on how to implement Senate Bill 191 – last year’s teacher-effectiveness bill.

ILLINOIS

Chicago Mayor Celebrates Opening Of Health Sciences Charter School At New Southwest Side Site
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 23, 2011
Chicago’s first public charter school focusing on health sciences careers has embarked on its first year in a new $24 million building on the city’s Southwest Side.

Charter Schools Plan Rally At UIC
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 23, 2011
Chicago’s

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By now, you’ve likely heard that the anti-reform establishment will be marching the streets of D.C. this weekend in an effort to “Save Our Schools.” The participating groups want to restore parent and student influence in education.

There’s only one problem with that – they don’t.

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers – two unions that have done everything in their power from distorting the truth and lying to intimidation and lawsuits to stop any reform that takes their control and gives it to parents – are driving this rally.

These groups fight charter school openings across the country. For example they are currently stumping against a Mandarin immersion charter in Milburn, New Jersey.

They’ve sued multiple times to stop or delay school choice bills from taking effect. The teachers association now has a lawsuit in Indiana to stop low-income students in failing schools from using a voucher to attend a different school of their parent’s choice.

They are even fighting the “Parent Trigger” law that was passed in California and allows parents to initiate changes to a school, like converting it to a charter, if a majority of parents agree and sign a petition.

It’s the same coalition of the past 35 years that just wants the status quo. Reform to them is about money, control and no high-stakes tests or accountability.

In each case above, and the dozens of ones not mentioned, these groups are eliminating the influence parents and students have, not moving it forward.

Wasn’t 2010 supposed to be the Year of Education Reform? ‘Race to the Top’ was going to transform the education landscape, ‘No Child Left Behind’ was to get a facelift, school turnaround options were going to transform our lowest achieving public schools…

How’d all that work out for everyone?

- Maryland and Hawaii winning ‘Race to the Top’ money? For what, exactly? They’ll be battling their unions until 2015 just to move the dial slightly on any of their promises.

- ESEA reauthorization during an election year? Good luck.

- At least we learned a few things about turnarounds, namely that they aren’t going to work unless the culture of a failing school is turned on its head.

Before we get accused of ending a year on a sour note, though, allow us to throw ourselves into the group of hopefuls looking to 2011 as a year that gets things done for our kids and for our schools.

Why the positive change of heart, you ask?

November.

Beginning next Monday, a new Congress just might leave substantive education policy decisions in the hands of those who have been getting the job done all along – Governors and state legislators.

And so, we end 2010 as many began, hopeful that substantive changes will come to our schools in the form of greater choice for parents, real rewards for our best teachers and accountability for those who steer the ship.

To help this process along, we offer up these 10 Education Reform New Year’s Resolutions for state lawmakers:

1. Increase the ability of higher education, mayors and other independent entities to authorize charter schools so more children have access to quality public school options.

2. Eliminate arbitrary and unnecessary caps on the number of charter schools that

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