Charter Schools make sense

Excerpts from a good sense Charter school article:

Much to the chagrin of teachers unions, charter-school principals have much more flexibility in hiring staff than in traditional, government-run schools. The teachers unions want "years served" in the system as the driver for hiring and pay. But charter-school principals can sign up the best teachers for a school's academic needs - even if a teacher lacks the longest tenure.

In return for this freedom, these schools must achieve a certain level of performance outlined in their "charters," ostensibly a contract with those who use them.

Part of the reason why charters succeed stems from lifting the heavy hand of regulation and letting parents choose to use them instead of traditional pubic schools. Meanwhile, principals and teachers in charter schools get to exercise innovation. They can choose their emphasis. Some emphasize math and science, and others focus on the arts. They choose a curriculum, dress codes and disciplinary standards.

School-choice opponents argue that only well-to-do parents want school choice. They say that enacting school-choice laws in Kentucky would skim the "cream of the crop" from the student body in failing public schools, leaving behind riff-raff.

Not so at Preuss (Charter school). All applicants to attend must be eligible for "Title I" or "Free or Reduced Lunch" programs, the subsidies for students from low-income families. That means 100 percent of the students at Preuss fall into the low-income household category.

These aren't wealthy, white suburban students that critics claim hold the only interest in choice. Every one of the students comes from a low-income home, and 94 percent are Hispanic or black. Oh, yeah, the school ranked No. 10 in the U.S. News lineup.

One of the greatest aspects of charters is that they allow parents access to quality education choices who don't have the financial wherewithal to move to a better school district or pay tuition at a private school. Public money gets used, but if a parent chooses, those dollars go to a charter school that may provide their student with a better education.

So…high standards, great teachers, parental control, massive student achievement, alternatives for low-income students…I’m sold!

Education Week's Annual "Quality Counts" Grades the Schools

Parental School Choice Group Says Report Reflects Crisis in N.C Schools: PEFNC calls for change following research showing low academic achievement

RALEIGH, NC (January 23, 2008) – In response to a recent report released by national news magazine Education Week, Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, a statewide parental school choice organization, today characterized the results as an indication of the need for serious reform.

According to Education Week’s annual “Quality Counts” evaluation of the nation’s schools, North Carolina received a D+ in K-12 achievement, and ranks 38th in the nation in high school graduation (public high school students who graduated with a diploma in 2004).

North Carolina was given overall letter grades based on ratings in six areas: chance-for-success; K-12 achievement; standards, assessments, and accountability; transitions and alignment; the teaching profession; and school finance.

“The people of North Carolina deserve better from our state’s education system. This report by Education Week should compel our leaders to take no option off the table when discussing education reform,” said Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina.

“Access to a high-quality education, whether in public or non-public schools, should be a top priority in this state,” Allison continued. “Only by providing parents the freedom to choose the best schools for their children will we begin to transform this system and put all of our children on the road to success.”

While Missouri fared a little better than North Carolina on this grading scale, we need to strive to do better than our C- grade. The breakdown of the grading can be seen in this article. Personally, I was never satisfied if I received a C- in anything, nor would I be happy if my child were to receive that grade. Why should we accept our schools to be getting that grade? While we rank higher in graduation rates, Missouri ranks 18th in the national graduation rates, we rank quite low in other areas. We rank31st in elementary reading and 33rd in middle school mathematics. This should alert Missourians it is time to change the ways things are done. Just as the article said, this should compel our leaders, citizens, and parents to seriously look at every option.

Columbians cut through the...well, you know

Columbia Daily Tribune’s Class Notes has a note about Columbia School District’s bank account. The story goes that last year, the district dipped into its reserve funds to the tune of $10.4 million, oddly enough the very same amount they now quote as a deficit and are asking taxpayers to replace. Janese Heavin says,

“It's almost like Columbia Public Schools bounced a $10.35 million check and now they need taxpayers to put money back into the account.

As most of you know, the district spent close to $10.4 million from reserves to add positions and increase salaries. Actually, the board spent $10,353,395 -- the exact amount the district is now calling a ‘deficit’.”

Judging by the comments in the article, Columbians are no longer buying the “increased spending equals student improvement” bit. And there is a slue of other lines they are refusing to swallow:

They understand that CPS spending is not nearly as responsible as it could be, and that increases from every angle aren’t making a dent in poor test scores. They see it as a trend of irresponsibility, and can quickly find facts that indicate the superintendent is making twice as much as teacher averages.

The tax increase would pay salaries for 70 new positions added to the district recently. There was a great deal of debate about the efficacy of those positions. They know the district projects $26 million in reserves, and they know they already pay an arm in taxes and want to know what they stand to win if they throw in a leg as well. There were plenty of questions about why they didn’t disclose some very important information about expenditures until it was too late, and questions about why the School Board was negligent with their oversight.

Comments asked to see the administrative cutbacks that had been made. They demonstrated a balance of thought about the tax burden to families in a down-shifting economy, and that a 10.4% increase in taxes per assessed dollar value is sure to be noticed when people go to pay for groceries. They noticed when CPS bought a $500K parcel of land for future use while in the middle of hefty expenditures for lavish new buildings.

They are aware that the more they spend, the more CPS gets, and that to raise a tax rate is to raise the share that the district receives. Even more telling is that some commenters were well aware that the school administration could scare them by threatening cuts to important classes and programs.

These comments speak for themselves. There is a groundswell of mistrust for the current administration that voters will get a chance to do something about. They can vote not to pass this bond, but it won’t make up for this period of fiscal mismanagement. I applaud these citizens for, at least online, demanding drastic changes on their terms; hopefully this will carry over into actions by angry taxpayers and parents who expect more from their decision-makers. I was delighted by their passion and knowledge about what their district is doing—but with such a strong, informed voice, it is even more disappointing that these follies continue to happen.

What we have vs. What we need

Americans for Prosperity Ads call out Missouri Schools

The Adequacy lawsuit in Missouri is still making the headlines. Unfortunately it is still getting attention because many schools are still participating in it. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) recently released several ads against the suit. Hopefully, those ads will reach people in the districts still participating and urge their schools to withdraw their participation. Several schools have decided it is not a good idea to stay in. Francis Howell, Liberty, Naylor, St. Joseph, and Columbia School Districts are ones that I know have pulled out. Missouri Political News Services talks about the AFP ads and also has links to them. According to AFP:

Columbia, MO, January 14, 2008 - A $100,000 multi-media ad campaign created by Americans for Prosperity - Missouri (AFP-MO) is causing quite a flurry of phone calls to the organization’s state director and former Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem, Carl Bearden. The first television spot opens with hogs feeding at a trough and accuses many of Missouri public school boards of pigging out in their lawsuit against local taxpayers.

"The lion’s share of the calls that I am receiving from this campaign are very supportive. When taxpayers find out that they are being sued by public school boards for $1 billion without showing how all this extra money is going to improve education for our kids, well people are outraged, to say the least," said Bearden.

I applaud AFP for the release of these ads and agree with the stance they are taking. Let's hope someone is listening to the messaging!

Rural district falls short of standards, may be shut down

The Wyaconda Elementary School faces possible closing. This rural northeast Missouri school may not be meeting the state's academic standards, possibly being unaccredited. Officials will make this decision on Wednesday. This is not the first school in Missouri to lose their accreditation. This should be a red flag to all Missourians. Its completely obvious there is a problem in our schools. It may seem unfortunate this school has to close, especially when reading the article, but the fact is, if it is not performing well, it is failing. Who wants their children to attend a failing school? The school will be given the opportunity to fix its problems and re-open the doors if it is closed.

Personally, I was upset about St. Louis schools being unaccredited, but it seemed so far away. Living in rural Missouri, I guess I saw it of a big city problem, and now this. It has really hit home for me and something needs to be done!

According to bnb.com and The Associated Press WYACONDA, Mo:

The district has 32 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It pays tuition for another 13 students to attend neighboring districts.

The district was put on unaccredited status in May 2006 for what the state called "consistently low academic performance." State law allows the district two years to improve its performance or face additional sanctions which could include closure.

If the district fails to regain accreditation by June 30, the State Board of Education will have authority to assign students to other districts. The district has 17 employees, including seven certified teachers and one administrator.

Superintendent Karla Matlock said the district worked with the state to develop a progress plan. The district needed to meet at least four performance points, including improvement of scores in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test. Improvement was also needed in areas like attendance and grade-point average.

It met some goals, including MAP scores for grades 6-8 in communication arts, attendance and subgroup achievement. It didn't meet standards for grades 3-5 math, grades 3-5 communication arts, grades 6-8 math and grade-point averages for student transitioning to high school.

Matlock said overall MAP test scores rose some last year, but not enough. MAP testing takes place in April, but even if significant improvement is shown by then, it likely won't be enough to keep Wyaconda open, she said.

"By April of this year it will already be decided. We can't wait until June to find out if we're going to close," Matlock said. "This staff is excellent. These kids are getting the education they need. We're just too far down in the hole."

Wyaconda is among three Missouri districts that are unaccredited. The state took control of St. Louis city schools last year. The other is Riverview Gardens in St. Louis County.

"As far as I know, this is the first (school district) recommended to be shut down," said Ron McSorley, area supervisor for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

"This is something that you always hate to see happen. Our responsibilities are what's in the best interest of the students."

The possibility of closure worries some students, primarily because it would mean moving to a bigger school. The most likely options would be nearby districts in Scotland or Clark counties, which is where Wyaconda's high school-age students have gone since Wyaconda closed grades 9-12 in 2002.

Scotland County has 620 students in K-12 and Clark County has 954.

"I'm really upset about it. My whole family went here," said Brock Kirchner, a seventh-grader. "This school is a really great school. We're all just like brothers and sisters. It's like a big 'ole family."

Study outlines benfits of a tuition tax credit program

The St. Louis based Show Me institute released a study titled "The Fiscal Effects of a Tuition Tax Credit Program in Missouri". A tuition tax credit program has been proposed for Missouri and it looks like it would be a real asset to the state. In the past 10 years, four other states have enacted this law. First, lets remember the St. Louis School District was unaccredited last year. It is a major problem when that happens obviously. But what some don't realize is that those students are stuck there. The constitution says they should be allowed to leave an unaccredited district, which they are, but it does not specify other schools accepting them. So, now these students are left in those failing schools, with no where to go.

A tuition tax credit program would give Missourians who contribute to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) a credit on their state income tax bills. The SGOs then will use these contributions to provide private school scholarships to various students. The Show Me study proves states with this program have reduced inequality of educational services among low income families. Private schools can be expensive, so lower income families cannot afford to send their children to them. So the students are suffering because of it. The study also tries to show how it would save the state millions of dollars.

The fiscal cost of a tuition tax credit program will depend on the number of parents who move their children from public schools to preferred private alternatives. This study assesses how the size of available scholarships would affect state educational spending at various levels of demand. Under the conditions we consider, a tuition tax credit program has the potential to save the state $7 million per year. Savings from a partial tax credit, in which taxpayers receive less than a dollar-for dollar match on their contributions, may be as high as $17 million.

Over the past 8 or so years, many tuition tax credit bills have been introduced, and although none of them have passed so far, there is still hope. This study focuses on the 2007 bill and what it could do for Missouri.

This study explores the economic benefits of a tuition tax credit program for Missouri by discussing the structure of similar programs implemented in other states. We argue that a tuition tax credit program would benefit Missouri by providing low-income families with additional education choices. Surveys demonstrate that Missourians support school choice legislation, and that this support is strongest among low-income households and minorities.8 Improved public education would benefit all Missourians, but the greatest returns would flow to students in economically disadvantaged homes — those traditionally most affected by failing public education.

Hopefully, Missourians will realize the benefits of this type of program. Education is too important not to.

For Kansas City and Independence, the truth was self-evident

http://www.examiner.net/stories/121407/new_225555034.shtml

The Examiner reports on the celebration following the momentous shift of seven schools from Kansas City school district into the Independence school district, and how lawmakers and citizens reached across party lines and city boundaries to approve a redistricting for the benefit of students. The article notes that 97 percent of Independence voters were in favor of the redistricting, which makes sense given Independence stands to gain revenue and raise property values in the area. But Kansas City voters, who stood to gain little, had to agree with them solely on the virtue of giving children in those schools a better education—and they did: 84 percent voted in favor of the redistricting.

This was, in essence, a testament to how Missourians feel about education and choice. An overwhelming majority could tell that a quality education is more important than revenue, politics, unions, party lines and the status quo. They gave those children a better choice because nothing in this country is so important that the education of our children should be sacrificed for it.

When we erase our territorial lines and step around the walls that political parties build between one another, I believe our priorities will be startlingly similar and the solutions obvious. The article quotes Sen. Victor Callahan offering up a very appropriate quote for this victory of bipartisanship and for education,

"A philosopher said, 'At first, the truth is ridiculed, then it's questioned, and then it becomes self-evident,' " Callahan said. “The truth was self-evident."

As Missouri kicks off this next legislative season, hopefully this kind of leadership, priority and principled work will be commonplace, and divisiveness rare.