For years charter school advocates have claimed that charter schools have something new and innovative to share with public schooling. It’s a myth. Charter schools bring nothing new to the table. Any innovative charter schools are likely run by real teachers.
Jeanne Allen, who founded the Center for Education Reform (CER,) called the nation’s leading authority on advancing education opportunity and innovation, is troubled that charter schools are being attacked, referring to the recent MSNBC forum and candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who are simply calling for more accountability of charter schools.
Allen’s bio says she earned a bachelors degree in political science from Dickinson College and a masters of science in education entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania.
In Don’t Attack Charters Schools–Learn from Them Allen claims that public schools are failing and charter schools will provided a revolution. She refers to local data unavailable to us.
But her arguing that charter schools bring something revolutionary to the table is unproven and presents simply more vacuous promises. She states:
On national, international, and local data points, most schools are failing to provide the personalization and mobile economy necessary to teach and learn. And rather than offer effective solutions for students in desperate need of revolutionary change, the Democratic presidential candidates scheduled to be at the forum have already embraced the status quo, backing programs and proposals that add more power and money to failing institutions.
The idea of charter school innovation harkens back to Chris Whittle’s Edison Schools from the 90s. Whittle, once likened to Harold Hill in The Music Man, promised great innovation. But his schools flopped.
Kenneth Saltman, who wrote The Edison Schools: Corporate Schooling and the Assault on Public Education, visited one of these schools. His take away:
Walking through an Edison school, one is struck by how similar it looks to any other public or even private school. Initially, however, Edison schools were not supposed to look like other schools (p.15).
Can anyone name something innovative in charter schools?
Many charter schools are strictly run. Students and parents cannot break the rules or students will be removed. That’s not innovation.
Allen claims because charter schools exist they are great. She says:
In almost every place they’ve opened, charter schools have created a revolution in educational excellence, especially for so many of our nation’s most vulnerable students.
We know this isn’t true. Charter schools are known for not serving students with disabilities and ELL students.
A report last August by the United Teachers Los Angeles and California Teachers Association showed that charter schools are enrolling fewer students with disabilities. Those they do enroll generally have less severe – and therefore less costly – disabilities, and that this is having a disparate fiscal impact on public school districts.
Also, the Network for Public Education recently provided their second report about charter schools. The title says it all. “Still Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Results in a Pileup of Fraud and Waste.” Their first report was “Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Recklessly Takes Taxpayers and Students for a Ride.”
Personalization
Allen uses the word personalization without coming out and saying what she really means.
Corporate school reformers have worked to destroy true personalization the last thirty years by focusing on high-stakes, one-size-fits-all, standardized tests! Public schools must be accountable with test scores or they are shuttered. Visit any urban area and you will find vacant school buildings left as eyesores in the community.
Now we can assume that Allen and company want charter schools with technology, placing children at screens to focus on rote exercises at their level. That’s what she means by personalization.
They want to drop any accountability because they know checking for student progress shows that charter schools lack any real innovation. Placing students online without teachers is not innovative.
We need to elevate all true public schools and give classrooms back to teachers. Real teachers study education deeply and are capable and do the actual work of instructing students. They must be given the freedom to teach with supports and resources, and a correction of the problems facing them. They are the real innovators!
This country needs one great public school system, owned by Americans and not run with expensive experimentation by those who know nothing about how children really learn.
We are starting to have this conversation, finally, with Democratic candidates like Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren!
Allen is merely crying over spilled milk for charter school innovation that doesn’t exist. It never did.
Reference
Kenneth J. Saltman, The Edison Schools: Corporate Schooling and the Assault on Public Education, (New York: Routledge, 2005), 15.
I was the librarian for a 95% FRL K-5 public school, about equal parts urban black, rural white, with one third Hispanic urban and rural. I served every student in the building every week. Some were exceptionally smart, some were very troubled, but every adult in the building did their best to teach and love these children.
These are the ones who are being left behind, either in underfunded public schools, or in charter schools that regularly fail, usually for fraudulent use of the money taken away from the public schools.
Ms. Bailey, will we be able to rescue our education system before it fails utterly?
I hope so. Thanks for sharing your experience, Suzanne.
Is it possible to get a clarification on the last post on their definition of the word trouble, does that refer to learning ability or behavior issues? Sometimes students that have learning difficulties in their course work are label trouble. I am going disagree it not only students that have difficulties in the course work that is left behind in unfunded schools such in rural and Inner Cities school the gift and honor students are getting water down the curriculum and very little exposure to enrichment programs too. Truly all the students in unfunded schools are being impacted from exposure to teachers, enrichment programs that inspire, encourage and motivate them to be successful on their educational pathway.
Thank you for asking, Ms. Johnson. As I said, “ Some were exceptionally smart, some were very troubled, but every adult in the building did their best to teach and love these children.” By “troubled” I meant emotionally.
Any child can cause “trouble” by their behavior, regardless of their socioeconomic background. And those children I was able to work with thru interesting lessons and classroom management. Over ten years I believe I only wrote up one or two students a year; it was always my last resort, not my first.
mjadvocate2003@yahoo.com I am not a Charter School supporter, but American School Have Failed Students Of Color. What is the best alternative or option for parents that have experienced no success with school districts that using the one model approach that don’t fix all students learning style? Yes, California school use to be #49 in school funding and now we are #43 school funding. How long should a parents or caregivers keep their child in a faling school system before trying other pathways? The real truth is that there a pattern that shows American Schools Have Failed Students Of Color, 85% of all the monies in school district is used for salaried and only 15% is use for students programs. I believe that direct service to students can’t stop and start with teachers, they also need learning experiences and exposure for learning outside the classrooms. I wish that there was more conversation about education from the candidate running for Presidents and local politicians. It very nice that UTLA do a report of Charter schools but their article is little bias , because of it all about saving their jobs in public schools. I get that but until I see CTA and Local teacher unions add language in their contract or MOU that includes students learning , then I know it more than saving their jobs. I just simplest want to see more inner cities students reading and writing on State Standard level, I feel that every parent should have the right to decide what learning structure they wanttheir child to participate in, No one else should be able to decide for the parents or take away their option, unless they can give our failing students a better options.
I advocate working within your local school with other parents and with the teachers of that school and school board to create the changes you seek. Does your local school have a PTA? There are power in numbers. Prioritize the changes you want to see in your public school and share with the school board. Learn how they’re spending the money. If you go towards charters you will wind up with a educational management operation that will be in charge. The teachers union there recently marched to get counselors and better conditions for students. Work with the real teachers. When teachers and parents work together, change happens.