FeedLocal: School is still out on charter schools
August 11, 2008 in Local Tags: charter schools, district 150
I see from tomorrow’s Word on the Street column that Peoria City Councilman Jim Montelongo is eager to get the city government involved in efforts to create charter schools in Peoria. Failing that, at least get the council to endorse the idea.
On one hand, I’d like to see the city take a more active role in running the schools, but given the sentiment of the current council, that won’t happen. And I certainly believe that there needs to be more accountability, and the current system afford voters few opportunities to make change.
But I am not convinced that charter schools are the answer. I went looking for articles, and I found a transcript of a discussion on the Jim Lehrer NewsHour in which the value of charter schools is questioned. It seems that once other factors are taken into consideration, there’s no indication that the results are any better than ordinary public schools (I note that this segment is from August 2004).
And then there’s a 2006 article from the New York Times that also questions the effectiveness of charter schools.
Still charter schools seem to afford parents greater control, demand more accountability and supposedly lets educators avoid a lot of red tape.
I remain unconvinced. One of the allures of charter schools is that some people really want to get rid of teachers’ unions, and charters might let that happen. Well, Edison Schools didn’t have to worry about teacher contracts, and they haven’t shown us anything exceptional in the area of student achievement.
District 150 has tried a lot of other stuff too. They seem to be jumping on one fad after another, and not really sticking with anything. One day they are convinced that a park-like campus setting absolutely necessary. Why? Because kids need to learn about nature. Or they want to cut hours out of the school day so teachers can make lesson plans together.
The last thing the school board seems willing or able to try are those things parents seem to want: Better and more discipline, longer school days and a longer school year and more arts and music. Charter schools aren’t necessary to get these things, and there’s no guarantee that the people chosen to run any new charter school won’t be just as enchanted with shiny new fads and nifty new theories and research as the the people running the schools now.
August 11th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I like the idea. Choice=good
August 11th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
And yet in Chicago, where Charter Schools are the most active here in Illinois, EVERY charter school is superior to every neighboring school. They draw from the same student population (no cherry picking students) and on every measurable score, beat the regular public schools in proximity to them. Its hard to argue that if the parents were as involved in the traditional public schools as they are in the Charter schools, their child’s performance would not be improved, but the facts speak for themselves. I urge you to visit a Charter school, talk to the students, parents and teachers before dismissing the idea. (disclosure, one of my clients is the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, the advocacy arm of the Charter movement here in Illinois, however, I am not involved in the efforts here locally.)
August 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
My oldest attended a charter school in Wisconsin prior to our move here. Charter school law in Wisconsin is different than in Illinois; the schools are still managed by the school district, but there is a board of directors who handle the decision making. Teachers are still part of a union, benefits, etc… The charter school experience was wonderful. I wish there was something similar around here.