Why California Must Lead the Way in Closing Underperforming Charter Schools

In an EdSource commentary, California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) President and CEO Jed Wallace writes in support of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers’ campaign to expand the number of high-quality charters across the country while closing charters that are failing. Wallace calls the 20th anniversary of charter schools in California “the perfect moment” to both celebrate the positive impact charter schools have had on thousands of children and “to reflect on what we must do better.” Last year, CCSA for the first time publicly called for the non-renewal of 10 chronically underperforming public charter schools. “We are tremendously excited about the growth of charter schools and support the growth and replication of California’s highest-performing charter schools,” Wallace writes. “However, we cannot truly have the impact charters were intended to have—to reinvent public education—if we do not close those charters that have demonstrated an inability to meet the challenge of excellence and chronically underperform.”

Source: EdSource

Why We Might See More Indiana Charter Schools Close In 2013

StateImpact Indiana calls the future of a number of low-performing Indiana charter schools sponsored by Ball State University a “story to watch in 2013.” A recent Stanford University report found that while Indiana charter school students outperformed their peers in traditional public schools over a six year period, 10 Ball State-authorized charters rank in the state’s bottom 15 percent of schools. Bob Marra, who oversees the university’s charter schools, said Ball State would not renew the lowest performing schools. Closing schools scoring in the bottom 15 percent is in line with recommendations from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which is helping Ball State create a better accountability system.

Source: StateImpact Indiana

Op-ed: Charter Schools Are Showing the Way Forward

In a Washington Times op-ed, Peter Roff writes that while our system of public education with antecedents in the 19th century “is not sufficient to meet the needs of a 21st-century nation firmly integrated into the global economy…charter schools are showing the way forward.” Roff cites the Chester Community Charter School outside of Philadelphia, which started with 100 students in 1998 and now serves more than 3,000. Chester offers a 10-1 student-teacher ratio, forms partnerships with nearby colleges and universities and outperforms its surrounding school district in reading and math by 20 percent. In addition, a recent University of Washington Center on Reinventing Public Education report found that school choice matters to families of children with special needs; many charter schools effectively include students with less severe special needs; and charters are revealing practices that may work for students with disabilities in all schools.

Source: Washington Times

Op-Ed: Why Charters Shouldn’t Be ‘Neighborhood Schools’

In a Washington Post op-ed, Mark Schneider and Robert Cane praise a D.C. task force’s recent recommendation against turning charters into neighborhood schools. Neighborhood preference would adversely affect students in the city’s poorest areas, many of whom travel to other neighborhoods to enroll in charter schools. Schneider and Cane call the real challenge “how to expand the supply of high-quality opportunities for students to learn.” A recent study estimated that D.C. needs 39,000 more seats in quality public schools. Schneider and Cane recommend the expansion of the city’s high-performing public charter schools and the recruitment of nationally-recognized charter operators. However, the city does not make it easy for charters to gain access to unused district buildings, which “makes no sense in a city so desperate for better public schools.” Few of the 20 district schools slated to be closed are slated for charter school use, although almost half are in the city’s most underserved areas.

Source: Washington Post

Task Force: Charters Should Accommodate Students of Closing D.C Schools

According to the Washington Examiner , a D.C. task force which includes the district schools’ chancellor, D.C. Public Charter School Board chairman and teachers’ union president is recommending the city’s public charter schools reserve seats next year for students who attend neighboring district schools slated for closure. Giving students priority enrollment at charters near the 20 schools slated for closure would be school-by-school and voluntary. "We really want to open up seats to kids who can walk to the campuses," said Susan Schaeffler, the CEO of KIPP DC. "We try to locate our schools the best we can in the neighborhoods that are underresourced, and I understand every charter school is different, but it works well for us." The task force recommended against neighborhood preferences for all charters, since this would adversely affect students in underserved areas, who most frequently enroll in charters outside their neighborhoods.

Source: Washington Examiner

Can Rocketship Launch a Fleet of Successful Schools?

PBS NewsHour profiled Rocketship Education, whose seven public charter schools are among the top-performing public schools serving low-income students in California. Rocketship teachers typically make at least 15 percent more than teachers in surrounding districts; at Rocketship Si Se Puede Elementary, some successful third-year teachers make close to $70,000 a year, almost 30 percent more than their district peers. Higher teacher salaries are possible because students receive individualized instruction for an hour daily in a learning lab staffed by non-certified instructors. However, Rocketship is considering moving that lab instruction back to the regular classroom, to make it more effective for students. New Orleans, Nashville, Indianapolis, Memphis and Milwaukee have all approved charters for Rocketship schools. Rocketship hopes to have 46 schools within five years, eventually serving 1 million students in 50 cities.

Source: PBS NewsHour

New Chicago Public Charter High School Grooms Future Lawyers

According to Education Week , Legal Prep Charter Academies, a new Chicago public charter school, aims to increase diversity in the legal profession. Legal Prep, founded by two attorneys, is Chicago’s first high school with a legal theme, and counts more than 20 companies and law firms as founding partners. Principal Beth Bulgeron is a law graduate recruited from Santa Cruz, California’s Pacific Collegiate School, one of the nation’s top-performing public charter schools. The school opened in August with its first 200 freshman. Students find professional role models through a year-round mentoring program. According to co-founder Sam Finkelstein, the school will focus on "the skills that all great lawyers possess: excellent written and oral communication, critical thinking and problem solving…Do we think everyone here will end up with a law degree? No. But we are excited to be part of a pipeline…and think we can ultimately make a difference in the legal profession."

Source: Education Week

Small Kansas School Rebounds as Charter with Rural Focus

Education Week profiled the Rural Life Center in Walton, Kansas, which rebounded from dwindling enrollment by reinventing itself as a public charter school emphasizing agriculture and project-based learning. Its enrollment has doubled and it has a waiting list for 2018. The school’s success has attracted educators visiting from as far away as New Zealand; U.S. Department of Education officials recently produced a video about Walton's turnaround, which can be viewed on YouTube. "Walton is really going above and beyond," said Jessica Noble, who coordinates charter schools for the Kansas Department of Education. "Many other schools are doing great things as well. But the model Walton Rural Life Center is using is very unique and forward-thinking." According to principal Natise Vogt, "project-based learning makes a big difference for kids.” The school is trying to raise $300,000 to build new classrooms. Without the money, the school will not be able to accommodate all the students who would like to enroll.

Source: Education Week