October 28: Top Story - Charters Work Better Than Turnarounds

According to Reuters, a new Education Next article by education researcher Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute argues that it is effective to replace failing schools with charter schools than to restructure them. We need to begin this discussion by acknowledging that the vast majority of persistently low performing schools remain that way despite interventions," says Smarick. In 2004-5, only 19% of schools mandated to restructure were considered improved after two years.

In other headlines...
‘Everybody Wins’ with Charter Schools
California's Charter Schools Show Strong Growth
‘Charter Cap Risks Aid’
Georgia Charter Commission Wins Grant

Charters Work Better Than Turnarounds

According to Reuters, a new Education Next article by education researcher Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute argues that it is effective to replace failing schools with charter schools than to restructure them. We need to begin this discussion by acknowledging that the vast majority of persistently low performing schools remain that way despite interventions," says Smarick. In 2004-5, only 19% of schools mandated to restructure were considered improved after two years. Smarick argues that these schools are best closed, and new charter schools be opened in their place, with the best charters being expanded and replicated. "Our relentless preoccupation with improving the worst schools actually inhibits the development of a healthy urban public-education industry," Smarick says.

Source: Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS143457+27-Oct-2009+BW20091027

Back to Top »
________________________________________

‘Everybody Wins’ with Charter Schools

Op-eds in the New York Post and Washington Examiner by Marcus Winters of the Manhattan Institute explain that the results of a new study show that charter schools benefit all public school students, even those “left behind.” Winters’ report examined student data from 3rd through 8th graders, and found that the higher the percentage of a traditional public school’s students leaving for a charter school, the more those traditional public school students learned in reading the next year. This positive effect of charter competition holds for both low and high-achieving students. This is, Winters explains, “because schools respond to losing students from charters by improving the quality of the education they provide. When faced with competition for enrollment, public schools rise to the challenge by providing better service.” A New York Daily News editorial discusses Winters’ report and asks “How can anyone in good conscience defend the state's cap of 200 charters?”

Sources: The New York Post, http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/10/28/2009-10-28_good_for_some_good_ for_all.html

Back to Top »

The Sacramento Bee, says that charter schools are “thriving” in California, with 88 new schools opening this year. Currently, 341,000 students, or 5% of the state’s public school students, attend 809 charter schools. "California charter schools are experiencing explosive growth, roughly 20 percent growth for two years in a row," said Jed Wallace, president of the California Charter Schools Association. "This consistent growth is phenomenal given this tough economic climate and it speaks to the choices that both parents and teachers are making and their demand for high-quality educational options.” Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest school district, has the state’s largest number of new charters, at 19, and the largest number of charters of any district in the country, at 163.

Source: Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/026535.html,<!-- p-->

Back to Top »

‘Charter Cap Risks Aid’

The Albany Times Union reports that New York’s charter school cap may cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid by making it ineligible for the ‘Race to the Top’ federal grant program. Peter Murphy, a New York Charter Schools Association spokesman, calls the cap “a limitation on what you can do to improve learning and achieving. [Charter schools are] benefiting tens of thousands of students, there's no reason to limit [them.]” Recently, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Indiana and Rhode Island have raised their charter caps to better compete in the ‘Race to the Top.’ Charter schools are “wildly popular among parents," said Tom Carroll, president of the Brighter Choice Foundation, which supports charter schools in Albany. "If parents want more options for our children, the Legislature should not put itself in a position to see those options limited." On a similar note, a Buffalo News editorial urges the legislature to give Assemblyman Sam Hoyt’s education reform bill serious consideration, because removing the charter cap will better position New York for federal grants and because “the status quo is not working.”

Sources: Albany Times Union, http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=858300&category=RENSSE LAER&TextPage=2 , Buffalo News, http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/840648.html

Back to Top »

Georgia Charter Commission Wins Grant

According to the Houston Business Journal, the Georgia Charter Schools Commission has won $35,000 in a National Association of Charter School Authorizers competition. “NACSA is right on target choosing Georgia for this grant, as our commission is committed to go forward as a quality authorizer,” said Tony Roberts, CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. “We are grateful for the support.” The Gerogia Charter Schools Commission is being sued by two school systems who had initially denied the charter applications of two schools which the Commission then approved. Two other school districts have since joined the lawsuit. NACSA also awarded charter school planning grants to the Milwaukee Common Council and the Indianapolis mayor’s office.

Source: Houston Business Journal, http://houston.bizjournals.com/ho uston/othercities/atlanta/stories/2009/10/26/daily41.html?s=industry&i=educat ion,

Back to Top »