Bringing Quality Schools to Virginia
By Christian Braunlich • Sep 16th, 2009 • Category: Education, Top StoryHaving just finished a week of meetings reviewing charter school grant applications for the U.S. Department of Education, I was reminded of two summertime declarations by leaders of Virginia’s anti-charter school movement.
In July, Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, attacked Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell for supporting the creation of more public charter schools, saying that the state should instead research why and how charter schools work in some places and not in others.
Unfortunately for Ms. Boitnott, we already know the answer to the question. What the research demonstrates is that the states with the greatest number of charter schools have either multiple authorizers or a strong appeals process; the states with the fewest number of charter schools empower only local school boards to approve charters. In short, the way to stifle innovative and effective charters has been to allow only one authorizer – exactly what the VEA advocates.
Particularly disappointing, though, is that Ms. Boitnott was preoccupied with arguing what is best for school systems, rather than what’s best for kids. In her remarks, she cited a recent Rand study, but ignored its conclusion that students attending a charter high school are eight to ten percentage points more likely to enroll in college than their traditional public school counterparts. Dozens of other studies show similar effects – particularly with at-risk kids.
This is a real problem, particularly for educationally disadvantaged students. More than 17,000 Virginians in last year’s graduating class did not graduate. The numbers are even more dramatic among at risk students – nearly 25 percent of economically disadvantaged students disappeared between ninth and 12th grades. In places like Petersburg, Virginia more than a third did not graduate on time.
Nor are the statistics any better in rural areas like King and Queen County, where the graduating class should have been 58 students: Only 37 actually walked across the stage to accept their diplomas.
Ms. Boitnott’s attack was followed a few weeks later by an email from Frank Barham, executive director of the Virginia School Boards Association, declaring that a reason there are so few charter schools in Virginia is because “parents are happy with their local public schools and the education that their children receive.”
Really?
One is reminded of Georgia Senator Richard Russell who, even as he was leading the fight against civil rights laws granting equal opportunity, declared “There are no members of the Negro race in my state tonight who would say that any official or personal act of mine had resulted in any unfairness to the Negroes.”
Perhaps Mr. Barham imagines the “happy parents” dancing in the streets at the prospect that their child will receive an inadequate education. What kind of education leader really believes that parents are “happy with their local public schools” when their children don’t graduate? Or that the mothers and fathers of King and Queen County are pleased when 40 percent of 4th graders can’t read or do math on grade level? Is he fooling himself, or just trying to fool others?
Make no mistake – there are large swaths of Virginia where students are academically quite successful in their public schools. But there are significant pockets – both urban and rural – where the public school systems have for years failed the educationally at-risk students who attend them, and where parents would jump at the chance for an alternative if only one were available.
Quality charter schools like KIPP Academy, Connecticut’s Amistad Academy, Envision Schools, Aspire public schools and Harlem’s Democracy Prep have demonstrated their effectiveness in helping those students succeed.
Shouldn’t the Virginia Education Association and the Virginia School Boards Association focus on bringing those kinds of quality charters into the Commonwealth, rather than finding new excuses to keep them out?
Christian Braunlich Christian N. Braunlich is vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Virginia’s premier non-partisan public policy foundation. He served eight years on the Fairfax County School Board, the nation’s 12th largest school system, where he was a strong advocate of educational accountability and research-based reading programs.
Mr. Braunlich has served as Chief of Staff to Congressman John LeBoutillier, Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Association of Manufacturers, president of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, and vice president of the Center for Education Reform. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including The Washington Post, The Northern Virginia Journal, The Washington Times, and The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.
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The biggest problems I see with public education are standardized tests and political correctness.
Standardized tests result in only what the government wants to be taught, nothing else.
Political correctness does not work, never has, and never will. Students do better in local schools rather than being bused all over the place. They do better in classes with similar abilities. Putting poor students, or students with problems, in with good students does not help either. The poor students get lost and the good students get bored, the average will stay about the same. When classes are by ability students do better because they are neither under or over whelmed by the subject material.
Christian is quite correct in his assertion that students in charter schools very often out perform public school students. What he fails to mention that it is typically the top 5% of students that charter schools tend to attract; therefore I wonder why charter schools do not perform at an even higher academic level than they currently do. Perhaps we should investigate this shortcoming. The systemic problems in America’s educational system will not be repaired until we ask the professionals who have the answers,any our nations teachers. Ours is the only profession that lay person believes they can practice sucessfully just because they have been in a school.
I’d appreciate it if Mr. Hess would provide a citation for his assertion that “it is typically the top 5% of students that charter schools tend to attract.” All of the literature and studies that I have seen indicate that charter schools attract students with similar demographics and performance levels as their peer cohorts in traditional public schools. In fact, most students at charters start several years behind grade level. I’m certain that, as a learned professional, Mr. Hess will document his accusation.
Delaware has 17 charter schools in which 8 are under acedemic watch or review. Those 8 are high poverty and high minority. Pretty much they mirror traditional public schools.
Delaware law states , ” students will be given a preference, “Students who have a specific interest in the school’s teaching methods, philosophy, or educational focus;
The only charter high school and actually the only public high school in the city of Wilmington has a student population of 21.9% Asian compared to 7.1% Afrcian-American, 2% poverty and zero Sepcial Ed students. Ironically it is was formed by the public school distirct. Delaware charter schools laws allow public school districts themselves authorize charter schools. Also, it was the status quo within this school district that help craft the charter school law.
The true test for charter schools is to convert an exsiting public school lock, stock and barrel to a charter school. Delaware provisons to convert an exsitng public school to a charter requires a vote of more than 50% of parents and more than 50% of teachers. Now do yo really think organizaed labors will vote for a non union school?
One unique charter school in Delaware is Delaware Military Academy , 100% JRROTC Navy.