As I sit here on the train heading for Kansas City, I have had the opportunity to read several articles on the state of education in America. The one I have chosen to share today concerns a topic that is all too real for many students across the country. At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, two schools in St.Louis opened by Imagine Schools, Inc. will be shutting their doors. On December 22, the California Charter School Association called for the closing of ten charter schools due to academic underperformance. The article goes on to discuss the need for accountability. The charter school movement is strong throughout the nation, with new and innovative schools popping up all the time. The time is now for parents and teachers to say we will not accept anything less than the very best education options. Regardless of the school type, if you’re not educating our kids at a high level, it’s time for you to find something else to do. For too long people have been misinformed and manipulated into believing shiny lights and bells and whistles make a great school. Who cares if you have the biggest library if the kids in the school can’t read? I again encourage parents, grandparents and anyone who has a vested interst in the success of our youth, academically and beyond: Do some research; go visit a school. And then share what you’ve learned with a neighbor or other community member. It could be your insight that makes the difference.

I once believed that if we eradicated poverty, we would solve the education crisis and achievement gap in the United States.  That was 20 years ago when I arrived in St. Louis a bright-eyed college graduate ready to change the world.

I’m still working to change the world, but my perspective on that has changed.  However my change of perspective does not require that I renounce all the good work I have done to impact the lives of young people in challenged communities, it is because of that work that my perspective has changed.

In keeping up on education reform across the country I receive daily Google Alerts of news stories.  One that showed up in my inbox this week was an op/ed from my home state of Oregon.  It mirrored my former thoughts completely.  In it the author asks the reader to pose five “whys” that he outlines in his piece.  The ultimate conclusion to his questions is why don’t we just put the effort into eliminating poverty because then we will fix education.

I beg to differ.

As my coworker, CEAM State Policy Director Kate Casas, always says, “you don’t have to eliminate poverty to educate children, you have to educate children to eliminate poverty.”  She is right.

First of all, one of those choices is practical while the other is completely unwieldy.  Education happens in a building where there are all sorts of ways to impact what goes on and how solutions are implemented.  On the other hand, poverty is a societal issue with a million different entrances and exits and causes and remedies.  I am not saying that eliminating poverty wouldn’t be a good thing, I am simply saying that we have far more potential control over what happens in our schools and far more opportunities to create change.

Evidence tells us that those of us who graduate from high school earn more money in our lifetimes.  Beyond that, those of us who attend college and graduate school fare even better.  So what we have to do is support existing effective schools and encourage the reform of underperforming schools.  Luckily, there are many examples of high poverty schools graduating high levels of minority and poor students for us to follow and replicate.

If you’re giving me a choice between eradicating poverty in the United States or educating children, I will take on the manageable challenge of educating children every time.  In no small part because those educated young people are our best hope for eradicating poverty.

Here’s an article about what high performing schools in high poverty and high minority areas have in common.

On a very cold and rainy Thursday, November 3, people from around the Metro area gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new, expanded City Garden Montessori Charter School in the Botanical Heights Neighborhood. I was fortunate enough to be there. The energy and the excitement was nothing short of amazing, even with the unseasonably cold, wet weather, hundreds of people were there to listen to local dignitaries and to take tours of the new facility which is still under construction. This is what local dignitaries had to say.

While the groundbreaking itself was inspirational, the real work and fortitude were on display when the community, board of directors and school staff came together to fulfill the communities dream of having a great school for the children in Shaw and Forest Park South East.

“As the highest–performing charter school in St. Louis, and a track record of excellence and innovation, City Garden Montessori is proud to have grown from the connections between parents and community members seeking better educational experiences for St. Louis City children,” says Christie Huck, Executive Director of City Garden. “With the permanence of our new home, we will continue to envision more programming, more services, more community building, more award-winning education.”

“City Garden Montessori’s demonstrated success in student achievement can be traced to its grass-roots, community-driven culture of collaboration and accountability,” says Steve Sanchez, Saint Louis University’s Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and director of the University’s charter school sponsorship program.  “As the school’s sponsor, we’ve witnessed the dramatic educational impact of parents, teachers, administrators, and board members working together to advance only one agenda:  student learning.”

“I’ve long been a supporter of quality charter schools,” says Mayor Francis G. Slay. “City Garden Montessori has already created a community of dedicated educators and parents to help our City’s children achieve success. Now, with its new building, this school community will continue to serve our City’s children by giving them a quality education in a nurturing environment.”

The thought of someone trying to improve the way a city or state’s educational system is run sounds admirable at best and hopeless at worst. However, there are people from all different walks of life who are trying to do just that, and succeeding. While a failing education system is a crisis effecting the whole country. The people who are most successful are starting on one city block, in one small community. They are testing research and best practices, hiring high quality staff, and achieving results that can be scaled city-wide, state-wide, and nation-wide. This article tells the tale of one such school. The Kauffman Charter School in Kansas City starts with children in fifth grade puts a laser-like focus on one thing, getting them to and through college.  If they are successful, there is no reason these techniques, skills, curriculum, professional development, and passion are replicated in every school in every city in Missouri.

The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri supports informed school choice. We feel strongly that charter schools not only allow parents to choose where their child goes to school, but forces the traditional public schools to reform, or face losing students. There is increasing demand around Missouri and the rest of the nation for high performing schools. Fortunately for parents and students, in many cases, the options parents are turning to are charter schools. But you don’t have to take my word for it, The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools completed this report called Charter Demographics Report that paints a very vivid picture of the demand for and success of charter schools in America.

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I have been a board member at the City Garden Montesorri school located near Tower Grove park for a little more than six months, but our relationship extends well over two years.  I was reading about the map scores in our area and was pleased to see City Garden with fifty-two percent of all students passing.

I have worked closely with this school and know the time and effort that is put into all things City Garden. The staff  are all top notch educators and are there to teach.  From the very first time I stepped into the school I was impressed with the ease and poise with which administrators, teachers, parents and most importantly students conducted themselves from classrooms to board meetings I as an observer and participant could not be happier with the school and the people involved in the day to day.

Having said all that to ask this question why in the world aren’t we using this model of success across the city or better yet the state? We need to be more deliberate in the way we go about educating our young people . I am quite sure that there is a need and a desire by parents and teachers alike to put into practice what we know already works.  I will include a link to the schools website.

Though school districts are already empowered by the NCLB to shutter any failing schools, this legislation would empower parents with authority to act if their school board does not. Parents in California are pulling the trigger while other states such as New Jersey, West Virginia, Michigan, Georgia and Maine are considering passing their own ‘parent trigger’ laws, as noted in a recent Education Week article and this article which also indicates that parent empowerment legislation is pending in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.

Parents in Buffalo, New York are advocating for ‘parent trigger’ laws because they “want a seat at the table”. But Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, fears that this legislation will be abused by those whose “sole mission is to open a charter school”. What’s the problem? When over 50% of parents at a school are dissatisfied, it is GOOD they can takes steps to force change. The law is designed to serve parents, not charter school operators. And conversion to a charter school is only one option, not the only solution. The above article wisely points out that charters cannot be the sole option afforded to parents. Charters can, however, be offered as one of numerous options that could serve parents to educate their children.

• Teacher pay for performance in Florida
• Indiana is drawing a line in the sand to see an end to social promotion in the classroom
• Teachers’ union considering sweeping reforms in Wisconsin
• What Tennessee has learned from Florida’s last decade of education reforms; this article refers to a newly released study “Lessons for Tennessee from Florida’s Education Revolution”.  Says Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Foundation for Educational Choice:

“When true reform occurs and parents are given the freedom to choose the education that’s best for their children, students are able to break through every barrier and truly excel.”

Parents just want to see their children reach their full potential.  The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri believes that parents should be empowered with access to the best educational options for their child.  We also believe in parents’ ability, right and obligation to make these decisions, and that in the presence of quality options parents indeed make the best choices for their children.

I wonder how many St. Louisans know someone-a neighbor, a friend, a family member-doing just what this woman did?  This author knows more than one family who has lied about their zip code.  Fortunately,  my zip code is pretty good:  63144 is home to a very good school district and I have two children there.  It’s a good thing too, since I cannot afford the parochial school tuition or another private school option.  From the above referenced posting on MERR:

As Dan Domenech of the American Association of School Administrators told NPR last week, “The correlation between student achievement and Zip code is 100 percent. The quality of education you receive is entirely predictable based on where you live.” And where you live in America today depends largely on income and race.

Just as Rosa Parks refused to move her seat on the bus, Kelley Williams-Bolar would not take the public school offered to her zip code.  Rosa just wanted a ride on the bus.  Ms. Williams-Bolar just wanted her daughter’s to have the same opportunity as those residing in the zip code she lied about.

It’s great that people across our country are asking questions about education and that not only are more exposes and documentaries coming out BUT people are actually watching them.   Missouri legislators watched The Lottery last week.  The Cartel was screened last week in St. Louis, and Waiting for Superman is making the rounds too.  The St. Louis Beacon shares what people are saying about the issues discussed in the movies and how Missouri is impacted.

People should be outraged that an American Mother was jailed for choosing a better life for her kids.  Missouri needs to ensure that quality options exist for all Missouri children, regardless of the family zip code.  We are well past assigning seats in the back of the bus.

The video discusses the unique characteristics of people with autism~among them: they can be very comfortable with highly methodical processes and because of their attention to detail, they can excel and be highly productive valuable employees~oh, and they have less absenteeism!  The video is inspiring and serves as a great example of how individualized learning can maximize a special needs learner’s full potential and open up their doors to opportunity such that they can reach their maximum independence.  Currently, according to the video, Scotland employs only 13% of the possible talent pool of people with autism.

Check it out:

This is a great example of how America should be preparing for our gifted special needs learners, aka: the ‘twice exceptional’.

How much talent is wasted by failing our children who CAN learn, but not in the traditional ‘one-size-fits’ all methods?  How many parents hearts must break until we realize that we need to do something different?  It is said that the definition of insanity is to repeat the same process expecting different outcomes.  It is time to do things differently.

There are charter schools and private schools that address the ‘twice exceptional’, however you will not find them in Missouri.  If I am mistaken, by all means please point me to them.  Our U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has called for exceptional high-performing charter schools to pave this path to educate the most under-served in America’s education system, and special needs learners are one of his top targets.

We also need to train teachers who will excel at understanding how to reach this special demographic.  It is critical to our community’s future to tap these kids’ potential and is unconscionable to not do so.  Oh, and if none of that matters (and I would argue, of course, that it does), it will be more costly in the long run if we continue to fail our ‘twice exceptional’…

Adding additional pressure to give parents more options is the merging of the unaccredited Wellston and provisionally accredited Normandy school districts in St. Louis County. Riverview Gardens is also unaccredited and located in St. Louis County, and there are seven other provisionally accredited districts in the state. To say families in these districts need options besides their failing district schools is an understatement. There are also interesting concepts for charter schools coming from private schools that would like to charter so that parents of all income levels could have a chance to attend. One private French language immersion school in Columbia testified last legislative session for expansion so that they could change to a charter school.

One less discussed reason for allowing charter schools statewide is to reduce the number of consolidations in rural areas of the state. If a rural district is losing enrollment and considering consolidation, they would have the option to charter instead of families in the area losing a school close to home. That would also stem job losses of teachers in the proposed consolidated districts.

Regardless of the motivation, charter school expansion should be a top education priority for reformers in 2010. It will give parents and students more options in more areas of the state for their child to receive a quality education. The presence of charter public schools can also lead to better results from zone district schools as a result of competition or collaboration. The Children’s Education Alliance will continue to monitor charter school expansion in 2010 and continue to educate Missourians on how the expansion of quality charter public schools will give more options to families across Missouri.

Often people only think of these caps as a limit on the number of charter schools that can open in a state, but Missouri also has caps that are not often thought of. Unfortunately, Missouri has placed geographical caps on where charter schools can open. Currently charter schools can only operate inside of the St. Louis and Kansas City Public School districts. These caps deny parents and students in the rest of the state educational choice. Families in Riverview Gardens and Wellston are trapped in unaccredited districts and groups in Columbia and Springfield who wish to open charters are shut out.

Also, caps are placed on who can charter a school. Everyone wants sponsors who are accountable and hold their schools to high quality standards, but why only let universities sponsor schools? This policy leaves out some of the best community institutions and companies in our state, like the Missouri Botanical Garden or businesses, like Edward Jones, who could sponsor schools centered around knowledge in their respective fields. Early exposure to high quality institutions and businesses could promote students to seek careers in these areas and drive them to gear their education toward the goal of working at one of these institutions, or in a related area.

Despite these caps on public charter schools, progress has been made toward bringing Missouri education stimulus money. Last week Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed on to Memorandum of Agreement to show support for Secretary Duncan’s Common Core State Standards Initiative. This initiative seeks to set a common core of state standards in English language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. The agreement still needs Missouri’s Education Commissioner to sign on and this position has been vacant since the death of Kent King last winter. While, the State Board of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new Commissioner signing onto the agreement would be a step forward, it is a baby step toward receiving much needed stimulus funds that would benefit all Missouri public schools.

Officials in all elected and appointed offices Missouri should embrace a full package of education reforms promoted by President Obama and his Education Secretary not only to make the state competitive when applying for stimulus money, but for the advances that it will make for Missouri children and families. This means that the legislature should step up in the 2010 session and lift caps on charter schools and create, and fund, merit programs for districts in the state in addition to St. Louis. This also means that local districts must make policies that reflect nationally supported reforms. De facto impediments to charter school expansion, like St. Louis Public Schools’ deed restrictions, must be removed as scheduled on June 30 and no other restrictive policies be put in it’s place. As Secretary Duncan stated in his speech last week at the National Charter Schools Conference, “the education reform movement is not a table where we just sit around and talk. It’s a train that is leaving the station, gaining speed, momentum and direction. It’s time for everyone, everywhere to get on board.”

]]> http://www.childrenseducationalliance-mo.org/all-reform-news/news/missouri-competitive-disadvantage/feed 0 http://www.childrenseducationalliance-mo.org/all-reform-news/news/charter-school-scholar-caroline http://www.childrenseducationalliance-mo.org/all-reform-news/news/charter-school-scholar-caroline#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:38:26 +0000 admin http://www.childrenseducationalliance-mo.org/?p=472 Noted charter school scholar Caroline Hoxby will present at St. Louis University on The Promise of Charter Schools. The presentation is the fourth in a series on economic policy presented by the Show Me Institute and the John Cook School of Business at SLU. The presentation will take place John Cook School of Business Anheuser-Busch Auditorium at 3674 Lindell Boulevard at Spring Avenue. A reception will begin at 5:30pm with the presentation following at 6:00pm.