Charter school supporters take to street Friday

I think there will be some student speakers as well. I have found that student speakers speak from the heart and we should all be listening.

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With her “Close the Gap” net cast early on to entice gullible fish, Rep. Alisha Morgan now starts drawing in her catch to support “Charter Schools” on the way to dismantling public education and clearing the way for vouchers and privatization.

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How interesting that my representative, Jan Jones is on this list. She will be hearing from me and many other PTA moms very shortly on what we think of her attempt to undermine our high performing North Fulton schools. Rep Jones, you do not represent a district that wants nor needs resources being drained from our public schools!

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Reality Too –
You do have many people in your district that had a say – every elected official at the Capitol and your state board member. All of them are either voted in by you or appointed by a Governor you elected.

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CHARTER DOES COST MORE MONEY AND THE RETURN IS BAD . MY CHILDREN WENT TO CHARTER ITS JUST MAKES IT SO YOU CAN KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR SCHOOL. NOT GOOD IF IT COMES FROM EVERYONE TAX DOLLARS.

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Repeat after me: A charter is a public school. A charter is a public school. A charter is a public school.

As public schools, charter schools do not dump disruptive children. They DO attract children whose parents want something better for their children.

Charter schools in many districts get less money, from the county, than mainstream schools. If you type in all caps, I guess you can work that out to them costing more.

Money ‘thrown’ at charter schools is used to educate children, just as in mainstream schools. It’s fascinating that the counties showed so little interest in charters before their arbitrary stranglehold on state dollars was challenged.

The state-appointed commission was created by elected state representatives, just as county superintendents and staff are appointed by elected school board members.

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I would encourage some North Fulton folks to head down to some low income title I schools in Gwinnett, Atlanta, Dekalb or Fulton. Look around, talk to the kids, see what the academic expectation is for these students – then join the ranks of those who believe that a zip code cannot and should not determine your educational lot in life. If you don’t want charter school options (public money going to public schools operated independently from district/state policy and innovative options for all parents) after those few visits then you will never be a charter supporter. Keep in mind, if you don’t support charters – you shouldn’t be supporting your districts engagement in an IE2 contract. There is virtually no difference between the two, except charter schools have a HIGHER level of scrutiny with the state. Visit a KIPP charter school in Atlanta or Ivy Preparatory Charter Academy in Gwinnett. I think you will be floored at the different in expectations for students. I know I was. Just two years ago I was a low information level voter as well. No more, never again.

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1. President Obama, former President Bush, and Newt Gingrich are just a few who support charter schools from both sides of the aisle.
2. Charter schools are public schools of choice.
3. If your public schools in North Fulton are so good, why is there such a strong private school sector in North Fulton?
4. How are the schools doing for your friends in South Fulton, DeKalb and APS where the faces of the students are not like those in North Fulton.
5. Looks like the GA House members mentioned are doing what they can to offer parents and their children more public school options so they can find the best setting to achieve; charter or traditional.
6. To quote Bob Dylan “The times, they are a changin”.

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I’m another North Fulton parent (there sure are a lot of us on these blogs!) that stumbled across this blog and wanted to chime in. I’m not against charter schools as I’m sure some areas could use them but I just really don’t see a need for charters in this part of the metro area.

CharterSupporter, I think your argument would work in many places but charters just aren’t a widely supported proposition in areas where the schools are already performing well. There’s not much of an incentive for change if your local schools are already meeting local expectations.
My concern about a charter commission is that if say Mountain Park Elementary school in North Fulton loses 2 students to a charter and the school loses $15,000 in state funding as a result, where do the $15,000 in cuts come from? If the school were to cut a teacher or make the Spanish teacher a half day teacher, I think that hurts the rest of the students. I can see where the tradeoff is worth it in areas where parents desperately need more choices, but that’s just not a situation we face in this part of the metro area. So even if Mountain Park loses one or two students to charters, those students moving aren’t affected but we’re sacrificing something for all the other kids when the school (whose academic performance is among the best in the state) is doing what is supposed to be doing. I see charters as an accountability mechanism but in North Fulton, we like our local schools just as they are and so charters are viewed with skepticism. That’s why a state commission just sounds like a scary thought in these parts. I hope this perspective was useful!
- Trace.

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On another note (and it doesn’t matter which side of the political fence you’re on either)…I find it interesting that the Obama Administration (specifically Arne Duncan) has made it QUITE CLEAR that states without STRONG chartering will not be eligible for Race to the Top Funds. I wonder if the districts fighting so hard against the Commission and the other opponents of our charter school laws are going to end up cutting off their noses to spite their faces and impact ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACROSS THE STATE and kill everyone’s opportunity to earn needed educational funding that will positively impact all students in Georgia. Power and money seems to always get in the way of good sense (and cents!)

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I respect those of you who support charters but with all due respect, why are you forcing the charter commission down on those of us that live in areas that don’t have a strong need for them? I have to join those in North Fulton who don’t think charters are necessary for my community – our schools are performing just fine and don’t need any more state interference. If parents in DeKalb, South Fulton, Atlanta want them they should be allowed to be governed by such a commission. I have no desire to stop other areas from getting their charters. But those of us that don’t want it for our communities should be forced to partake. Change is not always desirable or necessary.

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Mickey, I was browsing through this, saw your post and have a few quick responses:

1. The book is still out on Obama but none of the three you brought up are particularly great exemplars of why we should rush to embrace charters.
2. You’re not giving us a choice of whether we want charters or not
3. Aside from Sandy Springs, the overwhelming majority of residents up here use public, including Milton, where I live. Sandy Springs is a great example of what happens when resources are diverted from existing public schools – school performance and community pride in local schools suffers.
4. Most of my friends have chosen to move where public schools are good, so I don’t have many friends with children in DeKalb, APS and South Fulton. Parents concerned about their children’s education always have the option to move. And no, N. Fulton is not all rich white people, contrary to what some on here may think. We have excellent diversity in many of our schools that extends beyond black-white.
5. You can probably expect some primary/general election challengers for certain reps that are not in tune with what the majority of N.Fulton voters want.
6. Times change but not all change is for the better.

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Maureen, since you pointed out that Jones has always been a charter school supporter, I also want to add that I on the whole approve of Representative Jones’ performance because she has been a strong leader on many issues important to N. Fulton residents. For those unfamiliar, Jones was an influential voice for the creation of independent cities in North Fulton and this is what got her many votes in past elections, not her apparent support for charter schools.

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I have worked at both charter and traditional public schools. While both have their problems, I felt swindled at promises made by our charter management company, Imagine schools…we were paid very little and yet still told not to make copies, etc. I am curious as to how much money these “non-profit” CEOs truly make. Public schools have serious problems, like huge classes and over-testing, but I don’t see charter necessarily solving these fundamentals. Why can’t all public schools be safe, motivating, and supportive spaces for our youth? All children deserve this. We are paying for these schools so why can’t we as teachers, parents, students have a say in how they are run…that is democracy.

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Reality 2:
The charter commission was appointed by elected officials–state representatives elected in the same local elections in which school board members are chosen. How did your county get its school superintendent and other administrators?

The charter commission is not taking district funds. It allocates some of the state money given to districts to charters instead of 100% to the district. In DeKalb, this may mean a few less relatives appointed “Executive Director of Washing Crawford’s Car,” hence DCSS and BOE are suing.

Jennifer S: Not all charters are run by private corporations. While you may be correct about charters administered in that way, for the most part this discussion is about charters initiated by parents within a community, not the unfortunate situation you describe.

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I’m a mother of two children in N. Fulton schools and I actually moved here because of the schools. I’m not rich by any means but my husband and I made the choice to move to where the public schools are good so I wouldn’t have to worry about having to send them to private or trying to transfer them elsewhere. I just can’t help but wonder if people that now want to allow funds to be transferred out of my local schools really understand that it’s not what most people that move into this region want. The school can’t just sell a few bricks and walls every-time a student decides to go to a charter school. With our lean budget all it can do is hire less teachers, and for a school that is already very high performing, taking away money from what works is not the solution. Fix what’s broken and keep what’s working…

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Why is everyone so adamant about the money staying with the local school when the students no longer attend there. Would the same individuals in this blog feel this way if you moved your child to a different county to attend another public school? Would you want the new school to tell you we can’t take your child because we don’t have the resources to educate them since the funds alloted from the state have to stay at the school you originally had your child attending? Somehow I don’t think you would take kindly to that. What then is the difference when charter schools are in fact public schools as well? Why is there so much hostility? By reading the posts here I get that most people responding have an issue with the commission. If the local school board had authorized the charters and moved the money to those said charters that THEY approved would there still be an issue. Several local school districts have approved some charters and they willingly give up the money. Why is that not an issue?

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What is a charter school?

A charter school is a nonsectarian public school of choice that operates with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The “charter” establishing each such school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. The length of time for which charters are granted varies, but most are granted for 3-5 years, but some charters in Georgia have been granted 10 years in their charter. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor-usually a state or local school board-to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them, and the public that funds them.

Flexibility [b]

Under O.G.C.A. § 20-2-280 and SBOE Rule 160-5-1-.33, the Gwinnett County Public School
District is seeking state flexibility for all its schools from the following state statutes and/or rules
in exchange for greater accountability (see measures below) over the life of a five-year contract
between the Gwinnett Board of Education and the Georgia State Board of Education.
• Flexibility with regards to Class-size and Reporting requirements (O.G.C.A. § 20-2-182)
• Flexibility with regards to Expenditure Controls (O.G.C.A § 20-2-171)
• Flexibility with regards to QBE Financing (O.G.C.A § 20-2-160)
• Flexibility with regards to Categorical Allotment requirements (Article 6 of Chapter 2 of
Title 20)
• [b]Flexibility with regards to Salary Schedule requirements (O.G.C.A § 20-2-212)
• Flexibility with regards to Certification requirements (O.G.C.A § 20-2-200)
• Flexibility with regards to Employment, Conditions of Employment as it relates to DutyFree Lunch (O.G.C.A. § 20-2-218)
• Flexibility with regards to School Attendance, Compulsory Attendance as it relates to the
attendance protocol (O.G.C.A § 20-2-690.2)
• Flexibility with regards to ELL Program requirements (O.G.C.A § 20-2-156)
• Flexibility with regards to Educational Programs (O.G.C.A § 20-2-152)• Flexibility with regards to Organization of Schools; Middle School Programs; Schedule
(O.G.C.A § 20-2-290)
• Flexibility with regards to Competencies and Core Curriculum (O.G.C.A § 20-2-142 and
SBOE Rule 160-4-2-.48)
Role of the District: The district shall lead and support local schools in setting and achieving
high academic standards for each student while monitoring total student and subgroup
participation and performance in all areas within Georgia’s Single Statewide Accountability
System and in all areas of additional accountability outlined within this strategic plan. The
district also will work with the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement in monitoring of the
school plans as outlined in the rule and defined in each school plan. Monitoring will include the
review of the preponderance of evidence in evaluating each school’s progress toward meeting its
performance goals. Significant changes in school achievement levels and/or student populations
will be evaluated with OSA at the end of the contract year and will initiate the review of
subsequent performance goals.
As new schools open in future years, GCPS will enter into discussion with The Governor’s
Office of Student Achievement to determine the establishment of baseline data and
accountability goals for five subsequent years or for the remaining length of the contract.
Consequences for not achieving the performance goals outlined in the partnership contract
include monitored, then directed, management of the school and school processes. Local district
sanctions will be in place before the fifth year of measurement of the performance goals. Should
one or more schools not improve after district-level support is provided and be deemed out of
compliance by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and the Department of Education
based on the preponderance of evidence related to achievement of all performance goals, the
consequence implemented by GCPS will be to institute loss of governance by completing and
implementing processes for conversion charter school status

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Jennifer, Confused, and others,

So charter schools may receive less money than other traditional public schools. However, for example, $9193/pupil for Fulton County can’t be all coming from the portion of the state money that were coming to the district, can it? If not, then, the commission is indeed making the district spend money on schools they did not approve.

Allen said, “The charter commission is not taking district funds. It allocates some of the state money given to districts to charters instead of 100% to the district. In DeKalb, this may mean a few less relatives appointed “Executive Director of Washing Crawford’s Car,” hence DCSS and BOE are suing.” OK, so the money is coming from the state. But by the same logic about the members of the commission being appointed by elected officials (who knows by which constituents), isn’t the state money (i.e., our taxes) is local money? I don’t see how you can consider this as not taking money from traditional schools.

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If I have a child and I live in Gwinnett I pay taxes so that my child can go to school. The school is reimburse for my child by a set amount called the per pupil amount.

Later I decide to send my child to another publically funded school that is governed approved by my elected state board of education representatives.

I have already paid taxes should that school get my tax dollars.

If you do not send your child to a charter school then you are not funding the charter school It is based on a per pupil funding.

Yes the district loses the money, but they also no longer have to educate that child when my child leaves.

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In response to the individuals that feel if 99% are happy and somehow they are more important than the 1% here is a parable from Jesus.
How think ye? if a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. In other words Every child is important not just the majority.

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Reality 2,
I agree legal action takes quite a long time. The point I’m trying to make here to the individuals that seem so dead set against charters or some charters or charters in their community is the folks to rail against would be the legislature not take it out on the charters or the commission. The commission didn’t create itself. It was created by a bill which was drafted and voted upon by the folks we voted into office. Now maybe some people didn’t vote for those legislators but that is neither here nor there at this point. I don’t have an issue with charter schools. I just wanted to put some points out here for folks to consider. I personally think we need more competition to elevate the quality of education all around. If your school is great that’s wonderful. We can still strive to keep raising the bar of excellence higher. No competition in essence is a monopoly.

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But WHY OH WHY do districts have to punish the children sitting in the charter schools? Does everyone realize that what these districts aim to do is set aside the money these schools earn as Commission schools and not allow the kids to benefit from this money until the suit is settled? Yep, just put the money to the side and be used and a benefit to no one. They won’t allow the courts to settle the dispute first. They won’t take the time to try to lobby the legislature to change the law to something more palatable to them. Nope, they punish the kids and violate the rights of parents UNDER LAW that allows their children to receive an adequate public education in a charter school. Sounds like a civil rights matter to me.

Does everyone understand that the districts are using YOUR money to fight a lawsuit that negatively impacts kids? This money is not being piped into your child’s schools or the district’s education initiatives as a whole to improve academic achievement. A whole lot of money is being dolled out to fight against 2 schools serving a few hundred kids. Where is the logic in this? They by-passed the free option (lobbying to change the law) and chose to waste money AND punish kids.

No one in support of districts said boo regarding my point that weakening the charter community in Georgia could negatively impact all in the competitive award of federal grants. Does no one see this as an issue? Does everyone realize how much money is on the line?

The districts also didn’t fuss when the state department “overrode” their decisions with the state approved charter schools. They were totally fine with that since the schools would operate on close to half (or less) funding. They weren’t worried about authority then. It’s obvious it’s now a money issue. Call it “Constitutional” all you want, but at the root of it is moeny. Money is now more important than a tax paying parent’s right to educate their child in the public school environment that is best for them. It’s more important than equity for all kids. It’s more important than the kids themselves.

The mama from North Fulton made an interesting and actually a pretty astute point about districts not being able to give away one brick at a time to lessen expenses for districts when kids left to go to charters. A few thoughts to ponder though. First, at least the districts got money for the bricks to begin with…charters have to carve out facilities money from their operational budgets (which are generally less to begin with). So from a numbers standpoint, they’re still ahead. Second, it’s not like charter schools take a huge number of kids…a large proportion of them are small schools of a few hundred kids taken from across a district. The impact is minimal at best. Third, the districts lose kids constantly to homeschooling and private schools and thus, lose public school funding altogether. At least charters keep the money (and sometimes bring it back) into the public education system, which helps the whole.

To the person who had the negative EMO experience – I’m with you on that one. Just to let everyone know…EMOs are management organizations that some charters hire to help run some of the schools functions. Most are for-profits, but there are some non-profits. They are paid a fee, which varies widely. Georgia does not have a whole lot of charters that use EMOS, but a few do. Just like any vendor, there are good ones and bad ones. Most start-ups are run by parents and community members…there’s your voice! People with a vested interest in the education of the children in a school – what a concept!

To the person who asked about what the CEOs of “these non-profits”, I assume you are asking about charter school CEOs? A study out of The University of Washington (Walking the Highwire, I think, is the name of the study) showed that charter school leaders made on average $68,000 vs. $86,000 for their public school counterparts. They come for the mission, not the money.

Thank you, Allen, for pointing out the local elections were done for the people who appointed the Commission members. I can not see the issue here. It still seems to me that folks don’t like the decisions THEIR locally elected legislators make, and now THEY want veto power. The commission doesn’t “veto” the districts. They are a totally separate authorizer and have to go through the whole review process with STATE DEVELOPED petitioning requirements.

For the fellow who says their district doesn’t need charters. I’m with the guy who gave the awesome parable. Charters don’t just exist because of student achievement. Some provide a unique culture; some have a different instructional delivery model; some provide a unique program like performing arts; some are smaller…the point here is that they provide CHOICE to fit the needs of kids and families. And sir, if there isn’t a market, the school can’t open….If parents don’t CHOOSE to attend, the school can’t run. So let’s open a high quality charter school in your neighborhood and see if you’re right! Just because YOU don’t personally choose to send your child there does not mean you should deny the right of another parent to send theirs. They are tax payers, too. For those individuals who don’t have children and are grousing about paying for education – our society is only as good as the children we invest in…because they grow up to be the workers and decisions makers. I don’t know about you, but I want smart folks making decisions about me when I get older. I hate to even add that I am paying into a social security system that you are probably enjoying right now that I may never see…but I’m glad to do it. It all evens out in the wash. P.S. Thanks for investing in kids.

A final note (sorry for the length)…charters do not want to usurp the public school systems. What I mean is that we don’t want to take way YOUR right to send your children to a public school. That may be a good fit for your kid and you should have that right. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again….charters are PART of the solution to education in our state. It is not the end all or be all, but it is part of the equation. Give it some thought.

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Dialogue, I think a lot of North Fulton residents think of schools as a community affair rather than an everyone for himself kind of thing. If everyone decided to go private, the public schools would suffer – if everyone decides to go to charters, the public schools will suffer. Just look at what happened Sandy Springs which is the most affluent part of North Fulton, yet has some of the lesser performing public schools. Great schools take time to build up and require an understanding by everyone in the community that everyone’s contribution together is what results in a school that performs well. So parents have to be willing to send their children to the neighborhood schools, teachers have to be willing to put in the time, students the effort, etc. Unfortunately this sense of community is missing in many places and perhaps in those situations charters are desirable. But, in much of North Fulton you do have all the elements that make for high performing schools.

Now, this let’s consider the impact when a charter school draws away students. When a high performing school loses even a few students to charters, the budget for that school is cut (especially now that charters divert the local and state funding per pupil from schools). Ok, well, you say the school has a few less people to educate, right? But how exactly does a school shrink to accommodate changes in student numbers beyond natural transiency (which is fairly stable over time)? The school certainly can’t sell part of its building and with the low funding levels in our schools (and I know this because we get asked for urgent donation requests all the time from my son’s school) they often resort to slashing staff – the very teachers that have helped ensure the academic performance of our schools. Again, we are not talking about schools that are failing their students here – we are talking about schools that are serving the students very well.

We are adamant against the state interfering in our local schools because we care about our schools and most importantly, that all our students will continue to reap the benefits of the high performing local schools. Anyone suggesting that we have other ulterior motives either has an agenda or doesn’t want to believe that local neighborhood schools can be very successful.

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Bystander,

Thanks for the link.

“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (1987)

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For those like me still deciding, the national conference of state legislatures has a great summary of the big points on both sides:

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12921

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Bystander, thanks for the link!

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I wish them well today!!

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GVA Parent, I’m a single mom working two jobs so that my kids can go to school here. If I can do it, so can you. Also, sounds like your area needs charter schools. My area does not. I do not mind your daughter’s district having charters but I agree with the other Fulton parents – in our area charters would do more harm than good and I don’t want a state commission telling my community that we can’t make the determination ourselves.

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To the N Fulton parents
i keep hearing you say your community doesn’t need charters but you can’t speak for every family in your area. Just because it works for you and the circle of individuals you’re aware of doesn’t mean everyone is satisfied. Everyone that pays taxes has EQUAL right to decide what is best for their family. I emphasize equal.

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Northview Single Mom,

I hear what you’re saying, but think about it from this angle…
1) Your local community (i.e. the founding parents and community members and all of the students who attend) are speaking on behalf of their own community and ASKING for something else. This is not something coming down from on high. This is coming from grassroots efforts for people committed to educational reform efforts for their kids. This is democracy at its finest.

2) The folks who formed the Commission were appointed by locally elected officials – people you intrusted to make these decisions.

3) Consider the natural conflict that exists in giving a school board the whole kit and caboodle of authority without any alternative recourse for grievance when “foul play” is believed (which unfortunately happens more often than not). Let’s put it this way in a real life analogy. Let’s say your kid was accused of something in school and the principal investigated to the extent they thought was appropriate and suspended your kiddo. You disagree with the decision. Without the school system being another layer for grievance, you’d be out of luck. All of the power would be in the hands of the principal and would depend on their fairness, expertise, and attention to the matter. With the school system offering another avenue for appeal, you have another set of eyes to ensure the decision of the principal is fair and reasonable. Now sometimes the school board may uphold the decision of the principal, but sometimes and in certain circumstances they might not. No different with the district and Commission set up. Believe me, the Commission has no intent on approving schools that will become a train wreck. That’s why I keep saying that if the districts will play ball and be fair, the Commission’s work would be minimal. Everyone wants and tries first to work with the districts…it’s the districts not willing to work with the schools that causes a rub. We’re all working towards the same end result – kids learning and succeeding.

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Entrusted…sorry, I hate when I don’t proof carefully! A school teacher affliction.

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Reality 2, I think that’s a fair statement given the phrasing I used (many apologies if I clouded the issue). Let me restate more clearly. Local folks elected their officials…and those officials were given authority to make law…and the law (HB 881) established the Commission. The individuals who serve on the Commission ARE appointed, but it’s not the individuals who are in dispute, but rather the authorizing body itself….which goes back to the locally elected individuals in the legislature who established the body. In other words, the local communities had a voice. My main point is that we have given individuals in the legislature the power to make our laws. Obviously a large enough number of them voted to pass HB 881. We don’t have to agree with every decision our legislators make – but do they ever do everything we want? You hope they’ll support the majority of your top priorities and that’s the best you can hope for in anyone. Can’t we trust the collective judgment of the majority of legislatures to make the best decisions for our state as a whole…maybe not for every person or every business, but for the majority?

On another note, Where were the districts when the decision was being made in the state house? The Georgia School Board Assn. is JUST NOW rallying the district troops and explaining what’s going on to the districts – getting them all bent out of shape over already spilled milk. And because they were not on top of it to begin with and part of the negotiating process while the bill was being drafted, now the kids are being impacted and hundreds of thousands of dollars are being paid for a lawsuit instead of going into classrooms where it should be going. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m glad you find the Commission a reasonable solution. Thanks!

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Ok, that’s fair (I disagree, but that’s fair). So if the lawsuit is necessary to properly interpret the law, then why take the money away from the kids until it is decided in the courts? Why not follow the law and let the kids benefit? That’s what makes me so upset – they’re just being spiteful adn capricious. Teachers will lose jobs. Students will not have as good of instruction (lack of materials, less staff development for teachers, etc.) It is possible that already spent tax dollars will go down the tubes because the schools may not be sustainable. Again, it’s the root logic of the whole decision they’ve made that is so mind boggling. Did anyone who filed suit think through this thing? They couldn’t have…or if they did, then they just ignored all of this, which make sit worse.

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Charterstarter Too, your thoughts on this issue are by far the most compelling of any posting. I have a much better understanding of this issue.

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CharterStarter, too, I think after reading through all these comments that what a lot of these Fulton (and other areas) parents are saying is that charter schools don’t just exist in a vacuum because they will have an effect on the local pre-existing schools. I agree charters are wonderful when the people in charters are the only ones that a district has to educate, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. In some areas like North Fulton, it seems the parents are happy with the schools, the test scores confirm their insistence that the schools are not failing and they are genuinely worried about fixing something that they don’t think is broken. Many of them seem to be saying that it’s a waste to even attempt charters in their areas because their students have a lot more to lose than to gain. If there are a lot of people in that area that want charters, they should be vocal about talking to their neighbors, creating community support, etc. As I see it, the community support for charters is not present in N. Fulton and it is present in many other places. I would be content to let North Fulton as a community opt out of the commission.

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Let me add another couple of points to ponder for those who either oppose charters, the commission, or are sitting on the fence.

Why do we have to define “our” kids? When I think, as an educator, of my responsibility, I don’t think of my responsibility just to the 20ish students in my classroom, my thoughts are to the impact I am having on my community, in Georgia, and to the nation as a whole in ensuring that I have 20 well taught children leaving my classroom. I am not sure why it matters whether those children come from my classroom, my neighbor’s classroom, another school, or even another state. Seems that if every educator, every person making educational policy decisions, every legislator, ever parent, and every community member had that same broad focus and commitment to the kids (and not just the dollars), then we’d see a greater rise in educational outcomes. It would become a shared accountability for ALL children’s success and the collective good of our communities. I do not think that every student who comes to my charter school will be successful – we can not be all things to all children. But we are just right for some kids, and for those kids, we’ll have great outcomes. Perhaps a chlld is much better off in the traditional public school setting…and in that case, the public school setting will have excellent outcomes. I think that the parent knows their child best and should have the right to make that call of which public school setting is right for their child. To me, it doesn’t matter where the child attends – either charter or public – as long as that child is receiving a quality education (defined by academic accountability measures) with the tax dollars spent, then that money has been used to good purpose as it was intended. And that means that everybody wins – both short and long term, as individual schools, and as a whole state.

Why does who has the control over that money even play into the equation? I laughed pretty heartily not very long ago in looking at Gwinnette County’s budget document. Within it, they defined local taxes….and humorously enough, the definition said something to the effect of ‘mandated funds collected for the common good.’ Seems to me that if the money is for the common good, then Ivy Prep students are part of that “common good” and should get their proportionate share. And that is exactly my point in the first paragraph – that we are all here to ensure that every child is well educated. Every child has adequate funding to support education. The rural districts have fought like mad (and rightly so) for equity adjustments in educational funding. The urban districts are taken care of in the funding formula because they serve a higher at-risk population – and that’s right and fair because it takes more to educate these students. So why is it any less fair for charters to receive a proportionate share to educate their students, particularly since charters are by all definitions – federal, state, and locally, PUBLIC schools. No matter that you agree with the Commission or not, you can’t get around the fact that charter schools are public schools, and thus, should receive equitable funding like every other public school. Tax dollars are collected and to be used for the common good. As a public school, students attending charters are a part of that common good, no matter who doles out the money.

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Mo, great weekend to have been out there

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Good Parent,
Please tell me where you have culled your information from? There are several students that attend Ivy Prep that would fall under the guidelines of “special needs”. They fall under IDEA 504 or under an IEP/other and my daughter happens to be one of them. You apparently have something out for Mrs. Gilbert because what does her new home have to do with anything? If you want to audit heads of charter schools to see what they are doing with the money at the same time make sure you audit each and every Gwinnett County School board member to make sure they haven’t funneled any money out of the system as well. Rather than resort to character assassination and snide innuedos let’s try sticking to the issue at hand. Regarding technology I used to work for Apple and HP/Compaq for that matter. Corporations always provide schools discounts to have technology in the classroom. Would you be happier if none of the students had MacBooks? To clear up your untruth all of the students do NOT have MacBooks. Most charter schools and public schools for that matter do fundraisers(donations) to get things for their school that their budgets don’t provide for. Even Ron Clark Academy which is private accepts donations and has several MAJOR companies that provide all types of assistance, monetary included. “In all thy getting, get understanding”. If you don’t understand why Ivy Prep needs so much money to run why don’t you visit the school and ask to see the the operating budget and the schools financial health. Find out if every student actually has a MacBook and then come back and share your findings.

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Good Parent…Charter schools are eligble for a federal implementation grant. This grant helps with initial start up costs for things like….text books, furniture, technology, etc. The grant does not sustain the school though. The school still has to pay teachers, pay rent (charters don’t get facilities funding like traditional public schools), utilities, etc. If you know anything about how the state funds schools, you’d know that the average middle school student earns only $3045 per pupil…do the math and see if you really think a school can sustain operations on this. And as an additional note – why don’t you go on the state’s AYP reports(www.doe.k12.ga.us) and look at the school’s percentage of special needs, gifted, and remedial students, as well as the demographic representation? I think you’ll find that that the school is very diverse and is doing quite well.

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