Governor signs charter school enabling bill today and endorses November amendment.
From the governor’s office:
Gov. Nathan Deal today signed into law legislation that will provide additional educational opportunities for Georgia students through state charter schools. The bill, HB 797, was signed at Cherokee Charter Academy in Canton.
“By observing high-performing charter schools throughout Georgia, it’s clear these institutions promote competition, innovation and creativity while encouraging strong parental involvement,” said Deal. “We must empower citizens with public school options and true local flexibility if we want to improve student achievement.”
HB 797 creates a state level approval mechanism for charter schools when communities request them. Under current law, charter schools approved by the state are forced to operate on approximately half of the funds of other public schools.
HB 797 sets forth a new funding mechanism for these schools and establishes a State Charter Schools Commission to conduct the review process for charter school petitions and ensure that charter schools are consistent with state educational goals. Moreover, the bill spells out how HR 1162 would be implemented if Georgia voters approve the constitutional amendment in November, an amendment that has the governor’s full support.
“Georgia’s parents want more options, and it is my duty as governor to see that they have them. These schools help students trapped in underperforming schools and aid communities that want to invest in new and imaginative ways of learning for their children.
“Approving this amendment will restore the process for creating state-charted schools that existed before the state Supreme Court struck down the state’s system for granting charters. I am confident Georgia voters will take advantage of the opportunity this fall to support charter schools in our state.”
At the bill signing ceremony, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools presented Deal with the Champion for Charters Award for supporting high-quality public charter schools. Annually, the Champions for Charters awards recognize public officials for leading a major public charter issue or initiative, serving as a highly visible public charter school advocate, and consistently supporting charters as a high-quality public school choice option.
–From Maureen Downey for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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81 comments Add your comment
Dred Scott
May 3rd, 2012
10:38 am
Good for Governor Deal. Even better for children, parents, teachers, and communities all across Georgia who desire options within public K-12 education.
NBCT
May 3rd, 2012
10:48 am
I agree, in this age of system level mass corruption and scandals a smaller, more manageable, model is needed.
concerned
May 3rd, 2012
10:51 am
Why can’t the concerned parents volunteer in their child’s school NOW! Why can’t the concerned parents join the PTA/PTO and make a difference in their child’s school NOW! Why must Georgia create “other” schools for children to learn? This is crazy. Why don’t parents step forward and reclaim their school, support their teachers, and help make their child’s school a better place NOW!
Former Teacher
May 3rd, 2012
10:55 am
The only people, besides unions and NEA, who are against this are administrators and ’support staff’ who will find their positions ‘obsolete’ at a charter school! Which is a GOOD thing!! It is those positions and their pointless bureaucratic procedures and policies that are dragging down education and making it harder for teachers to actually TEACH! GO CHARTER SCHOOLS!
Former Teacher
May 3rd, 2012
10:56 am
@concerned… what is wrong with options? Do you want only one brand of detergent, or soap, or cereal? Competition makes for better service!
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
11:01 am
Bravo! This is not the magic bullet for Georgia’s public education woes, but at least it starts to open up new, innovative approaches to public education.
And the way the bill is worded, it only becomes an issue if local schools deny or do not vote on a charter application.
@Former Teacher, well stated!
Tonya C.
May 3rd, 2012
11:03 am
concerned :
Because that type of change takes time to affect. And many students are being shorted NOW. I support charter schools, and now, even vouchers. There are segments of the population (that cross race and SES) that just don’t care about education or at least truly value it. That isn’t going to change anytime soon. The ones who do will take this opportunity to give their kids the education they deserve.
I don’t like it, but we got here because too many parents and communities have become apathetic and disengaged from raising children and supporting the schools.
Mary Elizabeth
May 3rd, 2012
11:33 am
Below I have posted a column of one of the “guest bloggers” (Tony Roberts, President of the Georgia Charter School Association) on the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ website. The NAPCS now has “presented Deal with the Champion for Charters Award for supporting high-quality public charter schools.”
What an obvious echo chamber of advocates for this state law, congratulating one another, on their achievement, through officially orchestrated protocol. Gov. Deal is Republican who represents Republican ideological interests. Do not forget that Republican state Sen. Chip Rogers, who supported this amendment to Georgia’s Constitution, is the Treasurer of ALEC. Do not forget that Republican Rep. Jan Jones, who sponsored this charter amendment bill had, also, sponsored a previous bill which would have curtailed teachers of Commission charter schools from joining the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia.
This law is so political that it is blatantly obvious. That, in itself, should make voters wary of what it is really about. Voters should ask themselves this question before casting a vote in November: “Do you want to dismantle traditional public education for corporate private-sector control of education in Georgia or not?” That is what is what voters should be asking themselves in November, because that is what is really at stake.
===========================================================
Posted as a “Guest Blogger,” February 9, 2012 on the NAPCS website by Tony Roberts, President of Georgia Charter Schools Association: (Notice “Comments” following column.)
“Defeat of Public Charter Schools Amendment in Georgia Legislature Leaves no Winners
The score yesterday was 110-62, but nobody won! No, not a ball game, but the single most important piece of legislation (HR1162) in Georgia to continue the growth of high quality charter schools here.
The measure would allow the voters of Georgia to decide about a Constitutional Amendment that would restore the ability of the State to authorize charter schools. This is in response to our Supreme Court that struck down our law that established an effective alternative authorizer—the Georgia Charter Schools Commission.
Now the readers of this blog do not need to be persuaded about the value of an alternative authorizer for charter schools. So, I am “preaching to the choir.” I am going to share some observations and rants about the “sinners” that are doing their darn best to stop this charter movement here–and in your state as well.
Big nuisance to me: hearing all the opposing legislators yesterday start their speeches with: “Now I support charter schools.” Charter grammar lesson number 1—this phrase will always be followed with the conjunction “but.”
We heard that over and over yesterday. One representative who used that line yesterday, then referred to every study ever known to mankind doubting the value of charter schools. He even referred to some studies that have never been done! Where is the logic in this? This rep “supports charter schools” even though he thinks they are the worst development in public education and certainly should be burned to the ground (good thing we don’t have facilities?). Suggested response to him and others like him: “Now I support you,” but “your voting record is atrocious, you have bad grammar, bad logic, are ignorant of our dire K-12 education problems, clueless what we really need, and that a five-year old could represent the children of your district better.”
Another big nuisance to those of us on the front lines: “friendly” fire. You know—getting shot in the back from those who should be with you—and that some legislators actually think do support children in schools.
It’s the worst opposition of all. Consider the Georgia PTA. I thought their mission was to facilitate greater communication between parents and teachers for the children’s sake. Are they no longer about chili suppers, school festival days, cookies for parties, and apples for teachers? When did they become one of the loudest voices AGAINST charter schools? Did they poll all parents and teachers to get this position? Are they now Professional Teachers Association?
Other “friendly” fire here has come from Georgia School Boards Association, Georgia Superintendents Association, and PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators).
Most gratifying has been the development of a broad-based and growing coalition to fight for the children. With eleven current members, we are pushing for the growth of quality charter schools. Check out http://www.brightergeorgia.org. We are expecting an opposition website http://www.wesupportcharterschools.but.
The good news is the game is not over; there has been a delay in the game. The issue will return to the House after 10-15 more representatives realize this issue is about children—not job security.
Posted by: Tony Roberts, President, Georgia Charter Schools Association at Thursday, 09 February, 2012 12:00 AM
————————————————————————————
Comments (3)
N/A (10 Feb 2012 09:11 AM)
What a great blog…Thanks Tony for your tireless efforts and for not only bein the President of GCSA but for also being our biggest cheerleader !!!
——————————————————————————-
N/A (10 Feb 2012 01:29 PM)
Tony,
As ususal, you have distorted the facts. Th PTA did not ever say that it was against charter schools. They explicitly stated that they were in favor of local representation for school expenditures. Why would ANYONE want to vote for an amendment that gives taxpayers no voice in how their taxdollars are spent. We expect to be informed to be informed on where the funding for state chartered schools will come from. You think that is an unreasonable request? Why don’t you just give me a blank check and I’ll tell how much and where I plan on spending it later. Enough smoke and mirrors.
——————————————————————————
N/A (13 Feb 2012 01:18 PM)
@ N/A (10 Feb 2012 01:29 PM) No the PTA never said it was against charter schools. But, on every piece of significant legislation in Georgia about charter schools, the PTA has either been silent or AGAINST. I am most upset about their stated position against HR1162 because this position did not come from their membership. Blank check? I don’t think state government has ever given a blank check to any organization–including traditional public schools. Tell me when parents and teachers of the PTA were asked if they support or oppose this amendment? And BTW, the legislation calls on the vote of ALL the people of Georgia to vote on this. Do you think this is NOT the most local of all control? – Tony”
Fred ™
May 3rd, 2012
11:38 am
Who pays for the “State” Charter schools?
HS Public Teacher
May 3rd, 2012
11:39 am
What a shock – republicans promoting charter schools. Yawn.
I love how he says, “By observing high-performing charter schools throughout Georgia, it’s…”! LOL! What about the low-performing charter schools?
I guess he does not realize that there are more public schools that are “high-performing” than there are charter schools?
I cannot wait for it to come out that these private companies pushing for charter schools in GA have donated tons of money to the republican party and the republican candidates!!!! But, then again, the Georgia voters never seem to care about facts.
FCS Teacher
May 3rd, 2012
11:40 am
@ Former Teacher.
Do you not see that charter schools have nothing to do with school choice, but instead are thinly veiled attempt to privatize education? Quit drinking their Kool Aid and see them for what they are.
Would you endorse privatized police departments or fire departments? Of course not. It doesn’t work.
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
11:52 am
It’s not the charter schools I oppose, it’s the unelected state commission that bothers me. This is an end run to return charter schools to state control and streamline funding them without local input. Considering their track record with funding the public schools, don’t get your hopes up. The plan is to eventually choke the public systems out of existence and have total state control of schools. This isn’t about local control or parent choice as much as it’s about political control of the money pot. If I truly felt Chip and Gov. Deal had altruistic motives, I’d be fine with it. And it’s folks in APS and Dekalb who will be the easiest to convince and use to get this through.
Time to Make it Official
May 3rd, 2012
11:57 am
Why not just go ahead and amend the State Constitution and do away with Public School altogether? That is where this is ultimately headed anyway. Just another step towards the Corporate takeover.
mountain man
May 3rd, 2012
12:07 pm
“Why don’t parents step forward and reclaim their school, support their teachers, and help make their child’s school a better place NOW!”
Because parents can’t make administrators remove the discipline problems from the classroom. Parents can’t keep them from mainstreaming SPED students into their child’s classroom, taking up teacher time. Parents can’t stop social promotion that puts children in the classroom that are years behind and requiring extra attention from the teacher.
mountain man
May 3rd, 2012
12:09 pm
There would be no demand for charter schools if the public chools addressed their (glaring) issues.
mountain man
May 3rd, 2012
12:11 pm
Public schools want the charter schools to take the students but leave all the tax money with them.
mountain man
May 3rd, 2012
12:12 pm
“Who pays for the “State” Charter schools?”
It should come from the same money that pays to educate students in public schools.
Tonya C.
May 3rd, 2012
12:16 pm
Ron F.
Funny enough, I get what you are saying. But the BOEs put themselves in this position. It’s not just APS and Dekalb; Gwinnett and Fulton are ripe as well. Gwinnett’s stranglehold on approving charters is well-known. So this could have been prevented if the BOEs had been more transparent in their reasons for denials and giving at least one or two a chance.
Just my POV.
d
May 3rd, 2012
12:19 pm
As I have stated before, I am a proud member of NEA/GAE/ODE. That is not, however, why I am concerned with this legislation. I am concerned with the fact that an unelected board will have the power to overrule my elected board of education. That takes the power away from me, the voter, to fire or retain my elected officials based upon their actions while in office.
I still have yet to hear from any member of the General Assembly or from the Governor why we don’t make all Georgia public schools charters – if charters are indeed the answer we are seeking, why continue to bind our traditional public schools to the regulations that don’t seem to be working?
I am also concerned with Governor Deal’s use of the word “competition.” If we take away the sole source of funding from one institution and give it to another that may have its own source of funding (charters or vouchers for private/parochial), and then expect our traditional schools to compete, that is like tying one hand behind my back and then getting in the ring with Evander Holyfield. How is that fair? I say if we are going to have competition, let each institution compete on merits, but don’t cut off the only way one can survive to give another a booster shot it probably doesn’t need.
“The provision of an adequate public education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia. Public education for the citizens prior to the college or postsecondary level shall be free and shall be provided for by taxation.” – Constitution of the State of Georgia, Article VIII, Section I
Mary Elizabeth
May 3rd, 2012
12:20 pm
@Fred ™, 11:38 am
“Who pays for the ‘State’ Charter schools?”
=================================================
Good question, Fred. You, the taxpayer, will be paying for these state charter schools, but you will have practically no direct voice in their authorization or assignment because the State Charter Commission, which is appointed not elected, will make those decisions.
Moreover, your tax dollars, that will go to support these state charter schools, may be used to pay private firms to “manage” these state charter schools, so public tax dollars will be used to reward private-sector business entrepreneurs, and children will be used for profit. That, of course, is a first avenue for vouchers being used to transfer public tax monies to support the private-sector profits of business entrepreneurs of private schools.
When this transition happens in Georgia, teachers will have less pay and benefits, such as not being able to be members of the TRS, which I have described in my initial post on this thread. That will directly effect the calilbre of teachers in state charter schools and that will effect the quality of education that the children in Georgia will receive – in the long run. Better to put resources in traditional public education that are not designed to make a profit for their owners. The “owners” of traditional public schools are the taxpayers, themselves.
Really?
May 3rd, 2012
12:26 pm
So Charter Schools is the answer? What will be the difference?
Reality Check
May 3rd, 2012
12:35 pm
The difference will be if they don’t live up to expectations then no one will send their child there. I do not understand how someone can be against charter schools. If the school does educate kids well it will go out of business because no one will attend. Some traditional public schools continue to provide a bad education every year and we keep making kids whose parents don’t have enough money to send to private school go there. The beauty of charter schools is that will never be the case. If a charter can’t educate kids we can shut it down!
HS Public Teacher
May 3rd, 2012
12:36 pm
@mountain man -
The so-called “demand” for charter schools primarily does not come from parents but rather from the private companies wanting to make a profit.
It is sad that you just don’t get it.
mountain man
May 3rd, 2012
12:44 pm
“The so-called “demand” for charter schools primarily does not come from parents but rather from the private companies wanting to make a profit.”
If there are no parents who are fed up with the public schools and want to send their children to charter schools, how can they make a profit? Do they get paid even if no child attends?
Tonya C.
May 3rd, 2012
12:49 pm
HS Public Teacher :
This upcoming ballot will be the true test of that statement. If people are overall happy with what they have, it will fail. If the real backers of the movement ARE parents, it will pass.
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
12:54 pm
Tonya- absolutely. The BOE’s have gone stark raving mad in the metro area. I think the combination of money, power, and low voter interest allowed them to become what they are, and I don’t blame parents for wanting something, anything else. I hate it that it’s come to this- and I only hope we can create some stability in a new design and avoid the cronyism that has ruined too many BOE’s.
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
12:57 pm
mountain man: I saw a chart the other day that estimated that 85% of parents making 75k+ a year used public schools. How much of that population do you think will go with charter schools? I honestly wonder if there will be a wholesale abandoning of the public schools beyond APS, Dekalb, and south Fulton. Maybe parts of Cobb and some in Gwinnett. Do you see economic level influencing choices?
Once Again
May 3rd, 2012
1:02 pm
Still government-run schooling. Failure dead ahead. Time to wake up to the failure and end this monopoly provision of services. The free market is the only solution to educational needs. Government cannot even successfully deliver the mail. Why do you continue to put your precious children in their clutches every day? Don’t they deserve better? Why aren’t you working for REAL change and an end to this system?
Disappointed
May 3rd, 2012
1:14 pm
You want to fix public schools? It starts in college with universities holding their education major candidates to a much higher standard. It starts with these same programs forming a type of educational “residency” where rookie teachers work with veteran teachers and education supporters for a few years before being fully integrated into their own classrooms. Make the degree to become a teacher a goal for our great young minds and not something to just settle on because they couldn’t think of anything else to do. Make people WANT to be teachers by bringing prestige to our education programs in our country’s universities and colleges. When we do that, we make real changes in our classrooms as well. Not through a charter school bill that likes to think of itself as a fix-all from our government talking heads.
Disappointed
May 3rd, 2012
1:26 pm
@Once Again… And how do you propose you try to educate everyone in our country? Or do we just let those who cannot afford the service rot further in poverty with no upward mobility? Do we just accept an increase in crime rates and using tax payer dollars to support overcrowded prisons? I’m a fan of the free market as anyone, but such a model would just further alienate those who desperately need the free access to education. Besides a free market requires the ability to generate a profit from goods or services the company provides. Not sure how you can guarantee a six sigma-type product when your product is ultimately human beings with free will who hopefully will contribute back to their communities, country and economy.
Mary Elizabeth
May 3rd, 2012
1:51 pm
Ron, 12:57
“I honestly wonder if there will be a wholesale abandoning of the public schools beyond APS, Dekalb, and south Fulton. Maybe parts of Cobb and some in Gwinnett. Do you see economic level influencing choices?”
=================================================
Ron, the abandoning of public schools for charter and private schools will likely be equivalent to the white flight that occurred in white neighborhoods in the 1980s. The high school that I worked in for the last half of my teaching career was primarily a white populated school in 1984 (my first year there, with about 15% black population). Slowly – at first – but then steadily each year thereafter, until the momentum for white flight became like a snowball going down a hill, more white people moved out of the school’s neighborhood, until by 1990 the school was 95% black.
Yes, the students who will go to charter schools will be those whose parents – of all racial and ethnic groups – who can afford transportation of their children to and from the charter school, as well as who can afford the extra expenses of attending a charter school, not anticipated. Once the population in traditional public schools begins to “break” by class and wealth demarcations (as did the proportion of whites to blacks in my former school) toward having majority lower-class status students in the traditional public schools, then even more students – of all races and ethinic groups who have the financial resources – will transfer to charter schools at an increasingly rapid rate, and Georgia will again be segregated – but this time by class status and wealth, if not by race.
Do you think that Georgia’s Republican leaders will care about whether this “charter flight” possibility might resegregate Georgia, this time by class and wealth? I hardly think so because, after all, Ronald Reagan, the revered leader of the Republican Party, kicked off his candidacy for President of the U.S. from Philadelphia, Mississippi, in a blatant attempt to woo those who saw people in terms of race and hierarchial status, instead of in terms of our common humanity, an egalitarian concept. Reagan said in his speech Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1980, “I believe in states’ rights.” That phrase was a code for supporting a segregated society – at that time and place, especially.
Societies – and schools – can be segregated in many ways, not simply by race, and that segregation creates a consciousness of division rather than of unity among all people.
From Wikipedia: “Philadelphia (Mississippi) in June 1964 was the site of the murders of activists James Chaney, a 21-year-old black man from Meridian, Mississippi; Andrew Goodman, a 20-year-old Jewish anthropology student from New York; and Michael Schwerner, a 24-year-old Jewish CORE organizer and former social worker, also from New York. Their deaths symbolized the risks that activists took to secure the constitutional rights of African Americans, but many more blacks than whites had been killed in the struggle.”
Warrior Woman
May 3rd, 2012
2:04 pm
@concerned – How exactly do you think parents being shunted into photocopying and similar tasks as volunteers actually helps education?
While I am more than happy to support competent teachers, I would be failing as a parent if I supported teachers like the AP Econ teacher my children had last year, that called me during class to get an explanation of economic terms in the text? Or the English Lit teacher who asked students their opinions on political issues and then told the ones that disagreed with her, “You aren’t allowed to think that in my class” ~ why should I support her?
Shar
May 3rd, 2012
2:12 pm
@Ron F, Tonya C and d – amen.
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
2:33 pm
Mary Elizabeth: I’ve thought about that a lot, and I definitely see it as a segregating point along economic lines (which most believe are tied directly to behavior and social acceptability). In small towns like my own, the economic separation generally falls along racial lines, so it will look a lot like the 60’s unfortunately. I’m not ready yet to let the state be in control of that decision. It won’t take long for the petitions to start flying to Atlanta…faster than Delta does, I’m sure.
2nd grade teacher
May 3rd, 2012
2:41 pm
@ Warrior Woman- What would be acceptable tasks for you to do with children when you come to volunteer?
Sometimes copying and cutting things out are the most helpful because I am busy teaching… I am not saying I would ask a parent to do that for me everytime, but I do ask because that is what my class needs.
In many ways I agree with concerned. While there is nothing wrong with competition, why don’t parents get involved? As a teacher, I know it takes a village, but more often than not, the village isn’t there…
Warrior Woman
May 3rd, 2012
2:42 pm
@d – Having the money follow the student isn’t tying one hand behind the traditional public schools’ backs. And charter schools, which are public schools, don’t necessarily have any access to funding that traditional public schools don’t also have. Haven’t you noticed the growing trend of using PTAs and public school foundations to pay for things that aren’t in the budget? Tell me how that differs from outsdie funding available to charters?
Mary Elizabeth
May 3rd, 2012
2:44 pm
@ Ron F, 2:33, pm
Well said!
d
May 3rd, 2012
2:59 pm
@Warrior – It’s nice if you have an active PTA – and if you do, I don’t typically see parents leaving for charters. In other words, parental involvement typically determines the effectiveness of a school. Charter schools can require it or send the children back (and then keep the money anyway). Private schools can require it or expel the child. I can’t require a parent to meet with me. There are no consequences if they don’t.
Having money follow the student does leave a problem (the proverbial hand behind my back). If one student leaves, that leaves 31 to divide the fixed expenses of electricity, my salary, transportation, etc. There is less money for each, so now what do we cut? Field trips? Paper? The technology upgrade? Here’s the problem – children aren’t leaving in droves. It’s the one or two leaving that forces all others to suffer. If they did leave in droves, we could close schools and save those costs. It’s not happening. There has to be a better way, and forcing a community to pay for a school it doesn’t want because an unelected board said it should is undemocratic. In the end, it forces me to “do more with less” and there is only so much more I can do at this point.
Warrior Woman
May 3rd, 2012
3:04 pm
@2nd grade teacher – I’m pretty sure my PhD in economics would be more valuable put to other uses. What would I consider acceptable? When I volunteer to support my child’s school, I expect it to be in a function that actually relates to education and is meaningful. As my kids have attended public and private schools, and I have volunteered in multiple school systems, I think I have a fairly broad perspective on this. At private schools that my children have attended, I was consistently offered the opportunity to teach or tutor in economics and mathematics; to serve as a reading coach; to assist with science fair/science olympiad; and similar tasks that directly impact learning, along with the obligatory chaperoning of field trips, field days, and the like.
I know of MANY public schools where photocopying and answering the phones are the only volunteer opportunities at any level from K-12, other than chaperoning the occasional field trip (at schools that still have them). This is not meaningful volunteer work. It does not directly support education. And I refuse to do it any longer. And as a sad side note, in some of the high schools where these limits on volunteer options were the norm, the meaningful activities were being handled by the athletic booster clubs. It was the coaches looking for tutors and academic help outside of what the school offered for their student athletes. That is how I first became involved with sports booster clubs, long before my children began playing sports.
As to why parents don’t get involved, I refer you to mountain man’s post, “Because parents can’t make administrators remove the discipline problems from the classroom. Parents can’t keep them from mainstreaming SPED students into their child’s classroom, taking up teacher time. Parents can’t stop social promotion that puts children in the classroom that are years behind and requiring extra attention from the teacher.” I will also add that the parents that are charter supporters are likely to be the parents that are involved, and so know just how bad the environment is in some traditional public schools. And because we know what’s happening in our children’s schools, we are demanding better.
3schoolkids
May 3rd, 2012
3:25 pm
Reading HB797 I keep seeing a blank with a dollar sign next to it in my mind. Why would any sane person vote to pass a bill that says something will be funded with state money but fails to say how much or where that money will come from? And that the oversight for that money will be in the hands of a committee of appointed people? How many of these legislators use PTA connections to get elected? Do they realize the same people that helped them get elected are now furious that after years of state “austerity” cuts, state money will be funneled to create an adjacent school system governed by appointees? I think they will be in for a surprise in November.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
May 3rd, 2012
3:57 pm
““By observing high-performing charter schools throughout Georgia, it’s clear these institutions promote competition, innovation and creativity while encouraging strong parental involvement,” said Deal. “We must empower citizens with public school options and true local flexibility if we want to improve student achievement.””
So why can’t we offer such things in traditional public schools? Why the clamor for scripted lessons, set standards, standardized testing, and six million miles of paperwork in traditional schools? Why are we cutting the arts in traditional public schools? Why aren’t teachers allowed to go “off script” in their classrooms? Why? Why? Why?
justjanny
May 3rd, 2012
4:03 pm
This, too, shall pass!
justjanny
May 3rd, 2012
4:05 pm
How many legislators attended charter schools? Did they not succeed in their public schools? There are as many bad charter schools as non-charter public schools.
Tonya C.
May 3rd, 2012
4:10 pm
The question, “why not make all schools charters ” is a fair one. I think that because of so many apathetic parents, because so many communities won’t voluntarily invest in their own schools, that the rules and requirements could not be placed on the masses without outcries and lawsuits on the state and national levels. Many people want the benefits without contributing with money OR sweat equity.
At least that’s what I’ve seen. Charters allow those who want the additional responsibility and rewards to have it without appearing to disenfranchise the others by leaving them without an option.
Schools or bureaucrats
May 3rd, 2012
4:48 pm
This is not about charter schools. The ballot language is deliberately misleading. GA has several excellent charter schools approved by local boards of education and accountable to these locally elected officials. GA also has a mechanism in place for appeal if the charter gets denied. This is about local control or state control, money for schools or money for bureaucrats, local accountability or no accountability. Who pays for these schools? You do with your tax dollars which currently go to local public schools. If this passes, tax dollars designated for the already underfunded public schools will be diverted to the new state-controlled charter schools. Taxation without representation and undercut public schools. Watch as big out of state money funds a multi-million campaign telling you to vote yes. Good move, GA. Let’s hope voters wake up and get smart.
No to union bo$$es
May 3rd, 2012
5:04 pm
Ricky Gervais spoofs teachers unions at Golden Globes… http://goo.gl/hfxkf
Waiting for Superman
May 3rd, 2012
5:12 pm
Those interested in something other than union-generated criticism of charter schools and choice … can read this from the Center for Education Reform, which is at the forefront of reform:
http://www.edreform.com/issues/choice-charter-schools/
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
5:22 pm
Fascinating to see all of the paranoia on this blog post. You fear change. I believe the right answer, which is the most difficult one to accept, is to blow up the “system” and rebuild it for a digitally connected world. Charter schools are not the panacea, but they offer some new options, and right now, Georgia needs options, because the public school performance is mortifying! Let charter schools have a chance. The real opportunity is to embrace digital learning, people!
another comment
May 3rd, 2012
5:24 pm
Warrior Woman, I agree with you. A good deal of these teachers are incompetant.
I grew up, up North in a top 10 performing state. We didn’t have all of these problems. We had small districts, one high school per district. A really large district was two high schools. They had volunteer School Boards who were elected. Their were no big contract to get your hands dirty with.
Teachers, Principals, the Board could not hide, they were in the community. People did not fraudulently sign up for free lunch, the lunch lady might be your next door neighbor or a member of your church. Everyone graduates, their are options besides college, like vo-tech.
Lisa
May 3rd, 2012
5:32 pm
The amendment is to let Deal’s appointees overrule the locals. THe Supremes said it was wrong but NO everyone wants to just give Deal and his henchmen all the power. How can an appointed commission overrule someone elected?????
teacher&mom
May 3rd, 2012
5:34 pm
It seems that one state has decided to go against the current ed reform current:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-state-that-just-says-no-to-charters-other-reforms/2012/05/02/gIQAJCXvxT_blog.html
another comment
May 3rd, 2012
5:36 pm
My daughter pulled a fast one on the three minority boys, 2 hispanic and 1 black she was assigned to do a group project with. She was so frustrated when she found that they did very little to nothing on the group project. That she litterally gave herself a migrane staying up until 1:00 AM trying to do the work of 4. She was too sick to go into school the next day. Oh my the teacher actually made them get a new sheet and do the project from schratch while they were in class the day she was absent from class. This is why some of us, want more choice. Why should our children have the burden of being the teacher to other children. Why should we buy the supplies to do the projects. When I saw “E” one of the Hispanic boys has his own pay for membership account at gamestop. We don’t have one of those ( We use the x-husbands non-payfor membership account for the occasional game). But the free lunch kid has an account at the video game store, that you have to pay for. That is why he and the other two boys can’t do the work.
My older child was sick on Monday, she told me that her Math followers, that rely on her to teach them the math that they don’t understand. They told her they didn’t know what to do without her. Why are my children relied on to teach other students in public school. Are these teacher’s going to write college references that say, that they did not know how to reach minority students. However, they had a 17 year old in their class that had a gift and was able to teach Math and reach these students. I doubt it.
I told my daughter I didn’t care what, but we were going to apply for the Gates scholarship. Because she was no longer going to be Caucasion or White and be shut out of all sorts of scholarships.
William Casey
May 3rd, 2012
6:05 pm
I could be wrong, but I don’t see a wave of Charter schools coming out of this. Starting a school from scratch is a daunting task even if “the money follows the student.” For profit organizations will cherry-pick a few spots where they believe that they can get enough easy-to-educate students. Non-profits may run a few experiments. A few neo-seg academies may spring up. I’ll be surprised if this becomes the wave of the future.
3schoolkids
May 3rd, 2012
6:15 pm
Wow, it is really sad that the “choice” message that is coming out amongst the pro choice bloggers is segregation. One can write a very educated sounding post but the bigotry still shows through. So school choice means that the state will pay for your child to receive an education away from the kids with less parental support, because the parents of those kids won’t take the time to make the choice? What happens if you end up getting school choice and your child is still sitting in a classroom with children you don’t want him/her to be around?
Mary Elizabeth
May 3rd, 2012
7:16 pm
“I’ll be surprised if this becomes the wave of the future.”
==================================
Under ordinary circumstances, I might agree with you. However, what I think you are overlooking is that this “school choice” impetus in Georgia is part of a national ideological agenda that is well financed and pushed by anti-government ideologues of substantial wealth and political power.
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
7:42 pm
3schoolkids, I think you need to accept the fact that there is a majority of support the the charter school amendment. Your fears are misguided, I’m afraid and you will be in for a major surprise when education reform FINALLY comes to Georgia.
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
7:45 pm
3schoolkids, it is pathetic that school districts like APS can’t get students to graduate at $15K per pupil! How do you explain that? Please enlighten us.
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
7:55 pm
@William 6:05- I think you’re right that the first ones will be in the wealthier, more mobile areas. I don’t enough about KIPP, but I would expect them to expand some- and the rural areas could use that attention. The only thing about charters that interests me is the notion of specialization. Ironically, that should be occurring anyway and teachers know it and have pushed for the chance. Sadly, we’re as locked down by local bureaucracy as parents feel they are. It’s sad that a lot of what parents want in quality schools could easily be given them; and us lowly teachers are trying. It’s a shame that true local control has been so subverted by BOE members who don’t know a thing. I left Clayton county because of that very problem. I just wish there were a better way than having a commission appointed by the idiots in the state legislature to take the wheel. Something tells me substituting local politics with state level politics just isn’t going to be any better.
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
8:02 pm
2 1/2 hours and @Maureen still won’t release my posts. I’m sure the Georgia legislators would love to know that this blog is filtering content to delay posts with contrarian points of view.
Brandy
May 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
Sad, just sad.
Waiting for Superman
May 3rd, 2012
8:19 pm
Any of the above who are NOT among Ron F’s supporting troupe of fictitious bloggers … please raise your hand!
Being Censored by @Maureen
May 3rd, 2012
8:28 pm
Raising my hand : )
Ron F.
May 3rd, 2012
9:04 pm
I can’t do all that from one computer and my cubicle’s too small for the PC and a laptop. Union wages aren’t that good guys.
3schoolkids
May 3rd, 2012
10:51 pm
@Being Censored by Maureen:
I don’t oppose Charter schools, just the way in which the state legislature has cut and cut and cut and now flouts failures as the reason for the need for Charter schools. If they would choose to restore austerity cuts to the schools, specify where they will get the money for the state special charters and make the state Charter Commission an elected board I would have less of a problem with the referendum. I wonder how quickly the tide is really turning when I’m getting robo calls and invitations to view “making the grade”, and Tuesday’s presentation in Roswell generated a whopping audience of 60.
Tonya C.
May 4th, 2012
7:47 am
3schoolkids:
Bigotry? Surprise! I’m black. My husband is a public school teacher. And am still pro-charter. Why? Up until we moved to Gwinnett, our son had ONLY attended charter schools, both conversion and start up. Just by the way of application and mandated parental hours, the unmotivated were sorted through. There were requirements of not just teachers and administrators, but students and parents.
This can never be required in the current public school system. Bad behavior can’t really be addressed because of threats of parental anger and lawsuits. Charters have the one thing public schools can’t due to the mass population they currently serve: autonomy.
Thinly veiled bigotry? No, I’m giving you the perspective of a converted charter/voucher supporter. I am giving you the reasons people may support this. And while I may not be as brash as others, their is no hidden agenda in my words.
tchr
May 4th, 2012
9:39 am
I fail to see the problem. Every school in Fulton county will be a Charter School if a few years.
http://portal.fultonschools.org/chartersystem/Pages/Default.aspx
The distinction is going to be meaningless within about 5 years. Charters will go the way of Magnets and all the other corruptible fads that swing through education. In the end, it’s still just students and teachers.
Teachers, look at what your students need – I mean really need. Teach that. Standards are broad enough to justify almost any content and the kids respond well when you meet them at their level rather than some prescribed and useless curriculum.
When I walked into my annual evaluation with a set of k-5 standards on my unit plans, my AP was shocked. Yes, I still had grade level (9th and 10th) standards, but the kids needed remediation. So I documented it and put it in the paperwork.
Charter schools won’t change anything. Kids still have needs and teachers still have to meet them.
Warrior Woman
May 4th, 2012
11:40 am
@another comment – The systems you describe are almost identical to the one I experienced growing up in Tennessee. Highly effective, turned out lots of National Merit Scholars, good graduation rate, etc.
Then the state department of education there decided small systems were inefficient and started trying to penalize them with lower funding to force consolidation. Sadly, it appears that’s how bureaucracies reward success.
3schoolkids
May 4th, 2012
12:09 pm
@Tonya C.: I hear you and I do understand your position. I have been “through the trenches” with my own children in both public and charter. You don’t have a hidden agenda, you clearly spell it out when you say:
“This can never be required in the current public school system. Bad behavior can’t really be addressed because of threats of parental anger and lawsuits. Charters have the one thing public schools can’t due to the mass population they currently serve: autonomy.”
My point is that there are already instances of parental anger and lawsuits in charter schools, just not as many because they are not currently as populated as non-charter public schools. As charters expand so will the lawsuits and parental anger. There are examples of success and failure in both non-charter public schools and public schools across this state. Autonomy? I don’t think so, not if the state “special” charters that pop up out of the passage of the referendum are answering to an appointed committee of officials who are supposed to be completely removed from monetary influence in the charter community yet are supposed to identify funding sources and help direct charters to that money.
Ron F.
May 4th, 2012
1:14 pm
While Fulton Science Academy seems very popular with students and parents….with the state, not so much. Read this article and you’ll see one problem charters may face- governance. While we think that would never happen with a governing board at the local school level, this may prove otherwise and better be a wake-up call that even charters can make mistakes.
http://roswell.patch.com/articles/state-recommends-denying-fsa-charter-6112f98a
Tonya C.
May 4th, 2012
1:16 pm
Here is the thing:
I don’t think this is THE right answer. But the lack of momvement of local BOEs to be innovative or open to aloowing it with their supervision has landed us here. I will say in FL my son went to a GREAT charter school with a waiting list a few miles long. It was a city-run school in a good suburb of Ft. Lauderdale.. What we experienced in GA wasn’t as great but still pretty good. The autonomy wasn’t as strong as the independent charter though and the parental participation not as high.
I think this is a stopgap to be quite honest. The desired result is vouchers and “free market” education. This is just a pit stop on that road.Unfortunately the masses are too self-absorbed or idealogical to see it. I think public schools in good communities do great things. But good communities are harder and harder to find and sustain so ideas like this spring forth, for better or worse.
I just know we have two school-aged children. One is a great MS in a strong community that values education. The other in a so called ‘Distinguished’ ES with a large Title I population & minority population. The differences are vast and stark. While the MS focuses on excellence and reaching new heights, the ES focuses on remediation. The MS has a stong PTA and various booster clubs; every school function has a packed parking lot whether open house, a b-ball game, or a band concert. The ES can’t get more than 25% of the families of the school to sign up for PTA, added events are scarce, and they struggle to get parents to understand the importance of parent-teacher conferences—in friggin elementary school.
Guess which neighborhood we’re trying to move into now? This is no longer a racial issue, as many middle to upper-income blacks and latinos want the better edcuational opportunities for their children too. I don’t know all the answers, but what we are doing now amounts to economic and racial segregation anyway as those with the means and the will move where they can get the most bang for their educational buck.
TOM
May 4th, 2012
6:59 pm
PRO-CON CHARTER.. Some can’t see the trees for the forest. Ask yourself has the past, 1,5,10, 20 Years where is GA in National Ranking on education? I can tell you always at the bottom of the list as a whole. The way I see it is that the local situation has not improved the overall education. To improve you need to look what systems works best in other high preforming states and countries. Come on folks, India, China, Korea are now kicking our un-educated butts. Here in this State we have high preforming charters that are targets by local and state because of politics. We should be embracing them and copying what works. Each of you negative charter remarks make me sick, your local political bull is what is hurting our students, this state and country. You are all so greedy for money and power you lost sight of what is important. Maybe it is too many cooks/crooks in the kitchen taken the bread from our children and tax payers. It’s time to remove some of the control with local out of control school boards. Do you know tax payers waste so much on these local boards, just go to a few meetings across the state, they all sit around and tackle the exact same issues like policy. For Pete sake do we really need 100’s of board working on the same issues like smoking rules in school or absentees? Should these not be unified on a central basis? Each local system would save millions not paying them to duplicate the same issues. All those saving could then be redirected to high pay for teachers, better school buildings, computers etc.. I personally find it amazing the Charters do more with less with tax dollars. The charters are given X amount of dollars per student yet they pay ALL OVER HEAD. Where local public schools get the same + SPLOST + this + that and do not on average perform well as well. So the local school boards don’t like the Charters because they show them up. Charter producing on average higher level education for fewer dollars. I for one would rather spend my tax dollars on the Charter system more bang for the buck. Teachers are paid about the same and have by law exact same benefits. Now they may not all be “Certified” as some argue, but really what does this mean? If the non-Certified teachers are in a school out preforming Certified then I suggest we look at the certification process because some teachers should not be certified and are dragging down those that are certified. Don’t get me wrong I believe in a certificate system but only if the certification process is of real quality and caliber. I love teachers I just think too much top heavy bull and politics are holding back the good teachers (certified or not) while embracing under preforming teachers. Now education is more than just school, what about the parents? All too often the parents don’t care about their kids’ education, they don’t care if the skip or have poor grades. I have seen Charters that mandate parents in to participation with the school, while public schools just ask with largely little results. I see public schools holding “parent” general meetings during the parent normal work hours (because of some rule) making it almost impossible for parents to participate. However I see charters scheduling these meeting late evening and weekends just for he parents sake. Ok we have a lot to work to do her in GA but staying status quo will never help with the education wreck we have. I am for charters until the local or state DOE unifies and works toward the common goal of kids education comes 1st and can prove it.
To Concerned
May 4th, 2012
10:27 pm
YOu ask why parents don’t reclaim their school.
It’s an easy answer.
They don’t have to power to change the school and even if they did, change doesn’t come overnight.
Kids need a good school NOW.
We parents will not sacrifice our children’s education and future because teachers want to stay employed.
Tony
May 5th, 2012
8:37 am
Children in public schools will suffer the consequences of this action. Georgia has not even been able to fund its public schools appropriately for about 10 years now. The state has ignored its constitutional duty to do so and now they have created a competing funding mechanism for charter schools waiting on voter approval in the fall.
So-called “ed reform” is nothing more than big business in disguise waiting to gobble up the education funding for themselves rather than for the children in our communities. I hope our communities are able to decipher the ballot in November and realize that approval will grant the state to continue to underfund our schools by redirecting resources away from the local public schools.
Tony
May 5th, 2012
8:43 am
@TOM- you are sadly misinformed. China and India have not been able to get their act together to educate children in any meaningful and consistent way. They are not “kicking our butt” as you say. They do not participate in any of the international comparisons except for a few highly selective locations.
Georgia ranked 13th in the nation last year for student achievements in AP courses. Please google it and find the facts. This is a huge and outstanding accomplishment for our state and its public schools.
Please name the high performing Charter schools in our state. If you look up the actual numbers that go with the charter schools in our state and all the other states you will find that they do not perform any better than the public schools.
Beverly Fraud
May 5th, 2012
9:02 am
“Do you want to dismantle traditional public education for corporate private-sector control of education in Georgia or not?”
@Mary Elizabeth:
-$37 million (and counting) for legal fees in DeKalb
-$40,000 to track down the source of a rumor in Clayton?
-$Untold millions (and counting) because a school board allowed a disgraced lame duck to renew contracts of those who turned a blind eye to cheating?
Yes we want that dismantled!
Unfortunately God has not graced us with the PREFERRED option (a benevolent asteroid, in a moment of Christ-like consciousness, sacrifices itself and descends up the education monolith) thus we grasp at anything, even something FRAUGHT WITH PERIL to break up said monolith.
Even IF we can’t trust it, OR those behind it, as far as we could throw that proverbial asteroid.
Mary Elizabeth
May 5th, 2012
11:46 am
More about ALEC and its attempt to dismantle public education from the NEA:
“If you’re an educator, a parent, a student or anyone who cares about public education, you should know that ALEC, the radical conservative lobbying group, is eyeing your throat. The American Legislative Exchange Council has been drawing drams of lifeblood from the public school system for decades, but now that it has disbanded its controversial Public Safety and Elections Task Force (read ‘More Guns and Fewer Democratic Voters Committee’) it is expected to redouble its efforts to decrease local control of schools by parents and elected school boards, privatize public school jobs, funnel public dollars to private entities, and limit or destroy the collective bargaining rights educators rely on to advocate for students.
So, here are some lessons learned from Buffy and all the other vampire slayers that might help us prepare for battle.
1. The first step in ridding your community of vampires is to reveal their identities. That’s key to defanging ALEC, too.
Working in near secrecy since the 1970s, today ALEC gives nearly 300 powerful corporations access to roughly 2,000 state legislators, who are compensated to attend meetings. At task force meetings, lawmakers and corporate lobbyists sit side-by-side and vote on model legislation that the lawmakers then introduce and push back home. (The next ALEC education task force meeting takes place in Charlotte, N.C., later this month—stay tuned to EdVotes to find out more.) When they’re successful, the end result is laws that put the interests of corporations before those of schools and families.
‘We don’t go to the polls to elect corporations and CEOs,’ said Arizona middle school teacher Erin Kirchoff. ‘It’s our job as citizens not only to vote, but to hold the people we put into office accountable.’
Hear educator Erin Kirchoff tell how ALEC undermined public schools in Arizona. (Link below)
Take Kirchoff’s advice: Find out whether your elected officials have ALEC ties, and if you don’t like what you see, remind them who they represent—you, not corporations. Then spread the word; the more you help colleagues, parents and other voters understand how ALEC operates in the shadows, the less successful the group will be at haunting the halls of our legislatures. (Share this article on your social networks, please!)
2. The best way to stun a vampire is to drag him into the bright light of day. We must do the same with bad education policy.
The Center for Media and Democracy, Common Cause and other groups have made great strides in revealing how ALEC operates. On ALECexposed.org, you’ll find a slew of model legislation that until now was accessible only to ALEC members, including a whole section on education policy. Here are a few examples:
The Virtual Public Schools Act demands that online schools receive the same resources as brick-and-mortar public schools, although they provide only a fraction of the services that traditional schools do. The for-profit companies running these virtual schools could also subsidize students’ home Internet access, creating an incentive for poorer families to opt into such a program. Who is best served by such legislation? Students or the online education companies that helped write this bill?
The Parental Choice Scholarship Tax Credit Accountability Act. Behind the long name is a simple mission: to find every possible way to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize for-profit schools through vouchers disguised as ’scholarships.’ This bill specifies that a separate agency should be created to regulate those scholarships if the state’s Department of Education is ‘hostile’ to subsidizing private schools.”
http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/2012/05/03/alec-puts-its-fangs-to-education/
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Beverly Fraud
May 5th, 2012
12:15 pm
@Mary Elizabeth I truly get where you are coming from and your rightness of questioning the motives of the ALEC crowd.
But given the public schools track record here (i.e. Clayton, Fulton, DeKalb, APS, aka “The Four Horsemen of the Incompetence”) the doesn’t the public schools’ cry about the for profit crowd have about as much credibility as the Fidel Castro railing against “the greedy capitalists”?
Mary Elizabeth
May 5th, 2012
12:38 pm
@ Beverly Fraud, 12:15 pm
Beverly,
I hear you loud and clear. I, too, want the best schools possible for the children in the counties you mention. I suspect, as usually happens, some individual schools are much better than others in those counties, so that all schools should not be lumped together as being of poor quality. And, don’t you think that would be true with charter schools, also – that some would be much better than others?
We cannot simply look at next year, but what we would be doing to education in Georgia indefinitely if ALEC is allowed to use its influence to change education to one in which corporations rule not only in the market place, but in education. Education should not be about the market place. Think in terms of decades not years. Think in terms of the next generations of children and what we will be doing to them if corporations take over their education. Teachers will be commodies for the corporate profit with less pay and fewer benefits. Children will be pawns for profit.
On C-Span 2’s “BookNotes” last weekend, I saw the author Michael Sandel talk about his book in an interview. His book is called “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.” Sandel is a professor at Harvard, I believe. He was interviewed by Nicole Gelinas, of the Manhattan Institute. He does not think that education should be part of the market place – as a value judgment. Is the market supposed to control every single part of our human existence – and I would add our humanity? That is the essential question Professor Sandel poses in his book.
Can’t parents work more fervently with local Boards of Education to improve the schools in the counties you mention that are not doing as well as desired? Perhaps, the local Boards will be more amenable to suggestions for improvement from parents, now that the possibility of an alternate and parellel educational system is possible through the state Charter amendment. Remember, there will always be public schools of some nature, even with charter schools growing. My heart will go out to those public school children who will be segregated from the rest and left in schools that have fewer resources and that are not diverse economically.
Rick James
May 6th, 2012
11:00 am
If public schools did their jobs there would be no debate or need for charter schools.My son is in a charter because the local public school is under performing.If I did not have this option I would just send him to a private school.
Ivan Cohen
May 6th, 2012
4:48 pm
Well if this ain’t a kick in the head. Here he is Governor Nathan Deal, whose parents were career educators, signing a charter school bill. So this is how you honor your mother and father. Governor, how could you? You got your educational start in the public school system. The blind and the sighted alike can see through the goobledeegook you used when signing HB 797. This is a dark day in this state’s history.
Civil Rights
May 7th, 2012
4:29 pm
These charters better be reporting the correct ratio blacks vs whites…that is what the regular public schools have to do.