Georgia: Putting all our eggs and hopes in charter school basket
The battle in Georgia to win passage of a controversial charter school amendment turned out to be costly, divisive and polarizing.
Many might also argue it was unnecessary, given that charter schools were never in jeopardy and more continue to open every year in Georgia.
The state Board of Education already had the ability to approve them, and local school boards, despite the characterization that most were hostile toward charters, authorized nine out of 10 of the existing 108 charter schools now operating in Georgia.
It’s a futile exercise now to question the rationale for the amendment, which, in its most practical application, accords the state Legislature the power to appoint a commission that can approve and fund charter schools over the objections of local boards of education.
The benign question put before voters — “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?”— earned a “Yes” from an impressive 58.5 percent of Georgians.
So, now is the time to consider the impact of the passage of the amendment on education as a whole in Georgia.
And that impact is likely to be consequential to the 1.6 million Georgia children who attend public schools in Georgia.
Because now the Legislature will be convinced that it’s done its part for education by giving students more choice.
Lawmakers can relax and let choice work its magic. If students don’t do well, it will be blamed on their parents failing to make the right choice.
In elevating choice to their top legislative priority, lawmaker shirked what ought to be their main concern: Ensuring that existing public schools in Georgia remain viable and have sufficient resources to educate students to increasingly higher standards.
Instead, they have consistently disinvested in public schools while touting marketplace solutions.
Choice is not a substitute for adequate funding, talented teachers and strong leaders.
And more choices don’t necessarily mean better choices.
In the last 10 years, a period when school enrollment rose, austerity cuts and other reductions decimated state education funding by $5.7 billion. Two-thirds of Georgia’s 180 school districts have been forced to cut back on school days.
In four districts around the state, students now attend classes less than 150 days, even though the standard is 180 days. Class sizes have soared, with parents lamenting 37 kids in middle and high school classes.
A Georgia Budget and Policy Institute study noted that while enrollment jumped, teacher contracts in Georgia fell by 8,500 since 2008-2009.
The first education act by the 2013 General Assembly will be reconstituting the Charter School Commission that was in place before the state Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional and an infringement on local control last year. And that will ensure a few more charter schools approved every year.
Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately operated and earn freedom from some state regulations in exchange for contractual pledges to not only meet standards set by the state, but eventually exceed them.
If charter schools fail to meet their contractual goals, they’re supposed to shut down. An examination of national data shows that doesn’t always happen, as parents often argue in favor of the school remaining open despite disappointing academics — a scenario that unfolds in many school closings. (Hundreds of DeKalb County parents fought closings there, even when the targeted schools had years of low achievement.)
As with every school model, charter schools show varying degrees of success and failure. An evaluation earlier this year by the state Department of Education found that charter schools in Georgia were less successful than traditional schools in meeting federally mandated, adequate yearly progress measures and had graduation rates in line with the state average.
No one who looks at the performance of charter schools in those states where there are many more of them could argue that they have been a transformative agent.
Without question, charter schools should be part of a mix of innovations and reforms. Unfortunately, in Georgia, charter schools have become the only reform. As one rural legislator commented to me about his House colleagues, “We’ve put all our eggs in the charter school basket.”
And all their hopes and energies.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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246 comments Add your comment
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
11:21 am
Seems like a super-caste is dictating to the rest of us. Question, why is the fed/state/ and local “board of education” in the classroom but teachers have zero input into policy?
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
11:37 am
mammap, well and good but you’re going to have to bring something to the table.
David
November 23rd, 2012
11:41 am
The only choice most of my students, and their parents, need to make is to start putting forth effort in the current system. I conservatively estimate that 75% of students put forth less than two hours of genuine effort a week. Charter schools will change nothing for the majority of students in Georgia.
Michele
November 23rd, 2012
11:49 am
@Mountain Man: Thank you for your explanation. I agree. A parent must be a parent, not a missing parent.
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
12:05 pm
Walmart Black Friday Fighting Over Phones http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=8O6IMYSSs7c
I’ve got to hand it Walmart for one thing, they have a wall of motor oil half as long as a football field and they carry the oil I use. http://www.shell.com/home/content/rotella/products/t6/ I go in the back door at the auto shop and that is the extent of my business with Walmart. Point is, it really is all about digital apps now. -Much interesting in Android based education apps. If you consider “the possibilities” anything that one child can do while being the chosen one to stand at the “smart board” can be done by an entire class using Android devices with free/ open source software. Flash cards? Math problems with models and explanations? Interaction / interactive? Yes and yes. Writing on tablet computers, assignments turned in by wi-fi? I’m waiting for the future and what is beyond the future. I had this sticker on my car. Does not relate to many in the “edu-crat” field. http://developer.mygoldeni.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/wfs_logo.jpg I’m going to go buy some latex gloves and boil/jar some habeneros.
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
12:12 pm
It’s a start and the price is right. https://play.google.com/store/apps/category/EDUCATION/collection/topselling_free?hl=en
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
12:14 pm
The Walmart mob is really fighting over education app delivery devices.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 23rd, 2012
12:54 pm
Private Citizen
Administrators manage the teaching, so to speak. Teachers don’t manage the administrators. That being said, plenty of administrator and BOE types are ex-teachers.
Megan
November 23rd, 2012
1:54 pm
More Money does equal better results. Money spent poorly is the problem. Gwinnett has cut the number of teachers per school by 1/3, but doubled the number of people earning 200K at the county office. More money spent on Children and less on bureaucrats would be the key.
Enjoying the show
November 23rd, 2012
2:59 pm
My comments were omitted. Nothing I wrote about the basis for my opposition to the charter school amendment differed significantly from what others wrote. So much for ALL taxpayers (with and WITHOUT children) being allowed to express an opinion about this issue.
markie mark
November 23rd, 2012
3:30 pm
“The state Board of Education already had the ability to approve them, and local school boards, despite the characterization that most were hostile toward charters, authorized nine out of 10 of the existing 108 charter schools now operating in Georgia.”
Was this before or after the state supreme court struck down the law giving the state the option? I call this statement BS. The local boards authorized charter schools in an attempt to control them – they did not want to be presented with a school they werent involved in at all. I would bet in the future you would have seen little or NO charters issued. The school boards and their minions showed their belief system in the fight over whether the state can issue charters.
Prof
November 23rd, 2012
3:34 pm
@ catlady, November 23rd, 9:07 am.
Don’t forget also that when you retire you will no longer have to pay the “payroll tax,” or have “FICA” deducted from your paycheck, which is about 12% of your annual salary. At the same time you’ll begin drawing Social Security.
Go Blue
November 23rd, 2012
3:36 pm
Uniforms including casual pants (no jeans)and knit shirts you can find at Wal-Mart and not backing down to discipline is needed.
Some parents want to be catered to(real life does not cater to many-different desires).
Look at some excellent schools in Chicago and New York City. The leaders demand decent behavior.
catlady
November 23rd, 2012
4:58 pm
Dr. Henson, so does state/federal law allow a student to be removed from one school and sent to another public school for behavioral reasons if the charter so specifies?
bootney farnsworth
November 23rd, 2012
5:03 pm
can anyone tell me of a failed state agency the state itself pulled the plug on?
bootney farnsworth
November 23rd, 2012
5:08 pm
I am unimpressed with this bit about unruly students being booted out. like that will actually happen.
juniors parents will tie the school up in court, and make common cause with parents of like minded (re: misbehaving) students.
if enough people with money threaten to bail, or can stack the board, this no troublemakers rule will go straight out the window.
charter fanatics think they have discovered the new world. what they’ve really done is add another layer to the onion
Jim Chaput
November 23rd, 2012
5:57 pm
Why are the local school boards complaining about charter schools? If a community sets up a charter school the local district will inevitably lose some State financial support. But they will also lose students, so why the complaining about the money?
bootney farnsworth
November 23rd, 2012
7:35 pm
because the local schools know their funding will be tapped -directly and indirectly-to fund these charter startups
and because we know the criteria set up by Nate, Fran and co is to justify this is somewhere between a slick con and outright lying
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
8:53 pm
Jim Chaput, when school systems “lose students” they lose money. There is a rationale to “freak out” like a business losing customers.
Interesting macro-analysis of the U.S. situation from outside of the U. S. information bubble, as well as outing the true mode of Obama’s education policy. http://www.globalresearch.ca/americas-labor-movement-in-terminal-crisis/5312769
Private Citizen
November 23rd, 2012
8:58 pm
School districts get their funds based on (x)(dollars) per student enrolled.
southside teacher
November 23rd, 2012
11:08 pm
Please remember, there are often very good reasons to deny a charter application. Witness the Nashville fiasco:
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/19528802/great-hearts-academy-withdraws-from-nashville
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/20/the-inside-story-of-great-hearts-charter-in-nashville/
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/24/whats-at-stake-in-nashville-charter-fight/
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/11/16/will-tennessee-create-an-alec-style-charter-board-to-trump-local-boards/
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/11/20/expose-of-charter-corruption-in-the-new-republic/
Dr. Monica Henson
November 24th, 2012
12:57 am
catlady posted, “Dr. Henson, so does state/federal law allow a student to be removed from one school and sent to another public school for behavioral reasons if the charter so specifies?”
A locally authorized charter school certainly could specify that a student could be removed for behavior violations and sent to the district alternative school, if the district permitted that language to be included in the charter. It would also make sense because a locally authorized charter school is also a district school.
A state-authorized charter school is its own local educational agency (LEA) and functions as a separate public school district. It is therefore the responsibility of the charter school to deal with behavioral problems just as a school district would do.
Truth in Moderation
November 24th, 2012
2:24 am
Maureen agrees with Charlotte Iserbyt’s stand on charter schools:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYl9iZlArjM&feature=related
Start at 8:56. Iserbyt talks about the true agenda for charter schools…..
Listen to the entire video! Learn about the Council for National Policy.
Truth in Moderation
November 24th, 2012
2:35 am
Charlotte Iserbyt (author of DELIBERATE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA) WARNS ABOUT CHARTER SCHOOLS:
13:30 Iserbyt says Charter Schools will set in motion getting rid of all forms of elected officials, starting with school boards…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYl9iZlArjM&feature=related
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
7:57 am
Iserbyt is no dummy, that’s for sure! Cued up for you:
@ 8:56 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYl9iZlArjM#t=8m56s
@ 13:30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYl9iZlArjM#t=13m30s
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
8:10 am
Iserbyt is worth paying attention to, she knows what’s up and worked for Reagan when he set the deregulation and elimination of anti-trust laws into motion. Iserbyt served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education during the first term of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and her father and grandfather were Yale University graduates and members of the Skull and Bones. She saw the inception of this “new world order” U. S. education policy using the wholesome lefty concept of “change agents” (official term) to bring in this super-caste rule.
And what to do you know, we now have Mr. “Change you can believe in” in office today, the same terminology Iserbyt talks about. Well, the net result to me is having to repeatedly test children during the school year and work in an environment where my managers, whom I have lost all respect for, are nothing but lackeys forcing everyone to follow these weird outside mandates that intrude on the school environment every day, week, and month. Testing culture is like slow-motion bullying, it is like water torture. And someone is making coin from it. It’s the old routine, 10 people profiting from telling 10 million what to do. It’s crazy. And the State in Georgia is no friend in this matter, they just redeliver and enforce every bit of it onto the heads of the unsuspecting children, families, and teachers. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the state education apparatus is heavily into the “surveilling and enforcement. They should rename the DOE the “Georgia Education Surveilling and Enforcement Division.” Now everybody, go March! March!
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
8:14 am
Georgia DOE does 100x surveilling and enforcement of their mandates, and meanwhile provides zero direction or support for instructional materials to achieve content delivery.
It’s a real wise guy routine, all of these testing mandates combined with no support materials. Official doctrine on supply materials: Go steal stuff from the internet and make lessons out of it.
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
8:42 am
The only comparison I can come up with is that private schools have structured sequential support materials to go with their curriculum. The government schools have specified curriculum, i.e. “Common Core” but there are no structured sequential support materials to go with the specified curriculum, which leads to chaos upon implementation and is highly inefficient for the teachers who work in this condition.
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
8:46 am
And then you get these little tiny programs in the government system who manage to make some structure, who manage to get a concept and assemble their crumbs together, such as IB or “academy” programs and the state, or local, or somebody? goes around and destroys them, driving those who escape the chaos, driving them back into the chaos.
james
November 24th, 2012
9:10 am
Thanks for the voter turnout in the Atlanta area in support of this amendment – maybe South Georgia education will be improved with more Charter/Magnet School competition!
catlady
November 24th, 2012
9:13 am
Dr. Henson: Thanks for your reply. I am assuming we are not including students with an EBD diagnosis, as they seem to be exempt from any behavioral expectations. In fact, in my experience, even kids with a MH diagnosis can claim that the misbehavior is a manifestation of the disability. (In fact, even students whose parents have resisted evaluation for placement for EBD can, retroactively, claim IDEA protection) And, of course, if the local system has no alternative school available for elementary school children, they would have to be kept in place, I guess.
Exactly what requirements are there by the state that all students be included in the pool for the charter? For example, is a charter school required to accept and provide services blind or deaf children, or medically fragile students? (I am aware that charter schools do not have to provide transportation, and thus can summarily exclude students whose parents cannot provide transportation.)
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
10:27 am
catlady, It is sometimes said that there are coddled behavior problem kids who are given sped classification as a way of protecting them from having to go to the alternative schooling route (kid equivalent of being sent to county jail). The net result is they continue the antics. I know this sounds outrageous, but sped is so powerful, and I’ve heard this a number of times. SPED can be applied many different ways. To get a kid under the SPED umbrella is one way to get smaller classes and more teacher attention. SPED is one of the last frontiers where they fund an extra assistant for the classroom and due to the power of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) laws, the SPED staff can pretty much work with a little more independence from the typical threshing machine being put onto regular ed. teachers.
Audrey Galex
November 24th, 2012
1:44 pm
As someone who admits openly to feeling duped by the amendment’s wording, thank you for your consistent reporting on education. Shame on me for not paying enough attention to your analysis and the “back story” on this piece of legislation before I cast my vote: Let us only hope that its passage serves to re-energize interest and investment in public school education.
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
4:39 pm
Report from inside the school house: teacher morale is down, required “concept” meetings are up. The pressure in on, etc. etc. attention directed to additional initiatives in addition to teaching duties.
This is an interesting video, good fun for those interested in this sort of thing, macro perspective, plus learn a little bit about history “outside of the box.” Former Russian Agent: Public Schools Targeted! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDDBZuheQxs Unplug their bananas from their ears, open their eyes
Private Citizen
November 24th, 2012
4:48 pm
Good explanation of “Outcomes Based Education” where “the student will demonstrate…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErL9zPHdH4A Might help teachers in voicing their lesson plans and objectives in an acceptable manner. This concept is not well explained by the current managers, however teachers are expected to voice their objectives in these terms. Useful information.
Ed Johnson
November 24th, 2012
8:32 pm
Thank you, @Private Citizen, for your post at 4:48 pm. It’s a good idea for anyone to spend the one hour to watch the video for an in-depth perspective on “Who Controls the Children” and why.
The link, as you posted it, is…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErL9zPHdH4A
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
11:34 am
Race to the Top is the State of Georgia being sold down the river for thirty pieces of silver.
Let me tell you a story about the results of “Outcomes Based Education.” I visited with a neighbor for Thanksgiving leftovers. There was a kid in the household, bright and alert, kid approaching high school age. I awarded a big word to the kid as a descriptor and said “Now what do you think of that? You decide. Do you agree?” So we looked up the word, that had nine letters but I thought it was pretty basic as it is the title of a pop music song (a 1980’s hit). First, the dictionary they had in the household was abridged and did not have the word in it. I was shocked. Same thing with the thesaurus. So we looked it up online. Now mind you, I thought this was a pretty basic word. Not only did the kid not know the word (an adjective), the kid did not know any of the words used in the definition to define the word. This is a lively bright kid from a technically oriented family and the mom even knows what literature is, for example the title “Jane Ayre” was brought up during conversation, leading one to think this was a literate household. Obviously no one is reading to or reading with the kid, that is for sure. But there is very little going on upstairs from the school house, either. As the lady in the video says about Outcomes Based Education, kids from poor backgrounds lose twice: 1) they are not educated, and 2) the state is no substitute for family, even if the kid has no family. So that’s my Thanksgiving story. How quickly the shift has occurred between generations from a basic lexicon of vocabulary to having none. It’s weird, that’s for sure, and it challenges the senses when one sees the reality for “the lost generations.” My conclusion is that as long managers are going to come into schools and force teachers to do initiatives that work against children, don’t send your kids there or work there if you are a teacher.
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
12:17 pm
PS teaching kids in the government schools, I have taught vocabulary, word roots, and how to make citations and I have received nothing but a headache about it from administrators. A principal characterized me negatively during conference / work review specifically for teaching word roots and said it was “too hard.” My take away is that this principal is literate and capable and was schooled well as a youth and is a supreme hypocrite for not delivering the same quality of education to his charges, the students, and to actually redirect me from same. I certainly found this unexpected and difficult to believe and perhaps you do, too, but it is real.
Truth in Moderation
November 25th, 2012
4:35 pm
Thanks Private Citizen for your link to Peg Luksik’s video exposing Outcome Based Education. I saw it when it first came out in 1992. She became involved as a result of Anita Hogue’s research exposing the hidden agenda for the Pennsylvania assessments, which were measuring AFFECTIVE DOMAIN HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS (per Bloom’s Taxonomy) AKA “locus of control”. If you want to fully understand the issue, read her story in EDUCATING FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER, by Beverly Eakman. It also includes an Appendix with photocopies of the government documents which explicitly spell out what they were doing. I read the book, actually met Anita and shared with her my own research documentation. By using the book as a guide, I was able to duplicate her research in Georgia. Parents were alerted and at least one School Superintendent resigned because he failed to successfully push the OBE reforms in his county BECAUSE THE ELECTORATE WAS WELL INFORMED.
Here’s an article from a 1992 Pennsylvania newspaper documenting Peg’s and Anita’s connection:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19921025&id=HLgiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JLUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1166,5379320
Halftrack
November 25th, 2012
5:11 pm
If charter schools fail to meet their goals, they are supposed to be shut down. How do you shut down a public school that fails to meet its goal? The logic behind the 60% vote for the charter school says that the public school system is failing and things need to be changed. The status quo cannot remain and be viable. Now the legislature has a 60% mandate to get the public schools to the correct performing model.
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
5:42 pm
Halftrack, Interesting point that turnabout is fair play and maybe that is what is coming.
Truth in Moderation, The thing about Outcomes Based Education is that it is supplanting content and basically creating / allowing dereliction of duty regarding delivery of content knowledge. The Luksik video goes a long way towards explaining how managers are seemingly constantly promoting vague concepts combined with a complete ignoring of structured content formation. It seems that the math and sciences are breaking through some, thus the “STEM” programs, however this still leaves a complete vacuum in the humanites (i.e. English / writing / literate and language skills). Yes, it makes a lot more sense now. The bosses are not sort of being forced to go back and do 1/2 the job (of educating) by being more serious with math and science, but now math and science has turned into a fetish and from what I have seen, there is generally a caustic or flippant / negative, even disrespectful (arrogant?) attitude coming from the managers toward humanities study (i.e. language, literature, etc.). It is a very strange cocktail, but this is what I see happening. Maybe the dislike of language study is because it there “outs” their silly doctrine that use language to deliver this boatload of propaganda and pressure demands. Bottom line is that this OBE stuff is a really convenient way to fill the bandwidth and justify dereliction of duty for delivering content. The emphasis from the state is on propagandist pressure directives, saturation testing (the gall!), and periodic press releases to tell you that the corn grew out of the ground somewhere, examples 1, 2, 3. Nowhere from the state will you find defined source material to be used for teaching sequential structured content. And the local follows the example of the state, two holding hands together as one. One interesting thing about the Luksik video from Pennsylvania is that it sounds awfully familiar as if from right next door, the sort of vacant local / regional politic pushing this barely comprehendable abstract agenda and using great authority to do it.
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
7:23 pm
You’ll find “guidelines” but you will not find specific source material. This “decision” is left to the districts where it basically doesn’t happen or is spotty at best. Hmmm I wonder how they do it in Finland? If you move from Kolari to Lieksa, are they using the same source materials per grade level? http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/finland_pol96.jpg Or is it a “suggestion” like the U. S. system.
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
7:26 pm
(that’s about 400 miles from Kolari to Lieksa)
Private Citizen
November 25th, 2012
7:49 pm
In other words, are the 3rd graders in Kolari using the same study books as the 3rd graders in Lieksa (distance of 400 miles)? vs. Are the 3rd graders in Dahlonega using the same study books as the 3rd graders in Valdosta (distance of 294 miles)? This I would like to know.
Dr. Monica Henson
November 25th, 2012
8:58 pm
catlady asked, “Exactly what requirements are there by the state that all students be included in the pool for the charter? For example, is a charter school required to accept and provide services blind or deaf children, or medically fragile students? (I am aware that charter schools do not have to provide transportation, and thus can summarily exclude students whose parents cannot provide transportation.)”
Charter schools are required to accept any student in their attendance zone who applies for enrollment until all seats are filled, and then a public lottery must be held and a waitlist generated. As public schools, charter schools are required to accept blind, deaf, medically fragile, and any other special needs students who seek enrollment, as long as the enrollment cap (if there is one) hasn’t been reached. My school has enrolled several medically fragile students, although we have not had any applications from blind or deaf kids. I’d have to check with my Board attorney, but I’m reasonably sure that a student who requires transportation to the charter school as a related service in an IEP would be entitled to it, regardless of whether the charter school provides transportation to non-special needs students.
What Comes Next for Georgia’s Schoolchildren After Passage of the Charter Schools Amendment?
November 26th, 2012
5:05 pm
[...] says Maureen Downey in a blog post in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, that may be all the legislature does for public education this session, believing that choice is a [...]