Pass charter schools amendment, get back to fixing education in Georgia
Ask Georgians about education, and you’ll likely hear two things: It’s important to our future prosperity, and we’re lagging behind. They’re right about its importance. There is one area, however, in which Georgia doesn’t trail most other states when it comes to education:
Spending.
Not what you expected? Join the club. But Georgia ranked 23rd in spending per pupil according to the latest data available for all states, the 2007-08 school year. Further analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests budget cuts since then have yet to push Georgia out of the top 30. We remain right around the middle.
Where we do lag behind is in the results we get for our money. Georgia ranks in the bottom third of states when it comes to proficiency in reading and math among fourth- and eighth-graders taking the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.
The disparities show up all too plainly when one compares Georgia to the states with which we sometimes compete for jobs — states like Colorado, Florida, North Carolina and Texas. It isn’t even close: We’re above average among that group for educational spending but last or next-to-last in each NAEP category.
In particular, we spend about 25 percent more per pupil than North Carolina. Yet, students there perform slightly better on the NAEP across the board.
Other measures tell a similarly sad tale. Of every 100 Georgia children who begin the ninth grade, just 54 will graduate high school. Just 40 will enroll in a college or technical school, and almost half of them won’t make it to a second year. Only nine — nine! — will graduate.
“Too many [high school graduates] are coming and they’re not prepared,” Dean Alford, a member of the Board of Regents, said at an event this week sponsored by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. The state, he said, spends $254 million a year on college and technical students who don’t last until their sophomore year. (Alford also presented the statistics about ninth-graders, citing research by an organization called Complete College America.)
Rising revenues may mean the end of cuts to Georgia’s education budget. But Georgians ought to question whether it really makes sense to add more money to the same old educational model that’s produced those lackluster results.
A key to improving the system, rather than merely pouring more money into it, is restoring the state’s ability to approve charter schools. Charters are public schools, but they give parents and students options while allowing for more innovation — and accountability — than traditional public schools.
The experiences of charters like Fulton Science Academy and Ivy Preparatory Academy, denied contracts or extensions by local school boards despite their track records of academic success, suggests local boards like control too much to give them sole control over charter approvals.
Yet, because of an egregious ruling last spring by the Georgia Supreme Court, the state’s ability to approve charter schools on its own has been severely limited.
This week, Rep. Jan Jones, a Republican from Milton and the No. 2-ranking member of the state House, officially proposed an amendment to the state Constitution restoring the state’s power to approve charters. The House could vote on it as soon as next week, and it deserves to pass the Legislature this year and be put to a voter referendum in November.
It’s good policy and good politics: A new opinion poll commissioned by Americans for Prosperity, which supports charters, found Georgians overwhelmingly believe parents know what’s best for their children and should be able to use the state funds allocated for their children at the school of their choice.
Respondents also said overwhelmingly, to the tune of 71 percent support, that they’d be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports school choice. A two-thirds vote is required in both the House and Senate to put the amendment on the ballot. You do the math.
We can’t afford for them not to take action, because we can’t afford more years of pouring more and more money into an educational system that produces diminishing returns. Again, you do the math.
– By Kyle Wingfield
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
201 comments Add your comment
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 26th, 2012
6:02 pm
More government involvement in school…crappier schools.
More government involvement in families…weaker families.
More government interference in manufacturing…less manufacturing.
More government meddling in mortgages and finance…bigger financial meltdowns.
More government…more ineptitude, failure, and sloth.
Thanks, Democrats.
Michael H. Smith
January 26th, 2012
6:09 pm
“So what is the difference in paying for Charter or public?”
My answer: Paying for Charter offers parent and child freedom of choice to obtain a better education.
If anyone is genuinely curious they can always check out John Stossel’s coverage on education. Like his series: “Stupid in America”
School spending has gone through the roof and test scores are flat.
While most every other service in life has gotten faster, better, and cheaper, one of the most important things we buy — education — has remained completely stagnant, unchanged since we started measuring it in 1970.
Why no improvement?
Because K-12 education is a government monopoly and monopolies don’t improve.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/09/16/stupid-in-america/
MarkV
January 26th, 2012
6:37 pm
“Why no improvement? Because K-12 education is a government monopoly and monopolies don’t improve.”
Interesting, considering that schools in countries with the best education results, such as in Finland, are government monopolies.
Eric
January 26th, 2012
6:39 pm
No, the public should not be funding the education of the few and well to do. Pay for your own school. Georgia public schools are really quite fine! All the “compete in the global economy” that drive testing and school rankings, hence the call for state charter schools, is mumbo-jumbo.
Interests of full disclosure
January 26th, 2012
6:49 pm
FSA sent an email out to the school community this morning pointing out three online articles and saying”it would be good to comment under this one”(beside this blog entry). So I will.
Soliciting positive posts doesn’t strike me as professional OR ethical.
FYI – FSA parents are routinely pushed to post favorable comments about the school, FSA students get dress down days for attending the “save our school” rallies, FSA students who attended the school choice rally yesterday at the Capitol were taken to lunch and missed classes…middle school kids are surely influenced by these incentives.
FSA’s supporters seem to turn a blind eye to information from primary sources, such as articles in USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Times, BBC, BBC Radio (check youtube for that one) about the charter schools here in the US with an alleged Gulen connection.
Do they really think 120+ schools is just a coincidence or that the schools are not connected? Do our state legislators think that?
Here’s what Hakan Orak, a former FSAHS teacher, says about it: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/questions-loom-about-group-proposing-raleigh-charter-school. He “can’t pinpoint what’s driving the trend”. (Just wait for the author of THAT article to be flamed!)
Seriously?
Mary Elizabeth
January 26th, 2012
7:24 pm
@ C Jae of EAV, 4:02 pm
=====================================
@Mary Elizabeth: I have to point out your statement “…..CHARTER SCHOOLS TO SYPHON LOCAL TAX DOLLARS WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY OR OVERSIGHT, WITHOUT ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND WITHOUT EDUCATOR CRITERIA CURRENTLY IN PLACE IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS.” is simply an outright distortion of the facts.
===============================
Those words were lifted directly from a notice from my professional educators’ organizations and that large statewide organization should be privy to more knowledge about these issues that either you or I would have.
Also, you left out some key words (”allow private companies that operate”) from your post. Here is what I had actually posted – from my professional educational organization – at 8:18 am:
IF PASSED HR 1162 WOULD ALTER THE CONSTITUTION AND ALLOW PRIVATE COMPANIES THAT OPERATE CHARTER SCHOOLS TO SYPHON LOCAL TAX DOLLARS WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY OR OVERSIGHT, WITHOUT ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND WITHOUT EDUCATOR CRITERIA CURRENTLY IN PLACE IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS.”
——————————-
That is not to say, as I read those words that every “private compan(y) that operate(s) charter schools (would) syphon local tax dollars without accountability or oversight” but that HR 1162 would open the possibility that some private operators of public charter schools might do that. In fact, I recall having read, recently, that a private company, which had run a public charter school, had used public funds which could not be accounted for. There was a problem which caused media attention.
In terms of the academic accountabiltiy, public schools throughout Georgia are mandated to have certain academic standards fulfilled, hence curriculum guides and end-of-level tests in curriculum areas, statewide. For several summers during the 1990s, I taught summer sessions within my county for students who had failed to pass state-mandated high school graduation tests for social studies, science, math, and English. These were statewide standards that every public school student was mandated to have achieved for high school graduation.
If some charter schools are given too much flexibility – and flexibility is one of the tenets allowed charter schools (and that can be a positive thing for innovation) – they might be allowed to establish their own criteria for curriculum and mastery of it. That might be ok for innovation, but that possibility of variance of standards in various charter schools needs to be watched and assessed, closely, by local school boards, and not by a Statewide Commission for Charter Schools that is not even elected, but appointed, which may carry political interests. Different charter schools, conceivably, could have differing standards based upon parents’ concepts of mastery instead of those of professional educators, which are been approved by Georgia Department of Education through the local school systems. Each case for unique charter schools could be different, but the possibility of uncoordinated accountability and inconsistency of standards might exist with charter schools. We would be wise to be aware of that possibility of disunity of quality among charter schools before that possibility might be allowed to become a problem. Not all charter schools are excellent, of course, and, once opened, they are difficult to close.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 26th, 2012
7:35 pm
Bottom line–the government runs public schools.
How’s that working out?
Michael H. Smith
January 26th, 2012
8:04 pm
Interesting, considering that schools in countries with the best education results, such as in Finland, are government monopolies.</em
To the contrary, as anyone who watched the Stossel documentary would know before mis-speaking. Where money follows the student in Europe, the kids outperformed our American who they called kids stupid.
Michael H. Smith
January 26th, 2012
8:06 pm
Interesting, considering that schools in countries with the best education results, such as in Finland, are government monopolies.
Re-post:
To the contrary, as anyone who watched the Stossel documentary would know before mis-speaking. Where money follows the student in Europe, the kids outperformed our American kids who they called stupid.
Off to the debate….
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 26th, 2012
8:09 pm
Again, you do the math.
So when did they start teaching math in Atlanta?
I can just imagine the multiple choice questions, If you busted Grandpa’s head open , took his wallet and it had a ten, a five and two dollars in it, how much money would you have? a) 15 bucks b) more than my dad, who ever he is c) enough to get wasted tonight.
And, of course, no answer is incorrect.
But the union teacher would flunk the test, anyway.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
8:11 pm
Want to know why all these progressives have been on this blog today, such as Mary what-ever? The dumbing down of our students has been a systematic plan of the progressive movement. All you need to do is google or yahoo those words. Jefferson’s dream was for teachers to create knowledgeable, civic-minded citizens, loyal to the nations’ democratic institution, not into champions of “social justice” & American haters.
“The neo-Marxist progressives… have taken control of the agenda in the education system…They recognized that crucial to establishing true socialism (social justice) was bringing up succeeding generations in the Marxist belief system.”
“More K-12 students than ever are now being manipulated into the platform for moralizing against capitalism & white middle class & America.”
Dumbing down is not an accident. It was planned by progressives. We must take back our educational system from the stupid in DC.
School Choice Advocate
January 26th, 2012
8:36 pm
If you want to sign a petition for HR 1162, see this link. It will be forwarded to 19 house members:
http://www.change.org/petitions/yes-to-school-choice-in-georgia-hr1162
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 26th, 2012
8:39 pm
Linda must have gone to a progressive school.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
8:59 pm
Our founding fathers were well-educated, exquisitely knowledgeable in statecraft & political philosophy. Out Constitution established a Federation of States only for LIMITED PURPOSES. In the 19th century, progressives took control of public schools & teachers’ colleges. They conditioned teachers & children to abandon our Founding Fathers’ enlightenment philosophy of reason, fixed principles & Judeo-Christian ideals & replaced them with a new ideology. The progressives view public education primarily as a tool for social & cultural indoctrination.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
9:05 pm
Neo-Marxist progressives have taken control of the agenda in the education system. They recognized that it was crucial to establish true socialism (social justice) by bringing up succeeding generations in the Marxist belief system.
Mary Elizabeth
January 26th, 2012
9:07 pm
I just posted the following on Maureen Downey’s blog regarding the same topic – HR 1162. A thank you to Kyle Wingfield, for allowing me to repost my comments on his blog, also.
=============================
“The term (special schools) was not intended, according to the Court, to create “a carte blanche authorization for the General Assembly to create its own general K-12 schools so as to duplicate the efforts of or compete with locally controlled schools for the same pool of students educated with the same limited pool of tax funds.”
__________________________________
The above statement, from the post by Ms. Downey, summarizes the Supreme Court’s rationale for rejecting the state commission, as interpreted by attorney Thomas Cox.
OK, let’s use a few key words to cut to the heart of that statement.
“. . . General Assembly. . . create its own general K-12 schools (charters) so as to . . . compete with locally controlled (public) schools for the same pool of students. . . with the same limited pool of tax funds.”
———————————————–
That sounds, remarkably, like trying to dismantle traditional public schools for charter schools. Some charter schools can be run by private operators. And who runs Georgia’s Legislature, primarily? Majority Republicans.
And. what is one major, national, Republican ideological agenda? Answer: To cut government in all areas, especially “government” public schools for other models, even private sector business models.
And, what other bill has Republican Rep. Jones sponsored besides HR1162? Answer: HB 664.
HB 664 states that “commission charter schools may exclude teachers from the Teacher Retirement System of Georgia.” It does not state that “commission charter schools may give those commission charter teachers a choice of TRS” participation. That bill uses the words “may exclude teachers from the TRS. If teachers numbers are reduced in the TRS, then that fact would certainly cut the state’s government responsibility to public school teachers. It would, also, satisfy a national Republican ideological agenda.
Do we really want a State Charter Schools’ Commission, which is appointed not elected, to make these important decisions regarding assignments of charter schools, using local monies previously used for traditional public schools, when legislators who support this Commission are not educators themselves, yet they do have a common ideological vision for education? We must think through what we may be doing to education in Georgia, long-ranged. Has anyone in the Legislature thought this through, in depth? Look at what happened to Florida’s public educational system when legislators wanted to dismantle it.
I think we should move slowly with charter schools. I think we should improve traditional public education, and not think in terms of dismantling public education. We can improve public education by letting local school boards determine how many charter schools should be allotted in their districts. Let those charter schools innovate for more effective individualized instruction and, then, let them share their findings with their local traditional public school systems in order to improve, not dismantle, our public schools.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
9:22 pm
Mr. Trash@8:39, You are messing with me again tonight, trying to intimidate me. When will you learn than I won’t be intimidated by you or yours? My family has been praying for you. Maybe I should place you on our church’s prayer list. God knows who you are. You need all the help you can get. May God bless your soul!
Dusty
January 26th, 2012
9:27 pm
Mary Elizabeth,
Why are you afraid to try anything new to improve our educational system?
How long has it been since you had an office in a school system?
If your Professional Educator Organization changes its mind, will you follow behind them and do the same?
What is the point of telling us about the many blogs on which you have posted your information? Does that make it more accurate?
Linda
January 26th, 2012
9:29 pm
“Mary whoever” proves that progressives have their underwear in a wad when parents even question the failure of education & demand alternatives to the destructive systems now in place.
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 26th, 2012
9:40 pm
The new konservative idiotology is to blame all of society’s ills on public schools – and the bogey man Obama, of course.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
9:48 pm
I believe the progressives are the most evil elements of our society today & have been for decades.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 26th, 2012
9:48 pm
If you’re sending your children to public schools, you really ought to be ashamed of yourself.
And possibly arrested for child abuse.
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 26th, 2012
9:54 pm
Awwwww, how sweet, little lady.
All the nice folks in your church gonna be prayin’ for me – when they ain’t speakin’ in tongues or playin’ with snakes or drinkin’ that strichnine.
Hallelujah!
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 26th, 2012
9:58 pm
Now Linda, I’m not trying to intimidate you, dearie.
I just think your tinfoil hat is on too tight blockin’ the blood flow to that pointy little head of yourn. And I’m just havin’ a little fun at your expense – heckfire, you’re on here day and night slandering decent people right and left, all I’m doing is having a little fun pointin’ a little back at ya.
It’s all good.
Michael H. Smith
January 26th, 2012
10:12 pm
Great debate.
CNN you should have played the tape of the incident where Newt used the term “Ghetto Language”. Wolf Blitzer and CNN left a very fuzzy distortion of what actually took place and where Mitt is not as inaccurate as Blitzer attempted taint him over an ad.
Considering Newt felt the need to make, and in fact did make an apology – in Spanish -, shows that the claim was not without some merit – as fact check appropriately noted.
Readers judge for yourself:
Newt Gingrich Racist Comments: “Spanish is a language of the ghetto”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjHa1JHiHFU
Linda
January 26th, 2012
10:20 pm
Mr.Trash @ 9:54 & 9:58, It’s amazing what collective prayer will do for a person who believes he fell off the turnip truck.
I feel sorry for anyone who believes that they will be stuck in the ground after death until the end of the earth. What a pitiful existence! Can’t you see that there is a higher being than the politicians in DC?
Ronnie Raygun
January 26th, 2012
10:48 pm
Why do cons keep promoting charter schools when every study comparing them to public schools shows that charter schools perform the same or worse than public schools? Oh wait, it must be so that they can steal money from taxpayers and give it to the CEOs and stockholders of charter schools. They will lie through their teeth to promote the fat cats and steal the money of working class Americans. That’s also why they are hellbent on privatizing Social Security, so they can skim money off the top for themselves.
If you want private schooling for your kids, man up and pay for it yourself.
ODD OWL
January 26th, 2012
11:18 pm
Charter Schools are just another Republican plot to defund and dismantle our public school system. The Republicans have never supported the public school system. First the Republicans will advocate for charter schools. Then they will drain all the money from the public schools. Next they will demand that the school buildings are dismantled. Then the Republicans will cut off funding for the charter schools. Results = no school system. There is no such thing as a bad school. There are however bad teachers, bad administrators and ignorant, stupid tea party Republicans on the school boards.
Kyle Wingfield
January 26th, 2012
11:21 pm
Perhaps, Ronnie, because “every study” doesn’t show what you claim.
ODD: Charter schools are public schools. Everything that follows in your comment is even more incorrect than your first sentence.
Linda
January 26th, 2012
11:31 pm
See what I said about these progressives on this blog today?
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
12:01 am
I cannot locate the article in the AJC in which a private firm, operating a public charter school in Georgia, could not account for all money used. I tried to google it, to find the info but I cannot find it there. I am certain I read this information in the AJC. If I locate it later, I will post it.
In the meantime I inadvertently “discovered” this link of charter school abuses, nationally. The first two articles reference the NY Times, so that this link blogspot must be somewhat credible. I suggest that anyone who wants to explore all facets of charter schools, including the negative, without simply seeing them as “the answer” for educational excellence in GA, preview this link:
http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/
Kelly
January 27th, 2012
8:29 am
To those opposed to Charter Schools in Georgia – Everyone says how good their school is yet our state ranks in the bottom nationally. Do you not want better for the children of Georgia?
When Charter Schools fail they close. When schools run by the government fail, they continue on getting pass after pass.
My charter school considers all their children “gifted” and the teachers work to find the “gifted” in each child. They then have a personalized learning plan for that child so he/she may excel at what they do best which gives them the self esteem to work harder at what they struggle in. They also have accelerated studies for the category of students the government deems gifted.
For those of you that will tell me “if I want a better education for my child, pay for it”. I pay taxes, my childs father pays taxes, my parents pay taxes; I AM PAYING FOR MY CHILDS EDUCATION and your childs.
Our children deserve better.
The FACTS
January 27th, 2012
9:00 am
1. Everyone who says they support charter schools only when approved by the local school board. The local school boards have proven that they will not approve them 99% of the time.. In my area, the local school board said they wouldn’t approve a charter school because their wasn’t interest, yet- the school has well over 850 students and many that come each week for a tour.
2. Our ranking nationally is so low it is depressing. 48 in the nation over all. In business, when you have failing in multiple arms of the company- the problem is solved at a higher level- looking for trends and ways to improve across the company. If you keep everything in its individual silo (like a school board local only to a county) we will never be able to pull ourselves out of this ditch we are in.
3. Charter schools is one option. So is STEM, Magnet, Home school centers etc. Any way we can start offering choices so that our children can thrive in what’s best suited for them- we will start to be competitive in the marketplace.
4. The argument that it is breeding segregation is STUPID! My child was the only brown one in most of his classes. Now that he is in the charter school, it is a 50/50 mix.
5. Charter schools who don’t perform shut down. BOE public schools do not.
6. In addition to letting charter schools be open by the state, fix the QBE situation. If the QBE program was accurate, local school boards should not care if a child chooses private, home school, charter or public. Because the accurate funds to education that child exist and we all wouldn’t be fighting for scraps. Additionally, if I chose to home school my child or send him to private school- the local districted school should not be able to get the QBE for my child because he is NOT being taught there. Then why would one complain about a charter school? It is the same thing.
7.The solution needs a multi faceted approach. All local school board is not an answer, just as in a all statewide approach is not the answer. Any action to raise up the educational choices to our communities is a move in the right direction. This is not a “us against them.”
8.Bottom line is that the County BOE opposes them because they lose control. But if that school out performs the other local schools- running on less funding, we should celebrate that school’s success. Then, start a commission on how that can be done, so we can implement those effective changes in our local district schools!
Do something
January 27th, 2012
9:11 am
This is clearly a polarizing issue. I just don’t understand why anyone would consider shutting down a high performing school. My understanding is that Ivy Prep and Fulton Science academy had amazing results. They do not cost more to run – in most cases they run on a fraction of the funding that the local BOE schools do.. That just seems illogical to me.
Kelly
January 27th, 2012
9:13 am
Mary Elizabeth – Did you really go there – Scandals”? I think the Georgia Public School System is probably ranked #1 in the nation for scandals.
#1 in scandals, # 48th in education.
Do something
January 27th, 2012
9:15 am
Mary Elizabeth – no one thinks that Charter schools are the only answer. And should we even start going into all of the scandal and abuse that Local School Boards and schools get into EVERY day. Especially in Georgia?!? Not all schools are good. They should be regulated– and if they don’t perform, they should shut down or control taken away.
Kelly
January 27th, 2012
9:25 am
Are Ivy Prep and FSA out performing the local public schools? Would the board of education in the counties be concerned that they are being out performed by schools they are not controlling? There is no reasonable reason to close these high performing schools.
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
9:49 am
I am not saying that charter schools are “bad.” In fact, I think that some charter schools might create innovative approaches to individualized instruction which might be beneficial to traditional public schools. It would be a “win-win” situation if their efforts, in that direction, could be shared and coordinated with traditional public schools. I, also, think we should have our eyes fully open as to what has happened, negatively, within some charter schools, nationally, before assuming that charter schools are “the main answer” to educational problems in Georgia.
I believe in public education. I had worked straight up for 42 years of my life, and 35 of those years I spent in public education, most as an educational leader. I understand public education from the ground up. I wonder how many who have so many opinions about public education, on a blog forum, have spent that much of their working lives contributing to the students and their parents who attend public schools.
Many charter schools, later, become private schools, according to the link I shared above. I do not support vouchers to private schools. I think that would dismantle public schools. I do not want to see our society, again, stratified – but this time by wealth and by class, rather than race. I want to see a society built upon an egalitarian vision of humankind, rather than a hierarchial vision of viewing one another. That is why I believe in traditional public schools. They attempt, at least, to serve all of society’s children, equally, even those not able to attend private or public charter schools.
Do something
January 27th, 2012
10:17 am
I ask you this Mary Elizabeth..if the QBE program was fixed so that is supported the actual cost of educating a child, would it not solve the issue? That way local districted schools wouldn’t feel entitled to a child’s QBE even when they did not go there because the parent chose alternative school environment.
Do something
January 27th, 2012
10:19 am
I have never heard a supporter of school choice say that charter schools are the only answer. They are one option, one path. By shutting down 1162, they will no longer have that path available because the local school boards MORE than once have made their point that they will not support it. So if you are a supporter of charter schools AS an option, you will support 1162.
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
10:31 am
Do something -
I do not think that you are aware of political movements, nationally as wll as within Georgia, relative to public vs. private education. More is involved than meets the eye.The State Charter School Commission is appointed, not elected.
I am going to take a reprieve from the discussion for awhile. I have contributed what I felt, in good conscience, I should have. People will decide for themselves. It is an unfolding process. I only hope public schools are not, eventually, dismantled in Georgia as they have been in Florida, with poor outcomes, as a result, for public school children.
Teacher
January 27th, 2012
10:47 am
As a teacher that has taught in both public and charter school environments, I find this opinion piece – and its subsequent comments – well…. sad. As usual, where money is involved, there are greedy, lying politicians trying to pitch their ’solution’ to the masses, with nothing but their own selfish motives at heart. If you TRULY believe that continuing to underfund gov’t run public ed in Georgia, while increasing Charters and voucher programs, will ‘fix’ anything in this state, think again. You’re most likely a parent who could give a rat’s you-know-what about any other child apart from your own, or Chip Rogers.
The vast majority of children in every state receives an education at their local gov’t run school. We NEED to serve these children, after all, they are the MAJORITY (if there is such a thing anymore, it seems like the moaning and screaming minority seem to get ‘what they want’ these days). I am much more concerned about making sure the kids at every local public school have resources, educated/experienced teachers, small class sizes, technology, etc. versus sending kids off to private schools because their parents feel as though their pubic tax dollars should ‘follow their child’.
The sad reality is: Georgia is chock full of Republican ‘leaders’ (and I use the term loosely) that have never – EVER – stepped foot in a classroom. Their best bet at ‘bettering’ education is to siphon public tax dollars to for-profit, private entities, because – after all – they are more concerned about Corporate America than ANY of our children. PERIOD.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 27th, 2012
1:02 pm
Choice scares the bejeezus out of public school employees.
I wonder why?
C Jae of EAV
January 27th, 2012
1:38 pm
@Mary Elizabeth 01/26 7:24 pm – I didn’t include the “allow private companies that operate” portion of your quotation on purpose. In so doing I would have been continuing the myth that only private companies operate public charters in GA, which is false. I don’t deny that the charter movement across the country has given rise to a handful of private firms that specialize in operating charter schools under several slightly differing business models including KIPP, MOSAIC, IMAGINE, & EDISON. The key point I see with most of the aforementioned is that they tend to lean away from running High Schools, which I suggest speaks to something important for us to take note of in distinguishing the real pigs at the trough.
I concur that public charters should not be allow carte blanche to operate without any degree of oversight. As I initially pointed out I believe such a framework is in place to enforce that. I also concur with what I see as an underlying point in your rebuttal comments, which is we must analyze carefully the language of public policy propositions and think thoughtfully through the ramifications of their implementation.
Parent of Three in Fulton County
January 27th, 2012
3:56 pm
For those that do not understand the passion of those that support Charter schools, I can tell you that you you most likely can respond to one of the following:
A. Have not had a critical negative situation occur in your zoned school
B. Were Blessed to have a superior zoned school (there are some out there)
C. Had a child that could handle any environment presented to them and still was successful
D. Do not have children in the traditional school system now or previously.
If this is you, you are fortunate. You have not had a bad experience or cried yourself to sleep over where you left your child all day. You haven’t had to beg for a teacher conference. You haven’t had to literally throw a fit to get a school administrator to call you back or respond to an email or even acknowlege a very real, critical concern. You haven’t had to deal with a straight A student that suddenly did not want to go to school ‘for some reason.’ You didn’t have to hear that the police officer at the school winked at your lovely teenage daughter. You didn’t have teachers swearing and using foul language at your children AND calling them “stupid” or saying to them “you better not tell your parents …” or “don’t you dare ask me any questions – figure it out.” And the list, goes on and on and on and on. Many of you will not believe me, but it is the absolute truth.
You are fortunate if you and your family have not been exposed to this. For those of us that have, that school and those administrators do not get another one of my precious children. I only have three. If we have to leave the county or the state, we will and we may have to. They are young for such a short time and the educational experience must be a positive one. It is literally their future and part of critical formation to being productive human beings. No, that is not an exageration. They do not need to be straight A students, but they should go to school in a place where they trust their superiors, feel welcome and recognize that the majority of those teaching there enjoy their profession (or should AT LEAST pretend to do so).
For those of you that do not understand – try to have some compassion. Not all traditional schools are bad. But when you hit a bad one and administrators and a superintendent and a school board – ALL don’t listen? Or even PRETEND to care? It can be fatal to a child and as a parent, we feel let down and abandoned.
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
6:23 pm
Parent of Three in Fulton County, 3:56 pm
My heart goes out to you. If you had been in my school, I would have heard you and I would have cared.
Parent
January 27th, 2012
9:09 pm
petition for school choice:
http://www.change.org/petitions/yes-to-school-choice-in-georgia-hr1162
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
10:17 pm
The petition for school choice, which “Parent” posted at 9:09 pm, supports HR 1162. This petition states, in part, the following words:
“Each child is different, and parents should be able to choose between a neighborhood school, charter school, private school or virtual school.”
==================================
I do not support using public tax dollars to send children to private schools. I do not support vouchers. This petition tells me that HR 1162 is political in nature, more than educational, or this petition, which was gathered to support HR 1162, would have been limited to supporting state ordained public charter schools, as is HR 1162. This petition, however, includes the choice, also, of private schools, along with charter schools. Obviously, this petition supports vouchers because parents have always been able to use their own money to send their own children to private schools – that goes without saying. Therefore, there was no need to state “private schools” on this petition, unless the underlying message was to voice support for vouchers, which would transfer public money to private schools, with student transfer therein. This petition, in my opinion, represents an initial attempt to dismantle traditional public schools for private schools (among other school choices) in Georgia.
I saw on “Ed Schultz Show” this evening Schultz’s interview with Robert Greenwald in which Greenwald said that he will be showing, early next week, proof that the Koch Brothers are donating money to 150 colleges and universities across the nation (FSU included) in exchange for determining curriculum and teachers hired in those colleges and universities. This is an example of how private business interests can purchase their ideology within public schools, such as FSU. Using private money to purchase freedom of thought is the antithesis of what education should be, and doint that is the antithesis of what America stands for.
I do not want to see elementary and secondary schools in Georgia being swayed by private business interests for propaganda purposes by those who have investments in them. Students are not to be used as pawns. They are to be instructed in how to think for themselves. That is why we cannot allow our public schools to be dismantled. At present, public schools are paid for by the general public through taxes, not through the private market. And our public schools are not, at present, run by the private market. The corruption possible when the wealthy elite purchase power (and education) is one main reason that Thomas Jefferson was a strong proponent of tax-levied public schools by all citizens, for all citizens, for the common good of society. The following are words of Jefferson, as engraved within his national monument in Washington, DC:
“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” I stand with Thomas Jefferson.
I cannot help but wonder how many of Georgia’s Republican legislators support the Koch Brothers’ tactics and their ideology, which is privatization of public schools. And, I wonder which ones, if any, have attended Koch Brothers Conferences. That information should be public knowledge, as it might determine how people vote for a constitutional amendment in Georgia, such as HR 1162.
Are you listening AJC?
Mary Elizabeth
January 27th, 2012
10:24 pm
In addition to reading my 10:17 post, please watch the following video clip regarding the Koch Brothers’ attempt to dismantle public schools in NC. Alhough the video clip is dramatic in its music and dialogue, it does communicate important information to the general public regarding public issues. Look for more information from Robert Greenwald next week, as I stated in my 10:17 pm post, regarding the Koch Brothers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mbJhjCbwo8
Parent
January 28th, 2012
3:35 pm
They are to be instructed in how to think for themselves. That is why we cannot allow our public schools to be dismantled.
Are you kidding? You think most public schools teach children to think for themselves?
Remember, school choice is about YOU as the parent choosing. By supporting limited choices, you condemn many children failing schools.