As we consider charter schools for our state we must ask ourselves what is the purpose of charter schools and take a hard look at research on charter schools.
If the purpose of charter schools is to increase the academic performance of our students, the broad research on the academic performance of charter schools compared to traditional public schools is mixed at best.
There is no agreement among researchers that charter schools outperform public schools.
There are individual exceptions to that research. For example, the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools have a strong track record of academic success. The students have a significantly longer school day than a traditional public school.
Students in the KIPP primary schools attend school from 7:25 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:25a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.
Summer school is required for all students.
The increase in academic time is an important part of their success. That increase in time also comes with an increase in operational costs to run the school.
The question for the citizens of Washington is more than, " Do you support charter schools?" It would have to include increased financial support for the additional time students spend in school. In the KIPP schools, the increase in time is a key to the student achievement.
We need to be careful consumers of the research on charter schools. The movie Waiting for Superman highlights a charter school that claims to send 94 percent of its seniors to college.
They forgot to tell us that the school had a seventh-grade class of 140 students and a graduating class of 34. It is true that 94 percent of the 34 seniors went on to college but the schools attrition rate was 75 percent. Is that a successful charter school?
My hope for our state is that we do not jump on the charter school band wagon, but that we take the time to look at the broad research of more than few examples of charter schools and make decisions based on research and the needs of our students.
-- Greg Fancher, Kennewick
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It's time to take a look at charter schools (again)
It's time to take a look at charter schools (again)
Washington voters have rejected charter schools three times but things are different now.
Today, we are one of only eight states that don't allow charter schools. It's not always a good idea to follow the herd, but when everyone else is on a different path, it's prudent to find out why.
In any case, there is an advantage to being one of the last to join the party. Other states already have broken ground, leaving a smooth path for those that follow.
Fast Focus: Giving charters low grades
Fast Focus: Giving charters low grades
Washington voters have rejected charter schools three times for good reason.
In a 16-state study of 2,403 charter schools conducted by Stanford University, charter schools performed no better than typical public schools (credo.stanford.edu). Also, the researchers state, "failing charter schools often have powerful and persuasive supporters in their communities who feel strongly that shutting down this school does not serve the best interests of currently enrolled students."
Parents Across America (parentsacrossamerica.org) reports on problems with charter schools, including a lack of transparency and accountability, discriminatory policies and practices, enrolling fewer English language learners, discipline policies that are unduly punitive, low-performing students who are encouraged to leave and charging burdensome fees and penalties. It is reasonable to assume that not all charter schools display these problems, but they are all too common.
Fast Focus: Not the answer
Fast Focus: Not the answer
Charter schools have been tried across the country for 20 years. They are no magic bullet. They are just an alternative way of organizing schools that runs the risk of reducing oversight, and especially local oversight, of the expenditure of public funds.
In 2009, Stanford University published the only comprehensive assessment of the performance of charter schools. The study, Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States, encompassed more than 70 percent of the charter school students in the United States.
The study found that 37 percent of all charters had significantly worse academic outcomes than traditional public schools, and 46 percent, or nearly half, did no better than a traditional public school with similar demographics. In other words, there was an 83 percent chance that a randomly selected charter school would either do significantly worse or no better than a traditional public school.
Fast Focus: Meet the Lemmings
Fast Focus: Meet the Lemmings
Louie Lemming stopped to pluck a berry. "Hurry up, Louie!" cousin Larry shouted. "We are behind and we have to catch up."
"Where are we going?"
"Not sure, but hurry."
Families keep their faith in private schools in Tri-Cities
Families keep their faith in private schools in Tri-Cities
Shawna Durham says pulling her two youngest children from St. Joseph's, a private Catholic school in Kennewick, was one of the options she and her husband considered when the recession hit and her family's budget tightened.
But both of her children pleaded with her to not move them from the school.
The school was their family, they told her and husband Doug, a manager at Areva. They decided to let their kids remain at St. Joe's, and the family made other cuts to their spending.
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