Voice For Liberty

Tag: School choice

  • Charter Schools Can Close the Education Gap

    We don’t have these, to my knowledge, in USD 259, the Wichita public school district, and there are very few in Kansas. Across the country, however, charter schools are making a difference, particularly in addressing the needs of urban and high-poverty students.

    Joel I. Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, and Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, wrote an open letter to president-elect Barack Obama in the Wall Street Journal. In it they “second [his] belief that school reformers must demonstrate an unflagging commitment to ‘what works’ to dramatically boost academic achievement — rather than clinging to reforms that we ‘wish would work.’”

    The coalition these two writers formed, the Education Equality Project (EEP), seeks to greatly narrow, if not eliminate, the achievement gap. It seeks to do so by what turns out to be a radical measure: “EEP seeks to ensure that America’s schools provide equal educational opportunity, judged by one measuring stick: Does a policy advance student learning? It’s an obvious litmus test. Yet the current K-12 school system is designed to serve the interests of adults, not children.”

    How can this be radical — advancing student learning? Isn’t that what schools should be doing?

    The reform paths that most public schools take are not ones that work. The characteristics of teachers, it turns out, is the most important factor in learning. (See Wichita Public School District’s Path: Not Fruitful for more.)

    “Finally, our coalition also promotes the development and placement of effective teachers in underserved schools and supports paying them higher salaries. By contrast, we oppose rigid union-tenure protections, burdensome work rules, and antiquated pay structures that shield a small minority of incompetent teachers from scrutiny yet stop good teachers from earning substantial, performance-based pay raises.”

    In Wichita, it appears that there are no proposals to pay teachers based on factors that make a difference in student learning. Instead, pay is based solely on education credentials earned and longevity — two factors shown to make no difference in student leaning. (Some researchers report a negative correlation between these factors and student learning.) Even a proposal a few years ago to offer teachers working in high-poverty schools a $1,500 bonus went nowhere.

    The Wall Street Journal article is Charter Schools Can Close the Education Gap.

  • Why don’t we have these in Wichita?

    Just 12 years later, economically disadvantaged students — defined as those eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches — in secondary charter schools are twice as likely to score at advanced or proficient levels on math and reading tests as their peers in traditional public schools, based on federally mandated national tests.

    Wow. That sounds like something we could use in Wichita. Charter schools, wherever they are allowed to exist, often produce results like those described above. Why?

    Autonomy is the linchpin of the charters’ success. Independence lets charters control their own academic programs, enabling them to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of their students. It allows schools to specialize in certain subjects and to hire teachers who will do the best job for the children. This freedom to innovate enabled charters to pioneer longer school days, weeks and years and to find new ways for parents to get involved.

    Charters schools are criticized by the existing education establishment because some fail. The difference between charters and regular public schools is that charter schools, when they fail, go out of existence. That doesn’t happen with regular public schools.

    Do we have charter schools in Wichita? No. There are very few in Kansas. Our state’s charter school law is so stacked in favor of the existing public school monopoly that it’s rare for anyone to attempt to form a charter school. The existing education bureaucracy doesn’t want them, and they can block their formation.

    Read The Key To Better Schools in the Washington Post for more.

  • Obama Deserves a Scarlet “H” for Hypocrisy

    At the Goldwater Institute, Clint Bolick exposes Barack Obama as another in a long line of politicians that deny school choice to the masses, but exercise it themselves:

    During the campaign, Obama stated that school choice doesn’t work. If he believes that, why not simply send the girls to whatever school the District of Columbia bureaucracy happens to assign them to?

    The answer is obvious: As a parent, Obama knows that school choice does work. And studies show it especially works for low-income families, not only expanding precious educational opportunities for children in failing schools but also boosting performance of low-performing public schools by forcing them to compete for students and dollars.

    (From Obama deserves a scarlet “H” for hypocrisy.)

    Linda Chavez writes on the same topic in Obama’s School Choice.

  • Public Charter Schools Help Students and Save Tax Dollars

    This press release spotlights the fact that charter schools operate much more efficiently than to public schools. Kansas could save money and increase parent satisfaction if our state had more charter schools. The education establishment in Kansas — the teachers unions, administrators, and school boards — are happy with as few charter schools as possible, and they spend significant sums lobbying for laws that suppress charter schools. Meanwhile, students, parents, and taxpayers suffer.

    Buckeye Institute Study: Public Charter Schools Help Students and Save Tax Dollars

    Columbus — The Buckeye Institute today released a study showing public charter schools provide a great value to Ohio’s K-12 education system. Report co-authors Matthew Carr and Beth Lear found closing existing public charter schools will result in reduced per pupil spending levels in each of the “Big 8” city school systems. Significant property tax increases would be required to maintain current per student funding levels.

    The report examined the financial impact of public charter schools on the finances of nearby traditional public schools. Specifically, it analyzed the implications for taxpayers in each of Ohio’s “Big 8” city school systems if the charter school program were discontinued and all students returned to their residentially assigned traditional public schools.

    The study is available at http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/charterschools.pdf.

    “The public relations war against educational choice by Ohio’s government school bureaucracy has often focused on how alternative schools are financed,” report co-author Matthew Carr said. “Our research carefully examined claims made regarding public charter school finance and its financial impact on nearby traditional public school districts.”

    “Public charter schools are not funded by local property tax dollars,” co-author Beth Lear added. “This fact is often overlooked by school choice opponents. Our findings should help inform the ongoing educational choice debate.”

    The report’s major findings include:

    Ohio’s public charter schools do not, in any instance, receive funds raised by school district property taxes.

    Public charter schools operate with substantially less revenue per student in each of the “Big 8” city school systems. The largest difference is in Youngstown, where charter schools operate with an average of $7,126 less per student. The smallest difference is in Canton, where charter schools operate with an average of $1,809 less per student.

    Every “Big 8” city school system receives a net gain in revenue, on average, for each student choosing to attend a charter school. The largest gains are in Cincinnati, where each student departing for a charter school provides the district an increase of $4,030. The smallest gains are in Canton, where each student departing for a charter school provides the district an increase of $918.

    The return of public charter students to each “Big 8” city school district would result in a net per pupil loss of revenues for the district. As a result, these districts would face either lower per pupil spending levels or significant property tax increases to maintain current spending levels. The largest tax increase would be required in Youngstown (roughly $3,200 per $100,000 of home valuation). The smallest increase would be required in Akron (roughly $300 per $100,000 of home valuation).
    “Big 8” refers to Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown city schools. The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions is a nonpartisan research and educational institute devoted to individual liberty, economic freedom, personal responsibility and limited government in Ohio.

  • Let Parents Choose. School Choice Works.

    The Alliance For School Choice has a new campaign called “School Choice Works.” The website supporting this effort is at www.letparentschoose.org.

    If you care about the future of education in Kansas, I urge you to sign up to join this effort. You’ll receive some useful things from them, including a free School Choice Works bumper sticker, a copy of their new FastFacts handout, and a subscription to School Choice Activist and School Choice Digest newsmagazines.

    “America’s hardworking families should have the right to choose the schools that work best for their children,” said School Choice Works Campaign Director Andrew Campanella. “Special interests have long dominated the public debate over vouchers, but our campaign will present the true life-changing stories of the families who have benefited from school choice programs. We also look forward to providing new ways for our supporters to help advance this important cause.”

    “Despite what defenders of the status quo have told us for decades, more money alone will not solve this problem,” said Alliance President Charles R. Hokanson. “How to improve schools is not a mystery. It simply requires the will to make the necessary changes. Wherever school choice has been tried, it has worked for participating children and parents. If we are truly serious about improving graduation rates and preparing our children to compete in the 21st century global economy — expanded parental choice must be a readily available option.”

  • Charter Schools on the Rise in Kansas City, But Not in Wichita

    Parents in Kansas City, Missouri are making widespread use of an educational option that’s not available in Wichita.

    As reported in today’s Kansas City Star (Charter schools on the rise in KC), about 23 percent of Kansas City schoolchildren attend charter schools.

    As I’ve written before in posts like Charter Schools Are Mostly Okay Despite Misconceptions, parents love the choice and options that charter schools provide. If they are not satisfied, parents have other options. For the charter schools that continually perform poorly, they usually close. That doesn’t happen with public schools.

    So how many charter schools do parents of children in the Wichita school system have to choose from? The answer is none. The Kansas charter school law makes it clear that competition for the existing public establishment is not desired. The Wichita school board and administration endorse this attitude.

  • Flunked’s Steven Maggi Interview

    On October 8, 2008, Citizens for Better Education, the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, and Americans For Prosperity — Kansas sponsored a screening of Flunked the Movie. I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Steven Maggi, the film’s executive producer. Following are some excerpts from our conversation.

    Q. The reform measures in the movie Flunked: Did they end up costing more money?

    A. They actually saved money. Certainly the charter schools did. In every case they paid their teachers more than teachers in the traditional school, and still did it with less money. Teacher pay is an important thing, but people have to think beyond just paying teachers under the same system. It’s still rewarded off seniority. We have to find ways to attract the best teachers. … How do we keep the best teachers?

    Q. Some of the schools successfully serve student populations that are poor and disadvantaged in many ways. Often public schools use poverty as an excuse for their failures. Does poverty doom children to failure?

    A. Absolutely not. What dooms failure is not challenging them. In each of these cases, we saw that when someone came into a failing school, when kids are challenged, they respond. In Watts, when Howard Lappin, one of our All-Stars came into the school it, was 95% minority students. He saw that most people were taking remedial math. He said “This is ridiculous. We’re going to start taking algebra.” And of course there was an upheaval in the community. By God, these kids can’t get through fourth grade math! How are they going to get through algebra? Well now, not only do they all pass the algebra, they take honors courses. You just have to believe in the kids.

    It makes sense if you think about it. Did kids all of the sudden get stupid in the country? No! In each of these cases — they’re not cherry-picking the best kids. They’re coming from the same areas as before, and they’ve managed to turn decades of failure around.

    Q. Opponents of special schools such as charter and private schools claim that because these schools are able to select their students, they “cherry-pick” the best and leave the most problematic children for the public schools. Did you find evidence of this?

    A. In terms of the charter schools, everyone that we looked at, you applied and there was no entrance exam. It was luck of the draw. The only thing is you had to want to go there.

    Q. Often we hear that poor parents can’t be trusted to select a good school for their children, or that they won’t take extraordinary steps to make sure their children get a good education. What does your film say to this?

    A. First of all, what an insulting statement that is. I do believe this is one of the last bastions of the civil rights fight that needs to be fought. Just because on the basis of income, people are stuck with traditions, generations of kids going to bad schools.

    We went into some of the communities [in southern California] and it was heart-breaking. You would talk to people and they’d say “You know, I’ve got to do whatever I can to get him into the charter school.” Because if they go to the school they’re supposed to go to, their life is over. They’ll become a criminal. It’s a horrible environment, and they’re doomed to failure. Imagine how that would make one feel. So when these charter schools and other areas where options are open, what a great thing. There’s hope all of the sudden.

    Q. We’ve invited school board members, school administrators, and newspaper columnists to this screening. Do people like this attend screenings in other cities? What is their reaction to the movie?

    A. It’s very encouraging. Reaction has been very good. Even union members that have said they can’t find much to argue with. School board members are encouraged.

    Q. In one of the schools, the teachers union agreed that teachers could be fired for cause. Was that a big factor in the school’s success? What does this say about the role of the teachers unions in blocking reforms?

    A. Those are the Green Dot schools in Los Angeles. Steve Barr worked really well with the unions to try to come up with a different approach. So what he did was he said okay, we’ll give you more money right up front, you’re going to work in smaller schools, you’re going to have a lot more input into what’s taught. But in exchange for that, we’re going to go from, literally, no way to be dismissed to to a for-just-cause system. And he has one hundred people for every one position that comes open from the traditional Los Angeles school union.

    Q. In Kansas our charter school law is so weak that rarely does someone try to start one. What are we missing out on by having such a law?

    A. We need to empower parents. And the one way you can really empower parents is to give them some choices. Charter schools do that. Charter schools are not the silver bullet. Let me say that right up front. There are some charter schools that don’t work. But here’s the important thing and the really good news: When charter schools fail, they go away! It’s great! When the regular traditional school fails, it just stays there.

    When we researched the film, in Dade County Florida, they failed, and as part of the no Child Left Behind Act, they all of the sudden had to have school choice. Well, what happened there is that the public schools got together and said “you know what, we’re losing students and this isn’t good. What can we do?” So they looked at what are the things they do best. They found that in some cases they could offer things like Cantonese and more technology classes. So they did that. They’ve gotten a lot better. All of the sudden those schools are way better than they were before because they were pushed into it. They had to compete.

    Q. So the public schools respond. They don’t like to lose students, do they?

    A. No, absolutely not.

    Q. So they’ll undergo meaningful reforms, if they find they need to in order to retain students?

    A. Absolutely.

  • Charter Schools Are Mostly Okay Despite Misconceptions

    A recent Wichita Eagle Editorial Blog post mentioned charter schools in Arizona. A comment writer wrote “Arizona found out, ‘Charter schools tend to be fly by night’ schools operated by entrepreneurs looking for new profit centers at the giant expense of the public school system.”

    I looked for evidence that Arizona had trouble with charter schools. I found an Education Week article from 2004 (Progress, Problems Highlighted In Arizona Charter Study) which seems to present balanced news about Arizona charter schools.

    It appears that there have been a few problems with charter schools. Certainly not a tendency, as the comment writer suggested.

    In fact, it would be difficult to imagine that there could be widespread dissatisfaction with charter schools that would last for any length of time. That’s because, even though charter schools are still government schools, the students that attend them are there by choice. And if the charter school doesn’t meet their needs, they have another choice: return to the regular public school system.

    Contrast this with the existing public school system. It operates, at least in Kansas, with a government-granted monopoly on the use of public funds for the provision of schooling. Parents who are not satisfied with these schools have little recourse unless they have enough money to move somewhere else, or unless they can afford private or parochial school tuition — and they’ll still have to pay to support a system they now realize they can’t use.

    This type of monopoly power is considered unjust and immoral when wielded by private industry, but is somehow acceptable when possessed by government.

    This leads to another complaint expressed, obliquely, by the comment writer: these charter schools are looking to make a profit! I wonder if this writer knows that in the absence of a government-granted monopoly of the type that the public schools in Kansas enjoy, the only way a business can earn a profit is by satisfying customers, and doing so efficiently. And businesses have to earn that profit. They have no guaranteed source of revenue, as do government agencies. They have no stream of customers forced to use their service, as do the public schools.

    Finally, the comment writer states that charter schools operate at the “giant expense of the public school system.” Two points: Charter schools are part of the public school system. They could be in Kansas, if we had a better charter school law. Also, charter schools typically receive much less funding per student than do the regular public schools. They almost always operate more efficiently, and therefore save money.

  • School Choice Resource Center Now Open

    I’ve created a small portal of information and links about school choice. I hope to expand this as I become aware of more school choice resources and success stories. Particularly, I want to include more information about school choice initiatives in Kansas.

    The link to the page is here: School Choice Resource Center.