Charter Storm: Waves of Change Sweeping Over Public Education

by Mary Searcy Bixby

IN THE MIDST of the many dramatic events occurring around the globe, there is a not-so-silent war currently gripping the United States, and yet it is ignored by many. It centers on a critical aspect of American life—an aspect destined to affect our economy, scientific discovery, political evolution, social mores, artistic endeavors, health, crime levels, urban decline, urban development, issues of race and poverty, and overall American culture. The outcomes of today’s fight will have implications for decades to come. They may even result in change that can never be reversed. This raging war is born of a strict contrast in educational philosophies and perspectives. It affects not only every man, woman, and child currently living in the United States but also those who have not yet been born or immigrated to our shores. The battle lines are drawn in the sand. In many ways, the powerful strength of the status quo and its decades-old structures are attempting to crush new thought and innovation. Similar to the clash of biblical proportions between David and Goliath, the smaller, righteous challenger is circling the massive, muscle-bound image of the past, facing a brutal beating at every turn. In this analogy, Goliath personifies the public education establishment comprising school districts, school boards, administrators, teachers, and their associations. David, the small challenger, is the embodiment of a chartered school movement daring to face down an antiquated adversary ...

The bottom line is the systemic problems within public education are varied and extensive. Collectively, they have resulted in widespread depression and emotional withdrawal among students and a general discontent with the institution itself from students and staff alike.

Prior to the introduction of chartered schools, implementing such an effective and innovative framework was challenging and discouraging for those working within the existing traditional public school system, which was entrenched in bureaucracy and government regulation and constrained by the self-serving agendas of powerful special interests. Offering parents schools that upheld the preceding four qualities required a dramatic educational paradigm shift that had to work outside the public education establishment but still exist within a tax-funded structure.

(continues below)

standards and expectations that plagued public education.

instance, in 2013, 19 percent of African American and Latino chartered school students were accepted into the state’s flagship public university system, the University of California, compared to 11 percent of black and Latino traditional public school students. These positive results point to the power of choice.

Chartered schools have provided parents educational choices that align with the market-driven decisions they make in other aspects of their lives.

Uh, yeah, like parents choices to give children marshmallow breakfast cereals. Effective marketing was surely involved in this: INGREDIENTS: GENERAL MILLS LUCKY CHARMS (Whole Oat Flour (includes oat bran), Marshmallow Bits (sugar, modified corn starch, corn syrup, dextrose, gelatin, artificial flavor), Sugar, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Color Added, Trisodium Phosphate, Zinc and Iron, Vitamin C, A B Vitamin (Niacinamide), ... http://www.nutrition.und.edu/foodpro/label.asp?dtdate=4%2F4%2F2011&RecNumAndPort=034033, accessed 11/12/2018

A strong national defense and healthy international trade will do little for the socioeconomic and political future of the United States without a well-educated citizenry prepared to strengthen our communities on both a micro and macro level. No doubt, the future success of our nation relies on fulfilling the educational social contract. If we equip young people to be self-sufficient adults, informed voters, and productive citizens, we will revive the essential community resources and landmarks that were once left to decay under apathy and neglect.

DAVID AND GOLIATH

Major attention paid throughout the book to "David and Goliath," as in the disadvantaged David killing the unbeliever, from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim holy books.

The battle between the educational reform movement and the educational establishment has been compared to Armageddon, where the two will fight to the finish.

Okay, got it. The end times, the second coming of Christ, the righteous will live with Christ, and the rest of humanity will be destroyed. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon

From the start, educational reformers were passionate and confident and had a clear vision they sought to execute.

Establishing a nontraditional public school requires courage, open-mindedness, a willingness to eschew safety and embrace risk, and a steadfast faith in the promise of educational reform.

no one within the educational establishment ever perceived one person or a collection of like-minded individuals would launch a new type of public school. This prototype of the larger chartered schools has a corporate organizational structure, whereas the educational establishment is entrenched

Traditional educators have similar backgrounds and experiences. For the most part, leaders pledge allegiance to the institution. Charter leadership comes from diverse backgrounds that bring fresh perspectives not entrenched in institutional allegiance.

Chartered schools see traditional public schools as their equal.

except that traditional schools are not inspired, do not have teachers from diverse backgrounds, and leave community resources to decay under apathy and neglect (location 494). . .If we equip young people to be self-sufficient adults, informed voters, and productive citizens, we will revive the essential community resources and landmarks that were once left to decay under apathy and neglect. Marketing is a major effort for chartered schools. Good use of limited resources eh?

In states where the educational establishment aggressively uses pushback, each chartered school must be prepared to confront that and defend itself by investing in strong instructional programs, financial resources, and outreach, which will earn trust and gain much-needed support from community members.

Only in states where the educational establishment aggressively uses pushback? When the chartered school trying to establish themselves only get regular pushback, it need not be prepared . . . investing in strong instructional programs etc. ?

ONCE IT IS full steam ahead, changing a ship’s direction is no easy feat. When a captain decides to alter an ocean liner’s course, it takes an astonishing level of engineering and power to steer the vessel in a new direction. Take, for example, the mechanisms that steered the Titanic, which was the world’s largest ship during its time. Its rudder measured nearly eighty feet high, weighed more than one hundred tons, and was cast in six separate pieces. To move the massive rudder itself, engineers installed two steam engines. The ship had three propellers: two had a twenty-three-foot diameter, and one had a seventeen-foot diameter. The combined horsepower of its engines was fifty-one thousand. Traditional public education, similar to all large organizations, has a Titanic-like aspect. While some within the educational establishment may realize public schools need to change course to meet the needs of a rapidly changing educational landscape, the sheer size of the bureaucratic behemoth makes quick changes in direction impossible.

Chartered schools have signaled a seismic shift within public education.

With that said, significant differences exist between chartered schools and traditional public schools. One significant difference is a majority of states have laws that absolve chartered schools from a major portion of local-district policy and procedure. For example, in most cases, chartered schools are not bound by a collective-bargaining agreement. The myth that chartered schools are private schools fuels widespread fears that they will take over public education. Because chartered schools are public schools, such spurious claims are both misleading and inaccurate.

spurious claims both misleading and inaccurate? Did both of the authors, and the editor, get through school without Strunk's "The Elements of Style?"

But no solid evidence indicates “Specifically, students with disabilities represented 8 to 12 percent of all students at 23 percent of charter schools compared to 34 percent of traditional public schools. However, when compared to traditional public schools, a higher percentage of charter schools enrolled more than 20 percent of students with disabilities.” “Charter Schools: Additional Federal Attention Needed to Help Protect Access for Students with Disabilities,” US Government Accountability Office, June 7, 2012, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-543.

The source is easier to understand in the full report at https://www.gao.gov/assets/600/591435.pdf Still more information from U.S. Government Accountability Office:https://www.gao.gov/search?q=charter+schools&rows=10&now_sort=score+desc&page_name=main