As some of you may know, I am currently a 3rd grade teacher at a Charter School on the West Side of Chicago and I have loved it. I've been pro-charter school ever since I started and was more than willing to sing praises for charter schools to anyone I met. However, I've recently been reading up on the different chartering processes for charter schools in Indiana and Illinois because Indiana is starting to push for more charters, and I know a lot of really smart, educated, and hard working teachers in Indiana who are opposing the charter school proposal. I wanted to look more into it, because I truly respect the opinions of these teachers, some who have MANY years of experience on me, and I decided it was time to make sure I was getting my facts straight. So, for anyone interested, or currently affected by a charter school proposal, here is what I've put together.
I think it is really important to realize that the chartering process for charter schools can differ from state to state. What I have noticed, is that the MAJOR difference between the charter schools in Chicago and the charter school proposal happening in Indiana is all about who can sponsor (or approve and designate public funds for) a charter school. Every charter school, in every state, needs a sponsor to approve their charter. However, in Chicago (and in the school where I teach) the sponsor is required to be Chicago Public Schools. Therefore, we do not have to adhere to all of the same guidelines as public schools, but we DO have meet the same high expectations for acheivement that are set for tradionally public schools, AND we have to get a proposal approved by the public school corporation that we will be apart of that says how we are going to reach those standards. We are then monitored and have to apply for a new charter every 5 years. CPS does not have to recharter us if we haven't met those goals.
What I'm seeing in the proposal in Indiana is that a school corporation CAN be the one to sponsor a charter school, but Universities and Mayoral offices can also sponsor a charter. Therefore, the school corporation is not always the one who gets to decide whether the proposals are adequate. I can DEFINITELY see how it would be frustrating and confusing for a government office (other than a school board) or a University to be able to approve a charter school and then the school corporation (who may or may not agree with that approval) is forced to share funds with that school.
I guess I just wanted to write this for all of my teacher friends in Indiana who may be getting a bad taste in their mouth for charter schools. I sort of felt the need to defend myself and my position as pro-charter after being referred to as "one of those charter school teachers" by a friend in education in Indiana. I just wanted to shed light that the problem may not be charter schools themselves, but more about how they are to be run, managaged, and approved.
Thanks for reading... feel free to let me know if something I've said is not accurate or if I've misunderstood something. I'm all about being informed!
Wonderfully said!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that information. So why doesn't Indiana change to only public school charters?
ReplyDeleteYou do have students whose parents care about education enough to request a school. That's good because they will support you.
What happens to SPED kids and kids without parent support?
Hey Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why Indiana is going about chartering outside of the school corporations. When I first heard the debate, I wasn't really sure what all of the opposition was about because I was under the impression that all charter schools have to be approved by a school corporation. After looking into it and talking with people at my school, I found out that this is definitely not the case. Actually, Arizona lets ANYONE sponsor a charter school that wants to. This is where a lot of the negative thoughts about charter schools come from, because school corporations are sort of forced to deal with these schools that they had no hand in approving as public institutions. It just only makes sense to me to let the school corporations be the ones to decide which proposals for charter schools they want to approve.
We have a mix of parent support. To get into the charter school, all you have to do is fill out a form (with your child's name and age) and put it into the "lottery" that they draw from. We are not allowed to screen kids or know if they have IEP's at all. It's simply names drawn out of a hat for open spots. Some parents choose to come to our school for academic purposes, but some are simply for convenience (like they live across the street). Our school was not a public school converted to a charter. It was just an independent charter started by our CEO and approved by Chicago Public Schools, so parents didn't have to request the school. It just sort of "showed up" in their neighborhood.
We have a special ed program similar to what I've seen in La Porte. All Illinois guidelines for SPED, as well as Federal guidelines have to be followed. We have a main SPED teacher who oversees the program, as well as a team for k-4 sped and 5-8 sped (our school is k-8).
Sorry... that was a novel. Hope all of that makes sense... I tend to ramble!
I live in Arizona and my husband is in his last semester at ASU studying secondary education. We have mixed feelings on charter schools but agree with a lot of what you said(growing up in in Indiana and now experiencing another states standards.) If we lived in another state I would quite possibly be pro-charter but, it is true that here in Arizona anyone can sponsor a charter school. Overall, the Arizona public and private school system is lacking. Thanks for sharing Amy!
ReplyDeleteAmy, I didn't know all thils. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThis clarified something for me, Amy, as just last week I was speaking to a picketing union rep from one of the building trades, who was supporting the picketing teachers, and was told that "anyone in Indiana" can start a school and more specifically "Hell, Cindi, YOU could start one." Which was frightening, let's admit. I am glad to learn that, no, no I can not. At least, not in Indiana. Is it being proposed, however?
ReplyDeleteAccording to what I've read (disclaimer, I am definitely not an expert), you actually COULD start a charter school in Indiana, but only if your proposal was approved by a mayoral office, school board, or university. This is different than Arizona, where if you can get the funding, you can start the school.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, and posting! Love your blog by the way!