Jackson Free Press

Charter schools offer benefits, but the state must be cautious in using them. That mixed message emerged during a joint meeting of the Senate and House education committees yesterday morning where officials, community leaders and education advocates discussed the pros and pitfalls of charter schools.

Scott Shirey, executive director of KIPP Delta Public Schools, lauded the program's successes--100 percent college acceptance for graduates, low-scoring students who ended up at top institutions and million-dollar building projects pumping money into the area's economy.

State Superintendent of Education Tom Burnham said charter schools like the KIPP Delta program can succeed, but urged legislators to carefully plan how to implement them.

"If charter schools are done--and done correctly--they can provide tremendous opportunities for our children and a better quality of education," Burnham said.

He added, however, that the state Board of Education would like to see certain requirements for charter schools, such as holding them to state accountability standards and having a plan for turning them back into public schools if they fail.

Under the current law, 82 schools in Mississippi could start the process to become charter schools within the next year if their grades don't pick up, Burnham said. That would only happen if parents petitioned the state Department of Education to give their school a charter, however.

A Senate bill introduced earlier this week would allow outside groups to form new charter schools, instead of only granting charters to failing schools. The proposal is controversial due to fears that allowing charters for new schools could create a dual public school system--with charters and traditional schools existing alongside each other--at twice the cost. Charter school advocates say the state needs charters to foster innovation.

Neola Young, program and communications manager of Parents for Public Schools of Jackson, said she shared many of Burnham's concerns about how charter schools would work in the state. She said the funding isn't there to build enough charter schools to serve all children, and legislators might do better to relax regulations and reform traditional public schools.

"Jackson has about 30,000 kids. If charters are meant to at some point benefit all children ... how long is it going to take to benefit the 30,000 kids that are in public schools already?" she said. "... Why do we have to put a charter into a school to change how the school is functioning?"

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I have some experience with charter schools. While living in California, my daughter went to two different charter schools--charter schools are big business in "big" cities. There are definitely pros and cons as there usually are for almost any topic. The pros of charter schools--in my opinion--are that they force family involvement. At the beginning of the school year (charter school #1), parents and guardians had to sign an agreement that they would volunteer 20 hours per school year or pay a $100 family fee if one family could not commit to the volunteer hours. I saw that as a good way for families to come together with other families and be part of the learning experience at their child's school. Or an easy way for the school to raise money for student activities such as performances or field trips (by paying $100 annually). If volunteer hours were not met and the fee was not paid, your child could risk not being invited back the following school year. To me, it showed which families were most involved whether it was visible through volunteered time or a financial commitment. They did have state requirements like regular schools, but the curriculum was a little inconsistent. I pushed for them to teach more science and social studies. That is one con. Because it was a performing arts school, that is what the focus was on--the arts. I will leave it at that. Charter school #2 was a math, science and technology school and I enjoyed the fact that I could log in any day at any time to see when and if my child was tardy, counted absent, had points docked for misbehavior or points added for over-achievement in behavior and in learning, so to speak. This particular school offered an after-school program from 3-6 p.m. and was free of charge. During the after-school program, your child had the option to join cooking club, dance club, discovery/outdoor club, or Spanish club, to name a few. This school had an advantage over other charter school because of the after-school programs--which was convenient for parents whose schedules ran past 4 p.m. and there are no school buses in the city to transport children to and from school--only public transportation. The math, science and technology charter school was by far the best in that the focus was on "jobs of the future ... " Math, science, engineering and technology. The teachers were foreigners and a bit disorganized when it came to out-of-school activities, but I could live with that. Really, it is all in the structure of the charter school and involvement from parents, teachers, students and school administration, as with any public or private school--which have pros and cons as well. We will see what Mississippi decides and how it structures its charter school system--should it decide to buy into the ideology.

mzztam

Feb 6 2012