Press
Maine Biz,
May 14 ,2007, page 4: To the editor:
Thanks for the great article on the Maine School of Science and Mathematics,
“Solid B average” in your April 16th issue. One important correction -- in
the first paragraph, the school is described as a public “charter school”
while later it is more accurately termed a public “magnet” school.
The distinction between these two types of public schools, “magnet” and
“charter” is important. Both models include the idea of “themes” and
special curricula to attract students, and so magnet schools are able to
select among the students who apply. The MSSM was founded to give students
with a particular interest in math and science an option for a different
learning environment, rather than for voluntary desegregation.
Public charter schools differ primarily because they cannot
select among the students who apply. Unlike magnet schools, they are open to
all students with no admissions tests. Teachers choose to work in charter
schools, and families choose to have their children attend chartered public
schools. Legislation to allow these voluntary public schools
of choice has been debated for several years in the Maine Legislature. Maine
is one of only 10 states not to allow this innovation in public education.
There are 4,000 public charter schools in 40 other states that now enroll
1.1 million students. Maine is missing out on this effective approach to
catching youth who are dropping out (26% of high school students do not
graduate on time) and improving the skills of those who do graduate (a major
complaint of businesses around the state concerns the poor skills of public
high school graduates). Judith Jones, Chair, Maine
Association for Public Charter Schools, Hope
Top of Page
Bangor Daily News Editorial
March 14, 2006
VIEWPOINTS
Charter Schools in
Maine
Tuesday,
March 14, 2006 - Bangor Daily News
<< Back
If
Maine is ever going to give charter schools a chance, LD 1640, an amended,
limited, permission-driven document, is the best way for all sides to
determine how the schools would work and what their effect would be on
public schools. The state Senate, expected to consider this legislation
today, should support it and allow this 10-year pilot project to proceed.
The reasons for opposition to charter schools are repeated often - they
drain funding from public schools; they cherry pick students, taking the
best and leaving the rest in worse shape; they erode public support for
schools; they distract from possible innovations within public schools.
These are honest fears, so any attempt to allow for charter schools should
have their potential good outweigh the risks and imbed in law steps that
would control any harm that results.
LD 1640 has both. It would allow up to 20 schools in the state, established
with federal funding, at the chartering approval of either the local school
board or one of the six universities within the University of Maine System
that offers a four-year degree in education. No approval from these public
entities, no charter school.
The focus of these schools would be at-risk students, those with high
absenteeism, who have fallen behind their peers or who have other special
needs. But no more than 10 percent of any school administrative unit's
students per grade may be enrolled at a charter school under this plan, and
the schools themselves are expected to meet the goals of Maine's Learning
Results as well as the federal No Child Left Behind.
Unlike voucher programs for schools, public charter schools, which are
nonsectarian, do not require admission tests or added tuition. Only the
per-pupil funding allocation follows the student under this legislation,
just as it does in Maine communities where students have a choice of
schools.
Even with the limitations under LD 1640, the charter schools would maintain
their flexibility by having the ability to choose which grades to teach, the
length of the school day and school year, the organization of the day,
whether to organize curriculum around a particular project or focus it on a
back-to-basics method. Teachers, who would have to be certified by the state
and meet standards under NCLB, may find that partnering with businesses or
colleges, as charter schools sometimes do, provides them with new
opportunities for presenting material.
In states such as Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota, small public schools
have seen the benefit of the charter-school model and converted the entire
school, a change that this bill would allow.
Charter schools aren't an assault on public schools but a chance to provide
alternatives to students who do not thrive there. The large majority of
states already allow for them. The pilot program for these schools under LD
1640 is a thoughtful way for Maine to decide for itself what will work here.
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=130488&z=34%20class=
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Public Charter Schools Will Be the Education Story of 2006
The Washington Post
1/3/06
-
In a January 3rd article
in The Washington Post, Jay Matthews cites the growth of charter schools as
the story to watch for 2006, calling them the most “interesting and
encouraging efforts” to improve schools in this country with their freedom
to innovate. He believes that educators who start charter schools are
leading by example by providing positive avenues of education reform.
Citing Joanne Jacobs' “Our School", in which San Jose's
Downtown College Prep is featured for its success with getting at-risk
youths into college, Matthews praises the honesty in reporting the
challenges with starting a charter and painting a vivid picture of teenage
angst.
"Nearly every charter
school is guided by experienced teachers' hard-won knowledge of something
that works."
Jay Matthews, The Washington
Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300549.html
)
Top of Page
VIEWPOINT "Do your homework on charter schools"
Tuesday,
January 17, 2006 - Bangor Daily News
For
educational innovators around the state, Jan. 10, 2006 will go down as Black
Tuesday. In a 8-2 vote, at a work session, the Education Committee voted
against LD 1640, An Act to Permit Charter Schools in Maine.
While not dead, LD1640 is certainly on life support, facing at best a floor
fight in the Legislature. This Education Committee has been grappling with
LD 1640 for more than a year, but proposed charter school legislation has
been before the Maine Legislature since 2000. The Education Committee asked
for a task force to study the issue after public hearings in 2003. That task
force recommended the state allow 20 pilot charter schools over the next 10
years, then why such a solid rejection of the department's own
recommendations?
The commissioner of education pleaded overwork as the primary reason for her
reluctance to support the measure. Her concern that approval of a charter
school pilot project for Maine would negatively impact the other work of the
department drew strong sympathy from members of the Education Committee.
Anyone who has spent any time working with the Department of Education or in
the schools knows that educators in Maine work hard. However, should the
challenge of a "full plate" be the basis for making crucial policy
decisions? Educators in every state are grappling with the same challenges
of standards-based education while the demands of No Child Left Behind hit
all the nation's schools at the same velocity. Yet, in 40 other states,
educators have learned how to work with these demands and also incorporate
charter school development in their states. How do they do it?
For one, they do their homework. The commissioner and most members of the
Education Committee had very little information about charter schools. Their
questions were ones that did not reflect the fact that they have been having
hearings on the subject for more than a year and that charter schools have
been on the radar screen in Maine for five years. They seemed not to
understand the enormous resources available from the federal government and
non-profit organizations to help states implement charter schools.
For another, they turn to the vast national network of charter schools and
organizations that support them. Sadly, the commissioner and most members of
the education committee did not attend an October workshop sponsored by the
Department of Education, which brought to Maine five of the nation's leading
charter school experts as well as the head of the Rural Schools Network in
Colorado. The experts were here to help, but there were few in the audience
to listen.
Perhaps the best question of the afternoon came from Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono,
who asked why there are so many different voices inside the charter school
movement. Charter schools serve the full range of students. People are drawn
to charter schools for a wide variety of reasons, some personal and some
educational, some supporters are Republicans and some Democrats. In Maine,
charter legislation has been introduced by both Republicans and Democrats.
Both the Clinton and the Bush administrations have supported greater school
choice as a tool for increasing academic achievement.
The question of why charter schools for Maine is a legitimate one. For an
answer we can turn to the way that Maine schools have been performing. The
Department of Education's own 2005 report, the "Select Panel on Revisioning
Education in Maine," called for an educational revolution in Maine. One
recommendation from the report was that the state provide more opportunities
for school choice. Recently, Maine schools received a C in a national,
annual state-by-state report. One of the indicators in that survey was
whether a state has charter school legislation. The essentially flat Maine
Educational Assessment results over the past five years is indicator that
Maine schools are not pushing all students to higher levels of academic
achievement.
Let us be clear here. We are talking about a pilot project of two charter
schools a year over the next ten years. Charter schools would target at-risk
students in the state. They would no doubt be small, community-based
schools, similar to the alternative schools that now exist in the state to
serve at-risk students. They would differ in a number of significant ways.
They could tap into federal and philanthropic funds available only to
charter schools. They would be held to higher standards since accountability
for charter schools is an important component of the bill. And perhaps most
importantly, all students in Maine would have a choice of high schools, not
just students who happen to live in communities that do not have their own
high schools.
A major policy question like whether Maine could benefit from having a pilot
program of charter schools might need more debate in the state, despite the
recommendations of a task force, although five years certainly seems like a
long time, but claiming overwork is not the way to open up that
conversation. The commissioner might have better spent her time discussing
how charter legislation could help push forward some of the important state
initiatives like inter-district collaboration and increased efficiency. And
here the potential is enormous.
I would like to urge the legislators in the state to do some homework on
charter schools before they are asked to vote on the policy. A good place to
start would be the federal government's Web site on charter schools.
Etta Kralovec is a clinical faculty member at Pepperdine University and an
eductional consultant to the U.S. Department of Labor. She is the author of
"Schools That Do Too Much" and co-author of "The End of Homework" and lives
in Orland.
Top of Page
"Charter schools could make the grade in
Maine"
Kennebec Journal
November 21, 2005
Maine lawmakers should give serious consideration to the benefits of charter
schools. The nontraditional schools, which require a state law permitting
their existence, could be exactly what many Maine students need.
Charter schools are publicly funded elementary or high schools that have
been freed from some of the rules, regulations and statutes that apply to
other public schools. In exchange, the schools are expected to produce
specific results that are laid out in each school's state charter.
Charter schools often emphasize specific disciplines or interests, such as
mathematics and science, the arts or drama.
Some also target learning problems or developmental needs, using teaching
methods not found in most local public schools.
Maine is one of two states in New England, along with Vermont, and 10
nationwide that have not passed legislation allowing charter schools, which
must meet the same standards as traditional schools.
Maine lawmakers are expected to consider a bill to allow charter schools
when they convene in January.
The bill permits up to 20 charter schools to be authorized over a 10-year
trial phase. They would be funded with local and state tax dollars and
possibly federal money.
Maine students should be able to benefit from approaches to education that
have been working in other states, in some cases for more than a decade.
Those approaches can include smaller class sizes, longer or shorter school
days and teachers with more-varied backgrounds (only half are required to
hold state teaching certificates).
Although there are more than 3,600 charter schools in the United States,
there is still a perception among some lawmakers, educators and others that
charter schools are a problem because they take students and money from
public school systems.
When a student leaves a local public school to attend a charter school,
funding from local or state taxes goes with him or her.
The Maine Education Association and other critics of charter schools say
local public schools face enough challenges without vying with charter
schools for students and funding.
They also claim charter schools can be elitist institutions that siphon or
"cherry pick" the better students and are free to stay away from -- reject
-- students who are not as strong academically or who have behavioral
problems.
The experiences of many other states, however, show that charter schools
need not be feared and are not committed to teaching only top students.
In fact, federal law requires that enrollment at charter schools be open to
all students. Schools that receive too many applications are permitted* to
hold lotteries to determine who will be granted admission. (* required)
Charter schools are not the answer to all that ails public schools. Nor does
every charter school provide a topnotch education.
States that allow the schools, therefore, must set clear standards, then
make sure they are met.
Charter schools that are run correctly and watched closely have shown that
they can make meaningful differences in the lives and education of certain
students.
There is enough encouraging information about charter schools in other
states to suggest they could have a place in Maine.
If state lawmakers do their homework on charter schools, they are likely to
find that some Maine students are being cheated out of something worthwhile.
Editorials page 5A
Copyright © Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.
Top of Page
-A
Win-win for Students, Parents, Communities
Lewiston Sun Journal
Published : Sunday-February 05, 2006
Charter schools have proven so successful, they have found a home in 40
states.
The Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, of which
I am a member, has been working on L.D. 1640, "An Act to Permit Charter
Schools in Maine."
Charter schools are publicly funded elementary or secondary schools that
have been freed from some of the rules, regulations and statutes that govern
other public schools. In exchange for this freedom, the schools are held
accountable for producing certain results, stipulated in each school's
"charter."
Charter schools sprang into existence in response to the "crisis" in
public education. They have proven so successful that they are now in 40
states. This legislation will allow a "pilot" program of 20 schools in
Maine.
Fifteen of these schools would serve the at-risk population. This
segment is composed of students who are disenfranchised, discouraged or just
plain bored. We all know that not every kid does well in the traditional
school classroom, but the current system does not allow the teachers to vary
the curriculum to help these kids. They fall through the cracks. Many of
them quit school, and they frequently end up on welfare.
The five remaining schools can be chartered by the University of Maine
System for specialty curriculums such as math, science, English and so on.
They would offer some of the best and brightest students a more challenging
academic regimen. These types of charter schools would offer college prep
and advanced placement courses, such as biotechnology.
Charter schools allow for individualized instruction and attention that
fosters a positive learning environment by teaching subjects of interest to
these students. What a concept - students might actually enjoy learning, and
teachers could actually teach.
The location of charter schools would be determined by local school
boards. They would decide if such a school would be appropriate for their
community. Then they could decide what sort of school they want. The program
allows for local control, choice for parents and students, student
accountability and a positive learning and teaching environment. This sounds
to me like an awesome idea that could inject real excitement and energy into
a child's school experience.
Who could possibly oppose such an innovative and dynamic concept that
has swept the country? You would be surprised. The idea has run smack into a
special interest stone wall made up of the administrative boards of the
Maine Education Association, the Maine School Superintendents Association,
the Maine School Boards Association and the Department of Education.
Why on earth would these organizations oppose this legislation? Here are
some quotes from written testimony submitted to the Education Committee
during the public hearing:
"Charter schools would have the effect of diverting badly needed funds
(taxpayer money) away from our public schools for whom they are intended and
by whom they are needed." (DOE)
What? The charter schools are publicly funded schools, funded by your
tax dollars the same as other public schools. The difference is that parents
and students have a choice of which one to attend, and not be dictated to by
education bureaucrats.
But I digress. Here is an excerpt of testimony from the Maine School
Superintendents Association, which opposes the charter school legislation:
"We note at the beginning of this testimony that the actual text of the
bill was not available to us at the time of this written testimony."
So let's get this straight. They didn't know what the bill actually
said, but they are against it anyway. No wonder it's almost impossible to
actually bring constructive reform to education.
I continue with MSSA testimony: "Legislators need to separate reality
from rhetoric and recognize that the devil is in the details of any such
legislation."
The details of what legislation? When they wrote their testimony, the
text of the bill hadn't even been written yet. The only conclusion you can
reach, but I may be wrong, is that parental control, local control,
competition and saving at-risk kids are bad things for Maine. Is that a fair
assessment?
There are some really great, caring teachers and principals who support
charter schools and would welcome them in their towns. Teaching in these
schools would free these teachers to make a huge difference in these kids'
lives. Many have told me they went into this profession because they had one
particular teacher who made a difference to them. They wanted to follow in
those footsteps.
Currently, Maine and Vermont are the only New England states that do not
have charter school legislation in place. We all need to know the real
reason for this blind bureaucratic refusal to do what is right for the
children of Maine.
Rep. Scott Lansley, a member of the Joint Standing Committee on
Education, represents Greene and Sabattus. He frequently serves as a
substitute teacher.
LEWISTON SUN JOURNAL - follow-up
Published : Saturday-March 04, 2006
Letters to the Editor - Schools
My thanks go to Rep. Scott Lansley for his support of allowing public
chartered school options in Maine (Feb. 5). His vote was one of the five
"ought to pass" votes for the bill in the Education Committee. The bill,
with its closely divided report, will now go the Senate and House for a vote
in the next few weeks. I expect the vote to be close in both houses.
Legislators, local school boards and school departments should support this
innovation.
I'd like to make a correction to one point in the article. Under
the amendments to the bill, L.D. 1640, adopted by the Education Committee,
all 20 of the chartered schools permitted under the pilot program would be
required to seek to expand learning opportunities for children at risk in
Maine. The designated branches of the University of Maine may charter up to
five of those 20 schools.
More information is available by searching the Web.
Judith Jones, chair
Maine Association for Public Charter Schools
Hope
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