Schmoker: Stop innovating. Just "focus."
Charter schools get "A's: Autonomy and accountability

Watch me and CEBS Dean Sam Evans discuss charter schools and more on WKYU-PBS "Outlook" program

This week's episode of the WKYU-PBS television program "Outlook" with Barbara Deeb features me and Dr. Sam Evans, Dean of the the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, discussing charter schools, Kentucky's recent NCLB waiver, and future directions for education in general.

The program will air on Thursday, February 16 at 9:30 p.m. Central time, and on Sunday, February 19, at 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Central time.

Our conversation was recorded just a day after the Kentucky House of Representatives Education Committee hosted a two-hour "information session" on the topic of charter schools, featuring speakers who both support and oppose the concept.  No vote was taken on House Bill 77, sponsored by Rep. Brad Montell (R-Shelbyville), which would have made charter schools legal in Kentucky (the state is one of only nine that currently forbid them), but Montell indicated after the session that the content of HB 77 might still come up before this year's General Assembly in a different format.

For the record - charter schools are tuition-free public schools serving students who volunteer to attend and that operate under a contract ("or charter") issued by a local school district or the state, and which are usually free from most of the current regulations that govern curriculum, teaching, the structure and length of the school day, and personnel.   This frees charter schools to innovate and meet student needs without the typical red-tape contraints faced by most schools and often at lower cost.  Along with this autonomy, however, comes the ultimate accountability.  Parents who are unsatisfied with the education their child receives in a charter may withdraw them at any time, and, under HB 77, charters must also meet all the targets for improving student acheivement as traditional public schools.  Those that don't will be shut down.

I've been clear in my own support for charter schools and school choice in general on this blog and in my comments on "Outlook."  I found many of the arguments used by charter school opponents in yesterday's House committee hearing to be misleading.

The most common point voiced in this latest round of debate is that, given the unprecedented cuts in state education spending, it doesn't make sense to "drain" money away from struggling public schools to support charters.  This argument misses several key points.

First, the only money charters will receive is the per-pupil allocation that will follow students who choose to enroll.  Second, many struggling schools have, despite budget cuts, been on the receiving end of thousands upon thousands of dollars of school improvement grant money in recent years.  Some of those schools have improved, and others have not, and I'd venture to guess that the succeeding schools aren't simply doing better because of the money, but because they are significantly changing teaching practices that are making a difference in student achievement.

But ultimately, the argument that we shouldn't "drain" money from struggling traditional schools by allowing charters is another way of saying we should bar the doors to keep poor and middle income families from leaving.   Charter opponents want to deny their clients any choice but to attend their own schools, thus maintaining a monopoly on educational services.  And as history has shown time and again, monopolies always bring higher costs and diminished quality.  Good schools have nothing to fear from charters, but the poor-performing ones surely do; and they are all but too eager to use the power of the state to avoid that competition.

Comments

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Cheryl Webb

How do I sign my kids up for a character school?

Gary Houchens

Cheryl, I don't know of your location but currently there are no charter schools in Kentucky. We are one of only eight states that still don't have a charter option. That's why we need legislation to get this innovative model of public schooling up and running. If you are out of state, I recommend you check with the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools for options.

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