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Uploaded: Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 12:26 PM
Educators enthused for charter schools
Most seem receptive to the idea during county summit in San Jose
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by Kelsey Mesher
Mountain View Voice Staff
Charter schools, sometimes a thorn in the side of public school districts, received a pat on the back from none other than the state's top educator, Jack O'Connell, at a special charter school summit for local educators held Saturday at the county Office of Education in San Jose.
O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, said charters have an "obligation" to serve students looking for alternatives to traditional public schools.
"Without question, charter schools are helping us meet those diverse needs of our students," he said.
The summit, organized by a task force from the county Office of Education, brought together hundreds of local educators to learn more about "the rapid growth of charter schools" and how they can coexist with neighborhood schools.
Charter schools are funded publicly, but unlike traditional public schools they are exempt from many state laws and regulations. They are typically started by a group of teachers, parents or community members, and sponsored by a local school or county board that outlines an agreement, or "charter," for how the new school will be run.
According to O'Connell, by September of this year there will be 858 charter schools in California.
The traditional model, he said, "is not for everybody."
"We want our charter schools to provide options and choices in our communities," he said.
Russlynn H. Ali, assistant secretary of civil rights for the U.S. Department of Education, delivered the keynote address at the summit.
"Charters ... are really about closing the achievement gap," she said, adding that educating lower achieving students, who are more likely to be Hispanic or black, is "an economic imperative."
"Charters can help achieve goals to turn around low performing schools," she said."
Ali said there is much misinformation surrounding charters: "Too many equate charters with privatization of schools. Instead of standing apart, charters should be partnering with districts."
"Charter schools are public schools," she added. "They are open to any student."
Mountain View Whisman School District trustee Ellen Wheeler, who attended Saturday's summit, said the majority of her board is "interested in looking into a K-8 charter."
"We're at the very beginning of conversation," she said, emphasizing that there are no plans yet. "We are open to ideas and open to choice."
Enthusiasm is presumably less strong among leaders of the neighboring Los Altos School District, where contention and strife -- including legal action -- have been the norm ever since Bullis Charter School was authorized by the county Board of Education in 2003. That charter was initiated by a group of frustrated Los Altos Hills parents whose neighborhood school, Bullis-Purissima, had been closed by the district.
Craig Goldman, chief financial officer for Mountain View Whisman, called Bullis an "anomaly" in the charter world. He said if there were to be a charter in Mountain View, most likely it would differ from Bullis in that it would be started by the district itself, rather than by parents.
"There hasn't been any real movement along those lines, which honestly I think is a great nod to our district," Goldman said. "If a charter were to happen it would be at the initiation of the district in terms of adopting a research-based, proven approach to improving student achievement."
Wheeler mentioned the Knowledge is Power Program, or KIPP, as a possible model for how a Mountain View charter could look. KIPP operates a network of 82 charters in 19 states, and according to its Web site more than 80 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Andrea, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 3, 2010 at 3:14 pm Great article!
At first glance, I'd think a K-8 charter in Mountain View, especially a Knowledge is Power Program for low income kids is a great idea.
I don't know many parents who believe that the currently mandated NCLB standards (and standards-based testing) are good for anything other than a ensuring a minimum baseline education. My understanding is that KIPP sets higher goals and has a proven method for achieving them.
It seems like the freedom a charter would offer to educators, parents & students to both reach for the stars and eat their own dogfood could find more success than the one-size-fits-all, hands-tied neighborhood school approach.
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Posted by Ted, a resident of another community, on Feb 3, 2010 at 6:14 pm Interesting...I don't ALL Charter Schools are open to all students though....Bullis Charter School in Los Altos does not allow all students to attend. They have high test scores because they only allow students "certain students" in. Bullis Charter school thinks of themselves as an elite school serving the students of Los Altos Hills. I don't get it, Los Altos school does a great job in educating our children, why did they feel the need to start their "own" school in such a great district? Bullis Charter School has also sued Los Altos school district (over non-important matters) which has costed us (tax payers) thousands of dollars.
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Posted by MV parent, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 12:07 am Interesting that they're talking about a K-8 charter and mention of the KIPP model. KIPP's focus has been around 5th-8th grade middle schools although they've created about a dozen pre-K-4th elementary schools, mostly as feeders into the core 5th-8th middle schools from what I understand. It would be more strategic for MVWSD to start a KIPP middle school and then build on that to develop a feeder elementary program.
I volunteered at a KIPP school in the Bronx. KIPP has longer school days for all kids, longer school year and very focused curriculum particularly to bring 5th graders up to grade level. Impressive results and in many places the focus is placing the KIPP grads into elite high schools on scholarships.
A KIPP middle school in the Castro neighborhood would make a lot of sense in MVWSD as a place to begin.
If they're serious, MVWSD should be sending one or more of their teacher leaders off to the KIPP Leadership Program next year - that's the way that KIPP immerses potential school directors in a year of experiences within the KIPP network, then they are ready to consider starting a new KIPP school -- deadline is Feb 10th to apply.
Web Link
In 2000, the non-profit KIPP Foundation began training prospective principals to replicate the success of the two original KIPP Academies in Houston and the South Bronx. Over the past eight years, KIPP has trained over 80 principals through the KIPP School Leadership Program to open and run KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
The KIPP School Leadership Program looks for exceptional teachers and school leaders who have achieved dramatic results with their students and who want to build a school of excellence from the ground up. We seek individuals from all backgrounds who believe in KIPP's mission and who have the potential to excel as school leaders within our network.
Doesn't the PACT program want to be a K-8 program? Reading the article, I imagined that it was a story about PACT converting to a K-8 charter school within the district.
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