Hosted by The Center for
Education Reform
Hosted by The Center for
Education Reform
CHARTER SCHOOLS: SOLUTION FOR A 'RETURN TO EXCELLENCE'
By Oklahoma State Representative Odilia Dank
After years of condoning mediocrity, it is time we commit ourselves to a "return to excellence" in Oklahoma's public schools, and I believe charter schools are the answer.
As hundreds of charter schools are organized around the nation, it has been found they provide an atmosphere of innovation in teaching methods and curriculum and give parents a greater voice in their children's education, which in turn, create improved student learning and achievement. That is our bottom-line goal.
As a former public school teacher and counselor, I firmly believe in the public school system. But what we are presently doing with our public schools is not working to give our children the best education possible.
Currently, we do not have academic excellence, and the philosophy of taxing and spending more just hasn't brought standards up to acceptable levels. Throwing money after the problems has proved not to be the answer. Excellence can be achieved with less funds, but with proper funding spent more wisely.
The answers lie in genuine reform of our education system -- reform that returns our local public schools to local control, freedom from the heavy hand of bureaucracy and its extensive rules and regulations, and also returns excellence in the classroom.
The solution is charter schools. The strength of charter schools is the partnership they create -- community, teachers, parents, and students. The beauty of charter schools is the choice they provide for parents and the innovation they promote.
As a state representative, I have introduced legislation to authorize charter schools in Oklahoma. Charter school legislation would allow sponsors to contract with either a local school district or the State Board of Education to organize charter schools that would operate independently of regular public schools and free of the massive, burdensome rules and regulations under which regular public schools must operate.
It is this independent operation which promotes innovation in organization and management, curriculum, teaching methods, and greater accountability and also allows parents a choice and greater voice in their children's education.
This innovation creates increased learning opportunities for students and improves student learning and achievement.
A charter school is a public school, created by a contract. It operates independently of a local school district so teachers, parents, and students can experiment and find what works. It is managed by its own governing board, with a partnership among the administrators, teachers, and parents.
A charter school may use an existing school building, a closed school building, or some other space for its physical plant. It may be a new school or a portion of an existing school. In most cases, it would involve simply the shifting of resources -- students and teachers from other schools, and funds.
Currently, there are more than 230 charter schools in the nation, and there have been a number of successes already. For example, California approved charter schools in 1993, and since then, test scores at one charter school have increased 300 percent.
The Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, which was an existing school in the heart of Los Angeles, reports its language arts scores improved from the 9th percentile to the 39th, while its math scores increased from the 14th percentile to the 57th. And the school also reports a 99.14 percent attendance rate.
City Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, the nation's first charter school, reports that all of its 42 graduates (all former dropouts) have been accepted into post-secondary programs.
The charter school movement and those successes are having a "ripple effect" around the nation. President Clinton recently asked Congress for $100 million in funds to double the start-up costs for 1,000 to 2,000 new charter schools. In Oklahoma, Gov. Frank Keating is asking the Legislature for startup funding for 50 charter schools.
Charter school legislation has been assigned to the House Education Committee and could be heard within the next three weeks. Other bills regarding charter schools also have been filed, and lawmakers are discussing combining the measures. Regardless of which bill is finally passed, the time has come for charter schools, and we need this legislation badly.
Education is vital to current economic growth as well as giving our children the future they deserve. That can happen with charter schools. Then and only then will this partnership with the student, teacher, and parent really produce outstanding results for the good of the American society and make our commitment to a "return to excellence" in our schools a reality.
###
Odilia Dank is a Republican state representative from northwest Oklahoma City.