Special daily briefing for National Charter Schools Week, 2002
From the Center for Education Reform

CHARTER SCHOOLS: CHANGING THE FACE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY
Tuesday, April 30, 2002

A Satisfied Principal

West Oak Lane Charter School, Philadelphia, PA 
http://www.wolcs.k12.pa.us

        Margaret Briggs-Kinney is a successful former principal from the Philadelphia school system. As principal of this K-5 school opened in 1998, Briggs-Kinney boasts that her job now allows her to pick her own staff, making her school more effective. "I get to hire my own team, no is one sent to me from somewhere else. The team's on the same page and we're a united force." Teachers at West Oak Lane have a common planning period for teachers in the same grade, and on- and off-site training to increase teachers' content knowledge. Briggs-Kinney envisions a school where teachers develop sophisticated interdisciplinary curricula and opportunities for students to do meaningful academic and service projects, and where students take more responsibility for their own learning. The predominantly African-American student body has drawn from the local neighborhood and is sponsored by the Ogontz Revitalization Corporation (a community development corporation).

Teacher Excellence

Midnight Sun Family Learning Center, Wasilla, Alaska
http://www.mnc.mat-su.k12.ak.us

        If you thought moving to a rural area, much less Alaska, would lead to less qualified, less accomplished teachers in your child's classroom, you would be wrong. In fact, if you choose the Midnight Sun Family Learning Center, you are likely to get accomplished teachers who have been recognized by their peers as being the best in their profession. Between them, the four teachers at this 92 student K-8 school have almost 80 years of teaching experience and numerous teacher-of-the-year honors. Yet these accomplishments, rather than creating division, have led to a spirit of cooperation among its teachers that has produced a quality education for its students. In fact there you can find students whose parents have moved them from private schools, parents who want to be more involved in their child's education, and parents who want a more personalized education. You can even find the children of state (and arguably international) hero Martin Buser - winner of four Alaskan Iditarod races, including the most recent one - whose children attend the school and whose wife Cathy teaches there. Maybe the idea of moving to the last frontier seems more appealing with such great educational options available.

Leadership Matters

Watts Learning Center, Los Angeles, California

        At Watts, school president and CEO Gene Fisher believes the key to high test scores is high expectations and parental involvement. The 212-student K-4 grade school educates an entirely minority population of which 92 percent are African-American and 8 percent are Latino. From 2000 to 2001 Watts made one of the most dramatic improvements in test scores in California, jumping more than 21 percentage points on the state test. According to Fischer, "student achievement is always Number One." Even more indicative of the school's success is that parents are choosing to put their children in this school. The school began in 1997 with only two students and now has a waiting list of between 50 and 100 students per grade.

Teachers Who Make a Difference

Elise Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, Washington, D.C.

        Teachers at Stokes recognized early on that fourth grader David possessed musical talent. David has been at the school since enrolling as a first grader and had struggled academically. Teachers have been working with David to provide numerous academic supports to keep him from failing. Last year, the school encouraged him to participate in an after-school dance program to help foster his musical interest. David seemed to flourish in that environment. It wasn't until a reception following the program that the school learned the extent of David's talent. He sat down at a piano and played - David, they discovered, had taught himself to play at home on a toy keyboard. To nourish this talent and feed his academic needs, the school struck a deal with David. Last summer, in exchange for his attendance at reading and math tutoring sessions, they arranged for piano lessons for him. He didn't miss one session. This put a new face on a gifted and talented program. So now David reads for pleasure, completes his writing assignments and does public speaking.

Breeding a Culture of Achievement

Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, Roxbury, Massachusetts
http://www.roxburyprep.org

        State-mandated testing and the new ESEA guidelines do not spark fear at Roxbury Prep. As Co-Director John B. King argues, "complaining about the test sends the wrong message to our kids. Tests are a fact of life, and historically, urban students and children of color have under-performed. If Roxbury Prep's students are going to enter outstanding high schools and colleges, they must learn to succeed on tests." Based on their 2001 results, their students will go far. The 157-student, grades 6-8 school nearly eliminated the achievement gap between white and minority students, had the highest score of any predominantly African-American school in the state on the 6th grade exam, and the second highest score on the 7th grade exam. On each test, the school's African-American and Latino students' scores were comparable to the average scores of the state's white students. Even more importantly, these gains were made at a school where over a third of the students enroll more than two grade levels behind. Based on these results, and the school's high expectations for its students, it is not surprising to hear Co-Director Evan Rudall's take on this measure of accountability: "Although there are many schools out there that resist the notion of being held accountable, we appreciate the (test) and believe that the test measures skills and knowledge that students should have."

Today's Notable Events

Roxbury, MA: U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Susan Neuman will be visiting Roxbury Prep today. Roxbury Preparatory Charter School (http://www.roxburyprep.org/) opened Fall 1999.

Capitol Hill Briefing, Washington, D.C.: The briefing brings together policymakers, business leaders and charter school leaders to discuss charter school successes and challenges. Sponsored by the Center for Education Reform and co-sponsored by the National Council on Teacher Quality, Education Leaders Council, American Academy for Liberal Education, Heritage Foundation and the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

For a listing of other events, go to: http://www.charterfriends.org/csweek-events.html

For more on the week, go to CER's National Charter Schools Week 2000 Home Page. To visit other charter schools online, go to CER's links to over 700 Charter School Websites Across the Nation.

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The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization providing support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.

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