CER Op-Eds
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CER Op-Ed
The Case for Better New York Schools
Most school superintendents view the popular and effective concept of charter schools as a threat. Consider the group of school superintendents in the Albany area (Capital district). Their literature is alarming and dramatic. Moreover, you’d think that people involved in education would be about getting their facts straight, and seeking the truth. Consider the seven objections they pose to Governor George Pataki’s proposed, bi-partisan bill.
Charters drain money away from public schools. In reality, the money for public schools follows the child to their public school of choice, which under charter laws would be charter schools. Charters are public schools, yet they’re not part of the Superintendent’s vast power structure. There’s the essence of the opposition of most school administrators or even school boards. Charters give power to those who currently don’t have it — parents and teachers.
Why not extend the mandate relief common to charters to regular public schools? Actually, many states have, to no avail. You see, relieving school systems of mandates without the incentives or consequences to do so results in the status quo. But what does get school districts to loosen bureaucratic rules and stifling policies is the outside pressure that someone else is doing it better and easier.
The power to issue charters would go to five, not one entity, meaning it will be difficult to maintain consistent standards in New York. Now, wait a minute – there’s been one entity in charge for ever, and many parents and teachers would argue that New York’s standards are not consistent now. In fact, charters have to agree to abide the same standards as other public schools, and must sign a performance contract documenting their success. Now when’s the last time one of the superintendent’s signed a performance contract agreeing to succeed or go out of business?
Charter schools are elitist. In fact, the over 1,000 charters operating today nationwide are more diverse and inclusive of children of color, children of special needs and varying abilities. Most public schools serve children based on assignment zones. So nice areas get more educated children. That’s not elitist?
Charter schools will cause more lawsuits. Now here’s an argument that defies logic.
There is no evidence that charter schools can succeed, and public schools are improving, anyway. On the contrary, charters offer an abundance of evidence that achievement gains are more prevalent for children being served than in traditional public schools. And unfortunately, and despite the best of intentions today, public school improvement is minuscule, which is why more people want charter schools, and the majority of parents and teachers nationwide want more choices. Internal public school reform moves at a snail’s pace. Charters, on the other hand, cause district superintendents to pick up that pace, and just as important, gives children a place to go to succeed.
The lack of “appropriate oversight” in charter schools will cause New York’s gains to actually slip. With this last argument, the Superintendents demonstrate that they really have lost perspective. If failing millions of children each year, particularly children of color, is making gains, someone needs to hand these folks an early retirement package. Even suburban parents have become to question the efficacy of traditional programs, and have come to realize that their “great” schools have been unable to transmit no more basic knowledge to their children than the war-torn country of Bosnia.
It’s time the defenders of the status quo join the fight to improve and strengthen public education in this country. One clear path is charter schools. The bad information they proffer makes it clear, however, that they’d rather fight rather than switch. Thus its time for real people — who must demonstrate real bottom lines in their jobs every day — to take over.
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Jeanne Allen is President of The Center for Education Reform, an independent, non-profit group providing support to individuals seeking school reform. For more information, please call (202) 822-9000 or (800) 521-2118, or send e-mail to cer@edreform.com.