We Must Safeguard Equity
By LEE ANN PRIELIPP
Charter schools hold the promise of bringing out the best in public school classrooms. But if done in the wrong manner, they also could bring in the worst.
Washington voters sent one so-called charter school plan to defeat in November because it contained serious flaws. The initiative offered an easy way to create new, independent schools using public tax money. But it provided little oversight for how the money would be spent or what results would be expected. The failed proposal also imposed a six-year moratorium to make it impossible to switch back to a regular public school even if the new "reformed" school turned out to be seriously flawed.
Washington's largest public employee union, the Washington Education Association (WEA), worked hard to defeat Initiative 177 and a companion measure that would have made private schools eligible for tax-supported vouchers. But under the right conditions, charter schools could be the key to promoting new and creative ways of teaching and learning.
The WEA is strongly committed to free and universal public education with equality of opportunity for all. Our organization supports state reform efforts that result in better learning for our children. We are currently working to assure success in school restructuring through the work of the Commission on Student Learning and the provisions of a state education reform law known as HB1209. These programs are successful because they make student learning the primary focus at all times.
One key to the success of our children is providing educationally sound alternatives to what we know as the traditional program. Charter schools can be another option within the public school system to improve learning opportunities for students.
Charter schools take various forms, but in most cases, a group of teachers or other interested citizens can apply for a charter to create their own public school. The application generally includes a statement of the school's proposed educational program or philosophy, a set of outcomes or standards each student will be expected to meet, and a description of how the outcomes will be measured. Since the wide variety of charter schemes makes a single definition impossible, it is more productive to focus on developing clear criteria for charter schools that work.
At the WEA, we believe a charter school must be a public school, chartered through and responsible to a local school district. The school must be democratic, allowing all groups directly involved to have a voice in the school's governance. It must have a funding formula comparable to other schools, adhere to safety and health standards, have a licensed professional teaching core group, be tuition-free, and be nondiscriminatory in all aspects of its operations. It also must contain provisions for its own termination based on a failure to meet the charter's provisions.
These components are critical to prevent the lower standards and increased racial and class stratification that can occur with charter proposals.
Charter schools should not be created, however, simply as a vehicle to obtain blanket waivers of school regulations. If particular state or federal regulations are obstacles to effective education programs, the regulations should be eliminated for all schools. The primary goal of charter schools is to focus on student learning.
The initiative defeated in November by voters in Washington was touted as a charter schools measure, but it was not. In rejecting the initiative, voters cited its complicated and confusing details as well as its unintended consequences. Public schools would have been left to handle only the most difficult students while others were drawn away to schools that could discriminate based on academic standards, behavior, competence, and gender.
Such a turn would have violated the democratic philosophy that has guided American public schools since their inception.
While Washington voters still support their schools, there is little question that improving public education, especially in the areas of rigorous standards, is a key concern.
Our public schools are capable of innovations that promote change while safeguarding the rights of students and employees and keeping public account ability intact.
As an organization, the WEA supports reform mechanisms that promote rigorous learning standards, decentralized and shared decisionmaking, diverse educational offerings, and the removal of onerous administrative regulations.
Just as the program of Schools for the 21st Century was a prelude to the reforms of HB1209, we believe that developing a series of charter schools pilot programs, accomplished with thought and evaluation, could lead to systemic change that will benefit students, staff, and communities.
Charter schools offer a unique opportunity to respond to the diverse learning needs of students. We must ensure that charter schools will be consistent with this country's commitment to free and universal public education with equality of opportunity for all.
Given time and support, charter schools could promote a more effective structure and systemic renewal for our public schools.
Lee Ann Prielipp is vice president of the Washington Education Association.
Photo by Todd Eckelman.
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