Now that the red state, republicans have control of the Alabama government expect a big push for new ideas like Charter Schools with the fake concern about poor, black children being forced to attend them there failing public schools. meababs urges folks to use caution before jumping on the charter school bandwagon and I agree.
Charter Schools=Bad
My experience w/ charter schools is pretty extensive, and my wife happened to teach at one for 6 years before she was unfairly dismissed from her position.
When I arrived here in Alabama I was a bit surprised that there are no charter schools here. In Colorado, more times than not, charters are set up by disaffected, disgruntled parents unhappy with their neighborhood schools. Usually these parents feign outrage at such things like low test scores and lack of accountability on the part of their neighborhood schools and turn to creating their own charter schools as a way of getting around some of those issues.
But there are other things that charter schools help your kids do. That is, get away from brown/black kids. There are some exceptions to the rule, but the color most prevalent in many charter schools is white. While charter schools by law are not supposed to discriminate and are open enrollment, there are plenty of things that charter schools can do make sure your brown/black child does not attend there. More often than not, charter schools are located in affluent neighborhoods, and are not subject to the same rules regarding transportation that traditional public schools have to follow. Read, if you are poor and don't have a car, then you're going to have to find a way to get your kids to school cause the district isn't going to help.
Second thing is curriculum, specifically the whole "Core Knowledge" (CK) movement. Basically with CK you can count on your kids learning material approximately one grade level above their own. If your child is in need to remediation, SPED or "resource" services, they aren't going to get it at the charter school. Charter schools do not have to offer services for their curriculum. If your child does not perform to the expectations the charter school will ask you to transfer your child to a traditional public school.
Third is cost, to you and the district. Charter schools are on average funded at about 60% of what a traditional public school is. It is not uncommon for parents to be expected to purchase books, materials in addition to being able to fulfill certain fundraising obligations to the school. Most charter schools also require some kind of uniform as well. One outfit could easily cost a parent $50 to $100. You can't very well expect your kid to wear the same outfit day in and day out so you can figure that cost to be closer to $200. If you have more than one kid at the school, fuhgedaboutit, at least you can count on maybe being able to pass uniforms from older kids down to younger siblings.
Many charter schools also have some sort of community service demand too. That is parents are expected to perform on average 40 hours of volunteer work at the school per school year. Now on the surface, that sounds like a great idea, but as a parent, do you really want to be required to volunteer? I'm all for parental involvement, but the thought having to be at my kids school 2 hours a week just doesn't really sit well with me. There is also the time issue, my wife and I both work, and taking that extra time off, whether its during or after school isn't feasible. If you're a single parent that requirement might be lowered, but you are still having to take time out, unsupported, and as you are a single parent that might just not be possible.
There is also the whole part about the teachers too. Teachers are not going to be accountable to the school district in the same way a teacher at a traditional public school is going to be. Charter school teachers are working at the behest of the board governing their school and may be hired or fired at a whim, because get this, they don't have to follow state tenure or union rules! Some states do not even require charter school teachers to be certificated educators! Also, charter teachers are going to make much less than their public school counterparts. My wife with 6 years of experience and a masters, was making only $38K, if she were to have worked at a traditional school, she would have made about $42K.
Charter schools are just another way the conservatives try to backdoor privatize education. Not just parents can set up charter schools, a for profit company can come in and request they be able to set up a school. The premise is that they hope to be able to convince the district to allow them to operate multiple charter schools under the premise they can do things cheaper. Do you really want your kid being educated by a for profit company basically doing the work of the lowest bidder?
With all the private schools here in Alabama, bleeding parents dry for the simple fact they don't want their kids to have to go to school with brown or black kids, the state seems to be ripe for laws allowing charter schools. Now parents will be able to have their "school choice" at a fraction of the cost private school would have required. My sincere hope is that AEA and the Dems will fight this tooth and nail, because its a slippery slope when your state starts authorizing charter schools.
Why not embrace a program of innovationthat works within the current Alabama education system? Contrary to what many Republicans (and apparently Artur Davis) believe, the AEA is not opposed to educational innovation. They are just extremely reluctant to place public school teachers at the mercy of those who use "reform" as a euphemism for union-busting. I think a gubernatorial candidate who did not use the AEA as a political punching bag to score points with GOPers would find the AEA a very willing partner on bold education reforms if they pledged to work with the AEA and not against them.
My main problem with charter schools is they are thinly disguised private schools funded with all the taxpayer dollars that all taxpayers children can't attend. That's not a new idea, nor is it a good idea considering the sad sorry state of separate and unequal education in Alabama, where the Alabama Education Association is considered public enemy#1 but teaching hate and discontent is OK.
Only in AmeriBama.
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