The Failure of Delaware Charter Schools
Paul Baumbach, president of Progressive Democrats of Delaware and blogger, has an op-ed in The News Journal the other day which looked at the failing grades our Delaware charter schools have been receiving. Baumbach calls for a feedback loop for the innovation that charter schools are supposed to be using in educating Delaware’s children. He also writes that Delaware’s Department of Education needs to adequately oversee the charter schools and address the desegregation that has occurred. I would disagree with Baumbach that desegregation was an “unintended consequence”e of charter schools. No, that was and has always been the intention. Just like the school voucher system that Republicans consistently wish for.
Baumbach opens his op-ed with a quote from Governor Jack Markell.
How are Delaware’s charter schools affecting our public schools? In 2008 Jack Markell said this about Delaware’s charter schools: “We know about some of the successes, but we also know about some of the big problems: resegregation, the skimming of students, the creaming of students…it’s a big issue and for me a matter of major concern.”
The failing grades received by Delaware charter schools from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers was from 2011. I’d hate to see what would happen to charter schools is this a small issue and a matter of minor concern for Markell.
Tags: Education
I am not sure why Markell’s office has been mum about this. Please check out page 4 of the DOE’s first edition of the “Delaware Educator” http://www.doe.k12.de.us/news/de/DE_Spring2012_email.pdf
Clearly, there is an initiative going on to more closely monitor charter performance. The question is why it is such a secret and what’s taking so long?
Charter schools segregate the schools, private schools segregate the schools, the lack of a wall between NCC and Garnet Valley segregates the schools. Hum.
See, what I’d get from this is that many parents prefer segregated schools. I don’t say that’s a good thing. But I’d say that nothing we’ve done in the past 30 years has created a strong commitment to racial integration as a basis for public education.
Uhm … Desegregation is GOOD. Unless you’re revealing your inner sheet-wearer here. 😉
Mayhap you meant resegregation?
The charter law doesn’t require that charters develop and transfer innovations, although it is widely believed it does, and it is often used as a selling point. It is alluded to but the language does not rise to the level of a requirement:
According to the law, charters are measured entirely according to their own performance. Nothing in the review process requires them to contribute to the success of anything beyond themselves. On one hand that sounds eminently reasonable. On the other hand, that means the law provides a reward for cherry-picking the best students from the public schools, and there seems to be more than one way charters are able to accomplish this.
The racial component is now entirely abstracted away from the equation but it underlies everything, and is now based more on income than race. Academic performance of the “best” students correlates with income which correlates with race. Instead of talking about “white” schools, we now talk about the “best” schools, or as the charter law puts it, “highly successful” schools.
Poverty itself has now become integrated, in a state with 21% African-Americans but 50% low-income students.
The 50% poverty rate is the real scandal in education, so maybe it is time to break out of the education circular debate and move the debate to Dover and Washington to do something about the 50% poverty rate.
Markell and Carper sent their kids to DE charter schools. They must be doing something right!!!
JJ. I don’t know where Markell’s kids went, but I don’t think anyone is suggesting that no charter schools are doing anything “right.” The problem seems to be that in order to do ‘well” the schools stop doing “good.” 😉
Markell’s kid(s) went to Wilmington Charter.
I am glad that Jack and Carla are proud charter parents!!
I’m glad that they’re proud charter parents, too. That’s great. But Charter has 5% black kids, 2.6% low income. Tower Hill, in contrast, has 20% “students of diversity” and 19% getting need based financial aid. So, your chances of actually sitting next to a black kid in calculus is roughly the same, I’d bet. Is that a problem for me? Not at all. I’m a parent. I want every kid to get the best possible education, and every parent to work to get them that opportunity. I’m not willing to sacrifice any kid based on an abstraction. But I think we have to seriously look at this.
Markell and Carper sent their kids to DE charter schools.
But where are they sending our kids?
There is some good news out there in the public schools, so that’s something to keep working for.
“I’m glad that they’re proud charter parents, too. That’s great. But Charter has 5% black kids, 2.6% low income” – maybe CSW should be K-12, with an outreach program, so these ratios can change. And then open 5 more CSW schools to accomodate all the kids left on their waiting list 🙂
School reform is no substitute for parent involvement.
Then what is?
Probably nothing! But good schools with caring teachers would help.
If the people of Delaware want caring teachers, then the people must allow school administrators to fire non-caring teachers.
Accountability is imperative.
But, I maintain that caring parents are more important to outcomes.
Caring parents with enough time to act on their caring are the most important thing.
I would argue that the carrot (teacher pay) is at least as important as the stick, when you consider the difficulty of retaining good teachers.
“If the people of Delaware want caring teachers, then the people must allow school administrators to fire non-caring teachers.”
Bullshit. The administrators are the problem, not the solution. They add nothing but large expenses to the equation.
Both penalties and incentives are important.
The people must vest school administrators with the authority (and discretion) both to reward caring teacher and to punish non-caring teachers.
Accountability is key.
To Geezer, school administrators add value and expenses, although there are diminishing marginal returns.