The first senior class from York River Academy is too small to field a baseball team, b ut advocates for charter schools hope their graduation this month was just the beginning.
Of the 40 states that allow independent public schools called charter schools, Virginia has the smallest percentage of students attending them. In 2008, the four charters in the state educated 240 students. Twice as many students graduated this year from Virginia Beach’s Ocean Lakes High School.
“It feels like we’re pioneers,” said York River Academy graduate Chris Guilliams. The 17-year-old was one of eight in his class. The 48-student school is based in three trailers on the campus of York High School and does without a cafeteria and sports teams.
The commonwealth’s charter school law, which requires local school boards to approve or deny applications, is becoming a centerpiece of the national discussion on education. President Barack Obama’s education secretary, Arne Duncan, said this month that states must embrace charter schools or endanger their chance to compete for as much as $6 billion in education grants. In Virginia, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell has made relaxing the charter restrictions a key part of his education agenda.
Charter schools in Virginia are in the early stages despite a law allowing them for more than a decade. There are charters only in Hampton and in York and Albemarle counties.
“I would define Virginia as a state that really doesn’t have charter schools,” a “pseudo-charter” state, said Michael Petrilli, vice president for national programs and policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. While neighboring North Carolina has 103 charter schools, Virginia has never had more than eight.
The idea behind charter schools is that as free public schools subject to fewer rules, they can innovate while providing families with options.
Nationally, charter schools serve 1.4 million students, who are more likely to be nonwhite and from low-income homes than their peers in other public schools.
“In this country, we’re used to having lots of choices,” Petrilli said. “To believe the only choice we are going to have in education is the school down the street is anachronistic.”
Supporters say the schools offer families choices and an environment that encourages innovation. Detractors say they can draw dollars and involved parents away from struggling public schools.
At York River Academy, Principal Walter Cross said that unlike other York County schools, his requires uniforms and holds school later in the day. A high school with a technology focus since 2001, the academy has students who generally skip most electives and focus on technology skills such as computer repair and Web design.
The school is more relaxed than others, said new graduate Amanda Maclay, 18.
“Some people need the order. Some people need the flexibility.” She said she didn’t miss gym class or home economics but would have liked the opportunity to take art and foreign languages.
Compared with other states’ laws, the charter law in Virginia is restrictive. The schools don’t get automatic waivers from state and local rules, don’t have fiscal autonomy and aren’t free to hire staff based on their own criteria.
The pro-charter Center for Education Reform recently gave the state an “F” for its charter law, which it ranked third-weakest among 40 states and Washington, D.C. Charter schools in Virginia must be approved by local school boards, whose members often see charters as competition for sparse local dollars. There is no appeals process.
That’s a major reason a national chain of charter schools with a track record of success for low-income students hasn’t considered a Virginia location.
“Charter schools are trying to inject healthy competition,” said Steve Mancini, public affairs director for the Knowledge is Power Program, known as KIPP. “You give monopoly control” to school boards in Virginia.
Norfolk public schools have rejected three charter school applications since 2002, including one in December for a science charter school in the Park Place neighborhood.
Rabbi Lawrence Forman, director of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding at Old Dominion University, supported the application, which was the idea of a group of Turkish graduate students.
“It was a tough sell,” Forman said. Having the school board vote on the application was like “the fox approving whether the henhouse should have a door on it,” he said.
While Chairman Barry Bishop said the board has an open mind, “obviously we don’t want to do something that would hurt students in Norfolk public schools or divert resources from them.”
In Virginia, there have been fewer than 10 applications since 2003. A fifth charter – an arts and science elementary – is set to open in Richmond in 2010.
Research findings on the schools’ effectiveness are mixed, fueling both support and opposition.
A study released this month by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found wide variations in quality among charter schools.
Opposing groups immediately found evidence for their positions. A charter advocacy group quickly put out a news release titled “Report Finds Public Charter Schools Helping Students in Several Areas.”
The American Federation of Teachers, where a spokeswoman said “charters are not (a) magic bullet ,” countered with its own news release. “In a few cases charter schools do a good job, in most cases they perform no better and are frequently worse than traditional public schools,” it said.
Not all Virginia charters have been successful. In the past 10 years, the number of charter schools has ranged from one in 1999 to eight in 2003, when the federal government still provided some funding. Among those that remain, Hampton Harbour Academy has failed to meet federal benchmarks twice in the past three years, though its principal said scores are on the rise.
The Hampton middle school is a voluntary option for students who are at least two years behind academically. Without money for a building, the school leases space in a Lutheran church and relies on volunteers to help tutor students and pay for their uniforms. “We take a little and stretch it,” Principal Andrea James said.
Crystal Carson, stepmother of eighth-grade valedictorian Darius Hood, 16, said the school has gotten him “ready to go on to public high school.”
Without more charters, Virginia lacks the community of ideas charters have brought to other places, said a director with the non profit Center for Education Reform, the group that gave a failing grade to Virginia’s charter school law.
The author of that law hasn’t seen a push for change. Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, said letting groups other than school boards approve charters would require amending the state constitution.
“I’m disappointed there hasn’t been more activity,” Hamilton said. But the threat of charters has spurred magnet schools, academies and online classes, he said. “I just would like to see more dynamic, innovative programs where students are coming to school with a defined purpose. “A charter school is one of those options.”
Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com
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Varasied..how are people
Varasied..how are people misinformed? THE CREDO STUDY WAS UNFAVORABLE AS YOU ADMIT, WHETHER OR NOT YOU KNOW THEM PERSONALLY HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR FINDINGS AND IN MOST CHARTERS TEACHERS ARE EVEN FURTHER UNDERPAID AND ALTHOUGH ALL MAY NOT BE FOR PROFIT...MANY ARE!!!
And...for those that are not, once these institutions are private that can change in a quick minute. Private schools reserve the right to discriminate and cherry pick students. Without Union protection there will be little job security as unfair labor practices are applied to teachers.
Right after Katrina, while people were still waiting in trailers and everything was still submerged in contaminated waters where the dead still floated...private investors began their dismantling of the public schools there and they began their investing into privatizing the system. I believe when they were done there were a handful of public schools left. The one thing we have all learned about most big rich investors of privatized capital is that the only thing that drives them or concerns them is profit. These men ignored the devastation and used this catastrophe to create greater opportunities to make money for the
Charter Schools
The CREDO group just disclosed the findings of their nationwide study of charter schools. They found that 85% of the schools are doing on par or significantly worse than our public schools. In addition, it was publicly disclosed that charter school teacher salaries are up to 65% lower than public school salaries.
This is just another method of union busting and privatizing the school system. What possible reason could the Walmart family have for contributing $6billion dollars, as quoted in the Nation magazine," towards the creation of charter schools.
Recently I was sent an application for a charter school. One of the pages was a disclosure where I agree that they have the right to change any and all parts of my contract with no reason and with no notification. I suppose that includes my salary?
Obama and others continue to speak about the "successful" charters...why dont we hear anything about the unsuccessful ones? and why cant we put the money and the effort into our public schools where we can maintain a legitimate worker union?
To varaised-
Have you ever taught school? I seriously doubt it.
For those of you who don't know, "varaised" is employed as a "charter authorizer," which probably means he is a data analyst. He probably has no experience teaching and knows little or nothing about curriculum or child development. His job is to assist private corporations in manipulating data in their quest to use YOUR TAX MONEY to operate FOR-PROFIT education ventures.
Charter schools in VA
All is can say is "Wow!" Folks are a bit misinformed when it comes to charter schools. As a graduate of public schools in Portsmouth and currently a charter authorizer in Washington, DC--one of the nation's leading authorizers--I'd like to provide some clarity to this discussion. As it relates to the CREDO study out of Stanford, I know the researchers well, and attended a session where they described their findings. True, it was not favorable for all charter schools. What was interesting was to know the conditions under which charter schools were successful. Those states where there were multiple authorizers had more success with charter schools--preventing those uninterested in charters from being decision-makers. Also, states that did not have caps on charters experienced higher performance among charter schools.
Also, it is absolutely wrong that all charter schools are run by for-profit entities. Local boards may choose to contract with such entities, but that is by no means the standard (although it may be moreso the case in some states). In DC, all charters by law are non-profit entities, and most have chosen not to partner with for-profit or education management
Response to some responses
Concerning comment from Cboath:Many of the best teachers enjoy teaching at charter schools because their is an increase of students whose parents are more involved and in many cases the parents are compensated better because they are able to set up incentives for the teachers which is not happening in the public schools. You generally get compensated better for longevity not for productivity. You and I hopefully both know some teachers who have been teaching for a very long time aren't the best teachers for our students. Also and more important, many of our best teachers leave teaching because the pay is just horrific. Having charter schools with better incentives will entice the better teachers to stay teachers because they know they have a chance to make a decent living. Currently now, Virginia Charter schools are dumping grounds for those students that no teachers want. Then no one will want to do a charter schools because the results from the charters in Virginia are so low.Secondly to S. Monteith who talked about how wonderful Virginia Beach schools are. That is not the norm.In the paper the other day 45% of Woodrow Wilson's Freshman class actually graduate as a seniors. Now
Response to some responses
Concerning comment from Cboath
Many of the best teachers enjoy teaching at charter schools because their is an increase of students whose parents are more involved and in many cases the parents are compensated better because they are able to set up incentives for the teachers which is not happening in the public schools. You generally get compensated better for longevity not for productivity. You and I hopefully both know some teachers who have been teaching for a very long time aren't the best teachers for our students. Also and more important, many of our best teachers leave teaching because the pay is just horrific. Having charter schools with better incentives will entice the better teachers to stay teachers because they know they have a chance to make a decent living.
Currently now, many of the Virginia Charter schools are dumping grounds for those students that no teachers want. That is why they have a bad rap here in Virginia. This is Virginia Schools District way of getting rid of the dump is by putting them there. Then no one will want to do a charter schools because the results from the charters in Virginia are so low. The rest of the country use them correc
Means to an End
Charter schools must be viewed as a means to an end, not the end unto itself. They were created to deal with the perceived deficiencies in public education. While there are no doubt other motives behind charter schools, let's assume the welfare of the children is a shared goal. To that end, the delivery mechanisms for educational services must change. Most of the jobs that our present school aged population will compete for have not even been created yet. However, we still have an educational model (public and charter schools) that dates from the late 1800's. We cannot let education follow the path of American auto industry. While there are many factors in the auto industry demise, the industry kept trying to force a market rather than adjust to changing market conditions. When coupled with the unwillingness of unions to change strategies, the end was inevitable. Give innovation a chance and keep an open mind.
Stephen
I agree with you. Cities like Virginia Beach or Chesapeake which have exemplary public school systems would not be fertile ground for charter schools. On the other hand, cities like Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Petersburg might provide a willing market of parents looking for a better alternative to the existing public school system.
I believe in public education.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools are some of the best in the country. I attended Kempsville from Kindergarten right up through my senior year. We had arts, athletics, and advanced placement programs, the three A's of a good education. We had involved teachers, involved parents, and involved students. My brothers and I were all involved in school productions, my younger brother even producing a one-act play.
Charter schools as an alternative? Why do we even need one? And why is Secretary Duncan so adamant that states NOT receive education funding unless they "embrace" charter schools? Isn't that the same tactic President Bush used when he was pushing No Child Left Behind? "No money unless you meet our standards"? How is Arne Duncan any less totalitarian?
http://youngconservative27.blogspot.com/
Recent study
A study released by Stanford University this month shows that 80% of students in charter school students perform on the same level as, or worse than, students in regular public schools.
credo.stanford.edu/reports/National_Release.pdf
There's much more to the picture than proponents of charter schools would have us believe. And KIPP schools are free to get rid of any student who doesn't suit them. If public schools could do that, they would look better, too. KIPP has been on a government gravy train since its inception.
For Profit Company
Let's make sure we understand something about charter schools. They're all run by for profit companies. So at the end of the day they'll be responsible to their company shareholders and not the parents or the community. I'm not sure that sending the students to the lowest bidding company is a good way to run your education system. Trimming certain classes is the first way the schools try and become profittable. However, very quickly teacher salaries and school services are chopped to maintain the school's income margin.
Also the charter schools become, over time, the dumping ground for those lacking academic skills. The lower salary paid by the charter school usually ensures that the least qualified teachers are recruited. Profits also ensure there's no opportunity for teacher development.
Couple the need for an enhanced education environment for those students with the company's need for a particular bottom line and I think you have a recipe for disaster.
Creigh Deeds
I would like to know his position also. If, like Kaine and Warner before him, he seeks and receives the endorsement of the NEA/VEA, he would have to eschew charter schools. Both Kaine and Warner promised teachers' salaries to match the national average, and, of course, after elected lamented how they weren't able to make good on that promise since they "didn't realize" the extent of fiscal problems. My guess is the NEA/VEA will strongarm Deeds into a position against charter schools and then paint McDonnell as an "enemy" of public education.
No Brainer
This is sad. The Feds are trying to give us money for education and we are not prepared to accept it. Academy schools are a great alternative to standard public schools for many students. Virginia Beach leads the way in this area. My daughter will attend the Legal Studies Academy next year and we feel lucky that we have this option for her. I remember when I told a co-worker (that lives in another HR city) he asked "how much does that cost?" My answer: Not a dime. These schools are not for the talented or gifted few but are open to all. Last year there were over 3000 applications to the Legal Studies Academy alone. We must not squander this opportunity through inaction.
Would Like to know where Creigh Deeds stands on this important issue.
"Detractors say they can draw dollars and involved parents away
from struggling public schools." And they are "struggling" because ... ? The NEA and VEA are vehemently opposed to charter schools because they see them as a threat to their stranglehold on public education, their membership, and funding. If the public schools were satisfying parents, there would be no need for charter schools. If you produce a quality product, you should have no fear of competition.
Only in Virginia
Virginia has to be one of the very few states that leaves it up to the local school boards to approve charter schools.
When is our state going to realize that having competition helps schools thrive and improve the education for our children. All our schools are focused on is preventing charter schools so that they don't lose funding. Its all about the almighty dollar.
Same reason many of the schools allow their teachers to give answers to students to help improve/ increase test results for standardized tests. The principals of these schools would not allow their school to show real results because they do not want their jobs and more importantly their funding to go away. Some may think this doesn't happen but I have teachers from the various schools that tell me this is going on each year.
I have family outside of Virginia whose children have gone to charter schools and it has brought into our minds several times the option of leaving the great state of Virginia, because the school system is not up to par.
Please allow charter schools in Virginia. Take the control of approval away from local school districts and lets find every opportunity to improve our educati
Maybe we need to change Virginia's Constitution
So the question is why shouldn't we?
This article was so biased I decided to respond. The group of children that benefit from charter schools is the group that has the worst environment to grow up in - poor and nonwhite. The values that are taught these children are that of the ghetto and that gets you prison, single mothers, and low incomes.
The charter schools provide discipline and direction for the future of Virginia. To say that they (charter schools) range in quality is to ignore the poor quality of public schools. It is also to ignore that they are teaching some of the hardest students to teach because of their home environment.
It seems that charter schools would help the public schools by taking students that would have a hard time with SOL tests and thereby hurt the public schools reputation. Of course, it was shown in this article that all the public schools are after is money and power.
The Dept of Education
"President Barack Obama’s education secretary, Arne Duncan, said this month that states must embrace charter schools or endanger their chance to compete for as much as $6 billion in education grants."
The Dept of Education at the Federal Level (and other levels) has its head so far up its derriere. This stick-and-carrot ploy they always use - funds, is old and rather trifling. Is it any wonder why the public school system is having so much trouble? As if NCLB weren't a disaster on its own, now let us withhold useful money. I guess it's a good thing that federal funds account for no more than 10% of available education funds. Most would refer to this tactic as coercion, which I always thought was illegal, but I guess not when the gov't does it.