CST
CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY
Spring 2009
www.charterschoolstoday.com
Education With Aloha
Kua O Ka LÄ Public Charter School
An Old-Fashioned School with a High-tech Edge Literacy First Charter School
Blazing Trails Through Cyberspace
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School
THE MAG A ZINE FO R CH ARTER SCH O O L E X ECU TIVES
Editorial Editor in Chief: Alonzo Ellis
Managing Editor: Rebecca Czarnecki
Production Director: Hayley Gold
Contributing Editors: Dr. Tiffany Griffin
Project Directors: Eric Gunn Hanim Samara Todd Rodgers
Correspondents:
Shelley Seyler, Senior Staff Writer Holly Alexander Jim Barlow Jacqueline Bodnar Prem Desai Lauren Muscarella
Letter from the Editor
Our country is witnessing a historic moment. While global leaders seek to aid the economy, charter school leaders are seeking to reform education in America. It is an exciting time for educators; our new president, despite having inherited an economy that requires domestic and international tailoring, is elevating the importance of education and encouraging innovation in our nation’s schools. Thanks to President Obama’s attention, education is in the midst of the discussion about how to move the country through the undeniable challenges it presently faces. Charter schools in particular are poised to have significant influence. The spring issue of Charter Schools Today delves into the successes of 22 charter schools from across the country and the ideas and philosophies that help them reach their students. It will also highlight topical issues facing the movement as we begin a new era of our nation’s history. From Washington, D.C. to the islands of Hawai’i, our journal looks to capture those sometimes fleeting moments that can leave indelible marks on our students.
Bull Run Media Executive Team
In Washington, D.C., Friendship Public Charter School is armed with an important mission: to serve under-privileged youth in the nation’s capital. Using some of the latest technologies available, the school makes a point to support the whole child.
Kalena Alston-Griffin, Partner Keyla Carr, Partner Alonzo Ellis, Partner
We also look for those schools that are truly redefining the landscape. Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in Midland, Pennsylvania is one such school. In its 10 years since inception, the school has grown by leaps and bounds, against the national trend of decreasing and disappearing cyber schools.
Publisher:
On the west coast, in El Cajon, California, Literacy First Charter School began with just three students and is today successfully flourishing, serving a diverse student body with hands-on projects and parental involvement.
Kalena Alston-Griffin, Partner
Executive Editor: Keyla Carr, Partner
Design Department:
Sheryvonn McDonald, Senior Designer Julie Hudak, Graphic Designer Ashish Kansara Jay Vandewani
Operations
Karyn Dowty, Director of Operations Daniella Gonzales Kelly Matlock
Advertising Sales & Marketing Department: Bjorn Michals William Lee Yin
Kua O Ka Lā in Hawai’i exists for the purpose of catering to children of Native Hawaiian origin. Budding from the roots of a non-profit with a similar mission, the school is fostering a sense of Hawaiian culture in each student while still balancing, and in many cases surpassing, the necessary testing requirements. We are excited to see the successful implementation of ground-breaking ideas serving students and out-growing the mold of traditional education. And yet, we know that many challenges remain; this edition addresses current issues in a discussion on how we can overcome these barriers. From school expansion to unique learning curriculum and instruction, charter schools around the country are also listening. As a movement, we are listening and waiting to see how the new administration will re-draw education in America. As we continue to monitor these developments, we hope you enjoy and share what we included in the pages of the spring edition of Charter Schools Today. We will continue to serve as a voice in these undefined times and we are elated to see innovative and improving trends for our students’ and our country’s future. ~CST
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Contents
Cover Story Blazing Trails Through Cyberspace Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber), has achieved particular success, making it an example for online public education here and abroad. This is due, in part, to the school’s core focus on learning and student-level educational outcomes. PA Cyber uses technology to facilitate instruction, not replace it, serves a diverse student body, has high-quality curriculum, and facilitates social development.
page 25
Spotlights 6
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Regional Spotlight: New England An overview of New England charter schools.
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State Caps on Charter Schools Examining the argument for removing caps and the positive impact it would have on the charter school movement.
Dealing With the Financial Crisis in Your Classroom Learning how to make the most of what you have. Ipods in School-Turning Toys Into Tools Teaching with technology and making the most of it.
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Time Management Organize your time with the building blocks of productivity.
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Spotlight on Behavior Teaching anger management and emotional control to children.
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Op-Ed: American Education Is the dream slipping away?
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President Obama and Charters Looking at the president's stance on charters from what he said on the campaign trail to their inclusion in the stimulus.
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Technology in Schools The back to school cell phone craze is booming.
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Facilities Financing Some tools for the never-ending challenge.
American Education in a Globalizing World How the American education system measures up to the rest of the world and the influence of charter schools.
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Spotlight: Your Charter as a Business Resolving employee morale issues so you can have a happier and more vibrant workplace.
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Workplace Performance Improve your workers' productivity and reduce sick days.
Charter Schools Today
Spring 2009
Features North 18
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Great Expectations Freire Charter School, PA Teaching Respect and Much More Delaware Valley Charter High School, PA
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Blazing Trails Through Cyberspace Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, PA
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Where Failure is Not an Option Sisulu-Walker Charter School, NY
South 42
Building Students' Minds and Characters Meridian Public Charter School, D.C.
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Teaching at a Higher Level Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School, MD
Sitting on 600 acres of oceanfront, Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School in Hawai’i is not your typical charter school. pg 92 48
Providing a Well-Rounded Education Friendship Public Charter School, Southeast Elementary Academy, D.C.
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Exposing Students to New Challenges Arlington Classics Academy, TX
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Investing in Quality Houston Gateway Academy, TX
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Rebuilding After Disaster Lafayette Academy Charter School, LA
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Closing the Achievement Gap Kinston Charter Academy, NC
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Giving Children a Chance to Be Their Very Best Escambia Charter School, FL
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Establishing Reading as an Academic Backbone St. Mary's Academy, TX
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Partnerships with Parents and the Community Gateway Charter Academy, TX
Midwest & West 82 86
Focus on the Environment and the Arts River Heights Charter School, MN
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A Small Charter School with Big Ideas Beehive Science & Technology Academy, UT
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Education with Aloha Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School, HI
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Addressing Real-World Issues Chula Vista Community Learning Charter, CA
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The Waldorf Difference Pine Forest Charter School, AZ
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An Old-Fashioned School with a High-Tech Edge Literacy First Charter School, CA
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Helping Charter Schools Across Arizona Education Team Partners, AZ
Building Strong Foundations New Designs Charter School, CA
Literacy First is thriving with a dynamic mix of students. Located on the “urban fringe,” as Beyer describes it, the school attracts a diverse student body. pg 106
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Spotlights
Dealing With the Financial Crisis in Your Classroom: Learning How to Make the Most of What You Have Almost every sector is affected by the economic crisis in one way or another, and the Education sector is no exception. Classrooms all over the country if not the world are being affected by budget cuts. Teaching materials are scarce, after school services are being eliminated, and layoffs are becoming inevitable. Do you have less teaching materials to use in your classroom? Are your planned activities not as engaging as they used to be as a result? Here are a few suggestions that will help bring back the enthusiasm and a full engagement from your students in your classroom again. The most basic thing you can do is to recycle your old teaching materials. For example, you can adapt materials that were used 2 or 3 years ago with your 5th grade class to plan activities for your current 7th grade class. The next option is to literally raid your colleagues’ closets. Fellow teachers are a great resource for teaching materials. Teachers are known to keep all types of materials including decorative materials years after years. It is common knowledge that teachers have a hard of getting rid of their teaching materials hoping that such materials will be somehow reused in the future. Teachers have always used their imagination and skills in their classroom. Teacher-created materials as it is known are materials that teachers create to be used in their classrooms for specific lessons. The financial crisis and the challenges that it brings is a great opportunity for you to put your imagination to use. This is a great time to pull out your construction paper, scissors, markers, etc. Your imagination is the limit. Finally, have you ever thought about swapping or selling your teaching materials? As mentioned above, most teachers have accumulated a lot of materials over the years that are either sitting in their closets or that they no longer have any use for. Do you have any used materials that other teachers can use in their classrooms? That activity book that you used 5 years ago with your New York City 3rd grade class can certainly be of use to a 3rd grade teacher in Kansas this fall. In return, you will gain access to materials needed for your current assignment. Swap it, sell it, and use it. The economic crisis is inevitably affecting American classrooms. Budget cuts make teaching materials more and more scarce nowadays. In order to keep your lessons interesting to your students, you need to be very imaginative. Recycle, create your own materials, swap or sell your old teaching materials. About the Author: Gia Theodore is the founder of http://www.swapboards4teachers. com and Educationow. Educationow is a resource for educators, scholars, researchers, and others seeking to improve and raise the level of educational standards in the world. Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/dealingwith-the-financial-crisis-in-your-classroom-707931.html
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Charter Schools Today
Spring 2009
Ipods in SchoolTurning Toys Into Tools: Teaching With Technology Everywhere you go in the world today, you see people with iPods connected to them. Do you ever wonder what they are listening to? Maybe you assume they have some crazy music pumping into their brain? What if they are listening to award-winning works of literature? Reading is imperative to becoming a successful and productive citizen.
for students to hear and see words multiple times. Research tells us that effective fluency instruction begins with modeled reading. Audioassisted reading can provide unlimited practice for students, while silent independent reading alone has not shown to increase reading fluency. Finally, audio books create motivated readers.
Students who struggle with reading will struggle in most subject areas in school and in many avenues of life. Using audio books to improve reading fluency with all readers promotes success for students in most areas of life. Intervening early improves student achievement along with self-esteem.
There are at least four ways iPods in school increases student achievement and motivation; independent reading, shared or smallgroup reading, whole class listening, and lending out the audio books for home use.
Audio books are an excellent solution for teachers to use when attempting to instruct students of differing ability levels and with different learning challenges such as struggling, reluctant, below-grade readers, bilingual students, special needs children as well as those children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorders or Dyslexia. The iPods in School program started at DeKeyser Elementary in early 2007 with 25 iPod Shuffles and some audio books. Children in second and third grades check out the book and the iPod for use outside of school. Students document whether they read along with the audio book, or just listen, and whether they discuss the book with their parent after listening. These books and iPods are in great demand within these two grade levels. The excitement for reading is immense and parents and children report pleasure in the project. In addition to listening to books commonly found in the library, I would like to expand the program to include the textbooks from different classes and grade levels to help those students who need to either hear the text again, or are struggling to read it the first time. Research (from Boston Public Schools) proves that audio books accelerate reading gains. Data shows that audio books can improve reading comprehension by 34% as it bridges the gap for students attempting to read text above their individual reading level. Listening to oral reading is also proven to help students acquire new vocabulary while stimulating vocabulary development by allowing opportunities
“Do you have any brand new audio books?” “Which one is your favorite?” “Have you listened to this one? It has a great person with lots of expression reading!” These are common questions from seven-, eight-, and nine-year old children engaged in our iPods in School program. In addition to improvement in reading scores and motivation for reading, seeing the eager children begging for iPods and audio books to check out of the library makes the program extremely worthwhile. With the cost of the iPod Shuffle decreasing to just $49, this cost of implementing this program is not extreme. The benefits far outweigh the cost. Excite your students and have them begging to listen to quality literature! About the Author: Join Kathy and a group of educators dedicated to improving student learning through technology in the Mastermind Group of Educators http:// mastermindgroupofeducators.com for continued support, resources, book discounts and community in educational technology. Kathy Cothran is an elementary media specialist committed to helping teachers engage students through the uses of technology. Her vast teaching experience ranges from preschool through Master’s level education classes. For years Kathy has been a “Gadget Girl.” She loves technology! Tie that to her extensive teaching background and she has been able to interest, invigorate, and inspire children and teachers to use technology in a rich, exciting manner. Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/ipods-inschool-turning-toys-into-tools-teaching-with-technology-727107.html
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Spotlights
Time Management Organize Your Time with the Building Blocks of Productivity An effective daily schedule can be constructed with three types of blocks. Structuring each day starts with locating a space for large block, followed by several medium blocks of grouped activities. How much you can pile on (your productivity) each day depends on how well you organize your time.
productive when you can focus on one type of task rather than switching back and forth among assorted tasks. Constant multi-tasking slows you down. Activities that can be grouped include returning non-urgent telephone calls, processing your email inbox, filing, and reading.
What lessons you can learn from small children! One day I was watching two youngsters, ages 3 and 5, playing with “bricks” constructed out of heavy cardboard. The brick blocks came in three sizes: a 10” x 16” rectangle, a 10” square, and the standard 3” x 10” brick size. Over time they spent hours creating structures. At the beginning there was no understanding of larger pieces providing a stronger foundation for the smaller pieces and so things would come tumbling down without using all of the bricks. With lots of trial and error the children discovered that if they started with the biggest size, they were more likely to be able to use all of the bricks.
The length of this session depends on the work. If you average about five phone calls at a time, you may only need to block out ten to fifteen minutes. With email, you might need to spend thirty minutes at a time. Any of these can be repeated during the day. For instance, you might quickly check your email first thing in the morning for ten minutes to handle urgent issues, then spend thirty minutes before lunch and thirty minutes again later in the afternoon. Stick to the amount of time that you have originally allotted rather than letting it trail on. That will keep you focused on the task at hand and will increase your productivity. Move what you do not complete to the next block of time.
An effective daily schedule can also be constructed with three types of blocks. How much you can pile on (your productivity) each day depends on how well you organize your time. Large Blocks - Your Day’s Foundation Make your day’s foundation an uninterrupted block of time when you can focus on difficult, involved projects. The ideal length is an hour and a half, approximately twenty percent of an eight-hour day. If you cannot possibly find that length of time, try for an hour. Even with 45 minutes of uninterrupted time you can get a significant amount of work completed because you are not requiring twenty additional minutes after each interruption to get back into the “flow.” As you develop this routine, aim for the hour and a half each day. During this time, do not answer every phone call. Turn off your general email alerts. If you want to ensure that a certain person or message gets through immediately, set up your software rules to notify you of that specific message. When you can block twenty percent of your time, you will accomplish about eighty percent of your work for the day. You recognize instinctively that having uninterrupted time is effective when you arrive at work an hour early or stay for a couple of extra hours at the end of a day, knowing you will get so much done in that quiet time. Why not become more productive by including that quiet time within your day instead of adding extra hours in order to get the same amount of work done? Medium Blocks (Grouping Blocks) -- Multi-Tasking Isn’t Always The Best Option Group as many like activities as possible since you are four times more
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Charter Schools Today
Spring 2009
Small Blocks - The New Items and Lower Priority Tasks To Be Handles New items and lower priority tasks can be worked on between the other blocks. These might include requests for help from a colleague, quick answers to questions, filling out forms, and other project components that did not fit into your major blocks, but that you still have time to work on. Structuring each day starts with locating a space for that large block, followed by several medium blocks of grouped activities. Small blocks are then added. If you do the reverse, which means coming in to work and clearing out the small items before you find a time for the most important work, you may wrap up the day without handling your priorities. Why spend extra hours in the evenings on work that you could have fit into the day with the right construction of your schedule? About the Author: As a productivity trainer, organizing specialist, and owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc., Denise Landers has spent years speaking, training, consulting, and coaching on the topics of time management and effective workflow. If you’d like to attend an organizing seminar but do not have the time, Landers now provides you with the full benefits of corporate training in managing time, paper, and email while listening at your own convenience. Get The Productivity Series at: http://www.keyorganization.com/cds.asp Article Source: www.businesshighlight.org
Op-Ed: American Education Is the Dream Slipping Away? The American Dream is also slipping in the K-12 systems throughout the country. Too few students are prepared to function in a world that is filled with computer technology. Students need exposure to technology early. Some say that analyzing the changes in the American Dream by looking at elementary school is not appropriate. The country needs to take a long term look at how each citizen is prepared for future employment demands. The types of jobs that K-12 students must fill will require different types of abilities which must be an integral part of their current education. There is a sea of changes happening in the financial markets that provided families with funding to pay for K-12 education and college. Individuals who have a decent income are finding it more difficult to obtain a loan with a good interest rate. It is putting a greater pressure on families to save more money. Unfortunately, saving money can be difficult when a couple is living in a major city. The inability to obtain fair interest rates may force students to take out loans with higher interest rates that will last 30 years. People all over the world still come to the United States with the expectation of the American dream. The dream that they can start new lives and have greater freedom continues to draw them to this country. They understand that having access to education will increase their children’s employability. It’s important that the country uses the talents of every citizen that is here. America needs to prepare for an increasing diversity in the workforce of the 21st century.
There was a time when each American generation thought that the next generation would do better than themselves. A good college education would lead to employment in a company for thirty years. The dream of an American education is slipping away due to the rising cost of post-secondary education. Now it seems that a college education does not guarantee sufficient income. Some college graduates are returning home because they cannot afford student loans and the cost of living. Students who have to work to pay for college are finding it difficult to keep pace with the cost of living. It is not uncommon to have a book cost $100.00 or more. Students do not get much in return for selling their book back to the bookstore. The cost of room and board is rising steadily as the price for food, electric and gas continue to increase. The recent changes in minimum wage also lag behind the typical living expenses. Students are facing financial challenges outside of the classroom that are causing them to sit out for a semester or two.
The American Dream is what the citizens make it. It takes everyone working together toward a common cause. Some K-12 schools and colleges are enduring difficult times keeping up with the rapid changes in society. Students are using the internet to communicate their changing perceptions of America’s commitment to their dreams and desires. They realize the amount of debt that they will accrue to pay for college. Some students are asking is it worth getting a college degree if they cannot get a basic job after graduation. America must rethink how it will invest in providing every student who wants to experience a college education with the financial aid resources to do it. About Dr. Stephen Jones: For twenty-six years, Dr. Jones has delivered presentations on numerous topics including how to study, leadership, effective communication, and innovative management practices. He is the author of two books one is titled “Seven Secrets of How to Study” and the second is the “Parent’s Ultimate Education Guide.” The book provides an easy understanding of the seven pillars that are essential to learning effective study techniques. His URL is http://www.sevenbooks.net.
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Spotlights
Technology in Schools The Back to School Cell Phone Craze is Booming When students and parents start their shopping list for the new school year one item on the top of their list is a cell phone. How times have changed. The idea of searching for paper and pencils is taking a back seat to modern technology. The cell phone companies have caught on and they are releasing so many new cell phones each month that it is hard for anyone to catch up. Cell phones have reached epidemic proportions throughout American society. You cannot go to a city or countryside road without finding someone who is using a cell phone. A growing phenomenon among parents and students is text messaging. The ringing of the phone has been silenced by the tapping of alphabetic keys. Messages between cell phones can be transferred instantaneously. Students are using text messaging to respond to each other and to communicate with their parents. Abbreviations are often used when text messages are sent. It represents a form of communication that has broad implications
for society. Text messaging can take up time that a student would normally spend studying. At the same time students can send a reminder that a homework assignment is due. It has become a two edged sword that allows parents to pick up a child from football practice or to plan a trip to a movie. Communicating fast has become an even faster way of keeping parents in touch with their student. Parents realize that when their son/daughter goes back to school putting down the cell phone to focus will require real discipline. Students are too easily disrupted by the buzz of their cell phones. The speed at which a student communicates can cause a chain reaction of positive or negative results for a student who has a test on the next day. Peer pressure can even occur when one student yields to the temptation to respond to a cell phone call rather than study. Communication by way of the cell phone is here to stay. School districts are forced to come up with strong statements about
when the cell phone may be used during the school day. Students try to find creative ways to ignore the rules. Parents are frustrated when they must go to school to retrieve their son/daughters cell phone. Learning by way of the cell phone has been a challenge for most schools. Cell phone use is not easily incorporated into class instruction like an actual computer. Some professionals have found ways to download papers to the cell phone and read them while they are traveling but this is not a priority for students. Some students are using their cell phones to discuss assignments and presentations they are giving. Students can save some of the major points of their presentation on their cell phone. Students can send a reminder that a quiz is occurring tomorrow to a friend. Messages like it’s time to get prepared. Some students put reminders in their cell phone and the phone makes a funny noise to remind them to start preparation for a major test. The calendar can also be used as a way to manage time. During the twenty first century technology will continue to influence the back to school journey. Schools that use laptop computers to educate students are already springing up all over the country. Cell phones do offer news, television and the internet but most students do not have access to these services. Moving forward bringing the cost down and increasing the services will make the versatility of the cell phone a total learning experience. It is apparent that going back to school will never be the same. About Dr. Stephen Jones: For twenty years, Dr. Jones has delivered presentations on topics including how to study, leadership, effective communication, and innovative education practices. Working with students has enabled Dr. Jones to have a complete understanding of the challenges their facing http://www.sevenbooks.net.
10 | Charter Schools Today
Spring 2009
Facilities Financing Some Tools for the Never-Ending Challenge Written by Holly Alexander Facilities are almost always a challenge for charter schools. A high proportion are required to lease rather than own facilities, and funding is highly competitive. In addition, many districts provide little or no facilities funding to their public charter schools, so many charters need to pull some of their facilities money from per-pupil operating funds, and raise additional dollars from foundations or other sources. The unfortunate reality is that per-pupil operating funds for charter schools are almost always lower than those for traditional public schools in their districts. Currently, charter schools receive per-pupil operating funds at an average of only 73 percent of the amount given to traditional public schools in the same districts. Only a handful of states have provided perpupil facilities funding to public charter schools, though 26 states provide some state aid, such as the use of vacant school district buildings, while 14 states provide no facilities assistance of any kind for charters.
However, there are some bright spots in government funding and private sector partnerships and resources. Several types of opportunities for school funding in the new economic stimulus plan, officially the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed by President Barack Obama on March 6, are of interest. The bill first addresses the fact that there are major funding problems on all fronts as states and communities, which must operate with balanced budgets, have begun slashing education funds. The bill allots $48 billion for general education spending to state and local governments. It requires that 81.8 percent of that be used to restore recent cuts, including higher education. This may be especially important to charter schools since they already need to stretch their per-pupil funds so far.
The remaining 18.2 percent of the funding may be used to support instruction, although it can also go to other state and local needs, including modernizing schools. The report accompanying the bill recognizes charter schools as beneficiaries of the funding, so they can’t be overlooked when distributing the funding; however, it doesn’t mandate any funding, either. Governors have been able to request ARRA funding since April 1. For the discretionary money as well as other parts of the act directed toward school facilities funding, projects that are ready to go have a significant advantage, since the goal is to stimulate the economy as quickly as possible and monies must be spent by December 31, 2010. Some states and communities say they may prefer to spend the unrestricted portion of the stimulus money on facilities or technology upgrades rather than operating costs, because
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Spotlights
they don’t want to increase general school funding that they won’t be able to continue after 2010. The ARRA also offers several tax programs that can benefit public charter schools, including $1.4 billion in new funding to Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, $22 billion for a school construction bond program, $10 billion to the New Markets Tax Credit Program and $25 billion in Recovery Zone Bonds, all of which might be tapped for school facilities. These are all bond programs, not grants. They generally require a package of funding through community development agencies, who in turn work with banks and other financial institutions to issue, sell and manage the bond issues. Foundation and other grants may be combined with these funds. Administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds is a revival of a federal program funded in 1999 - 2004, and can only be used for schools. It may not be used for new construction, but can underwrite renovating school buildings, purchasing equipment, developing curricula and/or training school personnel.
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The newly authorized school construction bonds will provide $22 billion, $11 billion in 2009 and the remaining $11 billion next year. They, along with other public-entity bonds, use a new structure with a mix of traditional non-taxable bonds and taxable bonds offering above-average returns. The bond money will be distributed to states, the 100 “large local education agencies” recognized by the federal government, and to Native American tribes based on the number of people aged 5 to 18 in their populations. Charter schools have built facilities with funding assistance from the New Markets Tax Credits Program since its inception in 2002. Directed to building projects in low-income communities, most of the funding goes to housing, but community and business projects can be funded, too. One such project is $14 million to refinance facility debt for the Thurgood Marshall Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., put together by City First Bank. The school says the bonds will save $50,000 per year, with a total value of $5.5 million, and allow it to begin spending all donor money on education for the first time in its history. The high school’s new building, completed in January, includes
13 classrooms, three science labs, a library and media center, and a moot courtroom. January was a great month – Thurgood Marshall was also named the most-improved school in D.C. by Business Week magazine and the Council of Great City Schools. City First Bank put together a similar package for the E.L. Haynes Public Charter School, also in D.C., which allowed it to purchase property and build a new 46,000-square-foot building to serve 468 K - 8 students. The new $21 million facility opened in 2008. In addition to two classrooms for each grade, the building has a large cafeteria/auditorium space, regulationsize gym, a state-of-the-art science laboratory, and both art and music rooms. View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Schools in the Crenshaw area of South Los Angeles were the first to be financed by the Los Angeles Charter School New Markets (LACSNM) fund. View Park’s latest funding award is for its high school, which will build a new, three-story, 19,000 square-foot building, including 12 regular classrooms plus one for performing arts, a college center, administrative offices, a cafeteria, storage areas and underground parking. View Park is one of a number of Inner City Education Foundation
Public Schools (ICEF) in Los Angeles. Another of its partners is the New Schools Venture Fund, which raises venture capital for projects focused on low-income and minority children in urban communities, and has put together funding packages for both individual and groups of charter schools across the nation. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, dedicated to improving urban education, has been another contributor, and donated to many more charter schools organizations, including the California Charter Schools Association, Green Dot Public Schools in Los Angeles (which opened a school in New York in 2008), Aspire Public Schools in Oakland, California, and YES Prep Public Schools in Houston, Texas. California, the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Utah are generally far ahead of other states in funding charter school buildings because they were originally the only states eligible for a federal program called the State Charter Schools Facilities Incentive Grants Program, which awarded five-year grants in 2004, but was never funded again. Funding
was limited to the states and the District that provided state per-pupil funding for charter schools, and they were the only four that did so. While it isn’t part of the stimulus bill, it should also be noted that some of the most significant funding for charter school facilities to date was provided by a federal grant program titled the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities, which has assisted a much broader group of charter schools since 2002. Grant funds are used to help charter schools improve their credit rating, which in turn help them borrow and leverage money for facilities. In 2008, credit enhancement funds went to Civic Builders, Inc., which received $8.3 million to help build and renovate charter schools in New York and New Jersey. In 2007, $36.5 million in funding went to Housing Partnership Inc. in Boston, the Illinois Facilities Fund, the Low Income Investment Fund in San Francisco and the Michigan Public Educational Facilities Authority. Previous enhancement fund winners were America’s Charter (now part of Building Hope), Center for Community Self-Help,
Charter Schools Development Corporation, Community Loan Fund of New Jersey, Inc., Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Raza Development Fund and Reinvestment Fund. These and other organizations and businesses interested in charter schools are developing additional facilities resources for charter schools. Individual businesses have also helped charter school facility needs with resources including donated faculties, low-cost leases for buildings and direct grants to a school’s capital campaign. Some businesses have provided loans, or loan guarantees similar to the federal credit enhancement program. The fourth bond program in the stimulus bill, Recovery Zones Bonds, will be awarded to states based on their decrease in employment as compared to the national rate. Each state will be required to allocate money to counties and municipalities with populations of 100,000 or more, based on how much their decrease in employment exceeds the state average. These bonds may be used for whatever economic recovery priorities the state, county or municipality may choose.
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Spotlights
Workplace Performance Improve Your Workers' Productivity and Reduce Sick Days Have you asked your employees what their New Year’s Resolution is? If the answers are similar to my informal survey this year, chances are that around 25% of your employees want to lose some weight and get into shape this year. Obviously, it is in your company’s best interests for them to achieve their health goal because their improved health will generally translate to improved efficiency and less sick days off. So what is your company doing to support the health goals of your employees? To support the health objectives of your work colleagues the human resources manager just needs to get in touch with the staff and find out what their health goals are. You can do this in casual conversation or in a staff memo or email.
Have a follow up conversation with the work colleagues who do want to get into shape and ask them how your company could help them achieve their goal. At the suggestion of this, some human resource managers defensively reply, “We already provide discounted gym memberships and health insurance.” But is this what your work colleagues want? Low participation rates in many so called Corporate Wellness programs seem to suggest that many corporate wellness programs are not so interested in improving the health of their work force. For one, the large majority of companies do not even measure the fitness or health of their staff. It would be easy to conclude that it is a greater priority for the company to be seen to be supporting the health of the work force than delivering actual results. But how can you measure health results of your employees? I suggest three ways to measure results... The first is to have an annual physical. This could include a standard blood test (by a wellness-based doctor), fitness test (at the local gym with a trainer) and a postural assessment/spinal screening (by a chiropractor). I recommend a doctor with training in wellness and prevention to do and interpret the blood test because they often request a more thorough blood analysis of certain biomarkers of health rather than the standard cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It is important to monitor your fitness levels because it is a reliable indicator of how well workers will be able to maintain your energy at work. There are a variety of fitness tests that can be performed. When I studied exercise physiology at the University of Adelaide, we compared different fitness tests that estimated your fitness level (Your VO2 max) to the actual accurate measurement of your fitness (VO2 max). The problem is that this test requires you to exercise to exhaustion while being connected to all sorts of machines and monitors. We found that different fitness tests were not an accurate measure of your actual fitness but we did find that if you continue to do the same fitness test over time, the results are an accurate indication of your fitness progress. So when you measure your fitness with these tests that
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estimate your fitness, don’t worry what fitness level it says that you are. Just use the results to monitor your progress and beat your previous result. Getting a spinal screening and postural evaluation is one of the most important things to get measured because aches, pains and injuries are one of the most costly ailments for business. It is essential that these evaluations are performed by a chiropractor because they are the best trained in detecting potential weak spots and imbalances that can cause injury in the future. Many companies and schools have had nurses or physical therapists do a spinal check by getting them to bend forward and that’s it. Because their training is more on rehabilitating injuries than prevention, using such professionals has resulted in failing to prevent so many injuries that have been waiting to happen. Since back pain is one of the biggest costs to business you want to be checked by the profession that has the best record in dealing with back pain. Secondly you should ask your employee to rate their health. I can recall many years ago that an article published in a major medical journal shocked the medical profession. The study concluded that doctors should actually listen to what the patients were saying because if you asked the patients how they were, typically their answers were quite accurate.
You just need to ask your team to rate their health on a scale of 0 -100. Then ask them what needs to happen to their health in order to get them their score to 100. This presents the perfect opportunity to ask how your company can support them in this goal. Thirdly you should monitor their lifestyle with a simple lifestyle evaluation form. That way you can identify potentially harmful lifestyle habits and direct them to healthier alternatives and advice. With many people making New Year resolutions to get into shape, the start of the New Year is the ideal time to assist your employees with their health goals because they are often more motivated at that time. In reality you can start any time. The fact that you even ask your employees about their health and are interested in their health shows your employees that the company cares about them. Not only will this help the health of your employees and confer productivity benefits to your company, the fact that your company shows that you care will create loyalty and produce work productivity benefits on their own. About the Author: Dr. Paul Lanthois is the director of The Work Life Balance Foundation, www.WorkLifeBalanceFoundation.com, that develops personalized health improvement strategies for company employees that result in greater productivity, energy, stress relief and less days absent through illness. Article Source: http://human-resources-mgt bestmanagementarticles.com
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Spotlights
Regional Spotlight: New England An Overview of New England Charter Schools Written by Lauren Muscarella In late February 2009 during an address to a Joint Session of Congress, President Barack Obama said, “We know that our schools don’t just need more resources. They need more reform. That is why this budget creates new incentives for teacher performance, pathways for advancement, and rewards for success. We’ll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps, and we will expand our commitment to charter schools.”
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Obama has consistently urged states to lift limits on charter schools and some have been more responsive than others. New England’s six states, though close in proximity, have varying levels of engagement on the issue of charter schools.
Currently, state law caps charter school enrollment in individual communities. Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty D-Mass., and Sen. Jack Hart D-Mass. both filed legislation that would lift the cap and allow more charter schools to open in high-need communities.
In Massachusetts, a state that boasts 63 active charter schools, some legislators see charter schools serving the inner-city, low-income, minority students and want to encourage more of the same. Others fervently disagree.
Another piece of legislation introduced by Rep. Karyn Polito, R-Mass., would change how charter schools in Massachusetts are funded. According to the Massachusetts Association for Public Charter Schools
(MAPCS), the proposal would shift onehalf of charter public schools’ funding out of the Chapter 70 formula and into a separate budget line-item, exposing half of charter school funding to annual attacks by the teachers union, superintendents and school committees. Taking this course of action would be a sharp deviation from Massachusetts’ consistent generosity and support of charter schools. The state currently sends money back to the districts after students leave. Replenishing the funding is a sign that Massachusetts recognizes there are fixed costs and gives those districts time to adjust their budgets or back fill seats, in which case they don’t lose state aid. Its neighbor, New Hampshire, a state with 12 active charter schools, has been confronted by similar legislation. Recently, the House passed an amendment that would jeopardize the state’s public charter school program if it was made into law. According to the New Hampshire Center for Innovative Schools (NHCIS), the amendment limits start up funding, adds redundancy to the approval process to become a charter and extends the moratorium on state-approved charter schools for two additional years to June 2011. This amendment would harm New Hampshire’s ability to compete for federal start up grants by showing a lack of support for charter schools and further confusing or micro managing the state’s charter school law. The NHCIS released this statement after the amendment passed, “At a time when New Hampshire is taking positive steps to streamline charter school authorization encourage local authorization and applying for potentially millions of dollars in federal aid, this amendment is unnecessary, adds another layer of bureaucracy and can be harmful to the public charter school program in New Hampshire.” While debates heat up in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont do not have any active charter schools. With tough economic times prevailing, many public schools are losing funding and shutting down. Educators see these closings as an opportunity to open charter schools to curb high school dropout rates that have run rampant, in Maine especially. While Vermonters have been somewhat
divided on the issue, charter schools have garnered substantial support over the past few years in Maine. Maine is currently in the planning stages and will soon submit a bill modeled after the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) in Washington, D.C., to finally bring charter schools to the state. According to the Maine Association for Charter Schools, MACS, the bill will “seek to expand learning opportunities for disengaged students who are underserved by the current system,” turn failing public schools into charter schools, provide teachers with an active role and voice in students’ academic goals, grant eligibility for funding from the Federal Charter School Grant Program, FCSGP, and allow Maine to accept students from out-of-state on a space-available basis while charging them tuition. The outcome from the varying degree of advocacy for charter schools can only be measured in time. There are, however, several studies being conducted in states that show the benefit of charter schools, especially for those in areas of distress. The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) is engaged in a federally-funded, three-year endeavor called Keeping the
Promise: the Massachusetts Charter School Dissemination and Replication Project (KTP). Through KTP, MCPSA studied five high-performing urban schools, documented their keys to success, produced papers, a book, and a film, and offered study tours. The goal was documentation, dissemination, and replication of critical and common practices in high-performing urban charter schools. The results showed improved retention rates and standardized test scores, two of the several reasons many educators continue to support charter school expansion. In some states expansion has been stunted by a resounding lack of support. Both Connecticut and Rhode Island, each with less than 20 active charter schools, have hit a similar wall of issues as their geographic counterparts regarding funding and legislation. Despite these challenges there have been measurable successes. Many educators support charter schools because they are run by independent boards, make skillful use of longer school days and enhance curricula.
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Freire Charter School Great Expectations Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar In 1999, in the heart of Philadelphia, a charter school opened its doors. Today, this school operates from a $4.7 million annual budget, serving 480 students ranging from 9th to 12th grades. If there is one thing that sets Freire Charter School apart from others, it is the fact that they don’t have low expectations for their students. Freire raises the educational bar, which helps guide students to academic success. The problem of low standards in public, often urban, school settings is an issue that Kelly Davenport, Ed.D., the head of the school, cites as one of the biggest problems in education today. Davenport has been with the school since its opening and is passionate about her students and the mission of the school. Graduating as a Spanish major from college, she went on to teach for two years in Portugal, and has earned a doctorate in urban education. “The low expectations put on our kids is such a problem,” says Davenport. “The system of education itself generates low expectations for kids and teachers. And this trend has got to stop.” A Different Approach Freire Charter School takes a unique approach to learning, where they aim to provide all students with a quality private education. While the name of the college preparatory school may leave you wondering how to pronounce it (“Free-air-ee”), it is a deliberate choice. The school is named after the late Paulo Freire, an important educational theorist and Brazilian instructor. His ideas and educational theories influence the school’s teaching philosophy.
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Paulo Freire believed a classical education, that being liberal arts and sciences, was not being taught efficiently in schools, and he offered a more effective method. His philosophy is based on the idea that students are not empty minds just waiting for a teacher to fill them up. Rather, he believed that a student-teacher relationship exists where both are in the process of learning from one another. His ideas are practiced at Freire Charter School, as they take on a student-centered educational approach. Using Freire’s approach, students at the school are not treated as passive learners. They evaluate their teachers, help in designing the curriculum, and even have a representative seat at the Board of Directors table. Learning and Beyond “We have no tolerance whatsoever for student misconduct,” explains Davenport. “We expect students to behave appropriately. When they don’t, Freire students learn from their mistakes so that next time they do things better. It’s all about the expectations we set for them.” With disciplinary issues resolved, the school focuses on a variety of subject areas, with college preparatory options at the forefront. The courses students elect to take at their school are what university admission offices look for when they apply for college. Students build a strong foundation of math,
biology, English, history, Spanish, and reading. Additional electives open to them include Advanced Biology, Environmental Science, African American Literature, Mass Communications, American Law, and Spanish IV. Students have opportunities to participate in varsity and junior varsity basketball, football, softball, track, soccer, and volleyball. The school also has a wide variety of clubs and activities to enrich the student’s experience, including book clubs, dancing, art, chess, drama, singing, business, photography, and student government. Additionally, some student groups, such as the National Honor Society, take part in charity-based initiatives to help those in the community, such as holding a penny drive. Being a college preparatory school, Freire makes sure that its students receive college counseling. They learn about college preparation and admission timelines, and are provided with a variety of tools to guide them through the process of applying to and preparing for college. This one-onone attention from a career counselor pays off in a big way as 98 percent of the school’s students go on to college. Behind the Scenes Every successful school needs committed teachers who make it their mission to help their students perform to the best of their ability. Freire
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North Charter School maintains quality teachers and personnel who have a thorough understanding of its educational philosophy and goals. It also takes routine measures to improve teacher quality and keep up with changing demands in the educational world. “We work in small teams and bring people in from the outside for training,” says Davenport. “That way, we are able to identify any weak areas and help the teachers to address them. Another thing that sets us apart - I don’t think you will find another school in the state that cares or works as much for kids as we do.” The school also appreciates the benefits that parental involvement brings, although they, like most schools, have not found a way to increase participation over 35 percent. Thus far, they do ask parents to speak to their kids about school, offer a back-to-school night for parents, and are working all the time to build meaningful relationships with parents. On Being a Charter School One of the ways Davenport recommends that other charter schools help with their budget issues is to keep their kids excited about, and therefore always attending, school. This, in turn, keeps enrollment up, which is imperative for maximized funding from the state. This may take some creativity, but it will pay off in the long run.
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When it comes to what Davenport would like to see changed for charter schools in Pennsylvania, she says that they need more elbow room. “Within the state of Pennsylvania, remember to pull back on legislation and allow for educators in the field to create a path for education that is student-centered,” says Davenport. “Educators need the space to focus most on what matters most- the students. It’s a tragedy when the job of an educator serves legislation more than it serves the kids.” What’s Next for Freire Davenport remains optimistic about the future of the school, expecting continued growth and planning to be there to lead the way. “In five years, I see us being the best school in the city, offering the same amenities, opportunities and qualities of a private school, but funded through the public system,” adds Davenport. “We plan to forge relationships with the local universities and hope to build a center for new and inspiring urban teachers someday. We also have 95 percent teacher retention, and we have impressive alumni and returning-student numbers. I see that continuing and even improving in the future.”
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Delaware Valley Charter High School Teaching Respect and Much More Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Prem Desai “We have a safe school, almost like a little oasis in the desert,” says Ernest Holiday, CEO and Principal of Delaware Valley Charter High School in Philadelphia. Offering safety to the students in the economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods that Delaware Valley Charter serves is exactly what attracts students to the school. “Philly has some problems. We don’t have any gang violence here. There are no weapons offenses here or teacher assaults. We have a strict respect code,” explains Holiday. That respect is an intrinsic part of their students’ education, helping to check violence at the door and allowing Delaware Valley to offer something that many area schools lack: a safe place to learn. Holiday is in his 15th year in education and has taught at every level before moving into his current role. “My wife was teaching and I started coaching my boys in little league and following them through their trials and tribulations in basketball, football, that kind of thing. I found out I really liked working with children and decided to start teaching.” “When I took over Delaware Valley Charter High School, it was a failing school…Right now, we are up 100 percent in reading and 450 percent in math.” Holiday has big goals for Delaware Valley and hopes his experience will help guide the school to 90 percent proficiency in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), with a changed focus on transition to college over the next five years. He also hopes that 100 percent of his students that graduate from high school will go to college and complete their studies to the degree level. “We are very big on making sure students have a safe environment so we came down hard on any who were fighting. We really believe in teaching our students not only academics but also social and behavioral skills; and that’s what lets me sleep well at night.” Delaware Valley was founded as a charter in 2000, but had been serving as a private school since 1970. It now has 710 students in grades 9 through 12, 80 staff and a budget of $6.5 million. “It was founded as a school to career - focused on preparing students to graduate from high school to go into the workforce,” says Holiday, who arrived in 2004. The school believes in structured teaching where instructors begin modeling then move to guided practice, to collaborative learning among students, and then to independent practice. Delaware Valley also elevates the importance of an interactive classroom where students have access to hands-on projects.
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Also unique is the school’s internship program that begins with ninthgraders and allows them to achieve their goal of preparing students for the work world: “We have a lot of students who go out and work in businesses in the community,” says Holiday. Delaware Valley has an impressive list of programs to offer their students that includes mandarin, culinary arts, cheerleading, sports, modeling, mock trial, computer aided design and fashion design. “We do believe in teaching the whole child,” says Holiday. We cater to any thing they may want.” Assessment must also play a vital role in the curriculum. “We feel that as long as we know the rules of the game then we’ll be fine.” That said, Holiday goes on to explain that the school prepares its students for standardized tests, aware that for the school to achieve its goals as a charter, their students need to able to perform well on standardized tests. Initially, the tests played a large role in shaping the curriculum because the school’s focus was to get back on track and make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). “At first we were focused on reading and then we moved towards Math once our reading scores started to increase. Now we’re increasing the math scores - pulling students out for extra help, tutoring after school, hiring additional teachers,” explains Holiday. Holiday sees two sides of AYP: “In the short term, it’s great to have goals; teachers need goals to strive after. Ultimately, though, the goal of AYP is for 100 percent proficiency which I think is going to be difficult to achieve and may be somewhat unrealistic.” Holiday also takes issue with the definition of “highly qualified teachers,” which sometimes gets in the way of hiring who he’d like. In Philadelphia, teachers can work towards their certification while in school; but Delaware Valley also offers uncertified teachers a Highly Qualified Teacher program which supports their quest for certification financially and through professional development.
“Congratulations to Ernest Holiday and the staff of DVCHS for their success and dedication to excellence!”
“Our teachers are working collaboratively and that’s the keyword,” says Holiday. We have some very talented teachers here and they weren’t sharing with each other.” Teachers work together within their individual departments to assess student performance and improve their instruction. When necessary, teachers also collaborate to refer students out for intervention. Discipline rests mainly with the classroom teacher. “We have a program called Discipline in the Secondary Classroom which involves practices like keeping behavior logs and tying behavior into grading - things that really motivate students to behave and do their work,” explains Holiday. Delaware Valley also has a Vice Principal of Student Affairs and Behavior Modification Specialists who provide support to teachers if situations get out of hand. Delaware Valley’s team of counselors, social workers, and administrators work to intervene before behavior requires suspensions of expulsions. Thanks to their hard work, the school has relatively few suspensions and no expulsions. “Of course,” says Holiday, “there are some major events that would
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North cause a student to be expelled but we see if we can find some way to pull that student back in. We don’t give up on students. Our goal is that every child in the school will succeed and they’re not allowed to fail.” Parental involvement is another important facet of helping their students achieve success. “They have a vested interest in their child - I’ve never met a parent who didn’t want their child to succeed,” says Holiday. Involving parents makes the education process a team effort. When students are struggling, contacting the parent is the first step. And the school works closely with the parents to set up a success plan that involves the school, the student, and parents. Working to benefit the surrounding community, the school is involved with various community service projects such as a recent Diabetes Walk, fundraisers for slain police officers, food drives and cleanup projects around the city. A couple of students are even going to Nicaragua over the summer to help build a school. Continuing to serve the surrounding community as a safe haven, Delaware Valley’s recent and exponential growth promises continuing success moving into the future.
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Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School Blazing Trails Through Cyberspace Produced by Hayley Gold & Written by Dr. Tiffany Griffin Cyber schools have sprung up all over the country over the past decade, yet one school, Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber), has achieved particular success, making it an example for online public education here and abroad. This is due, in part, to the school’s core focus on learning and student-level educational outcomes. PA Cyber uses technology to facilitate instruction, not replace it, serves a diverse student body, has high-quality curriculum, and facilitates social development.
The school’s inception came in the tiny Western Pennsylvania town of Midland, which had lost its high school after the local steel mill shut down and the population declined. The school’s 125 high school students were tuitioned to a neighboring school district. To give these displaced students another educational option, Dr. Nick Trombetta, superintendent of Midland Borough School District, persuaded community leaders to create an online school under the state’s newly-enacted charter school law.
Focus on the Students
Organizers hoped to enroll 50 students that first year. They got more than 500, from all over the state.
While opponents to PA Cyber focus on its non-traditional online approach as a hindrance to instruction and social development, PA Cyber faculty, administrators, and other leadership personnel go back to what is best for the students.
Dr. Trombetta, CEO of PA Cyber, brings with him years of experience in the educational realm including roles such as superintendent, principal, teacher, board member, and wrestling coach.
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“The last 10 years have been very exciting. We have grown by leaps and bounds and implemented programs that never existed before,” says Dr. Trombetta. Their unique methods and structure have won PA Cyber extensive media attention from both national and international sources. Since the school’s opening in 2000, the number of students attending their K-12 school has grown exponentially, despite declining trends in other cyber schools across the state. Currently, PA Cyber serves over 8,000 students with an annual budget of $80 million and a staff of 523. “I think it is one of our greatest strengths that we were started from scratch. It has taken 10 years but we have learned how to run an online school,” explains Fred Miller, communications coordinator for PA Cyber. Staying focused on its students, PA Cyber instruction and technological teams are constantly looking for and implementing the best ways to reach more students, design and implement effective and efficient instruction, while using revenues in the most conscientious manner possible. Given the nature of the school’s instructional methods, technology is the brick and mortar for its implementation and benefits a diverse group of Pennsylvania youth. The PA Cyber Student PA Cyber students have to have high levels of self-discipline to be able to respond to the structure of a non-traditional instructional
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classroom. Other than being self-disciplined and highly motivated, it is difficult to characterize the ‘typical’ PA Cyber student. This is because students represent ethnic and racial diversity, gender, and socioeconomic diversity, and come from both urban and rural neighborhoods. This diversity creates a learning community that far surpasses many traditional public schools, which are often divided along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic homogeneity. The PA Cyber Curriculum Coursework at PA Cyber requires that at least one parent be home during the day with the student, although this requirement is somewhat more relaxed for high school students. For youth who want to participate in PA Cyber, but do not have a parent who can stay home, adults at church groups and community centers have provided the supervision needed to matriculate at PA Cyber. The school’s curriculum falls into two major categories: asynchronous learning (self-paced learning) and synchronous learning (realtime learning). Asynchronous learning is best for the extremely self-disciplined student who can benefit from greater scheduling flexibility. Synchronous learning curriculum is best for the student who benefits from the structure of a regular time schedule and interaction with teachers and classmates. In synchronous courses, live instructors use a software program, AT&T Connect and the Internet to create a Virtual Classroom where students communicate both with the instructor as well as with the other students in the classroom.
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North Both methods allow students to choose from over 250 courses. Students have core subjects such as English, Algebra, and science, as well as access to cutting-edge courses such as epidemiology, forensic pathology, and Mandarin Chinese. Students also take electives, participate in gym class, and attend field trips, just as they would in traditional public schools. Within both broad curriculum types, students must also complete assignments, tests, and exams. Students are provided with all of the technological tools needed to be effective learners, including a computer, all-in-one printer, the Internet and relevant software. These tools provide digital access to many students, especially youth from lower-income neighborhoods, who would not otherwise have had opportunities to take advantage of such tools. Technology support is available for all students and the turn around time for most problems is within 24 hours. Teachers at PA Cyber monitor cheating in exactly the same way as traditional public school teachers—by tracking patterns in student assignments over the course of study and documenting drastic fluctuations in student performance. Scantron testing occurs three times each school year and PA Cyber students take the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment), the state standardized assessment test. PA Cyber must also adhere to state and national accountability standards, including those outlined by the No Child Left Behind Act. Student Outcomes and the Achievement Gap(s) Similar to traditional public schools, PA Cyber has had triumphs and
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North challenges making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Fully half the students enrolling in the school initially test one to two grade levels behind their peers. “Our students often come to us with other school experience. They have already formed good habits or bad habits,� explains Dr. Trombetta. Despite this difficulty, turnover in the student body, and other challenges related to functioning as a large school, PA Cyber met NCLB academic targets every year through 2007. As in most traditional public schools, PA Cyber also faces difficulties with achievement gaps between racial/ethnic, gender, and ability groups. Yet, teachers actively combat achievement disparities by providing remediation work, tutoring, and special programs such as Math Blaster, Academy of Reading and Academy of Math, and Study Island. Students have responded well to these remediation and tutoring efforts and have demonstrated high competence on standardized tests. Social Development Cyber school critics site detriments to students’ social development as one downside to online education. PA Cyber responds to this criticism with formal and informal social networks for students and families. For example, students in the synchronous curriculum have the opportunity to interact with other students and their teacher
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virtually in real time. Many students who attend PA Cyber would have been homeschooled anyway, making this service a unique benefit for these students. PA Cyber created Family Link, a social network that allows caregivers and families to interact with each other. Because students can attain social development from a host of different settings, schools represent only one way in which they develop the aptitude to navigate social settings PA Cyber believes cyber school does not hinder students’ social development, and that eliminating some of the distractions that may arise in a traditional school via online education may actually facilitate social development in other nonschool domains, such as a student’s church or community group. Fahrenheit 451? In 1953, author Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451, where he described the temperature at which books burn as an allegory for the demise of critical thinking because of technological change due to the increasing relevance of television in American society. In much the same way, critics of cyber education disparage the increasing frequency of online education. Yet, just as the advent of the television has not resulted in the abolition of reading or of critical thought, online education has the ability to create new and unique learning opportunities for students who often find themselves in a flawed system that has the inability to cater to the unique needs of each student. PA Cyber creates a structure for equality and opportunities for students for whom the traditional public school has been less effective or is no longer easily accessible. By many measures, PA Cyber is a success. Students with prior achievement decrements have improved and reached their grade-appropriate learning levels; and graduates of PA Cyber articulated aspirations of attending 4-year and 2-year colleges. Despite the unique challenges of achieving AYP, PA Cyber has maintained excellent learning standards for all of its students.
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Sisulu-Walker Charter School Where Failure is Not an Option Produced by Todd Rodgers & Written by Jim Barlow Sisulu-Walker Charter School Principal Karen Jones doesn’t mince words: She is “a big supporter of No Child Left Behind” and hates achievement tests but keeps her west Harlem, N.Y., classrooms always in the assessment mode. “I know what it’s like to have a school in failing mode,” said Jones, who had entered Southern Illinois University to study piano but exited with a degree in early childhood education and has been principal since January 1999. “There has to be a mechanism in place that forces teachers and principals to pay particular attention to the performance levels of the students in their schools. That is absolutely the primary agenda of charter schools in this country. If our school doesn’t perform at a high level on a yearly basis, I will be replaced as the School’s instructional leader.” Jones’ drive comes from 25 years teaching in gang-ridden west-side Chicago schools where school administrators showed little interest, at that time, in high-level student performance. She has been a charter
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school leader since 1997 in three states, including Arizona, New Jersey, and New York. Reading literacy and writing is the cornerstone at Sisulu-Walker, which has 260 first through fifth graders this year. The school now has 10 classrooms on three floors, with 27 students per class closely seated at desks or around tables. The School also uses a full-time certified teacher assistant in every classroom to provide the small-group instruction needed by this high-risk population of students. The school opened in 1999 and was the first under the umbrella of Victory Schools founded by philanthropist Steven B. Klinsky. Victory now has nine charter schools in New York, six in Philadelphia and two in Chicago. Its mission is built around achievement, honor, and service. Sisulu-Walker runs on a $3.6 million state-funded budget based on average daily attendance. Private fundraising is now on the table as the
school’s Board of Trustees look ahead. “In five years, I see our school in a wonderful new site as a learning center with large, sunny classrooms, the latest technology, including interactive white boards, two foreign language teachers and a beautiful, well-appointed gymnasium,” Jones said. “I’d like a spacious playground with safe equipment, with places for students to climb, play and be physically stimulated.” She also wants a modern music center, a well supplied art room, a well stocked library/media center and up-to-date computers. Of course, we will maintain our high levels of instruction and continue our ever-increasing performance trend. The school is named after South Africa’s Walter Sisulu and Harlem’s Wyatt Tee Walker. Sisulu, who died in 2003, was the son of a black mother and a white public servant father in South Africa. He recruited Nelson Mandela into the African National Congress. After years of political strife and imprisonment, Mandela rose to the presidency with Sisulu as deputy president. Walker, who turns 80 in August, was Martin Luther King Jr.’s chief of staff and long-time pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ. When speaking to parents of prospective students, “I tell parents about the importance of who these men were and how we are working to live up to their legacy,” Jones said.
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Sisulu Walker Charter School and
SRA/McGraw-Hil l
i s proud to partner with
c har ter schools acros s Sisulu-Walker, 125 W. 115th St., is located in a highly diverse community as Harlem goes through its current gentrification. About 25 percent of its students are of direct African descent. Many of their parents work long hours and most speak just enough English to participate in the work force. These parents are depending heavily on the school to educate and assimilate their children into the American school culture. Another 25 percent are from Caribbean families and the rest are considered African-American. As an all-minority school, there are also a few Asian students.
professional development programming in Phoenix, Arizona, after leaving the Chicago schools. Her personal mantra is that if children haven’t learned, teachers haven’t taught those students well. “You must pay attention to what students need and plan toward those needs.”
Progress is measured with DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), which has roots in the University of Oregon’s College of Education. DIBELS is comprised of seven measures to function as indicators of phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency with connected text, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. In the middle of First Grade and beyond, oral “We incorporate many different modalities. We attempt to reach all reading fluency is the primary dynamic indicator that requires that specific of our students' learning styles." numbers of words are accurately read within one minute. Children are tested ~Karen Jones three times a year. By March each year, students are expected to be reading at or above their grade levels.
The school has 38 staff, including 10 teachers and 10 teacher assistants, all certified. Three specialty teachers for music, art, and physical education are also on staff and are not certified but are professionals in their chosen fields. Teachers receive intensive professional development, including 14 pre-service days before school begins each year and one-afternoon each month. Jones notes that the Academic Committee, as a part of the Board of Trustees, “stay on the cutting edge of instructional research, question everything, and require continuous plans of action.”
The academic approach uses multiple techniques, but the Reading First framework associated with NCLB, is crucial. The formula involves research-based strategies, which Jones began learning while working in an educational leadership role for a company producing customized
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“The school also incorporates the tenets of Core Knowledge for all grade levels,” Jones said. “This program was chosen as the basis of our Social Studies curriculum as it covers worldly information that all scholars need to know and includes literacy, writing, and projectbased learning. We use various teaching methodologies,” she said. “No one method suits the needs of all children.” Older students are moving away from basal readers and going toward a literature-rich curriculum
that includes trade books, reading both fiction and non-fiction. We use a combination of old-school mathematics and a combination of inquiry-based instruction and activities from the more complicated Everyday Math instruction. We incorporate many different modalities. We attempt to reach all of our students’ learning styles.” Students also take required state and national assessments. “We are always analyzing student achievement results as this is necessary to help teachers plan,” said Jones. “I hate all the testing, but one of the breakdowns of the past was that educators didn’t pay enough attention to testing results until the end of a year when it’s too late to help students reach instructional benchmarks. The research says if you regularly assess your students and are using the results for planning as you go through the year, you can better meet student needs and reteach what is necessary for academic success. True learning happens when it is connected to prior learning or a foundation of information is established.” State records show that Sisulu-Walker students are learning. Last year, 87 percent of third-graders and 78 percent of fourth-graders scored at or above grade levels on state Language Arts assessments. In math, 98 percent of students in both grades met or exceeded grade level standards. DIBELS test data show that initial testing in 2005-2006 found 40 percent of students scoring just under or far below targeted levels. At the end of that year, only 14 percent were slightly below grade level and four percent were far below grade level, with 82 percent at or above
grade level. The 2nd year’s end results showed 88 percent at or above grade level, 10 percent were slightly below grade-levels, but only 2 percent were far below. In the final year implementation of the Reading First grant, students ended the year with 83 percent at or above grade level, 15 percent slightly below, and two percent far below grade level. The same trend is seen currently with 74 percent at or above grade level and 26 percent below grade level. “We have three and a half months to bring all of our students to mastery levels,” says Jones. The School also received a larger than usual number of new students for the 20082009 school year. “Students scoring below grade level receive special help from the school’s staff and weekly DIBELS assessments until they reach mastery,” Jones said. To highlight the School’s successful implementation of Reading First strategies, after only two years of using Reading First, the school represented the state of New York at the 2007 National Reading First conference, highlighting its proficiency of small group and differentiated instructional methods. Sisulu-Walker also requires science projects in every grade for the annual school Science Fair. Classroom projects are required for kindergarten, first and second grades; however, each student in grades three through five must produce an individual project using the Scientific Method of investigation and experimentation. The Science Fair is one of the most exciting and academically stimulating times during the school year. Sisulu-Walker students are benefitting from this uniquely founded charter school, improving academically and entering the real world well-prepared.
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Spotlights
State Caps on Charter Schools The Argument to Remove Them Written by Jim Barlow Calls for removing caps that limit start ups of new charter schools have landed support this year from two important voices, including that of President Barack Obama, who, in March, cited the innovation charter schools bring to the country’s educational landscape. The other important voice was that of Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who in January urged New York and other states to drop their caps and increase funding. He too cited educational innovation and improved teacher effectiveness as benefits of the charter-school movement. Charter school caps challenge these benefits. They limit the number of charter schools allowed in a state and place restrictions on individual authorizers of charters; still
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other caps restrict the numbers of students a charter school can have. Considered arbitrary by professionals in the movement, caps fail to take into consideration school quality, academic achievement and progress of students enrolled in charter schools and proponents of charter schools worry that caps will stymie efforts to improve public education. Why we Have Caps Existing caps can be traced to early opponents of charter schools: public school boards, their administrators and financial managers feared a draining of quality students and significant loss of public funds; teacher unions worried that non-unionized teachers would gain an advantage; and politicians were concerned
about threats to the traditional public funding mission of government. All worried that students of low socioeconomic families and the disabled would be turned away from charter schools, when, in fact, the opposite is the case. In some states, if not all, caps also exist to limit charters’ share of money. While the pros and cons are debated about the repercussions of caps, the important questions about charter schools are overshadowed, their growth and improvement stunted, and their benefits overlooked. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), 26 states and the District of Columbia currently have caps. The number of schools allowed in each state is often
tied to political motivations such as policymakers being concerned with how charter schools will affect school districts as a whole. Arguments most often cited in cap debates don’t go deep enough, noted Andrew J. Rotherham in “Smart Charter School Caps,” a study published in September 2007 by Education Sector, an independent education policy think tank in Washington, D.C. “Unfortunately, the debate about charter schools rarely accounts for such performance variation, just as charter caps do not differentiate between good schools and lousy schools,” he wrote. Rotherham’s conclusions call for the removal of the politically and emotionally charged caps now in force and the implementation of “smart caps,” in which charter school successes and failures would be monitored. “Smart charter caps,” he wrote, would allow “for deliberate capacity-driven growth, would direct new resources to high-achieving schools and “work within today’s political reality.” Poor-achieving or financially troubled schools, under such an approach, could be shut down to maintain efficient charter-school numbers within jurisdictions. Benefits of Removal While arguments to maintain caps reappear repeatedly in media coverage, supporting data to do so is rarely offered that compares academic assessments of traditional public and charter schools. Such studies have provided conflicting results or failed to find significant differences. Charter school supporters say their schools offer a diversity of schooling options, reduce public funding because they receive on average 22 percent less than traditional schools, provide comparable or superior instruction, cater to minority students and meet demands by parents. Caps have only stifled these improvements from reaching more students and led to waiting lists of thousands of students, particularly in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina and Texas. According to a national poll cited by the NAPCS and conducted in April 2008, 77 percent of registered voters favored giving parents more options for where to send their children to school. Removing caps on
charters would only increase these options as the numbers of charters grow within each state. Another surfacing argument to remove caps is that competition for students will drive overall improvement in schools across the board. This argument also appeared in North Carolina’s General Assembly in March, when a trio of Democrats, responding to a Republican call to lift or expand the state’s cap, said they would support the move if existing schools were shown to be functioning fully, reported the Durham Herald-Sun. “It will remove some money from our traditional schools, but these are public schools,” said State Rep. Verla Insko about the proposal. “The traditional [school districts] should not be afraid of the competition from charter schools.” President Obama’s vision for education includes the removal of caps. In his March speech to the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he criticized state caps that limit new charter schools without consideration of student progress. “That isn’t good for our children, our economy or our country,” he said.
executive officer, praised Obama’s remarks: “With 365,000 students on charter waiting lists, there is no excuse for state laws that stifle the growth of these schools. President Obama has taken a bold step by challenging states to get on the reform bandwagon. He’s right to couple the promise of growth with a demand for accountability -- and nowhere will you find stronger support for high-quality chartering than in the charter movement itself.” With support from our new president, charter caps may yet begin to go by the wayside. Were this to happen, increased charter school numbers would not be the only benefit. Administrators and others could then focus more energy on accountability, improving charters already innovative service to education in America. Sources: • • • • • •
http://www.publiccharters.org about schools/ factsheet http://www.publiccharters.org http://www.publiccharters.org/node/786 http://www.educationsector.org http://www.gatesfoundation.org/annual-letter/ Pages/2009-bill-gates-annual-letter.aspx http://cell.uindy.edu/transformingeducation/ charterschoolstudy.php
Nelson Smith, NAPCS president and chief
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Spotlights
Spotlight on Behavior Teaching Anger Management and Emotional Control to Children These days, anger management is a hot topic among educators. More and more, we see angry students committing acts of violence against classmates. Educating the public on the topic of anger management is the best way to help children manage their anger in an appropriate way.
The secret to anger management is to intervene early. Most children use anger because it is their only coping mechanism for daily stress.
What is anger? Angry feelings are normal emotional reactions to daily stresses in our lives that range from irritated to enraged. It’s natural for children to experience emotions of anger but it’s critical to teach them proper coping mechanisms so that they do not express these feelings in an uncontrollable manner. The goal as a parent is not to completely stop the angry emotion since they are hardwired into our brain. The goal is to teach the children to develop self-control and make appropriate choices regarding how to handle these feelings. Strategies for teach children to handling anger appropriately: 1. Lead by example – Research shows that children model their parents so if the parent blows up in fits of rage in front of a child. The child will learn to use anger as a coping mechanism for their situations in their lives. 2. Teach empathy and tolerance. Empathy is the ability to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Children that understand the feelings of others deal better with disagreements with other children. 3. Remain calm – Yelling at angry children to control themselves will only increase the intensity of the outburst. Remaining calm yourself will assist the child caught by the anger bee.
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4. Use positive self-talk – Teach children to stay in control by saying affirmations. Affirmations are simple positive messages that the child can say to themselves in stressful situations. For example, here’s a few that a child could learn: “Stop and calm down”, “Take a deep breath”, “Stay in control”, or “I can handle this”. Suggest a few to your child and practice it with them. The more you practice it with them the more likely they will use it during an anger driven situation. 5. Teach them deep breathing – During an angry episode, our breathing changes to quick short breathes. This breathing causes a cascade of physiological changes in our body that creates anger. By learning to controlled, deep breathing, children can short circuit the angry response. Teach your child to inhale to a 5 counts, then hold for a 2 counts, and exhale for a 5 counts. For young kids, I call this breathing exercise “Dragon’s breath”. Have them pretend that they are breathing out fire with the exhale and that the fire is the anger leaving the body. 6. Identify anger triggers – Most children respond to specific triggers that cause anger. Ask your child “What situations make you angry?” The answer will vary from frustrations over homework to bullying at school. Then, talk about solutions that are more appropriate to the problem situation. You can
even rehearse the scenario by role-playing. 7. Watch for the warning signs – When anger starts to arise, they will show signs. Tell your child that it’s important to listen to the warning signs. Ask your child what the specific warning signs that show that they are getting upset. Some examples of signs could be talking louder, heart pounding, face getting red, clenching fists, or breathing faster. Once you identify the signs, start pointing them out when they show signs of getting upset. For example, “I see your breathing fast” “Looks like you are getting anger” “You’re clenching your fist. Are you getting upset.” This self-awareness will snap the child back into reality and help them manage the anger early – before it’s out of control. The secret to successful anger management is to intervene early. Most children use anger because it is their only coping mechanism for daily stress. By identifying problem situations and providing them new techniques for coping, you will keep the anger bee from grabbing hold of your child. Author: Tim Rosanelli
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Meridian Public Charter School Building Students' Minds and Characters Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar In September 1999, the Washington D.C. area witnessed the opening of Meridian Public Charter School. Their mission is to instill within their students a passion for learning and to build self-confidence and self-respect through academic achievement. As the start of their first year, there were approximately 100 students ranging from pre-kindergarten through the third grade. Today that school has grown to a student body of 515 and includes pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. With their philosophy and mission firmly in place, Meridian Public Charter School has made its mark in the area, led by an education veteran who understands
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what students need to succeed, and how to help them achieve their goals. As principal of Meridian Public Charter School, Dr. Robinette Breedlove brings with her years of teaching experience and educational tools to help her lead a team of students, staff, teachers, and parents, to ensure the school’s success. Dr. Breedlove, who holds a doctorate in education, started out as a kindergarten teacher. She has taught in several states around the country, including Pennsylvania, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Maryland. She also has other impressive experiences that aid her, including being a Persian Gulf
War veteran, and a founding principal of the D.C.-based Arts and Technology Academy. The Standards “I think it is problematic when it is the only measure, because there are so many other factors in determining a good school,” says Dr. Breedlove when asked about standardized tests being the primary factor of accountability for a school. She explains that at Meridian, they want to make sure they are meeting the standard and can compete across the nation, but not only based on standardized testing.
Dr. Breedlove leads a team of talented teachers. When it comes to the highly-qualified standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), she believes that it should be seen as a minimum qualification, with all the teachers needing to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Beyond that, she believes that charter schools should be able to set their own standards, in addition to those put forth by the NCLB. Additionally, she feels the NCLB’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) formula fosters greater awareness of criterion used to evaluate their performance: “One thing that it does is makes teachers more aware of standards and holds them more accountable,” she says.
“Our goal is to continue to create a world-class school of dedicated teachers, meeting all the standards and creating a larger Parent Center." ~Dr. Robinette Breedlove
The Philosophy and Mission The educational method used at Meridian is one that has children learn in small groups. The school focuses on building character, along with placing an educational emphasis on achieving high reading and mathematics levels. Students are exposed to a comprehensive curriculum that includes science, social studies, the arts, technology, foreign languages, and development programs. The classrooms are set up so there is both a lead teacher and an instructional assistant, both of whom work closely with the students. Special needs or English Language Learners (ELL) students follow an inclusion model, keeping students in the classroom and bringing support services to the child. Meridian also offers before and aftercare, which exposes the children to a variety of enrichment programs such as cultural arts, sports, and recreation. Other special programs at the school include “3, 4 and 5 On The Rise,” which aims to help third through fifth graders who are underperforming improve their language arts, reading, and math skills. A similar program called “Day 6 Academy” is held on Saturday mornings for sixth through eighth graders that have academic deficiencies. Furthermore, the school provides support with an ELL tutoring program, and a mentoring program that pairs staff members with the students who need to learn good classroom behavior skills. In addition to offering extra support for their students, Meridian strongly supports its teachers. It aids teacher development through payment of half of the tuition for continuing education classes as well as support them while they seek their certification. The school itself provides professional development periods and offers a Teacher Excellence Academy, where veteran teachers help guide new ones.
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South Parents Make the Grade “We think the more educated and savvy the parents are, the more exposure to educational opportunities the child will have,” explains Dr. Breedlove. At Meridian, parental involvement in the educational process is more than a fleeting wish. The school has a Parent Center, which aims to help parents improve their own education. Parents can go to school at the same time as their student. While the student is in his or her classroom, the parents attend the Parent Center, where they can engage in a variety of classes such as English as a Second Language (ESL), Spanish literacy, General Educational Development (GED), and computer courses. As the parents become more involved in improving their own education they are likely to become more involved in their child’s. Parents are also an integral part of the discipline plan at the school. The whole discipline approach doesn’t begin when misconduct occurs; it starts by teaching character development and encouraging positive classroom behavior. If a student does go too far, the school schedules a meeting with the parents. “We pride ourselves on being partners with the parents to make sure behavior is addressed at school and we get to the root of the problem,” says Dr. Breedlove. “We try to also teach parents about other ways to handle problems at school.” The Future of Meridian “Our goal is to continue to create a world-class school of dedicated teachers, meeting all the standards, and creating a larger Parent Center to service them, so they can support the student,” says Dr. Breedlove. Looking down the road, Dr. Breedlove hopes that the school will be in a new building, since they have outgrown their current one. While the objective of Meridian Public Charter School will continue to be one that places an emphasis on helping children achieve high levels of reading and mathematics, they are also building the foundation for future and lifetime learning. Brick by brick, they use the tools they have to help guide these students to achieve more, believe in themselves, and have a strong moral character.
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Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School Teaching at a Higher Level Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow Try telling students of the Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School (CSP) in Hanover, Maryland, that Americans fall short in math, science and technology and they may laugh in disbelief. Every line but one of the school’s recap of 2008 Maryland State Assessment tests boasts in red ink that “CSP is better by…” with success-bursting percentages in reading and math when compared with proficiencies at other state and county schools. CSP doesn’t teach to state or federal grade-level assessments required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and is not worried about them, says Turkish-born Fatih Kandil, principal and director of the 6th through 8th-grade school since 2006. “As a staff, we have the philosophy that we should not teach to the tests,” he said. “We teach toward the standards and
make sure that our students master them.” Visitors to the school’s Web site, however, will see time ticking, by days, hours and seconds, to the next state test. It is important to realize, for example, that sixth-graders are taught at a ninth-grade level, so exceeding actual grade-level assessments is a “piece of cake,” Kandil said. “We don’t worry about these standardized tests, because we teach at a higher grade level.” Scores have exceeded state standards for three consecutive years. By the time CSP students go to high school, Kandil said, they have already met highschool math requirements, and some have taken pre-calculus and high-
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South school-level biology. In all, CSP students can earn five high-school credits. Hanover is in the technology-heavy Baltimore-Washington corridor in Anne Arundel County. CSP, which operates on a $2.3 million budget with 199 students and a staff of 20, was founded in 2005 in response to parents, many of them highly educated, who were concerned about the lack of a science-focused magnet school. Another big promoter for the school’s inception was the non-profit, education-focused Chesapeake Lighthouse Foundation. CSP admits 66 students a year, but some vacancies go to siblings of current students. There were 45 spots open for the 2009 through 2010 school year with 400-plus applicants. Admissions are based on a lottery; any county student can apply, and hundreds do each year. Each fall, CSP distributes 40,000 copies of its annual fall newsletter to parents of all schoolchildren in the county. Once accepted, one-on-one assessments determine new students’ strengths and weaknesses. The process often finds dormant potential that can be awakened, encouraged, and realized. “Many of the parents felt their children were bored, not challenged up to their capacity,” Kandil said. “After a point, many children had lost interest and were failing or getting into trouble because they were bored. Parents have said that these problems were solved once their kids got into Chesapeake Science Point. We have the capacity to challenge all of our students.” CSP’s mission is to exceed the school district’s SAT averages and the state’s proficiency scores on mandated testing, as well as to achieve high college acceptance rates. Part of this plan is to provide “intense, individualized instruction in science, math and technology.”
The school, which is managed by an eight-member governing board, draws support from parents, nearby educational institutions, and a variety of high-tech companies. Despite that, “our resources are limited,” Kandil said. In Maryland, charter schools operate privately with public money, as well as oversight, through the county school system. That interplay, along with concerns over CSP’s first-year budget deficit and its facilities -converted office space in an industrial park -- led to three years’ probation, which ended in March 2009. Dedicated Teachers
CSP clearly knows how to engage its students in this intense environment. In 2008, a seventh-grader the school’s science fair and finished fourth nationally -- the highest finish ever for a Maryland student. The student was admitted to CSP as a sixth grader with no interest in science or math. The in-take assessment suggested untapped potential in science. Two years later, the child had studied environmental conditions of West Virginia streams, where he kayaked with his family. His project detailed the presence of high acidity levels and a plan to reduce them. So successful was this project that the student was honored with a visit to Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes’ office at the U.S. Capitol. It could also be argued that CSP holds a science fair like none other in the state. The most recent fair had a price tag of $15,000 that was shared with the University of Maryland at College Park and CSP’s parent-teacher organization. Prizes included laptops and iPods -- “attractive awards to feed initiative,” Kandil said -- and 185 of their students, or 93 percent, competed.
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Many of the school’s 16 teachers arrive by 7 a.m. and stay until 4:30 p.m. or later, do so voluntarily beyond union-defined work hours for public schools of 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. There are before- and after-school tutoring sessions and extracurricular activities led by teachers, including Saturday sessions from 9 a.m. to noon, attended voluntarily by teachers and more than half of the student body. “Our teachers spend extra time with their students in relationships that are different than what they have during the day. The students interact with teachers in a less formal setting,” he said. “They know that teachers are sacrificing their personal time, and students respect them for that.” “The most important factor in our educational approach is providing the most positive climate possible,” Kandil said. “It’s unseen, but it diffuses into everything you can accomplish in the school. The level of ownership is
amongst everyone. People aren’t mandated to come here. Everyone chooses to come here. That generates a tremendous amount of positive energy.” Currently, school officials are hoping that positive energy and academic successes will evolve into CSP’s expansion to include the high-school level. “This high school should be able to offer accelerated growth for the students,” Kandil said. “Our students would earn college credits. Some schools offer AP courses, but our goal is to exceed the number of credits that public schools can offer.” Kandil envisions a CSP with “a 100-percent graduation rate and 100-percent college acceptance; our goal is to have at least 20 percent of those graduates be accepted by IVY League universities, and at least 40 percent of the total graduates to receive their acceptance with full scholarship.” More urgent are proposed facility improvements in which CSP’s landlord is offering $1.2 million toward construction. Pending state and local district approval, the work could be completed by fall. Performing above the average and seeking out the challenging, Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School doesn’t have small goals; but it is certainly positioned to be successful in what they seek to accomplish.
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Friendship Public Charter School, Southeast Elementary Academy Providing a Well-Rounded Education Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Prem Desai Principal Michelle Pierre-Farid states the mission of Friendship Public Charter School simply: “To serve underprivileged children and provide them with an ethical, literate, and well-rounded education.” Founded in 1997, Friendship Public Charter School is a not-for-profit organization that established its first charter schools in 1998 with the opening of the Chamberlain and Woodridge Elementary campuses. In just over 10 years, the school has grown to include elementary, middle, and high school students, serving 4,000 children throughout the District of Columbia. Friendship also extends its services to reach traditional public schools with its Supplemental Education Services and Saturday programs. Friendship Public Charter School is comprised of five campuses throughout the nation’s capital: Chamberlain Elementary, Southeast Elementary Academy, Woodridge Elementary and Middle, Blow Pierce Junior Academy, and Collegiate Academy. Friendship took over Southeast Academy in 2005 on the site of a former charter school and invested over $15 million to complete a campus expansion that added 16 classrooms, a gymnasium, dining hall, interactive library, and technology-rich SmartLab™, transforming the facility into a world-class educational environment. Operating on a budget of $3 million, the school serves 545 students with 55 teachers. The predecessor for the school, Friendship Cares, was a social services group that proved the need for the charter school’s existence. “It all started from a social services group called Friendship Cares who showed there was a lot of need for us in local schools.” “Friendship really believes in supporting the
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whole child,” says Pierre-Farid, “making sure they know whether they want to go to college or what they want to do in their careers. We provide mental health and physical services, so we have a therapist on staff, guidance counselors on staff, provide physical education. It’s not just the academics but the other needs of our students too.”
good test takers. So that part sometimes frustrates me.”
Their techniques in the classroom are comprehensive and varied, employing the use of balanced literacy and balanced numeracy effects. The school also does a lot of small group instruction, breaking students into pods. All classes have four to six computers and smart boards, which are interactive white boards.
She feels the same about the tests mandated in No Child Left Behind. “I do wish that we had a variety of ways to show that children are learning,” says Pierre-Farid. “Maybe we could have a student portfolio so students can show their knowledge in various ways,” she suggests. “But I still believe that we should have high standards and we should be held accountable.”
The school also has classrooms called Smart Labs. “It’s much more high tech than a computer lab. They have pods, and each pod allows children to do some type of computer activity or technology activity connected to real life,” explains Pierre-Farid.
Wishing there were other ways for teachers to prove their knowledge base, she does acknowledge that there needs to be a measure so schools are sure that the students have “someone good in front of them.”
Some examples of these pods include aviation where students can learn how to fly aiplane, aeronautics where they are taught how wind affects the plane, and a media center where students create their own music and make video. There is also a center for power point and robotics team where students create robots.
Though the tests don’t play a big part in its curriculum, the school covers what is necessary so the students are prepared when they face the test. Believing there is a role for Adequate Yearly Progress, Pierre-Farid says, “It has made everyone more accountable to meeting the needs of all types of children. And I think that’s very important because certain subgroups were forgotten about before and it was OK because they didn’t affect the student achievement. I don’t want them to be forgotten about…they should be recognized because they’re all our children.”
Even in such a unique environment, the school must still comply with standardized tests and the definition of highly qualified teachers. “I do feel like there are some teachers that haven’t passed the test but have a wonderful rapport with children and have a strong knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy,” says Pierre-Farid, “but they might be not
In order to ensure their teachers can continue to meet the needs of the students, Friendship takes professional development equally seriously and has a staff training day every month. They also have on-site numeracy and literacy specialists and a calendar of other development events based on surveys of the teachers. Those meetings also talk
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Friendship Southeast Elementary Academy www.CTRprint.com Enter promotional code CHARTER09 to receive a discount and FREE ground shipping. about adding more to their program, and encouraging children to be more involved in their own learning, by doing things such as making learning plans for themselves. “We know that they need to be lifelong learners and be able to articulate what they’re doing to other people,” says Pierre Farid, “and that’s why we feel like we need to have them doing this from early on.” The school also involves parents in every major decision. The dean of students meets with them if misconduct becomes an issue; and when suspension or expulsion is called for, parents plan very carefully with the school to get their child back on track. Friendship also plans to provide classes for parents - on how to buy a house, or financial services - to draw them into the school community. “We already do a lot of community initiatives like sending our artwork to organizations in our area. We have different activities too; like a drum line, a swim club, a track team, boys and girls basketball, flag football, and what we call “ladies of distinction” where students do community service.” In the next few years they’ll be opening another campus that will be environmentally-friendly. “They’re looking at how to make their school green, the children are learning how to think green - our sixth graders are doing that now, says Pierre Farid, who has a clear focus for the future: “That’s what I want them to be every single day. I want them running in because they can’t wait to learn something.”
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Arlington Classics Academy Exposing Students to New Challenges Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar Arlington Classics Academy, a charter school located in Arlington, Texas, was started by a group of parents who felt local schools were not challenging enough for their children. While seeking a more structured and dynamic educational setting, parents were also interested in an education that would incorporate the Core Knowledge Sequence with the Texas Essential Skills (TEKS), which allows students exposure to a larger variety of subjects such as art, music, and Spanish. These parents founded Arlington Classics Academy in 1999 and created what they were looking for.
the elements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards that trouble other charters. They believe that “highly qualified” is something that you can achieve, and they
At the Helm Today, the Academy is home to 460 K-6 students. Working from an annual budget of $2.7 million and 45 personnel, the school successfully strives to meet the goals they set for themselves, as well as those set for them by governing bodies. The school is led by Ken Simon, the Director of Education, who is in his sixth year at the school.
ACA students also participate in learning computers, Spanish, physical education, chess, dance, choir, flag team, student council and yearbook, as well as taking field trips, such as a recent one to the Kimbell Art Museum. Teachers Make the Grade
“They [the board] like my combination of educational and management skills,” says Simon. “I love going to work every day and would not want to be anywhere else.” Equipped with his master’s degree, Simon had worked for seven years as a high school teacher during the 1970s before leaving the teaching field to seek something more lucrative in order to help care for his growing family. He went on to work for 14 years at Fidelity Investments as Director of Training and Call Center Manager in Dallas. Although the experiences he had outside the field of education gave him great insight, he was happy to be able to return to education. Inside the Academy Unlike many other charter schools, ACA is unique in that they are not put off by
Using the TEKS/Core Knowledge method of teaching, they cover the main traditional areas that schools cover in addition to placing an emphasis on fine arts. One of their interests is to help students understand the intricate history of the United States. This helps them lay the foundation for life-long learning, building upon things that many people take for granted in common conversation. For example, saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink may seem like a common saying; however, if you are not familiar with the saying, it can be quite confusing. The school tries to make sure that the kids are familiar with such things, in order to better understand the world around them.
don’t take issue, for the most part, with the yearly progress formula used by NCLB. “We’re not your typical charter school,” adds Simon. “Our population is not heavily Title I; we’re more of a typical suburban school. Many of the issues we face are not the same as for other charters.” Additionally, they are not concerned with standardized test results being the primary factor in accountability for schools. As Simon reports, their students do extremely well, and they are currently an exemplary school with some of the highest ratings in Texas.
Hiring the teachers at ACA is what Simon refers to as a group effort. In the first step of the process, he meets with the candidates on his own, to explore what they think about the school’s philosophy and to discover if they connect to the school’s mission. He also delves into their views about the Core Knowledge program. Once he narrows the field candidates then meet with current teachers at the school. This gives veteran teachers a chance to influence who will join them on the team. It also lays the foundation for them all to work together to meet the school’s mission once the new person is hired. Arlington Classics Academy also takes measures to ensure that their teachers continue their professional development. They are given the opportunity to attend regional service centers, where they receive
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“This school was founded by parents. You can tell the difference between the kids whose parents are and are not involved. Any charter school out there is living or dying through involvement." ~Ken Simon
Challenges and More One of the challenges the school faces, like many others, is that of parental involvement. At ACA, they see this crucial relationship as a triangle, where the parents, kids and teachers make up the three sides. “This school was founded by parents. You can tell the difference between the kids whose parents are and are not involved,” says Simon. “Any charter school out there is living or dying through involvement.” To encourage parental involvement, the school recommends a certain number of hours they should volunteer each year. It offers a list of jobs
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and volunteer opportunities that they can choose from, and many of those positions can be completed from home. The school also gives busy parents the option of donating to the school, at a rate of $25 per month. Looking Ahead Students at ACA also regularly take part in character-building volunteer activities. Some of the many opportunities they have for involvement each year include collecting coats and canned goods for those in need, as well as holding a penny drive to benefit cystic fibrosis. “We think it’s an important part of educating the whole child and fostering a spirit of service,” adds Simon. “We are teaching them to give back.” As the students continue their studies at Arlington Classics Academy, Ken Simon and the board he works with are busy planning what the future will look like. Their goal is to expand, offering a junior high as soon as possible. They haven’t been able to make it happen yet, but they are optimistic about this plan reaching fruition in the future. They are currently held back by one of the biggest challenges plaguing schools across the country today: funding. “The funding for charter schools is less, quite a bit less,” says Simon. “Funding becomes a real issue for us. The junior high is in our future. We just haven’t been able to make it happen, quite yet.”
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Houston Gateway Academy Investing in Quality
Produced by Todd Rodgers & Written by Jim Barlow When Houston Gateway Academy (HGA) was founded in August 1999 by a small group of state politicians and businessmen, little was known about charter schools and their intended design. A decade later, after growing pains and deep financial challenges, the Texas school, now offering Pre-kindergarten through 9th-grade, is on solid ground and about to move its middle school into new facilities. HGA began in a local shopping center and eventually grew into a prefabricated building with several trailers as classrooms. Grade levels K through 3 grew into K through 5 at that first campus in southeast Houston. The school expanded in 2002 by creating a middle school in rented facilities nearby. The early days were bittersweet financially as the school was operated by two out-of-state education management companies, said Richard Garza, HGA’s chief executive officer and superintendent since 2006. Monthly management fees and policy and governance challenges facing the school’s board of trustees, made up of volunteer businessmen, women and parents, proved difficult. The school went through two management companies, two superintendents and four principals from January 2000 to February 2006. When Garza was hired a month later, the school was in serious financial trouble. “Our employees were running to the banks to cash their payroll checks,” he said. Garza, an accountant for 25 years before entering education as a controller at another charter school, changed the fortunes for HGA’s. The school, with a staff of 75, now has $1.8 million in cash on hand, $3.2 million in net assets, a $6.5 million budget, and is expanding its educational programs. “Once you’ve turned the finances around, you have the dollars to invest in quality teachers, quality resources and materials, and then you can really start concentrating on the academic side,” said Garza. The 756 students in grades pre-K through 9 are spread out over two campuses, and the school is currently in the pre-construction phase of building a new $10 million facility. For the first time in HGA history, financing for the construction loan was easily acquired
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“The key thing in the turnaround is challenging the teachers and raising the bar,” he said. “Every week, there are no excuses for failure. We have to succeed. There isn’t ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I don’t know how to do this.’ What is it going to take for us to get the job done? And I think that has raised the bar in the expectations for teachers and raised the bar in the expectations for the students and we keep continuing to challenge.” In the 2007-2008 school years, HGA was commended by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for its 8th-grade social studies scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS), which meets the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Reading scores, recently given an unacceptable rating by the TEA, have risen to achieve state standards thanks to a grant from Reading First that allowed for the implementation of Open Court, a program offered to need-based schools by education-publishing giant McGraw-Hill. TAKS results for 2007-08 showed HGA’s 3rd through 8th graders with solid scores, exceeding statewide averages in some areas. Garza’s goal is to exceed current state regulations in all areas. “We make it mandatory that students have to pass their TAKS in every subject as well as their own class curriculum subjects to be promoted,” Garza said. “Lots of schools don’t do that; you can fail your TAKS but somehow pass your class curriculum and get promoted. We feel they both have to go hand in hand.” “That may seem a little harsh because a student may fail their TAKS test by missing only one point, but we do as much as we can to get a student prepared for success. That’s why I implemented our mandatory After School Program based on benchmarks. If a student’s scores are 85 percent or above, they get enrichment; if they are below, they attend mandatory tutorials specifically in the area they are having trouble in. In addition to that, individual students who are still having trouble get pulled out of their ancillary or recess classes for extra one-on-one instruction from their teacher,” explains Garza.
“We have a very strict environment, a well managed environment. And we continue preaching to the students that they have to be responsible and make responsible choices.” ~Richard Garza
To add to that end, there is an extensive focus on staff development. Every Friday HGA dismisses students early and conducts in-service training for almost two hours. The school has cross-curriculum training -- often with an outside professional. “For example, McGraw Hill will come in and send their representative to provide training in Open Court,” Garza said. “Sometimes HGA will just have grade-level meetings and talk about strategies for specific challenges students are having.” HGA is also pioneering a scheme in which teachers move up with their grades. This year the 4th-grade team moved up to 5th grade. “That’s been a big plus,” he said, “because as far as discipline is concerned they already know the students and they already know the parents. Teachers also know where student weaknesses are so there’s not that learning curve you have at the beginning of every school year. Teachers are getting to
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South know their students and students are not challenging their teachers. You avoid the ‘this-is-a-new-teacher, let-me-see-what-I-can-get-away-with’ situation.” Garza maintains the old adage “it takes a community to raise a child, everyone is responsible for that child’s welfare.” To make this happen, he implemented required home visits. The entire school’s mission is reinforced through the mandatory home visits that each teacher has to conduct at the beginning of each academic school year. The home visits are an opportunity for the teacher to introduce themselves to the family and to enlighten them on all the services offered. Teachers get thoroughly trained at the school’s beginning of the year in-service training as to all the school’s programs and services. This way, when they conduct the home visit, they are required to inform the parents of additional services which include the After School Program, the Adult Literacy Program, the schools’ partnership with Rice University for the Intensive Summer Program and the Partnership with Sylvan Learning Centers that provide additional free tutoring for students who are still struggling after these intensive services. Other partnerships include the Mariners Sea Scouts program, the Boys and Girl Scouts program, our partnership with IBC bank, McDonalds
Restaurants, the Gulf Coast Community Services Association, Laredo National Bank, Met Life, and many others. The intended result is to get the parents motivated and involved with the school and with their child’s education. This makes it easier for them to fulfill their requirement of serving 36 volunteer hours every year. The school maintains a strict environment in which students must wear uniforms, behave responsively and make responsible choices. A guidance program, administered by school counselors, helps promote and enhance the learning process. Character development is also high on the list of requisites for HGA students. Mr. Garza is so determined to help students succeed in all areas of their life that he implemented mandatory random drug testing and searches for students. He even went as far as making them mandatory for all teachers, administrators and staff. This keeps everyone motivated to stay away from drugs and prevents anyone from falling into a bad lifestyle. The curriculum is set in meetings and modified and applied through a rigorous system, Garza said. “Our lesson plans have to be kept in a notebook and checked once a week by the lead teacher and every other week by the principal. This way when 4th-grade teachers go to 5th grade, they’re given the book and the whole curriculum and lesson plans are in place. They just need to modify it based on the students they have that
particular year. So we really try to have everything in a systematic way that is easy for everybody. If a system is working, we keep it in place; if the system is not working, we modify it or we change it.” HGA’s goal is to be “Exemplary” at both campuses. The Evergreen Campus, with grades Pre-K through grade 6, will eventually be rebuilt in some fashion to move away from classrooms that now meet in trailers. The Coral Campus, with its impending new construction, will add 10th grade after the new building is completed, “We’ll be adding one grade a year up to that within two to three years we’ll probably be opening up a third campus,” Garza said. “There’s a huge need here in the southeast end of the city.” Houston Gateway is always looking to expand their services to the Hispanic community. “Plans are now being formulated to eventually provide Housing Services to first-time buyers where we will construct single-family homes for our community as well as a Child Placing Agency that will license and certify foster homes to care for children who are abused and or neglected. We are an agency that wants to serve our community and bring about change for the betterment of everyone involved. We want to show the world that Houston Gateway Academy is a force to reckon with and is here to stay.”
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Lafayette Academy Charter School Rebuilding After Disaster Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow Head of school Mickey Landry took over New Orleans’ Lafayette Academy in July 2007 just after the failing school had reopened as a charter school in 2006-2007. “It was terrible,” he says. “They had very low teacher morale. In the year before my arrival the school had lost 20 out of 50 teachers before Christmas. The tiles on the floor were gone. The place was filthy - you could smell the human waste on the floors of the hallways. The toilets hadn’t been flushed much less cleaned. There were 324 window missing window panes. It was a wreck but I knew they had a core group of great people at the school and that we could build the school around them.”
“I see the pain that my children are going through the level of transience they experience because they have to move a lot, the lack of resources they have in the city right now. We just try to help any way we can.” ~Mickey Landry
Since taking over from a for-profit company in 2007, Landry and his 92 staff have used their $9 million budget to significantly improve conditions for the 750 students in pre-K to seventh grade. “We’ve come along way. The building looks magnificent. Everyone who comes in it thinks it’s just the brightest cheeriest place. But we have a long way to go - our kids can do a lot more and we want to get there as quickly as we can.” Landry returned to New Orleans, where he grew up, after several years heading independent schools in New Hampshire and Colorado. “I saw post-Katrina New Orleans and wanted to do something for it,” he says of his return. And he has implemented a unique approach to teaching. “From my own experience of running schools that were failing and had to be turned around, the key element is getting all of the adults pulling in the same direction. It either happens or it doesn’t happen with individual teachers. My experience is that a school is going nowhere unless all the adults are on the same page.” They
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have an extensive professional development program, with weekly meetings and consultants to work with teachers Lafayette also has a wide-ranging teaching technique: “We’re using what we call a total instructional alignment approach by which our teachers focus very carefully on state standards; we assess frequently, and use that data to re-teach standards that were not learned well or to plan for the next standards that our kids need to know. We use a lot of guided practice with immediate coaching feedback - that’s very important.” Standardized tests for students don’t have a big impact on the curriculum. But No Child Left Behind’s highly qualified teacher’s stipulations and AYP measure are stifling. ‘I think a lot of teachers find it very confining and very humiliating that their profession has been reduced to a test score and that’s got to change,” says Landry. “The 22 years prior to my returning to NO I ran independent schools around the country,” he explains. “There are no restrictions there, and we were able to get the best teachers we could find, no matter what--people who had a depth of knowledge of the subject matter and who we could train to teach the way we want to teach. Those are the types of schools that are leading the United States in terms of test scores and almost everything else. That’s the model I’m used to and that’s what I would prefer because we just found better teachers that way.” The school sticks to an intensive counseling program for misconduct,
South with social workers on campus. They also support parents and families if needed and have a special positive behavior reward scheme. “The one the kids would tell you about first is something called Superstore. Kids can earn super tickets to spend in the super store once a week and buy things that are donated to us - everything from trinkets to iPods. They can earn those with good behavior and good academic work.” If suspensions are required, they’re in school and have a counseling element. Expulsions come after a hearing and with help for families just one of the outreach projects the school runs. “Our social workers and administrators will visit homes. We have a lot of meetings and open
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South houses, literacy nights and math nights, things like that. One of the most powerful things we do is a health fair for the community by which lots of the social work and mental health agencies came on campus and the whole community comes.” “Mostly,” adds Landry, “we’ve just been hunkering down and trying to get the fundamentals of a well functioning school together. But they have found time to get a pen-pal program for 5th graders going with a school in California. Students from that school came to visit this year, and they hope to raise the money to send Lafayette kids to the west coast next year. For the moment, around $500,000 has been spent on renovations. They’re consulting with architects and contractors and hope to take plans, including a new gymnasium, to the state for private public partnership funding. “In five years’ time we’ll be pretty close to a 90, 90, 90 school and still a happy productive welcoming place for students and the community,” says Landry. “I think our community relations program will be developed better by then - there’ll be a kind of blurring of the lines between the community and the school. What keeps him awake at night at the moment though, is a postHurricane New Orleans. “I see the pain that my children are going through.” he says. “The level of transience they experience because they have to move a lot, the lack of resources they have in the city right now. We just try to help any way we can.”
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Spring 2009
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Kinston Charter Academy Closing the Achievement Gap Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Shelley Seyler Johnnie Forrest Lyles had a mission: to improve the educational system in Kinston, North Carolina for minority students. As a member of the Lenoir County board of education, Johnnie saw the achievement gap affecting minority students, particularly the African American and Hispanic populations, and was concerned that these students were not getting a proper education. With progressive ideas on how to best improve this, Johnnie ran into opposition and realized he would be able to accomplish more on his own. “He felt he could do a better job so he went out and organized people, put together a plan for a charter school, and did it,” said Ozie Hall, Principal of Kinston Charter Academy. Kinston Charter Academy was founded in 2003 and today has an annual budget of $2.5 million with 360 students, 45 staff members,
and an average class size of 18. In its first few years, Kinston Charter operated on a 200-day school year. When the school ran into some financial troubles, Ozie was brought in to assess the situation and help enact the change Kinston desperately needed. One of the biggest alterations involved transitioning from their 200-day school year to a 180-day school year with each day extended by 45 minutes. This gave the school 22 extra days while still decreasing the costs to the school. The Best Kind of Improvement “Charter schools may appear to under perform state or local district public schools but when you control for economic disadvantage, the numbers for charter schools outperform the same population,” explained Ozie.
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Kinston Charter Academy not only aims to improve the achievement gap for minority students but also sets this bar high: they want their students to be performing in the 95th percentile. “We want to be an honor school,” stated Ozie.
engaged with their education. One of these is cultural responsive teaching to inspire and motivate the students to learn. Culturally responsive teachers respect all students’ cultural, racial and linguistic backgrounds and use these backgrounds to inspire learning. Kinston also uses multiple intelligences theory which recognizes that each student has different strengths. Teachers then cater to the varying learning styles to reach each individual.
With Kinston’s student body being comprised of 90 percent Title I students, their performance consistently comes out on top of other local schools on “We try to do things regularly to encourstandardized tests when the same groups of students are compared. age students and give them something One example of these numerous to look forward to. We want all of our performances is their fourth-grade students to be greater than 95 percent; to reading score of 75 percent with be at or above their grade level." 64, 68.3, and 63 as the scores for their competition.
~Ozie
Where the Credit Belongs
Attributing this performance in part to their more efficient use of time, Kinston Charter’s teachers, instruction methods, and board of directors also deserve recognition. “We have targeted instruction and remediation with individual students to focus on things they didn’t get,” explained Ozie. The school also employs various methods to keep students
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Kinston’s teachers and board of directors also play an intrinsic role in improving the school’s performance. “We have a committed staff and several retired teachers who brought a wealth of wisdom and experience,” said Ozie. The board of directors includes Hall an attorney, business owner, a plant manager, and a university professor from East Carolina University. “We have always had a board but it was not as diverse. Each person brings a different set of skills to the table and gives us a lot of guidance from many sources.” Integrated into Kinston’s curriculum are initiatives to give students exposure to the global landscape from the classroom. The school uses currencies from around the world to talk about financial literacy and foster math skills. International exchange rates allow teachers
to discuss math issues and expose students to other cultures as they examine currencies. “We use that to expose students to a global culture and talk about what is happening in other countries,” said Ozie. Kinston recently conducted a rocket launch to teach students about geometry. Plotting lines, points, right angles, obtuse triangles, and other related geometric challenges allowed the students to get a true hands-on lesson and see geometry in action. “They were able to see how these things translated into a rocket launch,” explained Ozie. The school also has a national junior beta club and fourth grade honor society to keep the students engaged. “We try to do things regularly to encourage students and give them something to look forward to. We want all our students to be greater than 95 percent; to be at or above their grade level.” For basic office supplies and other necessary products, the school turns to Reliable Supply for their affordable services. Among Their Challenges Looking to set the bar at or above 95 percent means the school needs to attract top-notch teachers. For traditional public schools, this is often easier as their teacher positions are state-allocated and they can offer a higher salary to those with advanced degrees. “We are just trying to manage to get the highest quality possible,” commented Ozie.
The disparity allows public schools lottery money and capital funding, with charter schools struggling to meet basic needs such as transportation. Not granted access to the transportation information system that public schools are privy to, Kinston plotted their own bus routes and created their own schedule. Despite these challenges, Kinston is working hard to improve the environment for their students. The school is hoping to bring their food preparation on campus from its current remote location, though the kitchen facilities will require some renovations for this endeavor. Aiming to replace their HVAC units, improving their playground, and eventually moving to a 14-acre site, Kinston is gearing up to do some serious fundraising. “A lot of schools target specific students, trying to get those who are already academically proficient. We don’t take that approach…We have a mix of students because that is the reality of the school system. We don’t want high scores by manipulating we want those scores because we have good programs and can reach all our students,” explained Ozie. Kinston Charter Academy dreams big and with their teaching methods and drive to become among to top performers in the state, students and society at large can only benefit from the school’s initiatives.
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Escambia Charter School Giving Children a Chance to Be Their Very Best Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Shelley Seyler Founded in 1996, Escambia Charter School is the first charter high school in the state of Florida and can be found in the town of Cantonment. The school is run by Principal Jerome Chisolm who is motivated by a very important belief. “I believe in giving kids the opportunity to become their own best selves.” Rooted in this belief, Jerome knows he had a lot of love and support that allowed him to have the ability and desire to give back. Not sure he wanted to become involved with education, he was in the Army for 20 years and eventually decided “it was my calling to give back.” Coming from a family of educators, Jerome knows what it takes to instill an effective education program and is an advocate of the “whole person concept.” Motivated by the needs of at-risk youth, Escambia Charter’s student body is diverse in many respects. Students often face challenges beyond their years. Some have recently been uprooted, some are living with extended families, and some even have kids of their own. Working until midnight or one o’clock in the morning is a challenge for anyone but is especially so for those students who have to get up at four thirty to get to school on time. Because Escambia Charter services students from all surrounding areas of Escambia County, many have to travel great distances to attend; but this doesn’t stop them. Programs that Elevate The importance of the high school years truly can’t be exaggerated. They are defining whether one attends a private school in a wealthy neighborhood or struggles to pass the necessary tests required to graduate. “All kids have the ability to learn but some don’t learn at the same pace that everyone else does. The landscape of education changes a lot because there are many external factors that we have to solve,” explained Jerome.
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With a budget of $850,000, the school serves the needs of 130 students with 13 staff, six of whom are instructional. Placing a special focus on community service, the school won the regional award “Make a Difference Day for Florida” in 2000. Though these programs are not mandatory, students benefit from them. “A lot of these kids could use the assistance themselves but they are very giving,” said Jerome. Most recently, the school completed a clothing drive for Waterfront Mission, a homeless shelter. The students collected, sorted, and packaged the clothes for delivery to the Mission. Escambia Charter tries to have at least one major volunteer event a year.
“Any teacher here becomes a therapy parent. We have to deliver passion and obedience. We have to motivate these kids." ~Jerome Chisolm
More Than a Test Working with at-risk students means that programs like No Child Left Behind does not apply as it does for other schools. “Any teacher here becomes a therapy parent. We have to deliver passion and obedience. We have to motivate these kids. When you look at at-risk charter schools, they do a lot more than regular school,” explained Jerome. “Realistically, NCLB should not apply to these kids who have been left behind.” This lack of applicability also relates to NCLB’s yearly progress formula. Many students come in three or four years behind,
so motivating them to learn is the first challenge we face. Escambia Charter recently performed seven percent higher in math, with 45 percent passing and 64 percent passing the writing test. Compared to the rest of the state, Jerome admits, “these numbers are small.” However, Escambia Charter is not like other regular public schools. “I think the Department of Education needs to develop other accountability factors when evaluating schools that work with these kids. Standards should not be the same as for regular public schools.” Progress is tangible, despite these grave challenges. Escambia Charter graduates are proving the skills of the school’s administrators and teachers. One student who came to class and sat in the corner performed noticeably well on placement tests. The school had him take college placement tests and the ACT. This student received a Bright Future’s Scholarship. He is currently enrolled in Pensacola Junior College and will attend the University of West Florida (UWF) this fall. Another student recently
received the magna cum laude honors from the UWF and is now attending a program at the University of South Alabama to become a physician’s assistant. On Discipline and Parental Involvement Discipline is also an important tenet of Escambia Charter’s approach and is embodied in what Jerome calls “Character Building.” Teaching students that there are consequences if they do not manage their time well. Tardiness is responded to with required after-school work details such as raking or mowing the lawn. The philosophy is, “if you don’t manage your time wisely, someone will manage your time for you,” said Jerome. The importance of parental involvement is not over looked, but is especially difficult with many parents working long hours and therefore unable to be involved in their students’ lives. Escambia Charter does have some “loyal folks,” however, and the students often put on programs to foster increased involvement.
Educational systems vary state-to-state and county-to-county. Unfortunately, the reality for some is nearly as grim as the economy. “The only place we can go is up. The educational landscape has changed so much. We are very diverse. We have to bring back some vocational training, interaction, and exciting hands-on education for those who don’t want to go to college,” recommended Jerome. Though the economy may slow some future plans for Escambia Charter, Jerome hopes to be in a brand-new facility within the next five years. The school is also working hard to build their alumni base. It remains an unfortunate reality that many students face challenges harder than others, pushing the importance of school far from their minds. Escambia Charter staff walks the delicate balance of discipline and acting as surrogate parents. With students attending school and improving their abilities, Escambia Charter is proving that this is more than possible.
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St. Mary's Academy Establishing Reading as an Academic Backbone Produced by Todd Rodgers & Written by Jim Barlow If one thing drives St. Mary’s Academy Charter School in Beeville, Texas, it is reading, says Stan Simonson, principal, director and chief executive officer. That goes for both students and teachers. Despite ever-present financial challenges, the school’s progress suggests that foundation works. Of the school’s 330 kindergarten through eighth-grade students, 80 percent come from economically disadvantaged families. In Some classes, up to 20 percent have at a parent in prison – there are four nearby, a fact that underlies a major transition for a rural South Texas community that once hosted a U.S. Navy base. Beeville is midway between Corpus Christi and San Antonio. Funding is a hurdle for St. Mary’s, founded as a Texas Open Enrollment Charter School in 2001. It rents space from the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, which built the area’s first school at the same location in the 1890s. As a charter school, Simonson said, St. Mary’s receives some $1,800 less per pupil than other schools toward its $2.5 million budget. “Sometimes I worry about money,” he said. “We were notified in October that the state was recouping $100,000 from the just-closed budget year. This irritates me, because we had closed out the budget, including the audit. Fortunately, we manage our money pretty well and have reserves.” Some of the payback is coming from reserves; the remainder through monthly allotments in the current school year. Through fund-raising, private donations and savings, the school recently launched a $1.5 million expansion on a multipurpose building with 3,000 square feet of airconditioned space and an adjoining 8,000 square feet of covered space for an outdoor
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gymnasium and playground. A 10-year plan calls for adding 10 classrooms.
federal Blue Ribbon school. This is the first time charter schools in Texas received the nomination.
Reading, however, is the academic backbone of St. Mary’s mission to offer a challenging curriculum taught in a safe, nurturing, educational environment where children are free to reach their fullest potential, Simonson said.
Simonson says he’s fine with federal NCLB guidelines. “It would be nice to have more flexibility in hiring, but we made a commitment,” he said. “We get federal funds, and we don’t want them to be taken away. It has been a challenge to get there, but by getting there, I actually think it has improved the quality of our instruction.”
“Because of the kids we serve, we are a Reading First campus,” he said. “Every child by third grade needs to be reading well. That serves us well. If children can read well, they can do the other subjects well. We have made Reading First work for us, although we work harder on the comprehension aspect of reading with help from our master’s program for our teachers.”
To get its teachers and paraprofessionals highly qualified, the school board “As a consumer or parent or grandparent, I want provided for three hours a to see some objective measure that tells me that week release time, plus tuition, kids have learned everything they should have for teachers and para’s to learned. That part of standardized testing I like." study at Beeville Community College or meet with faculty from Texas A&M University, ~Stan Simonson Corpus Christi. Under a special agreement, Texas A&M Corpus Christi faculty travel to St. Mary’s twice weekly to offer classes towards a Masters in Reading. As a result, St. Mary’s teachers are paid to earn master’s St. Mary’s 20 teachers, including Simonson, a science teacher, are degrees in reading. Under another arrangement, parents of St. Mary’s “highly qualified” under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The students can take undergraduate college reading courses. school recently won the governor’s Educator Excellence Award for the third year in a row, and the Texas State Business & Education Based on annual achievement-test results, teachers also receive asCoalition Award in 2007. The school is a nominee to become a
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South needed instruction. “One year we had problems in science, so we had a summer science institute where the teachers came in and got intensive training – how to teach and hands-on help,” Simonson said. “Our science scores have gone up. We’ve done the same thing in math.” State assessment tests are taken seriously, he said. Covering the necessary material to ensure that students are ready for them has forced the school to drastically reduce time and energy on non-core interdisciplinary courses that were once popular for teachers and students, such as sections on rain forests and ocean floors. “As a consumer or parent or grandparent,” Simonson said, “I want to see some objective measure that tells me that kids have learned everything they should have learned. That part of standardized testing, I like. There is a danger with teachers that they will tailor their lessons to in effect teach the test; I don’t like that. We hope we’ve achieved a balance of making sure that we are teaching subjects well, and by adding test-taking skills and strategies our kids know what these state tests will look like.” The school is active in science and math competitions, and works with various community organizations on after-school programs, including the federal 21st Century Learning Program, specialized summer camps and a new summer high-school program in which eighth-grade through high-school students earn high school and/or college credits.
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“We are trying to work together with the community to serve the needs of all our kids,” he said. By way of a grant with other schools in the area, he added, St. Mary’s will be part of a new, Early College High School program opening next fall at Coastal Bend College, where area students, including those who graduate from St. Mary’s, can earn associates or vocational degrees while still in high school. St. Mary’s last year joined the LEGO League program, a hands-on international science program offered by the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. “By teaching our kids about robotics, it helps to get them interested in math and science,” Simonson said. “We are seeing some very positive things happening with our kids,” Simonson said. “We are happy with the direction we are going.” A looming challenge, however, is the makeup of St. Mary’s faculty, which consists of recent college graduates or near- or past-retirement age teachers in their 70s, said Simonson, who is 62. “We don’t have that solid middle core. That is a problem that we recognize, and our board and administrative team have been looking at our options.” St. Mary’s pay scale is not competitive for instructors with a number of years of service. So young teachers and retirees are the bulk of the staff. Mid career professionals often require additional money and need to go to higher paying district jobs. Retirees often value the atmosphere of the charter school and are willing to extend their careers.
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South
Gateway Charter Academy
Partnerships with Parents and the Community Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow school has accomplished in its eight years and about his decision to stay in education. “I never wanted to be a teacher. I never wanted to be a principal,” he said. “I never wanted to be an administrator. I was called into the ministry at 18 years of age.”
Less than a decade ago, Robbie L. Moore, superintendent of Gateway Charter Academy in Dallas, Texas, wanted to walk away from education and pursue another field. However, his life took another turn and this May he will watch a handful of students walk for graduation at the charter school he founded in 2000 and opened a year later. Five of the eight candidates for graduation enrolled in the school when it opened in 2001 with 90 students in K-6th grade classes in the south Dallas church, where Moore had attended a youngster. At least two of the five students are headed off to college in the fall. Next year, 60 students will be eligible to graduate. Gateway Charter today is a two-campus complex with about 700 students and a $7 million annual budget overseen by a fivemember board of trustees. Kindergarten and elementary students still attend classes in the church building, while the middle and high-school grades are in rented facilities not far away. A new $10 million middle/high school with 46,000 square-feet of learning spaces, including science and computer labs, a band room, and an area for performing arts, is scheduled to open in the fall. The school employs 45 teachers among its 95 member staff. Moore admits that he is proud of what the
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To that end, he earned degrees from Dallas Baptist University, Dallas Theological Seminary and Trinity University, but the call he answered was from a pastor in Arlington, Texas, who asked him to teach third grade at a private school. After a one-year commitment, he was named principal. Five years later, ready to move on, he was asked by fellow teachers to consider founding a charter school to meet “a huge need” in the Dallas area. “I had to learn what a charter school was,” he recalled. When the school opened, many in the initial student body, kindergarten through sixth grade, were at-risk students already struggling and under-performing at public schools. Today, Gateway Charter’s student body is about 95 percent African-American, with the remainder being white and Latino. Some 85 percent of the students are from low socioeconomic families and eligible for reduced meals.
The mission of Gateway Charter Academy is to “provide, in partnership with parents and the community, a multicultural, safe and friendly environment in which children of all ethnic groups are equally respected, educated in basic skills and core content, expected to follow school behavioral guidelines, extended opportunities to express their special talents, and encouraged to maintain and enrich their own unique cultural heritage,” according its Web site. “We’re about taking students as they are,” Moore said. “We are determined to make each student a productive person not only inside the classroom but as a citizen. Five years after graduation, when we see one of our former students, we want to be proud of that student. We want students to be productive after high school, go to college and do very well in college. That’s our goal -- to prepare our students for college. We want to get in our students’ minds that they aren’t just here to make good grades; they are here to prepare for college.” Gateway Charter aligns its curricula with standards set by the Texas Education Agency. The school’s Web site features those standards
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South Gateway Charter Academy Finds Success with Online Credit Recovery Flexible, successful, and cost-effective intervention solutions are critical to ensuring at-risk students recover credits, stay in school, and graduate. Gateway’s measurable results stem from using PLATO® Credit Recovery Solutions in their summer school program—leading them to integrate the program into the regular school year. • • • •
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Choose the right intervention solution and expect results. Visit www.plato.com/GatewayAcademy.aspx to download other customers’ success stories or call 800.44.PLATO to connect immediately to a representative. Copyright © 2009 PLATO Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. PLATO®, Straight Curve®, and Academic Systems® are registered trademarks of PLATO Learning, Inc. PLATO Learning is a trademark of PLATO Learning, Inc. PLATO, Inc. is a PLATO Learning, Inc. company. Printed in U.S.A.
yPLATO revLearning oceRprovides tiderK–adult C ee-learning nilnO instruction htiw sseccuS sdniF ymedacA ret rahC yawetaG to districts and schools across the country—working downloadable documents outlining grade-bylacitirc era snoitulos noitnevretni evitceffe-tsoc dna ,luprominently, fsseccus including ,elbixelF consultatively to ensure solutions are cost-effective grade expectations of the Texas Essentials of Knowledge and Skills .and etau darg dna ,seamlessly loohcs ni while yats achieving ,stiderc rreplicable evocer stneduts(TEKS), ksir-tawhich gnirumeet sneassessment ot implemented requirements of the federal No Child ® results. remmus rieht ni snoituloS yrevoceR tiderC OTALP gnisu morf mets stluLeft ser eBehind lbarusaeAct. m s’yThe aweschool taG is listed by the TEA as “Acceptable.” .raey loohcs raluger eht otni margorp eht etargetni ot meht gnidael—margorp loohcs
“I think accountability [as measured by TEKS] is necessary, but I think Customers, like Gateway eCharter moh ro looAcademy, hcs ta stidercknow nrae ot stneduts rof ssecca enilno ysaE • too often that should not be the determining factor on if a school is that PLATO Learning is a leader in credit recovery, deriuqer ecnatsissa rehcaet laminiM • doing well or not,” Moore said. “I think you should look at how much intervention, and online learning. They also know slaitnetop noitargetni moorssalC • gain is being done. Has a school made gains? And how have we done secivreS troppuS ylemit dna lufpleH • they can successfully utilize a single online courseware with these struggling students who come in underperforming. Have subscription to facilitate achievement across multiple oriS digressed. I think you need to look at gains :stluser students elbacilprogressed per ,ralim programs—summer school, regular school year, and over two years. We don’t work miracles. I don’t know any district that does. We beyond. stned utdo s 0make 00,1gains, some faster than others. We are proud of what RA ,retneC gninraeL detareleccA kcoR elttiL we are doing. detaudarg We are taking what is given to us. We’re not making lemonade with that, we’re making a factory. We work hard day in and With over 6,000 hours of objective-based, problemni esaercni %01 out.” solving courseware, plus assessment, alignment, Hand O ,sloohcS cilbuday P su bmuloC setar noitaudarg curriculum management tools, we make standardsGateway’s teachers offer tutoring throughout the day, including stiderc 58 6,3 based curriculum that XThelps ,tcirtsfacilitate iD loohcSlearning tnednepeand dnI enidlA evenings, and on Saturdays. Some of the school’s federal funds are used dedrawa school improvement. to support efforts to raise performance of struggling students. They We understand education.stluand ser tcepknow xe dna noitulos noalso itnevare retnused i thgfor ir ehrecruiting t esoohC high qualified teachers, especially in science and math, or to get “good teachers” identified by the school into classes technology. And believe that when combined, ’sremotsuc rehto daolnwod ot xpsa.ymedacAyawethat taG/lead moc.to otatheir lp.ww w tisiV certification as highly qualified. students.eare vitatafforded neserper aan ot yalternative letaidemmi troute cennoctoot OTALP.44.008 llac ro seirots sseccus success. Please visit www.plato.com. While Gateway uses a variety of teaching methods, the most useful
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tool has been Plato Learning, a long-running technology-driven system offering help in intervention and credit recovery. “Plato brings in a visual dimension and gives our teachers options to find new ways to address struggles students are having meeting objectives, especially in math,” Moore said.
Using Plato, teachers can use Web-based programming to design individualized assignments or develop whole-class projects. “Plato has been a great plus for us. We use in the summer as well, especially in math. Our students respond better with technology. Plato has helped us in our math, science and reading. It works for us in all grades.” “It’s the little things that will give us our distinction,” Moore says, and he envisions Gateway being a pilot school for other charter schools in throughout the state.
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Spotlights
President Obama and Charters
From the Campaign Trail to the Stimulus Written by Shelley Seyler The long road that led President Barack Obama to the White House began what seems like eons ago. While on the campaign trail, education was certainly a important topic of debate and one in which his opponents were less apt to attack his experience: in the 20 years since he arrived in Chicago, the public school system became one of the most improved in the nation. He also pumped $150 million into the education budget and served on two education boards at the University of Chicago. Though never untouchable on the subject, President Obama has, since the beginning, proven his knowledge of the complicated and often personal subject. Many who have listened to his speeches, whether as a candidate or as president, gained insight into why he is as intelligent and hard-working as he is. Even if one did not vote for him, these two facts do seem undeniable. His openness revealed this story: his mom used to wake him at 4:30 in the morning, before school started, to tutor him. When young Barack complained, she said simply, “this is no picnic for me either, Buster.” Campaign to Policy Thus, the importance of education fostered in him since a young age, President Obama makes his deep concern with the nation’s educational system known; and he is already taking steps to correct it. While still a candidate for president, Barack Obama promised to double federal funding for public charter schools while holding those with poor records accountable. Now that he has ascended to the oval office, recent education news is heavily in favor of charters, and concrete policy reforms are beginning to take shape. Setting the tone in mid-December for his education reform, President Obama appointed Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education. Duncan served for seven years as chief executive of Chicago public schools, the third-largest school district in the country. During President Obama’s Chicago days, Duncan and the then senator would hold frequent and inquisitive discussions on education policy. In late February, the administration included increased support for high-quality charter schools in its fiscal year plan for 2010. The exact numbers will not be released until April but the administration’s favorable attitude toward the movement in certainly positive progress. The budget also calls for increased transparency around results for teachers and principal preparation programs.
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Most recently, Duncan laid out how the government hopes states will spend their stimulus money: reform. “More money will be dedicated to charters than ever before,” he said, warning that if states don’t do some innovative thinking on the money’s usage, “we’re going to come down like a ton of bricks.” The president has also, on more than one occasion, called on those states that currently have caps on the numbers and size of charters to lift these restrictions. The administration is “promoting innovation and excellence in America’s schools,” and believes that charter schools are “one of the places where much of that innovation occurs.” Limiting their growth, the president continued, “isn’t good for our children, our economy, or our country.” The President’s Biggest Challenge With much of the news surrounding the president revolving around the economy, it is important to note the inclusion of education financing in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the stimulus plan, drawn up to fix the economy. With the markets in sustained disarray, many are commenting that this may be his biggest challenge. Though the jury is still out on exactly how each dollar will be allocated, it is clear that, in the education stipulations in the ARRA, there is potential for improvement in the charter school market. Duncan has $5 billion of this fund available to shape school reform and reward states that push for classroom innovation, $650 million of which will support partnerships between schools, or schools and non-profits.
During a visit to a charter school in Washington, DC, the president spoke of “rewarding innovation the way it’s taking place here.” All this positive talk is certainly reason to hope for increased federal support of this innovative and forward-thinking movement. With a president who genuinely values and understands the importance of education, the future certainly looks bright. Sources:
Brooks, David. “No Picnic for Me Either,” The New York Times. March 12, 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/opinion/13brooks. html?scp=30&sq=obama%20charter%20schools&st=cse Dillon, Sam. “Obama Looks to Lessons from Chicago in his National Education Plan,” The New York Times. Sept. 9, 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/us/politics/10educate.html Dillon, Sam. “Obama Picks Arne Duncan for Education Post,” The New York Times. Dec. 15, 2009: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/obama-picksarne-duncan-for-education-post/?scp=44&sq=obama%20 charter%20schools&st=cse Glod, Maria. “Stimulus Billions May Spur School Reform,” CBS News. March 26, 2009: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/26/politics/ washingtonpost/main4894098.shtml
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Spotlights
American Education in a Globalizing World: Where We Are and How Charters Can Help
Written by Jim Barlow How does the United States stand in educating youth for the world stage? Numerous studies in the last decade paint a muddy landscape. Americans tend to do well in reading at an early age, overall, but they barely rank in the top 25 percent among industrialized countries in math and science. In general, a review of numerous published reports says the U.S. is lagging in all areas. U.S. fourth-graders were behind Russia, Scotland and France in reading, according to a 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Twelve percent
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of U.S. fourth-graders achieved the highest performance benchmark. The results were in a report comparing the U.S. with other members of the Group of Eight countries published in March by U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. Girls did better than boys in all countries. However, 70 percent of U.S. eighth-graders cannot read at grade level “and most will never catch up,” noted the Broad Foundation. In math and science, regardless of the studies reviewed, the United States is not in the foreground.
Most recent findings, released in the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), found Japan’s fourth- and eighth-graders dramatically led the Group of Eight (G8) which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These eight countries participate in international studies and meetings to compare and discuss educational performance and policy issues. The study found that 26 percent of Japanese eighthgraders achieved the highest benchmark targeted. U.S. students were in the middle, at
6 percent, among the other countries, whose proficiencies ranged from 8 percent (Russia) to 3 percent (Italy). In science, the TIMMS findings in 2007 found Japan again leading the Group of Eight, with their students rising to the top by eighth grade. U.S. 8th-grade boys outperformed their female counterparts Americans finished in the middle. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in 2006, found 15-year-olds in Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany ahead of U.S. students. More troubling was one-quarter of U.S. 15-year-olds scored at or below proficiency levels on combined science literacy. In 2005, a study by the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development found that U.S. 15-yearolds were below average in their ability to apply math skills to everyday life, ranking far below Finland, Korea, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and Belgium at the top of the rankings. The Broad Foundation’s chart on the study shows that America’s top math students, overall, rank 25th, with U.S. students falling two years behind grade level by eighth grade. Janet Mertz’s study led by the University of Wisconsin, published in the October 2008 issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society, added another level of fuzziness to U.S. performances in math. U.S. culture, she found, discourages girls from exceeding in math and the girls who do succeed are almost always immigrants or daughters of immigrants from countries where math is a priority. Mertz’s study examined data tracking U.S. high-school students’ performance from the nation’s most competitive contests such as the International Mathematics Olympiads and the Putnam Mathematical Competition. A common thread surfaces in the studies reviewed, including those cited here. Something happens in the transition years of middle school, showing itself through declining scores in the 8th grade in the United States. The Center for Public Education argues that the U.S. is not failing as media coverage of international comparisons suggest. However,
a statement at the organization’s Web site notes: “Knowing where the U.S. stands is the first step. A closer look into the data will help us better understand how the U.S. compares to other countries and uncover what other countries seem to be doing well that might apply here in the United States.” The center also noted the marked performance drop. Where do charter schools fit in? Many are putting an emphasis on exploring instructional techniques that boost students’ overall performance with the goal of seeing their students successfully go on to college. Many have special science and math programs. Their approaches and success stories surface in the profiles appearing in this magazine. Charter school administrators often note how their schools accept students who had been struggling -- many insufficiently challenged -- in traditional schools.
Where do charter schools fit in? Many are putting an emphasis on exploring instructional techniques that boost overall performance with the goal of seeing students successfully go on to college.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently featured two such success stories. The first took place at Independence Charter School in Philadelphia. The school this year won the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education, which carries a $25,000 prize and recognizes efforts in cultural awareness, world history and a global curriculum. The 700-student K-12 school requires all students to study Spanish, Japanese and Arabic in addition to core academic subjects. A diverse offering of world geography courses are also among the school’s courses. Another success story: Last fall, Luke Andraka, an 8th grader from Chesapeake Science Point (CSP) charter school, finished fourth in the nation in the U.S. Middle School Science Competition, the country’s biggest national science fair. Luke’s story rises to the top because the school pinpointed an untapped scientific potential during his
initial assessment at the school. “CSP took a boy who was unsure of himself and doubted his abilities, and gave him the opportunity to start believing in himself,” Luke’s mother told the alliance. “I know for a fact that he would never ever have been successful in math and science without the amazing staff at CSP.” In Salt Lake City, the science-and-mathoriented Beehive Academy, provides its teachers with professional training from the California-based Accord Institute for Education Research. Concepts learned in the training help teachers prepare students for the Math Olympics and are used in afterschool tutoring programs. Numerous charter schools have science and math at the top of their priorities. “Despite its fundamental importance to our society, we’ve lost our way on education,” wrote Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in October. In his column, he called for more charter schools and increased funding for them. “The statistics don’t lie: 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year. Seventy percent of eighth graders cannot read at grade level. Fewer than 10 out of every 100 low-income students will ultimately graduate from college. And if that’s not enough, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2008–2009 ranked the quality of primary education in such countries as Estonia (11th), Tunisia (21st), and Slovenia (24th) ahead of the United States (25th). Something must be done to reverse this trend.” Donohue’s comments were in response to the newly published report by the chamber’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce. He wrote that that charter schools “are designed to provide tuition-free public education for students and their parents, liberate teachers and administrators from red tape, and allow more innovation in the classroom. In exchange for this flexibility, charter schools accept high accountability, knowing that they can be closed if they fail to live up to their promises.” Donohue urged business support of outstanding charter schools, saying that the private sector can help build a supply of high-quality new schools and help provide qualified people to lead the schools. He also called for “charter-friendly public policies” to emerge from state and local lawmakers.
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Midwest & West
River Heights Charter School
Focus on the Environment and the Arts Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow In a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of West St. Paul, Minnesota, is a project-based charter school of 75 students -- a mix of suburban and big-city kids whose education centers on environmental awareness and the arts. “I am very proud that we have a very eclectic group of kids here who are from a wide socioeconomic range and find connections despite their diversity through their academic projects,” says Jane Davin, now in her second year as director of River Heights Charter School. The school has four eighth-graders, with the remainder spread through the 9th to 12th grades.
Davin taught music and art history for 14 years in private and public schools in the south Minneapolis suburbs. When the charter school where she had been teaching closed, she accepted the River Heights position; 25 of her former students found River Heights to be their best public school option. As a theme-based charter school, River Heights is unique in their student-centered and project-based curriculum. Students work closely with advisors to research and work in a chosen passion and strength. This not only empowers students to, in a sense, define their own education, but also gives them many more opportunities and activities that have come to define the River Heights community. Reaching Goals A recent school-wide accomplishment was meeting Adequate Yearly Progress in all five assessments last year, even though River Heights doesn’t receive a title grant under the state’s NCLB funding. “We met AYP,” she said. “We were a minority in our region that did. There’s a laundry list of schools that didn’t.” She cites “a disconnect” between the expected outcomes of NCLB and actual academic progress of students. “It is a flawed indicator.” “We’re a project-based school,” Davin said. “When parents bring a child to us, we try to let them know that this is a school that encourages kids to think independently, to learn how to create and innovate projects, based on what they love to do -- what they have a passion for, or perhaps what they hope to do when they go off to college or consider careers.”
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Not Your Parents' Public School River Heights Charter School is a member of the EdVision Cooperative, which was founded in 1994 by educators in the Minnesota River Valley. The 13-school cooperative is based on educational entrepreneurship as an alternative to formal, highlyregulated agreements with traditional school districts. Initially, EdVision also sponsored River Heights. “I appreciate the atmosphere of the EdVision Cooperative,” Davin said. “It encourages innovation in the schools, rather than replication and standardization. We want our school to be a green school and more of an arts-and-music-minded school.” The school today has a $750,000 budget overseen by a sevenmember board, which includes three parents. About $525,000 comes from the state based on average daily attendance; the remainder comes from lease funds, state money paid based on facilities and student numbers, as well as from grants and fundraising. The school is on the second floor of an office building shared by other businesses, including a physical therapy center and an insurance company. Office-open partitions separate River Height’s classrooms and offices, which include an arts and presentations studio, advising areas and administrative space. The student body, more than 15 percent Hispanic, many of whom enjoy the luxury of living nearby, fits comfortably in the facility. The school’s ninemember staff includes five licensed teachers, including Davin, who teaches language arts, two educational aides, a student-staff liaison, and an administrative assistant. Since 2007, River Heights has been sponsored by the Audubon Center of the North Woods, which serves in an overseeing position, financially and strategically, and it is a partner in mission definition for the school’s emerging environmental focus. Educating the Mind and Soul When typical discipline problems emerge, one of the consequential
“I am very proud that we have a very eclectic group of kids here who are from a wide socioeconomic range and find connections despite their diversity through their academic projects.” ~Jane Davin
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Midwest & West options Davin’s staff uses is restorative justice, in which involved parties meet around a table to clear the air and find solutions. A recent success story: two students, a junior and a senior, “diverse in personality and background,” worked on a musical recording project. “The respect and appreciation for the other’s perspective was a great learning experience in itself, and the music they produced was impressive,” Davin said. Impressively, one of River Heights’ seniors serves as the school’s own on-site IT expert. Another student helps others with autism
and other emotional disabilities, and recently completed her senior project in Early Childhood Development.
“We have a caring community of learners. Kids are not numbers here." ~Jane Davin
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As part of their projects, students learn appropriate educational concepts and material that prepares them for not only assessment tests but also for life after they graduate. “We are working really hard to communicate to kids the importance of being collegebound, at least to a two-year college, hopefully, a four-year college,” Davin said. “We encourage students through their projects to create a portfolio so that if they go to check out different colleges and sit down with a dean or anyone in an interview process they won’t just have a
transcript -- they will be able to bring a portfolio that will show some of the important projects they worked on through their high school career that really describe even more about what their skill sets are.” This spring, the school launched a “hope study” to seek new ways to assess things that are important in every student’s life. “It’s not just academics we are interested in,” Davin said. “It’s not just GPA [grade-point average]. There is more to a student’s academic assessment necessary for recording than simply their GPA, important as that is. Who the student is emotionally, socially, and as a whole person is also vital to becoming a productive member of society.” The independent nature of the school’s approach, she said, sometimes allows students to complete graduation requirements before senior year, allowing them to enroll in college courses offered free through the state’s Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program for eligible students in high school. As a true innovator, River Heights Charter School enjoys trying new methods. With proof that their new strategies are successful, students in their neighborhood are lucky to have such an exciting option for their education. “We have a caring community of learners. Kids are not numbers here,” Davin said. “Teachers care about them and we love them. When they don’t perform, we are able to speak to each situation individually and effectively and they respond. Kids want to be here. We are creating a great learning atmosphere. We are an experiment…which means we need to pay attention, try new things, and be willing to adjust and recognize when a new and helpful dynamic emerges. Often, the students themselves ignite these new ideas and practices. I see our school as very unique. I just know that if you have the right atmosphere, creative, innovative students and a bright and supportive staff who are not afraid to ‘think outside of the box,’ a lot of really great things can happen.”
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New Designs Charter School Building Strong Foundations Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Prem Desai The director of school operations at New Designs Charter School in Los Angeles, Warren Sata, also happens to be an awardwinning Japanese Taiko drummer. He only gets to do it “once in a while” though, as there’s so much happening on campus, he says with a grin. It is no joke; Warren certainly has his hands full but he is well-equipped for the task. Before coming to New Designs he did his teacher training at Columbia, got his administration degree from Harvard, worked briefly for the Department of Labor and even did a stint on Capitol Hill before coming to the school.
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Founded in 2004, New Designs opened accommodating grades six through eight. Since then, the school has grown to two locations in Los Angeles, one called Watts and the other University Park, and now includes grades six through 12. The annual budget is $6 million and Warren looks after 32 teachers and 15 administrative staff. “We’ve grown steadily from originally around 100 students to what we have now, approximately 600 students,” says Warren. Their Methods Serving urban youth from downtown Los
Angeles, New Designs is a secondary mathscience-technology school, with a curriculum that hinges on these subjects as well as English and history. Just as important as the curriculum is the school’s focus on fostering a safe learning environment that incites in its students the desire to strive for academic, social, and emotional achievement and allaround wellness. What is perhaps most unique about New Designs’ methods is its blending of human and structural components through the ethical modeling of problem solving, leadership, teamwork, and excellence. Aiming to release the next generation of
Midwest & West to meet those requirements because of the way it is structured.” Warren acknowledges, however, that the foundation of the program is strong; but there are times when it needs to have the ability to differentiate for the needs of a particular school. Their curriculum is necessarily reviewed by the state and by local universities; however test requirements often dictate curriculum for most schools. “The way we like to say it is, we’re not necessarily teaching to the test but we do have to do a certain amount of test prep. There’s a fine line between teaching the test and doing test prep.” Their Teachers
leaders and professionals into the world, the school teaches to make a difference in the students’ academic lives. In addition to this vision, New Designs has an important overarching goal: to prepare its students to meet and exceed UC A-G requirements. Set forth by the University of California, these guidelines ensure that all in-coming college freshmen, regardless of major, are prepared to participate fully in the University’s first-year program. To achieve this, the school designed before- and after-school programs, a Saturday Academy, and collaborates with the Fulfillment Fund, a group dedicated to preparing inner-city youth for college and economic stability. “We are de-emphasizing direct instruction and trying to do a little more hands-on stuff with the kids - activities and project-based learning,” he explains. New Designs recently received a grant from the Gates Foundation to do project-based training, enabling the school to bring this to both school campuses. Their ethos is simple: “differentiation is …at the centre of what we’re attempting to do.” Warren admits that Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), mandated by No Child Left Behind, can be a burden. “Let me give you an example: two years ago we met our criteria in 21 out of 22 categories but according to
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AYP we did not meet the standard because we missed the one. We are going through a review and probably will be up to speed for that year. But sometimes it can be a bit tough
Warren does have some flexibility in picking teachers, despite No Child Left Behind’s criteria. The school is able to hire people who are on university internships or who are on track to be licensed by a certain date. This allows New Designs the flexibility it needs as an inner-city school that serves mainly minority students and underserved populations.
“Sometimes it can be challenging to recruit staff who are willing to stay here rather than them just looking at us as a career step. What we really would like to see here is a core of teachers that we can train and build our program around and have something sustainable for the kids we have coming to us in the sixth grade and all the way up to when they graduate 12th grade.” To that end, the school has staff development for two hours every other week, four full days per year, and for two weeks before school starts. Even administrators work towards a set of standards. New Designs is also trying to diversify their course selection. “We would like to have more elective offerings. We do have an early college program, so we’re able to offer courses that expand our offerings after school hours are over,” explains Warren. Parents and Community Involvement As for misconduct, they have an intervention program and a dean of students who tries to prevent problems from occurring. “He meets
with any kids who may have issues that need attention at the start of the school year, or maybe at lunch, maybe after school. He keeps in contact on a regular basis to develop some skill sets to try to prevent there becoming an intervention issue.” Counseling is also available on campus through Mount Sinai Hospital which provides two counselors, free of charge, who are available on campus everyday. When a student faces expulsion, the dean, principal and vice principal sit down with parents to draw up a plan. This is not the only time parents are involved. “We have a school leadership team where parents can voice their perspectives and become more integrated. We also have a curriculum team where parents can contribute to what we do. On occasion in the past we have even had some parents involved in the advisory board of directors.” Parents are also asked to give 30 hours of volunteer time each year. Though the school does not penalize students whose parents don’t participate, it does encourage them to
be as involved as possible throughout the year. Advisory leaders from New Designs have also completed home visits to help build a bridge between the parent, the family, and the school site. New Designs is involved with the community through partnerships with charities, the University of Southern California, and other local bodies. “We partner with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” says Warren. “They recently did a visit with us and brought 26 major-leaguers to the school which was a great opportunity for the kids.” Over the next five years, Warren sees the potential for expansion into two new charters in the school’s future. “The big question for us like any school is: can we sustain what we’re doing with the current economic climate? We’re going to face some cutbacks from the state next year so that makes us a little nervous. Other than that it’s the usual day-to-day stuff that keeps me awake at night.” At least he has his drumming to unwind.
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Beehive Science & Technology Academy A Small Charter School With Big Ideas Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow Beehive Science & Technology Academy (BSTA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, touts itself as “a small charter school with big ideas.” Last fall the school literally rose to new heights, moving out of a comfortable but cramped basement of an office building to a facility more than three times as large, on two acres of land, three miles away. “We didn’t have a playground and had to use a parking lot for playing,” said Frank F. Erdogan, Beehive’s executive director for the last two years. “It was so hard to deal with the tenants and owners, and it was hard to keep our students safe and secure. Finally, we moved to this building last summer.” Erdogan was born in Azerbaijan and received his chemistry education in Turkey. He taught chemistry in charter schools in Los Angeles, California for a year, then started a charter school in San Diego and served as the principal for one year. The junior-senior high school, which opened in 2005, was founded amid growing concerns over problems educating the area’s children in math, science and technology. Since its opening, the school has achieved its annual academic yearly progress in every area. This year, at the new location some five miles south of downtown, approximately 200 students are enrolled. “There are a lot of factors in a school environment -- among them parents, teachers, staff, the turnout rate for teachers and students,” he said. “All those factors should be put together when determining if a school is doing well. We’re supposed to teach life to the kids, not just a test.” As an open-enrollment public charter school, the academy, however, must meet curricula standards of the Utah State Office of Education by providing the essential basic education components specified in Utah Core Curriculum. BSTA students must take the statemandated criterion-referenced tests, but “it is not the mission of the academy to ‘teach the test,’” Erdogan said. The curriculum and instruction at BSTA is designed to teach students to master critical thinking and other crucial elements the test seeks to assess while still being flexible enough to meet different students’ needs. BSTA, operating this year on $1.3 million budget, opened in August 2005. It is governed by a five-member board, on which Erdogan serves as a non-voting member. The school features a science-minded college preparatory program. According the school’s Web site, the curriculum “is designed to provide students with a solid foundation in humanities and social science as well as math, science and technology.” The goal is prepare students to be “responsible and educated members of the society who have the
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skills and understanding to participate and work productively in our increasingly technological, diverse, and multicultural society.” “We have programs for highly achieving academic students and also for challenged students,” Erdogan said. Student progress is monitored by homeroom teachers. If a student, at any level, is found to be at risk of failing, teachers are required to arrange meetings with parents. A part of Beehive’s culture is a clearly defined dress code, and a detailed guideline for personal appearance for all students. All students must wear navy-blue, polo-type-style shirts with the school’s logo affixed on the upper-left chest. To help enhance the school’s science-heavy curricula, teachers get professional training from the California-based Accord Institute
for Education Research. While that training is geared for preparing students for the Math Olympics, Erdogan said, “we actually get their concept in many different areas, such as after school tutoring programs, academic clubs for high-achieving students and our curricula.” An example is the Advanced Math and Science Program for gifted and talented students, which prepares students for possible competition in the International Mathematics Olympiad, International Olympiad in Informatics, International Physics Olympiad, International Biology Olympiad, Intel Science Talent Search and Utah State Science Fair. It is not easy to find high-caliber science teachers who fit the school’s programs, while also meeting NCLB standards for highly qualified teachers, admits Erdogan. “It is hard to find highly qualified math and science teachers in the USA. For me, I hire teachers from different countries. If you’re looking for someone who is high qualified, but they don’t have teaching credentials, they have to take many steps so they can be coined highly qualified by the state standards. We have to follow some sort of processes; that’s fine, but not accepting some candidates as highly qualified teachers is hard for us.” 6 of his 18 teachers are from foreign countries. Assuring that candidates from non-English-speaking countries will be able to communicate with the school’s students is important. Candidates must first prove their English proficiency to their consulates, and
they are interviewed in their home countries or by telephone by school staff. “Although this is the case, there have been problems with these teachers communicating with the students at first, but in a couple of weeks, they overcome this problem easily,” said Erdogan. Recruiting successes are clear, he added, pointing to one teacher who received a gold medal at a national science competition; another won a national computer-Olympics competition and yet another received an award from the president of his home country in recognition of his teaching performance. “We really try to hire very intelligent people from other countries to help bring success to our program,” Erdogan added. Parental involvement also is crucial to Beehive’s success, he said. Parents are strongly encouraged to volunteer for 30 hours per child. “Our parents are so much involved that most of them exceed the limits. In every part of the school, you can see our parents. They do the cleaning. They organize field trips. They organize fundraising events. They take care of our library. They organize our lunch program. They serve.” In addition, teachers each year are urged to visit every student’s home to touch base with parents and students outside of the academic environment. The home-visit program, while voluntary, aims to promote partnership between parents and teachers, encourage parental involvement, help parents understand the school’s educational policies, explore each student’s learning style, understand the emotional and social needs and behaviors of students, and identify changes in students’ interests and concerns.
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Kua O Ka La Public Charter School Education with Aloha Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Prem Desai Sitting on 600 acres of oceanfront, Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School in Hawai’i is not your typical charter school. Principal and co-founder, Susie Osborne, describes their ethos as “education with aloha - which means education with caring and respect.” The school clearly embodies this idea as it demonstrates great respect for the environment and Hawaiian culture. The school is completely solar powered, uses composting toilets, and teaches Hawaiian cultural skills such as fishing, net making, and carving, integrated through core academic curricula. Founded in 2000, the school has 83 students from grades six through 12 as well as K through first, 18 staff, and a budget of approximately $800,000. The school is currently expanding, adding a grade each year until they service grades K through 12. Kua O Ka Lā is preparing for the expansion of the student body, hoping to have 115 students next year, 130 the year after, and happily expects that the number will continue to grow from there.
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Osborne and her partner, Keikialoha Kekipi, established Ho`oulu Lahui Inc., a nonprofit, organization that was the predecessor to Kua O Ka Lā Charter School, in 1995 after the desecration of an ancient burial site. It was through meeting with community kupuna (elders) that Keikialoha learned of his lineal decadency to the people of this wahi pana (sacred place). Osborne and Keikialoha founded a non-profit on the site to provide cultural education programs to serve mental health programs, prisons, public schools, and many other organizations that had a high percentage of native Hawaiians. Osborne’s exposure to the kids who became involved with the non-profits’ work sparked in her the desire to create a school that would provide a unique, hands-on, culturally-driven experience for students. “I would see the lights come on when they were doing relevant, hands-on projects,” said Osborne. After charter school legislation passed, Osborne knew she wanted to “really deepen our work with
the native Hawaiian community.” The pair then decided to use the site owned by Kamehameha Schools for a charter school. “40 acres of it is one of the most intact, ancient Hawaiian village sites that remain today,” she says. “So it is rich with fish ponds, a very healthy rainforest and all the archaeological features. We began stabilizing the village and running cultural education programs within the different community groups.” Their Challenges The definition of highly-qualified teachers is, of course, even harder to meet at such a specialized school. “I’m fortunate that I have a very receptive, open-minded, dedicated, wonderful staff,” says Osborne. “They’re willing to get whatever certifications they need.” To maintain the cultural element in the school’s curriculum, Osborne often pairs teachers with cultural experts and practitioners. Though this is expensive and has led the school to seek alternate funding in the form of grants, it is worth it for Osborne and Kua O Ka Lā students. Teachers meet every Friday to plan for the coming week, as children do their cultural electives - including hula dancing and ukulele on that day. “We’re doing a lot of work with professional learning communities; developing those within our school so we’re not always looking for outside help. We’re building more a culture of professional learning within our school environment.”
Teaching our Keiki Mai käpae i ke a`o a ka makua, aia he ola ma laila. Do not set aside the teaching of one’s parents for there is life there. - Hawaiian proverb (Pukui, 2065)
Pictured are haumäna, students, working in a lo`i kalo, taro patch. Land-based programs aim to nurture mind, body and spirit by connecting learners to the `äina, land. At Kamehameha Schools, we strive to prepare students for educational success, while creating opportunities for learners to develop and affirm deep connections to the knowledge, practices and language of their native culture. In this environment, today’s keiki, children, are equipped to become part of a vibrant Hawaiian community tomorrow. Kamehameha Schools is a private, charitable trust, operating a statewide educational system comprised of three K-12 campuses and 31 preschool sites statewide. Additional services and support are provided through collaboration with charter and public schools, outreach programs and community partnerships.
www.ksbe.edu
Midwest & West Kua O Ka Lā also takes a different view on special education, with 25 percent of their students in this category. “We’re fully inclusive with it,” explains Osborne. “If you place a ninth grade special education student in a ninth grade class, nine times out of 10 you’re setting them up for greater frustration and ultimately failure.” Osborne explains that they place students for English and Math at performance level. She acknowledges this does not necessarily conform to No Child Left Behind but cites an example of an eighth-grade student who was doing trigonometry. “Why hold that child back?” Assessments do shape the curriculum to an extent but are balanced with Kua O Ka Lā’s cultural focus. “There needs to be multiple measures of success. That’s one measure but that’s not the comprehensive picture,” said Osborne when asked about standardized testing. “How can you have a school system founded for research and innovation opportunities - how can you do something so completely unique such as our Hawaiian charter schools - and expect to make drastic turnarounds in one year? Give us some time, give us some flexibility and let us use other measures to determine the success of our children to ensure that upon graduation they are more wellrounded.” The school does use their own measures for rigorous assessments (NWEA) but must, of course, adhere to the State HSA tests. “Our students that have been with us for a few years tend to get better with the traditional academic testing but I think it’s a little difficult. As we stabilize our growth over the next few years, that will be easier to handle. It’s definitely a concern and my prayer is that President Obama will listen to the common sense wisdom out there that can guide the spirit and intent of NCLB. My hope is that we’ll see some drastic change under our new president.” They work hard to include parents too. “We’re a very values-driven school so Hawaiian values really drive everything,” said Osborne. When the school conducts the entrance interview with families, they sign an agreement that indicates their agreement to the school’s cultural values and dedicates parents to a minimum of 16 hours each year of support to the school. With 80 percent attendance at parent nights, the school is continuously looking to strengthen this program. They are currently planning a fundraising concert with the involvement of many families. In the case of student misconduct, parents are also involved with the school to draw up a behavior plan. Though some students have been suspended, no child has ever been expelled. The expectations and values of such a culture-driven school do a lot of the work to keep students in line. “We don’t call the teachers Mr. and Ms.,” she says. “Everyone is uncle and auntie and immediately that makes it a more family-feeling environment.” The Importance of Community Focused intensely on infusing Kua O Ka Lā with Hawaiian culture, the school maintains important relationships with numerous
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community organizations whose support elevated the school to where it is today. While trying to get the school get off the ground, the Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center offered much-needed aid. During the school’s transition from a non-profit to a charter school, the center helped them draft grants and assisted with other technical and financial support, realizing the two had the same mission: to help Hawaiian children.
Looking Ahead
The future means greater expansion and improvement for Kua O Ka Lā and they’re even in talks with Harvard to become the first We are extremely proud of the tremendous accomplishresearch school in Hawai`i to ments made by Susan Osborne and Keikialoha Kekipi, bring multi-discipline researchers founders of the Kua O Ka La Charter School. Susan and and practitioners together to Keiki recognized the importance of the cultural roots of their better understand and validate students as a connecting point/source of personal pride and the culturally driven educational identity, which in turn formed the foundation of their further methods our native Hawaiian learning. Together with caring and dedicated cultural practicharter schools rely upon. tioners and instructors that the students could identify with,
“
they created a learning environment that emphasizes ‘hands on’ experience and which utilizes the beautiful land resource at Puala‘a as a learning laboratory for their students. The interface of traditional culture with modern technology and wisdom, is another aspect of their program success. - Lance Niimi
“One important concept is the bridging of ancient and modern technologies,” says Osborne. Other important relationships for “My school is the first school Kua O Ka Lā include the Hawai’i in Hawai`i to be operating on Charter School Administration Unit Manager, Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center, Hilo Unit. solar power and commercial Office, Kamehameha Schools, grade composting toilets; we Na Lei Na`auao and the Hawai’i won the EPA award for region nine and other multiple awards for Charter School Network. “Community support, engaging local environmental issues. [Students] learn how to make ancient torches clubs, informing the community; when times get tough, you can call upon your community,” commented Osborne. from the kukui nut but also to operate the solar systems within the school…I want them to be grounded in the culture but very prepared for today’s world - both ancient and modern.”
”
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Chula Vista Learning Community Charter: Addressing Real-World Issues Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar In 1998, the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School (CVLCC) opened its doors in southern San Diego County, California. The school has an important mission: to take on real-world issues and teach students concepts they can apply to their world and use throughout lives. Thus far, it has been successful at achieving this important objective. The school has accomplished this goal through a variety of educational tools that have helped to create a unique learning environment for the elementary students. The success of the school’s approach can be measured by its growth in popularity.
When the school originally opened its doors, it had 190 students; today it has 588. CVLCC students are exposed to a unique learning environment and a dedicated team of professionals ready to assist them on their journey. The CVLCC Team Leading the educational team at CVLCC is Dr. Jorge Ramirez, the school’s principal, who has been with the school since 1998 and in education for the past 17 years, mainly in the role of principal. Over the years, Dr. Ramirez has also taught in both public and private schools, as a bilingual Spanish teacher.
Currently, he is teaching methods courses for new teachers at San Diego State University. Dr. Ramirez’s team also includes the school’s instructional focus specialist and the instructional leadership team which is made up of teacher representatives. The Chula Vista Elementary School District helps drive the school’s educational challenges and goals it puts forth. Leading a team of 55 teachers and personnel, Dr. Ramirez has helped establish the school’s vision and set the pace for how to get there. Making the implementation of teacher quality-improvement measures a high priority, the school now operates several programs that benefit both the students and the teachers. One of the most unique aspects of CVLCC’s learning approach involved their Dual Language program. The 50/50 model utilizes Spanish and English with the purpose of eliminating the achievement gap that adversely affects minority students. The school uses research-based strategies to ensure that this is an effective method to reach both English- and Spanish-speaking students as a way to impact social and educational change. Through this program, the school also promotes the development of bilingual and multicultural competencies and supports Spanish and English instruction as a second language for relevant students. CVLCC also utilizes the services of the Developmental Studies Center which provides coaching for teachers and arms them with tools that increase the reading comprehension of their students. The process took two years, and helped teachers develop effective strategies that improve literacy and strengthen students’ personal responsibility for their education.
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“There is a lot of reflection involved with this program,” says Ramirez. “Teachers have a lot of opportunity to reflect.” Teachers also benefited from training provided by Targeted Leadership Consulting. This five-year process helped CVLCC to establish a uniform instructional focus throughout the school. They did this by analyzing student data to identify areas of concern, and then created a plan to address those areas. “We found out through our data that, in the area of reading, our kids were not achieving,” says Ramirez. “They helped us identify the skills that were needed, and we used strategies that worked.”
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The school is also very transparent when it comes to teacher observation. Ramirez is part of a process known as an instructional walk-through, where they pick a day after the planning and development has been completed and walk around campus, observing teachers in action, taking note of who is doing well, and where improvements may be needed.
Developmental Studies Center (DSC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to children’s academic, ethical and social development. DSC develops classroom and after-school programs that help children build capacities to think deeply and critically, and enable them to continue learning throughout their lives.
Inside the School
DSC carefully integrates curriculum materials with reflective professional development.
Unique to CVLCC is the fact that students are taught half the day in English and the other half in Spanish. This is designed to enhance students’ cognitive development and increase their chances of academic success. Learning is focused on core curriculum courses, with an emphasis placed on character development. Additionally, students have access to computer labs, where they learn the various parts of a computer and how they operate. Students are also introduced to the library and throughout their elementary years, they learn how to locate, check out, and recognize materials that may be of interest to them. One of the most innovative routes for reaching the students and giving them skills they can carry with them for many years is
referred to as a MicroSociety®. In creating a MicroSociety within the school, students take an active role in creating their own small city. They participate in everything from naming it to having a job. The experience even includes the students forming their own government and currency, and learning about money. Through spending 45 minutes each day in the society they helped create, they work, contribute, and even make purchases, thus learning skills that can be carried with them and used beyond the walls of the school. “When the school was established, we wanted to create an educational society that would challenge students,” adds Ramirez. “This gives students the opportunity to create their own society. It gives them the ability to experience leadership in a variety of ways.” Like many charter schools, students at CVLCC do follow a closely enforced dress code; however, the school rewards the students by allowing them free-dress days on their birthday, as well as on other special reward days. A Collaborative Effort Like most schools, CVLCC recognizes the
We are committed to inspiring teachers and empowering students. DSC curriculum programs are researchbased and highly interactive. The materials ignite minds with academic rigor and simultaneously instill values of kindness, helpfulness, personal responsibility and respect for others. We take pride in customizing our services to meet the specific needs of your site. Partnering with DSC provides schools and districts with the tools to create a culture of learning on your campus and a sense of autonomy, belonging and competence in your students.
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Midwest & West importance of parental involvement when it comes to student success and higher achievement. Because of this, the school encourages parents to get involved, and also has a parental volunteer requirement of 30 hours each year. Throughout the school district, CLVCC has been highly recognized for its parental involvement. Those hours can be completed in a variety of ways, including attending parent activity nights and parent/teacher conferences, volunteering, supporting enrichment programs, and becoming a member of a school committee. The school also offers a variety of parent training programs that cover various parenting topics. Students are expected to maintain good classroom behavior and to respect their teachers and classmates. When discipline issues become a concern, depending on the severity of the misconduct, students have conferences with parents, teachers, and the principal. Going Forward During the school's planning and inception its collaborators referred to CVLCC it as the “Dream School.” They envisaged a place where students would acquire tools and skills that would be applicable in the real world. Today, the creators have achieved this, and they have set still more ambitious goals for the future of the school. “Five years from now, we see ourselves serving as a model for the state, the nation, and the world,” said Ramirez.
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Pine Forest Charter School The Waldorf Difference Produced by Todd Rodgers & Written by Jacqueline Bodnar Approximately 80 miles from the Grand Canyon, in Flagstaff, Arizona, you will find a charter school that dances to a different beat. The Pine Forest Charter School was founded in August 1995 as a K-4 public school. Today, the tuition-free public charter school is inspired by Waldorf Education principles, has an annual budget of $2.2 million, and 225 students, grades K-8. With 23 full-time and another 15 part-time faculty members, Pine Forest Charter School is well equipped to meet its mission. The Pine Forest Team Leading the group is its principal and director, Michael Heffernan. Working at the school for the past six years, he has been in the education field since 1989 and has seen the school grow and strive to meet its goals. His experience includes teaching in schools in Flagstaff and Tucson, as well as in jails. He also spent three years teaching English as a Second Language in Ecuador, and has logged time as a professional white-water rafter. All of these experiences have put Heffernan in a position to help lead other teachers and administrators, and to work with his students to create a successful learning atmosphere. The school places an important focus on teacher development and incorporates a variety of enrichment programs into each school year. “We have dedicated teachers and staff,” says Heffernan, “and we have a
very low teacher-absenteeism rate. I also do my best to buffer the teachers from dealing individually with how to incorporate NCLB [No Child Left Behind] and state mandates. I take the info from those, put it into the curriculum, and bring it to them in another way.” The school works with teachers to offer both in-house and extended opportunities for enrichment. There are summer school programs, special training sessions, retreats, and special guest speakers who are consultants on the Waldorf Education model. The teachers also all attend a 5-10 day intensive training program in the summer, which is held in Sacramento or Denver. Summer trainings which our teachers attend are held at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA, as well as institutes in Colorado and New Hampshire. Additionally, there are weekly meetings, which include playing musical instruments and singing songs, and in-service days In-services are workshops held once a month for teacher enrichment. Past in-services have included artistic expression, classroom management, integrating Arizona State standards with the Waldorf curriculum. . The School’s Approach Pine Forest Charter School is one of 600 schools around the world that uses the Waldorf curriculum. There are approximately 30 to 40 publicly
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Midwest & West funded schools around the United States using Waldorf education to some degree who are members of the Alliance for Public Waldorf Education. There are over 150 tuition-based independent schools registered with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Publicly funded schools in the US are not members of this association. Waldorf education integrates the arts, humanities, sciences and mathematics. Its methods encourage creativity and imagination, and foster a sense of creative thinking that aides the student for the rest of his or her life. With the approach they take, the mission is to prepare students to be selfdisciplined and independent, and to think analytically and critically. It also aims to create a sense of reverence about the world’s beauties and wonder. What sets a Waldorf experience apart from other teaching models? The integration, according to Heffernan. “At the surface level, the teachers integrate art throughout the curriculum,” he explains. “Artistic expression is interwoven in all curriculum areas. Our teachers use thematic blocks and integrate illustration, painting and music.” Along with core classes, the school offers a variety of activities for student involvement, including volleyball, basketball, and a chess club. They have placed a high priority on teaching their students trust, mutual respect and harmony. The Need for Redirection When it comes to handling student misconduct, the school takes the
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approach of treating the behavior that took place, rather than labeling the child. Several years ago, the administrators sat down and devised a student discipline plan. Today, that plan has been used to successfully address situations where students may be disrespectful in the classroom. If students are referred to the principal’s office, he sits down with them to discuss the issue and determine a consequence. If there are three incidents in a row, then there is a parent/teacher conference. On very few occasions, the school has had to resort to in-house or out-of-school suspension. “We try to treat the behavior and find out why that behavior took place,” says Heffernan. “We take a very humanistic approach.” Charter School Challenges The challenges that face Pine Forest are similar to those that other schools around the country face. For starters, Heffernan believes that charter schools should have more flexibility in determining what a “highly qualified” teacher is, in regard to the NCLB. “That way, we can think outside the box concerning who we hire and train,” he says. For example, Pine Forest has some teachers from Europe, and some specialists in their respective fields (e.g., art, music, etc.), who don’t technically meet the NCLB definition of “highly qualified.” Another area of concern for the school is the standardized tests that are required, and the numbers of students they must have take them. The school annually has a 20 to 25 percent special education rate, and they are only allowed to excuse 2 percent of students from the tests. This scenario can present a challenge for
a school that is trying to keep their standard test scores up.
Additionally, Heffernan cites funding as a “huge issue” that schools are faced with today. There are many standards in place regarding what is expected, and not enough funding to help schools get there. Along with this challenge, another sign of the times is that the school has many parents who work multiple jobs, making it harder for them to be directly involved with the school and their child’s education.
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
Summer Institute July 6‐17 Integrated Curriculum, Active Learning, and the Arts
The school works to encourage parental involvement through volunteering in the classrooms, as well as trying to get them familiarized with the curriculum, understanding the balance, supporting their kids with homework, and helping them study. The school also encourages the parents to ensure that the kids get proper sleep and healthy food. At school, the students are not allowed to have candy or soda.
Early Childhood/Kindergarten & Grades 1‐8
Invigorating, Enlightening Renews the Joy of Teaching “Teachers, administrators, and parents need to experience the Waldorf Public School Institute to further their understanding of Waldorf education and its enormous value for today’s children.”
Pine Forest’s Future Pine Forest is currently working on plans for a new “green” and environmentally-sustainable school building. The 10-acre site will be more like a community learning center, where they can become a model for regenerated energy. Additionally, they will continue their community service projects of visiting local senior centers to play music, engaging in outdoor street clean-up projects, and holding a May Day Festival each year.
WALDORF
Michael Heffernan, Director, Pine Forest Charter School
FOR INFORMATION CALL 916‐961‐3932
RUDOLF STEINER COLLEGE
33 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN WALDORF TEACHER EDUCATION 9200 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, California 95628 SACRAMENTO AREA www.steinercollege.edu 916‐961‐8727
The 10-acre site will be more like a community learning center, where they can become a model for regenerated energy.
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Midwest & West
Literacy First Charter School An Old-Fashioned School with a High-Tech Edge Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Prem Desai
“We like to say, ‘it’s an old-fashioned school with a high-tech edge,’” says Debbie Beyer, Executive Director of Literacy First Charter School and its parent group in El Cajon, California. Beyer studied in New Mexico and at San Diego State, taught in bilingual general education classrooms, taught Spanish, developed and directed a homeschooling program and served as a consultant for bilingual education before deciding to tackle the challenge of starting a charter school. Byer and the teacher group approached the school district in 1999 and, after some battling, a charter was approved in June 2001. “School was starting in August of 2001 so we had about 50 days to get school together,” says Beyer. “We had a church that had an education building they weren’t using that was just kind of a mess so we started trying to make a school. We assembled a team of about six of us and started knocking on doors, putting flyers through doors and or car windows, just every ridiculous thing we could to get students,” explains Beyer. Just two weeks before school started, the school had three students registered. They then started holding information meetings in the community and took out ads in the local penny saver. By the end of August, school started with 114 students for the first year. Word spread quickly and by the end of the second year, this number grew to 300 with a waiting list. “We were maxed out,” says Beyer. Beginning with grades K through 3, Literacy First added a grade each year and today has about 1,000 students in grades K through 8,
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across four different locations, and a budget of approximately $6 million. The school just recently began construction of the high school in fall 2008. “That was before the whole financial market crashed,” says Beyer. “Right now we’re frozen with the building because the bond market is frozen. So we’re kind of coming up with plans d, e, and f.” In the meantime, the school is thriving with a dynamic mix of students. Located on the “urban fringe,” as Beyer describes it, the school attracts a diverse student body. Approximately one-third of their population consists of political refugees from Iraq who are Chaldean Catholics and were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. Seeking refuge in the United States, many found their way to Literacy First. With Chaldean and Arabic being their native tongue, these students are English-language learners. Thanks to the school’s great technology and teachers, Literacy First attracts students from all socio-economic brackets. “We’ve got both ends of the spectrum!," says Beyer smiling. Their methods are simple. “We have a longer school day and a longer school year,” says Beyer, “and our teachers specifically train in brain-based research methods - how the brain works and how to use that in the classroom.” The school also has a very strong literacy program, a strong character education program, and a strong focus on American History.
Another secret: “lots of hands on and lots of parent involvement we get 30 additional full-time staff on campus everyday, that’s how many volunteer hours we have every year.” Indeed, a recent auction of artwork by the kids raised $7,000 from engaged parents to help fund school trips. Parents are also very involved in any case of misconduct, though serious incidences are rare. “When students misbehave parents are brought in quickly. We have a standardized policy where kids are given a time out or have to make restitution or we send them home or parents come up to school and they work on the problem together.” For high school students, Literacy First conferences with parents to get them on the same page as the school in regards to good behavior, “so the expectation is there from home too,” says Beyer. The school also has a unique system where each teacher is responsible for a cohort of students who they keep track of for two years. Through interactions at lunchtime, on a break, calling, or email, students are connected to adults they respect, leading to a much stronger relationship. “That’s been very effective for us this year,” Beyer adds. Given the school’s unique student body, No Child Left Behind, is, naturally and unfortunately, a double-edged sword. “There are parts of it I’m not really crazy about but be it good, bad, or indifferent it has forced people to raise the bar. At the same time, we have these children who came from Iraq three months ago and we have to give them the test. How is this kid going to write an essay? He can’t even understand English,” says Beyer. “The major concern is that you don’t want teachers teaching to the test, or having it as the only measure.” Throughout the year, Literacy First teachers give quarterly assessments and complete an individualized profile for each student where they identify each student’s learning style along with a variety of other student learning indicators. Teachers also get together on a regular basis to have lunch or after school, in grade level teams, and discuss topics. A unique professional growth strategy that LFCS has implemented is called “staff conversations.” Each year the discussions are themed - this year it’s technology.
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There is also a week of training before school starts as well as in-service days and quarterly school-wide professional growth opportunities. “We’re always looking at making things better. Right now we’re looking at our spelling program and looking at using a different strategy for teaching spelling. Last year we changed our handwriting program because some staff felt the one we had wasn’t working well.” Literacy First isn’t afraid to implement new programs to supplement their curriculum. For example, they started a local spelling bee circuit to encourage children to get excited about spelling. Literacy First also has a relationship with Specialized Therapy Services
who sends consultants to help teachers cater to special education students. “We’ve never seen the level of attention that we’re getting, or the progress that students are making and I think that part of that is that our regular classroom provides so much attention too.” In five years, Beyer sees the construction of their new high school being complete as a LEED certified and eco-friendly building. That’s what keeps her awake at night, she says, but added that she’s looking forward to getting a waiting list for this new facility and expanding with even more students in the years to come. The opportunity to dynamically impact a community in this way is a blessing to the entire community, teachers, parents, students and administration alike.
Education Team Partners Helping Charter Schools Across Arizona Produced by Todd Rodgers & Written by Shelley Seyler In 2000, Education Team Partners (ETP) began its services and was established as a business in 2002 in Tempe, Arizona, “totally by accident,” as founder and president Alex Hristov likes to put it. This “accident” has since become a busy and booming business with the objective of assisting and supporting charter schools throughout the state. Alexander Hristov and Elka Hristova started the business with a unique concept for organizing information systems and knowledge management. Equipped with those tools, their company Education Team Partners has risen to the top of its field, delivering quality, growth, and academic achievement results to charter schools in Arizona. Unexpected Success “If you had asked me 11 years ago to talk about charter schools, I would have said, ‘what kind of animal is that,’” jokes Alex. “Then one day a friend
at Arizona State University (ASU) approached me for assistance with a charter school that was in financial trouble,” and this was the beginning for ETP. His reputation gained steam and more charter schools began turning to Alex when they found themselves in financial strife. “After about four or five calls, we decided to treat it as a business,” says Alex. Today, he and his wife, Elka Hristova, lead Education Team Partners to support the vision of educators and professionals from charter schools in three main areas: facilities, grants, and technical assistance. ETP also helps with strategic planning and assists those schools that are in start-up, developmental, and growth mode. “When charter schools want to expand, new stricter charter regulations may require as much as 300-page new charter application, and charter schools seek advice from us,” comments Alex. Before Education Team Partners was even on their radar, the couple
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worked at ASU, Elka gaining extensive experience in sponsored project management and competitive grants. She also holds certifications as a Senior Grants Consultant, Reviewer, and Administrator from Research Associates and CUFS Certification from ASU. Alex completed a Ph.D. study in Public Affairs at ASU and also worked as a Project Manager / Executive Trainer and subsequently a graduate courses instructor for the university. The two came to the United States from Bulgaria where they completed their undergraduate studies. Working as a consulting company and a think tank, ETP relies solely on word of mouth and referral demand to keep the wheels of the business turning and its doors open. “Right now ETP is experiencing huge demand for its services and is fully booked until August,” explains Alex.
pre-arranged shape…ETP…can custom build a model that fits best the individual charter school needs and desires and provide a dream charter school facility.” Technical Assistance ETP’s technical assistance and strategic planning programs involve program design, implementation, and development and strategic planning for charter schools. This can include development of new charter applications, charter renewal applications, business start-up work plans and financial projections, development of academic and managerial abilities, management of growth and strategic planning, building leadership capacity, and school community development.
Grant Services
Focused on Quality
ETP specializes in competitive grants and national competitions. Enjoying a high success ratio, ETP does not take a lot of clients but develops strong relationships with those who do turn to ETP for assistance. The organization completes needs assessment, detailed studies, and collects detailed data sets so it is well-informed of the school’s current status and where it wishes to be. If the situation arises where the charter school is not in the position to be eligible or with sufficient capacity to apply for a specific grant, ETP will work with the school, sometimes for several years, to help the school get there.
Working with approximately 10 to 12 charter schools at any given time, ETP is staying dedicated to the importance of quality. “We want to stay focused on quality and not compromise quality for quantity. We are carful in expanding Education Team Partners to make sure that the quality of services does not go away,” explains Alex.
The Charter School Cornerstone: Facilities When it comes to facilities, ETP provides a wide spectrum of services which takes into account each school’s specific needs and determines what the most cost-effective approach for the school is. This often involves a creditenhancement component and a grant program and conventional financing products which, as a combined effort, may provide 100 percent facility financing. ETP has assisted with this challenge in many other ways including tax-exempt bonds, conventional commercial loans, specialty loans, credit enhancement grants, specialty grants, and private source financing.
Impressively, ETP has been consistently generating an average of 50 plus full-time employment positions every single year in its clients’ organizations, which are a direct result of the efforts of Education Team Partners and the leadership, expertise, and commitment of Alex and Elka. ETP also has another vision: to help educators translate their dreams into a charter school and assist them to make a major difference in public education. Offering top-quality services to local charter schools, the state of Arizona is lucky to have an organization within its borders that is able to do just that.
ETP’s services for facilities financing do not stop there. The organization has also helped develop funding models to secure school facility financing; helped schools find a location and property for the facility; worked with local jurisdictions to determine regulatory requirements; and assisted with executing the real estate transaction, among others. Most recently, ETP established collaboration with CORE Construction, Arizona’s largest and the nation’s seventh largest school builder, and OrcuttWinslow, an experienced architectural firm, to form a manage-design-build group that caters to the unique challenges of charter schools. This team is equipped to cover all functions necessary to develop a charter school facility. Whether it is a new construction project or existing facility acquisition, ETP and its partners are equipped to tackle both. The team will be in constant communication from the “get go” regarding the specific aspects of each project, thus eliminating the many odds related to project costs and financing, major player selection and involvement, project coordination and management, and one of the most critical items: time management. “Bottom line is: the ETP business model for charter school facility development does not try to mold the charter school needs into a specific
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Spotlights
Spotlight: Your Charter as a Business How to Resolve the Employee Morale Issue Emerson states, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." A majority of the issues related to worker productivity stem from enthusiasm or the lack thereof. Individuals simply go to work despite their abhorrence of their employer, the monotony, and the products. There is no passion or pride. Much of this issue stems from practices embedded within an organizational culture affecting morale and productivity. These include:
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Leadership not serving as exemplars - some leaders today are narcissists, demeaning and ruthless. More importantly, leaders’ salaries can exceed employee pay by 425 times the average worker. Leaders need to act in harmony with employees and ensure equal treatment of all. Cultures where this practice occurs frequently include McDonalds, Fed Ex and UPS where employees and management are one.
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Little or no accountability - The United States economic system is currently in financial turmoil and no one is accountable. Employees need to know that mistakes may count for learning but criminals are punished for repeat offenses.
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Career planning and succession planning is null - simply put there is no succession planning. Most CEOs and senior managers join an organization from competitive industries and companies. Whatever happened to the mailroom climb?
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Too many silos and departmental infighting - Companies are in business for one reason- to create clients. End the infighting and focus on the most vital asset! When the fighting ends (and everybody understands their reason for being employed) perhaps harmony arrives.
Causes of low morale correlate to the organization, its culture, and its management. After 25 years of research in this area, we find five factors contributing to organizational morale. A study by the Corporate Leadership Council reveals the tremendous impact managers have on an employee’s level of commitment. It is imperative to note that individuals do not leave companies - they leave poor managers. Organizational mismanagement contributes to negative morale. As recent as 2006 the Gallup Organization estimated there were 32 million actively disengaged employees costing the American economy up to $350 billion per year in lost productivity. Such loss includes absenteeism, tardiness, and poor work. To dilute the productivity impact, research shows that taking time to build relationships with employees through personal interaction, is a key step managers can take to keep morale high. Employees need to feel trust and respect from their managers. Employees desire feedback from management to understand their work matters. Ending the morale issue is not easy but there are cures.
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1. Begin with talent acquisition - Start with the right people. No firm we work with ever hires on a proactive basis. Most firms conduct employment searches reactively. Seek employees that fit with the organizational culture and with the obligatory skills. Never wait! 2. Hire for skill - Talent is innate. Organizations hire for personality and behavior first and skill second. Skill is not interchangeable, behavior is. A great hire might have a wonderful temperament and lack the skill to plug a socket into an outlet. I recall a five star hotel that sought advice to correct housekeeping flaws. After five minutes, it was easy enough to terminate staff and find those without flaws. 3. Look at best practices from best people - Management focuses on "fixing those that cannot" rather than "improving those that can." Icons of performance exist in your organization. Discover what they do right and encourage others to emulate it. 4. Passion - In the 1980’s Sylvester Stallone appeared again as Rocky this time with a theme, "Eye of the Tiger." What a great metaphor for valuable talent. Seek to acquire talent that truly loves work. Passion too is innate. Employees must love what they do and how they do it. When passion is high so too is morale. 5. Focus on the Customer - Managers, the organization, and the employees must vehemently focus on the customer. Remember Winnie the Pooh, try finding Eeyore amongst staff at Disney; Southwest Airlines and FedEx, all intensely focus on servicing the client. Lastly, managers must constantly strive to provide feedback to employees. Feedback is not an annual performance review event. It is imperative that daily communication exists for good information and improvement. Coaching, counseling, and mentoring are components of organizational morale. In addition, many attend church and hear the words, "It is right to give thanks and praise." Many watch professional sports and view coaches coddling athletes. We can learn something here; simple words of thanks and praise constantly improve morale and employee relationships. Finally, the first item terminated during economic volatility is training. Research finds that employees are assets and require that treatment. Never stop training; this improves productivity and morale at all times. Issues of low morale and productivity are onerous, volatile, and difficult to control. There is a need for management, the organization, and the individual to assist with success factors. Much is dependent on the desire to change; methods chosen and consistent follow through. However, if you do nothing you still have a morale issue. Take the time, seek remedies, and keep morale high. Doing so, lowers attrition, improves productivity, increases profitability and most importantly- reduces stress. Š 2008. Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.
Valued Partners 3i Construction
75
Latsha Davis Yohe & McKenna, P.C.
89
Advanced Network Systems, Inc.
87
Lincoln Interactive
26
BenefitsOne, Inc.
23
MicroSociety
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Blackboard, Inc.
28
Music44®
64
Busy Bee Environmental Services
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OWI Printing & Promotional Products, LLC
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Calvert Partners
33
Plato Learning
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Center for Youth & Family Investment
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Preferred Meal Systems
56
Chula Vista Elementary School District
102
Primeaux Power
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Compass Bank
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Project-Based Learning Systems, LLC
85
Creative Presentations
61
Queen Lili‘uokalani Children's Center
96
CTR Services, Inc.
50
Reliable Supply
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RenWeb School Management Software
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Development Studies Center Easley & Rivers, Inc. Education Team Partners
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Rudolf Steiner College
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SAMTEX Janitorial
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Educators Publishing Services
63
School Center
35
Employer Advantage Insurance
91
Siegal & Drossner, PC
24
First National Insurance Agency, LLC
28
Slawik Properties, a Division of Har-Mar, Inc.
84
Friends of Independence National Park, sponsored
20
Specialized Therapy Services
by McCormick Taylor, Inc
Glass Doctor/Louisiana Door & Hardware
88
Hawaii Charter School Network
95
Hawaii Charter Schools Administrative Office
97
Hithe Enterprises
60
Hobart
72
House Care Painting
69
HTS Sign Systems
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Huntington Bank
30
Kamehameha Schools
93
Kaplan
59
LA-Cleaning Company
52
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SRA/McGraw-Hill
36
Standard Business Furniture
44
Synergy Educational Consultants
24
Targeted Leadership Consulting
102
The Reschini Group®
33
The Teacher's Stop, Inc.
62
Towe Insurance
67
Tyler Technologies
114
University of Missouri High School
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Vector Security
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Wilkinson Hadley King & Co., LLC
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"It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." -Aristotle
"A mind Once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions." -Anonymous
"The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards." -Anatole France
"Teachers open the door but you must enter by yourself." -Chinese Proverb
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." -Albert Einstein