Arne Duncan wants to slam dunk bricks on charter school haters

“We will come down like a ton of bricks on states that treat charter schools unfairly.” Arne Said it. You’ve read it.

Depending on where you read Slam Dunc’s statement you will get a slightly different version of the story. Just like a top chef, Mike Klonsky at Small Talk serves up Ed Sec Duncan’s quote done three ways.

from Small Talk:

Charter school lobbyist Gary Naeyaert, tweets Duncan’s threat from the floor of the national charter school conferences like this:

“We will come down like a ton of bricks on states that treat charter schools unfairly.”

Chicago’s WGN quotes Duncan this way:

Secretary Arne Duncan has threatened to “come down like a ton of bricks” on anyone who defies the administration’s plans to bring relief to states who face layoffs because of budget cuts.

ASCD Smart Brief says the bricks are just for governors (whew!) :

Secretary Arne Duncan, who threatened to “come down like a ton of bricks” on governors who attempt to divert education stimulus funds.

What is Duncan saying here? Well this is the same kind of strong arm tactics the government employs to influence state policy. You don’t have to do what we ask, but that nice stimulus money you were hoping for might just go elsewhere. It’s a lot like economic sanctions on misbehaving nations.

To states already practically working with the lights off to save money, the lack of funding will indeed come down like a ton of bricks on them. This could be especially damaging to school districts agonizing over what programs they can afford already.

Maine itself could be in Duncan’s sights. Recently Maine voted down LD 1438 a bill to allow charter schools in the state. The rejection of the bill, if I may digress a moment, had nothing to do with Duncan’s push for charters. Some touted the vote as a Maine legislators standing up to the menacing Ed Sec Duncan. Though Duncan’s insistence that states support charters or die and the vote in Maine occurred around the same time, as a Mainer I can assure they were unrelated.

Back to the matter at hand.

States have already been told they put themselves at a “competitive disadvantage” for stimulus funds by not supporting charters. Now Duncan is backing that with even stronger language. Dunc’s words will most likely be backed with action. Mainers are sure to lose out when that action comes.

Maine Votes to Maintain Folksy Ignorance

After being tossed back and forth between the Maine House and Senate, LD1438 (the Charter School Bill) is dead. The Senate upheld its decision that the bill “ought not to pass” 20 to 14. This is a great disappointment to many, including myself. The distinction of being one of 10 states yet to implement some form of charter schools is not one I’m proud of. The Maine Association for Charter Schools had this to say

from MACS:

In a sad commentary on our Government’s concern for the children not currently served well by public education in Maine, the Senate voted 20-14 to “adhere” to their previous decision, not to allow public charter schools in Maine.

MACS is already debriefing our campaign this session and looking ahead to the January 2010 second session when we’ll have a new opportunity to pass a charter school bill. We plan to keep fighting for the rights of all students and parents, of all income levels, to have choices within Maine’s system of public education.

Maine may have shot itself in the foot on this one. Apparently those who voted LD 1438 down do not follow what US Ed Sec Arne Duncan has been saying. Arne “Slam Dunk” Duncan released a statement concerning which states will be awarded part of the $4.35 billion education stimulus. Dunc’s words are rather clear; support the reforms we advise, including charters, or you may be holding out your empty hands forever.

from Press Herald:

States like Maine that don’t allow charter schools are putting themselves at a “competitive disadvantage” when it comes to applying for education reform funds, the country’s top education official said Monday.

The 10 states that do not allow charter schools and the 26 that put caps on the number they allow will endanger their chances for awards from a $4.35 billion education innovation fund that’s part of the federal economic stimulus package, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.

“They put themselves at a competitive disadvantage for the largest pool of dollars states have ever had access to,” Duncan said during a conference call with reporters. “We want to invest in states that push a reform agenda.”

I’m not sure what legislators were so scared of. The LD 1438 was a solid proposal. The authors designed the bill to protect against corporate schools, fairly accept those who wish to attend, provide funding, and implement useful innovations like virtual charters. No, Maine is apparently content with continuing to be backwater. While Augusta scratches its collective heads when trying to figure out why young Mainers leave the state ASAP, those who watched things like LD 1438 pass us by will know. And when our education budget is sorely missing those stimulus funds we will stifle the urge to say I told you so.

Change Wont Be Coming To Maine

Maine’s state motto is Dirigo, which translated means “I lead”. In one of life’s ironic little slaps in the face Maine is seldom a leader or innovator. Although we are the oldest and whitest state for whatever that’s worth. Maine has never been synonymous with education innovation. 40 states have some form of charter schools. Maine is not one of them. One writer to the Bangor Daily News laments the loss of that innovation in the Pine Tree State.

from Bangor Daily News:

We voted for President Obama by a wide margin. He campaigned for change. We voted for it.

When it comes to public charter schools, “Dirigo” is bitter and ironic. Maine isn’t even following. We are about to pass up the chance to be the 41st state to allow these tools for improving public education.

President Obama campaigned strongly for public charter schools. He and the research community found that these schools help ordinary families get schooling choices the rich get now, and they foster innovation in public schools.

Carrots shouldn’t be needed for such obvious reforms, but President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan are offering them. There are grants for startup expenses of up to $450,000 over three years per charter school. Distribution of $4.3 billion in phase 2 stimulus grants — the Race to the Top money — will depend on how well states support and expand their public charter school programs.

By turning down voluntary public charter schools, the Legislature would be saying no to change. The vested interests of the status quo will have won again. In buckling to the forces of reaction, not only would the Legislature turn its back on huge federal grants at a time when state employees are forced to take pay cuts. They would be saying no to more public-school options for Maine’s children and the educators who want to provide them.

There’s another Maine view. You all can read mine on this issue here and here.

UPDATE: We now are vying for the longest lobster roll.

Charter School Debate

Change.org introduced a new voice today on their education blog. Carl Anderson is here to give us his positive take on charter schools.

from Change.org

Our current home was built in 2007, just a year before we moved into it. While we have had some growing pains with this new place it’s structure and design are far more suited to how my family lives. Sure, the basement is not yet finished and the trees on our lot are not mature. We don’t yet have gutters or much landscaping. Our new home did not come with a washer and dryer, we had to purchase those ourselves. It does, however make us sleep a bit easier at night knowing that the home does not contain a speck of lead paint, that the home was built with energy efficiency in mind, and the air handling system actually works to control air quality in the home. These things were not possible with our old house. It is much easier to start from scratch and build a new home than to try and reform an old home to fit today’s needs.

I think schools are a lot like homes in this regard. Like my old house, our traditional school system was built to serve the needs of a different era. Yes, there are beautiful and irreplaceable things in old homes but the changes that are needed to modernize an old home need to be weighed against the cost and practicality of those changes. Sometimes it is better to build new.

So, how do we address this issue? One answer is to create new schools to address today’s students and prepare them for the world we live in today. This is largely how charter law came into existence. When the old house cannot be renovated to fit new needs it is often better to build a new one. Schools created by charter basically serve two purposes: 1. They attempt to better reach the needs of certain populations of students than their traditional counterparts; and 2. They can serve as testing grounds for new and innovative ideas in education.

Thanks for the intro Carl. I enjoyed the analogy. I love analogies in general, mostly because I am so bad at coming up with good ones.

Sometimes it’s hard to see the old neighborhood go. If we can keep something and improve the lives of the citizenry then I’m all for it. To save something just because of sentimentality can lead to a basement full of junk.

I lean toward supporting charters. They’re ability to get encourage teachers to pursue new techniques and technologies in the classroom is wonderful. I’m a reformer who believes we need to let teachers teach. We should be less concerned with the teaching process, as far as policy goes, than with it’s outcomes.

I do have some reservations about charters though. I would hate to see charters become marketing centers for whoever owns them. I’d rather they didn’t become a place where a certain ideology is ingrained in young minds. Then again, conscious parents would hopefully choose not to enroll their children in a place like that.

One must also be careful not to view charter schools as some sort of magic elixir for our educational ills. There are a variety of reforms we should be pursuing. To say any one thing will fix everything will lead to ruin. Be careful, that magic elixir could just be snake oil.