Charter school supporters hold public forums

Both Greenville and Belfast hosted public forums on charters schools in Maine this afternoon. Dr Judith Jones will speak at the event in Greenville. Dr. Jones talk will emphasize how charter schools can benefit a rural state such as Maine. Dr. Jones is director of the Maine Association for Public Charter Schools.

Dr. Joe Nathan will appear at the Belfast forum. Dr. Nathan heads the University of Minnesota Center for School Change and was also a founding father of the U.S. charter school movement. Dr. Nathan will give a little history of the charter school movement in his speech, while highlighting the lessons we have learned on charter schools up to this point.

The Maine Senate rejected charter schools, LD 1438, back in June. The bill garnered support from many state agencies such as the state Board of Education, Department of Education, Governor Baldacci, the Maine House, and the Maine PTA. Maine is one of only nine states who do not allow some form of charter schools. This puts Maine in serious jeopardy for $4.3 billion of Arne Duncan’s “Race to the Top” education stimulus funds to be released this December. This is money Maine education cannot afford to miss out on. The Maine Senate dropped the ball on charters. It will be Mainers who get the bricks dropped on them, not Augusta.

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.

Maine Charter School Vote

An update on the Maine Charter School Bill

from Boston.com:

AUGUSTA, Maine—A bill to allow charter schools in Maine has gone down to defeat in the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration.

The Kennebec Journal said Thursday’s 22-13 vote split largely along party lines, with most Democrats opposing the bill and most Republicans favoring it.

The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Dennis Damon of Trenton, touted charter schools as an option for students who are “left out” by the public school curriculum.

Democratic Sen. Deborah Simpson of Auburn argued that it would be bad public policy to take money from public schools to try a different approach at a time when municipal budgets are strained.

I still hope there is some way to get virtual charters through. Not allowing virtual charters would be a huge setback for Maine education.

Maine Explores Charter Schools

Maine is now considering charter schools. According to Maine Charter Schools, a bill(LD 1438) has been proposed to allow charter schools to form here in Maine.

Some highlights on the bill:

- LD 1438 will cash in on federal funds available to new charters. For a state struggling to meet budget requirements this is a boon. Without these funds charters would not be possible in Maine.

- During the first ten years after the bill passes twenty charters can be started. The charterization of current alternative schools and specialized schools such as magnet schools will not count toward the limit. There are 72 school administrative districts in Maine, not to mention numerous single town districts. Populace regions like Southern Maine and Bangor already have a number of alternative schools that may be converted to charters, so this limit should not restrict their implementation too greatly. The number of charters should be kept to a manageable number, at least until we can get the hang of how to run them.

- Local and regional school boards, colleges and universities that award 4 year degrees will be able to authorize applications for charter schools. The authorizing establishments will have oversight of the charters they allow. They will have measures to “enhance the quality” of the charters and make judgments based on the performance of the schools. What on earth does “enhance the quality” mean? Well it is made up of data including student academic performance, student academic growth, attendance, continued enrollment, college readiness for charter high schools, financial performance/responsibility, and parent involvement. These are all measures I support. They also necessitate a push toward better data collection for parents and authorizing boards. Exactly how certain things are measured, (will student performance be based solely on grades?) , have not been made clear.

- The charter will allow no more than 10% of the students from the district it is in to attend the school. If the school cannot accommodate all students who wish to attend students will be chosen to attend at random. This prevents the cherry picking of students to boost numbers we all fear.

- Maine charter teachers may bargain collectively or “form a professional group”. They can unionize in layman’s terms.

- Virtual charters are allowed as well. This is perhaps one of the most interesting developments in my mind. With a population density of about 43 people per square mile, which is skewed a bit by the dense York, Cumberland, and Androscogin counties, virtual charters would be a huge advantage to children living in the boonies. I hope the bill gets passed just so we can see some virtual charters sprout up.

The bill seems pretty solid to me. It is sponsored by Dennis Damon, who you may remember as being the sponsor of LD 1020 to legalize same-sex marriage. I’m interested to see how it will be presented to the public. This could be a big chance for Maine to show the rest of the nation how to make charters work. Here is a link to the pdf of the bill and a summary composed by Maine Charter Schools. Read them, then let’s hear your thoughts.