Back in September, the State of North Carolina identified 48 low-performing public schools that could potentially be taken over by charter school operators as part of the state’s new Innovative School District. The goal of the program is to take elementary schools in the bottom 5 percent and turn them around within five years.
I am vehemently 100 percent opposed to this idea.
Charter operators would have control over curriculum design, as well as the ability to hire and fire teachers and administrators. The local district would still be responsible for the financial and logistical operations. Since then, the list, once comprised of 48 schools, has been reduced to four. The school board then has the option of relinquishing control — or shutting down.
When this was first announced, it hit very close to home. My elementary school, Ahoskie Elementary, was one of the original schools in the running to be taken over.
The Innovative School District is largely similar to (if not a carbon copy of) the Achievement School District that Tennessee began in 2011. That program has largely failed,with a 40 percent graduation rate that lags far behind the state’s 89 percent graduation rate. In regards to testing, just 8 percent of students tested in the top tiers of the state’s reading assessment, and 1 percent did so in math.
If the ASD format has largely failed our neighbors to the west, why would it work here? At the very least, ASD provided more funding for education, as Tennessee received Race To The Top funds for it. With ISD, it is unclear whether charter operators will receive extra resources to ensure the success of the turnaround efforts.
Many of the schools on the current list are located in economically deprived areas of the state and serve largely students of color. Have lawmakers considered that these schools are failing due to the way they're resourced?
Adequate funding goes a long way when it comes to a failing school. You can afford to pay good teachers what they’re worth. You can provide a safe, healthy physical space for students. You can afford healthy breakfast and lunches for students. You’d be surprised at how well students can perform when they have basic necessities for learning.
In addition, how do we know that charter operators know what’s best for a school and its students? How do we know that current administrators don’t know their schools and what’s necessary for improvement? Charter school organizations and operators like KIPP and Green Dot, and charter schools in general, are not — and never will be — a cure all for failing schools.
