Good Schools Remove Labels from Students

For the first time ever, Charter School Independent has a pair of guest bloggers. Jon Clark and Kimberly Steadman, principals of the Edward W. Brooke Charter School, have crafted a thorough and well-thought out response to the most recent charter school article in the Globe. Since their piece was too long for publication in the Globe, I'm giving them the floor here:

Jamie Vaznis’s recent article about charter schools (Charter schools lag in serving the neediest - Aug. 12) raises interesting questions about whether schools should be praised for serving a high number of ELL and Special Education students or questioned why they have created or preserved these labels for so many students instead of working to remove those labels.

Consider these two recent headlines and excerpts from other Globe articles. “Boston Students Struggle With English Only Rule” (4/7/09) states "Students not fluent in English have floundered in Boston schools since voters approved a law change six years ago requiring school districts to teach them all subjects in English rather than their native tongue, according to a report being released tomorrow." Our school works relentlessly to build student proficiency in English as quickly as possible so that we can remove them from this category; we were able to reclassify 7 of our 11 ELL students as Fully English Proficient. At other schools, many students who are identified ELL retain that status for years – perhaps because the schools are incapable of building English proficiency or perhaps because they value these labels for their financial benefit. Students who are labeled ELL receive 25% more state funding; this means that an ELL carries a $2,600 reward for each student labeled.

And an article entitled “Changes Urged In Special Ed” (7/9/09) asserted that "The Boston public schools are keeping too many students with disabilities out of regular classrooms and may be wrongfully identifying some students for special services because of shortcomings in teaching literacy or dealing with behavior problems, according to a report released last night at a School Committee meeting." We wholeheartedly agree. We recognize that because charter schools do not serve students with the most severe educational needs, the percentage of special education students at district schools should be slightly higher than in Boston Public Schools. But the vast difference between our school and district schools is attributable to the failure of many schools to intervene early, respond to children’s educational needs within the regular classroom, and remove them from their special education plans. We pride ourselves on the fact that the number of special education students at our school has decreased, not because we are losing our special education kids, but because we are allowing them to lose their special education labels.

When comparing students in Boston Public Schools and Boston area charter schools, we urge people to consider demographics that schools do not control: race and low income status. Looking at statistics that rely on subjective labeling by districts isn't a valid analysis. It is backwards to criticize urban charters for not "serving the neediest" because they resist placing children into these categories when they enroll many more African American and similar numbers of low-income students and have closed the achievement gap between them and their suburban counterparts.

- Guest bloggers Jon Clark and Kimberly Steadman, Edward W. Brooke Charter School

Mayoral Candidate Sam Yoon

Last week, the Roslindale Transcript carried a column from Sam Yoon blasting the BPS five-zone proposal and Mayor Menino, and laying out his position on education. He's supporting a number of positions, including one on charter schools:

"Create “Smart Caps” on charter schools. If we’re going to be innovative about education in Boston, we need to encourage the innovators who have a proven record of success. We have some of the country’s best model charter schools. Keeping a lid on them makes no sense. We should lift the cap for successful pilot and charter schools."

Later this week, Yoon going to run with this "Smart Cap" proposal as seen in this press release on his campaign website:

Yoon Proposes “Smart Caps” on Charter Schools
Calls for Increase in Funding Limits for Effective Schools
June 8, 2009

BOSTON- City Councilor-at-Large and mayoral candidate Sam Yoon will propose legislation on Wednesday that would lift the funding cap on high-performing charter schools in Boston.

“We need fresh and innovative thinking for our public schools, which is why I’m calling for ‘smart caps,’” said Yoon. “We have a faltering education system, but many of our charter schools have a proven record of success in closing the achievement gap. By increasing funding for our top charter schools, we can substantially improve the quality of Boston’s public education.”

Yoon’s proposal calls for a “smart cap,” which raises the spending limits on those charter schools that have a proven, multi-year record of high achievement. The state currently limits spending on charter schools to 9% of a school district’s budget. At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Yoon will submit a home-rule petition that calls on the state legislature to increase limits on high-performing schools to 20%.

A smart cap would allow successful charter schools to accommodate more students by expanding their campuses and hiring additional teachers. Certain schools are already inundated with more applicants than they have seats. Last year, the Edward W. Brooke Charter School in Roslindale received 1,100 student applications for only 100 openings.

Yoon said the popularity and success of some charter schools should send a message to lawmakers.

“The need for more quality choice is clear,” said Yoon. “If charter schools are successful we should allow them to replicate their success.”

Update:
You can watch Yoon discuss his position on a Smart Cap with Jon Keller of WBZ here. The part on charter schools is about 6 minutes into the 8 minute piece.

Edward Brooke Charter School in WSJ

There's a piece in today's Wall Street Journal about charter schools, the high demand for them, and the political challenges in expanding them. Two Boston charter schools are mentioned: Edward W. Brooke and Uphams Corner. Edward Brooke principals Jon Clark and Kimberly Steadman are quoted discussing the heartbreak of parents, including Mr. Clark, whose children are not picked in the lottery.

Six MA Charter Schools Rewarded for Achievement Gains

A short note from today's Globe.

"Six Massachusetts charter schools* were among 21 nationwide singled out for recognition yesterday by a national nonprofit that analyzes charter school achievement. The Effective Practice Incentive Community, or EPIC, grant program honored Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence, Boston Preparatory Charter Public School in Hyde Park, Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Roxbury, Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester, MATCH Charter Public School in Boston, and Prospect Hill Academy Upper School in Cambridge. The organization will give individual principals, teachers, and instructional staff from the schools awards totaling an estimated $735,000. EPIC considered 144 schools for the award."

EPIC is a program of New Leaders for New Schools that distributes U.S. Department of Education TIF (Teacher Incentive Fund) money. TIF is the same Federal program that independently funds Edward W. Brooke Charter School's performance bonus program (which you can read more about here.)

According to the NLNS website, "EPIC award-winning schools are divided into two categories: Gold-gain schools have the highest gain; Silver-gain schools have the next highest gain. In 2009, EPIC is awarding 21 schools and distributing roughly $1.9 million in awards. Awards were based on student gains between the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years."

2008-2009
Gold-gain schools in MA: Boston Prep and MATCH
Silver-gain schools in MA: Boston Collegiate, Community Day, Prospect Hill, Roxbury Prep

(Other MA participatants: Smith Leadership, Berkshire Arts and Tech, North Central Charter Essential, and Salem Academy)

2007-2008
Gold-gain schools in MA: Roxbury Prep and MATCH
Silver-gain schools in MA: Boston Collegiate, Community Day, Smith Leadership

(Other MA participatants: North Central Charter Essential)

*While these schools were singled out for their performance, it is important to note that only 10 out of 54 MA charter schools participate in EPIC's National Charter School Consortium.