Posted on 07/20/2008 7:23:09 AM PDT by wintertime
The fact that charter schools have posted some of the highest state test scores among Buffalo schools this year speaks to the validity of what was once considered an educational experiment. As recently reported, a couple of city-based charter schools posted math and English test results among the best of any schools in Erie and Niagara counties and charter schools significantly outperformed the citys traditional public schools.
Tapestry, South Buffalo, Elmwood Village and Buffalo United consistently ranked in the Top 10 among all Buffalo schools in the recent math and English tests. Community, Westminster and Pinnacle schools appeared in the Top 10 several times.
Not all charter schools are created equal. A couple of years ago the State University of New York closed Stepping Stone Charter School, and Sankofa Charter School was closed at the end of this school year.
But the validation of the experiment in alternative school structures and education practices continues the point of the charter school initiative, in the first place. Charter schools operate under far fewer constraints on personnel and scheduling, providing more time on task while allowing music, arts and physical education. Theres also an emphasis on tests that make or break a school as the main criteria for renewal.
Charter schools still have their critics, and recruiting and maintaining enrollment is a universal struggle. But competition should be feared only by the uncompetitive, and charter schools still can serve not only as good educational institutions but as laboratories for the development of best educational practices. That was the challenge they were set; it appears that, for the most part, they are passing the test.
(Excerpt) Read more at buffalonews.com ...
Also....If charter schools ( and this tiny bit of free choice in schooling) is producing such good results can you imagine the success a completely free market in education would yeild?
Personally, I support charters, vouchers, tax credits, government virtual and on-line schools, and private vouchers but only if they lead to complete privatization of K-12 education and complete separation of SCHOOL and state.
"competition should be feared only by the uncompetitive"
The only addition I would make is:
"competition should be feared only by the uncompetitive and the incompetent."
For those who are interested in a full and open discussion about government education.
I have included your name on the ping list because, in the past, you have posted to me about education issues. I surely wouldnt wish to bother you, but I dont want you to miss these education articles, either.
If you do not want to be contacted **please** let me know, and I will remove your name.
Nine years ago, my best friend, a life-long resident of Lackawanna (it borders on Buffalo), was displeased with the local school system and decided to do something about it by starting a charter school for his grandchildren to attend. He gathered some supporters and together they spend 2 years jumping through hoops trying to comply with all the state and local roadblocks to their endeavors. Finally successful, they opened in late 2001 in a building donated by K-Mart. They hired teachers, administrators, maintenance personnel, and everything needed to run a school. My friend was on the board of directors and things went well the first year.
Lackawanna, having a large Moslem population, began sending a lot of children to the school, withdrawing them from the public schools. The board of directors and administrators added more staff and board members (mostly parents of the students), nearly all Moslem. By the 4th year, the now predominantly Moslem board of directors, with Mohamed T. Albanna as the board president, forced out (fired, laid off or made uncomfortable enough to leave) all of the non-Moslem members from positions of authority (including my friend, who started the school); then, slowly, they laid off the non-Moslem teachers, and maintenance staff and then replaced the non-Moslem employees with Moslems. The school is now virtually 100% Moslem, my friend’s grandchildren no longer attend, but instead, now have returned to the public school system instead of staying with this Madrassa.
There are far more conservative Christians in this country than there are Muslims, and the best defense against Islam is to have Christian children well grounded and well educated in Judeo Christian principles of **freedom**!
The government priests and priestesses in our traditional instiutitonal government schools are already preaching the religion of “Globull” Warming. Charter schools offer the opportunity to escape that particular government religion.
If that happened with a Christian school, or Catholic, Baptist, whatever, could you imagine how quickly that school would be shut down with screeches of *separation of church and state*?
Where’d everybody go?
Lets get to the Article.
First off it appears in the Buffalo News owned by the Buffet Family- Uber Liberals to say the least.
Second Tapestry is an outstanding school I personally know the head of the Social Studies Department. Fortunately she is able to take the low pay because her husband has a very lucrative position.
Unfortunately the woman that they wanted to hire for a science teacher position couldn't afford the low pay.
South Buffalo, Elmwood Village and Buffalo United consistently ranked in the Top 10 among all Buffalo schools
While this sounds like a ringing endorsement it isn't. Lets compare those schools to other schools in Western New York.
As expected Wealthy suburban schools like Amherst and Williamsville, always score at or near the top. Cheektowaga, Depew, Maryvale, etc... score in the middle and ALL Buffalo schools score near the bottom.
The Actual numbers show that Tapestry does score high, while the magnet schools perform at the same level as the suburban schools. A couple of years ago the State University of New York closed Stepping Stone Charter School, and Sankofa Charter School was closed at the end of this school year.
Wintertime said "One of the best aspects of government charter schools is that, if they fail to educate, the state can and will shut them down.
The problem is that if you read the article, the State did not shut down Stepping stone. The article states that the university campus that it was located on shut it down.
Now an inquisitive person might ask why was this shut down? This school was located on the University campus. The idea was to use it as a training ground for students that would later go into PUBLIC EDUCATION There was a staff of several college professors (on a rotating business), Supervising Class room teachers and the majority of the teaching to be done by student teachers (on a rotating basis). There was very little if any consistency of teaching.
Now here comes the really dirty little secret. The university wanted to really jump start there numbers. They recruited from middle class suburban neighborhoods like getzville and upper middle class suburban neighborhoods like Amherst and put them in classrooms with urban children.
In less then five years the majority of the suburban parents pulled their kids out because they did not like the pace that the school was moving at, they did not like the lack of consistency, and they did not the idea of their children being part of a social experiment. The University students stopped "volunteering" and even with government reimbursement the tuition did not cover the salaries of the classroom teachers, and the additional teachers that they had to hire when their "volunteers' wouldn't.
And just so we are clear about this information, a close friend of mine's daughter was in the first class that they started. The University gave a great song and dance along with it's usual dog an pony show, to get them enrolled.
This was a liberal experiment in Social Engineering that failed miserably, the only reason that it lasted as long as it did was that there was no oversight.
Bring on the flames I have my Asbestos underwear on.
university campus that it was located on shut it down.
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Shut down is shut down! Good! I bet everyone lost their job too!
That’s what should happen to failing traditional, institutional government schools too, but rarely does.
I agree that any Christian, Catholic, Baptist, Jewish or other similar faith running a charter school would certainly bring screeches of *separation of church and state*.
That wasn’t my point, although it certainly is a good one.
Try googling “Mohamed T. Albanna” the president of the board of directors. He has terrorist connections and has an arrest record for money laundering. This is the guy running the school.
Nevertheless, getting the government out of the business of education, is the best way to go.
There’s been a steady decline in literacy and academics for the last hundred years or so, since the implementation of the graded system as we now have it.
There’s nothing that the government can’t ruing once it gets its hands on it, including educating our children.
If the government could do such a great job, that doesn’t explain the test results and graduation rates of private and home schools.
I just checked my list. You are on it.
If you did not get this particular ping, my sincerest apologies. I am in the process of reorganizing the list. I may have sent out the old list.
Wintertime
Thats what should happen to failing traditional, institutional government schools too, but rarely does.
You said that the state shut it down, it didn't, the university shut it down.
YOU were in error and need to acknowledge YOUR mistake.
It did not address any of the other issues I raised: These charter schools (except for Tapestry) actually performed in the middle of the pack when compared to comparable schools in the area, and have the added deficiencies of still being located in urban areas, and that the parents have to pay for them.
Why should parents have to pay for average education when they can send them to safe schools in safer neighborhoods for free, just by moving several miles?
Middle class parents had the freedom to withdraw their children. ( Unlike children in “public” institutional schools whose parents have no options.)
Why should parents have to pay for average education when they can send them to safe schools in safer neighborhoods for free, just by moving several miles?
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Having lived and worked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia I **testify** that “moving a few miles” is **impossible** for many, many families.
Also....Do you see the irony of your statement? The “choice” government gives parents is the **drastic** action of selling a home or breaking up an apartment and **moving**? Wow! Some “choice”! ( eye roll)
Why should parents have to pay for average education when they can send them to safe schools in safer neighborhoods for free, just by moving several miles?
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This is like Marie Antoinette saying, “Let them eat cake!”
The problem is that a number of these charter schools (at least in the Buffalo area) are providing education worse than in Public schools. And to compound the sin they are being run as either social engineering experiments or with a political (Read that as LIBERAL) Agenda.
I don't know how familiar you are with Buffalo, It is like Chiago with out the good conservative base (That was intended to be a major sarcastic comment, with just a touch of hyperbole)
Every one needs to have their hand in the pie.
Sankofa was another social experiment gone awry. Two years ago the Applied Techologies Middle school opened up. I applied for a position there. Most of the computer labs had enough computers for 1/2 to 2/3 of the students, the rest were running around- maybe it was recess, and maybe it wasn't.
At the High school they also had an opening for substitues they payed $80 per day more thean most sub positions. The work hours were from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Counting lunch that is $10/ hour. The regular teachers made $100 per day.
A friend of mine took a regular teacher position and quit after less then 2 months. He said they were the worst behaived students he had ever seen, and that the aids were worse then some of the kids.
On the other hand Buffalo has an Applied Technologies magnet school that is the exact opposite. My friend took a sub position there and loves it.
Improvements need to be made all the way around, but Parental involvement is key
Also....Do you see the irony of your statement? The choice government gives parents is the **drastic** action of selling a home or breaking up an apartment and **moving**? Wow! Some choice! ( eye roll)
Again you are still ignoring the main point. I will put it in bold Italic so you don't miss it this time. These charter schools only perform at an average level in comparison with other community schools, why pay to send them there?
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