Chalkbeat

Jefferson Academy will open in Coal Creek after parents raised nearly half a million dollars

2024-03-13T02:54:03+00:00

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Parents in a far corner of Jefferson County celebrated Tuesday night after helping to raise nearly half a million dollars to secure the opening of a charter school in their community.

The board of the charter school, Jefferson Academy, voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with opening a new kindergarten through 8th grade school in Coal Creek Canyon.

“I’m voting for the motion because of the hard work that has been done and got us across that line,” said Anil Mathai, a Jefferson Academy board member. “But if we do not focus on year two, year three, this board and the system will have major stress on it. We own this. I want to make sure we aggressively move to make sure year two is financially solid with or without their support.”

The Jeffco school district had decided earlier this year to close the district-operated school after the end of the school year in May, citing unsustainably low enrollment. Since the next nearest schools for families are for many a 20-minute drive away, the district sought a charter school to take over running a school in the community.

Jefferson Academy was approved by the school district in January. But initial enrollment of 60 students and seven homeschoolers was lower than the charter school anticipated.

Schools are funded per student, and the board said the low enrollment numbers meant the school was half a million dollars short of being able to open. But before the board pulled out of plans to open in the fall of 2024, members allowed parents about three weeks to try to help raise the money.

Parents helped the charter school foundation apply for and secure several grants, ran a successful GoFundMe page for individual donations, received funding from several businesses, and put on a silent auction that raised more than $3,000.

All together, the efforts raised $10,000 more than what was needed.

Enrollment is still at 60 students, although there are now 10 homeschooled students who will be connected to the school. Parent leaders believe that once there is no longer uncertainty about the school’s opening, and the first year is successful, more families will enroll.

Although the charter board had previously discussed the idea of opening the school with fewer grades, board members have abandoned that idea for now, with the exception of cutting preschool. The school still intends to have a preschool, but has not yet secured licensing to offer that on the first day of school. It will be available when the school gets licensed, leaders said.

Parents who led the fundraising efforts also presented their ideas for other ways to make the charter school sustainable. Finding babysitters in the canyon is a challenge, they said, and so hosting a night out for parents where they could leave their children in a safe place could be another successful fundraising event, they said.

And to boost enrollment, parents suggested adding before or after school care. At least one parent in the community enrolls her children in Boulder schools close to her workplace, because the canyon school doesn’t have any after school care or activities.

Besides the fundraising, the last bit of help to open the charter came from the Jeffco school district, which agreed to allow Jefferson Academy to operate in the district-owned building for free the first year and with an adjusted cost in the second year.

The only condition was that Jefferson Academy had to decide Tuesday night to open the school and not leave families wondering any longer.

Lisa Relou, chief of staff for the Jeffco school district, told the charter board that the district is committed to helping, but that the goal is for the charter to be sustainable on its own in the long run.

Charter school board members said they also were concerned about long-term sustainability, and said they knew that opening this school in the canyon was a risk, but one that made sense.

Having so much parental involvement in fundraising means that the community “seems to be right up our alley,” one board member said.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.

NYC Education Dept. sues state over order to pay for charter school’s ‘inflated’ rent

2024-03-06T21:13:07+00:00

New York City’s Education Department is accusing a Staten Island charter school of “artificially inflating” its rent costs to collect more reimbursement from the city – and it’s taking the state education commissioner to court for greenlighting the arrangement, according to legal filings.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Albany Supreme Court, city lawyers allege that Hellenic Classical Charter School took advantage of a state law that requires the city to either offer charter schools space in city-owned buildings or pay for their rent in outside facilities.

The school leased space from a church in Staten Island and then turned over the lease to an affiliated group, which subleased the space back to the school at a price three times as high as what the school originally agreed to pay the landlord. The school then asked the city to reimburse it at the inflated rate, the suit alleges.

New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa is the subject of a new lawsuit from the city Education Department over her ruling in a dispute over charter school rental reimbursement.

The extra rental income was used to subsidize the costs of constructing a brand-new building for the school on the premises, city lawyers claim. Such costs, they said, aren’t covered by the rental assistance law.

The arrangement amounts to “self-dealing…in which the School in effect pays itself an artificially inflated sub-rent and pockets the difference,” city lawyers said.

Lawyers for Hellenic conceded that the dramatic rise in rent was driven by the cost of “improvements” on the facility, according to court documents. But Hellenic’s lawyer, Kevin Quinn, argued that the city has no right under the law to “second guess” the price of a charter school’s rent, and that the reason for the increase is irrelevant.

State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa largely agreed.

In an October ruling, she wrote that Hellenic’s financial arrangement was “certainly concerning,” but fell within the bounds of the law.

“That is the system the Legislature has created,” Rosa wrote. “Any change must come from that body.”

This instance, “is merely an exaggerated example of the goal of the rental assistance program: the public financing of New York City charter schools,” she added.

James Merriman, the director of the New York City Charter School Center, a group that advocates on behalf of charters, argued that, much in the way the public subsidizes the cost of public school construction, charters should be able to use rental assistance for the same purpose.

The Education Department’s lawsuit marks the first time the city has brought a legal challenge against the state Education Department over a charter rental dispute, according to a spokesperson from the city’s Law Department.

“There is no evidence that the Legislature intended” for the law to require the city to “cover what this charter school is seeking,” the spokesperson said.

Critics have flagged inflated rental costs for years

The city’s obligation to subsidize charter rents stems from a 2014 state law, passed as former Mayor Bill de Blasio took office. The legislation was meant to shore up protections for the publicly funded, privately run charter schools against a city executive viewed as more hostile toward charters than his predecessor, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The law compels the city to offer a new or expanding charter school space in a public school building or cover the cost of rent in an outside building up to a certain amount. If the rental costs are greater than 30% of what the city receives from the state for a charter school’s enrollment, the reimbursement from the city is capped at that level.

The state reimburses the city for 60% of what it pays for charter rental costs.

The city paid about $75 million for charter rental reimbursements in fiscal year 2023, after factoring in the state’s portion of the payments, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office. Year-over-year growth in the city’s total outlay on charter rental reimbursements has begun to slow as the city nears the state-mandated cap limiting the number of charter schools in operation, the IBO said. But the subsidy will likely continue to tick up in future years as rental costs rise and enrollment at charters increases overall.

Critics have for years alleged that some charter schools are taking advantage of the law by overcharging the city on rent and “self dealing.”

A 2021 report from the group Class Size Matters, which advocates for lower class sizes, pointed out several instances of charters renting space from affiliated organizations with subsequent sharp increases in rental rates.

The report cited an example of two Success Academy charter schools in Hudson Yards subleasing space from the network. In that case, the rent jumped from less than $800,000 in the 2019 school year to $3.4 million the following year, allowing Success to collect more than $3 million from the city in rental subsidies. (The report said Success owned the space, but a spokesperson said they rented it and then sub-leased it to the schools.)

Success Academy spokesperson Jessica Siegel said that even with that increase, the network has lost money on the lease because “facilities reimbursement has covered far less than our total costs including rent and the cost of the necessary renovations we had to incur to make the space safe and functional for learning.” She added that Success asked the Education Department for space in a city-owned building but was denied.

In Hellenic’s case, the school originally agreed to pay the landlord roughly $660,000 in rent during the 2021-22 school year for its Staten Island space. But the school subsequently transferred the lease to an entity affiliated with the school called “Friends of Hellenic,” which then sub-leased it back to the school at a price of over $2 million a year.

Quinn, the school’s lawyer, said using a “Friends Of” entity is a “common practice.”

In response to the 2021 Class Size Matters report, state Sens. John Liu (D-Queens) and Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan) and City Council member Rita Joseph (D-Brooklyn) sent a letter to city Comptroller Brad Lander asking him to audit the Education Department’s charter rental reimbursement payments to ensure they’re based on fair market value.

A spokesperson for Lander said the comptroller’s office couldn’t comment on ongoing litigation.

Leonie Haimson, the founder and executive director of Class Size Matters, called Hellenic’s arrangement “outrageous” and urged the state legislature to amend the rental assistance law “to disallow any self-dealing and ensure that any rents charged to DOE by charter schools are no more than fair market value.”

Rental reimbursement law draws renewed scrutiny

The rental reimbursement law has recently come up in conversations about how the city plans to comply with a separate state law mandating lower class sizes in many schools.

At a town hall in Brooklyn on Monday night, some parents pushed schools Chancellor David Banks on the possibility of moving charters out of public school buildings to clear out more space for district schools to spread out and lower their class sizes.

But Banks warned such a move would ultimately drive up the city’s expenses because of the rental reimbursement law.

“If I take a charter school and move them out of your building so that now you have more space for class size, I now have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent for that charter school,” he said. “Guess where that money is going to come from ...The funding that we use to pay for your music program and your art program.”

New York City is the only city in the state required to reimburse charter schools for rental costs – a fact critics have long seized on in arguments to repeal the legislation.

But other state legislators want to move in the opposite direction: State Sen. Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) and Assembly member John Zaccaro Jr. (D-Bronx) recently introduced legislation to expand the charter rental reimbursement law so it will also apply to charter schools opened before 2014.

Advocates and educators previously told the Bronx Times that charter schools that don’t receive the rental reimbursement have to divert significant chunks of their budget to covering rent and away from teachers and programs benefiting kids.

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

Plan for all-girls charter school clears major rezoning hurdle in Washington Township

2024-03-01T03:12:24+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

Organizers behind an all-girls charter school passed a major hurdle Thursday in a petition process to rezone property in Washington Township for the campus.

Around 100 people showed up to the hearing at the City-County Council building for what’s become a contentious fight between school choice advocates and traditional public school supporters.

But the hearing examiner for the Metropolitan Development Commission said all that mattered was the proper use of land before making a recommendation to approve a former church campus on Michigan Road for use by Girls IN STEM Academy.

The contentious hearing was another step of a lengthy rezoning process that ends with a final vote by the City-County Council.

Paramount Schools of Excellence purchased the former church on 10 acres at 5136 Michigan Road for the academy campus last fall but the site must be rezoned from religious to education use for it to open. The all-girls schools, a collaboration between Purdue Polytechnic High Schools and the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, would offer a curriculum based around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Enrollment for the school is open but Paramount now says even if rezoning is approved a temporary building will be needed for the 2024-25 school year because the campus won’t be ready. The Girls IN STEM Academy is projecting an enrollment of 125 students in grades K-6 in the first year. The school is planning to expand to K-8 by 2028-29.

Most of the crowd at the Thursday hearing was in support of the school, some wearing purple “Girls IN STEM” T-Shirts. Leaders at Paramount Schools have said they can offer better educational opportunities than what is available nearby in northern Marion County and especially for economically disadvantaged and Black students.

Those at the hearing echoed the same sentiments. Council Majority Leader Maggie Lewis described the charter school as an important opportunity for girls.

“It is so important to recognize that our Black and brown girls do need special attention,” Lewis said.

Those against the petition, cited issues related to rezoning property, such as septic system insufficiencies and the condition of the building.

Jonathan Hughes, an attorney for MSD Washington Township, cited a lack of transparency on how the space will be used and warned it will cause an overflow of traffic on Michigan Road.

“With a church, primary traffic is on Sundays,” Hughes said. “This school’s primary traffic will be during rush hour.”

An analysis about the site submitted to the examiner ahead of the hearing did not find major concerns related to traffic.

Hearing examiner Judy Weerts Hall recommended approval of the rezoning and cited the positive reuse of a vacant building.

“My job is to listen to petitions that are land use matters,” Hall said. “In this particular case, it’s a rezoning petition. I am considering solely whether a rezoning for a school is appropriate here. I don’t feel like it’s relevant for me if it’s a public school, if it’s a charter school, or if it’s a private school.”

The Metropolitan Development Commission will take up the rezoning request for Girls IN STEM Academy at its March 20 meeting.

Last year, the charter authorization board at Trine University, a private institution in Angola, approved Paramount’s application for a charter to open Girls in STEM Academy. Charter schools are public schools that are granted a contract to operate by one of several authorizers in Indiana. A charter school is directly overseen by a board that is not elected by voters.

Officials at Washington Township schools have criticized the lack of communication by Trine and Paramount around the opening of the school in the district boundary.

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.

Conflict over all-girls charter school in Washington Township reflects ongoing school choice tensions

2024-02-27T16:03:43+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

Some Washington Township parents want to block an all-girls charter school from opening, at a moment when tensions around school choice and access to equitable education are fermenting throughout Marion County.

The Girls IN STEM Academy would open in the boundary of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, in the northern part of the county.

It would also be the first public K-8 school of its kind for the state — a curriculum designed between the high-profile Paramount Schools of Excellence, Purdue Polytechnic High Schools and the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.

The school, operated by Paramount, aims to close the gender and racial gaps in science, technology, engineering and mathematics achievement while preparing the students for high school, college, and careers in STEM fields, according to the planned curriculum.

But as students enroll for the 2024-25 academic year, some local residents and district officials hope they still have a chance to stop the doors from opening through the county’s political process that continues this week.

Last fall Paramount purchased a former church on 10 acres at 5136 Michigan Road for the academy campus, but the site must be rezoned from religious to education use for the school to open.

Those opposed hope their concerns will be considered at a Thursday hearing of the Metropolitan Development Commission. City staff recently issued a report with a recommendation to approve the rezoning as long as changes and plans are made related to traffic.

The Indianapolis City-County Council will have the final say, if the development commission signs off on the change and makes a recommendation for the body to approve.

But Councilor Carlos Perkins, who represents District 8 where the building is located, could potentially request additional public hearings on the rezoning. Perkins said people are talking to him in both support and opposition of the school.

“Whenever you have a request for rezoning, that will impact a broader community,” Perkins told WFYI last week. “So what we’re seeing now is the process that was created for individuals to feel like they have an equal voice in the process.”

Pushback is result of ongoing school tensions

The pushback to Girls IN STEM comes amid nearly two years of ongoing friction in Indianapolis between school choice advocates and many who support traditional public schools.

In that time, Pike Township families and some elected officials fought against plans for a proposed Purdue Polytechnic High School and a school with ties to a conservative Christian college. Organizers for both charter schools eventually sought locations outside the township school boundary.

Leaders at Indianapolis Public Schools were pressured by local independent charter schools and the chamber of commerce to drop plans for a property-tax referendum after the district refused to share revenue with the charter schools that enroll thousands of city students.

Currently, IPS is in a court battle with the Indiana Department of Education over whether it will be forced to sell a closed school building to a charter school for $1. And the district school board faces a renewed effort from families and special-interest groups to partner with charter schools as a solution to address academic disparities between White students and students of color.

In this General Assembly, Indianapolis Democratic Sen. Andrea Hunley proposed legislation to limit who can authorize charter schools in the city. The bill was not called for a hearing in the Republican-controlled Statehouse.

And during a January neighborhood meeting about Paramount’s rezoning request for the Girls IN STEM site, around 80 people attended, including elected officials, with many speaking out against the school.

“It’s frustrating to have yet another confusing process to go through to figure out if there is any way to prevent this from happening,” said Shelley Clark, a member of the Washington Township Parent Council Network, a group opposed to the school. “So we’re following along with the district in terms of paying attention to what happens at this rezoning hearing, and figuring out how we can have our voices heard, because there has not been that opportunity in this process.”

School leaders, families make case for all-girl STEM school

Tierra Ruffin heard of the charter school through her daughter’s Girl Scout troop and was intrigued. Her daughter, a second grader in Avon Community School district, has taken a strong liking to science and math. Ruffin plans on sending her daughter to the Girls in STEM Academy this summer for third grade.

“She is very creative at home, you know, and in regards to math her testing scores are high, and just the innovative ideas that she has,” Ruffin said. “I really think [this school] could be applicable to her learning style and her creativity.”

Ruffin will need to drive her daughter to the school from Avon.

Tara Gustin, the Chief Operations Officer at Paramount, said the Washington Township site was chosen for its centralized location. The school is located a few miles from other Marion County school districts, including Pike and Wayne townships, and IPS. Gustin expects families might come from all parts of Indianapolis and nearby suburbs, like Ruffin.

“Being able to have the one gender, being able to feel safe, belonging, and hopefully be able to really open up and explore and learn together — I think that makes it unique,” Gustin said. “And I think parents are starting to look for that in and around Indianapolis.”

The property boundaries of 5136 Michigan Road from a map detail by the City of Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission.

Last year the charter authorization board at Trine University, a private institution in Angola near the state’s border with Michigan, approved Paramount’s application for a charter to open Girls in STEM Academy. Charter schools are public schools that are granted a contract to operate by one of several authorizers in Indiana, including Trine.

A charter school is directly overseen by a board that is not elected by voters. Most state funding for charters comes from per-student tuition support. The schools do not receive local property-taxes to support transportation and building expenses like public school districts.

In Paramount’s application, it makes a case that it can offer a higher quality education than what is available nearby and especially for economically disadvantaged and Black students. The application compares the 2023 ILEARN scores from three Paramount schools in Indianapolis to those of Indianapolis Public Schools and Washington Township Schools. Paramount’s scores for Black and Hispanic students passing the English and math parts of the assessments are considerably higher than either district.

At Paramount’s three Indianapolis schools, Black students passed the ILEARN at an average rate of 43.1 percent. At Washington Township the rate was 9.8 percent, and IPS was at 5.4 percent, according to state data.

However, each district enrolls many more students than Paramount’s 1,300 students at its three brick-and-mortar Indianapolis schools. Paramount also runs an online school with around 160 students.

“Academically, the collective community need for a high quality academic option for students and families on the northside of Indianapolis is evident,” they state in the application.

Others question need for another school option

But officials with Washington Township Schools are questioning if there is a need for another school in the area, even one as unique as an all-girls charter. Around 10,500 students attend the district now.

In the neighborhood rezoning meeting last month many spoke against the school. Sean Taylor, Associate Superintendent of Washington Township Schools, attended the meeting. He and others are concerned a new public school in the area would divide Washington Township families and take students from the district.

Girls In STEM Academy will be located one mile south of Crooked Creek Elementary.

“Those who are against school choice will say that more option creates more division,” Taylor said in an interview with WFYI. “It fragments communities, it challenges resources within a community. And so because of that people have a lot of angst around opening up schools in this manner.”

Some pushback is less about the school opening and more about the way it was introduced. State law requires the authorizer to hold a public hearing about the proposed charter within the school corporation where it would be located. If there is no location, the law requires a public hearing within the county where the proposed charter school would be located.

But Washington Township staff and families feel like they were left in the dark because no meeting was held near the charter.

Bill Turner, secretary of the Washington Township school board, said the board was never contacted by Paramount during the authorization process or purchase of the building in October. He found out about Girls IN STEM from the media.

“The transparency of this whole process, to not even contact the district, when you have multiple touchpoints through the Girl Scout organization within our district, to not even bring it up to our district is disingenuous to me,” Turner said. “And so that alone puts up alarm bells saying, ‘Hey, wait a minute, they’re gonna do this in the beginning, what’s going to happen later on?’”

A public notice for the rezoning request of 5136 Michigan Road lies on the grass of the property on Sunday, February 25, 2023. An examiners hearing on the request to change the zoning to education use for the Girls IN STEM Academy is set for Feb. 29, 2023.

Gustin said when Paramount applied to Trine University for a charter, they had not yet decided on a location. “So we did not reach out to any districts that we were even interested in prior to that because we didn’t know where we were going to be located,” she said.

Turner said that if a school wanted to improve learning for students in Washington Township, he wishes they reached out to the district first.

“We are a district who prides itself on trying to do what’s best for all children,” Turner said. “If there’s a better idea out there, if there’s a better curriculum, if there’s a better way to educate students, whether it’s STEM or whatever the case may be, we listen to it. And if there’s something we can do, we try to incorporate it. But we never had a chance.”

The Girls in STEM Academy is projecting an enrollment of 125 students in grades K-6 in the first year. The projection increased to nearly 300 students in grades K-8 by 2028-29.

“So yes, it’s concerning about losing students,” Turner said, about the possibility students will leave the district for the charter. “But it’s more about not only losing the students, but the funding that goes along with those students, to be honest with you.”

Others in the community have raised concern about increased traffic along Michigan Road, and that the all-girl student body is inherently exclusive.

Parents in opposition to the school also point to a lack of local oversight with the school’s authorization, as well as a failure to plan before purchasing the building and getting approval from Trine.

What’s next?

A Metropolitan Development Commission hearing examiner will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday in the public assembly room in the City-County Building for rezoning requests, including the site for Girls In STEM.

An MDC staff analysis submitted to the examiner ahead of the hearing recommends approval of the rezoning that would allow for reuse of the existing church building and construction of an additional building for more classrooms.

“... staff did not find the proposed school use to be out of line with the context of the surrounding area considering that the previous religious use had limited business hours and days when events, gatherings, and the like would take place,” the report said.

A Paramount representative will present the rezoning request at the hearing. The hearing examiner will make a recommendation, then the MDC may vote to approve, continue, deny, or dismiss the petition, according to the city’s rezoning petition rules.

If the MDC approves this rezoning and makes a recommendation to the City-County Council the council will vote on final approval, or the councilor of the district where the building is located can call for an additional public hearing before a final council vote.

Correction: This story was updated to reflect that Girls IN STEM academy would not be the first charter school to open in Washington Township.

WFYI education editor Eric Weddle contributed to this story.

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.

Parents renew call to IPS to partner with charter schools most successful for students of color

2024-02-07T22:45:50+00:00

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Community members in a campaign organized by charter-friendly advocacy groups called on Indianapolis Public Schools to partner with more charter schools in a petition delivered to IPS school board members Wednesday.

Members of the “Better Together” campaign echoed demands long expressed during public comment at school board meetings: to partner with schools that post higher-than-average test scores for Black and Latino students. Specifically, community members point to charter schools excelling in this area.

The demand comes ahead of the district’s application window for schools interested in joining the Innovation Network, a string of autonomous schools that includes both charter and non-charter schools. But partnerships in IPS can also take other forms: charter schools have previously expressed interest in occupying a few of the six school buildings that the district closed earlier this year and proposed legislation at the Statehouse could impact how that’s done.

The petition of 1,000 residents is the latest development in an ongoing divide between IPS and the charter school community. Charter-supportive community members previously expressed opposition to the district’s Rebuilding Stronger overhaul plan in 2022, in part because it did not replicate charter schools best serving students of color. Now, the district could float an operating referendum to help fund the reorganization that will largely take effect next school year, and campaign members are asking again.

Parent Susan Sargent, left, and Believe Circle City High School student Elazia Davison hand petitions to IPS school board members Angelia Moore, Kenneth Allen, Hope Hampton, and Venita Moore at John Morton-Finney Center on Wed., Feb. 7, 2024.

Parents pointed to the district’s analysis of 2023 ILEARN results that compared proficiency rates for both English and math in schools across Marion County. Three Paramount campuses that are independent charters not in the Innovation Network were in the top quartile of performance for Black and Latino students and students eligible for free or reduced lunch, along with the district’s Sidener Academy for High Ability Students.

And the three high schools in the top quartile for SAT performance benchmarks for both math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing were all Innovation Network charter schools.

“We are asking to call on the IPS administration to have a detailed plan in place by June to grow public schools that are working,” said Gregory Henson, whose daughter attends Longfellow Middle School, a traditional IPS school. “And we’re asking that this plan be inclusive of public charter schools that were highlighted in the October board report on school performance in Indianapolis.”

The push is in partnership with Stand for Children Indiana and Empowered Families, two groups that are supportive of charter schools and their expansion.

In a statement, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said she appreciated the perspectives brought forth by concerned parents and community members.

“Every family in Indianapolis wants great choices at great schools, and that is what our district has been wholly focused on since 2015 with our innovation network school partnerships, our emerging schools supports, and, next year, the full implementation of Rebuilding Stronger,” she said. “”Our North Star will continue to be keeping our commitment to great schools, in every neighborhood, for every student.”

Opportunity gaps in IPS higher than independent charters

In IPS, the gap in proficiency between white students and students of color is significant.

White students reached proficiency on the ILEARN in both English and math at a rate of 36.3%, compared to 5.4% for Black students and 8.3% for Latino students, according to state data.

“We should all be concerned when we see how much work there is to be done to recover from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when a gap in both the resources and opportunities available to poor students and students of color existed pre-pandemic, and showed up in academic outcomes and results,” Johnson said in her statement.

As a whole, however, that gap is smaller in independent charters not affiliated with IPS, according to Chalkbeat’s latest analysis of ILEARN scores. Black and Hispanic students in these schools located in or near IPS borders posted higher proficiency rates as a whole.

Yet demographic differences also vary between IPS and charters within its borders. While both Innovation and independent charter schools within IPS borders have a higher proportion of Black students and students eligible for free or reduced lunch, IPS has a higher percentage of special education students and English language learners.

Elazia Davison, a student at the Believe Circle City High School independent charter school, said he has attended multiple IPS schools and seen some schools with clear models for learning while others have almost no stability or functional learning model.

“I want to make sure that students who come after me are positively impacted by the measures IPS takes to ensure equitable learning,” he said. “This will happen by replicating schools that show success.”

School board president Angelia Moore said the next steps would be continuing conversations.

“I appreciate and respect all parents’ input on what works for their children,” Moore said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis’ Andrew J. Brown charter school ditches for-profit manager in bid for local control

2024-01-12T15:04:48+00:00

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One of the oldest charter schools in Indianapolis is severing ties with its national for-profit operator over concerns about transparency, high staff turnover, and a lack of local control.

Andrew J. Brown Academy’s school board is in the process of parting ways with National Heritage Academies, which has run the school on the far eastside since it opened in 2003, as its charter faces a renewal decision from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. Instead, the school hopes to partner with Paramount Schools of Excellence, a popular local nonprofit charter operator.

The school’s board hopes that the switch will increase their control over funding that they currently send to National Heritage Academies (NHA), a national organization not based in Indiana. But the transition also brings uncertainty for the future of the troubled K-8 school — named after a local civil rights leader — that serves about 600 students who are mostly Black or Hispanic.

In addition to lagging test scores, unstable leadership, and failures to meet special education requirements revealed by a state investigation, Andrew J. Brown has experienced a striking amount of staff turnover recently. Between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, for example, roughly three-quarters of teachers left the school.

The mayor’s office has until April 1 to make a renewal decision — which officials say will depend on whether the school finds a new building and finalizes an agreement with a new operator. The school will likely have to move to a different location for next school year because its current building is owned by National Heritage Academies. The school pays NHA nearly $800,000 a year in rent, according to school board chair Richard Hailey.

Charter authorizers have the power to approve, shut down, or renew a charter school — decisions largely based on how the school performs and operates during the term of its charter. A charter school’s governing board, meanwhile, can designate and pay an operator to run the school.

“Even though Andrew J. Brown has had the backing of a national service provider with considerable financial resources for 20 years, the academic and operational systems we expect to see at a school of this age are quite frankly not present,” said Patrick McAlister, director of the Office of Education Innovation Director, at a renewal hearing for the school in December.

National Heritage Academies, which also operates Aspire Charter Academy in Gary and over 100 other schools in eight other states, argued that the school academically outperforms nearby schools.

“These and other metrics show that we have made good on our promise to provide educational opportunities to the families we serve,” a spokeswoman said in a statement. “So, it’s deeply disappointing the school board has decided not to renew their services agreement with us.”

The separation of the school and NHA means the departure of the last for-profit charter operator of brick-and-mortar schools in Indianapolis, home to a charter community that has placed significant emphasis on schools operated locally and in a non-profit manner.

Hailey said the school’s board feels that the for-profit model doesn’t work well for primary and secondary education.

“There’s a feeling that everything should be spent on students,” he said. “That there shouldn’t be a profit left over.”

School board hopes for better academic results, transparency

The school’s board ended its service agreement with NHA around a year ago, Hailey said. It has been operating on a temporary agreement that has required the operator to share more information with the school — while allowing the school to continue using the NHA-owned building, he said. But the agreement ends at the end of this school year, leaving the school on the hunt for a facility.

Andrew J. Brown and Paramount officials are hoping a new operator will address some of the myriad issues that occurred since the start of the pandemic.

When contacted by Chalkbeat, Paramount Schools CEO Tommy Reddicks referred comment to Andrew J. Brown’s school board until more details are finalized. But at last month’s hearing, Reddicks and school officials made the pitch to Office of Education Innovation officials for Paramount to run the school.

Paramount’s partnership with Andrew J. Brown would be a “confer and consent” model with the school’s board, Reddicks said. That model would offer transparency and oversight for the school board, he said.

The school’s teacher turnover rate has been remarkably high recently. For example, between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, when 74% of teachers left Andrew J. Brown, Marion County schools as a whole retained roughly 66% of their teachers, according to the school’s renewal application and an analysis of state data from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.

Then there’s test scores. While the school has rebounded from the pandemic to a certain extent, only 46.8% of its third graders passed the state’s IREAD test last year — a drop of roughly 16 percentage points from last year. That was the biggest decline of any of the schools in the mayor’s portfolio of charter schools, according to the Office of Education Innovation.

Leadership at the school was also unstable after it lost its principal at the end of 2020-21, according to the school’s renewal application. That left the authorizer uncertain about the building’s instructional leader until the current principal took the position in the fall of 2022, according to the Office of Education Innovation’s renewal report.

In March 2022, the Office of Education Innovation notified the school that it was failing to meet certain standards in its accountability plan and charter agreement, including legal obligations to students with limited English proficiency.

Two months later, the state found violations of state special education requirements, including a failure to ensure proper licensure for special education teachers and a failure to provide services outlined in students’ individualized education programs. The mayor’s office subsequently placed the school on probationary status. The state later closed the file on the school in December 2022 after the school took corrective action.

Budget transparency, too, has been a problem. NHA prepares a budget which the board must approve, Hailey said, but in the past it’s been unclear to the board how that money has been spent. The school board has historically signed off on monthly payments to NHA for the costs of running the school, he said.

“It’s a model that they run [for] a lot of schools, and they’re not open to negotiating how those schools are run,” Hailey said. “So as a board member there’s not a lot of transparency when it comes to budgets. You really don’t get the amount of information you need to conduct effective oversight.”

The school has sought a new operator that serves a similar demographic of students while delivering excellent results, Hailey said. “We don’t want just [to be] keeping up with the IPS schools,” Hailey said. “We want to excel.”

Hailey also said he hopes the school will stay on the northeast side, serving the same student population.

McAlister said it’s too early to say whether his office supports the idea of Paramount helping to run the school.

Paramount’s work has attracted positive attention. A higher percentage of Black and Hispanic students in Paramount-run schools passed both the math and English sections on the state ILEARN test than in IPS, according to the latest 2023 state data.

“We know that Paramount has a strong track record in Marion County, and have a high degree of confidence in their ability to manage a school,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Colorado: Solicitud de escuelas chárter no puede preguntar sobre discapacidad

2022-02-01T15:26:28+00:00

Lee en inglés.

Las escuelas chárter de Colorado ya no podrán preguntar en sus solicitudes si los alumnos necesitan servicios de educación especial.

El cambio en esta regla hace que Colorado cumpla con las normas federales emitidas hace más de cinco años. La Junta Estatal de Educación aprobó el cambio por unanimidad el miércoles.

Las escuelas chárter también tendrán que dejar claro en sus páginas de internet que no discriminan y que capacitan a sus empleados para contestar cualquier pregunta sobre las políticas de admisión correctamente para así no disuadir a las familias de estudiantes con necesidades especiales, lo cual incluye a los discapacitados y los que están aprendiendo inglés.

El cambio ocurrió después de que la organización Disability Law Colorado presentara quejas ante la Oficina de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Educación de EE.UU. contra 29 escuelas chárter que hacían preguntas sobre discapacidad en sus solicitudes.

La mayoría de las escuelas actualizaron rápidamente su solicitud en respuesta a las quejas. Los administradores de muchas de las escuelas dijeron que no tenían intención de discriminar, sino solamente de planificar las necesidades de los estudiantes, pero los defensores de estudiantes con discapacidades dijeron que ese tipo de preguntas podría disuadir a los padres.

Las preguntas de la solicitud parecían violar las normas federales emitidas en un memorando en 2016, pero eran alentadas explícitamente en las reglas de las escuelas chárter de Colorado, que les decían a las escuelas que determinaran “durante el proceso de admisión antes de la matrícula” si una escuela era la adecuada para un estudiante con necesidades especiales, incluidos aquellos con discapacidades y aquellos que están aprendiendo inglés.

Bill Kottenstette, director de Schools of Choice Unit dentro del Departamento de Educación de Colorado, dijo en la reunión del miércoles que esa regla de las escuelas chárter fue adoptada en 2012, antes de la adopción de las normas federales.

Las escuelas chárter de Colorado matriculan menos estudiantes con discapacidades que el promedio del estado - y menos que las escuelas chárter en la mayoría de los otros estados, según un estudio del Center for Learner Equity.

El estudio fue comisionado por el Departamento de Educación de Colorado, que convocó un grupo de trabajo para sugerir cambios en las reglas. Esa labor estaba en progreso cuando se presentaron las quejas.

Los cambios en las reglas dejan claro que las conversaciones sobre qué servicios necesitan los estudiantes deben tener lugar después de admitirlos a la escuela. Las reglas nuevas prohíben que las escuelas chárter hagan preguntas en su solicitud que pudieran identificar a un estudiante como parte de grupos demográficos legalmente protegidos contra discriminación, requieren que las solicitudes sean accesibles para personas con discapacidades, y requieren que las escuelas ofrezcan asistencia para los padres cuyo dominio del inglés sea limitado.

Durante la reunión del miércoles, Alex Medler, director ejecutivo de la Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers, dijo que una investigación reciente comisionada por el grupo encontró que los padres se quejaron repetidamente sobre la falta de información sobre cómo funcionan las admisiones de las escuelas chárter para estudiantes con discapacidades.

Él elogió los cambios en las reglas pero dijo que aún se necesita más.

“Necesitamos educar a los padres sobre sus opciones, y ayudar al distrito y al personal de las escuelas chárter a comunicarlas,” dijo.

La reportera senior de Chalkbeat Ann Schimke aportó a este reportaje.

Indianapolis Public Schools moves to lease School 102 to nonprofit amid ongoing litigation

2023-12-15T02:13:35+00:00

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Banned from selling any of its closed school buildings through a court order, Indianapolis Public Schools will instead lease Francis Bellamy School 102 to a local nonprofit that serves youth.

The Thursday 6-0 vote (one member was absent) by the IPS school board authorizes the administration to lease the building on the east side for free to the Voices nonprofit. But the lease acknowledges the terms may change depending on an agreement with Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office or the result of the district’s ongoing lawsuit with the state over closed school buildings.

Voices, which works with disadvantaged youth in the city, will pay the building’s utility costs.

District officials have stressed that Voices shares the district’s philosophy of serving underprivileged youth and students of color. The organization could also help combat youth gun violence, board president Venita Moore said on Thursday — a growing issue that has reached a high in the past five years.

“One might wonder why this board continues to be committed to partner with Voices in ensuring they have a place to call home,” Moore said after the vote. “Voices is an integral part of the community, serving our city’s most vulnerable children, a number of whom have already been engaged with our justice system.”

The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sale of School 102, which the school board previously approved, is in limbo pending litigation with the state. A Marion County judge ordered a pause on the sale of any closed school buildings while the matter is in appeals court, but clarified that the district could lease the buildings if both parties in the lawsuit agree.

The lawsuit IPS filed in August against Rokita and state board of education officials sought relief from a state law that requires closed school buildings to be offered to charter schools for the sale or lease price of $1.

The district argues it is exempt from the law, thanks to a new addition to state statute this year that grants an exemption if districts share funds from voter-approved property tax increases for operating or safety expenses with an “applicable charter school.” A Marion County judge sided with the district last month, and Rokita appealed the ruling.

Thursday’s vote came after parents and students under the “Better Together” campaign, which features the charter-supportive group EmpowerEd Families, once again packed the meeting to urge IPS to work with charters instead of competing with them.

“Both IPS and charter schools should work together to find more innovative solutions,” said Elazia Davison, a student at Believe Circle City High School charter school. “This will build trust with families and improve partnerships in our city.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Roughly 1 in 3 Indy charter schools have closed since 2001. Is weak oversight a problem?

2023-11-30T12:00:00+00:00

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On the day the Indiana Charter School Board voted to close Carpe Diem Meridian High School in 2017, Liv Pedigo stepped outside, sat on the family swing in the backyard, and cried.

Pedigo, a junior at the time, had loved Carpe Diem Meridian, a blended-model charter school using virtual and in-person learning that opened to fanfare five years earlier. The closure was a surprising turn of events for the network, which years earlier had been given permission by the Indiana Charter School Board to open six schools across the state — without any restrictions on timing.

But within about a year of the closure vote, all three of Carpe Diem’s schools in Indianapolis had shut down due to financial concerns and academic struggles.

“That was really hard for me and devastating,” Pedigo recalled. “Just because I felt like that was where I belonged. That was my home. That was where I felt safe.”

Liv Pedigo, a former Carpe Diem Meridian student, had to attend a new high school for senior year when the school closed in 2017. About one-third of charter schools that have opened in Marion County since 2001 have closed.

Pedigo’s school is one of 31 in-person or blended-model charter schools that have closed in Indianapolis since 2001 — roughly a third of 91 such schools, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of school identification information from the state. Some, like Carpe Diem, appeared to be given the power by authorizers to expand too soon. Some faced declining enrollment, yet were allowed by authorizers to stay open. And some were rejected by one authorizer, only to be approved by another.

While closing schools represents a form of accountability, the volume of closures turns a spotlight on Indiana’s charter authorizers. These boards, often connected to government agencies or universities, essentially provide the oversight an elected school board would for traditional public schools. As the city’s charter enrollment grows, observers question whether authorizers are doing enough gatekeeping and quality control of schools — and whether the state’s own oversight of authorizers has been lax.

Charter oversight in general has created intense controversy in Indiana in recent years, although perhaps the most prominent example doesn’t involve brick-and-mortar schools. Following a 2017 Chalkbeat investigation, state auditors alleged that operators of two virtual charter schools inflated enrollment numbers to improperly obtain and disperse tens of millions of dollars. The state sued to recover the money, and the case is still in court.

In the wake of that scandal, legislators changed state law to bolster oversight of virtual charter schools, although critics argued the legislation did not go far enough. And the challenge goes beyond virtual schools: Nowhere in Indiana does charter accountability matter more than Indianapolis, which has the highest number of charter students of any city in the state.

“I do think that more standards should be in place to hold authorizers accountable for their portfolio,” said Joseph Waddington, director of program evaluation and research at the Institute for Educational Initiatives at Notre Dame University who has studied charter authorizers. “Especially in an instance like Indiana, which affords the opportunity for many different agencies to serve as authorizer.”

Indiana is heralded by national charter groups as a paragon; last year, for the seventh year in a row, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools said Indiana (in a tie with Colorado) had the best charter school law in the nation. Yet in its model charter law, the same group says states should require automatic closures of chronically low-performing schools, and set a minimum performance standard for an authorizer’s portfolio of schools.

Indiana law requires neither.

While Indianapolis has averaged more than one charter closure per year, it’s not necessarily clear that its closure rate of roughly 34% is a major outlier.

In Ohio, for example, over 42% of the nearly 600 charter schools that opened since 1998 had closed by the end of 2019, according to an analysis from Stéphane Lavertu, a professor at Ohio State University who has studied charter school closures. Last year, a federal watchdog found that 14% of schools receiving money from the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter School Program for states from fiscal 2006 through 2020 had either closed or never opened; that rate was over 30% of such schools in Illinois and over 60% in Kansas.

At the same time, authorizers are making decisions in a state policy environment where school accountability is essentially on hold.

Some in the authorizing community say Indiana’s suspension of A-F grades for schools has made it hard to ascertain whether a school of any type is academically successful. In addition, some in the charter sector argue that decisions like voting to close a school indicate authorizers are doing their jobs.

“Authorizing is not paint by the numbers,” said Karega Rausch, president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, who has also worked extensively on charter authorizing in Indiana. “It requires professionals with really high degrees of experience and judgment.”

Low enrollment factors into many charter school closures

Under state law, authorizers grant charters to prospective school operators, revoke charters for failing to meet certain standards, or choose not to renew them at the end of their term.

In addition to the Indiana Charter School Board, there are three other charter authorizers with schools in Marion County: the Indianapolis mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, Ball State University’s Office of Charter Schools, and Education One, the authorizing arm of Trine University in Angola. Authorizers collect fees for their work, which in the 2021-22 academic year ranged from roughly $307,000 to nearly $3 million for those four authorizers.

Authorizers evaluate their schools based on financial, academic, and organizational success, and submit an annual report to the state Department of Education. They also have a pre-opening process for new schools.

Authorizers’ work with each school can be long-lasting as well as detailed: They review schools throughout their charter term, which state law recently expanded to last as long as 15 years.

A Chalkbeat analysis of those four authorizers of non-virtual and blended-model charters in Marion County found that BSU had the highest rate of school closures at 75%, or six of eight.

How each authorizer holds its schools accountable — and how they determine whether to open a school — can vary, and their methods do not always protect against the factors that lead to schools shutting down.

For example, enrollment has a major impact on charters because it is tied to their per-pupil state funding; historically, charters have not been able to collect local property tax revenue like traditional public schools. Authorizers in Indianapolis say they closely monitor enrollment. Some examine the school’s budget to ensure it can remain financially stable, while others cite it as a deficiency in its evaluation of the school that could lead to probationary status.

But such measures don’t always guard against failure. HIM By HER charter school’s first academic year of 2020-21 was disrupted by the pandemic, making student recruitment a challenge. The low enrollment was a red flag for Ball State’s charter office, officials there said — but the warning and any subsequent intervention was not enough to save the school from closing in 2022.

Charter schools routinely close due to low enrollment. In 2018, four non-virtual Indianapolis charter schools closed, and all of those schools or their affiliated networks faced challenges with enrollment. Still, six new charters opened that year in Indianapolis.

Former students and employees of charter schools that struggled with enrollment described a lack of resources, general disorganization, and misplaced priorities.

Sydney Pedigo, Liv Pedigo’s older sister who also attended Carpe Diem Meridian, was skeptical when the school offered her gift cards in exchange for participating in promotional events about Carpe Diem’s expansion.

Pedigo said there was a focus on promoting the school “and not actually further investing anything in the education” of students.

Rick Ogston, founder of the Carpe Diem network, did not respond to a request for comment.

State law places no parameters on how fast a school should grow, or what to do when schools routinely fail to meet their enrollment targets. There is also no limit on how many charters an authorizer can grant to a school operator at once.

For its part, the Indiana Charter School Board eventually decided to avoid approving multiple charters for a single network at once unless the network has a plan for expansion, said James Betley, the board’s executive director. And it’s more cautious in at least one other respect.

“We don’t authorize in Indianapolis any more, really,” said Betley, who did not lead the organization when it approved Carpe Diem’s expansion. “It’s too crowded. It’s oversaturated. There are too many schools.”

After rejection, some charter schools seek approval elsewhere

For Darneatryce Scott, teaching for just a few weeks at the Genius School was “hell” before she quit in 2022.

The school struggled with staffing, she said, and she ended up teaching more subjects than she was hired for. She had to scramble to provide her own curriculum, she recalled, since it did not initially have one for several subjects.

And when she applied for the job, she said, she had no idea the school once had a different name.

The school used to be known as Ignite Achievement Academy and for a time was part of the Indianapolis Public Schools Innovation Network, a group of schools under the district umbrella that have more flexibility than traditional schools and are often charters. But in 2021, the IPS school board voted to kick the school out of the network the next school year, citing low test scores and high staff turnover.

The mayor’s Office of Education and Innovation, the school’s authorizer, allowed the school to rename itself, relocate, and stay open — but put the school on a performance improvement plan.

But this year, the school is seeking approval from another authorizer: Education One.

The Genius School did not return requests for comment.

Since 2001, at least three Indianapolis brick-and-mortar or blended charters have sought and won approval from a different authorizer, after their school or sister schools faced scrutiny from their initial authorizer.

At least another five schools were rejected in the application stage by one authorizer but later approved by another.

The charter office for Ball State approved three schools that had been previously rejected or had schools in the same network under scrutiny, the highest number among the four authorizers for schools that have opened. Trine approved two — and also recently approved a Purdue Polytechnic High School campus after the Indianapolis Charter School Board, which is part of the mayor’s Office of Education and Innovation, rejected a third Purdue Polytechnic campus amid public pushback. That campus is slated to open in 2024.

Lawmakers have added some provisions to guard against schools jumping from one authorizer to another. Authorizers that wish to issue a charter to a previously closed school must request a review by the state board of education at a hearing.

Authorizers, meanwhile, say they talk to other authorizers about previously rejected schools. And state law requires applicants to list any other authorizers they have applied to in the past five years.

But such processes don’t necessarily address those schools that hop to another authorizer before they’re even forced to close.

When Scott heard the Genius School was seeking a new authorizer, she was incredulous.

“We need to get rid of all these schools,” she said, “and stop letting them go from one [authorizer] to another.”

Charter school authorizers in a ‘zombie’ accountability stage?

State law is relatively open-ended about when or why authorizers should shut down schools.

For many years, the state used A-F school ratings for accountability purposes and to determine school improvement status. But in 2020, the state granted a hold-harmless period for those ratings due to a transition in state testing from ISTEP to ILEARN. The pandemic extended that pause, removing a high-profile accountability tool for those overseeing public schools, including charter authorizers.

In 2021, with those A-F grades still frozen, the state repealed a law requiring charter schools to shut down if they remained in the lowest category of school improvement for three consecutive years. The same year, they also repealed a law that allowed the state to suspend authorizers if they failed to close such schools.

Authorizers say the state accountability vacuum has left them to judge schools with a medley of data points – from progress on national assessments to how a charter compares to neighboring schools – to determine academic success. Legislators haven’t enacted new oversight measures for charter schools and authorizers to take the place of the previous two mandates.

“It is a bit of a zombie state right now, I think, as far as trying to evaluate the performance of schools,” said Jamie Garwood, director of Ball State’s Office of Charter Schools.

State lawmakers have tasked the Indiana Department of Education to develop a revised school performance rating, using the A-F grading scale, by December 2024.

Rep. Bob Behning, an Indianapolis Republican who chairs the House Education Committee, said he would be open to new accountability measures for authorizers.

“Do I see that we’ll be putting consequences back in statute soon? Probably not,” he said. “It’s hard to see a world where you’re going to put consequences in place where you don’t have accountability.”

He also warned against overregulation that could hinder authorizers from giving the green light to schools that may deserve a chance.

Victory College Prep, for example, left a charter management network to become an independent charter in 2019, after the mayor’s Office of Education and Innovation renewed the school.

Since then, said the school’s executive director Ryan Gall, the school has gone on an upward trajectory, improving its academic outcomes and financial management. Throughout that time, the mayor’s office has held them accountable, he said.

Students walk in the hallway at Victory College Prep on Sept. 29, 2023. The charter school has exceeded pre-pandemic proficiency levels on both the ILEARN and IREAD state tests since it cut ties with its management organization and renamed itself in 2019.

Gall questioned the scrutiny on authorizers’ work. What matters more, he said, is how charters fare compared to traditional public schools nearby.

A Chalkbeat analysis of the latest state test results show that on ILEARN tests, students in charter schools not affiliated with IPS outperformed students in IPS-controlled schools.

And schools run by IPS close and create instability for students too, Gall noted. Since 2001, at least 17 traditional IPS schools have closed.

“Have charter schools over the last 20 years been a better option?” Gall said. “I would argue we have.”

But that’s not much comfort for Sydney Pedigo, who graduated from Carpe Diem Meridian.

Given another chance, she would tell the Indiana Charter School Board not to approve the other two charters for the additional schools. That way, she said, maybe the network could have focused all its attention on Carpe Diem Meridian.

“It would’ve been solid before actually expanding,” she said. “It could’ve done what it was intended to do.”

Clarification: Nov. 30, 2023: A previous version of this story said Purdue Polytechnic High School’s application was rejected by the mayor’s office. This story has been updated to clarify the rejection was made by the Indianapolis Charter School Board in the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Record number of Indiana students using private school vouchers this year after expansion

2023-11-15T18:43:25+00:00

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A record number of Indiana students are using Indiana’s near-universal voucher program to attend private schools this year.

The Indiana Department of Education approved 69,271 Choice Scholarship applications during the first round of the program for the 2023-24 school year, as first reported by State Affairs. That’s a roughly 30% increase from the total number of applications — 53,262 — approved for the 2022-23 school year.

This year’s number is also likely to rise after the second application period, which closes in January.

The growth comes after state lawmakers broadened eligibility for the program during the last legislative session to make it available to most Indiana families. Legislators raised the income threshold to 400% of the federal free and reduced-price lunch threshold and removed other requirements like having a sibling who received a Choice Scholarship, or attending an F-rated school.

Proponents of Choice Scholarships have celebrated the expanded access to the program because they say parents should have more flexibility to choose a school for their children. Opponents, meanwhile, have raised transparency issues, and argued that the expansion would effectively increase government benefits for wealthy families, some of whom already send their children to private schools.

Additional data on the program, including information on students’ demographics, family income levels, and previous schools attended will be available in the spring as part of the Choice Annual Report, according to the education department.

The total amount spent on the first round of scholarships this year was not immediately available.

Participation in the program was already increasing rapidly before this academic year. The 2022-23 school year marked the largest increase in the number of Choice Scholarship students since the 2014-15 school year.

Data from the 2022-23 school year showed the average award was $5,854, and that the bulk of the Choice Scholarship awards went to households making under $100,000. The state awarded around $311 million in scholarships last year.

Additionally, the data indicated that around 64% of Choice Scholarship students had never before attended an Indiana public school. White students made up 62% of the program, while Hispanic students made up 19% and Black students made up 9.5%.

In the 2022-23 annual report, the department described the typical Choice Scholarship student as a white, elementary-aged girl who is from a family of around 4.75 people making $81,800 annually, and who has no record of attending an Indiana public school.

A list of schools participating in the voucher program during this school year is available here.

Correction: A previous version of the story misstated the new criteria for the Choice Scholarship program. The income threshold is based on the federal free and reduced-price lunch program.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Phalen Leadership Academies charter network seeks $10 million for sports complex

2023-11-08T21:14:55+00:00

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For Javonte Bailey, being on the track team at James and Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy meant running through the hallways and up the cramped staircase by the school’s only small gym.

Track is one of several sports teams at the Indianapolis school that must take advantage of whatever space is available in the hallway, or auditorium, or gym — or even a parking lot turned into a miniature football field outside.

“We’re literally all on top of each other,” said Zion Maxwell, a junior on the cheer team, who worries about being too loud during practice while the after-school tutoring classes are nearby.

To help students like Zion, the Phalen Leadership Academies charter network is seeking to raise $10 million by 2025 for a sports complex at the far eastside school of roughly 800 students. The charter school is located in a high-needs area that relies on community resources to keep students safe and engaged after school.

Students at James and Rosemary Phalen — one of several Phalen schools in Indianapolis — say their peers are currently deterred from enrolling in after-school sports by the space limitations and lack of facilities. A new sports complex, they say, would also ease transportation headaches and provide a secure and healthy environment for students.

Phalen Leadership Academies is seeking $10 million from donors to build a sports complex that will feature a field for football, track, and soccer.

“It’ll be a safe place,” said Lakyi Herring-Jackson, a junior. “A place for people who live over here on the far eastside, for them to stay off the streets, stay away from the violence, stay away from the things that aren’t good for them.”

The network is turning to donors to help build a field for football, track, and soccer on a nine-acre plot of land next to the school. Officials also hope to build a new basketball facility with two full courts for practice.

Having a sports complex at the school would allow parents with limited transportation options to actually see their children compete, students said. It would also mean some students, such as those on the football team, won’t need to leave the school to practice like they did in the past.

James and Rosemary Phalen Leadership Academy is hoping to add new space for basketball.

Earlier this year, the Central Indiana Land Trust donated the nine-acre plot next to the school. In addition to the field for football, track and soccer, officials hope to use it for a concession stand and fieldhouse.

The school has also raised a little under $2 million toward the project so far, said Earl Martin Phalen, the founder and CEO of the Phalen network.

Phalen said he hopes individuals, foundations, and corporations will serve as donors for the complex, which will be named after Sean Cowdrey, his nephew. Naming rights are also available for parts of the complex such as the track or the field, he said.

“It’ll be nice for people to come to Phalen and see what we offer, instead of us having to go out,” Zion said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago charter schools face potential crossroads with new mayor, dozens of renewals

2023-11-01T12:00:00+00:00

“What happens if our school isn’t renewed?”

Claudia Rodriguez read aloud that question, which was submitted from an audience of more than 100 parents gathered inside Noble School’s UIC College Prep’s gymnasium in mid-October.

Rodriguez, the chief of public affairs at Noble Schools, answered confidently: Non-renewal isn’t really something we’re worried about.

Noble opened one of the first charter schools in Chicago in 1999, when the concept of privately managed public charter schools was brand new. Since then, Noble has expanded to 17 campuses, and the Chicago Board of Education has renewed Noble’s charter agreement four times.

Noble is one of a record 47 charter schools up for renewal in the 2023-24 school year. In all, about 27,600 students are enrolled at these campuses — more than half of the roughly 51,000 students enrolled in charters this year.

The high-stakes renewal process, which scrutinizes charter schools’ academic performance, financial practices, and operational compliance among other factors, comes at a pivotal time, as Chicago’s political landscape is shifting under a new mayor and looming school board elections. Charter communities wonder what it could all mean for their schools.

There’s been a trend toward shorter charter renewals that began under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. In January 2020, the school board renewed seven charter operators for terms of five or more years. But in the years since, only two have received a renewal of five or more years, according to Chicago Board of Education records.

Lightfoot’s successor, Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former educator and organizer for the teachers union, has historically opposed charter expansion. During the mayoral election run-off, Johnson said that charter school expansion “forces competition for resources and ultimately harms all schools.”

But he has also stressed he does not oppose charter schools — and he is strongly against closing schools, which is what could happen if a charter is not renewed. There’s also a state-imposed moratorium on school closings in Chicago until 2025. The mayor’s office did not respond to Chalkbeat’s requests for comment.

An important limit on charter schools’ footprint is already in place for the next several months. In the 2019 contract agreement between Lightoot’s administration and the CTU, the district extended an agreement from 2016 to have a net zero increase in the number of charter schools until the contract expires in June 2024.

Johnson’s recently appointed school board will manage the charter renewal process alongside the CPS Office of Incubation and Innovation. Board President Jianan Shi is a former teacher who has taught at a district-run school in Chicago and a charter school in Boston. Before joining the board, he served as executive director of Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education, which has previously gotten funding from the Chicago Teachers Union Foundation.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates believes the way the district handles charters altogether needs to change significantly. She wants more oversight of budgeting at charters and more-equitable engagement of parents and staff.

“The renewal process has to reflect the realities that we’re dealing with. There has been financial mismanagement, there is bloated administrative pay, there is a blind eye to culturally relevant curriculum and practices within the school community,” she said. “Now what do we do about it?”

In a statement, a district spokesperson said CPS is “committed to working with charter leaders and listening to members of our school communities to ensure we make the best possible decisions for our students.”

Nevertheless, charter school administrators, teachers, and parents are keeping a close eye on this year’s renewal process for a hint of what the future holds for the charter sector.

“I think renewal is very important in January,” said Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. “I think that will be a first signal from this board about what they think about charter public schools.”

The ‘renewal hamster wheel’ can impact classrooms

During the renewal process last school year, 11 of 13 charters up for renewal were granted terms lasting three years or less. In 2022, six of the seven charters up for renewal were given terms of three years or less.

Parents and staff in charter school communities have different views about what the renewal process can mean for charters.

Although Noble staff are confident about their renewal, Rodriguez said the possibility they and other charters might get a shorter contract is a concern.

“From a staffing point, it takes a lot of energy,” she said. “From our parents’ [perspective], the uncertainty and instability that that could cause if we’re always thinking in renewal mode.”

Claudia Rodriguez, left, the chief of public affairs for Noble Schools, is in charge of running the renewal process for the charter school network this year.

The heavy lift, Rodriguez said, is due to the large amount of paperwork required and the amount of data the school has to collect. In addition, Rodriguez — who runs the renewal process — said since the process requires reporting on different aspects of the school’s academic, operational, and financial performance, she has to pull in staff and educators from other departments to get the information she needs.

That, she says, “does take time and resources away from the work that we could be putting back into managing our schools and supporting our students.”

“Having to be in a renewal hamster wheel is not the best option for everybody,” Rodriguez said.

Stephen Palmerin, principal at Horizon Science Academy Southwest, feels roughly the same way.

His charter received just a two-year renewal last January, due to concerns about its suspension numbers compared to those of neighboring district schools, as well as the underperformance of elementary students with disabilities.

The K-12 school, which serves about 760 students, is working to reduce suspensions by 50 percent each year before its charter is up for renewal again in 2025. But Palmerin said it’s not entirely fair that Horizon Science’s stats are being compared to both elementary and high schools, since traditionally, elementary schools have lower suspension rates than middle and high schools.

And apart from his concerns about why his school got a relatively short renewal, Palmerin called the renewal process “so time consuming.”

“I wish people would keep the students at the forefront of all decision making,” he said.

But for some parents, the renewal process serves as a way to make sure their children’s schools hold up their end of the bargain.

Blaire Flowers, a parent liaison for education non-profit Kids First Chicago, which specifically supports Black and Latino families, said when her children were at Plato Learning Academy, a contract school, and North Lawndale College Prep, a charter, renewal season was when the schools would begin to “get themselves together.”

Plato is run by a different principal than when Flowers’ children attended three years ago. But at the time, she said, there was no Parent Advisory Council, which is meant to give parents a voice at schools that receive federal Title I funds for students from low-income backgrounds.

When renewal time came, the school established a PAC and began having meetings, created more programming, and held more enrichment events for students, such as a book fair and a Christmas gym shoe drive, she said.

“That’s when they were really doing what they were supposed to,” she said.

Plato received a two-year renewal term in January. Dating back to 2017, the district has given the school relatively low ratings for its financial status and student performance on standardized tests.

Hal Woods, the executive director of the Office of Innovation and Incubation from 2018 to 2020, said he advocated for more regular check-ins with schools to ensure they were staying on track and to make renewal time “a non-event.”

Giving shorter-term renewals to charter schools that aren’t in compliance is one way the board can show schools that they “mean business” and encourage them to do better, Woods said. But with school assessment data often coming in at renewal time, he felt like his office was playing catch up and addressing issues after they’d already taken a toll.

“I just want to make sure that CPS [is] providing better and more real time information to my old department so these things can be corrected in real time,” said Woods, who is now chief of policy at Kids First Chicago.

Palmerin said there is some concern among his staff about the Johnson administration’s sentiments about charters.

“I have no choice but to remain hopeful, because thinking that our days are numbered here, that’s going to affect our work,” he said. “I just know that if we’re committed to the work that we’re doing, let’s not give them an excuse but to give us a maximum renewal.”

Closing charters could be unlikely under moratorium

By law, a charter school must be given notice that they’re failing academically, operationally, or financially. And they must be given time to resolve the issues before officials can revoke a charter agreement and close the school.

The school can also appeal the decision to the Illinois State Board of Education and if successful, it can still operate under state management in Chicago. If that fails, they can appeal in court. That was the course recently taken by Urban Prep after CPS ended its charter; the state voted to uphold the district’s decision.

After a challenge in court, a Cook County Judge ruled that CPS could not “close, consolidate, or phase-out Urban Prep” until after the school closing moratorium expires in 2025.

Woods said he doubts that there will be any charter closings in the coming years, given the legal requirements and the appeal process. But more importantly, Woods said, “it’s very very hard to close a school … because every school is a community.”

At the same time, Woods said that charter expansion is also unlikely given the decline in school-aged children in the city over the past decade.

Flowers said charter schools have served her family well. Her daughter takes three buses to her school each day because Flowers wants her to take advantage of the Phoenix Pact college scholarship option available through North Lawndale.

Blaire Flowers’ three oldest children, pictured above, attended North Lawndale College Prep and Plato Learning Academy, both charter schools. Flowers hopes Mayor Brandon Johnson will “trim the fact” from the charter sector.

Nevertheless, Flowers said she does hope that the Johnson administration will “trim the fat” from the charter sector.

“Some of these charter schools are not really helping the community like they once were,” she said.

There is quite a bit of variation in student outcomes among Chicago’s charter high schools, according to a 2017 study by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, one of the first studies to evaluate Chicago charters according to metrics beyond test scores. The study considered school organization and policies, the incoming skills and characteristics of enrolled students, school transfers, and student performance.

“The single most important takeaway from the study was how much variation there is within the charter sector,” said Julia A. Gwynne, the senior research scientist on the study. “There’s a little bit of a tendency for people to see the charter sector as being sort of monolithic all one way or all another way. And we just didn’t find that to be true.”

With the uncertainty about what a new mayor and new school board will do, Rodriguez said Noble representatives are attending more board meetings and encouraging parents and staff to speak at them to provide “a holistic view of what Noble does in the community and how we support our overall community in Chicago.”

Despite the challenges of the renewal process, Rodriguez said she doesn’t necessarily think the process needs to change. But she does believe that all schools, including traditional public schools who might not be serving students well, should go through that process.

Gates, CTU’s president, said she’s hopeful the education backgrounds of the mayor and new school board will play a role in how the district handles charters going forward. She thinks that the charter renewal process needs to be overhauled to make sure teachers and families have a voice.

Self-proclaimed “charter school mom” Myisha Shields is working to have her voice heard — she spoke at a school board meeting in August and attended Noble’s parent meeting earlier this month. She has had three children graduate from Noble charter schools, and two are current Noble students.

“It’s almost like charters have to prove a point just to stay open. We have to work harder. We have to work our kids harder to prove that these should be an option in the city of Chicago,” she said. “I just wish they would stop making it so hard. It’s so unfair.”

Regardless of how the process changes or stays the same in the coming years, Myisha Shields has one request for everyone involved.

“Just listen to us,” said Shields. “Our kids deserve a great education.”

The Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote on the renewal agreements for the 47 charter schools in January.

Correction: Nov. 1, 2023: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Julia A. Gwynne’s name. It has also been updated to clarify Plato Learning Academy is a contract school, not a charter.

Tennessee rushes to revamp its A-F letter grades for schools. Educators cry foul.

2023-10-26T10:00:00+00:00

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It was supposed to make things simpler.

A 2016 Tennessee law required the state to assign each public school a letter grade, A to F, based mostly on student test results. The intent was to give parents and communities an easy way to assess the quality of education at each school.

Nothing about it has been simple, though. Since the law took effect, the state hasn’t issued any grades, mostly because of testing glitches and the pandemic.

And now there’s a new complication: As the state prepares to finally issue its first grades in November, the education department and its new leader are revamping the grading formula. The changes likely will mean fewer A’s and generally worse grades than expected for many schools, especially those serving students from lower-income families in rural and urban communities.

The rollout will be a jolt to many Tennessee public school leaders, who have been waiting and planning for these grades for five years, thinking they understood what the criteria would be. And beyond the stigma, the grades could have real consequences: Officials representing schools that get D’s or F’s eventually may face hearings or audits of their spending and academic programming.

“It almost seems like we’re trying to change rules after the game’s already been played,” said Brian Curry, a school board member in Germantown, during an August town hall in Memphis to discuss potential changes with state officials.

Why the letter grades for schools matter

Tennessee’s 2016 school report card law didn’t include consequences for schools that get low grades.

That changed last year, when Tennessee passed a new system for funding K-12 education.

Under the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, or TISA, school districts or charter authorizers can face hearings before the state Board of Education if their schools get D’s or F’s on the state report card, beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

Ultimately, administrators could have to submit a corrective action plan or undergo a state audit of spending and academic programming at the school in question.

State board member Darrell Cobbins, whose district includes Memphis schools, acknowledges that the increased funding that came with TISA warrants additional accountability. But he wonders about the feasibility of what the law asks of the all-volunteer board. Holding hearings for potentially hundreds of schools will be a “major undertaking,” he said.

The board is working with a consultant, Bellwether Education Partners, to develop a review process that Cobbins hopes will be logical, consistent, and explainable.

At the crux of the state’s late change is a long-running debate over proficiency vs. growth — whether students should be judged based more on whether they meet certain academic standards, or on how much progress they make toward those standards. Where the state lands in that debate is especially important for schools where students face extra challenges even before they walk into a classroom.

But many public school leaders believe there’s a larger political motive behind the sudden drive by Gov. Bill Lee’s administration to change the rules: advancing his school choice agenda.

Under a 2019 voucher law pushed by Lee, Tennessee now provides taxpayer money to help some families send their children to private schools. But the program has fewer than 2,000 students enrolled in the three counties where it operates, significantly below this year’s 5,000-seat cap. Lee wants to expand enrollment and eventually take the option statewide.

“School choice has got to be part of what’s driving all this,” said Mike Winstead, director of Maryville City Schools and a former Tennessee Superintendent of the Year.

“Think about it,” he continued. “If you have an A or B school in your community, that may not motivate parents to want to pull their kids out of public schools to use a voucher.”

Several other district leaders brought up the same concern to state officials at town halls hosted by the department in August and September to get public feedback about revising the grading formula. But state officials flatly deny there’s a connection between the voucher law and changes to the grading formula.

The grading law “was passed to promote transparency, and families should be able to know and to understand how their students’ schools are performing,” a department spokesman said in a statement to Chalkbeat.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds said the goal of the new formula is to generate grades that signify meaningful differences in school performance in a way that make sense to Tennesseans, whether they reflect proficiency, growth, or other criteria that are ultimately chosen.

“Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, policymaker, or an interested community member, school letter grades will empower all Tennesseans with the information they need to support K-12 public education and our local schools,” she said.

Tennessee initially adopted growth-focused model

State law requires that Tennessee’s model for grading schools take into account student performance and improvement, as demonstrated on annual state tests, and it allows inclusion of other reliable indicators of student achievement. The statute directed the education department to come up with a formula to turn those results into a single letter grade for each school, to be published online on the State Report Card.

When developing the calculation under former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, the department stressed achievement and growth in math and English language arts. And it created two pathways for schools to demonstrate achievement.

One way was based on what the state calls “pure achievement,” meaning that a certain percentage of a school’s students demonstrated a required level of proficiency, skill, or knowledge. By this metric, a school that started the school year with a high proficiency rate was likely to receive an A even if it had not improved student learning during the school year.

The other way rewarded schools that met certain goals to move their students toward proficiency from one year to the next. The idea was that all schools, especially those serving low-income students or that have historically performed poorly, should have an opportunity to get an A as long as they make strong progress toward the state’s achievement goals.

So even the achievement part of the grading formula could be fulfilled with strong growth. In this way, Tennessee was an early adopter of a growth-heavy model when developing its accountability system.

“All means all!” became the mantra of then-Education Commissioner Candice McQueen as she worked with education stakeholders for nearly a year to design a system to incentivize improvement for all students — whether they are considered low, average, or high achievers — as well as for all schools, regardless of their demographic makeup.

Tennessee had modest success with that approach, even though the actual letter grades were never issued. Before the pandemic hit in 2020, students were showing incremental growth in math and reading based on some of the nation’s highest proficiency standards.

But state lawmakers have become increasingly impatient with the pace of improvement, especially in reading. About a third of the state’s students meet grade-level standards on the English language arts test, which requires students to demonstrate the ability to read closely.

“School choice has got to be part of what’s driving all this. Think about it. If you have an A or B school in your community, that may not motivate parents to want to pull their kids out of public schools to use a voucher.” — Mike Winstead, Maryville City Schools director

“At the end of the day, I want to know: Can you add, subtract, multiply, and divide, and can you read, regardless of how much you have grown from one year to the other?” said Rep. Mark Cochran, an Englewood Republican, during one legislative hearing about the state’s emphasis on growth.

Meanwhile, the legislature has sought to provide more options for families dissatisfied with the performance of traditional public schools by introducing private school vouchers and allowing charter schools to open statewide.

Now as Tennessee revamps its school grading system, Lee’s administration is poised to shift weight in the equation from growth to pure achievement. Reynolds wants the state to do that by eliminating the growth pathway for demonstrating achievement. Growth would still be a component of the overall grade, as dictated by state law, but a much smaller part.

“I want to be very clear that when we’re talking about academic achievement, we’re talking about academic achievement,” Reynolds, the new education commissioner, said at an Oct. 12 meeting of education stakeholders.

State hears strong calls for retaining growth focus

Reynolds, who was sworn in to her post in July, launched the reevaluation of the grading system about a month later as her first major initiative. She invited Tennesseans to weigh in on how the state should measure a school’s academic success. At the time, state officials said all options were on the table.

At town halls, meetings with stakeholders, and in nearly 300 public comments from Tennesseans, state officials heard a common theme: Keep some kind of growth option as part of the achievement calculation. Measuring student performance with a single letter grade requires nuance, many educators said, and the growth-based model allows that.

“Is having a campus that has only 15% reading proficiency really a B school, if those kids cannot read?” — Lizzette Reynolds, Tennessee education commissioner

A formula that’s weighted too heavily toward pure achievement, they warned, would produce grades that essentially mirror the economic profiles of the schools — with high-income communities getting the A’s and B’s — and families wouldn’t be able to use the grades to differentiate the performance of one high-poverty school from another.

“Given the strong correlation between achievement and poverty, I think it’s really difficult to talk about just achievement in isolation. We really need to balance this with growth,” said Madeline Price, policy director for the State Collaborative on Reforming Education, at an Oct. 5 meeting of the stakeholders group.

“All schools, especially low-income and traditionally low performing schools, should have a very real opportunity to receive an A” if they significantly improve student performance, the leaders of Tennessee’s school superintendent organization wrote in a letter to Reynolds.

Meaghan Turnbow, who coordinates programs for English language learners in fast-growing Rutherford County Schools, south of Nashville, noted pitfalls in a model that emphasizes proficiency over growth.

“We have students come to our district from all over the world with various education levels and English levels,” she wrote in a public comment. “Year to year they grow, but it may be several years before they are considered meeting or exceeding expectations.”

Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds speaks to a gathering of school superintendents in September. Reynolds has signaled that she wants to narrow the way the state judges student performance.

But soon after asking for public feedback, Tennessee’s new education chief signaled that she wanted to narrow the way the state judges student performance.

During an Aug. 29 town hall in Chattanooga, Reynolds acknowledged that the education department, before scuttling plans to issue grades in the fall of 2022 under former Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, had run the numbers but didn’t like what it saw. For instance, she said, a school with 80% of its students reading on grade level might have received a B, but so might a school that had only 15% of students reading on grade level, while also demonstrating high growth.

“Is having a campus that has only 15% reading proficiency really a B school, if those kids cannot read?” Reynolds asked.

“We should celebrate growth,” she continued. “We should also celebrate achievement, because at the end of the day, kids can grow. But if they never get on grade level, they don’t have much of a future, particularly when it comes to reading and math.”

How a single school could get conflicting evaluations

The A-F grading system, as required by the state, was billed as a simple, common-sense tool to help parents understand how their child’s school is doing and compare schools.

But changes the department is making could add a new layer of complexity for school communities.

When Tennessee developed its accountability plan in 2017, it opted for a single system to satisfy both the state law and a 2015 federal accountability law called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. That way, “we’re not sending different messages to parents and the general public,” said Winstead, the Maryville schools director who served on the state task force that developed the plan.

ESSA doesn’t require A-F grades, but it directs the state to use its own criteria to identify schools that are academically in the bottom 5%, plus other schools showing low performance or significant disparities across groups of students who are Black, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, or English learners, or have learning disabilities. Such schools become eligible for additional federal funding.

Because of the link between the two laws, the schools that would earn the lowest grades under Tennessee’s current formula are the same ones that would get federal support to help them improve. And educators would work with a common set of goals, priorities, and incentives.

Changes that the Tennessee Department of Education is making could create two separate accountability systems, producing conflicting assessments of how a school is doing.

Under Reynolds, the Tennessee education department appears ready to decouple the state’s A-F system from its federal compliance plan. The change would result in Tennessee having two accountability systems, potentially producing conflicting assessments of how a school is doing.

For example, if the new state formula places less emphasis on certain student groups than the federal system does, a school that has big racial or economic disparities in student performance could still earn high grades from Tennessee based on overall proficiency rates. Meanwhile, a school with low proficiency rates would get a D or an F, even though it may serve certain groups of students better than an A or B school.

Mary Batiwalla, former assistant commissioner of assessment and accountability in Tennessee, says what’s going on here has parallels in Texas, where Reynolds used to be chief deputy commissioner. Officials there changed their grading criteria this year to apply to schools retroactively. However, after some school districts sued that state over the changes, Texas delayed the release of its grades.

Texas lawmakers are also in the midst of a special session on vouchers to debate whether students should be able to use public dollars to attend private schools. Batiwalla worries that officials in both states are hijacking the grading systems for political aims, not to incentivize school communities to improve.

“If you want to do vouchers, do vouchers,” said Batiwalla, an outspoken critic of Reynolds’ efforts. “Don’t take away this policy tool that has the potential to drive improvement from the rest of the public schools.”

Proficiency focus could shortchange some students

Other tweaks are likely when Tennessee releases its new equation in the days or weeks ahead, just before giving schools their first set of grades.

“If you want to do vouchers, do vouchers. Don’t take away this policy tool that has the potential to drive improvement from the rest of the public schools.” — Mary Batiwalla, former assistant commissioner, Tennessee Department of Education

The department has heard calls to include social studies and science scores in the calculation, as well as data related to third-grade reading, participation in tutoring programs, and postsecondary indicators like dual enrollment and career and technical education offerings, just to name a few. There’s also a growing consensus around ditching student absenteeism data, which is a factor in the current equation.

But most educators have their eye on the growth vs. proficiency debate. They worry that greater emphasis on proficiency will motivate schools to focus on improving “bubble kids” — those scoring just under proficiency — instead of working to improve students at all levels of achievement.

“You’re incentivizing bad choices that serve just a few kids instead of all kids,” Winstead said.

Winstead’s suburban school system should be fine. Maryville City Schools, near Knoxville, is one of the state’s highest-achieving districts and stands to benefit if Tennessee’s revamped grading formula puts more weight on proficiency. But Winstead philosophically disagrees with the approach that the state appears to be taking.

“This is going to demoralize a lot of school communities,” he said, “teachers, kids, and parents — folks who have done incredible things to move kids forward.”

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org. Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Are KIPP students more likely to graduate college? A recent study offers a complex answer.

2023-10-12T20:23:13+00:00

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KIPP, the country’s largest charter school network, touts its commitment to getting students to and through college, so a recent study offered a compelling test of its model.

Researchers compared students who won a random lottery to attend a KIPP middle school versus others who lost the lottery. The result: Both groups earned college degrees at similar rates: 22%. “KIPP middle schools had little to no impact on four-year degree completion rates,” researchers with the company Mathematica concluded.

But the story did not end there. Researchers then examined a subset of those students who also attended a KIPP high school. Although this was not based on a random lottery, these results were encouraging. Attending a KIPP middle and high school dramatically boosted students’ chances of entering and completing college.

This result was emphasized by KIPP officials and in news coverage of the study when it was released last month.

Put together, though, the findings offer a complex verdict for KIPP charter schools. The results for middle and high school combined are promising, and KIPP already has a track record of boosting student learning. But the less-encouraging middle-school-only results apply to a broader group of students and are more methodologically robust because they are based on a lottery.

That has some experts saying that more research is needed before firm conclusions about KIPP are made.

“This is suggestive evidence,” said Jon Baron, president for the Coalition for Evidence Based Policy, referring to the middle and high school results. “This really needs to be tested in further study before being accepted.” (Baron was previously an official at Arnold Ventures, the philanthropy that funded this research.)

The study examined over 2,000 students who applied to attend one of 21 KIPP middle schools in 2008, 2009, or 2011. Researchers tracked and compared lottery winners versus losers for the next decade plus.

Prior research has found that KIPP improves test scores, but this new study showed limited longer-term benefits from attending a KIPP middle school. While there was some hint that students were more likely to enroll in college, they persisted and graduated college at similar rates as students who lost a KIPP lottery. This was the study’s “primary analysis.”

But then the Mathematica researchers undertook a further “exploratory analysis.” This is researchers’ way of saying that they are a bit less confident in these findings. Here, the study used an approach that is rigorous, but not based on a random lottery. (Nevertheless, a number of news outlets and commentators inaccurately described these exploratory findings as lottery-based.)

This secondary analysis focused on a smaller group of KIPP middle school students who also attended a KIPP high school. Those students appeared to benefit quite a lot from the longer KIPP experience: 39% of them earned a four-year college degree, compared to 20% of a comparison group.

These results, which were distributed to reporters last month ahead of the release of the study, were touted by KIPP leaders.

“The Mathematica study shows that a continuous KIPP education, spanning middle school and high school, is life-changing and would essentially close the educational-opportunity gaps facing Black and Latinx students,” said KIPP foundation CEO Shavar Jeffries in a statement.

Mathematica researchers say the gains may be due to the focus of KIPP high schools in getting its students into college. “It is possible that this large effect results from combining the well-established benefits of attending a KIPP middle school (a substantial boost to students’ academic achievement) with the strong emphasis on college-related supports found in KIPP high schools,” the study says.

The two findings create something of a puzzle, though: the group of KIPP middle and high school students who saw big gains in college completion were a subset of the larger group of middle school students who did not experience any improvements. And yet the overall effect on college completion for middle school was estimated to be close to zero. This is possible because the middle and high school group was a small subset of the whole sample, said Ira Nichols-Barrer, one of the Mathematica researchers.

He said that further research would help explain the disconnect between the study’s two big findings. “Our hope is that this is not the last phase of this study,” he said.

Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

One of Philadelphia’s oldest charter schools will close next year

2023-10-10T23:10:05+00:00

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The Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School, one of Philadelphia’s oldest and largest charters, plans to close at the end of the school year with the retirement of its founder, Veronica Joyner.

Joyner, who announced the school’s closure in a Monday letter to parents, said in an interview Tuesday that at nearly 74 years old, she felt she could no longer put in the 12-hour days necessary to keep the school operating, and that she had not identified a successor she thought could continue her legacy.

“For 25 years I’ve been looking for someone to take on” the leadership of the school, she said, “but I haven’t seen anybody with the care and compassion I have for children and parents.”

The school’s closure at the end of the 2023-24 school year means its roughly 900 students will have to scramble to find new schools next year. The district’s school selection process for the fall of 2024 is underway, but ends in two weeks.

The first through twelfth grade school, which opened in 1999, says it offers “an alternative style and setting for children experiencing learning difficulties.” But the school district’s office that oversees charters has questioned its performance in recent years, and the Board of Education recently gave it a short leash. It has also drawn criticism for its admissions practices.

Additionally, Mathematics, Civics and Sciences is losing its home next year. Joyner said that Parents United for Public Schools, the nonprofit organization that Joyner leads, plans to sell the school’s building, which is located in the rapidly developing area around Broad and Spring Garden streets.

In an evaluation published this year, the Charter Schools Office reported that the school did not meet standards for academics or operations, and that it approached the standard for financial health and sustainability. After that review, the Board of Education offered a one-year renewal for its charter instead for five years, which is what charter schools that are meeting standards typically receive.

Joyner said she found the decision to extend the charter for just one year “insulting.”

In her Monday letter to parents, Joyner painted a picture of the school that differs from the Charter Schools Office’s findings this year.

Unlike this year’s official evaluation, Joyner said that the school had received “the highest grade of Meets Standards in all three review areas” of academics, finances, and operations.

Joyner said in her letter that Mathematics, Civics and Science had “the highest graduation rate within the Philadelphia school system over the past nine years and the highest college matriculation rate as well.” Official district statistics for the 2021-22 school year did say that Mathematics, Civics and Science was the only charter — along with four district-run schools — with a 100% graduation rate.

The school has provoked controversy for reasons beyond its academic record. In a 2019 lawsuit, the Education Law Center alleged that the charter school illegally denied admission to a student based on her disability. At the time, Joyner said the allegation was based on a “misunderstanding.”

Peng Chao, head of the district’s Charter Schools Office, said the district “just became aware” that the school will close next year.

“Our focus is to put together a plan to ensure students and families are supported through this transition … and have available to them all the information about their school options,” Chao said.

Last week, the Ballard Spahr law firm issued a report commissioned by the school board that found Philadelphia district leadership did not deliberately discriminate against Black leaders of charter schools when making key decisions about their fate. However, the report did say the closure rate of Black-led charter schools is “concerning” and could feed perceptions of bias.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Voter guide: Indianapolis mayoral candidates’ views on education

2023-10-06T13:09:27+00:00

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Incumbent Joe Hogsett and challenger Jefferson Shreve are vying to be Indianapolis mayor in the Nov. 7 election.

Hogsett, a Democrat, is running for a third term against Shreve, a Republican, who is a businessman and former Indianapolis city-county councilor. Both candidates won their respective May primary elections with more than half of the vote.

Throughout the campaign, public safety has been in the spotlight, and the two candidates shared a stage for the first time during this year’s race at a forum hosted by Historic Urban Neighborhoods of Indianapolis and Indiana Landmarks at the end of September.

They went back-and-forth about public safety, infrastructure, housing, and more in response to audience questions. But outside of one question regarding the upcoming split of IUPUI into Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis, education wasn’t mentioned during the forum.

The two candidates are scheduled to debate several more times this month.

The mayor’s leadership of Indianapolis and the townships impacts the educators, students and families who live in and attend school in Marion County. Additionally, the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation which includes the Indianapolis Charter School Board, approves and oversees charter schools.

So to better understand each candidates’ views and priorities on education, we asked each of them the same seven questions on topics including charter schools and authorizers, youth gun violence and more.

Here is what they said, in their own words:

Answers are as candidates submitted them and were not edited.

How to vote in the November elections

In addition to Indianapolis mayor, elections for city-county council are also on the ballot. And outside of Marion County, multiple school districts are asking voters to approve referendums.

Voter registration ends Oct. 10. Register to vote and/or check your registration at indianavoters.in.gov.

Early voting starts Oct. 11 at the Indianapolis City-County Building. Additional early voting sites are open from October 28 to November 5.

On Election Day, Nov. 7, polls are open 6 a.m to 6 p.m., and Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers.

To find voting center locations for early voting and Election Day, apply for an absentee ballot and to see a sample ballot, visit vote.indy.gov.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee charter panel leader backs 5 school appeals, including one from Hillsdale group

2023-10-02T23:47:13+00:00

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The head of a powerful Tennessee commission is recommending the state overturn five of eight local school board decisions denying charter school applications, including two in Memphis and one from a group linked with conservative Hillsdale College.

The recommendations from executive director Tess Stovall, released Monday, will be a key factor in votes set for later this week by the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. The panel, whose nine members were appointed by Gov. Bill Lee, was created under a 2019 law pushed by the governor in his campaign to open more high-quality charter schools across Tennessee.

If the commission concurs with her recommendations as it usually does, Tennessee would become home to two classical charter schools operated by American Classical Education, a network affiliated with Hillsdale, a small conservative Christian college in south central Michigan.

Their opening would begin to fulfill a key education priority for Lee, who has said he wants the Hillsdale group to open at least 50 charter schools in Tennessee.

But Lee’s courtship of Hillsdale has attracted controversy. It is part of his ambitious plan to revamp the state’s charter sector in part by widening its student demographics beyond low-income urban areas. The governor is also supporting classroom history lessons like Hillsdale’s that emphasize America’s strengths rather than its shortcomings.

Additionally, Stovall recommended Monday that a Memphis school exiting the state-run turnaround initiative known as the Achievement School District should retain its charter, despite not moving out of the state’s bottom 5% of Tennessee schools academically in 10 years.

Stovall also said the commission should overturn the Nashville school board’s votes to reject two charter applications.

In its first two years of operation, the commission granted five out of 16 appeals.

Tennessee meets Hillsdale

American Classical drew national attention in 2022 after Lee endorsed Hillsdale’s approach to K-12 education, and invited its leaders to apply to open charter schools in Tennessee that align with his conservative beliefs regarding civics and other topics.

That drive stalled over public outrage in response to Hillsdale President Larry Arnn’s comment that teachers are “trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” And the fallout prompted the network to withdraw applications to open three charter schools.

But this year, American Classical is trying again. It’s already gotten approval by Rutherford County’s school board to open a school in the fast-growing suburban enclave south of Nashville.

Stovall is recommending the state OK another American Classical school in Jackson-Madison County Schools, which is projecting an 8% increase in enrollment because of the impending arrival of Ford’s electric truck assembly plant in nearby Haywood County.

The West Tennessee district’s school board voted in July to deny American Classical’s application, saying the charter school would have a “substantial negative fiscal impact” to the school system. But based on its own financial analysis, staff for the commission rejected that claim, while Stovall commended American Classical’s identification of a school leader and target community.

However, Stovall recommended the state reject another appeal from American Classical to open a school in Maury County, a growing area southwest of Nashville. She cited concerns with the group’s enrollment projections, and dinged the operator for not identifying a school leader or the community in which the school intends to locate.

“Overall, the sponsor has several significant gaps within its proposed plan that it must address before it is ready for approval,” Stovall said.

Recommendations split on four Memphis appeals

In Memphis, Stovall sided with the appeal filed by Capstone Education Group to continue operating Cornerstone Prep Lester, one of five schools seeking to remain open as they prepare to exit the Achievement School District, or ASD, at the close of the 2023-24 school year.

A charter management organization, Capstone has operated Cornerstone in the city’s Binghampton community since the 2012-13 school year but never met its academic goals for automatically exiting the turnaround district.

However, Stovall said Cornerstone has shown improvement the last three years and appears to be “on track” to continue that trajectory.

“A significant reason for my recommendation to approve the application is the track record of the network, [which] has demonstrated that it can have success in school turnaround work in Memphis as it has achieved priority exit status with two of its three ASD-operated schools,” she said.

Stovall also recommended the state OK the application of Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, which wants to open a K-8 charter school focused on career and technical education in the city’s Orange Mound community.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) board denied Empower’s application over concerns that Orange Mound already has too many unoccupied classroom seats while the district seeks to right-size its footprint. But Stovall said Empower’s application is of high quality, and that the commission may want to let the operator see if it can meet enrollment goals; Empower proposes to start with 100 students and eventually grow to 450.

Stovall recommended that the commission reject the other two appeals from Memphis.

One is from Green Dot Public Schools to continue operating Fairley High School in the Whitehaven area after exiting the ASD. The other appeal is from Pathways in Education, a school for nontraditional high school students that once operated two locations under the ASD.

Stovall agreed with the Memphis-Shelby County board that Green Dot has not shown “a clear path to tangible growth, achievement and success for Fairley students” to merit granting a new 10-year charter.

Without a charter operator, the fate of schools like Fairley exiting the ASD has been left up to local school officials. But Fairley, at least, appears poised to remain open under the oversight of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Its supporters and alumni have turned out in droves imploring officials to maintain operations.

“I am confident in MSCS’s statement in the public hearing that, if the school is returned to MSCS, Fairley High School will remain open and in operation” under the district’s school turnaround program known as the Innovation Zone, or iZone, Stovall said.

In recommending the rejection of Pathways in Education’s appeal, Stovall noted that both of the applicant’s previous schools under the ASD were contract schools, not charter schools, and therefore were held to a different standard.

“As currently proposed, I have doubts as to whether the sponsor’s proposed plan could meet all requirements of charter schools and be successful under the current school accountability framework,” Stovall said.

Stovall also recommended overturning two Nashville school board denials of charter applications.

Invictus Nashville appealed to the state to let it open a Montessori school next year with up to 144 students in the city’s McGavock neighborhood. And Florida-based Noble Education Initiative proposed to open Nashville Collegiate High Schools in the Cane Ridge area.

The Metro Nashville school board said both groups failed to fully meet the state’s standards in academics, operations, and finance. The board also said opening the schools would negatively impact Tennessee’s second largest school district.

However, the commission’s staff disagreed based on their reviews of the applications and an analysis of the district’s finances.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Charter school’s closure after state count day could leave other schools without proper state funding

2023-10-02T20:31:41+00:00

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The closure of the Vanguard Collegiate charter school four days after the statewide “count day” used to determine each school’s funding could leave students’ new schools without accurate state funding.

The 5-8 grade school, which operates out of the Hawthorne Community Center, announced last month that it will close Oct. 6 — four days after the state’s count day. The school struggled with declining enrollment that last stood at 43 students, according to the school’s authorizer.

The Indiana Department of Education uses two count days each year — one in the fall and one in the spring — to determine how much funding each school should receive based on the number of students enrolled by that date. This year’s count date, Oct. 2, is later in the school year than usual.

That funding is a baseline “foundation amount” per student, plus additional funding for students in specialized categories, such as English language learners, those who live in poverty, and special education students. Vanguard was slated to receive $9,072 per pupil this school year and $9,333 per pupil for the next year, according to estimates from the state’s Legislative Services Agency.

Schools that close during the school year — such as Vanguard Collegiate and HIM By HER, another charter school that closed last year — do not continue to receive their monthly tuition support payments from the state following a closure, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Instead, those dollars remain in the state’s tuition support fund.

However, if a student transfers to another school after Oct. 2, the receiving school will not get tuition support funding for that student for the first half of the school year either, according to the department. State law does allow school districts to petition the state board of education to adjust pupil counts if they believe the figures are unrepresentative of enrollment.

The former Vanguard students could, however, generate funding if they are included in their new schools’ enrollment count taken in the spring.

Vanguard Collegiate did not respond to a request for comment on why it selected to close after count day.

The school held an enrollment fair on Friday to help its students find new schools.

James Betley, executive director for the Indiana Charter School Board that authorized the school, reported at the board’s meeting on Sep. 26 that about one-quarter of the families had been moved to new schools since the closure was announced.

One challenge, he said, is that contact information for some families has been incorrect.

“We’re trying to track down those addresses, we’re working with the school to try to find those kids,” he said. “And the hope is that with each passing day, we’ll get more and more kids enrolled in school.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

How charter schools work in Philadelphia, and why they’re controversial

2023-10-02T18:04:20+00:00

The issue of charter schools is one of the biggest ongoing debates in Philadelphia and the education landscape nationwide.

On the rise across the U.S. since the 1990s, charters have added fuel to the question of how to allocate school funding and whether parents should have more options for where to send their children.

The influx of charters, which now constitute about a quarter of schools managed by the School District of Philadelphia, has complicated the decision-making process for parents choosing between the public neighborhood schools nearby, magnet public schools with citywide admissions, and tuition-based private schools.

Local policymakers have long sparred over how many charter schools should operate in the district, how oversight of their administration should work, and how they should be funded relative to public schools. The Philadelphia Board of Education has not approved a new charter since 2018, the year it regained authority over the district from the state, which had temporarily taken control of Philly schools.

In partnership with The Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting and Chalkbeat Philadelphia, Billy Penn is launching a series examining how charter schools are impacting educational disparities in Philadelphia. We’ll explore how charters are managed, how they stack up against the city’s public schools, how equitable their admissions are, the politics behind their funding, and what the experience of teaching at a charter is like, among other topics.

To kick off, we’ll address 10 key questions about charters and how they differ from other school models.

What are charter schools?

Charter schools are best understood as a hybrid between public and private schools. They receive a good amount of government funding and are held to some of the same operational standards as public schools, but are managed privately. In Pennsylvania, they’re managed by nonprofits.

While exempt from a lot of the Pennsylvania School Code, charters must maintain the same employee criminal history checks, open meetings, health and safety regulations, special education programs, civil rights, and open records as public schools do. Charter schools also have to follow the same statewide assessment system, including administering the PSSAs and the Keystone exams.

Charters must offer core courses (think math, science, and English) that are aligned with state and federal standards, but can design their own curriculums. Charters are also allowed to offer their own electives and academic programs or “tracks,” such as Spanish immersion programs or programming around the arts or sciences.

Of the Philly School District’s nearly 200,000 students for the 2022-23 academic year, about 58% were enrolled in public schools, 33% in charters, 7% in cyber charter schools, and the remainder in alternative schools.

How are charter schools funded?

Charter schools are different from private schools, which receive no public funding and charge each student tuition.

In Pennsylvania, local school districts follow a state formula to send charters a per-student payment from their taxpayer-funded budget. Exactly how much depends on each district’s per-student expense, so it varies widely across the commonwealth.

For non-special education students, the per-student amount allocated to charters in the 2023-24 academic year ranged from about $8,600 in Luzerne County to over $26,500 in Bucks County. Philadelphia falls on the lower side of the scale at about $11,500 per non-special ed student.

The special education expenditure is much higher, usually at least double the per-student amount. In Philadelphia, the district sends charters more than $36,000 per special education student enrolled.

How do charters get started?

To open in Pennsylvania, a nonprofit must first apply to and obtain a charter from its local school board that outlines a set of requirements and standards for the school to operate. (Cyber charter schools obtain their charters directly from the state.) The board must hold at least one public hearing on the application.

If a charter school is rejected during the process, the nonprofit behind it can revise and resubmit the application locally or appeal the decision to a state board composed of the Pennsylvania secretary of education and six members appointed by the governor.

Charters must be renewed by the school district at least once every five years. The local school board can choose to renew the charter for just one year if it has questions about the school’s performance, with the idea that it will use the additional year of academic data to determine whether to renew the charter for longer.

What are the arguments in favor of charters?

Since their inception in Minnesota in 1991 and their arrival in Philadelphia in 1997, charter schools have been a hotly debated topic.

Proponents argue that they improve student success in the long term. They often believe the public school system in place doesn’t serve all students well for various reasons, ranging from systemic inefficiencies to intrinsic biases. Those in favor of charters say their existence creates needed competition between schools, increasing the overall quality of education by forcing schools to innovate in curriculum and approach.

Some charter schools perform exceptionally well; some do not. In 2023, 21 of U.S. News and World Report’s top 100 high schools were charters (none is in Pennsylvania). The list ranks schools based on performance on standardized tests, college preparation, and graduation rates, among other factors.

What are the arguments against?

Opponents of charters believe they harm public schools by funneling money away from an already underfunded public school system to privately administered institutions with less oversight than the district at large.

Past charter school CEOs and other administrators in Philadelphia and elsewhere have been accused of mismanaging or even embezzling millions of dollars in funding.

Opponents also argue that charter admissions can be inequitable due to bias or bad management, or too selective based on the sensitive information an applicant may have to give when applying. For example, in 2012, Philadelphia’s overseer of charters found 18 schools imposed “significant barriers to entry,” with one school requesting a typed book report and proof of citizenship.

A significant proportion of charter schools don’t survive. Nationwide, more than 25% of charters close within five years, and 40% close within 10 years of opening, according to a 2020 analysis by public school advocacy group the Network for Public Education.

Between 2013 and 2020, Philadelphia saw 16 charter schools close, according to the school district. The district currently has 87 charters in operation, versus 217 district-run public schools.

How do charter schools perform versus public schools?

On average across the country, there were “no measurable differences” found between reading or math scores at either the fourth grade or eigth grade level, according to a 2017 U.S. Dept. of Education report.

In Philadelphia recently, there were minimal differences between the lowest state test scores for charters and public schools. In science, about 33% of charter school students scored “below basic” compared to 34% in public schools, according to an analysis of 2022 PSSA data for schools in the district.

In English, about 25% of charter school students scored below basic versus 30% for traditional public schools. Math scores were similar, with roughly 65% of students in both charter and traditional public schools scoring below basic.

Philly charter schools had an average 85% four-year graduation rate in 2021, while traditional public schools had a 75% average graduation rate, according to an analysis of district data.

How do students get into charters?

Charter schools, like all other schools, are legally not allowed to discriminate against race, religion, gender, and other forms of identity. But while any student can enroll in a charter, if more students apply than the school can teach, students are put into a lottery system.

These charter school lotteries are not overseen by the district and have at times faced criticism of discrimination.

Last spring, for example, a top administrator at Philadelphia’s top-rated Franklin Towne Charter School alleged that the lottery was manipulated to keep certain students from being enrolled and that most of the students denied were from predominantly Black ZIP codes. The school district investigated and found enough evidence to recommend the charter be revoked. The Philadelphia School Board voted in August to send Franklin Towne official notice of this, kicking off a process that could take years to resolve.

Who teaches in charter schools?

Pennsylvania law says at least 75% of charter school professional staff must hold appropriate licenses and certification.

Principals, vice principals, or assistant principals at charters must hold administrative certificates. Special education teachers, school nurses, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and any positions defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, must also hold appropriate and valid certifications.

Unlike at public schools in Philadelphia, regular teachers at charter schools are not required to be certified.

Charter school teachers can be a part of a union. The Alliance for Charter School Employees in Philly, organized by the PA-AFT, allows individual employees of charter schools to join its union even if other members of the school choose not to.

What are Philadelphia Renaissance Schools?

Back in 2010, Philadelphia School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman launched a “Renaissance Schools Initiative” aimed at improving the lowest-performing public schools by turning them over to charter nonprofits.

These schools became charter schools with one difference: Instead of open enrollment, they are required to continue to serve students in their “catchment areas,” or neighborhoods.

At first, seven district schools were turned over to charter providers, and more were converted under Superintendent William Hite. But since their inception, four of these schools have either closed or been returned to the district as public schools. In the 2023-24 academic year, there were 18 Renaissance charters in operation.

Where does Cherelle Parker stand on charters?

Cherelle Parker, the Democratic nominee for Philadelphia mayor who is heavily favored to win the race to succeed Jim Kenney in November, has been guarded in her comments on the district’s current charter school system. (Philly mayors do not have direct oversight over schools, but do appoint school board members.)

Parker has said she supports “good seats” no matter what kind of school they’re in, “but we can’t get there if there is a battle between charters and traditional public schools,” she told Chalkbeat last spring.

To reduce the criticism that charters suck funding out of the public school system, Parker said she would advocate for state reimbursement to districts for any student that switches from public to charter. This used to exist, but was rolled back in 2011.

“Reinstating this will grow the pot of funds and allow for more opportunity for Philadelphia’s students no matter what type of school they attend,” Parker said.

Colorado foundation bets on new charter and private schools seats

2023-09-26T19:40:20+00:00

A Denver foundation wants to help create tens of thousands of new seats in the state’s charter schools and other settings outside district-run public schools at a time when Colorado’s school-age population is shrinking.

The effort, launched by the conservative-leaning Daniels Fund last year, is part of a larger initiative foundation leaders are calling the Education Big Bet. The goal is to put 100,000 more students in what the Daniels Fund calls “choice seats” by 2030 in a four-state region that includes Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico.

Tapping into both the pandemic-era appetite for alternative forms of schooling and worries about COVID’s impact on learning, Daniels Fund leaders say the Big Bet is about meeting the needs of students and families.

On its face, the creation of so many new seats in charter schools, private schools, and homeschool programs could leave Colorado’s traditional public schools hurting. Many Colorado districts, including Denver, Jeffco, Aurora, and Mesa County Valley, are already facing the prospect of closing schools as enrollment declines. A flurry of new schools or seats could intensify the competition for students and put more financial stress on school districts, leading them to shut down some of their own schools.

But while the foundation’s goal is ambitious, its investment in the Big Bet is modest. In 2022, when the effort launched, the foundation spent $10 million on the initiative in the four-state region — about 20% more than it had spent on K-12 grants the year before.

The Daniels Fund, which was established with the fortune of the late billionaire cable executive Bill Daniels, is best known for its generous college scholarships. Foundation leaders say if the Big Bet is successful, the number of students learning outside district-run public schools will grow from 350,000 to 450,000 across the four states by the end of the decade — a nearly 30% increase.

Hanna Skandera, the foundation’s president and CEO, said education isn’t one-size-fits-all and that families want options so kids can pursue their passions.

“There’s nothing more powerful than giving parents and kids the opportunity to have a great education,” she said.

It’s not yet clear what the Big Bet means for students and schools in Colorado or the other three states. Experts say philanthropic efforts like the Big Bet that promote charter school growth or private school options under the banner of market competition aren’t new, though they also note that most parents give their own child’s school good marks.

A variety of groups have received grants through the Big Bet so far, including a new agriculture-focused charter school north of Denver, a group that gives private school scholarships to lower-income students, and a nonprofit that makes grants to home-school co-ops and tiny private schools, often referred to as microschools.

The Daniels Fund doesn’t plan to pay for all the new seats its leaders hope to create.

“We aren’t trying to do this alone,” said Luke Ragland, the fund’s senior vice president of grants. “We’re definitely looking to rally partners.”

Currently, the foundation has no formal Big Bet partners, but Ragland said potential partners could include other foundations, education entrepreneurs, and even families.

Jeffrey Henig, a professor of political science and education at Columbia University, said although the Daniels Fund is using private money for the Big Bet, it’s helping create infrastructure that could shift public money and support away from the traditional public school system.

“Giving some kids a better shot of getting out of their public schools may come with a big price tag in terms of democracy and public accountability,” he said.

Skandera said critics are taking an unfortunate “zero-sum view of school choice.”

“Choice programs that help students find a school that meets their unique needs usually helps both that individual student and their public school peers, something backed by significant amounts of research,” Skandera said, citing a report from EdChoice.

Daniels Fund will focus on charter seats

Three-quarters of the 100,000 new choice seats Daniels Fund leaders hope to add over the next six years are slated to be in charter schools. About 40,000 of those will be in Colorado, representing nearly 30% more charter enrollment than there is today.

Research shows that expanding charter schools puts financial stress on school districts and may require them to shut down some of their own schools.

About 15% of Colorado students already attend charter schools — one of the highest rates in the country — and the sector has grown steadily for years. But charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently run, sometimes face the same struggles traditional public schools do, including declining enrollment and spotty academic performance.

Still, charter openings often outpace charter closings. Following the closure of two Colorado charter schools at the end of the 2021-22 school year, seven new ones opened in the fall of 2022, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

The STEAD School, a charter high school in Commerce City north of Denver, is one recent addition to Colorado’s charter school landscape. It opened in 2021 and recently landed a $280,000 Big Bet grant from the Daniels Fund that will help with staff training and curriculum planning over two years. The school — which has a soil and seed lab and takes its students to the National Western Stock Show every January — focuses on agriculture and science.

Amy Schwartz, the school’s co-founder and board chair, said STEAD leaders always planned to scale up to about 700 students, up from 273 this year in grades 9 through 11. So the Big Bet grant isn’t driving STEAD’s expansion, but without it, “the quality of our curriculum and instruction wouldn’t be where it is,” she said.

Schwartz said STEAD launched during a period of rapid growth in the Brighton-based 27J district, which authorized the charter school.

In addition to providing a unique academic focus, the school came at a time when the district “just couldn’t build school buildings fast enough,” she said.

The STEAD School has the state’s highest green rating this year.

A recent study found that students in Colorado charter schools made slightly more progress on math and reading tests than similar students in nearby district schools. This aligned with national findings.

However, there’s significant variation in performance within the charter sector.

“It’s a mixed picture, and a lot of charter schools don’t do a better job or even as good of a job as traditional public schools,” Henig said.

Big Bet also pushes for more private seats

Daniels Fund leaders hope to send about 23,000 more students to private schools or some version of home schooling in the four-state region over the next six years. In Colorado, the number is 15,000.

In service to that goal, the foundation is giving money to groups like ACE Scholarship Fund, a Colorado group that gives private school scholarships to lower income families in 12 states. More than 4,000 students in Colorado receive the partial scholarships, with families paying just $2,000 a year in tuition on average, said Norton Rainey, CEO of ACE Scholarships.

The scholarships are for religious or secular private schools that charge $8,000 to $15,000 a year, not schools that charge $20,000 or more.

Rainey said the scholarships give families more choices and help private schools fill empty seats.

“There are quite a few available seats in private schools,” he said

VELA Education Fund, an Arlington, Virginia-based funder of “small learning environments,’’ also received a Big Bet grant. The nonprofit is using the $750,000 it received last year to give dozens of smaller grants to microschools and homeschool groups, as well as to groups that create curriculum materials or otherwise support private and homeschool programs.

CEO Meredith Olson said demand has grown every year since VELA launched in 2019, both from individuals who run alternative education programs and “families who are looking for something different for their kids.” Just under half of the programs funded by the nonprofit were founded by people of color and more than 90% serve low- and middle income families, she said.

In Colorado, VELA has awarded grants to a variety of organizations. Among them are a Denver microschool called La Luz that serves sixth- and seventh-graders and emphasizes field trips and experiential learning, and Catch a Star Academy, an Aurora microschool that serves third through fifth graders who struggle academically. Both schools are tuition-free, though Catch a Star notes on its website that the tuition assistance is for the 2023-24 school year. It’s unclear if families will have to pay next year.

Microschools, like other private schools, are not regulated by the state education department or obligated to administer state tests. Skandera, of the Daniels Fund, said foundation staff ask Big Bet grantees to share student achievement outcomes, but acknowledged that they may use different tests or measures. There’s no stipulation that grantees share student achievement with the public, she said.

Recent studies in other states have found students experience either declines or no improvements in math scores while attending private schools with a voucher. However, some older studies have found more positive effects on longer-run outcomes.

Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in some cases harmful academic effects were on the order of those caused by the pandemic or Hurricane Katrina.

He also noted that families may choose a private school they like, but the school decides who to admit. That means that students with certain kinds of disabilities, those who have behavior challenges, or those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community may not be welcome.

It’s important to recognize that the last choice belongs to the school, not the family, he said.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana attorney general hopes to block sale of two IPS school buildings in latest court filing

2023-09-14T18:50:12+00:00

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The state attorney general wants to block the sale of two buildings that Indianapolis Public Schools closed this year and hopes to sell.

It is the latest development in the argument over how to interpret the newest version of the state’s so-called “$1 law” that requires school districts to give closed school buildings to charters for the sale or lease price of $1. The controversial law is especially pertinent as IPS has closed six schools this year, two of which it currently seeks to sell.

The district’s complaint against Attorney General Todd Rokita and the Indiana Department of Education’s secretary of state and its board members argues that it is exempt from the newly revised state law. IPS asked the court last month for legal affirmation of its position, while also requesting an injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the law with respect to IPS.

The law, revised this past legislative session, exempts districts from having to sell or lease closed buildings to charters if they split funding from certain voter-approved property tax increases with an “applicable charter school.” IPS argues that it is exempt because it previously shared funds from a 2018 property tax increase with charters in its Innovation Network of autonomous schools.

But in its counterclaim filed in Marion County Superior Court on Wednesday, the attorney general’s office cited a new section added to state law this year that requires school districts in Marion County and three other counties to share certain voter-approved tax increases with charter schools. The law requires those districts to share referendum funds for any ballot question approved by a school board after May 10, 2023.

It’s the first time the attorney general has weighed in on the interpretation of the new version of the $1 law. The counterclaim offers the same interpretation as Sen. Linda Rogers, the Republican who authored the changes.

School districts must share referendum funds with charters for any ballot question passed after May 10 in order to be exempt from the $1 law, the counterclaim argues. In all other cases, they are subject to the law, the attorney general’s office noted.

IPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The legal battle has sparked a complaint with the state’s public access counselor from the Indiana Charter School Network, which argued that the school board violated the state’s public meetings law because it had failed to approve the legal complaint in a public meeting.

The school board voted to authorize its complaint against the state three days after the public access complaint in a public meeting, with board President Venita Moore stressing that the board was seeking clarity over the law’s interpretation.

“We’re not trying to start a fight with anybody,” Moore said. “But rather we’re trying to remove any uncertainty with respect to our legal rights and obligations.”

The vote passed 4-1, with board member Angelia Moore abstaining and board member Will Pritchard voting against. Board member Hope Hampton was absent.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Applying to Chicago Public Schools? Here’s a guide to the 2024-25 application process.

2023-09-13T15:22:45+00:00

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It’s that time of year again: Chicago Public Schools opened its application Wednesday for elementary and high school seats for the 2024-25 school year with a deadline of Nov. 9 — about a month earlier than usual.

Families use the application for entry to a variety of schools, including selective test-in schools and neighborhood schools outside of their attendance boundaries. Sixth graders can also use the application for seven advanced middle school programs.

For high schools, there are several changes to this year’s admissions process:

The High School Admissions Test, or HSAT, will last an hour instead of the previous 2 ½ hours. This shorter test “allows CPS to get the information needed on student performance for the admissions process while helping reduce anxiety for students and increasing accessibility,” a district spokesperson said.
In addition to English, the HSAT this year will also be offered in Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Urdu, and Polish.
The district has created a single admissions scoring rubric for all programs. Previously, there were multiple rubrics.
High schools will no longer have additional admissions requirements, such as interviews, essays, or letters of recommendation. Such a requirement “added to the complexity of the process and was burdensome for families,” according to a district spokesperson.

Students will find out their HSAT score in mid-November. After that, students can re-rank the programs they chose in GoCPS until 5 p.m. November 22, district officials said.

About half of elementary school students attend a school outside of their neighborhood, and roughly 70% of high schoolers do the same.

For the second year, families of preschoolers won’t have to apply until the spring. The city is working toward providing universal preschool for 4-year-olds. Last year, officials said there were enough seats for all children who wanted one.

For elementary school and the middle school programs, families can apply online or over the phone. For high school, they can also submit a paper application. Most charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed, can also be applied to through GoCPS and students are offered spots via lottery.

The application process for all students, which can involve ranking school choices and taking entrance exams, can be cumbersome for many families to navigate. The later application deadline “may catch people off guard,” said Grace Lee Sawin, co-founder of Chicago School GPS, an organization that helps families navigate admissions.

“I think that will throw off a lot of people who think they had the month of November” to explore their options, Sawin said.

In recent years, CPS has extended the application deadline. Results are expected to be released next spring. The district will hold weekly online informational sessions about GoCPS in English and Spanish starting Sept. 19 at 9 a.m. The sessions will continue until early November. Families should register online here.

Here’s what you need to know.

Families can apply to several types of Chicago elementary schools

Families can use the application for entry into several types of elementary schools.

They can select up to 20 magnets and neighborhood schools outside of their own attendance boundaries. Families can also choose from more competitive, selective enrollment schools, which require a test to get in. Those include the city’s gifted programs and classical schools, both of which offer more accelerated curriculum.

The tests can be scheduled once you submit your application. For these schools, families can choose up to six programs. Families can choose up to three gifted centers that are specifically for English learners.

For neighborhood schools, families don’t have to rank their choices, since they will be entered into the lottery for each program on their list and may get multiple offers.

For the test-in schools, applicants must rank their choices. They are eligible if they score high enough on the entrance exams, but the district does not publish what the cutoff scores are. Thirty percent of seats are reserved for the highest scorers. The remaining offers go to the highest scorers across four socioeconomic tiers that are based on where students live, as an effort by the district to more equitably admit children to selective schools.

Each city neighborhood is assigned to one of four tiers, with the first tier representing the lowest-income areas, along with other factors, such as less education attainment. (You can look up your tier using this map.)

Students who choose magnet programs are entered into a lottery. Schools set aside remaining seats for students from each tier. There are also preferences given to siblings and in some cases, students who live within a certain proximity to the magnet school.

CPS offers admission to 7 accelerated middle school programs

Sixth graders can use the elementary application to apply to the city’s seven Academic Centers, which offer accelerated middle school programs. They are located inside of high schools — some of which are the city’s selective programs, such as Whitney Young — allowing these middle schoolers to take high school level courses.

Students must have at least a 2.5 GPA to apply and must take an entrance exam that can be scheduled through GoCPS. They can choose up to six school options, and must rank their selections. Students are admitted based on their score, with the highest scorers offered seats first. Last year’s cutoff scores can be found here.

All 8th graders encouraged to apply for a variety of Chicago high schools

The first step for eighth graders seeking a high school seat is taking the high school admissions test, or HSAT.

Due to a change last year, the exam is now given in school to all eighth graders at the same time. This year it’s scheduled for Oct. 11. Private school students can take the test on Oct. 14, 15, or 21, according to the district’s website.

Students can enroll in their neighborhood high school or they can use the application to rank up to 20 other high school programs. Schools may have multiple programs, such as one in fine arts and another in world language.

While many of these schools admit students via lottery, they may also have various preferences, such as for kids who live within the attendance boundary or those who earned higher math scores.

Students can also choose from the city’s 11 selective enrollment programs and can rank up to six of them. These schools are more competitive and admit students based on a rubric that includes their HSAT results and their GPA. Last school year, the first 30% of seats went to students with the highest scores on the rubric. The rest of the seats are split up among the highest scoring students across the four socioeconomic tiers. Last year’s cut scores for selective enrollment schools can be found here and for other high schools, they can be found here.

Selective enrollment schools have been criticized for enrolling larger shares of affluent, white, and Asian American students versus Black and Latino students who make up more than 82% of the district. Officials promised to overhaul the system last year in order to make it more equitable, but none of the promised changes have been made.

Students can receive up to two offers — one each for selective enrollment and CHOICE. If they get just one offer, CPS will automatically add them to waitlists at schools they ranked higher than where they got in. If the student doesn’t receive any offers, they can join waitlists for schools they want to attend or they enroll in their neighborhood school.

What is the application process for children with disabilities?

Students with disabilities can apply to any program. No matter which school they end up in, the district is legally required to provide any services that a student may need, according to their Individualized Education Program, or IEP.

For admissions exams, students should be afforded any testing accommodations listed on their 504 plans or IEPs, according to the FAQ page.

However, students with disabilities may face a more complicated school assignment process. For example, if a child is physically impaired and is offered a seat at a magnet elementary program that is not accessible, the district will offer transportation to a “comparable” magnet program that has the proper accommodations, according to a district FAQ about the admissions process.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Is public education dead or just redefined? Author Cara Fitzpatrick on the history of school choice.

2023-09-12T10:00:00+00:00

Journalist Cara Fitzpatrick offers a dramatic thesis in the form of the title of her new book, “The Death of Public School.”

In it, Fitzpatrick chronicles the history of school choice in America — a decades-long political effort that she says has culminated in victory for its advocates. Charter schools have grown rapidly. More states are using public money to help parents pay private school tuition. The pandemic combined with a backlash against school curriculum on race and gender have energized this effort.

Fitzpatrick is agnostic on whether this shift has been a good thing for American education, but she’s convinced that it’s a big deal.

“The war over school choice has been the fiercest of this country’s education battles because it is the most important: it is a struggle over the definition of public education,” she writes. “These thorny questions — about what type of education the government should pay for, whose values are reflected in schooling, and what these issues mean for society and democracy — have been waged since the country’s birth.”

Chalkbeat recently spoke with Fitzpatrick, who as a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times won the Pulitzer Prize for documenting the resegregation of schools in Pinellas County, Florida. Currently, Fitzpatrick is a story editor here at Chalkbeat (and a valued colleague of this reporter). She did not play a role in selecting questions for this interview or editing it.

Chalkbeat asked Fitzpatrick about the early history of school vouchers that started with resistance to desegregation; the more progressive arguments for school choice; choice advocates’ recent focus on culture war issues; and how the title of her book could be true when most students still attend a public school.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Journalist Cara Fitzpatrick, author of “The Death of Public School”

Tell me why you wrote a book about the history of school choice. What interested you in this topic?

I was a reporter in Florida, and I had written a lot about segregation. As part of that, I spent some time following families around who were leaving these segregated, low-income public schools. In Florida, there’s a lot of choice options, so I often encountered families who were moving to a charter school, or they were going to a private school with a voucher, or maybe they were going to a magnet public school. One of the questions that I had was essentially: Were they finding better choices?

Let’s start with the early parts of this history, where you start the book. Can you talk about the role that school choice played in resistance to desegregation starting in the ’50s?

In the few years before Brown v. Board of Education, and then after Brown, there was an effort by segregationists in the South to get around desegregation by using a variety of mechanisms, including school vouchers. It varied in states, but it was basically an effort to abandon the public schools and use state support to prop up entirely white private schools. But it was ultimately unsuccessful, because the courts were united in striking down every attempt that was made, including the voucher programs.

Some school choice critics still use this history to attack the concept of school choice, especially private school choice. Do you think that’s fair?

I don’t know that it’s a reasonable critique of what’s going on now. What I ended up finding, and thought was compelling, was that at the same time that segregationists were using school vouchers to try to exclude Black children from receiving a fair education, there were other voices in there who were viewing school vouchers in a very different way.

Economist Milton Friedman gets credited as the father of school vouchers. He was looking at it as an economic tool. Virgil Blum was a priest in Milwaukee who was interested in vouchers for religious liberty, because he thought that it was discrimination against religious families who had to pay taxes for a public school system and then also pay tuition for private religious education.

It was really striking even in the years that the courts were striking down school voucher programs in the South, progressive voices were also raising this issue of school vouchers as a tool of empowerment. Kenneth Clark, who was involved in Brown v. Board, was one who raised that idea.

So I think understanding that is crucial for having a good sense of whether or not that’s really a fair charge to make against contemporary advocates for school choice.

Can you elaborate on why Kenneth Clark, who was a Black psychologist who testified in Brown v. Board and was cited by the Supreme Court, was interested in school choice and school vouchers?

He was disappointed in the years following Brown with how integrated school systems were working out, not just in the South, but in the North, where many school systems were just as segregated. He was looking for different ways to improve education for Black students. It wasn’t just vouchers. He also made some recommendations that sound a lot like what charter schools are today, which I thought was really interesting to see that far back.

What happened to the idea of private school choice in the decades after desegregation?

So the court struck down the school voucher programs in the South, and then it’s kind of just in the realm of theory for a while — it’s people basically debating it.

Milton Friedman keeps alive his economic argument, which was for every kid regardless of income to have a voucher. Harvard professor Christopher Jenks has an idea of targeted vouchers for low-income children, as a tool of empowerment. There’s a small, sort of failed effort by the federal government in California to try out vouchers.

There was a pretty solid push from a number of quarters in the ’60s and ’70s to provide some kind of government aid to religious schools, especially Catholic schools, because they were struggling during that time period. That didn’t end up going anywhere meaningful.

In the ’80s, President Reagan was an advocate for vouchers. That also didn’t really go anywhere. Then the first modern school voucher program happens in Milwaukee in 1990. That’s when you start to see the beginning of this latest era.

Your book has many characters, but to me if there was a main character, it was Polly Williams. Can you describe her and her role in the school choice movement?

Polly Williams was a Black Democratic legislator in Wisconsin. She was kind of a contrarian. Probably the best explanation for her would be that she was a Black nationalist. She was very interested in education in Milwaukee, and she was very concerned that Black students were not being well served by the Milwaukee school district. She tried legislatively to do a number of different proposals to help Black students in Milwaukee. She was shot down at just about every turn, and so became kind of frustrated with Democrats, with her own party, and willing to look at alternatives.

That’s when she and Tommy Thompson, who was a white Republican governor at the time, became allies on the issue, and were able to successfully push through a small experimental voucher program in Milwaukee.

Walk me through Polly Williams’ evolution on her thinking about school choice.

Polly Williams had a very particular view about vouchers — this progressive model very much for low-income children, Black and Latino children, very much as a form of empowerment. She viewed it as being somewhat small and experimental and intended for a particular group of kids.

She became disillusioned with some of her conservative allies who had different ideas about what choice should be like and who it should be for. She was concerned when religious schools were allowed to participate in the program, because religious schools had more white students. She feared that a program that was largely for Black students might also change to be more of a benefit for white religious families and especially ones who could already afford to pay tuition.

Do you see Polly Williams’ vision for school choice as the opposite of white Southern sector segregationists’, or was it the other side of the same coin?

She viewed it as something that was meant to aid children who were the least well served by the school system, which is different than saying we want all white kids to be separate from all Black kids. That’s not what she was about.

She was, however, very unapologetic about being focused on helping her race, and what she viewed as her people. As a Black nationalist, she thought that integration policies were harming Black kids. She thought that it was taking power out of Black neighborhoods when you had kids bused all over.

Can you talk about when charter schools entered the equation, and why they have been, at least until recently, more politically successful than private school vouchers?

In the ’90s, those ideas were kind of coming up at the same time. Milwaukee’s voucher program passed in 1990, and the first charter school law was in Minnesota in 1991.

I think one of the reasons that charter schools took off was because they were meant to be public schools. It was appealing because it was an alternative to school vouchers, and so it gave Democrats something that they could hold up to say: We are for choice, but we’re for choice within the public school system. Republicans also backed charter schools as maybe not as great as school vouchers would be, but something they also could get behind. So charter schools enjoyed bipartisan support for a long, long time, and that helped the ideas spread all over the place.

It actually seems like the charter school movement was detrimental to the private school choice movement by sucking up some of the political oxygen.

I think that’s mostly right. I think charter schools were just an easier thing to support in some ways, and because there were fewer legal questions, I think that helped propel them.

But in some ways, charter schools are more far-reaching, creating totally new schools, and have been much more disruptive to the traditional public school system than private school choice.

I think that’s true for a period of time — we’ll see how this current wave of choice legislation plays out. But you see that especially in urban areas, and people grappling with what does this mean for the public school system, if suddenly 20%, 30%, 40% of kids are going to charter schools. But it varies so much, because you do have states where they pass a charter school law, but then the law itself was so restrictive that you didn’t have the same explosion of charter schools.

Can you describe how the school choice movement has changed since the start of the pandemic, and why it has been so successful in getting a string of far-reaching private school choice programs passed?

The pandemic gave Republicans a moment politically where there are discussions happening about education. There are parents who maybe are exploring other options for their kids or did for a period of time during the pandemic. It gave Republicans room to seek expansions and pass new programs.

There’s also an argumentative shift happening during the pandemic where we saw advocates go from talking about school choice as a civil rights issue to embracing school vouchers for everyone. This idea that it’s really about parental freedom and about values has taken off. And Republicans are going on the attack against public schools and embracing this idea of using the culture war to win policies for choice.

The cover of Cara Fitzpatrick’s book, “The Death of Public School.”

Let’s talk about your title: “The Death of Public School.” How can public school be dead if the vast majority of students still attend a traditional public school?

I liked that title because I was thinking about, what is this ultimately about? What is the argument that people are having? And why is it such a heated argument? I was thinking about: Can these things coexist? Can you have a robust traditional public school system, and also have state dollars going to private education, especially in greater and greater numbers?

Ultimately, it’s about what happens to the public school system and whether or not it thrives or is diminished in some way by these programs. I felt like the current moment in time was pointing in not a great direction for the public school system.

I also had kind of a wonkier question in mind, which was: What is a public school ultimately? I tried to trace that idea in the book. Republicans really were pushing for a definition of public education that is quite different than the traditional one. Republican governors say right now that any education paid for with tax dollars is public education.

One response to the title would be that the empirical research doesn’t support the idea that the expansion of private school choice kills or even harms public schools.

I don’t know if we know what the effects of this current wave of private school choice are going to be when you’re talking about having every student in a state be eligible, including kids whose families were already paying for private education. We’re seeing numbers of participants balloon in places like Arizona, and the cost projections are so much higher than what they had initially talked about in those places. With the universal programs there’s just a lot that we don’t know about how that’s going to shape up.

Do you think the triumph of school choice has been a good thing for American education?

It’s not for me to say if it’s been a good thing for American education. I very deliberately do not take a viewpoint in the book, partially because I think school choice is a fairly complicated and nuanced thing, which is part of what attracted me to writing about it in the first place.

I had some driving questions in the introduction about what does this mean for community, and what does this mean for democracy, and what does this ultimately mean for the public school system. I very deliberately do not answer, because I think those questions are for the reader to think about by the end of the book.

Matt Barnum is interim national editor, overseeing and contributing to Chalkbeat’s coverage of national education issues. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

Bill Kurtz will step down as CEO of Denver’s DSST charter school network after 20 years

2023-09-08T21:56:05+00:00

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Bill Kurtz, the CEO of Denver’s largest charter school network, announced Friday that he will leave DSST after 20 years with the organization.

Kurtz said he plans to step down at the end of this school year.

“It is the right time,” he wrote in a letter addressed to DSST families and friends. “DSST is ready for a new leader to take DSST to greater heights. A new CEO will bring different insights, skills and experiences to lead the organization into our next decade.”

Kurtz was the founding principal of DSST’s first charter school, a diverse high school in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood called the Denver School of Science and Technology that was focused on getting all of its graduates into four-year colleges.

Bill Kurtz

Over the past two decades, DSST has expanded to 14 schools in Denver and two in neighboring Aurora. The network serves a total of 7,200 students in grades 6-12, 80% of whom are Hispanic or Black and 73% of whom come from low-income families, according to DSST.

DSST’s high student test scores, a growing number of school-aged children attending Denver Public Schools, and a school board eager to replicate high-performing charters made DSST’s expansion possible. But while DSST still posts high test scores, enrollment in DPS is now declining and the new school board routinely says no to charters.

In 2020, DSST fought with the school board to open its seventh high school in Denver at the same time the network decided to close one of its middle schools due to declining enrollment.

The changing landscape has made things harder for charter schools in Denver. The second- and third-largest charter networks, STRIVE Prep and Rocky Mountain Prep respectively, recently merged under the Rocky Mountain Prep name. The founding CEOs of both networks are gone; STRIVE’s Chris Gibbons left in 2022 and Rocky Mountain Prep’s James Cryan left in 2021.

Kurtz said neither politics nor enrollment projections factored into his decision to step down from DSST.

“The adult politics around all this is necessary because we live in a democracy,” Kurtz said in an interview. “But ultimately, especially post-COVID, we need to have a laser focus on, ‘How are we serving students and families?’”

The students and their accomplishments are what Kurtz said he’s most proud of. The oldest DSST alumni are now in their 30s, and Kurtz said he routinely hears from graduates who are working as doctors, college professors, and engineers. One alumna of DSST’s first school is now a Spanish teacher at the DSST: College View campus. Kurtz said she took two buses two hours each way to high school because DSST promised her a path to college.

“We created DSST together on the premise that we have amazing young people in our communities in Denver and Aurora that did not have access to the opportunities they deserved and we promised,” Kurtz said. “We believed that once our young people had those opportunities, they would do amazing things.”

Kurtz said that while DSST’s mission has remained the same, the way it achieves that mission has changed. The network has worked to make its teacher training, curriculum, and school culture more inclusive, he said. One example, Kurtz said, is that DSST did not have any programs for students with significant disabilities when it started. It now has several.

“We’ve walked a very deep and meaningful journey around equity and inclusion,” Kurtz said.

Kurtz said he does not have another job lined up for when he steps down. Instead, he said, “I’m pretty focused on having my best year as a leader ever and ensuring DSST has our best year ever.” Kurtz said he announced his departure early to help with a smooth transition.

Gloria Zamora, the chair of DSST’s board of directors, said the board will communicate the next steps in the search for a new CEO in the coming weeks.

“We commend Bill for the high-functioning school system he is leaving to his successor,” Zamora said in a statement. “This solid foundation will enable DSST to continue growing to meet the needs of our students and families in the coming years.”

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Three charter schools will expand in Indianapolis next year

2023-09-06T17:41:56+00:00

Three more charter schools will open in Indianapolis in the fall of 2024 and plan to grow to a combined capacity of more than 1,100 students over the next several years.

Matchbook Learning, Paramount Schools of Excellence, and Purdue Polytechnic High School will each launch an additional campus or school after receiving approval from Education One, the charter authorizing arm of Trine University in Angola.

The new campuses for Matchbook and Purdue Polytechnic will be high schools on the city’s west side, while Paramount’s new K-8 campus will be in midtown.

The new schools will bolster the city’s charter community, which has grown to nearly 70 schools in recent years as student enrollment at traditional public schools in IPS has declined. IPS and charter schools are competing for students as well as certain facilities and funding streams. And several more charter schools are planning for Indianapolis expansions for 2025.

Matchbook Learning to open career and technical school

Matchbook Learning, a national charter operator that runs Wendell Phillips School 63 as part of Indianapolis Public Schools’ “restart” charter turnaround effort, plans to open a career and technical high school on the city’s west side. The school recently announced a $5 million grant it received from the U.S. Department of Energy to help transform warehouses in that area into a career center.

The Matchbook College, Career, and Technical Institute will serve grades 9-12 and up to 10 adult students after several years, growing to a total enrollment of 280, according to its original application.

The school had initially proposed opening in 2022 or 2023, but delayed its start date as it tried to find a facility.

Matchbook did not respond to a request for comment on its newest location.

‘High-quality high school’ coming from Purdue Polytechnic

Purdue Polytechnic High School, which has two campuses in Indianapolis and one in South Bend, also plans to open on the city’s west side after another charter authorizer rejected its plans to expand in Pike Township.

The school plans to to be a high school option for students seeking a smaller school on the west side, which lacks high school options, the school said in its application. The school also hopes to provide a “high-quality high school option” and a pipeline for students to attend Purdue University.

Purdue Polytechnic, or PPHS, initially applied with the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, another charter authorizer, to open its third Indianapolis campus in Pike Township. But the Indianapolis Charter School Board denied the application after intense community pushback last year.

PPHS West initially planned to open in 2023, but delayed its start as it looked for an appropriate facility. The school plans to grow to 500 students by its seventh year of operation, according to its original application.

PPHS declined to comment on its new location.

Paramount’s new charter to focus on science, math

Girls IN STEM Academy, operated by Paramount Schools of Excellence, also plans to open a K-8 school for girls in 2024 in the midtown area of Indianapolis near Broad Ripple.

Paramount currently has three campuses in Indianapolis and an online academy that is part of IPS’ Innovation Network of autonomous schools.

The school plans to grow to a capacity of 325 students in the next several years, according to its application.

Paramount did not respond to a request for comment on its new location.

More charter schools planned for 2025 and beyond

Believe Circle City High School, which won approval from the Indianapolis Charter School Board last year to expand to a second location, also plans on expanding to another campus in 2025.

Founder Kimberly Neal-Brannum told Chalkbeat Indiana in June that the school is still interested in the west side of Indianapolis because that is where the majority of its families come from.

Other charter schools also have long-term expansion plans.

Circle City Prep, which plans to grow to K-8 next year, expressed interest in using the closed IPS Francis Bellamy School 102 as its second location.

Adelante Schools, which operates an IPS Innovation Network charter in the Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School building, also expressed interest in expanding to a second campus at the closed IPS Raymond Brandes School 65.

The Mind Trust, which helps establish Indianapolis charters, recently selected leaders from both Circle City Prep and Adelante — as well as Girls IN STEM and PPHS — for fellowships. The School Launch Fellowship provides leaders with support to grow an existing charter school network, the Mind Trust said in a press release.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board move to sue state violated open meetings law, charter group says

2023-08-28T20:22:02+00:00

The Indianapolis Public Schools board violated the state’s public meetings law when it approved a lawsuit against the state last week, a charter group has alleged.

The complaint that the Indiana Charter School Network filed with the state Public Access Counselor centers on the school board’s lawsuit that claims an exemption for IPS from a state law that requires districts to sell or lease closed school buildings to charter schools for $1. The so-called $1 law is an ongoing and significant source of tension between IPS and charter supporters as district enrollment has dropped and charter enrollment has grown.

The state’s “Open Door” law allows school boards and other governing bodies to meet in executive or closed-door sessions for specific purposes, such as collective bargaining and litigation. But the law also requires any final action to be taken at a public meeting.

“The IPS board never approved the filing of the Lawsuit in a properly noticed public meeting as required by the Open Door Law,” an attorney for the Indiana Charter School Network said in the group’s complaint, which it filed Monday. “This approval of the Lawsuit behind closed doors without any discussion in public violates the plain language of the Open Door Law’s provision that official action must only be taken in an open meeting.”

State law also requires governing bodies to give public notice of closed-door sessions that state the specific allowable reasons for which they are meeting in executive sessions. But the charter group’s complaint says two executive sessions held in July also do not indicate that the school board was discussing possible litigation.

IPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a Monday statement, the charter network’s executive director, Marcie Brown-Carter, said the IPS board’s lack of transparency, along with what she called the district’s violation of the $1 law, “are unacceptable and do nothing to support the public-school students of Indianapolis or promote a spirit of collaboration.”

The complaint is at least the second time the charter network has taken formal issue with the district over the state’s so-called $1 law. Last year, the group filed a complaint with the Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office, alleging that the district did not comply with the $1 law. Rokita’s office later concluded IPS did not violate the law.

Lawmakers revised the $1 law earlier this year in ways that make it easier for certain charters to lease or acquire district’s closed buildings. Yet the latest version of the statute includes an exemption for districts that share revenue from voter-approved property tax increases for operating or safety costs with “applicable charter schools.”

IPS argued in its lawsuit against the Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner, Rokita’s office, and members of the Indiana State Board of Education last week that it is exempt from the $1 law, since it shared funds from its 2018 property tax increase with charters in its Innovation Network of autonomous schools.

The state education department, however, told IPS in a memo earlier this month that it is subject to the $1 law.

This story has been updated to include a statement from the Indiana Charter School Network.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools seeks relief from law on selling buildings to charters for $1

2023-08-21T22:37:01+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools is seeking legal affirmation for its position that it is exempt from a state law governing how and when districts must make underused or closed school buildings easily available to charter schools.

In a Monday filing with Marion Superior Court, IPS sought a declaratory judgment that it is exempt from the Indiana law that requires districts to sell or lease those buildings to charter schools or state education institutions for $1. The district is also seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Indiana Department of Education from enforcing the law with respect to IPS.

Lawmakers revised the so-called $1 law this year that made it friendlier to charters and education institutions in districts with declining enrollment, but the district stated in July that it’s not covered by the statute because of a 2021 decision it made about sharing certain tax revenue.

The district also issued a statement on Monday underscoring its view that it’s exempt from the law. But charter groups have argued that it is not. And earlier this month, the state education department directed IPS to notify the agency about its school closures, and noted that as a school corporation IPS was subject to the $1 law.

The court filing by IPS is the latest move in a long-running dispute between the district and the charter sector over facilities and resources, as charter enrollment grows and IPS enacts academic and other changes to attract students. The court’s interpretation of the law could also have big implications for the buildings that used to house Raymond Brandes School 65 and Francis Bellamy School 102, both of which closed earlier this year. The buildings have garnered interest from charter schools.

“The IPS Board is committed to complying with Indiana law, believes it is doing so, and believes Indianapolis Public Schools qualifies for the exemption from the $1 Charter Law,” IPS Board President Venita Moore said in a statement. “The IPS Board believes the courts will provide needed clarity regarding the exemption from the $1 Charter Law, and IPS will abide by the ultimate decision from Indiana courts.”

But the Mind Trust, which cultivates charter schools in the city, said in a Monday statement from CEO Brandon Brown that the court filing is “an unfortunate escalation in the district’s ongoing efforts to circumvent state law.”

“By choosing a potentially long and divisive legal battle instead of collaboration, IPS is closing the door on longstanding partners who want to work alongside the district in service to Indianapolis students,” Brown said.

The state education department declined to comment about the Monday court filing from IPS.

Lawmakers tweaked the $1 law this year after school districts successfully maintained exemptions from the law, which targets vacant or unused buildings. Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican who authored the revised $1 law, said her intention was to create an appropriate balance between the interests of traditional public schools and charters.

But IPS maintains that even the new changes to the statute mean the law does not apply to its sale of School 65 and School 102.

The revised law exempts districts from having to sell or lease closed buildings to charters if they split funding from voter-approved property tax increases meant to pay for operating or safety costs with “applicable charter schools.”

IPS claims it is exempt because it shared funds from its 2018 property tax increase with charters in its Innovation Network of autonomous schools. The district has provided over $4 million annually to Innovation charters, IPS said in its motion for a preliminary injunction.

The school board voted in July to authorize the sales process for those two buildings, with priority given to nonprofit groups or government agencies. The district highlighted one local nonprofit that offers youth programming, Voices, as a potential buyer for the former School 102 building.

“IPS has sought to dispose of Brandes 65 and Bellamy 102 in a strategic manner that benefits the community, IPS students, and IPS,” the district said in its motion for a preliminary injunction. “IPS has not looked to simply offload the buildings to the highest bidder.”

But the district’s interpretation has been criticized by charter supporters. They have argued the district must share referendum funds with all charter schools within the district’s borders.

Rogers previously told Chalkbeat that sharing revenue from the 2018 referendum does not exempt IPS from the revised statute.

A separate state law requires the district to share tax revenue stemming from future ballot questions.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

As students left Indianapolis Public Schools, leaders paid COVID aid to a company to get them back

2023-08-07T11:00:00+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools faces competition on nearly every street corner.

“Vouchers accepted,” read signs for a private Christian school strewn throughout the Fountain Square neighborhood.

“Now enrolling!” signs for multiple charter schools beckon in Mapleton-Fall Creek.

“Free college in high school,” touts one charter school on the east side.

In short, IPS is fighting for students — and the state funding that follows them — with local charters and private schools that continue to grow. And students have been leaving the school system in droves. So as IPS spent millions of dollars of federal COVID relief on high-profile priorities like academic recovery and staff retention, it also directed some of that aid to a different goal: enticing students back to the district, with the help of a private company.

The $269,600 the district paid to the Memphis-based Caissa K-12 firm to recruit and retain students as of March 31 is less than 1% percent of the district’s $217.2 million in COVID relief money. But the effort highlights the district’s ongoing challenge with long-term declining enrollment that worsened during the pandemic. At its worst, roughly one out of 10 IPS students left the district from 2019-20 to 2020-21.

Signs for Trinity Christian School, a private religious school, and Christel House Indianapolis, a charter school, in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, charter school enrollment within and near IPS borders has grown almost every year — as has the number of IPS students attending private schools using state-funded tuition vouchers, which lawmakers expanded this year.

Ultimately, IPS is relying heavily on its Rebuilding Stronger plan to improve academic offerings and school facilities as a strategy to attract families to the district.

Caissa K-12 President Adrian Bond said the firm works with traditional public school districts on marketing themselves to parents — something charter schools, private schools, and homeschool networks have done a better job of in years past.

“Districts have to realize this is almost like a business now,” he said. “You’re not the only business in town anymore.”

IPS says the money spent on Caissa K-12 helped a student recruitment campaign that brought nearly 400 students into IPS through a contract that lasted for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. But raising even a small portion of federal relief funds this way could raise questions.

“From my perspective, I’m seeing so many other compelling needs in terms of supporting student development,” said Thomas Dee, professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education who has tracked student enrollment declines from the pandemic. “It’s difficult to look at that expenditure and characterize it as the best available use of scarce funds.”

Pandemic exacerbated declining enrollment for IPS

For several years before COVID hit, IPS lost between 3% and 4.4% of its enrollment annually. But between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school year, that loss jumped to 10.5%.

After COVID shut schools down and ushered in virtual learning at the end of the 2019-20 school year, IPS decided to open the 2020-21 school year virtually. Such a decision may have had a significant impact on the district’s enrollment.

Schools that offered remote instead of in-person instruction saw a decline in enrollment, particularly in kindergarten and elementary grades, according to research Dee and others conducted using data from across the country.

Meanwhile, charter school enrollment within IPS borders grew from roughly 7,500 students in 2018-19 to over 9,400 in 2022-23. The number of students who live within IPS borders but use vouchers to attend private schools has also grown steadily from roughly 3,580 students in 2017-18 to roughly 4,240 in 2022-23.

Now, many districts have settled into a new equilibrium with fewer students, Dee said. They also face financial pressure to close under-enrolled schools, once federal COVID relief expires and districts face a fiscal cliff.

“Part of the critical narrative going forward isn’t so much that the exodus has stopped,” Dee said, “but rather that the kids haven’t returned.”

IPS says Caissa K-12 brought back students

The district worked with Caissa K-12 to launch a student retention campaign that focused on contacting families who had previously been enrolled in an IPS school, the district said in a statement. The IPS contract with the company lasted from May 2021 through June 2023.

The campaign reached out to families through text, email, and phone calls. The campaign focused on understanding why students left the district, and highlighting the programs that the district has to offer, Bond said.

“There’s a lot of other educational options out there that parents may see as the shiny and bright toy, and then they just don’t realize that they have similar or better programs at the traditional public school,” Bond said. “But oftentimes the traditional public schools do not have the ability to be able to put that out at a grassroots level.”

Caissa’s work requires anywhere from nine to 22 contacts with parents in order to get them to return, Bond said.

Caissa K-12 and its affiliated Memphis-based communications firm, Caissa Public Strategy, have worked with districts across the country. Since the pandemic hit, Caissa has scored contracts to recruit students with Florida’s Duval County Public Schools, which includes Jacksonville, and Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish Schools, the largest district in the state.

And in March, the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township approved a contract with Caissa K-12 for customer service training, a student recruitment campaign at $953 per student, and $31,200 in “secret shopper” campaigns, in which the firm poses as a family interested in attending the district and provides feedback on the school staff’s response.

“Spending time and resources on recruiting and retention became necessary after Covid-19 when we noticed that a number of students were not returning to school,” a spokesperson for Washington Township schools said in a statement.

Caissa’s website frames student recruitment in terms of customer service, offering secret shopper evaluations, training, and other services “exclusively for public schools.”

Caissa isn’t afraid to be blunt when marketing its services. The firm advertises itself with phrases such as “Sick of screaming parents?” and “The customer is not always right! But we sure do need them.”

Asked about Caissa’s use of that language, Bond said the company works with districts to make sure their front desk workers and registration teams put their best foot forward to parents. The group trains staff to advocate for the goal they are trying to accomplish and emphasize how it benefits the students and parents at the end, he said.

IPS did not use Caissa’s training services. But the district said that the campaign recruited nearly 400 students into the district. At the start of this school year, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said IPS enrollment was similar to last year’s figure, which state records show was just over 22,000 students when excluding the district’s non-charter schools. When counting the district’s charter schools within its Innovation Network, that number stands at about 31,000, per the district.

IPS believes its contract with the firm brought “significant additional revenue for the district,” but did not specify how much. Basic state per-pupil funding was about $6,000 in 2021-22, and $6,234 in 2022-23.

But Bond said Caissa’s work should be just one part of districts’ efforts to stem declining enrollment.

“It is only a Band-Aid,” he said. “What we’ve seen is districts need to make this part of their overall strategy for the stabilization of enrollment. We help recruit students in the front doors, but also districts have to figure out ways to retain those students from leaving out the back door.”

The district said in its statement that its work with Caissa inspired it to build its own recruitment and retention team. As of March, the district had spent about $5,400 more in pandemic relief funds to do so.

Dee, however, said such recruitment campaigns aren’t a “scalable solution for academic recovery.” He also said that amidst many acute challenges schools now face, such efforts have limited value because they’re “chasing a fixed population of students.”

“I bristle at the idea of simply trying to market yourself better to attract kids,” he said. “Because from a broader policy perspective, it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Clarification: This article has been updated to include IPS’s enrollment with students who attend charter schools in the district’s Innovation Network.

IPS plan to sell closed school buildings could tee up conflict with charters, GOP lawmakers

2023-07-28T00:50:04+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools says its planned sale of two school buildings that closed this year is exempt from a state law designed to make such district facilities available to charter schools for $1.

The school board on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize officials to begin the sales process for Raymond Brandes School 65 and Francis Bellamy School 102, two of the six schools that closed at the end of the 2022-23 school year as part of the district’s Rebuilding Stronger reorganization.

But the district will only consider transferring the properties to another government agency or selling them to a nonprofit organization for the first 30 days of the process before opening up the sales to other buyers.

The state’s so-called $1 law in general requires districts to make such buildings available to charter schools or state educational institutions for a sale price or annual lease of $1. But IPS maintains that changes to the statute that lawmakers approved earlier this year mean the law does not apply to its sale of the two facilities. That interpretation of the law has garnered pushback from charter supporters.

The district’s argument underscores an ongoing conflict between IPS, charters, and GOP officials over the best way to use and reallocate school facilities as IPS enrollment declines and the district looks to shore up its finances.

Charter schools had previously expressed interest in occupying some of the six buildings closed this year, including Adelante Schools, which had hoped to start a second school at School 65. Last year, the Indiana Charter School Network filed a complaint with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office that IPS had failed to comply with the $1 law by not making the six schools it planned to close available to charters. Rokita’s office later ruled in favor of the district.

State lawmakers revised the $1 law in their most recent session to allow the Indiana Department of Education to force the closure of schools operating at less than 60% capacity in districts that have lost at least 10% of their students in the past five years. Once closed, districts must offer to sell or lease those schools to charters. That change gave charters a new edge, at least in theory.

Yet the revised law also exempts districts from having to sell or lease closed buildings to charters if they share funding from voter-approved property tax increases for operating or safety costs with “applicable charter schools.”

Francis Bellamy School 102 on the far eastside previously housed prekindergarten and a Step Ahead Academy for students who were retained, before it closed at the end of the 2022-23 school year.

In 2021, the IPS school board voted to share funds from its 2018 property tax increase with charters in its Innovation Network of autonomous schools. On Thursday, the district in its resolution cited that revenue-sharing to argue that it is exempt from having to sell or lease its closed buildings to charters for $1.

“In 2023, there were significant modifications to the so-called dollar law that we believe exempt IPS from” the statute, the district said in a statement after the vote. “Our legal team will continue to engage in the analysis and implications moving forward.”

But Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican and the author of the change to the $1 law, previously told Chalkbeat that the exemption would not cover IPS just because the district had shared funds from a previous referendum.

Instead, she argued, the exemption only covers districts that share such revenue with charters through measures that voters approve this year or in subsequent years. (In fact, under a separate state law, IPS and other Marion County school districts will be required to split revenue in this way with charters for any future ballot question that voters pass.)

“We don’t think IPS has met the requirement of the statute to share property tax dollars proportionately with all charter schools in the IPS boundaries, and thus the action they are taking violates the law,” Marcie Brown-Carter, executive director of the Indiana Charter School Network, said in a statement before the vote on Thursday.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the directive to prioritize a sale or transfer to a nonprofit or government agency will give “mission-aligned organizations … the opportunity at the front of the line” to acquire the buildings.

VOICES, a nonprofit that offers youth programs, told the school board that the space at School 102 would allow it to grow.

Circle City Prep founder and executive director Megan Murphy told Chalkbeat that the school is also interested in pursuing a partnership with IPS to use School 102 for a second campus as the charter school grows. But she said the school is not interested in purchasing the building at this time, even for $1.

Both School 65 and School 102 were built in the early 1960s and had low utilization rates in the 2022-23 school year. School 102 on the far eastside operated at just 24% capacity, and School 65 operated at 45% capacity. The sale price for these buildings is not yet determined.

School 102, which housed a prekindergarten center and the Step Ahead Academy for students who had been retained, was given a building condition score of “poor” in a third-party assessment. School 65 was rated as “fair.”

Although the district had discussions with Adelante about potentially occupying School 65, IPS Chief Operations Officer Bill Murphy said the neighborhood in the south side area would not have sustained a second Adelante campus. Adelante, a charter school in the Innovation Network that operates in the district’s Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School building, has an enrollment that only uses 35% of the capacity available in that building, Murphy added.

“We really want to make sure that they have an opportunity to thrive,” he said. “When we looked at the projections, splitting them in between two campuses, for example, would have engineered their failure in at least one.”

Adelante Executive Director Eddie Rangel declined to comment on the plan to sell the buildings.

School for the blind to lease two other closed schools

Board members also approved lease agreements with the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) to occupy two other schools that closed this year as part of Rebuilding Stronger.

ISBVI will pay $8,885 per month to occupy Floro Torrence School 83 in the northeast part of the district through July 2030, while its campus undergoes renovations. The school will pay $13,845 per month for George Buck School 94 on the far eastside.

Paul Miller School 114, which also closed this year, will serve as a new campus for the Excel Center adult charter high school. The district is still working on plans for Francis W. Parker Montessori School 56, the sixth school to close under the reorganization.

Correction: This article has been updated to accurately describe the state law governing the lease or sale of closed and underused school buildings to charter schools and education institutions under certain circumstances.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee’s new education chief says implementing policy is her strength and the governor’s priority

2023-07-24T10:00:00+00:00

Three weeks into her job as Tennessee’s education chief, Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds says her charge from Gov. Bill Lee is to implement existing major policy changes — from how reading is taught to the continued rollout of private school vouchers — not to craft new initiatives.

She feels prepared for that role, having overseen state-level education policy work in Texas for nearly a decade, including six years as its No. 2 administrator. She also has years of policy and political experience at the federal level, and most recently led policy work for the advocacy group ExcelinEd, founded by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

“Implementation is kind of my sweet spot,” Reynolds said. “When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did.”

Among her priorities in Tennessee: executing new programs to develop stronger readers; troubleshooting the switch to a new K-12 funding formula as of July 1; strengthening school models to prepare students for success after high school; and operating and expanding Lee’s controversial voucher program that gives taxpayer money to eligible students to attend private schools.

Meanwhile, much of the work to roll out a comprehensive new school safety package, approved this spring after a mass school shooting in Nashville, has shifted under a new law to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Since her official start on July 1, Reynolds’ schedule has been packed with meetings with staff, lawmakers, government officials, and education stakeholders.

Among the latter is JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, who described Reynolds as “straightforward and direct.”

“She made it clear that she is here to serve students and educators in Tennessee. … I think she will do well here if she will stay above the political fray,” said Bowman, who was a frequent critic of Reynolds’ predecessor, Penny Schwinn.

This week, the new commissioner travels to Memphis, home to the state’s largest school district, for introductions with local officials and community leaders.

Last week, in her first media interview since Lee announced her hiring in May, Reynolds sat down with Chalkbeat to talk about her background, priorities, and leadership style. Since she’s on a learning curve in a new state, questions about policy specifics were off the table.

But she was open about her own K-12 experiences as a public school kid growing up in Harlingen, Texas, a heavily Hispanic community in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border.

She described how, as a Hispanic American and a female, she experienced discrimination. As a first-generation college graduate and the oldest of four children of working-class parents, she benefited from scholarships and financial aid. And, as a parent of three children, one of whom was diagnosed with a disability in elementary school, she tapped both public and private schools to find the best fit for her family.

Reynolds said she jumped at the chance to join the administration of Lee, a Republican businessman who pushed for sweeping changes to education in his first term and was easily reelected last year.

“Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better,” she said. “I want to be part of that story.”

Below are highlights of Chalkbeat’s interview, which has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Getting to know you on a personal level, describe your own education experience. Did you go to public schools? Private schools? How did they shape you?

My only early experience in a private school was attending a Catholic school in pre-K. From kindergarten through 12th grade, I went to public schools in Harlingen.

From an early age, my mom drilled into me that “you got to go to college.” So I was always in a competition to be at the top of my class. I was going to be an astronaut, by God!

“I was going to be an astronaut, by God!”

I loved math but, when I took trigonometry in high school and it wasn’t connecting, my teacher was like, “You know, you’re a girl. You really don’t need to be doing this. You probably should just drop my class.” So I did.

I was shy and I couldn’t wait to get out of Harlingen. I was blessed with a great school counselor. When I told her I wanted to go to college, she said, “OK, here’s what you need to do.”

I got a merit scholarship to attend Southwestern University, where people in the financial aid office became my best friends and I was able to cover tuition increases through a combination of work-study and Pell grants. By then, I wanted to become an accountant. But after taking a political science class with a truly dynamic professor, I changed my mind. I wanted to save the world.

Your selection was announced by the governor’s office on the same day that Schwinn’s impending departure was announced. How did you come to this job?

A lot of the work I did for the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) was not only to advocate for its policy agenda but to work across the country with other advocates and supporters and philanthropy. I was on the proverbial “list” of people across the country who might be interested in being a state-level deputy or chief. And I’ve paid my dues. I had thought maybe I might lead the Texas Education Agency someday. But I wasn’t actively looking. I’d been at ExcelinEd almost seven years and loved my job.

This spring, the governor’s office here called and wanted to talk about Tennessee’s chief position and I said, ‘Of course I’ll talk.’ What a great opportunity to meet Gov. Lee, who had a great relationship with Gov. Bush. (During the week of April 11) I came to Nashville and met with (Chief Operating Officer) Brandon Gibson and then interviewed with the governor the next day.

“Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better.”

When I walked into his office, everybody was so awesome. Gov. Lee looked at me and said, “Why do you want to be commissioner of education in Tennessee?” I basically said, “Who wouldn’t want to be commissioner here?” Tennessee has always been the bellwether state of doing things that challenge the adults in the system to continue to do better. It’s still strong in accountability and assessment. There’s great work passed in this administration and previous administrations. And then, just the fact that the governor really cares about education, that it’s a priority.

Tennessee is just a good place to be. I want to be part of that story and the continued success of this state with kids. At this agency, we don’t touch kids every day, but we help influence what happens in the classroom because of the supports and resources that we provide.

When I walked out of the governor’s office, I said to myself, ‘I want to work for that man and I’m going to be really disappointed if I don’t get the offer.’

About a week and a half later, I got the offer.

What did you and Gov. Lee talk about in your interview? Why do you think he picked you?

Bottom line, this job was going to be about implementation and execution of the agenda passed through the legislature and through his leadership and (Penny Schwinn’s) leadership at the agency. A lot has already been done. Now the hard work is the implementation piece and that is kind of my sweet spot.

“Tennessee is where reform really percolated and expanded and continues to live.”

When I was chief deputy commissioner in Texas, that’s what I did: Making sure resources are there, thinking about the right resources, bringing folks in to support those implementation efforts — all the pieces of the puzzle that need to come together to ensure that kids and educators get what they need to be successful.

But sometimes implementation also requires you to say no to some things or to certain vendors.

Because of your policy work with ExcelinEd, with its focus on school choice and privatization, many stakeholders think your selection suggests that voucher expansion and advancing choice programs are Job One for you under this administration. How would you respond?

First of all, it’s not about privatization. Our No. 1 priority at ExcelinEd was to improve the system because we know that about 90% of our kids are in a public school system. Second priority is the options outside the system, which includes ESAs (education savings accounts, a kind of private school voucher), charter schools, open enrollment, public school choice, letting parents go where they want to go in the public school system. Third priority is reimagining the system, so really thinking about what other ways we can develop these comprehensive high schools. That’s how we think at ExcelinEd, and that’s why I think I was a good candidate for this job.

Yes, ESAs are part of the package, but it’s not the only package. There is no silver bullet when it comes to education. ESAs are great, but they’re not for everybody. It all depends on the parents and the families and what they want to do and what options they want to pursue.

It wasn’t that long ago that a Tennessee governor wouldn’t think of choosing an education commissioner who didn’t have teaching experience. But you don’t, nor do you have a teaching license. How will you have “street cred” with educators here, given that your background is primarily in policy and politics?

As a parent of public school kids, I’m as close to the classroom as you’re going to get because I’m a consumer of the public school system. To say that my experience is irrelevant, I don’t think it’s very fair. But in that vein, I also want to listen and learn. Earlier today, for instance, I met with folks at the Tennessee Education Association (the state’s largest teacher group).

I’ve got to come at it with empathy and support. Have I done their job every day? No, I haven’t. But we’re all in this together. I’m going to listen. I’m going to engage and implement in a way that is fair and where the decision-making is transparent.

The department has had a number of significant departures in recent months, including Chief Academic Officer Lisa Coons and Deputy Commissioner Eve Carney, who was a veteran manager responsible for many of the state’s biggest education programs and initiatives. How are you building out your cabinet and filling out gaps in leadership? Will you look inside or outside of the state?

I’m looking for the best qualified folks, but my preference is to find people in Tennessee. We just hired Kristy Brown from Jackson as our chief academic officer. We need to fill the role of chief program officer, and I’d love to find a Tennessean for that. I don’t feel the need to look outside of the state because I think there’s a lot of qualified people here. Tennessee is where reform really percolated and expanded and continues to live.

Have you and your family officially moved from Texas to Tennessee, or do you plan to?

I’m here and I’m moving soon into a place in East Nashville. My husband is staying in Austin with our youngest son, who’s a rising junior, until he finishes high school. Our son wants to look at colleges here, so I’m super excited.

I don’t know if I’ll go back to Austin to live. We’ll see.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

DSST school nixes namesake William Byers, Denver newspaper founder who defended Sand Creek Massacre

2023-07-20T11:00:00+00:00

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The Denver-based DSST charter school network is changing the name of another of its schools in a move that distances the schools from a prominent, long-deceased Denverite who held racist views.

DSST: Byers Middle and High schools will no longer bear the name of William Byers, founder of the now-closed Rocky Mountain News and a defender of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, in which U.S. soldiers attacked a peaceful camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho people on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. The schools will now be called DSST: Cedar Middle and High schools.

The Cedar name honors the cedar tree, which is native to Colorado and played “a crucial role in various aspects of indigenous life,” according to a press release from DSST. The school is also located at the intersection of South Pearl Street and East Cedar Avenue.

“From cradleboards for carrying babies to its resilience in the face of drought and harsh winds, Cedar embodies the spirit of resilience and holistic well-being that we hope to imbue in our students,” the press release said.

DSST said the name change was made after “extensive community engagement.”

“Our school motto is ‘growing together,’” School Director Elin Curry said in the press release. “The change of our school name through a community-driven process has been exactly that.”

The press release doesn’t mention Byers, the school’s prior namesake. Throughout 1864, Byers’ newspaper ran articles vilifying Native Americans and encouraged readers to join militias to fight them, according to the Denver Public Library.

After U.S. soldiers killed more than 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in what became known as the Sand Creek Massacre, the Rocky Mountain News celebrated their deaths and said soldiers “should not be blamed for killing women and children.”

Denver Public Schools opened the Byers school campus in 1921 on land once owned by the Byers family. The school was a junior high for decades and later a temporary home for Denver School of the Arts. The building sat vacant for more than a decade before DSST reopened it in 2014 after a $19 million renovation funded by a taxpayer-approved bond.

In 2021, the Denver Public Library renamed a branch that had been named for Byers. The new name, John “Thunderbird Man” Emhoolah, Jr. Branch Library, honors an Indigenous activist.

This is the second time DSST, which has 14 schools in Denver and two in Aurora, has changed a school name. In 2019, DSST: Stapleton became DSST: Montview. The middle and high schools were originally named for the Stapleton neighborhood, which bore the name of former Denver mayor Benjamin Stapleton, who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

The neighborhood has since been renamed Central Park. DSST: Montview is a reference to Montview Boulevard, which touches many of the neighborhoods served by the school.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Memphis-Shelby County School Board OKs two charter school applications, denies seven

2023-07-19T23:28:34+00:00

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board on Tuesday approved applications for two charter schools to join the district in 2024-25, while denying seven others.

Journey Coleman, an Achievement School District charter school, will become a charter school under MSCS. Tennessee Career Academy, a new charter school, will also open in the district. Both schools will join the MSCS district in 2024-25.

Other charter applicants were denied, but will have a chance to appeal.

Denying the four other ASD charter school applications leaves the students and staff at the schools in limbo.

Another web of decisions will determine what happens next. Without approval to operate under the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission, the fate of the schools is left to MSCS. If the district doesn’t decide to make them traditional schools, the four charter schools will close when their charters expire after the 2023-24 school year.

MSCS officials Tuesday suggested plans for some of the schools to return as traditional schools, but none of those plans are final.

So far, neither the district nor the board has articulated a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the fallout of the ASD’s collapse.

Here are the MSCS board’s votes. Five are existing schools in the Achievement School District:

Cornerstone Prep Lester Campus School, sponsored by Capstone Education Group: Denied
Fairley High School, sponsored by Green Dot Public Schools TN: Denied
Humes Middle School, sponsored by Frayser Community Schools: Denied
Journey Coleman, sponsored by Journey Community Schools: Approved
MLK College Prep High School, sponsored by Frayser Community Schools: Denied

The other four are proposed new charter schools:

Change Academy, sponsored by Trust God and Never Doubt Outreach: Denied
Empower Memphis Career & College Prep, sponsored by Empower Career and College Prep: Denied
Pathways In Education-Memphis, sponsored by Pathways Management Group: Denied
Tennessee Career Academy, sponsored by TN Career Academy Inc.: Approved

Approvals for the two successful applicants take effect July 25, 2023.

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Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Waitlists at many Denver schools are shrinking. Check your school’s 2023 choice data here.

2023-07-18T22:46:13+00:00

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Waitlists at many Denver public schools are shrinking as enrollment decreases in Colorado’s largest school district, according to school choice data from this past spring.

Five years ago, East High School had the longest waitlist for incoming ninth graders in all of Denver Public Schools with 226 students. This year, there were just 28 incoming ninth graders on East’s waitlist after the first round of school choice, an 87% decrease.

East had a hard year, with three shootings on or near the campus that resulted in two student deaths and sparked a districtwide reckoning on safety and the reintroduction of police in schools. But many other schools are seeing their waitlists shrink, too.

The district’s largest middle school, McAuliffe International, had the second-longest waitlist for incoming sixth graders five years ago with 183 students. This year, there were no students on McAuliffe International’s waitlist at the end of the first round of school choice.

Elementary schools have been hardest hit by declining enrollment, and many waitlists reflect that. In 2018, Steck Elementary had the longest waitlist for incoming kindergarteners with 144 students. This year, Steck’s waitlist was just 43 students.

In all, Chalkbeat counted 76 schools where waitlists shrank, often by large amounts, and 33 schools where waitlists grew, sometimes by just one or two students. The rest of DPS’ approximately 200 schools either don’t have a waitlist or don’t have comparable data.

School choice means students in DPS — and in districts across Colorado — can apply to attend any school, even if they don’t live within that school’s boundary. DPS invites families to submit school choice applications in two rounds.

The first round is the most competitive. This year, families submitted applications in January and February for schools this fall, ranking up to 12 choices. They learned in late April where their children were accepted. Generally, if there are more students than seats at a particular school, the district holds a lottery. Students who don’t get a seat are put on a waitlist.

DPS’ overall enrollment has been shrinking, dropping from about 93,350 students in 2019-20 to 88,760 last school year — a nearly 5% decrease in four years. And the district predicts the downward trend will continue due to lower birth rates and higher housing costs.

Laurie Premer, the district’s director of enrollment services, said in an interview that the shrinking waitlists are likely a symptom of declining enrollment. But there could be other reasons, too, she said, including that families are happier with their assigned boundary schools.

The percentage of DPS students who participate in school choice has held steady over the past five years at about 44%, according to a district report.

A few schools are bucking the trend of shrinking waitlists. The sixth grade waitlists at Merrill and Morey middle schools were notably longer after the first round of choice this year than in 2018. Morey’s grew more than 20 times as long from 2 to 47 students.

Northfield High School had the longest waitlist in the district with 278 incoming ninth graders waiting for a seat. That’s a 35% increase from 2018, when the waitlist was at 205 students.

The searchable database below shows how many students in kindergarten, and sixth and ninth grades were on each school’s waitlist at the end of the first round of school choice this year. The database also shows how many students were accepted at each school.

There are several caveats to the data, which are detailed below the database.

Here are the caveats:

The count of accepted students includes both students who applied through school choice and those who live in the school’s boundary and will likely attend. Students who do not submit a school choice application are enrolled at their boundary schools.

The number of accepted students may look artificially low at some schools that span grade levels, such as K-8 or 6-12 schools. That’s because students who already attend that school don’t have to apply to stay for the next level. For instance, an 8th grader at a 6-12 school wouldn’t have to apply to attend the school in 9th grade, even if they live outside the boundary.

A single student can be on multiple waitlists. A student who was accepted to her third-choice school would be waitlisted at her first- and second-choice schools.

The waitlists will change by fall as students move in and out of the city or change their minds. DPS’ second round of school choice is now open and runs through Aug. 31.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

What did a big new study of charter schools really find?

2023-07-05T11:00:00+00:00

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In the small world of education research, the Stanford-based institute CREDO is a big name.

The organization has produced a series of much-cited, oft-debated studies on charter school performance since 2009.

Its latest research, released in June, concluded that charter schools outperform district schools on both reading and math exams. The results have drawn significant attention: The Wall Street Journal editorial board, for instance claimed the findings are “unequivocal” and show that charter schools are “blowing away their traditional school competition in student performance.”

The study is likely to be a key data point for years to come in continued policy debates over charter schools. But are the results as conclusive as the Journal and others have suggested? Not quite.

The research provides credible evidence that charter schools now have a test-score edge over district schools, although the advantage is small. But CREDO’s methods — which other researchers say have significant limitations — mean the conclusions should be viewed with some caution. Moreover, CREDO’s description of “gap-busting” charter schools may be widely misinterpreted.

CREDO: Charter schools have small performance edge

CREDO researchers draw on a vast swath of data across 29 states plus Washington D.C. to compare students’ academic growth in charter and district schools from the school years 2014-15 to 2018-19. CREDO concludes that achievement growth is, on average, higher in charter schools.

How much higher? Charter schools add 16 days of learning in reading and six days in math, CREDO says. This “days of learning” metric is controversial among researchers, though, and hard to interpret.

Here’s another way of thinking about the same results: CREDO found that attending a charter school for one year would raise the average student’s math scores from the 50th percentile to the 50.4 percentile and reading scores to the 51st percentile. By conventional research standards and common sense, these impacts are small.

“Generally, those aren’t seen as big effects,” said Ron Zimmer, a professor at the University of Kentucky who has studied charter schools. “They’re modest.”

That said, moving the needle on educational achievement even slightly is challenging, and these effects apply across a large swath of students who attended charter schools.

The charter effect varies widely across the U.S.

Generally, charter schools in the Northeast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, posted larger test scores gains, according to CREDO. Charter networks outperformed stand-alone schools. Some of these networks improved test scores quite substantially, which is consistent with prior research looking at so-called “no excuses” charter schools, such as KIPP.

Overall, Black, Hispanic, and low-income students seemed to benefit more from attending a charter school. Here, the size of improvement might be described as small to moderate.

On the other hand, virtual charter schools had large negative effects, according to CREDO. Notably, since the pandemic these schools have expanded substantially. (CREDO’s data did not include any post-pandemic years.) Students with disabilities also appeared to perform worse in charter schools than in district schools.

CREDO’s methods come with important caveats

CREDO reaches its conclusions by matching charter school students with one or more “virtual twins” from a nearby district school. The “twins” are other students who have a similar set of characteristics, including test scores and free-or-reduced price lunch status (a proxy for family income). Then the researchers compare test score growth across millions of students in charter schools versus their virtual twins in district schools.

CREDO’s methods are a serious attempt to understand the effects of charter schools, but this strategy has limitations that are well-known among researchers. The basic problem is that the “virtual twin” approach does not guarantee a truly apples-to-apples comparison.

For instance, CREDO researchers compare two students who both have a disability — but those students may have very different types of disabilities. CREDO also cannot directly account for numerous other factors such as student or parent motivation that may lead to enrollment in charter schools.

These methods may be particularly problematic for examining students in unusual situations, such as those who opt for virtual schools because of personal challenges like bullying or illness. (Another problem is that CREDO has to exclude one in five charter students because they can’t find a suitable “virtual twin.” We don’t know if those students would shift the overall findings.)

Macke Raymond, the director of CREDO, says she is confident in the center’s findings but acknowledges that the methods are constrained by the data.

”There is no way with the amount of data that is available to researchers that we can measure every single possible dimension of all students and their backgrounds,” she said.

CREDO’s prior analysis suggests potential for small bias in results

No research method is perfect, so it is common for researchers to subject their conclusions to a battery of statistical tests to confirm the results.

CREDO did not do this in its most recent study. Instead it features an appendix from a 2013 study that compared findings from its main “virtual twin” method to those from a different, commonly used statistical approach. CREDO showed that the results from these two methods were not far off from each other.

But they were not identical. The CREDO researchers found in 2013 that charter schools had slightly worse results under the alternative method — by about 12 days of learning in math, to use the study’s metric. Again, this difference was small, but a shift of 12 days of learning would be enough to flip the recent math results from slightly positive to slightly negative.

James L. Woodworth, a researcher at CREDO, acknowledged this point, but said the alternative method was not necessarily preferable to the main model. CREDO also points to analyses by other researchers who have shown that its findings are fairly close to those of other methods. As for not doing further checks in the most recent study, Woodworth said, “We felt we had done our due diligence.”

Zimmer, the University of Kentucky researcher, says there is no perfect way to study the effects of charter schools and that CREDO’s approach is defensible. But he said the study would have benefitted from additional tests to support its results.

“It sure would be nice to say, here’s our model and here’s what we’re relying on, and we also checked it in other ways to see if it came to similar substantive conclusions,” he said.

CREDO’s description of ‘gap-busting’ schools may be misunderstood

One particularly evocative conclusion from CREDO’s latest study is its description of “gap-busting” or “gap-closing” charter schools. “These ‘gap-busting schools’ show that disparate student outcomes are not a foregone conclusion: people and resources can be organized to eliminate these disparities,” CREDO researchers write. “The fact that thousands of schools have done so removes any doubt.”

Typically when people talk about the “achievement gap,” they mean disparities in absolute levels of performance between, for instance, low-income and more affluent students. But that’s not how CREDO defines these gaps.

CREDO considers a “gap-busting” school one with overall achievement above the state average and where the historically disadvantaged students make similar levels of growth as more advantaged students in the same school.

A school could meet this definition without closing gaps in student outcomes, though. Research has long shown that students from low-income families, on average, enter school with lower achievement levels compared to better-off peers. That means that similar rates of growth would not eliminate disparities in performance. CREDO does not examine whether actual gaps in overall achievement had closed in the schools it defines as “gap-busting.”

“A lot of those schools where we’re not seeing a growth gap, they’re still going to have an achievement gap,” said Woodworth.

Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

Denver’s first big merger of charter school networks poses leadership test

2023-06-28T20:48:25+00:00

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It was portrayed as an exciting plan with lofty goals: Two of Denver’s homegrown charter school networks would join forces to strengthen academics, support students’ mental health, and better prepare them for life beyond high school. English learners and students with disabilities would achieve exceptional results.

The merger of Rocky Mountain Prep and STRIVE Prep, announced last summer, also would help the organizations survive a host of challenges: declining enrollment, tighter budgets, and more scrutiny of their academic records by a skeptical school board.

To shepherd the merger, the schools’ leaders chose a charter school executive named Tricia Noyola, who had overseen a major charter expansion in Austin, Texas.

But the past year has been tense and chaotic, with hundreds of employees from the two networks leaving, an about-face by network leaders on which name the new network will carry, and a chorus of concerns about Noyola’s leadership. Now, with just days until the merger becomes official, it remains to be seen if the two networks will be stronger together or an ill-fated match.

The new network will take the Rocky Mountain Prep name and serve nearly 5,000 students in preschool through 12th grade across a dozen campuses. It will be the second largest charter network in the city and carry the hopes and dreams of thousands of Denver families, many of them low-income parents of color and immigrant families who fear their children won’t get the education they deserve in district-run schools.

Meanwhile, STRIVE Prep, once a key player and thought leader in the charter sector, will cease to exist.

Supporters of Noyola, who has been CEO of both networks for the past eight months though they are still separate organizations, see a Latina leader who comes from the same background as many students, champions student achievement, and brings a strong hand to management decisions.

Patrick Donovan, chair of the Rocky Mountain Prep board, said Noyola has tremendous expertise in running schools, particularly when it comes to academics and school culture.

Detractors paint a different picture, describing a leader who rules through fear, drives away experienced educators, and fails to support new teachers. They also see a single-minded pursuit of higher test scores and a diminished focus on student mental health, support for students with disabilities, and programming that elevates student voices, such as middle school speech and debate classes and social justice-themed events for high schoolers.

Tricia Noyola, CEO of STRIVE Prep and Rocky Mountain Prep

Under Noyola, who’s on track to earn $340,000 from the two networks this school year — more than any superintendent in Colorado — teachers have been urged not to unionize and warned not to talk to the media about the merger.

“There’s only one reason people want to unionize, and it’s because there’s mistrust and dissatisfaction, and you feel unappreciated,” said Jenny Bisha, whose job as STRIVE Prep’s director of continuous improvement is being cut at the end of June. Bisha has not been involved in any unionization efforts.

Several educators said their recent experiences at Rocky Mountain Prep or STRIVE Prep schools were so toxic or upsetting, it soured them on charter schools or teaching for good. Two said they counseled families to leave Rocky Mountain Prep because the schools weren’t meeting their children’s needs.

Chalkbeat spoke to more than three dozen people for this story, including current and former employees, network board members, parents, students, and education policy experts. Some asked that their names not be used for fear they could lose their jobs, have trouble getting references, or face retaliation.

Noyola declined repeated requests for interviews, but provided written answers to questions.

“I certainly set a high standard and expect everyone to meet it. To do any less would be a disservice to our students and families,“ she wrote. “I may be demanding, but I always strive to be fair.”

Board members from both networks suggested that Noyola’s critics are holding her to a higher standard than they did the former leaders of STRIVE and Rocky Mountain Prep, both of whom were white men.

“As a woman of color in this space, sometimes you’re subjected to more criticism than, I think, white men,” said Amber Valdez, vice chair of the STRIVE Prep board. “I think that Tricia came in with a clear vision and made no apologies. She’s not conflict averse, because she wants to get things done.”

STRIVE, Rocky Mountain make plans to merge

Leaders from STRIVE Prep and Rocky Mountain Prep publicly announced plans to join forces last August, saying the merger would create a cohesive preschool through 12th grade pathway — something they said families had sought for years.

Rocky Mountain has four elementary schools and STRIVE, since the closing of two middle schools this month, has eight mostly secondary schools.

Last summer, both organizations were in moments of transition.

“No [charter] network that I know of came out of a pandemic feeling like they were in a strong position,” said STRIVE Prep founder and former CEO Chris Gibbons.

Schools were also facing the end of a huge influx of federal COVID stimulus dollars that had helped pay for extra staff and services over the last few years, he said. Budget cuts were inevitable.

Valdez also said STRIVE families and stakeholders told leaders “that what STRIVE was missing was a clear vision, a clear goal.”

She and other board members say that’s what Noyola brought to the table.

Noyola had moved to Denver from Austin in spring 2021 to take the helm of Rocky Mountain Prep when founder and CEO James Cryan left.

In spring 2022, Gibbons announced he was leaving STRIVE for a job with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (The foundation is a supporter of Chalkbeat. See a full list of our funders and read our ethics policy.)

Noyola applied to replace Gibbons, proposing that STRIVE and Rocky Mountain Prep merge and that she lead the combined network, according to STRIVE Board member Ulysses Estrada, who chaired the network’s CEO succession task force.

Gibbons said STRIVE leaders had previously considered the possibility of merging with another charter school or network. Rocky Mountain Prep had gone further, doubling the size of its network by taking over two struggling schools — a charter school in Denver and a district-run school in Aurora — by 2018.

STRIVE Prep and Rocky Mountain Prep serve similar populations, mostly students of color, with many coming from low-income families. About half of Rocky Mountain Prep students and nearly three-quarters of STRIVE students are English learners.

“Quite frankly, we were evaluating Tricia as any other CEO candidate,” said Estrada. “If we didn’t think Tricia had the right skills to lead STRIVE, we wouldn’t pursue [the merger].”

By July of 2022, the board decided that Noyola and the merger both were right for STRIVE. The two networks decided she would continue leading Rocky Mountain Prep for another year and become CEO of the united network when the merger was final on July 1, 2023.

Denver is a tough market for charter school expansion

Experts say the number of charter school mergers around the country has ticked up in recent years, sometimes fueled by the departure of founders who launched networks in the early 2000s, declining enrollment, or financial pressures.

STRIVE has closed three schools in the last three years, including the Lake and Kepner campuses earlier this month. Denver has seen a spate of other charter school closures and other networks have slowed their growth.

“Sadly, this wasn’t a merging. It was a takeover.”

A 2021 analysis by the Charter School Growth Fund concluded that if charter networks want to grow in the Denver market, mergers are the only reasonable path. The growth fund, which has provided funding to both STRIVE and Rocky Mountain Prep, helps fund charter school expansion around the nation.

Gibbons said the step is an important long-term strategy to address shrinking enrollment, financial sustainability, and a political climate in Denver that’s become less friendly to charter schools.

As for the recent spate of staff departures and simmering discontent in some quarters, he said, “We always knew this would be a very disruptive strategy in the short term.”

Merger prompts major cultural change at STRIVE Prep

When leaders from the two charter networks unveiled the merger plan last August, they said the new network would bear the STRIVE name. STRIVE leaders tapped the network’s lead attorney, Jessica Johnson, to serve as interim CEO until the union was official.

But within three months, Johnson was gone — a major personnel change that current and former employees said happened abruptly with no explanation.

Both Johnson and the network agreed to “communicate to everyone that Ms. Johnson’s departure from STRIVE Prep was voluntary,” according to a copy of Johnson’s severance agreement obtained by Chalkbeat through a public records request. The agreement promised Johnson would receive her interim CEO salary through June 30.

Johnson declined to comment for this story.

On November 2, the STRIVE Prep board named Noyola the new CEO of STRIVE Prep, making her the leader of two different charter school networks simultaneously. She received a base annual salary of $220,000 from Rocky Mountain Prep and, when she took the top job at STRIVE, her monthly consulting fee was upped from $4,000 to $5,000. In April, that consulting fee was doubled to $10,000 a month, retroactive to Oct 1.

That means Noyola’s pay, including a $24,000 bonus she received from Rocky Mountain Prep this year, totals $340,000. That’s more than the CEO of DSST, Denver’s largest charter school network, or the superintendents of Denver and Jeffco, Colorado’s two largest school districts, earned this year.

Noyola wrote, “I was asked to do the job of two individuals when I became CEO of both networks, and my compensation remains lower than that of the combined compensation of both roles.”

Next school year, Noyola will earn a base salary of $290,000, with the possibility of a bonus.

In February, STRIVE board members announced a reversal on the new network’s name. Rocky Mountain Prep’s name, practices, and standards would replace those of STRIVE. They cited data from a consultant’s report that showed better academic and instructional results at Rocky Mountain Prep than STRIVE.

In 2022, fewer than 10% of students at five STRIVE schools were proficient on state math tests. The same was true in literacy for one STRIVE school. About 30% of all Rocky Mountain Prep students were proficient on math and literacy tests, still below the state average.

Parent Tracy Hill said her fourth grader has had a good experience at Rocky Mountain Prep–Berkeley since preschool. Keeping the Rocky Mountain Prep name feels like a win.

But this spring, Hill was surprised to learn from a reporter that the closest STRIVE school — the Lake campus — would close and won’t be an option when her daughter goes to sixth grade.

“That is a shame, because that’s walking distance from our house,” she said.

Meanwhile, the name change rocked some STRIVE students and families.

“Everyone in my neighborhood has probably gone to a STRIVE Prep school,” said Jacobo Gracia-Meza, who graduated from STRIVE Prep–SMART Academy in June and is headed to Colorado State University in the fall.

“The thought of our name being taken away, it’s also taking the hard work we put in,” he said.

His parents, meanwhile, are worried about the cost of buying new school uniforms for his younger brother.

This summer, STRIVE Prep–SMART will become Rocky Mountain Prep–SMART.

Educators see new emphasis on test prep amid merger plans

Zion Gezaw, an assistant principal at STRIVE Prep’s Westwood middle school for most of the 2022-23 school year, noticed a shift around the time Noyola was named CEO of STRIVE schools.

First, it was little things. Teachers were told they had to use the same colors and borders on their bulletin boards. Then rules came down requiring strict adherence to the lessons and pacing in the curriculum.

The adaptations that Gezaw and the school’s eighth grade English teacher had made to create more culturally responsive and engaging lessons, such as adding the young adult novel “The Poet X,” were no longer acceptable.

Student grades and interest in those classes plummeted, Gezaw said.

“They made sure we knew they didn’t like it,” she said. “They would just not do it. They would put their heads down; they would sleep.”

Jeremy Story, a public relations contractor who emailed answers to Chalkbeat on behalf of the networks, said STRIVE schools continued to use their own curriculum, and there were no pacing guides last school year. He didn’t address questions about whether modifications were allowed to make lessons more culturally responsive.

As a Black educator, Gezaw said she’d been attracted by STRIVE’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, but grew disillusioned as the emphasis shifted to test scores and uniformity. She quit in April.

Some former Rocky Mountain Prep employees say this approach is typical of the network’s philosophy, even with the youngest children, and they’re dismayed to see it spread.

Ellarie Anderson said when she learned of the merger, she thought, “Wow, we really don’t need more schools becoming like Rocky Mountain Prep.”

Anderson spent two years at Rocky Mountain Prep, starting a year before Noyola’s arrival. Throughout that time, she said her students, kindergartners and third graders, were expected to sit up straight at their desks, with their hands folded and eyes following the teacher. She said when supervisors observed, they’d count the number of students who met those standards. Those children were considered “engaged.”

Rocky Mountain Prep officials denied that students are expected to sit this way, with Story writing, “Absolutely not.”

Anderson also said she was expected to follow rigid lesson plans prescribed by the network.

“You’d show up every day and read your script to the kids, and if the kids got it or didn’t, it didn’t matter. You just moved on the next day,” she said.

Story said Rocky Mountain Prep schools do use scripted curriculum, but that teachers can make adjustments based on the needs and best interests of students.

Annie Nelson, a former fifth grade teacher at Rocky Mountain Prep who left a year ago, said as state tests approached during the 2021-22 school year, she was asked to put more focus on students who were on the cusp of reaching proficiency at the expense of students who were far behind.

An English teacher at one of STRIVE’s high schools described a change this year that required math and English teachers to drop their regular lessons starting in February to focus on SAT prep until the tests in April.

“It’s been SAT all day every day for kids, which has not been great,” the teacher said in late March. More kids were missing classes and their behavior was getting worse, he said.

But Adam Lenzmeier, the vice president of schools for STRIVE, sees test prep in a different light. “The best thing we can do for kids is to position them to go into those assessments with the confidence they deserve,” he said.

Asked about whether there is a growing emphasis on test prep and test scores, Noyola wrote that test scores are “only one way we measure success,” and that other measures include state ratings, student attendance, and whether students and teachers return each year.

STRIVE Prep evolved to focus more on equity

The history of STRIVE Prep traces the evolution of Colorado’s charter sector. STRIVE launched in 2006 with a single school called West Denver Prep. The idea was to provide a rigorous alternative to district-run middle schools with low test scores. Gibbons promised the mostly Latino families in southwest Denver eight hours of school per day, no summers off, strict discipline, and a focus on getting their children to college.

With high test scores and a long wait list, West Denver Prep opened more schools. By the time the network changed its name to STRIVE Prep in 2012, it was growing from four schools to seven. That same year, Rocky Mountain Prep opened its first school in southeast Denver.

By 2014, test scores at STRIVE’s eight schools began to fall. Gibbons pointed to high teacher turnover, curriculum changes, and too many innovations at once. Around that time, STRIVE began accepting a larger share of students with disabilities than in the past, part of the network’s “equity agenda.”

Josue Bonilla, left, gets a high five from special education teacher Wendi Sussman at STRIVE Prep–Federal in 2016.

In many ways, it signaled a shift away from the network’s “no excuses” style origins and a commitment to serving all students.

Bisha, STRIVE Prep’s director of continuous improvement who oversaw a grant related to special education, worries that Gibbons’ legacy is “being destroyed” through the relentless push for better test scores and the state’s top green rating.

“Is that the be-all end-all that gives kids equitable access after high school?” she said. “No, it’s not.”

Some current and former STRIVE employees worry the merger will rob the schools of STRIVE’s unique traits, including its focus on antiracism, its commitment to serving students with disabilities, and its robust college and career readiness programming.

A current STRIVE employee who helps oversee college and career programs said impending staff cuts will make it impossible for the merged network to continue offering overnight college trips, extensive concurrent enrollment classes, work-based learning, and career and financial aid advising for alumni.

“College and career readiness is not a priority from this new central team,” the employee said. “Sadly, this wasn’t a merging. It was a takeover.”

Noyola acknowledged the cuts and said each high school “is now empowered” to lead its own college and career programming.

Noyola disputed that the focus on students with disabilities and antiracism is diminishing, and said the network’s commitment to both “is greater than it has ever been.”

Through the changes, Noyola has maintained the support of both boards.

Estrada, the STRIVE board member who himself attended the network’s first middle school, said it’s misleading to say the network is moving away from its commitment to antiracism.

“I think our priority as an organization and the most antiracist work we can do is giving each student a college prep education,” he said.

Who is Tricia Noyola?

Noyola grew up in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas and has often talked about being underestimated by her teachers growing up. She has described herself as opinionated and headstrong, and said she fell in love with education while working in an elementary school during college.

On the weekly podcasts Noyola records with updates for STRIVE and Rocky Mountain Prep staff, she strikes a conversational tone, discussing movies she plans to see with her husband and children and network goals like getting students to read a million words.

Noyola started her career at a large Texas-based charter network called IDEA Public Schools, which promotes a no excuses, college-for-all philosophy. Prior to her arrival in Colorado two years ago, Noyola helped IDEA grow from four to 16 schools in the Austin area.

Lenzmeier, who started as a STRIVE principal in 2020 and will manage four principals in the new network, said Noyola is uncompromising in what she believes is possible.

A former army officer, he believes that “Tricia Noyola shares a lot of similarities with the best commanders I worked with.”

But many STRIVE and Rocky Mountain Prep employees describe her as harsh and intimidating, with little tolerance for dissent. Under her leadership, staff have been fired with little or no notice, and others have been notified of impending job cuts on group Zoom calls that lasted just a few minutes, according to current and former employees.

“At my campus, staff were very afraid of her,” said one former mental health provider at Rocky Mountain Prep. “I’m very afraid of her. I do not want to be on her list or her radar.”

Noyola’s most recent performance review from the 2021-22 school year at Rocky Mountain Prep credited her with achieving three of five key goals and praised her for showing “leadership, resolve, and courage to make the necessary changes to achieve student results.” The review urged Noyola to give more attention to how changes are communicated, show more “vulnerability and humility,” and work with the board to avoid the strained relations that sometimes occurred over the previous year.

Gibbons said he hasn’t followed every change that Noyola has made, but said, “Tricia is coming into this experience with a lot of urgency, appropriately so, around raising results for kids,” he said. “I have tremendous confidence in her.”

Cryan, the founder and former CEO of Rocky Mountain Prep, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Hundreds of employees left their jobs before the merger

About half of STRIVE Prep staff and two-thirds of Rocky Mountain Prep staff — nearly 400 of 730 total employees — left their jobs between June 2022 and mid April 2023, according to numbers provided by the networks. Districts around the country are grappling with high turnover and teacher burnout, but teachers and staff interviewed by Chalkbeat say the level of turnover reflects a punitive network culture and hurts students.

Several educators told Chalkbeat the flood of departures meant that students missed out on legally required special education services, English language development instruction, or mental health support. Sometimes, students felt confused or hurt after a trusted teacher disappeared without notice.

Among the departures, which resulted from resignations, firings, and job cuts, were more than 160 teachers and 40 principals, assistant principals, deans, or principal fellows. STRIVE lost 32 high-level central staff — chiefs, directors, and managers — and Rocky Mountain Prep lost 24. The networks lost 18 mental health providers, including social workers, social emotional learning specialists, and a psychologist.

Eleven STRIVE employees, most of whom are Black or Latino and half of whom were central administrators, have left since last June with severance agreements that awarded them between one and eight months of pay but also banned them from criticizing the network. Chalkbeat obtained the agreements through a public records request. No Rocky Mountain Prep employees received severance pay or signed separation agreements during that period.

“We want teachers in our network who are behind our new mission, all of our values, and our new leadership.”

Noyola attributed some of the turnover to the so-called “Great Resignation,” a pandemic-era trend in which many employees, including teachers, left their jobs. More STRIVE administrators left because their network is undergoing bigger changes, she said. Some of the employees who left were in temporary positions, and their departures may have inflated the turnover rate, she added.

Noyola acknowledged that the networks have suffered from a shortage of special education providers but said her team aims to rectify problems immediately when they are identified. She did not address the claim that English learners have missed language development sessions.

Valdez, vice chair of the STRIVE board, said, “We knew with the change of leadership … some people were going to leave and that we were okay with that because we want teachers in our network who are behind our new mission, all of our values, and our new leadership.”

Donovan, the Rocky Mountain Prep board chair, said the board has monitored departures and that turnover is slowing.

Nelson, the former fifth grade teacher, said the network struggles with teacher retention in part because it recruits young, inexperienced teachers, provides them insufficient support, and holds them to an impossible standard.

Noyola said the network “has a number of positions whose responsibilities include directly coaching and supporting teachers. I’m confident based on our outcomes that our system is effective.”

Even as Noyola cut some employees in response to purported budget pressures, she gave generous raises and bonuses to others — a move she said was warranted by the additional work those employees are doing and the value they provide to students.

School staff protest their working conditions

Throughout fall of 2021, teachers or other staff members at Rocky Mountain Prep–Berkeley seemed to be quitting almost every week, said Meghan Mallon, a former music teacher at the school. Teachers who stayed were constantly juggling extra kids or classes to cover for departed colleagues. For students who were supposed to get daily instruction to improve their English language skills, that meant sometimes missing three or four sessions a week because their teacher was assigned elsewhere, she said.

In late January 2022, after one lead teacher was told she’d be removed from her position and reassigned elsewhere in the building, Mallon and a colleague organized a one-day sick-out in protest. About a dozen teachers participated, sending an email to Noyola and other Rocky Mountain Prep administrators with a list of the group’s concerns, including the teacher’s abrupt demotion, the missed sessions for students learning English, and the lack of coaching for teachers.

Cesar Chavez Academy, a struggling single-site charter school, was taken over and became Rocky Mountain Prep–Berkeley in 2018.

Mallon and the other main organizer were fired the day of the sick-out, and other participants were given a warning and told they couldn’t talk about it, according to a charge later filed by Mallon with National Board of Labor Relations.

A lawyer for Rocky Mountain Prep responded to the labor board’s charge with a nine-page letter arguing the case should be dismissed because charter schools don’t fall under the labor board’s jurisdiction. The labor relations board ultimately agreed and dismissed the case.

Grievances describe ‘worst’ work environment

Shortly after Mallon and the other sick-out organizer were fired, Ana de Vries, the principal of the Berkeley campus, filed a grievance against Noyola.

In response to a public records request, Rocky Mountain Prep provided a copy of the grievance that was heavily redacted to protect the privacy of minors. A less redacted copy of the complaint obtained by Chalkbeat contends Noyola used her power to “harass, intimidate, discriminate against, and coerce RMP staff.” It describes a meeting in which Noyola demanded that a teacher “admit her white privilege” as well as wrongdoing unrelated to the reason for the meeting.

De Vries, who is Latina, said in an interview she felt Noyola’s demands of the teacher were inappropriate. She filed the grievance after Noyola refused to meet with her to discuss the meeting. After she submitted the complaint, she said Noyola cut her out of all communications related to the Berkeley campus.

It “created the worst environment I’ve ever worked in,” said de Vries, who resigned in February 2022 after two and a half years with the network and 12 years in the charter sector.

Rocky Mountain Prep officials said de Vries’ grievance prompted the board to adopt a policy outlining how conflicts should be addressed in select circumstances. (Chalkbeat is not describing the circumstances to protect the privacy of children.)

In a second grievance, a Berkeley teacher named Alyssa Papiernik described a culture of fear and constant hostility between Noyola and some employees.

Papiernik closed by writing, “I dread coming to work everyday ... I am hoping next year Tricia changes her attitude towards her staff.”

The Rocky Mountain Prep board found no substance to Papiernik’s claim.

A third grievance came last November, shortly after Noyola was named CEO of STRIVE Prep and was conducting a series of town hall meetings to introduce herself to STRIVE staff. Mallory Tozier, a white assistant principal at STRIVE’s Smart Academy, described a tense exchange during the question-and-answer period in which she felt Noyola implied she had a white savior complex.

A staff member of color whose account was included in the grievance echoed Tozier’s account and said Noyola’s reaction “seemed cruel and unnecessary” and “painfully silenced people like me.”

Chalkbeat obtained Tozier’s grievance through a public records request. STRIVE Prep officials said an investigation found no wrongdoing by Noyola.

“I doubt there is a principal or CEO in [Denver Public Schools] who hasn’t had a complaint filed against them at some point,” Noyola wrote in response to questions. “Grievances reflect a single point of view, and we have a process that takes every grievance seriously.”

Rocky Mountain Prep enters a new era

When the new school year starts in August, STRIVE Prep will no longer exist, and Rocky Mountain Prep will have triple the schools it had last year.

Some current and former staff from both networks have serious misgivings. They say Rocky Mountain Prep’s “rigor and love” slogan now rings hollow.

But for Noyola and other network leaders, it’s an exciting time.

They say student achievement is increasing, and almost all families are planning to return next year. Enrollment projections provided by the network suggest K-12 student numbers will hold steady at about 4,700 even with this summer’s closure of two STRIVE schools.

“The sheer optimism is remarkable,” Rocky Mountain Prep’s Chief of Staff Indrina Kanth said in an email.

In a recent message to staff, Noyola thanked those who remain and those who have joined her for the “awe-inspiring” results produced this school year.

“I know this came at costs and sacrifices that each of us made to further the mission,” she wrote.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Supreme Court won’t weigh in on whether charter schools are legally private or public

2023-06-26T14:14:57+00:00

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a case that hinged on whether charter schools are considered public or private.

The decision to punt indicates the highest court won’t offer an early hint on the validity of religious charter schools. It also leaves in place a patchwork of rulings on whether charter schools are considered private or public for legal purposes.

But the legal debates are not over.

“The issue will percolate and the Supreme Court will eventually hear a case,” predicted Preston Green, a professor of educational leadership and law at the University of Connecticut.

The case, Charter Day School. v. Peltier, focused on a dispute over a charter school’s dress code. The “classical” school in southeastern North Carolina had barred girls from wearing pants, as a part of an effort to promote “chivalry,” according to its founder.

Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, some parents sued over this policy. They argued that the dress code amounted to sex-based discrimination and is illegal under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The school countered that it is not a government-run institution so is not bound by the Constitution, which does not apply to private organizations. (Charter Day also maintains that the dress code is not sexist.)

Last year, a divided circuit court sided with the parents. The majority ruled that charter schools, at least in North Carolina, are bound by the Constitution and that the dress code amounted to illegal discrimination.

The charter school appealed to the Supreme Court. Attorneys for the Biden administration argued that the lower court decision was correct and urged the court to accept that ruling. A string of conservative writers and groups had urged the court to take on the case.

On Monday, though, the Supreme Court declined to grant a hearing, leaving the circuit court decision in place. This indicates that there were not four justices who wanted to take on the case. As is typical, the court did not issue any further comment.

The case turned on whether Charter Day School is a private entity or a public “state actor.” This issue is also crucial for the brewing legal dispute over religious charter schools. If charter schools are state actors then they likely cannot be religious. If they are private, though, religious entities would have a stronger case for running charter schools. These debates will likely be tested in Oklahoma, which recently approved what could be the country’s first religious charter school. Ultimately, this may end up being sorted out via years of litigation — which could end up back at the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the court’s decision to pass on the case is a win for the parents who sought to change the North Carolina charter school’s dress codes.

“Courts may not subjugate the constitutional rights of these public-school children to the facade of school choice,” concluded the majority opinion for the Fourth Circuit court of appeals.

The majority also noted that the school’s founder said the dress code was intended to promote “chivalry,” including the idea that women should be “regarded as a fragile vessel that men are supposed to take care of and honor.” The court responded: “It is difficult to imagine a clearer example of a rationale based on impermissible gender stereotypes.“

The circuit court ruling applies to North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Appeals courts elsewhere, though, have found that charter schools are private for certain purposes.

The school itself and allies had suggested that the decision would chill innovation in the charter sector. It would limit charter schools’ “autonomy, subjecting them to the same rules, regulations and political machinations that have crippled government-run school systems,” wrote Charter Day leaders in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Leading national charter school groups disagreed. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers have maintained that charter schools are fully public and thus the constitution applies. Both groups have said they support the parents over the charter school in this case.

On Monday, the Alliance praised the Supreme Court’s decision not to take the North Carolina case. “We are pleased that the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case, allowing the Fourth Circuit’s decision to stand,” Nina Rees, the group’s president and CEO said in a statement. “The actions of the high court affirm that as public school students, charter school students are entitled to the same federal protections as their counterparts who attend district schools.”

Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

State agency approves two charter schools rejected by Adams 14

2023-06-20T22:36:39+00:00

Two charter schools received approval Tuesday to open in Adams 14 despite the school district’s opposition.

The school district north of Denver had tried to block both schools — University Prep and Be the Change — from opening, but the State Board of Education last month took away the district’s exclusive say in approving or denying charter schools within its boundaries.

Adams 14 is under state reorganization orders after years of low test scores, and a majority of State Board members said it seemed the district showed a pattern of being unfair to charter schools.

Because the district lost its chartering authority, the two schools were able to apply through the state agency, the Charter School Institute. Now, both schools are expected to open in fall 2024.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the CSI board of directors unanimously approved both schools.

Joe Salazar, an attorney for Adams 14, said the district had asked CSI to hold off on their vote because of pending litigation. The district has sued the state for removing their exclusive chartering authority and requested that the judge issue a stay on the order. Salazar said the judge has not issued a ruling.

“If they issue a stay, then what CSI did today is void,” Salazar said.

The Adams 14 school board initially approved University Prep, a charter network that already operates schools in Denver, but then contract negotiations broke down. The charter network successfully appealed to the State Board of Education — twice — but the district still said it could not reach an agreement to open the school.

Leaders of University Prep said they worked with parents in the community, some of whom already drive their kids out of the district to attend the network’s Denver schools. Together they designed a school that is to include a preschool and programming in Spanish.

The school now has plans to open in fall 2024 serving students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, expanding over time to enroll students up to fifth grade.

Adams 14 leaders cited uncertainty about whether the school would offer preschool in the first year as the issue that began the breakdown in negotiations. At that time, the network still hoped to open in fall 2023.

Be the Change leaders also say they had a lot of community engagement in designing their high school under a community school model with a biliteracy approach. The district denied their application after criticizing the plans as not rigorous enough.

On an appeal, State Board members sided with the district. That didn’t stop Be the Change founders from trying again, though.

Now, Be the Change expects to open in the fall of 2024 with students in grade 9, eventually serving students through grade 12.

“We are absolutely honored by the approval and thrilled for our Commerce City community to have an additional high school option in order for families to make the best decision for their children,” said Amanda Gonzales, Be The Change co-founder, in a written statement.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools could now have an easier path to acquiring district buildings

2023-06-11T12:00:00+00:00

A change to state law this year could make it easier for Indiana’s charter schools to acquire buildings from school districts by targeting those that are losing students and have schools that are nearly half empty.

The change means that the Indiana Department of Education can now force school districts that have lost at least 10% of their enrollment in the past five years to close schools that have been operating at less than 60% capacity and sell or lease them to charter schools for $1.

Lawmakers approved the revision to the state’s so-called “$1 law,” which has been on the books for years and requires school districts to make certain buildings previously used for classroom instruction available to charter schools at next to no cost. It’s the state’s latest attempt to provide help for charter schools that frequently have problems finding buildings to use. But some charters might not have much time to take advantage of it.

The previous version of the law, which deemed “vacant” or “unused” classroom buildings available for purchase, largely did not prove successful for charters. School districts argued that they were still using or planning to use the buildings they had closed for instruction. The attorney general’s office ruled in favor of districts eight out of the nine times it investigated allegations that districts were violating the $1 law.

The new version of the law targets districts with declining enrollment like the South Bend Community School Corporation and Indianapolis Public Schools, which had an average building utilization rate of 60% in 2021-22.

It’s unclear how many charter schools may take advantage of the new law, or how districts will respond. IPS, for example, said in a statement that it’s still examining the new law to understand its impact.

Republican Sen. Linda Rogers, who wrote the language in Senate Enrolled Act 391 that changed the $1 law, said she believes the change will bolster fiscal responsibility.

“Trying to be understanding and create a balance between traditional publics and charter schools is my goal,” she said. “The taxpayers paid for these buildings to educate the community’s children.”

Districts with declining enrollments must also review the utilization rates of their buildings and share it with the state department of education annually. Charter schools must work with districts to try to reach a deal to acquire or lease a building.

Buildings targeted for closure must meet certain criteria

Schools that could be closed by the Indiana Department of Education and made available for charters to buy or lease for $1 under a revised state law must first meet a number of criteria to be classified as underutilized.

Eligible buildings must be located in a school district that has lost at least 10% of its population in the past five years that also has more than one building serving the same grade level as the school targeted for closure.
Eligible buildings must have previously been used for classroom instruction.
Eligible buildings must have operated with an average capacity of less than 60% for the current school year and the past two school years. If the building’s capacity is unknown, it is determined by the average maximum full-time equivalent enrollment in any of the last 25 years.
Districts must have another school building with sufficient capacity to take students in from the closing building that is no more than 20 minutes away by car from the school slated to close.

Districts can still claim that a building is in use and exempt from closure if:

They use at least 30% of the building’s capacity for a special student population, such as those in an alternative education program.
They use at least 50% of the square footage of the building for office space, so long as the cost is not more than other available office space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for storage, so long as the cost is lower than other available storage space in the district.
They use at least 50% of the square footage for a combination of office space and storage that does not cost more than other space available for such uses.

Source: Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 391

If they can’t reach a deal within 45 days, a charter school can petition the department to determine whether the building meets the criteria for closure. The department can order a school to close, and if needed, the department can request the attorney general to enforce the order to close the school.

Rogers, however, noted that the department can consider a school’s unique circumstances when deciding whether it must be sold or leased.

The department could soon release guidance to school districts about the revised law’s impact.

However, school districts that share revenue from property tax increases for operating or safety costs, which voters would pass through a ballot question, are also exempt from the law.

That exemption could significantly reduce the impact of the new $1 law in Lake, Marion, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties. That’s because, under a separate change to state law enacted this year, districts in those counties must share such tax revenues from future ballot questions.

All of that means charters in these four counties might have a limited window of time to acquire underused buildings. In other words, once a district with declining enrollment in those counties gets a ballot measure passed for operating or safety costs, they’ll no longer have to make underused buildings available to charters under the $1 law.

In January, the IPS school board tabled its plan to ask voters for a tax increase this year to fund its Rebuilding Stronger revitalization plan for academics and grade reconfigurations. It remains to be seen if IPS will revive that plan.

Districts like IPS and South Bend aren’t the only ones that could be affected by the new $1 law.

Elkhart Community Schools in Elkhart County, for example, has lost 12% of its student population from 2018 to 2023, according to state data. And Brown County School Corporation has lost 17% of its enrollment from 2018 to 2023. Now, those districts will be required to report the usage rates of each of their buildings, information that charters looking for space could find useful.

Charter schools, districts examine new law

Charter schools aren’t necessarily leaping at the change to try to take control of buildings under the new $1 law.

Tommy Reddicks, the CEO of Paramount Schools, which has three locations in Indianapolis and is opening another in South Bend in a former district elementary school building, said the charter network does not have an interest in taking advantage of the new law just yet.

“We’ll likely keep an eye on it and see how it is utilized in the coming years,” Reddicks said in an email.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district has six or seven buildings that may fall under the law’s definition of underutilized. But South Bend, like IPS, is undergoing a massive reorganization to address a loss of enrollment that he said will close some schools but lead others to operate at closer to full capacity.

He said he doesn’t expect the new law to result in any forced closures. Instead, he said, the new law — and the requirement for South Bend to share future referendum dollars with charter schools — could foster increased collaboration between the district and charters.

“Should the district pursue another referendum after the expiration of our current operating referendum, we’re certainly hopeful that we can work together with other public schools in the area,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Could religious charter schools upend American education? A Chalkbeat explainer.

2023-07-31T17:24:52+00:00

This story has been updated with new developments.

For decades the phrase “private religious charter school” seemed like an oxymoron. Charter schools are deemed public by state law, and must be secular just like any other public school.

Now, there’s a burgeoning effort to change that. An Oklahoma state board just approved an application by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to run what would be the country’s first religious charter school. The move is a direct challenge to existing charter laws, which critics say discriminate against churches and other religious entities.

The prospect of religious charter schools threatens to upend American education, far beyond Oklahoma. If religious charter schools become a reality, they could rejuvenate religious education, particularly Catholic schools, which have been losing students for many decades. Such schools could continue the successful conservative campaign to allow more public funding to go to religious education. They could lead to fewer students, and thus less funding, for public schools. Charters of all types could be deemed private schools for legal purposes, reducing anti-discrimination protections for students and teachers.

This is a startling possibility. Charter schools have long enjoyed bipartisan support because they were seen as a compromise to private school vouchers. Advocates promoted charters as innovative options within the public sector. Leading national charter organizations maintain this view and oppose religious charter schools. But it’s not clear they will be able to keep a hold on their own movement.

The recent push for private religious charter schools is a sign of the shifting times. The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority has knocked down legal barriers to public money going to religious education. The bipartisan consensus around charter schools has weakened. Conservative education advocates are trying to limit certain instruction on race and gender, including by funding alternatives to public schools.

As yet, it’s unclear if a religious charter school will ever open — they still have to clear a dense thicket of legal issues. In Oklahoma, a coalition of groups has already filed suit to block the approved religious charter school. The broader issue could well reach the Supreme Court at some point.

Here’s what to expect and how we got to this point:

A string of recent Supreme Court decisions opened up new discussions of religious charter schools.

Charter schools were first created in Minnesota in 1991, and charter laws now exist in 45 states plus the District of Columbia. All of the laws, including Oklahoma’s, prohibit charter schools from offering religious instruction. (Some states allow religious organizations to run schools — but they have to remain secular in their operation.) So at present openly religious charter schools do not exist.

But for many years, legal scholars have raised the possibility of such schools, including a 2001 law review article titled: “Charter schools and religious institutions: A match made in heaven?” At first, this was just an academic discussion. Litigation focused on private schools.

In 2002, a divided Supreme Court ruled that public money may go to private religious schools through voucher programs. The majority emphasized that such funding was directed by parents, not by the government. More recently the court has gone further. Not only may religious schools get money, they must receive funding if other secular private schools are eligible, the court concluded in a string of cases culminating in a 2022 ruling. “The State pays tuition for certain students at private schools — so long as the schools are not religious,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the latest decision, Carson v. Makin. “That is discrimination against religion.”

These cases have not had far-reaching consequences because most states with voucher programs already allowed religious schools to participate. The rulings also did not speak to charter schools directly. But in one case Justice Stephen Breyer raised the issue in dissent. “What about charter schools?” he wrote, before pointing out that the court had no clear answer. Indeed some experts told Chalkbeat in 2022 that this would be the coming legal dispute. “Charter schools are the next frontier,” said Preston Green, a University of Connecticut professor.

That’s exactly what has happened. Some choice school advocates pointed out that the logic of these rulings might apply to charters. If a state cannot bar religious private schools from public support, why can it bar religious charter schools, they asked.

That was the case made by Nicole Stelle Garnett, a Notre Dame law professor, in an influential 2020 report for the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Charter schools, she argued, “are effectively private schools and can be religious without running afoul” of the Constitution. In fact, the logic of the court’s decision suggested that “current laws prohibiting religious charter schools likely violate” the First Amendment’s guarantee of free religious exercise, Garnett concluded.

A Catholic charter school in Oklahoma won approval to open. A lawsuit has quickly followed.

Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma proposed a virtual charter school that would teach religious doctrine, just like a private Catholic school would. To craft the application, the church worked with Notre Dame law school’s Religious Liberty Initiative, including Garnett herself. “What state has the most ripe opportunity for religious charter schools? The answer for Notre Dame is Oklahoma,” Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, told the Tulsa World in February.

The idea was bolstered after the state’s former attorney general issued an opinion that Oklahoma’s ban on religious charters was likely unconstitutional. Highlighting the legal ambiguity, though, a new attorney general promptly withdrew that opinion.

In April, the proposed school was unanimously rejected by Oklahoma’s charter board, which cited legal uncertainty and a variety of other issues in the application. But the board narrowly approved it in June after the school submitted a revised application. Board members who supported the school said they believed that Oklahoma’s bar on religious charter schools is unconstitutional.

This sets up an inevitable legal fight since the decision clashes with state law. In July, groups that support strict separation of church and state filed a lawsuit seeking to block the opening of the proposed Oklahoma school.

“A school that claims to be simultaneously public and religious would be a sea change for American democracy,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “It’s hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing a public school that is run as a religious school.”

The question of religious charter schools may turn on whether charters are deemed public or private actors.

Since charter schools were formed, advocates have also insisted that they are public. Some groups, like the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, emphasize this in their names. State and federal law describes charter schools as public. Charter schools also operate in many ways like other public schools — they are funded by public dollars, they must be open to all students, they administer state exams, and they’re often required to comply with public records law. “There’s 101 reasons why they are state actors and none why they are not,” Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, previously told Chalkbeat.

But charter schools have always been a sort of public–private hybrid. After all, they are typically governed by private, nonprofit boards, which are not elected. (To form a school, these boards are awarded a performance contract or “charter” by an authorizer, which itself is usually a public body.) This ambiguity has put charter schools in a legal gray area. Are they public — “state actors,” in legal jargon — or private entities? Different courts have reached different conclusions, based on a complex legal doctrine.

If charter schools are public actors, then there is little question that they may not be religious. The First Amendment bars governmental establishment of religion, and the Supreme Court has said that public schools cannot conduct sponsored prayers.

But if charter schools are private, as advocates like Garnett argue, then there is a stronger case that they can be religious. Private schools are not limited by the First Amendment, which only applies to the government. Moreover the legal precedent in Carson v. Makin — which says that private choice programs must be open to religious and secular schools alike — would seem to apply to charters.

The public–private question is the “heart of the matter” in the religious charter debate, as the Oklahoma board’s legal counsel put it.

The Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case on whether charter schools are public or private actors.

The case turned on whether a North Carolina charter school could impose a dress code — banning pants for girls — that some parents believed to be sexist. A federal circuit court ruled for the parents, concluding that the school is a public state actor. The school, with the support of a number of conservatives, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Biden administration said that the circuit ruling should be allowed to stand.

In June, the Supreme Court agreed with the Biden administration and decided not to take the case. But this just adds more uncertainty since the court has still not weighed in on the legal status of charter schools. This question has divided lower courts. A similar case could emerge later.

“The issue will percolate and the Supreme Court will eventually hear a case,” predicted Green, the education law professor.

Leading charter school organizations oppose religious charter schools. Conservative groups are taking the other side.

Two major charter school associations oppose the possibility of religious charter schools and say charters should be considered public for legal purposes. They say that religious instruction is not consistent with the charter model. They also likely fear a political backlash if charters are considered private — a charge often leveled by critics.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools condemned Oklahoma’s approval of a religious charter school. “The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is trying to make charter schools into something they are not,” Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said in a statement.

Similarly, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which represents entities that approve charter schools, says that charter schools are public and criticized Oklahoma’s decision. “Charter school students deserve and enjoy the same civil and constitutional rights protections as any peer attending a traditional district school,” the group said in a statement about the North Carolina case.

Even some leaders of religious schools are wary of the concept of religious charter schools. Kathleen Porter-Magee, who runs a network of private Catholic schools, says that moving to the charter model could divide the school choice coalition and entangle religious schools with excessive bureaucracy. “In order for religious schools to access government funding, we would be knowingly giving up autonomy in exchange for what would likely be excessive government bureaucracy and regulation,” she wrote.

However, school choice advocates at the Manhattan Institute have been advancing the case for religious charter schools. There was also a string of opinion pieces by conservative writers urging the Supreme Court to use the North Carolina dress code case to rule that charter schools are private and therefore not bound by the U.S. Constitution. For instance, columnist George Will suggested that such a ruling would protect charters to make “pedagogical and cultural choices without being vulnerable to suffocating litigation” Ten Republican attorneys general weighed in for the North Carolina school in a brief to the Supreme Court.

Ultimately, as mentioned, the court declined to hear this case, though this did not settle the issue.

Private religious charters would raise big questions about discrimination and access.

The possibility of religious charter schools raises myriad questions. For instance, how would such schools deal with charter schools’ open access requirements? Would they have to admit students who are gay if that clashes with the school’s religious doctrine? What about students from other religions?

The Oklahoma archdiocese that applied for a charter would not say whether the school would admit gay or transgender students. In its charter application, church officials indicated that they would seek “religious exemptions” from state and federal law “with priority given to the Catholic Church’s understanding of itself and its rights and obligations pursuant to the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

The school’s proposed employee handbook notes: “All employees are expected to adhere to and support the positions and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church in the performance of their duties.” There have been a number of reported instances of private Catholic schools firing staff members for marrying a same-sex partner.

If religious charter schools become a reality, courts would likely have to determine how existing charter school statutes apply to religious schools, which typically operate with far less regulation than charters.

Religious charter schools could spread to blue states too.

Oklahoma’s approved religious charter school had the support of many state officials, including the governor, state schools superintendent, and members of the charter board. But religious charters would likely not get such a welcome reception in more liberal states with large charter sectors, like New York or California.

That may not matter. Advocates for the concept say state officials should not be allowed to deny charter schools just because they are religious. “If they can be religious, states with charter schools must permit religious charter schools,” argues Garnett, the Notre Dame law professor. If a religious entity applies for a school in such a state and is denied, the organization could bring a lawsuit making that argument.

If that argument carries the day in court, that would mean that every state with charter schools would have to consider religious charter schools on an even playing field as all other applicants.

What happens next? We’ll see you in court.

If they are to exist, religious charter schools will almost certainly have to go through the courts, as the case in Oklahoma shows. More cases could follow if religious entities elsewhere apply for a charter or if state lawmakers lift bans on religious charter schools. The question of whether charter schools are legally public or private will continue to percolate.

This could take years to play out, particularly since there are many different legal questions in play. Ultimately, the Supreme Court itself may have to tackle the question of religious charter schools.

Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

First religious charter school approved in Oklahoma despite state ban

2023-06-06T00:59:45+00:00

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A state board in Oklahoma voted Monday to approve an application for the country’s first religious charter school, despite a state law prohibiting such schools.

If it opens as planned, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would offer students an explicitly religious curriculum based on the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The move sets the stage for a lengthy legal battle that could well reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The ensuing debate could also splinter the charter school movement. And the result could ultimately lead to the growth of religious charter schools around the country.

“Politicians in Oklahoma and some of these other states want this. They see the Supreme Court moving in that direction,” said Preston Green, an education and law professor at the University of Connecticut who has long written about the possibility of religious charter schools. “It has major implications nationwide. “

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application. Last month, board members unanimously rejected the school’s initial proposal, citing a number of issues including constitutional questions about the separation of church and state.

On Monday, board members were divided on the legal implications of approving a religious charter school. Before the vote, Robert Franklin, the board’s chair, called the vote “weighty,” and warned the board that a religious charter doesn’t align with the state constitution and was “outside” the advice of the board’s legal counsel.

Another board member, Scott Strawn, said he received more than 3,000 emails about the issue. “We’ve heard… the entirety of an argument and a constitutional debate in this room today,” he said.

Franklin voted no, while Strawn voted yes. Both said they were acting according to their oaths as public officials.

A new board member, Brian Bobek, also voted yes. Franklin had asked Bobek to abstain since he had only been appointed Friday. He replaced Barry Beauchamp, who had continued to serve after his term expired, according to the Tulsa World.

Oklahoma’s charter statute states that such schools must be “free from sectarian control.” But supporters of religious charter schools insist that this prohibition amounts to religious discrimination and violates the U.S. Constitution. They cite a string of U.S. Supreme Court cases that concluded that states cannot bar private schools from receiving public funds just because they are religious.

“Recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court make clear that states may not exclude religious schools from participating in public benefit programs that support K-12 education,” the charter’s application states.

However, those rulings do not speak directly to charter schools. Such cases “concerning private schools have little precedential value as it relates to charter schools,” wrote current Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond earlier this year. (Drummond withdrew an earlier opinion from the prior attorney general, John O’Connor, who argued that Oklahoma’s bar on religious charter schools was likely unconstitutional.)

The group Americans United for Separation of Church and State said Monday that it was preparing a lawsuit over the charter approval.

Ultimately the legality of religious charter schools may hinge on whether charter schools are considered private or public entities. On Monday, the board’s legal counsel called that distinction the “heart of the matter.”

If charter schools are deemed public — “state actors” in legal terms — they would likely not be able to be religious. If they are private, the Supreme Court’s recent rulings would logically seem to apply.

Supporters have long argued that charter schools are public, and state laws define them as such. But charter schools are run by private boards, and courts have split on how to treat them for legal purposes. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering taking a case on whether charter schools are public or private for the purposes of a discrimination suit under the 14th Amendment.

Some legal experts believe the Supreme Court’s conservative majority would be sympathetic to religious charter schools — continuing a two-decade march of cases that have made it easier to subsidize private education with public dollars.

“I just think if this case comes up to the Supreme Court, they’ve got the numbers,” said Green.

Charter schools could face existential moment

The prospect of private, religious charter schools would amount to a stunning shift for the charter school movement. Charter schools have long garnered bipartisan support, including from many progressive supporters as an alternative to private school vouchers.

The country’s leading charter school advocacy group has staunchly opposed religious charter schools and quickly condemned Monday’s approval of the Oklahoma school.

“The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is trying to make charter schools into something they are not,” said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, in a statement. “We stand ready to support charter school advocates on the ground in Oklahoma as they fight to preserve the public nature of these unique schools and protect the religious and civil rights of the students and teachers who choose them.”

Leaders of the planned Oklahoma charter school have not said whether they would admit gay or transgender students. Oklahoma law requires charter schools to offer open enrollment and to conduct a lottery if there are more applicants than seats.

In its charter application, the church vowed to comply with state and federal law — while indicating it would seek “religious exemptions … with priority given to the Catholic Church’s understanding of itself and its rights and obligations pursuant to the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

The school’s proposed employee handbook notes: “All employees are expected to adhere to and support the positions and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church in the performance of their duties.”

Some private Catholic schools have fired teachers for marrying a same-sex partner.

“Charter school laws were passed based on assurances that they are public schools open to all students,” said Robert Kim, executive director of Education Law Center, a legal advocacy organization that is typically critical of charter schools. “Allowing a religious charter school upends the very notion of public education by endorsing a school that has signaled it does not consider itself fully bound by state or federal laws, including non-discrimination requirements, that are essential to a public education system.”

The possibility of religious charter schools could also spill beyond conservative states like Oklahoma and into blue states with charters, like California and New York. That’s because advocates of religious charter schools have argued that not only are such schools allowed, but that prohibiting them violates the Constitution.

“If they can be religious, states with charter schools must permit religious charter schools,” Notre Dame law professor Nicole Stelle Garnett, a leading advocate of religious charter schools, has argued.

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City proposed the online charter school as a way to reach students in rural areas with few local schools. Named for the patron saint of the internet, the St. Isidore school aims to enroll students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“The mission of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School is to educate the entire child: soul, heart, intellect, and body,” the application states. It would seek to merge “the best of online instruction with its capacity for individualized flexible learning.”

Before Monday’s vote, several people told the board that they opposed religious charter schools.

Doug Mann, a lawyer from the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, a group that supports public education, said it was clear from St. Isidore’s application that the school “will seek to indoctrinate” students in Catholic beliefs. He warned that the board could face a court challenge.

“There are dire consequences to this board if it goes forward with this,” he said.

Some board members who voted to approve the application Monday said they were ultimately persuaded that a no vote would violate the U.S. Constitution. Bobek, the board’s newest member, said it could “hardly be clearer to me” that it is the Oklahoma statutes that are unconstitutional.

Strawn, who had previously expressed some concerns about the application, said he concluded that voting it down would violate his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Franklin, the board’s chair, said he took the same oath, but “I just can’t get there.” He said a yes vote was a “hard no.”

Kalyn Belsha contributed to this story.

Cara Fitzpatrick is a story editor at Chalkbeat.

Matt Barnum is a national reporter covering education policy, politics, and research. Contact him at mbarnum@chalkbeat.org.

Charter school centering Black students misses enrollment target, won’t open in Denver this fall

2023-05-23T21:17:30+00:00

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A charter elementary school centering Black students won’t open as planned in Denver this fall. 5280 Freedom School did not enroll enough students for next school year, and the Denver school board isn’t considering giving the charter school more time.

The refusal is a departure from past practice and emblematic of the increasingly tough outlook for charter schools in Denver, which was once among the friendliest districts for the publicly funded, privately run schools. But declining enrollment and shifting politics have changed that — even for a school aiming to fulfill one of the school board’s priorities: improving education for Black students.

“It’s unfortunate because the longer we wait, there are still Black students entering schools … and not learning, not getting the quality instruction they need,” said Branta Lockett, founder of 5280 Freedom School. “That’s what’s most devastating to me.”

The school board initially denied the application of 5280 Freedom School last June along with the applications for two other charter schools that wanted to open in Denver Public Schools.

The district feared 5280 Freedom School would fail to enroll enough students, with Superintendent Alex Marrero noting that “school models of this limited size are not in the best interests of pupils, the district, or the community.”

More than a dozen charter schools have closed in recent years, often because of low enrollment. Denver schools are funded per pupil, and schools with low enrollment struggle to afford enough staff to offer robust programming. District-run schools are closing, too. The school board recently voted to close three small district-run schools at the end of the school year.

5280 Freedom School appealed its denial to the State Board of Education, which ordered the Denver school board to reconsider. State Board members said it was unfair to assume that 5280 Freedom School would face the same enrollment challenges as other Denver charters.

In September, the Denver school board complied with the State Board’s order and approved 5280 Freedom School to open this fall. But the approval came with conditions, including that the charter fill all of its open seats in its first year. 5280 Freedom School pledged to open with 52 students in kindergarten and first grade, and gradually build the school from there.

But the school wasn’t able to enroll 52 students. Lockett said only 38 students — 27 kindergarteners and 11 first graders — enrolled in 5280 Freedom School during the school choice window this spring, when families submit their choices for next school year.

The school’s agreement with DPS said failure to enroll 52 students “would result in a breach of contract and would prevent the school from opening.”

In March, 5280 Freedom School sent DPS a letter proposing two other options, according to a copy obtained by Chalkbeat. The school proposed opening this fall with kindergarten only or delaying its opening until 2024, giving it more time to recruit students.

“5280 is providing this letter as a demonstration of its interest in working proactively with DPS to address any concerns as early as possible,” the letter said.

But school board President Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán said in a statement this week that the board “is not currently considering” 5280 Freedom School’s request.

That was news to Lockett, who said Tuesday that neither the board nor DPS ever answered 5280 Freedom’s School’s letter. “They’re not obligated to respond to us,” Lockett said. “But if you believe in equity, if you believe in students first, if you believe in supporting Black families and communities, the least you could do is respond.”

Past school boards have given other nascent charter schools more time to recruit students. In 2018, the board allowed a charter school called The CUBE to delay its opening after it missed its enrollment target. The board did the same for the American Indian Academy of Denver in 2019. However, both schools continued to struggle with enrollment. The CUBE closed in 2021, and the American Indian Academy of Denver will close at the end of this school year.

5280 Freedom School is now considering reapplying to DPS next year or opening as a private school, Lockett said. It already runs a successful summer program that teaches children about Black history, African drumming, poetry, nutrition, and more.

“It has been a difficult journey,” Lockett said. But she said not everything has been a loss. “There were a lot of obstacles placed in front of us that we were able to overcome time and time again,” she said. “The only one we didn’t meet was enrollment.”

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana charter schools get state funding boost with help from influential voucher supporters

2023-05-17T21:24:25+00:00

The argument in the video was simple.

Two fictional students, Andy and Anna, both go to a public school — but Andy’s school receives less state funding because it is a charter school. The ad from the Indiana Student Funding Alliance prompted viewers to ask: Shouldn’t Indiana lawmakers close this unfair funding gap between charters and traditional public schools?

The message reached voters throughout Indiana just as state lawmakers convened for this year’s legislative session. The roughly $500,000 ad campaign was the latest in a years-long push to direct more state and local funding to charters with the help of the alliance, an influential group of charter backers and nonprofits.

As the session began, charter schools and their backers had particularly pressing reasons to step up their lobbying and marketing efforts. Indianapolis Public Schools, the state’s largest district, planned on seeking roughly $413 million in new property taxes through a 2023 ballot measure. And charter schools were frustrated with the prospect of getting a relatively small slice of that money; some charters wouldn’t get any of it. Additionally, property values in general were rising, sending extra funding to some local school districts but not to charters.

Although the alliance had existed informally for a few years, last year its members organized the group under a formal name. It got support for its marketing campaign from groups like the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit — which also has a political action committee that has donated nearly $1 million to lawmakers in the last three years alone and supports school choice of various kinds.

The Indiana Student Funding Alliance’s campaign paid off. After lawmakers enacted several changes this year, charter schools scored one of their biggest wins since they started in Indiana over 20 years ago: a modified state funding system that gives them more money. The changes, combined with a nearly universal voucher system lawmakers passed this year, mark a critical milestone for an Indiana education landscape that favors school choice now more than ever.

Education interest groups and PACs have long lobbied state lawmakers and tried to sway public opinion. The Indiana Political Action Committee for Education, for example, is the political arm of the Indiana State Teachers Association that consistently gives money to lawmakers’ campaigns.

But the changes this year represent a critical juncture for school funding in Indiana. In addition to increasing the state’s per-student charter funding, school districts in Marion County and three other counties now must not only share referendum funds for operating expenses with charters, but also future property tax increases as well.

Even with the Republican supermajority’s strong support for school choice in general, it was important for advocates like the Indiana Student Funding Alliance to highlight charter schools’ funding challenges, said Scott Bess, the executive director of Purdue Polytechnic High School, an Indianapolis charter that is part of the alliance. The group had existed loosely for years, he noted, but the IPS referendum — and charters’ inability in general to tap local property tax revenue — elicited a more organized response.

“Those two things happening at the same time really sent home the message that if we don’t do something and do something more aggressively, these gaps are going to get to a point where it’s not financially sustainable,” Bess said.

Rep. Ed Delaney, a Democrat on the House education committee who has consistently opposed charter schools and vouchers, sees lobbying by the alliance and similar efforts as the work of an “education industrial complex.”

“I think they’ve reached a point of excessive power,” he said. “And what comes with that is greed and a lack of judgment.”

Charter school backers turn to Facebook ads

How these changes will affect traditional public schools’ budgets is unknown, given fluctuating property values among other factors.

The Mind Trust, a powerful Indianapolis nonprofit that advocates for charter-friendly policies and which joined the Indiana Student Funding Alliance, estimates those changes will ultimately provide an additional $2,259 per student for charter schools within IPS.

Changes to Indiana charter school funding

The new laws for charter funding stem from two bills, one from the Senate and the state’s budget legislation from the House. The laws:

Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share revenue increases from rising property valuations with charter schools, beginning in 2025. This would apply to charters located in the same county that enroll students living in those districts. The provision means that altogether, school districts in those counties will lose $9.3 million in 2025 and $12.5 million in 2026 to charter schools, according to the fiscal analysis from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA).
Require school districts in Marion, St. Joseph, Vanderburg and Lake counties to proportionally share additional property tax revenues from any operating or school safety referendum passed by voters after May 10 with charter schools that enroll a student living in that district. Virtual and adult high schools do not receive this funding. The LSA estimates that if the law were applicable in 2022, school districts in these four counties would have distributed about $23.9 million of $210.1 million collected in referendum funding to charters.
Increase the annual charter school grant amount from $1,250 per student to $1,400 per student for operational costs. Statewide, the funding is set at $52.6 million in fiscal 2024 and 2025.
Provide $25 million in fiscal 2024 statewide to charter schools for facility needs.
Allow charter schools to access loans through the state Common School Fund for facility and technology needs. All charters may also now access loans for large projects — such as new buildings — through the Indiana Bond Bank at a low interest rate.

Members of the alliance are celebrating these changes as wins.

The alliance is made up of partners such as the Indiana Charter School Network and the Walton Education Coalition, an education advocacy group, said Betsy Wiley, president of the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit that helped fund the alliance’s campaign. (The Walton Family Foundation, which is legally separate from the Walton Education Coalition, is a funder of Chalkbeat.)

Hoosiers for Quality Education also has a political action committee that has received funding from wealthy donors and groups frequently associated with education reform efforts such as charter schools and vouchers.

Together, the Hoosiers for Quality Education nonprofit and the related Institute for Quality Education nonprofit — which distributes private school tuition support as a scholarship granting organization — paid for at least $49,000 in Facebook ads, such as the one featuring Andy and Anna that promoted more funding for charters, according to Facebook’s Ad Library. Those ads ran from September 2022 to the end of the session in April.

“This year was different in that a group of folks who strongly believe that public charter school students deserve the same funding as their traditional district student peers came together in a more coordinated fashion,” Wiley said in an email.

Rep. Bob Behning, the Indianapolis Republican who was chairman of the House education committee in the 2023 session, had previously pushed for school districts to share referendum revenues with charters. But this year, he said, the IPS referendum elevated the issue’s importance in his mind. (IPS ultimately nixed its plan to put the referendum on the May primary ballot, although the district may revive the proposal in some form.)

The advertisements by charter backers indicated a general motivation to push for “some level of parity” for charter school funding, he said.

Lawmakers did also approve a $312 million increase for traditional public schools right before the end of this year’s legislative session. But critics such as Delaney argue the push to increase funding for charters is just part of a bigger agenda to dismantle the traditional public school system.

“The fundamental truth is they are not interested in traditional public education,” he said. “They do not support it, they do not believe in it, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and say” that traditional public schools should close.

What increased funding means to charters

Anna and Andy used in the Indiana Student Funding Alliance ads may be fictional, but Dwayne Sullivan and his mother, Susan Sargeant, are very much real.

Dwayne is in the first class due to graduate next year from the Rooted School, an Indianapolis charter school with grades 7-12 that opened in 2020.

Even though her son will graduate soon, Sargeant is hopeful the additional funding enabled by the changes to state law will support higher teacher salaries to attract high-quality teachers to Rooted.

“That’s a big, big, big deal, especially for a charter school that’s starting out,” she said.

Jack Langlois, a junior at Purdue Polytechnic High School’s north campus in Indianapolis, helped start a cafe run by students at a cost of $5,000. School officials hope more funding for charters will help cover the cost of materials for projects at the school, which emphasizes project-based learning.

At Purdue Polytechnic High School, which has two campuses in Indianapolis, extra operating revenue will also help cover the cost of materials needed for the experiential learning that the school emphasizes through robotics, woodshop, and even a coffee shop that students recently opened at the Englewood campus of Broad Ripple High School.

Both charter school and traditional public school advocates see the referendum sharing requirement as an opportunity to collaborate to convince voters to pass future property tax increases for schools.

Still, some school district officials are worried about the net effect of sharing incremental property tax revenues with charters.

Rafi Nolan-Abrahamian, chief of staff for South Bend Community Schools, said the district is grateful for the $2.1 million in additional yearly revenue it’s getting due to the last-minute change made by lawmakers. And he said each funding change favoring charters on its own is probably manageable.

“But we are concerned in particular about the precedent that some of these are setting, and the sort of underlying motivations and rationales behind them,” he said.

Meanwhile, pro-charter groups are stressing that this year’s policy changes don’t meet all their long-term goals.

“Our goal remains the same, the same that it’s been for many, many years, which is parity in funding for public charter school students,” Wiley said. “And we’re not there yet.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Adams 14 loses chartering authority as Colorado State Board sides with University Prep

2023-05-11T19:59:32+00:00

The Adams 14 school district lost its exclusive authority to approve or deny charter applications Thursday. Nor will the district be able to decide whether charters within its boundaries can seek authorization from the state.

The Colorado’s State Board of Education voted 5 to 4 to remove exclusive chartering authority at a hearing requested by charter network University Prep.

The charter school has argued with Adams 14 for over a year, winning two state appeals against the district. Still, Adams 14 has not approved a contract to allow the school to open an elementary charter school.

The State Board decision opens the door for University Prep to seek state authorization and open over the district’s objections.

The conflict has hinged largely on whether the charter school would be able to open with a preschool in its first year as originally proposed.

But the disputes between the two have included Adams 14 accusing University Prep of threatening the district, the charter accusing the district of demanding it sign a loyalty agreement, and a disagreement over how much each has tried to resolve the issues.

University Prep leaders argued Thursday that state law allowed them to request that the district lose its exclusive chartering authority because it showed a pattern of unfair treatment of charter schools — including by not complying with State Board orders. They also said they had no other recourse outside the courts.

Adams 14 leaders argued that the charter only made the request because they were unhappy with the outcome of their contract negotiations and dealings with the district. The district said that one case didn’t constitute a pattern, and that they had obeyed the State Board orders by trying to restart negotiations, but that they could not be forced to agree with their requests.

Some State Board members said that the law was unclear, now that two state appeals had been exhausted, and that the dispute that remained appeared to be a contract issue. They said it seemed to be an area needing new legislation.

State Board member Lisa Escárcega said she previously worked in a district that had a clearer pattern of being anti-charter, but that it was never brought to the state’s attention. She said the Adams 14’s case didn’t seem like a pattern to her.

Escárcega voted against stripping the district’s charting authority, along with board members Karla Esser, Kathy Plomer, and Rhonda Solis, all Democrats.

Board Chair Rebecca McClellan and Angelika Schroeder, both Democrats, joined three Republicans, Steve Durham, Stephen Varela, and Debora Scheffel, to vote in favor of removing that authority.

McClellan said she was thinking of families who have already been waiting years to see this school open.

“They are here for relief because they have no other option and time is of the essence,” McCllellan said. “I am convinced there’s a pattern. I am convinced there is an equity issue.”

Thursday’s hearing didn’t mention other charter schools applications that Adams 14 has denied.

Two state-approved charter schools do operate in the district. When the schools recently sought district approval instead, they were also denied.

Adams 14 is under state-mandated improvement orders. State review panels examining the state’s options in the district have recommended against charter schools, noting much of the community is against charters.

Parents both in favor of University Prep and those against the charter’s arguments attended the hearing Thursday though public comment was not allowed.

In Colorado, school districts start off having exclusive chartering authority, meaning that any charters looking to open within their district boundaries must apply to them. Even if schools wish for state Charter School Institute approval, they have to ask the district to allow it.

When districts lose their exclusive chartering authority, prospective charter schools can apply to either the district or the state agency, without getting prior permission.

Three small districts have lost exclusive chartering authority, according to the state Department of Education, and of districts with more than 3,000 students, just two others have lost the authority: Poudre and Fort Morgan.

School districts and charter schools alike watch State Board decisions on chartering authority closely. A board member for the Colorado League of Charter Schools presented the case with University Prep. Dan Schaller, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, praised the decision in a written statement.

“We believe this decision puts kids and families first in finding public school options that best [meets] their needs,” he said.

Districts can ask for their charting authority back, if they prove to the state they do not have a pattern of being unfair to charter schools.

Joseph Salazar, an attorney for Adams 14, told the State Board that University Prep was an abusive organization. That is why the district did not want to allow University Prep to open a school under state agency approval, he said.

He compared the situation of being forced to negotiate with an abusive outside entity to the state forcing the district about two years ago to work with their previous external manager, MGT Consulting. The district ultimately ended that contract, despite being under State Board orders to hire an outside manager.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.

More students, steeper costs: Indiana, South Carolina are latest states to vastly expand school vouchers

2023-05-10T16:24:57+00:00

On private school choice, more states are going big and bold.

In Indiana, the Republican-controlled legislature last month approved a massive expansion of the state’s voucher program, making nearly every student eligible to receive public money to attend private school. Just days later, South Carolina followed suit, creating a taxpayer-funded program to cover private school tuition and expenses for thousands of students.

They join four other Republican-led states — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, and Utah — that have established or expanded private school choice programs just this year. Now, more than 30 states, plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, give students public money to attend private school — a number that could keep growing as state lawmakers push dozens more bills to subsidize the cost of private education.

But it isn’t just the number of bills that’s ballooning — it’s also their scope. Unlike past programs, which often targeted low-income families or students with disabilities, the newest ones are open to almost everyone and often allow parents to use the tax dollars for private school or home-school expenses.

Indiana’s newly expanded program is a prime example. Higher-income families can now participate, and students no longer must meet other need-based criteria. As a result, roughly 97% of students will now qualify for private school subsidies, and the state projects that participation could soar by nearly 42,000 additional students within two years.

Bigger programs mean steeper costs. In Indiana, the program’s price tag is expected to nearly double over the next two years.

Private school choice laws surged during the pandemic as conservative lawmakers seized on many parents’ frustration with school shutdowns and mask mandates. Republicans have also used “parents’ rights” rhetoric to justify the laws, arguing that they empower families who are dissatisfied with the public school system to opt out.

Critics have been alarmed by the wave of legislation, which they say deprives public schools of much-needed resources and could promote discrimination against LGBTQ students or those with disabilities, who have fewer protections in private schools, the majority of which are religious. Plus, experts said they wonder about the segregation that could occur among students when it comes to race, income levels, and academic ability.

But school choice advocates are celebrating the bills as the culmination of a decades-long campaign to give every student the option of a publicly funded private education.

“We hailed 2021 as the year of educational choice,” Robert Enlow, CEO of the Indianapolis-based EdChoice, a school choice advocacy group, said in a statement. “Now we are celebrating 2023 as the year of universal choice.”

As these programs proliferate, here’s what to know about eligibility and costs:

New school choice laws vastly expand voucher eligibility

The latest voucher programs are open to nearly every student.

The move toward universal eligibility reflects a sweeping new rationale for private school choice. Once pitched as a lifeline for students whose needs weren’t being met by traditional schools or whose families couldn’t afford private tuition, proponents increasingly argue that every parent should decide how to spend the tax dollars allotted for their children’s education.

It becomes a “universal entitlement program,” said Joseph Waddington, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky at College of Education and Martin School Public Policy and Administration. Rather than target the neediest students, he added, the new programs are “just putting the money in kids’ backpacks” and letting parents decide how to spend it.

John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, argued that the shift is part of a “re-thinking of how we fund education in general.”

“For the first time in the history of American education policy, states are embracing the ‘money follows the child’ model of education funding that has long been the dream of parental-choice advocates,” Nicole Stelle Garnett and Richard W. Garnett wrote in an article in the right-leaning City Journal this year.

Arizona put this new philosophy into practice last year when it made every parent eligible to receive about $7,000 in state funds, or 90% of the cost to educate a student without disabilities in a public school, to use for private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling.

This year, six more states made all or most students eligible to attend private school at taxpayer expense. (West Virginia established a near-universal program in 2021.)

In Indiana, a family of four with an income of up to $220,000 now will qualify for taxpayer-funded tuition assistance. Lawmakers also eliminated other restrictions, including rules that voucher recipients have a disability or are in foster care.

But it’s hard to say if the voucher expansion will lead to large numbers of new students enrolling in private schools. In both Iowa and Indiana, analysts expect that nearly 90% of voucher recipients will be current private school students or kindergarteners entering private school.

“I don’t know if we are going to see a rapid expansion,” said Christopher Lubienski, professor at the Indiana University School of Education and director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.

Plus there are limitations on enrollment, such as the capacity of non-public schools and tuition that exceeds the stipends parents receive, as well as students’ access to private schools in rural areas.

Critics, including many Democrats and teachers unions, say the new universal voucher programs amount to a giveaway for families who already can afford private school.

Costs will soar as the programs expand

As newly eligible families apply for vouchers, costs will surge. But by how much, no one knows.

One reason for the uncertainty: Universal vouchers are, in effect, a grand experiment states are conducting in real time. Budget analysts have scrambled to predict the programs’ eventual price tags, but they can only guess at how many freshly eligible families will participate.

Another complication is that lawmakers in some states scrapped enrollment caps when they expanded eligibility, turning the cost ceiling into a question mark.

The uncertainty has led to wildly divergent estimates. In Florida, the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the universal voucher bill pegged the program’s expected cost at about $210 million, while the left-leaning Florida Policy Institute put it at $4 billion. Later, the Florida Senate came up with its own cost estimate: $646 million.

One big point of contention is what percentage of families who currently pay for private school will start using vouchers to cover tuition. The bill’s sponsor guessed that only 50% will apply, which critics called a wild under-estimate. By contrast, the Florida Policy Institute assumed that 100% of eligible private school families will apply.

In Arizona, participation — and price — have far exceeded expectations.

Last June, the legislature estimated that the expanded voucher program would cost about $33 million this school year. But six months later, after applications from newly eligible families flooded in, the expected cost had soared to $276 million — more than eight times the original estimate. The cost has continued to rise as even more students enroll.

As in other states, a large share of the voucher recipients already attend private school or home-school. (When Arizona expanded access last year, 75% of the first wave of applicants had never attended a public school.) For those students, the state cannot simply transfer funds from public to private schools — it must find a whole new pot of money to cover tuition that parents previously paid for.

Now, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is looking to scale back the program, which she warned “will likely bankrupt this state.”

In Indiana, the state previously set aside $240 million annually for private school vouchers. But with the move to near-universal eligibility, the cost is expected to swell to more than $600 million by 2025.

That amount is eye-opening, said Lubienski, who added that it also follows a pattern of shifting costs to taxpayers. While Indiana lawmakers did increase funding for traditional public schools in this year’s legislative session, the lion’s share of attention and largest funding increases went to voucher and charter programs, he said.

School choice advocates stressed that the cost depends on how many students enroll, but others argued that the money allocated to vouchers amounts to the state endorsing private education.

In the wake of her state’s voucher expansion, Indiana state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat, said she worries about having enough money for the majority of Indiana’s students who attend public schools, especially those who are English language learners, in special education, and from low-income backgrounds.

“Our kids can’t wait to be properly resourced,” she said.

Patrick Wall is a senior reporter covering national education issues. Contact him at pwall@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Beacon Network seeks injunction to block Denver board’s revocation of innovation zone

2023-05-04T17:20:56+00:00

A lawsuit filed Wednesday has the potential to test the strength of school autonomy in Denver Public Schools, a former stronghold of school reform that has since reversed course.

The nonprofit organization Beacon Network Schools, one of three innovation zones in DPS, is suing the district to stop the revocation of the zone. The Denver school board voted April 10 to revoke the zone, which is made up of two middle schools: Kepner Beacon and Grant Beacon.

Under the zone, the leaders of Kepner and Grant are overseen by a nonprofit board of directors and not by DPS, which gives the schools increased autonomy. Revoking the zone returns Kepner and Grant to district control.

The lawsuit argues that revocation causes “irreparable harm” to students, families, and teachers. “Beacon Zone students and families face uncertainty regarding the type of educational environment in which they will participate and will face a degraded school experience next year without the support of the Beacon Zone,” the lawsuit says.

DPS spokesman Scott Pribble said the district doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Beacon Network Schools is also appealing the revocation to the State Board of Education.

The state board’s ruling won’t be binding. Instead, the state board can review the revocation and make a recommendation to the Denver school board, which has the final say. The appeal is the first time an innovation zone has taken advantage of a new state law passed last year.

In its lawsuit, Beacon Network Schools claims the Denver school board illegally revoked the zone. Beacon argues that a zone can only be revoked for one reason under state law: because students at one or more schools in the zone are not making sufficient academic progress.

In this case, Superintendent Alex Marrero recommended the zone be revoked for several reasons, including inadequate financial oversight by the zone board and concerns about the zone’s organizational health. He raised concerns with the unique employment arrangement of the Beacon zone’s executive director, Alex Magaña. Although Magaña is a DPS employee, he answers to the Beacon zone board, not to DPS administrators.

Beacon argues that none of those are legitimate reasons to revoke a zone.

Marrero also cited low student test scores at Kepner Beacon. Only 21% of students met expectations in literacy on state tests last spring, while 6% met expectations in math.

But Beacon claims the data is limited and flawed. DPS officials had previously said in an email to principals that academic data from last school year was “not an accurate representation of an entire student body” because “far fewer” students took the test than usually do.

Beacon officials have said they suspect Marrero’s recommendation to revoke the zone was based on a disagreement with Magaña. Marrero testified at the state Capitol against the bill to allow innovation zones to appeal to the state board. Magaña testified for it.

Eliot Lewis, chair of the Beacon Network Schools board and a former Grant Beacon parent, wrote in a signed statement attached to the lawsuit that he believes the school board’s decision to revoke was “based primarily on personal enmity between District personnel, specific Board members, and BNS Executive Director Alex Magaña.”

Marrero has said the bill testimony had nothing to do with the revocation.

Beacon is asking the Denver District Court to grant both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop DPS from taking over Kepner and Grant.

DPS has already started the process, the lawsuit says, including by suggesting that Kepner and Grant staff may be required to attend “district-mandated summer programming” as opposed to summer programming put on by the Beacon zone.

The lawsuit argues that Beacon is in a time crunch. DPS has asked Kepner and Grant to submit new school-level innovation plans that erase all references to the zone by May 10. The temporary restraining order is meant to pause that timeline while the court considers the preliminary injunction and the state board considers the appeal.

The state board has 60 days from Wednesday to hear the appeal.

There are only three innovation zones in the entire state that the appeal law applies to, and all three are in DPS. Beacon is one of them. Another, the Luminary Learning Network, was renewed by the Denver school board last month.

The other zone, the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone, is regrouping after teachers at its largest school, Northfield High, voted to exit the zone in March. The school board has not yet decided whether to renew the NDIZ zone or revoke it.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

New York state budget boosts school funding and allows more charter schools

2023-05-03T19:44:20+00:00

New York’s state lawmakers approved a budget this week that will usher in record funding for schools and a controversial plan allowing 14 charter schools to open in New York City.

The budget, finalized more than a month past the April 1 deadline, will increase aid for schools by $3 billion compared to last year. That brings the total state support for schools to $34 billion, with more than a third of that going to the nation’s largest district, New York City public schools. (Even so, because of city and federal funding cuts, Mayor Eric Adams is proposing to slash the education department’s budget by nearly $1 billion.)

The late budget caused frustration among local lawmakers and education organizations. Even though there was no dispute over school funding this year, local leaders were still waiting to know final details, such as how much they could expect to receive, said Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy and communication at the state’s Council of School Superintendents.

“It’s been aggravating that it’s dragged on without any apparent urgency,” Lowry said.

Unlike past years, funding was not a hot-button issue since lawmakers had previously agreed to significantly boost dollars for schools. However, in a surprising twist, charter schools emerged as a sticking point in final budget negotiations.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to open more than 100 charter schools across the five boroughs was one of the final issues that lawmakers picked apart. They reached a deal last week to open just a chunk of the schools Hochul had proposed.

The day after the deal was struck, Hochul announced that she and Democratic leaders had conceptually agreed to a final budget.

Here’s a look at two big education highlights from the state budget:

‘Zombie charters’ allowed to open in the city

In 2019, New York City reached a state-imposed cap of how many charter schools could open across the five boroughs. That cap included 14 “zombie” charter schools, which have either closed or never opened.

As part of the budget, 14 of those zombies will be allowed to open in New York City, while another eight will be allowed to open elsewhere. The city schools can only open in districts where the total charter school enrollment is 55% or less than that of education department-run school enrollment, according to budget records.

Hochul’s original proposal was pared down in the face of significant pushback from teachers unions, lawmakers, and advocates, who argued that the state needed to prioritize more resources for traditional public schools, which have struggled with declining enrollment.

Many charter advocates applauded the compromise, allowing the sector to expand its footprint in the city. Some operators, who were pre-approved to open schools in 2019 after the city had reached the cap, are expected to receive priority if they reapply now for a zombie charter, according to the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, one of two entities that can authorize charter schools to open. (The other is the New York State Board of Regents.)

Opponents to the proposal, including some local New York City officials, shared frustration.

“It took a month to convince the governor not to lift the cap on charter schools, which would pull vital funds from the traditional public school system, and even a month later, the governor insisted on reviving zombie charters,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in a statement.

The city typically must cover rental costs for charters, but as part of the deal, Hochul agreed to use state funding to cover that cost.

School funding rises to record-high levels

The state’s $34 billion school funding plan includes a final, planned increase to Foundation Aid, the state’s main school funding formula that sends more money to higher need districts.

For years, boosting Foundation Aid was a contentious matter in Albany. While funding for schools increased under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he declined to fund Foundation Aid at the level the formula calculated for each district’s needs. After years of advocacy from policymakers, advocates, and lawmakers, Cuomo agreed in his final months in office to fully fund the formula over a three-year period.

Hochul agreed to stick to that plan, which was originally expected to boost Foundation Aid by $4 billion over that three-year period. That figure has grown by $800 million because of inflation.

New York City — which sends much of its Foundation Aid dollars directly to schools — will receive an increase of 5.5% in those funds compared to this current school year.

In total, New York City will receive $12.9 billion in funding for schools from the state — equivalent to 42% of what the mayor has proposed for the education department’s operating budget next year.

The mayor’s budget office projected receiving close to that from the state — about $12.7 billion — next year for city schools. But with drops in city and federal funding, Adams has proposed a nearly $1 billion smaller education department budget for next year.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Texan Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds to lead Tenn. education department as Penny Schwinn exits

2023-05-01T20:01:44+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the Shelby County public school system and statewide education policy.

Penny Schwinn will step down as Tennessee’s education chief at the end of this school year and be replaced by a former Texas administrator who currently oversees policy for the Jeb Bush-founded advocacy group ExcelinEd.

Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds will become the first Hispanic American to lead Tennessee’s education department when she starts her job on July 1.

Meanwhile, Schwinn told reporters Monday that she plans to continue living in Tennessee and will share her next venture at a later date.

“It’s just the right time for me and my family,” said Schwinn, a mother of three young children, about leaving after more than four years as education commissioner.

The changes, announced Monday by Gov. Bill Lee, come at a critical time for the state’s 1 million public school students and just a few months into the second term of an administration that has been one of the most active in history on changing education policies.

Tennessee is shifting to a new education funding formula, enforcing a controversial new third-grade retention policy for struggling readers, operating large-scale tutoring and summer learning programs to help students catch up from the pandemic, expanding its private school voucher program to a third major city, and fortifying its school buildings after a Nashville school shooting left six people dead on March 27. Replenishing Tennessee’s teacher supply is also a priority.

Reynolds brings policy experience, if not classroom chops

In Reynolds, Lee has chosen a leader who is heavy on political and policy experience but who has little to no experience leading a classroom.

Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds

In conjunction with her appointment, she will actively work toward her Tennessee teaching license.

“The governor has full confidence in her ability to serve Tennessee students, families, and teachers,” said Jade Byers, Lee’s spokeswoman.

Reynolds graduated in 1987 with a political science degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, before embarking on nearly three decades of policy and legislative work in education at the state and federal levels.

In her home state, she was deputy legislative director for then-Gov. George W. Bush and later served as chief deputy commissioner for the Texas Education Agency.

At the federal level, she worked in the Bush administration under U.S. education secretaries Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings.

Since 2016, Reynolds has been vice president of policy for ExcelinEd, launched by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2008 to pursue education policies that he believes improve student learning and lessen inequities. They include emphasizing early literacy and school accountability, and giving families more education choices such as charter schools and vouchers.

She currently sits on the boards of several nonprofit education organizations, including KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Texas-based charter school operator IDEA Public Schools. Her LinkedIn profile also lists advanced studies in education leadership from the Pahara Institute.

Schwinn leaves with a mixed record

Schwinn’s departure comes after more than four tumultuous years of overseeing schools during a global pandemic and while ushering in sweeping changes in how the state funds its schools and students, and how it teaches its students how to read.

The pandemic, she said, was easily her greatest challenge, spurring Tennessee to become a national leader in providing specialized programs to bolster learning for students who fell behind.

“When we look at the last four and a half years and the pretty incredible challenges that we’ve faced in education across this country, I cannot think of a state that has shown more leadership than Tennessee,” she said.

Schwinn was 36 when Lee hired her for one of his most important cabinet jobs days before his first inauguration in 2019.

She had been on a fast track after starting her career in 2004 in Baltimore with Teach for America and later founding Capitol Collegiate Academy, a charter school in her hometown of Sacramento, California, where she still serves on the board of directors. Schwinn served briefly in leadership roles for Sacramento’s school district and Delaware’s department of education before becoming chief deputy commissioner of academics for Texas in 2016.

Her tenure in Tennessee has been marked by both big wins and big controversies.

She helped Lee deliver a major victory last year with the rewrite of the state’s 30-year-old education funding formula to let funding follow the student, and set aside more money for students with higher needs. She also shepherded numerous major initiatives, including a comprehensive plan to improve literacy, help students recover from pandemic learning loss, and expand grow-your-own teacher training programs.

But in her first nine months on the job, nearly a fifth of the education department’s employees left, mostly from resignations. And early on, she frustrated lawmakers who said she rolled out initiatives and took administrative shortcuts without ample legislative input, review, or approval.

On Monday, Schwinn thanked Lee for “taking a chance on me,” adding: “It has been a very tough and very rewarding job.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information about Reynolds.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

14 ‘zombie’ charters would open in NYC under Albany budget deal

2023-04-27T18:59:58+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.

After a four-year halt on new charter schools in New York City, state lawmakers have reached a deal to open 14 “zombie” charters.

The deal, struck Wednesday night between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic leaders, would allow charter school operators to open 14 zombies — schools that closed or were never opened. Additionally, the state would cover rent for these schools, relieving New York City of the cost, said state Sen. John Liu, who is the chair of the state senate’s New York City education committee.

Since the city is required to pay rent for charter schools, this deal would leave little incentive for the city to co-locate these zombie charters with traditional public schools. Such co-locations often drum up opposition from the public and the schools involved.

The deal is not yet law; it is expected to be part of the state’s final budget approval, which is now 27 days late. The governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The state education department and the SUNY Charter Schools Institute have the authority to award charters to prospective operators in New York. Spokespeople for both said they needed to review the final proposal.

SUNY approved charters for six schools in 2019 that couldn’t open because the city had reached a state-imposed cap on charter schools in the five boroughs, said spokesperson Michael Lesczinski. If the deal goes through, SUNY would open a new request for proposals for newly available charters. While those six already-approved schools would have to submit updated materials including “budgets and evidence of ongoing community outreach, support and demand,” they would be first in line for consideration, Lesczinski said.

“I’m glad that the governor and the legislature were able to find some common ground on this,” said Arthur Samuels, who co-founded MESA Charter High School in Bushwick. The organization won pre-approval in 2019 to open a second high school in Brooklyn, but were blocked by the charter cap.

While overall enrollment in the charter sector has increased, many individual schools, including some of the biggest networks, are logging fewer students — meaning that opening more charter schools could lead to smaller budgets or even closures among traditional district schools and existing charters alike.

But Samuels said he will move to open a second school if possible and is waiting for guidance about how the approval process will work.

“There is a demand for the type of education we’re offering, which is responsive and community-centric,” he said. “We see that as something that people want even as the number of school-age children in the city declines.”

Hochul’s push for more charter schools in New York City emerged as one of the last items holding up the overdue state budget — and her keen interest puzzled many following the issue, given the significant opposition she has faced from the start. Her pitch, which was part of her budget proposal in January, came four years after the city hit the charter cap. At the time, a handful of charter operators were approved to open schools if the cap was ever increased, including the six by SUNY.

At first Hochul’s original proposal, which could have allowed more than 100 charter schools to open in New York City, seemed dead on arrival. It drew immediate backlash from Democratic lawmakers, unions, and advocates, who argued that city resources should be spent on traditional public schools, which are seeing enrollment declines and are still facing pandemic-related challenges.

Hochul has argued that she wants more school choice for parents, particularly those who are on waitlists for charters. She has also received campaign contributions from supporters of charter schools, and indirect support from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York Times reported last month.

Hochul has also received donations from teachers and principals unions, which have strongly opposed the expansion of charter schools. In a statement, Michael Mulgrew, president of the city teachers union, accused Hochul of listening “to the demands of a handful of billionaires,” despite the charter sector’s enrollment challenges.

Last month, the state Senate and Assembly formally rejected the proposal in their response to Hochul’s budget plan, and even three weeks ago, the topic wasn’t a part of budget negotiations, according to multiple state lawmakers, who said the focus was on other hot issues, such as bail reform.

But this week, Hochul presented Democrats with a compromise: allow just the 22 existing zombie charters to open. Liu opposed that plan, too, largely because several of those charters were issued outside of New York City but would have been allowed to open within the five boroughs.

But on Thursday, Liu said he agreed to this latest deal because the 14 zombie charters in question all exist in New York City, and it would not involve lifting the charter cap.

“The firm agreement is no increase or no elimination of the New York City cap, which is clearly the right policy going forward because you have to strike the balance between the desire for some charter choice and the need for the city to keep public schools open,” Liu said.

In a statement, City Hall spokesperson Amaris Cockfield said, “As all New Yorkers, we are still awaiting final budget details, but we always appreciate and welcome Albany’s support to meet the needs of New York City’s children and families.”

Charter school advocates applauded the deal, which is significantly pared down from what Hochul originally proposed.

“[Hochul] understands that having both a strong and growing charter sector makes all of our public schools stronger and better able to meet the complex needs of our students and families,” said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, in a statement. “For years, leaders, including many of color, have been on hold to open innovative new schools in NYC communities – this deal will finally allow 14 of them to open their doors.”

Crystal McQueen-Taylor, president of StudentsFirstNY, said in a statement that “the Governor’s tenacity and persistence made all the difference.”

But not everyone was pleased. Eva Moskowitz, the founder and CEO of Success Academy, the city’s largest charter network, called the deal a “travesty,” in a statement. Albany has “bargained away … access to high-quality schools,” for low-income students of color since the deal would open just 14 schools, she said.

Alex Zimmerman contributed.

MSCS board turns away 10 charter school applications

2023-04-26T05:09:42+00:00

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board on Tuesday denied initial applications from 10 charter schools, including several low-performing schools that are seeking to return to the district as charters after a failed turnaround effort by the state.

It is typical for the district to recommend denials in the initial round of applications, and ask applicants to revise their proposals. The board will make final determinations on the charter school applications later this summer, after applicants have a chance to make requested revisions.

The board took up the 10 applications in two batches. One was a group of existing schools leaving the Achievement School District, the state turnaround program for low-performing schools. The other is a group of new proposed charters, primarily from operators that want to offer career and technical education programming, a new state priority.

The set of charter applications before the board show the impact in Memphis of two things happening at the state level: the chaotic unraveling of Tennessee’s charter-focused school turnaround effort, and this summer’s arrival of a new state education funding formula that provides extra money for career education programs.

The five schools from the ASD were once operated by the district. When the state designated them as low performers, it assigned them to charter operators to reform under 10-year contracts. State leaders have acknowledged for years that the turnaround effort failed.

Now, as the 10-year contracts near expiration, the school operators are applying to continue managing the schools as charters under the MSCS umbrella. That’s one of the possible exit routes outlined by the state for ASD schools, most of which are in Memphis.

Board member Stephanie Love appeared to suggest the ASD schools, which have high academic needs, should undergo a different process.

“I don’t think the ASD should be treated as a regular charter school,” said Love, whose district includes several of the schools.

MSCS, board forced to reckon with fallout of ASD

The five Achievement School District charters that sought approval from the MSCS board are Humes Middle School, Martin Luther King Jr. College Prep High School, Cornerstone Lester Prep Elementary, Journey Coleman School, and Fairley High School.

The ASD applicants lost points for lacking details in their proposed transition plans to the district. They were also dinged for remaining low-performing. Low academic performance regularly puts Memphis charter schools in jeopardy of closure.

“It appears to me that they’re still just floating money in a sinkhole,” board member Keith Williams said of the schools in a recent committee meeting.

The board has approved one ASD school to operate as a charter, but that school has not yet opened. Other former ASD schools have reentered the district’s own turnaround program called the iZone, which brings students at traditional public schools additional academic support. The program isn’t available for charter schools.

MSCS board members have started discussions about reabsorbing the other ASD schools as traditional public schools under the iZone. This could happen if the charter applications are rejected again by the MSCS board and by the state charter commission.

Dozens of Fairley High School students, families, and staff members urged the board on Tuesday to approve the bid by their charter operator, Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee, to continue running the school.

“Growth matters … . We are proud of the work we have done to support Fairley High School, and we look forward to continuing to support Fairley and the Lakeview community,” Jocquell Rodgers, the executive director of Green Dot, told board members.

Research has shown turnaround models like the iZone and the ASD are hard to sustain. Board member Amber Huett-Garcia requested data to compare the performance of ASD charters against MSCS’ lowest-performing schools in the iZone.

During a committee meeting, Huett-Garcia said she was unsure how the ASD charters offered something “different than what we do” at MSCS.

The board’s ultimate decisions about the ASD schools are likely to intersect with its upcoming facilities plan. State law says that MSCS regains control of the physical school building once a school exits the ASD, and MSCS has indicated its facilities plan could include decisions about the ASD school buildings. A new Frayser high school, for instance, would mean MLK College Prep closes.

New career and tech applicants part of ‘next wave’ of charters

The five new charter schools seeking approval from MSCS are Memphis Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls, Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, Change Academy, Pathways in Education-Memphis, and Tennessee Career Academy.

Three of the five have a career and technical education focus.

Career and technical education “is kind of this next wave” of charters across the state, Brittany Monda, the district’s assistant superintendent of charter schools, told board members recently. Previous waves have been college prep-focused or STEM-focused, she said.

Tennessee’s new school funding formula uses a per-pupil funding model, with direct funding allocations for career and technical education.

MSCS officials said approving the new charter schools would cost the district’s traditional operations $60 million in revenue.

Monda praised the applicants’ ideas, but said they needed to return with more detail. Board member Sheleah Harris requested more information from the district about what academic needs charter schools could fill districtwide to help the board decide.

Of the remaining two schools, one is a returning applicant that was denied last year. The second is a former alternative high school that closed after its charter contract expired with the ASD.

Laura Testino covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Laura at LTestino@chalkbeat.org.

Newly approved adult charter high school hopes to open in closing IPS building

2023-04-25T23:40:27+00:00

This story has been updated.

A seventh Excel Center adult charter high school has the green light to open in Indianapolis, and it’s hoping to open in a school that Indianapolis Public Schools will close at the end of this school year.

The Indianapolis Charter School Board on Tuesday approved the Excel Center - Twin Aire. The center, operated by the not-for-profit Goodwill Education Initiatives — which was created by Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana — hopes to open in the building currently occupied by Paul Miller School 114.

IPS will vote on whether to lease the site to the group around May, said Lakia Osborne, a regional director for Goodwill Education Initiatives, at the board meeting. The school plans to open with an initial 100 students in the fall of 2023, growing to 300 by its second year.

IPS said in a statement that it has discussed the possibility of the Excel Center and other organizations using School 114, but said no final decisions have been made and that it would be inappropriate and premature to discuss specifics.

“We are also considering the needs of the district and possible internal uses for any building at which instruction has ceased or will cease at the end of this school year,” the district said.

Last year, another charter school, Victory College Prep, announced its intent to acquire the School 114 building. State law allows charter schools to acquire or lease empty school buildings for $1, but lawmakers are considering sunsetting the statute.

The centers primarily help students ages 18 or older to graduate from high school. The centers are geared toward those who have dropped out of school or are significantly behind their graduating peers.

The group’s goal in opening near Twin Aire is to provide educational opportunities for those who are exiting the criminal justice system, said Anne Davis, vice president of education initiatives at the Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana. The Twin Aire neighborhood is home to the city’s new Community Justice Campus that houses the court system and the jail.

“We know that there is a need in communities for individuals who are reentering society to make sure that they understand that they have opportunities for a diploma if they need it,” Davis said.

The city’s charter school board authorizes the six existing centers in Indianapolis. Statewide, Goodwill Education Initiatives runs 15 Excel Centers. It also operates the charter Indianapolis Metropolitan High School.

Goodwill Education Initiatives is seeking an increase in the current legislative session for the number of seats that Indiana will fund statewide for its adult Excel Centers, which state statute currently limits to 4,900. The group is asking for an additional 1,650 seats, Davis said. The session ends this week.

If the centers are not given an increase in seats, Davis said, the group would need to reevaluate to make sure it can still open Excel Center - Twin Aire.

The Twin Aire campus will have an educational model similar to current centers, focusing on three main pillars: a structure that meets the needs and goals of the students, a focus on college and career readiness, and coaching, the school said in its application.

The model focuses on instruction with licensed instructors mixed with online credit recovery, emphasizing dual-credit courses and relationships with local employers. One-on-one coaching, flexible scheduling, and child care for students also seek to keep adult learners enrolled in school, according to the application.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Indianapolis Public Schools.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Charter schools emerge as key issue holding up New York’s state budget

2023-04-25T22:14:53+00:00

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial proposal to open more charter schools in New York City is one of the final issues holding up the passage of a state budget, officials said Tuesday.

The budget is nearly a month overdue.

Originally, Hochul wanted to allow more than 100 new charters to open in the five boroughs, by lifting a cap on such schools and releasing “zombie” charters for defunct or never-opened campuses.

After pushback from state lawmakers, Hochul floated a scaled back version, reviving just 22 zombie charter schools for the city, said Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who is the chair of the state senate’s New York City education committee. Half of those zombie charters are located outside of the city, he said.

(Politico reported that the proposal also calls for the state to cover rent for newly released zombie charters.)

Even that proposal has been met with opposition. Hochul told reporters Tuesday that charter schools remain a difficult topic.

“I’m trying hard to overcome the objections, but this is a very challenging issue because of the emotions on both sides of the debate,” she said.

Lawmakers, union officials, and many advocates and families have argued that opening more charters will add to expenses for the city when it should be investing more in traditional public schools, which have lost enrollment. In March, both the Senate and the Assembly officially rejected the proposal.

Charter supporters, who have long pushed for the state to lift the cap in order to expand their footprint, cheered her idea. Hochul has emphasized that she’s attempting to offer more school options to families, including Black and Latino families who are on waitlists for charters.

Overall enrollment in the charter sector has ticked upwards, but it has dropped at many individual schools, including some of the biggest networks. That means opening more such schools could lead to smaller budgets or even closures within the charter sector.

The budget, which was due April 1, has been unresolved for weeks due to disagreements over various hot issues, including bail reform and affordable housing. Charter schools were not a focus of negotiations even three weeks ago, according to both State Senator Shelley Mayer, who chairs the Senate’s general education committee, and Assemblywoman Jo Ann Simon.

In an interview Tuesday, Liu said his committee reviewed Hochul’s new proposal, but it remains “a non-starter.” It would be reasonable “if there were absolutely no charter seats available in New York City,” he said, adding there is “no rationale” for it now.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Hillsdale-linked Valor Classical Academy drops Pike Township plans, eyes new Hamilton County site

2023-04-25T19:59:00+00:00

This story has been updated.

A charter school affiliated with the private Christian Hillsdale College has abandoned plans to open in Pike Township after significant backlash, although it still hopes to open a campus in Hamilton County this fall.

Valor Classical Academy had been exploring a location at 3600 Woodview Trace, after failing to acquire a Carmel Clay Schools building 10 miles away in Hamilton County.

But dozens of residents from Pike and Washington townships opposed the school’s opening at a public hearing earlier this month.

Valor supporters said the school would put academics front and center and attract those who lack faith in traditional public schools. But opponents objected to its ties to conservative education ideology, and argued that the school would focus exclusively on Western culture and cater to white students in an area where most students are students of color.

The school’s curriculum includes Hillsdale’s 1776 history and civics curriculum.

The school’s authorizer, the Grace Schools Charter Authority — which is affiliated with Grace College, a private Christian institution — posted a notice on its website within the past week that Valor is no longer pursuing the Pike Township location.

Valor school board President Holly Wilson said that instead, the school has found a new site it hopes to use in Hamilton County, and added that the school’s plan has always been to stay as close to Hamilton County as possible.

Wilson said that the Hamilton County site is very close to the Orchard Park Elementary building, which Valor previously tried but failed to acquire from Carmel Clay Schools under the state’s $1 law that allows charter schools to buy or lease unused public school buildings for $1.

“We’ve still got some negotiations to do but we’re closing in on it,” she said. “And working day in and day out.”

In its charter application, Valor said it plans to open with 378 students in grades K-6 and grow to full capacity in 2029 with 702 students in grades K-12.

Valor had previously sued Carmel Clay Schools over the use of Orchard Park Elementary. But the district fought against the attempted acquisition, arguing that the building would still be in use. A Hamilton County judge sided with the district in January. The school, however, filed a notice of appeal earlier this month, according to court records.

The demographics and targeted enrollment zone of the Valor school would not change based on the new proposed site, she said. She did not share the exact site location in Hamilton County.

The school will submit another addendum to its character application to account for the new site, Wilson said.

This story has been updated to include Valor Classical Academy’s appeal of a Hamilton County judge’s ruling.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee legislature sends governor pared-down school voucher expansion bill, omitting Knox County

2023-04-21T19:45:13+00:00

Tennessee lawmakers agreed Friday to expand the state’s private school voucher program to Hamilton County — but not to Knox County — as they prepared to wrap up their legislative session for the year.

The House had approved a bill on Wednesday to add both counties to the program now operating in Shelby County and Metro Nashville to let eligible families use taxpayer money toward private school tuition.

But the Senate, which voted in February to extend vouchers to Chattanooga-based Hamilton County, rejected the wider House expansion bill on Thursday without explanation.

On Friday, the House voted 57-27 to concur with the Senate version and send the measure to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.

The final bill, while pared down, marks the first major expansion of the private school voucher program, which launched last fall under a 2019 law that cleared a series of legal hurdles last year but still faces challenges in court.

With 44,000 students, Hamilton County Schools is one of the state’s largest districts.

Lee pressed for the law to give parents more education choices for their children. But detractors say that private school vouchers do not improve student outcomes and divert scarce resources from public schools that serve most students who are disadvantaged or have special needs.

Tennessee’s law caps enrollment at 5,000 students in the program’s first year. The program has significant room to grow, based on the latest numbers from the state education department.

As of April 14, the state had approved 705 applicants to use vouchers this school year to exit Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools. Of that number, 453 applicants had submitted proof that they’ve enrolled in state-approved private school and are using their voucher of nearly $8,200 toward tuition.

While there was no discussion on the Senate floor about reasons fo rejecting the House’s proposed expansion to Knox County, none of the three Republican members who represent that area — Sens. Richard Briggs and Becky Massey and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally — supported it.

“I think we have a very good school system in Knox County and that parents already have a lot of choices,” Briggs told Chalkbeat last month.

He noted that students in his district have the option to attend magnet schools, a charter school, specialized learning academies, and international baccalaureate programs, and to transfer among the district’s 90 schools, as long as there’s space available.

“The last time we voted on (school vouchers) in the legislature, the majority of our Knox County delegation voted against it,” Briggs added. “And there’s definitely not support for them among our citizens.”

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Urban Prep Academies could be turned over to Chicago Public Schools after state denies appeal

2023-04-19T21:44:09+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system and statewide education policy.

Urban Prep Academies may soon no longer operate public charter high schools in Chicago after state education officials denied the nonprofit’s appeal of a decision by the Chicago Board of Education.

The Illinois State Board of Education’s ruling could mean the end of Urban Prep’s 17-year run as a nationally-recognized charter school network known for serving Black boys.

But Urban Prep officials said late Wednesday that they filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County “asserting that the Chicago Public Schools has violated state law that there be a moratorium on school closings until 2025.”

However, the district is not planning to close the schools. In October, when the Chicago Board of Education voted to revoke Urban Prep’s charter agreement to operate campuses in Englewood and Bronzeville, district officials – in a nod to the network’s unique mission and model – promised to continue operating the schools under district management.

At the time, the Chicago school board cited the charter network’s mismanaged finances and its response to a sexual misconduct investigation involving Urban Prep’s founder, which were uncovered by a report by Chicago Public Schools’ Inspector General.

That report alleged that the charter network’s founder, Tim King, groomed an underage student who later worked at the nonprofit and continued to receive paychecks and benefits after he stopped working there. King denies the allegations.

Board chair Steven Isoye said after Wednesday’s vote that “critical steps are already in motion” to communicate with current students and families about the transition. He said Chicago Public Schools will operate a new school with two campuses and an advisory group is already working on transition plans. A district spokesperson confirmed that plan and said the campuses would remain at their current locations.

Two state board members — Donna Leak and James Anderson — abstained from voting on Urban Prep’s appeal.

“As an African American woman and the mother of an African American son myself, I know there’s a need for a safe space that provides them with the chance to know your value and not how you are portrayed in the media on so many occasions,” Leak said. “We have to do better for African American young men.”

Over the last several months, parents and school leadership have fought to keep all three campuses open and under the operation of Urban Prep Academies. The school’s website also appears to still be accepting applications for new students.

“We trust that the courts will rule in favor of justice and Urban Prep students and families,” the statement from Urban Prep read.

The state board had also voted in November to revoke a charter it held with Urban Prep for a third campus — which the state took over in 2019 after the charter network appealed a decision by Chicago’s school board to close that campus. That campus is slated to close at the end of this school year.

Dennis Lacewell, Urban Prep’s chief academic officer, told state board members their decision will impact 400 current students and “hundreds of elementary and middle school black boys” who will “lose the Urban Prep option.” He called the Chicago school board’s October decision “erroneous” and accused the district of “moving the goalposts” as the network tried to address concerns about financial mismanagement.

“A decision to close our schools would eliminate this black institution which almost 20 years ago took on a challenge to successfully educate the most neglected demographic of students: Black boys,” Lacewell said prior to the vote. He also said the decision could result in roughly 100 people losing their jobs, 85% of whom are Black.

Isoye said Chicago Public Schools is committed to retaining as many current Urban Prep staff as possible.

As part of the appeals process with the state, a hearing officer issued a full report for each school in February and recommended the appeals be denied. The reports outlined concerns about Urban Prep’s financial management, noting “extensive borrowing practices via credit cards and predatory lenders.”

It also highlighted a finding by Chicago Public Schools Inspector General that the charter network obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the federal government that “made significant misrepresentations regarding the cost of its operations leading to the receipt of a loan larger than what it would have otherwise been qualified to receive.”

Last fall, Chicago school board members acknowledged that Urban Prep’s academic model has been successful for the Black teenage boys it serves. In the past, Urban Prep has received national recognition for graduating Black students at high rates and steering them into college.

The school’s leadership decided to appeal to the Illinois State Board of Education in November to prevent Chicago from taking over the schools.

After the vote, Isoye said the decision to deny Urban Prep’s appeal — effectively ending the once-lauded charter network — was “not an easy one to make.”

“Supporting the success of Urban Prep students through the transition and beyond is a top priority of all of us here,” Isoye said.

Mauricio Peña contributed to this report.

Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Bill to extend private school vouchers to Hamilton and Knox counties clears Tennessee House

2023-04-19T19:06:15+00:00

Tennessee’s House voted Wednesday for a bill to extend vouchers to Hamilton and Knox counties, just months after the purported pilot program launched in Shelby County and Metro Nashville to let some families use taxpayer money toward private school tuition.

The proposal passed 57-35 and now returns to the Senate, which voted in February to add Hamilton County before the House sponsor introduced an amendment to include Knox County, too.

If it becomes law, the wider expansion bill will bring Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program to all four of the state’s urban districts.

The push shows the Republican-controlled legislature’s desire to expand the program quickly after it cleared a series of legal hurdles that had delayed its launch as a pilot program under a 2019 law. The law still faces challenges in court from the Shelby County and Metro Nashville governments.

The state comptroller’s first report on how well the pilot is working isn’t due until Jan. 1, 2026, but that hasn’t stopped Republican lawmakers from pursuing a quick expansion.

“Why would you add two additional counties to an unproven, unsubstantiated program?” asked Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Knoxville Democrat, before voting against the bill. A pilot program, he argued, is designed to test an idea’s effectiveness on a small scale.

“This will actually help us collect more data by having more counties,” responded Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican who is co-sponsoring the measure with Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga.

Critics say private school vouchers do not improve student outcomes and divert scarce resources from public schools that serve the bulk of students who are disadvantaged or have special needs — also leading to more segregated schools.

White said parents simply want more options for their children’s education. He added that he is seeking to add Hamilton and Knox counties at the request of several lawmakers who represent those areas, including Republican Rep. Michelle Carringer of Knoxville, who spoke on the floor in favor of the bill.

But several Democrats representing both counties said the support of some GOP lawmakers wasn’t good enough.

“The citizens of Knox County, the majority of them, do not want vouchers,” said Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville.

Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, a Chattanooga Democrat, represents Hamilton County and previously served on the local school board.

Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, of Chattanooga, added: “What you’re telling us is that it’s not relevant what the parents think in those communities. It’s not relevant what the community leaders think.”

Tennessee’s voucher law caps enrollment at 5,000 students in the program’s first year, far above the current enrollment.

As of April 14, the state education department had approved 705 applicants to use vouchers this school year to exit Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools. Of that number, 453 applicants had submitted proof that they’ve enrolled in state-approved private school and are using their voucher of nearly $8,200 to pay toward tuition, a department spokesman said.

The program is already poised to expand next school year under a separate bill passed earlier this session and signed into law Monday by Lee. That measure extends voucher eligibility to students who attended private or home schools during the last three school years. Previously, a student had to move directly from a public to private school.

You can track the bill to extend vouchers to Hamilton and Knox counties on the state legislature’s website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Religious charter school rejected in Oklahoma, but a national fight looms

2023-04-12T00:36:59+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to keep up with how public education is changing.

A state board in Oklahoma voted down Tuesday an application for the country’s first religious charter school, highlighting the legal uncertainty around using tax dollars to directly pay for religious education.

In rejecting the school’s initial application, board members acknowledged that the larger issue of whether religious charter schools pass legal muster would likely be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court has already ruled that states cannot exclude religious schools from private school choice programs.

If the court eventually rules in favor of religious charter schools, as some legal experts expect, it could have broad implications for the separation of church and state, as well as lead to more charter schools and less money for traditional public schools.

“This is a huge deal,” said Preston Green, an education law professor at the University of Connecticut, “and not just for red states, but for the entire country.”

The unanimous vote, which came after about two hours of discussion by Oklahoma’s five-member Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, delayed a final decision on the application for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The school can submit a revised application, which could come before the board again as soon as next month.

Board members raised a number of issues with the application, from how the proposed charter school would serve students with disabilities to its management structure to how it would ensure internet connectivity for students. But the thorniest question was whether it was even legal to approve a charter school with an explicitly religious mission.

“The constitutional issue is a big high hurdle,” said Board Chairperson Robert Franklin.

Another board member, Scott Strawn, said, “Is it settled law? That’s the gray area we’re all living in.”

The Catholic Church in Oklahoma City and Tulsa proposed the online charter school as a way to reach students in rural areas with few local schools. Named for the patron saint of the internet, the St. Isidore school would eventually enroll up to 1,500 students statewide in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Charter schools are publicly funded but operated by private groups rather than local school boards. Some religious groups run charter schools, but the schools are fully secular.

By contrast, the Oklahoma charter school would be explicitly religious. The school application says Catholic schools are “places of evangelization” that serve the mission of the church. The online charter school would display religious symbols such as crucifixes, and students would study religion and attend church services, the application says.

Before the vote Tuesday, the board heard from several commenters opposed to religious charter schools.

Bruce Prescott, a retired Baptist minister, said religious charter schools would “upend the entire educational landscape in Oklahoma.”

“One of the hallmarks of public schools in America is that they are non-discriminatory and secular in their acceptance of all students regardless of their faith or beliefs,” he said.

A proposed religious charter school sparks debate

Critics say the proposed school would violate state laws and the “establishment clause” in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which prohibits the government from endorsing any religion. They have also raised concerns that the school could discriminate against students or employees based on their religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

In its application, the church said the school would adopt an anti-discrimination policy, but would also defer to Catholic teachings on issues such as marriage and homosexuality, which the church considers immoral when acted upon. In interviews, Oklahoma church officials have declined to say whether the school would admit openly gay or transgender students.

“St. Isidore plans to, or at the very least reserves the right to, unlawfully discriminate in admissions and employment,” said a letter to the state virtual charter school board from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a legal advocacy group that opposes the proposed school.

Proponents of the school argue that it is the state’s charter school law, not the proposed school, that violates the First Amendment. They say that stopping religious groups from operating charter schools according to their faith amounts to religious discrimination.

In December, Oklahoma’s former Republican attorney general issued an opinion saying the state’s ban on religious charter schools likely violated the First Amendment. But shortly after, the state’s newly elected Republican attorney general withdrew the opinion, saying it tried to “justify state-funded religion.”

The state’s Republican governor attacked the move by Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

“You contend that the United States and the Oklahoma Constitutions permit, and indeed require, the state to discriminate against religious organizations seeking authorization to operate charter schools,” Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote in a letter to Drummond. “In fact, the opposite is true.”

Several members of the statewide virtual charter school board noted the differing legal opinions in the discussion Tuesday. Franklin, the board chair, said he asked prior to the meeting if board members would have legal protection and “support from the attorney general’s office” if they were sued after the final decision.

“We’re not going to be able to answer that legal question,” he said.

The big legal question: Are charter schools public or private?

Both sides of the debate about whether charter schools can be religious tend to agree that, under the U.S. Constitution, public schools cannot promote religion. Where they disagree is whether charter schools are truly public schools.

In legal terms, the question is whether charter schools are “state actors.” If so, they cannot impose religious beliefs on students.

Derek Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said charter schools are clearly state actors.

“I would say there’s 101 reasons why they are state actors,” he said, “and none why they are not.”

He noted that charter schools and traditional public schools both receive public money, cannot charge tuition or turn students away, and must adhere to state academic standards. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools don’t answer to elected school boards and they enjoy flexibility from some state regulations. But those qualities don’t make charter schools “private actors,” Black argued.

If Oklahoma were to approve the plan for a religious charter school, the state would essentially be endorsing the school’s religious beliefs, Black said.

“That is the state adopting private religious beliefs as the state’s curriculum,” he said. “That stamp all by itself is state action.”

But proponents of religious charter schools argue they are more private than public.

Nicole Stelle Garnett, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said charter schools do not qualify as state actors because their actions cannot be attributed to the government. In fact, she argues, the premise behind charter schools is that they operate independently of the state in a way that traditional public schools cannot.

“That’s kind of the whole point of charter schools,” she said, “to foster pluralism and foster innovation by giving them freedom from government control.”

Whether or not charter schools are state actors is at the heart of a legal case in North Carolina, where a student sued a charter school that requires girls to wear skirts. The school has argued that it is not subject to federal anti-discrimination laws because it is not a state actor.

A lower court ruled against the school, which appealed to the Supreme Court. In January, the court asked the Biden administration to weigh in on the matter, which could signal the court’s interest in the legal question.

Based on recent Supreme Court rulings that said states cannot stop religious schools from receiving public benefits, some legal experts think the court’s conservative majority will declare that charter schools are not state actors — and therefore free to promote religious beliefs. Such a ruling would raise a new set of issues, including whether religious charter schools may discriminate against students or staffers on religious grounds.

“Those are questions that remain unanswered,” Garnett said.

Some of the original proponents of charter schools, however, say any attempt to mix charter schools and religious instruction runs counter to the intent of those schools.

“If a religious school receives public funding, that is not a charter school and should not be called that,” said Ember Reichgott Junge, a former Democratic state senator in Minnesota who wrote the senate version of the country’s first charter school law, which passed in 1991. “It’s something else.”

Patrick Wall is a senior reporter covering national education issues. Contact him at pwall@chalkbeat.org. Cara Fitzpatrick is a story editor at Chalkbeat.

As NYC is expected to spend $38K per student, budget watchdog calls for prioritizing ‘critical services’

2023-04-11T04:01:00+00:00

Buoyed in recent years by billions in federal stimulus dollars, New York City is slated to spend about $38,000 per student next school year — the most in recent history — as enrollment is again expected to drop, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The report, from Citizens Budget Commission, or CBC, a budget watchdog group, comes as the education department faces 3% in cuts for next year. Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council are in the middle of budget planning for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

Many of the CBC’s findings focus on the period from fiscal year 2016 through 2022, since the current fiscal year, 2023, isn’t over yet. Some of the report’s highlights include:

In that time period, the education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 47%, in large part due to the $7 billion in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped. Three school years from now, in fiscal year 2026, CBC projects the city could be spending as much as $44,000 per student.
Spending grew the most in three areas: early childhood education, at 65%, covering private school tuition, such as for students with disabilities, by 79%, and for charter schools, by 84%. This was fueled by enrollment growth in these specific areas.
Spending related to schools, such as for instruction, grew by about 34%. Spending on school services, such as transportation, food, and safety, grew at a similar rate.
Spending on school support, such as special education instructional costs, grew by about 15%. And spending on central costs, including central administration, fringe benefits, pension contributions, and debt service, saw the slowest growth – by 8%.

CBC called for officials to prioritize programs and services for next year that are most effective and shed others. It also notes that the city faces financial pressures over the next several years, which the Adams administration has also emphasized as they’ve imposed stricter savings targets on city agencies. Those challenges include labor costs that will stem from new union contracts, including with the United Federation of Teachers, and a potential recession.

“We can’t do everything for everyone, so we need to start focusing on the most impactful interventions,” said Ana Champeny, the vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission.

New York City spends the most per pupil among the nation’s largest school districts. That cost grew as federal dollars were poured into the school system and enrollment dropped significantly after the onset of the pandemic. Dips in enrollment are likely due to several factors, including demographic changes and the cost of living in New York, which are leading many families to find homes elsewhere.

Roughly one-third of the department’s spending growth between 2016 and 2022 was due to federal pandemic aid, which is set to run out by 2024, CBC’s report found.

Advocates and educators have decried the potential cuts to the education department — amounting up to $421 million — as students continue to struggle with a host of challenges, including mental health, chronic absenteeism, and recovering academically after remote learning. Cuts to school budgets this school year resulted in some schools losing teachers, having larger class sizes, and cutting some programming, such as art and music classes.

Research has found that more money usually leads to better schools. New York, however, is in a puzzling situation: Despite being the leading state in spending per pupil, students score in the middle of the pack on national math and reading tests.

It’s possible to make cuts through central or support costs, such as through transportation contracts, and “avoid cuts to school budgets,” the CBC report notes.

While CBC doesn’t make specific recommendations, Champeny said such cuts could mean negotiating cheaper transportation-related contracts. The department could also look for ways to reduce private school placements for children with disabilities, commonly known as “Carter Cases,” a cost that ballooned under former Mayor Bill de Blasio and continues to grow.

More immediately, however, the group called on the department to be “transparent” about the future of a slate of programs that are currently relying on federal pandemic relief, which other organizations and advocates have also pressed for. These programs include expanded summer school, new prekindergarten seats for students with disabilities, and screening for dyslexia and other literacy programs – an area that Adams is increasingly making one of his signature projects.

Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said, “This Administration has been open and honest about the long-term combined challenges of declining enrollment, programs funded by one-time federal stimulus dollars, and rising costs tied to unfunded mandates from the State.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Valor Classical Academy eyes Pike Township after failing to win building in Carmel

2023-04-11T03:35:20+00:00

A charter school affiliated with the private Christian Hillsdale College seeks to open in northwest Indianapolis amid significant backlash after failing to acquire a school building in Carmel.

Valor Classical Academy is now interested in opening in the fall in an office building near I-465 and Michigan Road near the intersection of Pike Township, Washington Township, and Carmel Clay school districts.

Valor is authorized to open in Hamilton County, as originally proposed. State law requires the school’s authorizer, the Grace Schools Charter Authority affiliated with the private Christian Grace College, to hold a public hearing about the new proposed location in Marion County. Valor’s school board president said the site, at 3600 Woodview Trace, is one possibility and that school officials recently toured another location in Hamilton County that may prove a better fit.

Dozens of parents and community members protested at the public hearing on Monday, arguing that the school’s ties to Hillsdale are problematic.

Opponents argued that the school’s curriculum, which includes the Hillsdale 1776 history and civics curriculum, will create an ethnocentric school focused solely on Western culture that will isolate students of color and serve primarily white students.

“It’s clear that Valor’s Hillsdale curriculum will be pushing its own political agenda,” said Metropolitan School District of Pike Township Superintendent Larry Young.

The school’s new proposed location pits a community with strong anti-charter tendencies against a charter school backed by a Christian college that has become central in conservative education ideology.

Supporters of the school said Monday that it would provide quality education for those who do not have faith in traditional schools.

Jackie O’Keefe, a parent who spoke in support of the Valor, objected to opponents who painted the school as a politically conservative force.

“When it comes to education, the word conservative to me lends itself to a focus of academics, math, science, reading, spelling, pencil, and paper,” she said. “Not sitting in front of a screen. Not social justice, not pronouns or sexuality. For our family, a classical education checks all of those boxes.”

Valor seeks to open in Marion County instead of Hamilton County

The Grace Schools Charter Authority authorized the charter of Valor Classical Academy in October. The small private college in Winona Lake, Indiana, authorizes four other charter schools in the state including Seven Oaks Classical School, another Hillsdale-affiliated school.

Valor initially applied to open in the Carmel Clay school district with a plan to buy the district’s now-closed Orchard Park Elementary. State law allows charter schools to purchase unused school buildings for $1.

But Carmel Clay Schools fought against the acquisition, arguing that the building would still be in use. After the state attorney general sided with the school district, Valor sued the district. A Hamilton Superior Court judge in January sided with the school district.

Legislators are considering letting the $1 law lapse in 2025.

Facing a potential dead end in Carmel, Valor filed an addendum to its application to instead pursue a 15-year lease with an option to buy a 70,000-square-foot office building along I-465 and Michigan Road, moving the planned school from Hamilton to Marion County.

In its addendum to the charter application, Valor noted that the planning department has recommended approval of the school’s use.

But the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development said through a spokesperson that the site’s zoning does not permit a school use and Valor would need approval to operate one there.

The school plans to open with 378 students in grades K-6, growing to full capacity in 2029 to 702 students in grades K-12, according to the charter application.

Valor says the new location would enable it to draw students from 10 school districts across multiple counties, serving roughly the same area that the school would have served in its previously proposed location at Orchard Park. The school anticipates attracting “privately-educated students who align with Valor’s mission,” according to the March addendum.

“Hamilton, Marion, Hendricks, and Boone counties are ripe with students who have fled from district public schools to alternate sources of education and many more seeking alternatives,” the school wrote in its March addendum. It notes that families are transporting their children outside their district and paying up to an average $6,000 to $8,000 tuition for a “non-secular, classical” education.

The school would offer what it calls a classical, liberal arts curriculum including Latin, a math curriculum known as Singapore Math, and an emphasis on civics and classical virtues, according to the school’s charter.

The school touts civics-centered education with a classical education philosophy dating back to ancient Greece that is also “grounded in the foundational tenets of our Western heritage.”

Parents oppose Valor, citing Hillsdale College’s role in school

But parents from Pike and Washington Townships expressed strong opposition at the hearing Monday, arguing that Valor’s book list, referred to as the “great books,” did not reflect the culture of Pike Township — which has an overwhelming majority of students of color.

Valor’s website lists books for every grade level, including those by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Oscar Wilde, and Emily Bronte. Opponents of the school argued that they did not see themselves or their children of color reflected in the collection of literature.

“My children attend schools led by Black leaders who are intentional in ensuring that they see themselves in the literature and material that they study on a daily basis,” said Pike Township parent Alexandra Hall. “The great books promoted by Valor Classical Academy will alienate, isolate, and demean the rich cultures and traditions that are prominent and celebrated in Pike schools.”

Community members also took exception to Valor’s adoption of the Hillsdale 1776 curriculum for American history and civics, arguing that the project was a conservative reactionary curriculum.

“I know we don’t have to send our kids to Valor,” said Gabriel Bosslet, a Pike Township parent. “But we don’t want this anywhere near us, frankly.”

If it manages to open, Valor would eventually join 23 schools nationwide as a Hillsdale College member school that receives guidance and support from Hillsdale.

Backlash against Hillsdale-affiliated schools has spread after a video surfaced last summer of Hillsdale President Larry Arnn commenting that teachers “are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.”

Arnn chaired President Donald Trump’s 1776 Commission, which recommended that states and school districts reject curriculum that “promotes one-sided partisan opinions” and “activist propaganda.” The commission was created after The New York Times published The 1619 Project that reframed America’s historical narrative around slavery, a perspective that Trump criticized as “warped” and “distorted.”

A network of Hillsdale-affiliated charter schools known as American Classical Education encountered strong opposition to its proposal to open schools in Tennessee, where Gov. Bill Lee had urged Hillsdale to open more charter schools using its classical school model.

Proponents of Valor in Indianapolis argued that the school will fill a need in Marion County for a public classical education.

“Wherever this building is going to be, our goal is to invite in a radius from five miles in a circle out to 10 miles anyone who would like an excellent classical education,” said David Wright, Valor’s head of school. “This is different. It’s built on the great books. It’s built on discussion and reflection.”

Others argued that the school would be a higher-quality option than the traditional public schools that serve the area.

“I want to know, since when does respect — all these things, the core values that Valor stands for, since when are those exclusively some sort of right-wing Christian foundation?” said parent Joel Harsin. “Those are such things we should all strive for. Manners, respect — all those things.”

Valor school board President Holly Wilson said after the meeting that the list of books on the school’s website is just a sampling of the literature incorporated at the school. Teachers would also have the freedom to bring in whatever texts align with the curriculum, she said.

She said Hillsdale College’s political activities would not affect the school.

The Grace Schools Charter Authority board may vote on whether to approve the amendment to the school’s charter later this month.

Correction: April 11, 2023: A previous version of this story described Grace College as Valor Classical Academy’s authorizer. The authorizer is the Grace Schools Charter Authority affiliated with Grace College.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

New poverty research could bring more clarity to charter school comparisons

2023-04-10T16:00:00+00:00

Thanks to Michigan’s robust school-choice policies, Detroit’s roughly 100,000 public-school students are widely dispersed across a mix of charters, traditional neighborhood schools, and application schools that select their students.

But efforts to understand how school and student performance compares across these categories have been snarled by a surprisingly hard-to-answer question: Which schools have the highest concentration of the poorest students — the ones who are at the greatest disadvantage before they enter the classroom?

A growing line of research aims to tackle that question, taking a closer look at family income data to uncover significant differences among students whose families fit the broad criteria for economic disadvantage. One such study found that the Detroit Public Schools Community District’s neighborhood schools have higher proportions of students in deep poverty, compared with the city’s charter schools and application schools.

The study captured only a subset of Detroit’s schools, over a brief period of time. Still, researchers say the quest for more detailed data on family income has the potential to shape how schools are evaluated, staffed, and even funded, since students who face more disadvantages at home need more resources to get an adequate education.

“The deeper someone is in poverty, the more challenges they face, and that has a huge impact on a child’s ability to participate in their education,” said Jennifer Erb-Downward, a senior research associate at Poverty Solutions, an initiative at the University of Michigan.

Study uses parent surveys to get detailed income data

To identify economically disadvantaged students for its data collection, Michigan infers family incomes based on eligibility for public benefit programs, such as free school lunch or food stamps. Those measures can be imprecise: Students labeled as economically disadvantaged in state data may have family incomes anywhere from zero up to $51,300 per year for four people.

Finer-grained measures of student poverty aren’t usually available in Michigan — or in most other states — because education data systems typically aren’t linked with family tax returns.

Jeremy Singer, a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University, sought to fill that gap with a more detailed picture of the challenges Detroit students face at home and the types of schools they attend. His work received an honorable mention for the outstanding education policy dissertation award given by the American Education Research Association, a prominent association of education scholars.

Singer drew on a survey of more than 1,700 families whose students attended a school in the city in January 2022. Parents were asked about their income, education, and employment, and Singer linked their answers to data on their students’ schools.

The paper claims that DPSCD neighborhood schools enrolled the most students in deep poverty — meaning they had less than $15,000 in family income. Overall, the survey found that 49% of students attending DPSCD neighborhood schools were experiencing deep poverty, compared with 31% of charter school students and 23% of students at DPSCD exam schools.

The study does not identify poverty rates at specific schools, or examine how those schools perform academically. It was complicated by the pandemic, whose economic effects may have influenced the family incomes reported in the survey.

The study was also limited by low participation by charter schools — just 40% agreed to join the survey.

Even so, by looking at school enrollment data with added dimensions to measure poverty, “the study makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of who is choosing schools,” Joanne Golann, a professor of Public Policy and Education at Vanderbilt University, said in an email.

“If charters are attracting low-income families that are more stable, more educated, and more involved, this has implications for how we understand their success and their impact on neighborhood schools,” Golann said.

Why do some schools enroll more high-poverty students?

There are nearly 190 schools in Detroit, almost half of them charters. Of the district’s more than 100 schools, roughly two dozen require an application or an admissions exam.

How students come to be distributed among these types of schools is a point of focus in the debate over the merits of charter schools, and school choice policies broadly.

Charter school critics in Detroit have sometimes accused the sector of “cream skimming,” or boosting their average test scores by recruiting higher-income students, who face fewer barriers to success at school.

But Singer said that’s likely not the main reason that deep poverty is concentrated in neighborhood schools.

In follow-up interviews with survey respondents, he found that limited transportation and economically segregated social networks helped explain the differences.

Parents with the lowest incomes were less likely to own a car and more likely to prioritize the nearest school in order to minimize their children’s commute. DPSCD application schools don’t offer school buses, and many charter schools don’t either.

“If families were interested in choosing a school farther away, they needed to have the resources to do so,” Singer said. “Otherwise they may not even have considered it.”

Those patterns were reinforced by families’ social networks. Parents with higher incomes were more likely to say that their family and friends recommended charter schools or application schools.

Poverty differences complicate school comparisons

Singer said his findings about where deep poverty is concentrated argue for reexamining the claim that charter schools in the city produce better test scores.

Factoring test scores alone, Detroit charters slightly outperform district schools on Michigan’s standardized exam. Still, students in Detroit generally score much lower than their peers statewide. Statewide proficiency rates in English and math were 41% for third graders in Michigan last year.

In Detroit charters, about 12% of third graders were proficient in English last year, while 10% were proficient in math.

In DPSCD, the third grade math proficiency rate was 10%, and English proficiency was 9%.

But such comparisons may need to be reconsidered if that broad measure conceals the district’s larger very-high-need population.

“There are news stories going back decades (arguing that) charter schools are better” using test score comparisons, Singer said. “But we don’t have the data to make that claim. We have not adequately accounted for meaningful differences in student populations.”

To account for those economic differences, researchers and policymakers have looked at charter school enrollment lotteries, where applicants are selected at random. That way, researchers could be confident that factors like family education levels or income aren’t at the root of any differences in test scores.

But enrollment lotteries are rare in Detroit, where schools of all types generally struggle to enroll enough students. One lottery study of National Heritage Academies, a for-profit charter network, looked at schools in Detroit and across Michigan and found that students who benefited most from attending NHA schools had higher family incomes and lived outside cities.

Attention to deep poverty could benefit Detroit schools

Educators in Michigan agree that it takes extra dollars to provide an adequate education to students facing economic disadvantages.

The state already provides some additional funding for these students, but in 2018, a team of nonpartisan experts recommended that the state sharply increase its funding for students considered economically disadvantaged — and provide even more money for students facing “high need poverty.”

Detroit schools, including charters, would likely be among the largest beneficiaries in the state of such a policy. Singer’s research suggests that DPSCD would receive the biggest boost of all.

Charter leaders, presented with study findings, argued that Detroit students are generally more similar than different.

“Every school in Detroit has a vast majority of students who live in economically disadvantaged conditions,” said Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies.

Research could have other applications

Education researchers say more study of differences between economically disadvantaged students is needed — and not just to clarify debates about school choice.

For instance, efforts to measure teacher effectiveness often factor in broad measures of students’ economic advantage, such as their eligibility for free lunch. “This may ignore important differences among students who are all eligible” for free lunch, said Philip Gleason, an education researcher and senior fellow at the research firm Mathematica.

Within districts, the data could be used to distribute resources to schools with more severe poverty. Nikolai Vitti, DPSCD superintendent, said Singer’s research “reaffirms why we are shifting more of our limited resources to neighborhood high schools and larger neighborhood K-8” schools.

But getting the kind of detailed data on incomes that Singer cites will likely be difficult, as long as it requires using painstaking surveys.

Singer says Michigan policymakers could accelerate the process by linking tax data with education records. Doing so would require political support and could raise privacy concerns.

But it has been done: In 2021, New Mexico passed a law allowing officials to link education and tax data.

The new information will be used to increase funding to schools with higher rates of extreme poverty.

Koby Levin is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 schools and early childhood education. Contact Koby at klevin@chalkbeat.org.

A week before students decide, Philadelphia’s selective high schools have hundreds of vacant seats

2023-04-06T21:30:17+00:00

A week before Philadelphia students are scheduled to decide where to enroll for ninth grade, 12 of the district’s selective schools still have a combined total of more than 700 open seats, many of which are likely to go unfilled.

The open seats, which the district reported in a statement Thursday, follow its implementation of a new lottery admissions system that was meant to bring more equity and opportunity to the process. But the system, which fully went into effect this school year, has also resulted in fewer students enrolling at many criteria-based high schools for the upcoming year. That trend has sparked concerns about forced teacher transfers, declining enrollment, and corresponding job cuts at those schools, as well as worries about some of the schools’ long-term viability.

The impact on faculty has led to several protests by students and teachers, one before the March 23 Board of Education meeting, and another on March 28 outside City Hall. The concerns are especially acute at themed and innovative high schools that serve mostly Black and brown students.

At its most selective high schools, including Masterman and Central, the enrollment historically has mostly consisted of white and Asian students, although there are signs that their demographics are changing significantly under the new system.

At its March meeting, the Board of Education announced the district would offer seats to 316 students who otherwise qualified for next year’s ninth grade in one or more of the schools but had not enrolled. The district subsequently held two information sessions to help fill those seats. But as of Thursday, just 61 of the 316 students had accepted spots.

Last month, Superintendent Tony Watlington acknowledged that the new process is flawed and said the district will try to improve it next year.

Watlington said he was reallocating $3 million from other parts of the district’s budget to minimize the loss of teachers. But he also said last month that principals ultimately make such staffing decisions based on available funding, a point the district has since reiterated.

Watlington said that only three criteria-based high schools would lose more than two teachers next year: Hill-Freedman World Academy, The Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, and Girls High School, based on their teacher allotments and information from principals.

However, teachers from Science Leadership Academy–Beeber remain uncertain about how many teachers they could lose from their staff of 50.

Normally, Beeber would take 120 ninth graders, but for next year the projected number is about half that, said Alex Kopp, a math and computer science teacher at the school.

The lottery qualifies students based on grades, test scores (in years when they are available), attendance, and behavior. In past years, schools like Beeber were also able to interview students who came close to qualifying and appeared on paper to be a good fit for the project-based curriculum.

This year, however, they could not interview students to flesh out the class, he said. That change was part of the district’s effort to eliminate implicit bias from the admissions system.

If school staffing drops below a certain level, he might be unable to maintain his computer science and technology program.

Kopp said he respects equity as a goal for the new admissions process, especially for the most selective schools like Central and Masterman. But schools like Beeber could be adversely affected, he said, by “becoming less diverse and less able to serve students that would be highly successful” in their small, often project-based approach to learning. If that happens, “the school community suffers,” he said.

Among the 61 students among the 316 who decided to accept an offer to a selective school, the most popular were Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) High School, Franklin Learning Center (FLC), and Saul, the state’s only high school that focuses on agriculture.

Beeber was among the other schools students could choose from. Those schools included Lankenau, Motivation, Hill-Freedman, the three Parkways — Northwest, Center City Middle College, and West — and Girls High.

Students, who can apply to up to five schools, must inform the district of their decision by April 14.

Video by WHYY Movers & Makers.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Push to change Indiana property taxes to benefit charter schools triggers alarm in IPS

2023-04-06T11:00:00+00:00

Indiana’s 2023 legislative session is under way, and state legislators have introduced more than 100 new education bills and bills impacting schools and students. For the latest Indiana education news, sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free newsletter here.

Republican lawmakers are advancing major changes to the state’s school funding system to benefit charter schools and districts with relatively low property tax values.

The proposed Republican House budget, along with a newly amended GOP Senate bill, would rework Indiana’s property tax system to pump more funding into charters and level what lawmakers say is an unfair playing field for charters and traditional public schools. Lawmakers also might create a dedicated funding stream for charters’ capital expenses that would replace the so-called “$1 law.”

But the proposals have been sharply criticized by Democrats and traditional public school leaders, who argued that the changes would come at the expense of thousands of students in traditional public schools.

The bills channel issues at the heart of a recent dispute over tax revenue in Indianapolis Public Schools. The district withdrew its plan to ask voters for new property taxes on the May ballot, amid criticism from charter school supporters that the draft ballot measure did not provide charters enough money. If the proposals become law, they could change the long-term balance of fiscal power within the state’s public education system.

Together, House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 391 would do the following to boost funding for charters and school districts with low property values:

Provide $1,400 per charter school student from the state in fiscal year 2024 and $1,500 in fiscal year 2025, replacing a state program that provides $1,250 per student to compensate for a lack of property tax revenue.
Provide $20 million in next year’s budget for charter schools’ capital needs.
Require school districts in Marion, Lake, St. Joseph, and Vanderburgh counties to share with charter schools any revenues from ballot measures passed to support operating or school safety expenses after June 30, 2023. Virtual charters and adult high school charter schools would not receive such funding. A fiscal analysis says the revenue would be shared “proportionally.”
Provide state funding for school districts that are unable to raise at least $1,400 per pupil from its operating fund in 2024 and $1,500 in 2025. The funding would supplement existing property taxes to get to those baselines each year.

In addition, the budget bill would require traditional school districts to reduce their maximum tax rate for operation expenses to 40 cents per $100 of net assessed value by 2031.

Unlike Indiana’s traditional public schools, charters generally do not receive property tax revenues. The one exception is for those considered part of Indianapolis Public Schools, which has opted to share some property tax revenue with its affiliated charters.

Nevertheless, Indianapolis charter school leaders have repeatedly said that the gap between funding for traditional school students and charter students is over $7,000 per student.

“What the House is trying to do is trying to look at charters in parity with the other public schools,” Rep. Bob Behning, the Republican leader of the House education committee, told Chalkbeat. “How do we get them closer to parity with the traditional public schools in terms of funding?”

The proposals would mean significant changes for IPS, where there are over 25 charter schools in the district’s Innovation network and just over 30 other independent charters within district boundaries.

Indianapolis Public Schools would lose $30 million over the next three years under the proposals, IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson told lawmakers last week at a hearing on Senate Bill 391. That loss would increase to $220 million by 2031, equivalent to about 500 teaching positions, she said.

Johnson testified that it would harm taxpayers “whose schools will see less dollars as a result of the passed House budget, and who ultimately will be asked to take on an even greater tax obligation on behalf of even more schools because of the system that this state has created.”

Most Marion County districts, including IPS, have an operating tax rate of more than 40 cents that officials would need to cut by 2031.

Charter proponents support sharing

Janet McNeal, president of the Herron Classical Schools charter network, said Senate Bill 391 would alleviate costs that its schools currently face.

When Herron High School moved into the Herron School of Art building, the network had to cut expenses “in every way we could” to prepare the building’s interior, McNeal told the House education committee last week. Nearly two decades later, the school is facing millions of dollars worth of badly needed upgrades to its roof and HVAC system.

“We can’t afford it — we just can’t,” she said. “Thus, we are forced to continue patching the roof, which leaks into our classrooms during heavy rains, and continue to make repairs on our HVAC system — and the repairs are, individually, costly.”

But Democrats in the statehouse say charter backers want more money without the responsibility that should come with it.

“We have groups that don’t want the authority of the school board,” Rep. Ed DeLaney told Chalkbeat. “They don’t want to be tied to the district where the property is located, but they want the money.”

Operating tax rate capped

The Republican budget also caps the rate at which school districts may tax property for operating expenses.

That means four Marion County school districts would collect less than they are currently projected for 2024, according to projections from the Indiana Legislative Services Agency.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, would receive $2.5 million less in property tax revenues in 2024, and by 2026, it would receive $16.5 million less.

At the same time, the proposed budget gradually reduces the amount of property tax revenue that is restricted under the state’s property tax cap. This would allow districts to collect more in property taxes each year.

Lawmakers ‘give up’ on $1 law

The Senate bill would also eliminate the state’s $1 law by July 2025.

The law requires school districts to offer “vacant or unused” school buildings to charter schools or state educational institutions for the sale or annual lease price of $1. Enacted in 2005, it was meant to provide charter schools easier access to buildings without the support of property tax revenue.

But the law’s vague wording has led to legal battles between charter schools that want those buildings and traditional school districts that argue they are still in use.

The state attorney general’s office, which is responsible for investigating claims that school districts are not following the $1 law, has ruled against traditional school districts in just one of the nine individual complaints publicly documented so far.

Behning said he does not think the law has worked as anticipated.

“I’m saying I give up,” he said at the House education committee meeting last week. “You are seeing a white flag.”

Instead, the budget bill includes a $20 million fund that would support capital needs for charter schools.

The proposed House budget is making its way through the Senate. Senate Bill 391 is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Using charters to fix ailing IPS schools yields instability and inconsistent academic results

2023-04-03T14:51:14+00:00

Early in the 2022-23 school year, Morrise Harbour walked the hallways of a school that he had completely rebranded.

The “Liberty Grove” sign outside the Elder Diggs School 42 building and the new interior paint job marked the latest effort to turn around the K-6 school with roughly 230 students.

But Harbour isn’t the first charter leader who has tried to change School 42’s trajectory. The other one’s tenure didn’t go so well.

In 2017, Ignite Achievement Academy took over School 42 as part of the Indianapolis Public Schools so-called “restart” initiative to improve its academic performance. But five years later, just 4% of students were proficient in English and 4% were proficient in math on Indiana’s ILEARN tests.

Indianapolis Public Schools ended its agreement with Ignite at the end of 2021-22, following a decline in student performance and enrollment. Harbour’s group took over the school last August.

“It’s surprising, to a certain extent, that there are so many students that are just not meeting the expectation,” Harbour said. “And then I also think about, ‘Well, where as the adults did we let the families and students down?’”

Liberty Grove Schools became the new charter operator to take over Elder Diggs School 42 in August 2022 after another charter operator, Ignite Achievement Academy, failed to turn the school around.

Since 2015, IPS has brought on 10 charter operators to turn around nine of its chronically low-performing schools, categorizing them as restart schools within its Innovation Network of schools that are part of the district but have greater autonomy than traditional schools. But their test scores, even when COVID’s disruptions are accounted for, have for the most part improved only slightly or not at all. Two restart operators have been replaced. One restart school has closed. And no school has actually exited restart status.

As local charter schools increase in number and size, the district’s restart model is one way to examine whether the autonomy provided charter schools truly does turn around poorly performing schools. And the 2023 state assessments — which are ramping up in March and April — will provide another stress test for these restart schools.

Before the pandemic hit, passage rates on the state’s third grade IREAD test for the four restart schools that had operated for more than one year increased in some years and decreased in others. The share of students reaching proficiency in both English and math on state exams increased at most restart schools from 2021 to 2022, although the same is true in general for schools statewide as test scores rebounded from pandemic-driven declines.

The state’s switch to a new ILEARN test in 2019, along with the pandemic, affected schools too much to allow for straightforward answers about whether restart schools are working, said Joshua Glazer, associate professor of education policy at George Washington University. Yet he said some things about the effort, like the “vast majority” of students who aren’t proficient on state tests, are clear.

“I don’t think it would be responsible to say, ‘Oh look, these guys have failed,’” said Glazer, who has studied Tennessee’s initiative to pair low-performing schools with charter operators. “But I think what is right to do and what is fair is to ask them [is]: What are you doing to respond to these numbers?”

IPS has no uniform set of goals to decide whether to renew Innovation Network agreements for its restart schools. Instead, the district relies on factors like enrollment and staff turnover when making recommendations about their status to the school board. Innovation agreements for these schools generally include a section on accountability metrics — yet those also vary from school to school.

Reaching a sweeping conclusion about the success of restart schools is complicated, IPS officials say. They argue that each turnaround effort brings its own challenges that might not neatly fit one narrative or set of objectives.

And the Mind Trust, a nonprofit which has helped incubate restart charter operators, argued that restart schools are collectively still outperforming the district’s internal turnaround effort for its lowest-performing schools known as Emerging Schools.

At Liberty Grove, Harbour is trying to change the experience dramatically for students.

“What we want is for the students to know what good teaching and learning feels like, looks like,” he said. “And when they’re going on to high school — or middle school in this case — they’re informed about those things.”

Measuring success varies between schools

IPS has been using the Innovation model as a turnaround strategy since 2015, when it reached a restart agreement with Phalen Leadership Academy to run Francis Scott Key School 103.

‘Restart’ charter schools in IPS

Below is a list of the district’s restart charter schools and the year each operator took over.

Phalen Leadership at Francis Scott Key School 103 (2015-16)
Global Prep Academy at Riverside School 44 (2016-17)
Kindezi Academy at Joyce Kilmer 69 (2016-17 to 2021-22): Not renewed.
Ignite Achievement Academy at Elder Diggs School 42 (2017-18 to 2021-22): Not renewed.
Matchbook Learning at Wendell Phillips School 63 (2018-19)
Urban ACT Academy at Washington Irving School 14 (2018-19 to 2022-23): Not renewed. A non-charter operator will take over School 14 in 2023-24. It’s unclear if the school will be classified as a restart school.
Adelante Schools at Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School (2020-21): Replaced Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) as operator. From 2015-16 to 2019-20, CSUSA ran Emma Donnan Elementary, which was created to complement the Emma Donnan Middle School that had been taken over by the state and was also run by CSUSA. Emma Donnan was not technically classified as a restart school but constituted a unique turnaround effort. The Innovation agreement for the elementary school was not renewed due to poor staff retention, declining enrollment, and a lack of instructional rigor.
Phalen Leadership Academy at Louis B. Russell School 48 (2020-21)
Path School at Stephen Foster School 67 (2020-21)
Liberty Grove at Elder Diggs School 42 (2022-23): Replaced Ignite as the operator.

Each decision to start or renew an agreement with a restart charter school looks different.

When the school board approved the Innovation agreement with Phalen Leadership Academy to run Louis B. Russell School 48, IPS did not yet have performance goals for the school finalized. Its agreement with Global Prep, however, referenced performance goals set forth in the school’s charter.

When staff recommended the renewal of Kindezi Academy, which became a restart school in 2016-17, they highlighted below-average attendance and staff retention, but also a “strong building culture.” After Kindezi backed out of the district’s one-year renewal option, the district closed the school.

When the district chose not to renew its agreement with Urban Act Academy in 2022, which ran Washington Irving School 14, the percentage of students proficient in both math and English on the ILEARN had risen to above pre-pandemic levels. Even so, just 1.6% of students were proficient in 2022.

Each school has unique factors that officials must consider, said Brian Dickey, the district’s director of Innovation schools.

“All these pieces come together to inform a recommendation that is not just one resolute data point,” he said.

To some, the disparate fates of these schools demonstrate that the restart charter process hasn’t worked as well as it could.

The renewal process has been inconsistently applied from school to school, said Brandon Brown, the CEO of the Mind Trust.

“There needs to be a comprehensive process that is well articulated and consistently used,” he said. “Because if not, there is less trust in the consistency of the renewal decisions if they’re not using a common process each time.”

A bill in the legislature may make the renewal process more uniform. House Bill 1591 would require Innovation agreements to include the process by which the board would follow when determining whether to renew an agreement.

For some restart schools, though, success amounts to more than just numbers.

At Phalen 103, the district’s oldest restart school, Principal Matt Rimer oversaw a culture shift, a change that district staff highlighted when they recommended renewing the agreement with Phalen in 2019.

Yet the percentage of students reaching proficiency in both English and math stood at just 2.1% in 2019, four years after Phalen became a restart school. And Phalen’s IREAD test scores over the years have been up and down.

Still, among the restart schools, Phalen 103 had among the highest growth rates in IREAD pass rates and combined reading and math ILEARN scores from 2021 to 2022.

This year, the school has a new motto: “Never be satisfied.”

“Obviously our goal is to be the same academically as our counterparts in every part of the state,” Rimer said.

Parents attend an open house at Phalen Leadership Academy at Francis Scott Key School 103 before school starts in August 2022.

Navigating the changes new school operators can bring

When Mariama Shaheed talks to Global Prep Academy students, she switches easily between English and Spanish.

The dual-language school joined the Innovation Network in 2016-17, and its test scores have improved recently.

IREAD pass rates are the highest they’ve been in four years at 63%. And the percentage of students scoring proficient in both English and math has inched above pre-pandemic levels, rising from roughly 5.6% to 7.3%.

But that progress hasn’t been easy.

Global Prep took over Riverside School 44, a pillar in the primarily Black community of Riverside that generations of residents had attended.

“When you talk about Spanish immersion, there’s all these fears associated with: What does that mean for the history and culture of Riverside 44?” Shaheed said. “And so a lot of listening was a part of that process.”

Amid the mistrust, Shaheed had to turn around a school that frequently had been rated F on the state’s A-F accountability system.

“It was the hardest work I’ve ever done as an educator,” she said. “You’re changing culture, you’re changing mindsets. The only thing that was stable was the student body — We were all new. They were not.”

Elementary school students walk in the halls of Global Prep Academy in December 2022. Global Prep was tasked by Indianapolis Public Schools with turning around Riverside School 44.

Shaheed attributes the school’s success to a mission-driven approach and a focus on recruiting the right people.

“It was the first time I felt like I had the real freedom to recruit for mission,” she said.

Since Global Prep’s launch, the demographics at School 44 have shifted from a majority of Black students to about 62% Latino and 35% Black, she said. Shaheed hopes to still attract more Black families to the dual-language school through community outreach, letting families in the area know that this school is still open to them despite a change in programming.

Seven miles away, on the district’s south side, Adelante Schools took over Emma Donnan as a K-8 restart school in 2020-21, during the middle of the pandemic.

But Eddie Rangel, Adelante’s executive director, also had to rebuild community trust in the school following problems with the previous operator. Eighth graders, for instance, did not have any foundation in basic math operations, such as multiplication or division, he said.

Two and a half years later, Rangel feels Adelante has established the trust it was seeking.

Ja’Quan Keys, center, reviews science work with eighth grade English language learner students at the Emma Donnan K-8 school on Feb. 15, 2023.

Academic results on IREAD and ILEARN have also improved. Rangel attributes the growth to teacher and professional development, not just a good curriculum.

“It started with the foundations of selecting high-quality instructional materials, but then it also went to developing teachers and then progress monitoring,” he said.

Getting parents and teachers to believe

The data on restart charter schools, though somewhat limited, can provide different conclusions for charter allies and critics.

Restart schools are still outperforming Emerging Schools on state tests, the Mind Trust said: Roughly 3% of students in all Emerging Schools reached proficiency in both English and math last year, compared to about 5% of students in restart schools, according to the group’s analysis.

Dickey of IPS said he hopes that there will be more clarity going forward as the pandemic’s effects recede.

”We are now hopefully in a state where we are now moving out of that and need to be able to ascertain where our schools are trending in that regard,” he said.

At Liberty Grove, Harbour wants longer class times and uses what he calls a “highly vetted curriculum” that he has adopted in the past. He’s also focused on hiring well and monitoring progress throughout the year.

Like other restart schools, Liberty Grove is starting from a place of struggle. But some parents and staff are sticking with Harbour because they’re impressed with his experience.

Makeba Averitte, an art teacher, worked at Ignite for five years but chose to stay on through the transition to Liberty Grove.

“Definitely the relationships with the kids and family is very important,” said Averitte, whose fifth grade daughter attends the school. “They see someone who is there for them.”

Harbour has a clear plan to create a successful school at Liberty Grove. Whether the restart charter model is the surefire panacea for underperforming schools, though, is not so clear to him.

“Is the solution to bring in a whole bunch of new charters to change?” Harbour said. “I think that’s still to be determined.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Like the candidates themselves, donors in Chicago’s mayoral race have deep education ties

2023-03-31T23:36:51+00:00

Like the candidates themselves, the people and organizations giving big money in Chicago’s mayoral election have strong ties to public education — and the debates around it for the past two decades.

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas’ campaign has been propelled by wealthy business executives, while county commissioner and union organizer Brandon Johnson has been fueled by labor unions.

The Chicago Teachers Union is Johnson’s biggest donor, while Vallas has received six-figure donations from wealthy individuals with ties to school choice and education reform, including some who have charter schools named after them. Vallas, a torch bearer for school choice and charter schools, has supported voucher expansion. Meanwhile, Johnson’s progressive platform aligns closely with the teachers union’s vision for the district.

While a full accounting of campaign donations and spending won’t be available until after the election, a Chalkbeat Chicago analysis of Illinois State Board of Elections records shows Vallas has received at least $15 million since October and Johnson has collected more than $10 million since October 1, 2022.

Johnson’s campaign fueled by labor unions and educators

Johnson received the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union, his largest donor, before officially launching his campaign last fall. Since then, the union’s Political Action Committee has donated almost $2.2 million to his campaign, according to state board of elections records.

The union has poured millions into aldermanic and mayoral campaigns in recent years as a way to influence broader policies that affect public schools. Some rank-and-file CTU members have filed a complaint against union leadership, alleging members’ dues were being funneled to the union’s political action committee, according to WTTW’s Paris Schutz.

A handful of other labor unions are among Johnson’s other top donors. The parent unions of the CTU — Illinois Federation of Teachers and American Federation of Teachers — each gave $940,000 and $2.1 million respectively. The country’s other largest teachers union, the National Education Association, donated $50,000, and its Illinois counterpart gave $75,000. Several political committees connected to the unions that represent special education aides, classroom assistants, school bus aides, child care workers, and nurses, have collectively donated more than $2 million, according to a Chalkbeat analysis.

United Working Families, a progressive group and CTU ally, has also donated almost $47,000 in in-kind contributions, usually in the form of staff help, to Johnson’s campaign and the national Working Families Party donated $70,000.

Aside from labor unions, Johnson’s campaign coffers have mostly been filled by smaller individual donations — many from teachers and educators. For example, he received $20,000 — one of his largest individual gifts — from Elizabeth Simons, a former bilingual education teacher, who now chairs the board of the Heising-Simons Foundation. The foundation provides grants to organizations aimed at strengthening early childhood education for low-income families.

Attorneys who have represented the Chicago Teachers Union at the bargaining table donated to Johnson. Robin Potter, mother of union Vice President Jackson Potter, gave $6,000 and Robert Bloch’s law firm donated $5,000.

Others who have advocated for more funding for public schools gave to Johnson, as well. Cassie Creswell of Illinois Families for Public Schools gave $5,000, and National Education Association President Rebecca Pringle donated $2,000. Kenneth Williams-Bennett, father of CPS graduate Chance the Rapper, also donated $8,000 to Johnson. Williams-Bennett was previously an aide to late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Chance donated $2.2 million to Chicago Public Schools in 2017, as the school district was fighting for more state funding.

Vallas backed by wealthy donors with ties to education reform

Vallas’ campaign war chest is bigger than Johnson’s and has been throughout the campaign. The former district CEO has seen an infusion of cash from corporate business executives, many of whom have ties to charter schools and other education organizations.

One of his largest individual donors is Paul J. Finnegan, co-founder and co-CEO of Madison Dearborn Partners, a private investment equity firm in Chicago. Finnegan has donated $400,000 since October. He is a past chairman and current local advisory board member of Teach for America. Finnegan also sits on the board of CDW Corporation, a technology and services provider for businesses, governments, and school districts, including Chicago Public Schools, which has ramped up purchasing in recent years using COVID-19 recovery dollars.

According to tax filings from 2019, the Finnegan Family Foundation supports dozens of education nonprofits, including Teach for America and the Academy for Urban School Leadership, and charter schools networks, including Noble, LEARN, KIPP, and Intrinsic.

Golf resort owner Michael Keiser, who also sits on the local advisory board of Teach for America, and his wife, Rosalind, have donated $400,000 to Vallas’ campaign since October. He also made a $500,000 donation last summer, shortly after Vallas announced his bid. Finnegan and Keiser are also supporters of the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute.

Other six-figure donations include Craig Duchossois, executive chairman of the Duchossois Group, has donated $760,000. The Duchossois Family Foundation has given grants to After School Matters, according to the foundation’s website.

Citadel executive Gerald Beeson has donated $300,000 since October. Beeson and his wife have an ongoing scholarship for students at Big Shoulders Fund, which provides support to Catholic elementary and high schools in low-income communities.

Two of Vallas’ top donors helped open charter schools in Chicago that now bear their names. Donald Wilson, CEO of DRW Holdings, supported the opening of the Noble Network of Charter Schools 12th campus — DRW College Prep —on the West Side in 2012. He has donated a combined $350,000 to Vallas’ campaign since January.

Joseph Mansueto, a billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Chicago Fire soccer team, donated $250,000 to Vallas’ campaign. In 2017, he donated $18 million that largely funded the construction of Noble’s 17th campus in Brighton Park, now named Mansueto High School.

Deborah Quazzo, a controversial ex-Chicago school board member, and her husband donated $7,500 and $10,000, respectively, to Vallas’ campaign, as first reported by WBEZ. Quazzo left her seat after the Sun-Times reported on her business dealings with the district. The district Office of Inspector General said Quazzo violated Chicago Public Schools’ ethics code, according to the Sun-Times.

Even though they have not given direct donations to Vallas’ campaign, two political action committees focused on school choice and education reform are backing his candidacy by running ads for his platform and against Johnson.

On March 23, the American Federation for Children, a group founded by former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, donated $65,000 to the Illinois Federation for Children PAC. On the same day, the group gave $59,385 to a political strategic media firm Go Big Media, for digital media supporting Vallas, records show.

INCS Action Independent Committee, which supports candidates who are supportive of charter schools, spent $258,000 on television ads and $359,000 on digital media opposing Johnson, as first reported by WTTW.

INCS Action has received most of its funding since October from James S. Frank, who gave the committee a collective $1.5 million. Frank is on the boards of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and Chicago Public Education Fund, in addition to Teach for America’s local advisory board. He has donated $225,000 directly to Vallas since January.

Campaigns have until April 17 to file a full accounting of their fundraising and spending activities through March 31.

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Student protests, teacher concerns follow proposed restructure at Brooklyn charter school network

2023-03-31T20:22:46+00:00

A Brooklyn charter school network’s plans to eliminate its team handling student behavioral and mental health challenges has riled its community, prompting a walkout by high schoolers earlier this week and a flurry of emails from the administration trying to dampen concerns.

By midweek, network administrators at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School began visiting its schools and reassuring employees that a majority of the impacted staff would be offered a transfer into new roles within the network.

For some students and teachers, the uncertainty introduced by the restructure comes at a difficult time, as students grapple with heightened behavioral challenges and mental health crises tied to the effects of the pandemic. But at the core of their concern also lies a fear that the network might drift away from its founding tenets: racial, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity and equity. Teachers and students noted that most of the positions slated for elimination are held by people of color.

The network, meanwhile, contends that the changes come for just the opposite reason — to make their staffing model more equitable.

The administration charged that “an artificial divide between culture and instruction” had resulted in “predominantly Black and Brown staff members in roles without a clear pathway of growth and career progression,” according to an email to staff obtained by Chalkbeat. These staffers have borne the brunt of disciplining students rather than teachers, who are overwhelmingly white, the network said.

Tresha Ward, CEO of the charter network, said that the structural shift will improve hiring practices, creating a stronger pipeline and retention of teachers of color.

“Historically, these responsibilities have been divided in our organization, with student management falling disproportionately on Black and Brown culture staff and instruction falling to a majority white teaching staff,” Ward said in a statement. “In practice, this change opens new opportunities that were not previously available to many of our colleagues and creates transfer opportunities for the majority of staff who are impacted by these changes.”

While a “small number” of staffers will be let go due to funding issues related to enrollment drops, others are expected to transition into new roles, Brooklyn Prospect officials said. A spokesperson for the network said it expected to have roughly 27 fewer positions in the coming school year, but a majority would be phased out through natural attrition.

It’s not an issue that’s unique to Brooklyn Prospect — schools across the city and the country have experienced enrollment declines in recent years, and the impending expiration of some COVID relief funds poses the threat of a widespread fiscal cliff. Public schools throughout the city will continue to face difficult decisions about staffing and spending, with at least one charter school forced to shutter its doors. Still, Brooklyn Prospect’s equity mission and initial communication stumbles have spurred a particularly passionate response.

News that some staff positions will be eliminated fueled critiques over the network’s spending, with teachers and students questioning the opening of a new middle school in Sunset Park as well as building construction and renovation elsewhere.

The friction isn’t necessarily bad, but the next steps are critical, said Halley Potter, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation who has studied educational policy and school equity, particularly examining the role charter schools can play in school integration.

“The hallmark of a good diverse-by-design school, or any school that is serving a diverse community well, isn’t avoiding conflict, but how that conflict is navigated and what the conflict produces,” she said. “The real test will be if the commitment to some of the shared values can create a really positive dialogue and some opportunities for reflection.”

Student protests, concerns among staff

Teachers said discussions last week began with a rocky start. Several expressed frustration with central leadership — referred to within the network as “treehouse” — alleging officials had weaponized inclusive language to justify the elimination of positions held predominantly by staff members of color in their initial email.

When teachers responded to news of the restructuring with questions, they say the email listserv was shut down, restricting their ability to communicate with staff across the network. Carolyn Mshooshian, a ninth-grade English teacher at Brooklyn Prospect High School, said the response was “disappointing.”

The network declined to comment when asked about the listserv.

As frustrations mounted, students at the high school hastily organized a walkout on Tuesday, with plans to continue their protest throughout the week.

“We’re just trying to make a difference — this is our future,” said Zaviahn Scott, a ninth grader and one of several students who organized the walkout. “We’re a family, we’re a community, and we have to stick together.”

Campbell Dietz, a junior, called the Youth Development and School Culture, or YDSC, team “the disciplinary parent” of the family, adding “they’re never harsh with us.” Teachers and students say the staff members help navigate disciplinary issues and establish a positive school environment. If a student went to the bathroom during class and didn’t return for 15 minutes, one of the staff members might help find them, one teacher said.

One network teacher said they felt more at ease after Ward spoke to staff about the changes, noting the administration had apologized for unclear initial communications and assured them that most staff members in eliminated positions would remain employed within the network if they expressed interest in the new roles.

But some others still remain skeptical.

“There’s definitely been a loss of trust for all of us,” the teacher acknowledged. “With some people, that is going to take them longer to regain.”

Response demonstrates ‘democracy in action’

Potter noted there’s a longstanding equity debate over whether certain education issues should be handled by designated teams or positions. She drew a parallel to discussions over whether a chief integration officer should be instituted at the city’s department of education.

“One of the first things that comes up is that we don’t want this work to be siloed, we need this to be everyone’s work,” she said. “Now the frustration ends up being … well, sometimes we end up with neither. There’s not a team that is owning this and there’s not a culture that’s making this everyone’s work.”

Potter noted there’s merit to both arguments, adding it hinged on open communication and execution.

Still, students and teachers feared the pending shakeup could mean functionally losing people they’ve come to rely on. And for students who have developed close relationships to YDSC staff, even if they transition into new roles, it’s unclear whether they’ll remain at their school.

A spokesperson for the network said schools will look to limit how many staff are transferred to other schools within the network, but added the specifics depended on how the transfer process played out.

The spokesperson also noted the network’s new middle school in Sunset Park would help funnel more enrollment into the high school, where numbers had lagged recently. It would also create new positions to allow affected staff to transition into, the spokesperson said.

In some ways, Potter said, the passionate response from students might represent the success of the network’s model.

“Although a difference of vision with leadership is certainly there,” she said, “that might be proof of Prospect Schools having created the type of school environment where students are empowered and critical thinkers, and pushing on these very questions of diversity and equity.”

At some other schools, if a similar change were proposed, the conversation might play out differently, she added.

“It sounds to me like diversity and democracy in action, in what could be a really good way.”

Alex Zimmerman contributed reporting.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York City. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee’s latest private school voucher expansion proposal would add Knox County, too

2023-03-23T23:13:53+00:00

Tennessee’s private school voucher program, currently limited to eligible students attending public schools in Memphis and Nashville, would expand to all four of the state’s urban districts under new legislation.

A bill to extend the program to Chattanooga-based Hamilton County Schools passed last week in the Senate. And under a new GOP measure filed recently in the House and facing its first vote next week, the bill could be amended to include Knox County Schools, too.

Rep. Mark White of Memphis, who is co-sponsoring the expansion bill with Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga, said Thursday that he is seeking to add Tennessee’s third largest district at the request of some Republican state lawmakers from the Knoxville area.

The proposal marks the latest effort to expand eligibility for Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program, which gives taxpayer money to eligible families to use toward private school tuition.

The program launched last fall as a pilot program under a 2019 voucher law that surmounted a string of legal obstacles and continues to be challenged in court. The law allows up to 5,000 students to participate in the program’s first year, but according to the Tennessee Department of Education, the state has approved just over 700 applications so far for families wanting to exit Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools this school year.

The House Education Administration Committee, which White chairs, is scheduled to consider the expansion bill and White’s Knox County amendment on March 29.

Rep. Mark White, of Memphis, chairs the House Education Administration Committee.

Rep. Bryan Richey has filed a more ambitious amendment to take vouchers statewide, but White does not expect a vote on the Maryville Republican’s proposal.

“If he tries to run that amendment, it will kill Gardenhire’s bill,” said White. “I told him, ‘Don’t run it this year; run it next year.’”

That comment — and this year’s expansion bill — are indicative of the larger goal of the governor and many Republicans, according to Rep. Gloria Johnson, a Knoxville Democrat who opposes vouchers.

“They’re going to push the envelope,” Johnson said, “until all of Tennessee’s public tax dollars for education are going to private schools and charter schools. And none of those schools are being held to the same standard as our traditional public schools.”

Lee, who recently began his second term as governor, has said he wants both high-quality public schools and more education choices for families, even as vouchers and charter schools redirect funding away from traditional public schools.

When Gardenhire filed the original expansion bill in December, he said Hamilton County Schools would be the only district affected. But White said state lawmakers from several other counties approached him later about including their local school districts, too.

On Wednesday, Gardenhire told Chalkbeat that he supports the effort to add Knox County to his legislation. If the House approves it, he plans to bring the bill’s expanded scope back to the Senate for a vote.

But several other Knox County lawmakers, including at least one Republican, say they will vote against any expansion.

“I think we have a very good school system in Knox County and that parents already have a lot of choices,” said Republican Sen. Richard Briggs of Knoxville.

Briggs noted that students have the option to attend magnet schools, a charter school, specialized learning academies, and international baccalaureate programs, and to transfer among the district’s 90 schools, as long as there’s space available.

Knox County’s school board has passed multiple anti-voucher resolutions through the years. However, that body has become more divided since 2022 elections when a new state law opened the door to partisan school board races and drew local education policy under the influence of the national political divide.

Jennifer Owen, a Knox County school board member who was not up for reelection last year, said she opposes vouchers.

“I’m getting texts from a lot of concerned people here,” Owen said of the expansion amendment. “I think people who push this kind of thing brand it as school choice, and people just don’t know what that means. But in fact, we already have lots of learning options for kids.”

Five Republican representatives from Knox County have signed on as co-sponsors of White’s bill: Michele Carringer, Elaine Davis, Jason Zachary, Justin Lafferty, and Dave Wright.

On Thursday, Davis, Zachary, and Lafferty told Chalkbeat that they support White’s amendment but declined to comment on why.

Johnson, one of two Knoxville Democrats in the legislature, said voucher support from a few Republican legislators is not an accurate gauge of what most Knox County voters want.

“They are answering to special interests, not the majority of their constituents,” she said.

A second GOP-sponsored voucher bill advancing through the legislature also would expand eligibility for education savings accounts, although not to the same extent as the Hamilton-Knox legislation.

Sen. Jon Lundberg, of Bristol, and Rep. Chris Todd, of Jackson, are seeking to expand eligibility to students in Memphis and Nashville who attended private or home schools during the last three school years. The current law says a student must move directly from a public to private school to be eligible for the program.

Their bill cleared the Senate in February and is scheduled for a vote on the House floor on March 30.

Tennessee’s voucher law refers to education savings accounts as a “pilot program” and directs the state comptroller to report on the program’s efficacy after its third year of enrolling students. But because ongoing litigation delayed the program’s launch, the first report isn’t due until Jan. 1, 2026.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia schools chief announces changes to high school admissions after enrollment protests

2023-03-23T18:02:08+00:00

More than 100 students and some teachers rallied before the Board of Education meeting Thursday to protest how the lottery system for citywide and selective admission high schools is causing huge enrollment drops for many of next fall’s incoming classes.

The declines mean that schools will lose staff positions and many teachers will be reassigned, since teacher allotments are done in the spring based on anticipated fall enrollment. This will destabilize these schools, demoralizing both staff and current students, teachers said.

The centralized lottery system was imposed in 2021 due to concerns about equity and access for Black and brown students to some of the city’s most coveted schools. The lottery also represented an effort to address any “implicit bias,” officials said at the time. It replaced a longstanding process in which principals made the final admissions decisions from the pool of qualified applicants.

Officials said allowing principals to make those calls resulted in a preponderance of white and Asian students at schools like Central and Masterman, even though 80% of the district’s students are Black and Latino. The lottery system also gives preference to students from six ZIP codes that rarely send students to selective schools.

But this year, teachers say, based on current enrollment projections, the lottery process is having dire consequences for a group of themed and innovative high schools that serve mostly Black and brown students. Many of those schools have relatively small enrollments.

“How is this equity?” asked teacher Jessica Way, who runs a medical assistant program at Franklin Learning Center. At her school, there are slated to be 50 open seats in next year’s freshman class and enrollment is projected to dip from nearly 1,000 students in 2020-21 to fewer than 800 next year.

At Thursday’s protest, one student held up a sign referring to fears about staffing cuts at Saul High School. “Saul has no future with no teachers,” the sign said.

“We only have 55 new freshmen and we would normally have 150,” said Deonna Brown, a Saul sophomore.

In the wake of the protest, Superintendent Tony Watlington issued a statement — and then said at the Board of Education meeting Thursday — that the district will devote $3 million to ensure that no school will lose more than two staff members, “subject to principal discretion.”

Watlington also said the district will offer spots at schools with admission criteria to 316 students who qualify for one or more of the schools with admission criteria, but are currently slated to attend their neighborhood schools. He said at the board meeting that more eighth graders met criteria this year under the lottery system than prior to the pandemic, but added that “there are still kinks to work out.”

Board of Education President Reginald Streater, who with other board members watched the rally, said in an interview that the district plans to audit the lottery process and that it could change next year.

“Right now, we’re in Band Aid mode,” he said.

Before the intervention Watlington announced Thursday, the Franklin Learning Center was due to lose as many as nine staff members, Way said.

Elsewhere, teachers said that only 17 students are slated to enter ninth grade at Bartram Motivation, a small high school that offers research-based learning and dual enrollment with Harrisburg University, leaving it with 90 open ninth grade seats.

Other schools with severely under-enrolled incoming freshman classes include The U School, The LINC, Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, Hill-Freedman, and Saul, the state’s only high school that focuses on animal science and agriculture.

Because Saul was projecting such a small ninth grade class, it was slated to lose six teachers before Watlington’s announcement Thursday, and its agriculture program could be affected, teachers said.

At the same time, there are hundreds of students who are still awaiting school placements because they had no luck with the lottery and have shown interest in one or more of these schools.

For those criteria-based schools, in past years, school personnel would be able to interview students who may have fallen just short of qualifying — for example, they may have had good grades and attendance, but maybe two Cs instead of just one, or a score just below the cutoff on the state standardized test. This year, they cannot do that, Way said.

“Normally there was some wiggle room,” she said. “This year, there was no wiggle room.”

Several Saul students at the rally said they felt that low Pennsylvania System of School Assessment scores were the main reason for the low number of students in the incoming freshman class. Last year, the first time the lottery system was used, those tests were not a factor because they weren’t given due to the pandemic.

‘Kids are more than a number’

In the new, centralized selection process, eighth graders list five high schools and are entered into the lottery of all the schools for which they meet qualifications. Some students get into all five, some to none. The default for any student is their neighborhood high school.

The most highly selective, like Central and Masterman, have stringent grade, test score, behavior, and attendance requirements. The so-called citywide schools have less rigorous criteria regarding grades and test scores, but generally expect good attendance and behavior records.

Once students make their choices, wait lists are created and the process continues until all students are placed.

Some citywide admissions schools, like The U School, have no grade or test score minimums, but must build its class from students who show interest in its model and put it on their list.

Teachers say that the prolonged loss of in-person learning due to COVID is also contributing to the enrollment drop. For some small high schools like The U School, their very viability is threatened.

The U School was established in 2014 to serve students interested in an education that prioritizes personal relationships and real-world learning through internships and partnerships and has no academic cutoffs. The school’s pre-pandemic enrollment had been as high as 400. But based on current projections, the school could have fewer than 200 students when schools open in September and could lose four staff members.

“We rely a lot on school visiting and the [annual] high school fair, but all that stuff was shut down due to COVID,” said Donovan Hayes, a math teacher at The U School. “It’s hard to get kids to write down a school when they’ve never heard of it.”

He said that Principal Neil Geyette wanted to extend invitations to all the students who had put The U School down as one of their choices, about 137 additional students, but was told he could not do that.

Besides the medical assistant program, FLC offers a focus on dance, music, and other arts. Under the old system, principals could determine if students “had a natural interest in the majors at our school. We want kids [who can meet standards] of academic rigor,” Way said. “But kids are more than a number. If you take out the human equation, it takes away the ability to see our kids fully.”

Another repercussion concerns teacher recruitment and retention. The district opened the school year with at least 200 vacancies and is still struggling to hire enough teachers.

Sigal Felber has been working in the district for two years and teaches U.S. History to sophomores at FLC.

“One of the reasons I decided to come [to FLC] is its unique programs,” Felber said. Besides the medical assistant program, it also offers performing arts, visual arts, and business tracks. To Felber, it made sense to interview students to see if they were interested in what the school had to offer.

If FLC loses nine teachers, as was projected before Thursday, two of them will be from the social studies department. And because Felber is so new, “one of them will be me.”

This story has been updated.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

American Indian Academy of Denver charter school to close at the end of the school year

2023-03-20T21:04:19+00:00

A Denver charter school focused on serving Indigenous students will close at the end of the school year, according to a resolution passed by its board of directors.

The American Indian Academy of Denver, or AIAD, opened in the fall of 2020 with sixth, seventh, and eighth grades and a plan to build a high school one grade at a time.

Its founders hoped that a curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering, art, and math, coupled with lessons taught through an Indigenous lens, would be transformational in a school district where just 50% of Native American students graduated on time last year.

But three years later, AIAD is closing its doors. A resolution passed by the charter school’s board cites “significantly lower than expected enrollment of students, significantly lower than expected revenue, and significantly higher than expected costs.” The resolution also cites “challenges caused by the school being opened at the start of [the] COVID-19 pandemic.”

AIAD officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The Denver school board is set to vote Thursday on the surrender of AIAD’s charter. The vote is largely a formality. If the school board votes yes, AIAD will join two other charter middle schools that are closing at the end of the school year: STRIVE Prep - Lake and STRIVE Prep - Kepner.

A district-run middle school, Denver Discovery School, is also set to close at the end of the school year, bringing the total number of Denver middle school closures to four.

Enrollment in Denver Public Schools is declining. So is the number of independent charter schools, which are funded per pupil. AIAD will be the 14th Denver charter to close in four years.

In November, after DPS officials said they were considering the rare step of revoking AIAD’s charter, AIAD students and parents pleaded with the school board to keep their school open. At the time, AIAD had 134 students in grades six through 10. In its original charter application, AIAD had predicted it would eventually have 400 students in grades six through 12.

District officials never recommended revocation. Instead, the AIAD board “determined that, after exploring all potential alternatives and finding no viable options, it is their obligation and duty to close the charter school after the current academic year,” the AIAD resolution says.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana parents, education advocates split over school choice budget increases

2023-03-17T15:27:15+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Dozens of Hoosiers descended upon the Statehouse to call for increased K-12 funding in the next state budget, but much of the testimony heard on Thursday was split over a pending proposal to more than double taxpayer spending on Indiana’s school choice voucher program.

The Senate School Funding Subcommittee heard more than five hours of testimony on the possible voucher expansion, as well as other K-12 budget requests for English learners and special education.

Discussions also centered around “equalized” funding for charter schools.

School district officials and advocates for traditional public education noted that 90% of Hoosier kids attend public schools. As such, they called for even greater increases to tuition support to cover rising costs due to inflation, and to compensate for an unfunded mandate in the current budget proposal that would require schools to dip into base funding to cover textbook costs.

The very nature of private schools means that they can — and do — discriminate. – Joel Hand, of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education

That state’s largest teacher’s union additionally emphasized that under the House-approved version of the budget, private school vouchers would get a 70% funding boost in Fiscal Year 2024. Traditional public schools would see only a 5% increase, however.

School choice supporters said parents deserve the right to more flexibility and customization in their children’s education. Doing so requires increased access to private schools, but also public charters. Those schools cannot currently draw on local property tax dollars like traditional public schools can, but a new funding stream carved into the House Republican budget seeks to remedy that.

Nearly half of the House Republican budget, 48%, goes to K-12 education, which will get a boost of nearly $2 billion over its current appropriation. One-third of that new funding will go to the Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. And another chunk would come off the top to cover textbooks.

“Every dollar that goes to a public school gets put to use in helping ensure that the school can meet the educational needs of every kid who lives in that community … this is just the basic duty that we owe to our kids and our communities,” said Diane Hannah, a mom of three from Carmel. “This voucher expansion, by contrast, is a luxury. It is redundant. This budget would send tax dollars to wealthy Hoosiers to do something that they already can afford to do.”

The Senate likely won’t unveil their version of the state budget until later this month. A final version of the budget is expected by the end of April.

School choice versus ‘inequitable funding’

Expanded eligibility for the voucher program would raise the income ceiling to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000.

Currently, vouchers are limited to families that make less than 300% of the federal poverty level, meaning a family of four can make up to $154,000 annually.

After the expansion, the program would cost the state an estimated $500 million in fiscal year 2024, and another $600 million in the following fiscal year. The current state budget appropriates $240 million annually for the Choice Scholarships.

“We’re funding more and more money for students to go to private schools, when their results academically are decreasing,” said Joel Hand, representing the Indiana Coalition for Public Education and the American Federation of Teachers of Indiana. He pointed to a 2018 study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame which found that Hoosier students who leave public schools to attend voucher institutions showed declines in both math and language arts.

“Private school choice is not educational freedom for the parents, but is rather an opportunity for these private schools to pick and choose which students they want,” Hand continued. “The very nature of private schools means that they can — and do — discriminate.”

But John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, said parents should have a say over where their tax dollars go when it comes to educating their kids.

While the group hopes to see an elimination of the income ceiling, Elcesser said the 400% cap is a good move, in the meantime. The association additionally supports the House’s proposed elimination of the eight pathways currently in place that determine student eligibility for the voucher program.

“I often say you need a PhD to understand who is actually eligible for the program,” Elcesser said. “Removal (of the pathways), if nothing else, would simplify the program so parents might have a better understanding if they’re eligible to participate or not.”

Elcesser noted, too, that the non-public school group wants to see Choice Scholarship eligibility expanded to include kindergarteners.

Multiple parents who testified Thursday further expressed support for a GOP-backed plan to ensure that every non-virtual charter school receives the same amount of per student funding as traditional public schools.

Voucher schools receive state funding but are not required to operate within the same parameters as local public schools. For instance, they don’t have elected school boards and don’t have to justify their spending. They also can reject any student. Critics have long maintained that such schools lack transparency and accountability to the public.

Meanwhile, charter school critics have long argued that such schools are not obligated to serve every student in a given community — unlike their traditional public counterparts.

The public charters also have private boards and are therefore not accountable to voters, opponents say. They held, too, that finances at charter schools are also less transparent, given that they are not subject to the same budgetary oversight as traditional public schools.

More dollars still needed for ELL, special education

Still, school officials from across the state called for more resources to address increasingly common — and costly — behavioral and mental health needs among students.

“Teachers have been burdened with doing more to support the mental health and wellness of students which diminishes their ability to focus on teaching and learning,” said Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, noting that Indiana’s ratio of students per school counselor, 694 students per one counselor, ranks the state last in the nation.

David Clendening, Superintendent at Franklin Community Schools, added that his district needs more funding to help counsel and educate “violent, behavior-dysregulated students.”

“The increase is no longer gradual,” he said of such students, of whom many struggle with trauma, mental and behavioral health conditions, learning disabilities and family issues. “We think the root issues are many and varied. Violent, aggressive, disruptive and otherwise dysregulated children can be complex and challenging.”

Although Indiana schools could see increases to foundation grants — the basic grant for every student — of 4% in fiscal year 2024 under the draft budget, those grant amounts would go up just 0.7% in the following year. Denny Costerison, executive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, said that means about three out of every four Indiana school districts would get less than a 2% increase — or less funding overall — in 2025.

Kathy Friend, chief financial officer at Fort Wayne Community Schools, said her district stands to lose over $17 million under the model in combination with the requirement to cover students’ textbook fees.

Supplemental “complexity” funding schools receive for low-income and at-risk students is also set to increase under the House Republican plan — up 4.4% in fiscal year 2024 and 1% in fiscal year 2025. Friend said that’s a welcome increase for Fort Wayne Community Schools, which serves one of the largest English learner populations in the state.

Mary Bova, a teacher for English learners in Indianapolis, said she also wants to see more ELL funding in the state budget, citing her own caseload of 67 students — far more than the state recommendation of 30 students.

“Being an ELL teacher has been the most heartbreaking and rewarding profession imaginable. It’s heartbreaking because so many of my students are misunderstood, and often called lazy, but they are undoubtedly the hardest working people I know,” Bova said, adding that charter schools deserve more funding, as well, to help support growing populations of English learners attending those schools. “If ELL students had more funding, my school may be able to afford more teachers, more support and more resources for students who need it.”

Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Edison School of the Arts board terminates Executive Director Nathan Tuttle

2023-03-14T23:50:48+00:00

This story was updated on July 12, 2023 to reflect personnel updates following the March 14, 2023 meeting.

The school board for Edison School of the Arts voted on Tuesday to terminate the employment of executive director and CEO Nathan Tuttle immediately, following allegations that he used a racial slur when speaking with students earlier this month.

The board also voted to terminate its agreement with Indianapolis Public Schools for the arts school to expand by running James Whitcomb Riley School 43, a move that was part of the district’s massive reorganization plan known as Rebuilding Stronger.

Tuttle faced allegations that he used a racial slur against a student earlier this month. Tuttle previously told Chalkbeat he has never used a racial slur toward a child, but was speaking to a student who had used a racial slur and told that student not to do so.

But parents and staff claimed in the board meeting last week that Tuttle repeated the slur back to Black students as he was trying to explain to them what they should not say.

The meeting to address the allegations last week boiled over into an hourslong public comment session with parents, students, and staff describing a hostile working and learning environment under Tuttle and two members of his administration.

School employees alleged many teachers had left the school, while students claimed the administration created a culture of fear and silence.

In one of four resolutions passed at the meeting on Tuesday, the board determined that Tuttle “observed a student using racially inappropriate language and repeated the racially inappropriate language while trying to discipline the student.”

The board also determined in its resolution that under Tuttle’s leadership, “a significant divide has developed among the students, parents, faculty, and staff of the school.”

The board voted 4-0 to terminate Tuttle. Members Keesha Dixon and Ted Givens abstained but did not state in the meeting their reasons for doing so.

Tuttle did not respond to a request for comment.

The board made little comment about the resolutions during the meeting, instead reading each one into the record for a vote.

The board also unanimously voted to appoint elementary school Principal Amy Berns as the interim building administrator who will report directly to the board. Sheena Roach will serve as middle school principal.

In a fourth resolution, the board voted to conduct a review of all school policies and procedures regarding the use of racially inappropriate and offensive language, employee and student discipline, and procedures for guests on campus.

Edison is an autonomous school within the IPS Innovation Network. It is one of the few Innovation schools not run by a charter operator. Instead, it is run by a nonprofit and its own school board.

IPS signed an innovation agreement earlier this year for Edison to operate a second Innovation campus at James Whitcomb Riley School 43.

In a statement, IPS said it agrees with the decision not to move forward with Edison’s expansion to School 43.

“We believe Edison’s Board has responded to the feedback and concerns from staff and families and has taken the appropriate and necessary steps to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for its students, staff, and families,” the statement said. “As an IPS Innovation partner school, the district will continue to walk alongside the Edison community to provide support where needed.”

IPS administration will work closely with School 43 staff, families, and community members to determine a “new path forward” for the 2023-24 school year, the district said.

Some parents and students claimed at the meeting last week that two members of Tuttle’s administration, Principal in Residence James Hill and Director of Operations Vionta Jones, also contributed to the school’s hostile environment.

Board member Greg Wallis said that the board will review the organizational chart for the school. He said after the meeting that concerns about other administrators will be handled through a grievance process the school has with a third-party human resources firm.

Hill and Jones declined to comment through a spokesperson at last week’s meeting and did not respond to an email request for comment.

In July, the school told Chalkbeat in a statement that its investigation was focused solely on Tuttle and no formal human resources complaints were filed about other staff members before or after the March meeting. Per the statement, the board did not renew its contract with Hill because his role was to lead School 43 in an expansion that was no longer happening. Jones remains as director of operations.

The school said its board is considering next steps for the CEO position.

The board will also create an “Edison Empowers” parent committee to hear from parents in the school, Wallis said at the meeting. The board also plans to listen to staff and student reports at every board meeting.

“The nature of these reports hopefully will move to things of a positive nature celebrating the successes and the great work that our students and that our staff do,” Wallis said.

The board also will conduct a monthly personnel review of new hires, resignations, terminations, and reassignments “so that the board has visibility to those types of things that are happening that were raised at our last meeting,” Wallis said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Hochul’s NYC charter school proposal rejected by Albany lawmakers

2023-03-14T23:22:27+00:00

New York’s state legislature formally rejected on Tuesday Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to allow more charter schools to open in New York City, an indication of the uphill battle ahead for proponents of expanding the sector.

In their official responses to Hochul’s January budget proposal, both the state Senate and Assembly called to remove the governor’s charter school proposal to allow New York City to open more than 100 new charter schools.

The rejection does not mean Hochul’s proposal is dead, since lawmakers will now negotiate with the governor’s office over the final budget, which is due April 1. However, the unified disapproval from both houses shows there is little support for her idea.

Hochul’s charter school proposal was unpopular with some lawmakers and teachers union officials from the start. While charter school advocates have long pushed the legislature to lift the New York City cap — which was reached in 2019 — there has been little support for it in the Democratic-controlled legislature.

“The Assembly’s focus really is about — has always been about — trying to take care of the needs of the traditional public schools,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, told reporters in February.

Hochul’s proposal calls for lifting the cap on charters in New York City, making operators eligible for remaining charters that have yet to be issued across the state. It also involves releasing so-called “zombie” charters, which are charters that were issued to schools that later closed or never opened.

The governor argues that allowing more charters to open in New York City is “common sense,” as the schools have historically been popular with Black and Latino families who have faced waitlists to enroll. The charter sector, which now educates more than 14% of the city’s public school students across 275 schools, has grown during the pandemic — far outpacing enrollment declines among district schools.

But a large swath of charters is also seeing enrollment sag, including some of the biggest networks, complicating the argument that there is still massive demand for new schools. Opening new campuses comes with tradeoffs, as a significant expansion of the sector would likely put pressure on existing schools, potentially leading to smaller budgets or even closures.

Still, charter school advocates contend that creating more school options is worthwhile.

Lawmakers “missed another opportunity” to support charters, said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, in a statement. With the session ongoing, he noted that budget negotiations will continue.

“We strongly urge them to listen to the voices of NYC families who want nothing more than an opportunity for their kids, and work with Governor Hochul to lift the regional cap and revive zombie charters,” Merriman said.

The state and city teachers unions cheered the legislature’s rejection.

“Parents, educators, and community leaders were very clear that they did not want more charter schools opening and draining resources from their local public schools,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, in a statement. “Legislators heard those concerns and protected our public schools.”

In her run-up for the governor’s race last fall, Hochul received donations from the city and state teachers unions, as well as the national American Federation of Teachers — totaling just over $191,000. She also received support from charter-aligned groups, including $40,000 from New Yorkers for Putting Students First, a political action committee, or PAC. The Great Public Schools PAC, created by Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz, gave Hochul another $30,000.

Assembly and Senate reject high-dosage tutoring

Separately, both chambers also rejected Hochul’s proposal to fund and require high-impact tutoring in schools by setting aside $250 million in Foundation Aid – the main formula used to provide state funding for New York school districts.

Research has found that students perform better in school when they’re tutored frequently in small groups. Hochul framed the proposal — meant for children in grades 3-8 — as a solution for pandemic-fueled academic recovery, after some New York students saw steep drops in math and reading scores on national tests last year.

It’s possible the proposal is unpopular among school leaders because it doesn’t add more money to budgets; rather, it would use a chunk of funding that’s already planned to go out to schools and mandates how they should use it.

Both houses also proposed adding $1 million to the budget for studying how to change and update Foundation Aid, an idea first floated by the state education department and its Board of Regents.

The governor and both houses did agree on one thing: increasing Foundation Aid overall by $2.7 billion next fiscal year, sealing the final planned increase to fully fund the formula.

Spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, and Heastie did not immediately return requests for comment.

Asked for comment on their rejection of both proposals, Hochul spokesperson Katy Zielinski said the governor “looks forward to working with the legislature on a final budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City public schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

High school match day: NYC’s eighth graders get offers 3 months earlier

2023-03-10T00:06:43+00:00

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education in communities across America. Sign up for our free New York newsletter to keep up with NYC’s public schools.

New York City’s eighth graders were awash in jitters and excitement Thursday as they awaited their long-anticipated high school admissions offers.

The annual rite of passage for the city’s 13-year-olds caps a notoriously complex, monthslong application process that requires students to select 12 top choices from a list of over 400 high schools across the city.

Thursday’s notifications arrived three months earlier than they did last year, as part of a series of reforms under schools Chancellor David Banks meant to simplify the process and tighten access to some coveted selective schools.

The city’s education department didn’t immediately release data on the percentage of students who received their top choices, or the demographics of students admitted to the most competitive screened schools, which have historically enrolled disproportionately small shares of Black, Latino, and low-income students. Offers to the city’s specialized high schools, which use a separate admissions process based on a single test, were also sent to families Thursday, but officials didn’t immediately share acceptance data.

Paulette Healy, the mom of an eighth grader in Brooklyn, spent much of her day “anxiously refreshing” her MySchools account to see if offers had been posted. The notifications eventually arrived in families’ accounts around 4:30 p.m., and Healy found out her daughter got matched with her second choice school, the Digital Arts and Cinema Technology High School.

“She is excited,” Healy said. “She and her group of friends have been texting back and forth…There are some that are celebrating, some that are lamenting.”

At Urban Assembly Institute for Math and Science for Young Women, a school with grades 6-12 in Downtown Brooklyn, students were a bundle of nerves and joy as they awaited high school decisions.

“It’s mostly a fun day for folks,” said Jen Cusa, the school’s director of culture, who oversees admissions, but “sometimes they’re really sad.” The school had at least one moment of pure happiness when two close friends, who got early notice they’d be attending the same high school next year, locked arms in a caught-on-camera hug.

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Some families experienced frustrating technical glitches that delayed their notifications, while others got a sneak peek at the results when offers were briefly mistakenly posted online Wednesday.

Queens parent Adriana Aviles got a message that the site wasn’t responding when she tried to check. But her frustration quickly turned to relief when she learned her son was accepted to Townsend Harris High School, a selective school in Queens.

New timeline gives families longer to weigh offers

While many features of this year’s high school offer day were familiar, there were also changes stemming from tweaks to the system last fall.

The earlier offer date is part of an effort to move up the timeline to give families longer to weigh their options. Applications opened in October this year and closed Dec. 5, earlier than throughout most of the pandemic, but on par with pre-pandemic timelines.

Healy said she appreciated finding out her daughter’s match earlier in the year, but pointed out that there are also drawbacks to having the application process earlier in the year, when families are still dealing with the start of school, and high schools may have less bandwidth to put out information to families.

“I really feel like the application process this year was way too soon. Even high schools were caught off guard,” Healy said. “That was very chaotic and very stressful for a lot of families.”

The education department also standardized the criteria for qualifying for screened high schools and centralized the calendar for school open houses to make the process more transparent.

Before the pandemic, screened schools were allowed to choose their own criteria —including grades, test scores and attendance for selecting students. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio scrapped that system amid pandemic disruptions, instituting a system where students who scored an average of 85 or above got equal priority at screened schools. That shift drew fierce criticism from families of top-scoring students, who argued their kids were disadvantaged by getting grouped with lower-scoring kids.

For this year’s admissions cycle, Banks opted to keep the group system based on grades, but tightened the score needed to qualify for the top group — a change that significantly narrowed the group of kids with priority access to competitive screened schools.

“If a young person is working their tail off every single day and they get a 99% average … that should be honored,” Banks said at the time. “You should not be thrown in a lottery with just everybody.”

Education department projections from last fall indicated that fewer Black and Hispanic students than last year would likely get priority to the most coveted screened schools, though the numbers would remain higher than before the pandemic.

Burden on schools to market themselves

At the Institute of Math and Science, Cusa felt that this year’s grade groupings — with their strict numerical cutoffs — were helpful for giving students a realistic sense early on of which schools they were likely to get into and which were bigger reaches.

But she added that there are still significant barriers to increasing the representation of low-income students of color in selective schools. For one, patterns of where students apply can be deeply entrenched and difficult to break. The complexity of the admissions process can also favor families with more time and expertise, she said.

“You really see and understand how savvy and connected and aware you really need to be to make a very informed decision,” she said.

The parent advocacy group PLACE NYC, which pushes for more academic screening and accelerated programs, described this year’s changes to screened admissions as an improvement over last year, but said the changes don’t “go far enough,” and pushed for the reintroduction of test scores as an admissions metric.

High schools will begin outreach to students who received offers right away and hold information sessions and virtual events. Students who received multiple offers have until April 5 to accept one.

Students are automatically added to waitlists for schools they ranked higher than the one they were matched with. They can also manually join waitlists for other schools.

Cusa, who also oversees admissions for the Institute of Math and Science’s high school branch, said high schools face significant pressure to retain students who received offers to shore up enrollment, which is tied to funding.

“Now I have to be a marketing campaigner,” she said. “I need to capture these people, and they need to be stoked.“

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.

Stalled tax plan to revive Indianapolis Public Schools pushes charters and district further apart

2023-03-09T12:30:00+00:00

In the end, nobody got the money they wanted.

The months-long effort to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes for Indianapolis Public Schools had adversaries from the start.

The money was meant to fund the district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan, a massive reorganization to expand academic offerings, reconfigure grades, and make IPS schools more attractive to students as the district loses students to charter schools.

But perhaps unsurprisingly, charter schools, which typically don’t receive property tax revenue, wanted a greater portion of that money than what the district was willing to offer. And opposition to the Rebuilding Stronger plan from parents and other community members lingered.

As a result, school board members hoping to put the tax measure to voters in May faced a formidable challenge: vocal parents and community members mobilized by well-funded groups that support charter schools — the same groups that supported the majority of those board members with hefty campaign contributions.

Then in January came additional and influential opposition: The Indy Chamber — a powerful ally in the district’s successful 2018 referendum that also donated to several campaigns for sitting school board members — also announced it would not support the proposed ballot measure.

Board members subsequently postponed their vote on the tax proposal, and are now working to salvage some kind of tax increase to put to voters in a different election. But the fallout from the last few months could hamstring the district’s long-term strategy to improve opportunities and outcomes for students.

It also points to something many advocates and officials say is worrisome: a house divided.

The district’s unique portfolio of charters and traditional public schools, created nearly a decade ago by IPS leaders and state lawmakers, has left both populations fighting for funding. And as state lawmakers push to expand school choice in Indiana, that competition might be for a shrinking financial pie.

“If they both end up being under-resourced, they will both fail,” said Tony Mason, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Urban League. “And as we see an expansion of vouchers, ultimately what could happen is that parents will choose to take their vouchers and take their children to private and parochial schools.”

Those backing charter schools who criticized the board’s approach to the tax measure say their focus is ensuring that all students benefit equally from revenue earmarked for public education.

EmpowerED Families, a group that spent more than $5,000 on radio ads opposing the tax measure, said in a statement this month that it supports those who “advocate for fairness and equal distribution of funds amongst all public schools.”

“This referendum could have been a win for ALL Indianapolis public school students in IPS’ district … but unfortunately, it left students out, many of whom are Black and Latino,” the group said.

But such arguments have frustrated some school board members, particularly when their critics have insinuated that the district doesn’t want to treat students of color equally with white students.

“I wake up every day and my child is Black, and I’m Black, and I’m a first-generation college graduate,” said board President Venita Moore.

“People do those things when they try to divide a community,” she added. “And I feel like they were trying to divide a community.”

Two types of schools compete for funding

Throughout December and January, school board members sat silently through hours of public comment as they took the brunt of the charter sector’s ire.

Charter advocates packed school board meetings and argued that commissioners would hurt Black and brown students if the operating referendum were passed.

“My students have dreams just like any other students,” one parent and educator told the board. “Fund them all, and if you do not, it will be another betrayal of Black and brown families that I know everyone on the board cares about.”

The discord between the two types of schools stems from a taxing setup that leaves both school systems fighting over limited resources.

Property tax revenues are capped in Indiana, but can be raised beyond the cap with the passage of a public ballot question. That means many school districts must seek voter approval to raise funding for initiatives like Rebuilding Stronger. Meanwhile, charter schools do not get property tax revenue, although they receive state grants to fund capital and operating needs.

“In one relatively small geography, you have two school systems operating and targeting similar populations in a world where there just are not enough resources — either financial or human resources — to sustain two systems,” said IPS board member Will Pritchard.

Unlike other districts, IPS has shared money from its previous operating referendum with charters in its Innovation Network — schools that are considered a part of IPS but are autonomous. But in the proposed 2023 referendum, IPS was not willing to share funding with charters that are independent from the district.

Other groups have been more sympathetic to IPS, coming to its defense against the charter sector.

The African American Coalition of Indianapolis denounced efforts to cast the referendum as an effort that would harm Black children. The group instead questioned the proliferation of charter schools within IPS boundaries, arguing that equity does not mean IPS children receive less so charter schools receive more.

“The periodic haggling by some institutions in this community over what IPS and the Black and Brown children that matriculate in the district should have is not only shortsighted and counterproductive to workforce development, but also borders on paternalism,” the coalition said in its statement.

(As a whole, independent charters as well as charters in the district-affiliated Innovation Network have a higher proportion of Black students than traditional IPS schools. Students of color make up a majority in all three sectors.)

But the AACI, as well as the IPS Community Coalition, only shared sentiments of support several weeks after it became clear that the tax proposal to support Rebuilding Stronger wouldn’t make it onto the May ballot.

Charter leaders, however, moved much more quickly. At a December press conference, for example, charter school supporters said the funding gap between independent charters and traditional public schools would grow to over $10,000 per student if voters were to approve the ballot measure for operating costs.

Mariama Shaheed, founder of the Global Preparatory Academy charter school, joined other leaders in calling on Indianapolis Public Schools to share more of its potential referendum funds with charters.

Charters see potential statehouse funding wins

State education policy shifts could deepen the divide between charters and IPS.

Charters have so far had good news at the statehouse, where House Republicans have proposed more money per pupil to make up for the property tax revenue they generally do not receive.

And as the charter sector mobilized at IPS meetings, it has mobilized at the statehouse, too.

In a public statement last week, Black charter school leaders called for a long-term solution to close the funding gap between charter school students and traditional public school students, which they estimated at over $7,000 per child in Indianapolis.

“Yes, our families chose to attend our schools. But the reality is that we lead public schools,” the statement read. “Our students are public school students and they deserve to be valued and provided the funding necessary to thrive.”

Ads from a group calling itself the Indiana Student Funding Alliance have pushed a similar message.

The proposed budget from House Republicans would give charter schools a set amount per pupil for operating costs: $1,400 in 2024 and $1,500 in 2025. This would replace a current state grant for charters of $1,250 per student annually.

But the budget would also limit the tax rate that districts could set to pay for operating expenses, which could harm larger school districts.

Another bill would allow charter schools to petition for school buildings in traditional districts that are operating at less than 60% capacity.

And public education advocates worry that the proposed legislation to expand vouchers could endanger state aid to public school students, whether they’re in a charter school or a traditional public school.

“They’re giving more money to vouchers,” Moore said. “And we still don’t have anything.”

Shoring up support to improve school facilities

Despite the setbacks, IPS is making the rounds on selling its capital referendum to voters, which the school board passed in a unanimous vote in December.

The $410 million ballot question would help fund building needs for 23 school campuses. Some of those include Innovation charter schools in district buildings.

The referendum will improve buildings that are on average 61 years old, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in a Fox 59 interview last month.

“If there’s a building that’s in need, we want to be sure that that building is getting what it needs to be a great environment for students,” Johnson said.

The district estimates the tax increase would equate to an additional $3 per month for homeowners with a median value home.

Groups that were critical of Rebuilding Stronger and called for both independent and Innovation charters to receive referendum funding have had a mixed response to the referendum for capital costs.

RISE Indy, an education nonprofit that supports charter schools, said it supports the ballot question for capital projects. The Mind Trust, an influential organization that has incubated charter schools in Indianapolis, said it will not take a stance on the question. Stand for Children, which mobilized parents in support of charter schools at multiple board meetings, said it would not oppose the question.

The Indy Chamber stands by its decision not to support the referendum for capital projects. The group referred to its statement in January that the district should explore other revenue sources. Whether IPS can surmount that political obstacle and pass the capital referendum, given the chamber’s key role in the successful 2018 referendum, will be watched closely.

“It’s a question of how actively is the Chamber going to campaign against it,” said Andy Downs, professor emeritus of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Moore, meanwhile, maintains her hope that the district will work out funding to expand academic opportunities under Rebuilding Stronger. The district plans to enact parts of the plan that will take effect in 2023-24, including the closure of several schools.

“I just want IPS to continue to give the children who look like me an opportunity to be successful,” Moore said. “To be able to do things.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Edison School of the Arts staff, students call for resignation of executive director

2023-03-08T05:22:10+00:00

Dozens of students, parents, and staff members at Edison School of the Arts assailed the independent public school’s executive director and administration for allegedly maintaining a culture of fear and toxic work environment, in an emotional meeting Tuesday night.

Several staff claimed that fear and mistreatment by the administration have driven away their colleagues. Students said the administration silenced their voices. And parents and students called for the resignation of Executive Director Nathan Tuttle.

Allegations that Tuttle used a racial slur against a student Thursday had prompted the Edison board to call a public meeting. The board has placed Tuttle on administrative leave and contracted with the law firm Barnes and Thornburg to investigate. The board didn’t respond to allegations about the school’s environment during the meeting.

Edison is one of the few Innovation schools in Indianapolis Public Schools not run by a charter operator. Instead, it is run by a nonprofit and is overseen by its own board.

In a phone call with Chalkbeat ahead of the meeting, Tuttle denied the allegations and said multiple witnesses will prove they’re false. He said he was speaking to a student who used a racial slur and told that student not to do so.

“I did in no way ever, nor have I ever, used a racial slur toward a child,” he said.

But on Tuesday night, parents and staff claimed that Tuttle said the slur repeatedly to Black students when trying to explain what they should not say. They said he should not have repeated the word.

The incident has prompted dozens of students and staff to speak up about what they described as longstanding climate and culture problems.

“I have watched members of this staff walk out of offices, women, in tears. Tears,” said teacher Cinnita Sayles, who said staff members have been afraid to come to board meetings.

After the meeting, Tuttle did not respond to requests for comment about allegations by speakers. Principal Amy Berns, whom several staff at the meeting described as supportive, also declined to comment about the remarks made at the meeting.

Some students Tuesday called for Tuttle’s resignation or at least a public apology.

“When Mr. Tuttle is around this school, it is like everyone is being silenced and walking on eggshells trying not to start problems by accident or even hurting his feelings,” said Zaria Perry, the eighth grade student body president.

Eighth grader Zaria Perry addresses the board of Edison School of the Arts in Indianapolis in a meeting on Tuesday.

Parents, students, and staff also expressed concern with the administration.

“I have my daughter’s best friend in tears. Tears. Teachers, in tears,” said parent Michelle Johnson. “Are you not seeing this? Everybody is fearful in this school.”

Kitty Clemens, a seventh grade teacher, said she left the school two years ago, blaming treatment by Tuttle that caused her to doubt herself. She said she came back because of the students, Berns, and her colleagues.

“Accountability requires not just an apology but an action to show the apology was sincere and that it will not happen again,” Clemens said. She called for the board to press Tuttle to resign.

It’s unclear how long the school’s investigation may take.

Edison’s arts program is key to the district’s Rebuilding Stronger initiative, which seeks to expand specialized academic offerings — particularly to more students of color.

The IPS school board in December approved an agreement for Edison to run James Whitcomb Riley School 43 as a visual and performing arts school.

In a statement, IPS said it was aware of the allegations that Tuttle used a racial slur. The district did not respond to a question on whether the incident would affect the planned expansion of Edison to School 43.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

A Denver charter school teacher’s push to start a union could set precedent

2023-03-07T20:39:44+00:00

A teacher at a KIPP charter school in Denver is leading a unionization push that could determine whether charter schools in Colorado are public or private employers, a key factor in whether their teachers can unionize under state law.

Cody Taffet is in his second year of teaching at KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy, a charter high school in far northeast Denver. In January, after administrators abruptly changed the school’s schedule without input from teachers, Taffet filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union called the Colorado Charter Teachers Association.

“I was talking with some teachers and we wanted more democracy in the workplace,” said Taffet, who left a corporate job to become a teacher because he wanted to give back. “We wanted our input to be not only valued and appreciated but also considered and reckoned with.”

But the union organization effort was rejected by the regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Denver, who found that charter schools are essentially public employers. While federal law protects the rights of private sector employees to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining, public sector education workers don’t have those rights under state law.

Now Taffet is appealing that decision to the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C., which has upheld the right of charter school workers to unionize in other cases.

The outcome could open the door for charter school unions in Colorado or close off that option in a sector where educators are sometimes asked to work longer hours and often paid less than teachers at traditional public schools. The average charter school teacher salary in Denver in the 2021-22 school year was $44,475, while the average traditional public school teacher salary was $70,910, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

Charter schools have what University of Colorado Boulder law Professor Ahmed White describes as “features of both public and private entities.” All Colorado charter schools are publicly funded but privately run by nonprofit organizations. None are unionized.

An attempt last year by teachers at another Colorado charter network, New America School, failed after the charter network’s board rejected the teachers’ bid to unionize.

State labor department officials have speculated that charter schools could be seen as nonprofits that contract with the government rather than government employers. That would mean they are private sector employers.

But when the KIPP case came before Regional Director Paula S. Sawyer, she disagreed. In a dismissal decision last month, she found that charter schools in Colorado are a “political subdivision” and answer to government officials.

For example, Colorado law gives the State Board of Education the power to revoke the charter of an underperforming charter school, Sawyer wrote. She also noted that the state education commissioner can appoint and remove members of the unelected boards that govern individual charter schools and make changes to the schools’ governing documents.

Because of that, Sawyer found that charter schools are in the same category as public schools. State law says Colorado school districts don’t have to recognize teachers unions, though several dozen districts do so. A public sector collective bargaining law passed by state lawmakers last year specifically left out K-12 employees.

Private employers, on the other hand, are required to recognize unions if a majority of employees indicate they want to form one.

Taffet says KIPP feels like a private employer to him, and employees need a way to have a voice. Having to weather unilateral changes without the chance to give input is “destabilizing and demoralizing as a teacher in the building,” he said. Turnover is high, he added.

KIPP Colorado officials did not return emails and a phone call seeking comment.

Many charter leaders say collective bargaining agreements would limit their flexibility and take away from their ability to serve students.

In his request to review the dismissal, Taffet noted that charter teachers are paid by their networks. His paychecks, he said, are signed by KIPP, a nationwide network started in Texas that has 280 schools across the country, not by Denver Public Schools.

The district doesn’t control the day-to-day operations of his school, either, he said. And charter teachers like him can’t join the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

The lack of clarity about the status of charter school employees in Colorado “creates an exploitable loophole” for employers, Taffet wrote in his request for review.

“While these entities are ultimately required to respond to the demands of the state and its authority, they are granted a unique privilege in that they are functionally inoculated from the concerns of their employees,” he wrote.

If the National Labor Relations Board under President Joe Biden agrees with him, the case could set a sort of precedent for Colorado. But White, the law professor, cautioned that the precedent would be a temporary one that future administrations could change.

“To the extent that other schools are funded and managed in an identical and very similar fashion, then it would establish an administrative precedent,” White said.

“But I say that with a caveat that the precedent established by an administrative agency at this level in particular is not really set in stone in the way precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court would be.”

Still, Taffet has hope. He named the union the Colorado Charter Teachers Association with the thought that if his bid is successful, teachers from other charter schools could join.

“For me, personally, I’m in a place where I’m trying to be more authentic every day and use my existence to do something meaningful,” he said.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Private school voucher and charter-friendly bills sail through Tennessee Senate

2023-02-28T01:34:39+00:00

The Tennessee Senate on Monday approved two Republican-sponsored bills that would expand and clarify eligibility for students to receive private school vouchers or enroll in charter schools.

Both measures passed 27-5 along partisan lines and now await action in House committees.

Sen. Jon Lundsberg, of Bristol, sponsored the bill to expand eligibility for Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program to students who attended private or home schools during the last three school years. The current law says a student must move directly from a public to private school to be eligible for the program, which launched last fall in Memphis and Nashville.

A second bill, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga and Rep. Charlie Baum of Murfreesboro, would cap enrollment at charter schools — which are publicly funded but independently operated — at 25% for students who live outside the school district that authorized the charter. The House is scheduled to take up that bill on Tuesday in its K-12 subcommittee.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Cameron Sexton filed legislation that would let the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission approve charter schools to serve home school students, as well as residential boarding schools that are charters. Those charter applicants could apply directly to the state-appointed commission for authorization, without having to go through local school boards.

All measures seek to continue the Republican governor’s push to expand education choices for families. But critics say vouchers and charter schools are vehicles to privatize education at the expense of traditional public schools, which operate under stricter regulations, provide more transparency through their locally elected school boards, and serve the bulk of students who are disadvantaged or have special needs.

Under the education savings account bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Chris Todd of Madison County, voucher eligibility would be extended to students who did not complete a full year in public school after 2019, when the legislature approved the voucher law.

“The reason we’re doing this is because that legislation was locked up in the courts for a couple of years,” Lundberg said about ongoing litigation that halted the voucher program’s planned 2020 launch before a 2022 Tennessee Supreme Court ruling upheld the law.

Last week, Lundberg told the Senate Education Committee the change would open eligibility to many students who have applied to receive education savings accounts but were denied because they weren’t moving directly from public to private schools. So far, the state has approved 643 out of 1,273 applications, he said.

The voucher program, which provides taxpayer money for families to use toward private school tuition, is open to students in Memphis and Nashville but could be expanded to Chattanooga-based Hamilton County Schools under legislation approved by the Senate last week. That bill is scheduled for its first vote in a House subcommittee on Tuesday.

The charter school bill approved on Monday is backed by the Tennessee Charter School Center, an advocacy organization funded by pro-charter groups.

Currently in Tennessee, it’s generally up to the local school district that authorizes a charter school, as well as the governing body that oversees that charter school, to determine how many out-of-district students can enroll.

Gardenhire said his bill seeks to address confusion around those policies with a state law that would cap out-of-district enrollment at 25%, and give priority to students from within the school district.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, who voted against Gardenhire’s bill, said local school districts should be able to control enrollment policies for the charter schools that they authorize.

“If they’re making that decision for the public schools in their district, that same policy ought to apply to the charter schools in the district,” said the Nashville Democrat. “I think that ought to be a uniform policy.”

Elizabeth Fiveash, chief policy officer for the Tennessee Charter School Center, testified last week that out-of-district student enrollment in charter schools isn’t an issue in the four cities that have charter schools. However, it could be in the future as the state’s charter sector expands.

She told members of the Senate Education Committee that charter schools statewide have a waiting list of over 10,000 students, most of whom come from within the authorizing district.

“This is not an issue that’s currently happening,” Fiveash said, “but we’re trying to make sure it’s clear going forward.”

Sexton’s legislation, which is co-sponsored by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, would mark a significant expansion of Tennessee charter school law.

Under the proposal, the state could authorize charter schools to enroll homeschooled students from within any school district in Tennessee. Those schools would be required to provide classroom instruction at least three days per week, while parents providing instruction the other two days could use remote instruction provided by the charter school.

Lundberg and Rep. Mark White of Memphis, who chair education committees for their respective chambers, have signed on as co-sponsors.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information about Sexton’s charter school legislation.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school districts may have to turn over underused buildings to charters. Here’s what to know.

2023-02-24T20:31:23+00:00

Legislation that would allow charter schools to acquire underused traditional public school buildings that are still serving students heads to the Senate floor after passing out of committee along party lines on Wednesday.

The bill makes it easier for charter schools to take advantage of the so-called $1 law, which currently requires school districts to offer unused, closed school buildings to charter schools or state educational institutions for the sale or annual lease price of $1.

Sen. Linda Rogers, a Republican from Granger who wrote the bill, has said in hearings that the intent of the bill was to clarify the existing $1 law, which a judge characterized as ambiguous in a recent ruling in favor of Carmel schools. But critics of the law, which has faced opposition from Democratic lawmakers and could have a significant impact on Indianapolis Public Schools, say it spurs the forced turnover of buildings to charter schools.

The initial version of the bill would have forced districts with declining student populations to shutter school buildings operating at less than 60% capacity.

But after Republicans on the Education and Career Development Committee amended the bill, the legislation now states that school districts “may” close such schools, placing the responsibility on charter schools to identify underused buildings and first work with the district to try to acquire one.

But Senate Bill 391 still allows charters to petition the Indiana Department of Education if those negotiations do not work, ultimately allowing the attorney general to enforce the sale or lease of the building. The bill also expands the $1 law to allow education nonprofits to acquire buildings.

The bill offers districts some reprieve by requiring charter schools that no longer have a use for an acquired district building to offer it back to the school district.

Rogers declined to comment this week when contacted about the bill by Chalkbeat.

The bill passed 8-4 out of committee. It will head to the House if it passes the Senate by Tuesday, but further amendments could still change the bill.

Here’s what we know about Senate Bill 391, inspired by questions from our readers.

How does the bill define an underutilized school?

The bill defines an “underutilized” school building as one where student enrollment has averaged less than 60% of the building’s capacity for the current school year and the previous two school years.

If the building’s capacity is unknown, then its capacity is determined by the average maximum full-time enrollment in any of the last 25 years.

The bill only applies to school districts where enrollment has dropped by at least 10% within the past five years. The district must also have more than one school building serving the same grade levels as the one that is subject to closure.

And schools can only close if there is another suitable building with “sufficient capacity” to take students from the closing school that is no more than 20 minutes away.

School districts could also keep buildings open if they demonstrate that they are being used for alternative education, administrative offices, or storage. In order for districts to use this provision, at least 30% of the building must be used for alternative education, and at least 50% must be used for offices or storage.

What would this bill mean for IPS?

The bill could have huge implications for Indianapolis Public Schools, which had an average utilization rate of 60% for its buildings in the 2021-22 school year, according to a facility condition analysis.

Paul Miller Elementary School 114 is one of six buildings that IPS will close at the end of this school year. Charter schools have expressed interested in occupying some of these buildings.

Sen. Andrea Hunley, an Indianapolis Democrat and former IPS principal, authored a failed amendment to the bill on Wednesday that would exempt districts like IPS where charter or innovation schools already occupy 10% of school buildings.

“Collaboration is already happening in Marion County in unique ways,” Hunley previously told Chalkbeat. “I’m perplexed by trying to create a solution on the state level when this is a very localized issue.”

Hunley’s amendment was one of several that Democrats on the Education and Career Development Committee tried but failed to pass.

What’s the difference between an underused building and a school with small class sizes?

Unless lawmakers amend the bill, it might not be possible to distinguish between a school that’s “underutilized” and one that has purposefully small class sizes. The latter is often a selling point for families who choose charter and private schools.

And it’s possible that a school is “underutilized” but using all of the space, critics said.

What happens to kids who attend a school that’s declared underused?

The bill says a building can only be closed if there is an available school within 20 minutes that can serve the same grades, meaning district students would likely go there if they didn’t attend the new charter school.

But the bill does not say whether the 20 minutes of travel would be via car, public transit, biking, or walking.

Would the law apply to charter schools?

Neither the $1 building law nor the new bill to expand it apply to charter schools. Without changes to the legislation, charter schools would not have to report and turn over their underused buildings.

How does the law apply to a building with debt?

Generally, under the existing law, the school district remains responsible for any debt attached to the building before it was leased, while the charter school is responsible for any expenses to the building during the term of the lease. Co-located schools share expenses.

Expanding the law to cover underused buildings, rather than just vacant ones, could in theory create situations in which districts carry capital debt for buildings they are leasing to charters.

When can a district sell a building for market value?

Typically, a district can sell a building for market value if it offers the facility to charter operators and gets no takers.

Indianapolis Public Schools recently sold the John Marshall building under this provision to create a community hub.

Can a charter school make a profit off of a building acquired for $1?

Current law states that if a charter sells the building to a third party, it must pay the district the amount by which the property’s value increased, minus any adjustments made to the property that may have increased its value.

The amended bill advanced by the committee would require charters to first offer an acquired building back to the school district before selling it. If a school district declines the building, the charter may sell it.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Philadelphia school board rejects applications for four new charter schools

2023-02-24T17:33:10+00:00

The Philadelphia Board of Education Thursday night rejected applications to open four new charter schools, continuing its resistance to creating more of the publicly funded but privately managed schools.

Peng Chao, the acting director of the district’s Charter Schools Office, cited deficiencies in all the applications in his presentation to the board; Chao’s office evaluates the applications but does not recommend action to the board. The four charter applications originated from groups or organizations that have checkered histories when it comes to running schools.

Tensions flared at times during the meeting, which several charter supporters attended. At one point, state Sen. Anthony Williams, a Democrat and supporter of one of the charter applicants, said the district was not treating children in all neighborhoods fairly and was restricting academic opportunities.

Philadelphia’s charter schools educate more than 70,000 students, or about a third of those who attend publicly funded schools in the city. Since regaining authority over the school district in 2018 after 17 years under state control, the board has declined all new charter applications. The last charter school application to be approved was from Hebrew Public Charter School in 2018, shortly before the board resumed control.

But that has not stopped applicants from continuing to propose new schools. Sometimes, they have essentially resubmitted previous applications that the board had rejected.

Two of the new charter schools were proposed by ASPIRA, Inc. During the period of state control over city schools, officials gave ASPIRA control of Olney High School and Stetson Middle School. Both those schools, which were former district schools ceded to charter management organizations as a turnaround strategy, had their charters revoked after financial and academic problems, and the schools were returned to district control.

ASPIRA proposed creating the 1,200-student ASPIRA Bilingual College and Career Preparatory Academy, a high school in the former Cardinal Dougherty High School building in East Oak Lane. It also proposed the 1,000-student Dr. Ricardo E. Alegria Preparatory Charter School, a K-8 school in the Kensington neighborhood.

ASPIRA also runs the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School, as well as a cyber charter.

ASPIRA submitted similar charter proposals in recent years that the board had rejected. Chao told the board Thursday that ASPIRA’s latest applications were not significantly revised from the last submissions, despite feedback from the charter office on where they were deficient.

In both applications, he said, “the overall approach to operations management was confusing,” and in the case of Alegria, the proposed site would only accommodate the school for one year.

A group of educators and others — including Naomi Johnson-Booker, a longtime educator in the city and CEO of the Global Leadership network — applied to open Global Leadership Academy International Charter High School, which would eventually enroll 1,200 students in grades 9-12 on North Broad Street. There are currently two Global Leadership K-8 schools and Booker has long sought to add a high school.

The Perseverance Leadership Academy Charter School was proposed by the trustees of the Daroff and Bluford charter schools, which had been run by Universal Companies. But in August, Universal abruptly walked away from managing the schools in August, leaving families and the district in the lurch. Daroff closed before the school year began, while Bluford remains open, although the trustees promised to surrender its charter at the end of this school year.

The trustees are proposing to create a new charter in the Daroff and Bluford buildings. But both those facilities are owned by the school district and “not available for lease or license at this time,” Chao said.

In addition, the charter office raised red flags about the proposed schools’ ability to teach core academic standards.

The board voted 8-0 to reject the applications from ASPIRA and Perseverance Leadership Academy. On Global Leadership Academy, the vote was 6-2, with Lisa Salley and Cecelia Thompson voting against the resolution to deny the application.

State senator slams board over funding

Several parents and students testified at the meeting in favor of Global Leadership.

Williams, the state senator, also spoke on behalf of Global Leadership, and got into a combative exchange with Board President Reginald Streater.

Williams said he felt “frustration and significant concern” over the board’s record of rejecting new charters. He pointedly noted that he has fought in Harrisburg — the state capital — for more funds for the school district, but suggested his Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood, overwhelmingly Black and low-income, is not getting the funds it deserves and needs from the district.

“You should come and meet some of the people who reside in those communities,” Williams said. Most of them, he said, have children who “can’t get into Masterman or Central,” two of the district’s premier magnet schools. Parents in those areas, he said, want a chance for their children to be educated.

“Thousands are in prison for the simple reason they can’t read,” he added.

As Streater sought to interject during Williams’ comments, the senator cut him off, saying, “I’m not here to debate you.”

“Sounds like it,” Streater shot back.

Later, Streater apologized for his testiness. He said he had been distracted by reports of a shooting outside a school in North Philadelphia that injured five teenagers, a 31-year-old woman, and her two-year-old daughter that happened during the meeting.

But Williams wasn’t the only person who expressed frustration with the board. After the vote against Global Leadership, someone in the audience at the meeting shouted, “You need to stop playing with children’s lives.”

The board’s ongoing refusal to approve new charters isn’t the only issue creating tension between the charter community and the district. Black charter operators and other advocates have accused the district of discriminating against them, saying that while a minority of charter schools are run by Black people, they make up the highest percentage of those that are closed.

Both the Global Leadership and Perseverance applicant groups are mostly Black, while the ASPIRA applicants are Latino. Streater and Williams are both Black.

The board hired a firm to investigate the racial bias allegations in 2021, but has not said when the investigation will be completed.

Correction: This story has been changed to eliminate a reference to Global Leadership Academy Southwest having been non-renewed. Global Leadership Academy Southwest was renewed for five years in July. Another charter school with a similar name, Southwest Leadership Academy, is in the non-renewal process.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana senators not so keen on voucher expansion included in House budget

2023-02-24T15:55:43+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Top Indiana senators said they aren’t so sure about a House Republican budget plan that would more than double taxpayer spending on the state’s “school choice” voucher program.

House lawmakers on Thursday approved their version of the budget, punting it over to the Senate.

But pushback is already mounting against provisions that seek to generously expand eligibility for the state’s “school choice” program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools.

Republican Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray said that while his chamber is “passionate about school choice, too,” he’s skeptical his caucus will be on board with the House proposal.

“I’m a little hesitant on that,” he said Thursday, pointing to “a big number” price tag to allow a majority of Hoosiers to qualify for the school choice program. “Every year the voucher piece is a big discussion on the budget. We’ll have some other conversations, as well, but that will be a big one.”

He also hinted at support for more voucher school accountability, but spared any specifics.

Republican House Speaker Todd Huston remained firm, however, that his caucus has no interest in adopting additional transparency or accountability guardrails.

“The program as it exists has been extraordinarily successful,” Huston said. “We feel very good about where we are … [the Senate] will have different priorities, and we’ll work through those different priorities with them.”

Senate expected to hit the brakes

The new voucher dollars account for roughly a third of the $2 billion in new, additional state funds that House Republicans want to earmark for K-12 education over the biennium.

Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said the decision comes as a way to increase “options” for Hoosier parents.

Expanded eligibility for the Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools — would raise the income ceiling to 400% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program, equal to about $220,000, according to the House budget.

Currently, vouchers are limited to families that make less than 300% of the federal poverty level, meaning a family of four can make up to $154,000 annually.

Bray said he also wasn’t sure the Senate would support the House’s proposed elimination of the eight pathways currently in place — in addition in income requirements — that determine student eligibility for the program.

“When you move it up to 400% of the poverty level, it’s a big number there. And when you get rid of the pathways, that really accentuates that,” Bray said. “We’re going to take a very close look at it.”

Voucher schools receive state funding, too, but are not required to operate within the same parameters as local public schools. For instance, they don’t have elected school boards and don’t have to justify their spending. Critics have long maintained that such schools lack transparency and accountability to the public.

The latest pushback came from a top GOP senator who called for voucher school reforms — not expansion — in the current legislative session.

Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, said that Senate and House disagreements on voucher spending predated this year’s expansion and senators consistently preferred a smaller amount than their House counterparts.

“That’s something we’ve always negotiated,” Mishler told the Indiana Capital Chronicle Thursday.

When crafting the last state budget, Mishler said his caucus agreed with the House’s voucher request though he personally objected.

In his recent letter urging Hoosier parents to rethink charter schools he called for additional guardrails, pledging not to support “one additional dollar spent” on the voucher program without student protections.

But even though he chairs the Senate’s powerful Appropriations Committee, Mishler said he still abided by the wishes of the overall caucus.

“That’s what people are misinterpreting — I can’t control that,” Mishler said. “I personally am reluctant to support an expansion until I can get some protections… [but] I’m not trying to take down this program, I’m actually trying to strengthen the program.”

Mishler said he was meeting with voucher proponents to discuss future guardrails for voucher schools but specific solutions would come out later.

“Our caucus members just have to ask themselves — they’re spending over half a billion dollars to increase the eligibility. For our members … What do they want to give up to get to that dollar? I think that’s really the overall question,” Mishler said. “But I can’t control what we do. I always go to the caucus.”

House leadership still committed to expansion

Indiana has about 87,000 private school students, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). About 44,000 of those use the state’s Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. But under the House GOP plan, the remaining 43,000 would be eligible for the grant, which would average around $7,500 statewide.

Still, about 90% of Hoosier students currently attend a traditional public school.

Huston held that the “hundreds of thousands of kids” that have used Indiana vouchers in the last decade are a testament to the program’s popularity — and a sign that increased eligibility would boost participation even more.

“They’re popular. They’re popular with families,” he said. “We see no reason why we shouldn’t continue to expand.”

Thompson additionally maintained earlier this week that private school tuition vouchers will “save the state money.”

“We’re educating 100,000 students [at voucher schools] for half the cost of those at traditional public schools,” Thompson said, pointing to debt service costs at public schools that “costs the state more money.”

“That’s a great deal for taxpayers, and also just honors a philosophy that I think a lot of us have, that parents should make what they believe is the best choice for their students,” he continued.

The Senate now takes the reins on the budget. But the chamber isn’t likely to unveil its spending plan for another month, closer to the release of the state’s next fiscal forecast.

NYC’s largest charter networks enrolled fewer students this year, complicating push to open new schools

2023-02-23T00:23:47+00:00

When Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a proposal to abolish the cap on the number of charter schools that can open in New York City, she said the policy is a matter of common sense, noting that children of color have experienced waitlists to enroll.

“I don’t think we should be telling them they don’t have a choice,” Hochul said in an interview on NY1 earlier this month.

The city’s charter sector has long been defined by its explosive growth and lengthy waitlists while enrollment has sagged among the city’s district schools. But preliminary state enrollment data suggests that demand for charter schools may be cooling — including among the city’s largest networks — complicating arguments for lifting the charter cap.

The city’s charter sector grew slightly this school year, by 0.42%, compared with a 2% decline among traditional public schools. But that masks important variations among charters: About 45% of them enrolled fewer students this year, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of state data. (The official statistics sometimes group multiple campuses under the same charter school.) About 60% of traditional public schools enrolled fewer students.

Meanwhile, the city’s most established networks enrolled fewer students this year than they did last year, including Success Academy (down 7.7%), Uncommon Schools (6.5%), KIPP (5%), and Achievement First (3.9%).

The governor’s proposal would abolish the local cap on the number of charter schools and release so-called “zombie” charters — essentially making New York City operators eligible for just over 100 new charter schools, which are privately managed and publicly funded.

But experts said there are trade offs of opening new schools in an environment where school leaders are struggling to fill all their seats. Since public dollars follow students, more schools vying for the same or shrinking pool of children would lead to smaller budgets or could even prompt closures, possibly affecting existing charters and district schools alike.

“The charter sector has grown substantially over time,” said Aaron Pallas, a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “But opening new schools at a time when you’re seeing these signs of contraction strikes me as something that requires a fair amount of thought.”

Pallas pointed to evidence that competition from nearby charter schools boosts student learning among district schools, an argument in favor of lifting the cap. But he also worries that the new charters, which educate over 14% of the city’s public school students, may not be viable long term or could threaten other schools by drawing funding away from them. “I don’t think it’s good for kids for there to be that kind of instability,” he said.

Still, charter leaders and advocates argue that there is still plenty of demand for new schools in certain neighborhoods and families should have as many choices as possible. Multiple charter network leaders unequivocally said they support raising the cap, though smaller operators have quietly expressed that any growth should carefully take neighborhood-level demand into account.

“Several of our schools in Brooklyn and our middle schools, in particular, continue to receive strong and positive demand from parents, indicating a significant need for high-quality schools in these areas and grade levels,” Achievement First spokesperson Jacqui Alessi wrote in an email. “We are not competing with other charter operators; rather, we work closely with them, and we believe that more excellent schools will benefit students and families across the city.”

Despite falling birth rates and substantial declines in the number of Black children living in New York City (nearly half of the city’s charter students are Black), some charter leaders said they anticipate that enrollment will stabilize.

Other charter advocates emphasized that raising the cap would simply allow more charter schools to open and would not necessarily lead to a rush of operators opening new schools without demand for them.

“At the end of the day, nobody wants to open a school where they won’t succeed,” James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, said in a statement. “Authorizers will be working hard to only approve schools that have a viable path forward, and prospective school leaders will be looking carefully at the enrollment data and other key indicators before they decide to open a school.”

Asked if they plan to open new charter schools if the cap is lifted, different operators offered varying responses. A KIPP spokesperson said the network is “focused on continuing to expand our existing charters” — a significant source of the sector’s current growth as existing schools build out more grade levels over time.

A Success Academy spokesperson, Ann Powell, said the network intends to keep opening new schools due to “enormous demand and long waiting lists in many neighborhoods.” Success, the city’s largest network, has also tweaked its admissions policies in ways that could attract more families, including admitting new fifth and sixth graders at five of its middle schools. Officials previously declined to admit new students beyond the fourth grade.

Still, it remains to be seen how serious Hochul is about eliminating New York City’s charter cap. Some Democratic state legislators and union officials have pushed hard against the proposal, and some education groups have staged rallies opposing new charter schools, including this week. The governor received campaign contributions from unions, which are critical of the largely non-unionized charter schools, in addition to pro-charter groups.

“We will see during budget negotiations how much energy she puts behind it,” said Jasmine Gripper, a charter school critic and executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group. “It feels really confusing about why the governor wants to allow such a massive expansion of charter schools where we don’t see this need.”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Poll: Majority of Colorado voters support targeted education savings accounts

2023-02-17T01:17:03+00:00

Colorado voters continue to support school choice at high rates — so high they’d support a state constitutional amendment to protect access to it — even as more parents feel that schools are on the wrong track.

And about two-thirds of voters said they would support giving parents of students with disabilities extra money to address their needs outside of public school.

A new poll conducted by Cygnal on behalf of the conservative education advocacy group Ready Colorado found a number of areas of broad, bipartisan agreement, a notable finding given how polarized certain education topics have become.

But the poll also found growing concern about the state of public schools. Nearly 47% of voters said schools were on the wrong track, and 55% of parents said schools are on the wrong track, compared with just 33% who thought they were on the right track.

“I hope that’s a call to action,” said Brenda Dickhoner, president and CEO of Ready Colorado. “How do we improve student outcomes and ensure all students have access to a high-quality school in their neighborhood as well as access to public school choice?”

The poll didn’t ask respondents why they felt that way. The results align with a Magellan Strategies poll from last year that found diverse reasons for dissatisfaction. In that survey, Democratic voters felt schools were underfunded and under attack, while Republican voters were more likely to say schools had become centers of liberal indoctrination.

The Cygnal poll was conducted among 540 Colorado voters in late January and has a margin of error of 4.17%. Cygnal has a B+ rating among pollsters from the website FiveThirtyEight.

This is the third year that Ready Colorado has conducted the poll, which serves as a snapshot of voter sentiments as well as a tool for Ready to show support for policies it backs.

A smaller portion of voters said education should be a top priority of state government than in 2019, but it still ranked in the top 5, with 12.9% of voters saying it should be the top priority. More voters said homelessness, crime, and government spending should be the top priority.

The poll found that a majority of voters think Colorado schools are underfunded and that teachers are underpaid. Asked how to fund schools better, just 13% wanted to raise taxes and 78% said the government should reprioritize its spending. This tracks with other Colorado surveys as well as with voter behavior at the polls, where they have shot down several statewide tax increases to fund schools.

Nearly 72% of voters support annual standardized tests to measure student learning.

The poll found 68% of voters would support a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to school choice. Colorado law already allows students to enroll in any school that has room and can meet their needs, even across district lines. Dickhoner said support for a constitutional amendment shows voters view this a fundamental right, and she hopes that builds support for improving transportation options and addressing other barriers to using school choice.

About half of respondents had a favorable view of charter schools, while a quarter had an unfavorable view and a fifth had no opinion. Favorable views rose to 60% after respondents heard charters described as tuition-free public schools that “have more flexibility in terms of teacher hiring and curriculum but are held accountable for student performance.”

And 65% of respondents favored funding charter schools at a level comparable to traditional public schools, including more than 60% of Democrats.

About 15% of Colorado students attend charter schools. Schools authorized by their local district get a share of local property tax revenue and have similar funding to district-run schools. Schools authorized by the state Charter School Institute don’t get that extra money and have lower per-student funding, even though some of them serve student populations with higher needs, such as immigrant students who arrived here at an older age or pregnant and parenting teens.

The state provides some extra funding, but it doesn’t close the gap. Lawmakers have maintained funding on a bipartisan basis, but Republicans have not been successful in fully funding state charter schools.

Nearly three-quarters of voters supported more money to improve math instruction, including new materials, teacher training, and after-school programming. There’s been a bipartisan push to address math learning after test scores dropped in the wake of the pandemic, and the governor’s budget proposal includes more funding for math. But specific proposals have not yet been introduced.

Ready Colorado also asked voters if they would support the creation of $1,200 education savings accounts for students with special education needs. Their parents could use the money to pay for tutoring, therapy, and other support. Two-thirds said yes.

The poll question did not explain that education savings accounts are funded with public money. When Magellan Strategies asked voters last year if they would support giving tax money to parents to pay for tutoring or other educational needs, 60% said no. Magellan asked in the context of pandemic-related learning loss, rather than special education needs.

In other states, Republican governors and legislators are pursuing education savings accounts that could be used for nearly any educational expense, including private school tuition, similar to vouchers.

That idea is unlikely to make headway in Colorado. The Democratic-controled legislature has repeatedly shot down any proposal to give public money to parents. With Colorado schools funded below the national average, lawmakers say money is better spent in public schools. In 2021, Colorado voters also shot down a proposal to use marijuana taxes to fund after-school programs and tutoring.

For Dickhoner, limited public school resources are a reason to back education savings accounts.

“We don’t fully fund special education in Colorado, so what can we do to make sure students’ needs are met?” she asked. “How do we empower parents and families to make those decisions?”

Bureau Chief Erica Meltzer covers education policy and politics and oversees Chalkbeat Colorado’s education coverage. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.

Attorney general finds Indianapolis Public Schools did not violate $1 law

2023-02-15T23:41:52+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools did not violate a controversial state law that requires school districts to offer unused classroom buildings to charter schools for $1, the state attorney general’s office concluded on Tuesday.

The complaints from the Indiana Charter School Network argued that IPS failed to inform the state of six school buildings slated for closure at the end of this school year, making them available to charter schools: Floro Torrence School 83, Frances Bellamy Preschool Center, George Buck School 94, Raymond Brandes School 65, Francis Parker School 56, and Paul Miller School 114.

But the attorney general’s office found each complaint unsubstantiated, noting that IPS had provided “sufficient documentary evidence” to show that the district intends to use each of the six schools even after it closes to classroom instruction.

The attorney general’s office did not elaborate on the district’s planned future uses.

In a statement, IPS said that it is pleased with the findings and noted that the school board passed a resolution that listed a number of potential uses for the buildings, including for charter schools that are part of the district’s Innovation Network.

“Our focus remains on the students and teachers who are still in all our proposed consolidated buildings, and ensuring they are well-supported through this time,” the district wrote. “The district and Board of School Commissioners are committed to transparent communications and decision-making about our buildings that will occur prior to the end of the school year.”

The school closures are part of the district’s broader reorganization plan known as Rebuilding Stronger, which seeks to offer more specialized academic programs and consolidate schools losing enrollment as IPS struggles to compete with charter schools. The district, however, is only implementing some parts of the plan after delaying a vote on an operating referendum needed to fund it.

“The district is currently completing an internal space needs assessment that will inform Rebuilding Stronger implementation and long-term facilities planning efforts,” the district wrote.

Marcie Brown-Carter, executive director of the Indiana Charter School Network, said the finding was disappointing and shows that the law always has been challenging to implement.

The findings signal a win for the school district, but one that may be temporary — state lawmakers are seeking to tweak the law to leave less room for various interpretations.

At least three charter schools signaled interest in occupying one of the six buildings, although IPS expressed hopes to maintain ownership of them.

The attorney general’s findings follow a January ruling from a Hamilton County judge who concluded that Carmel Clay Schools did not violate the law when it closed an elementary school and partnered with the local parks department to explore future uses for the building.

The state law — commonly referred to as the $1 law — requires school districts to notify the state Department of Education if classroom buildings are left “vacant or unused.” Charter schools and state educational institutions can then buy or lease those buildings for $1 to use for instructional or academic purposes.

Anyone may file a complaint with the attorney general if they believe school districts did not follow the law.

Since the law’s inception in 2005, the attorney general’s office has investigated at least nine complaints and found in favor of the school district in eight of the cases.

But the law’s lack of definition of what an unused building is has generated varying interpretations, multiple complaints to the attorney general, and at least one lawsuit.

A bill by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, would require districts to close schools that are underutilized, or operating at less than 60% capacity for the current school year and two previous years. That would make the buildings available to charter schools.

Senate Bill 391 would only apply to districts whose enrollment has dropped at least 10% over five years and that have more than one school serving the same grade span as the school targeted for closure.

Shuttered schools also must be able to redirect students to another building within 20 minutes of the closed school. Districts could avoid closing underused schools by showing how a space would be used instead for offices, storage, or alternative education, but must meet certain requirements to fall under that exemption.

The bill could have sweeping implications for IPS, which has an average building utilization rate of 60%, according to a districtwide 2020 assessment. Twenty-two of those buildings had rates below 60%, including some charter schools within the district’s Innovation Network.

The bill was slated to be heard in a Senate education committee on Wednesday but was later pulled from the agenda. Committee chair Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, said author Rogers wasn’t present and was considering amending the bill next week.

Next week is the last opportunity for the bill to be heard in committee.

Reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this report.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Legislation would require Indiana districts to share property tax revenue with charters

2023-02-14T21:45:12+00:00

A long-awaited bill to require Indiana school districts to share property tax dollars with charter schools has attracted attention and scrutiny from groups that disagree about which schools should benefit from public funding.

The proposal is the latest sign that lawmakers might direct more public dollars to support school choice this budget session. Proponents characterize this strategy as funding students instead of systems, while opponents argue it leaves fewer resources for the nearly one million students in Indiana’s traditional public schools.

Under current state law, charters do not receive a portion of the funding that districts can collect from property taxes, and can’t put their own referendums to raise operating revenue to voters.

Senate Bill 398, authored by Republican Sen. Linda Rogers of Granger, would require districts to share some of that tax revenue, though Rogers made changes that significantly pare down the scope of the proposal.

Beginning in 2024, districts would need to share any revenue from local property taxes earmarked for operating expenses that’s above the average they received from 2021 to 2023 with charter schools in the same or contiguous counties.

Rogers’ bill would require charter schools to hold public hearings on their budgets, and to set up operations funds to receive referendum dollars, which would only be available for a list of qualified expenses related to buildings, transportation, and technology.

The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy committee did not vote on the bill Tuesday. Rogers said she would be open to meeting with the members of the public who came to testify to discuss the bill further. House lawmakers are considering a similar bill.

“To me, it’s simply unacceptable that a student who chooses a different public school than the one they are geographically assigned to should receive thousands less in education funding annually,” she said during Tuesday’s hearing.

Charter supporters argued during the hearing that the current local tax system leaves them with less. Furthermore, it means that parents who send their children to charter schools don’t benefit from the property tax dollars that they might pay.

But opponents of the bill said it would be inappropriate to direct more public money to schools that don’t have measures of accountability like publicly elected school boards. They also said charter schools have access to funding sources that are unavailable to traditional public schools — such as federal and state grants, philanthropic support, and assistance from the city of Indianapolis, for example.

One such source of funds, the state Charter and Innovation Network School Grant Program, provides grants of $1,250 per charter student, lawmakers noted. Meanwhile, two federally funded grants are earmarked for charter schools’ expansion and facilities.

“If a taxpayer is not satisfied with how their tax dollars are being spent, they have an opportunity to provide input at school board meetings, or through the voting process,” David Marcotte, executive director of the Indiana Urban Schools Association, told lawmakers Tuesday. “The prospect of losing these funds to charter schools … will be a burden on many school districts in my association.”

IPS superintendent opposes ‘zero sum’ funding

The legislature has repeatedly presented “zero sum” strategies that move money from one group of students with high needs to another, Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said at the hearing.

Johnson said that under the bill, the district would expect to receive around $2 million less in funding annually. She also noted that charter schools with small populations — a selling point for families — often have a higher per-pupil cost than other schools.

Independent charter schools received around $7,326 less than IPS in per-pupil funding in 2019, according to a report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education. Statewide, that gap is around $3,800, according to testimony from Kristin Grimme, senior vice president of strategy at The Mind Trust, a group that supports charter schools in Indianapolis.

But IPS was the first district in the state to share its latest 2018 operating referendum money with the Innovation Network charters considered part of the district, giving $500 per pupil to those charters.

The district has also noted that it pays more than $40 million in in-kind services to support charters within its Innovation Network.

IPS also covers facilities and transportation costs for 15 of its 24 Innovation charters, most of which comes from the district’s operating fund, Johnson noted on Tuesday.

Still, charter school leaders and pro-charter organizations have argued that a meaningful disparity exists.

In Indianapolis, the IPS school board’s decision last month to delay a vote on a new operating referendum came after high-profile lobbying from the charter school community that charters should benefit more from the referendum. The latest IPS referendum pitched by district officials would have shared more of the additional revenue with Innovation charters than the district initially offered, but none with independent charters.

Other proposals for funding on the table

The legislature is considering several other proposals that would affect local funding and resources for schools.

House Bill 1498 would place a one-time cap of 5% on operating referendum revenue for 2024.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 391 would compel districts to make their underused school buildings available to charter schools. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday.

Other proposals would direct more state money to vouchers and similar programs. One such bill seeks to open the state’s Education Savings Accounts to more families, allowing them to use state tuition support dollars to attend private schools.

And House Republicans’ signature education bill this session would create career scholarship accounts for students to be used for job training with organizations other than their high schools. House Bill 1002 will be heard by the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

State again sides with University Prep charter, tells Adams 14 to negotiate contract

2023-02-09T23:38:33+00:00

Once again, the Colorado State Board of Education has sided with the charter group University Prep in an appeal and against the Adams 14 school district.

The State Board voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to grant the group’s appeal and order Adams 14 to engage in “good faith negotiations with University Preparatory Schools and to complete the contract.”

However, attorneys for Adams 14 argued that the State Board cannot order a district to negotiate a contract. The district’s denial of the charter contract centers around University Prep promising to include a preschool and then saying it might not happen in the first year.

The State Board has gained several new members since December when it initially voted to order Adams 14 to reconsider allowing the school to open. But still, many of the deliberations were similar.

Board chair Rebecca McClellan said she remains confused as to why, if the district values a preschool so much, a one-year delay in opening should mean it’s no longer of value and should be eliminated as a possibility.

State Board member Angelika Schroeder said there was clear interest in the school from families, and the issues sound like adult problems.

Two attorneys for Adams 14 argued that trust has been broken, that the district cannot be forced to sign a charter contract, and that they would not be forced to concede.

“There will not be a contract,” Joe Salazar, an attorney for Adams 14, said during the appeal hearing. “This is not an organization we want to engage with.”

State Board members then asked their own attorneys what the point of the hearing was if Adams 14 doesn’t intend to comply. State Board member Kathy Plomer said she wasn’t sure what implications her vote would have and that the issue seemed likely to head to the courts.

State attorneys still encouraged the State Board to make a decision on the appeal.

University Prep proposed a preschool through fifth grade school to open within Adams 14, and initially had their charter application approved by the Adams 14 school board in December 2021. The school and the district agreed to extend negotiations on details longer than usual, thus delaying the opening of the school.

In summer 2022, when University Prep believed negotiations were completed, the Adams 14 board delayed a vote then rejected the contract.

Central to the issues the district cites is whether the school will include a preschool in its first year. Leaders of University Prep say that is still their goal, but want leeway to push back opening the preschool in case construction and state licensing delay their timeline.

The draft charter contract stipulates that lack of a preschool by the second year could constitute a reason to close the school.

But Adams 14 attorneys said that changing the preschool timing represented a “bait and switch” and raises questions about whether the preschool would open at all. The attorneys also said the charter group broke trust when David Singer, the leader of University Prep, threatened to appeal to Steve Durham, a State Board member who has been critical of Adams 14.

Singer said in the state appeal hearings that he didn’t mean to threaten the district, that he didn’t mention Durham specifically, and that he has since apologized.

State Board member Rhonda Solis told University Prep leaders that they need to be more aware of the trauma that the Adams 14 district is dealing with, so they can be more sensitive.

On Thursday, attorneys for both sides said there was no negotiation after the December order.

Plomer said she was concerned that the district didn’t go through the process to try to remedy the impasse in negotiations after the December decision.

Salazar told the State Board that the Adams 14 board met to reconsider its denial of the school, but that the order didn’t require them to communicate or negotiate with University Prep. The local board approved a resolution without discussion reaffirming the denial.

Typically, a second appeal win by a charter is binding and has resulted in other districts opening a charter school they initially wanted to block. But the majority of appeals happen earlier in the process when a district denies a charter application, not when they’re considering a final contract.

In the case of Adams 14, Salazar said after the hearing that the local board will wait to see the written state order and weigh what is being asked.

But Salazar said he remains confident that the State Board cannot order a district to negotiate a contract.

Singer said he wants to remain hopeful that he’ll be able to work with the district to finalize a contract that works for everyone.

“Our goal is to find a way forward that ultimately honors the needs of kids,” he said.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee private school voucher expansion bill clears first legislative hurdle

2023-02-09T00:49:59+00:00

A proposal that would expand eligibility for private school vouchers to students in a third large Tennessee school district passed easily out of its first legislative committee on Wednesday.

The Senate Education Committee voted 6-2 to advance a bill to bring the state’s education savings account program to Hamilton County Schools.

If the legislation becomes law, eligible families in the Chattanooga-based district, which has 44,000 students, could apply to receive taxpayer money to pay toward private school tuition next school year.

The program, pushed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, launched this school year in Memphis and Nashville after the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the 2019 voucher law last spring. Metro Nashville and Shelby County governments continue to challenge the law’s constitutionality and have appealed their case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The expansion bill passed out of committee with little discussion.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, a Chattanooga Republican sponsoring the measure, said his proposal “just adds Hamilton County to the ESA pilot program” and wouldn’t affect other counties or school districts.

But Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari said it’s too soon to broaden a new state program that’s intended as a pilot to see if education savings accounts are effective.

“I don’t think there’s been enough time to even see if it will be successful,” said Akbari, a Memphis Democrat who voted “no” with Republican Sen. Joey Hensley of Hohenwald.

“I was opposed to it being piloted in Shelby County and in Davidson County as well,” Akbari added.

Sen. Rusty Crowe, a Republican from Johnson City, declined to vote.

The law directs the state comptroller to report on the program’s efficacy after its third year of enrolling students, which would be by Jan. 1, 2026.

As of Monday, the state education department had approved 643 applications to use vouchers, three-fifths of which are from families wanting to leave Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

You can track the bill on the state legislature’s website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana bill would compel school districts to shutter underused buildings, offer them to charters

2023-02-08T21:57:40+00:00

A bill in the Indiana Senate would significantly expand a state law that requires school districts to make their empty buildings available to charter schools.

While existing state law compels districts to make vacant or unused buildings available to sell or lease to charter schools for $1, Senate Bill 391 would clarify that the law also applies to an “underutilized” building.

It would require districts to compile an annual report of the buildings it uses for instruction to determine if any are underused, which the bill would define as occupied at less than 60% capacity. Underutilized buildings would be closed, and charter schools would be notified, unless the district could prove it uses a building for other qualified purposes.

The proposal would also allow charter schools or the state Department of Education to request a review at any time of whether a school building should be closed. And districts that don’t comply with the law would be subject to a funding penalty, losing 3% of their state tuition support for 12 months.

Bill author Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger) said the purpose of the bill was to provide more clarity to the existing laws that govern school building closures.

The state has recently seen several high-profile cases of charter schools accusing public school districts of unfairly holding onto buildings that they say should be offered under the $1 law. In one example, a judge ruled last month that Carmel Clay Schools in Hamilton County did not violate the law by closing an elementary school and refusing to offer it to the Hillsdale College-supported Valor Classical Academy. The judge cited the “ambiguity” of existing law.

“Taxpayers paid for that building to be used for public education,” Rogers said. “All too often, buildings are being kept open to use for storage or offices, when there are much less expensive options available.”

The bill applies only to districts where enrollment has dropped by at least 10% over five years and where there is another suitable building serving the same grades located within 20 minutes of the targeted building.

It provides exceptions for buildings being used for alternative programs, storage, or office space, but districts must meet certain requirements, like using at least half of the building for storage and exploring other potentially less expensive options that would serve the purpose.

The bill would turn authority over building closures — which currently rests with the Attorney General’s office — to the Department of Education.

If passed, the bill likely would immediately affect districts like Indianapolis Public Schools, which is in the midst of a plan to restructure its use of underutilized buildings. A district facility condition report found that the district’s average utilization rate is 60%, with some schools operating far below capacity.

The bill heard mixed public testimony at the Senate Education and Career Development Committee Wednesday, serving as a proxy in the long-standing fight between charter and traditional public school advocates.

Many speakers said the expansion of the law would impact a local school board’s authority to decide what to do with its buildings. One district requested an amendment that would exempt districts if a school building is being used for a nonprofit educational program, like a Boys & Girls Club.

Jerell Blakeley of the Indiana State Teachers Association objected to a provision that would allow charter schools to request reviews of school buildings.

“There is nothing to deter an interested party from tying up the school board for months in bad faith,” Blakeley said. “There are no penalties for trying to take a building without merit.”

But charter supporters said charter schools don’t have access to property tax funding as traditional districts do, and thus can’t accommodate growing interest in their programs. The legislature also is considering bills this year that would compel districts to share property tax dollars with charters.

“This funding disparity forces charter schools to pay for their facilities amongst other expenses out of the tuition support dollars used to educate their students,” said Molly Collins of the Institute for Quality Education, a nonprofit organization that advocates for charter education.

Lawmakers did not vote on the proposal, but Rogers said she would consider some of the testimony in making any changes ahead of next week’s hearing.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Two Newark charter schools to merge into one K-12, as two others get approval to expand

2023-02-03T00:03:11+00:00

The New Jersey Department of Education approved the expansion of two Newark charter schools, allowing the schools to increase enrollment at their campuses by a combined 532 seats — and bucking the department’s recent trend to curb charter school growth in the city.

The department also approved the merger of Achieve Community Charter School and People’s Preparatory Charter School to create a new K-12 school — People’s Achieve Community Charter School — that will fully integrate this summer, ahead of next school year.

Acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan sent decision letters Wednesday, the annual regulatory deadline, to charter schools statewide seeking renewals or amendments to their charter agreements, including requests to add more seats.

In total, 11 out of 14 expansion requests were approved for charter schools across the state, including the two in Newark. Other charter school expansions were approved in Trenton, Paterson, Clifton, Jersey City, Asbury Park, East Brunswick, and New Brunswick.

“The department weighs a broad range of data to make thoughtful decisions on each application — evaluating schools on their record of performance and ensuring overall accountability,” said Michael Yaple, the department’s spokesman, in a statement.

North Star Academy, one of the largest charter school networks in the city with six elementary, six middle, and two high schools, was approved for 492 additional seats, increasing enrollment from 7,300 to 7,792 by the 2025-26 school year, according to the state education department’s approval letter obtained by Chalkbeat.

The charter school, which has been in Newark since 1997, reported an enrollment waitlist last year of 633 Newark students and 133 non-resident students, the letter stated. Although the school hasn’t met its maximum approved enrollment, North Star says it plans to ramp up recruitment and retention efforts.

LINK Community Charter School, a smaller system in its ninth year of operation, was approved for an additional 40 seats, increasing its enrollment size from 410 to 450 by the 2025-26 school year, according to the approval letter the school received on Wednesday.

The approvals come after the state denied several requests for charter school expansions over the last few years – marking a shift in tone for charter schools in Newark, which have seen a slowdown of growth under Gov. Phil Murphy. Under his predecessor, former Gov. Chris Christie, there was a boom in Newark charter school expansions.

“Communities win when we increase public school options that have a track record of meeting students’ needs,” said Harry Lee, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association. “Public charter schools work and we are ecstatic that more children will be able to attend excellent schools that put them on the path to social-emotional and academic recovery.”

Achieve Community Charter School, a K-8 charter school in the South Ward, will merge with People’s Prep, a 9-12 charter school, starting in the 2023-24 school year.

“My heart is overjoyed by this approval, as this was the final piece of the puzzle to provide a holistic model for children and families in our community,” said Dominique Lee, founder and chief executive officer of the BRICK Education Network, which runs Achieve Community Charter School, in a press release.

“By partnering with another high-performing school like Achieve to start our college access and success work earlier, we now have the opportunity to produce even better outcomes with students, families, and alumni for generations to come,” said Keith Robinson, executive director for People’s Prep, in that release.

The state education department also said the consolidation of the two schools will benefit students by providing them with a continuity from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“The two schools’ missions and educational programs are uniquely aligned to ensure a smooth transition into a single entity,” Allen-McMillan said in the approval letter.

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark, covering the city’s K-12 schools with a focus on English language learners. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.

Hochul’s proposal to lift NYC charter school cap faces uncertain fate in Albany

2023-02-01T20:22:46+00:00

Dozens of new charter schools could open in New York City under a proposal unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a move that would allow new city charters to be issued for the first time since 2019.

The governor’s plan, which was tucked into her executive budget, would effectively abolish the local cap on charter schools in New York City, allowing charter operators to vie for about 85 charters that haven’t been used in other parts of the state.

In addition, the proposal calls for reissuing charters that were granted to schools that later closed or had their charters revoked, unlocking about 21 new so-called “zombie” charter schools statewide, according to the governor’s office. New York City operators would also be eligible to vie for those charters.

The statewide cap of 460 charter schools would not be raised.

The fate of the governor’s proposal is far from certain and will be subject to negotiations as part of the budget process, which is expected to wrap up by April 1. Unlike in 2015, the last time state officials increased the city charter cap, the legislature is squarely controlled by Democrats, many of whom are opposed to the sector’s growth. About 275 charter schools, which are privately managed yet publicly funded, currently operate in New York City.

It’s also unclear how much political capital Hochul, a Democrat, is willing to spend on a potentially bruising fight to lift the charter cap in New York City — a policy idea she was reluctant to embrace until the final days of her campaign. The governor did not highlight the proposal during a speech unveiling the executive budget.

Hochul received campaign contributions from major pro-charter groups but received even more from educator unions, which have been fiercely opposed to growing the number of charter schools, which are typically not unionized.

“Governor Hochul believes every student deserves a quality education, and we are proposing to give New York families more options and opportunities to succeed,” a spokesperson for Hochul wrote in a statement.

Adding new charter schools in New York City is complicated by dwindling student enrollment. The city’s traditional public schools have seen enrollment declines accelerate during the pandemic, and opening additional charter schools could lead to even more pronounced losses, threatening school budgets or even prompting school mergers or closures.

That dynamic could impact existing charter schools, too, most of which have also struggled with enrollment declines during the pandemic (although the sector has grown overall). Some of the city’s largest networks, including Success Academy and Uncommon Schools, are struggling to fill all of their seats.

Still, pro charter groups immediately praised the governor’s proposal. “A budget is a reflection of priorities — and with this budget proposal, Governor Hochul has proven that she prioritizes the voices and needs of students and families first,” James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, wrote in a statement. (The charter center offered slightly different tallies of the number of charters that would become available to the city. They indicated 84 charters are available outside New York City and 23 zombie charters could be reissued.)

Some legislative leaders immediately shot down the governor’s proposal. State Sen. John Liu said in a statement that allowing more charter schools to operate is a “nonstarter,” arguing there is “no justification” for risking the closure of district schools for the sake of the charter sector’s growth.

Michael Mulgrew, head of the city’s teachers union, also sharply criticized the governor’s proposal. “Public resources should go to real public schools — not to corporate charter chains that claim success by refusing to serve our most vulnerable children, that force out students who don’t fit their mold, and that refuse to permit independent audits of their spending,” he wrote in a statement.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie did not immediately reject the governor’s charter school proposal, though he hinted it may receive a chilly reception. “The Assembly’s focus really is about — has always been about — trying to take care of the needs of the traditional public schools,” he told reporters. “Charter schools has traditionally been a tough issue in the conference. But you know, with that being said, there are members who support charters.”

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The governor’s proposal may receive a warmer reception from Mayor Eric Adams, who is generally more supportive of charter schools than his predecessor. Adams has previously said he supports getting zombie charter schools “back on line.” (An Adams spokesperson said the mayor is reviewing the governor’s budget proposal.)

The announcement was welcome news to Arthur Samuels, who co-founded MESA Charter High School in Bushwick. MESA’s leadership won “pre-approval” in 2019 to open a second Brooklyn high school, but were unable to do so because of the charter cap. If the governor’s proposal is approved, Samuels said MESA would “seriously consider” opening a second high school.

“We still don’t have enough slots at MESA to serve the students who apply,” Samuels said. Hochul’s proposal “says to me that the governor’s priority is trying to give a similar level of choice and access to families that have historically been denied it.”

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools tables operating referendum vote amid pushback

2023-01-28T19:12:36+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools will delay its plan to place a $413.6 million referendum for operating expenses on the May ballot after mounting public pressure to give more funding to charter schools and the recently announced lack of support from the influential Indy Chamber.

The school board needed to approve the referendum by Feb. 17 to have it on the ballot in May, and that’s now unlikely to happen, board members said at Saturday’s school board meeting. The district planned to use the operating referendum to fund its vast revitalization effort, known as Rebuilding Stronger, so the delay was a blow to those plans.

The change, however, came with the most comprehensive public comments yet on the matter from IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who in a nearly 10-minute speech expressed concern that organizations within the city’s educational landscape have sown discord at the expense of its students.

“Right now in Indianapolis we have lost sight of the concept of a village, when organizations can publicly declare that they cannot support funding for well documented and much overdue improvements needed for our children’s schools, and question if they really need that expanded access to algebra and music,” she said at the school board meeting. “That is concerning.”

A second ballot question, one to raise $410 million for capital expenses, is still moving forward and will be on the ballot for voters to decide in May.

The district must now assess which parts of Rebuilding Stronger it can still implement without the operating referendum funding, IPS board president Venita Moore said after the meeting.

Delaying the operating referendum came with voiced frustration from both Johnson and board members after weeks of pushback from influential groups within the educational ecosystem, including Stand for Children Indiana, the Mind Trust, and RISE Indy — organizations that are supportive of charter schools. Those same organizations issued statements praising the delay after it was announced, but not addressing Johnson’s concerns.

IPS board member Diane Arnold noted her disappointment with individuals she later clarified as these groups, arguing that the fight for charters to receive more funding devolved into accusations.

The fight for more funding had become in recent weeks focused on race and equity, as parents and students packed board meetings and argued that charter schools have high proportions of students of color. While IPS has agreed to share its funds with charters within its Innovation Network, it has declined to share with independent charters over concerns of oversight.

“I’m disappointed that individuals I had previously respected resorting to accusing myself and other commissioners of caring more for white students than students of color — that narrative that was fueled and repeated by specific organizations to support their agenda,” said Arnold, the longest serving member on the board.

The two proposed ballot measures were meant to help the district upgrade crumbling buildings, consolidate campuses, and expand academics — particularly for students of color — as it downsizes and also competes with charter schools for students. The operating measure would have also maintained competitive salaries amid an acute shortage of teachers and other school workers.

District officials have long projected that IPS will reach a fiscal cliff by the end of 2026, when both federal COVID relief funds and the current operating referendum will have expired.

IPS estimated that the two proposals together would have raised taxes by about $6 per month for the owner of a home assessed at $138,500, the estimated median value of homes in the district.

Supporters of charter schools packed the IPS school board meeting at the Madam Walker Legacy Center on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

Charters, business interests oppose the referendum

Pushback from the charter sector continued on Saturday as over 50 people packed the Madam Walker Legacy Center for the board meeting. Some carried signs reading “$0 for charter students is not fair” and “Delay the vote.”

Charter schools will largely be unaffected by the changes outlined in the district’s Rebuilding Stronger effort and will not be adopting the policies and the specialized academic offerings outlined in the plan, such as Montessori or dual-language programs.

On Saturday, Moore said the board was prepared to share equally with its Innovation Network charters based on the needs of each school’s population — a higher amount than the district’s last offer, which stood at a little over $1,000 per Innovation student, compared to roughly $1,900 for each traditional IPS student.

“Unfortunately we still could not make or reach a decision that it was something that could be supported,” she said. “Again I also want to say that I am very disappointed with that decision.”

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson outlines concerns of divide

In her comments, Johnson argued that the district’s current setup creates a divide.

The city’s charter sector has grown year after year as the district has slowly lost enrollment, forced to stretch resources more thinly across the board and close underutilized buildings. While IPS has embraced some of these schools as part of its own within its Innovation Network, others have no ties to the district.

“The reality is that we have created an educational system and landscape in this city that goes against the idea of the village — it is every person for themselves,” she said. “It is, ‘how do I make sure my school gets the resources?’ It is, ‘I only need to be accountable to the people I directly serve.’”

Johnson’s remarks also nodded to the many groups and organizations involved in the educational landscape in the city, arguing that some within the community intentionally sow discord. She did not name any specific groups.

“There are those in our community who are incentivized by cultivating dissension to position one group of people against another— who are incentivized by schools failing kids because it helps to prove their point, be it a charter school that closes in January or a district school that is restarted,” she said.

Brandon Brown, CEO of the Mind Trust nonprofit that helps start charter schools in Indianapolis, and Stand for Children Indiana, which has rallied charter parents to speak at meetings for weeks, said in separate statements that they applauded the district’s decision to delay the vote. The statements didn’t comment on the concerns of divisiveness outlined by the superintendent.

In a statement, RISE Indy president and CEO Jasmin Shaheed-Young also thanked the district for the delay.

“There have been some tense moments, and I want to recognize that these conversations aren’t easy, especially when we are talking about money,” she said, also noting that Arnold is an “incredible asset” that RISE looks forward to working with.

Arnold also argued that the funding fix could instead be taken up by the state legislature.

“I don’t dispute there are funding disparities,” she said. “However, we did not create that disparity. If our state legislature can find money to expand vouchers for private schools, perhaps they could also better support public charters as well.”

Capital referendum to fund facilities

IPS has just over three months to convince voters to approve the capital referendum before the primary election on May 2.

The $410 million capital referendum would fund improvements and new construction at 23 school campuses.

A 2020 analysis of building conditions found that about 21% of the district’s buildings were in poor or worse condition. It would take about $466 million to bring all district buildings to a condition of good or better.

The ballot measure would increase property tax rates by up to about 21 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Two charter schools in Memphis and Nashville to move from one state-run district to another

2023-01-27T23:44:22+00:00

Two charter schools exiting Tennessee’s school turnaround district will pivot to the oversight of another state-run district operated by a new charter school entity.

The Tennessee Public Charter School Commission approved applications Friday from Promise Academy Spring Hill, which serves kindergartners through fifth graders in Memphis’ Raleigh community, and LEAD Neely’s Bend, which serves grades 5-8 in the Madison area of Nashville.

Their transition from the state’s Achievement School District will occur this fall.

Both schools were academically in the state’s bottom 5% when the state moved them into its turnaround district, which mostly used charter operators as its improvement strategy. The so-called ASD has had mixed results but did not deliver on its early promises to transform schools within five years.

Both Promise Academy and Neely’s Bend became eligible to leave the ASD last fall based on improved academic performance under new exit criteria established by a 2021 state law. The law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee, requires schools to exit the ASD after 10 years — or sooner if they’ve stayed off Tennessee’s priority list of the lowest-performing schools for two cycles.

“What we’ve seen with these schools is what we want — helping students achieve better outcomes,” said Commissioner Eddie Smith after the panel unanimously approved the applications from Promise Academy and LEAD.

The ASD exit law also allows higher-performing ASD schools to bypass their home districts and move to the new state-run district overseen by the charter commission. Lower-performing schools exiting the ASD can still seek to return to their home school districts, as four ASD schools in Memphis did last fall.

When the state launched the ASD in 2012 with six schools, the plan was to return all the schools to their hometown districts. The district eventually grew to 30 schools.

Parents, teachers, and community members packed a 2014 meeting at Neely’s Bend Middle Prep School to discuss the state’s proposal to take the Nashville school over.

At public hearings in December, officials with Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools told commission staff that they wanted Promise Academy and Neely’s Bend to become part of their local charter school portfolios.

Created under a 2019 law and with members appointed by the governor, the commission took over the charter appellate duties of the State Board of Education, as well as four state-authorized charter schools in Memphis and Nashville.

With Friday’s votes, the commission’s portfolio grows to 16 schools, including three other former ASD schools in Memphis whose applications were approved last school year: Cornerstone Prep Denver, Lester Prep, and Libertas School of Memphis.

In other business, the commission reelected Tom Griscom of Chattanooga as chairman and Chris Richards of Memphis as vice chairman.

Griscom is a retired newspaper publisher who served as director of White House communications under President Ronald Reagan. Richards is a lawyer and retired executive of FedEx.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

NYC pauses Success Academy space-sharing plans in Queens and Bronx schools

2023-01-23T22:56:22+00:00

Success Academy, New York City’s largest charter school network, is on an expansion tear, recently winning approval to move into buildings shared with other schools in Far Rockaway, Queens as well as in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

But mounting community resistance has halted three other proposals — in districts 28 and 29 in Queens and the Bronx’s District 11— which the department of education quietly pulled from the Panel for Educational Policy’s agenda before Tuesday’s scheduled vote.

The decision came “after hearing from community members throughout this entire process that the proposals would create significant challenges for the new schools and the existing co-located schools,” schools Chancellor David Banks said in a statement on Monday. “Being responsive to families, staff, and community input is a core pillar of this administration, and we welcome all voices to take part in these discussions.”

Under state law, charter schools are entitled to receive space from the education department or rental assistance. Banks said the city will continue to work with Success Academy to help them find “suitable” facilities for their new schools.

Roughly 1,100 New York City schools, or 66%, share campuses with other schools. About 10% of those are charters, according to data from the New York City Charter School Center.

Fears that Success Academy’s move could slow a turnaround effort

One of the Success Academy proposals would have opened an elementary school in a building in southeast Queens shared by two middle schools and a District 75 program, serving children with disabilities who need intensive support.

Principals at the two middle schools, M.S. 332 and M.S. 72, after sleepless nights of grant-writing last spring, had won a federal magnet grant in October sending nearly $2.5 million to each of their schools over five years. When they learned of the proposed Success Academy co-location, they feared they might not be able to meet the goals of their project, which was among 19 proposals across the country receiving windfalls.

As part of the grant, the two District 28 schools promised to beef up the rigor of their academic offerings. M.S. 72, also known as the Catherine & Count Basie Middle School, plans to integrate multimedia and performing arts. M.S. 332, known as the Redwood Middle School, will focus on leadership and STEM.

(From left) Queens principals Ativia Sandusky of M.S. 72 and Tammy Katan-Brown of M.S. 332 at the education department’s Lower Manhattan headquarters celebrating their federal magnet grant.

The schools must also increase enrollment about 5% each year over the grant’s duration. And now they must do that while meeting the new demands of a state law mandating smaller classes.

The education department had said there was room to spare in the building, despite objections from the schools and many in the community. According to education department projections based on its “Blue Book,” the building would only be operating at 70% to 79% of its capacity once the Success Academy elementary school is at full enrollment.

But Adriana Alicea, president of District 28’s President’s Council, toured the school, as did local elected officials, and saw little empty space. The District 75 students have gym class in the building’s locker room, and lunch for the three schools is spread over seven periods.

“We can’t force additional students into a building where there’s no space and then condemn New York City schools for failing,” Alicea said. “There’s no space for the children to succeed. There’s no space for them to grow.”

M.S. 72 Principal Ativia Sandusky took over the school in 2019, at the same time Tammy Katan-Brown took over the helm at M.S. 332. Both schools had long suffered from disinvestment, declining enrollment, and poor performance.

The two principals had worked together in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with Katan-Brown sending many of her elementary school students to Sandusky’s middle school. They both moved to the Queens schools with an explicit goal of turning their reputations around from schools where police made frequent visits, they said.

They immediately got to work, overhauling the culture at the schools, getting $200,000 to upgrade their auditorium, and making other changes. Sandusky’s school, which had been on a 2019 state list of “struggling schools,” won $175,000 for a hydroponics lab, added five new science labs, formed a partnership with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and watched her enrollment grow from 224 students when she started to 289, she said.

“We’ve done so much work here,” Sandusky said. “Now people are coming knocking on the door, wanting to put their children here.”

Both schools have seen state test scores increase from 2019 to 2022. M.S. 72, for instance, saw its English scores jump from about 25% of students passing to nearly 41%. At M.S. 332, only about 22% of students passed the English exams in 2019. Last year, about 42% did.

“The whole narrative of this community has changed since we’ve been principals,” Katan-Brown said. Her school had 214 children last year. This year, there are 257, according to public data.

Eva Moskowitz, Success Academy’s founder and CEO issued a statement after this story initially published, saying, “Thousands of families whose children are in desperate need of better educational options have applied to these schools. We will not let the Adams Administration abandon them.”

Its four Queens elementary schools in Districts 27 and 29 get 20 applications for every open seat, Success Academy spokesperson Ann Powell said. In the Bronx’s District 11, more than 500 families “commute significant distances” to attend other Success Academies; the building eyed for the co-location in the district has more than 900 empty seats according to the Blue Book, Powell said.

Communities fight to get their voices heard

At the Richard R. Green campus, home to the North Bronx School of Empowerment and M.S. 113, educators and families worried that plans to move Success into the building’s first floor could deprive the existing middle schools from using their recently renovated dance room, music room, tech lab, and library – all on that floor. The schools didn’t have enough staff to monitor the stairways during periods to ensure the middle schoolers’ can get safely from the second floor.

As Theresa Roberts, president of the community education council in District 11, fought the city’s proposal, she had worried that parents’ voices wouldn’t be taken into consideration. And when parents are not invited “to the table,” she said, it takes a toll on the “health and emotional wellbeing of everybody here.”

Leonie Haimson, of the parent advocacy group Class Size Matters, said the educational impact statement the city creates for co-location proposals are problematic because they do not consider the new smaller class size mandates. Additionally, she said, they don’t measure whether students will lose access to their music rooms or science labs, and they don’t account for dedicated space needed to provide services for children with disabilities.

“That’s one of the reasons you see so many kids getting OT and PT and speech therapy in hallways and closets,” said Haimson, who recently toured the Bronx school.

She was heartened by the city’s decision to pull the proposals.

“I hope this decision indicates a sea-change in DOE policies and that charter school co-locations will no longer be contemplated,” Haimson said.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

What is a Michigan charter school?

2023-01-20T22:15:00+00:00

Nearly 30 years ago, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation creating a new category of schools called public school academies, or charter schools, as an alternative to traditional public school systems. Advocates said these schools would operate with more autonomy and usher in an era of expanded school choice, educational innovation, and higher academic achievement.

From the very start, there was confusion about what these schools were, including conflicting court rulings on the fundamental question of whether they were public or private.

Even today, with 150,000 K-12 students enrolled in Michigan charter schools, a good deal of misunderstanding — and conflict — persists over what charter schools are, how they differ from other types of schools and how well they deliver on their promise.

Ron Rizzo, director of charter schools at Ferris State University, said that the basic definition was “one of the biggest questions” when he started working in the sector 21 years ago. “And it hasn’t gone away.”

Indeed, the complexity of Michigan’s charter school law resists simple definitions. And political divisions over education policy continue to cloud the debate over their merits: Republicans generally favor charter schools, while Democrats have been skeptical of them, leaving the public to sort through competing and frequently misleading characterizations.

Today’s charter school sector was largely shaped by Republicans, who controlled the Michigan Legislature for nearly four decades. Working with allies in the school choice movement, they have eliminated caps on the number of charter schools and sought to minimize interference from local officials in how they operate.

Now Democrats control the Legislature, and with the backing of teachers unions and public school advocates, they are pledging to rewrite laws governing charter schools.

For families and educators seeking to navigate the latest turn in the debate, it’s important to understand what charter schools are, how they work, and what proposed changes in the law could mean. Here’s a guide to help you:

Charter schools serve a large segment of Michigan students, mostly in cities

There are about 370 charter schools in Michigan enrolling roughly 150,000 K-12 students, or 10% of the total. Some of those schools are organized into groups called charter districts.

Most charter school students live in urban areas, notably Detroit, where nearly 50% of all public school students attend charter schools. Nearly two-thirds of charter school students are enrolled in southeast Michigan.

After a period of rapid growth, particularly in the early 2010s, the number of charter schools has plateaued, along with their enrollment.

They are public schools

Michigan’s charter school law was nearly short-circuited by a legal challenge arguing that charter schools were private, and not eligible under the state Constitution to receive public money.

At first, the courts agreed, but the state Supreme Court ultimately said explicitly that charters were public schools. That means they qualify to receive taxpayer funds. Today, charter schools are almost entirely supported by state tax revenues.

As public schools, charters must follow state and federal education laws governing standardized tests, teacher certification, discrimination, the rights of students with disabilities, and the rights of students learning English as a second language, among others.

Charters are managed differently than other public schools

Michigan law allows anyone to open and operate a charter school, but they can’t do so on their own. The term “charter” refers to the contract that a school operator must sign with an outside body called an authorizer — usually a college or university, but sometimes a local school district.

The authorizer functions as that school’s regulator, responsible for ensuring that it complies with state standards and education laws and meets benchmarks for academic performance. Authorizers typically review a school’s charter for renewal every five years. In exchange for oversight, authorizers can take up to a 3% cut of a charter’s state funding.

The authorizer also appoints members of a board that more directly oversees the charter school, or a group of schools in a charter district, just as an elected school board would for a traditional public school district. Even though they’re not elected, the charter school boards are considered public entities, and their deliberations are subject to open-records laws.

But many charter schools hire outside companies to handle key aspects of their operations, from hiring teachers to balancing their books. In Michigan, unlike in many states, most of those companies are for-profit. The largest among them manage dozens of schools.

The management companies are not public entities, which means the public isn’t entitled to access data about how they spend money on behalf of the schools, or how much profit they earn.

They often work on a tight budget

Charters take in less funding on the whole.

During the 2020-21 school year, charters reported about $12,100 in total revenue per pupil, compared with $13,400 per pupil for local districts.

Like the vast majority of local districts, charters receive $9,150 per pupil in state aid, plus some federal aid.

But they don’t receive local tax revenue, which districts often tap for building improvements.

Charters also tend to run at a lower cost. On average, they pay teachers less and spend less on instruction than local districts. Few charter schools have staff represented by teachers unions, and they generally don’t contribute to the state’s educator pension fund. While a handful of charter schools provide busing, they typically have almost no transportation costs. They enroll a lower proportion of students with disabilities, who are most expensive to educate.

A handful of charter schools receive substantial private donations that allow them to maintain newer buildings and spend more in the classroom.

They are a political battleground

For most of its existence, the U.S. charter school movement has had the support of both political parties.

Even so, in Michigan and elsewhere, charter school debates are often fiercely partisan.

Republicans, during decades of political control in Lansing, built a charter system designed to promote competition among schools, with few restrictions on who can open a school and where schools can form.

Democrats, with the backing of teachers unions, argued that limited regulation of charter schools created a chaotic landscape in Michigan cities where too many schools compete for a shrinking pool of students. Critics also worry that charters allow private management companies to profit from public education.

The cities where charters are most common are Democratic strongholds, but debates in these communities don’t always fall within party lines. Many families in these areas embrace charters as an alternative to struggling school systems. Others worry that charter schools will make things worse for their local district by pulling students — and funding — away.

They haven’t produced much change or improvement

Education reformers who built Michigan’s charter law saw the schools as a potentially transformative force.

“With charter schools, you get away from the one-size-fits-all mentality that has imposed a deadening uniformity and all too often a mediocrity on so many of our public schools,” then-Gov. John Engler, a Republican, said when the law was proposed.

Charters were said to be especially beneficial for students in low-income communities with struggling school districts, who would be allowed to opt out of their local school to attend an innovative, high-quality alternative.

In practice, charters have produced little educational change. With a handful of exceptions, their classroom operations generally mirror their district counterparts, as do their academic results.

In Detroit, for example, charters do slightly better on standardized tests than district schools, on average, but still fall well below state average scores.

Koby Levin is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 schools and early childhood education. Contact Koby at klevin@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers weigh bill to create universal school choice program

2023-01-19T21:51:50+00:00

This article originally published in the Indiana Capital Chronicle.

Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday began a contentious debate over whether it should bring universal school choice — and its daunting potential long-term cost — to Hoosier students and parents.

Testimony heard in the Senate education committee raised questions about how much universal education scholarship accounts would cost and whether the state can afford to fund all students who are eligible to participate. This would be separate than the state’s voucher program, known as Choice Scholarships.

Critics of the bill additionally doubled down on their concerns that the program expansion would pull additional dollars away from already cash-strapped public schools.

Bill author Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, maintained that his bill seeks to give families more options and ensure that students who don’t qualify for the program now — but want to — can participate.

“ESAs are designed all around to put parents in control of their kids’ education, allowing them to have more say in essentially determining how the money is going to be spent and what accountability and transparency will look like,” Buchanan said. “Anytime you can get more choice, more options for parents, I believe it’s better, and that’s what this bill is doing.”

The bill is awaiting committee approval, which could come as early as next week. Senate education committee chairman Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, said several amendments to the measure are likely to be adopted before a vote is held.

Will Indiana adopt universal school choice?

Indiana’s Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program was created by the General Assembly in 2021 despite pushback from public education advocates who argued that the program lacks oversight and takes money away from traditional public schools.

Currently, ESAs are limited to students who qualify for special education. Families must also meet income limits to participate. The income ceiling is high, however. A family of four can make up to $154,000 annually — equal to 300% of the amount required for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced price lunch program.

But Buchanan’s bill would extend the program to all students, regardless of a student’s educational needs or their family’s income level.

Accounts set up by the state treasurer’s office provide each qualifying student with funding for private school tuition and various other educational services from providers outside of their school district.

Buchanan is seeking to increase the ESA grants from 90% to 100% of the per-pupil funding that the state provides to local public schools. That means, on average, a student is eligible to receive about $7,500 per academic year.

The previous state budget appropriated $10 million a year for the program, enough to fund about 1,300 ESAs. Fiscal year 2023 is the first year the program enrolled students. The treasurer’s office reports that 143 students are participating in the program this year.

Buchanan said he “would be happy” if budget writers kept the ESA funding the same in the next biennium, noting that the program expansion “is contingent upon getting a line item for a fiscal line item in the budget.”

While Buchanan repeatedly tried to focus on that initial $10 million price tag, the program could easily grow.

For instance, Indiana has about 87,000 private school students, according to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). About 44,000 of those use the state’s Choice Scholarship program — which allows families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. But the remaining 43,000 would be eligible for the grant, which would average around $7,500 statewide.

That would equal more than $300 million annually.

The voucher program started similarly with a cap of 7,500 students at a cost of $15 million. The cap doubled the next year and now there is no limit and a current annual cost of $240 million.

Home-schooled students would also be eligible, along with public school kids. But the latter are already being funded in the state’s K-12 support formula.

Buchanan emphasized that less than 150 students currently participate in the ESA program. He said there are another 300 families who want to take part but aren’t currently eligible.

“This program only exists if it gets funded by the state budget that we’re currently crafting,” he said, adding that “whether it be $10 million again, or less or more than that, that will be the cap.”

Buchanan said the program will be “first come, first served” if the number of students who want an ESA exceeds the state cap.

It is unclear if the voucher program would still exist alongside a universal education savings account program.

It’s also not clear whether the GOP caucus will support a universal school voucher program in the current budget. Republican House Speaker Todd Huston said last week that he “would love to see” Indiana adopt such a program.

Changes to high school learning and degrees

Legislators on Wednesday also began discussions around a key education bill that seeks to “reinvent” high school curriculum. The House education committee heard two hours of testimony on HB 1002, a priority bill for the caucus that seeks to expand work-based learning in Indiana high schools, like apprenticeships and internships.

In addition, the bill would create a framework for students to earn a post-secondary credential before leaving the K-12 system.

Bill author Rep. Chuck Goodrich, R-Noblesville, said his proposal seeks to narrow the “skills gap” between Hoosiers and employers.

“Many students are not receiving the education and training they need to succeed in our workforce,” he said. “The world is changing at a rapid pace. We need to ensure that our students are ready for all that lies beyond high school — that they will have additional pathways to succeed.”

Paramount to the bill is a provision that would establish accounts for students in grades 10-12 to pay for career training outside their schools.

The career scholarship accounts (CSAs) would be similar to Indiana’s ESAs. Students would first be required to create a postsecondary plan in order to qualify for the scholarship accounts.

The amount each participating student can receive to pay for apprenticeships, coursework, or certification would be based on a calculation of the state dollars that their school receives. Students won’t qualify for a CSA if they’re already enrolled in a career and technical education program, though.

The IDOE would be tasked with approving the courses and tracks available to students, as well as determining the grant amount for each course.

GOP lawmakers said their goal is to get 5,000 to 10,000 students to participate in the next fiscal year.

Other provisions in the bill would require IDOE to put in place new diploma requirements by 2024, and ensure that high schools hold career fairs to help students connect with employers and work-based learning providers.

The bill would also allow students to apply funds from the 21st Century Scholars program — a statewide grant program that supports student enrollment at two- and four-year schools.

The CSAs have so far been met with support from business and economic leaders from across the state. Many education officials said they’re on-board with the idea, but they want more clarity around the bill’s fiscal impact.

The Indiana State Teachers Association, which opposes the current draft of the bill, said they specifically want lawmakers to ensure that public schools “play a major role” in work-based learning expansion.

“We are concerned that this bill drastically creates further privatization and outsources the public tax dollars that will have significant implications on school funding, how funding is streamed to schools and how it will affect students in classrooms,” said Jerell Blakeley, ISTA’s director of government, community, racial and social justice. “Educators in public schools are uniquely qualified, by training experience, to ensure that work-based learning experiences are both substantive and substantial.”

Denver school board votes to close STRIVE Prep - Kepner charter school

2023-01-13T02:19:50+00:00

STRIVE Prep - Kepner, a charter middle school in southwest Denver, will close at the end of this school year after the Denver school board voted Thursday to shutter it for low test scores.

The school has a “red” rating and its students scored in the first percentile on state math and reading tests last spring, according to a district memo recommending closure.

The closure vote was rare for two reasons. The Denver school board hasn’t voted to close a charter school since 2011, though more than a dozen have surrendered their charters voluntarily over the past decade, often because of low enrollment. The STRIVE Prep network is surrendering the charter for another of its schools, Lake, this spring.

The school board also hasn’t voted to close a school — district-run or charter — for low test scores since 2016 when it closed district-run Gilpin Montessori. It hasn’t voted to close schools for low enrollment, either. In November, the board rejected a recommendation from Superintendent Alex Marrero to close a set of small district-run schools.

Though school closures are often controversial and spark forceful pushback, the vote to close STRIVE Prep - Kepner was quick. There was little discussion among board members. Vice President Auon’tai Anderson was the only member to vote no. He said he opposes closing any school without robust community engagement, which he said didn’t happen in this case.

“I want to acknowledge the pain that some families may be sitting with right now,” he said.

STRIVE Prep didn’t publicly oppose the superintendent’s recommendation to close its Kepner school, and no teachers or parents spoke during a special public comment session Tuesday.

In a letter to families last month, STRIVE Prep acknowledged that it fell short at its Kepner school, which opened in 2016 as a replacement for struggling district-run Kepner Middle School.

“STRIVE Prep asked for the opportunity to operate Kepner to better deliver for kids and families, and despite our best efforts, we did not live up to our promises,” the letter reads.

Charter schools can appeal closures to the State Board of Education. But STRIVE Prep will not appeal the Kepner closure, spokesperson Julia Virnstein said.

STRIVE Prep - Kepner has 178 students this year, Virnstein said. District data for last year shows 91% of the school’s students were Hispanic, 86% qualified for subsidized school meals, and 82% were English language learners, which is far above the district average.

The school is part of Denver’s second-largest charter network. Its sixth and seventh graders will need to find new middle schools next year. Denver Public Schools’ window for families to choose schools for next year opens Friday. Some STRIVE Prep students may choose to attend Kepner Beacon, a district-run middle school that shares the Kepner campus.

The board on Thursday approved 19 other charter schools to keep operating within Denver Public Schools. The board voted to renew their charters for periods ranging from one to five years, depending on the schools’ academic performance and other factors.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

New Colorado State Board of Education blocks a charter appeal against Adams 14

2023-01-12T22:54:23+00:00

The State Board of Education voted 5-3 Thursday to deny an appeal from a charter school seeking to open a new high school in Adams 14.

The Adams 14 school board had denied the application from Be the Change Community School for a high school with biliteracy and project-based learning in November.

This was the first charter appeal heard by a State Board of Education with an expanded Democratic majority and two new members who previously served on school boards. Just last month, the State Board unanimously sided with a charter school and against Adams 14 in a different case.

The Be the Change appeal saw both new members and some who had previously ruled against Adams 14 instead side with the district.

State Board members who sided with the district were most swayed by the concern that Be the Change had submitted only around 30 intent-to-enroll forms for its opening ninth grade level. The school wanted to have 100 students to open.

“I am not convinced, based on the enrollment numbers, that people are looking for this particular option,” said new state board member Kathy Plomer. “I don’t think it’s my job to sit here and decide what Adams 14 parents are interested in.”

In November, the Adams 14 school board voted unanimously to reject the charter application for the school at a special meeting without public discussion and without public comment. The district had held three community meetings to hear feedback from the public about the charter school but they were not well-attended.

At Thursday’s appeal hearing, a lawyer for the charter school argued that if approved, the school would agree to pre-opening conditions laid out in a contract and not open if it didn’t ultimately get more students to enroll.

But State Board members who voted to deny the appeal said such conditions could cause other problems for parents, who would be left uncertain if the school would be able to open. If the school did open and then had to close soon afterward, that would also be bad for the community, board members said.

For State Board president Rebecca McClellan and the board’s two Republican members Steve Durham and Deb Scheffel, who sided with the charter school, those conditions should have been enough to allow the charter application to proceed.

“It’s really a non-issue,” Durham said. “There will be a flight to quality.”

An estimated 900 high school students who live in Adams 14 go to schools in other districts, state officials said. District officials, who said they don’t know how many students leave, said some students from other districts also choose to enroll in Adams 14 schools.

Durham urged his fellow board members to accept the appeal because about 75% of students at the district’s existing high school, Adams City High School, can’t meet expectations on state tests. In his opinion, Durham said, it was unlikely that a new school led by experienced educators would do any worse.

In the appeal hearing, the district also argued that the local board had reasonable concerns about some of the curriculum not being fully developed, and that the governing board of the charter school would only include one parent.

Leaders for the proposed charter said they haven’t yet fully developed the curriculum because they are working with a design team of community members, teenagers, and parents to design the school’s project-based curriculum. They did submit an overview of the programming.

At the hearing on Thursday, district representatives said they would have also liked to have seen a timeline for the project to develop the curriculum, but charter leaders said that was not requested prior to Thursday.

Charter leaders also said they were considering revising their bylaws to allow for more parent involvement, but noted there are other ways they envisioned parent involvement in multiple advisory committees.

Last month, the State Board heard an appeal from University Prep, an existing Denver charter operator, that attempted to open an elementary school in Adams 14. In that case, the State Board did overturn the Adams 14 decision and asked the district to reconsider approval of that charter school’s contract.

State Board member Lisa Escárcega said she was also concerned about ordering Adams 14 to focus on even more than the current three State Board orders: for reorganization, implementing a turnaround plan in the meantime, and reconsidering the University Prep charter contract.

Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado covering K-12 school districts and multilingual education. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.

Tennessee legislative preview: Key education issues to watch as lawmakers return

2023-01-10T11:00:00+00:00

When Tennessee legislators passed a tough third-grade reading law during their 2021 special session on education, they didn’t seek the input of many educators.

But they’re hearing a lot of feedback now, as the law’s stricter retention policy kicks in with this year’s class of third graders. Educators are warning about the potential for thousands of students to be held back because of low reading scores, along with a slew of logistical challenges created by the law.

Revisiting the controversial third-grade reading law is expected to top the list of education priorities heading into this year’s 113th General Assembly, beginning Tuesday in Nashville.

Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Bill Lee will unveil details of his legislative agenda and proposed budget several weeks after being sworn in for his second term on Jan. 21.

Last year, no education issue seemed too big or small for the GOP-controlled legislature to take up — from passing Lee’s sweeping rewrite of the state’s K-12 funding formula to authorizing teachers to confiscate students’ cellphones if they’re deemed a distraction in class. Lawmakers also asserted state power over several matters traditionally handled at the local or school level, including which books are OK for libraries and how to resolve a dispute between two cities over school properties.

This year, the GOP may flex its supermajority power again on socially divisive issues, including one bill that seeks to limit health treatment for transgender youth.

But whether charter school advocates will try again to pass charter-friendly legislation is still uncertain after several Republican-sponsored proposals sputtered last year and the fallout over charter applications linked to Michigan’s Hillsdale College galvanized supporters of traditional public schools.

As for the Democrats, their minority status limits their influence over legislation. But expect them to hammer their messaging around themes of restoring local control over education and the potential fiscal effects of expanding Tennessee’s charter school sector and private school voucher programs.

Here are five things to watch for as the General Assembly convenes:

Expect a ‘quieter year’ from Lee’s administration

During his first term, the governor spent significant political capital to pass major education laws — launching a private school voucher program, creating a powerful state commission to oversee charter school growth, expanding vocational education options for middle and high school students, and replacing the state’s 30-year-old resource-based funding formula with a student-centered one called Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement, or TISA.

Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican businessman from Williamson County, will be sworn in to his second term in office on Jan. 21.

Last fall, Lee suggested the dizzying pace would continue, with a campaign pledge to teachers and parents that he would “make the most of the next four years.”

But legislative leaders working closely with his administration say this year’s education focus will be to execute what’s already passed — not introduce new major initiatives.

“We’ve done a lot, and I think it’s going to be a quieter year on education,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, who carries bills on the governor’s behalf.

Specifically, he said, Lee wants to monitor this year’s rollout of the funding formula and third-grade retention policy. “We may need some tweaks and improvements on those but, in terms of any new broad initiatives, I don’t anticipate anything from the administration,” Johnson told Chalkbeat.

Lee pledged more money for K-12 education

When Lee pressed last year for an education funding overhaul, he pledged an additional $1 billion annually for students if TISA passed, beginning with the budget that takes effect this July 1. With state revenues continuing to exceed expenses, the expectation is that he’ll make good on that promise.

On other budgetary matters, Lee has said he wants to continue upping teacher pay. He’ll also likely set aside money so the all-volunteer state textbook commission can hire staff to manage a new library book appeals process authorized by the legislature in 2022. And he’s expected to propose more funding for the state agency for children’s services, which is severely understaffed and short of beds for abused, neglected, or foster children who are taken into state custody.

Meanwhile, the legislature will review ways to continue tapping state or federal dollars for perennial educational wants, from more social services for schools to expanded access to pre-kindergarten and early child care.

Lawmakers will revisit third-grade retention policy

Vowing to stop the cycle of letting students who can’t read move up to the next grade, Lee pressed for the new third-grade reading law, which tightens state retention policies that generally haven’t been enforced under a 2011 law.

The 2021 law made it more likely that schools will hold back students who aren’t considered proficient in reading by the end of third grade, based on the results of annual state tests this spring. It also authorized new summer school and after-school tutoring programs that can help struggling third graders avoid being held back.

But with only a third of Tennessee third graders projected to test proficient in reading, educators insist that state test results don’t tell the full story about a student’s reading ability. They want more local input that takes into account the results of periodic “benchmark” tests administered throughout the year.

“This is the No. 1 concern I’m hearing across the state with superintendents, school boards, and parents,” said House Education Committee Chairman Mark White, who says he’s open to adding benchmark test results into the calculations. “We cannot ignore it.”

Expect other legislative proposals to try to improve the quality of education before third grade, especially to support literacy.

Rep. Scott Cepicky, a Republican from Maury County, is one of the legislature’s most prolific sponsors of education legislation.

Rep. Scott Cepicky, for instance, is looking at raising the minimum age to begin kindergarten. Currently, Tennessee law requires children entering kindergarten to be at least 5 years old on or before Aug. 15 of the school year they’re entering.

His proposal is based on a recent analysis by the state comptroller’s office, which found that Tennessee students who were older at kindergarten enrollment performed better on third-grade literacy tests than their peers.

School voucher program could expand

After overcoming a string of court challenges, private school vouchers became available this school year in Memphis and Nashville. Now Sen. Todd Gardenhire is looking to expand the “pilot” program to Hamilton County, where he lives.

The Chattanooga Republican had voted against education savings accounts in 2019, but said he’s changed his mind since the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the controversial law last spring. He’s also frustrated that Hamilton County Schools has abandoned a $20 million school improvement plan for its lowest-performing schools.

Gardenhire filed his bill last month and recruited White to co-sponsor the measure in the House.

Meanwhile, the law continues to face legal challenges. Metro Nashville and Shelby County governments gave notice last month that they’ll appeal a lower court’s dismissal of their remaining legal claims to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The state comptroller’s first report on the program’s efficacy isn’t due until Jan. 1, 2026.

Efforts to attract and keep teachers grow

Both state and national data suggest that teacher shortages are limited to certain districts, schools, and subjects, not an across-the-board problem. But with the churn of educators and school staff worsening during the pandemic, expect several new proposals to try to strengthen teacher pipelines beyond Tennessee’s existing grow-your-own programs, as well as to support those already in classrooms.

The Tennessee School Boards Association is urging the legislature to incentivize potential teacher candidates by reimbursing those who pass the Praxis exam, which measures knowledge and skills needed to be a teacher. The test generally costs about $120. (The State Board of Education is also considering dropping EdTPA, another licensing test required currently of about 900 “job-embedded” candidates, who make up about a third of the state’s teacher pipeline.)

Cepicky and Sen. Joey Hensley have filed a bill to provide teachers with $500 annually to pay for classroom supplies, instead of the current $200, so that they’re not counting on charity or personal funds to cover those costs.

But for many districts, an even bigger staffing issue is hiring enough support staff.

South of Nashville, Williamson County Schools has only three-fourths of the school bus drivers needed by the suburban district and is also understaffed for teacher aides for special education students.

“Every little tool you can give us in our toolbox, if it can fill one or two spots, it’s worth it,” Superintendent Jason Golden told his local legislative delegation during a weekend workshop.

“We’re looking at it,” responded Hensley, a Hohenwald Republican. “We know it’s a big issue.”

To find legislators, track bills, and livestream legislative business, visit the Tennessee General Assembly website.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Why is partisan education conflict on the rise? Blame ‘political sorting.’

2023-01-06T18:05:51+00:00

Once a bastion of bipartisanship, education policy now divides most Americans along party lines.

Democrats and Republicans are diverging on issues, such as school choice, where they once shared common ground. And new debates over school COVID policies and curriculum have driven the parties even further apart.

What explains the widening rifts over education? A new study indicates that it’s largely due to political sorting, or individuals bringing their views in line with their parties’.

“Folks are switching their issue positions to align with their party affiliation,” said David Houston, an education policy professor at George Mason University who authored the new working paper. He added that some issues have also seen polarization, or party members embracing more extreme positions.

For example, individual Democrats who once supported charter schools have turned away from them, while Republicans increasingly oppose teachers unions. On that issue, the partisan gap has grown by an average of 1.4 percentage points per year, culminating in a 40-point divide in union support by 2022.

The polarization and sorting have put the country “potentially on the cusp of a new era in education politics,” Houston writes in the paper, which has not yet been peer reviewed. This divided era in education will be defined by Congressional gridlock, partisan animosity, and stark differences in schooling based on whether a child’s state is red or blue.

“I certainly think these developments are negative,” Houston said. “These all sound like pretty terrible things.”

Released in December, the new working paper looks at changes in public attitudes toward education from 2007 to 2022 as measured by an annual poll commissioned by Education Next, a publication focused on K-12 schools.

Analyzing the nationally representative survey results, Houston found that Democrats and Republicans have drifted apart on a range of issues, including teachers unions, teacher pay, and charter schools.

The growing partisan divide can’t be fully explained by changing party demographics, Houston determined. And while views on some issues grew more polarized, with party members expressing stronger opposition or support over time, that also wasn’t the main driver. Instead, political sorting outpaced polarization on most issues.

Take the topic of school quality. People from both parties once gave the nation’s public schools very similar grades, but over time those ratings have started to diverge.

Houston calculated that polarization — in this case, individuals shifting to either end of the A-F grading scale — grew by 27% during the study period. However, political sorting — or most Democrats giving schools relatively high marks and most Republicans grading schools more harshly — soared by more than 160% for both parties.

Such sorting rarely stems from people switching parties, Houston found. Rather, people were much more likely to change their views on a given issue to conform with their party.

Republicans “are learning how to think about education like a Republican,” said Jeffrey Henig, a political scientist at Teachers College, Columbia University, while Democrats are “learning how to think about education like a Democrat.”

Historically, education has been far less partisan than other policy issues. Over the past two decades, major federal education laws passed with broad bipartisan support, and red and blue states adopted similar teacher rating systems and learning standards. At the local level, school board races typically are nonpartisan and voting occurs separately from other elections.

But that partisan insulation has been slowly eroding. Mayors, governors, and philanthropic groups have challenged the authority of local school boards and local teachers unions, sparking new political clashes and bringing national education debates to the local level.

“When people were making decisions based on their local community and their local experience, Republicans and Democrats didn’t differ sharply,” Henig said. But “when the debates get nationalized, either because they’re getting driven by national legislation or national interest groups are reaching into these communities, then you do get this sharp partisan divide.”

Meanwhile, the national political parties have become increasingly polarized, leaving little middle ground. After Republican leaders and activists rejected the Common Core learning standards and Democratic elites distanced themselves from charter schools, for example, individual party members followed suit.

“Members of the public kind of learn issue positions via politicians and the media,” said Sarah Reckhow, a political scientist at Michigan State University, who co-authored a book with Henig. And because party affiliation has become central to many people’s personal identity, most will “change their issue positions to align with their party rather than the reverse.”

Not every education issue has become more partisan. For example, the two parties have actually converged over time on standardized testing, with more than 70% of Republicans and Democrats now expressing support for yearly exams, according to Education Next’s 2022 survey. And some local matters, such as school construction, can defy politicization.

But consensus issues have been overshadowed by new hyper-partisan debates over school COVID responses, LGBTQ students’ rights, and teaching about racism.

Those issues split the public into opposing camps. For example, 65% of Democrats supported school mask mandates while 63% of Republicans opposed them, according to the 2022 poll. And about half of Republicans said schools focus too much on race, while a similar share of Democrats thought the opposite.

In last year’s midterm races, some hard-right candidates sought to exploit those divisions by insisting that schools are exposing children to critical race theory and sexually explicit books. Even though that strategy fell short in several high-profile races, the parties’ starkly different education agendas — with Republicans focused on cultural issues and parents’ rights, and Democrats more concerned with school funding and protecting vulnerable students — still highlighted their ideological estrangement.

“So not only has education become a major political battleground,” said Jonathan E. Collins, a political scientist at Brown University, but “the polarized electorate has taken on radically different ideas of what we should value when it comes to education.”

What will this education disunity mean for America? The likely future is already here.

Conservative activists have demanded that schools remove books they oppose, parents have sued to block school mask mandates, and Republican state lawmakers have restricted what teachers can share about race, gender, and American history.

“It’s higher-pitched battles between your more purified armies,” Henig said, “where everything seems like it’s zero-sum, winner-take-all.”

These clashes are largely playing out in the states, the majority of which have elected governors and legislatures from the same party. One-party control allows states to avoid the partisan stalemate that has paralyzed Congress, but it also opens the door to more extreme policies and disincentivizes compromise.

“As we see fewer ‘purple’ states, we’ll likely see policy reforms in red states and blue states that spiral deeper and deeper into whatever ideological commitments the party in power holds,” Collins wrote in an email.

In practice, that means students in Iowa could study a different history of slavery in the U.S. than their peers in Illinois, while a transgender girl could join her school’s field hockey team in California but not in Kentucky.

“We’re going to look up,” Collins said, “and it’ll be night and day.”

Patrick Wall is a senior reporter covering national education issues. Contact him at pwall@chalkbeat.org.

Denver officials recommend closing STRIVE Prep - Kepner charter school for low test scores

2023-01-06T02:51:59+00:00

A Denver charter middle school could close at the end of this school year if the school board follows a recommendation to shutter STRIVE Prep - Kepner for low test scores.

Superintendent Alex Marrero is recommending the board take the rare step of not renewing STRIVE Prep - Kepner’s charter. A memo notes the school, which opened seven years ago, earned the lowest state rating last year, signified by the color red.

Kepner students scored in the first percentile on state math and reading tests last spring, the memo says, which means 99% of Colorado students did better.

School closures are controversial. In 2018, the Denver school board began backing away from a previous policy of closing schools with low test scores. No district school has been closed for low performance since then.

In November, board members rejected a recommendation to close several district-run elementary schools with low enrollment. But board members didn’t offer much pushback Thursday on the recommendation to close STRIVE Prep - Kepner, with a few even saying they agreed with it. The board is set to vote Jan. 12.

Vice President Auon’tai Anderson was the sole member to express reservations.

“I’m struggling with the Kepner decision because the optics would look as if we are closing the school versus a school acknowledging, ‘We have not met the mark and we are going to surrender’” our charter voluntarily, Anderson said.

STRIVE Prep - Kepner has 178 students this year, according to network spokesperson Julia Virnstein. District data shows 91% of its students last year were Hispanic and 86% qualified for subsidized school meals, an indicator of low family income.

STRIVE Prep - Kepner opened in 2016 after the district decided to close district-run Kepner Middle School for low test scores. The hope was that STRIVE Prep - Kepner and another school that opened at the same time, Kepner Beacon, would better serve students.

In a letter to families last month, STRIVE Prep acknowledged its shortcomings.

“STRIVE Prep asked for the opportunity to operate Kepner to better deliver for kids and families, and despite our best efforts, we did not live up to our promises,” the letter says.

Charter schools are publicly funded but independently run by their own boards of directors. The Denver school board authorizes charters to open and votes to renew their contracts periodically. A vote against renewing a school’s contract is a vote to close the school.

Charter surrenders are more common than closures. The school board hasn’t voted to close a charter in at least a decade, officials said. In 2011, the board voted to close Life Skills Center, a high school that served students who’d struggled elsewhere. In the years since, another 13 Denver charters closed voluntarily, often because of low enrollment.

With 10 schools, STRIVE Prep is Denver’s second-largest charter network. It is currently in the process of merging with another homegrown charter network, Rocky Mountain Prep, after the departure of its founder last year.

STRIVE announced in October that another of its schools, 188-student STRIVE Prep - Lake, will voluntarily close this spring. Denver schools are funded per student, and STRIVE said the Lake closure is to ensure “students have access to well-resourced schools.”

Marrero is recommending that the board renew the contracts of 19 other charter schools for periods ranging from one to five years. The length of a renewal recommendation is based on a school’s academic performance and other factors.

Denver has a total of 56 charter schools this year.

Melanie Asmar is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado, covering Denver Public Schools. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.

Nashville, Shelby County to appeal court’s dismissal of Tennessee school voucher case

2023-01-03T22:09:48+00:00

Plaintiffs behind two lawsuits challenging Tennessee’s private school voucher law plan to appeal a judicial panel’s dismissal of their remaining legal claims.

Metropolitan Nashville and Shelby County governments, which jointly challenged the 2019 law that applies only to their counties, notified the Tennessee Court of Appeals late last month that they will appeal the latest ruling. Attorneys representing parents and taxpayers in a second lawsuit submitted a separate notice of appeal.

The appeals will extend the 3-year-old legal battle over Gov. Bill Lee’s controversial Education Savings Account program for at least several more months. The program provides taxpayer money for eligible families in Memphis and Nashville to help cover private school tuition for their children.

Emboldened by a string of court victories, Lee’s administration began accepting applications late last summer to launch the program by fall. Meanwhile, officials in those cities went back to court to try to stop it, partly on grounds that their school districts would face financial harm if the voucher program diverts taxpayer funding from public to private schools.

But in a 2-1 vote in November, a three-judge panel ruled the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing at this point to pursue the case on those grounds, noting that the law provides for compensating the districts for lost funding in the program’s first three years.

In pursuing the appeal now, the plaintiffs are pointing to the dissenting opinion from Chancellor Anne Martin of Nashville, who cited the state’s constitutional obligation to maintain a free public school system that provides equal educational opportunities for residents. Martin said the plaintiffs’ allegations of discriminatory treatment and unequal funding were sufficient concerns to let the case proceed.

On Tuesday, Nashville Law Director Wally Dietz told Chalkbeat that an appeal is the “next logical step to bring some clarity to these issues.”

“Chancellor Martin made important points in her dissenting opinion,” Dietz said, “and we believe these important constitutional questions should be resolved by an appellate court.”

A spokeswoman for the state attorney general’s office declined to comment.

The appeals will go before a judicial panel that ruled against the voucher law in September 2020, siding with Martin’s initial ruling that the statute unconstitutionally singled out two counties. Her ruling halted the program’s planned launch that year.

But after the state’s highest court overruled two lower courts and upheld the voucher law last May, the governor ordered the education department to kick off the voucher program with the 2022-23 school year.

As of Dec. 22, the department had approved 323 voucher applications from students in Memphis-Shelby County Schools and 236 applications from students in Metro Nashville Public Schools — well under the law’s participation cap of 5,000 students for the program’s first year. Another 510 applications were deemed ineligible, according to a department spokesman.

Meanwhile, a Chattanooga lawmaker has filed legislation that would expand the state’s voucher program to Hamilton County.

Similar legal battles over school choice and privatization are playing out in other states. In New Hampshire last month, opponents sued to stop one of the nation’s broadest school voucher laws, while the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a Republican-backed initiative to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. (A similar initiative in Michigan, backed by former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, stalled.) Arizona launched its education savings account program last year, overcoming efforts to stop it.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

Education issues to watch in Albany: School funding, mental health, future of mayoral control

2023-01-03T16:30:16+00:00

As districts continue to recover from the academic and social-emotional impacts of the pandemic, New York state lawmakers will be pressed to address several issues facing schools during the new legislative session.

Inflation has driven up the cost of finishing the long-awaited process of fully funding Foundation Aid, the state’s main school aid formula. As the country faces the risk of a recession, advocates worry about whether lawmakers will fulfill their promise to finish funding the formula.

Advocates also say they will push for solutions to issues that have become more pressing during the pandemic, including hiring challenges and student mental health, while others will continue a yearslong push for the state to raise the charter school cap.

Here are some of the education issues that may come up in the new legislative session, which is set to start Wednesday:

Inflation adds pressure to cost of funding schools

Last year, state lawmakers promised to spend billions of more dollars to fully fund Foundation Aid, which accounts for the bulk of financial support that school districts receive from the state. They agreed to fund the formula over three years, with the final phase-in scheduled for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

However, high inflation rates have pushed the projected cost for the final phase-in of the money from a $1.9 billion increase to about $2.7 billion.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who agreed to fulfill the formula last year as part of a legal settlement, has declined to say whether she will include this final, larger payment in next year’s budget. Both advocates and lawmakers say they’re concerned, but they haven’t yet heard any reneging on Hochul’s promise.

“There is a very high level of commitment on the part of my fellow legislators to see that this Foundation Aid promise is completely followed through on and fulfilled,” said Sen. John Liu, a Queens Democrat who oversees the Senate’s New York City education committee. “It should be the governor’s self-imposed mandate as well.”

Separately, state policymakers are also asking for $1 million to hire researchers who will review and create models to update the 15-year-old Foundation Aid formula. State officials and advocates contend the formula needs an update because it has outdated measures, such as for calculating student poverty, which is currently based in part on 2000 Census data.

“Let’s get recommendations from experts to make it more equitable,” said Jasmine Gripper, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education.

Will Hochul try to lift the cap on charter schools?

One question is whether the governor will actively seek to lift the cap on how many charter schools can open in New York. After silence on the issue on the campaign trail, Hochul said she supported lifting the cap when asked about it during a gubernatorial debate with Republican opponent Lee Zeldin.

Under the cap, 460 charter schools are allowed to operate in New York, including 290 in New York City, which was reached in 2019. Overall, enrollment has grown in New York City’s charter sector while enrollment has dropped in traditional public schools. But the picture is more complicated: Nearly 60% of individual charter schools have enrolled fewer students during the pandemic.

Hochul’s office declined to say whether she will push to lift the cap this year. Some charter advocates, who have pushed for it for years, are hoping she does.

In a statement after the election, James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter Center, said the organization was looking forward to “supporting her efforts to lift the cap.”

Hochul’s campaign received at least $70,000 in campaign donations across two pro-charter political action committees. However, she also received more than $186,000 across the city, state, and national teachers unions, which generally oppose the expansion of charter schools.

Liu said he doesn’t expect her to touch the issue, noting that she simply replied “yes,” to the debate question of whether she supports lifting the cap, which is different from actively pursuing the issue.

Even if she does, it’s not likely she’ll find considerable support in the legislature, as the issue has not gained traction in recent years.

Schools continue to struggle with hiring and student mental health

Some advocates are hoping for solutions to the hiring challenges that many schools are facing.

Bob Lowry, deputy director for advocacy and communication at the state’s Council of School Superintendents, said it has been one of the biggest issues that school leaders have reported to his organization during the pandemic. The issue came up during a recent state Assembly hearing and has plagued districts nationally, too.

“We hear from districts, ‘We’d like to hire more mental health professionals to help, but we can’t find people,’” Lowry said.

Lawmakers have floated a tax incentive for school employees as one way to attract people to school districts, NY1 reported. Lowry pointed to “useful steps” that have already taken place, such as the state education department ending the controversial edTPA certification exam that was previously required of teaching candidates in New York. Separately, Hochul successfully proposed lifting the cap on how much retired school staffers could earn without losing their pensions if they returned to schools, but Lowry noted that law is only in effect for this school year.

“It’s a huge issue — [we’re] not completely sure what to do about it, but continuing the exemption for retirees to work without losing pension benefits is kind of a simple straightforward step to take,” Lowry said.

School leaders also continue to report big challenges in dealing with student mental health, Lowry said, and they’re hoping for more targeted funding to address those concerns.

Federal relief money likely helped districts address some of these issues, but these funds will sunset next year. It’s possible that increases in Foundation Aid can also help. Last year’s budget included $100 million over two years that would be available to school districts as grants to address mental health issues in schools. State officials plan to award those funds through a competitive process they will launch this year, according to a spokesperson for the state education department.

“We don’t see the mental health issues diminishing any time soon,” Lowry said. “We think there will be a need for continuing, targeted funding for schools to help with mental health concerns.”

State looks to compare NYC’s mayoral control to other districts

Last legislative session, lawmakers extended New York City’s mayoral control system of schools — where the mayor effectively has control over policy decisions instead of a school board — by another two years.

This year, Liu said lawmakers will begin looking at how other school governance systems across the nation operate and compare that to “20 years of [mayoral] control experience in New York City and see how to best bring schools forward.”

Liu declined to share more details, including whether there would be public hearings or some sort of formal review. But his comments indicate that lawmakers are interested in potential changes to the city’s governance system when they must again decide in 2024 whether to extend mayoral control.

Their decision this year to extend mayoral control by two years — half of what Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul requested – came with tweaks meant to add more parent representation to the system.

“This year, we have a little bit more breathing space,” Liu said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering New York City schools with a focus on state policy and English language learners. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

James Whitcomb Riley School 43 joins Indianapolis Public Schools innovation network as arts school

2022-12-16T02:13:12+00:00

James Whitcomb Riley School 43 will become a visual and performing arts school starting in fall 2023. It is the latest school to join the Indianapolis Public Schools’ innovation network under an agreement the school board approved on Thursday.

The four-year agreement will allow Edison School of the Arts to run School 43 as an innovation school, which has operational autonomy from the district and an exemption from union contracts under state law. The school board approved the new agreement unanimously.

Both Edison and School 43 will be K-8 schools through at least June 2027.

Most innovation schools in IPS are run by charter operators, but a few — such as Edison — have become innovation schools without inviting in a charter operator. School 43, as a sister school to Edison, will also not have a charter operator.

The school board also unanimously approved the renewal of a five-year agreement with Matchbook Learning at Wendell Phillips School 63. The preK-8 charter school joined the district’s innovation network in 2018-19 as a restart school — an underperforming school in need of academic improvement.

Matchbook still had proficiency levels below statewide and districtwide averages for English and math on the state ILearn test. District officials noted, however, that the school has increased its enrollment, and staff retention rates mirror the IPS average.

The new agreement between Matchbook and IPS includes mandatory school visits from IPS as well as a data review, and allows the district the opportunity to implement a performance improvement plan.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.