Proposed new charter school

[klauspood.livejournal.com]

There is a proposal for a new charter school in Somerville. The state (DESE) will be reviewing the application for the next few weeks and will possibly grant the charter on February 28th. If granted this charter school will undermine the existing Somerville Public Schools by reducing school funding by nearly $5 million a year, which is almost 10% of the current school budget. This cut in funding will lead to devastating cuts in public school programs, loss of 60 -75 teachers, and potentially closure of an entire school. This would represent a huge set back for public education in Somerville, setting back much of the progress that has been made in our schools in the last 25 years.

There will be a public hearing by the DESE on this on December 14 2011 at Somerville High School. More info can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/site/progresstogetherforsomerville

http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/21168

http://www.doe.mass.edu/news/news.aspx?id=6532

Comments

Not sure why the name calling, but...

[masswich.livejournal.com]

Actually, the operating funds for charter schools come directly from the city's share of state school funds, and not at a one-for-one level, either. The charter school will get about $13,000 per student from the state while the City gets about $4,000. That $13,000 per student comes directly from the amount the state would have given the Somerville Public Schools, and though the SPS no longer has to educate that student, it loses the additional share of funds (somewhere in the $9,000 per student range) amount as well.

I also did not say all special education students will be turned away, but there is a portion of them that can and probably will be, mostly the ones requiring the most expensive services.

As for the term ridiculous, I am not sure why you need to be so nasty.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

As for the term ridiculous, I am not sure why you need to be so nasty. It wasn't intended to be nasty and I'm sorry it was perceived that way.

I live in a community that's torn over its own Charter School and constantly arguing. Both sides usually don't have the facts straight and I don't believe that your fiscal assessment here is entirely accurate either, but it's gotten to a point with me where I'm so tired of hearing it. It seems like it comes down to: We don't like the idea of a quality, free education for the kids that can get in if we can't get the same. Start another Charter School then! Not all kids thrive there either. I have a few friends who pulled their kids from the MVRCS and they're doing better in traditional public schools.

And frankly, it pisses me off that the choice people against Charters would rather leave everyone with is: 18,000 USD private school tuition for Kindergarten, parochial education, or generally sub-par public education. I support charters because they do provide a better learning environment for no cost and because the fiscal impact on the communitys school district has been virtually non-existent wherever you look.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[masswich.livejournal.com]

But I feel that my kids are getting a reasonably good education in our local public school, as do many of my friends. Why should my school lose money because someone else doesn't agree with me? I would be fine with charter schools if they only took their fair share of state funding, on a per student basis. But they don't, they take money from my kid's education. And that bothers me.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you feel like SPS is doing well by your kids, however, it's clearly failing many (http://www.boston.com/news/special/education/mcas/scores11/10th_top_districts.htm) (you'll have to scroll down quite a ways to find Somerville). There are quite a few charter schools near the top of that list, and not all in tony suburbs.

[zubatac.livejournal.com]

Oh good, we needed to branch off into a flame war about how low standardized testing scores are necessarily the district's fault. =)

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[ron_newman]

This presumes that standardized test scores are a valid measure of the quality of education. Maybe we'd be better off without these tests entirely?

Somerville's MCAS scores

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I don't know. This (a sample from the 2011 10th grade MCAS) seems like something a high school graduate ought to be able to do (more here (http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2011/release/default.html)). It doesn't seem to be asking too much. Some sample responses are here (http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2011/question.aspx?GradeID=10&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=15454#). A 4 for topic development and a 3 for English put kids on the road to pass. I'm not an expert, but these are certainly things I'd expect MY kids to be able to do before graduating high school. Shouldn't we expect a minimum from all graduates?


WRITING PROMPT

Often in works of literature, a character stands up for something he or she believes in.
From a work of literature you have read in or out of school, select a character who stands up for something he or she believes in. In a well-developed composition, identify the character, describe how the character stands up for something he or she believes in, and explain how the character’s actions relate to the work as a whole.

Your school isn't serving the needs of some students, so it should lose money.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I agree that all funds should be based on the number of students served (and I'm not sure that this isn't the case here), but you seem to be discounting the needs of many families who are being harmed by the bad/ignorant attitudes of the politicians involved. All families deserve to have the best education that that money can get them. And if there are no schools doing that, than the money should not go to them. What you seem to be suggesting would be like going to a restaurant and ordering a vegetarian meal, and being served pig meat, simply because thats what the politician decided the cooks should prepare, regardless of what the customer ordered.

Re: Your school isn't serving the needs of some students, so it should lose money.

[zubatac.livejournal.com]

And as far as I can tell, the current charter school proposal is like leaving that restaurant in order to go to the new restaurant next door... which has a big sign saying "Pig Kitchen! Lard in every meal!". =)

In other words, I have so far failed to see what in the current charter school proposal is novel and improved compared to the district schools, other than the fact that it would not involve the "dreaded" Somerville School Committee. (And that includes the ELL offerings.)

Last I checked, the School Committee is an elected office. Perhaps the founders of the new charter school should consider that if they truly want to help all Somerville students.

Did you get a chance to read the proposal? It's wonderful!

[turil.livejournal.com]

It will be a truly progressive, rather than the usual authoritarian/conservative approach, that is actually democratic. There are very few democratic schools in the world, so this would be revolutionary for Somerville! The application is fairly mild mannered sounding so I imagine that you could not understand the vast implications of such a unique approach of respecting and valuing the child's unique needs and interests, but trust me, it's a huge difference compared to mainstream schools.

[smammy]

"Pig Kitchen! Lard in every meal!" made me laugh. Thank you!

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[klauspood.livejournal.com]

Actually there is no evidence that charter schools provide a better learning environment, or perform better than public schools.

There IS evidence that public schools suffer when a charter school is opened, and "creams" off the higher income, engaged families. The kids that need help the most help, low income, language challenges, and unengaged parents don't even get a chance because the families are often not even aware of the charter school option.

There is something called a "Horace Mann Charter" which is a charter school that is part of the existing school district. I think this might be a really good option to consider for Somerville.

This program is one of the good ones...

[turil.livejournal.com]

From what I can tell this would be a program specifically serving the lower income immigrants with "language challenges" who aren't being served well by the current school system. And it's one of the charter schools that is most likely to serve their students better than the mainstream schools, as opposed to the for profit charter schools. It's important NOT to lump "charter schools" into one group, because they are extremely diverse.

This group was started, from what I've read, by parents who believe the schools are not serving their kid's needs and who believe that they can do better.

So maybe you understand now why this might actually be a very good thing for Somerville?

Re: This program is one of the good ones...

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

If they could actually make a ase for how it would serve lower income immigrants with language challenges, sure. But I don't think it will serve those students better than the mainstream public school system - I don't even have a lot of confidence that it will enroll them in the first place, but if so, it just doesn't have the same scale of programs in its proposal that are offered in the public school district already.

I think their intentions started out good, and that they truly were not happy with how the schools were serving their kids' needs and wanted to find a way to do better. But I just don't see 'better' in any of the bullet point items they propose to do.

Really?

[turil.livejournal.com]

You don't see how amazingly awesome a democratically run school, where children are valued for who they are as unique individuals with different needs and interests, and supported in becoming creative, with a special focus on science and languages, using the STEM ideals? And with a goal of serving immigrants in East Somerville?

I mean, this certainly is a challenge to make it really work, but it's dramatically different from anything a mainstream school offers, that are run with an authoritarian approach and kids are all expected to "behave" and "obey the teacher" and do everything pretty much in whatever way the teacher decides they should. I think a progressive school (rather than the mainstream conservative approach) is something many, many families will very much appreciate, and it will help Somerville's young people grow up far more beautifully, so that they can be their best, unique selves.

Re: Really?

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that they can do it, or even that the details of their proposal match the "amazingly awesome" description.

The words about the ELL program, for instance, sound promising, and then it turns out that what is actually offered/described is incredibly limited, and that making it "really work" by getting the kids they target to not have barriers to attending the school in the first place is a BIG DEAL to me. Nice language in a somerville journal article is one thing, reality of what they can offer to who is quite another.

I'm sending my child to a progressive school that is part of the Somerville Public School system, that I do think is up to the challenge of making that work over the next 8+ years, and that is already supporting my child in being creative and valuing her as a unique individual. And it's serving a diverse immigrant community, too.

And compared to that school, the proposal is not dramatically different from where I the future of our school, and I don't have any confidence that they can implement it, make it work, and actually serve the kids they say they want to serve.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Apparently they did propose a Horace Mann school last year, but it wasn't a very serious proposal, or it wasn't done right, or something (I didn't pay attention to the details). A lot of people are suggesting that if the state rejects the charter, they should resubmit the proposal as a Horace Mann school.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I don't like the idea of a quality, free education for *some* kids that passes over the kids who need it more - the kids whose parents didn't know about applying, the kids who werent' randomly selected in the lottery, the kids who moved to Somerville in the middle of t he year, the kids who can walk to school and don't have a way to get to the charter school locations. I like the idea of a quality, free education for *all* kids, and if this proposal happens I think it will be a much longer, much more uphill battle to get that for our kids in Somerville. I really think what this proposal has to offer is NOT dramatically idfferent from the quality, free education that is already been offered in our schools - in fact, I believe it is weaker in many of the areas it proposes to be stronger in. The one already offered in our schools is the one I chose, and the one I plan to work hard over the next 18 years for.

I'm not overall against charters, and I think PHA is serving a useful purpose in our community, even though the math hurts our school budget in a similar way. But I don't think our school budget can actually support two charter schools without really hurting the existing elementary schools, and I think there is a way to create more options for kids without this particular charter at this particular time.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Can I ask what community you live in that apparently isn't Somerville and why you care about what goes on here in Davis Square and Somerville?

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I was once a resident of Somerville; I still work in Davis Square; I am a member of an organization in Davis Square; At one point our goal was to be able to move back to Davis Square...though this last year has made me question that goal significantly. I have friends that are more like family who reside in Somerville and Davis that I visit often.

So yes. I do have a slightly vested interest in the square. Thank you for enquiring.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I hope you are able to return to live here, if you want to.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

I'm about 15 minutes away, so I return often enough, just haven't moved back to live. ;)

We all live on planet Earth, thus we all care about what happens here. :-)

[turil.livejournal.com]

And most normal, healthy folks care especially about the places they have lived, worked, and visited even more than average.

Also, many of us care about the kids we are related to or friends with in Somerville.

Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Yes, this. The funding really works that way. The school district would get $4k from the state for a non-charter school student, and pony up $9k from other city funds. The charter school would get $13K from the state for a charter school student, and the state would give the city $13K less in aid (once the charter school has been around for 6 years. There's a bunch of transitional math that phases it in gradually, in the first 5 years.)

In the the end an elementary school's worth of students is projected to attend teh charter school rather than the public school, so the budget probably can't withstand losing an elementary-school's worth of budget (and then some) without closing an elementary school -- since they can't close a portion of each existing elementary school even if the numbers are just down proportionally throughout the system.

The charter school is a public school.

[turil.livejournal.com]

So the city is just moving money around from schools that aren't serving the kid's needs to ones that are. Thats a good thing.