Proposed new charter school
Dec. 8th, 2011 12:42 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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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
Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-08 08:52 pm (UTC)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...
Date: 2011-12-08 09:02 pm (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-08 09:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-09 12:19 am (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-09 12:28 am (UTC)Somerville's MCAS scores
Date: 2011-12-09 01:24 am (UTC)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.
Date: 2011-12-08 10:10 pm (UTC)Re: Your school isn't serving the needs of some students, so it should lose money.
Date: 2011-12-09 12:30 am (UTC)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!
Date: 2011-12-09 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-12-09 04:45 pm (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-08 09:39 pm (UTC)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...
Date: 2011-12-08 10:45 pm (UTC)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...
Date: 2011-12-09 03:13 am (UTC)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?
Date: 2011-12-09 12:31 pm (UTC)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?
Date: 2011-12-09 05:27 pm (UTC)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.
OK, so don't send your kid there.
Date: 2011-12-09 05:39 pm (UTC)I'm sure you agree that this is better than families being forced into a school that doesn't work for them, and better than complaining about it. :-)
Re: OK, so don't send your kid there.
Date: 2011-12-09 06:08 pm (UTC)It's not just that I'm happy with it (which I am, right now) - I'm quite positive there are things that I will want to see changed over the next decade and a half and that I'm going to be part of changing them - it's that I believe it serves our ENTIRE community and I believe it is vitally important to keep free and public school options that serve our ENTIRE community open, well-funded, and available to all.
Re: OK, so don't send your kid there.
Date: 2011-12-10 01:09 am (UTC)Of course I am not happy with the status quo of my kid's school; that school is changing and evolving over time (as all decent schools arguably should). I would like to help *that* school become the best it can become. This will be harder if there is less funding for that school, or fewer children from middle-class families, or fewer engaged parents. *That* is the change I want to be a part of. Does that mean that I will oppose any charter school proposal in Somerville? No, of course not. But it does mean that a new charter should demonstrate to me why it will be *better* than what we have now or could have soon.The SPCS has so far failed to do so for me. I understand you disagree; that does not mean I approve of your condescension.
[I'm starting a stopwatch to see how soon someone suggests that I should be supporting the SPCS because otherwise we will end up with a worse charter.]
Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-09 12:12 am (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-08 10:23 pm (UTC)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...
Date: 2011-12-09 03:07 am (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-09 12:32 pm (UTC)So yes. I do have a slightly vested interest in the square. Thank you for enquiring.
Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-09 05:28 pm (UTC)Re: Not sure why the name calling, but...
Date: 2011-12-09 06:30 pm (UTC)We all live on planet Earth, thus we all care about what happens here. :-)
Date: 2011-12-09 12:45 pm (UTC)Also, many of us care about the kids we are related to or friends with in Somerville.