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

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.

OK, so don't send your kid there.

[turil.livejournal.com]

If you really are happy with the status quo of your kid's school, great! These people aren't. And they are taking the responsibility for making their kid's education good enough. That's the kind of thing I hope everyone supports. Don't expect someone else to do things for you, do it yourself. Take responsibility for your life and what the world is like. Rather than complaining to others, be the change you want to see.

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.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I'm not happy with the status quo of my school when it can no longer find funding for an art teacher, a music teacher, etc, or with the status quo of some other school that's likely to get shut down in addition, and which serves kids who can't just pick up and go to a different one nearly as easily once the one in their neighborhood closes.

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.

[zubatac.livejournal.com]

Are you really suggesting that you would support *any* charter school proposal whose proponents were eager and believed in what they were doing?

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...

[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.