This idea is not original to me, it is something I have gleamed after reading weeks upon weeks of comments on the NCS expansion project. While the concept is not mine, I have chosen to expound on the idea and the benefits it would have on Delaware's educational landscape:
Along the way, 15 years into Charter creation, we have lost sight of the original intention of Delaware's charter law. These schools were to be incubators of innovation. Yes, that tired word, innovation, used long before Arne Duncan poisoned it with RTTT. THE EXPERIMENT IS OVER. Charter school perform on average about average with "regular" public schools. There are pockets of success. NCS exemplifies that success as does Downes Elementary, West Park Elementary, Gallaher Elementary, the list of CSD schools succeeding goes on and on.
It's time for new Charter Legislation, had the law been amended in the following ways before NCS went to seek it's latest expansion could have eliminated the entire debate before it started. NCS within DOE's established standards has developed an award-winning model that they claim is NOT impacted by their demographics. Our next set of Charter Legislation then must enforce the logical next step for those charter schools who seek expansion - SUCCEEDING CHARTER SCHOOLS MUST BE COMPELLED BY LAW TO ADOPT AND OPERATE A FAILING TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL AND INSTITUTE THEIR SUCCESSFUL MODEL. PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS MUST BE COMPELLED BY LAW TO PARTICIPATE IN SUCH COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS. PARTICIPATING CHARTERS WHO ENGAGE A TRADITIONAL FAILING PUBLIC SCHOOL SHALL BE ENTICED WITH RECEIVING THE FULL FUNDING FOR THE SCHOOL INCLUDING CAPITAL FUNDING (ALTHOUGH THAT FUNDING MUST BE RESTRICTED TO USE AT THE SITE THAT GENERATES THAT FUNDING.) IN ACCEPTING THE FULL GENERATED FUNDING, THE CHARTER OPERATOR TAKE FULL AND COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL STUDENTS and ACHIEVEMENT OF THE NEWLY ACQUIRED SCHOOL...
Yes, it's time to test the results and this seems like the only logical and sound way to do it. When successful charter schools are compelled to adopt a failing school two things can happen: First, all children in the failing school are exposed to the successful model. Secondly, the effects of charter school competition are decreased - children of parents for whom choice is truly an option are not expedited out of the school district. There are no lottery winners. And there are no losers. All children win, not just the select few whose parents are able to negotiate the barriers to school choice such as transportation (hub stops), subsidized lunch (traditional public schools have operating cafeterias and are already approved for the federal free and reduced lunch program), the pressure to participate in fundraising (which many low income families cannot do) is decreased b/c the legislation would permit charter operators in traditional schools to access capital funding. This is the winning scenario and this is the message we should be providing to our children - that when adults work together and share resources, students achieve. This is what should happen before charter schools are permitted to expand their physical plant and facilities and further dilute the student pool. This strategy also decreases the likelihood for facility glut - under-enrolled buildings that carry the same operating expenses as fully enrolled buildings. This will also reduce the number of properties being rezone out of the commercial class and into exempt status for education mitigating the growing tax revenue loss of expansion.
Yes, Delaware and local legislators, it is time to revisit the charter law. Much has changed since 1995 when charter school were advertised as schools that would be similar to private schools but free to those parents who engaged them. Private school without the cost of tuition - b/c that tuition would be born by the tax base. I only hope that some of our enterprising legislators will adopt this philosophy and allow the charter school experiment to move to the next level. The time has come...
