I am tired of reading about Arne Duncan rant and rave that schools aren’t effective, that teachers need merit pay, that charter schools are the way to go, that teacher training needs a revolution. What does Arne Duncan know?
What does Arne Duncan know about kids whose parent keeps them home, truant, hoping the kid gets tagged as special ed so the parents can make some more money from disability income?
What does Arne Duncan know about teaching students whose fathers were killed in the house by armed gunman?
What does Arne Duncan know about the kids in Watts, one in five who has witnessed violent crime?
What does Arne Duncan know about teaching kids in Philadelphia, where its estimated one in ten children suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
What does Arne Duncan even know about Charter Schools? Here in Philadelphia 60 public schools missed AYP in one target area, a target area most of the charter schools don’t have to meet because they don’t accept students with I.E.P.s.
It is easy to rant and rave about what’s wrong. The biggest thing that’s wrong is teachers no longer have time to demonstrate how much they care about their students. They don’t have time to display how much the student’s success means to the teacher. The research is conclusive that school climate impacts academic achievement. It’s an easy thing to create, but Arne Duncan doesn’t know about that.
November 17, 2009 at 11:19 pm |
Can I put my 2 cents in? I have worked in schools (mostly in special education), I have worked with kids for the better part of the past couple years (mostly special needs kids), etc. What I have noticed is that schools seem to do a really bad job of teaching these kids, and did long before charter schools were ever even thought of, and still do even where charter schools are rare. Too many of these kids are tramatized by these schools, either by their peers, or in many cases (look up Luke Jackson, Alex Barton, or many other cases for proof of this) by their very own teachers… its sad.
I regularly talk to a younger friend named Z (not his real name obviously but for sake of discussion the best thing I can call him) that I took care of at a camp. Bright kid, ADHD, possibly mild asperger’s. The school spent a great deal of money to get him up from an F average to a C or so average, then they felt that was enough. He still felt misserable and lonely (this coming from the guy that had the bunk next to him and could hear him crying himself to sleep at night). He still was having to fighting against his nature in class. His aide was still struggling to keep him concentrating (which never really works). Etc.
So this year his mom removed him from there and put him into a special needs private school. The school so far seems to be great for him, he has friends (EVEN A GF!, allegedly a pretty cute one lol), he has teachers that understand him and work hard to make the class fit his style (which enough other kids have his style thats easy to do).
The problem… she has to pay a lot for this type of education, its cheaper then if he was to stay in public schools, just the person paying it has changed. Why not offer her some assistance? Say… a federal pel grant type program for high schools. I got governmental assistance for college, why not give it for high school and middle school too? I know this goes against everything teacher’s unions fight for… but there has to be some sort of compromise right?
November 18, 2009 at 7:34 am |
Great comment! I’ll respond back at the Teachers Count website later today. Thanks Keith
November 18, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Cool, glad you liked it, normally I am called a right wing nutjob for suggesting such.
November 18, 2009 at 9:21 pm |
I agree that our schools do a poor job of educating special education students. I hope it is only from a lack of knowledge concerning how to best provide instruction, and not from a lack of concern. I doubt that is the case.
Charter schools were developed as a concept just to address this type of need, Instead Charter schools have evolved to compete with public schools and ignore the needs of special ed students.
The family of special ed students do receive SSI benefits but this is not enough to pay for private school. If indeed every child is entitled to a full appropriate education, and public schools can’t meet that need, then the government has to supply funding to meet that need.
November 18, 2009 at 10:56 pm |
I think it is a bit of both. So often I see parents talk about teachers denying their kids diagnosis, denying that their kids have a disability, fighting against IEPs (both putting services on them and their very existance), etc. that I have a hard time believing its just because they don’t understand. Then there are the teachers that not only do this, they also bully said students (once again most special needs kids I have talked to have had one of these)… can it really just be unwillful ignorance, or is it something more sinister?
Now to be honest most teachers at least meet the IEP (though once again most teachers / administrators fight against it to start off with) but they don’t do anything to go at all beyond whats required by law… some do, most don’t. And while only a few teachers bully students… a few is way too many, especially when teachers unions defend them afterwards (once again see Wendy Portillo and consider she is about to go back to teaching).
Then there is the whole problem with education special needs students in a mainstream classroom. For example with my friend with pretty bad ADHD there was the whole issue of how to educate him best without sacrificing every other student. Or for me in elementary school who was ready to learn geometry… theres the whole issue of how do you give me adequate instuction in geometry while everyone else was struggling to learn division (which made 5th grade math class feel like a first grade class to me… who would subject a student to that?).
Now I agree charter schools are being misused but there are private and charter schools all over the place designed to serve differntly abled kids. Granted there is not near enough of these… the closest one that I know of (I live in Eastern Iowa btw) would be like in Cincinatti Ohio or so, somewhere in that state. But when you lump all charters schools together you include schools like these.
Then there is the whole part of what being around kids like you does for your confidence. More friendship potential, more teaching potential (some of those kids are bound to learn the same way you do), less bullying potential, etc. = great new environment. Public schools could do this, but in my experience its very hard for them too and too often becomes a place to just stick bad learners.
And while I whole heartedly agree with your last sentence… it leads to all sorts of questions about what is a “full appropriate education.” One would have a hard time proving that a kid getting slightly below average grades, but not failing any classes, isn’t getting it. And in any sort of due process efforts to prove such, they would be dragged through the mud; called lazy, called stupid, etc. (albeit in better words then that). Maybe we should just offer it to all kids in some way? I mean we give pel grants to private school colleged aged kids… yet many, many, many people still go to public school… why wouldn’t it be the same here?
November 18, 2009 at 11:26 pm |
You sure your described as being on the far right? I’m definitely left [though I prefer to use the term voice of reason
] and I sense you and I agree more than we disagree..
I feel tremendous guilt every day as regular ed teacher with several students mainstreamed into my class. They can’t do the work, though they try, and I can’t give them the attention they deserve.
They are hesitant to ask for help because they fear ridicule from the “regular ed” kids. If parenst want their children in mainstreamed classrooms great, but I sure wish they had a choice. This is an opportunity for charter school operators.
November 18, 2009 at 11:51 pm |
I can show you several sources if you wish :-p. The problem is worse with those with milder disabilities. They are wayyyyyyyyyyy too smart to be in the special education room, and are frequently smarter then their peers (especcially if they have asperger’s). Its not neccessarily that they need more attention (though sometimes it certainly helps), its just that they lose their attention if they aren’t being instructed their way.
Though I have several theories why there aren’t many charter schools for special needs kids. First, charter schools that I have seen are frequently given the same per pupil expenditures that noncharter schools are given. The problem here, special needs kids need more attention, better student to teacher ratio, etc., so its hard to educate them if your given the same amount. Can you imagine a classroom with even 10 ADHD kids, 5 Asperger’s kids, 3 High functioning autistic kids, and 2 kids with other various disorders… and just one teacher, maybe with an aide? It just wouldn’t work… the teacher would go crazy and the kids would be killed.
Beyond that I imagine people are wary about special needs charters, heck people are still wary of deaf schools and we have had them forever (albeit in much different situations then now). A self-contained school is certainly not LRE (which schools love to use to their advantage). Special education teachers are already in high demand, this would create a HUGE need of them. Etc. For now all I want is to offer them a chance to choose their school… think of how many Montessori Schools (or the like) out there would love to have them and could do a better job educating them, if only offered the chance.
November 21, 2009 at 7:52 pm |
Just a note about charter schools:
From state to state, rules vary. In California, it is illegal to not accept kids with IEPs or to cherry pick students. At my school, we have what seems to be the trend in most California charter schools: instead of a bell curve, we have a U curve. Lots of GATE kids and lots of kids with IEPs. It makes for interesting classes!
In Missouri, where I grew up, charters were loosely monitored, and they were havens for all sorts of fiscal badness. However, in California, the laws and expectations are tighter. We are visited and reviewed yearly, and we have to reapply for our charter every 5 years with substantial evidence of our progress. Honestly, I think we’re held to a higher standard than the surrounding public schools as the district really doesn’t like having the competition.
All charters aren’t equal, and charter laws from state to state definitely aren’t equal. Here in California, they’re working and pushing the envelope on what’s possible for working with diverse populations.
November 22, 2009 at 12:29 am |
Thanks Ellen for the info. How do the Charters avoid cherry picking since admittance requires parental involvement which by itself separates children with support from children with little if any support?
Also do any if these charter schools have 40 or more IEP students or ELL students. If you have under 40 it doesn’t count as a measured category under AYP.
I’m guessing the Charters you mention have less than 40 students in each category. Am I right?
November 29, 2009 at 11:58 pm |
Keith,
At my school, we have far more than 40 kids with IEPs, and all of them are mainstreamed for 100% of their classes. This includes kids with severe autism, bipolar and sociopathic issues, dyslexia, and a whole range of other disabilities. Add to that a sizeable number of kids with 504 plans who didn’t qualify under current special education requirements. Of the 70 kids I currently teach, I’d estimate at least 25 of them have IEPs or 504 plans.
We have a number of ELL kids, though fewer than many schools. Much of that is a function of where we were originally located (in an office building downtown), but now that we’ve moved to a largely asian and hispanic area so that we can rent a district school site, our numbers are rising. We have always recruited students from diverse communities; in fact, it’s been a primary value for this staff. The PSA, staff, and students participate in outreach events to advertise our school and help parents fill out applications.
School choice is a part of the culture in San Diego and is incredibly widespread. People are more surprised if parents or kids choose to attend their home school than if they are traveling to the other side of the city to a choice school. In terms of support, make no mistake: we have lots of kids with no support at home, who never attend a conference, or who make promises of support but don’t follow through or actively sabotage what you’re doing in the classroom.
I do not see offering choices to families as cherry picking, especially not with active recruiting drives and the support we offer to parents and families. As I see it, choice has actually required the surrounding district, magnet schools, and other charters to raise their games, because low enrollment means loss of jobs and school closure. Last year the district actually wanted to partner with us so we could share best practices; I say that’s a good thing. If they can see what we do that works for kids, they can go back and make changes for students–and teachers!–that make a difference there.
November 30, 2009 at 7:42 am |
Cherry picking relates to only accepting those who the school feels are a good match for it just as colleges do. Public Schools must abide by free and appropriate education for all, known as FAPE. Charter Schools do not comply with FAPE. When Charter Schools are willing to play by the same set of rules as public schools then we have a competitive model.
If the neighborhood school was a good school, as taxpayers have a right to expect, why wouldn’t locals choose it? The fact is we cater to the disruptive and have forced the majority of good families to suffer. At the same time, these few children who need additional resources to improve what are often behaviorally related issues are denied services, often using the budget as an excuse. What schools need to do to improve is follow the medical model, not the business model.
In too many developing situations students spend too much time on a bus and not in a classroom. In some violent cities where gangs protect their turf, this escalates violence.
Each community should be free to determine and pursue their best solutions and create parent involvement. This administration like the one before it, is nationalizing what should be local issues.
November 30, 2009 at 9:27 pm |
Keith,
I cannot speak for other states, but in California, charter schools have to accept anyone who shows up and is selected through a lottery. Kids in the city of San Diego get first priority, then kids outside of the city have access to any remaining slots. In fact, we have less say/control over who comes to our school than the regular district magnet schools who can cherry pick by auditions and placement tests.
I don’t know much personally about FAPE, but from the eric.gov article I found online, I can say we DO have to comply with each and every item on that list. We are not exempt from any special education laws. In fact, our school often has to *fight* the district (which hires and supplies our special education staff) to give us the appropriate services based on our caseload and requirements of the IEP. We are trying to follow the law, and the public school district drags its heels.
As far as the poor quality of the neighborhood school, I agree, we too often cater to the extremes. However, that isn’t the fault of charter schools. I taught in a 95% free/reduced lunch public, neighborhood school for nine years, and I witnessed firsthand how the system was broken for children. I saw how I and my colleagues were powerless to change the system, and we did the best job we could given the restraints and ridiculousness of our school or district. An example? We weren’t allowed to send our kids the restroom during class; they were only supposed to go during lunch. However, the lunch supervisors wouldn’t let the kids go during lunch, because they said the kids acted bad. When I asked the principal what we should do (I’d had sixth graders actually wet themselves), she said the kids had to go at lunch. And on and on again…I felt a little like Yossarian.
So I’ve come from that crazy environment, and I agree that schools need to be reformed. In fact, the reason I teach at the charter I teach at is *because* it is organized in a way that makes sense for kids; it *is* the best reform within the current high stakes testing environment.
Your last paragraph–”Each community should be free…–I completely agree with, and it’s what we try to create at our school. Parents, teachers, staff, and students all have a say in the direction we go and who we are as a school.
Are all charters like this? No. Some are just taking the same broken model and replicating it. However, many charters are doing amazing things for kids…ALL of them. We are held to the same test scores, the same standards, the same types of kids and their ample baggage as other schools. We are also held to standards and oversight that regular public schools *aren’t* in many cases. The main difference as I see it is that our community is free of the bureaucracy, red tape and politics most districts are susceptible to. In short, the people making the decisions in charters are the ones working closest to the kids, not some group of people who haven’t seen a classroom or worked with an actual kid and their parents for a decade.