The Education Gadfly

Labor-backed candidates made gains in several school board races last week, notably in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. Voters also rejected a $327 million property tax levy in Cincinnati, giving the new board there something to think about. This defeat, and the recent levy defeat in Dayton, should give pause to other big districts seeking new spending for their schools. Taxpayers are feeling stressed and they don't believe more money will fix what ails Ohio's urban public schools. Not surprisingly, Fordham's 2007 survey of Ohioan's attitudes toward public education and new spending showed the public's conviction that extra money won't make a difference--fully 71 percent of Ohioans think if districts were to spend more money it "would actually get lost along the way" (see here). The taxpayers are skeptical and they are most skeptical in the big urban districts.

These levy defeats and the election of union-backed school boards in the big cities will also surely result in more pressure on Governor Ted Strickland to "solve" school-funding problems. This is proving a tough sell, and no doubt the fact that the state's poorest districts already get upwards of 80 percent of their student funding from the state and feds makes it harder still.

In discussing his district's levy defeat, Michael Tefs, superintendent of the North Ridgeville district in Summit County, commented to a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter that voters are frustrated with funding of schools through property taxes (see here). Tefs said the district will now try to figure out what voters will support.

The governor would like to know that, too. Strickland has yet to back up a campaign promise to do something about school funding, although he has succeeded in backtracking on his pledge (see here). Ohio is a high-tax state compared to many of its neighbors, the exceptions being Michigan and West Virginia. Education spending in Ohio has outpaced inflation and increased steadily from about $6,000 per pupil in 1996 to more than $9,300 in 2005, according to the Ohio Department of Education, yet districts keep calling for more money.

The fact of the matter is, however, that the only way to get more money into urban districts is through a Robin Hood strategy of taking more from the wealthier suburban districts. No politician wants to do this in 2008 before a critical election that could see the Ohio House go Democratic. Hence, the Governor's strategy is to bide his time here, and why not? Fully 60 percent of Ohioan's approve of his job as Governor (see here). Why fight this fight now?

Meanwhile, Cincinnati residents Carolyn and Marty Collins told the Cincinnati Enquirer the schools have had enough. "They have had too much money, and they squandered it," Mr. Collins said. "They've had way too much money. I'm done." It was the first time the couple had ever voted against a school levy.

Cincinnati's Superintendent Rosa Blackwell said massive job cuts and deep cuts to sports and transportation could be on the table. These threats often scare voters back into line. We'll see.

Cincinnati voters also threw out an incumbent school board member, breaking up a voting block that has effectively controlled the board since 2006 (see here). In this case, a slate of three union-backed candidates gained seats while one member of a voting block that has controlled the board since 2006 was defeated. All three winners were endorsed by the Democratic Party. Union-backed candidates also won seats in Dayton, prompting the Dayton Daily News to opine that they face difficult choices and now must govern (see here).

In Columbus, voters defeated Jeff Cabot, the Columbus school board's longest-sitting member, replacing him with Gary L. Baker II (see here). Voters returned four Democrat-backed members to the board. Baker also was endorsed by the Democratic Party.

In one notable defeat for labor, voters returned Stephanie Groce to the Columbus board. Groce fell out of favor with local Democratic leaders and lost the party's endorsement for supporting a KIPP charter school opening in Columbus and bidding out some supplemental services to private providers to cut district costs.

"I think people look at me and they see a person who is not afraid to ask tough questions," she told the Columbus Dispatch.

The toughest question of all facing school districts, and the big urban districts feel this heat most, is how they can secure constantly improving performance across their education systems without raising taxes. Too few district leaders and district board members are asking this question. The question is being posed, however, by taxpayers. New board members in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus that are hoping for more state money are apt to be sorely disappointed.

By Terry Ryan and Michael B. Lafferty

An upset in Indy

To the west, in Indianapolis the Democratic mayor often referred to as the "Peyton Manning of charter schools" was defeated by Republican Greg Ballard in what some are calling the "biggest upset in Indiana political history" (see here). Mayor Bart Peterson changed the face of education in Indianapolis during his eight years in office. He was the only mayor in the country to serve as a charter school authorizer. In 2006, his office was authorizing 16 charter schools that served over 3,800 students. He instituted a rigorous application process for opening schools, required transparency in academic and fiscal performance of all his sponsored schools, and held schools accountable for results and closed those that failed academically. Crime and rising taxes cost Mayor Peterson his office, but his impact on school reform efforts will be felt for years to come in Indy and beyond. Mayor-elect Ballard has promised to continue the charter school program.

By Kristina Phillips-Schwartz

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Editorial

In charter-school league scores, it's Michigan 24, Ohio 7

Anti-charter-school wolves are circling in Ohio, howling about low test scores but ignoring the fact that the same low scores are shared by many district schools (see here). Yet, retreating to the failed one-size-fits-all philosophy of the past, while popular in some quarters, won't get the state's neediest children far. School choice, a family's ability to chose a school they believe works best for them, remains a popular option in Ohio (see here) and the state's charter schools can still get it right. Achieving long-term success, however, might require studying the playbook in Michigan, where charters have made far more progress against institutional opposition that has been just as fierce as in Ohio.

To learn why, The Ohio Education Gadfly buzzed to Detroit November 1 and 2 for the 10th Annual Michigan Charter Schools Conference. We were impressed, starting with the Michigan Association of Public Charter Academies (MAPSA) President Dan Quisenberry's opening remark that, in Michigan, charter school "excellence is not an option, it is an expectation."

Quisenberry had the stats to back the boast. Michigan has higher quality charter schools than Ohio. Charter public schools in Detroit exceeded their home district on 24 of 27 state achievement tests in 2006-07--up from 20 the year before. They tied on two assessment categories and were within one point on the remaining assessment. Charters in Flint, Grand Rapids, and Lansing experienced similar success (see here). And, more than 100 charters that include high-school grades have achieved an 86 percent graduation rate, 12 points above their local districts. Contrast this with Ohio's charters, which, as a whole, have not outperformed their home districts and have not provided a markedly higher quality academic option for families frustrated with their local public schools.

So why does Michigan have higher performing charters than Ohio? Michigan's program is only slightly larger than Ohio's--100,000 students vs. our 78,000--and a few years senior. Their law passed in 1993, ours in 1998. Michigan has benefited from three big advantages. First, the Great Lake State has strong charter school sponsors (the organizations that give birth to charter schools, ensure school freedoms, and ultimately hold the schools accountable for results). Michigan sponsors are well-funded, have public reputations they want to protect (as they are universities, colleges, and school districts), and take accountability very seriously. Second, charter schools can open anywhere in the state and, in contrast to Ohio, are not constrained to opening just in the state's most troubled school districts. Third, Michigan has really strong, really unified charter school leadership at the statehouse.

In Michigan, the charter school community has banded together to work diligently to improve school performance. Proponents also have united in the face of divisive partisan politics. This was evident among the more than 3,000 educators at the conference. The sense of camaraderie among Michigan's charter school community was palpable, as was the feeling of pride and the culture of cooperation. Michigan's charter school community recognizes both the value of school choice to families and the importance of delivering academic results. They know they are part of something bigger than themselves and their individual schools. They also believe they are changing the face of public education for the better for thousands of children.

The conference had something for everyone--instructional tracks for classroom teachers, leadership sessions for administrators, and governance training for charter-school board members. Aric Dersham of National Heritage Academies shared practical strategies for identifying, hiring, and retaining top-notch teachers in the charter sector. Communications strategist Mark Weaver reviewed the basics of charter-school public relations and how to deal with the media in the face of increasingly intense partisan attacks. Mike Feinburg, one of the founders of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), talked about KIPP's national expansion plans and how extraordinary outcomes require extraordinary actions. Nationally recognized board governance experts spoke to charter school board members about the unique cultural challenges facing urban charter school boards. (Presentations and handouts from most sessions are available on MAPSA's website.)

At the closing luncheon, the Michigan Charter School Honors Choir performed. These children were recruited from the state's annual summer charter school fine arts camp. The choir was living proof that Michigan's charter schools are Delivering the Dream, the theme of the conference, by providing quality public education to Michigan's children.

If Ohioans are going to duplicate the success of charters in Michigan and other states, then several things must happen, and soon. The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools must rally the charter-school community around school quality. The state's charter-school sponsors must enforce accountability standards and make the hard decisions to shutter persistently low-performing schools, while state policy should encourage and support these efforts.

In short, the entire charter-school community in Ohio must embrace Michigan's high expectations and standards. Ohio has a rough road ahead to reach wide-spread charter school excellence, but we are inspired by what is happening in Michigan and believe that in Ohio, some day, excellence will not be an option but an expectation.

By Emmy L. Partin and Kristina Phillips-Schwartz

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From the Front Lines

Classroom cell phones land unwary teachers online

There's a whole new meaning to the idea of a teacher being on his or her game when teaching. Now, in front of a class, or anywhere else in school, teachers may be on camera. Last week, Education Week reported how some students are using camera phones to secretly videotape their teachers (see here). Students post the files online at social networking sites like YouTube and MySpace. Images of teachers being angry or happy, clowning around, and singing or dancing are being captured and distributed widely. I mean, what's with that? Education is in crisis, right? What's to dance about?

Some teachers also may be disturbing the educational process with their own personal web postings. It's unclear how many Ohio teachers have posted online profiles at social networking sites, according to The Columbus Dispatch (see here). But the issue poses risks for teachers, James Miller, director of the Office of Professional Conduct at the Ohio Department of Education, told the newspaper.

A Dispatch MySpace search yielded three profiles of people who say they are teachers, one of whom described herself as an animal in bed, another has taken drugs and likes to party. Pranksters could post the files or they could be legitimate.

If genuine, such postings could get a teacher fired.

As far as students secretly recording their teachers, well it's not reality TV. Students edit the files and add soundtracks to poke fun at teachers or to try and belittle them. In Washington state, a teacher found herself the subject of a video titled "Mongzilla," shot by students in her classroom over several days, which made fun of her appearance.

"It is disturbing to the educational process," David Strom, the general counsel for the American Federation of Teachers, told Education Week. One worry is that the concern over being videotaped could change how teachers interact with students. Or it could deter class participation by students who fear being ridiculed if they ended up raising a hand and answering a question.

While students have the right to make the online postings, laws in several states prohibit the recording of a person without his or her knowledge. What complicates the issue for teachers are some court decisions indicating teachers do not necessarily have privacy rights in the classroom.

Schools that require students to turn off cell phones could discipline students for breaking that rule, Education Week says. In the case of the videotaping of the Washington state teacher, the student was suspended, not for his online posting but for disrupting the classroom.

By Michael B. Lafferty

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Review

Not as Good as You Think: Why the Middle Class Needs School Choice
Pacific Research Institute
October 2007

For anyone who has purchased a home in California or just watched one of the many home-improvement shows featuring modest yet high-priced houses in the Golden State this new release from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) is sobering. PRI asked just how good the schools really are in those well-heeled California neighborhoods where parents flock--and dole out a lot of cash for houses because of the "quality" of the local schools. The answer: not as good as you think.

The book opens with an overview of student achievement nationally and a quick primer on school choice. Then, PRI gets to the work of examining student achievement in middle-class California school districts, those districts where less than one third of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, that is, where two thirds of families have incomes of at least 185 percent of the state poverty level. The results are mixed. Most of the schools are mediocre and some are just plain bad.

PRI next looks beyond student achievement with case studies in fiscal mismanagement in affluent districts and analyses of the impact of union contracts, school-board policies, and administrative regulations in the schools. The book also debunks myths about school choice and makes the case for improved accountability systems and expanded school choice.

So what does a book about California's schools mean for Ohio, where middle-class families can still afford homes in good neighborhoods? After all, families here are doubly lucky because our public schools are pretty good, right? More than 80 percent of school districts are rated "excellent" or "effective" by the Ohio Department of Education. This book should make Buckeye State parents and homeowners think twice about the quality of their local schools and the education choices they don't have when district schools don't measure up.

By Emmy L. Partin

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Announcement

Check out the What Works Clearinghouse

In search of scientific education research, up-to-date school statistics, and evaluations of federal education efforts? Then look no further than the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). Both have been available for awhile now--they were formed by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002--but have improved noticeably in recent months. WWC, in the hands of a new contractor, is striving to be more relevant and accessible to teachers and non-wonks. IES has improved its search feature and is a good starting point when looking for education research and information. These sites are worth visiting now and on a regular basis to keep up with the latest in education research.

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Gadfly Readers Write...

Regarding an article in the October 31 issue regarding the shooting incident in a Cleveland public school, Rick Boss writes:

"I agree with your analysis of public school issues. But I wonder how you could not mention (according to news reports) that the shooter wore a dog collar and so-called Goth clothing to school. What hope is there for a positive learning environment when kids are allowed to dress this way? That kid was sending a message with the way he dressed and probably his behavior also. The kid I understand; the administrators and teachers, I don't."

Ann Bischoff, of KidsOhio.org, writes concerning an October 31 article on how dropout recovery charter schools improve the graduation rates for public district schools:

"I just wanted to say great article about dropout recovery charter schools and the impact these programs have on urban grad rates. The influence of these schools is widely unknown inside and outside of districts."

Finally, in connection with an October 31 piece on teacher quality, State Board of Education member Colleen Grady writes:

"I read your editorial regarding teacher quality with interest this morning. I had the opportunity…to testify before the Ohio House Education Committee regarding training and assessment of beginning teachers (HB 347). One of the provisions in the bill that attracted my interest was the lengthening of the entry year program for Ohio teachers to two years instead of the current one. I attached a copy of the article from The Economist you referenced in your editorial. I received a number of questions regarding teacher training and efficacy. My hope is that as this bill receives further consideration, that there may be additional opportunities to further discuss these important issues."

If you have something to say about The Ohio Education Gadfly, say it in an e-mail to an article author or to editor Mike Lafferty at [email protected]. Correspondence may be edited for clarity and length.

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About Us

The Ohio Education Gadfly is published bi-weekly (ordinarily on Wednesdays, with occasional breaks) by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Have something to say? Email us at [email protected]. Would you like to be spared from the Gadfly? Email [email protected] with "unsubscribe gadfly" in the text of your message. You are welcome to forward the Gadfly to others, and from our website you can even email individual articles. If you have been forwarded a copy of Gadfly and would like to subscribe, you may either email [email protected] with "subscribe gadfly" in the text of the message or sign up through our website. To read archived issues or obtain other reviews of reports and books, go to our website and click on the Ohio Education Gadfly link. Aching for still more education news and analysis? Check out the original Education Gadfly.

Nationally and in Ohio, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, along with its sister organization the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, strives to close America's vexing achievement gaps by raising standards, strengthening accountability, and expanding high-quality education options for parents and families. As a charter-school sponsor in Ohio, the Foundation joins with schools to affirm a relentless commitment to high expectations for all children, accountability for academic results and transparency and organizational integrity, while freeing the schools to operate with minimal red tape. The Foundation and Institute are neither connected with nor sponsored by Fordham University.