THE
OHIO EDUCATION GADFLY
A Bi-Weekly Bulletin of News and Analysis from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Volume 2, Number 10. May 7, 2008
Current
Issue On the Web
Past
Issues On the Web
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Lessons of Charter-School Sponsorship
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Dr. Z: We'll miss you, whenever you go
After months of jockeying with control-freak Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Tave Zelman is on her way out, perhaps to the University of Oregon as ed-school dean (see here).
She toughed it out for a while but
the handwriting went onto the wall for her once key members of the State Board
of Education decided that placating the governor was more important than retaining
Dr. Z, as she is known at the Ohio Department of Education. It must also be
said that Zelman didn't try very hard to placate him herself, seemingly more
determined to demonstrate independence than to make nice with Bob Taft's successor
and his agenda. She can, in truth, be ornery, strong-willed, and mercurial,
in addition to very bright, boundlessly energetic, and quite creative. But there
was no way that a principled educator with her track record could have accommodated
the Strickland education agenda, such as it is. Much of it, alas, simply involves
seizing control of the system, reorganizing the deck chairs rather than repositioning
the ship (see here).
Strickland has recommended changes that Dr. Z could not and should not be expected
to stomach, much less preside over. Ohio's standards and accountability system
leaves much to be desired -- but the governor's goal is to weaken it, not strengthen
it. The state's charter-school and voucher programs also have their flaws --
but the governor's goal is to kill them, not fix them. Indeed, the only way
Zelman could, in conscience, have stayed in Columbus was if she retained independent
control of the education department. Once that became unrealistic, her fate
was sealed. That's a pity. I like her personally, admire her pluck and her 'what's-good-for-the-kids-not-necessarily-the-grownups
orientation' and have enjoyed my various dealings with her. Far more important,
Strickland is going to be freer to cripple these vitally important policy domains
once she's out of the way. We'll miss you, Dr. Z, and the state owes you a far
greater debt of gratitude than it's ever likely to pay.
Choice is an important weapon in the educational arms race
Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher is right. Ohio is engaged in an "economic development arms race" with other states and nations for investment and jobs. But the state is also in an arms race to educate its children to compete successfully with young people in other states and countries. Yet, we are struggling and Ohio, like the rest of the United States, has no chance of winning the economic development race if we don't at least win a silver medal in the education race. This point was hammered home in the highly regarded Achieve, Inc. report Creating a World-Class Education System in Ohio (see here).
Considering the scale of the challenge, it is frustrating that Governor Strickland and his allies in the Statehouse and in the professional education lobby groups seek to kill the state's voucher program outright while freezing charter schools in their tracks.
The governor recently told the Columbus Education Association's Voice newsletter (see here) that, "I believe the court of public opinion regarding vouchers is beginning to change. They're destructive to our students and wasteful of our tax dollars." The governor also challenged charter schools when he referenced his first State of the State address, "I wanted a lull in the for-profit management charter companies and a moratorium on the creation of new charter schools." The governor has promised to veto the Special Education Scholarship Program currently working its way through the Senate.
Comments that vouchers are "destructive" and "wasteful" will no doubt sting many of the philanthropists in Dayton and elsewhere who have invested more than $10 million dollars in the past decade in private vouchers allowing thousands of children in troubled schools to opt out for private schools.
Three words bear repeating from the preceding paragraph: "troubled schools" and "children" and let us hope the governor remembers them. Vouchers aren't for students in any school. They're for children trapped in persistently failing public schools. Bad schools. What does the governor plan for them instead? We actually don't know. We're still waiting on his ideas, which won't be revealed until next March.
The effort to place an ironclad moratorium on charters also will likely surprise community leaders in Columbus who are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and much of their time and personal commitment, to help open high-performing KIPP schools in Columbus in 2008 and beyond. Stopping the growth of decent charter schools also would create a bind for philanthropists and business leaders in Cleveland who are investing millions to help the Cleveland Metropolitan School District partner with high-performing charter models.
Contrast the efforts to curtail choice in Ohio with the efforts of Democrats like D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. Fenty is asking Congress to invest $18 million in the District's Opportunity Scholarship voucher program (see here). In Newark, N.J., Democratic Mayor Cory Booker is working with leading national and Newark-based foundations to raise $25 million to support and strengthen Newark's 12 high-performing public charter schools. The mayor summed the effort up thusly, "I'm not concerned if they are charter or traditional public schools, my concern is that they are schools of excellence" (see here).
When it comes to urban-school reform, thoughtful philanthropists and business leaders are diversifying their investments. They support vouchers, charter schools, and other reforms because they're innovative public-private partnerships that leverage state dollars to create quality school-choice options. Savvy education investors know there is no silver bullet for fixing troubled urban schools. Therefore, they invest in both promising district reform efforts and promising choice efforts. Hundreds of millions have been invested over the past decade in trying to turn around troubled public district schools in America. A few efforts have shown success, many others have not. Millions of private dollars have also been invested in Ohio's charter and choice programs since the late 1990s.
Fordham, for one, has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in Dayton-area charter schools. Some are succeeding. Others have struggled and some have closed. This trial and error is the way innovation works. We've learned much and we are now far more selective in what and whom we invest in. We also have supported improvements to the state's charter law that have focused on results and improved accountability.
Now is not the time for state government or Ohio's private investors to turn their backs on school choice. Do we need to work smarter and hold these schools accountable for results? Yes, but giving up on school choice completely would be akin to a unilateral disarmament in the effort to help all children succeed educationally. It would result in putting all of our hopes in fixing what ails public education into the sporadic reform efforts of long-suffering, traditional public schools. In troubled times, investors are smart to diversify their bets.
By Terry Ryan
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Roberts plans charter-school overhaul
State Senator Tom Roberts Tuesday introduced three bills he said were designed to strengthen transparency and accountability standards in charter schools (S.B. 331, S.B. 332, and S.B. 333). Roberts outlined the bills at a news conference, where he was flanked by representatives of the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the Ohio School Boards Association, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, and Buckeye Association of School Administrators.
One bill would extend public-records and public-audit laws to charter-school sponsors and operators and would prohibit charter sponsors from renewing contracts with schools owing money to the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation. A second bill would repeal the requirement that gives community schools the right of first refusal on unused school buildings, while a third bill would require that community schools and public district schools hire teachers using the same teacher-qualification standards. The bill also would require school districts to learn why students, formerly enrolled in charter schools, switch back to district public schools.
The Dayton Democrat, in response to a question from The Gadfly, said it also would be nice to know why students left the district schools for charters in the first place. He said the bill would be changed to reflect that. He also said he does not know how many charter schools may be in arrears for workers compensation payments.
Separately, in the House two bills to entice Ohioans to live in the state's urban areas had hearings recently. House Bill 26 proposes "urban homestead zones" in which residents spending $120,000 or more to purchase or improve property would be eligible for tuition vouchers to send their children to private schools. The Ohio Education Association (OEA) opposed the bill in testimony as they see this as an effort to expand vouchers. The OEA also objects to the bill because it believes property taxes intended to pay for the vouchers would not adequately cover their cost. A separate bill (H.B. 162) would provide an income-tax credit for teachers living and working in a Big Eight district (that is, Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown) and grant an additional tax credit for STEM teachers in those districts.
Other legislation before the House education committee would eliminate the Praxis III as a condition for receiving a professional educator license. Under H.B. 347, beginning in July 2010, eligibility for a professional license would be based on a teacher's rating on an assessment to be approved by the State Board of Education. The assessment would require demonstrated application of Ohio's teaching and academic-content standards. The bill also requires the Ohio Department of Education to develop standards for mentoring programs for new teachers.
The Senate education committee on Tuesday adopted a substitute version of S.B. 57 to establish a state special-education scholarship program for parents of special-education children to send their children to alternative public or private special-education providers. As with the autism scholarship program, parents opting for the special-education voucher would forego certain rights, such as protesting to the state education department if a parent is unhappy with the school's program.
By Emmy L. Partin and Mike Lafferty
Governor Ted Strickland is gathering ideas from businesses, academics, various interest groups, and even some ordinary Ohioans on K-12 education reform. At a recent regional Northeast Ohio "shareholder" meeting, everything from a single, uniform statewide property tax to making teachers work 12 months a year was suggested.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on some of the ideas:
It's unclear whether the regional meetings are intended to gather real input or whether they are window dressing. But, there is no doubt he is serious about pushing his education agenda, the details of which we still wait to see.
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KIPP's 2007 report card good reading
KIPP's 2007 report card is a good way to get to know the Knowledge is Power Program, which is scheduled to open its first Ohio charter school in Columbus in August.
Here are a few samples from the report card:
KIPP, and its many supporters in Ohio, are committed to passing on these substantial academic results to children in Columbus. In early August, 96 fifth-graders in Columbus will pack backpacks, lace up tennis shoes, and head to the KIPP Journey Academy, which will open in the former Linden Park Elementary school building. An additional grade level will be added each year until it becomes a fifth-through-eighth-grade middle school, and it is expected that other KIPP schools will open in Columbus and elsewhere in Ohio.
Founded in 1994 by two Teach for America alumni, KIPP operates public, open-enrollment schools serving mostly African-American and Hispanic students from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Since the first KIPP school opened in Houston, the program has expanded into a nationwide system of schools devoted to achieving high academic success from each of its 14,000 students.
One of the many differences between KIPP schools and traditional public schools is that students spend more time in class. Classes run daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Students also attend class every other Saturday and three weeks during the summer. Teachers can be reached in the evening by cell phone to help with homework. There's an emphasis on extracurricular activities, experiential field learning, and character development. In class, children are taught to make eye contact during the first week of school. Sitting up straight, listening, asking and answering questions, and tracking the teacher are also part of the rules. And average student attendance is 97 percent.
Read more about KIPP coming to Ohio here. Read KIPP: Report Card 2007 here.
By Alex Karas
Study says voucher competition helps special-ed kids
Showing again that competition is
a tide that lifts all boats, the Manhattan Institute released a study last week
that shows public school special-education students perform better when they
attend public schools that are exposed to competition with voucher programs
(see here).
The researchers conducted a statistical analysis of student achievement of all
special- education students in Florida's public schools. As it turns out, those
whose public schools were closest to private-school options available through
the statewide McKay Scholarship were significantly more likely to see their
test scores rise.
This study solidly corroborates existing research on how the availability of
scholarships promotes better performance in the public school and benefits even
those public school students who don't use the scholarship.
As the Ohio General Assembly considers whether to create a scholarship for students
with special needs (S.B.
57 and H.B.
348), this study should remind us of the scholarship's broader impacts.
The scholarship would not only allow some parents to send their children to
schools and programs that better serve their child's individual needs but it
would also encourage improvements at traditional schools.
And that's good news for all 200,000 Ohio students with special learning needs.
By Sarah Pechan
Sarah Pechan is director of special projects at School Choice Ohio.
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Lessons of Charter-School Sponsorship
Electronic compliance saves time, although it will never replace a ruler
A major job for Ohio's charter school sponsors is keeping track of stuff, the kind of stuff that, if a school doesn't have it, means serious problems. Not only does a sponsor have to show up and check out schools and classrooms, but a good sponsor also needs to keep track of all the state and federally required compliance data.
Sponsors need to track and compile required paperwork and other documents covering a gamut of school functions ranging from the school academic calendar, attendance policy, blood-borne pathogen training, the lease or deed for the facility, the fixed-assets policy, academics, and governance. Sponsors also have to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and even whip out a tape measure to make sure that the American flag is not less than five feet long. They must vouch for all this to the state of Ohio and they must inform the Ohio Department of Education when something is wrong.
Fordham, which currently sponsors eight charter schools, could never have enough staff to do all that on-site combing of files, folders, and binders. Instead, we track school paperwork electronically using a computer system specifically designed to track school documents and information. Called the Authorizer Oversight Information System (AOIS), the system allows Fordham's sponsorship staff to review the documents online and report back to the schools if the paperwork or documentation is not correct. AOIS was developed by the Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University and a Michigan-based company called Corporate Computers. Fordham helped to customize the system for Ohio and developed its own calendar of expected reports and training for school personnel.
The AOIS system means much less Fordham staff time and school personnel staff time are spent tracking down papers in disparate binders and folders. All required files are available on-line whenever they are needed. Fordham still makes at least two on-site inspections to each of its schools annually. But the "checking-the-boxes" work of ensuring that copies of teaching licenses, health and safety inspections, and fire-drill logs are present is done before inspectors get there. This allows Fordham's sponsorship evaluators to spend much more time with school leaders discussing education and what would help to make the schools better.
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The Ohio Education Gadfly is published bi-weekly (ordinarily on Wednesdays, with occasional breaks, and in special editions) by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Have something to say? Email the editor 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, 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 Institute, along with its sister organization the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 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.