Charter School Bill Expensive, Unnecessary

The Republican-controlled NC legislature wants to “fix” our public schools by bringing in 50 new charter schools per year with its latest education bill.  But critics note that while 17% of charter schools perform better than the average public school, a larger percentage are worse.  And starting costly new schools in the midst of the Great Recession is not fiscally prudent.

Many charter schools are designed to 'handpick' students, and their policies cater to two-parent, affluent households.  Teachers do not have to be certified, and questionable teaching or discipline practices do not have the oversight of public school administrators. While the charter bill does include a new NC Charter School Commission (to act independently of the Department of Public Instruction), it will not determine local policy. 

The expense of setting up NC’s new charter schools and commission will bleed our state’s already-shriveling public school dollars, including transportation budget, child nutrition money, and even a percentage of public school fundraisers.  This bill also gives counties new taxing authority, “up to a combined rate of one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) on the one hundred dollars ($100.00) appraised value of property subject to taxation” to help charters build capital.

Legal challenges to the Charter Cap bill are anticipated to cost millions of dollars, further bankrupting our state and our children’s educations. 

Despite No Child Left Behind’s destructive testing standards and labels, NC’s public schools are not broken.  In fact, the recently adopted Common Core Standards should increase academic rigor, and a proposed update to NCLB will measure student progress to better illustrate successful teaching strategies.  NC does not need the ‘fix’ or expense of raising the Charter cap.

During tough economic times, fiscally conservative child advocates should work together to improve the schools we have, not throw them out and buy new ones.  

To Improve Education, Bring Back the Third ‘R’

             When I was a kid, students went to school to learn the ‘three R’s – reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.’

But now reading and math are the dominant subjects for End of Grade tests in our nation’s public schools, so the harder-to-score writing is often neglected until tenth grade.  An unintended consequence of the No Child Left Behind act may be large numbers of students entering college and the job market with weak writing abilities.

Writing is like reading and math:  these important skills must be built over years; they cannot be learned well in a semester course.  Children often scribble ‘words’ before they learn to read.  Handwriting, spelling, and basic grammar exercises prepare elementary students to write paragraphs.  In middle and high school, writing assignments facilitate adolescents’ natural progression toward logical and organized adult thinking.  American teens learn how to exercise their right to free speech using persuasive essays and business letters.  Term papers give writers in-depth, permanent understanding of reading material. Writing should be a key component of every school’s curriculum.

            Many state and national education leaders apparently agree.  In June, the NC Board of Education adopted “Common Core State Standards” which define “clear and consistent goals for learning, to prepare children for success in college and work.”  These nationally-recognized objectives, scheduled to go into effect in August, 2012, emphasize a well-rounded education.   You can explore www.corestandards.org for easy-to-understand definitions of what children should learn in every grade and subject, including writing. 

I hope the long-overdue revision of the NCLB act helps to implement these standards without the unhealthy testing obsession created by previous legislation.

A Writing Renaissance in our public schools would boost learning and help expand curriculum to meet the new standards.  Parents and administrators could focus a tad less on test scores and encourage teachers to give more writing assignments.  Schools and community groups can promote student writing by sponsoring old fashioned essay contests.  Student newspapers and literary journals are easy to publish using computers. 

It would not be difficult to revitalize the third ‘R.’  We need to make it a priority.