Comments on: Charter Funding in New York: An Update http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:46:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Smith32 http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update/comment-page-1#comment-66532 Smith32 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:46:42 +0000 http://edwize.org/?p=4121#comment-66532 Charter schools have been becoming more and more prevalent in recent years, and with this surge of new schools comes varying levels of successes. One of the reasons for the differing levels of success is the uniqueness of the charter school system. Each school has its own unique practices and principles that determine the focus of education; this causes large discrepancies between successful charter schools and unsuccessful schools. Twenty years after the debate over charter schools started, it is still unresolved. Overall, charter schools are beneficial to the students who attend them, but there needs to be some sort of regulation to ensure that all charter school students are successful. Charter schools have more potential to raise student achievement than public schools because they are not bound by the same restrictions as public schools. Some schools pay their teachers extra to work an extended school day, which logically would boost student achievement. If both the students and teachers are willing to put more time into their education, there is no reason why unions or public school guidelines should keep them from doing so. Charter schools can also offer specialized programs that might not otherwise be offered in public schools. This can improve the educational quality because of increased teacher and student investment in subjects that are meaningful to them. Charter schools are also allowed to adopt experimental school reform policies that might otherwise not have been tried. At the TEP charter school in Washington Heights, the designers allocated a majority of their funding towards raising teacher salaries in an attempt to hire only the elite teachers. Their belief is that a classroom with an exceptional teachers and limited resources is better than a classroom with less skilled teachers and more computers, lab equipment, and other resources. Charter schools have the potential to improve the educational system, but it is yet to be determined if they actually do. With the increased freedom of charter schools, there is less oversight and accountability. This decreases the amount of money wasted on administrative costs and opens up more efficient spending, but it also allows poor schools to go undetected. There are less regulations for teacher certification and student testing - which enables poor educational practices. Another drawback to this is that it can allow people with hidden agendas (religious, political, etc.) to start schools. In situations where education is not the first priority, students suffer. In order for the charter school system to work, there needs to be some sort of efficient, unbiased, and open-minded oversight and accountability. Charter schools can be a great asset to the educational community, however they must be held accountable for student achievement. They provide students with an alternative option to public schools and the decision to choose a school that specifically fits their needs. The freedom that charter schools have allows them to experiment with new educational policies. Unfortunately, this freedom enables dysfunctional schools to be started and to continue to run. Hopefully, the charter schools developed during the Obama administration will be functional, efficient, and most importantly, effective in raising student achievement. Charter schools have been becoming more and more prevalent in recent years, and with this surge of new schools comes varying levels of successes. One of the reasons for the differing levels of success is the uniqueness of the charter school system. Each school has its own unique practices and principles that determine the focus of education; this causes large discrepancies between successful charter schools and unsuccessful schools. Twenty years after the debate over charter schools started, it is still unresolved. Overall, charter schools are beneficial to the students who attend them, but there needs to be some sort of regulation to ensure that all charter school students are successful.
Charter schools have more potential to raise student achievement than public schools because they are not bound by the same restrictions as public schools. Some schools pay their teachers extra to work an extended school day, which logically would boost student achievement. If both the students and teachers are willing to put more time into their education, there is no reason why unions or public school guidelines should keep them from doing so. Charter schools can also offer specialized programs that might not otherwise be offered in public schools. This can improve the educational quality because of increased teacher and student investment in subjects that are meaningful to them. Charter schools are also allowed to adopt experimental school reform policies that might otherwise not have been tried. At the TEP charter school in Washington Heights, the designers allocated a majority of their funding towards raising teacher salaries in an attempt to hire only the elite teachers. Their belief is that a classroom with an exceptional teachers and limited resources is better than a classroom with less skilled teachers and more computers, lab equipment, and other resources. Charter schools have the potential to improve the educational system, but it is yet to be determined if they actually do.
With the increased freedom of charter schools, there is less oversight and accountability. This decreases the amount of money wasted on administrative costs and opens up more efficient spending, but it also allows poor schools to go undetected. There are less regulations for teacher certification and student testing – which enables poor educational practices. Another drawback to this is that it can allow people with hidden agendas (religious, political, etc.) to start schools. In situations where education is not the first priority, students suffer. In order for the charter school system to work, there needs to be some sort of efficient, unbiased, and open-minded oversight and accountability.
Charter schools can be a great asset to the educational community, however they must be held accountable for student achievement. They provide students with an alternative option to public schools and the decision to choose a school that specifically fits their needs. The freedom that charter schools have allows them to experiment with new educational policies. Unfortunately, this freedom enables dysfunctional schools to be started and to continue to run. Hopefully, the charter schools developed during the Obama administration will be functional, efficient, and most importantly, effective in raising student achievement.

]]> By: But is the “Freeze” Fair? | Edwize http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update/comment-page-1#comment-66416 But is the “Freeze” Fair? | Edwize Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:37:19 +0000 http://edwize.org/?p=4121#comment-66416 [...] re-analysis of charter school funding in New York City prompted a number of comments and questions — the [...] [...] re-analysis of charter school funding in New York City prompted a number of comments and questions — the [...]

]]> By: Phyllis C. Murray http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update/comment-page-1#comment-66411 Phyllis C. Murray Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:24:45 +0000 http://edwize.org/?p=4121#comment-66411 Notes from a Chapter Leader’s Journal By Phyllis C. Murray “Teaching is a difficult, demanding craft. Under optimum conditions of meaningful teacher education, good mentoring, strong supervisory supports, appropriate professional development and a safe, orderly school, it takes a minimum of three years to master the fundamental skills of teaching.”Leo Casey UFT Leo Casey is right. However, after three years, many of our gifted teachers leave with their master degrees and the incalculable skills and abilities which they have honed while working in our Hunts Point school. They leave and… off they go into the wide horizon. Several of the teachers have become assistant principals, law students, or teach in charter schools or the suburban schools of Westchester County. We wish them well. And we cheer them on because others will benefit from their skills and abilities and talents. All is not lost. Presently, the debate which surrounds charter schools continues. For example: In the Department of Education's Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program, a Final Report released in 2003, found that, in the five case study states, charter schools were out-performed by traditional public schools in meeting state performance standards, but noted: “It is impossible to know from this study whether that is because of the performance of the schools, the prior achievement of the students, or some other factor.”See Executive Summary-Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Final Report . Furthermore,"A study performed by the American Federation of Teachers, found that students attending charter schools tied to school boards do not fare any better or worse statistically in reading and math scores than students attending public schools." See."Nelson, F. Howard; Rosenberg, Bella, and Nancy Van Meter (2004). Charter School Achievement on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress. American Federation of Teachers Institute of Education Sciences (December 2004). And lest we forget... Linda A. Renzulli and Vincent J. Roscigno, have reported that Charter Schools actually increase racial segregation.See Renzulli, Linda A.; Roscigno, Vincent J. (Winter 2007). "charter schools and the public good". Contexts 6 (1): 31–36. " Nevertheless, there are still gifted teachers who remain in our inner city public underfunded schools. These teachers know that they are working under less than optimum conditions than their former colleagues. Yet, they have chosen to remain. And even under the harshest conditions, while fighting to enforce the UFT contract, they take pride in the fact that they can make a difference in the lives of their students as they move many of the students from Point A to Point B. Thus, many of our former students, like our former colleagues, are on a new and different path to success. Moving students forward, takes an inordinate amount of energy. And at times, it becomes a constant struggle or hassle in a school complete with over-sized classes, loss prep periods, meager resources, and day-to-day imposed drama and trauma. These teachers know the challenge of being a teacher means: 1. They must use their personal resources to invest in the lives of the students they serve. 2. They must also work to enforce the UFT Contract by any means necessary. 3. They must become New Yorkers: Resilient and Resourceful. 4. They must press on! Our UFTers are truly heroes. Phyllis C. Murray Notes from a Chapter Leader’s Journal

By Phyllis C. Murray

“Teaching is a difficult, demanding craft. Under optimum conditions of meaningful teacher education, good mentoring, strong supervisory supports, appropriate professional development and a safe, orderly school, it takes a minimum of three years to master the fundamental skills of teaching.”Leo Casey UFT

Leo Casey is right. However, after three years, many of our gifted teachers leave with their master degrees and the incalculable skills and abilities which they have honed while working in our Hunts Point school. They leave and… off they go into the wide horizon. Several of the teachers have become assistant principals, law students, or teach in charter schools or the suburban schools of Westchester County. We wish them well. And we cheer them on because others will benefit from their skills and abilities and talents. All is not lost.

Presently, the debate which surrounds charter schools continues. For example: In the Department of Education’s Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program, a Final Report released in 2003, found that, in the five case study states, charter schools were out-performed by traditional public schools in meeting state performance standards, but noted: “It is impossible to know from this study whether that is because of the performance of the schools, the prior achievement of the students, or some other factor.”See Executive Summary-Evaluation of the Public Charter Schools Program: Final Report .

Furthermore,”A study performed by the American Federation of Teachers, found that students attending charter schools tied to school boards do not fare any better or worse statistically in reading and math scores than students attending public schools.” See.”Nelson, F. Howard; Rosenberg, Bella, and Nancy Van Meter (2004). Charter School Achievement on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress. American Federation of Teachers Institute of Education Sciences (December 2004). And lest we forget…

Linda A. Renzulli and Vincent J. Roscigno, have reported that Charter Schools actually increase racial segregation.See Renzulli, Linda A.; Roscigno, Vincent J. (Winter 2007). “charter schools and the public good”. Contexts 6 (1): 31–36. ”

Nevertheless, there are still gifted teachers who remain in our inner city public underfunded schools. These teachers know that they are working under less than optimum conditions than their former colleagues. Yet, they have chosen to remain. And even under the harshest conditions, while fighting to enforce the UFT contract, they take pride in the fact that they can make a difference in the lives of their students as they move many of the students from Point A to Point B. Thus, many of our former students, like our former colleagues, are on a new and different path to success.

Moving students forward, takes an inordinate amount of energy. And at times, it becomes a constant struggle or hassle in a school complete with over-sized classes, loss prep periods, meager resources, and day-to-day imposed drama and trauma. These teachers know the challenge of being a teacher means:

1. They must use their personal resources to invest in the lives of the students they serve.
2. They must also work to enforce the UFT Contract by any means necessary.
3. They must become New Yorkers: Resilient and Resourceful.
4. They must press on!

Our UFTers are truly heroes.

Phyllis C. Murray

]]> By: leoniehaimson http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update/comment-page-1#comment-66409 leoniehaimson Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:43:14 +0000 http://edwize.org/?p=4121#comment-66409 Are you aware of the fact that the DOE provides not only facilities for free to most charter schools, but energy, food, transportation and a host of other services as well -- over and above their per pupil funding? Here is a list provided by DOE of the services and expenses provided free of charge to charter schools: School facility Utilities- heat/electricity Student transportation Food services District for Committee on Special Educations (CSE) Evaluations & Referrals Assessment & testing accommodations Safety & health services Technology integration and infrastructure Student placement and transitional services Human resources (limited) Integration policy (e.g. such as middle & HS choice process, promotion, shared space, etc..) Public hearings Serve as authorizing entity This combined with the fact that charter schools receive more than $12,000 per pupil , compared to an average of about $8000 per gened student that is sent to school level for traditional public schools, might lead one to conclude that charter schools actually receive a higher level of public support than traditional public schools. for more on this see our NYC public school parent blog, "Charter School Funding Per Child Much Higher Than Public Schools" Are you aware of the fact that the DOE provides not only facilities for free to most charter schools, but energy, food, transportation and a host of other services as well — over and above their per pupil funding?

Here is a list provided by DOE of the services and expenses provided free of charge to charter schools:

School facility
Utilities- heat/electricity
Student transportation
Food services
District for Committee on Special Educations (CSE) Evaluations & Referrals
Assessment & testing accommodations
Safety & health services
Technology integration and infrastructure
Student placement and transitional services
Human resources (limited)
Integration policy (e.g. such as middle & HS choice process, promotion, shared space, etc..)
Public hearings
Serve as authorizing entity

This combined with the fact that charter schools receive more than $12,000 per pupil , compared to an average of about $8000 per gened student that is sent to school level for traditional public schools, might lead one to conclude that charter schools actually receive a higher level of public support than traditional public schools.

for more on this see our NYC public school parent blog, “Charter School Funding Per Child Much Higher Than Public Schools”

]]> By: Sevangelista http://www.edwize.org/charter-funding-in-new-york-an-update/comment-page-1#comment-66408 Sevangelista Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:03:16 +0000 http://edwize.org/?p=4121#comment-66408 Thanks for your thoughtful update, Jonathan, but I'm concerned that you gloss over some critical facts at the end. I wouldn't quibble with the finer details of your analysis, as I don't know how to assess what has been added to state categorical aid and what taken away. Of course, knowing you personally, my bias is to believe you. However, your update smooths over the fact that charters will be taking a "double hit" thanks to this budget. Freezing the charter funding formula that you faithfully parse here for 2009-10 is not tantamount to freezing district school foundation aid not in 2009-10, but instead removing 100% of the gains made between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008, which probably includes a lot of the categorical changes you describe as benefiting charters. What the legislature has done is not (as you seem to characterize) freeze funding for all schools, but stop charters in time while actually increasing the overall state aid to district schools (as I understand it) thanks to the federal stimulus funds. The result is the certainty of teacher layoffs at charter schools across the state, and (at least, hopefully, but at this point likely) the preservation of jobs in district schools. Doesn't sound like equity to me. More clarity on federal stimulus funds would help; will they eventually flow to charter schools as well as district schools? You would seem to argue that they should, but I'm not seeing evidence of that, not knowing how those funds are distributed to districts and unsure what the future looks like for the charter formula. On that note, what does this year's arbitrary charter formula freeze mean for its future? Will it now be a 3-year lag instead of a 2-year lag from district spending? Will there be any opportunity to catch up the missing funding? When thinking of the legislature's action this year, sometimes we charters, especially faculties represented by UFT members like Renaissance who don't seem to have a voice in the union, feel like the wizarding community in Harry Potter when the Death Eaters are taking over the Ministry of Magic. It's supposed to be helping us, but it's trying to kill us! Thanks, Steven Evangelista Harlem Link Charter School Thanks for your thoughtful update, Jonathan, but I’m concerned that you gloss over some critical facts at the end.

I wouldn’t quibble with the finer details of your analysis, as I don’t know how to assess what has been added to state categorical aid and what taken away. Of course, knowing you personally, my bias is to believe you.

However, your update smooths over the fact that charters will be taking a “double hit” thanks to this budget. Freezing the charter funding formula that you faithfully parse here for 2009-10 is not tantamount to freezing district school foundation aid not in 2009-10, but instead removing 100% of the gains made between fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2008, which probably includes a lot of the categorical changes you describe as benefiting charters.

What the legislature has done is not (as you seem to characterize) freeze funding for all schools, but stop charters in time while actually increasing the overall state aid to district schools (as I understand it) thanks to the federal stimulus funds. The result is the certainty of teacher layoffs at charter schools across the state, and (at least, hopefully, but at this point likely) the preservation of jobs in district schools. Doesn’t sound like equity to me.

More clarity on federal stimulus funds would help; will they eventually flow to charter schools as well as district schools? You would seem to argue that they should, but I’m not seeing evidence of that, not knowing how those funds are distributed to districts and unsure what the future looks like for the charter formula.

On that note, what does this year’s arbitrary charter formula freeze mean for its future? Will it now be a 3-year lag instead of a 2-year lag from district spending? Will there be any opportunity to catch up the missing funding?

When thinking of the legislature’s action this year, sometimes we charters, especially faculties represented by UFT members like Renaissance who don’t seem to have a voice in the union, feel like the wizarding community in Harry Potter when the Death Eaters are taking over the Ministry of Magic. It’s supposed to be helping us, but it’s trying to kill us!

Thanks,
Steven Evangelista
Harlem Link Charter School

]]>