Question of the Day: What kind of charter school do you want to see?

On another thread, Peoria Public Schools Board of Education member Jim Stowell asked this question:

Charter schools will be the focus of Monday night’s meeting. Thoughts? Please address funding, teacher (union) leadership and involvement, parental and student responsibility – and focus of curriculum. I have heard of a desire for both a math-science school and a vocational charter. Seven are left and several applications are already moving forward.

This is a great opportunity to give feedback to the board, and I didn’t want my readers to miss it, so it’s the question of the day. More information about charter schools in Illinois can be found at the Illinois State Board of Education’s website. You might also find this resource helpful. And I also gave a brief overview of charter schools in this old post from a couple years ago.

164 thoughts on “Question of the Day: What kind of charter school do you want to see?”

  1. How do unions stifle teacher creativity, etc.? During my whole career, the union never, never had any input into what I taught or how I taught it. Non-union administrations (mostly central office) and school boards did dictate both. Early in my career they only told us what to teach; later they began to tell us how to teach–even how to arrange the chairs in our own classrooms. School boards are elected by the public and they choose the central administrators, right? Change is completely in their hands–and I guarantee you that they rarely ask teachers what kind of change they would like (and teachers often do want change but maybe not the kinds made by people who know little about what happens in classrooms). Therefore, explain to me how the public is going to do a better job in selecting school boards and administrators for the charter schools. Why would you believe that Bradley professors or Cat executives would know that much about teaching 4th-12th graders? Does anyone believe that the administrators in these charter schools are going to let teachers “do their own thing.”

  2. There is nothing “secret” about charter schools coming to Peoria. I have blogged about it several times over the last few months:

    http://emergepeoria.blogspot.com/search?q=charter+school

    The names of the individuals who sit on the MST Board were published in the November Issue of D150’s “Making the Grade”, along with their plans to research charter schools. They are working with Dr. Cynthia Fischer.

    Many of us are so busy treading water under the bridge; we don’t even see the new business coming down the river. The Ken Hinton fight is a moot one. However, there is still a search for a new Superintendent moving forward.

  3. “How do unions stifle teacher creativity, etc.?” Maybe stifle isn’t the right word… they do not encourage it because teachers become complacent in their jobs… there is no accountability with tenure. Too many teachers once they get tenure stop teaching, and begin the long tedious task of going through the motions…

  4. “unless you have received some information that has not been made public yet.”

    Nope. Nobody tells me nothin’ remotely sexy until July 1.

  5. Sharon, I think the main problem with the teacher’s union is that once tenured, poor performing teachers essentially can’t be touched. Yes, I understand that it is unfair that, without tenure, teachers could be unfairly let go by politically motivated school boards and their cronies, but that’s the real world. Ask anyone in the private sector who has been laid off from CAT or fired because they don’t have the same views as their manager. I think in the case of tenure, the negatives outweigh the positives.

    That said, I think there is a much bigger problem in 150 with the central administration (and the school board that has put Hinton and others in charge there as well as rubber stamping everything they do) than there is with poor performing teachers (which as a whole, I don’t think is that much of a problem). Give top administrators in the trenches, like principals Kevin Curtain at Garfield, Jane Cushing at Franklin and Nicole Wood at Northmoor and their teachers more free reign and I think you can have some dramatic improvement.

    Compare the report cards of Garfield and Tyng, which are geographically very close to each other. Both have a low income rate of around 95%, yet Garfield has nearly twice as many students passing ISAT’s. Talk to the principal and teachers at Garfield to see how they have done so well. As a whole, I’ll bet the staff at Garfield is much better than the one at Tyng. With tenure, however, seemingly the only way to deal with Tyng is to close it.

  6. If I recall, living in Chicago before moving to Peoria 3 years ago, the teachers at charter schools are picked by the principal, or adminstrator of the school. Being non union, they have more requirements that are not allowed under union contracts. Teachers are tested on a regular basis, yearly, for example.

    In Chicago there are teachers that can barely read or write themselves, but they have the union protecting them from being terminated. Being a union teacher, you can get away with being average or less than average. Being a charter school teacher, without the union protection, you have to be better than average, or you will be terminated.

  7. Jon: Hedy Elliott-Gardner is a friend–and I know what Garfield and Curtain are doing right. I don’t agree with you about tenure being the culprit. There is teacher burnout at some of the inner schools because discipline is so bad–and there is no support from administators. Teachers can only work under that kind of strain for so long without caving–the amazing thing is that many of them don’t cave. I still maintain that many of the “bad” teachers could have been caught before they were tenured but that administrators just don’t do their jobs in evaluating teachers at that stage when unions have no say at all. At least, in my experience, most “bad” teachers could have been predicted from the very beginning. Teacher evaluations are only as good as the evaluators. I am not at all convinced that most administrators use the right “measuring sticks” in evaluating teachers–therefore, I see a real need for tenure. I appreciate your comments about the other factors (board and administration) that trump teacher tenure as the problem. I’m not convinced that test scores are the right evaluative tool. If that were the case, then if all the Dunlap teachers could move to Manual and vice versa, then Dunlap would be on the NCLB watch list and Manual would be excelling. There are probably some “bad” teachers at excelling schools, but they go unnoticed because the others pick up the slack, etc. Do you think there are any “bad” teachers at the private schools where teachers do not have tenure–but do have administrative friends?

  8. Ben: Of course, I agree about Chicago schools and that the union protects them–but I don’t think you can compare District 150 teachers (or the union) to the teachers in Chicago’s inner city schools. Also, I might add that the Chicago city schools have no choice but to keep unqualified teachers–who else would teach there? Maybe you have hit on the problem–most studies and critics blame unions in these large inner city schools–and small districts like 150 get painted with the same brush. In Peoria board members and administrators have friends and family who teach in 150–many know teachers personally; that kind of “oversight” isn’t possible in Chicago city schools. By the same token, please don’t tell me that some “bad” teachers and principals aren’t protected by 150’s central administrators, not by tenure.

  9. Sharon, when I used test scores as a measuring tool for teacher success, I was comparing schools with similar students. But since you compared Dunlap to Manual, I will say that Dunlap probably has better teachers, too. As you said, teaching in 150 is a major strain, so if given the chance, most (of course, not all, like you and Hedy) will choose to go to Dunlap – Dunlap gets the pick of the litter, so to speak.

    Yes, there are many bad teachers at schools without tenure, often because of cozy relationships with administrators. When looking at any poor performing organization, you have to start with the top and work your way down. But you also have to let managers manage, and tenure takes away their major trump card. If managers fail, they should be accountable. When managers succeed, you need to give them more tools. Managers (e.g. principals) succeed by allowing employees (e.g. teachers) to have more independence to do what works. If nothing consistently works, BOTH should go and we start over.

  10. Several months ago, the Neighborhood Alliance hosted speakers regarding setting up Charter Schools in Peoria. It was an informative meeting and was at the suggestion of Councilman Montelongo. As with any project there were pros and cons regarding the idea, but overall it seemed to have a possibility in helping students within District 150. There was a push for a math and science academy in the Moss Bradley area, which would probabily benefit that particiluar area than much of the District 150 given the educational emphasis.

    Mr. Stowell: In answer to your question, My opinion is that if a Charter School is pursued, it needs to be oriented towards vocations. Much of the best and brightest unfortunately have fled the inner city. Realistically, many who are left may not be able to maintain interest in school to graduate given the continued socio-economic (meaning increased poverty) decline of the inner city and a lack of comprensive planning by officials to circumvent that continued decline. Youth are entering school excited and wanting to learn, but that flame is extinguished before the fourth grade. Several reasons account for this, 1. is the focus of the school cirricumlum to focus on certain subjects to meet testing standards, but 2. and most importantly is a signficant decline in family supports, district wide.

    We have adopted the belief that all children will and should go to college and focused for at least two decades in that “track” for lack of a better term. We already have those opportunities in place. We continue to fail to develop those skills and talents which will realistically give the bulk of students, in poverty prone areas the skills to utilize in the work place and the ability to work one’s self out of poverty. The emphasis to eliminate poverty on education is a correct methodology, but the type of educational focus has been off.

  11. Mr. Stowell:

    With sole respect to the question at hand “what kind of charter do you want to see?”:

    1. Make sure it is a charter, and not another magnet. As a charter school, it needs to be not only separate from the teacher’s union, but more importantly, from the various levels of District 150 administration. Thus the charter school is largely stand alone – once the formal plan is accepted by the District, there should be very little involvement on the Administration’s part, as long as the charter is meeting its agreed upon goals. As such, there MUST be a reduction in administration staffing levels once the charter is approved.
    2. Why not two? The more choice/options, the better. One MST AND one vocational, for a start.
    3. Funding should be 100% of the average per pupil expense in the district (I believe the law allows you between 75% and 125%)
    4. Focus on your greatest needs – south of Forrest Hill – for the location(s) of the school, but open to all in the district
    5. Because both would be choice schools, you should already be attracting students and parents who are committed to education, but you should still try some kind of “contract” to keep students at the school the full year (if someone opts out for another school in the district midway, they won’t be accepted in the future to the charter – not sure if that’s possible, or what happens with places like Washington Gifted, now, but you get the idea).

  12. Nobody has answered my questions about busing students to charter schools. I just heard that Ken Hinton recently told someone that Woodruff will be the high school to be closed. Doesn’t he have to wait for the board to vote–or shouldn’t he at least pretend to wait? Jon: There’s no way to prove your point (or mine) about Dunlap teachers vs. Manual teachers, but I do disagree. Your point #5–what if the charter school decides that a student isn’t working out and needs to be sent back to his/her home school? In other words, what if some discipline problems happen to slip into this charter school–what are the charter school’s options for getting rid of the problem students? Can they be suspended and/or expelled without District 150 involvement? Will this charter school be able to have any entrance requirements such as reading at grade level, etc? What does Illinois law state? How many qualified teachers presently working in District 150 (or Dunlap, etc.) will be signing up to work at less pay for more hours without union protection at a school that will be considered experimental, at least, for the first year or so? What about money–District 150 is broke; a vocational school (more than any other kind of school) will require money for expensive equipment, etc. Will Caterpillar be footing that bill–how much money will Cat have after forking over the museum money? Will a charter school somehow generate more revenue than a regular District 150 school? This charter school experiment in Peoria might prove to be very interesting–it certainly will get plenty of scrutiny–many unknowns. Whatever will be will be, so let’s be about it.

  13. Jon – really appreciate your constructive thoughts and you too Emerge. I concur Jon, a charter school in Peoria should be developed and operated just as you have outlined, which is also what is provided for by state law.

    Diane, when I stated “I believe there are parties behind the scene, independent from District 150, that have been spurring on the creation of a charter school in Peoria,” I did not mean to imply anything secretive about their efforts. I just think it has not been published that much, although I am going locate the info that Emerge referred to.

  14. Sharon,
    that is one of the issues with Charter Schools. If the student isn’t cooperative, they can and most likely will be returned to their home school. Now before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, I met a principle from a chicago jr. high school, (through a friend and by happenstance) about the time we were looking into the Charter Schools idea. She runs a school with similiar demographics for socio-economic status, etc for Dist. 150’s schools with the exception her population is hispanic vs african american here. She was able to turn that school around from being in the bottom 100 schools in the Chicago area to one of the top ten. The teacher’s union isn’t going to like this, but she maintained control of the hiring and firing of staff. She eliminated teachers with lower levels of motivation. She then took that team and began reaching out to the parents. (note: same level of lack of parental involvement as we have). Teachers did home visits and got to know parents. She then engaged the parents and students into developing school policies for the students. She got the students involved in funding programs…No, not by selling lame items, but by breaking into groups for specific needs and writing grants, local, state, federal. This excited the students and parents and got them involved as their efforts made the school stronger. Her strategy was about engagement, involvment of the stake holders, etc. She runs a public school, not a charter school and was wary in that one area as when students returned to her who had failed the charter school, it took significant amounts of effort to re-capture them..due to the failure. Other than that, she agreed that a well planned charter school can be an excellent addition to the community.
    I love her methods and think that she is retiring this year or next. While I am not big on Consultants and consultant fees, I think that she would be worth some money to mentor some of the Dist 150 leadership from the top on down the prinicples on these very simple, yet powerful ideas. She got this “power” for lack of a better term by convincing politicians to stand behind her ideas. Her strongest political detractor quickly became her strongest supporter.

    I did not attend public school, until high school. I took for granted growing up that teachers did do home visits. It was part of the process. Parent teacher conferences were held in the home and believe me, I was much more accountable both behaviorally and academically because of it.

  15. There are some school districts with successful charter schools. We need to see the research. There are many accomodations that school districts can make with the charter entity. I just read a rather impressive article in the latest New Yorker magazine. It is focusing on Los Angeles inner city schools. Rather interesting with the different approaches taken. We need honest discourse. Our problem with the administration is that they do not have the people with the most knowledge trying to organize. It is the same old people Hinton includes in everything he does. Let’s expand out. Whatever we decide to do as a school district will take a 100+%. It is not going to be easy. Who is the “energizer bunny” with much caring about the total success for all students. Let’s hope we have some left.

  16. Just got back from the School Board’s committee of the whole meeting, which included the MST charter school advisory board presentation, headed by Dr. Cynthia Fischer. I wasn’t privy to all the details, but here is what I took away:

    1. There is a push for a Math, Science and Technology charter school – not a magnet school like Washington Gifted, in part for fear of not getting one of the few remaining charters available by state law. (other cities, like Rockford and Joliet, are in the process of exploring charters in earnest) The goal is to open in Fall 2010.

    2. Many on the board, particularly Mr. Stowell, but also, I believe, Gorenz, Spangler, Wolfmeyer as well as Hinton, would like to see another for a vocational school. The vocational school wouldn’t have to be a charter, but that appeared to be where they were heading.

    3. I didn’t fully understand this, but it sounds like, rather than have various groups propose their own charter ideas, the Board wants to work with Peoria Next to sponsor the MST charter.

    4. Peoria Next would in turn likely hire an experienced charter school operator to run MST. This isn’t a requirement, but is based on the timeliness of getting this completed quickly and the goal to not screw it up.

    5. Funding would be at 80% of the current average per pupil cost. This is key, and is quite intelligent on the committee’s part, showing a sense of fiscal awareness. They figure that with the MST, which will be open to ALL District 150 kids via lottery, will attract 20% of students would otherwise go to a non-District 150 school. Once those kids come back in to the system, the district has to educate them WITHOUT any increased revenue from current tax base. (to be fair, there is some state money they would get for each child attending a District 150 school, but I don’t think that makes up enough of their budget). Thus, the charter should not cost any more than what the average per pupil cost is today.

    6. The Board is to vote at next Monday’s meeting on the PROCESS, including, the focus as a MST school. Grants (presumably from the state?) can be obtained to fund some of these exploratory costs. It sounds like the process is for Peoria Next to select people to work with the board and the current charter committee to iron out the details, creating the business plan, for submittal to Hinton, and then on to the Board for final approval.

    7. While as a charter, any child could apply, it definitely sounded like the expectation for the MST is that it will end up with higher performing, college-bound students. That’s by no means a requirement, but I just think the reality. Thus, I believe another reason for the vocational school as another charter – to address the needs of other constituents.

  17. PW: I really wish that I weren’t such a cynic, but I’ve been through so many magic cures with District 150 that I truly will have to see it to believe it–and when I see it, I’ll be happy to believe it. I think this may be the same lady about whom I did some searching online a while back–maybe not. Everything you wrote about this woman in Chicago reminds me of the hype offered by those in charge of restructuring Manual. The reality just hasn’t come close. I don’t mind if people “dream” big–even applaud it. However, District 150 usually dreams but never plans. By planning, I mean “play the devil’s advocate” to think of everything that could possibly go wrong–and plan what to do if the worst happens. You’re dealing with kids–the worst always happens. And so does the best–that’s what’s great about working with kids. The other precaution that I would offer is that this woman had “fire in her belly” so to speak–this was her plan and she made it work because of her own passion. Passion like that can’t be “borrowed” or “copied.” It has to be authentic and you can’t buy it as a recycled program, etc. Peoria’s charter school will have to find leaders and teachers with their own passion, their own ideas, etc.
    One of the problems Manual is having right now–I believe–is that they have good new teachers but those teachers had no connection with Manual. So many of us who retired within the last ten years and those who were not chosen to stay at the “new” Manual already had connections with Manual parents. For me, it was very hard to find a student in my class with whom I didn’t have some connection from the past–most parents were my former students–and the relationships were good. This new charter school will not do well if the teachers chosen do not already have a connection–those are hard to build; they take years. Especially when working in the inner city, there has to be trust and it isn’t built in a year. But whom am I kidding–the enrollment for this charter school will not come from Peoria’s southside or near northside. Please prove me wrong.

  18. There’s my answer already: from Jon–While as a charter, any child could apply, it definitely sounded like the expectation for the MST is that it will end up with higher performing, college-bound students. That’s by no means a requirement, but I just think the reality.” With this plan, of course, the charter school can be a success and District 150 will still have a reputation for being a failure. District 150 is getting ready to shoot itself in the foot again–but this time most of you will cheer them on. When are they ever going to work on a plan aimed at the real problems in District 150? The struggling, misbehaving students are rapidly becoming the majority. District 150 will be a district with about 4 middle to highly-performing schools and the rest will be places of chaos and nobody will try to do anything to stop this trend.

  19. Jon – Thank you for coming to the open committee meeting. I’d welcome the opportunity to talk. It is a welcome sign to see parents engaged and interacting as rational adults. I look forward to your continued involvement and am ready to accept thoughts and input – both favorable and critical. Challenging the status quo is necessary. Engaging that task in a positive, productive means is critical. Thank you for your involvement.

  20. Now if we could just get a rational Board of Education we’d have it made in a shade.

  21. Sharon, remember that the charter is open enrollment via a lottery. If kids (and their parents) from the south or near-north sides want to attend, they will have the same opportunity as anyone else. They are the ones who need to prove you wrong.

    I believe there is real excitement about doing a vocational charter, but again, since it is choice, you have to have involved parents who will believe in and make the effort.

    If you give everyone who wants it a chance to opt out of their home school to a magnet or charter, generally (and yes, this is an oversimplification) you will be left with in the neighborhood schools those struggling, misbehaving students of whom you speak. Then you have half of want you want – separating them form the students who want a better education – the second piece of your puzzle being innovative ways to reach them.

  22. Jon: In truth, I also have mixed emotions. There are children about whom I care that certainly could benefit from this choice away from the struggling, misbehaving students. Also, West Peoria, where parents–for the most part–have opted out of 150, is full of children who would like and deserve a choice. Nevertheless, I don’t feel good about not having a plan to address the problems that exist in the failing schools. I don’t know what the numbers are–you know, will all the students who deserve the chance be able to get in this school, etc.? Besides that, how is the district going to get teachers who are willing to teach in the schools with all or most of the middle to high-performing students gone? They may have to end up paying teachers more just to teach in these difficult situations. This is where I have to admit that the district cannot hope to keep drawing dedicated teachers to schools where they will be blamed for the failures–the teachers are being set up for failure. I just wish the district had not waited so long to try to resolve the problems in District 150. Teachers have been warning them for over 10 years, but they haven’t been listening–and they still aren’t. At least, you have a wife who is a teacher, so you understand the situation a bit better than those who really do not understand the plight of teachers.

  23. Jon – Thank you for reporting about the MST meeting. I think it sounds very exciting. Did they discuss the grade range? I think it would be better to limit the school to middle school, at least initially. Many of the special schools at CPS require that you apply beginning in the first grade of eligibility, say 5th grade, because the curriculum and style of teaching is such that students need to grow and develop through the program in order to handle the rigors of the upper grades.

    My concern is that Peoria Next is leading the charge? I am not sure if I know what Peoria Next does actually. I guess I will reserve comment until I find out what it is they might have to offer to this project.

    I think by definition, a MST school, must establish competitive academic standards in order for students to derive any benefit from attendance. Illinois charter school law provides that such schools are authorized “to improve pupil learning by creating schools with high, rigorous standards for pupil performance.” It sounds like that is just what the District intends to do.

    Additionally the statute provides that the purpose is “to increase learning opportunities for all pupils, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for at?risk pupils.” I assume that there will be some type of educational program and outreach efforts when the school opens to encourage families with students that could benefit from such a program to submit their names.

    I think this is just the type of initiative the Board needs to be pursuing in order to bring some vibrancy back into the District.

  24. “Many on the board, particularly Mr. Stowell, but also, I believe, Gorenz, Spangler, Wolfmeyer as well as Hinton, would like to see another for a vocational school.”

    Well duh… how else is Caterpillar (et al) going to get its cheap uneducated labor? Move to Texas?

    Let’s go ahead and preselect those students are going to become factory workers and which will go to Richwoods and be the “professionals”… what do you think… should we do it by which part of town they live in, or skip the political correctness and just do it by cultural or ethnic background?

    Vocational school… who are you kidding?

  25. Give us vouchers or shut down the district completely and quit wasting so much money!

  26. What will Cindy Fisher’s role be? Will she just work in the planning stages or stay on in some capacity?

  27. Has anyone listened to Cindy Fischer’s interview? She did not sound really excited. How much is Cindy getting paid as a consultant? Is she being paid by the hour/day/week? Does she have a contract with a specific job description? Where is the person who can really tell us exactly how the whole charter will work? Charters come in many different roles. We already had one charter school that failed. Does anyone remember that Greeley was established as a Charter School under the Griffitth administration. I think I am correct about that. Anyone else know for sure? I would like to talk to someone on the committee! Are they asking for input? I guess an even more pertinent question is who is on the committee? We need an enthusiast to promote this idea. Diane, we all need shrinks to figure this out!!!

  28. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which began in the 1990-91 school year, provides an opportunity for students, under specific circumstances, to attend at no charge, private sectarian and nonsectarian schools located in the city of Milwaukee.

    http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice.html

    kcdad is right. Vouchers or nothing. This is more BS that will yield little fruit other than political points to delay more drastic measures. 150 has continued to bleed students, money, and effectiveness.

    The system is broken and should be scrapped.

    Charter school what a waste.

  29. Wow! After reading all these responses…it’s mind boggling! First, I would like to see one thing. Erik Bush and Anon in a winner take all debate. My money is on Erik, b-t-w. Sorry Anon. Back to the mind boggling posts…It seems to this common sense, but o-t-b person, 150 is trying to change their current state of operations, which it’s very obvious the commenters think has fallen into total educational shutdown. 150 seems to be trying to introduce new age forms of education ideas, while many do not have a concept of what these new age ideas are. So, the commenters have only their past educational experiences of the three-r’s and a cloud of dust education of how they were taught, as a reference, and therefore that’s how kids should still be educated. Am I way off base here? Diane seems be the most outspoken on 150 issues and some of her points are valid, but I get confused over so many posts which spew a variety of facts, factoids, and statistics, etc. to show how smart they are , but no one offers any real common sense solutions. There are a fair amount of 150 students that do successfully get an education, graduate, and go onto decent colleges or trades. If one goes by the blogs and related posts, one would think the percentage of successs is less than 10 percent. Maybe I’m Forrest Gump and you are all smart . Thats my only justification as to putting these posts into perspective.

  30. Outsidethebox: You speak as though you know something about “new age ideas” for education. As a retired teacher, I have heard so many speak of offering a new kind of education–new material, new methods, etc.–to get rid of the three r’s and offer change. Change might well be needed but I have yet to hear any concrete curricula presented. Teachers were/are continually challenged to change–but no one has ever given me a satisfactory answer as to what changes are needed–all subject matter or just some. When would this change begin–kindergarten, middle school, high school, etc? What should be happening in the “new” primary schools, etc.? Do we give up teaching reading or use new methods–where are the textbooks for all these changes. For the most part, real change has to involve a change in textbooks and curricula–where are these books, etc.?
    So this charter school is to prepare students for careers in science, math, and technology. Does anyone on the committee have a definite idea about how the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade material and methods in the charter school will differ from the way things are done at Lindbergh, Washington Gifted, etc.? How will it differ from the Edison method (and is Edison different because of material or methods or both)? I know that Manual has come up with the Johns Hopkins way for change–what I’ve seen of it doesn’t impress me; but then I haven’t seen the actual textbooks–which raises a whole new set of questions for me. Is the district paying for all new texbooks for a myriad of new courses at Manual–who profits from that, Johns Hopkins? Now is the time for concrete ideas–not untried, elusive theory!
    Yes, I agree a good many students in 150 and in other schools seem to be getting a good education and parents, etc., are screaming for change where there is already success. It is for the struggling students that people most often scream for change. Personally, I think we’re looking for the wrong areas to change to help these young people. Change needs to occur in what happens to these children from birth to kindergarten–that change might be the only one that brings results.

  31. I am not sure if a MST charter school will deliver an education that is different from Lindbergh, or Washington Gifted, but I know one thing it will offer that is different . . . . it allows a student that is not in the Lindbergh attendance area or not qualified to attend Washington a choice other than his or her neighborhood school. This is huge! Such choice can make the difference in many childrens’ educational lives and it will help stablize neighborhoods.

  32. Jon wrote:
    “I didn’t fully understand this, but it sounds like, rather than have various groups propose their own charter ideas, the Board wants to work with Peoria Next to sponsor the MST charter.

    Peoria Next would in turn likely hire an experienced charter school operator to run MST. This isn’t a requirement, but is based on the timeliness of getting this completed quickly and the goal to not screw it up.”

    I think Edison is an experienced charter school operator.

  33. kpower: I heard Cindy Fischer on NPR and could not believe it. Hinton should be the one presenting/communicating charter school information. A consultant? Outrageous. Have we really ever seen Hinton present information on anything?

  34. Kohlrabi: Say it isn’t so–but nothing would surprise me. How much will this experienced charter school operator cost? Remember this is still District 150 money, right?

  35. Seeing the phrase “good education” in several posts begs the question: what do you consider a good education?

  36. Unfortunately the board has empowered all these consultants. The district can’t hire them without board approval. They have also hired a superintendent who can’t fulfill his duties. Serenity you are correct he always relies on someone else. Also I would like to thank CJ for downloading the At Issue Segment featuring Hinton versus the superintendent from Unit 105. One was much more prepared than the other. If you haven’t taken time to listen to whole interview it is very enlightening.
    Sharon, it is all district money. The major problem, once again, there is no definitive plan. I dare anyone to ask to see the charter proposal and when it is due!! How much does Hinton really care with one more year left. Just remember he pays no taxes to the School District!!!! By the way does anyone know if Mapleton is even in Peoria County. Just curious!!

  37. Just watched At Issue. My my, Hinton mentions yet another consultant, Dr. Helms. Paying her to give advice about “lighting” etc. A committee of district employees who have or working on doctorates/district CEO could have given this advice for free. Actually any educator interested in research could have been on the committee. Research is free when you have your own people do the research.

  38. Rumor–but here it is (with no names to protect the guilty): I heard that a District 150 administrator had allowed a District 150 student to use his/her out-of-district address to enroll at an out-of-district school instead of going to a 150 school. Apparently, the school caught the “error” and sent the student back to 150. Doesn’t 150 have enough trouble keeping students from leaving the district without “subversive activity” from one of its own?

  39. which it’s very obvious the commenters think has fallen into total educational shutdown

    That about sums it up. What you are seeing, OTB, is a complete lack of trust and respect in pretty much all of the D150 leadership. That didn’t happen overnight surely you agree. I don’t see any demonstrable change in public attitudes until there is a significant change in Admin as well as B of E leadership.

    Everyone is so excited about the charter school. Yippee! But where does that leave the other several thousand other students? There is a much bigger picture that needs to be addressed here and it is discouraging to say the least to see so many wander in search of the Holy Grail and away from the real issues at hand. Classic diversion tactic.

    but no one offers any real common sense solutions.

    I’m not sure who you are or how long you have been following the blogs but there have been plenty of ideas & solutions posed here. In a nutshell, they center around increased discipline and security in the schools, smaller class sizes, better communication, more qualified leadership, enhancing parental involvement, utilizing community resources (instead of consultants), trimming expenditures (such as legal costs), College prep curriculums, eliminating the FOK plan, immersing student services and central Admin within the schools, liquidating unused real estate (of which there is a LOT), KIPP, K-8 Neighborhood schools … for Heaven’s sake I can go on all night.

  40. Frustrated: Just curious, how will sending a student from his own neighborhood to a school on Moss Avenue help to stabilize neighborhoods?

  41. kpower, next week the board is to vote on approval of the proposed process, including the timeline. Assuming the board approves it, the next phase starts with the non-for-profit entity that is designated by the board to apply for the charter (again, it sounded like the board, as suggested by the charter exploratory committee, is asking PeoriaNext or another local entity like Bradley, to be the charter holder – I believe this is to save time and waste, as I believe these various entities have expressed interest and the Board gets to pick the winner anyway). The goal is to get the school up and running next Fall (2010). It will start as a 5-8, three classes for each grade, and then add 9th the following year and each year thereafter until 12th grade. That is the process and general plan – there is no specific plan because there is no point if the board is to decide they do NOT want to pursue a charter.

    Once approved, there are state monies available to fund the next phase of the legwork. That would include deciding who is going to run the charter, and it is possible that it could be Edison, as well where the school will be, how it will be staffed, what the curriculum will be, etc.

    As far as Edison or anyone else running the charter, they will have to do it all, the whole operations of the school, including their own fees, within the 80% budget of what is currently spent per student. For example, in 2007-8, the average expense per student in the district was $11,383 – 80% of that would be $9,106. By comparison, the state average per student is $9,907, while per the state report cards, a school of similar type is $9,515 and similar size is $9,841. So, it would seem to be within reason that a new school (not necessarily a new building) could be run for that 80% budget. The school will need busing, and may choose to use current district 150 buses, but if so, the charter will have to pay for it and it will be part of their 80% budget. Likewise with using an existing 150 building.

    At first glance, it would sound like the district will save 20% on what they are spending now. However, the committee is wisely cautious, believing that 20% of the students will come from kids who would not otherwise go to district 150. (Today, if 100 kids who live in the district but who go to parochial school decided they wanted to go to district 150, the district would have to educate them, but they would not be getting any more property tax revenues, so that would be a financial burden to the district).

    Now that said, with “new” students to 150 would not generate any additional real estate taxes, know that today only 48% of the district’s revenue come from local resources (the majority of that being property taxes). State aid is 38% and federal aid is 14. So, if the district picks up new students, it will get additional state aid. The JS reported (they must have seen the charter exploratory group’s printed presentation – I did not) that district 150 can save $10MM over five years, most of that coming from either the transitional state aid to set up and initially run the charter school, and the students who “return” to the district.

    To be fair, theoretically the district could give a sweetheart deal to the charter school in the pricing of the facilities and other services it would likely rent, or the charter owner could, after making their business plan, decide they simply can’t do it for 80% and thus request more, but really, from a financial standpoint, it will be very difficult to have this charter run for anything more than what is paid today. I think a lot of the savings will come from the likelihood that this charter will be run as a largely, independent school that is self sufficient. Yes, it will have administrative and management costs, but relative to the rest of 150, it will almost certainly be much lower.

    I really think that Hinton, by being in favor of charters, is acknowledging that someone else will run this one school more efficiently than the current district. It’s a win-win for him. If he’s right, he is the one who brought choice and charters to Peoria. If he’s wrong, well, someone else tried and couldn’t do it any better.

  42. Jon: I assume that the charter school, since it will be free from the union, can hire part-time teachers (and avoid paying benefits, etc.). Is that true? Or do most charter schools stick with full-time staff, even if they are not certified?
    So Edison could possibly run this school and wouldn’t expect any fees beyond the 80% designated for the charter school from District 150??? How much would Edison (or any other entity) be paid for running the school? Before choosing Edison, I hope someone considers that Edison’s track record for middle school isn’t that great. Loucks was a failure and other 150 schools compete quite well with Rolling Acres.

  43. Another question: Do charter school teachers pay into the retirement fund–and do their years of service qualify them for state retirement benefits?

  44. FYI Serenity..Judy Helms has been a part of Ken Hinton’s life since he was given a six month paid sabbatical to design and build the Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center. (VHECEC) They worked a whole semester at the administration building. Were given offices and the whole nine yards. Judy Helm and Ken Hinton were on the original staff. Maybe we should check to see if that facility is being used as it was designed. You might be surprised with your results. Read the original charter for that school. Wherever Ken Hinton appears there also is Judy Helm. Check to see what she charges per hour! Just another hidden salary. Judy is the one who designed the new Harrison School and as far as I know the new Glen Oak School. So she is returning as a guru for Charter Schools also. Mr. Hinton has a close core he never deviates from.

  45. Sharon, I heard the school district was Dunlap and the administrator-who is still employed by Dist. 150 lives in Dunlap. Why would an administrator from Dist. 150 want to lose a good student to another district? I guess, Dist. 150 just isn’t, “simply the best”…….lol

  46. The Administrater was none other than Mary Davis who used her Dunlap address for a Peoria PPS child to attend Dunlap Schools without having to pay the out of district fees. Mary Davis – the same Administrater who in the Whistle Blowing complaint advised the use of the address of her best friend, the school librarian to allow students outside of the Lindbergh area to get into that school. The same Adminstrater that used a Lindbergh credit card paid with student activity funds to buy dolls, cash advances and car repairs. Ms. Davis thinks that rules and laws only apply to the little people. She’ll have lots of time to refelct on that from the slammer.

  47. Sharon, the charter operator would be free to hire whomever they wanted, PT or FT, certified or not. However, the charter will almost certainly have to meet certain performance goals, or the charter can be revoked, so like any business, it will want to have the right mix to meet their goals within their budget. That said, the district could impose upon them, via the charter agreement, that, for example, at least 75% must be certified. I would expect most of the employees of the charter to be FT with some kind of benefits.

    While it could be Edison, it could also just as easily be some other charter school operator, such as those in Chicago, Indianapolis or elsewhere. The charter operator’s fees must be within the agreed upon amount, which is currently suggested to be 80% – they can’t charge more unless the district agreed to it. I have no idea what Edison or others would charge, but I would think of them as “administration”, and with what District 150 is currently paying its own administration on a per school basis, 80% of that amount would seemingly be a pretty decent fee for a charter operator.

    Illinois’ teacher pension fund allows for CERTIFIED charter school teachers to contribute, and thus presumably get credit for years of service. However, I’m not sure whether or not the school operator (the employer) is required to provide that option and whether they would care one way or the other.

    Oh, and as to your question about how sending a child away from his neighborhood school to an MST on Moss could help sustain neighborhoods, consider that having such a choice – to go to a presumably good school in district 150 wherever it may be – would hopefully keep more people from moving out of that neighborhood to the schools of Dunlap, Morton, etc.

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