While I was on hiatus last month, a letter appeared in the Journal Star from Mayor Jim Ardis promoting the Peoria Charter School Initiative (PCSI). It lays out his argument for supporting a new charter school in Peoria, and concludes with a call to the public to write or call their school board members, asking them to approve PCSI’s application. According to another Journal Star article, that approval would come with a price: “$1.7 million, or 70 percent, of the initial costs.”
In this post, I’ll respond to each of his three arguments:
1. Proven model argument
First, this charter school will follow a proven model that produces outstanding results in urban districts. A similar school in Chicago, the Chicago Math & Science Academy, is rated one of the top three charter schools and non-selective high schools in that city. CMSA graduated its first senior class in 2009. Every graduate was accepted into college (some into multiple schools), and 100 percent entered college this fall. These are exactly the results we want for students in Peoria, and we shouldn’t accept any less.
Yes, they follow a proven model, but it’s not a secret recipe like Kentucky Fried Chicken or Coca-Cola. The model includes all of the usual ingredients for improved student performance: longer school day, smaller class sizes, individualized instruction, parental involvement, highly-qualified teachers, challenging curriculum, community support, etc. Why is it that these things can only be provided by third-party companies like Edison Schools or Concept Schools, Inc. (at considerable cost), but can’t be provided by Peoria Public Schools district-wide? If this model produces “exactly the results we want for students in Peoria,” then why should it be implemented at only one school? Why should only some students benefit?
Keep in mind that the board of the PCSI has made it quite clear that they expect the demographics of the charter school to mirror the demographics of the district at large. So one cannot argue that this method doesn’t work for poor, minority, ELL, or special needs children. According to PCSI, it does. It works for everyone and lifts everyone’s scores. Since the model is no secret, and is universally effective, why the need to bring in Concept Schools, Inc.? Why doesn’t the district just implement the model across the district themselves? Is it lack of money? Political will? Teacher/union cooperation?
The charter school, just like Edison schools, is an attempt to alleviate the symptoms of a deeper problem instead of getting to the root issue. If District 150 education is terrible — and based on test scores, it is for many — shouldn’t our focus be on fixing that problem at the root level and not just trying to provide an escape hatch for some lucky children who (literally) win the lottery to get out of their failing school?
2. School choice argument
Second, District 150 parents want and deserve choice: a high-quality education, a longer school day and year, and more opportunities for their children to be successful. Parents know it is critical for their children to have solid skills in math, science and technology to be prepared for college and career. They’re asking for options, and our School Board must be responsive to those requests.
I expected this argument to be advocating choice between a school with a math and science emphasis and a school with another emphasis, such as fine arts or vocational training. But instead, it appears the choice he’s talking about is between things like a poor education and a high-quality education, or a shorter and a longer school day. What kind of choice is that? Who opts for fewer opportunities for their children to be successful?
District 150 parents want and deserve and have been asking for a high-quality education at every District 150 school. The Board must be responsive to that request first and foremost.
3. Federal funding argument
Third, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are calling for education reform and emphasizing charter schools as a key component. They’ve seen firsthand the success of charter school students. Establishing a charter school in Peoria increases the possibility of additional federal funding for District 150. Without a charter school, we’ll have a much harder time accessing Race to the Top funding.
It’s funny that politicians see “the success of charter school students” when a recent Stanford University National Charter School Study found that 17 percent of 2403 charter schools showed more growth than their traditional public school peers, 46 percent had performance that was “indistinguishable” from traditional public schools, and 37 percent of charter schools were actually worse. But never mind that.
Here’s the carrot for District 150 to say “yes” to spending $1.7 million on PCSI: more federal funding. If you want to get access to “Race to the Top” funding, you first have to race to establish a charter school. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually get much, if any, “Race to the Top” funding. It just “increases the possibility.” It’s a gamble. Spend $1.7 million on a charter school, spin the wheel, and hope Arne Duncan remembers what a grand time he had with the mayor when he starts writing checks.
The conclusion
I don’t often agree with school board president Debbie Wolfmeyer, but I do in this case: How can the district seriously consider opening a new school for $1.7 million after they just closed Woodruff to save $1.5 million? How can a group like the Chamber of Commerce, who just got through advocating that we close numerous schools — including a high school — because we have excess capacity and need to save money, turn around and say we need to fund a new charter school that includes middle and high school grades?
I share everyone’s desire for District 150 to offer a better education, but I don’t believe the charter school is the answer. I believe it will only exacerbate District 150’s problems the same way Edison has. Because of the money we’re paying to maintain Edison’s contract, cuts have been made in the traditional schools, including a shortened school day for primary school students.
There needs to be a comprehensive solution that improves public school education for all students district-wide. A charter school with limited enrollment in a failing school district is not much of a draw.
TAKEN FROM THE DISTRICT 150 WEBSITE: “Welcome to the Knoxville Center for Student Success! We are a specialty school in District 150. offering an alternative educational setting for students in grades 5-8 and support services for concerns related to learning, behavior, and attendance. KCSS works closely with Childrens Home, Human Service Center, Lutheran Social Services, New Beginnings, Center for Prevention of Abuse, Counseling and Family Services, Catholic Charities, OSF Dietary and School of Nursing, University of Illinois Extension, New Hope International Ministries, and many other Peoria organizations to provide a level of support necessary for children to succeed in school. Students are accepted into the program following a referral and intake process and are eligible to return to home schools upon successful completion of the program.”
This certainly sounds like an alternative school to me….it is up and running in District 150 addressing many of the issues you speak of Sharon. I would encourage a visit.
Carrie–The places to visit are the 150 middle schools–if behavior is up to standard, then the alternative setting is working. If discipline problems are rampart (say at Trewyn), then the alternative isn’t working. Of course, it definitely doesn’t help the high school if it’s for only grades 5-8. Sorry to be a cynic (or a realist), but I rarely believe these Public Relations assessments of what is happening in 150.
Ah, citing numbers covers all manner of fallacy.
Jon, despite the careful effort you have put into them, your numbers are not conservative, they are entirely speculative. However more reliable 13.3 may be than Sharon’s anecdotal 25, you are combining statistics and assumed estimates that are, though in some ways related, not directly linked. If the charter school takes 225 students from District 150, it will take those students from schools all over the district. Whatever the average ratio of students to staff, such a loss of students will not allow the district to eliminate a magical 17 positions, or necessarily save the other specific costs you cite. You could as meaningfully multiply 225 by 13.3 as divide, because the premise underlying the calculation is faulty.
We might assume that removing those students from other district schools will have to save costs somewhere, but the reality would require a much more sophisticated and certain analysis than you suggest, and require large scale reorganization that will not occur this year. Each school still must provide a full range of services to the students who remain, and the district cannot eliminate 10% of a janitor from one school, or 12.5% of a math teacher from another school. This is precisely why the argument for consolidating the 4 high schools into 3 following the large decline in student population over the last 30 years made sense as a method of saving money. The district may eventually be able to reduce operating costs elsewhere in the district by reorganizing the other schools, but the simple fact that the charter school will shift 225 students does not guarantee any specific savings based on the current per student cost to run all of the other district schools combined. It may just mean that 13.3 will drop to 13.09 (assuming 2007-2008 enrollment, itself a very large assumption: 14307 – 225 / (14307/13.3) ).
The only certainty is that a private organization has estimated that it can provide a charter school education to those students at a cost to the district of $1.7M in the first year. (Certainty is relative when considering any estimate, as the estimate is only as reliable as the estimator and his data, both of which should be scrutinized.) Certainly the outsourcing cost duplicates the district’s current costs to educate those students, but how much of those current costs can be avoided is suspect, especially in the time frame the charter proponents are now demanding. Whatever costs ultimately end up being avoided, however, the district will not be able to avoid paying the costs of the proposed charter school if it is implemented. The district’s money must follow those students wherever they go, regardless of the results.
Jack
Jack, if anecdotal data is defined as ” Based on casual observations or indications,” then I am not sure why you characterterize my numbers as such. I FOIAd the class sizes of all District 150 English, social studies, math, science, business, and foreign language courses–so the numbers are the class counts for 1st semester of 2009/10. I didn’t say that the average was 25–I said that 38% of the classes had enrollments of 25 or higher.
I do understand your arguments, however–good additions to the conversation. I have been amazed at how varied the course offerings are from one high school to another. For instance, Woodruff offers many electives in the business department that are not offered at any other school–I’m not certain how the district will resolve this issue. Will the WHS students be deprived of their business courses and what courses will replace them–will the WHS students find themselves singing and dancing in the Fine Arts Department at Peoria High? Various high level math, science, and language courses are offered in one or two schools but not in the others. These differences in course offerings are bound to make the process of placing the Woodruff students more difficult.
I’m trying to get a copy of the D150 2007-2008 academic calendar–specifically, January ’08. What was the January start date after the holiday break? I’ve been trying to locate a copy of this calendar on-line.
Jack, of course the analysis would need to be more sophisticated to get a more accurate estimate of the costs savings and is speculation on my part. But in a system with 1,030 teachers, you are telling me you can’t cut 17? In a district that has lost 10% of its students in the past decade, but has only reduced the number of teachers by 1% during that same time, those 17 can’t be found?
Let’s take some samples to see how efficient the system is currently run. Here are the 6th and 8th grade average class sizes (yes, all classes, Sharon, including spec ed) for some middle schools:
Coolidge 13.0 and 15.8
Columbia 21.5 and 13.5
Lincoln 19.1 and 19.0
Sterling 10.4 and 12.7
Von Steuben 23.2 and 25.8
Notice the disparity between schools and in some cases between grades in the same school. So, yes, Jack, my call to further consolidate schools, but in the meantime, I think the district can find those 17. And keep in mind that there is 30% mobility of kids moving from one school to another WITHIN the same year. How many more are moving schools from one year to the next? So, yea, there is a lot of planning and upheaval, and the charter will add to that (though the lottery process would happen well before the summer planning time so that you’d know where those 225 will come from), but it is hardly impossible.
Oh, and since you carefully read my speculative analysis, you’ll note I didn’t talk about cutting 10% of a janitor – I didn’t estimate any of that kind of savings – just noting it would occur once schools are closed and consolidated. Likewise, you said “Certainly the outsourcing cost duplicates the district’s current costs to educate those students” No, it is based on 90% of the current cost. Go to the district website and pour thru the financial data submitted by the charter school and scrutinize the assumptions for yourself.
TR64: The January start date after holiday break was January 7, 2008.
Jon, why did you leave out the 5th and 7th grade enrollment figures? How did you arrive at these averages? Incomplete information gives an inaccurate picture–or was that your intention? As I did to compute my averages, please tell me how many students are in each room–without including the special ed students that are in separate rooms. Please explain to me why you don’t want to give an accurate account of students in the regular classrooms? Is your reason all about money? Special ed is a fact of life–yes, it’s expensive because of class sizes. Even if special ed students are mainstreamed, the law–I believe–requires the presence of special ed teachers (which explains why the teacher/pupil ratio is lower in some classrooms).
Number of special ed and resource teachers at each school you mentioned (which probably means low class counts):
Calvin Coolidge 6
Lincoln 8
Von Steuben 7
Columbia 3
Sterling (over 28 teachers, special teachers, etc. in self-contained classrooms because of the speech and hearing impaired enrollment–which undoubtedly accounts for the very low enrollment).
Please, Jon, don’t prove the adage that figures don’t lie but liars can figure.
Jack, Jon, anyone else that likes to calculate – can you figure for me the cost of the mass exodus of the middle class from the District over the last decade? The community has already paid a huge price due to the City and the District’s inaction. Creation of more options such as the Charter School are long overdue.
I applaud CAT for finally stepping forward and financially supporting the Charter School development which can and should be the catalyst for even more dramatic changes within the District. Sharon, believe me, CAT is not supporting the Charter School on behalf of its employees because those with school-aged children don’t send their children to District 150.
Families that care about education look at the numbers alright, school rankings that is. The 2009 Chicago Sun-Times Top 100 Public High School rankings lists Dunlap 19th, Morton 27th , Tremont 33rd, Metamora 52nd, Princeville 79th, and Farmington 94th.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/1854961,top-100-high-schools-1009.article
The District has got to get on the ball and do something and a Charter School is a step in the right direction.
Frustrated, please tell me again how this charter school will help 150’s image. The charter school is a public school, but technically not a 150 school. The building is 150’s; the students are in the 150 area–that’s the end of the connection. 150 will not get the building or the students back unless the charter school fails. 200+ families will be happy–there will be no change for the rest. C.J. was so right–choice should mean a choice between two equally good options. You are presenting this school as a haven away from the problems of 150. It won’t happen, but I think it would be wonderful irony if those who won the lottery were all from Peoria’s southside. I wonder how long it would take for all those donors to try to get their money back–including Caterpillar. If I had the energy and the inclination, I would personally see to it that all the south-side children applied–I hope someone does just that. In the end, I am going to be curious to see how many parents want their children going to school in the Loucks building–not the ideal or safest spot for a school. The building was the excuse for shutting down Edison–I guess we all now know there was another reason for shutting it down–Edison failed at Loucks.
Sharon, I take my data, including averages, from the school report cards:
http://iirc.niu.edu/Default.aspx
The report cards provide a ton, but not all of the information. It is a snapshot. For middle school class sizes, it only shows 6th and 8th grades. That is why 5th and 7th aren’t included.
In a previous discussion, a person going by the name “someone who knows” said that D150 used a different criteria to determine who is spec ed. The state has come in and required a uniform way of doing it (as uniform as can be, it would seem). In the PJStar, it was noted D150 has, if memory serves, 24% of its population as spec ed, compared to the state average of 15%. So, either Peoria has some anomaly that makes it have so many more spec ed students, or D150 is a little more “lenient” in determining who is spec ed. But, thank you, knowing more about Sterling clearly explains why the average class sizes are lower there compared to the other schools.
Your last insinuation is disappointing.
Couple of points real quick. I looked at that site and Richwoods is 124- Not as good as I had hoped, but we are going in the right direction. I also enjoyed looking at the following info:
Pupil-to-Teacher/Administrator Ratios
District State
Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Elementary) 18.1 18.4
Pupil-Teacher Ratio (High School) 19.8 18.0
Pupil-Administrator Ratio 164.6 201.8
Pupil-Certified Staff Ratio 12.2 13.3
According to this, we are pretty close to the state average in everything except one (H.S. we actually are over the state average)
The building was used as the excuse for closing Loucks? And then PSD150 moved the TJ students to the problem building?
Jon, traditionally, the hearing impaired students are in program at Sterling, as are many at-risk or ECE preschoolers. Sharon, PreK students with speech/language impairments aren’t in specialized classrooms there to the best of my knowledge. There used to be a phonologially-based preschool program at Sterling, but that ended several years ago.
My FOIA request for enrollment at D150 schools over the last 5 years indicates that Sterling has just over 100 preschoolers enrolled there as of the end of 2008-09…of the 403 students at Sterling, only 3/4 of them were true middle-schoolers.
And, as for why D150’s special ed numbers are high…there are a variety of reasons that might be the case. Over-identification certainly is the most viable option, at least in my opinion…
I’m just trying to figure out where Jon is coming from or where he is going. I realize that the state figures class size averages by including special ed students. However, District 150 has to look at class sizes from a very different angle. When teachers and/or parents complain that a class has 28-32 students (especially, in lower grades), District 150 can’t say, “I’m sorry; you must be mistaken; our average class size is 13.3.” Also, when they decide to close a school, they certainly need to know if there is room elsewhere for the students–150 messed up with the Tyng kindergarteners (forgot to find a place for them). Jon, because you won’t give an inch on this issue, you must have some very special reason for sticking with the 13.3 number–don’t leave us in the dark about your motivations. J.C. Friberg, thanks for the info–I am not knowledgeable about the situation at Sterling. When I looked at the website, I was surprised to see so many classes listed as “self-contained.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I assumed the classes were small. I am correct in my belief that the hearing-impaired program is excellent, right?
Yes, Kohlrabi, go figure!
So sorry to put my two-cents worth in here, however, since I firmly believe that the BOE reads this blog, I am adding my thoughts. I would love the idea of a true charter school if we didn’t have an existing mountain of unresolved issues. This charter school for the 2010-2011 school year will not resolve anything. With the closing of Woodruff to save money, this would be a slap in the tax-payers faces if this is approved. How can we think for a minute that this will help attract families to Peoria? Any prospective family considering Peoria as a home, simpy needs to utilize their favorite search engine and research PSD150. A charter school with 600 hand-picked 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students will not be the magnet that attracts families to buy a home and settle into Peoria. I won’t even attempt to list the headlines that surface upon a search of PSD150. I am trying hard to be a positive blogger, I am just begging this BOE to vote NO for this charter school this time around. Please fix some of the issues that we have on our plate. Once we have cleaned up some of our messes, then by all means let’s bring this back. In case any of you have forgotten, you voted to close a high school. This is a big change for the city of Peoria and we have got to focus on preparing for 3 high schools vs. 4 high schools come August. This is not something that is going to go away folks. You voted for the closing of a high school and you got it. It is time to roll up your sleeves and prepare for the fallout. I will also remind you that the Chamber of Commerce stood at the podium and endorsed the closing of a high school; now this same group wants a charter school? My brain is spinning from the recollection of the course of events that have taken place in the PSD150 the past 12 months. Please vote NO!
Here’s the stats that caught my eye…
Avg. Teacher Salary: $55,725
Avg. Teacher Experience: 13.7 Years
Instructional Expenditure
Per Pupil (2007-08): $6,518
Operational Expenditure
Per Pupil (2007-08): $11,398
Low Income: 70%
with 13,825 students, $90,111,000 is spent in instructional expenses while $157,577,350 is non-instructional (administration, real estate, etc)
THAT, and the AVERAGE teacher salary is $55G + and the average teacher has 14 years experience… wow… what does a 25 or 30 year teacher make?
LOOK AT THIS: racial makeup of students
year White Black Hispanic
1999 42.2 53.9 2.1
2009 29.8 61.2 5.9
dlb says, “…the Chamber of Commerce stood at the podium and endorsed the closing of a high school; now this same group wants a charter school…”
And they want a charter school that will include (eventually) grades 9-12! That’s what’s so mystifying. We have excess capacity for four high schools, so we need to close one . . . and then establish another!
Frustrated — Why do you think the charter school would stem “the mass exodus of the middle class from the District”? They only accept 75 students for each grade, and it’s by lottery. If your children don’t get in, they’re relegated to one of the schools you say families are fleeing. Who would move to Peoria and apply to the charter school with such a small chance of enrolling their children? Who would take that gamble when they can move to Dunlap or Germantown Hills and be guaranteed a seat in a successful school? I don’t see the draw.
Let me ask you C.J. — why is Peoria so unique that charter schools are not a good fit for this community and yet almost all other inner city school districts throughout the country, facing the same issues, have chosen to implement them?
The District to me has two distinct problems, only one of which it addresses currently. One, is a significant population of poor and/or underperforming students that are hard to educate – this problem is one the District spends lots of energy and funds to address, i.e. the “new” Manual, the birth through infinity schools in development, etc., even if its’ efforts have failed to result in much improvement.
The 2nd and mostly unaddressed issue, is the education of those average (and slightly below average students) not to mention high achieving students. And contrary to what Sharon seems to believe, the aforementioned students are of all races, colors, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I see the development of a charter school as an olive branch reaching out to those families that are teetering on leaving the District as their young children age up, as well as, those that want more for their children but do not have the means to move out of Peoria. I know a number of families in your area that were pleased with the education that Whittier offered their children, but then opted out of District 150 once their children reached middle school age because the MS serving your area was unsatisfactory to them. The District needs to offer more options to retain these families and the charter school is a start.
I realize the proposed charter school will not be a cure all for the District, but it’s a bold beginning. It demonstrates a new approach by the District that is worth exploring and thus offers hope for many families, which is something in very short supply in Peoria. If this Charter School proves successful perhaps the District will bring other charter or magnet schools online.
Frustrated — I don’t think it “demonstrates a new approach by the District.” It sounds to me just like the same rationale that brought us the “‘new’ Manual, the birth through infinity schools,” Edison, etc. They’re all programs that have shown success elsewhere, that have been brought in to “fix” the district, that offer “choice,” that promise to be a draw for parents to stay in District 150, and that have come with a price. They have all set up inequalities within the district as more money is spent per student at Manual, more instructional time is spent with students at Edison schools, etc., than time or money is spent at traditional public schools. Traditional public schools continue to languish as resources are allocated elsewhere.
Even if the charter school were revenue neutral and the boon to student achievement it claims to be, I just don’t see the value in a strategy that continues to divide District 150 into the haves and the have-nots, while claiming to be good for the district because it helps some students. Imagine for a moment if the district were just one school and everyone were in the same building — would you advocate a teaching plan that would only help one-tenth of the students and leave the rest behind? Or even one-third? Would you say it was a bold beginning that offers hope for families? Would you settle for 10-33% as the best we can expect? I don’t find it acceptable, and I don’t believe you would either.
I go back to my original observation. This isn’t a secret recipe. What the charter school can offer is not something that is proprietary, but something that is widely known. District 150 doesn’t need the Chamber of Commerce to do it. They can do it themselves. In fact, if it’s that effective, and the district knows it’s that effective and could help student achievement across the board, then it’s inexcusable that they wouldn’t roll it out district-wide immediately. Why don’t they?
And the answer to that question is the discussion this community should be having (and resolving) — not whether we should approve a charter school or not.
”Traditional public schools continue to languish as resources are allocated elsewhere.” You are starting to sound like Sharon now C.J. Oh, if we could only bring back the good old days. What is your definition of a “traditional” public school? Is Dunlap a traditional public school? Is Morton? Are charter schools and magnet school a way of segmenting the population within a diverse community, you bet! But in my mind it is not to prefer some students over others but to offer a specialized curriculum to better meet students’ needs.
I personally have no problem with the District spending more per pupil at Manual. According to Sharon (and state test scores) many of its’ students have social and academic problems that need to be addressed in some manner other than the “traditional” public school format. After all, wasn’t Manual a “traditional” public high school before it was reorganized? Perhaps the John Hopkins Program is not the answer, perhaps more time is needed for this program to bear fruit, or perhaps intervention at the high school level is simply too late and Hinton’s new community schools will be the answer. I think if the District does not continue to try new approaches we will not know.
“Imagine for a moment if the district were just one school and everyone were in the same building — would you advocate a teaching plan that would only help one-tenth of the students and leave the rest behind?” Well, first of all, by creating a charter school, it does not mean all the rest of the MS teachers in the District will stop teaching. As Jon has suggested, there may be adjustments and consolidation of schools down the road but . . . I don’t see how any MS in the District will be any better or worse because of the creation of this school. After all, as you said – there are only a limited number of students the school will serve.
Finally, if every student of the District was housed in one building, I would definitely group students in learning pods in order for a curriculum to be delivered to each learning group that best serves their needs. I would not let one group languish in order to allow another to succeed, but really, I don’t see how one charter school can have that effect?? I see the various schools existing in the District and the ones it appears they are envisioning in the future to be doing just that – taking students’ abilities as they find them and working from there, customizing education delivery to best serve the population the school is charged with educating.
Frustrated — I use “traditional public school” simply to mean a school that doesn’t have a special program associated with it. We can use whatever term you prefer. In any case, these are the schools that are failing and parents are fleeing.
I feel like we’re talking in circles here.
According to charter school advocates, the goal is for the charter school to have a similar demographic to D150 as a whole (this would include, but not be limited to, poor, ELL, minority, and special ed students). The students will not be chosen by their aptitude for this particular program/curriculum — this is not an intervention for one particular type of student (e.g., ones with social or academic problems), in other words — but rather students will be chosen by lottery (and presumably could include some with, for example, social or academic problems). And charter school proponents promise that academic performance will improve if they’re allowed to teach these students using the methods outlined in their charter application, which are not new, but time-tested and widely known teaching methods.
Given that information, I don’t understand why that model would not work in every school. Why wouldn’t it? Same demographics. No cherry-picking. Same challenges as the rest of the district. Yet different results. Why not use the same methods, but instead of giving a few kids (and, at least in the short run, no small amount of money) to the Chamber of Commerce to educate that way, why not roll out the same methods themselves to all the traditional public schools? Wouldn’t that do greater good for all students in D150?
You say, “in my mind it is not to prefer some students over others but to offer a specialized curriculum to better meet students’ needs.” Where’s the specialized curriculum to better meet traditional public school students’ needs? There is none!
You say, “I don’t see how any MS in the District will be any better or worse because of the creation of this school.” Exactly. And you earlier said that parents were fleeing District 150 because of some of these middle schools. That’s my point. We’re leaving these schools behind, doing nothing to improve them, while we spend our time, money, and energy setting up a new charter school. We should be looking for ways to improve all the schools — to help all the students — not just some of them. Again, if the charter school’s methods are so successful, why not just implement them at all the middle schools (or at least at the ones that don’t already have a special program)?
Frustrated: When did I ever give you this impression, “And contrary to what Sharon seems to believe, the aforementioned students are of all races, colors, and socioeconomic backgrounds”? Why would I of all people believe that there aren’t average and above average children of all races–when there are 7 black and/or “mixed” (never sure what label to use) children in my own life (my cousins’ two children and the five of whom I speak often). I frequently speak of “inner city” or southside children–but I usually do not designate race.
I guess you were issuing C.J. the ultimate putdown: “You are starting to sound like Sharon now C.J.” 🙂 Well, I do agree with everything C.J. has said, but I’m quite sure he did his own thinking–and there are many people who feel as he does; his view is too sensible and logical to be ignored. Also, you continue to believe that Manual is offering a solution–the Johns Hopkins program or the current administration is not solving any problems at Manual. Why do I say that–because discipline remains a major problem and because high performing students (and there are such students at Manual) were not given the option to leave when a program for fifth and sixth grade readers was instituted.
There will be a meeting at Godfather’s at 6 p.m. The charter school will be the main topic at Monday’s meeting–I’m sure that both pro and con will speak at the podium.
Meeting Sunday?
I thought we already had a fix for district 150? Private schools? I think you are all right quit spending money on programs and charter schools and anything else. We already have options. Anywhere but 150.
Yes, Charlie, Sunday–thanks.
C.J., Your answer to Frustrated “You say, “in my mind it is not to prefer some students over others but to offer a specialized curriculum to better meet students’ needs.” Where’s the specialized curriculum to better meet traditional public school students’ needs? There is none!
I am so glad to hear you say that–I knew I would be considered too old and out of step to utter such words. I think we forget that children learn the same way they always did–that the basics (like reading skills) have to be mastered before they can tackle any specialized curriculum. That is one of the reasons that I object to the Johns Hopkins program. How can young people who can’t read at grade level be ready for any kind of “pathways to careers” courses. They aren’t ready for any career. I believe districts all over the country have bought into “exciting” new more relevant programs, etc., thinking they could motivate children by just skipping the basics and by doing exciting projects.
Jon, I am not saying you could never find 17 positions to cut. I am simply saying you cannot assume that 17 positions can automatically be eliminated simply because you have removed 225 students and the average number of students per position is 13.3. 225/13.3 may equal about 17, but it is an entirely speculative calculation because you are assuming a direct link between those numbers that is not supported.
Some might argue that you could assume a number much higher than 13.3, based on Jon’s characterization of the number as conservative or building on Sharon’s point that some classes have as many as 25 students, or even 28-32 students (though I would not want to detract from their spirited arguments by suggesting that they agree with each other). Unfortunately, throwing a narrower range of numbers at an average does not always elucidate a particular problem, either. Naturally, we would have to know exactly who each of those 225 students was to know what specific resources they might command as a group in relation to the range of all district 150 students. However, even this number (which neither Jon’s average 13.3 nor Sharon’s anecdotal 25, or 28, or 32 can identify for us) is not a valid basis for estimating cost savings, because you cannot assume that all of the resources supporting those 225 students can be eliminated simply because you remove them from the district. (In case a definition is necessary, by anecdotal I mean: evidence that may itself be true and verifiable, but is used to deduce a conclusion that does not follow from it, usually by generalizing from an insufficient amount of evidence.) As Jon and Sharon both point out, a lot goes into the district’s allocation of teacher and other resources in each school, and it varies a great deal from year to year anyway. The movement of 225 students is relatively insignificant compared to the large scale and unpredictable movements that occur from year to year and within each year among Peoria’s highly transient student population, and probably falls within the statistical variation the district has already calculated into its procurement of resources for next year. This only reinforces the argument for consolidation which Jon seems to support, and I was certainly not maligning. (For the record, I did not mean to suggest that Jon had stated a specific estimate of savings on janitorial staff – I was merely waxing comical with the image of partially amputated janitors shambling around school halls, an insensitive image that should be blamed solely on my own whim). However, the kind of restructuring such consolidation would require to maximize the cost savings on those 225 students, taken randomly from schools across the district, will not occur this year. At least wait for a new superintendent to take the reins before hoping for such maximization.
The theory behind charter schools is not to fix an entire school district, though many may use that theme as a rallying point. As C.J. points out, changing the educational setting for well less than 2% of the student population does not go far towards changing, for good or for ill, the overall experience in the district. The theory, although it may have some flaws, is to encourage educational innovation by allowing a private organization run a school unfettered by the burdens weighing down the typical school district. For instance, a privately run charter school would not be handicapped by a teachers’ union that refuses to accept a merit pay system. (Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that the union’s position was unrelated to money.) There are a number of these practical reasons why the self purportedly proven model cannot be adopted wholesale across the entire district. Of course, an innovative charter school may, a proponent would hope, generate at least some good ideas that could be adopted in other schools in the district. But then, if the method to be used by the charter school is already so well proven and established, one might question the need for further experimentation. (Perhaps we might hypothesize that geographical variations require additional sampling?)
In any event, the idea of innovative charter schools has become politically sexy, thus the tie in to federal money. Of course, a large percentage of charter school projects never get off the ground after being granted, and of those that do, a large percentage do not become successful. However, charter schools are more small scale experiments, so probably not worthy of the attention that they receive. Unfortunately, the promise of a top flight education seems to have the same effect on the public as the promise of $121M – in the end, lottery tickets are for people who cannot do math (and if they cannot do math, they probably have no business managing $121M anyway). At least the charter school proponents are being more generous than Charlie, and offering 225 golden tickets. The more salient point for now seems to be that many citizens in Peoria want a charter school, and that Cat has chosen to throw its considerable weight behind the project. In the larger scheme, the end result will likely be relatively insignificant in terms of improving on the overall district, although it may have some effect on perception if properly marketed. And who knows, the charter school may prove to be a success – it is not the panacea some believe, but it probably would not be a bad school.
In reality, many of the problems complained about cannot be “fixed” (such a pejorative term anyway – “I perceive this to be a problem that you’re not fixing fast enough for me” – when did we become entitled to such petulance in our public discourse?), certainly not by the school district. Peoria has a disproportionally high percentage of students below the poverty line, special ed students, and federally funded students (these are systemic issues, not imaginary or “over-identified”). Peoria schools have an extremely high turnover rate as a result of a highly transient student population. Peoria currently has a relatively stagnant population, after declining over the last four decades. (Peoria has dropped from 126,963 as of the 1970 census to 113,546 as of the 2007 census, for a variety of reasons – the claim that the decrease in student population has occurred solely in the last 10 years or solely because of the school district is an erroneous attempt to justify the tired mantra, “the district sucks”). A more productive approach would be to accept the current external situational forces, concentrate less on partisan rhetoric, and focus on fixing the budget and reorganizing the district to function better in its current environment (which seems to be most people’s current agenda, despite the incessant cries of “woe is the district” and billingsgate of blame). Closing one of the high school seems like a good step, and long overdue. After all, by the 1990 census, Peoria was already down to 113,504, within 42 souls of 2007.
In the alternative, I suppose you could always bring whiskey production back and let the good times roll.
Jack
It appears that the principal at Lindbergh Middle School has resigned. There will be a mtng with teachers after school today.
so, another black eye for the “best” school in D150! Maybe if wisconsin ave. got on their knees and beg…..perhaps a real top quality administrator like Julie McArdle might come back and clean up yet another mess….(not likely). sometimes you don’t know how good you got it till its gone…..and Julie McArdle was TOP NOTCH INTEGRITY…..FOR THE KIDS…..
Excellent analysis, Jack, much of which I agree. However, I didn’t see a decision with respect to the charter school. How would you vote? Do you want to continue to analyze how to fix the budget and reorganize the district – or do you want to take this step, however small, with the charter school that will arguably attempt to do both? Are you opposed to it because the step is too small? Or maybe you just want to wait for a new superintendent to come in to make the decisions? I would love to see a more comprehensive plan for the entire district – but I’m tired of waiting. I’d love to see MORE change, but for many of the reasons you addressed, I believe it will only happen incrementally.
Channel 31 website states, “Students at Peoria’s Thomas Jefferson Primary School won’t return to the building until August.” Won’t that be a bit of a problem for the charter school if it is going to use the old Loucks building now occupied by Thomas Jefferson?
Mike Plunkett is named interim principal at Lindbergh effective immediately. “District 150, where remarkable happens every day.” Yep.
What is going on at Lindbergh? Are the Fab Five responsible for this too? When will this madness end? I feel like we are living in a Willie Wonka candy factory.
Please don’t give the fab five credit for this one. The guy they hired was laxidasical at best. He let THEM run the school, which is what they like. Yep, the tail waggin the dog—again. Wonder if Plunkett will let that continue?
Bless you Jack! I agree with much of what you said and it responds to many of C.J.s questions to me.
Where’s the specialized curriculum to better meet traditional public school students’ needs? There is none. (responds C.J.) That is simply not true.
There are examples of District 150s schools successfully educating students without a “special program associated with it” such as Whittier, Charter Oak, Kellar, Lindbergh, Rolling Acres, Mark Bills. There are also “special programs” throughout the District, i.e. Valeska Hinton, Northmoor Edison, Washington Gifted, Knoxville Center for Success, Manual, etc. designed to deliver education using a different approach. Clearly there are gaps to be filled in the process, as there are students that are not thriving under a “traditional” model (whatever that exactly is) and so the Board has approved the creation of two birth through 8th community schools which will offer yet another approach, different from the “traditional” public school.
The proposed charter school is to be a math, science, and technology school, which by law, is to offer a more “rigorous” curriculum. How is replication of this offering the right solution to fix all that is broken in the District? I would imagine those families making application for their children to attend this school would do so because their student has some basic aptitude and/or interest in the subject matter and would have a likelihood of excelling in such subjects. I would also imagine at the informational meetings designed to describe the education program to parents, prior to their application, the school will tell parents (or at least they should) that the curriculum will be demanding and their will be a lot of homework because math and science are difficult subjects to master. I don’t think all parents and students of the District are prepared to take on the learning tasks that will be expected of them at this charter school.
Sharon states “the basics (like reading skills) have to be mastered before they can tackle any specialized curriculum.” I whole-heartedly agree. The same is true for math. So with that idea in mind, those best suited to take advantage of what will be offered at a math and science charter school are students that have progressed adequately (not gifted) through grades K-4 and unfortunately there are many students in the District that have not, and therefore, IMO those students would be better served through some other education model.
Frustrated, I think we agree on everything except who is going to provide the programs and where they will be provided. If the very best is offered to the southside students (best in terms of what meets their educational needs), then I have no objection to programs that go beyond the basics for those who are ready–and I think that can happen in the same building–no separate buildings are necessary. 150 used to deliver to all and still could–I still say and will continue to say that the discipline problems stand in the way; they must be addressed or 150 may as well be taken over by charter schools, private schools, etc.–but I want someone to try, at least. I hope that was coherent–I need to return to feeding the three children that what seconds.
150 Teacher, had Hise been warned about “the fab 5?” It could be that they offered to be so supportive and helpful that he had no idea what was happening until it was too late. My friend has 2 children there and she said she really liked him. Someone somewhere mentioned that Hise was also a “whistleblower.” Does anyone have information on this? Did this pertain to his previous employment or his recent employment with Dist. 150?
MD hired him. What do you think. Of course he let the freaky five run the show, they wanted to and he let them (less work for him). I also heard something about him being a whistleblower at his last district, something to do with athletic code violations I believe. A teacher told me that she walked past his office one day and noticed that all the misbehaving students in his office were doing the “chicken dance” with him. ooooo, it doesn’t pay to get in trouble at Lindbergh, you may have to DANCE………I know that will definitely make them think twice about making another poor choice. lol
“MD hired him. What do you think.” 150, teacher, I didn’t know MD hired him…… no need to be snippy.
Sorry MAWB: this district really irritates me with all the CRAP they spread around this community by not doing their JOBS. From closing Woodruff to save 1.7 million a year (even though all the administrators are going to Central so there will be double administrators over there), to spending 1.5 million on a Charter School so kids “who want to learn” won’t have to be in class with naughty kids. No real alternative school, teacher’s treated badly by principals, adding hours to our work day and rewarding us with NO raise. It’s pathetic because districts around us are giving their teachers and staff raises. Probably because they do not grab every program that comes knocking on their doors. Again, sorry, just tired of the same ole, same ole in this district and too old to be wanted by another……
With the appointment of Mike Plunkett as interim principal, the Lindbergh students can now say they will have had at least 4 principals in 3 years. Sounds like the same type of mess Sterling School had back in the mid-90s…. a new principal whose name escapes me left mid year, followed by Bob Carruthers serving as interim, followed by Chris Perry. Then Perry didn’t stay at Sterling the following year. How many interims does it take to run a school district? Durflinger, Barnwell….. and the list goes on. C’mon….. hire a principal to do the job at Lindbergh who will be around for awhile and give the students and staff some continuity in leadership and direction.
150 teacher, apology accepted!! I am shocked they allowed someone who was under investigation, especially for indiscretions at the same school, do the hiring. From what I have read about Charter schools, I think I am all for them, sans Wolfmeyer and Hinton! Why would those two people be asked to be involved?
Silentmajority: had Mary Davis not been a crook, Julie McArdle would still be at Lindbergh!
“It’s pathetic because districts around us are giving their teachers and staff raises. Probably because they do not grab every program that comes knocking on their doors.”
Or because they have large influxs of families moving into the district which in turn means more money to give raises. Peoria has the reverse of that as seen by the enrollment data over the last decade. Its pretty straight forward and is alot less political then you seem to want it to be 150 teacher.
unless you live it everyday Stephen, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything that happens in D150 is political, from what schools are “chosen” to be closed, to which coaches get to keep their positions, to where you are transferred (based on who your relatives are), to who you are “dating”, to how fast you move up the proverbial ladder. Yes, it’s politics (as usual) in D150. Still waiting for FAIRNESS, with regard to hard work….something my father did not FAIL to instill in me…
Your arguing that districts that are growing and seeing rapid influx of new money from new construction and property taxes, by the way this equals enrollment numbers, do not have more available new, or more incentive to pay more to attract the best staff, money then a district that has shrunk considerablly over the past decade? You are paid fairly in my opinion. Until you work my job everyday you dont know what your talking about. Thats what your trying to say correct? You work in a district that is a place most people do not choose to send their children whereas the districts surrounding you are highly desireable. Why shouldnt they pay their staff more due to the fact that the schools are attracting people to move there? My high school consolidated while I attended it, the world didnt end by the way. Maybe once the district has restructured and closes all its unnessacary facilities you can get that raise?
What did Mike Plunkett do to deserve this? I blame Dave Barnwell for obviously refusing to do it again. The District is notorious for plugging their holes with these two “go to” guys.
Why are they searching around for a new Superintendent? Give the job to Mike and Dave. These two guys would do it and could split Hinton’s salary between them. We would have two of the best hearts and minds in the Tri-county area.
EYEBROWS???? School Board??? Are you paying attention? Plunkett and Barnwell-
CO- SUPERINTENDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!