In Albuquerque, A Charter School that Recruits Drop-Outs?
Last month I visited ACE Leadership High School, a charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What I saw there challenged some of my thinking about this sector.
As regular readers know, I have been critical of efforts to expand charter schools, which are often in competition with regular public schools for students and funding. I have cited reasons of fairness, because some charter schools are selective about who they admit, accepting fewer special education and English learners, and losing lower performers through attrition. But in Albuquerque, I found an exception to this pattern.
The Architecture, Construction and Engineering Leadership High School is in a light industrial building on the north edge of old town Albuquerque. When I visited recently, students were in the throes of preparing for an exhibition of their work, projects focused on various aspects of fractals. Students start their day with a meeting in a large open area in the center of the building. Teachers make announcements, reminding students about projects that are due. Since visitors are here, they are reminded of one of the school's guiding statements: "Build your reputation."
The students then did some calisthenics on the carpet, and visitors joined in, though I am afraid I was not quite up to speed on the pushups. Once this was over, students
The Architecture, Construction and Engineering Leadership High School is in a light industrial building on the north edge of old town Albuquerque. When I visited recently, students were in the throes of preparing for an exhibition of their work, projects focused on various aspects of fractals. Students start their day with a meeting in a large open area in the center of the building. Teachers make announcements, reminding students about projects that are due. Since visitors are here, they are reminded of one of the school's guiding statements: "Build your reputation."
The students then did some calisthenics on the carpet, and visitors joined in, though I am afraid I was not quite up to speed on the pushups. Once this was over, students