Georgia charter schools: Uneven results and delays in closing failing ones
The promise of charter schools was that they would outperform traditional public schools or close.
The AJC had a long front-page story this morning examining the state’s push for more charter schools despite their mixed record and the failure to close the ones that don’t live up to their contractual performance commitments.
Does Georgia need to increase charter school options for parents and kids? (AJC Photo)
In response to the complaint failing charters are not closed, posters on this blog often note failing traditional schools aren’t closed, either. But those failing schools are eligible for an escalating series of state sanctions, and, if the voters agree next year, will also be candidates for absorption into a new state-run school district.
My own view on charter schools has been simple: There are good and bad ones, and any state effort to expand charters should focus on how to replicate the good and prevent the bad. It does not make sense to expand school choice if there are only bad choices.
In covering charter school applicants over the years, I’ve found a precise mission statement, a focused curriculum and a veteran, visionary educator somewhere in the leadership make all the difference in a school’s success.
But even those elements cannot assure continued success in every case. Replication is not easy.
Since opening in Gwinnett in 2008, Ivy Prep Academy has been held out as a model charter school by the state Legislature. The all-girls school graduated its inaugural class of seniors in May.
Buoyed by its success, Ivy Prep expanded to offer two new campuses for boys and girls in DeKalb County in 2011. But the formula has not worked as well for boys. Ivy Prep Young Men’s Leadership Academy is among the Georgia public schools eligible for the proposed new state recovery school district due to its persistently failing scores.
The AJC’s education writer Ty Tagami reports: (This is an excerpt. The MyAJC.com story has a lot more great information. Please read before commenting. )
From the start, the Intown Charter Academy in Atlanta proved a failure. It didn’t meet federal performance guidelines in 2011, its first year, and it remained a disappointment, with unacceptable scores on an annual state measure.
Despite the lackluster performance, it was allowed to continue, serving more than 300 students by the time it was shuttered this spring.
The promise of charter schools was that they would outperform traditional public schools or close. Schools like Intown do eventually get shuttered, but it can take half a decade, with students spending nearly half their school years in a subpar environment.
However, some studies, including one by the state entity that authorizes charter schools, suggests charters are about on par with traditional public schools. The Georgia State Charter Schools Commission recently issued a Georgia charter schools: Uneven results and delays in closing failing ones | Get Schooled:
