Oakland's 'common enrollment' proposal fans the flames of great charter school debate - ContraCostaTimes.com:
Oakland's 'common enrollment' proposal fans the flames of great charter school debate
OAKLAND -- To some, it's a streamlined system that allows families to more easily navigate a daunting array of school applications to find the best fit for their child. To others, it's another Silicon Valley-backed reform tool that would undermine a struggling public school system by promoting charter schools.
A novel proposal by school district leaders to overhaul the school enrollment process would make Oakland the testing ground in the state for a universal enrollment system that allows parents to fill out a single application for their top choices for schools, both district-run and charter.
Charter schools have been school options for Oakland families for decades, despite the fact that some residents in the city's highly segregated neighborhoods with high poverty levels may not realize it, said Superintendent Antwan Wilson. And it's been difficult for the city's most disadvantaged families to learn what all their options are, he said.
"Having a system that is as easy as possible and that doesn't require them to go through multiple steps to enroll is important," he said. "And that's not a pro-charter strategy; that is a pro-child strategy."
The system has already been adopted, some say with mixed results, in Denver, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Newark, New Jersey.
But like in Oakland, proposals for Boston and Philadelphia are meeting resistance because charters compete with public school districts for the same limited education dollars. Opponents fear that an exodus of students to charter schools would decimate the public schools. They say that charter enrollment policies allow them to "cherry pick" students and deny entry to those who will not further their academic goals.
That could be a concern. Some districts that have adopted common enrollment did not require charter schools to align their recruitment and retention policies with their respective public schools, and others allowed charters to opt out of the new program.
In response to critics, Wilson is pushing for the signing of a district-charter school compact, called an "Oakland Public Schools Equity Pledge," which would help ensure an equitable playing field for all Oakland public schools.
"It's all grounded in the principles of equity and ensuring that our students get what they need to be successful," said Wilson, who came from the Denver school district but did not spearhead the switch to common enrollment there.
Oakland's current enrollment system, which district officials say is inefficient and outdated, allows families to fill out a common application to enroll at any of its public schools, ranking their top choices. But the charter schools have separate applications.
The district spends about $1.8 million annually on its enrollment system, and the new common enrollment system would cost an additional $1.4 million to start up. Philanthropic organizations would likely foot that startup bill, but only if charter schools were included, because that's the best way to ensure an equitable system for students, said Gloria Lee, executive director of Educate 78, a pro-charter school group that is linked with Silicon Valley-backed NewSchools Venture Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Walton Family Foundation.
