Denis Smith: The Questions You Should Ask When You Visit a Charter School
Bill Phillis reposts here an article by Denis Smith, who offers sound advice about the questions you should ask if you visit a charter school.
Denis Smith on Ron Rice of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
In a recent column in the Columbus Dispatch, Ron Rice of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools opened his piece with this statement. “The early stage of the 2020 presidential campaign has featured a lot of rhetoric about charter schools. Too much of it has been divorced from the reality of what charter schools are. So I have a special request of all the candidates: Go visit a charter school.”
Denis Smith, who used to work in the Ohio Department of Education’s charter school office, thinks that Ohio citizens should take Rice up on his offer to visit and learn more about schools that call themselves public entities but hide their private dimension. He offers suggestions when visiting a charter.
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The recent Op-Ed by Ron Rice Jr. of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools about the need for candidates to pay attention to charter schools contains an interesting – and inviting – sub-headline:
Cut through the rhetoric and go visit charter schools.
What a wonderful idea! I certainly hope that my fellow citizens will take Mr. Rice up on his request to see what they can find out about these peculiar institutions which are privately managed but publicly funded. If anyone should visit one of these schools, here are some questions visitors should ask to better understand the DNA of charters.
How is the school governed? How are the board members chosen? Since they are not democratically elected by registered voters, like public school board members, whom do they represent? Are the board members American citizens? Do the board members live in the school attendance area? How many other charter school boards might the board members be serving on at the same time?
What about the company that manages the school? Do they own the building in which the school is housed and use operating profits diverted from classroom costs to buy real estate? How much of the school budget is applied to rental costs? Does the management company also own the property where the school is housed? Has the company or school leader populated the board with individuals who may be conflicted with regard to whose interests, rather than the students, come first?
While we’re at it, folks who might visit charters need to find out about the school leader. A lot of charters use imposing titles such as CEO and Superintendent in their listings. But does the school leader have a professional educator license CONTINUE READING: Denis Smith: The Questions You Should Ask When You Visit a Charter School | Diane Ravitch's blog
