tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355898147604156555.post4275130592789805981..comments2024-01-12T03:48:18.749-08:00Comments on What's the big idea?: People in the burbs need to worry about charter schools, too...Danielle Arnold-Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14704750163286445791noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355898147604156555.post-88063525646729014762014-04-01T18:46:49.997-07:002014-04-01T18:46:49.997-07:00I greatly appreciate your experience and perspecti...I greatly appreciate your experience and perspective. As someone who turns to the NAACP for their perspective, I trust that they have a good pulse on how charter schools help or hinder public school students of color. I don't pretend to have first hand knowledge and know that I always have more to learn. That said, cyber charters have very low success rates and take a lot of money out of the public school systems. It is great that your nephew is finding success. I wish that for all children. It seems that our government is getting off easy allowing cyber schools to take the place of a safe and appropriate education. They should be held accountable. I understand and respect a mother's decision to keep her child safe. It just seems like keeping children behind a screen in their homes is a very isolating way to learn. <br />I worry that not only does it separate children, but it may be unequal.Danielle Arnold-Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14704750163286445791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355898147604156555.post-4706184792987770542014-03-03T21:23:29.132-08:002014-03-03T21:23:29.132-08:00While your argument and position are easily unders...While your argument and position are easily understood - I notice that you've missed something. Choice does not just mean choice for white parents and students it means choice for all parents and students. <br /><br />Being from California, we've already worked out the parental choice issues and the Charter school issues. I actually had my children in a charter school for two years (and I took a job there as their bookkeeper - so I've got a lot of insider knowledge). While the style of education (Montessori) did not turn out to be the best fit for my kids - the school was a good school. They did not get the same per-pupil allocation as a school district does - in California all charters are required to be dependent charters. In addition to the district taking a cut of the per pupil budget for doing nothing (truly, nothing) they also charged the school $35,000 a month to use a closed school that was not to code. In addition to this, they required the school to hire and pay for district janitorial and cafeteria staff for thousands more per month. The credentialed teachers got paid a little less per hour than the public school teachers (no union and no need to pay union dues - so they took it all home themselves). We used state approved/adopted curriculum, met state standards and took state standardized tests to track students academic progress. <br /><br />The school wasn't in the best shape, but it was a happy place. Students were enrolled by lottery - so there was no way to know who was a special needs student until after enrollment occurred. They had special education aids and reading aids and on-site counselors and all the support the kids needed to be successful. They had low class sizes (20 max in all grades k - 8). They had art, music, dance, science, field trips, PE - all the things slowly disappearing from California schools. <br /><br />In Connecticut they jailed a Hispanic mother for enrolling her kids in a school outside her home district by claiming they lived with their grandmother. State of Black Connecticut Alliance pursued this injustice until they got the laws changed in Connecticut so parents desperately seeking a better opportunity don't have to lie to do it. <br /><br />My nephew attends California Virtual Academy online and has for three years (in high school). He lives in a rough part of Los Angeles - going to school safely was no longer an option for him. His Mom took the logical step - she got her kid out of the dangerous school. She put him into a rigorous online education program and he has excelled. He has already passed the California Exit Exam, is tracking with more credits than he needs to graduate, and is still excited about school three years into high school. As a student of color, he could have been another drop-out statistic, now he's on his way to becoming an audio engineer - already being contacted by colleges interested in him because of his high academic achievement. <br /><br />So while some of the things you say about charters and cyber charters may be true in your area of the world (and I love the passion with which you address issues of importance to you) I hope you will have an opportunity to learn about some of the good things associated with parent choice. CAMOMnoreply@blogger.com