William Harwood - Bridging the Public / Charter Divide

Let me preface this article by saying that I am no national expert on education.  I do not spend vast hours delving into the various models of charter schools, nor do I pretend to understand all the challenges that beset public schools.  In fact, I don’t even have my Tennessee Teacher’s License yet; I’m pursuing it now through MTSU.   So, if you’re looking for an omniscience on educational issues at the Diane Ravitch level, you will certainly not find it from me.  Instead, what you will find is an enthusiastic teacher with a demonstrated track record of accomplishments in developing creative educational children’s programs – a Peabody and a CODiE Award – and an unbridled enthusiasm for Knowledge Academies, one of the newest charter schools coming to Nashville.  It is my currently my honor to serve as the curriculum specialist for Knowledge Academies, and, when we open for students in July of 2012, as the 6^th grade language arts teacher.   

Which brings me to my aunt.  While, unfortunately, she must remain nameless, (she was not authorized to speak on the public / charter issue by the official powers that be), I can say that she is a nationally-certified, major award-winning veteran public school teacher in an urban setting who really, and I mean really, knows her stuff.  She is the model of what every teacher should be: professional, compassionate, intelligent, engaged, effective.  And, as I recently learned, real angry.  Like, tears of frustration angry.  The reason?   Can you guess?  That’s right, charter schools.  Or at least charter schools as the most dramatic manifestation of the underlying causes of her anger.  Those underlying causes boil down to ignorance and disrespect.  My aunt feels that her tremendous efforts over the last several decades to educate our country’s kids – literally putting her body, mind and spirit into it – have been blithely dismissed by the public, the press, and the politicians who frankly find it easier to scapegoat public schools for our students’ educational shortcomings than to take the time to truly understand the myriad complexities that account for low test scores and inadequately prepared students. 

“As a public school teacher,” my aunt laments, “I have all the responsibility and none of the authority.” 

What she means, as I understand it, is that she is responsible for her students’ outcomes while, at the same time, having nearly zero authority in their lives.  On the other hand, a charter school, as my aunt points out, “can kick a student out for failing to live up to the expectations signed by that student’s parents.  That’s because, when students are kicked out, they come to us [public schools].”  In other words, my aunt asserts that charters have an unfair advantage in that they can more easily expel students than public schools. 

Another point she makes is about self-selection.  “Charters tend to attract students with more engaged parents,” she argues.  “Students with involved parents tend to be better students.  This siphons off our classroom leaders and leaves us with a high concentration of the most difficult kids.”

Even though the charter system is based on lottery, and open to any student in a school’s district, I have to admit that, from what little I’ve seen so far, my aunt has something of a point here.  Almost without exception, the prospective students I’ve met have arrived with extremely involved parents who want to know not only all about our school’s academic programs, but who also, more often than not, have wanted to know how they can volunteer and get involved in the life of our school.  If such parental involvement were commonplace at all our nation’s schools – public, private and charter – then much of our country’s educational woes would disappear.

Finally, there is the issue of money.  “Charters take away the funds that the public schools need,” my aunt asserts.  The result is a cut in essential programs that educate the whole child: music, art, physical education, languages.   When seen in this light, charters are a major reason that many struggling public schools continue to struggle. 

These are just some of the issues against charters schools raised by my aunt.  No doubt there are more.  In my next essay for the Tennessee Charter School Association, I would like to address my aunt’s arguments and explain why I nevertheless remain an enthusiastic advocate of charter schools in general and of Knowledge Academies in particular. 

However, since the goal of this essay is to foster a dialogue between public and charter school educators, a dialogue in which there is mutual respect and a recognition that ALL of us wish to see ALL of our nation’s children succeed, I would like to invite thoughtful comments from educators on either side of the public / charter debate to send in comments and join the discussion.  (Don’t just let me have all the funJ) 

So, until soon, here’s to solving the problems that beset our nation’s schools and to providing our students with the tools they need to succeed and make a better world.

William Harwood

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