Rolla Republican wants to make it easier for charter schools

In his report to constituents, Rep. Keith Frederick, R-Rolla, sings the praises of charter schools and his plan to make it easier for charter schools to get buildings. The charter school operators impressed Frederick with their excellent scores and how they have far more people applying than they can accept. He doesn't mention (or doesn't understand) that they are picking and choosing the people they allow to enroll.

These folks represent a charter school that operates three campuses in St. Louis, including one at the previous Epiphany Catholic school. They recounted for me the great success they have had in developing a neighborhood charter school in areas where it was thought to be impossible. Test scores have been significantly better than many public schools. There is a lottery for admission to the school, and retention rates are 97-98% of students. That is current students re-register for the next school year at a rate of 97-98 %. For entry into one of their Kindergarten classes there were 150 applications for 69 spots. Sound like medical school ratios to me.

We talked about the methods used to achieve such high performance. I had been aware from previous research that innovative charter schools such as the Harlem Academy use a process of early identification of students having problems grasping the material and they provide focused resources and tutoring to bring them back up to the appropriate performance level. The Gateway Science Academy uses those same tools and processes.

As we talked, I became more interested in the challenges that they still face and I became aware that for the purchase of one of their school buildings that was used to expand the number of children served, they had to pay well above the appraised value of a school building to purchase it from the school district that owned the building. This was their first trip to Jefferson City, and I believe that this is an organization that can help our children achieve higher academic performance. I am headed to legislative Research to begin drafting a bill that will make use of school buildings that have been abandoned and allow charter schools to purchase or lease such facilities at fair market or appraised. I plan to file this bill next week.