Can you imagine visiting a restaurant and finding only one entrée on the menu – far-fetched, and yet, that is exactly the situation when it comes to education.
As taxpayers and parents of school-age children, most Missourians have only one education option for their children. We can take the local public school and like it because usually there is no alternative to the local public school – at least not one that most parents can afford.
Only in the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City is there a publicly funded educational alternative.
Residents of these two cities may send their children to one of 65 charter schools approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Nearly 25,000 students currently attend charter schools, which are free to families who are fortunate enough to live in those cities and be selected. They frequently have waiting lists of parents who want a school that is required to meet all educational guidelines of DESE and federal education authorities, but is free from some regulations that hamstring traditional public schools.
Recently, the Missouri Senate spent more than 11 hours debating a proposal to expand charter schools beyond Kansas City and the city of St. Louis. As originally drafted, Senate Bill 292 would allow the formation of charter schools in some counties and cities with populations greater than 30,000. As the night dragged on, amendments were added to tighten those restrictions.
Reasonable people can differ on an issue, with each side emphasizing what they think buttresses their own argument, and debate on SB 292 was no different. Opponents of the bill cited examples of charter schools that closed because they failed to meet expectations. Their argument was that we should not expand charter schools because not every charter school has succeeded.
Recently, the Missouri Senate spent more than 11 hours debating a proposal to expand charter schools beyond Kansas City and the city of St. Louis. As originally drafted, Senate Bill 292 would allow the formation of charter schools in some counties and cities with populations greater than 30,000. As the night dragged on, amendments were added to tighten those restrictions.
Reasonable people can differ on an issue, with each side emphasizing what they think buttresses their own argument, and debate on SB 292 was no different. Opponents of the bill cited examples of charter schools that closed because they failed to meet expectations. Their argument was that we should not expand charter schools because not every charter school has succeeded.
One has to wonder if opponents aren’t holding charter schools to a higher standard than they apply to traditional public schools. By law, charter schools must undergo regular review, and schools that do not perform are not allowed to continue.
Can we say the same thing about traditional public schools? We know that in 2017, only 38 percent of Missouri students scored proficient or above in math with similar numbers for reading. With those results, 75 percent success looks pretty good. In one of Missouri’s highest rated school districts – Springfield – six schools are failing and would likely be closed if charters.
Six of the 10 best schools in St. Louis City and Kansas City are charters. In both cities, 90 percent of the top performers in language arts and math are charter schools. These statistics are even more impressive when you consider that 70 percent of charter school students in Missouri are African-American and 5 percent are Latino – two groups that often underperform in traditional schools.
One thing that separates the students of charter schools from all other public schools is that these children and their parents made a conscious decision to seek an alternative. They had to apply to attend a charter school. These are families who truly care about education and seek the best alternative for their children. Parents are generally happy with charter schools. One recent study found the highest level of parental satisfaction with home schooling, at nearly 90 percent. Private schools and charter schools faired nearly as well, with about 80 percent of parents expressing satisfaction. Public schools lagged in the survey, with just 66 percent of parents happy with their child’s school.
Among the various options available to parents, charter schools are the only publicly funded alternative to traditional government-run schools. There is a measure before the Missouri Senate this year that would create educational savings accounts, which would operate much like the health savings accounts many Missourians already use to set pre-tax money aside for medical expenses. It remains to be seen whether Senate Bill 160 will gain traction this year, but the proposal could bridge the cost gap for parents who can’t afford private school tuition.
Debate on the charter schools bill ended without taking final action. I would have voted for SB 292, given the chance. I hope we get it back on the floor and can move the measure on to the House of Representatives. Dozens of other states have shown that the entire state that could benefit from educational alternatives. I hope the General Assembly is able to provide parents choices.
Can we say the same thing about traditional public schools? We know that in 2017, only 38 percent of Missouri students scored proficient or above in math with similar numbers for reading. With those results, 75 percent success looks pretty good. In one of Missouri’s highest rated school districts – Springfield – six schools are failing and would likely be closed if charters.
Six of the 10 best schools in St. Louis City and Kansas City are charters. In both cities, 90 percent of the top performers in language arts and math are charter schools. These statistics are even more impressive when you consider that 70 percent of charter school students in Missouri are African-American and 5 percent are Latino – two groups that often underperform in traditional schools.
One thing that separates the students of charter schools from all other public schools is that these children and their parents made a conscious decision to seek an alternative. They had to apply to attend a charter school. These are families who truly care about education and seek the best alternative for their children. Parents are generally happy with charter schools. One recent study found the highest level of parental satisfaction with home schooling, at nearly 90 percent. Private schools and charter schools faired nearly as well, with about 80 percent of parents expressing satisfaction. Public schools lagged in the survey, with just 66 percent of parents happy with their child’s school.
Among the various options available to parents, charter schools are the only publicly funded alternative to traditional government-run schools. There is a measure before the Missouri Senate this year that would create educational savings accounts, which would operate much like the health savings accounts many Missourians already use to set pre-tax money aside for medical expenses. It remains to be seen whether Senate Bill 160 will gain traction this year, but the proposal could bridge the cost gap for parents who can’t afford private school tuition.
Debate on the charter schools bill ended without taking final action. I would have voted for SB 292, given the chance. I hope we get it back on the floor and can move the measure on to the House of Representatives. Dozens of other states have shown that the entire state that could benefit from educational alternatives. I hope the General Assembly is able to provide parents choices.
I am not familiar with the charters in Kansas City, but many of the St. Louis charters score lower on state tests than the St. Louis Public Schools. A number have closed and IIRC some in mid-school year.
ReplyDeleteWhat gives with republicans pushing this so hard. How much money do they stand to make off these insane idea and is DeVos behind it and her crooked family? One has to wonder why republicans want to remake everything in their mind to make people conform to their way of thinking. It seems our universities are not turning out the quality of teachers that we had and the salary is so miserable to not attract the most qualified of people interested in teaching. Also one only has to look at the way Joplin and Neosho schools have been supervised in the past to dispel any notion that it is the teachers fault and more so on the selection of the board who is superintendent. Leave the Charter Schools to other states and work on raising the qualifications and salaries of the teachers we have.
ReplyDeleteHaha... insert Democrat in your rant everywhere you use Republican.
Delete... want to remake everything in their own image... good God, when has a Democrat ever wanted to remake anything in a Republican's image? That is kind of why there are two sides. If either side thought things they other side did was ok, we would have one party.
Such a dumb post.