Signal writer Perry Smith did a bang-up job this weekend covering the charter school movement in Santa Clarita and, notably, getting contrary perspectives on the issue from local educators like Dr. Marc Winger, Superintendent of the Newhall School District. In case you missed it, Winger had some strong opinions on charter schools, telling Smith that:
We don't usually see such stark comments from public officials in the SCV, let alone school officials, and Signal commenters are predictably outraged by Winger's remarks. But if Cameron Smyth's withdrawn support for the Einstein Elementary charter is any indication, Winger is not alone in his, to put it mildly, skepticism of charter schools in Santa Clarita.
The question I want answered is why? Why, in a place so many people move to because of the quality of our public schools, is the charter school movement growing? Why are so many parents attempting to form charter schools of their own, rather than sending their kids to our high quality public schools? What makes a group of parents want to employ a tool (charter schools) originally created to address failing public schools in a place where our public schools are the envy of many?
I've talked to a few charter school parents and I think I can adequately summarize why they like charters: 1) they seem to perform better academically, 2) they address their child's needs in a way traditional public schools don't 3) they employ alternate educational methods that the parents believe are superior, and 4) they like that other parents of students are just as active in their kids' education as they are.
All of these are fine reasons to support a charter school, and indeed, to grow your own as many SCV parents are attempting to do. After all, who can blame parents for wanting the absolute best education for their kids? I'm about to have a baby and so this question weighs on me too: I want my son to get a world class education so he can go off to college and make something of himself 20 years from now.
But if parents' reasons for supporting charters are relatively clear, their reasons for choosing against traditional public schools is less clear. You don't hear parents come out and say it, but it seems evident to me they distrust and perhaps dislike the traditional top-down school district hierarchy. Whereas parents used to channel their discontent into the institutions meant to address them -the PTA & the Board- they now, in the interests of their kids and in the best entrepreneurial and grass-roots traditions of America, grow their own school system using public money. And whereas parents used to send their kids to private schools for customized education, they now expect the public to fund their charter school.
Now consider Dr. Winger's perspective. Winger is charged with overseeing a diverse student population of 7,000 students, and he is charged with ensuring that they are educated sufficiently such that they are successful in the Hart District and beyond. He has to accept and provide an equal education to all students, whether they are wealthy Asian residents of the west side or poor Latino students in Newhall. Unlike charter schools, which also have to accept any student but which in practice tend to attract the best students with the most active parents, NSD's schools get to deal with all the social & economic baggage in a community that can weigh down a school's performance.
And yet, Winger succeeds at this difficult job; NSD's scores are the best in the SCV. McGrath, situated in one of the poorer neighborhoods in the SCV, is among its brightest schools.
So we have a catch-22 here. No one can blame parents for seeking the absolute best education for their child, yet the net effect of all these individuals' choices could be to weaken public schools as dollars and bright students leave for charters.
Proponents call charters "school choice," and it is. It is literally parents choosing to opt out of the traditional top-down school structure and create their own bottom-up school with other like-minded parents. And if you talk to these parents, it seems charter schools work for them and their students.
The question is, does it work for the rest of us? Should we care? Does the charter model scale?
I hope you'll email me your thoughts on this because I think it's an important topic. Comment to me via email at jeff@scvtalk.com
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Winger's perspective on Charter Schools
In the Santa Clarita Valley in particular, charter schools don’t match up to their original intent, Superintendent Marc Winger of the Newhall School District said recently.
“I’ll go and say it’s a mistake,” Winger said Thursday. “It’s a mistake to bring any charters into the Santa Clarita Valley.”
....
“They call it choice,” Winger said. “But that choice is going to ruin public schools.”
We don't usually see such stark comments from public officials in the SCV, let alone school officials, and Signal commenters are predictably outraged by Winger's remarks. But if Cameron Smyth's withdrawn support for the Einstein Elementary charter is any indication, Winger is not alone in his, to put it mildly, skepticism of charter schools in Santa Clarita.
The question I want answered is why? Why, in a place so many people move to because of the quality of our public schools, is the charter school movement growing? Why are so many parents attempting to form charter schools of their own, rather than sending their kids to our high quality public schools? What makes a group of parents want to employ a tool (charter schools) originally created to address failing public schools in a place where our public schools are the envy of many?
All of these are fine reasons to support a charter school, and indeed, to grow your own as many SCV parents are attempting to do. After all, who can blame parents for wanting the absolute best education for their kids? I'm about to have a baby and so this question weighs on me too: I want my son to get a world class education so he can go off to college and make something of himself 20 years from now.
But if parents' reasons for supporting charters are relatively clear, their reasons for choosing against traditional public schools is less clear. You don't hear parents come out and say it, but it seems evident to me they distrust and perhaps dislike the traditional top-down school district hierarchy. Whereas parents used to channel their discontent into the institutions meant to address them -the PTA & the Board- they now, in the interests of their kids and in the best entrepreneurial and grass-roots traditions of America, grow their own school system using public money. And whereas parents used to send their kids to private schools for customized education, they now expect the public to fund their charter school.
Now consider Dr. Winger's perspective. Winger is charged with overseeing a diverse student population of 7,000 students, and he is charged with ensuring that they are educated sufficiently such that they are successful in the Hart District and beyond. He has to accept and provide an equal education to all students, whether they are wealthy Asian residents of the west side or poor Latino students in Newhall. Unlike charter schools, which also have to accept any student but which in practice tend to attract the best students with the most active parents, NSD's schools get to deal with all the social & economic baggage in a community that can weigh down a school's performance.
And yet, Winger succeeds at this difficult job; NSD's scores are the best in the SCV. McGrath, situated in one of the poorer neighborhoods in the SCV, is among its brightest schools.
So we have a catch-22 here. No one can blame parents for seeking the absolute best education for their child, yet the net effect of all these individuals' choices could be to weaken public schools as dollars and bright students leave for charters.
Proponents call charters "school choice," and it is. It is literally parents choosing to opt out of the traditional top-down school structure and create their own bottom-up school with other like-minded parents. And if you talk to these parents, it seems charter schools work for them and their students.
The question is, does it work for the rest of us? Should we care? Does the charter model scale?
I hope you'll email me your thoughts on this because I think it's an important topic. Comment to me via email at jeff@scvtalk.com
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