A Successful School
What makes a school successful? While there are numerous theories on this topic, most experts agree that involved parents, highly motivated, qualified teachers and principals with excellent leadership abilities are the key ingredients for strong academic results. Why does one school with similar racial and economic student characteristics thrive and the one across the street struggles? Can the leadership at these two schools be so different as to affect the academic outcomes of their students? The answer is yes.
Let’s examine two schools in the same neighborhood that have completely different academic outcomes. One is a charter school that serves approximately 200 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. The other is a public high school that serves approximately 800 students from 7th through 12th grade. Both are located in an urban school district where over 90 percent of the students receive free or reduced priced lunches and both are Title 1 schools. The charter school is located in a small, retrofitted former Head Start center right in the middle of a housing project. While the classrooms are bright and cheerful, the rooms are small and cramped and can only accommodate one class per grade. Across the street, the high school is brand new having been totally renovated within the last five years. It sparkles with large, clean classrooms and the latest high-tech equipment. Both schools have dedicated, enthusiastic principals with high expectations for their students. The charter school’s principal is a former elementary school teacher and principal with years of experience working with parents and students in her community, while the high school principal is eager and young who is just beginning his career in education. Both schools also require their students to wear uniforms although the high school does not strictly enforce this policy. And yet the academic performance of the students in these two schools could not be further apart.
In 2010, 83% of 7th graders at the charter school met or exceeded the state standards in reading and language arts while 75% of those students met or exceeded the state standards in math. In comparison, only 36% of the 7th graders attending the high school met or exceeded the state standards in reading and language arts and only 25% of those 7th graders met or exceeded the state standards in math. The state average is 68% in reading and language arts and 70% in math indicating that the 7th graders attending the charter school are outperforming their peers across the state in reading and math. While 80% of 10th graders at the high school met or exceeded the state standards in reading and language arts only 57% of these students met or exceeded the state standards in math. Sadly, many of the students who graduate from the charter school will attend this same low performing high school and may possibly lose the academic gains they have made at the charter school.
In his high profile proposal, the American Jobs Act, President Obama recently proposed spending an additional $25 billion to repair and renovate at least 35,000 existing public elementary and secondary school buildings. These funds can be used for emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy-efficient upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, building new science and computer labs, and upgrading technology infrastructure. Charter schools are not eligible to receive these funds. But there is little evidence that attending a newly renovated or brand new school increases student academic performance. The high school referred to above is a perfect example of such a failed policy. Even with all the new renovations and the latest innovative educational technology available, this high school still ranked in the Top 100 Worst Schools in the country. While the academic environment does contribute to the well-being of the students and the faculty, the principal, teachers and parents make the most difference in whether a child performs well academically or not.
Charter schools have provided a public school alternative to traditional schools and while there is still much to learn about their performance, recent studies are promising. According to the 2008 Value Added and Experimental Studies of the Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement, researchers Julian R. Betts and Y. Emily Tang at the University of California at San Diego concluded that “elementary
charter schools seem to be producing better gains in reading achievement than traditional public schools.” They also found that “overall evidence suggests that charter schools more typically outperform than underperform their traditional public school counterparts.” While they caution that additional studies need to be performed in more charter schools across different grade spans in more states, their findings conclude that charter schools are performing as well as, or in some cases, better than traditional public schools.
In my own experience, one of the big differences I have observed between charter schools and traditional public schools is the requirement, some would say mandate, for parents to be full partners with their children in the learning process. Parents are welcome in the school at any time during the school day and many parents volunteer countless hours at the school. Parental involvement makes a big difference in student academic achievement as well as contributes to lower discipline problems. Such parental involvement tends to be missing at many urban elementary and secondary public schools. Many barriers exist, particularly at middle and high schools, which discourage parents from becoming directly involved in their child’s education at the school.
Charter schools offer new and innovative ways to educate children and increase parental involvement that should also be available to traditional public schools. However, many educators feel threatened by this competition rather than embracing these schools as another model to help increase academic achievement for students, particularly disadvantaged students. Fortunately, charter schools are here to stay and are supported by policy makers on both sides of the ideological political spectrum. Bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the federal charter school program has passed in the House and is pending before the Senate. President Obama and Secretary Duncan have supported efforts to strengthen state charter school laws through the Race to the Top Program.
Educators can learn from charter schools and should replicate their successes. Only through such cooperation can we expect to increase academic results for all children across all types of public schools.
Sally Gray Lovejoy
