The "chartered" with a "d" is deliberate for two reasons: for the first, see my earlier post, Charter as Verb: Innovation and Autonomy. The second reason is that it enables us to examine our existing system of schools as "publicly chartered" as well, and to ask the question: is the "charter" that our current schools negotiated with the towns they serve (in the case of our public/private academies 150 or more years ago) adequate? If not, might we consider a process of chartering new schools that might match up better with today's realities? Those realities are the ones our legislature will need to wrestle with, as this last group of Rep. Steve Lovejoy's questions makes clear.
Should we require that charter schools take a truly representative population that gives it the same demographics as the public schools they draw from? Should it include special education If not, aren't we creating an unequal field in terms of comparisons of the results of the schools?
Yes, we ABSOLUTELY should require that publicly chartered schools serve a truly representative population, including students with special needs. A less than carefully constructed charter law would exacerbate, rather than ameliorate, the class divisions in American K-12 schooling - where the gulf between what those of means and privilege have access to, is from birth on, ever-widening. A carefully constructed charter law can give public school students access to the types of approaches once thought to be the province only of private schools.
Each of the 6 or so Gates Foundation-linked start-ups I had some working experience with, including Casco Bay HS, built into its agreement with the host district or charter authorizer some version of the phrase, "replicates the demographics of the sending area."
Monday, November 29
Wednesday, November 24
If we can't teach them, then neither can you.
Yesterday's post explored a potential chartered school bill in the context of Maine's recent consolidation initiative - and made the case that start-up small PUBLIC schools need to be a vital part of any next round. In addition to taking a another swipe or two at the black vs. white/public vs. charter argument, I also tried to shift the focus to the situation school districts find themselves in. Understanding that can help us rethink whether the schools we have are the schools we need. For instance, one of the situations that now presents something of a challenge but that could present an opportunity is the thriving but highly idiosyncratic landscape of school choice in Maine.
Saturday, November 20
Response to Rep. Steve Lovejoy
Apologies to Steve Lovejoy, State Representative for District 115 in Portland, for taking more than a week to respond. He wrote in response to the first of three entries I posted last week about what a LePage administration might mean for school reform.
His questions are the VERY questions the legislature is going to have to wrestle with. They required some time (and as you’ll see, some length) to address, time that disappeared during what became a very busy and exciting week for Maine Enterprise Schools. In each case, I've tried to link the theoretical to an actual Maine example. Rep. Lovejoy's word in italics.
While I appreciate your email, and still like the idea of charter schools, I have a real problem with how we can make it work. I'll look forward to the next three pieces. In terms of how to make that work, I would like to see you address several issues that concern me.
With ever shrinking enrollments in many areas of Maine, especially Northern Maine, will charter schools make the public schools even smaller and less financially feasible. Will it drive further school closures and consolidation? Will the shifting of funds make this inevitable?
Given that the current promoters say give it five year and if it doesn't work the charters will close, what schools will the students go back to if we have had to close more schools?
Should we require that charter schools take a truly representative population that gives it the same demographics as the public schools they draw from? Should it include special education? If not, aren't we creating an unequal field in terms of comparisons of the results of the schools?
The first question itself, "with ever shrinking enrollments in many areas of Maine, especially Northern Maine, will charter schools make the public schools even smaller and less financially feasible?" highlights a myth/misunderstanding that is at the core of Maine's inability to innovate. While the consolidation initiative in Maine largely accepted this as gospel, and while lots of folks, like the Maine Education Association, repeat this over and over, "making the public schools smaller" and "less financially feasible” are NOT cause and effect links.
His questions are the VERY questions the legislature is going to have to wrestle with. They required some time (and as you’ll see, some length) to address, time that disappeared during what became a very busy and exciting week for Maine Enterprise Schools. In each case, I've tried to link the theoretical to an actual Maine example. Rep. Lovejoy's word in italics.
While I appreciate your email, and still like the idea of charter schools, I have a real problem with how we can make it work. I'll look forward to the next three pieces. In terms of how to make that work, I would like to see you address several issues that concern me.
With ever shrinking enrollments in many areas of Maine, especially Northern Maine, will charter schools make the public schools even smaller and less financially feasible. Will it drive further school closures and consolidation? Will the shifting of funds make this inevitable?
Given that the current promoters say give it five year and if it doesn't work the charters will close, what schools will the students go back to if we have had to close more schools?
Should we require that charter schools take a truly representative population that gives it the same demographics as the public schools they draw from? Should it include special education? If not, aren't we creating an unequal field in terms of comparisons of the results of the schools?
The first question itself, "with ever shrinking enrollments in many areas of Maine, especially Northern Maine, will charter schools make the public schools even smaller and less financially feasible?" highlights a myth/misunderstanding that is at the core of Maine's inability to innovate. While the consolidation initiative in Maine largely accepted this as gospel, and while lots of folks, like the Maine Education Association, repeat this over and over, "making the public schools smaller" and "less financially feasible” are NOT cause and effect links.
Thursday, November 18
Harold Shaw
| A response to Mr. Shaw's questions/comments: (Mr. Shaw in italics) |
Tuesday, November 16
Response to Comments
The article in Portland Press Herald this Saturday drew my attention to my work with Maine Enterprise Schools...just now getting a chance to reply to comments on last weeks. 3-part "What will Paul LePage's win mean for school reform in Maine?"
Will try to tackle Nancy's comment today (in italics below), the comments of Mr. Shaw tomorrow, and some superb questions from Portland legislator Steve Lovejoy on Thursday.
Not being part of any organization now, but formerly employed by MEA, I would strongly urge a different model than a single face-to-face summit. Maine is a large state (by eastern standards) and too many people who care about issues are left out of discussions because of travel concerns (weather, time, etc). A virtual summit that could be kept active and moderated for a relatively long period of time would be either a valuable (1) alternative or (2) addition.
Will try to tackle Nancy's comment today (in italics below), the comments of Mr. Shaw tomorrow, and some superb questions from Portland legislator Steve Lovejoy on Thursday.
Not being part of any organization now, but formerly employed by MEA, I would strongly urge a different model than a single face-to-face summit. Maine is a large state (by eastern standards) and too many people who care about issues are left out of discussions because of travel concerns (weather, time, etc). A virtual summit that could be kept active and moderated for a relatively long period of time would be either a valuable (1) alternative or (2) addition.
Saturday, November 13
Time to Address Child Poverty and High Dropout Rates in Maine
From Brunswick Times Record, and superbly made case for looking not at educational and social costs differently - and for letting the brain science of the 21st century, rather than that of the 19th, inform our social and educational policies:
I have often wondered why, as a society, we find it so difficult to address crucial problems like child poverty, child neglect, high dropout rates and student underachievement. Instead, we grind and rattle our way down the road until the wheels fall off the cart. We are now at the breakdown point with regard to our at-risk kids, and the costs of doing business as usual are bankrupting us. Consider the following:
• On average 21 students in Maine drop out of school each day, with the class of 2009 estimated to have lost 3,800 kids.
• The societal cost for each high-school dropout is approximately $292,000, due to reduced wages and taxes, welfare and high health-care costs, and--as is all to often the case--the costs of incarceration.
• Dropouts are 3 1/2 times more likely to wind up in jail than non-dropouts.
I have often wondered why, as a society, we find it so difficult to address crucial problems like child poverty, child neglect, high dropout rates and student underachievement. Instead, we grind and rattle our way down the road until the wheels fall off the cart. We are now at the breakdown point with regard to our at-risk kids, and the costs of doing business as usual are bankrupting us. Consider the following:
• On average 21 students in Maine drop out of school each day, with the class of 2009 estimated to have lost 3,800 kids.
• The societal cost for each high-school dropout is approximately $292,000, due to reduced wages and taxes, welfare and high health-care costs, and--as is all to often the case--the costs of incarceration.
• Dropouts are 3 1/2 times more likely to wind up in jail than non-dropouts.
Thursday, November 11
From words to action
As promised, a proposal for a process that can create healthy, effective, and swift progress creating an innovation infrastructure for Maine's schools. I'm sure I'll miss a few things - this is meant to be specific enough to be a real plan, but drafty enough to be adaptable and flexible (for instance, I learned yesterday that the Maine Association for Charter Schools plans to convene folks around charter schools, likely on Dec. 16....an event like that could easily fit into or be combined with the plan below.)
1) The Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education should convene an education summit – and should do so before the end of this year. The MCEE has cross-sector representation and includes most key constituencies. More importantly, we can start with the work already underway - Prepare Maine.
2) The purpose of the Summit would NOT be to further argue over what needs to be done – but to gain consensus – now that the political landscape has changed in way that makes new approaches possible – on how those new approaches can do the most good and the least damage.
3) The Process: MCEE should agree to delegate to three different - but overlapping sub-groups - the tasks of drafting three pieces of legislation.
1) The Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education should convene an education summit – and should do so before the end of this year. The MCEE has cross-sector representation and includes most key constituencies. More importantly, we can start with the work already underway - Prepare Maine.
2) The purpose of the Summit would NOT be to further argue over what needs to be done – but to gain consensus – now that the political landscape has changed in way that makes new approaches possible – on how those new approaches can do the most good and the least damage.
3) The Process: MCEE should agree to delegate to three different - but overlapping sub-groups - the tasks of drafting three pieces of legislation.
Wednesday, November 10
Three lists - criteria for education innovation
Yesterday’s post promised three lists that I think can function as the design parameters for Maine’s opportunity to re-invent our schools systems in ways that better serve our communities and students. I use the word re-invent deliberately but cautiously, knowing that we’ll hear lots of “we don’t need to re-invent the wheel.” That metaphor is too limiting. It might be better to ask – “is wheeled transportation the only mode at our disposal?”
25 years, 5 presidents, and over a billion dollars of foundation-funded school reform initiatives, and the federal No Child Left Behind initiatives have not produced uniformly better schools for all students. Some even argue that we're worse off than where we were when we began, though I don't agree.
What we need is innovation, and innovation that is explicitly designed for Maine’s culture, demographics and economy. The reason Maine has fallen behind in educational outcomes and innovation are many, but a very simple one is that we’ve not had a set of structures, policies and funding mechanisms to do so. That is the opportunity we have now.
25 years, 5 presidents, and over a billion dollars of foundation-funded school reform initiatives, and the federal No Child Left Behind initiatives have not produced uniformly better schools for all students. Some even argue that we're worse off than where we were when we began, though I don't agree.
What we need is innovation, and innovation that is explicitly designed for Maine’s culture, demographics and economy. The reason Maine has fallen behind in educational outcomes and innovation are many, but a very simple one is that we’ve not had a set of structures, policies and funding mechanisms to do so. That is the opportunity we have now.
Sunday, November 7
What will Paul LePage's election mean for Maine education?
I've made no bones about the fact that neither of the two major party candidates were my choice for governor. Eliot Cutler, who I endorsed and voted for, had what I considered a plan and a talented team to carry it out, and Shawn Moody had the strongest understanding of what many of Maine's young people and micro-businesses needed.
But the days since the election have been fascinating…a conversation with a close friend livid at both Libby Mitchell and Eliot Cutler for not joining forces to beat LePage. A respected colleague in Wisconsin (who may have helped vote a principled politician I revere and once worked for, Russ Feingold, out of office) asking, “How’s it feel to wake up in a red state?” A conversation with my “throw the bums out” father, who finds lots to admire in LePage, daring me to find something positive in this outcome.
But the days since the election have been fascinating…a conversation with a close friend livid at both Libby Mitchell and Eliot Cutler for not joining forces to beat LePage. A respected colleague in Wisconsin (who may have helped vote a principled politician I revere and once worked for, Russ Feingold, out of office) asking, “How’s it feel to wake up in a red state?” A conversation with my “throw the bums out” father, who finds lots to admire in LePage, daring me to find something positive in this outcome.
Monday, November 1
Independence and Innovation for Governor
Those who know me know the depth and breadth of my commitment to public schools. The economic health of many Maine communities - and the quality of life of countless individual students and their families - depends on the degree to which our public educational system works. And while we can agree that right now it works well for some kids, we should be able to admit that it's not working for many others.
Like Dick Barnes, whose well reasoned letter I'm forwarding, I've been advising Eliot Cutler's education policy. As some of you know, I've also been writing extensively about the kinds of policies that will help Maine regain the mantle of innovation and leadership we had under former Governor Angus King and Commissioner Duke Albanese.
The policies Eliot proposes are not political - they are based on best practices and adapted for Maine's particular assets and challenges. Unfortunately, the positions of the two major party candidates simply do not address what is working (a great deal) and is not working (also a great deal) in Maine. Instead, these positions reflect the interests of those who seek to get their candidates elected by distorting and confusing voters.
Former Governor King, in his endoresement of Eliot yesterday, wrote:
"The partisanship that has taken hold of our political system has put us in deadlock, and now more than ever, we need to coalesce around common goals and shared purpose.
While Eliot Cutler has been the focus of an unprecedented campaign of negativity and slander, he has not responded in kind. Instead he has focused on solutions to the pressing issues facing Maine. This speaks volumes about Eliot's character and the kind of Governor he will be."
One of the solutions Governor King refers to is Eliot's "no excuses" education policy. Yes, the PUBLIC charter schools Eliot supports will require some of the money currently going to public schools to be spent differently. To say that it will "take money from public schools," though, is the kind of sound -bite distortion that has made so many of us so sick of politics. The real challenge is make the money we ARE spending produce the results we seek - and to give EVERY child in Maine a fair chance in the bargain. Our money is not doing that now.
As the Expeditionary Learning Schools "school designer" who led the Casco Bay High School project in Portland, I spent a year countering arguments from both the right (it will cost more) and the left (it will take money from existing schools). Over time, the argument we started with - better results for the same money - won the day.
And it's a good thing, too. If you talk to the parents whose children have been "saved" by Casco Bay High School, you'd want such a choice - fully public, open to any student in your community - for your child. Right now, a very small percentage of Mainers do have such choice - limited by a quirky set of grandfathered local funding and governance structures. Is this really the best we can do?
Tomorrow, you have a choice. Do you want a governor who sticks with the party line - Republican, Democratic, or Tea? Or might some independence be better for Maine?
Hi,
As most of you know, I have been working as a volunteer educational policy advisor to Eliot Cutler for the past nine months. We are now down to the wire on the race for Governor. It is clear that Paul LePage will be the next Governor if the advocates for a strong public education system in Maine, from pre-school to graduate school, continue to split their votes between Libby Mitchell and Eliot Cutler. The leadership of the Maine Education Assn has gone out of its way to distort the policy positions of Eliot since day one of his candidacy, portraying him as pro-”merit pay,” for “vouchers to private schools,” for teacher accountability and evaluation systems that are based primarily on test scores, and that his cost reductions would force layoffs for “6000-7000 teachers.”
Eliot has positions on each of these topics. And although they are not in line with the positions of the MEA leadership and Libby Mitchell, they are thoughtful positions that hold some promise for creating breakthroughs that can lead to making progress in student achievement throughout the entire public education system. Maine has been devoid of any forward-thinking leadership for the last five or more years. At the state level we’ve lost our way. Teachers, school leaders, community college and university personnel are ready for real leadership.
I am attaching a 3 minute video clip by Eliot and a one-page statement outlining his educational positions. Please take three minutes to view it. And if you have not yet voted, please vote for Eliot Cutler! He is the only candidate with a realistic chance of beating Paul LePage on November 3rd!
Thank you,
Dick
http://www.cutler2010.com/teachers/
Like Dick Barnes, whose well reasoned letter I'm forwarding, I've been advising Eliot Cutler's education policy. As some of you know, I've also been writing extensively about the kinds of policies that will help Maine regain the mantle of innovation and leadership we had under former Governor Angus King and Commissioner Duke Albanese.
The policies Eliot proposes are not political - they are based on best practices and adapted for Maine's particular assets and challenges. Unfortunately, the positions of the two major party candidates simply do not address what is working (a great deal) and is not working (also a great deal) in Maine. Instead, these positions reflect the interests of those who seek to get their candidates elected by distorting and confusing voters.
Former Governor King, in his endoresement of Eliot yesterday, wrote:
"The partisanship that has taken hold of our political system has put us in deadlock, and now more than ever, we need to coalesce around common goals and shared purpose.
While Eliot Cutler has been the focus of an unprecedented campaign of negativity and slander, he has not responded in kind. Instead he has focused on solutions to the pressing issues facing Maine. This speaks volumes about Eliot's character and the kind of Governor he will be."
One of the solutions Governor King refers to is Eliot's "no excuses" education policy. Yes, the PUBLIC charter schools Eliot supports will require some of the money currently going to public schools to be spent differently. To say that it will "take money from public schools," though, is the kind of sound -bite distortion that has made so many of us so sick of politics. The real challenge is make the money we ARE spending produce the results we seek - and to give EVERY child in Maine a fair chance in the bargain. Our money is not doing that now.
As the Expeditionary Learning Schools "school designer" who led the Casco Bay High School project in Portland, I spent a year countering arguments from both the right (it will cost more) and the left (it will take money from existing schools). Over time, the argument we started with - better results for the same money - won the day.
And it's a good thing, too. If you talk to the parents whose children have been "saved" by Casco Bay High School, you'd want such a choice - fully public, open to any student in your community - for your child. Right now, a very small percentage of Mainers do have such choice - limited by a quirky set of grandfathered local funding and governance structures. Is this really the best we can do?
Tomorrow, you have a choice. Do you want a governor who sticks with the party line - Republican, Democratic, or Tea? Or might some independence be better for Maine?
Hi,
As most of you know, I have been working as a volunteer educational policy advisor to Eliot Cutler for the past nine months. We are now down to the wire on the race for Governor. It is clear that Paul LePage will be the next Governor if the advocates for a strong public education system in Maine, from pre-school to graduate school, continue to split their votes between Libby Mitchell and Eliot Cutler. The leadership of the Maine Education Assn has gone out of its way to distort the policy positions of Eliot since day one of his candidacy, portraying him as pro-”merit pay,” for “vouchers to private schools,” for teacher accountability and evaluation systems that are based primarily on test scores, and that his cost reductions would force layoffs for “6000-7000 teachers.”
Eliot has positions on each of these topics. And although they are not in line with the positions of the MEA leadership and Libby Mitchell, they are thoughtful positions that hold some promise for creating breakthroughs that can lead to making progress in student achievement throughout the entire public education system. Maine has been devoid of any forward-thinking leadership for the last five or more years. At the state level we’ve lost our way. Teachers, school leaders, community college and university personnel are ready for real leadership.
I am attaching a 3 minute video clip by Eliot and a one-page statement outlining his educational positions. Please take three minutes to view it. And if you have not yet voted, please vote for Eliot Cutler! He is the only candidate with a realistic chance of beating Paul LePage on November 3rd!
Thank you,
Dick
http://www.cutler2010.com/teachers/
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