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Battle in Los Angeles: Conflict Escalates as Charter Schools Thrive
Throughout the 1990s and well into the new millennium, the massive Los Angeles Unified School District barely noticed the many charter schools that were springing up around the metropolis. But Los Angeles parents certainly took notice, and started enrolling their children. In 2008, five charter-management organizations announced plans to dramatically expand their school portfolios, and now more than 100,000 L.A. students attend independent charters (see Figure 1). Another 40,000 students are enrolled in dependent charters, which are created by the district and considered part of the district's portfolio of schools. Many people, including some wealthy philanthropists, are eager to accelerate that growth, while the district--and the teachers union--want to rein it in. The conflict between the two camps has polarized not just families and educators but the entire city. Last fall, after someone leaked a private multimillion-dollar plan to vastly expand the number of charter schools in the district, the hostilities rose to new heights. For now, the future of the Los Angeles schools remains both troubled and cloudy. It's possible that the conflict will bring new accommodations between the two sides. But it's equally possible that the leaked plan to dramatically increase the number of high-performing charters will, ironically, result in fewer charters.
Journal Article
Ed Reform Battle in Los Angeles
[...]last fall, after someone leaked a private multimillion-dollar plan to vastly expand the number of charter schools in the district, the hostilities rose to new heights. The district is one of the very few that still offers retirees and their dependents lifetime medical coverage. Because it has failed to set aside adequate funds to cover the costs involved, the district has no choice but to tap into its operating budget. The city will start growing again, and the district at that point will have to start shoving the co-located charters off our school district property because we need the space for our public school population,\" he said, also noting the legal challenges involved in trying that.
Journal Article
Inside Successful District-Charter Compacts: Teachers and administrators collaborate to share best practices
Not far from the heart of Houston, unlikely alliance between a school district and nearby charter schools is bringing the best of both worlds to area students. As with most breakthroughs, the catalyst was simple curiosity. Duncan Klussmann, superintendent of schools for the Spring Branch school district, wondered just what was going on in those high-performing charter schools peppered around Houston, where both YES Prep and KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) operated several schools. Did they know something he needed to know? Adapted from the source document.
Journal Article
More Middle-Class Families Choose Charters
The rise in middle-class students attending charter schools is largely masked by the overall growth of charter schools: over the last five years, the number of charter schools has grown nationally from 4,690 to just over 6,000. There are now 43 communities where at least 20 percent of the students attend charters, reports the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Most of that growth is found in low-income, high-minority neighborhoods such as those in Los Angeles. Between 2005 and 2010, the percentage of suburban charters actually fell from 25 to 21 percent of the total. There are some compelling reasons why growth in charters that appeal to middle-class parents is likely to continue. As researchers have documented (see \"U.S. Students from Educated Families Lag in International Tests,\" features, Fall 2014), even middle-class and suburban parents have reason to find fault with their schools. And while most still trust their local schools, those who don't are enough to fill schools such as BASIS and Great Hearts. There are also obvious political advantages for the charters of having these parents onboard. This article raises a compelling question: Could this influx of middle-class parents be a political game changer?
Journal Article
Inside Successful District-Charter Compacts
This article describes the efforts of a school superintendent to bring the best of charter school practices together with public school education in order to begin a program of collaboration and professional development for teachers, as well as a way to measure student success. The superintendent visited YES Prep and KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools (schools with a comprehensive program designed to assist low-income students in preparation for success in college) and observed the success of teacher to student growth, noting that there was a need to look beyond competing with these kinds of charter schools. The compact between public and charter schools could fill needs on both sides: school districts want to import some of the classroom culture and sense of urgency they see in charter schools, and some want charters to take more special education students or to hold low-performing charter-school operators to account. The article reports on 4 district-charter compacts in Texas, California and Colorado. The article concludes that this kind of partnership has allowed schools to expand beyond their growth models.
Journal Article