Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/61011
Charter Schools: Affirming our position on school choice Fifteen years later: Charter school law needs reform The Newark Charter School application exemplifies the need to reform the state's charter school law. more than one or two choices for public school. At the time, most families were limited to the schools in their feeder pattern and possibly one of their county's vocational- technical high schools. The General Assembly created a F public school choice program, whereby parents could apply to a different school in their district or even in another district. The General Assembly also envisioned public charter schools which would offer something different, some- thing not currently offered by the community schools, or which would focus on meeting the needs of a par- ticular population of underserved students. The General Assembly clearly made its intent known "This chapter is intended to … encourage the use of different and innovative or proven school envi- ronments and teaching and learn- ing methods..." ifteen years ago, Delaware's legislators imagined a state where families could have The Newark Charter School is asking the State Board of Education to amend its charter to allow it to double its size by expanding enrollment to its exist- ing K-8 school as well as to add grades 9-12, a high school. Dept. of Education Sec. Lowery is scheduled to make her recom- mendation to the State Board at their April 15 meeting. impact, DSEA believes that charter school authorizers should make qualitative and quantitative assess- ments of the applications. They should be required to determine that an application is in the best interests of the community in which the charter school will be located. We couldn't have said it any bet- ter than Jack Markell did during the Gubernatorial debate hosted by DSEA in 2008: "We have to understand the (http://delcode.dela ware.gov/title14/c005/index.shtml) Despite that "legislative intent," Newark Charter School's request to double its size and add a high school does, one could argue, meet the letter of the law although not – and this bears repeating –its intent. So what's the problem? Delaware's charter school law The problem with the law is that the authorizing agency does not have to consider the impact of char- ter school applications on local schools. Consideration is required when an existing charter school seeks to increase enrollment more than 15% within 18 months. The requirement does not apply in this case. Beyond consideration of effect that Charter Schools are hav- ing.... I think we need to ask the superintendents of the districts which are most affected....for their interpretation of what effect the new charter school will have on their own students and on their own schools. I think we really need to understand that the charter schools have an effect, not just on the students that they're educating, but they have a huge effect on the broader community." Christina School Board commissions examination of NCS expansion impact The Christina School Board commissioned a study to determine the impact on their district if the NCS is allowed to expand from 1,338 students to 2,470 students by 2017. Christina will lose 28 state-funded units, plus federal and local funds amounting to a total of $3 million. Yet the lights still have to be lit. You still need a full complement of teachers and specialists. Mainten- ance does not diminish. "I am extremely proud of what Newark High School offers our students, but most of all, of the fact that we offer it to all students." - David Davis, president, Christina Education Association, at March 7 hearing on Newark Charter School expansion request I stand before you this evening to challenge an inaccuracy in the application that Newark Charter has submitted to the Department of Education. Listed first under "Reasons for the request" is that the expansion will "enable our students to con- tinue their academic achievement in a way that is currently not ade- quately being addressed by other schools in this area." Please allow me to clear up this misleading statement with just a little bit of truth about the school likely to be impacted most by this expansion - Newark High School: • Newark High School is the only school in the state that offers the prestigious Cambridge Academic program for 9th and 10th grade students. • Newark High School has always offered, and continues to offer a robust Honors academic pro- gram. The School Board expects that there will be "… significant impact on the programs offered at Newark High School, most specifically the Cambridge and Advanced Placement offerings." Specifically, the report noted, "A portion of local Christina school • Newark High School offers 17 Advanced Placement courses and continues to enjoy one of the highest AP testing rates in the nation. • Newark High School graduates go on to prestigious colleges and universities, including those belonging to the ivy league, often on grants and academic scholar- ships. Make no mistake about it – Newark High School offers a rich and rigorous program. I might go on and on, but others are waiting to speak and I believe that I may have at least begun to make my point. I am extremely proud of what Newark High School offers our students, but proud most of all, of the fact that we offer it to all students. Thank you. - David Davis is the English Dept. chair at Newark High School. taxpayers will be supporting a char- ter school drawing from Christina Schools without any access to that charter school creating a disparity in access to publically funded edu- cation." www.christina.k12.de.us/2011- 12/0307-NCS-Impact-Presentation- Submission-to-State-DDOE.pdf 8 March/April 2012 DSEA ACTION! www.dsea.org )