There is age-old anti-charter school rhetoric purporting charters cherry pick kids to spike test results. I know that practice is not happening within the charter schools with which I have been affiliated. Cherry picking is a terrible metaphor and it is the opposite of what really happened at one charter school in 2011.
My experience with education reform went into high gear in 2008, when my wife, Debra, and I began the process of founding Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon, NY. Amani is now about to begin its fourth year of operation, with an enrollment of 320 children. Debra is the school's Executive Director.
In my unpaid and unofficial role as Charter Evangelism Officer, I prepared Amani's Web site and Facebook page in December of 2010 and posted Amani's first student application form in three languages. Before the school had a permanent address, or a single teacher on-board, applications began to pile up in a post office box.
I noticed that some applications were arriving in plain white envelopes, with no return address, and instead of postage stamps, these letters were processed by a postage meter. These were complete, validated applications, signed by parents. I wondered what was going on. It couldn't be coincidental that so many applications, 25 or more, arrived in identical envelopes, with printed postage and no return address. This didn't match the pattern of the other applications. One clue was most of these applicants attended the same elementary school.
Recall, charter schools are public schools. There is no admission criteria. You apply, you go. If your neighborhood school sucks, you can try a charter school instead. If the charter is overrun with applications, and most are, then the school has an admissions lottery.
Fast forward past opening day, and the students and staff are in place. The children are real personalities now, not just entries in a form. "How did you find out about Amani," my wife asked several children. "My teacher told my Mom about it," said one. "My teacher said I should go here," said another. "My teacher got me in," said another fifth grader. Alas, the clues triangulated. Teachers in the Mount Vernon City School District were guiding children and families to apply to Amani. Although I cannot prove this categorically, we have kid testimony that the "postage meter" applications were the work of teachers.
Why were Mount Vernon teachers pushing kids to Amani, then a brand new charter school?
Assuming goodwill, one or more Mount Vernon public school teachers believed that these kids would have a better chance to achieve someplace outside of regular public schools. A selection happened, but it was the reverse of the popular myth.
It is very easy to get a Postages Meter. You cannot purchase a postage meter under federal regulations. You have to lease it from authorized vendors. You can select from a wide choice as these machines come with a variety of features, functions, and price.
ReplyDelete