This will be my last EdNews commentary for 2009. (Okay, I’ll pause a moment to allow that to sink in … Or at least long enough for the wild applause to stop.)
Reading the Colorado Charters blog recently, I learned that the Adams 12 school district (for the uninitiated, Northglenn-Thornton, north Denver metro area) this week denied two more charter school applications — by best estimates, making it six applications in a row shot down by this board. (Full disclosure: I was on one of these start-up charter school boards, Milestones Academy, that was rejected by Adams 12.)
Perhaps it’s becoming a rote activity for the Adams 12 board, but I did note that lack of parental demand was not listed among the reasons for denying the applications. And I didn’t get a close look at the claims that academic quality was an issue. So I’m not exactly sure why parental public school choice was shot down here, though I’d be glad to learn more. But the incident raised two questions in my mind:
1. Given the recent “witch-hunt” audit proposal that came this month before a legislative committee (and thankfully was defeated), is the Adams 12 board’s rejection streak part of a growing anti-charter school backlash? and
2. To what extend would implementing the “Charter 2.0″ agenda temper these attacks? The League of Charter Schools plans to focus its 2010 agenda on setting higher standards for charter authorizers, building a specialized charter accreditation program and on increasing support for underperforming charters. But how much will that really mean for the Adams 12 boards of our state?
Food for thought, at least until I re-join the discussion here next decade. Until then, may students and teachers enjoy your time off, and may all have a blessed end of Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year.
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Dear Ben,
Please let me return your good wishes for the rest of 2009 — and **Into The Beyond!!!!**
It’s to be hoped that if all our various can openers are applied at different points on the vessel, it will open at last. Or, maybe we will learn to rub it the right way, say the magic words to evoke the genie — or Whatever It Takes!
We can and should celebrate our mutual attention on the importance of the task, as our combined energies are precious no matter how disparate our individual views may occasionally be on the details of resolution.
Meanwhile, I’m predicting with no crystal ball, that we will be enduring *ahem!* I mean, enjoying a cold and snowy White Christmas up here this year.
Best wishes from Kathy
Here, here!
Happy holidays to all and if applicable, enjoy the break!
I think it is a bit of hyperbole to ask if Adams 12′s refusal of the two charters spells doom for charters. Let’s not forget that Adams 12 has @ a third of its students in charters. Perhaps the district would like to pause and reflect on the all important data to seeif charters have made a difference in the district. Not a bad idea.
Yes, it would be “a bit of hyperbole” to suggest that Adams 12′s refusal of SIX consecutive charters “spells doom.” Your point about “the all important data” indeed fits the spirit of what I was asking as the main point of this post. Will the proposals promoted by the League of Charter Schools and other key Colorado education players to focus on quality change the approach of local school boards like Adams 12?
Or perhaps the Adams 12 Board and others simply would like to put the brakes on a reform that weakens their control. Something to look forward to learning more about in 2010.
Merry Christmas to all!