Morgan for our Schools

Posts Tagged ‘Schools Students’

Parents with children attending San Antonio Schools are becoming very familiar with charter schools. The city of San Antonio is so large that it contains 16 separate public school districts. Among these the San Antonio Independent Schools District (SAISD) is investing heavily in charter schools. 12 of this San Antonio Schools’ district buildings currently house internal charter schools.

And internal charter schools differ from a traditional charter school model because they depend on local parents and school board members rather than the state. These San Antonio Schools require 80% approval of parents and staff to form an internal charter, whereas a traditional model must get approval from the State Board of Education. Both are funded with taxpayer dollars. The twelve San Antonio Schools have been awarded $4.7 million in federal grants to date.

The monies available for San Antonio Schools to start charter programs is what enables the administrators to provide specialized art, music or science instruction. The most notable aspect of the San Antonio Schools’ charters is their successes so far. Many charter schools in both Texas and around the country have been forced to close their doors due to inability to provide proper curriculum, adequate financial records, or proof of academic success.

However, the three charters among the San Antonio Schools have a record of success behind them. Hawthorne Academy, with a focus on social studies, boasts “recognized” status from the state, and a higher percentage of students passing the TAKS than its neighboring San Antonio Schools. An arts charter school, Austin Academy, shows similar results, and attributes it to the fact that the arts are used to enhance the academic learning of its San Antonio Schools’ students.

While many of the San Antonio Schools are too new to be evaluated, the SAISD obviously feels confident that they are successful, because they will convert six more to internal charters this fall. In addition to this innovative model, San Antonio Schools are integrating specific skill sets into the curriculum. The Riverside Park Academy became a technology charter in 2004, a bow to changing times. San Antonio Schools are expected to provide the charter with funding to give students podcasting equipment, and teachers interactive 3-D imaging whiteboards.

Part of the success behind these San Antonio Schools’ charter programs is that they address the minority and lower income population that makes up much of San Antonio. For educators of San Antonio Schools, the ability to provide a focus on the arts or on science amid the high stakes testing environment can be refreshing. Teachers at the San Antonio Schools’ charter programs see their successes as proof that education requires exposure to many elements, not just a targeted focused on the ones to appear on a state test.

The role of charter schools in education at Sacramento Schools is constantly emerging and evolving. Sacramento Schools have been involved in the on-going battle between privately run charters and the public systems that fund them for years. The enormous impact of this inability to form a cohesive working relationship will come to a head on June 14th when the Sacramento Visual and Performing Arts Charter (VAPAC) closes its doors.

VAPAC was originally a part of the Sacramento Schools system. It began as a program within the Sacramento High School. When Sacramento Schools decided to make that a charter in 2003, VAPAC leased separate space and established its own charter. Part of what makes the Sacramento Schools’ charter programs difficult is determining who is in charge. Charter programs like VAPAC are fully funded by public funds, yet have their own governing boards. This is what landed VAPAC and the Sacramento Schools in court this past year.

Sacramento Schools demanded the authority to fire administrators governing the charter school, citing budget and student safety concerns. VAPAC leaders disagreed. The lawsuit was finally settled in September of 2006. However, when VAPAC tried to get a new charter from Sacramento Schools, they were denied. Officials in the Sacramento Schools district office said that the charter was not able to produce the necessary curriculum and budgets requested.

So where does this leave VAPAC students, the charter, and Sacramento Schools? VAPAC Director Arbatel de la Cuesta and some others are opening a new private school, the Sacramento Art Conservatory. About two dozen students are currently enrolled. But for many the $7,000 annual tuition eliminates private school as a possibility. This leaves many of Sacramento Schools’ students scrambling to locate a new school. It also leaves Sacramento Schools without an arts school.

In an error of mandatory testing and higher standards, many Sacramento Schools’ educators and parents are already concerned about the lack of balance as time for art, music and physical education give way to academic test preparations. Tom Barentson, Deputy Superintendent for Sacramento Schools, has stated that Sacramento City Unified will have another arts program. He just can’t say when it will be, or whether it will be another charter or part of an existing program.

That eliminates one option of school choice for many Sacramento Schools’ students. And this is not a controversy likely to fade away soon. Sacramento Schools are trying to look at all the options it can to use a public school budget to meet rising standards for its many students. But until local school boards, like the Sacramento Schools, find a better way to govern charter schools, the controversy will continue.