Comments on: A Prince Among Men

By: Attorney DC

Attorney DC — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:01:17 +0000

Boston: My point was not that charters attract smarter kids, or those who already have a track record of academic excellence. My point is that charters contain students who have shown an interest and dedication to learning. If all students and families were as motivated and committed to educational success as charter populations, then we wouldn’t have as many problems in the country’s education system.

Charters have the advantage of low numbers of students who are disruptive or who interfere with other students’ ability to learn. From my understanding, students who do not exhibit a true committment to the charter’s goals and rules are often encouraged to leave – and then return to public schools. This is great for the kids at the charter school, but it wouldn’t happen if charters were required to take a random selection of students, including those who did not want to attend, who exhibited consistently disruptive behavior, who were frequently truant and/or did not complete assignments. The power of the charter is that it can ask or encourage students who do not want to follow the charter’s guidelines to leave – not an option general public schools are given.

By: Boston

Boston — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:13:54 +0000

Although I appreciate the perception that Attorney DC and others have that alternative public schooling models can lead to inequity or “creaming,” the data does not support this opinion.

To stay with the example, a Roxbury Prep press release about last year’s MCAS scores clearly shows that as, a cohort, the students admitted to the school enter with MCAS scores as low as their peers in Boston and then leave with some of the best scores in the state. The students are not different from their peers; Roxbury Prep is different from other schools. Further, there is extensive research that shows that charter schools serve a higher percentage of students of color, low-income students, and low-skilled students.

I agree that charter schools thrive in part because of the dedication of students and families; this is true of any school, public or private. What Roxbury Prep and other high-performing urban schools show is that is the dedication of teaching staffs poring over data, crafting rigorous lessons, and holding students accountable can create widespread achievement. All children have intrinsic motivation and curiosity. The question for adults at any school is whether you can create a culture that directs those qualities toward academic excellence. Roxbury Prep and other schools have shown we can close the achievement gap; the question remains whether or not, as a society, we have the political and moral will to do so everywhere.

By: Mike Piscal

Mike Piscal — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:11:24 +0000

Way to go John!

By: Attorney DC

Attorney DC — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:15:48 +0000

I think that charter schools can produce great improvements for the students who attend. But my caveat about charters is that the schools only teach a self-selected group of kids who make the effort to apply and attend the school. Most of the struggling students in public schools do not have the motivation to devote themselves to education in this way. Charter schools can be valued for the service they provide to a select group of kids, but we can’t assume that all kids would become stellar students if they were somehow forced to attend a charter school. Much of the magic of charters is that charters can require a level of dedication, effort and behavior from their students that public schools simply (and legally) cannot.

By: GGW

GGW — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:45:38 +0000

Also, it’s not an accident that all 3 of Rox Prep’s leaders, including John King, have, over the years, moved from Red Sox Nation to Yankees Country.

NY’s Governor and NYC’s Mayor support charter growth. MA’s Governor Patrick and Boston’s Mayor Menino do not.

Rox Prep is not allowed to open a network of school’s in Boston, because of the “9% cap” here. The state law says that no matter how much urban parent demand exceeds supply of seats, no more than 9% of any district’s students can enroll in charters.