MY SUBURBAN FRIENDS are asking for my stand on Question 2. I tell them my “yes” vote is based on one critical measure: There are simply not enough high-performing district schools in Boston to serve even half of the students enrolled in them.
My view is not based on hearsay, but rather hard-earned facts. I’ve lived in Dorchester for 34 years, my children attended the Boston Public Schools, and I’ve worked in the Boston Public Schools and Chelsea Public Schools.
Sixteen years ago, I founded a charter school in Dorchester, and Mayor Menino appointed me to serve on the Boston School Committee from 2011-2015. I co-chaired the School Quality Working Group, which worked on the city’s new student assignment plan. Our close study of district-wide data confirmed what many of us already knew: If you live in Dorchester, Roxbury, or Mattapan, your child has a far lower chance of attending a high-performing school close to your home. Charter schools are concentrated in high-poverty neighborhoods, offering families choices that study after study have demonstrated to be of high quality.
I come from a family that had the benefit of making choices. I grew up in an affluent suburb, attended Harvard-Radcliffe, and am as pickled in white privilege as anyone with my life opportunities. Living and working in Dorchester for decades, and working so closely with the Boston Public Schools as a School Committee member while simultaneously directing an expanding K1-12 charter school, has given me a close-up view of what is at stake.
What is at stake is the life opportunities of low-income children of color who live in Boston and other low-performing districts. Question 2 will have no impact on children who live in high-performing suburban districts, because there is plenty of room under existing caps to site new charters. Yet it is likely white suburban voters will determine the outcome of Question 2.
My friends say they are being assailed by opponents of Question 2 who insist that charter schools are for-profit. Massachusetts state law prohibits for-profit charters. All are run by unpaid, non-profit boards made up of local citizens. No one is enriched financially.
“But aren’t charters getting a more motivated parent who applies?” they ask. Unlike suburban districts where your address determines your student assignment, in Boston, every parent has to apply for every school – be it district or charter. Enrollment to all charters in the state is by lottery, with sibling preference.
Enrollment at Boston Public Schools is by a formula ranking schools by quality, also with sibling preference, except in the case of nine selective admissions high schools – yes, nine, not just the three exam schools. In some cases, these schools require student essays, middle school transcripts and personal recommendations. Furthermore, with acknowledgement of the enrollment burden placed on Boston families, charters are working actively to create one common application so parents can apply to multiple charters at the same time.
“You don’t serve special needs students, right?” No, actually, we do. In our school, 26 percent of students have identified special needs. We educate in an inclusive model in which students with disabilities are educated alongside their non-disabled peers. A recent MIT study found that special needs students in Boston charters outperformed their counterparts. In the BPS, however, more than 40 percent of the 11,000 special needs students on individualized education programs are educated in substantially separate classrooms, a figure that climbs to more than 75 percent during their middle and high school years. This leaves the BPS with the distinction of having the highest percentage of children educated in substantially separate settings in the state and among the highest percentages in the country.
“There will be too many new charters, too quickly,” is another argument against Question 2. In fact, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has taken a careful, deliberate approach to expansion since first granting charters following the Education Reform Act of 1993 — an average of four charters granted per year statewide. Question 2 does nothing to change that deliberate approach, or weaken the high bar to obtaining and keeping a charter. Equally important, the state education department has shown the will to close charters when they are failing, a powerful mechanism for accountability.
Savvy parents sign up their children at birth to get into the METCO program, which allows Boston and Springfield students to attend suburban district schools. Even elected officials now opposed to Question 2 have exercised this option. A yes vote on Question 2 is an outward sign that all families deserve choices on where their children go to school, especially when faced with a failing school likely to fail their child’s chance for a quality education.
Meg Campbell served on the Boston School Committee from 2011-2015, founded Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester, and has worked in Boston and Chelsea public schools.
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For 2016, Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester has 19 students in grade 12. That class started out in 2013…grade 9…with 46 students. So 59% of those students left Codman Academy Charter over the course of four years. What exactly is accomplished when that happens? Where did those 27 students go? Back to public schools? In two out of the most recent three years Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester was Level 2 “Not meeting gap narrowing goals.” Codman Academy Charter Public School’s enrollment policy is to not accept students after grade 9: “The school does not accept additional students into the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades either for slots in the classes or for positions on the waiting list. Therefore, the school does not maintain a waiting list for the tenth through twelfth grades, and the school will not admit additional students to those classes, even if enrolled students leave the school. Further, no sibling exceptions will be made to this rule for tenth through twelfth grade students.” Does the State of Massachusetts need more charter schools like that? VOTE NO on Question 2.
And what’s the story on “for-profit” when it comes to charter schools in Massachusetts? SABIS Educational Systems…a private, for-profit company, based in Minnesota with roots in Lebanon (Middle East) runs three charter schools in this state: Collegiate Charter School of Lowell, Holyoke Community Charter School and Sabis International Charter School in Springfield. That’s an indisputable fact. VOTE NO on Question 2.
How does the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education take “a careful, deliberate approach to expansion?” Here’s the story of a charter school authorized to expand its enrollment even though it was operating under conditions. The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden submitted expansion requests in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Those were denied. But, MVRCS, a Level 2 charter school, was approved to expand from 1,500 to 1,900 seats in 2015 even though it was still operating under conditions and the state imposed MORE conditions with its expansion approval. Here’s an excerpt from the March 13, 2015 DESE letter: “granting these seats conditionally will help to leverage positive change and provide confidence that the school will serve all students effectively.” So DESE approved expansion of a Level 2 charter school operating under conditions… “to leverage positive change and provide confidence” and imposed more conditions. Shouldn’t only charter schools operating at Level 1 and not operating under conditions be allowed to expand? VOTE NO on Question 2.
How much longer can charter schools drain funds from public schools? If Question 2 passes…forever or until the point when there are only two public schools left in the state. Right now, even Lexington and Newton are losing funds to charter schools…Lexington and Newton! Charter schools are draining more than $400 million from more than 200 public school districts…right now! Charter schools have a great public relations machine…that’s the only thing great about them. VOTE NO on Question 2.
You’re probably wondering how Codman Academy Charter Public School can have an enrollment policy where no student is accepted after grade 9. The charter school laws and regulations in this state do not require charter schools to accept students under certain conditions. For example, charter schools K-8 are not required to accept students after 4th grade, charter schools K-12 are not required to accept students after 6th grade, charter schools with grades 9-12 are not required to accept students after 9th grade and all charter schools are not required to accept students after February 15th. How will it work out for students when hundreds of charter schools operate like that across the state? It won’t. VOTE NO on Question 2.
INFORMATION ON WHAT CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE HOW THEY ARE FUNDED AND HOW THEY OPERATE
In Massachusetts, tens of thousands of children are stranded on
public charter school waitlists – the vast majority of whom are enrolled
in the lowest performing school districts in the state. As the debate
continues over whether to lift enrollment caps on public charter
schools, and give these students fair access to a quality public
education, it’s important to know the facts.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Nothing about charter schools is private. Charter schools are public schools.
Charters are open to all students and admission is determined by
random lottery; there are no entrance exams or admission requirements.
Charter teachers are public school teachers; Boards of Trustees are public boards.
Charters operate independently of local districts, but are overseen by the state.
Charters must abide by all the laws and regulations that traditional
district schools abide by. They are subject to open meeting laws and
their finances are public.
WAITLISTS
Demand for charter schools has been strong since they first opened in
1995. Because parents had to enter enrollment lotteries for each
school, their children’s names often appeared on multiple wait lists.
The state implemented new rules in 2013 eliminating all duplicates and
most names that had been on lists for more than one year.
More than 32,000 children are still on waiting lists statewide, 12,000 in Boston.
Questions raised by the state Auditor are being addressed. The
Auditor reviewed lists as they existed in 2012 – before new rules were
implemented.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Public charter schools have consistently outperformed district
schools all across the state. Independent studies show that they are
closing the achievement gap between low-income, African American and
Latino children and affluent, white children.
A higher percentage of students in charter schools scored
proficient or advanced in all subjects at every grade level compared
with their district peers. (2014 MCAS)
Many urban charters, with a high percentage of African American,
Latino and low-income students, ranked first in the state, outperforming
affluent suburban districts. (2014 MCAS)
A higher percentage of African American, Latino and low-income
students enrolled in charters are proficient in all subjects compared to
their peers in district schools. The data showed charters have
virtually closed the achievement gap. (2014 MCAS)
Two
studies by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education
Outcomes (CREDO) in 2013 and 2015 showed that Commonwealth charter
schools are accelerating the pace of learning at a rate not seen
anywhere else in the country..
Boston charters provided a typical student with more than twelve
months of additional learning per year in reading and thirteen months
of additional learning per year in math.
Children in all Massachusetts charter schools gained the equivalent
of 36 more days of learning per year in reading and 65 more days of
learning per year in math.
The academic performance of Latino students enrolled in charters was
close to or above the performance of White students statewide; the gap
was significantly narrowed among African American children in charters
and white students.
The study compared charter students with district students from the
same demographic backgrounds, and charters against the district schools
the students formerly attended.
Boston charter high school graduates who enroll in college
complete college at a higher rate (50.6%) than BPS non-exam school
graduates (35%) according to a study by the Boston Opportunity Agenda.
9th
graders who attend Boston charters are twice as likely to
go on to complete college than BPS 9th graders (35% vs. 17%).
Nearly half (44%) of all high school graduates from BPS’s non-exam
schools needed remedial courses in college compared to 10% of Boston
charter graduates..
IMPACT ON DISTRICT SCHOOL BUDGETS
Charters receive funding only when parents choose to enroll their
children and only the amount the district would normally spend to
educate each student. If districts are no longer educating the children,
should they keep the funds? Districts also receive additional state aid
to reimburse them for lost funds.
Charter schools account for 4% of public school enrollment and 4% of public education spending.
Charter
schools are public schools, so there is no loss of funding for public
education when money is allocated to charter public schools.
Districts are reimbursed by the state for six years after
any increase in funds allocated to charters, ultimately receiving 225%
of their money back – the nation’s most generous reimbursement.
While district schools receive state subsidies for their facilities, charters are not eligible for school building assistance.
The Massachusetts Legislature has funded district reimbursement at 96% or better in 9 of the last 12 years.
Only in years when every area of the budget experienced deep cuts was
it shortchanged. To date, districts have received nearly $700 million in
reimbursements.
No locally generated revenues, such as property taxes, are
transferred to charters; all charter funding is taken from a community’s
state aid, which leads some to incorrectly argue that charters are
taking an unfair share of Ch. 70 school dollars. The state could change
the law to have charters receive their funds from both local and state
sources, but it would not affect the overall amount of funds being
reallocated to charters.
IMPACT IN BOSTON
The Boston Municipal Research Bureau concluded in a recent study
that because the City of Boston shares 35% of its total revenue every
year with the school department, charter expansion has had no effect on
the district’s budget.
Over the past five years, district spending has risen 12% to $1
billion, while per pupil spending has increased from $14,466 to $16,918.
Boston spends more per pupil than any other urban district in the
country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Charters receive less per pupil than the district spends. While BPS
spends $16,918 per student (FY 2015 General Fund Budget), charters
receive only $14,937 per student. When you factor in state
reimbursements, the net cost to the city for each charter student is
$12,422.
SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
New reports by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released in
January disprove claims that charter schools do not serve students with
the same level of need, finding that charters are not only attracting
the same students the district serves, but are educating them at a
higher level.
ENROLLMENT
State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data
for 2014/15 shows a steady increase in the enrollment of children with
special needs (SPED) and a dramatic increase in enrollment of English
Language Learners (ELL) in public charter schools.
Statewide, SPED enrollment in charters is only slightly lower
than the state average – 14% to 16.3% – and ELL enrollment is higher –
9.4% to 8.5%.
In Boston charters, SPED enrollment is 15.9%, compared to 19% in Boston district schools (BPS).
In mostly urban Gateway city charters, SPED enrollment is 13%, compared to 17.4% in Gateway city district schools.
ELL enrollment among all Boston charters increased from 3.2% in 2010/11 to 13.8% in 2014/15.
ELL enrollment among “new” students enrolling for the first
time in Boston charters in 2014/15 was 22.6%, approaching the district
ELL enrollment of 29.8%.
In Gateway cities, the percent of ELL students enrolled at charter
schools has increased from 7.7% in 2011/12 to 12.1% in 2014/15.
Gateway charter school ELL enrollment among “new” students enrolling
for the first time in 2014/15 was 16.0%, approaching the district ELL
enrollment of 19.9%.
A
recent MIT study (“Special Education and English Language Learner
Students in Boston Charter Schools: Impact and Classification”)
concluded: “Students across the pre-lottery levels of special education
classroom inclusion and English language proficiency are, for the most
part, similarly represented in charter lotteries and BPS (Boston Public
Schools).”
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Children with special needs and English-language learners perform
significantly better in charter schools than they do in traditional
public schools.
The MIT study
concluded: “Those with the most severe needs, special education
students who spent the majority of their time in substantially separate
classrooms and ELLs with beginning English proficiency at the time of
the lottery, perform significantly better in charters than traditional
public schools.” The MIT researchers went on to say: “Even the most
disadvantaged special needs students benefit from charter
attendance…Special education and ELL students experience large academic
gains in charters similar to the gains of non-special needs students.”
A substantially higher percentage of special needs children
attending public charters achieved proficiency in English and math
compared to special needs children in sending district schools: 16.4
percentage points more in English, 10.1 percentage points more in math,
according to 2014 MCAS data.
A substantially higher percentage of English Language
Learners attending public charters achieved proficiency in English and
math compared to special needs children in sending district schools:
12.8 percentage points more in English, 12.1 percentage points more in
math, according to 2014 MCAS data.
ATTRITION RATES
The attrition rate in Boston and in Gateway City charters “has
remained lower” than the attrition rates of district schools in those
communities, according to 2014/15 DESE data.
The attrition rate at Boston charters (9.3%) is significantly lower than in BPS (14.2%).
In Gateway Cities, charter attrition rates (6.2%) are lower than Gateway districts (11.4%).
From 2012-2014, an average of just 82 students
left charters and returned to Boston Public Schools, according to BPS
numbers – one-tenth of one percent of BPS total enrollment.
SUSPENSION RATES
There is no evidence to support the claim that charter suspension
rates lead to higher attrition or dropout rates. Parents overwhelmingly
support high standards that create a classroom environment that is
favorable to learning.
While
Boston charters have higher out-of-school-suspension rates than BPS
schools (12.6% vs. 4.8%), Boston charter attrition rates are much lower
than BPS (9.3% vs. 14.2%), according to 2014/15 DESE data. Boston
charters’ stability rate,
which measures students who stay with the same school all year, is
higher in Boston charters than BPS (92.2% vs. 86.5%), countering claims
that children leave in droves prior to testing season, according to
2014/15 DESE data.
Boston charter high schools have lower dropout rates than BPS high schools (4.1% vs. 11.9%), according to 2014/15 DESE data.
Here are the real facts on what charter schools are, how they are funded and how they operate:
CHARTER SCHOOLS: Charter schools are publicly funded, privately run, operate under the wackiest law/regulations imaginable and overseen by the state.
WAITLISTS: The WGBH News website has an article well worth reading: “Charter School Wait Lists — Not What They Might Seem.”
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Stanford’s CREDO study compared real charter school students to “virtual” or not real public school students. Who showed more learning gains? The real charter school students! How could there be any doubt on the outcome? Was it even possible for pretend public school students to outperform real charter school students? No! BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT REAL!
IMPACT ON DISTRICT SCHOOL BUDGETS: This year charter schools will drain more than $400 million from more 200 public school districts. Right now, even Lexington and Newton have already started losing funds to charter schools… Lexington and Newton! Some public school districts are having their funds drained to charter schools not even located within their community. For example, the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden draws its students from Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield. Malden public schools lose about $9 million to that charter school. Everett does have a charter school so its public schools are drained of about $6.5 million for at least two charter schools. Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield do not have charter schools and will see $4.3 million, $2.5 million, $800k, and $600k respectively drained from their public schools this year. The school committees in Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield voted to oppose lifting the charter school cap…voted against Question 2. Somewhere around 200 school committees voted against lifting the charter school cap…voted against Question 2.
IMPACT IN BOSTON: The City of Boston’s public schools will be drained of more than $135,000,000 this year thanks to charter schools. The other day, the Boston Globe had an article, “Charter school vote may hurt ratings, credit agency says,” reporting “The credit-rating agency Moody’s Investors Service is warning Boston and three other Massachusetts cities that passage of a ballot measure to expand charter schools could weaken the municipalities’ financial standing and ultimately threaten their bond ratings.”
SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS & LOW INCOME STUDENTS: Most charter schools student demographics do not reflect the sending public schools student demographics. For example, The Sun recently reported the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell’s student population is 13% English Language Learners, 6% students with disabilities and 39.1% economically disadvantaged which is well below the Lowell Public School District’s 25% ELL, 15.5% students with disabilities and 50.4% economically disadvantaged. The Collegiate Charter School of Lowell gets the money and the easier to teach students while the Lowell public schools end up with less money to provide resources necessary for a higher percentage of higher need students.
ENROLLMENT: When charter schools have empty seats they are not required to fill those empty seats…specifically, charter schools K-8 are not required to accept students after 4th grade, charter schools K-12 are not required to accept students after 6th grade, charter schools with grades 9-12 are not required to accept students after 9th grade and all charter schools are not required to accept students after February 15th.
ATTRITION RATES: For 2016, Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester has 19 students in grade 12. That class started out in 2013…grade 9…with 46 students. So 59% of those students left Codman Academy Charter over the course of four years. What exactly is accomplished when that happens? Where did those 27 students go? Back to public schools? Codman is not the only charter school that loses vast numbers of students as grades progress.
SUSPENSION RATES: In 2015 Roxbury Preparatory Charter school had a 40% out-of-school suspension rate but that is much improved over its 2013 out-of-school suspension rate of 59.8%. That’s right, this charter school suspended 60% of students in 2013.
CommonWealth readers should check out three videos on charter schools: “Charter Schools: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver;” the 60 Minutes segment on the “secretive Turkish Islamic sect,” and the Question 2 debate “More Charter Schools? The Massachusetts Vote and the National Debate.”
VOTE NO on Question 2.