Missouri Education Rountable

I would like to comment on the recent request from the Missouri Education Roundtable, which contains teachers unions, to have no one running for office accept money from Rex Sinquefield. Rex started about 100 PACs recently, which legally can donate money to politicians without violating campaign contribution limits.

The Missouri Education Roundtable comment about Mr. Rex Sinquefield, saying that he should not be able to buy legislation. But the truth be told, many teachers unions give millions to support candidates who support their goals. I start to wonder if they only do not want people to accept this money because they are fearful Rex and others he attracts may be able to raise more money than them.

I hope politicians do take Rex's money and put it to good use!

THE TRIBUNE'S VIEW

School lawsuit
Time for Columbia to pull the plug

By HENRY J. WATERS III, Publisher, Columbia Daily Tribune
Published Wednesday, October 24, 2007

About half of Missouri's 524 public school districts sued the state for not
providing equitable or adequate funding. The Cole County Circuit Court twice
has denied their allegation, finding the state is under no such legal
obligation.

Judge Richard Carnahan's decision was reasonable, and besides, Columbia
Public Schools stood hardly any chance of improving its fiscal situation
even if the suit had been successful. The district already has spent more
than $80,000 in this quest. Statewide, plaintiff districts have spent more
than $3 million. If the larger group wants to appeal to the Missouri Supreme
Court, as its attorney urges, Columbia Public Schools should not join them.

The lawsuit never made sense. Even if you believe funding is inequitable and
inadequate, no remedy can be found in Missouri law, leaving courts no
legitimate role in telling the Missouri General Assembly what to do.

Except for the basic requirement the state spend 25 percent of its general
revenue on public schools, Judge Callahan found the Missouri Constitution
does not specify school funding. To hope the Supreme Court will overturn his
ruling is an idle exercise.

Even if Callahan had found school funding inequitable, Columbia would not
have gained. As one of the districts with above average per-pupil state
funding, a mandated move to level the playing field mathematically would
have reduced our share. Local officials had counted on an order to increase
the overall amount of funding in hopes the rising tide would mean even a
smaller share would give them more money.

Such an order concerning the adequacy of funding was the least likely of the
two unlikely legal requests, leaving precious little potential gain for the
Columbia district, as opined here several times in the past.

So now is the time for Columbia school officials to cut their costs and go
on to other pursuits. They - we - have spent enough in this futile quest.

Choice...

Missouri does need some alternatives when it comes to education. Given the fact that schools were recently unaccredited, it seems pretty obvious to me that something needs to change. I have been hearing from parents who have children attending an unaccredited school they are at a loss for what to do. I could not imagine what I would do in that case. Their schools are unaccredited now, so they are allowed to transfer out of their district, but the other schools are not taking them. Maybe that should be yet another clear sign as to why we, as parents, need some choice.”

STL Post - Schools should cease litigation and teach

Schools should cease litigation and teach

As a parent of a child in the Rockwood School District, I am incensed that our district leaders see fit to squander our tax dollars on litigation for more money to educate our children when they refuse to account for the dollars they already have mismanaged on behalf these children.

I call on district leaders to cease litigation and get back to the task of educating our children. The Rockwood School district receives $7,600 per child each year. That amount of money is equivalent to the tuition of many high-quality area private schools. Yet the district is participating in a lawsuit, funded with taxpayers dollars, to sue for more taxpayers dollars. Who authorized this litigation expense?

I call on the residents of the Rockwood School District to demand cessation of frivolous trial expenditures and determine a system of accountability for our schools' education plans.

Kirk Mathews | Wildwood

Siphon or Solution?

New Alliance Research Deals With the Impact of Charters

The Alliance released new versions of two of its trademark research initiatives this week: Top 10 Charter Communities by Market Share: 2006-2007 and Charter School Achievement: What We Know (Fourth Edition).

Our Market Share piece outlines the "top ten" communities in which public charter schools are educating a high percentage of that community's students. (Accounting for ties, a total of 29 different communities have more than 13% of their students in charter schools.) The big news here is that 10 new communities have joined the list. Perhaps the most exciting addition is Philadelphia, a city with over 200,000 school children, in which 13% of those children attend charter schools. Ohio continues to lead the pack in terms of number of cities on the list, and you can read the Toledo Blade's take here.

On the achievement side, there's still a lot to learn, and we continue to believe that there must be greater emphasis on longitudinal studies that track the same students over time, in order to gauge the true impact of charter schooling. That said, most studies that track student progress over time demonstrate that charter schools produce greater gains than traditional public schools. Another huge message to take out of the achievement study is that we need to learn more about WHY some charter schools are vastly outperforming their traditional counterparts.

In terms of the question posed in the title of this post ... need we make the distinction? Despite the negative connotations of "siphon," which I lifted from the Toledo article, if most studies find that charter schools are allowing for greater student growth, this is a siphon we can be proud of.

Publiccharters.org

A dozen or so studies by various research organizations find that improvements in charter schools are greater than other public schools, with a handful finding charter schools’ gains higher in certain types of schools; six find comparable gains; and, four find that charter schools’ overall gains lagged behind traditional schools. The website www.publiccharters.org

is a valuable resource for the most current studies on charter school performance The site is supported by “a consortium of organizations interested in providing accurate information and promising practices about and for charter schools.” This includes the National Alliance for Public School Charters and the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. Be sure to check out the Resources section for a wealth of research and the most up to date research on charters.

Submitted by: redhotsal

I have a number of friends with children with special needs. One of them has moved her entire family twice just to be in the 'right' district. First, she moved from Shrewsbury to Kirkwood for the Special School district. I will spare you the COUNTLESS injustices dealt her from the incompetent teachers and directors of her first child's education. Then, a couple of years later, she moved her family to Clayton at great expense--financially, emotionally, personally. (One of her children who is typically developed was uprooted in this process as well.)

Wouldn't it have been better for this family simply to be able to choose the best educational offering for their children and just send them there and not have to uproot the whole family for the benefit of just the one child?

BTW--things have been great in Clayton for the 1st child. So now the Mother can focus on the child's abilities, not problems and obstacles.

HOWEVER, she has two special needs kids to be concerned about, who is to say that what is right for one is right for the other? These children have different needs and abilities.

Currently, St. Vincent's takes St. Louis' behavior disorder students in a school choice-like setup. This is great in many ways, except that autism, for example, is a spectral disorder that can range from functional to borderline to severe. Some therapy that is good in some cases is not for others. Wouldn't it be great if parents of autistic children (or any special needs children) had a choice about what school would best help them? Wouldn't it be great if a school could focus--specialize--on one or a few special needs areas and DO IT RIGHT than having to address all possible needs that may come through the door in any given year?! No wonder we are failing--this is an impossible burden placed on our schools!

I know of folks in my elementary school and others that have lied about their zip-code just to get a decent education for their kid(s)--they are all from the city (St. Louis)!! (These are typical kids--not 'special'.)

There is clearly something wrong with the system that is in place and I for one would like to see better choices that don't force families to destabilize in the hope of securing a better future for their children.

Missouri Autism Panel Schedules Hearings

Submitted by Jaque

Missouri Autism Panel Schedules Hearings

Missouri's new autism panel has scheduled five hearings this summer across the state to gather testimony and information for a report on "the state of autism in Missouri" its members are scheduled to deliver to the state Senate by October 31."

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Are our appointed representatives looking at the success stories in other states that support choice for students with autism? I certainly hope they will take a look at Ohio or Georgia or Florida. Look anywhere but here in Missouri. I would like to see REAL and sustainable choice out there--for all Missouri families and children. The independent research I've done tells me that it's unreasonable to expect every school to address every varied aspect of every possible disability. Frankly, though I guess we SHOULD do the research, this is just plain common sense! Here's a little more research for you: "Debunking a special education myth: don't blame private options for rising costs.(check the facts)"


Find more info here: http://autismbulletin.blogspot.com/2007/06/missouri-autism-panel-schedules.html

Tax Credits for Special Needs Support Is Expanding

Submitted by: david

This week, Governor Blunt announced another regular round of tax credit awards to various entities working to support autism services and treatment. The Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Youth Opportunities Program functions much like any other tuition tax credit, scholarship, or contractual service would operate to improve our school alternatives. The difference is that it just flies under a different name, different budget, and somehow our society seems fine with that.

Public School Choices

Submitted by: STLCards9432

I can only imagine the frustration many parents feel knowing their child is in a bad school, let alone a failing school district. Is it fair that because they happen to live in that district, their children have to face a sub par education? Is it fair they would have to have to uproot their families in order to get a better education for their children? I think not.

It just seems to me that a parent should be able to choose another school for their child, especially if their child happens to be going to a failing school. Maybe the cities should create more charter school programs. This would allow the families to stay put, the children to get a better education, and the school to still be held accountable.

Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri Newsletter

The folks over at The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri have put together a useful newsletter with information on Missouri’s Virtual School option, the Missouri State Adequacy Trial and a full list and description of the education choices that are currently available to Missourians. Also, it tells of the incredible story of one Riverview Garden family’s struggle to find quality education for their children who were attending an unaccredited school.

Score One for Parents of Special Needs Children…So Far

Parents of special needs students get break

While a few education bloggers speculated last week about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision involving parental rights for special needs education, the affirmed ruling gave parents a big win with a 4-to-4 tie by siding against New York City schools. The ruling upheld the law permitting parents to seek public financing for private schools if they can show that the public schools cannot meet their children’s needs. Mr. Freston’s fight on behalf of his son began a decade ago, and resembles a case like more than 71,000 cases across America where private placements utilize public dollars. The New York Times reported that the justices may take up the issue again. Missouri’s state statute says that “If the board of education of the district finds that no adequate program for handicapped or severely handicapped children is available in nearby districts or through public agencies, it may contract with any organization within the state which has programs meeting the standards established by the state board of education.”

First Steps to Autism Services

Last month, Missouri’s Ozark Center for Autism was included in a recent nation-wide effort to map out which schools, and which state governments, are working towards new solutions to treat, assist, and expand autism services. Hopefully, our state’s blue ribbon panel of Senators will offer some new ways to help children that need personalized learning plans when they issue their report due out at the end of this month.