Online Schools A Success!

More children are reaping the benefits from online schools. Online schools offer great alternatives for children looking for classes, needing to learn at their own pace, and open so many doors to the great world of education. When education reform is really needed, this is a step forward for the children!

In last week's St. Louis Post:
Online schools statewide and around the country are growing. One analysis suggests that by the year 2019, about 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online.

There are at least four other virtual schools in Missouri and at least five in Illinois. All but a handful of states have online programs, and more than half of public secondary schools offer online courses to students, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

The schools attract a wide clientele, including students with social and learning disorders, home-school students, or those who simply want to take specialized or advanced classes not offered by their own schools.

Some cater to athletes needing the freedom to train and travel. One school in St. Louis even enrolls students busy with modeling careers.

The movement may be gaining momentum partly because initial skepticism has faded, particularly as online classes have become common at the college level.

Duncan to NEA: Reform Now

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, recently spoke to the National Education Association, NEA. Duncan expressed federal stimulus money will be handed out to states more open to reform; charter schools and merit pay are the main focuses. According to Education Week:

Speaking before 6,500 officials and local delegates of the NEA, who are meeting here for the union’s annual Representative Assembly, Mr. Duncan underscored compensation, evaluation, and tenure reform as crucial to improving the quality of the education workforce.

“I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers, but they have produced an industrial, factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets,” Mr. Duncan said. “When inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children, then we are not only putting kids at risk, we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public, and that is not good for any of us.”

Basically saying the status quo is only hurting our children and the entire education system. It is past time for change but it is never too late. Slowly but surely, states are open to reform. Lets get the ball rolling!

Indiana Passes Major School Choice Bill

Earlier this week, the state of Indiana passed a scholarship tax credit program that would grant children to use these funds to attend better suited schools, private or public. Individuals or corporations donate funds and then receive a tax credit on their donation.
Choice programs such as these allow thousands of children to gain access to better schools. Wealthy families can typically afford private schools, but lower income families cannot. Why should the children be forced to attend schools that are not providing them the education they deserve? If, as a society, we expect all children to be properly educated, why can't we give them all the same chance?
A good strong education is one of the most important tools for being successful later in life. Applauds to Indiana for passing this! Many states, including Missouri, have come close but the strong offensive groups have won. Slowly but surely, states are understanding that children and their families deserve this choice. Now...I wait until Missouri gets there.

MNEA to Meet with Charter Schools

According to the St. Louis Post, the Grade, one of the largest teachers union in Missouri is planning to meet with the Missouri Charter school leaders to see what they have to say.

The MNEA asked to meet with the state department’s director of charter schools, Jocelyn Strand, and with the director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, Aaron North.

“We really felt it was important for us to hear what their beliefs are, and what exactly they’re advocating,” Guinther said.

Is this an extension of an olive branch? Guess we will wait and see. Charter schools offer parents with choices they may not otherwise have. With many failing schools and schools that are not the right fit, parents need choices within their means. Many families cannot afford the lavish private schools, but that should not mean their children will suffer through a sub par education.
I am interested to see how this story continues...

Missouri Has One Year to Get Act Together

Arne Duncan is a supporter of certain education reform ideas, such as charter schools and merit pay. The US Department of Education has now laid out very specific rules to get education stimulus dollars. There are two rounds in this process, trying to give states a second chance at applying for stimulus money if they didn't make the cut the first time. Missouri could have a chance if they would lighten up on some of the charter school laws!
According to Education Week:

Applications will be due in December and June. So states that have charter school caps, for instance, have a year (as Duncan might say) to get their act together and lift those caps!

It looks like these deadlines will apply only to the $4 billion in state grants, not to the $350 million that's been set aside for new assessments, nor for the $650 million in innovation grants available to school districts and nonprofit groups.

The deadlines are:

Late July: The Department will publish a notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register, inviting public comment for 30 days on the proposed grant application and the criteria for evaluating the states' applications.

October: Notice inviting applications will be published in the Federal Register.

December: Phase 1 applications will be due.

March 2010: Phase 1 grants awarded, winners announced.

June 2010: Phase 2 applications will be due.

September 2010: Phase 2 grants awarded, winners announced.

Arne Duncan Shows Support for Good Education Reforms Ideas

Duncan comes out praising merit pay for teachers and the expansion of charter schools. Duncan believes teachers should embrace merit pay, and it "He says he wants it done with teachers, not to teachers."

Charter schools offer children options they may not have in their current public schools and Duncan is trying to promote charter schools: (From the Teacher Magazine)

Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently of local school boards, often free from the constraints of union contracts in traditional public schools. As a result, they are hotly opposed by teachers and other critics who say they drain money and talent from other public schools.

Duncan has criticized states where lawmakers have resisted efforts to allow more charters to open, such as Illinois, or more children to enroll in them, such as Tennessee. He has said states will hurt their chance to compete for stimulus dollars if they fail to embrace innovations like charter schools.

Missouri Makes Some Steps Forward

Legislative session has ended...and with that comes reflection on the bills that passed and didn't pass. Unfortunately, this year, the special needs scholarship tax credit did not get as far as it did last year. However, I expect in the coming years for it to heat up again as it did last year.
They did, however, pass merit pay options for teachers and pass a bill that allowed the state to study open enrollment. Hopefully, the study they conduct will show how incredibly effective it would be for open enrollment to be allowed. Children in failing schools or even in schools that are not the right fit for them are suffering, and we need to help them.
These are big steps in the right direction for the children of Missouri!

Chess Moving Back Into Schools

Most people know chess can be a mentally challenging game, but do most people know that studies have shown how it increases student achievement in school? I could only imagine why...the game is challenging, intense, and must be played with strategy and thoughtfulness. Children who can learn to play the game can only improve their concentration and critical thinking abilities.
The U.S.A. Today, in "Chess Making Comeback in US Schools":

Getting a group of third, fourth and fifth graders to sit quietly is considered by some to be an impossible task. But all Ross Pancoast has to do to get his class of about 20 students at Beverly Farms Elementary School in Potomac, Md., to focus is set up a few chess boards.

Once he brings out the clocks, black and white pieces, and score sheets, the typical classroom commotion turns to silence.

Pancoast, who teaches chess before and after school at about nine schools in Montgomery County Md., says he's seen a "resurgence" of the game in the school system.

And it's not just a local phenomenon. Over the past few years scholastic chess, or chess for educational purposes, has taken U.S. schools by storm.

"We're seeing more of these (chess programs) across the country, especially as more and more educators are seeing the impact of the chess program on their students," says Jerry Nash, scholastic director of the U.S. Chess Federation.

This increased interest can be seen in the number of young people competing in chess at high levels. This week the nation's top chess players are gathering in St. Louis to compete in the "Super Bowl" of chess — the U.S. Chess Championship. Of the 24 players vying for the $200,000 prize, four are under the age of 21, including 14-year-old Ray Robson of Largo, Fla., the youngest player in the competition.

Wendi Fischer, executive director of America's Foundation for Chess, says she's seen a "huge increase" in the number of schools and students interested in chess. The foundation teaches second- and third-grade teachers how to use chess as a learning tool, through a program called First Move.

When the program started in 2003 it was in one state, serving about 1,500 kids, but by 2008 First Move expanded to 26 states, to serve about 50,000 kids.

Fischer says the aim of the program is to teach critical thinking skills that will help students succeed academically and socially.

"In the very first lesson we study board basics. One of the basics of the chess board is that it uses a coordinate system, and the coordinate system is the basis of algebra."

Marlie Buehler is the founder of Abundant Waters, an after-school program that operates out of PS 51 in New York. She says chess is one of the activities that is part of the program, adding that it teaches children many important skills, including how to take notes.

"I firmly believe everybody should have to take it," she says. "It's teaching the mind how to think."

While chess isn't required in most schools across the country, Nash says there are programs in every type of school, including inner-city schools, private schools and home schools.

He says the universal nature of chess is the reason for its popularity. "Chess is an equalizer — it doesn't depend on your size or age. Plus it's a very inexpensive game to play."

Pancoast says parent demand is a large part of the reason chess programs have become a staple in many schools. When Pancoast's father, Omar, started the C&O Family Chess Center about seven years ago, there were so many Parent Teacher Associations asking for programs in their schools that Omar brought Ross on to meet the demand. Now they work with about 25 schools around Maryland.

"I think that parents are starting to see chess as an extracurricular activity that has some benefits other than just learning how to play chess," he says. "It sort of carries over into other aspects when it comes to logical thinking and process of events."

Rex Sinquefield, founder and president of the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center, which is hosting the tournament, says one of the main reasons scholastic chess is becoming so popular is that there's an interest on the part of the top chess players to get kids involved in the game.

Sinquefield's group is working on a study of how kids benefit academically from chess. "It's definitely an exercise of the brain. They also learn that you can improve by studying and that you go to books to learn."

Students in DC Speak Out in Favor of Scholarship Program

The school choice rally last week in Washington DC: large turnout, successful, and proof of the overwhelming support of choice programs!

Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis Hosts the 2009 U.S. Championship

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis will host the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship! From May 7-17 the top 24 in the nation will compete for over $200,000 in prizes. Come show your support for your community!

More information and FREE tickets available at: www.saintlouischessclub.org.

St. Louis City Schools Left Empty

A thought for the day...does it seem like a good idea to restrict the sale of empty school buildings? If they were sold, the city could make money and neighborhoods could again flourish with community schools. Why would anyone decide to prohibit those sales?

Choices for the Privileged?

A parent's job is to make the right decision for their children, keep them healthy and safe, and give them the tools to succeed in life. Naturally, the President of the United States and his family would be no exception to that. The Obama Family made a tough choice in where to send their children to school when they moved to a new city. Of course, I want those girls to have the best education available, as I would want for every child.
The DC Scholarship program's existence has recently been threatened. Now evidence clearly says that the program is working. How will the Obamas handle this new information? Will they still want to end a successful program, one that helps thousands of children? Should they sit by and watch this program get killed?
From the Washington Times:

The Opportunity Scholarship Program is small stuff in Washington, where trillions of dollars are thrown around like Frisbees, but the program drew national notice because a few sentences and paragraphs to abolish the program were tucked into the stimulus bill. Members of Congress and figures in the new administration, who, like the Obamas, wouldn't dream of sending their children to a public school in the District, cheerfully killed a program for families not as fortunate as themselves. All in the name of high principle, of course.

The president and the Democrats say they killed it because there was no proof that it worked. But now there is. The evaluators found that scholarship students scored specific gains in reading - by a half grade. That's no small increase. Math scores remained steady, and the scores suggest that further gains will follow as the students from deprived neighborhoods acclimate themselves to the more rigorous discipline of private schools. This is the change in which hundreds of parents are eager to believe.

”There are transition difficulties, a culture shock, on entering a school where you're expected to pay attention, learn, do homework,” said Jay Green, an education scholar at the Manhattan Institute, to the Wall Street Journal. “These results fit a pattern that we've seen in other evaluations of vouchers. Benefits compound over time.”

Ninety-nine percent of the low-income students who have transferred from deprived neighborhoods are black and Hispanic. A long waiting list, with four applicants vying for each scholarship, testifies to the demand for the program.

The $7,500 voucher is equal to only half of what the D.C. government spends per student in the city's dreadful public schools. Despite the $14,000 the District spends per pupil in its schools - highest in the nation - the city's achievement scores are among the lowest in the country.

Vouchers are key to education reform, along with more charter schools, knowledge tests and merit pay for teachers. But the powerful teachers unions, the ventriloquists behind the congressional dummies on their laps, naturally oppose reforms that would impose accountability. The worst teachers know their weaknesses, and the protection of mediocrity becomes the first order of business for the teachers unions.

President Obama promised he would support “what works for the kids,” and now he has the proof that this specific program works. In addition to the statistical evidence, there's the reassurance, hard to measure but abundantly clear, for parents and their children to feel secure and safe in the program. The program takes them out of schools where learning is not often prized and where physical safety is often at risk.

Children and Parents Need Options!

Missouri is currently trying to educate and learn more about open enrollment laws that could potentially save many children from failed education programs. Currently, students who are stuck in either failing schools or schools that don't meet their needs, they have no options. They can either stay there or spend more money on a private education. Shouldn't these parents have a better choice than that?

Charter Schools Show Success

Not all public schools are bad, just like not all charter or private schools are superior to public schools. However, overall, the findings are that charter schools have some serious advantages over the standard public schools. (Important note: charter schools are public schools, but are managed differently).
With many school districts in Missouri struggling, there is no doubt as to why charter schools are gaining support. Would you want to send your child to a public school that was unaccredited and your child is failing? What parent would?
An article posted in Missouri Political News Service, written by Sarah Brodsky, describes why charter schools may have a leg up.

SMI Commentary: Charter Schools Succeed at Language Instruction

March 23rd, 2009 by mopns · No Comments

Former Show-Me Institute policy analyst Sarah Brodsky highlights another reason why inner city public schools are failing our children and not preparing them for the 21st century economy.

By Sarah Brodsky

Charter schools, the public schools run by independent organizations that are continual subjects of debate, are often compared to traditional public schools on the basis of facts and figures. Education reformers pore over test scores and graduation rates. They ask how many alumni go on to attend college. They tally the number of school computers and count how many hours students spend in the classroom. All of those measures reveal something about school quality, of course, but parents may consider any number of other factors when choosing where to send their children.

Fortunately, charter schools have the flexibility to tailor their curricula to specific types of student needs. For instance, charter schools that focus on foreign languages are flourishing across the country. Here in Missouri, there is currently one French-immersion charter school, Academie Lafayette of Kansas City, and French- and Spanish-immersion charters are set to open this year in Saint Louis. These specialized charter schools give students language-learning opportunities unmatched by traditional public schools, and their achievement in this area of instruction showcases the charter model’s advantages. Read more…

Don't Shortchange The Students

In the St. Louis Post's Editorial and Commentary page, Mark Brandom speaks out about the injustices in the potential sales restrictions of many St. Louis closed public schools:

Shortchanging students

In "Battle over shuttered St. Louis schools escalates" (March 3), state Sen. Robin Wright-Jones, D-St. Louis, said that the St. Louis School Board owns the properties and it is its right to close the schools. Actually, although I can't believe legislators have to waste their time with this, the reality is the taxpayers own the schools, and the Legislature has a fiscal responsibility to these taxpayers.

The financial woes of the St. Louis Public schools are no secret, and I'm quite certain the pupils within the school system would stand to gain from the new funds received from the disposition of these buildings. We all know that St. Louis Public Schools' objection to the sale to charter schools is simply because they create competition. This is unfair to the students living in the St. Louis School system and shortchanges their future.

Also, I agree with Sen. Jim Lembke, R-South St. Louis County, in his assessment that the "expense of abatement" rationale is a nothing more than a "straw man" argument. I see buildings change hands all the time, and while the environmental concerns within the buildings certainly can be a negotiating point on the purchase price, the clean-up responsibility typically is borne by the purchaser.

The results of charter schools speak for themselves; let's not continue to shortchange these students simply so St. Louis Public schools can avoid competition.

Mark R. Brandom | St. Louis

Arne Duncan, Education Secretary Quote of the Day

The stimulus bill has everyone up in arms. During the discussions over how the stimulus will impact education, Duncan was quoted in the Washington Post saying "School buildings don't belong to us. They don't belong to the unions. School buildings belong to the community...Almost every school building has classrooms. They have computer labs. They have libraries. . . . Why are they open six hours a day? It's crazy."
Let's see how this compares to the dire situation in St. Louis. Many SLPS will be closing their doors, yet the SAB is trying to restrict the sale of those buildings. They say charter schools and private schools cannot buy these buildings for 100 years. What would Duncan say about this?

Online Classes Open Opportunities

While Missouri still currently remains a state without many educational opportunities for children, we are at the very least, allowed to use some virtual learning methods. While this is still controversial for some, the fact is that it opens doors for many children. Those children and parents who cannot choose where they go to school, some will have opportunities to chose online classes. By doing so, they are exposed to a bigger variety of courses, can work from home, and will have exposure to other teachers.

In the STL Today Blogs:

Schools could get funding for online classes

By Roseann Moring

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Digg Yahoo! Del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Drudge Google Fark logo" width="16" border="0" height="16"> Fark Stumble It!

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate Education Committee today heard about a bill that would allow school districts to get funding for online classes the same way they get funding for regular classes.

Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, sponsored the bill, which garnered support from several school-related organizations.

Proponents said it would allow schools more flexibility, particularly for students who want to take more classes or don’t like normal school hours. They said it also would allow for a wider range of classes, especially in small or rural districts.

Where Did We Go Wrong?

When did the notion of transparency and openness equate to a bad thing? As a taxpayer, I want and demand to know how and where my money is being spent. If there are indiscretions on where the money is being used, shouldn't someone know about it? Many offices and districts are financially irresponsible and this should not continue.
Yesterday, the Missouri School Board Association held its annual forum and I was utterly and truly in awe of what many people were saying.
This was in today's Columbia Tribune:

From the Tribune's former k-12 education reporter, Janese Heavin:

I appreciate Jonathon momentarily letting me share his blog space: I attended the Missouri School Boards' Association's annual forum in Jefferson City yesterday and found some comments worth passing along to Homeroom readers.

In between doom-and-gloom financial forecasts (which you can read about in today's Trib), keynote speakers advised school administrators and board members to essentially keep patrons in the dark.

Independence Superintendent Jim Hinson even praised his school board for not paying close attention to the district’s spending habits. Board members are welcome to talk about long-term goals, he said, but shouldn’t get into details of the day-to-day spending. “The school board hires me to operate the school district, and that’s what I’m going to do,” Hinson said, responding to a question from an attendee about boards that “micromanage.”

Independence has thousands of budget codes that school board members “don’t want to know,” he bragged. And, while board members are welcome to ask about district bills in private, they shouldn’t do it at a public meeting, Hinson advised. Apparently, there are "more important things to do at board meetings" than scrutinize district expenditures.

“The board doesn’t get involved in the daily operation of the school district, absolutely not,” Hinson said. “If they did, I wouldn’t work there.”

Of course, Columbia has a few school board members who do take time to review how administrators are spending tax dollars. Could that be why more superintendents didn't apply for the top administrative position here: because they didn't want board members paying attention to the way they're used to spending money?

Anyway, shortly after Hinson spoke, Rick Nobles, a consultant with Patron Insights, urged school leaders to be vague when trying to get voters to approve bond issues or tax increases. For instance, he said, rather than telling district patrons that bond money would be used to add six classes, tell them the money would ease overcrowding. Patrons just don’t want to be beat over the head with details, he said.

(You might recognize Patron Insights: The district almost hired them to conduct a survey after voters rejected the 54-cent levy increase).

Among Nobles' advice: Don't tell voters "it's for the children," he said. "That doesn't pull heartstrings the way you think it will."

Thoughts?

Closing SLPS Should Not Be Restricted!!!

By David Hunn

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

02/10/2009

ST. LOUIS — When leaders of the St. Louis Public Schools prepared to sell a slew of old school buildings a year ago, they moved to ban a few businesses from buying. They barred liquor stores, landfills, distilleries, as well as shops that sell "so-called 'sexual toys.'"

They also blackballed charter schools.

Now, as the school board debates closing as many as 29 more buildings in the shrinking city district, and as new charter schools search desperately for space, a swell of anger is rising up against that restriction.

Legislators have readied resolutions in Jefferson City asking the district to remove the ban. Pro-charter and school-choice groups have sent around press releases. Residents worry about the empty buildings that will rot their neighborhoods
And charter school leaders continue to grumble that they are public schools and should be able to use public buildings.

"It's not about getting anything for free," said Aaron North, director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association. "Charter schools just want to use those buildings to educate children."

City schools board member and CEO Rick Sullivan said the board will likely revisit the subject, with all this recent hoopla.

But, on further discussion, he chuckles a little. It's not like this is an unusual restriction, he says, in the business world. Companies often bar sales to direct competitors.

And, according to the district, that's exactly how this restriction got started.

INKING THE BAN

Leaders of the St. Louis Public Schools aren't sure whether they had a written policy before 2007 that banned charter schools from district buildings.

But, with charters booming — taking students and dollars from the district for the last decade — charter school leaders say there was certainly an unwritten rule.

"We tried to buy three," said Susan Uchitelle, board member at Confluence Academy, a charter school with three campuses and 2,700 students in St. Louis.

"We finally just gave up," Uchitelle said. "It was made very clear they weren't going to sell to us. They'd show them to us. They'd let us walk through them. But then they'd take them off the market."

Then, in April 2007, developer Sam Glasser engineered the purchase of King Tri-A school, on North Kingshighway, with no hint as to his intentions.

The district says he passed the building to Imagine Schools, a national company that starts and runs charters across the country. Glasser says he was acting on behalf of Imagine all along. Regardless, district leaders weren't happy.

"They wrote a letter to my law firm saying you're not supposed to do that," Glasser said Monday.

And the next fall, Imagine opened its Academy of Careers Middle School there.

That year, St. Louis Public Schools chief operating officer Deanna Anderson contacted district lawyers and asked for a new sale contract, with a deed restriction barring sales to charter schools for 100 years.

The board approved the new contract at the end of 2007.

FINDING A BUILDING

Now, Anderson says, the district has six properties on the market for more than $7 million, not including 15 others that had previously been closed and mothballed.

Meanwhile, charter schools continue to multiply.

There are 17 campuses in the city now, serving 9,500 students, or about one-quarter of the city school population, and charter leaders expect eight more to open by the fall of 2010.

Of those, six are still looking for school buildings — including two that plan to open in the fall.

"It's still hard to find a place for your schools," said Rhonda Broussard, executive director of St. Louis Language Immersion Schools, set to open this fall. "The consequences to us are largely monetary. It means we need to raise more money and spend more money in order to have a viable school facility for our students."

Broussard said she could buy an old St. Louis Public Schools building for between $800,000 and $1.5 million. But converting nonschool buildings? $2 million to $6 million, she said, state dollars that could go to the classroom.

The topic is so difficult, she can't even bring it up with others who hope to start charters, she said, with whom she shares nearly everything else. "Facilities is taboo — because we know how hard they are to find."

Broussard says her school is nearly ready. Her French- and Spanish-immersion program is set. Families are already interested. She has even begun hiring. But her building?

"That's the only thing, at this point," she said, "that's uncertain."

HURTING THE CITY

But neighborhoods across the city see far more uncertainty.

State Rep. T.D. El-Amin, a Democrat who represents much of north St. Louis, recently toured the neighborhoods with closed — or possibly closing — schools.

El-Amin is backing a resolution to pressure the district to reverse its policy. He pointed out schools that shut long ago, and ones that just closed their doors, some separated by just a few streets.

He understands that the district has shrunk sharply over the last decade, and can't possibly keep all its schools open. But schools, in so many neighborhoods, he said, are often the only anchor left.

"I'm telling you," he said. "Some of these streets, you just hear shots, all night long."

Residents — on their porches, watching their children, washing their cars — stopped to lament the loss with him.

"You losing all these schools," said Lamarr Paige, 38, a father of six. "And all the buildings just sitting there, just sitting there!"

It's not only the vandalism, theft and violence a vacant building draws, they all said.

There's something deeper.

It can change a kid's perspective on all schools, El-Amin said, not just the vacant ones.

The kids look up, he said, and they don't see children on the playground, or in the classroom, faces peering out of the tall school windows.

They see grass growing up through cracks in the asphalt.

They see broken glass, stones, and target practice to come.