Charters are public, non-sectarian schools that operate through an agreement between the charter school and the sponsoring school board or "other public chartering authority." Former Republican Governor Tom Ridge pushed through enactment of a charter school law in Pennsylvania that enables tax dollars to flow with students who choose to enroll in a public alternative to traditional classrooms. Today, 73,000 students attend Pennsylvania charters, 21,000 of whom receive instruction online through cyber-charter schools, and another 26,000 are on waiting lists. State Auditor General Jack Wagner this week called for a moratorium on the creation of charters until lawmakers revisit the funding formula used to determine tuition at the schools. Guggenheim's documentary could fuel a backlash against that effort.
Our guests include Republican state Senator Jeff Piccola who chairs the Senate Education Committee. Since both gubernatorial candidates have embraced an expansion of educational options for parents and students, Sen. Piccola's drafting legislation to open the door to "vouchers." That's sure to generate more controversy surrounding education reform. He won't find an ally in another guest, Tim Allwein, deputy executive director of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Allwein's group argues that public schools educate the vast majority of Pennsylvania's future residents and those traditional public schools need the state's full financial support to do the job well. Tim Daniels, CEO of Achievement House Cyber Charter School and a former executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, will offer his thoughts on alternative educational settings.
Oprah Winfrey made headlines last month when she presented a $1 million check to the Mastery Charter Schools in Philadelphia. The U.S. Department of Education hails Mastery, a non-profit charter network, as "a national model for school turnarounds." It has successfully remade a high school and three troubled middle schools in the city and plans to expand to elementary schools in the coming year. But there are plenty of stories around Pennsylvania of charter schools gone bust, like the Germantown Settlement Charter School run by Emanuel Freeman. The Philadelphia School Reform Commission shut it down last year. Philadelphia magazine profiles the case in this month's issue. Jason Fagone writes, "Freeman wasn't an educator. Not only was the school falling apart; it couldn't supply enough paper or pencils or chalk. Settlement Charter failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress in state test scores in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. Between 2003 and 2007, the number of children who scored "below basic" in reading actually increased, from 40.6 percent to 45.3 percent. The children were drowning."
By the time the Germantown Settlement charter was rescinded, $31 million in taxpayer money had been flushed down that drain. In his new documentary, Davis Guggenheim mentions, but doesn't dwell upon, the fact that only 17 percent of America's charters deliver a "superior education opportunity" than the public schools their students abandoned. Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) reached that conclusion after conducting the largest study to date of charter schools in the U.S. But, make no mistake about it: some of those traditional public schools that millions of children attend, and to which billions of our tax dollars continue to flow, are downright dangerous and failing in every measure of academic performance and accountability. Please take a moment to look over Pennsylvania's latest PSSA results for some sobering insight into the challenges that confront our schools.
So, the fundamental questions posed by the documentary are who will be -– and who should be -- the Superman to sweep in and rescue this generation of children from academic failure?
Do you support tying teachers' salaries to their students' academic performances as measured on standardized tests? Do you blame teachers' unions for many of the ills affecting America's classrooms? Who should be accountable for a school's overall performance - the administrators, the teachers, the students, the parents? What approach should the next governor take when budgeting for education?
Under Pennsylvania's current public education system, geography -- one's zip code -- largely determines one's academic destiny. Gov. Ridge tried twice to pass a true school-choice, or vouchers, law. Strong lobbying by the teachers' unions, public-school boards and public-school advocates shot it down both times. Pennsylvania seems poised to reconsider that debate. The fight to improve students' academic achievement could kick into high gear in 2011. Let's start the conversation now. Join us live Thursday night at 8 at 1-800-729-7532 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
WATCH "WAITING FOR SUPERMAN" TRAILER:
