Baltimore's school board delayed last night a vote on a proposal to turn two of its most solid schools into independently run public schools.
The board was expected to give preliminary approval to turning Mount Washington Elementary and Barclay Elementary and Middle School into "new schools," which would allow them the flexibility to decide their curriculum, hire teachers and make numerous other adjustments.
But board members had many questions about the proposals -- which will not receive final approval until May -- and decided to meet to go over each request before giving the go-ahead.
"Are we setting up a process where our most middle-class neighborhoods opt out?" asked board member Sam Stringfield. "What are we doing wrong that these folks want out?"
Stringfield and other board members said they wanted to have a discussion with the schools about what constraints are hindering their ability to improve.
If approved, the two schools would join five other city schools designated as "new schools" because they have been given an independent status. Some are run by parents, but others have been taken over by nonprofit groups in the past several years.
Mount Washington would be run by the Parent Teacher Organization and Barclay by the Baltimore Curriculum Project, a nonprofit group that receives support from the Abell Foundation.
In both cases, the school principals have been involved in the plans for the changes.
All of the city's "new schools" have characteristics of private schools, while receiving tax dollars based on the number of pupils in the schools. Teachers retain regular health and retirement benefits, but the school operators have more flexibility in their hiring and firing.
Last night was the first time the board considered giving two solid-performing schools to others to run. Mount Washington has about 280 students and is considered one of the system's best schools. Although Barclay's test scores have fluctuated in the past, it has made solid gains with its large population of disadvantaged students. It is one of only two schools in the city that use the curriculum of the private Calvert School.
Changes at Mount Washington and Barclay would likely be made slowly because neither is in need of major reform.
"Barclay has a very good principal. They have a very good staff. They have very good community relations," said Chris Doherty, executive director of Baltimore Curriculum Project.
But because it has a different curriculum from other schools, some orders and initiatives from the central office haven't always fit, Doherty said. For instance, the school would like to give teachers more intensive training in the Calvert curriculum.
"We will provide a little bit of umbrella around Barclay to let it be Barclay," said Doherty.
Mount Washington parents said they want their school to become independent to give it more flexibility in determining its future. They would like to offer other courses, including some for gifted and talented students.
But the parents made it clear that governance of the school would be shared by parents and current staff, including its popular new principal, Lisa Harvin.
"Our school principal and teachers gain some flexibility in curriculum that will address the individual students' needs," said John Mack, father of a fifth-grader at the school.
