Charter Schools

School board cuts domestic-partner benefits, then OKs pacts The Baltimore County school board cut domestic-partner benefits last night before approving contracts recently negotiated with employee unions, bringing swift criticism from the head of the teachers union. "They made a big mistake tonight. I can tell you that teachers and other employees are upset about this," Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said in an interview a moment after the vote.

Frustrated by a local charter school's weak finances, use of underqualified teachers and botched paperwork, an Anne Arundel County school board member is drafting a proposal to limit the help given to the semi-independent schools. Board vice president Eugene Peterson's proposal would provide intensive help in the first year with staffing, understanding state and federal laws, reduce the assistance by half in the second year and make them independent by the third year. Currently, there are no rules governing how much support the district should provide.

Second of three articles on issues in the campaign for mayor Virtually all of Baltimore's mayoral candidates have made improving the public schools a central tenet of their campaigns, and with good reason: Voters rank education as one of the city's two most pressing issues, second only to crime. Most of the seven Democratic candidates trying to unseat incumbent Sheila Dixon have proposed overhauling the way the system is governed, replacing the existing school board either with an elected board or with mayoral control.

NEW YORK -- Gov. George W. Bush of Texas used a speech about his proposals for improving education yesterday to issue a pointed critique of the Republican Party, saying that it had put too much emphasis on economic wealth and too little on social problems.It was the second time in less than a week that Bush, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, had cast fellow Republicans as insensitive and had seemed to be establishing some distance from them. On Thursday, Bush accused House Republicans of trying to "balance the budget on the backs of the poor."

Maryland's efforts to boost teacher quality received a grade of C yesterday from a school-reform research group, which said there is too little accountability across the state and nation for teachers and principals.But the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation praised Maryland for its programs to hire teachers from places other than traditional college education schools, and the state's grade was above the national average of D-plus."Maryland is one of the friendliest states in the nation to would-be teachers," said the foundation's report, titled "The Quest for Better Teachers: Grading the States."

Lawmakers will hear testimony today on legislation that would govern the founding of charter schools in Maryland and that could open the door for federal aid for them.Maryland is among about 15 states without the regulations required by the federal government for this aid.Charter schools are public schools operated by a group or institution with a contract, or charter, and with varying degrees of independence from school bureaucracies. They have become a rallying cry for reformers who see them as key to improving public schools by increasing competition for students and providing models of better ways to teach children.

IT'S NO secret that President Clinton and Gov. Parris N. Glendening are passionate about improving public education. In major policy addresses last month, both men prominently mentioned their efforts to improve education, emphasizing a commitment to increase funding for such things as smaller class sizes and new school buildings.Such proposals resonate with voters because they seem like common-sense ideas that can be easily measured.But the school-reform debate can't end there. Creating lasting education reform in Maryland and elsewhere, means tackling a wider range of issues, including:The state should offer parents more choice in the form of charter schools and other forms of self-governance.

COMPROMISE IS THE name of the political game, and legislation giving the state's blessing to "charter schools" has been so compromised that no one -- neither friend nor foe -- has much enthusiasm for it.The bill sets forth the rules governing schools that are financed publicly but operated independently by groups of like-minded citizens. Charter schools are popular in states such as Arizona, California and Michigan, but Maryland is late joining the charter school parade.Independence and autonomy are the two words most often heard from charter proponents.

DENVER -- From New Jersey to Baltimore to Oakland, Calif., mayors and governors have been seizing control of public schools from failing school boards. Parents are being offered more choices for their children. Charter-school laws have passed in 37 states; this fall such schools will enroll 350,000 children. Voucher programs are increasingly being adopted.A decade ago, these seismic shifts in U.S. education would have seemed wildly improbable. But they're fact today. And they raise fascinating questions: What changes might the next 10 years bring?

Pending bill would create charter schoolsRecently, a group of us interested in the education of blind children were considering the alternatives in education for our kids. While looking for information, I found out that a bill has been introduced this session in the Maryland House of Delegates that would make provisions for charter schools.The Center for Education Reform defines charter schools as "independent public schools that are freed from bureaucratic and regulatory micromanagement to design and deliver programs tailored to educational excellence and the needs of their community.

It may not exactly be Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, but the nation's closest thing to a political "Odd Couple" rolls into Baltimore today when the Rev. Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich visit Kipp Ujima Village Academy and Hampstead Hill Academy charter schools as part of a nationwide tour to highlight education reform. This unusual pairing of a liberal civil rights activist with the conservative former speaker of the House provides Maryland policymakers - and all educators - an opportunity to reassess where we are in America today with the quality of education offered children attending inner-city schools.

Despite the growing number of charter schools in Maryland, 3,000 students remain on waiting lists and advocates say legislators should loosen the ties that prevent further growth and support of charters. Some charter schools have so many students who want to go there that they could fill every seat twice, said David Miller, director of the Maryland Charter School Network. City Neighbors Charter School in Baltimore has 198 students and 420 students on the waiting list, said Principal Mike Chalupa.

Baltimore's KIPP Ujima Village Academy is an unqualified success. Despite serving a poor, inner-city population, the charter school routinely posts some of the highest standardized test scores, not just in the city but in the state. Its 86.9 percent pass rate was barely edged out in this year's Maryland School Assessments by crosstown rival Roland Park Middle School (87.3 percent), but it beat out scores of top-quality suburban middle schools, including the likes of Carroll County's Westminster East Middle School, Baltimore County's Dumbarton Middle and Harford's Southampton Middle.

Should charter schools such as Baltimore's successful KIPP Ujima Village Academy have to follow the same rules as other Baltimore City schools regarding teacher pay and work schedules? Yes 37% No 56% Not sure 7% (506 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Do the Baltimore public schools' significant gains in MSA scores indicate that the city schools are finally turning a corner? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

The first comprehensive study of the nation's charter schools was published recently by the Center for Research and Educational Outcomes at Stanford University. The findings make it clear that students in traditional public schools do as well academically or surpass their charter school counterparts. According to the study of charter school students, 37 percent scored significantly lower in reading and math than similar students in traditional public schools; 46 percent were comparable to the local public schools; and 17 percent showed better results than students in the traditional schools.

Six months after his inauguration, do you generally approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president? Yes 23% No 74% Not sure 3% (3,634 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Should charter schools such as Baltimore's successful KIPP Ujima Village Academy have to follow the same rules as other Baltimore City schools regarding teacher pay and work schedules? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

As many of you know, Sunday was the 55th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. Fifty-five years later, with some notable exceptions (City Neighbors Charter comes immediately to mind), many of our schools in Baltimore and urban centers around the nation are still separate and unequal. Jonathan Kozol used the word "apartheid" when he came to Baltimore not long ago. This is no longer because of legal segregation, but because of the housing choices that we make - choices that evolved partly to avoid the Brown mandate.

Students at Baltimore's charter schools tend to come from more advantaged backgrounds than their peers at regular city schools, according to a new report to be presented to the board of education Tuesday. The city's charter schools serve fewer special education students, over-age students who have repeated a grade, and students eligible for federally subsidized meals because of family poverty. Overall, they are also more racially diverse than traditional schools, attracting more whites and Latinos, though some that converted from neighborhood schools are almost entirely segregated.

Baltimore parents will gain formal input in school governance under a revised policy approved last night by the city school board. As a result of a major system reorganization last year, city principals were given significant control over how to spend their schools' money. City schools chief Andres Alonso has said all along that administrators must involve parents in the budget process. The policy spells out details of that involvement. It is the latest in a series of steps by the Alonso administration to get parents more engaged in their children's education, including hiring community organizers at more than 60 schools to mobilize families.

Top administrators in the Baltimore City school system were used to staff meetings with fluid agendas that left time for all to speak. But now, Andres Alonso was presiding. And class was in session. When I send you an e-mail, the schools' new chief executive told them on that summer day in 2007, I expect a reply within 20 minutes. Twenty-four hours a day. Seven days a week. This wasn't a conversation, but more like a lecture, one in which students keep quiet for fear of being admonished for falling behind on their homework.