Charter-school critic in the community
After some years of following charter-school issues and blogging to debunk what I see as misinformation, I'm having a cut-to-the-chase moment. I have an eighth-grader and am doing the high-school tours and events.
I'm not out to make public scenes by confronting anyone in person! Charter parents and spokespeople alike can already attest that I don't challenge them in public, raise a ruckus, or harass or embarrass anyone. I blog my opinions and post in relevant online discussions, which seems perfectly within the bounds of decorum.
At a Parents for Public Schools event last evening, the representative for a well-respected charter spoke about its enrollment process. It was not me but one of his fellow panelists who questioned him sharply about why they require a nine-page enrollment application, an essay and teacher recommendations to get into the alleged "blind" "lottery."
That's not inherently a bad thing. A selective enrollment process seems perfectly legitimate to me — as long as they're honest about it. Claiming to get the students to a higher level when they are actually pre-selected for being at a higher level is not honest, though.
One of my objections to that was that I have perceived that this school did a lot of comparing its achievement favorably to SFUSD schools that do not pre-screen. It seems like I'm seeing less of that now, though, and I appreciate it.
Anyway, back to the public decorum — I do plan to tour the charter schools with my eighth-grader, and I won't raise the issue in public when I hear a claim I think is inaccurate. I will blog about it here, though.
I'm not out to make public scenes by confronting anyone in person! Charter parents and spokespeople alike can already attest that I don't challenge them in public, raise a ruckus, or harass or embarrass anyone. I blog my opinions and post in relevant online discussions, which seems perfectly within the bounds of decorum.
At a Parents for Public Schools event last evening, the representative for a well-respected charter spoke about its enrollment process. It was not me but one of his fellow panelists who questioned him sharply about why they require a nine-page enrollment application, an essay and teacher recommendations to get into the alleged "blind" "lottery."
That's not inherently a bad thing. A selective enrollment process seems perfectly legitimate to me — as long as they're honest about it. Claiming to get the students to a higher level when they are actually pre-selected for being at a higher level is not honest, though.
One of my objections to that was that I have perceived that this school did a lot of comparing its achievement favorably to SFUSD schools that do not pre-screen. It seems like I'm seeing less of that now, though, and I appreciate it.
Anyway, back to the public decorum — I do plan to tour the charter schools with my eighth-grader, and I won't raise the issue in public when I hear a claim I think is inaccurate. I will blog about it here, though.
Labels: Charters
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