The Changing State of the Education System - Essay Example

The Changing of the Education System For generations, public schools have been seen as the backbone for the education system in the United States. Within the hallowed halls of the local classroom, many youth have found the education which is meant to aid them as they go out into the world to work towards making a difference and achieving success. Unfortunately, due to a lack of qualified teachers, as well as state budgets which suffer from high short falls in financial capability, the real victims end out being the children who rely on the public school system itself. The sad, unnerving reality in America is that politics and dollar signs come before the welfare of the students for which the system and its decision makers are supposed to be serving in the first place. An option which has been forward is the idea of having charter schools as a way for parents who may not be happy with the present public school system that their child, or children, is in at the present time. "Charter Schools are sponsor-created and -administered, outcome-based public schools that operate under a contract between the school and the local school board or the state. To establish a Charter School, certified (in Ohio's case, certificated) teachers and/or other individuals or organizations, such as colleges, cultural institutions, government bodies, or parents, draw up plans for an innovative, outcome-based** school. (Minnesota's 1993 charter legislation allows for sponsors other than teachers.)," (Sautter p.1). A common complaint for many supporters of the public school system is that, to support charter schools, would drain necessary operating funds from an already fiscally strapped school system. Some interesting statistics for charter schools comes from the website for the National Study of Charter Schools: Characteristics of Charter Schools. Those statistics are; (1) Charter schools enroll about 0.5 percent of public school students in the charter states. (2) Most charter schools are small, particularly compared to other public schools. Charter schools have an estimated median enrollment of about 150 students, whereas other public schools in the charter states have a median of about 500 students. More than 60 percent of charter schools enroll fewer than 200 students, whereas about 16 percent of other public schools have fewer than 200 students. Charter schools begun in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years have a higher proportion of small schools, those fewer than 100 students than schools opened in earlier years. (3) Many charter schools have nontraditional grade configurations. Charter schools include a higher proportion of K-12, K-8, and ungraded schools than other public schools. (4) Most charter schools are newly created schools. An estimated 62 percent of charter schools were created because of the charter opportunity; the remainder are pre-existing public schools (25 percent) or pre-existing private schools (13 percent) that have converted to charter status. (5) Newly created charter schools tend to be smaller than converted schools. The median school size for newly created schools is 116 students, compared to a median of more than 380 students for pre-existing public schools. (National Study of Charter Schools 1). While the argument for charter schools has always been that they are better capable to educate the youth of today for the challenges of tomorrow, it is important to mention that charter schools are not above the same failures which plague their public counterparts. In a New York Times article dated 8 November 2007, author Sam Dillon details the campaign by Ohio officials to overhaul their charter school system because, surprise, it too is plagued by issues of poor performance. To sum it up, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is quoted as saying that, "Perhaps somewhere, charter schools have been implemented in a defensible manner, where they have provided quality," he said. "But the way they've been implemented in Ohio has been shameful. I think charter schools have been harmful, very harmful, to Ohio students," Alarmingly, the article continues, "But some charters are mediocre, and Ohio has a far higher failure rate than most states. Fifty-seven percent of its charter schools, most of which are in cities, are in academic watch or emergency, compared with 43 percent of traditional public schools in Ohio's big cities," Further elaborating that, "Behind the Ohio charter failures are systemic weaknesses that include loopholes in oversight, a law allowing 70 government and private agencies to authorize new charters, and financial incentives that encourage sponsors to let schools stay open." It is important to bring the hypocrisy of the argument for charter schools at the expense of those who are part of the public education system throughout the country. For the main argument to be that charter schools are a stronger educational alternative to the 'failure ridden' public school system, then, in the case of this sampling of Ohio's charter schools, this is a system that is failed as well. The Ohio Federation of Teachers issues their own statement as to how the charter schools are performing lower compared to the regular public school system. Saying that, "The Coalition's annual review of charter school performance also shows that Ohio charter schools failed last year at a rate 5 times that of regular public schools. Half of Ohio charter schools earned low ratings in the state's most recent assessment of academic performance - 50 percent of charter schools are in Academic Emergency and Academic Watch compared to just 9 percent of traditional public schools. At the top end of the performance spectrum, 74 percent of regular public schools were rated excellent or effective while just 16 percent of charter schools earned such high marks," (Ohio Fed. of Teachers 1). Where it really counts, charter schools have not been performing to the promised standards of excellence that were issued as a means of getting already enrolled students away from what was described as a failing and substandard public school sector. For a claim to be sound, the evidence must be solid in nature to prove the claim to be true by the person which is making the claim(s). The aforementioned statistic prove that, like the public schools in the area, charter schools are failing and heading down the same slippery slope that they said they would be less susceptible to. According to the website buckeyestateblog.com, "State Auditor, and charter school advocate, Mary Taylor (R), found that fifteen charter schools, including six in Franklin County alone, have such poor financial recordkeeping practices that her office cannot even be audited by her department. As a result, Taylor is holding seminars to train charter school personel in basic financial recordkeeping," The author continues, "In other words, despite the common portrayal as otherwise, studies by advocates for charter schools don't show that students do better in charter schools than in public schools. However, as stated above, the Ohio Department of Education has a much different take," ("Ohio's Charter School Crisis" 1). The findings of the State Auditor prove to further elaborate earlier findings that, despite adamant claims, charter schools are falling steadily down the achievement scale comparably as much as the public schools are, if not worse. Proving the point that, in the end, charter schools ultimately are not able to escape substandard performance any easier than public schools. If anything, the public school system which outsiders wish to tear down, in a lot of ways, appears to be performing at levels that are in their own right slightly higher than the charter schools as it comes to achievement. "After nearly a decade, this experiment with public education by contract with private providers continues to fail, for the most part. There is no accountability for results. The promise that charter schools that do not perform will be closed remains a distant prospect," said Tom Mooney, chairman of the Coalition for Public Education. "The same charter schools that earn failing ratings year after year continue to collect millions of taxpayer dollars without adequately educating thousands of Ohio children," (Ohio Fed. of Teachers 1). Teachers are the backbone for any school system; whether it is the public schools, or charter schools, teachers are the glue which holds them together. A disheartening report comes from the website newswise.com titled Study: Ohio's Charter Schools Show Alarming Teacher Turnover. The article begins with an overwhelming statement as to the statistics in regards to teachers within the Charter School system maintaining their jobs as compared to those who still taught in public schools. The author writes that, "From 2000 to 2003, between 44 and 52 percent of charter school teachers quit their positions each year. Few took other jobs in teaching. In comparison, between 6 and 11 percent of teachers in traditional public schools left their positions during each of those years. Even in major urban, high poverty public schools, the teacher attrition rate was only between 9 and 19 percent." Further writing that, "Results also showed that, compared to public schools, charter schools had much higher pupil-teacher ratios and had teachers who were significantly younger, less experienced and less credentialed than their public-school peers." In considering that another substantial argument for charter schools is the notion that students will be given the opportunity of having smaller class sizes, the fact that in this instance they are not, serves as a way to put a hole in the argument for charter schools altogether and shows the need for doing away with the system completely and putting the money back into public schools which, in this specific study as well as others, are performing at a more solid rate. In a sign of a possible crack in the 'overwhelming' support for the Charter School system, the Toledo Blade, spotlights the Toledo Board of Education's apparent lackluster support at the time for the idea of charter schools as it came to their individual district. According to David McClellan, the President of the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel, "It is not in the best interest of Toledo Public Schools," He goes on to say that, "For six years, the district has expressed the concern that charter schools are destroying public education," ("Toledo Board" 3/1/06). His comments are routed in the widely held belief that, to fund such an education venture, an overwhelming amount of money would have to be funneled into the Charter School system at the expense of the already struggling public school budget. Showing how politics can come into play, even in the discussion of education. All in all, the commonly held sentiment held among many is summed up in this quote, "Both charter and public schools in Ohio have been tossed around like footballs this fall, leaving parents to wonder whether any variety of education is actually working for their children," ("Targeted"). In the beginning, parents were promised the fail safe measure as they were told it would be, of having a charter school system that would be the saving grace from the failure-ridden public school system as it was described. As this article, as well as others have found, it has come down to the sad truth that promises earlier made have not been realized. Just like public schools, charter schools are failing just as bad, if not worse, than the system which so many supporters of charter schools fought so hard to get away from. "Charter schools employ a significantly lower percentage of teachers who are "highly qualified" for the subject(s) they teachaccording to thefederal "No Child Left Behind" definition.Only 39 percent of charter schoolsreport that all teachers are highly qualified compared to 61.5 percent of public schools. At 23.6 percent of charter schools, 50 percent or more of the teachers are not considered highly qualified compared to less than 1 percent of public schools.And 22.6 percent of charter schools failed to report how many of their teachers are highly qualified, while only 0.01 percent of public schools failed to report," (Ohio Fed. of Teachers 1). For those people who are products of the public school system, there is a sense of loyalty and protection of the history that binds the system to the country. Since the beginning of the nation, public schools have educated as a whole more of the public school aged citizens in comparison to the other educational systems. Failure is an unfortunate reality in times of budgetary woes, but unlike what many claim, public schools are not the only ones who are failing at a steady and harsh level. To take funding away from a problematic social program and to put it towards a system which itself is not immune to the same budgetary fallouts, is an example of a lack in solid judgment as it comes to such an issue. Education itself is a hot button political issue that becomes fodder for state and local politicians during election years. Ultimately, charter schools were thought to be a good solution, but have yet to provide the results. Charter schools were thought to be the magic solution that would provide a more quality education for the average youth. Fiscally, they are not fair to those of a different economic class and ultimately do not prove to be a solid investment for the future of the nation. Despite the hopes of its supporters, the system itself has fallen into a sense of failure and poor performance which, as many have described, is the reason for which many wanted to leave the public school system in the first place. In a quote posted on the website www.edwebproject.org, The National Education Association, showing to be on the fence as it comes to the issue, does bring up a lot of the same arguments that public education supporters have against charter schools. The Association writes that, "Researchers still have no clear answers to questions about the role of charter schools in increasing student achievement. And some state charter laws, particularly those funding home schooling or distance learning, and those funding charters to fly-by-night companies, could harm students and threaten the integrity of public education. Equity issues are also a concern because some charter schools, for instance, either do not serve or they under serve the needs of bilingual students, or students who require special education. And in some states, charter school laws do not build the critical factors of oversight and accountability into the process, which is a recipe for disaster in such a deregulated environment. Finally, funding for charter schools has become controversial, particularly where local school districts lose funding to charter operators even when the need for services in the rest of district schools remains the same, as has happened in some suburban, rural and small urban districts." The hypocrisy is the notion of taking much needed dollars from a system that has been around for many years and transporting it into a system that, in the few years which it has been in development and implementation, has not shown the performance goals that were promised in the beginning of the debate. As many cry foul about the fiscal abuse that occurs within the state and local governments, it's imperative to assess the financial abuses that occur at the local education sectors. Stealing money from schools and trying to build up a charter school, or 'private school', needing years to build up any kind of solid record of performance. Charter schools, in their current form, are not fair by any stretch. As teachers across the country, including in Ohio, fight to improve the standards and performance of their individual schools and students, outside influences are seeking to undermine the chances of success by floating the idea of a charter school system. A system, that while claiming to be fair, only has proven to be an example of fiscal irresponsibility that, if left unchecked, will continue to do more harm. Works Cited "Characteristics of Charter Schools." Accessed online: 4 April 2008. Archived Information: A National Study of Charter Schools. July 1998. URL: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/charter98/chap3.html "Charter Schools." URL: http://www.edwebproject.org/edref.charterschools.html Dillon, Sam. "Ohio Goes After Charter Schools That Are Failing." Source: New York Times Online. Published: 8 November 2007. Accessed Online: 3 April 2008. URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/ Ohio Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO. "Charter Schools Failing to Serve Disadvantaged, Minority Students." 16 August 2006. Accessed Online: 3 April 2008. URL: http://oh.aft.org "Ohio's charter school crisis." http://www.buckeyestateblog.com. Accessed online: 3 April 2008. Source: Buckeye State Blog: Pamphleteers of the Revolution. Sautter, R. Craig. Policy Briefs: "Charter Schools: A New Breed of Public Schools." School of New Learning, DePaul University. Accessed Online: 4 April 2008. URL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/go0och.htm "Study: Ohio's Charter Schools Show Alarming Teacher Turnover." URL: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/512869/ Smyth, Julie C. "Charter, Public schools targeted in court." Source: AP Statehouse Corresp. Published: 24 September 2007. http://www.cantonrep.com/index.phpID= 377924& Category=13&subCategoryID=. Accessed Online: 4 April 2008. "Toledo board wrestles with charter school sponsorship." Toledoblade.com Article published: 1 March 2006. Accessed Online: 4 April 2008. 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