Understanding Choice

An Explanation of Charter, Innovation and Turnaround schools

By Celeste Thurman Archer

Public Education is a sea of acronyms and political jargon. As we approach the new school year with the various public education choices that Park Hill parents enjoy, there is a need for clarification. This is especially true, given that the choices can be overwhelming for some parents, while politically charged for others.

Park Hill resident Fran Sterling, former educator and now a senior research associate with the education nonprofit Facing History and Ourselves, said: “The politics of choice can sometimes trump the best needs of kids. As a former public school teacher, I was at first hesitant about charters and what that would mean to the public school system. Choice does not necessarily mean exclusion. All education is a backbone of society, if we live in a democratic ‘plurocracy,’ we need to present that in our school choices as well.”

With that advice, learning about Innovation Schools, Charter Schools and Turnaround Schools becomes a part of the choice process, as well as considering Park Hill’s wide-ranging traditional public schools.

Charter Schools
Some make the mistake to classify Charter Schools outside of the public school system. Charter Schools are public schools created by a group of parents, teachers and, occasionally, interested community members within a school district. The schools are semi-autonomous and allow families a diverse set of educational choices, as most Charter Schools are formed around a theme or specific curriculum idea.

According to the Colorado Department of Education, “the degree of autonomy to be exercised by the charter school on issues such as personnel, curriculum and facilities is negotiated between the charter applicants and the local school district. School-centered governance and a clear design for how and what students will learn are the essential characteristics of a charter school.” This autonomy is what some find controversial, as it gives more decision making power solely to the school leader and dismisses accountability to such things as a teacher contract.

The Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) programs are among the most noted Charters in Denver Public Schools. There are now seven operating DSST schools in Denver, with seven more approved. Bill Kurtz, CEO of DSST schools, is quick to reiterate the position of charters in a public school system, especially when traditionalists accuse charters of creating a negative or destructive effect on public schools. “We are the public school system. How can we destroy the system?”

Kurtz sees DSST as part of a vital team working to reinvent Denver Public Schools. He is particularly concerned about those who attribute the success of DSST to a pool of private money. Kurtz explains that 95 percent of their funding is public. Other Charters in and around Park Hill are the Denver Language School, the Odyssey School and Venture Prep.

Despite such reassurances, many still see Charter Schools as undermining the success and progress of traditional public schools, offering hopes of a false panacea for failing public schools. Education blogs such as “Rethinking Schools” and the Badass Teachers association – which was founded in June of this year “for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning” – warn of a move toward the privatization of public schools, suggesting Charter Schools are part of that move. It is this divide which fuels some of the long evenings on Denver’s school board and one of the reasons the upcoming election will be so crucial, as the possibility exists for a tip in either direction.

Innovation Schools
Innovation Schools are a result of the state’s Innovation Schools Act of 2008. This act “provides a pathway for schools and districts to develop innovative practices, better meet the needs of individual students and allow more autonomy to make decisions at the school level.” It gives a public school or a group of public schools the freedom to develop an individual plan and submit it to their local board of education. After the school’s plan has been approved by the local or regional board, the state board votes whether or not to accept the school.

Park Hill has had an opportunity to hear from one of Denver’s fastest growing Innovation Schools, McAuliffe International Middle School and its Principal Kurt Dennis, over the course of the last year while the move is made to replace the Smiley program by the 2014-2015 school year. McAuliffe works with the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and has a rigorous and structured liberal arts program. Part of their structure is a longer school day – eight hours versus seven; a longer school year – 195 days versus 171; and a requirement for uniforms. Within the general Park Hill area, other Innovation examples are Swigert International Elementary School, Denver Green School, Whittier K-8, Montclair, and MLK Early College.  McAuliffe and Swigert are in “pending” Innovation status for now, after a July court decision requested a vote from their school communities to reaffirm their adherence to the intent of the Innovation Schools Act. The case also points to the Act’s provision that Innovation Schools be geared to address geographic areas of low academic performance.

In describing the difference between Charter and Innovation Schools, Elaine Gantz Berman, member of the Colorado Board of Education and past Denver School Board president, says:

“A Charter School is a public school, receiving funding through the school district. It has its own governance board and can apply to the State Board of Education for a variety of waivers from specific rules and regulations. An Innovation School is governed by the local school district board, receiving the same funding as other similar district schools and is held to the same accountability standards.” She reiterates that these various models offer parents important educational options which allow public schools to meet differing student needs.

Turnaround Schools
Turnaround Schools have the goal their name implies: to turn a low performing school into a better performing school. There are pleas for educators to teach at turnaround schools, with monetary bonuses. It can be difficult at these schools with demands for quick results and hard, sometimes heartbreaking, work. There is an expectation that the dramatic and comprehensive changes within these schools will occur within a two-year period and that the school will be readied for the more long term move “into a high-performance organization.” In some cases, these turnaround schools are aided by private entities, thus fueling the same concern about the privatization of public schools voiced around Charters.

Colorado Department of Education characterizes these schools as, “hard, (with) a degree of failure to be expected.” In Colorado, 81,000 students attend turnaround schools, most being in the Denver metro area. Denver Summit Schools Network (DSSN) is a group of Turnaround Schools in northeast Denver. Smith Renaissance School is also part of this group, and their 2012-13 school year successes are featured on page 1.

Celeste Thurman Archer is the developing director for a summer learning opportunity called the Colorado Governor’s School. She can be reached at cogovschool@gmail.com.