District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 64)

District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise they would compete for public funds and drain away top students have kept attendance-area schools and districts from wanting to cooperate. At the same time, charter schools have feared the red tape that districts have to contend with. An aversion to collaboration comes from misinformation that charters are out to “take all the money” from district schools and from a sense—sometimes legitimate—that charters are looking to present themselves as superior, says Janet Begin, co-founder and executive director of Hill View Montessori Charter Public School in Massachusetts. “It’s all in your approach,” she says. “Sometimes, charter schools come in saying, ‘We’re doing better,’ and basically insulting the district or not acknowledging what challenges [districts] do have.” Sometimes, she adds, money is in fact diverted from charter schools in the attendance area. District leaders’ suspicions that charters are out to show up regular schools and prove they’re better are giving way to a desire for mutual learning. “The relationship between charter schools and districts has been evolving over time,” says Alex Medler, vice president of research and evaluation for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Referring to the greater acceptance charter schools now enjoy within districts, he adds, “Things that 20 years ago would have seemed like sacrilege and blasphemy are now accepted.” Jim Hull, senior policy analyst for the National School Board Association’s Center for Public Education, says collaborations thus far have been more likely to be around administrative services, such as shared facilities and food service contracting, rather than best practices in the classroom, although that’s changing as the historic tensions are ratcheted down. “[Best practices] sharing is not going on to the extent anyone would want; however, that is improving,” he says. For example, the Massachusetts Department of Education recently created a database of best practices where districts and charter schools can share information. “It’s very important to get away from this debate 64 September 2011 A teacher, above on right, works with eighthgrade physical science honors students at Terrace Community Middle School in the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Public Schools. Left, fifth graders at Learning Gate Community in Hillsborough reap the benefits of hard work in the school garden. The schools are among several charters for which the district set up a Charter School Advisory Council, through which charter and district leaders meet to address opportunities. about ‘Are charters better than traditional schools?’” Hull adds. Medler says the issue with food service is that districts often have a long-term relationship with vendors and have so much more clout and weight than charters for getting good deals in terms of price and food quality. Charter schools want to make sure their food service contracts are a good deal, Medler explains, and they don’t want the initial charter approval process tied to those contracts. Collaborations between charter schools and districts have thrived in cities like Chicago, Denver and New York, where strong mayors and strong superintendents have gotten behind them, says Peter Groff, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “It’s going to continue to grow,” he says. “Even the opponents will concede that charters are here to stay. Now that that’s no longer the conversation, the question is ‘How can we take some of the best of what charters are doing and give them to other public schools?’” Funding Concerns Hull of NSBA’s Center for Public Education adds that when states directly fund charter schools without sacrificing dollars for public school districts, collaboraDistrict Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2011

District Administration - September 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Tech Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Conversations
They Work Hard for the Money
The Road to Rigor
District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise
Designing Safe Facilities
Tony Smith Tackles Oakland
Product Focus
New Products
Research Center
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Professional Opinion
Student Counsel

District Administration - September 2011