District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 66)

District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise tions are much more likely. “The funding issue gets in the way of traditional public schools and charter schools coming together, when each of them is worried about the resources they’re providing,” Hull says. The education programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have provided such an opportunity, says John Bray, communications associate with the National Charter School Resource Center, although he’s quick to emphasize that the money involved is probably secondary. “I don’t think it’s mostly about money,” Slowey, spokesman for the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. “You wouldn’t see districts on the whole collaborating with charters, mainly for political reasons,” he says. “Districts saw charters as a threat, in terms of reallocation of funds and because they’re competing for the same kids. Instead of viewing us as partners, the initial view was that we were pirates.” Recent collaborative examples include the Match School in Boston, which houses AmeriCorps-affiliated teachers on its top floor who work in several Boston public schools in addition to the charter school, and has collaborated with the district around busing, says Begin. Slight bus-route adjustments on the district’s part to include an additional last stop at the charter school, and a scheduling adjustment on the charter school’s part to start the day 30 minutes later, have enabled the charter students to ride buses with the Attendance-Area students. The total initial cost for adding busing for the charter students was $30,000, only 30 percent of what was projected prior to making the route adjustment. The charter school staff also wanted to help the district’s students as a whole learn the Montessori concept, because the hands-on materials and differentiated approach provide a unique and successful approach for teaching math concepts, Begin says. So through a one-year federal dissemination grant, Hill View bought Montessori materials for the district and provided training in Montessori methods for the principal at Pentucket Lake Elementary School, who wanted to improve student achievement in math and was willing to try the approach, as well as eight teachers from the school. The yearlong effort consisted of two three-hour formal training sessions, informal coaching and mentoring, and the production of a training video and handbooks on how to implement particular Montessori lessons. “It’s a process,” Begin says of such collaborations. In this case, the effort began when a principal she knows referred her to the principal at Pentucket Lake. “It’s about developing the relationships and spending the time and energy. It definitely takes time to do that. But compare that to districts that are fighting [against charter schools] and all the energy that goes into that.” Success Stories In Hillsborough County (Fla.) Public Schools, a district with 254 schools, the percentage of charters that have received an “A” grade from the state has risen to 67 percent in 2010 from 46 percent in 2008, in part thanks to streamlined access to district resources and information like student records. This streamlining District Administration At Synergy Charter Academy in Los Angeles, teachers embed foundational reading and math strategies into a well-rounded curriculum, including teaching history, science, the arts and physical education. It also has an intervention model called the synERgy Emergency Response approach for students performing below grade level. he says. “Part of what the Gates effort is trying to emphasize is changing the tone of the conversation, so it isn’t hostile but ‘Where can we work together?’” In Massachusetts, until the past few years, collaborative efforts often occurred under the radar on a teacher-to-teacher or principal-to-principal basis, says Dominic 66 September 2011 Slowey says. He also mentions a project among Prospect Hill Academy and public schools in Somerville, Mass., who have shared teachers to spread best teaching practices in the classroom. Hill View Montessori Charter Public School gained access to an empty building formerly used by Haverhill Public Schools

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