District Administration - September 2011 - (Page 70)

District-Charter Collaborations on the Rise As we’ve worked together, there’s been less and less on the table.” One resolved issue is over food service. e charter schools in Hillsborough County were given the freedom to get their own service in response to complaints that district-provided services were too expensive and the food was not especially tasty. “ ey’re able to work with outside catering companies, which provide—in their opinion—better food, plus they’re able to work with them more on price,” Hodgens says. In Los Angeles, Palisoc says Synergy Charter Academy hasn’t worked with Quincy Jones Elementary on the full range of issues it had expected to the ﬁrst year, but she’s hopeful they will expand their joint eﬀorts in the coming school year to include greater teacher collaboration around curriculum and a busier schedule of classroom observations back and forth between the two schools. ey did succeed in holding lunch and recess at the same time and providing organized physical education activities for students. Palisoc says this has provided exercise for those who normally sit around and talk during recess and reduced behavioral problems that students often brought back to the classroom. ey held several were hired last spring and have spent several months discussing roles and expectations for the schools, Palisoc says. ose sorts of meetings were not always so commonplace in Massachusetts, Slowey recalls, even in underperforming “They can’t ignore us anymore.” —Dominic Slowey, spokesman, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association staﬀ meetings together, including a yearend wrap-up in grade-level teams where they talked about an array of areas in need of improvement. And they purchased the same literacy software and worked together on implementing it. For 2011-2012, Synergy’s middle school, also housed in a church space until now, has moved into a district building with two other middle schools, and Synergy has launched a new high school that is sharing space with two other high schools. e middle and high school principals schools in urban areas. “ e initial stages were almost ‘Don’t mention that we’re doing this, don’t let it percolate up the food chain to the superintendent level, or they might quash it.’ It was almost done in secret,” he says. Now, “because there’s much more of an acceptance of charters as part of the solution, we’re beginning to reach a critical mass in some of these districts. ey can’t ignore us anymore.” DA Ed Finkel is a freelance writer based in Evanston, Ill. post seco PROVEN ONLINE dignity research fashion SOLUTIONS FOR HIGHER PLATO attainments refinement tact training culture STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. accomplishment education literature PLATO Learning offers a full range ofwisdom learning innovative online instruction knowledge schooling solutions. Discover them at www.plato.com/online. delicacy score enlightenment future proficiency dignity www.plato.com | 1.800.44.PLATO score Copyright © 2011 PLATO Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. PLATO Learning is a trademark of PLATO Learning, Inc. PLATO, Inc. is a PLATO Learning, Inc. company. Printed in U.S.A. 175-COMM01 7/11 schooling elegance 70 September 2011 forward college education post second education trainin District Administration refinemen accomplishmen grace program ideas skil skill attainments forward instruction delicacy dignity ideas skill forward PLATO kindness instruction wisdom knowledge proficiency knowledge culture proficiency education instruction literature skill schooling grace attainments wisdom instruc future K wisd http://www.plato.com/online http://www.plato.com http://www.plato.com

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