I work at a focus school. This means that the gap between
our highest achieving students and our lowest achieving students is too large,
and is too stagnant, and thus we must do something about it…or else! Being a
Focus school means that we would fall into the category of schools eligible to
be taken over in a couple of years if legislation concerning the Opportunity
School District (OSD) is voted in as a amendment to the constitution. Here is
some more information about it: https://gov.georgia.gov/opportunity-school-district-proposal
When I did further digging into the terms and conditions for
being labeled focus or priority, my immediate thoughts turned straight towards
the state’s feasibility. For instance, one condition for the approval of the
bill is that no more than 20 schools a year would receive the state’s support
–currently, Atlanta Public Schools has 44 schools or 60% of its entire district
on the list! Seems like a bit of a pickle. Another finding is that the results
are based on a school’s year-to-year CCRPI score in addition to student
achievement on state tests. The lowest 10% of all Title 1 schools would then be
analyzed and categorized as focus or priority– that sounds like a moving target
to me! This process assumes that not every school can be doing well, and some
schools are always doing poorly. Both of these conditions seems fishy to me…So
my thoughts turn to two areas: (1) How do they intend to support the needs of
that many schools for five to ten years, and (2) what are the specific details
and determinations to get you on this list? Has no one else questioned why so
many urban schools are on the list, and why such a high percent of APS schools
are on both lists? Commenting on the issue, Dr. Meria Carstarphen, the Atlanta
Public Schools’ Superintendent, stated her main concerns for her first year were
not in school effectiveness, but were with the residual effects of the cheating
scandal and addressing massive payroll problems. “I only got one year to fix
what is arguably a 30-year problem,” Dr. Carstarphen stated to parents at on
Opportunity School District town meeting (http://www.ajc.com/videos/news/parents-concerned-over-potential-state-takeover-of/vDby7x/)
implying that her past priorities had not been on instruction and school
effectiveness, but will be.
I will admit that I was pretty nervous when I heard that we
were a focus school, but I was less
nervous after I heard how many APS schools were also identified as focus or
priority. With over 50% of a single district’s schools on these two lists,
there needs to be some changes and larger issues handled. What is the CCRPI
index missing or what can be done to better support urban and rural schools? I
hope this is addressed prior to any legislation passing in 2016. Until then, my
school team and I will rest assured that there is safety in numbers…
Thanks for the post and links to additional resources. I wasn't aware of some of the details of the Opportunity Schools. Your concerns seem well founded. I also wonder if the bill will pass in the general election? It seems odd to take such major legislative steps to target such a small number of schools. Surely, the state has many other ways to hold schools accountable.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lack of information about Opportunity Schools should be addressed prior to anything being presented to the general election. I mean they are proposing taking over schools! This is new territory I think and I am curious to hear more about how it worked in Louisiana and Tennesse so that I can somewhat anticipate how it might roll out here.
ReplyDeleteGreat resources, Kolt! Thanks for sharing. I've kind of been half-way following the OSD talks in the news, but haven't read the specifics of it. I think your "safety in numbers" comment is dead on. The state seems like they're biting off more than they can chew this with legislative idea. However, on the flip side, I think it could potentially work out well for schools in Georgia for the legislators to get involved in schools at that level. Here's why. Simply put, I think they would eventually have so many problems with the resources needed for these schools, that they would see the realities that exist in districts and would be forced to look at other legislative moves they've made and how they all domino. Right now, legislators are so far removed from the realities of education that it's easy for them to sit in their committees and make decisions without first-hand knowledge. Maybe my idea is a pipe dream...but I almost want them to get involved at such an intimate level that it opens their eyes a bit. Unfortunately, though, they would be learning these things on the backs of schools that need the most help. It's almost a no-win, though, if you look at it that way.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kolt.
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth as to whether I believe state’s taking over a school and turning it into a charter is truly beneficial to the kids. As I’ve only worked in Georgia at this point, I have no experience in a state-run charter; however, I believe that a few years back Governor Purdue or the state legislature attempted to do something similar, but there was backlash because there was a question as to what would happen when the start returned control of the school back to the local agency.
After skimming over the resources you provide, I went to see what I could find in regards to the state plans after which Governor Deal is modeling the Opportunity School District; I found a mixed bag of articles regarding Louisina’s plan - a Huffington Post Education article that suggests taking a critical look at the success that the state touts, and a US News and World Report article that presents the success of the program. Tennessee has implemented something similar, & with similar, albeit unclear results; additionally, Tennessee’s superintendent over the Achievement School District has recently stated that he would step down by year’s end.
Granted, all of my ‘research’ was information provided by the mass media, I wonder what research, if any, has been conducted on the success or failure of these two programs after which Georgia is basing it’s own program.