Charter School Group Discusses Funding, Other Key Challenges (LA)

October 18, 2010

Better facilities and equitable funding are the key challenges faced by charter schools, the president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools said Friday.

Some of the nation’s charter school students attend classes housed in church basements, storefronts and even nursing homes, said Peter Groff, president of the group.

“These facilities impede our academic successes,” he said.

Groff was the opening speaker for the third annual meeting of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools.

Up to 600 charter school operators, board members and teachers were set to attend the two-day gathering.

About 35,000 students attend Louisiana’s 90 charter schools, including 15 in East Baton Rouge Parish.

About 1.5 million students attend nearly 5,000 char ter schools nationally.

Charter schools are public classrooms and depend on state dollars. They are supposed to offer novel education methods, and to give parents and students more options, especially if they attend low-performing schools.

Groff told the group that, while the schools are enjoying unprecedented attention nationally, they collect an average of $2,200 less than traditional public schools. He called that gap immoral and shameful.

“It should not be tolerated,” Groff said.

The alliance calls itself the nation’s leading nonprofit group committed to advancing the charter school movement. It provides assistance and resource centers for charter school associations.

The annual meeting includes sessions on charter school governance, leadership, finances, academics and other topics.

On Friday, charter school teachers and others got a 75-minute briefing on a new state law that will link teacher evaluations in part to the growth of student achievement.

Charter school teacher evaluations were not addressed previously in state law.

Officials of teacher unions and other critics contend that charter schools have failed to deliver on their promises, and siphon scarce dollars from traditional classrooms.

Caroline Roemer Shirley, president of the state association, urged charter school operators and parents of students to make their cases to state lawmakers, which she said can be more persuasive than lobbying by those at the State Capitol regularly.

Shirley said it was remarkable that about 400 charter school backers turned out here Thursday night for a special hearing — often acrimonious — on the fate of dozens of New Orleans charter schools that are overseen by the state.

Groff, former president of the Colorado Senate, said the need for better-prepared students was driven home to him during a trip to Taiwan.

He said he was struck to learn that dozens of students streaming out of a building at 8:30 p.m. were attending classes and study halls after a traditional school day that extends from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.

Charter school operators have a chance to “bend the arc of history” by offering top-flight alternatives to traditional classrooms, Groff said.

“We are in the moment now,” he said.