"This is a Job Where You Need to Earn Your Keep"

New Orleans School Superintendent Paul Vallas says, "People want lifelong job security. But this is a system where you have to earn your keep." In a nutshell, this is the fundamental difference between traditional public school educational systems and public charter schools.


This year the New Orleans Supt. gave principals the authority to hire whomever they wanted to teach at their schools. Makes sense?


Not according to the New Orleans teacher's union and they're complaining.


Ever since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when the city was rebuilding--and in a different way--a focus on academic achievement of students has begun. New Orleans now has by far the highest percentage of students in public charter schools when compared to other regions of the country.



It didn't take long for Denver Public Schools administration to realize their charter schools were having a competitive advantage because they were hiring teachers in January and February, months before the traditional schools were able to select teachers. Moreover, founders of the two new Innovation schools in Denver realized that having wavier from certain statutes provides a greater likelihood that they will be able to achieve academic success with their students.

CSI Board Votes to Approve Cesar Chavez Academy Contract Changes--with a Catch

This afternoon the Charter School Institute (CSI) board met for its regular monthly meeting at the CSI offices downtown Denver. The board considered the proposed Memorandum of Understanding, which is designed to modify the Cesar Chavez Academy-North (Colorado Springs) contract. The MOU outlines a transition by Sept. 15th for the CCA-North parent community to elect parent representatives to the governing board. Currently the charter school is governed by the Cesar Chavez School Network, out of Pueblo.

The board voted unanimously to approve the MOU with the condition that information that had been requested by staff in order to conduct a financial audit be provided before the MOU is executed. CSI staff noted a list of items that had been requested, but not yet received.

In other business, the board created three subcommittees: two standing committees and the other an ad hoc committee. Standing committees are Finance and Policies and Priorities. In addition, an Executive Director Search committee was established.

The board discussed a possible timeline for screening and then interviewing potential Exec. Director candidates. They will narrow the search down to about three candidates by paper screening and phone interviews. The entire board will conduct public interviews of the finalists. Board members noted the Council of Schools (representatives of each of the schools authorized by CSI) should be included in the process and their input should be received prior to a final decision.

Wyoming Legislator Considers Improving Charter School Law

It's well-known that Wyoming has a very weak charter school law. The local union has to approve the charter application and charter teachers are a part of the district's collective bargaining agreement. It's a wonder any charter schools are open given this archaic law. But then, maybe that's the point.

The Center for Education Reform gives Wyoming's charter school law a low D.

Rep. Sue Wallis (R-Gillette) wants to improve the law after hearing Bill Gates speak at the National Conference of State Legislators conference this summer. Rep. Wallis is also the chair of the Wyoming charter school association so she knows first-hand the obstacles faced by charter applicants in the state.

The Wyoming Board of Education recently denied a charter high school's waiver request to offer teachers an annual contract. In comparison, charter school teachers operate on at-will contracts without any guarantee of continued employment at all.

In reporting the possibility of new legislation, the Billing Gazette exposed its bias by stating:

When 100 students or so leave a traditional school for a charter school, the district loses state money for those students.

The article's author failed to note that the district authorizing a new charter school of 100 students no longer has the responsibility to educate those students. Colorado's charter school law permits authorizers to retain up to 5% of the per student funding to cover administrative costs for charter school oversight.

In Wyoming, charter school founders must persevere through intense opposition and stigmatization and yet often end up without a charter school. That could be why there are only two charter schools currently operating in Wyoming.

Thomas MacLaren State Charter School Ribbon Cutting

Yesterday the founders of Thomas MacLaren State Charter School cut the ribbon and opened their new school. Eric and Mary Faith Hall and Katherine Brophy spent two years and thousands of hours making their new school a reality.

Thomas MacLaren will open with about 90 students in grades 6 through 9. They have a full-time faculty of six and part-time three. All of the faculty has at least a Master's degree in their content area.

In June the MacLaren board voted to hire founder Mary Faith Hall as their first Head of School. Mary Faith taught humanities, Latin and drama for eight years at the Trinity School in Minnesota and Indiana. Mary Faith interned at AXL Academy in Aurora and James Irwin Charter Schools in Colorado Springs in order to gain practical experience for opening her own school.

The school will be sharing a facility with Pulpit Rock Church for at least the first three years of operation. The facility was formerly a private school and so little renovation needed to be done in order to use it as a public school facility.

MacLaren is authorized by the Colorado Charter School Institute. Executive Director, Randy DeHoff, spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony and praised the school for its hard work and promised to attend the class of 2013's graduation ceremony.

Westgate Community Charter School Opens Its Door

Westgate Community Charter School starts tomorrow with 125 students in grades K-6. The school, led by Chris Johnson was authorized by the Adams 12 School District earlier this year. After an extensive search for a facility, the school found a private school/church building that is ideal for their new school. The facility is at 117th and Irma in Thornton. The school's vision is to serve twice exception students in multi-aged classrooms.

CSI to Change Leaders

Randy DeHoff, Executive Director of the Charter School Institute, has announced his resignation. The CSI is the state's alternative authorizer with a mission to charter school serving students identified as at-risk and to serve as a model authorizer.

DeHoff also serves on the State Board of Education as a representative from the 6th Congressional District. He has served in that capacity since 1999. In 1993 was a part of a group of parents who started Sci-Tech Academy, which later changes its name to Collegiate Academy, a Jefferson County Public Schools charter.

DeHoff became the Institute's first staff member in February 2005, soon after the CSI board met for the first time in September 2004. The role of the Executive Director is comparable to a school district superintendent. The CSI board meets again next Tuesday.

Who Has Sovereignty Over Charter School's Location?

There are a few issues inherent to charter schools that have differing legal opinions. Sovereignty over school district boundaries is one of them.

Global Village Academy, unable to get a charter approved by Denver Public Schools this year, wants to open a second campus in the old Challenges, Choices and Images/Amandla building at I-70 and Peoria. The building is just inside the Denver borders. The Colorado Constitution and state law give a school district jurisdiction over K-12 education within their geographical borders.


But what happens when a charter school cannot find a facility within the boundaries of the district that authorized them? Historically in Colorado, this has been handled in a myriad of ways. Some charter schools have obtained a waiver from state charter school law saying the school should be within its authorizing district or a contiguous district, some have just located in the other district without anything being said by anyone, and others are told by their district, or the district they intend to locate in, that they must have Board of Education approval.

There is no right or wrong answer on how school districts should handle this since it's a gray area of the law. Each district receives its own legal counsel and is not bound by what other districts do.

However, it's interesting when a district wants to have it both ways and when convenient, locate one of their charter schools in a different district and then later say that same district cannot locate a charter school within their boundaries. This is what Denver Public Schools has done by chartering New America Schools-Lowry and Ridge View Academy which are in the Aurora Public School District. Now that Global Village Academy-2nd Campus wants to locate in DPS, there is a "different" legal opinion. DPS didn't ask permission of APS to establish two of their charter schools within APS boundaries. But now DPS says GVA must get the permission of DPS' board--and acknowledges that permission won't be granted.

Unfortunately, questions and issues such as these are not easily resolved. In the past when issues have been interpreted differently the issue has been driven to ligitation. Let's hope in this situation that isn't at the cost of the hundreds of students purportedly on the waiting list at Global Village Academy.