Choice in Education - A look at Charter Schools and 12 Questions You May Wish to Consider by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Choice in Education - A look at Charter Schools and 12 Questions You May Wish to Consider by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

On last week, Parents Taking Charge in Education Blog Post Topic introduced and listed various school setting categories in reference to Choice in Education. Today, we will continue with Choice in Education as we look at Charter Schools in particular and twelve questions you may want to ask if you and/or your child has an interest in exploring this form of Education further. Twelve (12) questions have been listed below for your perusal and of which you may wish to consider.

To better assist you, I sought an interview with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and posed many of the same questions listed below, as well as others. The organization has agreed to respond to my Interview questions and once I receive their responses, I will post for your perusal. As you review the following questions and think of others, add them to your list: 

1.   Are Charter Schools Public schools? If in the affirmative, is there a difference and how are Charter Schools different from regular Public Schools?

2.   Why are Charter Schools needed in Education?

3.   What in your opinion are some advantages of Charter Schools?

4.   What would you consider to be some disadvantages of Charter Schools, if any?

5.   Provide us with some stats about Charter Schools- number of enrollees; how many states offer this particular Choice in Education; is there an increase in academic performance of students who attend Charter Schools?

6.   Would you briefly address the issues of oversight and accountability in relation to Charter Schools?

7.   How financially solvent is the Charter School of which you and/or your child have an interest?

8.   If a Parent is considering Charter School as an option or Choice in Education for his/her child, how should the Parent proceed; what is the process?

9.   What type information and resource material do you offer parents and their children? Is legal assistance provided to Parents to assist with transitioning from another education setting to Charter School; are vouchers, scholarships available and does such cover total enrollment fees, costs and tuition?

10. Are Parents expected to be more involved in their children’s education and schools in this particular education setting (Charter Schools) and are they?

11. What do you consider to be the most pressing challenge(s) for Charter Schools; how about education overall?

12. When we speak of the future of Education, what do you foresee as the prognosis for Charter Schools; will the need for Charter Schools increase or decrease?

I hope the above has provided you with some questions that can serve to assist you with gaining some insight into Charter Schools.

Note: Should you desire to visit the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the website’s URL: www.publiccharters.org .

Parents Taking Charge in Education neither endorses the aforementioned organization or any one particular Choice in Education. This blog post has been written for informational purposes only.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author

Parents Taking Charge in Education at http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Exercising Choice in Education by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Exercising Choice in Education by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

The purpose of the above visual chart is to show that funding to make it possible to accommodate Parents’ Choices in Education for their children is possible.

Parent: I hear much about Choice in Education, but what does or should it mean to me as a Parent?

Mrs. D. Barron: Yes, more and more parents seem to be involved in exercising Choice in Education. In a nutshell, Choice in Education should enable you, the Parent to decide the Education setting and method in which your child is to be taught.

Parent: Where do I begin or how do I go about making an informed decision about Choice in Education?

Mrs. D. Barron: Let us first look at the Choices in Education- the two major categories in Education are public and private. Under the public education setting are public schools and charter schools; the private education setting consists of private schools and home school. Secondly, respond to the following questions and utilize the preliminary actions, if applicable.

1.      Why is a different education setting desired by you and/or your child?

2.      As the parent you are responsible for the final decision should you exercise choice in education; however it is best to discuss what constitutes a major change with your child. Sometimes what the parent desires for the child is not always what is best for the child. Also, be careful of too many changes, such could adversely affect the child and your child may come to believe that he/she is the problem and become discouraged, despondent and guilt ridden.

3.      What do you know about the education setting of which you and/or your child are interested? Research before you initiate contact.

4.      Are you conferring with the person(s) that can best answer your questions?

5.      If your child has special needs discuss how and if those needs can be realistically met.

6.      Keep well documented notes and records of conversations with whom you speak noting dates, times, telephone numbers and other forms of contact.

7.      Make sure you clearly understand the education process of your designated choice and what is expected of all parties involved including you, the parent and your child. Often the more selective the education setting becomes, the greater the expectations will be for both you, the parent and your child.

8.      Obtain printed materials about the school setting in which you and/or your child have an interest. Obtain history about the organization, its present state of existence, financial solvency state. Obtain information about its board members, governing body and staff.

9.      At some point visit the institution or school prior to making a final decision

10.  Locate state and national organizations for you selected choice(s) in Education; they are instrumental in providing resources, often assistance and resource information.

In summation, take time to become educated about your specific or the various choices in Education; doing so will assist you in making informed decisions. You and your child do not want to jump from the proverbial “frying pan into the fire;” likewise, should there be a need to exercise your choice in Education, you do not want to refrain from taking action because of the uncertainty as to what to do or where to start? Choices and decisions you make now will affect and impact your child now and in the future.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author

Parents Taking Charge in Education at http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Parents Taking Charge in Education: Part VI.– Parents and Community: Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Parents Taking Charge in Education: Part VI.– Parents and Community: Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

As we continue with the discourse on Parents stake and/or role as it pertains to society’s most precious resource- our children, I will offer a couple of more thoughts and one additional example and conclude with the community’s stake.

5.   Deliberate measures incorporated to prevent parents from being involved- Educators and others often desire to involve parents when advantageous to their agenda and shut parents out when the opposite exists.

I will share another quick example which dispels the myth that impoverished parents do not care about their children’s education. I volunteered at a school which sat within a government housing complex and most parents were below poverty level. The school was a large brick three story building; during the winter, the temperature inside was below freezing; in the spring and upon return summer/fall, the temperatures often ranged from 100-110 degrees. The food within the cafeteria soured between it having been cooked and students’ consumption of it. Students unable to work were often slumped over desks from heat exhaustion; often, in winter hands were too cold and numb to hold a pencil. Books in the library were so old; they simply crumbled in one’s hands when handled. Once again to curtail a long story, the school board ignored the parents, students’ plight and school community when requested to hold school board meeting within the impoverished communities. The library books and a show and tell were publicly taken to an upscale school where the school board did hold school board meetings.

When the impoverished parents took to the streets outside the impoverished school to protest conditions, 1) the invited media in one instance after having noticed the goodly number of parents present chose not to cover the impoverished parents’ plight; they instead drove in the opposite direction; 2) parents names were taken down and they were threatened with eviction should they persist by the housing authority and 3) those who persisted in protest, some of whom did not live in government housing were offered well paying jobs to get them out of the school and preoccupied with a job.

6.   Parents, consider preparing yourself for a role in politics, whether on the school board or at one of three government levels. Individuals who usually have the greatest interest in children are those who actually have children at school age level.

The Community’s Stake

The community’s role can actually be described in two words: “Assist” and/or “Supplement” as needed. We know that parents cannot do it all alone when it comes to parenting and raising children, it takes the entire community’s involvement. We are also aware of the necessity at times for others to assume responsibility and authority as guardian or caregiver of others’ children, but if at all possible, attempt to keep the parent(s) actively involved. The community consists of family, extended family members, neighbors, and individuals and entities from the above mentioned sectors. We all can make a positive contribution regardless of how small.

When it comes to community’s involvement from schools, some schools should become more community orientated. I recalled one year when mostly homebound as a result of my bus accident and after having moved to Tennessee, I assisted a couple of students with their schoolwork. In an effort to adequately prepare to assist the students at that time, I needed to borrow a textbook; the students of course needed theirs. I called the local school and explained what I was doing and requested to borrow a textbook. First, I was given the run-around, told someone would check the school policy and get back with me. Not hearing from the school, I recalled a week or so later and was informed the school did not have any extra textbooks to lend out. Yet, we insist we desire parent and community involvement within our schools.

     

Parents, when all has been said and done, you remain ultimately responsible for your child/ren? While I may not always agree with some parents’ decision(s), I have come to respect the fact that the final decision of how a parent chooses to raise his/her child/ren and that parent’s selected educational setting (inclusive of the child’s needs and well-being) should ultimately be the decision of the parent. Society should be careful of removing parents’ authority while expecting those same parents to effectively parent their children.

Parents Taking Charge in Education’s goal with many of the posts leading up to today’s has been to get us to view some of the obstacles and challenges in an effort to get us (Parents and all those who have a stake in education and our children) to address these serious obstacles and challenges and move forward. Until we do, I am afraid we will continue floundering, spinning our wheels and going around in circles. Sometimes, the solutions are so simple we tend to overlook them. Thank you for your time and attention; this concludes our 6 Pt. Series- Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author

Parents Focused on Education at http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

E-mail: barron.Dorothy@yahoo.com

Parents Taking Charge in Education: Part V. - Parents: Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Parents Taking Charge in Education: Part V. - Parents: Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

“No one is going to do for you what you should be doing for your own child/ren” (Mrs. Dorothy Barron).

First and foremost, I want to thank the many parents who engage in positive parenting in addition to the many challenges you face both in and outside the home. Whenever I am able to interact with parents, I am enthusiastic of the positive experiences parents are providing for their children, many of which you hear and view via the Internet.

Parents, I need not waste a lot of time telling you what many of your already know; you have the greatest stake, because the most precious resource- our children, belong to you. Foremost, it is up to you, the parent to provide good, positive examples and the best you can offer from a financial standpoint to enable you to care for your child/ren’s needs; you also serve as their protector. To assist children with growing and developing, sometimes, you must allow the child a “prodigal moment;” such entails the child learning the hard way or encountering the school of” hard knocks.”

The goal of most parents is to nurture and assist their children with becoming well-rounded, happy, well-adjusted, self-sufficient productive young adults. Parents do not accomplish such alone; such involves many people from various sectors or walks of life. As you assist your children in the area of Education, there are a number of things of which you should be cognizant:

1.      Education is Big Business, as well as Political. It is big business because contracted providers supply to schools everything from toilet tissue, lunches, textbooks to services, jobs and more; it is political because politicians, policymakers via policy decides everything from the curriculum down to the number of students per classroom.

2.      Parental expectations for their children differ in Education; what suffices for one parent does not for others.

3.      The family composition has drastically changed, yet society for the most part has failed to incorporate solutions to meet those changing needs of parents.

There is much controversy about a parent’s responsibility and involvement in his/her child’s education and school. Personally, my position on parental involvement within the schools and for that matter, anywhere is that parents should find the time to be wherever their children are and engage with those who interact with their children. When it comes to parental school involvement, if a parent lacks involvement, it is important to know the reason(s). In a past post, I share a number of reasons why Parents are not involved or have ceased to be involved in their Children’s Schools and/or Education. Parents, I would like to now leave a number of thoughts and encountered situations for your review and consideration:

1.      With the entire Education panorama shifting, Parents, it is pertinent that you become knowledgeable, educated and informed about the Education process, how such affects and the effects upon your child.

2.      You should be a part of the decision making process. Of what most parents are not aware are that you should be an integral part prior to curriculum programs being implemented into your child’s school. In fact, education laws and policies mandate that parents be involved, but most parents are not aware of this fact. One thing I found very interesting and cryptic while reading the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) was that most of the programs listed within NCLBA were programs that were already part of or should have already been implemented in the schools.

3.      Parents, most of you are busy and have inordinate responsibilities; most do not want their time wasted, nor can you be expected to be in two places at once. However, should you desire, you can be fully engaged and involved in your child’s school without spending a lot of time in the school; such entails an organized process.  

4.      Conflict- most parents are no longer wasting time arguing with schools about their children’s needs or lack of and certainly are not going to assist schools in introducing programs or activities which they perceive to be disadvantageous, non-productive and even injurious to their children and their children’s Education. Let me provide a quick example- I sat a special school committee in which the goal was to write a proposal for a school curriculum program. To curtail the story, at the end of the grant writing process, I could not endorse the proposal or sign my name to it. The school took the liberty and added my name to the proposal prior to having sent in to Washington, DC, in spite of my request that it not be added. I simply located the grantor’s contact information and wrote a letter which explained my position of why I could not endorse the proposal and the fact that my name had been added without my permission; the grantors did not approve the school’s proposal that year.

Please join me on next week as we continue with Part V. Parents: Your Stake in Society’s Most Precious Resource- Our Children and conclude with the Community’s stake.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author

Parents Taking Charge in Education at http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com

E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

Should Parents and Students have Choice in Education? By Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Should Parents and Students have Choice in Education? By Mrs. Dorothy Barron

My answer to the redundant question would be the same as when asked fifteen(15) years, ago.

Ÿ  Q: Should parents have choice in Education?

Mrs. B.: Absolutely, the funding should follow the child whether the parent selects public, private, home schooling, or an alternative combined method. Education entails major decisions and if we expect parents to be responsible and accountable, they should decide(have the final decision as to) what is best for their children. The real issue- will we allow all children an equal opportunity to be educated?

Ÿ  Q: What if there should be a mad exodus from public school?

Mrs. B.: 1) It will force our public schools to get serious about meeting the needs of students and working cooperatively with parents. Presently, if parents encounter major problems with their children’s education, there is not much the parent can do. There are no clearly defined rights for parents, nor is true legal assistance available. 2) There’s a mass exodus from public school anyway. The students are simply dropping out, which in the long run will cost society even more.

In addition- Even in many cases wherein parents and students rights exist, enforcement of those rights is/are lacking.

Ÿ  Q: What is missing in Education?

Mrs. B.: Some key ingredients: Caring, Quality, Time and Commitment from both educators and parents, along with curriculum that meets the needs of the vast majority of students.

Ÿ  Q: What is needed in Education?

Mrs. B.: Those missing key ingredients mentioned above, the choice of education that allows the child- to reach his /her highest educational capabilities and quality legal representative for parents and students. The law mandates that children go to school, but those responsible for enforcing the law have failed to understand the fact that :you can make a student go to school, but you cannot make the student learn. Students have different needs and that is foremost, why parents and students need choice(in Education).

Ÿ  Q: What would be a solution to this “Choice in Education” dilemma?

Mrs. B.: One thing is certain and that is we cannot continue losing students who have the potential to achieve, but cannot due to public school being the only option for those who cannot afford choice. 1) Begin granting vouchers to parents with children who are experiencing difficulties that cannot be resolved in a timely manner or when adverse educational situations affect the child(emotionally) or his/her education. It is no longer feasible to wait until such toil has been placed on a child/ren; Choice in Education with funding to follow the child should have occurred long ago in Education. If reasons are needed to support “choice” in Education, establish an office that logs and monitor complaints regarding educational concerns, issue, problems, abuses and violations of parents and students rights, as well as how such affects students emotionally and academically. 3) Find innovative way and means that will allow a parent who strongly feel the need to remain in the home rearing and overseeing the well-being and education of their children and others to do so. The lack of leadership and discipline in the home are costly and has taken its toll on America. One of the chief reasons education has failed is simply because parents have been removed from the picture. They cannot effectively be in two places at once.

In addition: 1.) every home needs a computer and for those impoverished, an inexpensive internet service; we are in the digital age and telling a person to go to the library is not a feasible solution. 2.) Offer contract work to allow those who desire to operate a business to do so from home. 3.) Parents who homeschool should be entitled to receive a tax credit or funding allotment for school supplies should they desire (many have been and/or are taxpayers).

Between funding from the US Department of Education and those who desire quality education, I believe there is enough funding for choice in Education for each and every student. What is hypocritical and unacceptable- for some to deny choice in Education, especially in the form of vouchers to those who cannot afford choice and hold the position that public choice is the only choice in education, while many of these same individuals have had or have their own children sequestered away at private school or some alternative form other than public school. Besides and even if choice in Education becomes available to each and every student, all would not choose to attend private school, but each should certainly have choice in Education; such would also alleviate laying all blame at the door of our public schools.

Ÿ  Q: You have been a champion for students and education for many years. Has it made a difference?

Mrs. B.: Yes and No; Yes, I have made a difference in the lives of many students and parents whom I have interacted with. No, as it relates to significant changes in the process and procedures that govern education(the changes have been too little and too late for most students), but I believe whatever you are committed to, you should give your best each day and leave the rest to GOD.

Ÿ  Q: Why have you not chosen to become a professional(certified) teacher?

Mrs. B.: In a nutshell, the Education System consists of too many guidelines and rules that are not in the best interest of the children. I would not have the flexibility and funding necessary to do a quality job.

Ÿ  Q: Any last thoughts or comments?

Mrs. B.: Yes, the parting thought and verbal comment I leave with parents whenever I converse with them: “others may assist and encourage, but no one is going to do for you, what you should be doing for your own child/ren” (Mrs. D. Barron). We are embarking upon 2011and in light of some of my responses in 1995, how far have we come in Education as a nation? Whether the picture as it pertains to Education has become crystal clear or not, we are talking survival and the future success of a nation, ours.

Note: Both the questions and responses in black are excerpts from an interview conducted in September of 1995 with Mrs. Dorothy Barron, who was Co-founder and Director of the organization, Parents Focused on Education. The statements in red are present and additional ones by Mrs. Barron.

Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author

http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com