Education Matters: Charter school ideas should promote innovation

In recent years the perennial debate about education has turned, in part, to the issue of privatization. The charter school idea was given birth during this discussion.

The charter school movement is relatively new to the education scene. It gained momentum with the publication of "A Nation Still At Risk An Education Manifesto," April 30, 1998. The report said, in part:

"Abolish school assignments based on home addresses. And let public dollars to which they are entitled follow individual children to the schools they select. Most signers of this manifesto also believe strongly that this range of choices especially for poor families should include private and parochial schools of every description. But even those not ready to take that step or awaiting a clearer resolution of its constitutionality are united in their conviction that the present authoritarian system we choose our words carefully must go."

The manifesto has much more to say, much of it useful and insightful, and it served to throw down the gauntlet that moved many respected supporters of public schools to answer.

The Missouri School Boards Association published a paper entitled, "Debunking Charter Schools What board members really need to know about Charter Schools."

The paper states, "We don't improve public education by abandoning its fundamental principles. The idea that charter schools are a silver bullet' that will have an impact on a significant number of children is a myth."

It goes on to say, "The charter school movement is more about challenging the democratic governance of our public schools than it is about school improvement. Charter school supporters would like to remove the public accountability that currently exists through locally elected boards of education and replace it with a method that does not provide direct citizen oversight."

Despite the resistance of the considerable memberships of the Missouri School Boards Association and several other influential statewide educational organizations, the second regular session of Missouri's 89th General Assembly in 1998 passed SB 781, which allowed for the establishment of charter schools in Missouri's two urban school districts.

The groundwork was laid for a healthy discussion regarding the educational landscape during the years ahead.

It is my belief that Missouri and the nation will not soon see the decimation of the American public school as some seem to believe will happen, or even, in the short run, see a marked change in the manner education is delivered to the great majority of the nation's children and youth.

One is reminded, however, that great storms are announced by a gentle breeze, and the charter school issue has captured the imagination of enough people and policy makers to cause us to take a serious look at what is happening.

In a discussion about a matter that could significantly change the nature of public education in this country, it helps to keep in mind some of the traditional views held by advocates of public education. The concept that the nation should provide a suitable education for all the children of all the people, regardless of the child's ability or lack thereof, evolved from earlier thoughts of the founders of the country.

In his book "An Educational History of the American People," Adolphe E. Meyer noted that in an earlier day, Benjamin Rush, Noah Webster, du Pont de Nemours and Samuel Knox advanced their favorite ideas, which all had much the same approach.

"Education, they contended, lies at the root of progress. Without it, the citizen's well-being suffers, and so does that of the nation. Education, they went on, is not only prerequisite to the common well-being; it is also the birthright of every child. So great is the significance of its role that its course may not be left to chance, to the whim of a parent or the content of his pocket. It is, in truth, an obligation of the state."

Other creative thinkers of the age of Washington, Franklin and Jefferson expressed themselves so strongly on behalf of a common school for all, that it has become a part of the warp and woof of our nation's fabric. Benjamin Franklin, one who could influence the thinking of many, is purported to have emphasized the need for a common school for two purposes; a common language and a common culture.

The people in charge of the public schools and the members of Missouri's General Assembly are becoming conversant with the charter school issue, but soon the public in general will become more aware and will be asking how they should react.

I suggest that the role of the local educator is to provide real assistance to the people of Missouri as they view this issue. People see things differently. The charter school advocates see the matter by way of their own perspective and in some cases they seem to suggest the demise of the public school.

The task of educational leaders is to help the people see public education through their eyes. Local school officials are not responsible for the way the world, the nation or even Missouri views education. They are responsible to their friends, neighbors and community.

This matter is personal for the local school board and officials. They are responsible to the people who have entrusted them with their children. Therefore, local educators must help the people see education as they see it. Through honest eyes, truthful eyes, eyes that do not hide the facts or new evidence that may show some aspect of the schooling process in a less than favorable light. The local official must never let the people learn about less than complimentary elements from the news media or other sources. The local official is the person most responsible for reflecting education as it really is and must cast a vision for the school and its future that is based on truth.

One need spend little time trying to answer the critics of the public schools, rather one must spend a great deal of time gaining the confidence of the people at the local level by providing improved education for their children and youth.

I believe that a little revolution is good for any organization, including the public schools. The strong and secure educational leader will take the good suggestions from any and all, and without defending everything as it has always been, fix the system and continue using it.

The charter school? There may be something here for us. When the General Assembly makes it legal to establish charter schools outside the two urban school districts, I suggest the local board of education look into the matter and see what creative uses of such a law it can devise.

I trust the system of local boards of education. I trust the well-prepared, dedicated teachers we have in Missouri's schools and am pleased that the education of my grandchildren, all nine of them, is in their hands.

(Arthur L. Mallory, EdD, is a former president of Southwest Missouri State University and former commissioner of education who resides in Springfield.)