Spaziano in-district charter application moves forward; King's moves...sideways?

News about the district charter school initiative, from the 11/21 edition of the ProJo (story here):

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The teachers at Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School have overwhelming approved going forward with an application to become a district charter school.
The faculty voted 35 to 1 Thursday to pursue its application with the Rhode Island Department of Education. The teachers at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School voted against applying for charter status last week. 

This is a new effort by Supt. Susan Lusi. A district charter would have more freedom over schedules and the length of the school day, but its teachers would remain in the union and the district would control its curriculum. 

Nine schools originally expressed interest in becoming charters but the tight deadlines made it difficult for schools to complete the application process. They may apply next year.

Though teachers at King (where my kids attend, but from which I have little news to report directly) did not vote in sufficient numbers to carry its in-district charter application forward, last night's school board agenda (accessible here: http://www.providenceschools.org/pesb/) reveals that there was an action related to a charter application that King's current principal, Derrick Ciesla, is proposing. I was not at the school board so can't report on what it is and what transpired. If any readers have more info, I'd be glad to share it, and when I learn more, I'll do the same.

In-District Charter Questions, Take 3

During the past week, I have been in conversation with other parents, students, community members, and PPSD staff members. These conversations have refined the questions that feel important about the district's ongoing move toward implementing in-district charters.

I post these in the spirit of collaborations and have shared them with district staff members who are working on communicating about this work to the public. Please add your own questions and thoughts in the comments. Thanks!

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Implementation

What are PPSD's specific motivations for introducing in-district charters?

What specific opportunities will in-district charter schools have that they do not have now that are likely to improve teaching, learning, and student achievement?

Why is the implementation of the in-district charter school application process happening so rapidly? What has the timeline been and what will be the implementation timeline moving forward?

What is the decision-making process within the district? Who decides which schools submit charter applications to RIDE? How is that decided and what are the criteria? When is that decided?

What kind of support services is the district offering schools that it selects to submit applications to RIDE?

What about other schools that the district is not supporting? Are they still able to submit applications ahead of the March 2013 deadline?

Parent and Family Involvement

What is the specific plan and timeline for parent/family involvement in terms of finding out more about their school’s involvement with the in-district charter school application process?

In those schools that are moving forward with in-district charter applications, what is the plan and process for family members to join and meaningfully contribute to school-based planning teams?

In those schools that are moving forward with in-district charter applications, what is the plan and process for high school students to join and meaningfully contribute to school-based planning teams?

What are the specific requirements for parent votes? What is the mechanism of the vote - is it 50 percent of parents/family members who show up for a meeting or 50 percent of all parents/family members? How will their votes be collected and recording confidentially and reliably?

When in the process does the parent/family vote occur?  Does it happen before, simultaneous with, or after the faculty vote?

Student Assignment

How will student assignment work at these schools? Do they become schools that have no neighborhood zone and to which any student in the district can apply? Or will the in-district charter schools remain neighborhood schools per current PPSD student assignment policies?

Will students who are currently assigned to schools that become in-district charter schools remain in their schools? 

Governance and Autonomy

What will be the governance structure for these in-district charters? Will they have their own boards or be part of PPSD and the Providence School Board?

Will the in-district charters continue to participate in district contracts with vendors or will they be responsible for their own food, maintenance, etc.?

Will the in-district charters be responsible for identifying and maintaining their own facilities at some point in the future?

Teachers and Other Staff Members

How will the teachers of these in-district charters be represented by the Providence Teachers Union? Will they negotiate individual school-based contracts with the district?

Will teacher assistants and other school staff members continue to be represented by their unions? Will those contracts be renegotiated if their schools convert to in-district charters?

Will teachers who currently work at schools that convert to in-district charter schools remain teachers at those schools?

Partners

Which organizations responded to the RFP? Were they all invited to the partner fair that happened on September 13? 

What are the criteria and standards for partners? What guidelines to they have to follow?

Will there be more opportunity for more partners to join? If so, when and how?

Communication

What are PPSD's plans for sharing information on an ongoing basis that clearly briefs the public on this process?

Is it possible to use any of the funds available for charter school implementation to support an aggressive media campaign to inform and engage parents in this process?  
 

Legislation and Funding

Will the district be seeking variances to existing charter school legislation? To which aspects of the legislation and on what timeline?

What happens when current federal funding runs out? If and when that happens, will additional schools have the opportunity to become in-district charter schools?

 What amount of the available federal charter school funds will be allocated to the approved schools?  
 

PPSD in-district charter process - the questions

This post is a recap and expansion of the questions I asked yesterday about the in-district charter school process that is now unfolding within PPSD. In subsequent posts, I'll share answers and information as it becomes available.

• What are PPSD's specific motivations for introducing in-district charters?

• Why is this happening so hastily? Teachers found out about this in some (all?) schools with almost no time to consider before voting to move forward. Potential partner organizations had a week to respond to indicate interest in the partnership possibility, which may have limited the capacity for strong potential partners to respond.

• What exactly is required of school communities on October 1? Per RIDE guidelines (online at http://ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/charterschools/applications.aspx) the December 1 application deadline is clear, but the October 1 deadline is not mentioned.

• Are schools submitting applications to become in-district charters in the 2013-2014 school year, or 2014-2015?

• Why is this happening with a lack of clear information from the district? What are PPSD's plans for putting out a FAQ or other document that clearly briefs the public on this process?

• What's the specific plan and timeline for parent/family involvement in terms of finding out more, collaborating with school-based planning teams on the charter applications, and, of course, voting. 

• What are the specific requirements for parent votes? RIDE regulations say that more than 50% majority parent vote is required for a school to convert to charter. What is the mechanism of the vote - is it 50% of parents/family members who show up for a meeting or 50% of all parents/family members? When in the process does the vote occur - before, simultaneous with, or after the faculty vote?

• What happens to the neighborhood status of these schools? Do they become schools that have no neighborhood zone and to which any student in the district can apply?

• What will be the governance structure for these in-district charters? Will they have their own boards or be part of PPSD and the Providence School Board?

• How will the teachers of these in-district charters be represented by the PTU? Will they negotiate individual school-based contracts with the district?

PPSD in-district charters - some info and questions (updated)

Without any time for a meaningful post, here's today's ProJo article on in-district charters in Providence, which is the first meaningful description I've heard about this initiative. Bits and pieces of this keep floating by my parental and professional radar and I (and many others) have a long list of questions.

Okay, story first, reproduced in full below (online here):

Schools given the chance to become chartersSo far, nine have accepted invitation by superintendent who intends to shake up system

By LINDA BORG JOURNAL STAFF WRITER 

   PROVIDENCE –– The Providence schools superintendent and the president of the teachers’ union are about to embark on a groundbreaking experiment that will change the way students learn in some of the city’s 42 public schools.

   Every school is being asked to become a district-operated charter school. In a system where more than half of the schools are identified as chronically low-performing, charter school status would enable schools to tap into federal money and have greater flexibility over everything from the length of the school day to the way the school day is divided.

   Susan Lusi, together with Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith and School Board President Keith Oliveira, are promoting the idea of district-operated charters, which would give principals greater say over what happens in the classroom without sacrificing union protection for teachers.

   Charter schools were originally designed to serve as incubators of reform, but that collaboration never took hold in Rhode Island. Lusi wants to change that and combat the often negative perception that charters operate outside the traditional public school system.

   “I think Providence is leading the way,” said Kathy Christie, a spokeswoman for the Education Commission of the States, a national clearinghouse on education policy and research. “You can either moan about charters or you can take the bull by the horns. It’s laudable.”

   Charter schools were originally designed to serve as incubators of reform, but that collaboration never took hold in Rhode Island. Lusi wants to change that and combat the often negative perception that charters operate outside the traditional public school system.

   “I think Providence is leading the way,” said Kathy Christie, a spokeswoman for the Education Commission of the States, a national clearinghouse on education policy and research. “You can either moan about charters or you can take the bull by the horns. It’s laudable.”

   Christie says there aren’t many districts, outside of post-Katrina New Orleans, that have embraced charter schools as a way to jump-start reform. New Orleans turned over a large number of its public schools to national charter school operators after its buildings were devastated by Katrina. 

  Lusi says she wouldn’t impose charter status on any school that wasn’t willing. State law prohibits it. To become a charter, 65 percent of the school’s teachers must vote yes and a majority of parents have to do the same.

   Nonprofit organizations such as Inspiring Minds were always asking Lusi what they could do to help. One day, she woke up and said, “What if I just say yes?”

   After years of watching the latest school reforms come and go, Lusi recognizes that the district can’t do it alone, especially given the enormous cost of turning schools around.

   Each Providence public school that becomes a charter has to find a partner –– another charter like Times2 or the Learning Community or a nonprofit like Inspiring Minds or the Providence After-School Alliance. The partner doesn’t have to be in Providence.

   While the district alone doesn’t have the capacity to make systemic changes, Lusi says, an outside partner brings additional resources to the table along with a fresh perspective.

   “Central Falls,” she said, “showed all of us that there were positive ways for charters and districts to work together.”

   Given the us-versus-them attitude toward charter schools, Lusi was pleasantly surprised when nine Providence schools said they were willing to pursue charter school status. This was especially encouraging given how roiled the district last year when Mayor Angel Taveras fired all of the district’s 1,900 teachers. (They were all rehired.)

   While Central Falls is an exception, many school districts in Rhode Island have traditionally been hostile to charter schools because they are seen as competition, siphoning students and resources away from the traditional public schools.

   Witness the deep-seated opposition last winter to Achievement First, a charter-management operator that successfully applied to open two elementary schools in Providence.

   While Central Falls is an exception, many school districts in Rhode Island have traditionally been hostile to charter schools because they are seen as competition, siphoning students and resources away from the traditional public schools.

   Witness the deep-seated opposition last winter to Achievement First, a charter-management operator that successfully applied to open two elementary schools in Providence.

   With so many schools under the gun to improve student achievement, Lusi knew she had to do something to shake up a system that has remained largely unchanged, despite wave after wave of reform.

   “People don’t think they have permission to think outside the box,” Lusi said Tuesday. “Symbolically, this is a signal to think outside the box.”

   Providence and many other districts, she says, have been trapped by the notion that school has to look the same in every building: 50-minute periods, a 6.5-hour day, 26 students per class. It doesn’t, Lusi says. There is no research that says that the old agrarian model of learning works. In fact, there is a growing body of research that says schools should fine-tune their instruction to meet the diverse ways students learn.

   Providence has already begun to tinker with tradition. This year, most of the city’s high schools have a longer day. They have also adopted a class schedule with longer blocks of time. Some schools are toying with the idea of offering a Saturday academy or afterschool enrichment programs.

   Providence has already begun to tinker with tradition. This year, most of the city’s high schools have a longer day. They have also adopted a class schedule with longer blocks of time. Some schools are toying with the idea of offering a Saturday academy or afterschool enrichment programs.

   Lusi says charter schools do three important things that the district needs: create a school culture that is warm and welcoming, bring in partners with innovative ways of looking at teaching and learning, and attract additional resources. About $5 million in federal money is available for new charters.

   Providence is facing a tough deadline, however. The nine schools that have applied to be charters — seven elementary schools, Nathan Bishop Middle School and E3 High School — have to submit preliminary information to the state Department of Education by Oct. 1. The final applications are due Dec. 1.

   Smith, the teachers’ union president, could not be reached for comment this week.

My top-of-mind questions:

• Why is this happening so hastily? There may be a good reason but without explanation, it's worrisome. Teachers found out about this in some (all?) schools with almost no time to consider before voting to move forward (see this from Tom Hoffman for more on that). Potential partner organizations had a week (or less, depending on when this RFP came to their attention) to respond to indicate interest in the partnership possibility. I understand the concept of carpe diem, of course, but am concerned that this incredibly brief window won't allow strong partners time needed to respond.
• Why is this happening with a lack of clear information from the district? Please, PPSD, put out an FAQ for the public! 
• What's the plan for parent/family involvement???
• How will the teachers of these in-district charters be represented by the union - will they negotiate school-based contracts (like the Boston Pilot Schools)?

Update - more questions that arose during the day:

• What is the specific motivation for introducing in-district charters? Why is this happening now in this way?
• What happens to the neighborhood status of these schools? Do they become schools that have no neighborhood zone and to which any student in the district can apply?
• What will be the governance structure for these in-district charters? Will they have their own boards or be part of PPSD and the Providence School Board?
• Per the statement in the article that 65% of the parents in the school have to vote for charter status. How and when will that happen? Is that accurate? Is it binding as the article seems to imply?
• What's the RIDE policy that spells all of this out? I haven't had time to trawl through RIDE's website - if anyone has a pointer, I'd be grateful.

Second update: my next post summarizes these questions and adds a couple more. Click here for that. 

My top-of-mind response:

I think that this could be a way toward greater autonomy in ways that still allow for teachers' union representation. This could be an exciting development. It's a way to get to the belief that no two schools are alike and away from the cookie-cutter policies we have now. However, it's critical we have more information and clarity. Hoping for that ASAP.

Update - additional response:

Without specific information about neighborhood status, governance, and other questions above (and questions that we haven't yet added), my reaction is more reserved than it was this morning when I wrote the above paragraph. Bottom line: NEED TO KNOW MUCH MORE. Please, PPSD, do more than post media article about this to your Facebook page. Share some coherent and comprehensive information about this process, please.