Traverse City Record-Eagle

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December 25, 2011

Forum: Charter schools breakthrough

By Billie Kops Wimmer ----

After 12 years the Michigan Legislature finally lifted restrictions on charter public schools. Gradually lifting the 150-school limit on charters authorized by the state's public universities is an opportunity to focus on quality, not quantity.

Michigan now has the freedom to meet parental demand for charter public schools. The legislative cap on charter public schools was artificial, and has been the biggest barrier for Michigan to provide more education choices for students and families.

The cap kept us from meeting the demand of parents who wanted more options to provide their children with a quality education that will prepare them for success. While 70 percent of charter schools statewide have waiting lists, Michigan's charter public school authorizers' focus remains on setting up quality charters, not on the number of schools.

SB 618 provides parents access to quality education for their kids. After avoiding our state, high-performing charter operators with good track records will begin to invest in Michigan.

Under the three-year phase for lifting the cap, authorizers will continue to conduct a methodical, thorough and competitive charter application process. To date, roughly one in every 40 applicants is granted a charter in Michigan.

Despite fear being spread by special interests, the No. 1 priority of charter school authorizers is quality. SB 618 means that charter public schools still must comply with the same state and federal rules and regulations as traditional public schools.

And, SB 618 raises academic standards for all charter public schools by strengthening accountability on academic performance, fiscal management, and transparency for schools, operators and authorizers.

The bill contains 64 new provisions to address accountability, oversight and transparency for charter schools, management companies and authorizers. For the first time the authorizer's decision to renew a charter school contract must be based on demonstrated improved academic achievement for all groups of students.

The majority of charter public schools are designed to intentionally and purposefully serve poor and minority students who have historically been the most challenging to educate.

It is important to note that students in charter public schools are nearly twice as likely to be "at risk" than the overall student population in Michigan.

• Seventy percent of students in charters are eligible for free and reduced price lunch, compared to 46 percent of students statewide.

• Sixty-seven percent of students in charters are minorities, compared to only 30 percent of students statewide.

The Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers released a recent report that showed the longer students are in charter schools, the more their scores improved on state standardized tests.

After being enrolled in a charter public school for three continuous years, students meet the state average in reading and math.

It doesn't do the kids, parents, management companies or authorizers any good to rush and open lots of charter schools without being committed to quality and innovation.

We take great pride in providing an innovative learning environment to take kids who were not performing in traditional public schools and providing them an opportunity to succeed.

About the author: Billie Kops Wimmer is executive director of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers, which represents the unified voice of Michigan's authorizers and a professional association of public education agencies. The council authorizes nearly 85 percent of Michigan's charter public schools educating 115,000 students throughout the state.

About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.

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