[Durham INC] IMPORTANT info on Charter School Bill (Senate Bill 8)

[Melissa Rooney]

Please see the correspondence below regarding the Charter School bill (Senate 
Bill 8) before the Senate right now. I don't imagine that parents of Charter 
school kids would agree with the Senate subcommittee denying the following 
requests (as they have done):

 • Require all charter school teachers to be licensed in the area they teach. 
(NCAE has been informed that teachers whose licenses have been revoked by the 
state are now employed in charter schools.) Status: REJECTED

• Report student test data as part of the charter school’s test data in cases 
when a student transfers from a charter school to a traditional public school 
within 45 school days prior to administration of EOG or EOC testing. 
Status: REJECTED

• Identify and disseminate best practices from charter schools, correlated with 
student achievement, for possible replication in other traditional and charter 
schools. Status: REJECTED

Rejection of these requests hurts those who attend Charter Schools, as well as 
traditional schools. The time has come for DPS and Charters to work together and 
find conditions on which they both can agree.

Please forward this to parents at your schools, as well as any Charter School 
principals, directors, etc., that you know.

Thanks!
Melissa (Rooney)

Melissa Rooney, Ph.D.
301 Spring Garden Drive
Durham, NC 27713
mmr121570 at yahoo.com
919.599.0952





----- Forwarded Message ----
To: durham-allies-for-responsive-education at googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, February 17, 2011 12:12:07 PM
Subject: Re: Charter Schools -- proponents' arguments

I too find this depressing. But I'm keeping in mind that those  
rejecting the changes by NCAE are politicians and not charter school  
stakeholders. Is there any way we can make fast inroads of  
communications to charter stakeholders (directors, principals, board  
members) to begin a discussion. I agree that we need to contact our  
elected officials about this proposal. But that is not enough.

There are 100 Charter Schools in this state. I doubt they all are in  
agreement with these changes. If we can find Charter Proponents who  
also want to reach a middle ground and find this proposal as less than  
middle ground then that goes a long way to argue the NCAE case with  
our elected officials. Or at LEAST delay a vote on some of these  
changes until there has been more time for discussions.


> On Thu, 17 Feb 2011:
>
>> NCAE has now reversed position due to lack of cooperation by  
>> committee
>>
>>
>>      Dear Members of the Senate:
>>
>>      The North Carolina Association of Educators requests that you
>>      vote NO on Senate Bill 8 (No Cap on the Number of Charter
>>      Schools). NCAE is disappointed to take this position. As you
>>      know, NCAE announced last month we were (and remain) willing
>>      to work on a middle-of-the-road bill that is based on
>>      common-sense principles, ensures student protections and
>>      taxpayer accountability.
>>
>>      Instead, Senator Stevens is allowing charter schools to employ
>>      teachers with no licenses and even revoked licenses, and is
>>      promoting a funding system that will likely lead to charter
>>      schools gaining a financial advantage over traditional public
>>      schools. All this combined with little-to-no accountability to
>>      the North Carolina taxpayer and you have a bad bill before
>>      you.
>>
>>      We ask that the Senate reconsider Senate Bill 8 and write a
>>      bill that protects children.
>>
>>      I will also point out that NCAE offered the following
>>      common-sense changes to Senator Stevens’ bill:
>>
>>      • Lift the cap in small increments and provide resources to
>>      enable the SBE and Office of Charter Schools to monitor their
>>      quality and performance. Status: REJECTED
>>
>>      • Require all charter school teachers to be licensed in the
>>      area they teach. (NCAE has been informed that teachers whose
>>      licenses have been revoked by the state are now employed in
>>      charter schools.) Status: REJECTED
>>
>>      • Report student test data as part of the charter school’s
>>      test data in cases when a student transfers from a charter
>>      school to a traditional public school within 45 school days
>>      prior to administration of EOG or EOC testing. Status:
>>      REJECTED
>>
>>      • Identify and disseminate best practices from charter
>>      schools, correlated with student achievement, for possible
>>      replication in other traditional and charter schools. Status:
>>      REJECTED
>>
>>      • Assure charter school student demographics will mirror those
>>      of the district. Status: REJECTED
>>
>>      NCAE recognizes that Senator Stevens accepted an amendment
>>      from Senator Soucek to allow teachers who move between a
>>      charter and a traditional public school to transfer
>>      accumulated leave. NCAE appreciates this amendment, but also
>>      recognizes its insignificance compared to the larger problems
>>      this bill creates for students, communities, and taxpayers.
>>
>>      Should you have any questions regarding Senate Bill 8 or any
>>      other legislation pertaining to public education, please do
>>      not hesitate to contact me at (919) 413-2580.
>>
>>      Sincerely,
>>
>>      Brian Lewis
>>      NCAE Government Relations Manager
>>



__,_._,___



      
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20110217/7b726157/attachment.html>