Alternative Schooling and School Choice (Osborne, Russo, and Cattaro)

Through my research for solutions to my problem, I came across the book “Alternative Schooling and School Choice, by  Allan Osborne, Charles Russo, and Gerald Cattaro. This book highlights everything from private, public, and charter schools to homeschooling and year round schools, and the issues each type of school may have, as well as solutions to these problems.

One of the solutions this book provided was stating that private schools may enhance student achievement, and if public schools were modeled like private schools, they would be more successful as well. I believe this has some truth in it, because private schools have proven greater success rates. On the other hand, I don’t believe all public schools should accept the strict rules and guidelines some private schools hold, and I do not believe they would benefit from them.

This book also discussed single-sex classes and if they address the needs of elementary and secondary students, and if they were the possible solution to the school crisis in America. They came to the conclusion that these classes do not enhance learning, and that schools may reach success if they stopped worrying about who is in each class, and started facing the problems they encounter by trying to find solutions for them.

 

Resources

Osborne, Allan G., Charles J. Russo, and Gerald M. Cattaro. Alternative Schooling and School        Choice. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2012. Print.

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Brian Minott

                After interviewing Brian Minott, administrator at Decatur Christian School in Forsyth, Illinois, I had a much better understanding of private schools and the way they work. He has been with the school for 22 years, and has held the positions of assistant principal, middle school principal, dean of boys, and guidance counselor, as well as teaching multiple history, Greek, and Hebrew classes. He also leads a group of students to London each spring.

                Brian grew up attending Decatur Public Schools, and taught in a public school for two years after college, making him a perfect interviewee when writing a paper about private and public schools. He says the biggest difference between the two schools is “in the atmosphere of the school and the way discipline is administered and for what infractions”.

                Minott says his favorite part about teaching in a private school is having the chance to get in-depth into topics because most of the class period is not taken up with classroom management issues, and enjoys getting to know his students individually. If he could change one thing about private schools, it would be to not having to worry about money, a problem most private schools face every year.

                Lastly, Brian describes how some private schools help public school students adjust when transferring. “For most transfer students DCS is a little bit of a culture shock. We do not have the classroom issues that most public schools have and they try to understand how that could be. For some doing homework and turning it in on time is a new concept. Having teachers that care is at times a new experience for them as well,” he says.

                After speaking with Mr. Minott, who was one of my high school teachers, I began to understand the struggles teachers go through just because of choosing to teach at a private school. Most are forced to accept a low salary, and spend a large amount of time helping students one-on-one with their work. I also had never thought about where the money for private schools come from, and that if tuition numbers are down, it can significantly change the way the school runs for that year.

“What Parents Really Want” by Davis Guggenheim

While most newspaper articles are written by journalists that interview multiple people about their topic, this article was written by a parent and director of the documentary “Waiting for Superman”, which highlights the struggles and stories of families across the country choosing a school for their children. Guggenheim speaks of his personal difficulty in getting his children into the school of his choice, and being turned away again and again

“Last year I got excited about a great choice for my 12-year-old. It's not a charter, but a mainstream, magnet, public school, 30 minutes from my home in Los Angeles. It's called LACES, and it's ranked (in this magazine) as one of the top high schools in the country. Other parents told me the teachers are amazing; the student population is diverse. So I called the school and spoke to a very kind woman in admissions who told me that if I wanted my son to go to LACES, I should have started five years ago! And--get this--I should have applied to other schools that I knew my son was not going to get into. And if, and only if, my son didn't get in, every year for five years in a row, I would accumulate 20 total points (four per year). Having "won" these 20 points, I could enter the LACES lottery, where I would have a good but not great chance to win a spot in the school. Since I didn't have any points, my son had zero chance of getting into LACES,” says Guggenheim.

For families across the country, this is the reality they face when choosing a school for their kids. I was very pleased with Guggenheim’s article because it shows what parents have to go through in some areas to get their children into a good school.

Resources

Guggenheim, Davis. "What Parents Really Want." Newsweek 156.12 (2010) Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

“The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments” by Richard Buddin

Charter schools are dependent on the public school system for funds and support, but are independently run and make their own curriculum, enrollment, and staffing decisions. Because of this freedom, and the free price tag to families, charter schools are rising above the rest as students are lining up for their chance to attend such a school all over the country. Charter schools have caught the eye of families wanting to remove their children from the harshness of some public schools, and even private school families who are unable to continue paying tuition, but want to keep their child out of public school. According to Buddin, “about 8 percent of charter elementary students and 11 percent of middle and high school students are drawn from private schools. In highly urban districts, private schools contribute 32, 23, and 15 percent of charter elementary, middle, and high school enrollments, respectively. Catholic schools seem particularly vulnerable, especially for elementary students in large metropolitan areas.

I believe Buddin has provided a great article that highlights the right amount of information about each type of school as well as the issue he is discussing. He writes in a way that is easy to understand and provides additional information at the end of his article.

 

Resources

Buddin, Richard. "The Impact of Charter Schools on Public and Private School Enrollments." Cato Institute. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

"Helping Schools Make the Grade" by Jessica Calefati

In this article, Calefati highlights the story of Steve Barr and how he started Green Dot Public Schools in 1999. Barr began the school system in Los Angeles to give the area better schools, and now has several charter schools out-competing the public schools in the state. Calefati does an excellent job of highlighting the story, and includes details from every point of Barr’s life, including his childhood, professions, and how he started the Green Dot Schools with only five teachers. Today, these teachers work hard to maintain their jobs, and provide students with a solid education.

“Unlike most charter school management organizations, whose leaders staunchly oppose teachers unions, Green Dot teachers are unionized. But one thing Green Dot teachers cannot bargain for is tenure. This is something that's inextricably linked to public school teachers unions, and often in a negative way. Though tenure's original intent was to give teachers their "day in court" if they felt they were unjustly dismissed, Weingarten says, many people now view tenure as an undeserved safety net that protects even burned-out, ineffective teachers from being fired. In Green Dot's New York school, teachers keep their jobs based on evaluations, not on the number of years of experience. And teachers also lobbied for provisions like standing professional development committees and caps on the number of students a teacher must see every day and every week, conditions that help Green Dot fill its classrooms with high-quality teachers,” Barr says.

Calefati also includes personal stories from students and parents which enhances the article, and mentions how the school is improving the lives of students in the Los Angeles Area.

Works Cited

Calefati, Jessica. "Helping Schools Make The Grade." U.S. News & World Report 147.1 (2010): 50-51. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Public Private (and Beyond) by Susan Poliniak

 

There has always been an ongoing debate between private, public, and charter schools, but the differences are becoming more and more clear. According to Susan Poliniak, a music teacher, “Different types of schools make for different experiences. Pros and cons abound, whether you teach at a public, private, magnet, or charter school. Although it's certainly true that some individual schools may offer better environments for music education than others, no type of school is categorically the "best." Still, it can be instructive to look at some of the differences -- and similarities -- between school types in terms of how they may affect music programs. We got in touch with three music educators whose careers have taken them to several different types of schools and asked them to compare and contrast.”

While Susan chose to speak about her experiences with music departments, she includes stories of other teachers and their experiences in the different school systems. Below are some examples.

“David DeStefano is a music educator at Phillips Charter School in Napa, California, and has previously taught in public schools in Florida and California. He offers this clarification: "I think the term 'charter schools' is very misunderstood. There are many different kinds of charter schools and generalizing them is a tremendous mistake. Not all of them are like the ones in the movie Waiting for 'Superman.' There's a general assumption that charter schools are just like private schools -- smaller class sizes, students have to apply for admission, no special needs students -- but the reality is that my school is just the local public school, with the same obstacles as any other school. Any student in the neighborhood is welcome to attend and, if there's room, we welcome students from other areas of town and even other towns. What makes my school different is the structure of the academic day, the types of curriculum and programs offered, and an extended day."

Tom Miller is a music educator at Johns Hill Magnet School in Decatur, Illinois. He notes that "the 'magnet' term is used loosely; while the school does draw students from across the district, it does not have a specific focus. Although the fine arts are strong in the school, we're not a 'fine arts school' as other magnet schools might be. I also teach in one of the local Catholic elementary schools and the Catholic high school. The Catholic school jobs incorporate students from the home-school community as well. We offer beginning-to-12th-grade instrumental instruction for a nominal participation fee. This allows the home-school students to play in a larger ensemble, while also complementing the parochial band program.

Philip Steinbacher is a music educator at Island School, a private school in Lihu'e, Hawaii, and has previously worked in public schools in Chicago and elsewhere. Although he was originally hired to teach English, his responsibilities expanded, and over the course of several years he has built a healthy and varied music program with strong participation among the student body. "When Glee first came on," he says, "there was a pilot one spring and then the show. I'm the pilot -- I'm like the Spanish teacher who started the music program. This truly is my life -- trying to make something out of nothing. If you build it, they will come."”

Poliniak continues to speak of the many differences between the music programs at each school, and I agree with all of her statements. Schools are not always classified correctly, and some are given the “magnet” classification to simply look better. Lastly, the article also discusses the funding, parental involvement, and administrative support involving music departments in each type of school.

Works Cited

 

POLINIAK, SUSAN. "Public Private (And Beyond)." Teaching Music 19.5 (2012): 36-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013

 

 

 

School Organizations

As you all know, I have been researching the differences private, public, and charter schools in the U.S. as well as the availability of each in areas around the country. One organization I have come across is greatschools.org, a non-profit whose mission is to “help millions of parents get a great education for their children.” They do this and much more, including helping parents find schools in their area provide parenting tips, give homework help, and educating parents on how to get involved in their child’s education experience. I believe this organization is not only doing a great job assisting families in finding the right school for their children, but also helping parents be active in their children’s lives.

Greatschools.org also has strategy of “Leveraging the power of digital media to inspire and support parents to solve education-related problems, raise expectations for their children's learning, develop education-related parenting skills, and access helpful resources online and in their community,” and does a great job of incorporating technology into the lives of children across the country. In my opinion, as our world is becoming more and more obsessed with technology, this statement becomes more important. Student today are surrounded by technology, and are beginning to learn more about how to text and play games than how to properly type or use computer programs for schoolwork. Organizations like this help bridge the gap between the past and what our world has grown to today.

 

If you would like to learn more about this organization, you can find them online at www.greatschools.org.