January 8, 2007
The bureaucracy in public
schools is the cause for some of the problems we face with failing students.
Even though Topeka already has two successful charter schools, the Board of
Education unanimously voted NO to three public schools proposed by community
leaders on January 4, 2007. The question from the community and parents of
low-achieving students in particular must be WHY a NO vote?
There are five seats
available on the Topeka Board of Education this spring. Our community must have
confidence that new Board members know something about the schools they
represent. This current Board did not know three important facts: 1) That the
district is not responsible for the facility costs of renovating Sumner; 2) that
the district uses a “lock-step curriculum” requiring all students to read from
the same text page on the same day regardless of whether a student is gifted or
labeled as ‘special needs’. There is scientific evidence that this is NOT an
acceptable educational practice. It is certainly NOT an innovation; and 3) the
Board has to provide written feedback on a 192-point rubric provided by KSDE
instead of just talking about what they thought.
More on Point 1: Apparently,
the Topeka Board of Education thought they would have to pay for the cost of
renovating the historic Sumner school. WRONG. We were very clear with the
Board that other facility alternatives would be sought while WE raised the money
to renovate the site.
More on Point 2: We also
heard from the Board that the curriculum we proposed did not appear to be
innovative or different from what occurs in the district currently. Based on
our information, the district features a lock-step curriculum in reading and
math that requires students in the second grade, for instance, to be working on
the same page in the same textbook regardless of the child’s ability. What is
innovative about that? Last week, a mother of a student with special needs
called to tell us that her son is forced to work with a middle school math text
that he can’t read or understand. The teacher told the mother that the district
required her son to be exposed to the curriculum regardless of his understanding
of it. IS THIS INNOVATION?
More on Point 3: While the
Topeka Board of Education sadly shook their heads over our proposals for new
public charter schools and vaguely spoke of “statutory insufficiencies”, they
did not provide specifics. Board members did not complete a rating form supplied
by the Kansas State Department of Education for each section of the proposal.
What is new and
innovative for the proposed elementary public charter school is an intense,
individualized approach to reading, math, and writing.
Successful research-based curricula from Saxon Publishers in Reading and Math
have proven its ability to accelerate the achievement of students at the highest
risk of school failure and school drop out.
Students at the
middle school level will be introduced to project-based, hands on math and
reading with an emphasis on non-fiction. Each student
is guaranteed an intense, individualized approach to learning that takes a child
from where he is to where he should be.
All students, K-8, will be offered a very special school reform
model called Core Knowledge. It is based on some of the ideas
presented by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. in his well-known books, Cultural Literacy:
What Every American Needs to Know and The Schools We Need and Why We
Don’t Have Them.
In each grade students will be exposed to a broad
range of historical, scientific, and cultural topics that will build on one
another to prepare them for later educational success. Core Knowledge
tries to develop cultural literacy in a way that is systematic but leaves room
for creativity for both teacher and student. Core Knowledge is truly innovative
and scientifically proven to result in student success.
The public charter school proposals developed by
Dr. Betty Horton and Sandra Lassiter represent an opportunity for families to
choose powerful instructional and social interventions for their children who
are failing in traditional schools. We think the Topeka Board of Education
would be well-served to provide a public forum for these proposals. What is the
cost of considering the proposals? If you are the parent of a K-8 child[ren]
who are failing or know of a child who is failing, please call us at
785-267-0369 or 785-267-7302 or email us at
bthorton1@cox.net or
Retired administrator of
Topeka Public Schools #501, Sandra K. Lassiter
President and CEO, Kansas
Association of Public Charter Schools, Dr. Betty T. Horton
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