Five Common Misconceptions About Ohio Charter Schools

October 18, 2011 | 12:35 PM

By Molly Bloom

Ed Brownson / Flickr

In reporting on charter schools, and in readers’ responses to our previous charter school stories, we’ve come across some popular ideas about charter schools. While there’s truth in some of them, other ideas about charter schools are closer to false.

Taking a page from our colleagues at StateImpact Florida, we’ve compiled a list of most-common misconceptions about Ohio charter schools. And taking a page from PoltiFact, we looked for the truth in each.

1. Charter schools take money away from traditional public schools.

Half true

Charter schools receive about $5,800 in state funding per student. (Some students, such as those with disabilities, come with additional state funding.) Traditional public schools receive varying amounts of state funding per student (in the largest urban districts, usually more than $5,800) plus local tax dollars. When a student enrolls in a charter school, the school district in which the student lives sends about $5,800 of the school district’s state funding to the charter school.

So charter schools do take money away from traditional public schools. But they also reduce the school district’s educational burden.

2. Charter schools aren’t accountable for their performance.

Mostly false

Accountability means different things to different people.

Charter schools and traditional public schools face similar requirements about the academic and financial information they must report to state agencies and the public. Most charter schools—except those that focus on students with disabilities or high school dropouts—are expected to meet the same academic standards as traditional public schools. For the 2010-11 school year, the state drew no conclusion about the academic performance of 38 of the 326 charter schools.

Additionally, the bottom fifth of charter school sponsors are barred from sponsoring additional charter schools. But again, schools that focus on students with disabilities or high school dropouts are excluded from the calculations that determine that ranking.

But unlike traditional public schools, state law requires charter schools that are low-performing academically or fiscally for several years in a row to shut down. The sanctions for poor academic or fiscal performance for traditional public school districts are not as strict.

3. Charter schools can pick and choose their students.

Mostly false

In general, charter schools are open to any student. However, charter school boards can restrict enrollment to students of a specific age group or grade level, students who are considered “at-risk” or gifted or students within a specific geographic area.

Charter schools cannot discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, disability, or sex. However, charter schools using a single-gender education model can assign boys to one location and girls to another. There are also separate rules for charter schools that are set up specifically to provide special education services to a specified number of students identified as autistic and regular educational programs to a specified number of students who are not disabled.

In general, if more students apply than the school has room for, the school must hold an admissions lottery. In the lottery, it must give preference to current students and students who reside in the district in which the charter school is located. It can also give preference to siblings of current students.

4. Students in charter schools don’t do any better than students in traditional public schools.

Half true

Performance varies widely among charter schools and traditional public schools. But looking at the big picture, Ohio charter schools in the state’s “Big 8″ urban districts perform about the same as other public schools in those districts.

Performance varies by district: In Cleveland, significantly more charter school students are on grade level than their traditional public-school counterparts. In Akron, the reverse is true. (See our table of Ohio charter and traditional public school performance.)

But that kind of big-picture analysis doesn’t take into account differences in demographics, family motivation or populations of students with disabilities.

5. Charter school teachers cannot join unions.

False

Currently, charter school teachers can organize. If they form a union, the charter school’s board is required to bargain with them. Senate Bill 5, which is on hold while an intense repeal campaign is being waged, prohibits collective bargaining for charter school employees except for conversion charter schools. (Essentially, schools that were traditional public schools and converted to charters.) The bill also allows a conversion charter school’s board to opt out of collectively bargaining with the school’s employees.

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Comments

Wendkhess

You referred to public schools that get more than $5,800 in state funding and consider it a wash if they lose $5,800 to a charter. However, what about a district such as mine that gets about $700 state funding per student. Still a wash if we lose $5,800 to a charter?
- facts
  
  In my district, the per pupil amount is around $10,000, and only about $1500 comes from the state share. So, when a child leaves my district for a charter, $5800 is redirected, but the school still has the remaining $4200 even though they are no longer educating that child. Also – The parents living in the district are paying their share of local taxes.
  - Kate in Ohio
    
    Plus, our districts have to pay for the transportation to these charters. Even though they are getting the money, our districts have to hire bus drivers to drive them (like private transportation). Check out what actually happens in the charters. In the most part, especially high schools, they are online. Public schools already offer that. Why do they need competition, especially if that competition doesn’t work?
kthx

So why are charter schools any better?
- k.smith
  
  what makes you think they are? People who are determined to destroy the public schools and/or bust the teachers’ unions would like to have you think so.
- Kate in Ohio
  
  They aren’t. Just get to get around the red tape. Special considerations.
http://twitter.com/jointhefutureOH Join the Future

Charter schools consume almost half a billion dollars of tax payers money and, as this piece points out, generally do not provide any added quality improvement over their traditional public school counterparts. Furthermore, it has only been very recently, and with much reluctance, that any kind of accountability has been placed on these charters either for their financial or academic performance.

The idea of charters was sold as being able to be be incubators of innovation. Instead they have been incubators of political favoritism at best, and failing students at their worst. They are an expensive failed experiment.

We ought to be giving local communities the resources and support they need to provide a quality public education to every child through traditional public schools, not lining the pockets of politically connected charter operators.
Guest

Charter schools reduce a school’s educational burden? They’re not taking away entire classes. Taking a student from here, a couple from there, still leaves the school having to teach the same number of classes, thus the same number of teachers. How does that reduce the school’s educational burden? And what about non-discriminatory choosing of students, where charters kick out a student that performs poorly or is a “discipline problem”? Traditional public schools don’t get that luxury. I think you’re skewing the picture.
- Anonymous
  
  Well, when a public school loses a substantial number of students to charter schools (or to private schools through voucher programs) as has happened in some schools, it does reduce the need to hire more teachers, buy more desks, etc. It also reduces the district’s revenues.
  
  I’ve heard anecdotal, second-hand accounts of charter schools kicking out students they consider undesirable too. My understanding is that it’s against the law to do so. If you know anyone who has been removed from a charter school illegally, I’d certainly be interested in hearing from them…
  
  (Of course, traditional public schools too can expel students, and did so several thousand times last school year.)
  - k.smith
    
    (Of course, traditional public schools too can expel students, and did so several thousand times last school year.)
    
    Yes, Ms. Bloom, public schools may expel students when they bring weapons to school, assault staff or other students, bring drugs to school to sell, and the like. What would you have the schools do with these students? Give them a cookie? The premise of public education in this country is to provide EVERY child with an education. And the schools try, the teachers who teach in them try. It’s a big order; think about it. The public schools have to accept EVERYBODY and then they’re held accountable for educating them. And of course, everyone knows that if students don’t do well in school, it’s obviously the fault of the school and the teachers. I’m waiting for the day parents will need to take yearly parenting tests and show Yearly Parenting Progress in raising their children they brought into the world.
    
    The truth is, not all children come from ideal homes with parents who are able to nurture and guide them. Many children in our state live in poverty–it’s hard to concentrate on your schoolwork when your stomach is rumbling, your feet are wet, you’re sick and you didn’t get much sleep the night before because you were afraid your mom’s boyfriend was going to beat her up again or the neighbors were partying all night. These kids sit in our public school classes and many don’t pass the state tests and some are expelled from our public schools because they engage in criminal activity and disrupt the learning process. Why do you think public schools expel students?
    - facts
      
      Kbuttercupsmith, please educate yourself by visiting at least one of the highly successful charter schools in Ohio. These schools understand that poverty is a very real barrier – but they put a program together that gives kids an excellent education DESPITE poverty in the belief that a high quality education can change their life trajectory. (Columbus Collegiate Academy, ePrep, Horizon Science, The Charles School, DECA). It may make you fall over – but there are many DEMOCRATS in the Charter School Community because of our desire for greater social equality through better education. Read “Class Warfare,” which speaks to this divide in thinking (particularly in the Democratic party) of Poverty verses Education. I wish we could stop poverty, but in the meantime, I’m want to ensure that every kid has access to a high quality education – not just those that can afford to live in the richer suburbs or send their kids to private school.
      
      And, by the way, Charter schools ARE public schools.
      What most saddens me is people who work (or have retired from) the education sector yet cannot listen to facts or keep an open mind when something goes against their entrenched beliefs. Makes me a little concerned about what goes on in the classroom.
      - Kate in Ohio
        
        Charter schools are not truly public schools. Do they have a Board of Education? Are the salaries of the owners and their financial records public? Sure, a recent ruling wants this to happen, but White Hat Management is fighting it….
      - Smith
        
        Wow Facts….touchy, touchy! Do you really believe I’d be educating myself about the success (or anything else regarding charter schools) by visiting “at least one highly successful charter school”? How do you know I haven’t seen them all? You mentioned 5, not a huge number.
        
        By the way, I believe my post you responded to so passionately was regarding the justification of expulsion of violent and dangerous students from the public schools, not a treatise on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of charter schools. I can’t quite make the connection between my posting and your vehement reply, but I’m the recipient of a public school education, so what can you expect? And why would you bring someone’s political affiliation into the discussion? And changing the trajectory of poverty….admirable, but what makes you think that hasn’t been accomplished for years by thousands of our public schools and the thousands of public school employees who staff them? And hey, it’s still going on today! Charter schools don’t have the market cornered on providing a high quality education to children of poverty, please educate yourself. And thanks for the book group tip, but “Class Warfare” was not well-regarded (read the reviews–it was panned) by the scholarly circles I typically frequent and I don’t have time for light reading, as I work 10 hour days.
        
        And, by the way Facts, you’ve got your facts wrong– charter schools ARE NOT public schools for oh, so many reasons. And, by the way again, I’ve been working in the public schools for 30+ years (not retired) and my mind is incredibly open to all kinds of things–I teach in an inner-ring suburban middle school, where we have to be resilient and resourceful, so don’t be sad, I’m not anywhere near entrenched. I’m glad to hear you’re concerned about what goes on in the classroom–put your money where your mouth is and be sure to support your local school levy in the upcoming elections so they can continue to provide every kid with a high quality education, not just those who can afford to live in richer suburbs or send their kids to the couple of highly successful charter schools you mention.
      - Kate in Ohio
        
        Facts reply just shows how uninformed many people are about about public education. Charters have used a lot of taxpayers’ dollars to skew information, without public comment. I wonder if FACTS would be upset with how much charters pay in gift cards, billboards, newspaper and radio ad spots (which are tax payers’ dollars) to get their brand across. Public schools would not be allowed to do this. But, for profit charters don’t have to have open books! Just open their books, public, and compare. That’s all I (a taxpayer working two jobs) asks!
  - Kate in Ohio
    
    Please, M_Bloom, don’t say anecdotal. As a teacher, that means you haven’t checked your facts. Charter schools don’t “illegally kick out kids”, they don’t do it legally. They operate on different standards than public schools do. In fact, most charters don’t enroll a student until they have attended 15 days straight. Hello, public schools can’t do that! So if they don’t “take” our student, that drop-out counts on the public!
- Kate in Ohio
  
  Exactly.
john

So…..charter schools can’t dismiss a trouble-maker student that the public school HAS to keep on the class roster? Really!!
- Kate in Ohio
  
  Agree. This is TRUE. Charters (which are for-profit) and private schools can kick out any student that they don’t want. Public schools can’t. I’ve had students in my building that are known gang members, sex-offenders, just collecting their SS benefits. They disrupt classes, cause trouble, yet we have to be responsible for their attendance, performance on OGT’s.
  
  Make it an even playing field. We urban districts have the same students as charters. If they can kick them out, so should we. But we don’t. We can’t. WE CARE. And we also, can’t.
  
  Don’t ever believe the argument that charter schools deal with the at-risk students. All urbans, do.
Kate in Ohio

What about the waste of taxpayer’s money on charter schools? Look around and see their advertisements on buses, billboards, print and TV ads. They also give Wallmart gift cards for referrals and attendance to their schools. That’s OUR tax dollars being spent without directly impacting student education. Also, why is there a secrecy to the boards of these charter schools? How much money do the owners make? We’ll never know! But superintendents and others in public education have their salaries on the record. One other interesting and disgusting fact about charter schools is that they can purchase property and desks, equipment, books, copying machines, etc. and get to keep it if their schools fail! It is not public property like public schools. Some charters set up lease companies to lease the schools to them, double dipping! It’s time to wake up, Ohio. Our tax dollars are being thrown away to friends of Kasich, such as David Brennan, of White Hat Management. Please, NPR, re-publish how much he contributed to the GOP in Ohio and how much money her reaps from Ohio Dept of Education….it is astronomical!
Kbuttercupsmith

2. Charter schools aren’t accountable for their performance.

Mostly false

I find your handling of this issue fairly misleading. You state “But unlike traditional public schools, state law requires charter schools that are low-performing academically or fiscally for several years in a row to shut down. The sanctions for poor academic or fiscal performance for traditional public school districts are not as strict.”

Wow….where did you get this information about traditional public school districts and sanctions for poor academic performance???? You might want to check the ODE website for information regarding AYP for the school districts in Ohio…here’s a basic excerpt pertaining to consequences public school districts face if their students aren’t performing adequately on the state tests–”Before the beginning of each school year, each district must identify any of its schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two or more consecutive
years. (ODE provides summary and historical data to make these determinations.) These schools are placed into School Improvement (SI) status. ” So, what exactly do you think these School Improvement Plans are? An invitation to a picnic in the park? They are sanctions.

I’ve been teaching in the Ohio public schools for 30 years now, many of those years in districts labeled as low social-economic/inner-ring/inner-city districts. These are the districts that are having trouble getting kids to pass the tests–do you really think that’s a coincidence? These are the districts with schools that can’t meet AYP. These are the schools that are required to file and adhere to School Improvement Plans. And if you don’t believe those School Improvement Plans are loaded with sanctions, you’re simply not paying attention or doing your homework.
- Anonymous
  
  It seems to me that shutting down a school is the harshest sanction that can be applied. While traditional public schools are, as you mentioned, required to take certain steps if they don’t meet AYP, shutting down isn’t one of them. (And, as you probably know, charter schools are also subject to AYP.)
  
  I’d be interested in hearing about your experiences with school improvement plans. As a teacher, has the planning process–or the changes brought by those plans–helped you in the classroom?
  - k.smith
    
    What kind of sanction do you call being taken over by the state? How does state takeover rate on your “Harshness Scale”? As to my experience with school improvement plans, what could possibly cause you to imagine they help anyone in the classroom? And why would you presume I’d want to tell you anything about my experiences? Those of us who have been in public education for decades could tell you what works and what doesn’t, why some students succeed and others don’t, which methods and curriculum will cause students to think and grow and learn and which won’t. They could tell you what they’ve seen come and go and what is constant. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t always popular or politically expedient. So, no, I don’t believe I care to share my experiences regarding school improvement plans with you, because I find your reporting to be extremely biased, politically motivated, misguided and anti-public education.
    
    Most experienced teachers ascribe to their Educator’s Associations–you might discover a wealth of information and knowledge through dialoguing with them.
    - Kate in Ohio
      
      I think an invitation to our schools is exactly what M_Bloom should do. See our wonderful classrooms and fabulous teachers. See what is said and heard in the hallways between class changes. Try to teach a class of 33 students who don’t want to be at school, because they have experienced someone getting shot, attacked, arrested, robbed, or thrown out of their housing in the last week.
      
      But we still work hard to give a darn about coming to school. We make them want to come to school, somehow. But come to an urban district. One that isn’t “excellent” because we can’t compete with many other districts with situations that we work with.
  - Smith
    
    The point I was making is that I don’t believe you have a solid understanding of what a School Improvement Plan is, how it works, or what it does to the stake-holders involved in the process, but you deflected this point in defense of the charter schools again, missing the point entirely.
    
    I am curious as to why you think I would be affected by the “planning process-or the changes brought about by those plans” regarding school improvement plans. Why would you assume I needed help in the classroom? I find that a little presumptuous; you’re communicating with a outstanding veteran educator of 30+ years, a leader in her district, a mentor teacher, with amazing test passage results. My input on school improvement plans as sanctions for public schools was offered as a ballast to your soundbite on how tough the charter schools have it, not as an invitation to pirate my personal teaching experiences to plump up your inadequate reporting practices.
    
    I challenge you to do some actual research pertaining to this topic, instead of soliciting anecdotal stories from teachers and then skewing their accounts to suit your agenda.
- Kate in Ohio
  
  Exactly! Those in education need to educate others what is really going on in public schools. We love what we do. We are good at it. We are professionals with degrees and licenses. We make a huge difference that can’t always be measured by standards in the Ohio Report Card, that pits us against districts that don’t face the same challenges that our districts do. Not to make an excuse, but to help others understand. Judge us, for sure. For yearly improvements. Not against districts with a high percentage of higher income, two-parent families, who travel, go to their child’s soccer matches, piano lessons, etc. Thanks for informing others about charter schools.
Guest

Wow! For all of these years, I have been listening to NPR since its inception believing I was getting fair and unbiased coverage of issues. I have contributed for this privilege through the tight times and have adjusted my contribution when the times were better- all because I firmly believed the reporters went out of their way to get the truth and the whole truth. You have to look in your heart, Molly. You most definitely must know you have let us down in this reporting on School Impact Ohio. You are clearly showing your bias in the comments you make to those challenging your reporting in various articles. How can you put up a chart of statistics about the comparative success of Charter Schools with the comment that it has NUMEROUS important caveats? Hello? Is that called fair and thorough reporting? You ask those commenting to share their experiences about school improvement. Go out and talk to teachers in both charter schools and public schools to find out the truth before writing these articles. Do you notice how the reporters in the middle east are talking to people in the street? That’s because those in the trenches know the truth. Sorry Molly, I am so very disappointed to know first hand I am not getting the whole story.
- Anonymous
  
  This post is just one part of StateImpact’s coverage of Ohio charter schools. Charter schools are a complex issue, and we didn’t think that we could cram every aspect into a single story. Click on the “World of Ohio Charter Schools” topic at the bottom of this story, or at the top of our homepage. (http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/tag/charter-schools/) Read our stories about the experiences of parents, students and teachers, and others. Then come back and tell me what you think.
  
  (I’m serious–I would sincerely be interested to know what you think after reading the full range of our charter school coverage. Just as I was in asking that other commenter about her experiences as a teacher. I hope that you’ll be willing to add your voice to the conversation.)
  - Guest
    
    I have read most all of the articles throughout the summer. It was not just ONE article that helped me draw my conclusion or break my vow of silence by commenting in places like this.
    
    The hyperlink doesn’t work for me. I have a mac?
    
    I am serious too. I HAD to retire early to care for my parents because it had become impossible to follow my passion of educating children AND care for my parents. I think it would behoove someone to look very carefully into what all of this mostly poor, uninformative testing; negative talk about education; demands on a teacher’s day on non-classroom contact time; etc. are doing to education and more importantly to the very best teachers. I will not be responding publicly. It’s not my thing but I’d be happy to help you. I want someone to care even half as much as I do about what’s happening to the future of our education system. Thank you.
  - Kate in Ohio
    
    @M_Bloom – how can you publish information so important to the people who listen/read and trust NPR that is not correct? Where are you getting your information on? I have asked before on this website. NPR did a fabulous piece on the radio that researched how much White Hat Management paid to the Republican Party and how much David Brennan/White Hat receives from the State of Ohio.
    
    If you really mean what you say, please give us a link to that information. It is sickning!
Findumonde21

@M. Bloom…you know, what is really frustrating to true educators is when people (like you!) who have never set foot in a classroom as a teacher write uninformed articles like yours, filled with inaccuracies and untruths (“Charter schools are public schools”) !! The really sad part is that so many members of the general public actually read your work and swallow it as truth, believing that you actually know what you are talking about!!

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