 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools is the largest charter school authorizer in the nation. The Board was established in 1994 with the passage of the charter school law and has authorized over 350 charters and oversees more than 500 sites. In contrast to many other authorizers, the Board was established as an independent state agency whose sole purpose is to authorize and oversee charter schools. The Board has been and continues to be comprised of individuals committed to working in the best interest of Arizona families and taxpayers. |
Like most things in life, extreme generalizations are wrong.In the past, the Board was dubbed the “Wild West” of charter authorizers for its eager proliferation of charter schools and its perceived lax oversight model. More recently however, the Board has been pulling away from this characterization. Now fears are building that the Board has become “too tough” by developing a rigorous application process and a thorough accountability system. Like most things in life, extreme generalizations are wrong. So how has the Board evolved and are these fair characterizations of the Board past and present? In the early years the Board did focus on the proliferation of charter schools, relying on parents to be good consumers in choosing what they deemed to be best for their students. This has resulted in a strong foundation of choice for families in Arizona and provided an opportunity for the Board to ensure that a parent’s choice of a charter school equals a safe, stable and quality learning environment.
|
Advertisement |
To build upon this foundation, the Board has made substantial progress in the development of its procedures for awarding charters and providing oversight of the schools it sponsors. This progress can be seen in the application process that provides clear expectations for applicants, a fair and accountable compliance review process, and through current efforts focused on strengthening the Board’s academic accountability model. Consistent with the implementation of anything new, the results are being evaluated. The Board continues to learn and processes continue to evolve. As opposed to falling victim to rumor or victimization through this process, the Board must do what all good service providers do; analyze the data, acknowledge the weaknesses and implement improvements. This must happen with the support and input from charter school operators, policy makers, and parents.
New Charter Schools and Continued
Growth
Mandating children and their parents to accept a single source of education
is a recipe for mediocrity and failure. Regardless of the successes or failures
of individual charter schools, the proliferation of charter schools as a
whole has greatly improved the quality of outputs from all education providers.
The Board remains committed to providing opportunities for the continued
growth of high quality charter schools in Arizona.
The Board has worked diligently to improve the application process with a great emphasis on feedback from the charter community. Technical assistance is provided through workshops and advisory reviews, helping applicants create quality applications. The applications are reviewed by experts in school development, curriculum, and finance both from the charter industry and industries at large. This process has led to charter schools opening on a more timely basis and being prepared to take on the challenges of providing a quality academic program.
Accountability
The Board is statutorily charged with the oversight and administrative responsibility
for these publicly funded, privately operated businesses. The Board is enforcing
the existing regulations. It has been, and must continue to be, careful
not to let the creeping nature of government enter into the process. The
Board has and continues to develop the critical measures of success and
has created processes that allow for consistency in holding schools accountable.
Although the Board does not want to burden existing charter school operators with cumbersome or bureaucratic processes, we must require a reasonable amount of accountability in education, financial matters, and compliance with the laws that make charter schools safe, quality learning environments. The Board does this by partnering with other agencies, as well as collecting and evaluating academic, programmatic and compliance data. Charter school applicants or operators with criminal convictions, violations that threaten the health & safety of children, financial disarray, or educational programs that do not improve pupil learning should not be allowed to obtain or maintain their charter contract.
Building Bridges
Over the past two years the Board has provided numerous on-going opportunities
for the charter community, policy makers, and the public to be involved
in ground level development of policies and procedures. Board sub-committee
meetings, where new policies are discussed and developed, invite open discussion
and welcome input from stakeholder groups.
The Board also encourages parents to become involved by asking questions
of their charter school and require their children to work hard. Additionally,
the Board must continue to assist parents as they seek accurate information
about charter schools. However, as parents consider different educational
options for their children, they should investigate and ask questions of
all schools they are considering private, neighborhood district and public
charter schools and not rely on any one source of information.
Most importantly, all parties should work in constructive ways to improve education while at the same time resisting the urge to micro-manage the process. The cost of not educating our children shall be to punish a generation who will lack the tools to maintain or improve their quality of life, be contributing members to their communities, or be competitive in a global environment.
Kristen Jordison is the Executive Director of of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools.