Equity on the Horizon in Arizona

February 7, 2007

A new bill making its way through the legislature in Arizona would provide state charter schools with the same amount of funding as traditional public schools. The proposed legislation would increase per-pupil funding by $852 for charters serving K-8 students, and $993 for charter high schools. All additional funding would be provided by the state. Critics of the bill argue that charters will receive more state funding than traditional district schools. Yet supporters point out that Arizona’s charters (like those in other states--Ohio, among them) cannot levy local property taxes as districts do. Arizona school districts raise an average of $1,155 per student from local bonds and levies. The bill cleared the Senate Education Committee after a vote along partisan lines (with all but one Democrat voting against the measure) and awaits a vigorous debate in the state senate. Despite Arizona’s efforts to “equalize” charter and district school funding, it’s unlikely Ohio’s lawmakers will budge on higher budgets for its charters (despite our recommendations). That’s too bad. For as even one skeptical Arizona lawmaker conceded, equal funding for charters “is an inherent issue of fairness.”  

“$80M Boost Eyed for Charter Schools,” by Daniel Scarpinato, The Arizona Daily Star, February 1, 2007.

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Equity on the Horizon in Arizona

DPS Levy Deserves to Pass

Terry Ryan / February 7, 2007

It’s no secret that my colleagues and I at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation have been critics of the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) over the past decade and have done our best--not good enough--to help create sound educational alternatives for kids whose prospects were blighted by the system’s disabilities.

This wasn’t ill-will, much less an animus toward public education. It was quite simply that DPS had languished for years as Ohio’s lowest performing public school district (618^th out of 618); the district spent less than 50 percent of its budget on instruction, which included scant attention to academic achievement; and, despite clear signs of distress, it seemed all but immune to reform.

The Council of the Great City Schools, an advocate and support organization for large urban districts, succinctly summed up the situation in early 2002: “Dayton Public Schools are in crisis. Student achievement is low. Funding is tenuous. Buildings are dilapidated. And the public is clearly looking at its options. Without change, parents will find or create them. The warning signs are everywhere.”

Then things began to change. Today DPS is far from where it needs to get, but its performance is strengthening and important milestones are being passed. This gradual turnaround began when the reform-minded Kids First slate, led by Gail Littlejohn, took command of the school board five years ago and selected Dr. Percy Mack to serve as the district’s new superintendent.

Since that

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DPS Levy Deserves to Pass

Special Education Solutions for Charters

Quentin Suffren / February 7, 2007

One of the toughest challenges facing charter schools, in Ohio and elsewhere, is the demands of serving children with special needs. Charter schools, like their district counterparts, educate any and all students who come to them (a fact still lost on many critics). When a youngster has special needs that require additional services, the charter school is required by state and federal law to provide them. The school receives state and federal aid to do so, but even with financial support, this can be daunting for a stand-alone school that serves only 200 or 300 students.

Providing quality special education services, as any charter or district coordinator can attest, is no simple matter. Special education is not just a set of programs delivered to students, but a comprehensive process for identifying, evaluating and monitoring (on a continual basis) the needs of students with disabilities ranging from mild or moderate to severe. Teachers and intervention specialists must identify and work with parents to refer an identified student for an evaluation. A psychologist, either on staff or contracted, must then evaluate him or her by assessing a broad range of cognitive, emotional and motor skills. Based on the evaluation, the school’s special education staff, along with the psychologist, educators and others, must then create an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will dictate the types of instruction and assistance the students should receive, and lists the goals and objectives for future

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Special Education Solutions for Charters

Ohio's Leaky College Pipeline

Quentin Suffren / February 7, 2007

Ohio’s college pipeline has sprung a leak--and both high schools and colleges are struggling to make good on the promise to educate (and graduate) their students. That was the message gleaned from the recent ACT Ohio conference and a compelling keynote address by the Education Trust’s director (and 2007 Fordham Prize winner) Kati Haycock.

The challenges facing the state’s high schools are plain to see. Just 45 percent of Ohio students taking the ACT and graduating in 2006 scored well enough on the math portion to succeed in college level algebra (see here). This figure drops to 32 percent for Hispanic students and 13 percent for African Americans. Only 24 percent of test-takers scored well enough on all four sections (English, math, reading and science) to be deemed fully ready for college (compared to 15 percent of Hispanics and 4 percent of African Americans). Too many Ohioans never graduate from high school at all. In 2003, Ohio's graduation rate was just 73 percent for all students--and 51 percent for African Americans (see here).

For those who do graduate, the rising cost of college in the Buckeye State may still place a postsecondary degree out of reach. In 2006-07, tuition at Ohio’s four-year universities was 47 percent higher than the national average; tuition at two-year colleges was 54 percent higher (see here). Such

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Ohio's Leaky College Pipeline

Fordham West Wants You

February 7, 2007

Fordham’s Dayton office is looking for a talented Project Administrator to join its small team of dedicated Ohio staffers. The Project Administrator will support Fordham’s charter school sponsorship efforts and perform general office management duties. A full position description complete with application information is available here.

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Fordham West Wants You