After losing over 8000 students since 2003 to charter schools and flight to the suburbs, Indianapolis Public Schools is just barely larger than FWCS. Both have about 32,000 students. What's striking is that IPS spends about $500m per year versus $300m for FWCS. Apparently more money hasn't helped to improve the academics. So where does it all go?
Indianapolis voters also approved a major bond issue (bigger than the one FWCS proposed) two years ago to redo their buildings. Looks like better buildings don't help either, especially when you have to pay the extra taxes without any benefit in academic achievement.
So far FWCS is holding even, which they attributed to being more attractive to parents than charter schools. Well, maybe, but I don't think so. Indy has more charter schools because the the state legislature allowed the mayor to create them. Fort Wayne's mayor turned down that opportunity years ago. If Fort Wayne had more charter school options, especially on the south side of town, it would be a different story. Imagine on Wells street exceeded its official charter capacity this year, which naturally triggered a critical JG editorial yesterday. Good reason for Wendy and the JG to fight charters tooth and nail.
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Indianapolis Public Schools doesn't lose students to the charter schools but the township schools. In each township, outside of IPS, lies affordable public housing.
Charter schools have assisted in the retention of the middle class, who used to work leave in droves for the township schools and suburban school systems. Irvington Community School and Herron High School have lead to families staying in Irvington, Meridian Kessler and Butler-Tarkington.
IPS is one of the worst systems I have ever worked in. The students' come to school from communities that the police officers will not even visit for fear of their lives. Yet, even the schools that are comparable to Abbett Elmentary have a 60% plus ISTEP pass rate. IPS has worked hard to rehaul their curriculum, become innovative in partnerships and programs, and plain old-fashion work. Unfortunately, IPS teachers' burn out quit rapidly, and have a high, high turn out because of student behavior. The average 5th grade class has 5 teachers before Winter Break. Why? The teachers can't handle the students. I know of teachers who have quit after the 1st day. It's not easy!
As I have worked in IPS schools, and will stand the for the building projects. The schools were horrible. They were not like FWCS' buildings that are in decent shape. IPS had schools with 1 bathroom for 600 students and some terrible heat problems - not working on the best of days in the winer. Keep in mind their building projects were the basics - tile floors, limited closets, etc.
Well all I can say is FWCS must be worried about Imagine or they would start concentrating on correcting their own problems...the JG made it seem so HORRIBLE about the "over the child limit". What they didn't explain was that Charter schools are allowed to go over 3% when admitting students...Imagine went 5% in error. Now what was that 5%?....
12 students. That was hardly an issue to take the whole editorial page. In fact they bragged in the JG this morning about how many students they have retained and the charters didn't get their students ..ah ha...then what's the beef? Why do you care? But Tracy and Ms Frisco do have to earn a living and help FWCS including Tracy's best buddy somehow. And then yet another slap in the face to the Elmhurst case also...I say congrats to both Imagine and the Save Elmhurst group you have them all scared or you would not be making the editorial page...would it really hurt for them to print the truth for a change? All of the voters are reading you too and we are hoping that they realize it is time to vote a new board in and cancel your subscription to the JG...
At least the kids at Imagine and the previous EHS got a lunch. Ms Stockman claims that the complaint at Wayne HS in not true they ALL get lunch, but when asked if they had time to eat it? And of course NO they don't they are standing in line the whole lunch period...nice. Where is the story from the JG on that waste of taxpayer money for the kids on the "free" lunch program?
Good luck to the "save EHS group" and keep on going Imagine Schools...nothing like having choice in this town to give the FWCS board and the JG something to complain about...I mean after all the FWCS system is so perfect...
Anonymous-
Thanks for your comment. Indianapolis has 20 charter schools so they must have had an impact on IPS enrollment over the last 8 years. But I read that IPS is now trying to figure out where the sudents went this year. I've also read that Eugene White has been tireless in trying to turn it around and that he's frustrated with the teachers' union.
Maybe it's too late. How do you think the IPS story translates to FWCS?
I think it's a good thing that Ball State is finally giving a measure of oversight to their charter schools. Why shouldn't the Journal Gazette report this? If you're truly in favor of charter schools making a difference, I would think that you'd want to see them established strongly. To let them operate in a willy nilly fashion is bad for the movement and detrimental to education.
I would think that educators would be for fixing traditional public schools, making sure that charters are legit and operating in adherence to their charters and backing good strong private schools as well. Instead, it seems like there's a big divide in educators. Depending on who they're aligned with, they'd like to see the others fail miserably. What a shame.
As for Imagine's 5% versus 3% over - they're still outside of the mandates of the charter. And they're required to institute a lottery once they've reached full enrollment. To decide not to do this is arrogance. Imagine is one of the largest charter school operators. They're out there for the whole country to see and they represent the charter school movement. I would think that they would want to be less reckless in their operations.
What happened in IPS is that the obtain Dr. White! I heard it said the FWCS blew him off, and said he would never be good enough to make a superintendent.
Instead of going after the charter schools, Dr. White and staff stepped up to the plate and tried to figure out what could be done to stem the number of students that leave the district every year. Thus, he developed a medical arts magnet program in collaboration with the IU School of Medicine, took the most successful programs and doubled them, created a gifted program and much more. IPS is more proactive than reactive.
The Indy Star is seemingly good friends with IPS. However, instead of slamming the charters time after time, they have their staff writers spend the semester at an IPS school and write about the good, bad and ugly.
On a side note: Let's be honest, if you say anything about the need for school competition in Fort Wayne, you are attacked by Krista Stockman. Those scathing e-mails really, really hurt. Not! I find it funny that she can get paid $60,000 and yet can sit in her office and state how they need more volunteers, when she has time to read blog after blog after blog, and attack the good citizens of Fort Wayne. Maybe Ms. Stockman needs to go volunteer in FWCS, or maybe she should give up her cushy salary to teach.
Why is everybody anonymous?
I don't have a problem with the JG reporting on Imagine good, bad or ugly if they would treat FWCS the same way. But they don't. You will never read a hatchet job on FWCS like the one they did about the Imagine board. The have aligned themselves with FWCS in their effort to eliminate any competition.
I have always believed that an institution, private or public, that can't provide an acceptable level of service deserves to go out of business. There's nothing sacred about government run public schools versus privately run public schools. In fact privately run schools are much more likely to disappear if they fail.
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