The Terrible Truth About Charter Schools

Education is a field built upon innovation and growth. Each year the most frequently uttered phrase is, "This year's kids...they're so much tougher than they used to be!" In order to combat the stagnancy that most parents and students are facing in public schools most states have allowed grass roots efforts to flourish in the creation of charter schools. According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website, charter schools are independent public schools that operate under a five year charter, renewed every five years after a coordinated program review. Charter schools in Massachusetts have the freedom to "organize around a core mission, curriculum, theme, or teaching method", allowing increased freedom with a supposed increase in accountability. The charter school controls its own budget as well as hires and fires its own teachers and staff. In order to maintain its charter the school must demonstrate good test results and high rates of achievement within the first five years or the school runs the risk of losing its charter.

In theory, the concept of the charter school is a more than satisfactory answer to the issues arising in public schools. However, in practice, charter schools have become a hotbed for fiscal mismanagement, accusations of cheating, and distressing lack of quality education. Type "charter schools" into Google and the Massachusetts DESE Charter School site will come up in the top five results. The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association website boasts a Facebook page where people can become fans of the group as well as resources for starting your own charter school, lending to the assumption that anyone with a decent attorney and business plan can start a charter school. Though Massachusetts states that every potential charter school director must go through a lengthy and so-called rigorous application process, recent news items are proving that this application process is not enough to weed out the potential missteps that are costing our students years of quality learning.

Charter schools are supposed to foster innovation because most operate without unions. However, in the case of the Robert M. Hughes Academy Charter School in Springfield, Massachusetts, the state review board found that only two of the teachers on staff were licensed by the state. Even though the state emphasizes their standards for highly qualified teachers on staff at charter schools, the standards are rarely if ever enforced. As it has been in the limelight for the past few months, the Hughes Academy has become the best example of what not to do (detailed in the Boston Globe as well as many other local news outlets), citing a 38 to 50% turnover rate amongst its teachers. During its coordinated program review, performed after five years of operation, the state noted that teachers "did not consistently promote high levels of learning" yet the school remained in operation. Teachers were observed delivering content not aligned with state standards. When interviewed, many teachers were unsure what they were supposed to be presenting to their students, relying on commercially developed worksheets as in class activities, rather than providing opportunities for critical thinking or problem solving activities. The state also noted that the majority of the teachers at the Hughes Academy were not adequately meeting the individual needs of their students.

Additionally, the Hughes Academy also made news when it was revealed that the teachers most likely assisted students in cheating on their MCAS (Massachusetts' standardized test required for graduation). Massachusetts prides itself on its rigorous academic standards which it applies to charter schools as well. However, is the bar being set too high for these independent schools to achieve within five years? If the state is going to allow anyone to apply for and open a charter school, is it reasonable to expect businessmen, lawyers, and accountants to meet high educational expectations? According to the state's review of the school, it seems that Hughes Academy felt unreasonable pressure from their board to meet state testing standards, leading the principal, Janet Henry, to encourage her teachers to allow students to recheck their work on the MCAS, a practice that is not allowed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Janet Henry was placed on leave shortly after the cheating scandal arose, prompting her to issue a letter in which she claimed she was pressured into a number of questionable practices by the board of directors, up to and including the hiring of a convicted felon which was broken to the public the same week as the stunning accusations of cheating. Henry also claimed that she was asked to overlook the fact that a board member had part ownership in a company that owned school building, a clear conflict of interest.

While Hughes Academy is the most publicly acknowledged Massachusetts charter school failure, it seems that more and more parents are finding important shortcomings in the charter school system. In Western Massachusetts, one particular charter school in its first year has been investigated by the Office of Civil Rights for violations of Special Education laws as well as fair wage practices. In Eastern Massachusetts, another school's charter is reconsidered after it was revealed that the charter was granted based on political advantages. Many parents are choosing to send their children to charter schools because the public schools in their communities are not providing the quality of education each student deserves. But as charter schools continue to draw thousands of dollars away from the school districts from where they draw their populations, are we foolishly creating two equally faulty education systems in Massachusetts? If the five year coordinated review system is not providing the oversight promised by the state, how can parents and qualified teachers alike justify choosing to become part of the charter school system?

As education marches on and innovation continues to be encouraged, will Massachusetts continue to overlook the already crumbling charter school system? As an educator, one would hope that educators and parents alike would begin to make their voices and opinions heard.