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Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
Most folks who go to charter schools do so expecting that they're not going to have the usual labor- management problems. The schools are small, the approach is collaborative. Or at last that's the idea. Some charters are run very hierarchically, however -- with a top-down curriculum.
So the question arises: What in practical terms can charter school teachers to influence the way their school is being run, short of quitting or going public? I got that question from a charter school teacher recently, and realized that I didn't really know the answer. Any charter experts want to help fill in the blanks.
The options that come to mind include going to the management team that hired the teacher, or to the charter board that sits above the charter. Or, to the Board liaison (someone at ONS) who might be able to help out. No guarantees from any of these approaches, but as we all know there are no guarantees even with union representation.
So -- be constructive, now, people -- what are teachers options if their charter isn't being run in ways that seem wise or sustainable? I await your insights and ideas.
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Wed Jul 2, 2008 at 9:02 AM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
I think it starts with building a respectful rapport with your principal or executive director or who ever is ultimately in charge of your school and speaking openly and honestly with them.
In my experience, talking to the board or someone at ONS sounds like about the least effective option to bring any change. ONS really has no business telling a charter school what they should be doing on a day to day basis, in my view ONS (or at least in the way they interact with charters) is really just there as an advocate for the school with CPS, not for individual teachers.
The board is usually pretty chummy with whoever is in charge and unless they start to hear a consistent story from a number of teachers, they are more likely to go along with whatever your principal/executive director/ceo is saying.
This may sound idealistic, but it has held true in both of the charter schools I've worked in, but if you work your ass off and show leadership in a positive way throughout the school year, the administration is far more likely to listen to what you have to say. And in charters, which are mostly small schools that tend to lose experienced and older teachers to the suburbs or magnet schools, the words of a hard-working, experienced teacher can carry quite a bit of weight.
If you're a younger teacher, and you're not comfortable talking to the school leadership, find an experienced teacher who is well respected throughout the staff that you do feel comfortable with and share your thoughts with them.
There's politics in any work place, charter schools are no exception, and I think it's about finding a way to work those politics in your favor without losing your dignity or being disrespectful to the students or your colleagues.
In my experience, talking to the board or someone at ONS sounds like about the least effective option to bring any change. ONS really has no business telling a charter school what they should be doing on a day to day basis, in my view ONS (or at least in the way they interact with charters) is really just there as an advocate for the school with CPS, not for individual teachers.
The board is usually pretty chummy with whoever is in charge and unless they start to hear a consistent story from a number of teachers, they are more likely to go along with whatever your principal/executive director/ceo is saying.
This may sound idealistic, but it has held true in both of the charter schools I've worked in, but if you work your ass off and show leadership in a positive way throughout the school year, the administration is far more likely to listen to what you have to say. And in charters, which are mostly small schools that tend to lose experienced and older teachers to the suburbs or magnet schools, the words of a hard-working, experienced teacher can carry quite a bit of weight.
If you're a younger teacher, and you're not comfortable talking to the school leadership, find an experienced teacher who is well respected throughout the staff that you do feel comfortable with and share your thoughts with them.
There's politics in any work place, charter schools are no exception, and I think it's about finding a way to work those politics in your favor without losing your dignity or being disrespectful to the students or your colleagues.
Thu Jul 3, 2008 at 7:50 PM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
"...In my experience, talking to the board or someone at ONS sounds like about the least effective option to bring any change..." (Charlie, yesterday).
Charlie, haven't charter teachers been fired for trying to go to "New Schools" about major problems at politically connected charters?
It took the feds -- not the people from Chicago International Charter School -- to ultimately get Josef Nurek out of CICS "Belden" and protect the boys from that predator. How many CICS staff knew about that guy but kept their mouths shut because he had clout? (All the way up to testifying before the House Education Committee in praise of charters during the first Bush term)?
Even though there are whistle blower laws, both federal and state, and federal dollars go into Chicago charters, how many whistle blowers have been protected against the clout of the charter operators?
Charlie, haven't charter teachers been fired for trying to go to "New Schools" about major problems at politically connected charters?
It took the feds -- not the people from Chicago International Charter School -- to ultimately get Josef Nurek out of CICS "Belden" and protect the boys from that predator. How many CICS staff knew about that guy but kept their mouths shut because he had clout? (All the way up to testifying before the House Education Committee in praise of charters during the first Bush term)?
Even though there are whistle blower laws, both federal and state, and federal dollars go into Chicago charters, how many whistle blowers have been protected against the clout of the charter operators?
Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
To quote Charlie: "And in charters ... the words of a hard-working, experienced teacher can carry quite a bit of weight."
The silence on this topic is deafening, isn't it Charlie? I guess that's your answer. They're afraid, very afraid, to speak out. Charter teachers, including older, experienced faculty leaders who speak out to support students, families and teachers are often fired. After all, they are "at will" employees. And with charters, AUSL and TFA eating up all the city teaching positions, where are these teachers to go? So, talking to charter management isn't wise, and George is right about ONS -- not safe there either.
But to answer the what to do question: (1) create your own union, quietly; (2) lobby for stronger and enforced oversight regulations (including making financials public -- just look at the charters' TIF -- the Illinois Facilities Fund, the granddaddy of TIFs); (3) organize parents and get them to carry the dirty water at Board meetings.
But ultimately, you're fighting City Hall who's getting a 15% sale price from charters to "educate" inner-city students with mostly young, inexperienced, underpaid, overworked, non-union teachers. With that system in place legislatively, what public official supports charter teachers? None that I can think of.
The silence on this topic is deafening, isn't it Charlie? I guess that's your answer. They're afraid, very afraid, to speak out. Charter teachers, including older, experienced faculty leaders who speak out to support students, families and teachers are often fired. After all, they are "at will" employees. And with charters, AUSL and TFA eating up all the city teaching positions, where are these teachers to go? So, talking to charter management isn't wise, and George is right about ONS -- not safe there either.
But to answer the what to do question: (1) create your own union, quietly; (2) lobby for stronger and enforced oversight regulations (including making financials public -- just look at the charters' TIF -- the Illinois Facilities Fund, the granddaddy of TIFs); (3) organize parents and get them to carry the dirty water at Board meetings.
But ultimately, you're fighting City Hall who's getting a 15% sale price from charters to "educate" inner-city students with mostly young, inexperienced, underpaid, overworked, non-union teachers. With that system in place legislatively, what public official supports charter teachers? None that I can think of.
Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
Charlie,
I've seen your posting on this blog before and you seem to be a huge proponent of charters. You say you have worked at 2 charter schools. Can you compare and contrast the differences between them and tell us why you left the first one? I have a friend at a charter school and when she went to the charter board about monies to which she was entitled, but not paid, the Director got very upset, took her extra responsibilities away and made her feel as if she had done something wrong for advocating for herself.
I have worked with people who have left charter schools, but I also know some people who have gone to them. I am very interested in those who have had good experiences, because frankly, we rarely hear those.
I've seen your posting on this blog before and you seem to be a huge proponent of charters. You say you have worked at 2 charter schools. Can you compare and contrast the differences between them and tell us why you left the first one? I have a friend at a charter school and when she went to the charter board about monies to which she was entitled, but not paid, the Director got very upset, took her extra responsibilities away and made her feel as if she had done something wrong for advocating for herself.
I have worked with people who have left charter schools, but I also know some people who have gone to them. I am very interested in those who have had good experiences, because frankly, we rarely hear those.
Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 12:55 AM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
You know, Charlie, Wednesday, August 27, was a first for Chicago. It was the first time that a charter school teacher took the floor of the Board meeting during public participation and detailed a criticism of the charter school at which she had worked and the coverup that followed her attempt to expose that charter school.
Prior to August 27, 2008, I had covered Board of Education meetings while hundreds of charter school teachers, students, and administrators (and "entrepreneurs") of various kinds had gotten up, almost goose stepping, to sing the praises of the charters schools, on command. Some of them would later call us to talk about what was really going on (which we published in Jim Vail's ongoing series), but were afraid to speak out. Usually, they leave the system quietly (parents; teachers; students) rather than challenge the corruption they were part of.
When Meg Sullivan spoke at the August 27 Board meeting, she not only accused the Aspira charter schools of a very nasty kind of corruption, but also noted that after she had tried to bring that corruption to Josh Edelman at "New Schools" she was fired by Aspira. That, by the way, is the classic definition of a "Whistle Blower" under both Illinois and federal law. Hopefully, more charter school people (and not just from Aspira) will now come forward, because there is an example, on the record, from Wednesday's Board meeting.
But I'm not holding my breath. I just reviewed a year of Board meetings, both graphics and various texts, and am amazed at how completely the control is. The main reason (visible again on August 27) is the risible way in which the "media" cover CPS. All of the cameras were lined up to catch Phillip Jackson's latest buffonery in support of the Daley administration, but not one of them has yet to ask Jackson what he was doing when he slavishly followed the Daley party line, first as Chief of Staff for Paul Vallas, then as head of the Chicago Housing Authority for Daley.
You will be able to see the entire Board meeting if you have cable and the censorship isn't too nasty. Sullivan's remarks on Aspira were brief, and came near the beginning of public participation.
Let's see if this starts a trend of present and former charter school teachers blowing the whistle, rather than skulking away in shame after a year or two of one of Chicago's unique kinds of child abuse -- the charter school "teaching" scam.
Prior to August 27, 2008, I had covered Board of Education meetings while hundreds of charter school teachers, students, and administrators (and "entrepreneurs") of various kinds had gotten up, almost goose stepping, to sing the praises of the charters schools, on command. Some of them would later call us to talk about what was really going on (which we published in Jim Vail's ongoing series), but were afraid to speak out. Usually, they leave the system quietly (parents; teachers; students) rather than challenge the corruption they were part of.
When Meg Sullivan spoke at the August 27 Board meeting, she not only accused the Aspira charter schools of a very nasty kind of corruption, but also noted that after she had tried to bring that corruption to Josh Edelman at "New Schools" she was fired by Aspira. That, by the way, is the classic definition of a "Whistle Blower" under both Illinois and federal law. Hopefully, more charter school people (and not just from Aspira) will now come forward, because there is an example, on the record, from Wednesday's Board meeting.
But I'm not holding my breath. I just reviewed a year of Board meetings, both graphics and various texts, and am amazed at how completely the control is. The main reason (visible again on August 27) is the risible way in which the "media" cover CPS. All of the cameras were lined up to catch Phillip Jackson's latest buffonery in support of the Daley administration, but not one of them has yet to ask Jackson what he was doing when he slavishly followed the Daley party line, first as Chief of Staff for Paul Vallas, then as head of the Chicago Housing Authority for Daley.
You will be able to see the entire Board meeting if you have cable and the censorship isn't too nasty. Sullivan's remarks on Aspira were brief, and came near the beginning of public participation.
Let's see if this starts a trend of present and former charter school teachers blowing the whistle, rather than skulking away in shame after a year or two of one of Chicago's unique kinds of child abuse -- the charter school "teaching" scam.
Tue Jun 2, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Getting Things Changed, Charter-Style
At least let's update this thread by going over how "Catalyst" charter school is operated, and by whom. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "Catalyst Charter" (no relation I hope to Catalyst the corporate school reform on-line thingy) a portion of the De La Salle high school (i.e., Irish Christian Brothers; alma mater of Richard M. Daley, etc) educational jet stream. In other words, another one of those breeches of the separation of church and state.
Authoritarianism is the norm, not the exception, is such places, so I guess the moral of the story is, if you volunteer to work for a bunch of theocratic fascists, why are you complaining when they bully you?
Authoritarianism is the norm, not the exception, is such places, so I guess the moral of the story is, if you volunteer to work for a bunch of theocratic fascists, why are you complaining when they bully you?
