Font ResizeRegional thinking: It was encouraging -- and a little surprising -- to hear recently that most York County school superintendents had a favorable reaction to a proposal to create a countywide cyber charter school.
The proposal was just one of many good suggestions in a report commissioned by the YorkCounts group on how to improve education in our community.
The general support of the superintendents for a cyber school might signal a new attitude among school officials toward these innovative but sometimes controversial Internet-based programs. School officials have generally fought cyber charters, saying they worry about academic accountability and that the schools siphon off needed state funding for traditional public schools.
Those are legitimate concerns -- but there's little doubt that cyber charters can better meet the needs of some students. So it's good to see local superintendents embrace the idea as another possible tool in their educational kit.
Of course, that change in attitude might be because in this case the public schools would control the cyber charter rather than the for-profit companies that manage some of them. Local superintendents have also said they'd like to see the state provide funding for a regional charter here -- so the money issue is a potential
stumbling block.
Still, this is an idea that's worth pursuing. It seems like a
And that's cause for celebration.
Allow new middle school: It's hard to imagine a better example of traditional public school officials' antipathy toward charter schools than the York City school district's
tempestuous relationship with the Lincoln Charter School.
The district fought ferociously to prevent the for-profit Edison Schools' takeover of the former district-run elementary school. It engaged in a long court battle over rent for the school building.
Now the city school board has rejected a proposal by Edison to open a middle school so students "graduating" from the elementary school have an alternative to the district's
troubled middle schools.
The board rejected the middle school charter on the grounds that its curriculum did not meet state standards and that the proposed site of the school -- at the former York Casket factory on Linden Street -- was not suitable.
The casket company site proposal is now, well, dead -- and charter school officials are looking at other sites, including one near the old county prison. Leaving aside the gloomy connotations of both of those sites, the charter school ought to be allowed to open as an option for parents who obviously believe the charter school offers a ray of hope to their children.
Lincoln hasn't exactly performed miracles in terms of test scores. Its scores are not the tops among city elementary schools in either math or reading -- and the district's scores overall leave much room for growth. But the Lincoln scores have improved since the 2000-2001 school year when Edison took over, at which time Lincoln students were the city's lowest performers -- in a part of town with one of the lowest income bases..
The state charter school appeals board should quickly reverse the city school board's denial.
YORKCOUNTS MEETING SET
The 2008 YorkCounts Annual Summit will be 9 to 11:30 a.m. April 17 at the Yorktowne Hotel in York.
The event is open to the public, but registration is required. Those who wish to attend are asked to e-mail YorkCounts' Angela Decker at adecker2@ycp.edu or call (717) 815-6632.
