Governor Quinn on Re-Imagining Illinois

photo via United Power

Sunday is usually a day reserved for hope, family and reflection. This Sunday, May 17, at Congregation Solel in Highland Park was just such a time. My colleague Carlos Perez and I joined a multigenerational, diverse audience of over 700 people eager to participate in Re-Imagining Illinois. The event was a dialogue between DuPage United, Lake County United, Chicago PACT, United Power for Action and Justice and Governor Pat Quinn. For some participants, having Governor Quinn in office is like having the fairy Godmother of progressive politics in charge for a change. The four key issues on the table included the state budget, affordable housing, education reform and political corruption. All of the speakers were eloquent, but this was a great opportunity for Lake County United members to talk about the recent defeat in their battle to get authorization for a charter public school in Waukegan. They asked for Quinn’s help with a school district apparently hostile to charters. These eloquent speakers shared their personal stories, called “education the new civil rights movement” and said that “zip codes should not determine the type of education a child receives.”

Quinn left no doubt that he agrees with President Obama’s support for charters. “I support charter public schools, not just for Chicago but for all of Illinois” he said. In response to their requests, he promised to look into funding issues as well as to learn more about independent authorizing.

We have new hope in Springfield in the Governor’s office and with elected officials like Senator Lightford, Senator Steans, Representative Mitchell and others. But Governor Quinn says elected officials alone can’t bring education reform to Illinois. If Sunday’s gathering is any indication, the voice of the people is ready to be heard. The panels were not made up of professionals but rather concerned residents. The very kind of people the Governor may look to when he fills the vacant seat on the Illinois State Board of Education this summer.

View a recap of the event below:



Related: Governor Quinn's Illinois Reform Commission

Huberman and Chicago charter school accountability

We appreciate the focus of the recent Chicago Sun-Times article by Rosalind Rossi titled “Ron Huberman: Raising the Bar on Charter Schools," which shined light on a matter of great concern to charter public school -- performance metrics. This is an important issue, and one that will continue to pop up in the education sphere again and again. In fact, a NY Times article today addressed a similar NCLB concern. Upon taking a closer look, you'll see that evaluation metrics for charters go above and beyond traditional school standards. Even before the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, charter public schools were tied to student performance and additional levels of accountability. In fact, the ability to implement academic innovation is linked to charter schools’ freedom to adapt to student needs and quickly act on them.

Unlike NCLB, which relies on “adequate yearly performance” as its main metric, charter schools have multiple metrics built into their accountability frame, including governance, budgetary, curricular, instructional and student performance. In Illinois, charter schools have been closed if they don’t meet these benchmarks. Imagine a traditional school administrator being dismissed for student performance or their financial stewardship. It’s hard to imagine traditional school systems being regularly evaluated in such a rigorous way.

Even with such rigorous metrics in place, Chicago charter schools are meeting AYP at much higher rates than traditional Chicago public schools: 50% to 34%, according to the CPS Office of Research, Evaluation and Accountability. Charter schools welcome accountability and our schools are always working on ways to measure and improve quality. But in Illinois, tests used by the state do not measure for student growth, aptitude and capabilities – all of which are important aspects of NCLB.

Don't you think we need to present the whole picture when it comes to Illinois children?

State and national organizations challenge the AFT to put kids first

Charter schools are certainly garnering a lot of media attention lately, due partially to the fact that President Obama has made it clear that support for charter public schools has the potential to make a substantial, long-term difference in the lives of their students. Also, today, a Wall Street Journal article was published that highlights the demand for charter schools around the U.S. Illinois is facing the same issue, and is clearly active in the national conversation about education reform.

INCS and the charter community have long been actively engaged in making the Illinois charter voice loud and clear in the midst of all this activity. In fact, yesterday, INCS and the National Association of Public Charter Schools teamed up to create a print advertisement in major Springfield newspapers, which can be viewed here. The print ad calls on the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten to take bold action by supporting the growth of charter public schools. We’ve done this to help Illinois meet President Obama’s call to reform charter public school education laws and allow for the addition of charter schools in districts where they are needed. Weingarten has supported the opening of charter public schools in New York City because she's aware of the benefits that they provide. However, her AFT local affiliate, the Chicago Teachers Union, has stood in the way of opening additional charter public schools. Currently, more than 13,000 families are waiting for the chance to attend a charter public school. In Illinois, far too much time is spent debating the qualifications of charter public school teachers, or attacking the charter school model. This is a disservice to our students. Instead, time should be spent reviewing and reproducing the educational excellence and academic achievements that charter schools provide.

The President and the Secretary of Education realize that our future depends on the investment we make in children today. We’re ready to support these sons of Illinois. Will the AFT do the same?