Opinion Editorial - Tom Leclaire

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Opinion Editorial

I am the new president of the board of directors of the Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families (CICSF).   We are a coalition of parents who support the expansion of school choice in Idaho, fair funding of charter schools, and funding that "follows the student" to the school of their choice. 

One of the strong trends in public schools these days is the increasingly frequent transferring of students to a different school during the school year.  Under Idaho’s time-worn public school funding policies, if a student transfers from one school to another during the school year, the school receiving the student gets less than 25% of the funding allocated by the state for that student.   This funding hole is proving to be devastating for charter schools and for the often-at-risk students whose parents are doing all they can to meet their child’s academic needs. 

Our preferred answer is to simply have a prorated enrollment allocation for every student follow that student if the student transfers to a different school during the school year.  However, we found that the traditional school districts would not give up the allocated money from the state even they were no longer teaching that transfer student. 

So, last year, our group supported S126, a bill that would authorize new funding of up to $2 million for schools that receive transfer students.  This way the school that the student transferred out of keeps the money they planned on having and the school receiving the transfer student would have money to support that student.   The bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but Governor Otter vetoed it.   Like us, he did not like the idea of spending new money to solve this.  But remember, the legislature increased public school funding by $140 million last year over the previous year.  Another $2 million to solve this persistent funding anomaly did not seem unreasonable to us. 

Our frustration continues as parents try to move a struggling student to a new school and then have to be told that funding for their student has to wait until the next school year.   The schools that compete really well and attract many transfer students each year are continuing to be penalized for their success. 

On April 2, 2015, Govern Otter proposed to have an education task force look at the issue and proposed to bring a supplemental appropriation bill to this year’s legislature.  We are encouraged by the governor’s involvement and leadership on this.  He knows that for many transfer students, the clock is ticking.   They do not have several years to wait for policy leaders to provide fair funding for the school they chose to attend.  

We eagerly await the governor’s proposals to resolve this issue.   We hope that with his leadership in 2016, Idaho will give all schools the resources they need to provide a quality education to all transfer students. 

Sincerely,

 

Tom LeClaire, President
Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families

 

Media Kit

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Media Kit

Coalition Overview

The Vision of the Coalition of Charter School Families is for Idaho to be a leader in providing educational innovation and excellence through the creation of more Public Charter Schools. 

Our Mission is to promote and advocate for public policy in Idaho that furthers the advancement of charter schools and the innovations in education they represent. The Coalition works to ensure that every Idaho student has equal access to the option of enrolling in a public charter school whether it offers instruction in a traditional classroom or a virtual setting. 

The Coalition is unique because it is the voice of parents, grandparents, teachers, and students who support the expansion of charter school broadly throughout Idaho. Parents and students should have alternates to the schools they are assigned to because of where they live.

The Coalition started over 15 years ago to give voice to parents and students who want to choose the school that is the best “fit” for their student. Prior to the advent of Charter Schools, students had no “public school choice.”  Their students had to attend their “zip code” school or find the financial resources to attend a private school. Charter schools are a public school option.

In Idaho, early Charter Schools faced strong push back from the education community because Charters were seen as weakening public schools. In actuality, charters have shown that they strengthen all education. Charter schools are now supported by many Idahoans. In a recent poll on education attitudes by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, fewer than half of Idahoans would recommend their school district to someone looking to get a top-notch education for their children.  Eight out of 10 Idahoans support charter schools; and half of Idahoans say education is the biggest issue facing the state, followed by the economy (40 percent) and the environment (9 percent).

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/education/article49403365.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

 


Leadership:

PRESIDENT TOM LECLAIRE

VICE PRESIDENT Stephanie Rose

SECRETARY/TREASURER Leslie Maulden

Coalition Manager Jane Wittmeyer 208-859-9656

 Recent Media:
PRESS RELEASE***

 Idaho Parent Organization: Virtual Charter School Study an Insult to Parents and Students Benefitting from School Choice

 Study ignores parents; bases results on high-stakes testing

 BOISE — Today, Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families responded to a newly released study about an important public school option for thousands of families across the country: online charter schools. 

Alyssa Antoniuk, Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families President and choice advocate, said, “It is a shame that parents were not included in this important conversation. We know why we chose the school of choice that works best for our children. We see them succeed in their school of choice and would be willing to share our stories with anyone who asked us.”

 The recently released Virtual Charter School Study includes questionable methodology and conclusions that are questionable, such as:

 1. Parents of students in online charter schools were not part of the study or its conclusions – the very parents making the decision to use this important public school option were not part of the research or results.

 2. The study does not account for the many reasons that students and parents choose online charter schools in the first place.

 3. Conclusions were based solely on high-stakes testing, at a time when many school districts, parents, teachers, and lawmakers are pressing the “pause button” on testing as an accurate way to measure individual student success. Just days ago even the President addressed ongoing concerns about over-testing.

 4. The conclusions were based on school-wide performance, not individual student success, despite recent polling that underscores the importance of not using school-wide test results as a measure of success.

•   74 percent of respondents agree that accountability systems should focus on individual student vs. whole student populations;

•   63 percent agree that when evaluating a school, individual student learning is more important than overall school performance;

•   73 percent agree that a grade level a school is given by the state is not an accurate measure of the success of the individual students in it.

 5. This study uses a “virtual twin” methodology that fails to analyze or account for factors in the lives of actual students, including enrollment dates, progress over time enrolled in an online charter school, or reasons why students enrolled in that option.

 

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Contact information: 

Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families

PO Box 6236 | Boise, ID 83707-6236

877-792-5900            or         208-859-9656

idschoolchoice@gmail.com



FAQs:

 

The Idaho legislature passed the Idaho Charter School Law in 1998. Since the law was passed Idaho has seen 54 charter school open and seven schools close.

 

For more information about Idaho’s charter schools, visit the Charter School section of the Idaho State Department of Education website.

 

Idaho Parent Organization: Virtual Charter School Study an Insult to Parents and Students Benefitting from School Choice

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***PRESS RELEASE***

 

Idaho Parent Organization: Virtual Charter School Study an Insult to Parents and Students Benefitting from School Choice

 

Study ignores parents; bases results on high-stakes testing

 

BOISE — Today, Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families responded to a newly released study about an important public school option for thousands of families across the country: online charter schools.

 

Alyssa Antoniuk, Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families President and choice advocate, said, “It is a shame that parents were not included in this important conversation. We know why we chose the school of choice that works best for our children. We see them succeed in their school of choice and would be willing to share our stories with anyone who asked us.”

 

The recently released Virtual Charter School Study includes questionable methodology and conclusions that are questionable, such as:

 

1. Parents of students in online charter schools were not part of the study or its conclusions – the very parents making the decision to use this important public school option were not part of the research or results.

 

2. The study does not account for the many reasons that students and parents choose online charter schools in the first place.

 

3. Conclusions were based solely on high-stakes testing, at a time when many school districts, parents, teachers, and lawmakers are pressing the “pause button” on testing as an accurate way to measure individual student success. Just days ago even the President addressed ongoing concerns about over-testing.

 

4. The conclusions were based on school-wide performance, not individual student success, despite recent polling that underscores the importance of not using school-wide test results as a measure of success.

•   74 percent of respondents agree that accountability systems should focus on individual student vs. whole student populations;

•   63 percent agree that when evaluating a school, individual student learning is more important than overall school performance;

•   73 percent agree that a grade level a school is given by the state is not an accurate measure of the success of the individual students in it.

 

5. This study uses a “virtual twin” methodology that fails to analyze or account for factors in the lives of actual students, including enrollment dates, progress over time enrolled in an online charter school, or reasons why students enrolled in that option.

 

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The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families’ mission is to promote and advocate for public policy that furthers the advancement of charter schools and the innovations in education they represent. The Coalition works to ensure that every Idaho student has equal access to the option of enrolling in a public charter school whether it offers instruction in a traditional classroom or a virtual setting. 

Regarding the Supreme Court of Washington's Decision to suspend Charter Schools

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From: The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families

As you may have heard, last week the Supreme Court in the state of Washington ruled that the charter school law in the state is unconstitutional.  Just three years ago, Washington voters approved a ballot initiative on a public charter school law.  The decision was based on a law dating back to 1909.  For more information on the ruling, look here.  Charter Schools did open this week, but their future is uncertain. 

We disagree with this ruling and would urge you to support our friends in Washington.  What can you do? You can follow this link http://p2a.co/NV3g9J8 to contact Gov. Inslee asking for support of Washington's Charter School Students.

With over a million children on waiting lists to enroll in charter schools, and nearly 1200 children in Washington are affected by this ruling, the evidence is there that parents and children want a choice in their education.  The Washington Supreme Court Justices removed the ability to choose what type of education these parents would like for their children.   Data has shown that more schools and more competition improves the quality of education for the entire community.  The 1200 children who enrolled in Washington charter schools have lost that ability to have a choice in their education.   

Charter Schools work, and we are committed to supporting school choice and helping out school choice advocates from other states.  We will continue to support school choice in our state, and in others.  We support the Washington school choice advocates, parents and children affected by this unfair ruling.