MCPSA Commentary: Discoveries in Series on Imagine Schools Troubling
In our guest commentary, Imagine must be held accountable for its troubling record (published on September 22 in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch), the Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) hypothesized that a potential issue leading to the poor academic performance of Imagine Schools Inc. in St. Louis may be “a lack of resources and support available to the teachers and staff.”
The recent series of stories by Elisa Crouch in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch on Imagine Schools, Inc. strengthens our concern that this is the case, in addition to a host of other deeper problems uncovered in the series. A school spending such high percentages of revenues on building rent is taking significant dollars out of classroom instruction and teacher resources. Imagine Schools are spending 14.7% to 20.6% of their money on rent. The school spending the next highest percent on rent isn’t even in the double digits.
In addition, the Imagine Charter School Governing Boards are spending an additional 12% of the schools’ budgets on the management agreements for the schools. This number is especially alarming as nationally the average management agreement fee range is between 4% and 8%. Unfortunately it is not surprising to see former principals, teachers and parents coming forward in the stories to talk about shortages of basic items, like toilet paper, soap and pencils, when upwards of 27% of public school dollars are being used for facility lease and management costs.
All of the above coupled with the reports that the schools are exceeding occupancy limits, being cited for building code violations and opening a school in just 21 days indicates that there is a pattern of inattention to what is best for children and their education. MCPSA is also deeply concerned about the legal and ethical questions regarding real estate and contractor dealings reported in the series of stories.
This latest series of revelations on schools managed by Imagine Schools Inc. leads us to call for an investigation of these schools by the Missouri State Auditor. We also believe that the school’s sponsor, Missouri Baptist University, should receive enhanced support from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and other community leaders in working to determine what actions need to be taken in regards to these schools. These groups should not be making the decisions for Missouri Baptist University but providing all the necessary information and support allowing the Sponsor to move intentionally and swiftly.
What is clear is that the status quo in these schools is not acceptable. We must not sit idly by if classrooms are not adequately resourced and student needs are not being met in order to fund expensive lease agreements and if accountability provisions, able to be executed in current law, are being ignored. The children in these schools deserve nothing short of that.
MCPSA Talks to NBC Action News Kansas City
Group trying to change charter school rules in Missouri
Posted: 10/14/2011
Last Updated: 23 hours and 13 minutes ago
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – One group is trying to change charter school laws in Missouri.
The Missouri Charter Public School Association is lobbying to pass a bill expanding the area where charter schools can operate.
Currently, charter schools are only allowed within the city limits of Kansas City and St. Louis.
Supporters say charters should be available to parents across the state, not just those in urban areas.
“It allows parents a chance to choose an option that meets the needs of their kids and the particular interests they have. Charter schools also allow for closer control of the finances and the programs that are taking place in the school,” said Dan Thaman of the Missouri Charter Public School Association.
Last year a similar bill came close to passing through the Missouri legislature.
MCPSA Editorial: Imagine Schools, Inc. Not Meeting Acceptable Performance
Simply put, a charter is a contract to improve student achievement. The Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) commends the charter public schools in the State who are honoring this contract and operating in the best interest of the students they serve. MCPSA is, however, deeply concerned by the performance trends being displayed by the cluster of charter public schools in St. Louis managed by Imagine Schools, Inc. These schools are clearly not meeting acceptable standards of academic performance.
The poor track record of these schools over the past several years is reinforced by the majority of their 2011 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores which are well below the average for the State of Missouri and St. Louis Public Schools. In multiple instances the percentage of students reaching the top levels of proficient or advanced in Mathematics and/or Communication Arts is in the single digits. In addition, points awarded for the MAP Index score, a weighted formula providing a school credit for their ability to move students out of the bottom performance levels, doesn’t present any better picture of academic growth.
While standardized state testing should not be the only measure of a charter school’s success, it is impossible to accept scores at these levels. For a charter public school with a small student population or a true alternative student population (dropout recovery, significant number of English Language Learners, etc.) it’s reasonable to understand the need for alternative forms of authentic assessment to gauge their success. For a cluster of schools under one management company, serving thousands of students, these standardized test scores serve as a real indicator of significant performance issues.
MCPSA believes the Imagine Schools’ performance trends reflect most poorly on the management company, Imagine Schools, Inc. and is not a condemnation of the teachers and staff within the schools. Often a significant issue leading to such poor academic performance is a lack of resources and supports available to the teachers and staff by their employer. Another issue, often, is charter public school governing boards not being able to execute the oversight authority they are statutorily entitled as the management company has contractually assumed that authority.
It is important that the poor academic performance of these schools is not taken as a poor reflection of the Missouri charter school community as a whole, including other education management organizations. In St. Louis, six of 18 charter schools posted better reading scores this year than St. Louis Public Schools. Seven charters posted better scores than the district in math. Four charter public schools performed at or above the state average in Communication Arts while two charter public schools performed above the state average in Mathematics. Positive gains by charter public schools using the State’s MAP Index were also achieved. It’s evident that the majority of the charter public schools in St. Louis are heading in the right direction.
Two important tenets of charter public school education are autonomy and accountability. The school has the autonomy to employ innovative educational best practice and is held accountable for the academic performance of their students. If a school continues to decline academically, the Missouri’s charter public school sponsor has the obligation to uphold their statutory mandate and hold the school accountable through probation, nonrenewal, and/or closure.
MCPSA does not want schools to fail, and is ready to assist schools at the first sign of academic decline. However, as an organization that advocates for quality charter public education, we remain steadfast that Imagine Schools, Inc. and their chronically underperforming schools must be held accountable. We owe this to the other charter public schools in Missouri who are academically moving students in the right direction.
We also owe this to the parents of Missouri’s children who entrust their most precious possession to these schools. Most importantly we owe this to the children in our charter public schools. They deserve nothing less than the very best educational opportunities.
MCPSA Responds to Former Paideia Board Chairman’s Arrest
The Missouri Charter Public Association (MCPSA) strongly condemns the alleged actions uncovered by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Education and the Inspector General’s Office in their investigation of the closed Paideia Academy Charter School Board Chairman Fred Robinson.
Schools entrusted with state and federal dollars should be held to high standards of accountability to assure that these funds reach their intended target, the students in the school’s classrooms. Anyone found guilty of diversion of funds from their school should receive stiff punishment according to applicable laws.
This indictment of one closed charter school’s former board chairman should not reflect on all charter public schools in Missouri. Charter public school governing boards are made up of volunteers and the majority of these members bring integrity and dedication to their role. The actions of one individual should not tarnish the efforts of all other individuals working for quality educational options for children in their communities.
MCPSA Promotes Charter Schools on Kansas City Public Television’s “The Local Show”
MCPSA Executive Director, Dr. Douglas Thaman, recently participated in a charter school panel discussion on Kansas City Public Television’s The Local Show. Click below to view the full episode.
