8/10/2019 Michigan spends $13 billion on K-12 public education
per year in state taxpayer money, with no accountability for
5/8
TIMELINE OF FREE PRESSACTIONS:
ON APPROVALS:In Michigan, anyone and everyone
can apply to open a charter school.
There are no state guidelines for
screening applicants. (Detroit Free
Press, Michigan spends $1B on charter
schools, but fails to hold them
accountable, June 22, 2014)
Charter authorizers are not
required to issue a charter contract
to any one entity, and do in fact have
state guidance for screening applicants.
Michigan statute explicitly directs
authorizersto review applications
for resources available to schools,
educational goals, applicants track
record, and whether there is evident
need for a schooling option in a given
community.
In fact, theres even more criteria
for authorizers considering new
schools: authorizers must also factor
in the number of students on charter
waitlists in proximity to the proposed
school, local student population, and
academic performance of the localdistrict.
The flipside of this is applicants
must take into account all of the above
parameters if they are to be seriously
considered by an authorizer, and even
then may not be granted a charter to
start a school. Michigan authorizers
are actually national leaders in their
effort to use community data including
blight, population density, crime, and
public transportation in their review
of proposed school sites. In 2010, the
Michigan Council of Charter School
Authorizers20launched a web-based
geographic information system (GIS)
that integrates school and community
data into a single, public website, to
improve public accessibility and use of
this critical data.
Since 2010, 117 new charter schools
have opened in Michigan while 26 wereclosed, a net annual gain
of 23 schools. In
Detroit, 15 charter schools have opened
in the last five years amid 10 closures, a
net gain of one school opening per year.
Over the past decade, Central
Michigan University has received
259 charter applications, 22 of which
(or eight percent) actually became
operational. On average, fellow
university authorizer Grand Valley State
University has awarded charters to six
percent of applicants annually over the
last five years.
These numbers hardly support the
notion that anyone and everyone can
apply to open a charter school or that
authorizers do not adhere to standards
when approving schools.
JULY 2, 2014 MAPSA submits OpinionEditorial from presidentDan
Quisenberry
JULY 16, 2014 Free Press starts negotiating
MAPSA OpEd stating whatthey will, or will not print
AUGUST 9, 2014 Free Press publishes veryedited MAPSA OpEd40
SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 A special reprint of the charterschool series
appears, excludingany opposing OpEds as already
published by Free Press
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 The post mark date on theenvelope that
delivered the
special insert to legislators
SEPTEMBER 17-18,2014 Legislators receive the
special reprint sectionin the mail
Traditional schools spend $11billion annually and have
agraduation rate ranging from 70%
to 79%, according to a 2006 GatesFoundation report. Does
that
mean that $2 billion to $3 billionis wasted each year?
Free Press Series Was Too HardOn Charter Schools
By Chuck Fellows, President of FlexTechHigh School (Brighton)
Board of DirectorsDetroit Free Press, July 3, 2014
A large percentage of students enter our schools significantly
behind academi-cally. However, our analysis of MEAP results
consistently shows that studentswho remain in a CMU charter school
for at least three years outperform their
home district and, on average, surpass the statewide
average.
Our student graduation rate is now more than 81%, which exceeds
thestatewide average of all public schools and exceeds the
graduation rates in
Detroit, Flint, Lansing and Grand Rapids by as much as 30%.CMU
continues to support parents of the 31,000 students who havechosen
a CMU-authorized charter public school for their child and stands
behindtheir right of access to a quality education.
Feedback: Choice Is The Most Important Aspect Of Charters
By Cindy Schumacher, Executive Director, Governor John
EnglerCenter for Charter Schools at Central Michigan
UniversityDetroit Free Press, July 13, 2014
http://www.mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-but-fails-to-hold-schttp://www.mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-but-fails-to-hold-schttp://www.mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-but-fails-to-hold-schttp://www.mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-but-fails-to-hold-schttp://michiganauthorizers.com/http://michiganauthorizers.com/http://michiganauthorizers.com/http://michiganauthorizers.com/http://www.freep.com/article/20140703/OPINION05/307030019/1068/opinionhttp://www.freep.com/article/20140703/OPINION05/307030019/1068/opinionhttp://www.freep.com/article/20140703/OPINION05/307030019/1068/opinionhttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_5/archive.freep.com/article/20140713/OPINION04/307130050/charter-schoolshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_5/archive.freep.com/article/20140713/OPINION04/307130050/charter-schoolshttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_5/archive.freep.com/article/20140713/OPINION04/307130050/charter-schoolshttp://michiganauthorizers.com/http://www.freep.com/article/20140703/OPINION05/307030019/1068/opinionhttp://www.mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-but-fails-to-hold-sc
8/10/2019 Michigan spends $13 billion on K-12 public education
per year in state taxpayer money, with no accountability for
8/8
ON STUDENTDEMOGRAPHICS:In some urban areas, charter schools
take in fewer special education children
than traditional public schools.
(Detroit Free Press, Concerns over
charter school performance persist as
more open in state, June 26, 2014)
The sole purpose of this statement
is to imply that charter schools have a
disinterest towards students with special
needs. While the lack of specificity in
the descriptor some urban areas allows
the claim to be broader than perhaps it
should be, the reality is that the
percentage of special education students
in Michigan charter schools is actually
comparable to traditional districts.
However, it is not until further down in
the article that readers are made aware
of this fact.
Additionally, charter schools
nationwide as a whole serve a greater
special needs population than
traditional district schools. According to
the 2014 Survey of Americas Charter
Schools, 13.6 percent of charter students
are special needs compared to 12.9
percent in traditional public schools.24
Not only do charter schools serve
more students with special needs, a
September 2014 report fromEducation
Week25indicates charter schools with
missions devoted to special education
students are on the rise in response to
parental demand for these options. For
example, Rising Stars Academy in
Macomb County, Michigan is a charter
school that uses the culinary arts to
teach life skills and employability skills
to special-needs students.
When taken as a whole, the Free
Pressarticle from which the statement
originates includes no discussion on
trends or specific examples of charter
schools that either serve special
education students or have special
education as part of their mission.
An alternate view from a charter
proponent dismissing the claim that
charter schools dont educate a sizable
swath of students with special needs is
included, but not until the reader is
inundated with criticisms from the
other side.
CONCLUSION:For the past two decades, charter
schools in Michigan have comprised a
significant presence in the state public
education system, and warrant credible
media coverage. To let one biased series
of articles overshadow the realities
about charter schools is unjust. For
lawmakers and communities, the issue is
too important, and for kids, the stakesare too high.
My learning-disabled son graduated from a charter school in
Michigan andgot far more time, attention and adaptation to his
learning style than he evergot in public schools. His grades went
up significantly after transferring. Hisschool had a higher
proportion of special-needs kids than the public schoolsand
outperformed the public school competition.
Michigan voters intended to allow competition and
specialization
and to choose childrens needs over institutional needs. It
works. Publicschools and teacher unions have had their chance.
Theyve failed our teachers,students and taxpayers. Its time to end
the monopoly and let the free marketfix the problem. State vouchers
to any qualifying schools. Let the innovativeand effective win and
the ineffective go away.
Feedback: Letter to the Editor, The Great Debate OverCharter
Schools In Michigan
By Marc MillerDetroit Free Press, June 29, 2014
RESOURCES:1 The Media Bullpen, (www.mediabullpen.com).
2 The Center for Education Reform,(www.edreform.com).
3 Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the StatesFinances,
Michigan State Budget
Office,(http://www.michigan.gov/budget/0,4538,7-157-40794-139074--F,00.html).
4 Alison Consoletti, The State of Charter Schools: WhatWe Know
And What We Do Not About Performance AndAccountability, The Center
for Education Reform, December26,
2011,(https://www.edreform.com/2011/12/charter-school-closure-report/).
5 Michigan Department of Education, Reward
Schools,(http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-22709_62255---,00.html).
6 2014 Charter School Law Rankings & Scorecard, TheCenter
for Education Reform, March 17,
2014,(https://www.edreform.com/2014/03/2014-charter-school-law-rankings-scorecard/).
7 Charter Laws Relating to Transparency, MichiganAssociation of
Public School Academies, June 23,
2014,(http://www.charterschools.org/images/pdfs/CHARTER%20LAWS.pdf).
8 Michigan Articles Page, The Media
Bullpen,(mediabullpen.com/state/michigan/).
9 Michigan spends $1 billion but fails to hold
schoolsaccountable, The Media Bullpen, June 23,
2014,(http://mediabullpen.com/view/state-of-charter-schools-how-michigan-spends-1-billion-butfails-to-hold-sc).
10 Other states stricter than Michigan on charters, someban
for-profits, The Media Bullpen, June 22,
2014(http://mediabullpen.com/view/other-states-stricter-than-michigan-on-charterssome-ban-for-profits).
11 Other states stricter than Michigan on charters, someban
for-profits, The Media Bullpen, June 22,
2014(http://mediabullpen.com/view/other-states-stricter-than-michigan-on-charterssome-ban-for-profits).
12 When bad schools go on and on, The Media Bullpen,June 27,
2014(http://mediabullpen.com/view/when-bad-schools-go-on-and-on).!
!
13 Tangled web at two charter schools show shortcomingsof state
law, The 13 Media Bullpen, June 24,
2014,(http://mediabullpen.com/view/tangled-web-at-two-charter-schools-showsshortcomings-of-state-law).
14 Concerns over charter school performance persist asmore open
in state, The Media Bullpen, June 26,
2014,(http://mediabullpen.com/view/concerns-over-charter-school-performance-persistas-more-open-in-state).
15 2014 Beating the Odds Individual School LookupTool, Michigan
Department of
Education,(http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/2013-14_BTO_LookupTool_465201_7.xls).!
16 All About CREDO, The Center for Education Reform,January 8,
2013,(https://www.edreform.com/2013/01/all-about-credo/).
17 The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools,Central
Michigan University,(www.thecenterforcharters.org/).
18 Charter Schools Office, Grand Valley State
University,(www.gvsu.edu/cso/).
19 Charter Schools Office Annual Reports, Grand ValleyState
University Office of Charter
Schools,(www.gvsu.edu/cso/our-publications-31.htm).
20 Michigan Council of Charter School
Authorizers,(http://michiganauthorizers.com/).
21 2014 Charter School Law Rankings & Scorecard, TheCenter
for Education Reform, March 17, 2014,
(https://www.edreform.com/2014/03/2014-charter-school-law-rankings-scorecard/).
22 Todd Ziebarth and Louann Bierlein Palmer, Health ofthe Public
Charter School Movement: A State-by-StateAnalysis, National
Alliance for Public Charter Schools,October 1, 2014,
(http://www.publiccharters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/health-of-the-movement-2014.pdf).
23 Meagan Batdorff, Larry Maloney, Jay F. May, Sheree
T.Speakman, Patrick J. Wolf, and Albert Cheng, Charter
SchoolFunding: Inequity Expands, University of ArkansasDepartment
of Education Reform, April 16,
2014,(http://www.uaedreform.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/charterfunding-inequity-expands-mi.pdf).
24 Alison Consoletti Zgainer and Ted Rebarber, Survey ofAmericas
Charter Schools: 2014, The Center for EducationReform, January 24,
2014,(https://www.edreform.com/2014/01/survey-ofamericas-charter-schools/).
25 Arianna Prothero, Special Education Charters RenewInclusion
Debate, Education Week, September 17,
2014,(edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/09/17/04specialneedscharters.h34.html).
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