Charter School Alert (Jan 8, 2004 meeting)

CHARTER SCHOOL ALERT!!

Dear Supporter of the Cambridge Public Schools:

A group of individuals, including the former principal of CRLS (Paula Evans) has proposed the creation of the Cambridge Community Charter School (grades7-12) of 450 students to open in September, 2004.

We need your help to oppose this charter school, which duplicates many good things already happening in our schools and would have many negative impacts on our community.

If this charter is granted:

The school budget will have to be cut by an additional $6.7 million dollars in order to fund the new charter school.
All Chapter 70 local aid funding Cambridge receives from the state will go directly to charter school students at the expense of those attending current Cambridge Public Schools.
Enrollment will fall at CRLS and the 7/8 grades at our elementary schools. This further decline in enrollment could lead to additional school closures.
Our newest, non-professional status teachers could face layoffs, especially at the middle through high school grade levels.
The Cambridge Public Schools will be left with fewer resources. We may lose some existing school day and after school programs at the elementary schools and CRLS may have to reduce the number of electives, extracurricular activities and sports programs offered to students.

How can you help?

Join us on Thursday, January 8th for a strategy meeting in the Media Cafeteria at CRLS from 6:00 to 7:30 PM to prepare for the Board of Education’s hearing on January 14th in Malden.
Pizza will be provided at the meeting.

Tell the Massachusetts Board of Education that Cambridge does not need a third charter school.

Attend the Board of Education hearing with us on January 14th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.
Bus transportation will be provided to and from CRLS.

Write to the Board of Education by January 15th, 2004 to state your opposition to the Cambridge Community Charter School Proposal. A list of talking points is provided below.

Write to:
Department of Education
Charter School Office
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148

Or e-mail:
Charterschools@doe.mass.edu

Pass this information on to fellow parents, students, teachers and community members!

We thank you for your help in this effort,
The Committee to Support Cambridge Public Schools

Reasons to oppose the Cambridge Community Charter High School

The proposed charter does not have broad community support:
· The proponents of the charter school have tenuous community connections. Of the supporters listed in the original proposal of September 8th, 2003, six have withdrawn their support. In the current proposal dated November 20th, 2003, only six of the eleven founders live in Cambridge and only two have school age children. Of the eleven (11) persons listed as advisors and members of the design team, only seven (7) are Cambridge residents and only one has a school age child. In addition, based on the addresses provided, it appears the residents supporting this proposal are from a very limited area of Cambridge. Finally, of the supporters listed, several are former CPS employees who either resigned or did not have their contracts renewed or they appear to be motivated by the possibility of personal or professional gain.

The proposed charter plan is not innovative:
· Cambridge already offers parents a wide variety of educational options for their children. We have twelve (12) elementary schools which offer a variety of programs and curricular options. We have a strong science curriculum K-12. CRLS offers challenging and exciting science and technology courses with more options and electives being created. In addition, CRLS and RSTA already have and continue to develop collaborations between the school and community businesses and organizations, including internships and school-to-work opportunities.

Founders are without the necessary experience, resources or wherewithal to start a school:
· Paula Evans was the Principal of CRLS from 1999 to 2001 and had her opportunity to guide and direct CRLS. Many supported her ideas about restructuring CRLS and setting higher standards for all students. She had full control over the future of CRLS but when some of her ideas were met with concern and questions by parents, students, School Committee and staff members, instead of working with the community to address these concerns, she resigned. She left her hand selected deans to fulfill her vision. She left her staff in turmoil over the issue of heterogeneous classrooms. She left students and parents behind wondering what the future held for their school and their education. One and a half years after her departure the NEASC placed CRLS on probation.

The current proposal is misleading:
· The assertions made in the proposal are misleading our based on outdated information. Cambridge Public Schools has implemented many of the recommendations in the Spence Report. They have followed the DOE recommendations for RSTA, have spent $2 million to update curriculum, equipment and teaching space and the program is quickly moving toward full certification as a vocational program while receiving complimentary interim reviews by the DOE. The Cambridge School Committee just completed a lengthy process of closing, merging and moving eight (8) elementary schools in order to address the declining enrollment in our school system and they have hired a new Superintendent who is nationally recognized as a leader in aligning curriculum and closing the achievement gap between student groups. The DOE has showcased five of 12 of our elementary schools for significant improvements on MCAS scores. Cambridge students in our current elementary schools have and continue to significantly outperform students attending the only elementary charter school in our district. In addition, recent SAT scores show that students in the top three quintiles (3/5ths) at CRLS are outperforming students in the state and nation.

Discriminatory impact:
· The proposed charter school has a math, technology and science theme. It promises small class sizes and that all students will be known well by their teachers. It promises heterogeneous teaching. We believe, however, that the proponents of the charter school are attempting to draw away many of CRLS’ most academically talented and motivated students and their active and supportive parents. Charter schools are not required to meet local or state enrollment policies regarding racial, ethnic or socioeconomic composition. Recruitment is selective and targeted and students are selected based on a blind lottery of who applies. The end result is that this school will have a homogenous population, not reflective of the Cambridge Public School’s overall population.

No School District’s total charter school tuition payment to Commonwealth charter schools can exceed nine percent of that district’s net school spending:
· Cambridge is already home to two charter schools. The Benjamin Banneker Charter School (K-8) in North Cambridge and the Prospect Hill Charter High School (7-12) located in the heart of Cambridge at the St. Mary’s school building. There are currently 223 Cambridge students enrolled in these two charter schools and both schools are actively recruiting more Cambridge students due to the higher per pupil tuition reimbursement they receive from Cambridge. The Cambridge Community Charter School Proposal is for 450 students which would put us well past the authorized limit of 9% of the net school spending of the community from which charter enrollment is yielded.