Friday, April 14, 2000
Charters taking publicity in stride
BY James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Educators from several city charter schools on Wednesday said they weren't worried about recent publicity about themselves. Rather, they incorporated it into lesson plans.
“It just so happened we were studying the newspaper that day, and the kids were amazed to learn about the process and that they could respond with a letter to the editor,” said Pauline Childs, director and founder of Oak Tree Montessori.
Ms. Childs was referring to last week's report by The Cincinnati Enquirer that said several hundred charter students had left for Cincinnati Public Schools since the beginning of the year.
Charter schools receive public funding from the state but operate separately from local districts. Instead, they are run by local parent or teacher groups or other nonprofit organizations.
In addition, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers last week sued four of the city's five charters for what the union called a failure to comply with Ohio open records laws.
Also last week, Dora Bronston, a former board member for Greater Cincinnati Community Academy, said the school wanted to alter meeting minutes before they were sent to state regulators.
But instead of feeling under attack, charter officials said they were continuing with their mission of providing a viable alternative to public schools for low-income students.
“We haven't had one child withdraw since last week,” said Lisa Hamm, principal and founder of Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy, in its first year as a charter.
Ms. Childs' 64-student downtown school for kindergarten through third grade is in its second year. She said the three charters in their first year are experiencing the same start-up problems she did.
“Last year, we had kids waiting on a bus for over an hour while we worked out transportation,” Ms. Childs said. “Our parents loved us, but still left because they felt it wasn't a healthy environment. It's fixed now, but the others are having the same trouble.”
Alfred E. Olverson, a board member for three city charters including Greater Cincinnati Community Academy, would not comment directly on Ms. Bronston's accusations.
He did acknowledge that charters had their problems. But he also said they remain a viable alternative to public schools.
“Look at the numbers we still have,” said Mr. Olverson, referring to the approximately 1,800 students enrolled in the city's charters. “The people in charters still have to think more like businesspeople, but at least we now have a choice.”
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