Re: [LM_NET] TAR: Are you a "No Excuses University" school? Harmony charter school follow up

[Toni Koontz <fussbgt@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

I have had experience with two different charter schools and now an online 
virtual school. I agree, a lot depends on the quality of the administration 
and the commitment of the teachers - just as in any school.  The two charter 
schools were  nightmares for my grandson. Of the 5 teachers he had, only two 
seemed really  able to accomplish anything. The last one supposedly had over 
12 years experience, but was unable to control her classroom, as I saw in 
person when I would come to pick up my grandson.  Neither of them had 
libraries, although each year I was told they would be getting a librarian 
the next year. I even volunteered to spend the summer setting it up.  And I 
agree, there were more worksheets and "practice for the standardized test" 
activities than actual learning.  For example, he brought home a minimum of 
4 worksheets for homework.  Each day the Math was different- one day 
addition, one day division, etc. no consistency no real learning. Sometimes 
the worksheets had no correlation to what they were supposed to be studying. 
Usually it seemed like more busy work to me. I had over 12 years experience 
in K-8 schools  and worked on curriculum development so I was familiar with 
the state standards.   My grandson had to take 4th grade over.

Then my son found this online school.  It is, in effect, a form of charter 
school as it is sponsored by the public school system. This school, though, 
has dedicated administration and teachers who work very hard to maintain the 
quality and resources necessary.  All the teachers are certificated. Many 
have multiple years of classroom experience. The curriculum closely follows 
the state standards. My grandson is required to take the standardized tests 
at  an approved site. Communication is great and the teachers use technology 
to enhance the curriculum and to communicate both with individuals and the 
class . While it does have a library that they can borrow books from, since 
the students are from all over, there is no librarian instruction.  However, 
all are strongly encouraged to use the public system and, of course, I have 
been teaching my grandson.  My grandson has been attending this school for 
two years and made the Honor Roll this year.  He socializes with more 
students as they meet often and go on field trips more than he had ever 
before.

So, a lot depends on what type of charter school it is and how it is 
run...as with any school.

Toni Koontz
Retired Librarian
Columbus Ohio


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BettyTX" <bhamilt@HUGHES.NET>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 9:57 AM
Subject: Re: TAR: Are you a "No Excuses University" school? Harmony charter 
school follow up


> Interesting information, Lynnette. Thank you. I had wondered about that --  
> consistency.
>
> Although this is not a direct library subject, what affects education 
> affects our libraries. Since you have been in one of those schools, 
> Lynnette, do they have libraries? I, personally, am not in favor of 
> charter schools. Thanks for the information.
>
> Betty Dawn
> Betty Dawn Hamilton (Using retired years to keep up with current events!)
> LMS (Middle & High School)
> Former Chair of Texas Association of School Librarians
> Former Contributing Editor of "Profession" section, Texas Library Journal
> Brownfield, TX
> bhamilt@hughes.net
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Perez, Lynnette" <LynnettePerez@my.unt.edu>
> Subject: RE: TAR: Are you a "No Excuses University" school? Harmony 
> charter school follow up
>
>
> Harmony Schools' quality is not consistent city to city or campus to 
> campus. This is unfortunate. Houston is where the main office is located, 
> so the campuses there are the best-run, best organized, and well funded. 
> However, I spent some time teaching in one of their campuses in another 
> city, and it ran nothing like the "flagship" school in Houston. Harmony is 
> run by Cosmos Foundation, which has charter schools all over the country. 
> I believe its intentions are noble, yet the people in charge need to do 
> more research on curriculum and student development. Using a 
> computer-generated curriculum makes it easy for inexperienced & 
> non-certified teachers to plan instruction, yet it creates a 
> worksheet-rich environment, where students take "Mock" state assessments 
> every two weeks. Perhaps I am just biased against worksheets, but I've 
> never seen as much paper used in any public school.
>
> By the way, to be a teacher or administrator in a Texas charter school, 
> one need only have a high school diploma. And there is no set salary 
> scale. Is this consistent nationwide?
> ________________________________________
>
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