District 200 Launches Attack on Virtual Charter Schools

Last Thursday, District 200 used its parent e-mail list to launch a lobbying campaign to ban new virtual charter schools for a one year period.  The e-mail, allegedly written by District 200 Superintendent Dr. Brian Harris (more on that below), criticized the performance of charter school operator K12’s Chicago Virtual Charter School, and urged parents to contact lawmakers in support of the ban, House Bill 494, pending in the Illinois Senate.  Yet the bill specifically exempts Chicago; that makes no sense if poor performance in Chicago is really the motive for the ban.

Charter schools operate separately from local districts.  They enroll students only when parents choose to send their children.  For each student enrolled, the charter receives a stipend from the student’s home district (significantly less than what the local district spends per student).  District 200 sees this as a threat to its revenue stream, according to the e-mail.

So, should tax money go to support schools that aren’t making adequate yearly progress (AYP) for their low-income students?  Where only 69.7% of low income students meet minimum state standards in the key skill of reading, and only 74.7% in math?  That is to say, District 200 public schools?  Maybe Dr. Harris should work on his own students’ needs first, before trying to limit charter schools. 

District 200’s mission and vision statement says that all students can learn beyond expectations.  But when it comes to AYP percentages for low income students, state report cards show K12’s Chicago Virtual Charter School, enrolling 63% low income students, outperforms suburban Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200.

On April 10, the District 200 School Board unanimously rejected an application from K12 affiliate Illinois Virtual Charter School at Fox Valley to create a new online charter school program for west suburban students, including District 200.   The Board agenda says District staff asked over 80 questions at a March 18 hearing, and demanded voluminous additional information with only 36 hours of turnaround time to comply.  K12 wasn’t able to meet the 36 hour deadline despite (or due to) providing over 1,000 pages in response, so Dr. Harris’ letter claims that “answers were not forthcoming” to the District’s questions.

Virtual, or on line, education doesn’t deserve the epithet of “controversial” from Dr. Harris.  It’s widespread in higher education – at the College of DuPage, entire degrees can be earned online.  It is particularly effective at providing differentiated learning.  The K12 web site explains, “Every child learns in his or her own way.  Yet many classrooms try to make one size fit all.  K12 creates a classroom of one:  a remarkably effective education option that is individualized to meet each child’s needs.”

K12 low income students do less well in math than reading.  But the data – particularly the AYP data – don’t support the attacks on virtual charter schools.  District 200 spends about 50% more than the $8,000 per student stipend K12 receives, and has all the advantages of a local, brick and mortar school system.  District 200 low income students’ AYP percentage should be much higher than some startup charter school, not about equal, if District 200 is making best use of it resources.

District 200 also raises the “local control” argument.  I fully support local control of education – and it doesn’t get any more local than parents choosing the learning environment that’s best suited for each child.

By the way, who really wrote the letter?  Batavia District 101 superintendent Dr. Jack Barshinger’s letter in the Geneva Patch tracks the District 200 letter almost word for word in key points.  Either someone is plagiarizing, and/or there is an organized anti-virtual charter school campaign providing the talking points.

Despite widespread criticism of U.S. public schools versus other countries, the U.S. clearly excels in higher education.  Maybe that’s because it’s the one area where there’s vigorous competition among both public and private universities, and students can choose the best fit, not merely the closest one to their home. 

So why is District 200 afraid of some competition?  Virtual schools aren’t right for every child, and maybe not even for most.  But let parents choose.  The same “opportunity” arguments are made against homeschooling, despite data that show home schooled children perform as well as and often better than their peers.  If K12 doesn’t deliver, parents won’t enroll their children, and District 200 has nothing to worry about.