For many in Guilford, public charter schools earn an A : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

Tristan Rodriguez was lucky. He had to wait less than a year to gain admission to Greensboro Academy, one of Guilford County’s oldest charter schools.

His parents, Maria Agosto and Enrique Rodriguez, applied for a spot there because they believed Tristan, a bright kid with an attention deficit disorder, would flourish in a middle school with fewer students.

He joined the academy’s sixth-grade students in August and has since stopped complaining about going to school and completing his homework, Agosto said.

“It’s smaller, and it’s easier to have a good time there,” said Tristan, who previously attended Stokesdale Elementary School. “I’m not being stressed. It’s just easier and better.”

Advocates of charter schools fought for years to remove a state cap that limited the number of students like Tristan who could get a free education outside of traditional public schools.

State lawmakers eliminated the cap this summer. More charter schools will open. But the question arises: Do the existing schools meet expectations?

Many Guilford County parents say yes.

More than 2,400 children await classroom seats in Guilford’s taxpayer-supported, but privately run charter schools. And most of the current students perform at a higher rate on state exams than students in Guilford County Schools, evidence that children can learn well outside the district.

“We need to perform at that standard or really better than that standard or there’s no reason for us to be here,” said Rudy Swofford, principal of Greensboro Academy. “We’re accountable financially. We’re accountable academically. We’re accountable to our parents. If we don’t deliver, they walk.”

Staying open

Charter schools have a 14-year history in North Carolina. Early on, organizers struggled to purchase and outfit buildings, fill classrooms and achieve financial stability.

In fact, only four of the six charter schools approved to operate in the county since 1997 still exist. Imani Institute operated in downtown Greensboro from 1998 to 2006 but closed because of problems with its financial reporting. And Oak Ridge Charter School failed to open in 2001 when its management company could not find a facility.

None of the remaining schools face closure, said Joel Medley, director of the state’s Office of Charter Schools. Those are:

* Greensboro Academy, which serves more than 700 mostly white, middle-class students in kindergarten through eighth grade in northwest Greensboro. It has a waiting list of 1,100 students.

* Guilford Preparatory Academy, which serves about 300 children — mostly black and low-income — in kindergarten through eighth grade in east Greensboro. It has no waiting list.

* Phoenix Academy, which serves about 300 elementary students in north High Point. It serves a significant minority population and about 250 students are waiting to get in.

* Triad Math and Science Academy, a racially diverse school of more than more than 500 students in kindergarten through 10th grade. It plans to add two final grades to its south Greensboro campus by 2013 and has a waiting list of 1,000 students.

Attracting parents

On the inside, the charter school classrooms look little different from those in the district. In either system, students can learn Spanish in kindergarten, answer math problems on interactive white boards, eat subsidized lunches or attend a Saturday tutoring session.

But some things stand out: Charter students typically follow a strict dress code or wear uniforms. Many of them eat lunch in classrooms instead of cafeterias. School buses are too costly, so parents must drop off and pick up their children.

And space is tight for some. Leaders of both Guilford Prep and Phoenix Academy aimed early on to serve students in high school, but expansion plans fell through. They both lease buildings that lack some staples of traditional schools: formal cafeterias, auditoriums, fields and playgrounds.

So Phoenix Academy students toss rings and kick balls on a mulched outdoor lot, and Guilford Prep students learn in “open classrooms” separated by partitions.

So why do parents send their children to these schools?

Some of them say they value the schools’ family-like atmosphere and high standards for student behavior and academic performance.

For example, stealing is of such little concern at Greensboro Academy that students stash their personal items in lock-less lockers. And Phoenix Academy parents commit to volunteer for at least four hours a month.

Twice a year, families and faculty gather outside of Triad Math and Science Academy to socialize and eat baklava prepared by the principal’s wife. And teachers commit to visit the home of each student at least once a year, a task that creates a bond with families and minimizes conflicts, Principal Hakan Orak said.

“It motivates (students) and they see that their teachers care for them by taking the time to visit them,” he said.

Making the grade

Thursday Rice lives within walking distance of Alamance Elementary School, but she opts to drive her 9-year-old son, Ethan, about 10 miles away to Guilford Prep. She believes the school’s smaller class sizes of 12 to 15 students have enabled her easily distracted son to excel over the past five years.

Ethan, a straight-A student, started there in kindergarten and recently tested above his grade level in reading.

“I feel like he’s really gotten what he needed,” she said. “I’m very pleased with the academics and the level of work that he brings home.”

Rice’s family missed the charter school’s rocky years. It nearly closed in 2004 and relocated twice before Robin Buckrham, a former Guilford County Schools administrator, took over as principal in 2006.

Teacher turnover and students’ suspension rates were high, she said. But Buckrham helped turn the school around by embracing some basic features of public schools: extra tutoring, certified teachers and lesson plans based on the state curriculum.

As a result, the percentage of students passing reading or math tests increased from a low of 49 percent in 2008 to 73 percent this year.

“There were lots of families who were really faithful to this school and weathered the storm,” Buckrham said. “Although the change was painful for a lot of people, including myself, I think the pros have outweighed the cons.”

Students at the other charter schools tend to fare better on state exams, with at least 85 percent passing reading or math tests. And three of the charter schools — Guilford Prep, Phoenix, and Triad Math and Science — show smaller gaps in achievement between white and black students than in the district.

Still, parents should compare academic data between traditional and charter schools with caution, said Medley with the state charter school office. Instead, he said, parents and educators should determine the best features of either system and share them with all students.

Contact Morgan Josey Glover at 373-7078 or morgan.josey@news-record.com

Deconsolidate

September 25, 2011 - 7:36 am EDT

A study that is hot off the press which can be seen at www.Deconsolidate.com follows kids who had choice in Charlotte Mecklenburg and is the longest study to date on how Charter Schools will impact the lives and achievement gap.

Wait till you see it and then you will be a person who wonders why we do not have a Charter School in every Challenged Neighborhood so that distance and busing problem is taken care of.

The fact our public system has competition will make them better and we all know it. Why not move forward and help the Kids get a future folks. Smaller Schools which respond to the neighborhood they serve is the key to education, not these palaces with thousand.

buldawg

September 25, 2011 - 7:45 pm EDT

How will this competition help improve the public school system? These private schools are draining financial resources from our already financially challenged public school system. Most of the problems seen in our public schools can be traced back to a lack of resources rather than a lack of effort or lack of skill from the teachers. Taking away even more of those scarce resources will only exacerbate the problems faced by the vast majority of our students just so a very few of our students can enjoy advantages such as smaller class sizes.

kburk

September 25, 2011 - 6:29 pm EDT

As a satisfied parent of a student at Greensboro Academy, I want to agree with the content of your article about charter schools in Guilford County. One correction, however - your headline references "private charter schools". As you note in the article, charter schools are funded by tax dollars. In NC charter schools are not affiliated with the local school system, but they are a part of the state school system. Charter schools are privately-operated PUBLIC schools.

September 25, 2011 - 8:00 pm EDT

No these are PRIVATE schools funded by public school funds. These PRIVATE schools are autonomous and not subject to public school mandates. They are free to limit the number of students admitted. And that is likely one of the reasons they appear so wonderful. Public schools are mandated to teach ALL students with no limits on their enrollment. Don't believe for a minute these are any thing but publicly funded private schools.
Don't doubt that a very large part of those public funds are going to boost the profit margin of the private companies who operate these schools.

September 25, 2011 - 7:58 pm EDT

This is all well and good. But these "private" schools are getting public funding from an already financially strapped public school system. That part is simply wrong. If a parent wants to send their child to a private school, more power to them. However, these private schools should not receive one cent of public school funds. This article mentions the smaller class sizes. You all do realize that our public school class sizes are going to get larger because the public school systems' budgets are being gutted by our Republican legislature, all the while these private schools continue to enjoy my tax dollars for their private endeavors. That is just not right. This is welfare at it's worst and a result of the Republican plan to shrink government.

Traveler

September 25, 2011 - 10:57 pm EDT

The big difference I see between Charter schools and public schools is that the parents of charter school students care about their children and their education.

Many poor parents do not care about their children's education.

I am all for supporting parents who are working to provide a better future for their children.

They should not be held hostage by the politicans and the unions who refuse to admit that the current system of public education is failing our brightest children.

The state pays the same per child to charter schools that they pay to public schools. If the charter schools are able to provide smaller classroom size, they why can't the public schools do the same? Perhaps over paying for management and teachers who are not good teachers.

The good thing about this competition is that the charter schools can reward good teachers and fire poor teachers. The charter schools can refuse admission to students who don't perform and parents who do not support their children.

Competition is good. Charter schools are taking some of the best students and families. Public schools need to wake up and change to meet the challenges of today's world economy. The public school system has too much management. The public school system has difficulty firing bad teachers. The public school system isn't able to weed out disruptive students and their parents.

tiredmom

September 25, 2011 - 11:24 pm EDT

Funny that you say, "The public school system has too much management. The public school system has difficulty firing bad teachers. The public school system isn't able to weed out disruptive students and their parents."

Charter schools DO find a way to weed out kids they don't want (and/or parents they find troublesome). So do private schools. Public schools cannot. Who will take those kids if the public schools didn't take them?

Let's support our public schools more--don't decrease their ability to help the kids that need it most because funds are being siphoned off to charter schools.

September 26, 2011 - 7:49 am EDT

What I am saying is that the public school system needs to be leaner in management, and they need to separate the students who are disruptive from the public school students who want to learn. By doing that I feel more parents would support the system.

And, yes, the public school system needs to fire bad teachers. I have friends who are teachers and they complain about co-workers who aren't doing the job. The teacher's union makes it very hard to fire bad teachers.

Paul Daniels

September 26, 2011 - 8:38 am EDT

Buldawg: When parents send their kids to charter schools, they get only the per pupil funding from the state and local government. They don't get money for buildings, transportation or school lunches. Public schools may lose the state and local per pupil funding, but they also have fewer students to teach. Moreover, they get to keep the transportation and school lunch money, as well as the construction money for that student. Sounds like they actually come out a little ahead.

I don't believe that school budgets are being cut. I know that that is what public school officials and folks who do the news want you to believe. Here in Guilford County, our budget never gets smaller. Our budget this year is bigger than our budget last year. This is not a cut. Moreover, we get many, many millions of dollars in grants that are not included in our $651 million budget for this year. Also, in budget are lots of things that I think we can do without, and which are only tangentially related to the delivery of education services many thousands for the MLK Parade and the Shakespeare Festival. We also spend many more thousands on groups that are essentially lobbyists, like the Counsel of Great City Schools. It is a matter of priorities. Cutting things like funding for the Shakespeare Festival, however, doesn't garner headlines. Reducing staffing does.

Finally, what is it about public schools that we should automatically seem to favor them over any other type of school. If people are leaving public schools for schools that meet their needs better, isn't that a good thing? If what we are REALLY concerned about is ensuring that every student gets a good, quality education, should it matter where they go to school. I think the answer is no.

Best regards,

Abruti

September 26, 2011 - 9:20 am EDT

Couldn't agree more. There is some confusion in some of these responses. Charter schools do NOT receive the same level of funding as public schools. They receive less. The only thing Charter schools are taking from regular public schools are students. The fact that there are waiting lists to get into charter schools that do not have bussing, that do not have big playgrounds and gymnasiums, and that often have cramped conditions makes one wonder.

romans1

September 25, 2011 - 11:07 pm EDT

Charter schools do not answer to a county school board. They answer directly to NCDPI. Charter schools are subject to the same federal and state laws as county run public schools. In fact, it is often easier to implement state and federal mandates when there are not the layers of county bureaucracy slowing the process.

There is nothing "private" about charter schools. They are required to accept students without any kind of discrimination. Many charter schools have a waiting list for admission. The school where I worked for 5 years holds a lottery for admission.

The money would be spent on students either way. County run public schools aren't losing anything. Charter schools don't receive the level of funding that county schools do. Charter schools, by necessity, are far more efficient. Parents are more involved since they often volunteer to fill in the gaps.

Anyone who says public schools are being hurt by charter schools is making a political issue out of something that shoudln't be.

September 25, 2011 - 11:29 pm EDT

The same $ amount per student is spent. However, charter schools can say, "We can't offer that." (because of their small size) if a child needs extra services. That way they can prod parents to pull out their kids, thereby saving money. I know--we were told that.

The public schools must take all children, including those needing special multiple special services or a one-on-one assistant. They can't get away with saying, "We can't offer that." They MUST offer that. Until charter schools offer busing and offer all needed services, they are spending less per student, so they can spread the money around more in other ways. They also manage to keep the kids they want that way, so it's a self-perpetuating cycle.

September 25, 2011 - 11:19 pm EDT

I have taught in public and private schools in 2 states (including NC) and had a child who attended one of the listed charter schools, Greensboro Academy.

Public funds are given to charter schools, which are owned by companies, and students are chosen via a lottery system. Class sizes are kept down to a certain number this way. Public funds are given to public schools who must accept all children. Private schools get most of their funding via parents (tuition payments).

We had 2 experiences with charter schools in NC. At Greensboro Academy, we were told that our older child, who received special education services, wasn't served best there--that a small class setting of about a dozen children was needed, "and we can't provide that." Personally, we felt that the school viewed our child as expensive--needing speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy--and they didn't want to pay for it. They also told us they thought our child wouldn't pass the end-of-year exam. We thought this was probably another reason to urge us not to keep our child at Greensboro Academy--it would lower their NC Report Card scores (all public and charter schools receive these scores).

We also tried to get our children into Phoenix Academy. We had heard that PA began as a private school for special needs children, and that it was very accepting of those children. However, the founders of PA had a "falling out" with a friend of ours--funny how, year after year (and we tried for about 3 years), our children never made the lottery for PA. We believe they were not wanted because we had mentioned our friend's name to the director. Otherwise, surely one of the kids at least would have been accepted in that time.

Our public schools truly accept all children. Here in NC, they also bus all children whose parents request bus service. Having taught in poor neighborhoods, I know that many families there do not have cars to drive their children to school. Charter schools are a way of creating a new elite. Unless the school is in a poor neighborhood, such families cannot send their children to GA, PA, etc. Therefore, charter schools get involved parents usually of a certain education level who have the means to take their children to the school.

Funny, after those debacles, our children attended (and still attend) public schools here in Guilford County. Neither one needed that small class size. Our older child DID pass that end-of-year test (in Kindergarten, mind you!). Special programs such as magnet programs in the public schools provide today's students with incredible options.

I hate to see public funds spent on charter schools that find ways of winnowing out students they don't want to keep. Remember that when you see test scores--only the public schools accept all children all of the time. If people with more resources send their children to charter and private schools, public schools will sadly have a harder time by comparison because they will have more struggling students (when it's hard to put food on the table and a roof over your head, you don't have as much time to check schoolwork and you sure don't have a computer at home nor even ability to get to the library, especially if there's only one library as in Jamestown and High Point). Parent support is a major factor in school success--and private and charter school parents have the resources to provide more of that support to their children.

Meanwhile, we have incredible success stories in our public schools. Accelerated Learner programs, International Baccalaureate programs--these are things that small schools (such as charter and private schools) are far less likely to be able to offer. (Not impossible, but definitely harder!)

I am so grateful our public schools accept all children, just as they are. Isn't that true democracy?

September 26, 2011 - 8:41 am EDT

Tired Mom:

If we gave Charter Schools the same sort of funding that we give private schools, they would provide school lunches, transportation and other accomodations for those students you are talking about. As it is, they are not allowed to discriminate, but because they don't get capital funding, they may not be able to provide the same accomodations as public schools that do. Maybe the answer is better funding of our charter schools, not less.

nidanoorani

September 26, 2011 - 4:14 pm EDT

Totally agree with the supporting comments. I myself also think that although charter schools get the funding from the state and expect to function just like public schools, they exceed the expectations of the parents/department of education/state and increase the education level of the students. This year the average EOG passing rate has increased by the charter schools in NC which made AYP. I totally support them and will be working hand by hand in order bring them to a higherlevel.

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