As the charter dust settles, will the line in the sand remain?

Gov. Jay Inslee has passively allowed charter schools to move forward.

The bill has become law, and the questions of constitutionality have been addressed -- at least to the court's satisfaction.

The dust has begun to settle, which means everyone who has been embedded in this squabble can take a breath, take stock, and take a look ahead for the first time in months.

This much is clear: charter schools have become a line in the sand on the beach of public education.

The question is, will we keep re-drawing the same line? Or will we let it wash away with tomorrow's tide and focus together on forging ahead?

Both sides have always shared considerable common ground, but now that charter schools are an active part of Washington’s public school system, the separation between one and the next is even more negligible.

Both sides are advocating loudly for a stronger public education system. Both sides, I have to believe, want only the best for students. We may have different opinions as to what that looks like -- about which students most need our advocacy or how precisely to deliver the education and attention they deserve -- but the goals of all education advocates are much more similar than they are different.

Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) and an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington Bothell, wrote a razor-sharp op-ed for the Seattle Times that asks important questions and rightly challenges all sides to move forward together:

“But moving beyond vitriol and petty political squabbles requires leadership from community leaders, charter-school leaders, and district and elected officials — all of whom must set a tone for others to follow.

It is time to stop wasting time, energy and money mounting fights to oppose charter schools that serve some of our state’s most at-risk students. Those resources could be marshaled instead to tackle structural inequities — such as a wide achievement gap between minority and nonminority students, inadequate school funding and uneven teacher quality — in all our public schools.

It is time for charter leaders to work with local schools to build relationships between teachers and parents.

It is time for visionary district leaders to imagine ways that nimble charter schools might help them reach their goals of helping all students achieve their potential.

It is time to recognize that public education embodies a set of goals and ideals — equity, transparency, accountability — not a particular set of institutions grounded in norms developed hundreds of years ago for a largely agrarian society.

Charter schools aren’t some magic solution. But they are proving themselves a valued component of 21st-century public schooling by demonstrating what’s possible when schools are freed from certain rules and regulations in exchange for being held accountable for student outcomes. Far from a distraction, charter schools are here to stay. Far from damaging public education, when ably implemented, charter schools enrich and strengthen the fabric of public education.

It is time to move on and focus on students, not battle lines.”

Dear Gov. Inslee: 'Every Child Deserves a Chance to Succeed'

Dear Gov. Inslee,

I know that the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that charter schools like Summit Sierra are unconstitutional. I believe that despite this, these schools can help us in the long run. This is because of how differently these schools operate than the traditional public school.

From experience, I can say that Summit Public Schools as well as other charter schools offer different options to students looking for a good education. Many people believe that these schools are a waste of taxpayer money, but that is not the case. The student body is quite diverse, so it allows people of every race, gender, religion and income the chance to have a great education.

Summit Public Schools in California have a 100 percent graduation rate. This means that literally all of our students will have the opportunity to go to college. This will benefit everyone here in the great state of Washington because there are going to be thousands of new kids ready for college each year when they graduate from charter schools. Everyone should be able to receive a great education, and everyone should be able to go to college.

If Seattle wants to continue being a fast-growing city, it’s going to have make some changes to the school system. Our city and our state need charter schools to make sure this generation and every generation after will have the opportunity to go to college.

And this is the greatest thing about charter schools: they allow students to reach their full potential. These schools push to make sure each student succeeds, not only academically, not only during each school day, but in life. The current public schools attempt this, but Summit Public Schools has perfected it. The individualized approach to learning helps prepare students for college by teaching them how to be a self-directed learner.

At Summit Sierra, and other Summit Public Schools in Washington, we use a program called the PLP (Personalized Learning Plan). It provides information on what we need to do to get into certain colleges. It also allows us to set goals, check assignments, and lets us each work at our own pace.

Being able to self-direct your learning is an essential skill in college, and when all the students graduate, they will use this skill in the workplace. Being self-directed is great to learn at young age, too, because the earlier you learn, the sooner you can be independent.

When a child first enters a Summit School, they will get a mentor. Their mentor will guide them throughout their years in school. The student and mentor will have a bond form between them, as well as with the larger group of mentees.

The mentor program gives students someone to look up to. During the mentor check-ins every Friday, the mentor checks in with his mentees to see how they how they are doing both academically and psychologically. This key piece of the Summit Public School experience of learning allows each child to feel like they matter.

Every child deserves educational options.

Every child deserves a way to show their creativity.

Every child deserves a place to grow.

Every child deserves to go to college.

And most of all: every child deserves a chance to succeed.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,

Kai Worley-Flannell

Dear Gov. Inslee: 'We need you to be strong.'

Dear Gov. Inslee,

My name is Zoe Mitchell, and I am a 9th grader at Summit Sierra Public charter school in Seattle. Last fall, the legislature ruled that charter schools were unconstitutional, and as a student attending a charter school, I feel very lost in the conversation.

Every student shares the feeling of injustice over this plan having been put through without any consideration of our thoughts. This is absurd seeing as how we are the ones who are most affected by this, and we feel that our opinions carry a lot of weight concerning the matter. We have attended this new high school for more than six months and by now have established firm relationships with our teachers and peers.

All of us students would be devastated if our school were to be closed down. All of us have put so much faith and effort into this school. To see it all go down the drain is despairing and leads to some serious doubts about democracy and our government, which is supposed to protect its people’s needs.

Personally, I have had more fun learning here in a few weeks than I've ever had at all the time in my public middle school. There also seems to be a lot of complaining about crowded schools. Don't charter schools take the pressure off and give children more options? They are a public school and should be considered an equal alternative. 

I write this letter to you with the hope that you will take into the consideration the opinions and lives of charter school students and their community. I don't want to leave this school so early in my efforts.

Please sign the charter school bill. 1909 was over a hundred years ago and deciding that a rule written so long ago should affect the education of students in 2016 seems weak. We all need you to be strong.

Thank you for your time. 

Sincerely,

Zoe Mitchell