Maine education policy wonks are buzzing about charter schools. Education Commissioner Gendron stated at the Education Committee meeting today that the Maine DoE will not be introducing anycharter legislation this year. Governor Baldacci has made it clear his administration will not push for charters either. The chance Maine will see charter school legislation before next spring has effectively been killed. Stephen Bowen of the Maine Heritage Policy Center noted that “until we have a new governor and a new legislature, Maine will remain one of the few states in the nation that refuses to adopt what has to be one of the most promising and innovative education reform approaches being used in the United States today.” With that in mind we bring you the gubernatorial candidate’s views on charter schools. We will be adding candidate’s opinions as we receive them.
Eliot Cutler (I):
The arithmetic isn’t hard. Any third grader in Maine could figure out the answer to this problem. Yet, the answer seems to have eluded their state fathers and mothers!
Dwindling state revenues are forcing state officials to make massive cuts — millions of dollars — in the state’s share of funding for K-12 education in Maine’s public schools. At the same time, the federal Department of Education is getting ready to hand out hundreds of millions of dollars to states in the Race to the Top program.
But not to Maine. MPBN reports that Maine will be standing in the corner, likely ineligible to receive our share. Why? Because we are one of the few states left in America where charter schools are not allowed. Indeed, in a recent, bipartisan joint report that reviewed programs in all 50 states, conservative and progressive national think tanks ranked Maine’s K-12 education performance near the bottom, concluding that “Maine does a poor job managing its schools in a way that encourages thoughtful innovation.” [Read the entire report here. Click on the map of Maine to see the report on Maine.]
All states are suffering today. But while other states will find some federal funds landing in their coffers to ease the pain in local school districts, Maine won’t. Can’t our state leaders add and subtract?
Now would be a good time for the Maine Legislature to reexamine the policy prohibiting charter schools . . . and to fix it.
Matt Jacobson (R):
There are only ten states in the country who don’t have charter schools, and Maine is one of them. So what do those 40 other states know about charter schools that Maine doesn’t. Well, what they know is that the traditional school is not the best way to reach some kids.
25% of our kids drop out of high school. For 50% of our kids, their highest educational attainment is high school. Only 25% of our kids earn a one, two, or four year degree within 6 years of graduation from high school. We are failing and we are lying to our kids. This performance is simply not good enough.
I spend my life trying to recruit and retain jobs in Maine. Everyday I speak to companies and never has anyone asked me for poorly trained ignorant workers. We cannot attract and retain the kinds of high paying, high tech jobs we all want if we do not have better degree attainment.
We need to do many things in education. Creating Charter Schools is a good start.
Paul LePage (R):
I support charter Schools, school vouchers as well as home schooling for those families in a position to do so. Education should be about providing the highest quality education to our children. Maine ranks in the top third on education on a per student basis, but in the bottom third in education results. We owe it to our children to provide the highest standard of education possible. After all, our children are the future of our society. Vouchers, Charter Schools and home schooling programs have proven to work in many other states. Why not try it in Maine?
Peter Mills (R):
The Democratic Party in Maine is out of touch with goals of the Democratic administration in Washington. I put in a bill request this fall entitled “An Act to Require the State to Comply with Federal Educational Criteria to Qualify for ‘Race to the Top’ Grant Funding.”
The bill request was rejected by the Democratic majority on the Legislative Council. As a result the Education Committee will be deprived of any opportunity even to talk about how to qualify for these funds.
Arne Duncan, Obama’s Commissioner of Education, has made it clear that there will be winners and losers among the states in competing for a share of the $4 billion in competitive funds made available by the Recovery Act. Duncan says, “We will award grants to the states that have led the way in reform and will show the way for the rest of the country to follow.”
The window of opportunity to apply for these funds closes on June 1, 2010. As things presently stand, Maine cannot compete because the state fails to comply with any of the major criteria for an award.
The Obama administration requires that a state authorize charter schools without any limit on the number. Maine has never permitted any charter school to exist.The Obama administration requires that assessment systems be in place to track the progress of students and evaluate teachers. Maine’s assessments are ineffective to measure student growth or teacher performance.
The Obama administration requires that assessment results be returned promptly so that teachers and schools may quickly adjust classroom work based on the assessments. Maine’s MECAP tests are typically not returned until the following school year long after the test is given.
The Obama administration requires that the state take steps to transform its lowest-performing schools by remaking the school from top to bottom with new leaders and new teaching. Maine has over 700 schools. Because Maine has no formal way to evaluate the effectiveness of its schools, the state has never in anyone’s memory intervened to close down a failing school.
Libby Mitchell (D):
Charter schools serve a limited number of students. Although I support creative approaches to improving our public schools for ALL Maine students, I do not support charter schools at this time of limited resources. Draining money from already struggling schools to serve some students hardly advances quality education for all–a fundamental premise of our state and country. Maine has many alternative opportunities. Maine supports Jobs for Maine Graduates for at risk students. We have high school choice in many communities through town academies (Erskine Academy in China is an example). and I would support public school choice for all students. Maine has a magnet school for Science and Math at Limestone. King Middle School in Portland has transformed itself from average to outstanding with good leadership and experimentation with learning approaches. Maine supports students who are home schooled. The idea behind the charter school movement is to loosen regulations that are barriers to learning. Once those regulations are identified that are detrimental to our students, we should eliminate them for all students, not just a few.
Race to the Top funds count charter schools as one component for gaining approval points. Maine can demonstrate accountability, efforts to assist teachers in their training and perfomance, and attempts to equalize funding across the state. The state should embrace the goal of improving all our schools so that our students can compete in the new economy and live quality lives. We cannot afford to be sidetracked by debates that pit groups against each other as we will succeed only by working together.
Charter schools need to be part of the solution to achieve great results in public education in Maine.
We need to challenge conventional thinking to find out what works and what needs to change. Our schools must produce young people who are competitive in the global marketplace. We need to use all the tools available to us.
One tool available to us is the $4.3 billion of Department of Education grants through the Race to the Top Fund. The DOE is asking states to advance reforms around adopting standards and assessments; measuring student growth and success; recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals; and turning around our lowest-achieving schools. Unfortunately, these funds are not available to states, like Maine, that don’t allow charter schools.
Jobs are directly affected by education. Quality education is directly linked to job creation.
Education is the number one factor in our future prosperity – in young people having a decent future. The economic impact of failure in public schools is severe. The steady employment rate among high school dropouts is only 37%.
We cannot accept academic failure. We must reduce the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate. We must ensure that all of our students are prepared to be successful in college and in the real world of work.
Charter schools have proven to be successful out in the real world. Maine’s governor should be leading on this issue and pushing any and all innovative approaches that give our students the opportunity to succeed.
Maine is one of only ten states which don’t allow state-funded charter schools. Across the country, charter schools have proven extremely successful in providing a better education for many students. Their flexibility fosters innovation in teaching and learning which other schools might adopt to better help our kids. Maine students should be given the same opportunities as other children across the nation.
Great teachers make great schools and great teachers foster innovation and creativity in their classrooms. This is true regardless of school type.While I do not support creating charter schools at the expense of traditional public schools, I do not categorically oppose charter schools. Indeed, charter schools can be tailored to students with specific interests or alternative learning styles — students that may not do as well in certain traditional public schools.However, we must be very careful to ensure that charter schools do not siphon off critical educational resources from traditional public schools.This is especially important now when school districts in Maine are facing significant reductions in General Purpose Aid to Education. Of course, we must also take into account any loss of federal education funds due to the state’s failure to approve charter schools.
Rosa Scarcelli (D):
My position on charter schools is determined by the answer to a very simple question: are they in the best interest of the students?
I believe the answer is yes.
I’ve heard the arguments on both sides regarding the loss of federal dollars, staying competitive with other states and different standards between charter schools and traditional public schools. But I hear very little about the benefit to the children who would attend charter schools. Frankly it seems that some candidates are more concerned with how their position affects their own campaigns than how it would affect hundreds of Maine school children.
In some cases, charter schools allow students to match their talents with specific programs that foster their interest in learning in an environment more suited to their particular pursuits. I can’t in good conscience support a policy to block charter schools if it might prevent even one student from reaching his or her potential.
Instead of fearing charter schools, teachers and administrators at traditional public schools should accept the challenge that charter schools present. I agree that charter schools should not siphon resources from other public schools. But the best way to end the clamor for charter schools is not to stand in the way of change, but to make all Maine schools centers of innovation and excellence.
Giving up millions of dollars in federal aid at a time when state resources are being cut is certainly a concern. But giving up on our students and leaving them unprepared to compete in the global economy is an even greater concern. That’s why I support charter schools.
Lynne Williams (G):
I have long supported charter schools. We need to be able to create schools that are innovative and flexible and address the needs of the many students whose needs are not met by the mainstream schools. There is no reason for the educational bureaucracy to fear charter schools, except if they know that many of our schools are failing a whole population of students. My own son’s learning needs were not met by our neighborhood school and I had to send him to an innovative private school. However, I would have preferred that he attend an innovative public charter school. I also think it is troubling that our DOE would miss out on applying for federal funds for our schools because of the educational leadership’s continuing resistance to charter schools.
