Goldy's mom writes to the Philadephia Inquirer:
Who benefits from charter schools?
My friend, a dedicated, enthusiastic, and highly regarded Guidance Counselor for 15 years in the Philadelphia School District, has decided to look for a new job. Her school, which she loves, is becoming a charter school. Why in the midst of revelations of mismanagement and fraud is the city establishing at least nine more charter schools and displacing up to 200 teachers, and why does my friend want no part of it? Charter school staff earn less than comparable staff in public schools, they have no pension (what a savings for the city and state!), and no union representation. Could these be the real reasons that the government is pushing charter schools? Yes, charter schools have the ability to exclude troublesome students and to insist on parental participation. If traditional public schools could exclude students and mandate parent involvement then they too might see improved standardized test scores as some charter schools report.
As we funnel money away from traditional public schools to charter schools, we leave our most vulnerable students behind, and see quality teachers fleeing. I ask, who is really benefitting?
Sylvia Goldstein Salvat
Merion, Pa*
*For those who do not know Merion is a very affluent suburb of Philadelphia. The suburb is best known for its fight to prevent the moving of the the incredible Barnes' Art Collection from its cloistered home, four miles from downtown, to a more public location. The argument was over Dr. Barnes' will that restricted access to students at the Barnes Foundation or a small number of visitors each week. The neighbors did not want all the traffic that a public museum meant but did want to keep this treasure in Merion.
Are charter schools a problem for teachers as workers? Yes! Unions are important. But, that does not mean our current Unions are good for the kids. The model of the teacher's unions is a trade union, a monopoly. These unions do poorly in organizing the fragmented world of private schools too. But, the right to organize still exists. The only difference is that unions can not impose work rules or curriculum on a District wide basis.
In the system Goldy's Mom eschews, those who want choice and can afford it exercise THEIR choice by taking their kids to private school, moving to a different district controlled by like-minded people, or by using their money and talents to tae over the Seattle District.
The children of the less affluent,less educated, less political parents get left behind because the drive, the money, the sheer power of parents moves their kids out of the public schools, leaving a system that more and more resembles a charity.
Goldy himself is evidence of this. His Mom was a teacher but his family did not live in the District where she taught. Goldy's daughter? She attends school on Mercer island!
Noblesse oblige?
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