The former superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools had some strong words on Monday for charter advocates: Put children鈥檚 education first, even if doing so is detrimental to charters themselves.
Howard Fuller, now the founder and director of Marquette University鈥檚 Institute for the Transformation of Learning, focused his remarks on charter accountability. Fuller was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Network of Charter Schools鈥� annual statewide conference, which kicked off on Monday.
鈥淲e said we wanted freedom in exchange for accountability,鈥� said Fuller, speaking about the beginnings of the charter movement. 鈥淭he freedom we seek is a means, not an end.鈥�
Fuller was superintendent in Milwaukee during the early 1990s and is a champion of school choice. He supported Milwaukee鈥檚 school voucher program, which has had virtually no impact on the achievement of participating students. Fuller has called for tougher accountability of the voucher program.
At Monday鈥檚 conference, Fuller had some tough words for charter operators with under-performing schools: A desire to help children learn isn鈥檛 enough. Operators should have mastered the difficult task of running a productive school, he said, and failure to do so constitutes a failure of the charter mission to educate children.
Fuller also expressed disapproval of the selective admissions practices of many charters. Charter critics say such policies allow charters to merely siphon off the top students from other schools while ignoring lower-performing students who would drag down test scores.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a charter school, you should take the kids you get,鈥� Fuller said. 鈥淥ur movement is about social justice. It鈥檚 about providing a quality education to all kids.鈥�
In Chicago, charter school students are admitted via random lottery, although some critics contend that lotteries nevertheless result in some selectivity since students with more knowledgeable, savvy parents are the bulk of those who apply. Also in Chicago, 13 charter schools have attendance boundaries鈥攖he result of pressure from grassroots groups and aldermen who didn鈥檛 want to support new schools in their communities without gaining attendance preference for neighborhood students.
Despite the tough tone, Fuller earned a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Audience members responded positively to his words.
鈥淚 thought it was great, especially with this being the first annual address,鈥� said Amanda Koenigsknecht, the director of development at Galapagos Charter in Rockford and on the West Side. 鈥淭he key takeaway point is to always remember it鈥檚 about the children.鈥�
According to INCS, there are 117 charter campuses in Illinois, most of which are in Chicago. INCS organized the conference in hopes of bringing a greater sense of unity to charter schools.
鈥淔or far too long, public charter schools in Illinois have been viewed as disparate clusters found in 11 of Illinois鈥� more than 800 school districts,鈥� said INCS President Andrew Broy in a statement. 鈥淧ublic charter schools are not just a phenomenon found in Chicago or Rockford. They are a new way of thinking about education reform, and it鈥檚 time for the schools to display the same kind of unity our base of advocates and reformers have shown in the past.鈥�
