Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Bliss On Offense
John Bliss, founder and director of instruction at Urban Choice Charter School in Rochester, has an essay in today's Democrat and Chronicle responding to criticism that public schools like Urban Choice drain resources from traditional school districts. From the piece:
We have been treated very well by the district. They have been good partners and my anger is not directed at them. I am upset with people who claim we drain their system.
How can we drain resources when we are the ones educating students?Imagine a landlord with tenants who want to move. They have that right. After they leave, the building is not as full as it was before, still the landlord complains because the heating costs, custodial fees, lawn maintenance and electric costs for his building remain the same. What would we tell the landlord? Tough luck. School landlords would not lose tenants (students and their families) if they did a better job taking care of those customers in the first place.
We do not need a whole new process that changes the way funds are allocated between traditional public schools and charter schools.What we need is for people to understand that in America, organizations flourish or close depending on how the public accepts them. Schools that lose kids do not deserve subsidies; they deserve to be closed. That should be simple to understand.
We have been treated very well by the district. They have been good partners and my anger is not directed at them. I am upset with people who claim we drain their system.
How can we drain resources when we are the ones educating students?Imagine a landlord with tenants who want to move. They have that right. After they leave, the building is not as full as it was before, still the landlord complains because the heating costs, custodial fees, lawn maintenance and electric costs for his building remain the same. What would we tell the landlord? Tough luck. School landlords would not lose tenants (students and their families) if they did a better job taking care of those customers in the first place.
We do not need a whole new process that changes the way funds are allocated between traditional public schools and charter schools.What we need is for people to understand that in America, organizations flourish or close depending on how the public accepts them. Schools that lose kids do not deserve subsidies; they deserve to be closed. That should be simple to understand.
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