Troubled charter schools face action by education chief

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Frustrated by low test scores, Missouri's education chief says he'll ask lawmakers for the power to pull state money away from troubled charter schools unless they start showing improvements.

Nearly all of the state's 21 operating charter schools -- 16 in Kansas City, five in St. Louis -- have foundered academically, and one of the schools has filed for bankruptcy. The oldest of the schools are starting their third year.

"It would seem to me that if we don't start seeing significant change next year, we'll have to start looking at whether they took the right road," said Kent King, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

If test results released next August show no improvement, King said he would consider asking the Legislature for the ability to yank funding from schools that still have dismal student performance after five years.

"At some point you have to show some improvement, and at this point that's not evident, generally," King said.

One compared favorably

Test scores from the Missouri Assessment Program released to the state school board in October show that of the 18 schools with scores available, only one compared favorably with the state average. That school, the K.C. Foreign Language Charter, had a smaller percentage of students than the state average scoring in the bottom two performance levels in the subjects of Communications Arts, Science and Social Studies.

Most schools, however, scored below the average of their school districts. The state board will hear a consultant's evaluation of the oldest schools at its Nov. 29 meeting.

Some schools with low first-year test scores managed to make big improvements the second year, though the majority of those scores remained below state averages. Roughly one-third of the schools saw an increase in the number of students scoring in the state's bottom two performance levels.

Scores are not available for all of the state's 21 schools because some haven't been open long enough to take the state tests. Other schools don't offer the grade levels that are tested.

Charter schools and their sponsors stress that many of the schools target students who are more likely to struggle academically, because they are learning English, move often, have children of their own or have been homeless.

Little power over charters

Under the state charter school law, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has little power over the publicly funded charter schools. Governance is left to the schools themselves, with oversight by universities that sponsor them.

The schools are freed of many rules and regulations, which advocates say encourages innovation. Some schools pick themes, such as foreign languages, while others offer more general curriculums or encourage stepped-up parental involvement.

Critics of the schools claim they drain money and students away from districts which struggle to maintain the schools they already control. In Kansas City, state money for charter schools is sent to the school district, which passes it on to the charters.

University sponsors will decide after five years whether to renew a school's charter and are able to revoke a charter at any time. Besides King's proposal to ask the Legislature for the ability to cut off funding, state officials also could encourage the sponsors to take action if performance doesn't improve.

"At some point, if schools are going to continue to get public money, they need to demonstrate improved student performance," King said. "I'm not against charter schools, but I believe they should be held to the same standards we hold public schools to."

Achievable goals

Doug Thomas, director of charter schools for Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, agreed that legislation improving financial oversight would help. The university sponsors 10 schools in Kansas City, including Banneker and the former Kansas City Career Academy.

"We won't have a third year of test scores until next fall, but yes, we hope there will be improvement. On the other hand, we hope the schools continue to recruit high-risk, low-performing kids. We see that as a benefit, not a problem.

"I don't see any of the schools we sponsor not being able to achieve what they set out to achieve," he said. "I think they all will be successful at improving test scores and serving high-risk kids in Kansas City."

Missouri law authorized charter schools in the struggling Kansas City and St. Louis school districts in 1998. The first schools opened in the 1999-2000 school year. This year, nearly 8,000 students are enrolled, with the schools getting roughly $5,000 for each student.

Charter sponsors said the schools are generally heading in the right direction after the bumpy start. State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau and Senate President Pro Tem, said last week that he would push legislation aiming to expand charter schools in both cities.