Three new charters, same old problem

With continued pressure on the District from Harrisburg to convert more public schools into charters (and the PSD dependent on support from Harrisburg for its under resourced schools), we’ll continue to see charters presented as a solution for the City’s lowest performing schools. But it’s hard to imagine any school, public or charter, succeeding as long as one simple fact remains: Per student funding is far below what is desperately needed and has been for quite some time.

You might see PSD as managing a fleet of boats, scrambling to keep each vessel on course as they navigate treacherous waters. But it’s more apt to recognize the District as the Titanic listing after slamming into a behemoth iceberg, called underfunding.

Philadelphia has HALF the per student funding that Lower Merion, one of the state’s top districts, has to spend. Until that gaping hole is addressed, we’ll continue to shuffle deck chairs as if when properly aligned on deck they’ll somehow provide lift.

On Thursday night, the SRC gave Cooke Elementary, Huey and John Wister Elementaries to private companies. The hope, of course, is that companies like Great Oaks Foundation slated to take over Huey, will turn those schools around and do right by the students and their communities.

There is a chance these new charters will join the majority of current Philadelphia charters and perform worse than our public schools. For instance, In 2002, Victory Education Partners, who’s then managing director now leads Great Oaks Foundation, were given six schools to run and more funding per student to turn them around. Despite that costly advantage, public schools outperformed them and the SRC cut the district’s losses and ended those contracts with Victory.

Regardless, opening more charters comes a the expense of students attending public schools. One way to avoid that consequence is close poorly performing charters currently in operation before more charters are considered.

“To ensure that no student is injured by the loss of school resources due to charter expansion, and thus to be in compliance with the duties given the Commission under state law, it must reject the applicants.” The Legal, Fiscal and Oversight Challenges of Granting New Charters in Philadelphia, a 2015 PCCY report.