Kudos to the Board and the Advisory committee for finally showing some backbone. This process also should highlight the vultures that have been set upon mostly urban education system. When does NO mean NO.
All of these proposals had flaws that , I feel, would have been overlooked during the genesis of this reform method. Now we are left with groups that may be well intentioned but also seek access to the funding stream this provides. The tongue-lashing the CEO gave to Harlem Park was well deserved and well timed. This thing has got to slow down. Expansion by growth, Yes. Expansion by addition NO.
It seems that Baltimore the only district that helps applicants align their proposals to its standards. One would think that this movement should be mature enough to do this on its own. It's like the sheep helping the wolves figure out how to get into the barn.

I am pleased to hear that Dr. Alonso and the school board are raising their standards for charter school applicants in the city. I agree with Alonso's vision of developing "great schools" and, while I do believe that new charter school applicants have positive intentions, will they truly live up to this vision of being "great schools?" Too often in Baltimore City, charter schools begin with passion and great intentions for our children, but with time it is evident that they are missing key components that make them quality and effective schools. Some of the reasons stated by the board for rejecting the recent applicants I support 100%. One that stood out for me the most was the fact that some of these organizations failed to "garner enough community support for their schools." Public schools that are failing in the city often lack this element of community support. These recent decisions by Dr. Alonso and the statements of the board members show positive initiative to raise the standards in Baltimore City. I am all for the development of quality schools in the city, charter or public, but too often these charter schools are granted approval based on the passion that they bring and the promises that they pitch. There are many charter schools in the city that still have yet to show any more results than the public schools they are replacing.

I disagree that helping applicants align to standards is a bad idea. The process that applies to classroom instruction applies just about everywhere else: define success, help the learners meet it, and assess whether it worked. I'm not saying the applications were good or bad; no idea there. But as long as we don't waste resources on it, we should help the best possible schools be created.

In your analogy, OTT, the public charter applicants are wolves. Is that really what you think of them all?

Summary:

Six charter applicants were looking to open schools in Baltimore City for the year 2012 and 2013 but were denied by the board. Andres Alonso, Baltimore City Schools CEO, decided that the charter school plans were “insufficient or failed to present a compelling reason to obtain charter status”. Alonso desires stronger charter applications so the schools will increase in status and more charters can be approved. Neil Duke, the city school board president, praised the applicants for trying and the dedication the applicants put forth. Duke also let it be known that it is a long and tedious process the board must go through with the charter applications. Alonso and the board gave criticism to the applicants. Although the applicants were denied, they were determined not to give up and use the criticism to improve their application for the up coming year.

Relation to class:

This article is about urban education. The city is looking for new charter schools but will not settle until the applications are perfect and set up successfully. This is related to our urban education class because it is taking place at the heart of urban education, Baltimore City.

Relation to urban schools:

Alonso and the board are raising their standards for new charter schools. This relates to urban schools because the charter application is for Baltimore City Schools, which are urban. The board is carefully selecting what applications they approve. Alonso is taking a closer look at each application and confirming that the schools approved will be “great schools”.

Reason for selection:

While I was browsing through articles to choose from, I stumbled across this article. I scanned the first paragraph to see if I was interested and recognized the name Andres Alonso. We talked about him in class one day so I was interested to read an article that shared his opinion on charter schools. From reading this article, I realized I am interested in Alonso’s upcoming plans for Baltimore City.

@ Campbell - No. I think some have a very good chance of being sucessful and will be great options for families. I just feel that the shrinking pie is being cut into too many smaller and smaller pieces. The CEO has already stated that he has a concern about the number of small schools and how the system may not be able to support them.

Towson University EDUC 202
Summary: This article is about the existence of charter schools in urban locations- specifically Baltimore. There are currently thirty three charter schools in Baltimore city, and at the most recent board meeting six applications were denied for the opening of new charter schools in 2012 and 2013. The reasoning behind the denied applications is the failure to prove the “compelling reason” for new charter schools. The city’s CEO believes that charter schools are important and move educational reform, but the schools they choose to operate in the city have to be “stronger” and include important keys to running a “quality school.” On the other hand, the people trying to create the new charter schools are not discouraged and enjoy the criticism. They want to build schools that haven’t been “done in Baltimore.”

Relation to class:
We’ve talked a lot about charter schools in class, but more specifically during the bibliography presentations. From Diane Ravitch, who is completely against charter schools, to John Dewey who set the standard for such schools the class discusses the pros and cons of charter schools especially in the urban setting.

Relation to urban schools:
This article is about the building of charter schools specifically in Baltimore City – an urban school area. It talks about the school boards attempts to reform the education in Baltimore city, and how charter schools in the city are the movement of such reforms. This stands true for an urban area. Although, I don’t necessarily agree with every aspect of charter schools I believe that the education taught is more rigorous and provides more intellectual opportunities for students who attend public schools in Baltimore and aren’t being pushed to their full potential.

Reason for selection:
I chose this article because I’m extremely interested in the effectiveness of charter schools. I was interested in the reasons as to why Baltimore city denied the charter school applications. I thought it was good that the CEO set a precedent for the education reform, and made sure the building of charter schools- or any school- met his standards.

@ VH - This is not about "urban" education any more. It is about public education. The charter reform method is not confined to urban areas just urban districts have been more receptive because of the lack of resources for alternate methods. The federal government only allows four pathways for school reform and charter school creation has been given the most press. One of the things you will see as you read more is that suburban districts have been better at fending off charter schools because they are typically associated with failing systems. Therefore, in more affluent districts, charter is synonymous with trouble and informed parent do not send their children to troubled schools. Also there have been attempts in more affluent areas to open charter "bouquet" school that have very limited audiences and that is one of the concerns of any school board is that the process is corrupted by those who only have their self interest at heart( read Baltimore Fashion School) .

@ Amanda - did you read the entire book or just snippets? Ravitch is not completely against charters more so that they are being used as an excuse to overlook the affects that poverty has on a student. You should also look at how many schools have been closed and the affect that has or has not had on student performance. Charters are just a small piece of the puzzle and undeserving of the focus of so many politicians and business leaders. Not too far from Towson's campus is BIT, a charter school opened in the closed because of declining enrollment, Chinquapin Middle School. BIT first move was to un-enroll nearly the entire population of the former school and only relented after several community protest. The process replaced a 400 student struggling middle school with a 300 student struggling charter school in a building that was built for over 1000 students. Also visit the now closed Winston Middle school which was a few block from Chinquapin. Rather than merge the two schools and attempt to create a larger stronger community based school, they closed both and gave the community two charter schools. Now the students that either did not get into or did want to go to either of these open enrollment schools, now have to catch at least two MTA (open to all) buses to school every morning. This is the draw back on Charters and Choice that is just starting to be discussed. Great for the Volvo parents not so much for others?