________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT October 15, 2001 Vol. 1, No. 30 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: MAILTO:LSternberg@aol.com STATE NEWS... SOME CHARTER COMMITTEE MEMBERS FEAR COMPETITION Today, the state's charter school study committee met for the second time, and on the agenda were a slate of speakers addressing various aspects of charter school legislation and management. But one theme seemed to bother some members of the committee during the morning session - and that was the possibility that charter schools could introduce an element of competition into the education marketplace. First on the agenda were three speakers coordinated by Vermonters for Better Education (the sponsor of this newsletter): Art Woolf, an economist with Northern Economic Consulting, Inc. and former economic adviser to Governor Kunin; Jeanne Allen, president of the pro-charter-school Center for Education Reform; and Lyle Skillen, charter school liaison for the Arizona Department of Education. BENEFITS OF THE MARKETPLACE Art Woolf began by explaining the research of Harvard economist Caroline Minter Hoxby who has studied the impact of choice on public and private schools. Economists, he reported, have some great tools for measuring how large systems and institutions perform and what changes them. Hoxby has used these tools to look at regions where there are many choices - either regions with many public schools or private school options. The results show that where parents have more choice, students have better scores on standardized tests, parents are more satisfied with their schools, schools respond to what parents want, and students do better after leaving schools. In addition, he said, "productivity at schools improves." That translates into better quality for lower costs. Woolf then went on to talk about some research he and his UVM colleagues are conducting on the tuition town system in Vermont and whether parents and taxpayers find it beneficial. His research, which will be published soon, finds that "houses in towns that can exercise choice are usually around $6,000 more in value" than houses in other towns. After a question from Sen. Dick McCormack (D-Windsor) about other factors that could affect home values, Woolf explained that his research used a technique called "multiple regression" to get at the impact of the one factor they were exploring. Despite his presentation of peer-reviewed research, committee member Tricia Kent, a school board member from Quechee, said she was "concerned about taking resources away from public schools." THE MOST STUDIED REFORM Next up was Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform (CER), testifying by speakerphone. Allen pointed out that of all the recent school reforms, charter schools are probably the "most studied" in the bunch. The overwhelming majority of research done on charter schools is not done by advocates, she says, but by opponents or objective institutes which study education in general. A compilation of studies put together by CER finds that charter schools are usually smaller than public schools, are educating under-served populations, and are accountable. She went on to explain that strong charter school laws allow for more than one "authorizer" of charter schools. Michigan, she pointed out, is one of three states that allows public universities to authorize charter schools. She also said that strong charter laws allow these schools to have a "blanket waiver" from all state education regulations except those related to health, discrimination, and safety. Like Woolf, she spoke of the benefits of competition on public schools. To ensure these marketplace pressures are in place, it is essential not to craft "hold harmless" laws that allow public systems to keep the same amount of money regardless whether they lose students to charter schools. Not one state today has a "hold harmless" charter law, she says, because of beneficial effects of competition. She also pointed out that laws that allow for too few charter schools to be started are weak and result in few applicants. ALL SCHOOLS BECOME MORE RESPONSIVE TO PARENTS After Allen testified, Lyle Skillen, the charter school liaison to the Arizona Department of Education, spoke by speakerphone as well. Skillen began by telling the committee that Arizona, with one of the strongest charter school laws in the country, has 20 percent of the nation's charter schools with nearly 300 schools now in the state. "Approximately 7 percent of our school population are in charter schools as of this school year," he said. Like both Allen and Woolf, Skillen talked about how charter schools have had a positive impact on traditional public schools. "They have made traditional schools more responsive to parents," he said. He said that charter schools in rural areas have been a boon to a population that often feels "disenfranchised" because they have "no other place to go" when choosing a school if the public school is the only one around. Committee member Tim Mueller asked if traditional schools reacted negatively to the introduction of charter schools into a community. Skillen said "yes," that has occurred, but after an initial negative response, there has been cooperation and even, in some cases, a sharing of resources. Skillen addressed head-on the argument that charter schools siphon money away from traditional public schools. "In Arizona," he said, "we believe that no organization, no building has a right to that money." It's the students who have the right to it, he said. Sen. McCormack asked if charter schools in Arizona tend to be built more around a special interest or because of dissatisfaction with public schools. Skillen said that "for whatever reason, there was dissatisfaction with the traditional system" and that led to the charter school movement taking hold. McCormack was troubled by this, saying he'd rather see resources spent on improving public schools. But Skillen pointed out that bureaucracies are slow to change. Two public forums are also on the committee's schedule, at which public comment is invited. These will both take place on the following date: Monday, October 29, 7 to 9 p.m. Montpelier - Room 10, Statehouse Springfield - Riverside Middle School  JOHN MCCLAUGHRY TO DEBATE WILLIAM MATHIS ON VPR [ NOTE: Did you miss this? Listen to recent Switchboard programs on-line at: http://www.vpr.net/vt_news/switchboard.shtml ] Ethan Allen Institute President John McClaughry will debate Addison Northeast Supervisory Union Superintendent William Mathis on the VPR program "Switchboard" on Tuesday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. The topic will be parental choice in education, and callers are welcomed. The phone number is 1-800-639-2211. OTHER EVENTS: Ethan Allen Institute President John McClaughry will speak on Schoolchildren First, a voucher proposal for Vermont, at a luncheon in Stowe at noon on Thursday October 18, at the Town & Country restaurant. Price $15. Reserve tickets by calling 695-1448 or e-mailing eai@ethanallen.org. McClaughry will also speak to the Stowe Rotary that evening on the same topic, and to the St. Albans Rotary on October 30.  ELSEWHERE...  UVM SUMMIT ON "PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION" THIS WEEKEND For a look at the agenda for the "First Annual Vermont Progressive Educators and Activists Summit" at UVM this weekend, go to: http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/conferences/Oct.summit.html These are some of the questions facilitators will lead the groups in answering: Should we create an active network of progressive educators and activists? How can we better link educators with activists? How can we break out of our standard thinking around what is possible within our schools? Where are the possible "open doors" that hold the key to linking our schools to our communities? What risks are progressive educators taking to educate students for active, democratic citizenship? Some problems that ought to be addressed at the summit are: (1) Whose definition of social justice will be promoted in the schools? (2) Will the kids learn the skills parents send them to school to learn?  *    *    * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact LSternberg@aol.com for more information.