The Cap Times is reporting that MG has been awarded a $175,000 implementation grant for the "Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century". This new charter school will replace the current MG Alternative School, a small charter school within the district that serves high school students who have struggled in the traditional high school environment. The grant will be used to enlarge, upgrade and improve the facilities as well as provide technology and support for improved curriculum.
I always urge people to attend the MGAS graduation ceremony at the end of each school year to get a good idea of the value of this program to the students it serves.
Charter school have gained much attention and resources in the last several years as district's and parent search for ways to improve outcomes. But this comprehensive study from Stanford indicates the need to proceed with caution. The report shows that on average charter school students do slightly worse than their traditional school counterparts, and there are a wide variety of factors that effect success. Charter schools do better for elementary than high school students for example, and gains depend on the nature of the charter itself. The first year in a charter school was correlated with a significant decline in academic growth, with improvements in later years. The report indicates that the charter school movement isn't going to provide a magic bullet for academic achievement, and significant consideration needs to go into the design and implementation of charter schools.
The MG21 charter school isn't designed to replace a traditional school, but instead serve a particular segment of the student population who are not well served by the traditional school. It is the sort of arraignment that seems to me is most likely to be succesful.
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5 comments:
As a teacher a MG21, I beg to differ with a few of you opinions.
I agree that many charter schools have fallen short of their initial goals,certainly if success is measured by standardized test scores. Initially, charter schools were created to serve as quasi-laboratories to come up with ways to improve traditional systems of education, systems which, every election cycle, we hear are failing. There have been a lot of growing pains in the charter school movement and more then a few hits and misses.
MG21, however, is emerging as a unique animal among charter schools
and, indeed, may well become a viable alternative to the traditional education structure, such as is in place at MG High School. We offer a curriculum that can embrace any type of learner, be it the student in the top 10% or those in the bottom 10%. We blend the best in classroom curriculum (thematically integrated), with the benefits of Project Based Learning. We unite the two under the auspices of 21st Century Skills. Additionally, we will be able to objectively measure our students' progress during their educational journey in terms of acquiring 21st skills or meeting DPI academic standards. Few schools can make this claim.
Will our students do well on standardized tests? Perhaps. But most folks realize that such measures are only a small part of an educator's assessment arsenal, a problematic and biased assessment tool at that.
Will our students be exposed to a meaningful, challenging curriculum that will prepare them to walk the path in life they envision for themselves? Quite possibly.
Why would we not to give all the children at the secondary level in the district such an opportunity?
William McDonald
I agree! It is so sad that only a few kids have the opportunity to attend MG21. Too many kids fall through the cracks at MGHS. They may not be "failing," but they are ill served in the traditional setting. It is too bad that kids must be credit deficient or be truly failing in order to have this opportunity. I wonder how many kids would opt for MG21 if they had the chance. How many apps do we get a year? And do many kids not even bother to apply because they know they don't meet the criteria?
I have been the commencement ceremonies and they are moving, but wht really blows me away is how the kids are able to write a speech and stand and deliver. How many MGHS kids would be able to do that? And that's just a small piece of what they get at the alt school. Maybe MG21 should be the "traditional" school and MGHS shold be the alt school!
Peter,
What's happenign with the teacher's contract? Has it been settled or are we going to face a barrage of "work the contract" actions when school starts?
Bill - I don't think we disagree at all. MGAS, now MG21 IS unique (as you point out) and I think is excellent example of use of the best Charter process!
The contract has not been settled, and the teachers started "working to the contract" before the end of the school year.
The mediation/arbitration process can take considerable time, but it is moving forward.
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