Yesterday the Gates-led ?District-Charter Collaboration Compact? initiative that Terry cited as an example for the Buckeye State was officially announced (see press release). School, school board, union, and city leaders in nine cities signed on, signaling their commitment to assist traditional district schools and charters in sharing best practices as well as to seek equity, a ?shared approach to school enrollment? and much more.
No Ohio cities are part of the pact; the nearest Midwestern partners hail from Minneapolis and Nashville.
This collaboration across the traditional public school and charter sectors (and among unions and city leaders) is worth praise for several reasons.? First, when these commitments are juxtaposed with Ohio's current lack of charter-district collaboration (which we've chronicled here, here, here, and here) it is ? or should be ? a wakeup call for Ohio leaders and those responsible for upholding the staunchly bifurcated approach to schooling children, especially in urban areas. Refusing charter schools facilities or adequate transportation, and continuing to lambaste them with dated references about how they ?drain public money? or force districts to ?compete? for students is just plain inexcusable. And it's not a ?union thing,? or what public districts ought to or should be expected to do in order to preserve their territory. Leaders in these nine cities are proof that people on all sides of the fence realize that such behavior is counterproductive and harmful to students.
Second, groups in the District-Charter Collaboration Compact are not only addressing ?contentious and persistent tensions between districts and charter schools? and helping ?leverage each others' strengths? ? they're taking it a step further.? According to Gates' press release, districts will:
Commit to replicating high-performing models of traditional and charter public schools while improving or closing down schools that are not serving students well.
This performance-based approach to opening and closing schools illustrates that the Compact isn't just a sentimental, well-intentioned idea to ?get along? but rather is rooted in real measures of student achievement (much like portfolio management in various cities).
Third, collaboration between districts and charters makes good sense in a climate of fierce competition for public dollars. Sharing best practices (including smart-spending recommendations) benefits all schools in a city, and ultimately its students. Some of Ohio's hardest-hit districts (Dayton, Youngstown) should consider ways that such collaboration could help their bottom line.
Gates also reports that a second cohort of cities will be announced in April 2011. (And Compact-participating cities will be eligible to compete for multi-million dollar grants.) Cleveland is perhaps furthest along in the state when it comes to district-charter cooperation, as the district is partnering with top-performing charters, leasing facilities at a reasonable cost, etc. For the sake of kids in the Buckeye State ? especially those in low-performing urban schools, let's hope Ohio districts have what it takes to get on board.
- Jamie Davies O'Leary
