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New Covenant lessons
Editorial
What lessons can be drawn from the demise of New Covenant Charter School, which only seven years ago was hailed as a model of choice for parents and competition for the city's public schools? Quite a few, it turns out.
One, clearly, is that New Covenant was rushed ahead without adequate planning. It was too large, and state officials allowed it to remain open too long.
On a broader scale, another lesson is that charter schools need to meet enrollment targets to remain open. New Covenant had been losing students in past years, largely because student achievement scores were not impressive and there were reports of discipline problems. But New Covenant also had to compete, ironically, with other charter schools that have opened during the last seven years. And New Covenant has had its share of staff turnover and turmoil.
The most important lesson, arguably, is that the city's traditional public schools must continue to act as a safety net to accommodate charter school students who are displaced, even though the district loses per pupil state aid whenever a student enrolls in a charter school. As of Tuesday, when the closing was announced, New Covenant had 429 students enrolled for the next school year. While some of them may find seats at other charter schools, many will likely look to the public schools for their education. And that will be a reminder of just how costly and disruptive the charter school experiment has been in Albany. From the start, district school officials have had to factor into their budgeting and long-range planning the possibility of an enrollment surge caused by charter school closings.
Charter school advocates see things differently, of course. In their eyes, New Covenant's demise is an example of the consumer marketplace at work. Parents lost faith in New Covenant and enrolled their children elsewhere, and that is how competition works in the real world.
But education isn't a business, and it's not a competition -- at least not one that is played on a level playing field. Unlike charter schools, which can close up when the going gets rough, district schools must remain open to fulfill their obligation to provide a sound, basic education for all eligible students, including those whose charter school may have just closed. That's the hardest lesson of the charter school experiment in Albany. And a very costly one.
— Editorial
Albany Times-Union
2007-05-24
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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