Provo conference
focuses on charter school issues
Published:
Sunday, June 20, 2010 6:00 p.m. MDT
PROVO — About 200 Utah charter school
leaders gathered at the Provo Marriott Wednesday to swap ideas, take
training courses and learn at the feet of a man many consider the "father"
of the national charter school movement.
Howard Fuller, a distinguished
professor of education at Marquette
University in Wisconsin,
headlined the fourth annual Utah Charter School Conference. Other
highlights included workshops on topics such as battling cyber
bullying, fundraising and using social networks to boost community
connections. Tuacahn
High School for the
Performing Arts and Freedom Academy were named
"charter schools of the year."
In his address, Fuller described
charter schools, which are tax-funded but independently run, as the
epicenter of a "war" and encouraged advocates to "get
angry" and get things done.
"There are people out there that
want to crush this movement," he said. "They want to crush
it because they don't want things to be different."
Fuller cautioned, however, against
losing sight of the bigger picture.
Twenty years ago, in a room with about
35 other people, Fuller helped to pound out the original format for
the charter school. The educational revolution that followed gave
charter schools freedom from district rule in exchange for increased
accountability. Though a victory, Fuller said, autonomy was not the
goal.
"The freedom that we sought, it
is a means, not an end," he said. "Our real purpose for
being here is to educate kids. The fact that we are using charter
schools as a method is critical, but it is only a method. At the end
of the day, all that matters is, "Are we serving kids?"
If a charter school is failing, he
said, it should be shut down. Administrators should be careful to put
the needs of children before their own desire for power or money.
"We did not fight for this
freedom so individuals and companies could make money," he said.
"We did not fight for this freedom so people could hire all
their family members and friends, no matter what their competency level.
We did not fight for this freedom so good-hearted people could create
schools of privilege and deny the poor access."
The congregation gave Fuller a
standing ovation.
"That was phenomenal," said
Deena Pyle, director of communications for the Utah Association of
Public Charter Schools. "He really transcends the politics and
the rhetoric surrounding the charter school movement."
Freedom Academy News
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Zulma Castaneda, Spanish Teacher at Freedom is the 2007 Charter School
Teacher of the Year and nominated for Utah Teacher of the Year.
See the story here
Our lunch program is
making headlines. Read the Deseret News story here.
See our fantastic ratings
at Great Schools.net
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