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ACTS is a community of charter school employees organized by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The alliance works to mobilize charter school employees around issues of common concern, such as strengthening our profession, expanding professional development, improving the conditions of teaching and learning, and bolstering our voice in school-level decision making. As a community of educators, we also share best practices and professional resources and speak out on public policy issues that affect public education. Read More > |
ACTS Headlines
Charter schools had to replace an average of more than half of their
teachers between 2008 and 2010, a turnover rate on par with some of the
most troubled district-run schools.
Experts say that high teacher turnover is associated with a school in
turmoil and that instability often hampers student performance.
Of the 10 charter schools with the highest turnover, only one—LEARN
Charter—had the majority of its students score at or above the state
average on the ISAT.
Chicago’s charter teacher turnover—from an analysis of charter employee
lists obtained by Catalyst Chicago—mirrors a nationwide trend.
California has been a hospitable state for charter schools, approving hundreds of them on the understanding that they would provide better educational options for students who were otherwise stuck in abysmal, unsafe schools, and that they would model innovative ideas for the public school system. And in many cases, that's precisely the way it has worked.
But there are steep variations in the quality of these schools, which are publicly funded but free from many state regulations. As a Stanford University study found last year, some do a better job than the public schools their students would have attended, some do worse, and a large number do about the same. The school districts that approve the charters often ignore mediocre performance when the time comes for reauthorization.
Chicago Math and Science Academy Also Challenges Teachers’ Union Rights
The Chicago Math and Science Academy (CMSA), a public charter school, fired a highly regarded pregnant teacher who helped organize a union at the school in June. The firing occurred as the school also challenged its teachers’ right to form a union.
The teacher, Rhonda Hartwell, was eight months pregnant at the time of her firing and was forced to move up her scheduled delivery to ensure it occurred before her health insurance was cut off.
“It’s one thing for the school to fight the union’s legitimacy, but it’s quite another to retaliate against a union organizer who has been rewarded with performance bonuses and was pregnant. This is about as low as an anti-union administration can go,” said Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice.
Civil rights leaders are criticizing Obama administration education reforms aimed at turning around low performing schools and closing the achievement gap for minority students.
Eight civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, contend in a document released Monday the Education Department is promoting ineffective approaches for failing schools. They also claim the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition -- a program with a goal of spurring innovative reform in states -- leaves out many minority students.
