Providence’s Education Reforms Have Failed Over and Over Again - Hellman
Monday, March 22, 2021
I moved to Providence from a middle-class suburb of Philadelphia in southern NJ, Cherry Hill, known at the time for good schools. I was entering the eighth grade in 1972. I went to Nathan Bishop. To say that it was a culture shock to the system would not do it justice. I was told that Providence schools were going through a major reform to improve the quality of education. I think that, including the present emergency reform, I have heard of six different revampings of Providence and other failing schools.
News flash: It hasn't worked.
Of course, being a child of middle-class parents I had choices. I could have gone to Moses Brown, I was accepted. I was even accepted into ALP. But I believed in public education.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIf I had known how bad that year would be, how my very life was threatened, in hindsight I would have gone somewhere else. Today, thousands of students, having been denied any kind of effective education, have asked, they have begged for an alternative. That has been charter schools. It has been such a better alternative that thousands more want to go then there is room. People vote with their feet.
I fostered and adopted 22 children. Caucasian Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, all had one thing in common. They had all been given sub-standard educations from various schools. At any age, they all needed remediation. After all the multiple reform plans, they have all failed. This is insane. Literally, the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result.
These parents are desperate for an education for their children, and they want it now. Not in 3 or 5 years when it is too late for their children. They do not have the time to wait while teachers are mentored for 5 years for hope of at best a middling improvement. These parents want exactly what the wealthy, and middle class have: Freedom. Choice. Of where to send their children to school. If I had grandchildren today, as by years I could have, they would go to schools that are no better, perhaps worse than I did before 50 years of reform.
I am offended by calling this a matter of race, Black, Brown, and White if you will. That is mistaken. This is a matter of the haves and have nots of all colors. All parents want what is best for their children, or at least should. The foster kids I took in, some are in their 4th generation of poverty and poor schools, an endless cycle which is cruel to children and burdensome to society as they end up incarcerated or on welfare. Charter schools offer the best chance for children to break the cycle.
But I am most offended by the talk of taking money away from public school districts, that they have fixed expenses of which the first are foremost listed are the teachers. Teachers are not fixed expenses. when the total number of students decreases naturally, teachers are moved or even cut. But they need a contract that allows underperforming teachers to be let go. Until that happens you can reform all you like but it won't change anything. And in 50 years someone will write a similar letter as this one. I just won't be here to read it.
If you want to get rid of charter schools the answer is simple. Fix the public schools, make the very hard decisions. Nobody leaves a good school. They leave failing schools.
These children would be free now! They want education NOW! Three years to a student is an eternity. Three years is too late. Yesterday was too late!
But most offensive is this notion that the money is being taken away from the districts when a student goes to a public charter school. The money does not belong to the districts, as much as they might think it does It is the people who own the money. The money follows the student because it is intended for the best interest of the student. Not the best interest of staff or administrators. Employees do not have a proprietary interest in the money. The money is there to serve the children of their state first and foremost, and given the performance of many public schools, children are best served by charter schools.
Now teacher unions benefit from the status quo. School committees benefit from the status quo. Both have lobbies. Both give donations to politicians. What you, as State Representatives, must ask is: Who do you work for? Donations? Union donations? Or the children and parents of this state?
I ask you to look inside yourselves and ask who do you work for? And if you put a moratorium on charter schools will it all be the same in 50 years? Don't turn your backs on children and their parents.
Joel Hellmann has been active in schools for over 25 years. He has one biological child and 4 adopted children, with various special needs. He fostered 17 others and his children have had over 200 teachers. He is a product of Providence public schools.
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