This letter is a response to Superintendent Kelvin Adams’ Initiatives that were reported to the SAB on January 22. I write as a professor of education, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the elected school board of St. Louis Public Schools.
There are several very strong proposals in the initiative. I applaud the intended emphasis on Early Childhood Education programs, programs for teen parents and African-centered programs in the district.
However, I am opposed to the initiatives that are not evidence-based including: district-sponsored charter schools, open enrollment and school closures based on academic performance..
The evidence base clearly demonstrates charter schools continue to consistently underperform academically. Charter schools hire fewer certified teachers. There is a lack of transparency and accountability in reporting attendance or finances, which results in wasted resources. Further, they often selectively enroll higher-performing students, fail to offer appropriate special education services, and can return students to the traditional public school system at any time.
It simply does not make sense to sponsor charter schools at the same time the district is closing schools. Is this not a recipe for draining much-needed resources from existing schools?
The elected school board has taken the position that a moratorium be placed on the opening of new charter schools in the city of St. Louis until the district’s enrollment and related teacher-staff/student ratio stabilizes and the district commits to not close any additional schools (see www.slpsboe.org/).
The superintendent has also proposed what he refers to as an “open enrollment” plan for 8th graders in the district. This would allow 8th graders to choose the high school they want to attend. This is a recipe for further starving the most under-served schools of much-needed resources. Fewer dollars will flow into some schools, leading them toward closure. Many parents do not have the cultural, social and economic capital to shop for a school for their child. We have a collective responsibility to provide free and equitable public education for all.
The superintendent’s proposal also includes more school closures based on academic performance and enrollment. This kind of initiative has been roundly criticized in the educational community because of its overreliance on test scores and punitive sanctions on schools that need the most resources. Rather than offer immediate support to struggling schools, funding is withheld and threats of school closure force teachers and principals into teaching to the test, ultimately watering down the curriculum.
Closing schools hurts youth academically. Research into school closings in other urban areas indicates that the transfer of students into unfamiliar neighborhoods, coupled with the stress experienced by transferred students, contributed to increased discipline problems and violence. Closing schools will adversely impact neighborhoods that are already impacted by declining populations.
In this era of accountability, resource-starved school districts are pressured into making drastic reforms. However, there is limited research to support these proposals. I would urge the superintendent to focus, instead, on solutions that are evidence-based. Further, the superintendent might look to healthy urban school districts such as Atlanta Public Schools for solutions. Many of these solutions may be embedded within the existing public school structure, such as: provide professional development, schedule small class sizes, stop ability grouping and tracking in classrooms, end disciplinary policies that mitigate educational opportunities and end the disproportionate representation of African-American students in special education.
I urge people to hold the Special Administrative Board and superintendent accountable to evidence-based reforms and urge them to reject the charter school, open enrollment and school closing proposals.
During the vote on February 17, I ask the SAB to accept the proposals for early childhood education, programs for teen parents and African-centered programs that can be integrated into existing SLPS schools. I ask that they reject the proposals for district sponsored charter schools, open enrollment for 8th graders and additional school closings based on standardized test scores.
Rogers is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and president of the elected Board of Education of St. Louis Public Schools.
