TOURNAMENT R1:Dr.Franklin VS Lemming

Public charter high schools can expand such opportunities. These schools of choice are ideal candidates for innovative career education models, particularly those that cultivate relationships with employers and industries and that aim to align student skills with employer needs. The flexibility afforded charters—in staffing, selection of curricula, structuring the school day, and other organizational features—can be leveraged to support strong, evidence-based models. Many charters, for example, can hire teachers from industry without the constraints of certification requirements and can offer more hours in internships or apprenticeships because they are not bound by seat-time rules.[3]

"These next generation learning models give us a window into how modern schools can provide a high-quality education for students," said National Alliance President and CEO Nina Rees. "Public charter schools are paving the way on innovative models that will better prepare our students for college and life. We urge policymakers across the country to heed our recommendations to expand these models into more schools.[9]

They ask to be funded by the public, but insist on being held to task for their behavior,

They claim their results trump all, but what are their results but smoke and mirrors, a false dichotomy

But let public funds stay where they belong.

In the hands of schools with an 'honest quality of education,

In the hands of schools that can be called to account for their methods.

It's widely recognized that problem causing students can be kicked to the curb, after being selected and exhibiting a few problem behaviors.

By this method charter schools skim the cream of the crop,

And use their lottery method as a subterfuge to claim to have the exact same student makeup as public schools.

So too I say, that the amount of flexibility/variability in charter schools is not to their favor.

Without a core of strength that does not bend like a piece of taffy, how is one supposed to have faith in the 'reliability of a school.

It is for such a reason public schools are to be acclaimed, praised for the amount of oversight one takes in their final results 'and methods.

The lack of consistency in charter schools is a clear reason for disdain against them, for mockery of their attempts to claim better performance.

Charter schools claim more innovation is needed, in a system that has never needed more innovation than what society and the public has given it.

All that's needed of schools is that they innovate with the times,

And this is seen clear enough by how schools 'already change from the past to the present.

Public schools can innovate well enough to time and circumstance,

What public education 'needs is public schools, held accountable to their results 'and methods.

Unless forced to by the state, elected school boards rarely close or replace failing schools – because it’s political suicide. Teachers unions often initiate district-wide protests over school closings, and parents and community members often join in. Because turnout in school board elections is often under 15 percent, their votes may determine the winners. For a school board member, closing or replacing a failing school often means losing the next election – even if it benefits children.[1]

Expulsions

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/d-c-charter-schools-expel-more-students-than-other-public-schools

There's no 'need for gimmicky courses or to expand the curriculum into the unusual.

Paths less taken are for people with time on their hands.

And trades are to be learned in practice, trade schools, community colleges, and colleges

Except for traditional colleges, the other options are all affordable.

The performance claimed by Charter Schools, I say again, smoke and mirrors.

"Charter schools nationally serve far fewer students with disabilities—0% to 7%—and these are children with milder disabilities. The 2011 national average for public schools was 13%. The disabled students who do enroll in charter schools tend to have disabilities that are less severe and less costly to remediate than those of students in district schools.4 A study in New York found English language learners (ELLs) are consistently underrepresented in charter schools.5

A national analysis of charter schools operated by education management companies found only 4.4% of the students in these schools were classified as ELL.5

One of the most acclaimed charter school chains, KIPP, gets some of its great results from substantially higher levels of attrition than do their local school districts. A national study found 40% of the African American male students leave KIPP schools between grades 6 and 8. Overall a higher proportion of African American students than other ethnic groups leave the KIPP schools, and girls  are much more likely to remain in the KIPP schools across all ethnic groups.6"

https://networkforpubliceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Do-charter-schools-get-better-academic-results-than-public-schools%C6%92.pdf

Simply because Charter Schools drain the bottom, rather than skimming the top, doesn't change the result. It's another attempt at obfuscation, to claim the makeup of the students in a public school and a charter school are the same.

Professional sports teams with the most money have the advantage of buying the better players.

And charter schools with their sneaky and underhanded ways, have an advantage of claiming the better students.

Creating the illusion that charter schools better preform.

"The degree to which their schools are performing varies widely. In fact, a 61 percentage-point difference exists between the best- and the worst-performing charter schools in reading, and 52 percentage points in math."

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/charter-schools-show-inconsistent-results/article_257a26a9-a103-5183-97cc-067ec0fde828.html

Consistency is what is needed for the education of the masses. Fairness and equality of a reasonable degree of excellence.

Let the outlandish and gamblers pay their own way, not drag society down.

My opponent says

"Students who perform well in worse school districts have an opportunity to apply to a charter school.This seems obvious on the surface and deep research confirms this from educationnext where:"

What is this, if not skimming the cream of the crop?

What is this but proof of the false comparison in performance between public and charter schools?

If someone is preforming poorly in a public school, why not simply transfer to another public school?

My opponent says

"Increased instructional spending in traditional schools too"

One hardly needs a charter school for that.

When minimum wage is raised for one profession, it affects the minimum wage of other professions.

Doesn't mean that more professions are needed, it's just an inane observation on economics.

My opponent says innovation,

As if all public schools act in the 'exact same fashion, or fail to innovate with the times or people's askance.

Only difference is charter schools want free reign to do whatever they want in a shroud of darkness, and use a shield of smoke and mirrors to justify their unregulated methods.

Transparency and public schools 'I say.

That Pro speaks of accountability in the charter school end result of grades, but as I've said elsewhere, charter schools end grade results are a skewed picture, a false image, which makes the lack of accountability in means, even worse.

It's bad enough to act badly for a good result, it's worse to act badly to a bad result.

For without proof of charter schools supposed better ends than public schools, what was it all for?

"Unlike public schools, private profit charter schools are not subject to a public audit of their books."

"In May 2014, the Center for Popular Democracy and Integrity in Education issued a report called Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud And Abuse. This report concluded that fraudulent charter operators in 15 states were responsible for losing, misusing or wasting over $100 million in taxpayer money per year"

"In December, 2014, another report was published called When Charter Schools are Nonprofit in Name Only. This report described the common practice of charter schools pretending to be “non-profits” only to sweep all of the money out of the fake non-profit front group and into the pockets of private for profit “management” corporations."

https://weaponsofmassdeception.org/3-charter-school-kid-prisons/3-3-why-charter-schools-are-fraud-factories

There's also a chart on the link that shows a contrast in teacher pay, and the 'profit that charter schools make.

It's the 'same problem one get's when they allow private prisons and don't bother with significant transparency and oversight.

Here is where the confusion stems—although the EMOs that manage a small share of charter schools are for-profit entities, the schools they manage are not. All charter schools are public schools.Arizona and California are the only states to currently allow for-profit management organizations to hold a public charter school’s charter. In Arizona, fewer than 5 percent of the state’s charter schools are for-profit entities, and state statute has recently changed to incentivize school leaders to move to non-profit organizations. In California, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 406 into law in September 2018, which bans for-profit entities from holding charters and charter schools from contracting with for-profit entities for management services.

Whether or not a school is operated by a non-profit or for-profit entity has no bearing on outcomes. All charters schools are held to the standards set by their state. Charter schools exist to provide all children access to a high-quality public school option, and they are charged with adhering to the unique mission set out in their charter.[4]

This all in addition to how Charter Schools are able more easily than public schools to abandon and shun poor preforming or problem child students.

Admitting to the wrongdoing of method in which public schools are capable of acting, he then suggests a change in curriculum. But has he not been touting this entire debate the value in a lack of oversight in charter schools, so long as their 'so called results are met.

'I say, transparency and oversight are hallmarks of public schools, add such to charter schools and they are public schools in all but name.

DC Should Demand Performance from Public Schools, Not Paperwork

The fact is, DC’s charter sector has grown over the last two decades precisely because charter schools are not all the same, and they are different from traditional public schools assigned to families based on where they live. A charter school is an independently run public school granted greater flexibility in its operations in return for greater accountability for performance. Charter schools are open to all children, do not require entrance exams, cannot charge tuition, and must participate in state testing and federal accountability programs.

The “charter” establishing each school is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, students served, performance goals, and methods of assessment. What matters in charter schools is not the inputs but the outcomes — not their teachers’ names and how their salaries compare (as Allen’s legislation seeks to know for every school) but how well their students do. A volunteer board of trustees, which in DC includes parents and sometimes teachers and students, is responsible for upholding the school’s performance promises around academic achievement, financial management, and organizational stability. If a charter school does not meet performance goals, the DC Public Charter School Board can close it.[8]

There is no reason public schools cannot possess some variety in curriculum, in fact they already 'are different from one another to degrees. As anyone who has moved from one public school from another might tell you.

Teachers, principles, superintendents, all individuals, all different methods, different schools, cities, states.

'But, held to transparency, accountability, public view.

If you want private, there is private school.

I speak now again on consistency,

Sweeping changes cannot be advocated when every school uses a different screw and screwdriver. There is a reason for mass manufacturing in the modern age.

It's not bad to act as befitting an occasion, or the unusual.

But when everyone follows a different path, it becomes tangled and confused. Some excel, and others fall behind, but changes cannot be implemented properly, when all act in the shadows, without standards or plan.

No changes since the 1950s?

"Education has changed a lot in the past 60 years. While students in the 50s relied on slide rulers and reading accelerators to help them learn, kids today have access to laptops, calculators, tablets, and much more."

"Average teacher salary $4,000 in 1955 to $39,000 in 2011"

"Average days of school per year, 1950 155 days, 2011 280 days."

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education had 'just taken place, leading to desegregation of American public schools.

https://www.columnfivemedia.com/work-items/infographic-americas-schools-1950s-vs-today#:~:text=While%20students%20in%20the%2050s,%2C%20tablets%2C%20and%20much%20more.

And all that barely a scrape off the surface.

Of course public schools have changed and adapted to the times, and still will in the future.

How many industries that were around 100 years ago–and are still around today–are making their products almost the exact same way? Can you think of an industry that uses almost the identical methods of production they did 100 years ago, one that hasn’t undergone radical industrialization, innovation, or significant transformation?How about the American classroom? Our method of teaching hasn’t radically changed over the past century. It’s stuck, it’s dated, and it’s in need of radical transformation. While there are bright spots in the private school system, the public education system–where the vast majority of our children are being taught, guided, and motivated–is a dated, bloated, inefficient, bureaucratic dinosaur. It lost sight and understanding of its consumer a long, long time ago.

Education is in large part the foundation on which our culture[14]

On expulsion,

"Charter schools expelled approximately 72 students for every 10,000 in the schools. At the same time, other public schools in the city expelled one student for every 10,000."

"some educators are suggesting that charter schools are using the heavy arm of discipline to weed out challenging students. While charter schools have the ability to expel students fairly readily, public schools have no choice but to accept those students back into their classrooms."

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/d-c-charter-schools-expel-more-students-than-other-public-schools

"A recent Washington Post article examined charter school expulsions in the District of Columbia. DC Public Schools adopted a uniform discipline policy in 2009 that permits expulsion only for severe violations, such as bringing a gun or drugs to school or assaulting students or staff, but charter schools may set their own policies. Of the approximately 76,700 students enrolled in DC Public Schools in 2011, about 29,300 attended charter schools. Despite only enrolling 38% of DC students, charter schools expelled 676 students between 2009-2011, compared to 24 expulsions in public schools."

https://edreform.com/2013/09/are-expulsions-really-driving-charter-success/#:~:text=While%20some%20individual%20schools%20expelled,year%20without%20expelling%20any%20students.

Which brings my argument back again to consistency, without regulation to their methods, charter school possess great ability to harm their students and their futures.

And if you make the method of charter schools public, what are they but public schools?