Charter Schools v. Traditional Schools

In a special two-part report, NewsChannel 7 is examining how charter schools differ from traditional schools and how they're changing the landscape of education.

Charter schools are among the fastest growing school choice options in Florida. Charter school enrollment across the state was at an all-time high last year.

There are ten charter schools located in Bay County, some serving specific student populations.

Charter schools are public schools and don't require tuition.

In part one of our report, we're taking a look at some of the major differences between the charter school and traditional schools in Bay County.

Florida has about 270,000 students in 652 charter schools, according to the Florida Department of Education. Jacob Holmes has gone to one of Bay County's charter schools for the last seven years. Holmes is a senior at Palm Bay Prep Academy.

If you know Holmes, you know he's a true thespian. The teen is involved with theater productions at school and in town, does improv and mentors younger students. He said his schooling at Palm Bay Prep spotlighted his love of theater.

"I think theater, just for me, made me feel important," he said.

Jacob's mom, Chelsea, said the transition from traditional to charter school was a good one and that she was glad they did it. He started sixth grade at Palm Bay Prep. She said she was attracted to the smaller class sizes and felt that the teachers genuinely cared about their students.

"He's a straight-A student," she said. "He takes pride in his work whereas before, most kids don't want to go to school."

Last year charter enrollment across the state was at an all-time high. Locally, Palm Bay Prep is expanding to include a new elementary school in the fall. They've been approved by the district for the expansion and are exploring options for locations. In the last year, they also developed a drop-out prevention high school called Central High.

"What we're really interested in is for every student to find the place where they can be the most successful," said Carla Lovett, former Principal turned Executive Director of Palm Bay Prep.

Lovett said despite management troubles a few years ago, the school has grown and they are happy with the progress they've made.

According to Bay District Schools Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, Gena Burgans, initially, when charter schools were introduced, the premise was to offer parents something new and something different.

And different they are. Charter schools have the freedom to function independently of the district, though corporations that run the schools must first apply with the district to establish themselves.

According to state statute:

A school board receives and reviews all charter school applications and, within 60 days of receipt, must approve or deny the application. All charter applicants must prepare and submit an application on a model application form prepared by the Department, which:

· Demonstrates how the school will use the guiding principles.

· Provides a detailed curriculum

· Contains goals and objectives for improving student learning.

· Describes the separate reading curricula and differentiated strategies.

· Contains an annual financial plan

Districts, however, are not required to approve every completed charter application that comes their way. If the charter company appeals to the state, and the state approves the appeal, the denying district must pay for all legal fees.

Once approved, however, charters can move forward with their own decisions. They can create their own policy and curriculum or pick and choose from that of the school district they are in.

For example, Lovett said much of her students' curriculum is online, replacing traditional textbooks. Students are free to move at their own pace and they try to infuse technology in many parts of the curriculum. They also intentionally keep their school small, with a middle and high school combined population sitting at about 300 students.

"We're always going to remain particularly small so our students know that we know who they are as a person, as a student, and can really work with them in all aspects of their life, so we can be sure they're getting the most out of their education," Lovett said.

She said their personally tailored school day allows their students to have internships, which can be at school or elsewhere. For example, some student internships include manning the front desk of the school to greet parents and visitors and answer the phone. Lovett said this experience helps them to teach "the whole child" by helping them acquire the types of skills they may not pick up in the classroom. Students' schedules can also be freed to participate in dual enrollment.

This freedom and flexibility in the curriculum have also provided students at Bay Haven Charter Academy with unique opportunities. Principal Jamie Vickers said her students have the ability to opt into unique, hands-on classes such as forensics, Chinese and other STEM type classes.

Charters benefit from state dollars just as traditional schools. The state even grants charters start-up funds to help establish their schools. The district, however, is usually the custodian of this money.

According to Burgans, the district keeps a percentage of the state dollars as management fees. Once the charters get their money, however, they are free to spend it as they wish.

This can be an advantage to charters who wish to increase the salary being offered to a position they really need, whereas the district is limited by a set salary approved by the school board. Teachers, however, must be certified just like all other teachers in the district.

Charter schools require an application for enrollment. If there are more applications than there are seats, charters create a lottery system to determine which applicants are granted admittance. Burgans says the lotteries are often conducted by outside entities and the public can view the process.

Some students, however, have preferential admittance. For example, some students may be granted admission over others if the school has a policy to admit military students, students who live near the school, or those who have a familial connection to the school.

Charters are not beholden to the district's school board unless there is some sort of issue. Charters have their own advisory boards and board meetings.

"It is written for there to be very little oversight on the part of the district to allow them that anonymity to do things differently," Burgans said.

But school districts monitor their charters closely to make sure they uphold the academic and financial standards the charters have set for themselves.

Charters are required to share with the district their financial information every month. They also undergo annual audits and compliance checks.

One flexibility they aren't afforded is to testing. Charter school students are still technically in public schools, therefore, they are still subject to state mandated testing like the Florida Standards Assessments and End of Course Exams.

But the flexibility granted to charter schools does also lend itself to construction. According to Bay District Schools Facilities Director, John Bozarth, charters can choose to build facilities wherever they like. Construction on the behalf of the school district is more limited, and the district must prove a need for construction before building additional student stations.

Charters are also only required to build to business facility standards, not the educational facility standards determined by the Department of Education. Bozarth says this type of construction is often built for less cost per square foot and less square foot area per student than traditional schools. Bozarth said there are other variances in the two sets of standards, including the number of students permitted in a classroom.

These variances are clearly visible in Bay County's charter schools. For example, Palm Bay Prep shares a facility with Northstar Church. Their Central High School is housed in the old Video City, video rental store. And University Academy is housed in the old Bay County Airport terminal.

Charter schools can also construct wood-framed buildings, which would never pass muster for a traditional school.

"We needed to find some lab space for our construction academy," said Rutherford High School Principal Coy Pilson. "It would have been nice to put up a quick shed or building where they could use construction tools but we have to follow very strict guidelines."

As principal of a traditional school, Pilson said he supports school choice and the right of parents, students, and teachers to find a good fit. But he noted the charter schools' flexibility creates unique challenges for schools like Rutherford and have completely changed the landscape of public education.

"The challenge that I face is that some of our students who are probably the best and brightest that would be zoned for Rutherford may decide to go to a charter school," he explained.

Pilson is quick to brag on his senior class' successes and notes he's had graduates go on to school at ivy league colleges. But he says directing a school toward success can be more challenging with the loss of what would have been their top students.

Burgans says the relationship the district has with its charters is a good one, and the attitude toward them is favorable. But she said they are not blind to the changes the charters have created over time.

"I mean if you look traditionally at the students that are performing at the higher levels, the majority of the time it's because they have parental involvement or people at home that are helping them do their homework and that are involved in their school activities," she said. "So if you take that percentage of schools from each one of the schools in the district and you're placing them at one, two, three, four, five different locations, then you're clearly taking that group out of that population that had been at a particular school."

All of Bay County's charters graded with data from the FSAs (which excludes Chautauqua Charter School and Central High School) earned As or Bs for 2016, except for Palm Bay Prep Academy which earned a C.

By comparison, only seven of the district's 30 other traditional schools earned As and Bs.

"The data really is just too glaring to say that it doesn't exist," Burgans said.

"We have been an A school since we've been in existence," said Bay Haven Principal Jamie Vickers.

She credits much of their success to dedicated teachers and involved parents.

"Our parents feel a sense of ownership, that we are a team," she said.

Vickers said her school is able to require parental involvement in order for their students to be considered in good standing. She also said the high performance can be attributed to high standards.

"We expect a lot from our students and it's amazing that when you set a bar high, students will rise to the occasion," she explained.

Executive Director and former Principal for the Bay Havens Larry Bolinger agrees. By email, Bolinger said that charter schools like his can use different curricula and with that they teach beyond the standards mandated by the state.

"Our students score well because of going beyond the standards in depth of knowledge. We work on critical thinking skills and questioning techniques that cause our students to find out the answers from more than just memory," Bolinger wrote. "Another key to our success is our parental involvement. We have parents who volunteer as well as stay as an integral part of their children's lives."

Data from the Florida Department of Education showed that for 2016, 35 percent of testable charter schools earned an A, which amounted to 182 schools.

Principal Pilson at Rutherford said the concentration of high performers at the district's charter schools, plus more educational options like virtual school, present schools like his with unique challenges.

"We in education are actually competing for the best and brightest students," he said, while asserting that students, parents, and teachers still deserve the right to choose.

Data from the Florida Department of Education shows that statewide, charters schools across Florida have become increasingly diverse. Data shows that 33 percent of students are White, 40 percent Hispanic, 21 percent African-American and six percent Other.

But state data also shows charters in Bay County have lower percentages of free and reduced lunch rates among students. Those rates are usually used to indicate needs within the school, as well as the socio-economic status of the student body, and flagging potential barriers to student performance. Those numbers are usually highest in Title One schools.

But in Bay County, for example, 31 percent of North Bay Haven Charter Academy's Elementary students at the Balboa campus reported qualifying for free and reduced lunch in the preliminary 2016 report. It has the highest amount of students reporting free and reduced lunch among the Bay Havens.

By comparison, just two miles away at Northside Elementary school, that number is 76 percent.

A district spokeswoman pointed out that free and reduced lunch percentages among middle and high schoolers tend to be distorted because fewer students report qualification. Therefore, she said, reported percentages might actually be lower than they are in reality. Additionally, some schools have 100 percent free and reduced lunch because grants enable them to provide free breakfast and lunch for all students.

Rutherford High School's reported free and reduced lunch percentage is at 59 percent. Principal Pilson is uncomfortable with the idea that both types of schools are evaluated by the same state tests for different students.

"I would ask that you would compare us based on all the criteria set forth and all the students we have to educate," he said.

He said he is challenged with continually having to adjust curricula and options for students to create an environment where students want to be, citing the International Baccalaureate program and the various academies.

Pilson said he often wished he had some of the same flexibilities afforded to the charter schools. He also said he has seen enrollment at Rutherford High school go down, which he cannot directly attribute to the growth of charters. But he said as more charters are added to the system, it means more school sharing the same state dollars.

Charter school leaders say they've often heard the claim that charters steal away the district's highest performers and many who have fewer barriers to performance.

Lovett said her school's demographics accurately reflect the district's demographics.

Vickers said any child is welcome to apply for the Bay Haven's lottery system.

"Out intent is not to deplete any one of their best and brightest," she said, "but we teach every child that wants to participate and come to our school."

In his email, Bolinger also responded to the claim.

"Our students come in through a blind lottery. We do not know the ability level of the students who are applying. Our demographics mirror the demographics of the district schools. We are proud of the reputation that we have. We teach all students and hold them to high expectations," Bolinger wrote.

Jacob Holmes, a graduating senior at Palm Bay Prep, believes much of what people still think about charters is a misconception, including the opposite of the idea that they take away the best and brightest.

"I believe they think it's more of a private school or one of those last chance schools," he said. "And that's not what we are at all."

He said, for him, being able to choose his schooling made all the difference.

"It's one big family and I wouldn't have it any other way."