Chester Upland students deserve opportunity to learn in public schools

If I could tell you one story about Chester Upland’s public schools, it would be about our students who, despite the adversities they face, come into school every day with a burning desire to learn and grow.

These students are strong and brilliant — and they deserve success.

I am proud to teach them and to work alongside colleagues who bring an unmatched enthusiasm to the classroom as we introduce students to new worlds of learning.

That is why we

are

so troubled by the push to convert some or all of our neighborhood schools to charter schools. Charterization of our district would upend the work of dedicated teachers and support staff in our public schools, and that could undermine the academic progress our students are making. This is the last thing we should be doing.

Many of Chester Upland’s educators grew up in this community and are committed to it. They are making a difference for our community’s children and are dedicated to their success.

That connection between teachers and students is incredibly important. A charter takeover of Chester Upland will force those students to switch schools, either by physically changing buildings or by substantially changing the character of a school within the same building. This will disrupt key relationships with teachers and peers. Researchers tell us that even one school move can decrease student achievement scores and graduation rates.

In the case of Chester Upland schools, a charter takeover could also set back the academic progress that our students have been making in recent years — particularly in the area of English language arts.

Over the last four years, a growing share of our students scored at or above proficient on the English language arts PSSAs. The biggest increase came after our district invested in a new K-6 literacy program and diagnostic assessments and interventions in 2017-18.

Converting district schools to charter schools could set back students’ academic gains in English language arts and put at risk new investments in the mathematic curriculum made in the recently completed school year.

Rather than closing district schools and expanding charter schools, let’s focus on what works. Positive investments in the district’s academic programs are beginning to bear fruit. Uprooting students now could undermine this progress.

We need to equip our schools, educators, and support staff with adequate resources and the supports they need to do what we do best — teach students.

Yes, Chester Upland’s schools face serious challenges. It’s clear that we need — and our kids deserve — more resources. Today, our school district sends more than $50 million of state funding to charter schools. Even with those desperately needed dollars leaving our schools, we still make spending decisions focused on teaching and learning — and our student outcomes are moving up. Taking even more money out of our classrooms won’t improve matters. It will make the situation far, far worse.

Chester Upland’s students deserve the opportunity to learn in the public schools that have educated this community’s children for generations. But if we convert most of our public schools to charters, our community will no longer have that option. We will lose a public good that belongs to our community — our public schools. Once we lose those schools, we will never get them back.

So, I ask you to show your support for saving Chester Upland’s public schools. Our students are remarkable, and they are going to do great things with their lives. Let’s give them a chance to stick with the educators and support staff who know them well and care about them.

Go to www.psea. org/savechesteruplandschools to learn more and to sign up for updates. Join us as we lift up the story of our students.