Tighten rules on sponsor shopping
As The Dispatch reported and editorialized in the past two weeks, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow’s is interested in becoming a charter dropout-recovery school in place of continuing its operation as a failing online charter K-12 school. The newest twist in the ECOT saga for survival brings to the forefront three significant issues related to the education of Ohio’s children in the 21st century.
First is the problem of existing charter schools’ source of funds (from our public school districts) and the monitoring of such funds that don’t improve the educational options our school-age children have offered to them. This raises the questions, “who created this mess?” and “who has been watching the store?”
Second, poorly performing charter-school sponsors and operators have attempted, and in some cases been permitted, to jump from one avenue of charter operation to another depending on which suits their immediate needs to keep their doors open. The likes of House Bill 2 and the sponsor-evaluation rules, both passed and activated in the 2015-16 school year, significantly improved the oversight processes impacting sponsors and operators. Still, ECOT’s proposed switch further spotlights the need to correct the dropout-recovery-school rules and eliminate the possibility of failing charter schools reaching for one more option to keep their doors open.
Third: Where are the educational needs and overall well-being of our students in these adult-driven, financially focused discussions? It is past time to put the child’s best educational options in the cross hairs of this conversation and move past the financial benefits of a few adults.
We must call on our General Assembly, led by Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Westerville, the chair of the House Education Committee (who has initiated comments and legislation protecting ECOT and supports this latest ill-fated consideration by ECOT), to address the continued need for tighter rules governing this “sponsor/ operator shopping” by failing charter schools.
Furthermore, our State Board of Education, my former colleagues, needs to continue to lead the way in correcting the ECOT fiasco and should revisit its rules governing the dropoutrecovery standards promptly.
Michael L. Collins Former elected member State Board of Education District 6 Westerville Sandusky