By BOB GRIFFIN
Despite having one of the most poorly supported public charter school systems in the country, Alaska charter school parents have managed to create the highest performing charter system in the US.
That’s the conclusion of two PhD’s who produced a scientific study for Harvard University in November 2023. The researchers from the Harvard study had no motivation to make Alaska’s charter schools look better or worse than any other state.
Recently, an Alaska public school teacher and an Anchorage-based political activist authored an opposing opinion to the Harvard study. These two individuals used an unusual statistical approach to make our high-performing charter schools appear less effective. Their motivation seems to be aimed at providing ammunition for those who oppose Gov. Dunleavy’s very modest plan to reinforce our very successful public charter school programs.
It’s pretty easy to see at a common-sense level that our charter schools perform very well, despite having significantly less support than our traditional neighborhood schools.
In the 2022 state testing of our 500 public schools, Eagle Academy Charter School was the top ranked public school for English/Language Arts proficiency. Eagle Academy was able to achieved the best results in the state despite having significantly less financial support than nearby neighborhood schools and despite operating from a 50+ year-old converted roller rink.
Also in 2022, Alaska was ranked 43rd in the nation for charter school support, out of the 45 states who allow charter schools, according and to the National Alliance for Public Chater Schools. This nonpartisan organization also had no reason to make Alaska’s support for charter school look better or worse than any other state.
When looking at Anchorage School District and comparing the results for the 52 neighborhood elementary schools to the seven elementary charter schools — four of the five highest performing district schools in English/Language Art proficiency were charter schools.
Some have implied the performance differences between our charters and neighborhood schools are because our charter schools are made up of mostly upper-middle/income students. That argument breaks down rapidly when looking at the outcomes for ASD’s Alaska Native Cultural Charter School (ANCCS). All of ANCCS students are considered low-income, in that 100% of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school also has the disadvantage of operating from an old ASD campus that was slated to be demolished and replaced nearly a decade ago, because it was considered inadequate for neighborhood students.
In the 2022 state testing results, ANCCS had a significantly higher percentage of students who tested above “far below proficient” in English/Language Arts than the Alaska state average. In addition, the students outperformed 21 of the 52 ASD neighborhood elementary schools in that critical measurement.
The governor’s proposal is not asking for massive increases in resources go to charters. He’s simply asking that parents who want to organize a charter school be allowed to have more than one option for an authorizing authority.
Currently, Alaska is one of only five states where the local school boards are the only entity that can approve charter schools. This sets up a very asymmetric power relationship between the charter applicants and authorizers. With no other options, parents have to deal exclusively with local school boards for approval.
Local board are often openly hostile to new charter programs. They can dictate terms of approval. Local boards frequently set limits on size and scope of programs that are lower than the public demand.
Many parents that have been able to get charter approved, describe the process as “the most difficult thing they’ve ever done.” This has a hugely chilling effect on other parents contemplating the process.
The bottomline is this: Our charters schools represent one of the most basic levels of “local control” possible. The parents are literally in charge. Our charter schools are measurably higher performing and measurably more financially efficient than our traditional neighborhood schools — despite being subjected to one of the most poorly supported charter school systems in the US.
Bob Griffin is a former member of the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development and a life-long learner.
I would have my child taught by a chimpanzee before putting them in public schools!!!
Just like the money laundering, the left part of the nation doesn’t get it.
Education is necessary for the future of mankind.
We need smart people to solve problems and move mankind forward not politicians and elected that are stealing the piggy bank dry and lying about it.
The home schooled and charter schools have proof it’s not about the money it’s about the kids.
Get your kids out of government mind games schools.
Exactly right mark. Our future depends on it. Having a bunch of left wing goobers supporting a failing public school system does no service to anyone. Public schools need to be successful and produce good smart kids. Producing dummy’s with no work ethic doesn’t do anyone any good. The NEA is the worst union in the country they thrive on failure.
Spot on! Bob brings a breath of fresh air to the education realm! Excellent insight that needs to be implemented!
Good parenting can overcome a poor education. A good education won’t overcome poor parenting. Neither good parenting or good education can overcome TEACHERS UNIONS!
You again knocked it out of the park Mr. Griffin!! Heartfelt thanks for exposing the games played by the current administration & revealing the truth behind the curtain.
Well done sir!
ASD gets $24,000/year for each kid I get $4,000/year for mine. I should get a refund on my property taxes, the Anchorage muni is stealing.
Once again, the closer control of education $$$ is to the kiddo, the better the results. Thanks again, Bob. Good work by you guys. Cheers –
Teachers rely on computers and TV’s rather than using a chaukboard to actually teach kids AND answer questions when they don’t understand. Our kids are not robots.
The further away from the government, the better the results.
I hope Trump really does burn the DOE to the ground.
My sister and I were homeschooled with a correspondence course in the 1950’s. We lived in a remote area of Alaska and did not have a road to town. Our parents taught us and we tested very high when we moved where we could attend public school. My sister started high school at age 12 and was at the top of her classes. We learned to read before we were 6. And read everything that we could get our hands on. Our parents did not even have high school diplomas but were very good at teaching us. I think there is a world of opportunity in home schooling and charter schools.
The level of success depends on the commitment of the parents.
We need to get rid of school boards & Teacher Union interference: start by allowing parents to choose the teachers by enrollng the child directly w/the teacher of choice —> by enrolling 1 term in advance for the next term w/duplicate vouchers: the oridinal to the teacher & duplicates to the State Dept of Education & to parent; each voucher has an item number; the teacher sends a list of voucher #s to the State Dept of Education for financial support; the State reinburses the teacher directly depositing the funds to the teacher’s bank account; at the end of the term the teacher sends the record of accomplishment per student to the State of Alaska Dept of Education where the results are recorded; the control remains w/the parent/teacher relationship … if the parent is dissatisfied, the parent has optional access to the State Dept of Education Record of available teachers at the childs age & subject level … that record shall also have parent comments regarding the teacher (kind of like when you purchase merchandise & give comments) … the parent can be specific or as vague as a grade level … the best teachers will be sorted out in an efficient way. Also; the school district will be responsible to the same system … in that the teacher will submit a varifiable voucher list of students for the next term & the school district will supply the appropriate classroom space which will be submitted to the State Dept of Education for rental/maintenance reinbursement deposited directly to the School District Bank Account. The cirriculum will be at the teacher/parents’ agreement…. This would also get rid of the teachers Unions’ interference.
The Alaska Constitution forbids sectarian influence in education. Unions are sectarian entities. So whats up?