Donna Policastro isn’t bothering with a “thoughtful pause.”
The executive director of the Rhode Island Nurses Association and the Rhode Island Nurses Institute, Policastro and others are pushing forward with plans for a new charter school, the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College. They are in negotiations for a Providence location, and they are developing a curriculum.
The R.I. Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education last year granted preliminary approval for the school that would offer a mix of high school and college-level nursing courses. And the school’s advocates expect to go before the regents in the spring for the final OK.
“After that, the only question is whether it opens in 2011 or 2012,” Policastro said recently.
What about Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s statements that he wants to delay the expansion of charter schools in Rhode Island – what the administration has termed a “thoughtful pause” – while he examines the performance of existing schools?
“From everything we’ve been told, that wouldn’t affect us,” Policastro said.
Others with proposals for new charter schools are also moving forward, despite Chafee’s desire to slow things down.
State education officials say three other possible charter schools are in the pipeline:
• Democracy Prep, a nonprofit that manages charter schools in New York, has submitted an application for Providence Collegiate, a school projected to have up to 875 students within five years.
• Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung has notified state education officials that he wants to open a “mayoral academy” that will accept Providence students, too.
• And another group has expressed interest in applying before the March 1 deadline for permission to launch a school with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics focus.
For its part, the R.I. Department of Education hasn’t put its review of the proposals on hold, either, according to spokesman Elliot Krieger.
Indeed, the Chafee administration recently appeared to back away from seeking a full suspension of charter school expansion while reviewing their effectiveness.
“[Chafee’s] comment on ‘a thoughtful pause’ was in the context of looking at the strategic plan that would take the charter schools in this state from 15 to 35,” Chafee spokesman Michael Trainor told Providence Business News.
“With the state looking at more than doubling the number, he raised the question: Should we look at how these are working?” Trainor continued.
Chafee’s questions about the future of charter schools – autonomous, publicly funded schools not required to follow some of the rules and regulations that apply to conventional public schools – follow moves by education leaders and lawmakers to pave the way for more.
Last year, the General Assembly raised the cap on the numbers of charter schools from 15 to 35 as part of its application for a $75 million Race to the Top federal grant.
Charter schools have been a priority for Gist since she arrived in Rhode Island in 2009, but during the gubernatorial campaign last year, Chafee expressed his doubts. Then earlier this month, he made changes to the Board of Regents, replacing some of its staunchest charter school supporters. The four new regents have not publicly stated where they stand on charter schools.
Chafee’s appointee for chairman, former House Majority Leader George D. Caruolo, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment but had supported charter schools during his tenure in the legislature.
The move to add more charter schools in the state has had its bumps.
Then in November, a nonprofit running a charter school in Cumberland acknowledged it hired several uncertified teachers, saying certification was not used in the hiring process. The state was forced to issue five emergency teaching permits.
The nonprofit, Democracy Prep, no longer manages the school – a “mayoral academy” now known as Blackstone Valley Prep – because it failed to come to an agreement on management fees with the school’s umbrella organization, the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies.
The state instituted a moratorium on new charter schools in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of the ones already in place. That moratorium ended in 2008. Four new schools have opened since.
For fiscal 2011, the state is projected to provide about $36.6 million in aid to Rhode Island’s 15 charter schools. And a slice of the $75 million Race to the Top grant is expected to be dedicated to the costs associated with launching new charters schools.
Some fear that Chafee moving to pull back on the reins could jeopardize the entire grant.
Raising the charter school cap “was definitely an important part of the grant application,” Krieger said. “We’re in unknown territory here. The commission is concerned that [delaying charter schools] could make us ineligible for the balance of the grant.”
The Chafee administration disagrees, saying the state is allowed to make modifications and still receive the bulk of the money. Chafee representatives note that the state also has been awarded a $2.3 million federal grant for charter schools.
There’s no question charter schools are popular in some quarters.
And the demand is high. The league said its schools received 5,142 applications for 779 openings for the 2010-2011 school year.
Steve Nardelli, executive director of the League of Charter Schools, said the group has received the backing of many in the business community.
“Charter schools are institutions that businesspeople can understand,” he told PBN. “We’re consumer-driven. If we weren’t successful, we wouldn’t be open.”
Supporters say Rhode Island’s most recent standarized test scores indicate charter schools have a higher percentage of students reaching proficiency in reading and math than in their home districts, based on the October 2010 New England Common Assessment Program results.
Meanwhile, the R.I. Department of Education is considering new regulations on how charter schools are approved and renewed, how they outline goals and the standards they have to meet.
“The commissioner believes charters should be high-performing schools, outperforming other schools, or there’s no reason for them to exist,” Krieger said.
At Cumberland’s Blackstone Valley Prep – a mayoral academy that is free from having to pay prevailing wages to its staff or offer standard benefits – Mayor Daniel J. McKee isn’t worried that the school won’t pass muster.
The academy now serves about 250 children in kindergarten, first grade and fifth grade from Cumberland, Pawtucket, Central Falls and Lincoln. Enrollment is set to grow to about 500 next year as the school adds two more grades.
The school’s data show extra class time and other factors are improving test scores, according to McKee.
“We know we have to be accountable,” he said. “We know we have to be the very best.” •
