The most basic missed point about urban school reform

My School Desk
Originally uploaded by Xochiquetzal-Sil:)

Comes from one of the letters to the editor ("Charter Schools, or Some of Their Methods, Offer Hope") written in response to an op-ed by Rev. Sharpton and NYC Chancellor Joel Klein ("Charter Schools Can Close the Education Gap,") in the Wall Street Journal. Written by Kathleen Merseth, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, it says :

Chancellor Klein and Rev. Sharpton's op-ed completely misleads readers. The piece really isn't about charter schools, and it suggests that any school with "charter" in its title can close the student-achievement gap. Gaining ground on student achievement is a far more complex matter than the name or status of a school. Indeed, charter schools produce very mixed academic results.

All schools can achieve academic success for all students by adopting similar practices found in successful charter schools. What is missing is not the charter designation but rather the widespread community support and the will of the adults -- union and nonunion alike -- working in schools to adopt these best practices.

This is absolutely true. The issue is about curriculum, teaching, professional development and support systems for schools, principals, teachers, and families, and additional support systems, when necessary, for students, and about how this system is managed, for real outcomes.

Any talk of vouchers or charter schools misses this most basic point. While I recognize that some people will favor vouchers and/or charter schools or "competition" because they believe that otherwise there is no hope that traditional public school systems will change--instead the systems are content to wallow in mediocrity--and they don't want to consign children to such a system, what is needed is not competition per se, but excellent public schools.

(Elementary classroom teacher's desk, image from Flickr by Xochiquetzal-Sil:).)