School & District Management

Leaders Try to Foster Charter-District Ties

By Erik W. Robelen — October 25, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Sharing “best practices” in education isn’t exactly a new idea, but a recent symposium in Oakland, Calif., gave it an unusual twist: Charter school and regular public school officials sat down together to share ideas.

“How Can We Reduce Conflict Between Charter Schools and School Districts” is available from the Alameda County Office of Education.

The brainchild of Leadership Public Schools, a nonprofit charter-development group, the Oct. 15 conference explored issues from special education and curriculum to finance and labor relations.

“It’s not just about our kids, it’s about all public school students,” Mark Kushner, the founder of the San Francisco-based Leadership Public Schools, said in explaining the impetus for the conference. “This was designed to be a modest start to have charter school folks, district school folks, and county folks and others, such as school board members ... talking on these issues.”

The symposium drew about 100 people, Mr. Kushner said. Co-sponsors included the Alameda County, Calif., office of education, the Charter Schools Development Center, the California Charter Schools Association, and the Emery, Calif., school district.

One invited speaker was Eric E. Rofes, an education professor at Humboldt State University who has studied relations between charter schools and school districts.

“This day is a beginning, it is the seed, of what many of us hope will be a new era for relations between charters and district schools,” he told the gathering in prepared remarks.

“Even the staunchest charter opponent has to admit that charters are not a flash-in-the-pan fad,” he said. “Even the most vociferous charter advocate has to acknowledge today that 10 years from now, most of America’s children will continue to receive their education in district schools.”

Mr. Rofes argued that charters and districts are entering the “second stage” of their relationship, in which they will begin to acknowledge a shared educational mission and unite “to fight common enemies, especially those who do not believe that we underfund education in America.”

Sheila Jordan, the Alameda County superintendent, also spoke at the conference. Ms. Jordan and Mr. Rofes collaborated on a task force that issued a report in June titled “How Can We Reduce Conflict Between Charter Schools and School Districts?”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the October 26, 2005 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management How One Principal Got Kids to Pay Attention in Class
Utah principal Shauna Haney brought about one of the first classroom cellphone bans in the state.
2 min read
Cellphone wearing a sleep mask. Cellphone policy.
Irina Shatilova/iStock
School & District Management Celebrate Five Years of The Savvy Principal—A Newsletter Just for School Leaders
The Savvy Principal is full of news, insights, and actionable tips on school leadership.
1 min read
Close cropped photo of a laptop, planner and phone with ear phones attached to it. The phone is displaying an edition of Education Week's The Savvy Principal enewsletter.
Liz Yap/Education Week + Adobe Stock
School & District Management Worried About Withheld Education Funding? Here's How Leaders Can Speak Up
Education leaders must communicate the consequences of withheld K-12 funding to Congress and their own communities.
6 min read
Superintendents Dr. Alex Marrero, Alberto Carvalho, and Joe Gothard
Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero, left, Madison Superintendent Joe Gothard, and Los Angeles Superintendent Alberto Carvalho are among district leaders who've pushed for the release of withheld federal K-12 funding. The three have also sought to explain the consequences to their own communities.
David Zalubowski/AP, Andy Clayton-King/AP, Anthony Behar/AP
School & District Management Opinion ‘You’re Woke’: A Former Superintendent Responds to Intense Backlash
My critics hurled “woke” at me like a verbal grenade—but we need education leaders who are wide awake.
Robert Sokolowski
4 min read
Diverse group of multiethnic multicultural people silhouette. The weaponization of woke.
iStock/Getty Images