Policy Matters Ohio is spreading misinformation about charter schools: Jason Bryant

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With political agendas in hand, union-backed organizations, such as Policy Matters Ohio, are trying to undercut school choice by spreading misinformation regarding Ohio public community (charter) schools.

In May, Policy Matters Ohio released a report attacking Imagine Schools and continues to bounce around the state repeating its accusations, including a recent column published by The Plain Dealer. The report is political propaganda, not academic research. With Policy Matters Ohio declaring war on community schools and charter operators, Imagine is concerned about the lack of understanding about education management organizations (EMOs), their goals, objectives, missions and contracts with Ohio public community schools.

While some charter schools operate solo, governing boards of 1,342 charter schools nationwide have selected an operating partner, of which there were 193 nonprofit and for-profit EMOs nationwide in 2008. Imagine Schools operates 71 public charter schools across the nation, including 11 in Ohio. Imagine Schools does not operate for-profit and has applied for federal nonprofit status.

Community schools are under greater scrutiny and have more accountability than traditional public schools. Accountability comes from authorizers, independent governing boards, auditors and parents. Additionally, Imagine Schools publicly rates its schools against six measures of excellence.

In particular, parents vote with their feet! If Imagine does not deliver a safe, loving environment, where students excel academically, we will not exist as an organization. This is the most reliable accountability. What do parents think? As an example, 92 percent of parents at Imagine Bella in Cleveland are satisfied with the education their children are receiving; 95 percent feel safe; and 93 percent believe the staff cares about their children.

The contract between the local board and Imagine governs the relationship of financial disclosure, sets forth specific oversight responsibilities, establishes measures of success and contains disclosures and transparency provisions. Nowhere in it is there a blanket pass-through of revenues. Every governing board scrutinizes the budget. Treasurers must be licensed or authorized by training, and bonded. The auditor requires footnotes as to how operators allocate funds. There are many checks and balances in place.

Because community schools are given no funds for facilities, they must use per-pupil operating allocations to pay for everything — teachers, textbooks, administration and buildings. Imagine takes all of the risks of purchasing or leasing real estate for school facilities, investing private money in urban redevelopment and communities. The advantage of a partnership with Imagine is that the school can start in a safe, quality building and have financial backup. If the legislature wants community schools to own their facilities outright, then it should provide the funds to do so, and also require districts to give underused publicly funded facilities back to the state for use by community schools.

A simple survey of the state auditor’s website shows that the average spent on staff at each Ohio Imagine school is around 62 percent and that money is all spent on-site at the school — not on top-heavy administration and not employing teachers who cannot be terminated because of union protections. Imagine oversees the day-to-day school operations — this is no different than a district hiring a superintendent who then selects and oversees staff.

Imagine embraces accountability for student academic progress. Many students enter an Imagine school below grade level, which signals failure on the part of the schools from which they came. Our 2008-2009 SAT-10 fall and spring standardized testing demonstrated that Imagine students in Ohio attained a year or more of learning gains. In fact, 89 percent of students at Imagine Harvard Avenue in Cleveland and 85 percent at Imagine Romig Road in Akron demonstrated more than one year of learning gains. This is a significant accomplishment — the students are catching up.

Imagine serves more than 36,000 students and their families, making strides to educate children in a welcoming and nurturing environment with a strong emphasis on academic and character development. Nationally, two-thirds of Imagine students are from minority populations, and in Ohio, around 85 percent qualify for the free or reduced school lunch program.

We are excited about offering opportunities for life-long success. While detractors want to send children back to failed traditional schools by shuttering community schools, we will not be deterred from our mission to deliver outstanding school choice through learning communities of achievement and hope.

Jason Bryant is an executive vice president for Imagine Schools and oversees schools in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.