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How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

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Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#41

Post by yardie »

chrisseaton wrote: post #25
tialaramex wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[[ In the British system the thing that makes a Public School different isn't whether it's run by the state (those are State Schools) but the fact that it's open _to_ the public. Historically some schools were exclusively for (children of) members of an organisation, for example a school might be for Roman Catholics, or members of the livery company of goldsmiths, or businessmen of a certain city. The Public Schools…

The British term makes so much more sense to me. British public schools are run by members of the public for any members of the public (who can pay and pass the exam). American public schools are run by local government only for people the local government wants to admit (based on where you live etc).

Yes, one is public with lots of caveats. The other is public with one or no caveats, ie. where do you live? I'm homeless. Doesn't matter, you're enrolled.

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#42

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

mkirklions wrote: post #2

Open question that wasnt really discussed in the article- Why are charter schools demonized? My local area HATES them, and I'm not sure if its politics or worthwhile. EDIT: Why did I get 5 downvotes?

Here's two articles that might help explain:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-charters-admissions-i...

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/charter-schools-special...

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#43

Post by berbec »

sjg007 wrote: post #28
r00fus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kids with special needs are statistically less served by charter schools - significantly. This means a greater burden on the non charter schools with the same budget (charter school students don't pay more) - and special needs kids aren't paid by federal funds (where I live it's mostly local tax). Also they statistically perform equally or more poorly compared to public schools.

I guess one solution is that we then get charter schools that cater to special needs students.. we sort of have these programs already with center based autism "schools". However, going down this path will eventually run into Brown vs board of education.

How do charter schools not do that already? No skin in the game here, but isn't getting rid of special schooling the whole point of eliminating separate yet equal?

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#44

Post by brightball »

tialaramex wrote: post #22
chrisseaton wrote: post #4

'Public' meaning run by the local government, if that confused anyone else like me who comes from a place where it means the opposite.

[[ In the British system the thing that makes a Public School different isn't whether it's run by the state (those are State Schools) but the fact that it's open _to_ the public. Historically some schools were exclusively for (children of) members of an organisation, for example a school might be for Roman Catholics, or members of the livery company of goldsmiths, or businessmen of a certain city. The Public Schools…

State schools is a much better term IMO.

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#45

Post by whack »

elsherbini wrote: post #6
mkirklions wrote: post #2

Open question that wasnt really discussed in the article- Why are charter schools demonized? My local area HATES them, and I'm not sure if its politics or worthwhile. EDIT: Why did I get 5 downvotes?

I worked for 2 years as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Atlanta Public Schools. I'll preface this by saying I don't know if I believe charter schools are bad or good, but here are some arguments against them: - Charter schools take money away from neighborhood public schools. Most schools are funded per-capita, so fewer students means less money. But many costs are fixed/discrete (e.g. school nurse costs N thousand dollar…

That's a pretty good summary of the common anti-charter arguments. A few counter-arguments to the above:

- Charter schools expand choice for low-income families. If your public school sucks and your family is doing well, you can always move elsewhere or go to private school. If you're from a poor family, charter schools are your only escape valve

- Maybe it's bad for the public school, but it's good for the high performing students themselves, who are no longer dragged down by disruptive/disengaged classmates.

- The vast majority of charter schools are non-profit. The people running and funding a charter school are just as motivated by good intentions, as those in public schools. They just happen to experiment with different approaches and methods, while giving students/parents the final say on where they want to go.

- Metrics can be gamed, but a complete lack of metrics can also be exploited by underperforming/incompetent/disengaged organizations. Tracking a reasonably good metric is better than tracking no metric at all - something seen in how most successful organizations operate.

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#46

Post by lg »

wow, the linked related article about NYC school segregation was depressing: https://www.vox.com/2016/2/16/10980856/new-york-city-schools... especially the part about charters having two times during the year when low-performing students are forced out into the public school: one in October after per-student funding is allocated to the school, allowing them to grab the funding while pushing a now-unfunded student onto the public school, and again in Spring right before standardized testing, when they can weed out the ones who did poorly on prep tests. Seems like the city/state should step in and disallow this practice.

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#47

Post by mkaziz »

thedufer wrote: post #33
ryanx435 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so if I'm an engaged and interested parent, and I want my child to succeed, looks like charter schools are the correct answer about where to send my kids.

Not necessarily. Charter schools do much better if you measure just output, but are frequently quite average once you control for their advantageous population.

So if I want my kids to be surrounded by other, smart(er) kids / kids with engaged parents, I should send them to charter schools?

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#48

Post by maxerickson »

Invictus0 wrote: post #32

I'm wondering if this school will be sustainable in the long term. Given the correlation between low-income neighborhoods and poor school performance, how is I Promise going to be supported by taxpayers? Many school districts scrounge for basic supplies; how long will they be able to keep this free bike program going?

The free bikes will surely continue as long as Lebron James maintains interest.

I guess maybe they would stop it if the bikes were just ending up at a scrap yard?

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#49

Post by untog »

chrisseaton wrote: post #25
tialaramex wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[[ In the British system the thing that makes a Public School different isn't whether it's run by the state (those are State Schools) but the fact that it's open _to_ the public. Historically some schools were exclusively for (children of) members of an organisation, for example a school might be for Roman Catholics, or members of the livery company of goldsmiths, or businessmen of a certain city. The Public Schools…

The British term makes so much more sense to me. British public schools are run by members of the public for any members of the public (who can pay and pass the exam). American public schools are run by local government only for people the local government wants to admit (based on where you live etc).

> American public schools are run by local government only for people the local government wants to admit

Eh? Everyone is admitted to public schools in America. You often don't get the choose the specific school, but everyone has the right to a place in a school.

Re: How LeBron James' new public school is the first of its kind

#50

Post by roland35 »

I am excited about this approach and I think LeBron's organization has put a lot of though and work with experts on this project.

- This school is a true public school and not a charter school. In Ohio a lot of charter schools can have some degree of selection in their students and kick out families which don't meet the requirements which leads to more at-risk students left to the public schools. This school is making a point of taking at-risk students.

- Longer school days, 3 meals, and a longer school year helps students stay focused. Unfortunately the home environment for a lot of kids makes it so hard for these kids to be able to focus at school. In my wife's elementary school classes some kids show up with just a hamburger bun for breakfast. Others fall asleep immediately at school since they live with 5+ siblings and there are literally no available beds at home. I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either, a lot of the time there are single parents just trying to get by and make ends meet and don't know what more they can do.

- Focussing on the teachers will also help. Teachers and unions have been vilified by Governor Kasich but they are not the main problem at all (it is the tragic home environments) with ridiculous review systems and standards, but then there is little support in challenging districts like in Akron/Cleveland. It is a lot easier to work in the suburbs where the kids would progress and learn even without teachers, so that is where everyone wants to go since a good rating is automatic. I think this problem occurs in just about every field where metrics dominate the review system (medicine, call centers, QA, etc). The turnover for teachers at local charter schools is terrible and only seems to attract early-career teachers who couldn't get a job at a public school.

- This doesn't seem to be a short term flashy project but has been years in the making. None of the features here are gimmicky, but just like many things in life it takes a lot of hard work!

- Adding the goal of college education shows a path forward which a lot of students don't think is possible.

I am super excited to be from Akron and I hope this model proves successful!

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