Letter: Jindal’s charter school missteps

Dear Editor,

School choice is a good thing and people often choose to pay more for a home and taxes to live in a better school district. Parents should be able to move their children to higher functioning schools of their choice and these schools should have to meet standards that demonstrate the schools are practicing educational strategies that have documentation of success over the past five years. These schools must have certified teachers and administrators who understand the individual needs of all students and the methods and materials necessary to meet these needs. They must be knowledgeable of the curriculum and standards required by the State Department of Education.

Much time, money and knowledge have gone into the development of these standards and all students have the right to be instructed in the most successful curriculum available!

Gov. Jindal has made some critical mistakes in establishing Charter Schools, the greatest being jumping in without careful planning and input by experienced educators. There is a great deal more than a building, students and teachers. There are lunchrooms, buses and bus routes, special needs students, sports, bookkeeping and a multiple number of problems that have to be considered and solved.

Our children must be considered first! Setting up charter schools just because the governor wants to have this on his resume is an insult to the integrity of parents.

Here are some mistakes that were unnecessary:

• Selecting a state school superintendent who had never been a school principal and stacking the SBESE with non-educators. One cannot anticipate the needs and problems to expect if they have not had the actual experience themselves. Being a principal is the hardest job in the whole school system!

• Not having standards in place before the schools were formed and written assurance that these standards would be met.

• Not monitoring the schools as they instructed our students and not assisting these schools to assure they are performing professionally and safely and meeting the needs of each student.

• Not having a plan for students who don’t want to go to college or those who have not been able to master the skills required for college. No plan to prepare students for occupational skills that will enable them to be self-sufficient and productive.

• Not realizing that when money is taken from a public school and given to a charter school in most cases neither school has enough money to adequately meet the needs of our children.

Gov. Jindal can brag that he introduced Charter Schools to Louisiana but he didn’t put children first and make sure their needs would be met! He jumped into this without proper leadership and adequate planning.

Betty Wall,

Retired Educator, Ruston, La.