Just have a minute, but... There is no longer a state bd of ed. Charter accountability is to the board of the school and then to the charter's sponsor. Only curriculum approval is at that school level, though that's within the state and federal restrictions about what "public school" means, and as we've seen around the state and country, there's a lot of wiggle room and many are pushing the boundaries.
The St. Paul School district still sponsors about 10 charters, as I recall, and while we subject them to rigorous reviews every 3 years per our sponsorship contract, we can only strongly recommend, not enforce, changes -- though we're lucky to have good working relationships with them and they've nearly always appreciated and followed our recommendations. We've had to pull or refuse sponsorship for a few because of serious curriculum/teaching inadequacies or gross fiscal mismanagement. Legislature and ed commiss Seagren have begun and are continuing to look at some additional training and oversight, but at some point the lines cross and it defeats some of the underlying purposes of having charters...tough to know where the lines are.... Trust that others with deeper knowledge will weigh in. -- Anne Carroll, St. Paul School Board ------------------------------------------------------------ Anne R. Carroll Carroll, Franck & Associates Public Involvement, Strategic Planning, Communications 1357 Highland Parkway St. Paul, MN 55116 USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] 651-690-9162 School Board: 651-690-9156 "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. "...You will be more credible and you will be more powerful if you do not separate the lives you live from the words you speak." -- Paul Wellstone "A politician worries about the next election. A true states[wo]man worries about the next generation, and children yet unborn." - e.e. cummings _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [email protected] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
