Tom Carroll continues to chew on the question of RTTT and charter school independence, amplifying his earlier recommendation to New York Charter operators not to take RTTT funds with a post on his organization's blog.? It's a worthy discussion.? And Carroll's recent Brighter Choice Foundation?court victory in getting an exemption from??prevailing wage? laws indicates how seriously he takes it.
Sure, Carroll says, much of what is in the RTTT package, including using data to evaluate teachers, is already being done at successful charters. But?he believes the strings attached violate the basic principles of charter autonomy:
SED [New York State Education Department] simply has no authority to set thresholds for the use of data in teacher evaluations in charter schools.?Nor do they have the authority to require us to group teachers by four categories, or require such annual evaluations to be ?a significant factor? for ?promotion, retention, tenure determination and supplemental compensation.??Nor do they have the authority to require charters to pursue ?the removal of teachers and principals receiving two consecutive annual ratings of ?ineffective? after receiving supports from improvement plans.
As the charter sector grows, questions of autonomy will become more important. Charters were given considerable independence so that they could innovate.?And many have innovated their way to profound and meaningful education outcomes for students.?But as Carroll suggests, for charters, autonomy may be the best ?best practice? we've got.
?Peter Meyer, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
