Charter school panel fails to home in on results

Hawaii’s charter schools should be put on performance contracts with clear, measurable academic targets and be judged based on their results, according to a report by a national authority on charter oversight.

The state panel that oversees charter schools has been bogged down in "process" and "inputs" rather than setting specific goals and holding schools to them, said Greg Richmond, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

"A focus on outcomes is largely missing in Hawaii charter school activity," Richmond told the Charter School Review Panel last week. "Define what you expect schools to produce in the end, academically, financially and in compliance, and focus on whether they’re doing it rather than how they are doing it."

The state is preparing to revamp its charter school system and laws over the next year. The review panel, a volunteer group that oversees the state’s 31 charter schools, sought help from the association in charting the way forward. It applied for and received a $7,500 grant for an evaluation of its work.

Last week the association presented that evaluation to the panel as well as a series of recommendations to the Charter School Governance Task Force, appointed by the Legislature to come up with ways to improve governance, accountability and authority in public charter schools.

"We asked them to come because we knew we thought things could be improved, and it seemed like a good time for it," said Carl Takamura, chairman of the review panel. "They did a wonderful job. They really took the time to look at all the different aspects and talked to a large number of people. I think it’s fair to say the panel is almost 100 percent in agreement with their findings."

The national association is a membership organization of charter school authorizers, based in Chicago, with a mission "to improve student achievement through responsible charter school oversight in the public interest." Its evaluation team reviewed policies and records, conducted interviews, surveyed school leaders and examined case histories.

The evaluation identified the strengths of Hawaii’s charter school system as innovation, expanding educational choice and increasing public engagement. Weaknesses included unclear academic outcomes, cases of mismanagement and a failure to drive improvement for all of public education.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda, co-chairwoman of the Charter School Governance Task Force, said the report dovetails well with her group’s efforts.

"We truly are looking at beefing up those accountability measures so that at the end of the day, it adds up to improved student outcomes," Tokuda said. "I was stunned that we didn’t have performance contracts in place. It’s important for everyone to know where they’re going."

Lynn Finnegan, executive director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network, said she thought schools would welcome the focus on clarity and quality that contracts would provide.

"I spoke to several of the school leaders today, and the answers have been very similar," she said Friday. "Many of them say this has been the missing piece. You clarify what expectations there are for operations, what expectations for educational outcomes, and the schools will know what they’re supposed to be accountable for. I don’t think they like operating in the gray."

Charter schools operate under a charter with the state and report to their own local school boards, rather than the state Board of Education. They are public schools, open to all without charge, that depend on public funds but enjoy freedom from many state regulations.

"What gives charter schools the opportunity to excel is greater autonomy combined with greater accountability," Richmond said. "Hold schools accountable based on clear performance expectations — not just what level is expected, but what happens if performance doesn’t occur."

The local school boards that govern charter schools should not be a small group of "well-meaning people," the association advised. Instead they should be an effective team, "strategically assembled, to bring the skills, expertise, temperament and time to govern a multimillion-dollar public enterprise."

The Charter School Review Panel, which has just one full-time staff member, needs a larger staff to do its job properly, Richmond said, calling the current arrangement "irresponsible."

The association recommended that some of the staff of the Charter School Administrative Office be reassigned to work for the panel and focus on school performance and accountability. Much of the office’s work now replicates administrative functions of the Department of Education, it said.

The association also advised against creating another charter school authorizer in Hawaii until the current system is fixed.

An online survey conducted by the evaluators found that in general Hawaii "charter school leaders are not sure how their school is being evaluated, but they report that they have autonomy in the operation of their school."

Nonetheless, the association recommended that charter schools be given more leeway in hiring and deploying their own staff.

"We believe that the requirement that the charter schools staff be employees of the state significantly infringes on school autonomy," Richmond told the panel. Elsewhere in the country "the great majority of charter school staff are not public employees," he said.

Charter school employees in Hawaii are eligible for state retirement and health benefits and belong to public employee unions. The schools may negotiate supplemental agreements to union contracts to suit their needs.

Tokuda said the task force will consider the question of collective bargaining at charter schools.

"I think that’s going to be a very lively discussion," she said.