Re “Fighting Words. Why We Are Better – Exceptional vs. ‘Aight’”
Well, you have to give charter school operator Fiorina Rodov credit for originality. Most charter operators, when seeking community support to open a charter school in that community, emphasize their desire to work collaboratively with the local public schools as they work together to serve the kids in that community.
Ms. Rodov has chosen an opposite approach. She's chosen to insult CCUSD's schools and programs by calling them failures and then proposing to ride to the rescue with her superior charter school.
The arrogance is breathtaking.
Ms. Rodov makes sure to remind us at every turn that she is a graduate of Columbia University. That fact, combined with her four years of public school teaching experience, qualifies her – in her mind – to judge our schools.
District’s Glowing Resumé
Does Ms. Rodov know how many of our schools have been recognized as “California Distinguished Schools”? Or that Culver City Middle School was named a California “School to Watch”? Or that Culver Park High School was recognized as a “Model Continuation School”? Or that Culver City High School was honored as a national “Blue Ribbon School”? Or that El Marino Language School is THE model for language immersion programs throughout the country?
Her comments about Culver Park really struck a nerve with me, having taught there for 19 years. According to Ms. Rodov, at Culver Park there are “no lessons, no lectures” and “merely bookwork.”
I almost don't know where to begin with this comment. Let's just say that my science students – some of whom contracted poison oak while helping the State Parks staff remove non-native plants from the Baldwin Hills and replacing them with native species – might consider that project to have been something other than “bookwork.”
A Century of Experience
The teachers and staff at Culver Park are experts in meeting the needs of kids who have not done well in a traditional school setting. The current staff at CPHS must have, collectively, nearly one hundred years of experience in working with this particular student population.
But Ms. Rodov, don't forget, has that Columbia degree to go along with her four years of public school experience.
She criticizes our Independent Study Program as well. Here again, I taught in this program. My very first student was a concert violinist – just the kind of “professional youth” Ms. Rodov's proposed charter wants to attract.
By coincidence, I'm a violinist. I, too, have an Ivy League degree (Yale). –Those, however, were not the reasons this student succeeded in our program. She and other independent study students have succeeded because we know what we're doing when it comes to kids who need an alternative to the traditional school setting.
Stanford University published the most thorough analysis of charter schools to date in 2009. They analyzed data comparing charter schools with students from traditional public schools in 15 states and the District of Columbia. They found that 17 percent of charter students outperformed students in traditional public schools, 46 percent showed no difference, and 37 percent did worse.
Numbers Are Proof
In other words, for every charter that does a better job with our kids, two are inferior.
Ms. Rodov has given us a clear indication as to what we can expect if our public funds are funneled to her privately-run charter school. She's been very clear: Your schools are lousy; my school is better.
I've lived in Culver City and taught in our schools for over 30 years. I have a strong sense of the school spirit that lives in each of our schools. It's a special spirit, one that is felt by teachers, parents, students and staff. I don't think the kind of spirit Ms. Rodov is bringing is what we need in our family of schools.
Mr. Mielke, President, Culver City Federation of Teachers, may be contacted at davidmielke@ccusd.org
