Last Chance Dance - :(

Tonight I am taking my family (and my youngest brother & his family) to the "last chance dance" to support our school.  There will be music, there will be a contest for the best "spirit wear" and there will be silent auction/Chinese auction/tricky tray items to bid on.  There will be a lot of people there, (fingers crossed) and fun fun fun for our kids and families.

So why do I have a :( face in the title?  This isn't a fun event for me or many of our members.  Our school, The Institute for Excellence Charter School has received its death sentence, the 2 years of ASK scores that we have are all the proof that the Department of Education needs to administer the lethal injection and close the doors for good.  Our families, our teachers, our students and the community that has been built over the past 5 years will be left to mourn this loss, a big one for our community, an opportunity never fully realized, a School (with a capital S) created with big dreams and even bigger hopes that were not reached.

I am sad, absolutely, since I was fairly happy with the education my children have gotten. I have seen one child thrive in math and science and start to take on a mantle of classroom leadership.  I have seen my other child learn self-control, how to deal with frustration and how to connect with her peers and teachers positively -- through the interaction of WONDERFUL teachers and counselors.  And I am angry.  I am angry...ANGRY.  I am angry at the leaders of our school for this outcome. I am angry that we have had so much churn with teachers and especially administrators.  I am ANGRY at myself for hoping my suspicions were wrong, that we would be approved for at least another 4 years to improve so I did nothing to ensure my own offspring's education.  I am also angry at Commissioner Chris Cerf who has remained annoyingly silent since the news of our denial has come out, whose office has then denied additional funding for Choice Districts who might free up slots for the 480 students who will not have a "home" as of 6/30/2013.  I am angry at Governor Chris Christie, a supposed champion of school choice and Charter Schools, and yet in the past few years, the fact is that Charter Schools are not allowed to be started in certain areas due to the potential economic impact on the sending district, most likely the areas that truly NEED some choice -- areas like Winslow Township...Governor Chris Christie is also super quiet about this situation.  He has provided no response to numerous requests from parents, administrators and other sources to at least MEET our students, tour our school and listen to what we have to say.  We are constituents, voters, and members of this community and the larger community of the "Great State of NJ"  --- why in there no response, even if it's to say "hey, I am not really interested in talking about this"  PROVIDE us with something...

That being said, I am going to this dance, with my family, and will put on my happy face (as happy as this face can get)...and continue to support the efforts to Save Our School --   Unlike a death row inmate who on average spends 11 years in appeals (Bureau of Justice Statistics),  TIFECS does not have years of appeals...we have one opportunity to appeal legally and there's very little chance since we are unable to support our appeal with information beyond what was included in the original request to extend the charter...we can't introduce the amazing MAP scores for ALL of our grades that show growth and improvement that is statistically better than our cohorts; we are unable to show how innovative our curriculum is, not only teaching to basic skills but ensuring that our students learn CRITICAL THINKING skills, creative ways to learn and have a large amount of science and social studies in the curriculum.  Our downfall, I suppose, is that our teachers didn't spend all.their.time teaching for the ASK test...they spent time helping our children learn science practically, hands on.  The spent time ensuring comprehension of subjects and supporting the students need to learn experimentally....so now it's most likely back to school in a district that is also failing, so that they get the $$ for our children back into the Winslow Township coffers and they still won't be providing anything exceptional.  I personally called the office of the Superintendant about 2 weeks ago and inquired as to what their plan was to integrate our 480 students.  I was told that there would be "no problem" and that no adjustments at all would really need to be made.  I don't know about you, but how does one add almost 100 students per grade to an already struggling district WITH NO PROBLEM?

I beg any of you reading this blog, if you have gotten this far, to help us in bringing our plight to the public...not everyone likes or advocates Charter Schools -- that's fine and I *get* that, but understand that if you live in Winslow Township, YOUR children's classrooms will now be tighter, YOUR resources will be stretched even further, because of this denial.  The loss of the Institute for Excellence Charter School further dilutes the resources available to your child/ren... I don't think anyone wins in this situation and that makes me sad.

What say you?