A couple of months ago I blogged on how the state’s cap on charter schools may jeopardize the state’s application for federal Race to the Top (RTT) funds.
Well sure enough, today’s Under the Dome tells of changes the state is and is not willing to make for the RTT funds. Another interesting story but you can read about that yourself. Dome also cites a letter from Gov. Perdue and state education officials asking Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to reconsider his emphasis on encouraging charter schoools. In part the letter read:
After reviewing the proposed guidelines for the Race to the Top grant awards, we want to urge you to reexamine the proposed criterion and give broader flexibility and latitude to states that encourage rather than restricts innovation in the classroom,
State law (G.S. 115C-238.29A) governing charter schools in North Carolina, specifically states charter schools are established among other things to ” Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods.” Fact is, charters are the primary method for encouraging educational innovation. The reluctance of the state’s education leaders to lift the current cap shows you how seriously the state is about educational innovation and who really controls public education in North Carolina.
Of course it’s a mere coincidence that later in the day the State Board of Education also decided to establish an ad hoc committee on charter schools (See: here) to look at criteria for approving and closing down charter schools. Just a coincidence……
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