Options may be dwindling for parents who do not want their children attending public schools. St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay called for the closure of Imagine charter schools in the St. Louis area Sept. 16 based on poor academic performance on statewide standardized tests.
The six St. Louis schools run by the Virginia-based Imagine Schools Incorporated, the largest charter school operator in the country, currently rank at the bottom of charter schools and below almost all regular city public schools in St. Louis on the Missouri Assessment Program. In fact, just 3.9 percent of Imagine Academy of Careers Elementary students passed the 2011 state math exam, compared with a 30.9 percent passing rate for students attending St. Louis Public Schools.
“They have consistently been underperforming in every category tested,” Mayor Slay told Fox News Sept. 16. “It’s math, it’s communication arts, and science as well.”
Slay wants to improve public education and supports state intervention in public schools, according to the Fox article. He believes that charter schools can be a quality alternative to public schools, and has directly invited educators to open charter schools in the city.
Imagine, however, was not among the charter school companies endorsed by the mayor. Slay has long criticized charter schools that fail to meet state-wide standards, urging them to improve or close, but this is the first time that the mayor has publicly criticized a charter school company by name. According to Slay, the Imagine schools had five years since their opening to improve, and yet, not one Imagine School that’s in existence right now has ever scored above the floor in any category, in any grade, that’s been tested in any year.
Some feel that the schools should not be the only ones taking responsibility for failing test scores, arguing instead that parents and their children should be held accountable as well.
“Students lack an incentive to do well on the tests,” social studies teacher James Goldwasser said. “Teachers and schools are held accountable but not students or parents.”
In response to the mayor’s accusations, Imagine Schools replied that it is unfair to judge a school solely based on failing test scores. According to Imagine officials, enrollment is up at every school, and parents are happy with the system. Data from surveys taken in 2011 showed that over 65 percent of the parents at every Imagine School felt satisfied with the quality of their children’s education. Over 80 percent of parents of children at Imagine Academy of Careers Elementary feel the school is safe and were satisfied with the quality of education that their children were receiving, according to the elementary school’s website.
“Parents are the best judges of school quality,” Imagine Schools Executive Vice President Sam Howard stated in a press release Sept. 16. “They assess our performance every day, and they keep coming back.”
Additionally, according to Howard, students enrolling in Imagine schools are generally far below grade level, and proficiency tests do not show the background of the students, what level they entered the school at, and how much they have progressed in the school. Further, Howard says, the 95.3 percent graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate among graduates shows how Imagine Schools have improved lives.
“There are so many factors that decide whether a school is successful or not,” special electives teacher Molly Beck said. “Choosing test scores to judge the entire school is not wise.”
Imagine School improvement plans are being created with the help of the schools’ sponsor, Missouri Baptist University. According to Dr. John Jackson, the university’s charter school liaison, sponsorship cannot continue if the proposed plans do not effectively improve state test results. Ultimately, sub-standard education is a problem that everyone must deal with.
“Schools that fail to meet the standards are not the problem in and of themselves,” Goldwasser said. “[They are] the symptoms of much larger societal problems.” #