Patrick Henry Initiative Is About Opportunities and Options

Of the 43 states with laws authorizing charter schools, Virginia has one of the most restrictive in the nation. In terms of the number of charter schools by state, Virginia is ranked third from the bottom -- narrowly above Mississippi and Wyoming -- with three charter schools. Our neighbor to the south, North Carolina, has more students in charter schools than the entire Richmond Public School (RPS) system has students. What the Patrick Henry Initiative proposes is to open Richmond's first charter school, with a student population of under 400 -- which would comprise less than 1 percent of all city students.

A common challenge to getting a charter school approved is that most folks do not really understand what a charter school is. Put simply, a charter school is a public school run independently. This means that it has its own board, hires its own principal and teachers, and sets and oversees its own curriculum. The school is free, because it is still public. The money used to run the charter school comes from the same coffers, albeit at a smaller percentage, that fund the rest of the public schools. The difference is that a charter school has more flexibility to raise private and corporate dollars to supplement its budget. Families who send their children to a charter school are already paying into the system by paying taxes. A charter school is not the same thing as a private school, and using tax money to pay for charter schools is not giving public money away for private education.

A very important distinction between the Patrick Henry Initiative charter application and others is that our charter application is the result of a grassroots effort. The Patrick Henry Initiative is composed completely of volunteers who wanted a different school option for the children of Richmond. Unlike charter schools that are run by corporations, and are called contract schools, the Patrick Henry Initiative is not a corporation -- and will always be non-profit.

Virginia law stipulates that charter groups must make the school available to all citizens within its geographic boundaries, a key feature of the Patrick Henry Initiative's application. The great thing about this part of the law is that any family from any part of Richmond who wants to apply to go to the school can do so.

Fear drives much of the opposition to charter schools. Many opponents of charter schools claim that there is no need for such an environment, because the existing public schools are fine. Citizens' opinions about the performance of RPS are all over the map. As recently reported, Superintendent Deborah Jewell-Sherman has done a fine job of increasing measures such SOL scores. She and many educators in Richmond deserve credit for that. Even with these achievements, other important issues such as graduation rates are still far from acceptable. The reality is that citizens need to look at the data and decide for themselves what the challenges are that hinder a child's best opportunity for a quality education. Many parents want other opportunities and approaches to help address some of these challenges.

Those supporting the Patrick Henry Initiative are not asking for the charter school because we happen to think RPS is doing anything wrong. We see a charter school as a way to provide more choices and opportunities for Richmond's children and families -- and a way to work alongside Richmond Public Schools to help meet its goals.

Governments handle other services using a variety of methods, with little dissent or upheaval -- such as construction projects, firefighting, accounting, insurance, and food service, to name a few. When done properly, contracting these services to the private sector can save money and render better results. Education is arguably the most important service government offers, and more important, it is a societal obligation to the next generation.

We believe that responsible community-based charter schools are capable of organizing and providing education that is cost-effective and excellent. The School Board has stated for a long time that it would like more parental involvement. The core mission of the Patrick Henry Initiative is to achieve success through parental involvement in education. Our main goal is to involve the public in public education by offering a new way to get citizens more personally involved.

Some have argued that different approaches are not needed. However, if that were true, then why are so many folks in favor of the Patrick Henry Initiative? Obviously there is a strong desire for alternatives in education. We look forward to offering our vision of a chartered public school to the board. We anticipate that, as elected leaders, they will weigh the positives and negatives, and will give us a chance to offer this asset to the community.

The school system has everything to gain from having this particular charter school -- and little, if anything, to lose. All nine members of the school board should vote in favor of the Patrick Henry School for Science and Arts. We hope that they find the courage and forethought to be agents of change. President James Garfield said, "Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained." The importance of educational opportunities and options is what the Patrick Henry Initiative is all about.

Richard Day is the president of the Patrick Henry School Initiative, which has proposed opening a charter school in South Richmond. Contact him at randrll@verizon.net or (804) 855-4421. For more information please visit www.patrickhenrycharter.org.