By Bill Begg Jr.
Charter schools are part of the solution to the achievement deficit in the St. Louis Public Schools, proponents note. Detractors contend that the schools skim off the cream of the crop and do little to alleviate the long-term challenges to urban education.
The reality is somewhere in between, according to research conducted in cities where charter schools have operated for awhile. Quite simply, as it’s been said, all ships rise with the tide.
Confluence Preparatory Academy has been serving 90-some ninth graders since the beginning of the 2008-09 school year. Meanwhile, KIPP (an acronym for the Knowledge Is Power Program) plans to begin operating schools here soon. KIPP is a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States.
To be sure, in concert with optimism in the city’s public schools with a new superintendent (see related story), there’s excitement and enthusiasm all round. As Kelvin Adams, Ph.D., points out: When achievement increases, enrollment increases, and funding increases.
Confluence: The name is apt. Where the Missouri and Mississippi join above
St. Louis, the confluence, is the point at which America’s greatest river becomes its very strongest.
Confluence Academy is the largest charter school system in St. Louis, serving more than 2,700 students in grades K-9 at campuses in the Old North St. Louis, South City and Walnut Park neighborhoods. (According to the Missouri Charter Public School Association’s web site, last year more than 7,700 students were enrolled in charter schools in St. Louis.)
Confluence offers a strong academic program that features longer school days and a longer school year, as well as a summer school program. Confluence is governed by a local board of directors and sponsored by Missouri University of Science and Technology at Rolla.
Administrators point out that being affiliated with Rolla may especially help girls, who tend to be underrepresented in science and technology careers.
The board has contracted with EdisonLearning to manage daily operations. Through school partnerships, EdisonLearning serves more than 350,000 students in 24 states and the United Kingdom.
“Confluence is offering academically competitive and quality public educational opportunity in the City,” says Craig Glover, chairman of the Confluence Board of Directors. “Our students are challenged with a rigorous curriculum in a caring environment that is dedicated to their success.”
This is not a typical urban school. Ninety students, all 9th-graders, have access to laptop computers, as well as advanced placement classes. The student-teacher ratio is 15 to 1. To graduate, students must earn 28 credits, four more than the state’s minimum.
The curriculum includes no shop or home economics classes; all courses are focused on college prep. Administrators have said it’s almost like a private school that’s paid for by public school money.
Confluence will grow the high school one grade per year. It joins Lyle Academy’s middle and high school to become the second of two city charter high schools.
Confluence opened its doors in 2003. Board members say that charter schools can coexist with the city schools. Although there may be the perception that only the best students need apply, enrollment is open to all students who live in the City. Indeed, more than 90 percent qualify for the free and reduced school lunch.
How is Confluence doing overall? Eighty-nine percent of parents rated their experience with Confluence as an “A” or a “B,” according to a Harris Interactive Poll. The national average is 69 percent. There is a strong focus on family involvement and the school’s eight core values: wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility, and integrity.
Spanish classes begin in kindergarten, and students are assessed monthly so that their learning experience can be customized. Instruction is supported by a research-based curriculum, and teachers benefit from a strong professional development program.
Meanwhile, KIPP’s presence is on the horizon. A community coalition, including members of Civic Progress and the Regional Business Council, was formed to demonstrate that St. Louis is fertile ground for KIPP’s presence. Washington University was designated the authorizer, or sponsor, of the KIPP charter schools. Business leaders, who have committed more than $500,000 to support KIPP’s start-up, will play a critical role in forming its board of directors. These funds will help support the creation of a local resource center as well as the search for qualified educators to lead KIPP schools in St. Louis.
Indeed, it could well be that, one day,
St. Louis will be able to boast the greatest confluence of city and charter education in just about any region of the country.
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