Charter schools split crowd

LYNN – Superintendent Catherine Latham called charter schools “insidious and destructive” to the public school system but many parents called them blessing during Wednesday’s public hearing in City Hall.”All I hear from Lynn Public Schools is it’s about the funding,” said KIPP Academy parent Michelle Reeves. “I’m about my kids.”There was sharp criticism from both sides of the issue regarding an application from the Fenix Charter School to open a new fifth through 12 grade school and KIPP, which is seeking to add kindergarten through fourth grade. However, state Secretary of Education Matt Malone, who along with Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members Vanessa Calderon-Rosado and Alyssa Hopkins presided over the hearing, applauded the nearly 100 parents, educators and students for their healthy and civil discourse on the matter.”This is democracy in action,” he said.Lynn English High School Guidance Councilor Matt Wilkinson said money matters, because it’s how public schools provide services for it’s 15,000-plus students. He, along with several colleagues, talked about strides the public schools have made that could suffer if state aid is diverted to charter schools.The city gets the majority of its budget from state and federal funding. However, if a student chooses to attend a charter school a portion of that money then goes with them. Latham said the loss of 40 students wouldn’t cause a ripple in terms of class sizes, but it represents millions in regards to the school budget.But Lucy Encarnacion, Natasha and Tarik Megie-Maddrey, Patricia Libby, Nancy Costello and Rose Egbuiwe each praised KIPP for reaching their children who were falling through the cracks of the public school system.”It’s really sad how our school is constantly being attacked,” said Encarnacion. “They teach parents that it takes a village to educate a child not just money.”Vianna Alcantara challenged Malone to take a look at “the color of the people for charter schools and the color or people against charter schools.”She also said charter schools, such as the Fenix, are about letting students take control of their education. Lynn Teacher’s Union President Brant Duncan said the charters are failing at sharing best practices, which the schools are mandated by the state to do, but Alcantara said that’s not surprising.”It seems it would be difficult to collaborate with an entity that is so hostile,” she said.Frank DeVito, one of the leaders of the Fenix School, said he envisions traditional public schools, St. Mary’s, KIPP and the Fenix all working as a network to educate the city’s children.It is the lack of educational experience that Latham said she finds most disturbing. She said she would only be able to hire three of the 28 educators listed in the Fenix application because the remaining 25 don’t meet the state standards traditional public schools educators are forced to meet.Many LPS educators also argued that the charter schools don’t bear the burden of having to meet state standards in terms of curriculum and that there is an inequity when it comes to educating English-language learners and special-needs students.Joanna Gallagher, who has worked in the Lynn school system and praised many aspects of it, said the Fenix isn’t without merit. With its project-based curriculum, she said it would provide students that struggle in the traditional school setting an alternative learning environment.Joel Abramson, president of Flagship Travel and a product of the Lynn school system, said he got involved with KIPP Academy about seven years ago because he believes it’s a good model. He called the lottery system, which is how new students are chosen to attend, unbiased and noted that 13 percent of students are special needs.School Committee member John Ford said in the past KIPP has returned as many as 31 students to the traditional school system after Oct. 1, which is when schools receive state funding.”This year, 24 students have already returned and th