CHAMPAIGN,Ill. – Charter schools as agents of change in American education will be the focus of a March 15 symposium at the Illini Center in Chicago that will feature scholars who have varying perspectives on the issue.
Christopher Lubienski, a faculty member in the department of education policy, organization and leadership in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Peter Weitzel, project coordinator of the Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies at the U. of I. at Springfield, will discuss the research on charter schools as explored in their recent book, “The Charter School Experiment: Expectations, Evidence and Implications” (Harvard Education Press, 2010), which also is the title of the symposium.
In the book, a select group of scholars surveyed the past, present and future of charter schools, examining how well they’re fulfilling their goals, such as providing competition for public schools, promoting access and fostering innovation to improve educational quality.
“We wanted to document the data on charters at this critical milestone in their evolution and to explore their future trajectory,” Lubienski and Weitzel wrote. “The current administration is pursuing a wide range of relatively aggressive educational reforms but they have generally not cast a critical eye on charter schools thus far.”
The book concludes that charter schools are embarking on a new developmental phase and are beginning to serve purposes that differ significantly from those originally set out for them.
“Our main take-away is that policymakers and parents need to temper their enthusiasm and weigh the evidence carefully, even if it challenges popular and often misguided assumptions,” Lubienski and Weitzel wrote. “We hope that our book will help researchers and policymakers at the state and federal levels recognize areas to improve overall charter school quality and access for the most disadvantaged families.”
Contributing authors Gary Miron, a professor in the department of educational leadership, research and technology at Western Michigan University, and Janelle Scott, a faculty member with appointments in the Graduate School of Education and the department of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, will present their work.
A panel discussion and question-and-answer session will follow with panelists Andrew W. Broy, the president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools; Pauline Lipman, a professor of educational policy studies in the College of Education at the U. of I. at Chicago; and Greg Richmond, the president and chief executive officer, National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
The moderator will be Debra Bragg, a professor in the department of education policy, organization and leadership and director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education at Illinois. Mary Kalantzis, the dean of the College of Education at the U. of I.’s Urbana campus will give opening remarks and introduce the speakers and panelists.
Lubienski, who is on sabbatical, will be participating in the discussions via Skype.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin with a box lunch at noon followed by presentations and discussion beginning at 1 p.m.
The Illini Center is at 200 S. Wacker Drive.
Registration is required. To reserve a space, e-mail Jason Taylor at taylor26@illinois.edu by March 8.
More information is available online.
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