New Hampshire Center for School Reform

THE FRANKLIN CHARTER SCHOOL TEST

Test your knowledge about Franklin Career Academy

1. What was Franklin High School’s cumulative drop-out rate is 2001?

   1. 12.8%

   2. 20.6%

   3. 50.2%

2. In 2002, when founders of Franklin Career Academy decided to sponsor a charter school, their stated motive was:

1. learning to write grants and applications,

2. improving high school options for Franklin students,

3. increasing newspaper sales.

3. When the Franklin charter school developers took their charter to Franklin School Board, they were:

1. told they could not explain the charter application to the school board,

2. told the school board could not accept the charter application,

3. told the school board could not review the charter application,

4. all of the above.

4. When the legislature passed a 2003 charter school pilot program, allowing 20 state-authorized charter schools in 10 years, the Franklin charter school proponents:

1. asked if the state board would give their proposal a fair review,

2. explained to the state board their concern about the number of young people in Franklin who were not receiving a strong education,

3. read a statement explaining their desire to have higher expectations for at risk students in Franklin, basing their charter school program on a nationally-acclaimed charter school in Rhode Island,

4. all of the above

5. After Franklin Career Academy charter school received state authorization, they opened their doors as a choice charter high school, grades 9-12.  They received quite a few applications from students in grades 7 and 8. What did they do?

1. told students who wanted the new school to wait til 9^th grade,

2. went to the state board requesting a charter amendment to add grades 7 and 8,

3. welcomed every student who applied no matter what grade, level, or type of student.

6. The reason Franklin is now requesting the per student state adequacy funding for the public students at the charter schools is:

   1. the school needs the funding.

   2. the school has very high overhead for facility rental.

   3. the board took stock of the types of students and their needs, and realized that only 3 instructional staff was inadequate. FCA’s 3 teachers are handling every academic class for all students, all subjects, all levels grades 7-12 plus teaching sports, music, community service, being class advisors, year book, fund-raising, planning field trips, writing and managing individual programs for every student, doing assessments, preparing students for college, preparing for the school’s graduation, coordinating business internships, offering elective classes, implementing special services in individual education plans, supervising volunteers, working to develop the school culture, and more.

   4. All of the above.

7. Franklin Career Academy charter school has faced considerable obstacles and challenges this year. Which of the following statements are true:

   1. Negative publicity has scared off parents and students and convinced the board of trustees to throw in the towel.

   2. Parents, students, and teachers still support the mission of this charter school, and even with so much publicity about threat of no funding and closing, Franklin Career Academy has many applications for next year.

   3. Despite being understaffed and having to function under a constant cloud of conflict, Franklin Career Academy charter school is posting some very strong mid-year academic and social learning results.

   4. It takes a lot of energy to sustain a positive school climate for students when town leaders are at odds.

   5. All of the above.

8. For what reasons has the situation in Franklin not been resolved and are Franklin’s elected leaders withholding state adequacy funding from this one group of public school students?

   1. The district is poor and they do not want to release any revenue received for any reason.

   2. The town is not receiving solution-oriented advice. And if the situation is forced to play out in the courts, then the school's attorneys will receive these students' adequate education and special education funding.

   3. People assume no Franklin parents will wage their own legal challenge, e.g. because their child’s special education funding or adequacy education funding is being completed denied to their children.

   4. There is bad blood between some of the people involved.

   5. People do not understand the long-term personal and economic consequences of having chronic, high drop-out rates in Franklin and/or the benefit this charter school would be to Franklin High School.  For if these issues were understood there would be a concerted effort to collaborate and help FCA charter school thrive.

   6. Lack of problem-solving leadership. We are in between Commissioners of Education and have just changed Governors, Mayors of Franklin, and State Board of Education chairmen.

   7. There is no dialogue taking place to create a mutually-beneficial arrangement whereby the city redistributes tax dollars and both schools co-exist with the available public funding for education.

   8. There’s no money in the allocation formula to specifically address concerns about new district students or returning district students.

   9. The pass-through system of funding does not work here in New Hampshire or anywhere. It is a scheme fraught with problems and so state-authorized schools should have direct state payment.

   10. New Hampshire has no diversion provision in its charter school law, as with Pennsylvania or other states, assuring students receive their money even if districts refuse to send it along.

   11. The pass-through system of sending state funding to the charter school creates havoc with the local district budgets, because the districts have to show these payments as an expense within their budget totals.

   12. Franklin receives a kickback from newspaper sales.

   13. All of the above.

 Answer Key:

Question 1:  c) 50.2% cumulative drop-out rate in 2001, as posted on the Department of Education’s web site under Statistical Reports. In 2004, the drop-out rate was less but still 20% higher than the state average.

Question 2:  b) the concern was for students in Franklin

Question 3:  d) all of the above. Procedural reasons were given to explain why contents of the charter application could not even be reviewed by the school board.

Question 4:  d) all of the above

Question 5:  b) and c)  Founder amended the FCA charter to include grades 7 & 8 and accept parents and students who wanted a school like the one designed—with individual attention, a college-prep curriculum, a focus on raising literacy levels, and a commitment to make sure students would succeed

Question 6:  d) All of the above.

Question 7:  b) ,c), and d) Probably some parents and students have decided not to approach FCA because of recent publicity, but the school is succeeding and has many applications for next year. Charter schools only survive when there is a market need and demand for their program.  FCA seems to be needed and requested by parents and students.

Question 8:  Probably all of the above, except the kickback from newspaper sales. And maybe the district lawyers are urging the School Board to think of the students, their right to public education funding, and how important it is for all Franklin students to finish a strong high school program.  
 

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