Muszkiewicz Reader

Please Clarify IDEA Opt-Out Procedure

Dr. Carstarphen, Board of Trustees, and Mr. Sanchez:

I realize you’re scheduled to discuss allocating bond funds this evening, but I would ask that you take a few minutes to explain how parents of children assigned to attend IDEA Public Schools next fall can opt-out and instead attend a different Austin Independent School District school.

Specifically, how do parents of children set to attend K-2 at Allan Elementary opt-out of IDEA to instead attend either Govalle or Ortega?

Furthermore, how do parents of children set to enter 6th grade at any of the schools in the Eastside Memorial Vertical Team opt-out to instead attend Martin Middle School?

As it stands, the only option parents have is to submit a non-priority general transfer by January 31st.

That deadline is fast approaching, yet there’s been no public clarification from AISD as to if and when there will be a seperate opt-out process for parents.

Some parents will no doubt choose to send their kids to IDEA and therefore accept the default assignment, but it’s just as important that you give parents the choice to attend a non-charter school within AISD if they choose.

I suspect you don’t want the transfer process to be used for opting out of IDEA, but in the absence of any guidance from AISD, many parents see that as their only option.

Thank you for all you do.

By Luke M. Muszkiewicz
Sent to Dr. Carstarphen, Board of Trustees, and Mr. Sanchez on 1/23/2012

AISD Hid Response to Concerns Over IDEA’s Performance

Nearly three weeks after the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to approve their partnership with IDEA to create two in-district charter schools, chief performance officer Bill Caritj released his favorable assessment of IDEA’s student performance data in response to Ed Fuller’s overwhelmingly negative analysis published in mid-November.

Before we get too deep into debating the merits of either study, I hope the second to last paragraph in the Statesman article doesn’t go unnoticed:

Caritj acknowledged his study focused more on the outcomes than on the demographics of the students going into the school and said there was no agenda other than responding to the questions that were raised. He said school board members were provided copies before their final vote in December, though the data wasn’t released to the media until this week.

When I spoke at the December 12th board meeting, I raised concerns over IDEA’s performance, specifically that poorer and lower performing students were less likely to enroll and graduate from IDEA schools. My concerns were in large part based upon Fuller’s work, and several other speakers raised similar issues.

It was hard to believe then that these issues went largely unacknowledged, much less refuted, by either AISD staff or the Board before the vote. But it’s particularly dismaying to see now that in fact AISD staff did respond to the Board in the form of Caritj’s report, but in keeping it from the public deprived anyone from questioning the merits of the response before the Board acted.

Fuller: Are IDEA Charter Schools a Good Idea for Austin?

Caritj/Marder: Analysis of the “Is IDEA a Good IDea for Austin ISD?” Study

Statesman: Austin school district says critical IDEA study doesn’t tell whole story

Fuller: Rebuttal to the Austin ISD critique of my study on IDEA Charter Schools

By Luke M. Muszkiewicz