Our twenty five minute conference call with Mike Feinberg brought up some interesting points about charter schools and their role in education. He emphasized the importance of competition within the system, and pointed out that charter schools are an effective way of producing this competition. The role of KIPP and other charter schools is not to take over the district or fundamentally change the method of delivery, but to introduce healthy competition to improve the level of education throughout the district in question.
On this note, Feinberg stated that KIPP “want[s] to have the same impact on HISD the way FedEx impacted the Post Office...FedEx didn’t hurt the Post Office, it made it better” by helping to end the government monopoly on mail. In a similar manner, he hopes to end the “government monopoly” on education with schools such as KIPP.
Feinberg later stated that his primary goal is to turn “the school system into a system of schools” by introducing competition and promoting parent and student choice. Without charter schools like KIPP, regular public schools have no incentive to improve or progress, because the students have no choice but to return year after year. One of KIPP’s and Feinberg’s goals is to create a “mindset” conducive for learning, which is in large part created by focusing on the college aspect of education. Additionally, KIPP works to ensure active parent participation in their child’s school life, ranging from monitoring their child’s homework to being an active part of parent organizations. Feinberg hopes to influence the entire education system and public
expectations through KIPP’s exemplary approach to teaching.
Feinberg stated that he is not aiming to expand KIPP to the size of a full district, but rather to demonstrate that with the right mentality, every school can achieve success and improve performance. He believes that the children are not at fault for poor performance, but that the teachers and administrators create an atmosphere averse to learning because of a lack of will to evolve. A change in attitude, starting with healthy competition among schools and within schools, would drastically improve both academic performance and the educational environment. Feinberg noted that KIPP’s per capita expenditures are not drastically more than that of HISD, so funding is not an adequate excuse for poor performance. In fact, KIPP schools run on approximately 90% of the state funding regular HISD schools receive. Feinberg added that even though the KIPP system is extremely scalable, in order to have real change and real success other charter schools must grow and develop in order to promote competition and induce positive changes in the education system as a whole.
Feinberg also emphasized that having a publicly elected board of education (such as that of HISD and the State of Texas) means that every action has a political connotation, and that it is crippling the system’s high level decisions. These politicians are not committed to doing everything in their power to help the students because they have their own political careers in mind. In addition, Feinberg posits that it is of paramount importance that as a society, we all hold every student from every zip code to the same expectations in success.
Feinberg’s unique view, being an insider heavily involved with HISD but still distanced by his school’s charter status, clearly illuminates certain issues that would not otherwise be noticed. He identifies problems with HISD and public schooling in general, and lists solutions for both problems which have been solved as well as for remaining issues. His most basic, and emphatic, point however, is that in order for education to advance, the government monopoly must end and competition must arise to challenge schools to perform better.
--George, Joey, & Zach
On this note, Feinberg stated that KIPP “want[s] to have the same impact on HISD the way FedEx impacted the Post Office...FedEx didn’t hurt the Post Office, it made it better” by helping to end the government monopoly on mail. In a similar manner, he hopes to end the “government monopoly” on education with schools such as KIPP.
Feinberg later stated that his primary goal is to turn “the school system into a system of schools” by introducing competition and promoting parent and student choice. Without charter schools like KIPP, regular public schools have no incentive to improve or progress, because the students have no choice but to return year after year. One of KIPP’s and Feinberg’s goals is to create a “mindset” conducive for learning, which is in large part created by focusing on the college aspect of education. Additionally, KIPP works to ensure active parent participation in their child’s school life, ranging from monitoring their child’s homework to being an active part of parent organizations. Feinberg hopes to influence the entire education system and public
expectations through KIPP’s exemplary approach to teaching.
Feinberg stated that he is not aiming to expand KIPP to the size of a full district, but rather to demonstrate that with the right mentality, every school can achieve success and improve performance. He believes that the children are not at fault for poor performance, but that the teachers and administrators create an atmosphere averse to learning because of a lack of will to evolve. A change in attitude, starting with healthy competition among schools and within schools, would drastically improve both academic performance and the educational environment. Feinberg noted that KIPP’s per capita expenditures are not drastically more than that of HISD, so funding is not an adequate excuse for poor performance. In fact, KIPP schools run on approximately 90% of the state funding regular HISD schools receive. Feinberg added that even though the KIPP system is extremely scalable, in order to have real change and real success other charter schools must grow and develop in order to promote competition and induce positive changes in the education system as a whole.
Feinberg also emphasized that having a publicly elected board of education (such as that of HISD and the State of Texas) means that every action has a political connotation, and that it is crippling the system’s high level decisions. These politicians are not committed to doing everything in their power to help the students because they have their own political careers in mind. In addition, Feinberg posits that it is of paramount importance that as a society, we all hold every student from every zip code to the same expectations in success.
Feinberg’s unique view, being an insider heavily involved with HISD but still distanced by his school’s charter status, clearly illuminates certain issues that would not otherwise be noticed. He identifies problems with HISD and public schooling in general, and lists solutions for both problems which have been solved as well as for remaining issues. His most basic, and emphatic, point however, is that in order for education to advance, the government monopoly must end and competition must arise to challenge schools to perform better.
--George, Joey, & Zach
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