Memo to: Gov. Mark Dayton

From: Al Fan, Charter School Partners    

Re: A Consensus: Close the Achievement Gap — No Excuses!

At Charter School Partners, we believe that Minnesota's achievement gap — one the nation's largest — can be closed. A new era of possibility and, potentially, collaboration finds us, and other educational and community leaders who are equally committed to closing this gap, hopeful about the prospects for educational equity as this legislative session begins.

With a $6.2 billion budget deficit, we are not naïve about the tough budget battles that are looming at the Capitol, but on the issue of closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color, there is great common ground. We are hopeful the new faces and new dynamic at the Capitol will present an opportunity to transcend the acrimony of the last eight years as it relates to education reform. Your pick of Brenda Cassellius, a proponent of reforming urban schools and her commitment to closing the achievement gap, has set the right opening tone for your education initiatives.

Your true-grit mentor, Gov. Rudy Perpich, was Minnesota's pioneering educational reformer. One of the many reforms initiated under his administration was the nation's first charter law, designed to create schools of innovation and give parents more educational choices. Choice and innovation were the bywords of the era. After 20 years, some succeeded, others didn't.

We are now entering a new era for charter schools. We call it Charter 2.0. While choice and innovation continue to be part of the charter experience, replicating success is now the avant-garde movement in American education today. President Barack Obama has recognized this and has refocused federal support around replicating success — in both charter and district schools. Many of these components were embodied in the president's Race to the Top initiative.

In recent years, many schools nationally and several in Minnesota are succeeding in closing the achievement gap. Most of them are charters or have charter-like qualities (that is why we are passionate advocates of charter schools): schools that have the flexibility and freedom to implement new policies, new curriculum, to replace ineffective teachers and to serve the specific needs of children have a better chance than organizational structures without this flexibility.

To continue to move forward as we work on closing the state's egregious achievement gap, we have just a few recommendations:

First, do no harm: Let the best charter law in the nation now play out. For the last two years, Minnesota was voted the best charter law in the country by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In 2009, the charter law was strengthened, with bipartisan support and support of charter advocates. The result is a substantial ratcheting up of the quality, accountability and academic achievement of public charter schools. This includes a new focus on increasing accountability for authorizers, which are all required to reapply to the state as well as new board training requirements. Let's let this new law now play out.

Maintain charter funding levels (one of the reasons for our highly touted charter law) by restructuring funding around choice, accountability and results. More resources need to go toward replicating success instead of propping up failing schools — charter or district. Although they still receive less per student than district schools, successful Minnesota charter schools are able to do their good work as a result of the current funding. Charters already had to absorb an enormous 30 percent holdback of its funds to help balance state budgets. Some creative no- or minimal-cost credit enhancement mechanisms to address the holdback could go a long way in keeping high performing charter schools solvent.

Alternative teacher certification: As a committed young man, you taught at an inner-city school in New York City. Montessori training programs, Teach for America, The New Teacher Project and other research-tested teacher preparation programs can complement our fine teaching colleges in the state. While the achievement gap looms, it makes sense that we should use every arrow in the educational quiver to close it.

Reciprocity: A licensed teacher from another state who has been successful in his or her classroom, particularly if that classroom was in an inner-city urban school, should be able to teach in Minnesota schools.

Early childhood education: Of course, the achievement gap begins before kindergarten; if we can help a child start school on the right track, we will need fewer costly interventions later. The Minnesota Early Learning Foundation http://www.melf.us/ (MELF), made up of state corporate and community leaders, recently came out with a series of innovative recommendations that would overhaul the state's early education program. These should be strongly considered as well.

Gov. Dayton, we stand ready to work with you and state leaders at this salient moment in Minnesota history to close the state's immoral achievement gap and provide an opportunity for all students, no matter their background, to access a high-quality education that honors their potential and allows them productive life options.

Al Fan is executive director of Charter School Partners, a nonprofit organization with national and state foundation support. Its mission is to improve academic achievement in Minnesota's charter schools and to close the achievement gap.