[mentalhealth-l] Arguing charter vs. traditional schools masks a more fundamental policy concern

[SMHP]

The Center at UCLA has just released a new policy brief entitled:
Arguing About Charters VS. "Traditional" Schools
Masks the Failure of School Improvement Policy and Practice
to Enhance Equity of Opportunity
Here's an abstract:
As the argument over charter vs. traditional schools burgeons, it is 
overshadowing discussion about the ongoing failure of the majority of 
charters and traditional schools to substantially increase the 
percentage of youngsters who succeed at school over the long run. 
This colludes with the tendency to downplay the fact that school 
improvement policy and practice lacks a primary emphasis on 
addressing barriers to learning and teaching and re-engaging 
disconnected students. This brief report focuses on what's missing in 
most analyses of school improvement policy and practice and what type 
of policy shift is needed to stimulate development of a 
comprehensive, cohesive, and coherent system to replace the 
prevailing piecemeal and marginalized approach to student and 
learning supports.
Download at: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/chartermissing.pdf

Please Circulate the Brief: For this to have value, it needs to be shared.
Please forward it to anyone you think should be paying attention to 
these matters.


School Mental Health Project/
Center for Mental Health in Schools
UCLA Dept. of Psychology
Los Angeles, CA  90095-1563
(310) 825-3634 / Toll Free: (866) 846-4843 / Fax: (310) 206-8716
Email: smhp at ucla.edu
Web: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu 
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