Chester-Upland School District in distress

WHEN THE morning bells ring in the Chester-Upland School District, more students in kindergarten through eighth grade are sitting in charter-school classrooms than in all other district schools combined, according to district Superintendent Gregory Thornton.

State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, a charter-school proponent who represents Delaware and Chester counties, says, "It should be a wake-up call to school administrators that when parents are allowed choice, they're choosing another education provider over what the district is providing."

Charter schools are offering choices to parents in the city of Chester who have long been disappointed or discouraged by the school district. But the charter schools also present a challenge to a district that is trying to reform under new leadership.

Established by the state in 1997, charter schools are "self-managed public schools," according to the state Department of Education. They offer an alternative in public education for parents who can't afford private schooling.

The district is required to pay a per-pupil allocation from state funds for each child who opts to attend a charter school instead of a district school. Right now, that amounts to about one-third, or about $31 million, of the district's budget, Thornton said.

"I support charter schools," he said. "I believe communities need choice. But when you have a small pie it's very difficult to take that large of a slice out and still have a good meal for the kids who are left."

For a new superintendent who is trying to overhaul a district facing monetary, intellectual, human-capital and building-capacity problems, the rate at which charter schools drain district resources can be daunting.

In 2007, the Chester-Upland Empowerment Board, a state committee established to oversee the academic and fiscal recovery of the school district, passed a resolution to place enrollment caps on Chester's three charter schools.

Even after a Commonwealth Court ruling in January knocked down the resolution, the board continues to appeal the decision, said Widener University President James T. Harris.

"Widener Partnership Charter School had no choice but to enter into the lawsuit, which is a real shame because the children lose in the end," Harris said.

Annette Anderson, principal of the charter school, said that it's important for her charter and the district to support one another because the school serves students in kindergarten through second grade only. The charter plans to add 50 more students a year in each grade until it maxes out at fifth grade in 2011. After that, students will head into regular district schools.

"We have a vested interest in the success of the Chester-Upland School District," she said. "That's why it's not a good thing for us to be considered separate. We have to come together."

Thornton, formerly chief academic officer of the Philadelphia School District, said that constant leadership changes - he is the 13th superintendent in the last 12 years - haven't helped the district.

"There have been a lot of false starts over the years - so many that people don't believe in what could potentially happen," he said.

Changes in leadership and policy at the district caused Widener, which had wanted to partner with the district on a lab school, to instead form its own charter school, Harris said.

"Universities have tried to create relationships, but that becomes so discouraging when everything is constantly changing," he said.

Thornton said that he's also reminded daily of changes that the district has failed to make.

"Every conversation I start with a businessman or a vendor or whoever, they take great pains to remind me of our inability to make changes," he said.

Still, Thornton looks forward to partnerships with area colleges and with Chester's charter schools.

One impending partnership is the merger into the school district of the Village Charter School of Chester-Upland. The school is slated to be brought into the district in the fall as its charter expires, Thornton said.

Thornton also wants to divide the district's high school into three, use the city's soccer stadium and Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack as learning laboratories and start a class on Chester's history.

"We've just started the journey," he said. "We don't know where it's going, but it's one we must take or we will continue to lose generation after generation in this city."

In 2000, the district had an enrollment of 6,471 kids. Eight years later, enrollment has dropped to 3,947 students, Thornton said. In another eight years, projections show, it will have declined to 2,013, he said.

As charter schools continue to challenge the district for public-school students, each institution must vie to be the most attractive panel on what Thornton calls the "new American educational fabric."

"I believe, at the end of the day, when people look fairly at the comparison, we will be competitive," Thornton said. "This is an entrepreneurial experiment in competition."