Some voucher schools have not yet met mandate

By Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Last Updated: August 12, 2006

Voucher schools, already under increased pressure from state regulators to comply with financial rules, now face the first deadline in a new state push to ensure that their educational programs are sound.

By Sept. 30, existing schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program must show officials at the state Department of Public Instruction that they have at least begun the process of seeking accreditation by a state-approved agency. Schools opening this fall will have until Dec. 31 to begin the process. If the schools don't meet those deadlines, their state funding would cease.

A state law passed earlier this year set the ball rolling on accreditation, an effort to address school quality more directly than any other measure in the 16 years of the program.

Out of more than 125 schools expected to be in the program this fall, 14 existing and eight new schools have not met the accreditation rules, officials say.

While that's not a problem yet, it is a signal that -- given the complexity of accreditation -- some schools might be unable to find a group willing to accept them for review.

"We do believe it is going to be an issue for some schools," said Robert Soldner, director of school management services for the DPI.

The accreditation requirement was part of a political agreement that also allows the number of students going to private schools on vouchers to increase to 22,500, up from the previous limit of about 15,000.

Accreditation can take several years, and schools operating this fall do not have to complete the process until Dec. 31, 2009.

Leaders of some schools that have not yet told the DPI with whom they would work on accreditation said they are in good shape but just haven't told the DPI what they're doing. Others might be finding the new requirement a challenge.

Howard Fuller, head of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University and a leader of the school-choice movement, said 40 schools initially attended a meeting about how to get accreditation from the institute, which is one of the state-accepted groups.

Only 20 of the 40 schools applied to the institute after attending that meeting, and five were not accepted. Of those five, four are on the DPI's list of schools that have yet to find a home for accreditation.

"We're not in business just to say, 'You're accredited, you got a piece of paper, there you go,' " said Helen Gilles, director of the accreditation support center at the institute.

Other voucher schools are applying to organizations such as Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation or the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, which accredits many schools in Wisconsin, both public and private.

The 14 existing schools that had not informed the DPI of what they were doing as of this week are:

Agape Center of Academic Excellence, Community Vision Academy, Concordia University School & Institute for LIGHT, DJ Perkins Academy of Excellence, Excel Academy, Faith Temple Pentecostal School, Family Academy, Gandhi Academy for Nonviolence (formerly the Milwaukee School of Choice), Grace Christian Academy, Kindergarten Plus, Nubian Preparatory Learning Academy, Seeds of Health, The Applecrest Preparatory Leadership Academy, and Victory Preparatory Academy.

The eight new schools on the list are:

CrossTrainers Academy, Destiny High School, Elijah's Brook God's Nation Children School, Johnson Christian Academy, Northwest Lutheran School, STS Christian Academy, Teenpreneur #2, and Trinity Academy.

The above appeared in the August 12, 2006 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel