Bethel denies HomeSource appeal, votes to terminate contract
EUGENE, Ore. - The Bethel School Board unanimously voted to uphold their decision to terminate HomeSource Family's Charter School's contract at Monday night's public hearing.
The decision comes after the district had already revoked the charter school's contract for budgetary concerns in August.
HomeSource appealed the termination, and it was denied Monday night for student performance reasons.
"HomeSource is significantly under performing the district in math, reading, and science in grades 3rd through 5th," said Colt Gill, Superintendent for Beth School District. "This is the 2nd consecutive year that the state assessment results have not met the contractual targets."
In response, officials with HomeSource Charter School argued that parents in the district are seeing student improvements outside of state assessment test scores.
"Despite the information that's being presented to you about our academic performance, over 150 families believe that their children are performing better academically than they would if they were enrolled in a traditional public school," said Ward Christman, Chair of HomeSource Charter School.
Shanna Blickle's son, Cameron, started attending HomeSource at the beginning of this school year.
Blickle said the small class room size has helped her son stay more focused.
"He has Asperger's and he doesn't have the social skills to cooperate with 40 kids in a math class," Blickle said. "If he was in the regular middle schools he would struggle immensely."
The Bethel School District's decision will now to go to the Oregon Department of Education.
HomeSource Family Charter School will remain open until further notice. Officials with the charter school said Monday night that they do plan to file a second appeal.
Test scores are certainly not the only indicator of teacher effectiveness, but they do matter. I am a teacher at a school where our class sizes rarely top 20. As a result of this and our highly qualified staff, a vast majority of our students either meet or exceed standards every year. If a school like HomeSource, which boasts the benefits of small class sizes, is not at least as successful with students as the traditional schools, its methods of instruction are clearly flawed. I, of course, also blame the hubris of parents who believe that they, though not trained teachers with superior knowledge in all subjects, have the capacity to effectively teach their children. As the step-mother of a HomeSource student, I am very thankful for the board's decision.
 @DeutschesMaedchen I hope you aren't serious with your comment: "I, of course, also blame the hubris of parents who believe that they, though not trained teachers with superior knowledge in all subjects, have the capacity to effectively teach their children." You are aware that the majority of studies show that homeschoolers outperform public school students on standardized tests? Homeschoolers are also overrepresented in most national academic contests. I personally know many homeschool families whose children are thriving academically, often performing above grade level. I taught my daughter at home for her first nine years of school, supplementing her education with HomseSource electives and occasional academic courses. She just began Early College at LCC. She is doing very well in her classes, as are many of her formerly - or partially-homeschooled friends.
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The situation at HomeSource is both sad and unique. This would have been our tenth year there, but we decided to leave due to the changes brought about by the charter implemented in 2010. Some observations:
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1. Several excellent teachers who had been there for years were replaced by less-experienced, yet credentialed, teachers.
2. There was a large exodus of long-time traditional homeschooling families. Some remaining students remarked, "Most of the smart kids are gone."
3. There was an influx of students whose parents wanted the benefits of homeschooling without the responsibilities.
4. A handful of students enrolled in HomeSource because they had been expelled elsewhere. Some students enrolled because they were having other problems in a traditional setting. My daughter, as well as several teachers, noticed a change in the classroom atmosphere: disrespect for teachers and other students, out-of-control behavior, flippant attitudes towards schoolwork and cliques.
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I would ask that you consider these unique circumstances rather than accusing homeschool parents of hubris. The HomeSource we knew for the first 7 years died when the charter went into affect. My daughter used to love HomeSource, but she came to hate it near the end. So sad what public regulation can do to a beautiful program...
@HappyMom just made one of the best arguments ever for vouchers. Most of those who utilized HomeSource in the early years, could only afford it because of a unique funding arrangement similar to vouchers. Take a perfectly good education model and add government control and you get a less-effective school. Probably not less effective than the public schools, but we all know how receptive public schools are to being graded.
So as I understand it, test scores on standardized tests are not to be trusted to evaluate teachers effectiveness in Oregon schools for promotion or discipline but are the measuring standard of success when we are evaluating charter schools.  Â