Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series about charter schools in Milwaukee. The heads of two successful charter schools in Milwaukee are questioning a recent proposal to allow high-performing charter schools to replicate without approval of an authorizing body, arguing that the plan is not in the best interests of the city. The New Opportunities for Milwaukee proposal, released in January by Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Dale Kooyenga, states that “the red carpet should be rolled out for charter schools that are high performing.” Recommendations include allowing charters with math and reading test scores 10 percent better than local public schools for two consecutive years to replicate at will, and converting traditional schools in low-income neighborhoods to charters if they fail to meet expectations. But Patricia Hoben, head of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, and Robert Rauh, founding principal and CEO of Milwaukee College Prep, said allowing charters to replicate unchecked is not in the best interests of charters or the local educational system. About one-third of public schools in Milwaukee are charters. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! “A high-performing … charter school should not be afraid of going through an authorization process,” Hoben said. “The process isn’t so complicated.” Hoben opened Carmen South, a high school, in 2007 before expanding to include a Northwest Campus, which will eventually house grades 6-12. The Carmen Schools are authorized by MPS as non-instrumentality charters, meaning their staff members operate outside of the MPS teacher’s union contract although the schools remain under the district umbrella. Robert Rauh stands in the hallway at Milwaukee College Prep’s Lloyd Street Campus. (Photo by Jabril Faraj) Carmen has consistently improved student achievement over the last four years, and fewer than 2 percent of students have dropped out. According to Hoben, there are more than 350 incoming freshmen on the waiting list at Carmen South for 2015-2016; the school plans to open a third location in 2016. Besides the Milwaukee Board of School Directors (MPS), three other entities — the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), the City of Milwaukee Common Council and Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) — are currently allowed to charter schools in Milwaukee. MATC has never exercised that authority. The rallying call of the national charter movement has been that greater choice and more schools will improve educational quality in all schools — in a sense, the idea that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” “I don’t think we’ve proved that,” said Hoben. “Unfortunately, [greater choice] hasn’t changed the traditional school system.” Rauh added that while there have been obstacles to expanding charter schools, the replication process hasn’t been one of them. “I’m not sure where that comes from,” he said, referring to the New Opportunities for Milwaukee plan. Milwaukee College Prep’s 36th Street and Lola Rowe North schools are independent charters authorized by UWM; the 38th Street and Lloyd Street campuses are chartered under MPS as non-instrumentality schools. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers has released policy recommendations for replicating successful charter schools. The association argues that whether a school is worthy of replication “should be measured by defined standards for academic, financial, and operational performance.” Rauh pointed out that simply looking at test scores is not sufficient, noting that charter schools working with students who haven’t been successful elsewhere are not going to have “phenomenal” scores. In 2013 Milwaukee College Prep’s schools failed to meet expectations for student achievement at all but one of its campuses; however, student growth scores consistently fell in the category of “significantly exceeds expectations.” Milwaukee College Prep was “singled out by the DPI (Department of Public Instruction) as one of the highest-growth schools in the entire state,” Rauh said. Growth refers to how much student knowledge of reading and mathematics changes from year to year. Similarly, the overall report card score for Carmen’s South Campus fell just short of meeting expectations, but the school’s “on track and postsecondary readiness” rating, which takes graduation rates and ACT scores into account, exceeded expectations.