October 3, 2012
CHARTER FROM PAGE 1 flexibility of charter schools to set their own schedules and budgets, while still requiring the same certifications of teachers and the same academic requirements of students. “We can’t make excuses for the growing achievement gap,” said Campion, who explained that Initiative 1240 was drawn from “the best parts” of other states’ laws on charter schools. “It’s important for our low-income and urban children to be able to graduate and go on to college of a trade.” During the question-andanswer portion of the debate, more than one attendee expressed concerns about charter schools to Campion, with one parent wondering whether non-charter schools would see their funding reduced, while another audi-
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ence member asked what percentage of charter schools yield the high-performing results that Campion pointed to in the best charter schools from across the country. Campion responded by comparing charter schools to STEM and other alternative schools as yet another option for students, and reiterated that the November ballot measure represents the lessons learned from the 41 states to have implemented charter schools already. Mortland followed up by arguing that the state’s 480 innovation schools could serve those students if they were tasked with doing so, before citing statistics showing that 17 percent of charter schools are highly effective, while 37 percent are lower in effectiveness and the remaining 46 percent show no difference at all relative to non-charter public schools. “There’s no silver bullet,” said Campion, who
warned that the state is falling behind on STEM education. “If there’s no demand for them, the charter schools won’t work, but our students deserve that option.” “The public school system will do as good a job as we make it do,” said Mortland, who claimed that the state’s graduation rate has been flat and near an all-time high for the past two decades. “This is a bird walk of looking at lovely, wonderful, unrealistic things.” Chamber Board Chair John Bell drew laughter from the crowd when he reported that the meeting’s informal straw poll yielded 23 votes in favor of charter schools and 23 opposed. The Marysville First Assembly of God Church will host another public debate on Initiative 1240 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. Contact Barbara O’Kelly by phone at 425-754-9954 or via email at barbara@elcarro.net.
LITERACY FROM PAGE 1 grams and anything else connected to literacy, which Rotary reviewed and distributed this year. “Through partnering with other organizations, we’re hoping to raise as much as $50,000 and perhaps even double the amounts we dispense to each school,” Edmonds said. In the meantime, Rotarians reflected on the history of this event as they hefted pumpkins onto the grassy field on Sept. 29. “It’s just a great chance for families to enjoy themselves and relax,” Marysville Rotary President Kelly Peterson said. “I look forward to being together with my own family, without stressing over deadlines. Of course, Rotary is my extended family,” he laughed. Fellow Rotarians David Rumsey and Loren Van Loo recalled when the Rotarians themselves had to plant pumpkin seeds by hand and then harvest the pumpkins for the Pumpkin Patch, roughly a decade ago, while former Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall echoed Peterson’s characterization of the Pumpkin Patch as a family-friendly activity. “Kids can walk around through the mud and their
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Marysville Rotarian Loren Van Loo remembers when the Rotary’s ‘Pumpkins for Literacy’ program required Rotarians to plant and harvest the pumpkins themselves. parents won’t mind,” Kendall said. “Anybody can afford to come by and pick up a pumpkin without it costing an arm and a leg.” The Plant Farm will again serve as the site for familiar favorites for all ages, such as the petting zoo, the bouncy houses, the hay and train rides, and the concession stand. Toni Mathews is likewise resuming her duties of booking tour groups to the Plant Farm for the Pumpkin Patch, which Terry Brandon, executive director of human resources for the Marysville School District, deemed a valuable educational resource for the school groups from Marysville, Arlington and Lakewood who will be
visiting it throughout the month. “We are so grateful to the Rotary for their funding,” Brandon said. “We hear from kids and parents alike at the schools how much they enjoy and appreciate this. It really shows the community’s support for its school districts.” To book your own group at the Plant Farm at Smokey Point for “Pumpkins for Literacy,” contact Mathews at the Marysville branch of the Whidbey Island Bank, by phone at 360-657-3100 for via email at tonim@wibank. com. Individual attendees may simply swing by the Plant Farm at Smokey Point, located at 15022 Twin Lakes Ave. in Marysville.
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