Sizing Up the Charter School Movement

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I would like to comment on a previous statement made earlier. The way you get into a charter school is by applying. If the parents of special needs students apply to a charter they have to same opportunity to get into that school as every other student. A charter school cannot deny students based on their needs whether physical, emotional or other. Charter schools have to earn their stay and are evaluated by the state every 4 years if they not meet the STATES STANDARDS they are suppose to be shut down. Charter schools that are marginal are as much the responsiblity of the staff of the charter as the states responsibility. If we want our school systems to improve administrators and teachers that do not do their work need to be let go that goes for public and charter schools alike.

meghan of nj of NJ 12:26PM December 05, 2008

We need more than charter schools. We need parental choice. Just as we have equal opportunity and choice in housing, employment, travel and entertainment, we need parental choice in education. The Declaration of Independence provides for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Government should not be financially coercing parents to send their childlren to government run schools.

Israel of NJ 1:08PM May 08, 2008

Actually, charter schools are notorious for underserving special-ed students -- even their strongest advocates sheepishly admit that. (Private/parochial schools too, obviously.) Just correcting that misinformation. .

Caroline of CA 11:48AM May 08, 2008

Hurrah for those backing charter schools. I have been tutoring and teaching dyslexic kids for many years. I use a method that has been proven (in many districts who are advanced enough to try it) to be 100% effective. Yet the public schools offer NO, NONE, NADA, help for these children, along with others with similiar reading problems. These kids are usually average or above average
intelligence, many are minorities, and yet students such as these are found in every culture. The old public school heirachies, are totally resistant to change.
Unwilling to even have these methods investigated, and continue to let these
great go down thru the cracks, thinking that they were "born stupid".
Viva Charter Schools, Christian Schools, etc. Im for the pell funding going to all schools who are meeting state requirements. Let the Public Schools start moving then. Praise the Lord.

Marte Blackmon of TX 10:28AM May 08, 2008

Charter schools have had 15 years to prove themselves -- and have not done so. They do not outperform traditional public schools, despite the massive advantages they've had (such as megamillions in private philanthropy poured into them and an unbelievable amount of gushing by the gullible press).
Just like traditional public schools, some charters are great, some are dismal and most are somewhere in between.
The big promise of charter schools was that they would "pioneer innovations" for grateful traditional public schools to emulate. But over the 15 years of charter schools' existence, even the most avid charter enthusiast can't name a single innovation "pioneered" in a charter school that didn't already exist in traditional public schools.
The big attraction for charter schools to those parents on the waiting lists (though more about that in a minute) is simple: Charter schools only enroll students by request. No students are assigned to a charter school by default.
That means the most dysfunctional, alienated, low-functioning, high-need students from dysfunctional, alienated, low-functioning, high-need families do not apply and do not attend. Those students are dumped on the traditional public school down the street, to which the charter then proclaims itself superior.
And despite that, again, charter schools do not outperform traditional public schools.
Meanwhile, if the traditional public school down the street didn't have to enroll the dysfunctional, alienated, low-functioning, high-need students from dysfunctional, alienated, low-functioning, high-need families, it would be a whole different place.
And about those waiting list claims -- of course some well-thought-of charter schools do have waiting lists. But as a parent volunteer education wonk who has followed the charter movement closely and with a skeptical eye, I've double-checked some of those claims (something the press doesn't seem to think to do). It's easy1 Just call up the school that told you about its "long waiting list" and ask if it has a spot for your kindergartner/sixth-grader/ninth-grader! Bet you'll be surprised to find out they can enroll your child right now.
The charter school wait list claims, in other words, are often hooey. And so are the claims about uniformly great success and amazing innovations. They're well-funded hooey (ask the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools), but they're still hooey.
-- Caroline, San Francisco public school parent, advocate, volunteer and blogger, and charter-school skeptic

Caroline of CA 12:33AM May 07, 2008