CHARTER SCHOOLS:THE DEBATE CONTINUES

Kevin MartelEDAD 684March 9th, 2011

WHAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS?

Schools that receive public money. They may also receive private donations, but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter.

WHAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS? (CONT.)

They are opened and attended by choice. They provide an alternative to other public

schools, they are part of the public education system and are not allowed to charge tuition.

Their admission is frequently allocated by lottery-based admissions.

Some provide a curriculum that specializes in a certain field — e.g., arts and mathematics. Others attempt to provide a better and more efficient general education than nearby public schools

Some are founded by teachers, parents, or activists who feel restricted by traditional public schools.

HOW DID THEY GET STARTED?

The charter school idea in the United States was originated by Ray Budde, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and embraced by Albert Shanker, President of the American Federation of Teachers, in 1988 when he called for the reform of the public schools by establishing "charter schools" or "schools of choice".

Minnesota was the first state to pass a charter school law in 1991. California was second, in 1992. As of 2009, 41 states and the District of Columbia have charter school laws.

WE NEED MORE CHARTER SCHOOLS!

"The charter movement is absolutely one of the most profound changes in American education, bringing new options to underserved communities and introducing competition and innovation into the education system.“ Education Secretary Arne Duncan

NOT SO FAST!

"You should have a reason for increasing charter schools, and I haven't seen any rationale for doing that except for, 'Let's do it.” Gerald Bracey, an associate at the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.

THEY DO THINGS BETTER!

“Charter public schools offer an innovative approach to fix some aspects of the education system, which is broken and has been for decades.” New York Times, March 2010

AT WHAT COST?

“Charter school teachers are 132 percent more likely to leave the profession than teachers in regular public schools.” Education Week, December 2009.

CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE GOOD FOR THE TEACHERS TOO!

"Charters are not inherently anti-union. Albert Shanker, the legendary head of the American Federation of Teachers, was an early advocate. Many charters today are unionized. What distinguishes great charters is not the absence of a labor agreement but the presence of an education strategy built around common sense ideas: more time on task, aligned curricula, high parent involvement, great teacher support, and strong leadership." Education Secretary Arne Duncan

HOWEVER…

While Shanker was an early advocate of charter schools and helped launch the movement in the late 1980s, he later jumped ship.

By 1994, Shanker described charters as "a recipe for chaos.”

THE GAINS ARE WORTH IT!

Charter schools had a larger, and more positive effect for students that are low income than those in traditional public schools.

Special education students show similar results to their public school peers.

17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools.

37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts.

46 percent of charter schools demonstrated no significant difference.

CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE MORE DIVERSE.

Charter school supporters argue that providing a good education advances civil rights, whatever the racial makeup of the school.

ARE THEY?

Civil rights groups are increasingly concerned given new evidence that charters are even more racially isolated than regular public schools.

THE SUCCESS STORY

Parents wait to hear if their child will be accepted to the Match Charter School in Boston…

The Lottery

THE LAST WORD…

The charter school movement continues to work hard to remove barriers to charter school entry into the market, making notable strides to level the playing field and improve access to facilities funding, but now it needs to equally focus on removing the barriers to exit, which means closing underperforming schools.”