Charting a Path to School Reform

Many States Turn to Charter Schools for Answers

By Tim Weldon

Vanessa Blanco grew up in a low-income, single-family household in Washington, D.C.

Like many of her friends, Blanco attended a public elementary and middle school. But by the time she reached eighth grade, she had been expelled and forced to enroll in an alternative school because of behavior problems. By ninth grade, she was given two options: attend a private or a charter school.

Blanco’s family couldn’t afford a private school, so they chose a charter school, a decision that, in hindsight, radically turned her life around.

She enrolled in Cesar Chavez High School, a charter school in Washington, D.C., focusing on public affairs. The school’s four campuses serve students in sixth through 12th grades. Ninety-nine percent of the students who attend Cesar Chavez High School are African-American or Latino. More than three-fourths are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and 12 percent receive special education services.

Yet, despite coming from a background many would consider “at risk” for dropping out of school, Blanco graduated and is now a junior at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, majoring in sociology. She believes if she hadn’t attended a charter high school, she would not have been prepared for postsecondary education.

“If I had gone to a (traditional) public high school, I probably wouldn’t have even graduated. I most likely would have dropped out or something,” she said. “In general, if public schools aren’t working, I think anything that works is fine. (Charter schools are) better than doing nothing and having the same thing being done over and over again.”

It’s stories like Blanco’s that charter school proponents tout in their efforts to expand their numbers across the country. More than 5,000 charter schools educate approximately 1.5 million students—3 percent of all students in the U.S.—in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

But even though charter schools have been around since 1991—when Minnesota enacted the nation’s first legislation permitting the creation of these public schools that operate independently of the local board of education and are exempt from certain rules and regulations that apply to other public schools—their effectiveness is a matter of debate.

Support from Washington

Despite a lack of consensus over the effectiveness of charter schools, the Obama administration offered states a carrot this year to increase the number of charter schools, making school choice one criteria in the competition for $4.3 billion in Race to the Top funding.

In a speech to the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools July 1, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan generally praised charter schools he has visited. “I’ve been to school after school where achievement gaps have basically been eliminated, where children in inner city communities are performing as well, if not better, than their counterparts in much wealthier suburbs.”

But Duncan’s support was tempered by what he called “a lack of courage” among charter school leadership to eliminate low-performing charter schools. Duncan said about 200 of the 5,000 lowest performing schools in the country are charter schools.

“Bad charter schools taint all of your reputations and allow your opponents to use those examples,” he told the charter school leadership. “There has not been … courageous leadership from the charter school movement itself to step up and say, ‘Here are criteria below which these schools should cease to exist.’”

North Carolina Sen. Eddie Goodall, president of the North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools, disagrees with Duncan. “It doesn’t taint all our other schools,” he said. “What it does is taint that school. You don’t lump all the charter schools together. They’re too diverse.”

Charter School Pros and Cons

North Carolina has become one of the nation’s leaders in the charter school movement since enacting legislation in 1996. More than 30,000 students attend nearly 100 charter schools—mostly in the state’s urban areas. Goodall believes charter schools offer parents choice and public schools competition—two things he believes are necessary to improve education.

Goodall calls public education one of the few monopolies left in America. “Nothing else in America has a one-size-fits-all mentality and structure. Everything else involves competition and choice.”

Not everyone is convinced. While Alaska and South Dakota legislators passed legislation to create charter schools, lawmakers in Kentucky and Nebraska, two states without charter schools, rejected enabling legislation in 2010 that would have allowed them.

Although charter schools often increase educational achievement among racial minorities and low-income students, they are also criticized for taking funds and, in some cases, attracting the highest performing students away from traditional public schools. They are also sometimes accused of failing to serve special education students and of having little or no accountability to taxpayers. Also, because they operate independently, charter schools are not always subject to the same collective bargaining rules that apply to other public schools.

Teacher Association Concerns

While they have concerns, both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have adopted policy statements supporting charter schools in concept, provided they meet certain guidelines. For example, NEA’s policy states:

A charter should only be granted if the proposed school intends to offer an educational experience that is different from what is available in traditional public schools;
Local school boards should have the authority to grant or deny charter applications and the process should be open to the public;
Charter school funding should not disproportionately divert resources from traditional public schools;
Charter schools should be monitored on a continuing basis and should be subject to modification or closure if children or the public interest is at risk;
Private schools should not be allowed to convert to public charter schools and private, for-profit, entities should not be eligible to receive a charter; and
Charter schools should be subject to the same public sector labor relations statutes as traditional public schools, and charter school employees should have the same collective bargaining rights as their counterparts in traditional public schools.

Goodall, however, fears future reforms to charter schools will lead to them being subject to some of the same rules as traditional public schools. “What I’m afraid we may see in this country is an association that has some of the exemptions (of charter schools) but still has the union control of teachers and school districts retaining the authority,” Goodall predicted. ”That is not a charter school. (Charter schools have) to have autonomy.”

Ironically, Goodall fears that even successful charter schools could act as a speed bump in their recent growth rate. In effect, he thinks successful charter schools might be seen as a threat to powerful, established education interests and that ultimately charter schools could become victims of their own success.

About Charter Schools

A U.S. Department of Education report released in June, The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts, concluded the following:

On average, charter middle schools that hold lotteries for admission are neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement, behavior and school progress;
The impact of charter middle schools on student achievement varies significantly across schools; and
Charter schools serving more low-income or low-achieving students had statistically significant positive effects on math test scores, while charter schools serving more advantaged students—those with higher income and prior achievement—had significant negative effects on math test scores.

Jan | Feb 2012

Charting a Path to School Reform

Many States Turn to Charter Schools for Answers

By Tim Weldon

Vanessa Blanco grew up in a low-income, single-family household in Washington, D.C.

Blanco’s family couldn’t afford a private school, so they chose a charter school, a decision that, in hindsight, radically turned her life around.

It’s stories like Blanco’s that charter school proponents tout in their efforts to expand their numbers across the country. More than 5,000 charter schools educate approximately 1.5 million students—3 percent of all students in the U.S.—in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

Support from Washington

Despite a lack of consensus over the effectiveness of charter schools, the Obama administration offered states a carrot this year to increase the number of charter schools, making school choice one criteria in the competition for $4.3 billion in Race to the Top funding.

But Duncan’s support was tempered by what he called “a lack of courage” among charter school leadership to eliminate low-performing charter schools. Duncan said about 200 of the 5,000 lowest performing schools in the country are charter schools.

North Carolina Sen. Eddie Goodall, president of the North Carolina Alliance for Public Charter Schools, disagrees with Duncan. “It doesn’t taint all our other schools,” he said. “What it does is taint that school. You don’t lump all the charter schools together. They’re too diverse.”

Charter School Pros and Cons

Goodall calls public education one of the few monopolies left in America. “Nothing else in America has a one-size-fits-all mentality and structure. Everything else involves competition and choice.”

Not everyone is convinced. While Alaska and South Dakota legislators passed legislation to create charter schools, lawmakers in Kentucky and Nebraska, two states without charter schools, rejected enabling legislation in 2010 that would have allowed them.

Teacher Association Concerns

While they have concerns, both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have adopted policy statements supporting charter schools in concept, provided they meet certain guidelines. For example, NEA’s policy states:

A charter should only be granted if the proposed school intends to offer an educational experience that is different from what is available in traditional public schools;

Local school boards should have the authority to grant or deny charter applications and the process should be open to the public;

Charter school funding should not disproportionately divert resources from traditional public schools;

Charter schools should be monitored on a continuing basis and should be subject to modification or closure if children or the public interest is at risk;

Private schools should not be allowed to convert to public charter schools and private, for-profit, entities should not be eligible to receive a charter; and

Charter schools should be subject to the same public sector labor relations statutes as traditional public schools, and charter school employees should have the same collective bargaining rights as their counterparts in traditional public schools.

About Charter Schools

A U.S. Department of Education report released in June, The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts, concluded the following:

On average, charter middle schools that hold lotteries for admission are neither more nor less successful than traditional public schools in improving student achievement, behavior and school progress;

The impact of charter middle schools on student achievement varies significantly across schools; and

Charter schools serving more low-income or low-achieving students had statistically significant positive effects on math test scores, while charter schools serving more advantaged students—those with higher income and prior achievement—had significant negative effects on math test scores.