by Norm Halls, contributor
Question: What are charter schools? How common are they and whom do they serve?
Response: A public charter school is a publicly funded school that is typically governed by a group or organization under a legislative contract (or charter) with the state or jurisdiction. The charter exempts the school from certain state or local rules and regulations. In return for flexibility and autonomy, the charter school must meet the accountability standards outlined in its charter. (Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.)
Whether you consider charter schools a welcome alternative to underperforming public schools or a flawed take on education reform, there’s no denying their growing in popularity in the United States. The first charter school opened in 1992 in St. Paul, Minn., and now nearly 4,600 can be found in 40 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Those numbers could increase as former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan urged states without charter laws or with enrollment caps to revise their policies or risk their eligibility for certain stimulus funds.
Though supporters maintain that charter schools improve education by giving parents more involvement, choices and offering students more creative approaches to learning, opponents say the innovation promised by such schools often doesn’t translate into strong academics — a charge that appears to be justified. In author Tina Barseghian’s “Teaching Strategies” she suggests 8 ways for learning: “be flexible; foster inquiry by staging curiosity, design planning for participation; teachers teach kids, not subjects; provide opportunities for experiential learning; embrace failure; don’t be boring; and foster joy”. You will find a wide difference in charter school performance using these teaching strategies. Educators, administrators and teacher unions have to think outside of the box. “While some states outperform, a subset, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Nevada, have charter sectors that significantly underperform other schools. Charter schools are growing”. (Source: Andrew J. Rotherham)
Charter schools—and the market-based arguments often made for them—are seen by some as threatening traditional public schools. One of the central fears motivating charter skeptics is typically referred to as “cream-skimming.” A choice system, critics have long suggested, would privilege those students and parents whose race, class, or educational background give them a better position to navigate the market for schools. Similarly, schools would have an incentive to recruit students whose educational ability and family backgrounds make them attractive. At the end of the day, the traditional public system would be left populated by the least able children with the least active parents. Thus, even if choice benefited individual families, society as a whole, and especially disadvantaged families, would suffer. (Source: James Forman Jr, Yale Law School ; Do Charter Schools Threaten Public Education?
The 21st century must start with a diverse educational mission. The challenge facing education today is more varied than past challenges. Will the students have the skills needed to be competitive for the 21st century economy? It encompasses the rapidly increasing diversity of the nation’s population, the growing internationalization of commerce and culture, the explosive development of information technologies, and other great technical and social transformations. There is no simple, universal prescription for success. But a focus on high standards for all, coupled with recognition of the need for versatility in the face of change, can help to prepare all students for the demands of the 21st century.
