The Obama administration is in favor of high quality charter schools. That is a bit like saying, I am in favor of high quality____, well, you fill in the blank. What most folks can agree upon is that most favor all kids receiving a good basic education, which will allow them to succeed in this society. People disagree on how to achieve the goal of making sure that all kids receive a good basic education. Just the mention of charter schools as one piece of the education puzzle is enough to make some folks literally start foaming at the mouth. The New York Times recently reported on the text of a speech that Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan was scheduled to deliver. Inferior Charters Harm the Movement

“The charter movement is putting itself at risk by allowing too many second-rate and third-rate schools to exist,” Mr. Duncan says in prepared remarks that he is scheduled to deliver in Washington at the annual gathering of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.In an interview, Mr. Duncan said he would use the address to praise innovations made by high-quality charter schools, urge charter leaders to become more active in weeding out bad apples in their movement and invite the leaders to help out in the administration’s broad effort to remake several thousand of the nation’s worst public schools.Since 1991, when educators founded the first charter school in Minnesota, 4,600 have opened; they now educate some 1.4 million of the nation’s 50 million public school students, according to Education Department figures. The schools are financed with taxpayer money but operate free of many curricular requirements and other regulations that apply to traditional public schools. Mr. Duncan’s speech will come at a pivotal moment for the charter school movement. The Obama administration has been working to persuade state legislatures to lift caps on the number of charter schools.

A charter school is one institutional structure, which can be used to achieve the goal of making sure that all children receive a good basic education. Schools and classrooms are like microclimates. What works in one locale may not be a success or as successful in another. There should be different options.

What is a Charter School?

The Center for Education Reform has a good basic primer on charter schools. FAQ - Charter Schools There are three basic principles that characterize charter schools.

· Choice: Charter schools give families an opportunity to pick the school most suitable for their child’s educational well-being. Teachers choose to create and work at schools where they directly shape the best working and learning environment for their students and themselves. Likewise, charter sponsors choose to authorize schools that are likely to best serve the needs of the students in a particular community.

· Accountability: Charter schools are judged on how well they meet the student achievement goals established by their charter contract. Charter schools must also show that they can perform according to rigorous fiscal and managerial standards. If a charter school cannot perform up to the established standards, it will be closed.

· Freedom: While charter schools must adhere to the same major laws and regulations as all other public schools, they are freed from the red tape that often diverts a school’s energy and resources away from educational excellence. Instead of constantly jumping through procedural hoops, charter school leaders can focus on setting and reaching high academic standards for their students.

For some, who may value ideological purity first, and educational results after the ideological purity threshold is met, charter schools are very scary. If, one has the maxim that all children should receive a good basic education, a charter school is one option.

What are the Pros and the Cons of Charter Schools?

The National Conference of State Legislatures provides both the pro and con arguments for charter schools at their site. Charter School Arguments

PRO

Charter schools provide families with public school choice options. Parents will have the ability to choose the school best suited for their child.

Charter schools can act as laboratories of reform, identifying successful practices that could be replicated by traditional district public schools. Also, by waiving regulations in a limited number of schools, the most prohibitive policies can be identified and eliminated for all schools.

Charters will lead to overall systemic reform through the pressure and competition of the choice mechanism.

Through school choice, competition within the public school system is created, pressuring school districts to reassess their educational practices.

Charter schools, unlike traditional public schools are held accountable. If charters do not perform, they are not renewed.

CON

Charter schools, due to their small size and limited numbers, will provide only some families with public school choice options, thereby raising issues of fairness and equity.

Charter schools have an unfair advantage when competing against district public schools since they tend to be smaller and free from regulations. Charter schools have access to federal funds and other revenue sources.

Successful reform models such as New American Schools and Core Knowledge have already been identified. Why not attempt these reforms in existing schools? If rules and regulations are so burdensome, they should be waived for all public schools.

Charters are too limited in scope to adequately pressure the entire public school system.

Charters are not accountable as they are freed from rules and regulations intended to ensure quality in public education.

The Education Commission of the States also summarizes the pros and cons of charter schools. Education Commission of the States

If the goal is to ensure that all children receive a good basic education, then the institutional structure known as a charter school is one tool. If the goal is to provide a particular population of children with a good basic education, then all tools should be available. If the goal is ideological purity at all costs, then some will barf at the mere mention of the word, “charter.”

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©