Charters can put KY in education Super Bowl
by Jeanne Allen
Courier-Journal
February 1, 2016
Super Bowl 50 teams have endured a season-long struggle to reach their ultimate goal. Like these gridiron warriors, advocates of school choice in Kentucky have struggled and persisted in their efforts to enact a charter school law. For the sake of the children, we hope they win.
Why has it been so hard to deliver this common-sense choice for Kentucky’s kids? Even while nearly 2.9 million children are served by more than 6,700 charter schools across the country, it seems that myths and misconceptions have kept Kentucky one of only seven states still denying its most needy students access to the choice of a public charter school. Unfounded arguments often deter lawmakers from taking the bold step of reforming their public school system, a monopoly that challenges its teachers, staffs and students.
Charter schools serve a diverse array of students for whom the traditional neighborhood school may not work for a whole host of reasons. A majority of charter school students are non-white, and almost two-thirds of charter schools serve a population with family incomes so low that more than 60 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meals program. This is choice at work, not creaming as some suggest.
Once empowered with choices, families show their preference for schools that fit their needs best by switching to a charter school that simply offers them a better opportunity to learn.
There is a myth that charter schools somehow take resources away from local public schools. Charter schools make education funding more equitable for all, sending money to the schools where students are, not where the district dictates its placement. However, despite money following children, in most states charter schools get only a portion of the operational funding and little facilities support so they are forced to do more with less.
Kentucky has a rich history of wanting to improve how it serves students. As it considers charter legislation it could break the mold by ensuring 100% educational equity for all students.
Oftentimes the debate over charter schools comes down to “we vs. them.” The reality is that as long as we do better for kids we are all playing on the same team. And charter schools really do perform better.
A meta analysis of four research studies shows that black students in charter schools score better than their district peers in both English and math. Research also has shown that charters have a positive “ripple effect,” improving performance at neighboring public schools. A Harvard University study found in Arizona that district schools neighboring charter schools scored increases in math achievement more than three times that of schools with no charter schools in their communities.
Yes, some have had their share of struggle, like all schools. They can open and close based on their experience and achievement, a great advance for those who believe that education should serve kids and not the other way around.
Charter schools allow innovations in teaching and learning and are free from most regulations that prevent traditional schools from making more progress, which while steady in Kentucky, is too slow for generations of students who have not been well served, for whatever reason, by the one-size-fits-all system.
Only 28 percent of Kentucky’s 8th-grade students score proficient in math on the latest national assessment. Only 36 percent were proficient in reading. Fewer than 33 percent of Kentucky residents finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year higher education degree.
Strong economies require strong schools, and just like strong football teams require strong players, Kentucky should get in the game and join the Super Bowl of charters. Charter schools can help lure new investment and philanthropy to the state, and provide a better environment for youth to learn, prosper, and stay in the state. While football offers creative analogies, the future of our children is not a game and losing cannot be an option.
Charter schools are independent public schools that are held accountable for student results. Kentucky needs those schools to help them get over the educational goal line all kids need to succeed.
Jeanne Allen is founder and president emeritus of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C.
