Letter to the Editor
Lowell Sun
September 2, 2016

When it comes to public charter schools and funding, it’s time to set the record straight.

The Bay State provides one of the most generous reimbursement plans in the nation when students choose to leave conventional schools for public charter schools. In the last five years, Massachusetts districts have been reimbursed $350 million for students they are no longer educating — students who have decided a public charter school is a better fit for their unique learning needs.

The fact that people are claiming public charter schools drain resources from traditional public schools is “absurd” and an “outright lie,” as many nonpartisan research organizations and editorial boards, including The Sun, have acknowledged.

The beauty of charter schools is that they seek to acknowledge that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to educating our children. Public charter schools are held accountable for results, while they’re given the freedom and flexibility to vary their methods, structure, curriculum, based on students’ learning needs.

Just as a traditional public school isn’t a fit for a good student, a charter school is not a good fit for every student; however, given that there are more than 30,000 students yearning for a charter school opportunity, it’s time to give them access a public charter school education and allow charter schools to expand to meet demand.

JEANNE ALLEN

The Center for Education Reform

Washington, D.C.