I recently read an
article published by Aljezeera America in which they cited a number of reasons
that some believe charter schools to be a “gravy train”. Referencing
research done by the National Education
Policy Center (NEPC) at University of Colorado Boulder, they note a
number of concerns frequently cited by those opposed to charter schools, namely
inequities between salary structure between administrators and teachers, and
the opportunity for companies to achieve significant profits at the expense of
classroom investment. Click here to read the article itself.
Lost in
this debate about so called “privatization and profiteering”, however, is the
real issue that should be discussed, namely how charter schools do or do not
offer enhanced educational opportunities for students. For my part,
and not to diminish the concerns outlined above, there is not enough discussion
and focus on the impact of charters as publicly funded entities that are not
governed by locally elected boards of trustees.
Do
children attending charters have the same opportunities and are charters held
to the same accountability standards as traditional public schools? The
answer to the first question is “maybe” but the answer to the second question
clearly is “no”. That fact alone should be cause for concern as we
strive to address the challenges in educating today’s youth. For
publicly funded schools, it’s time to level the playing field and to hold all
public education entities to the same standards and expectations.
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