School choice debates have divided civil rights advocates in Florida, and this week, they did the same nationally, as both the venerable NAACP and the new Movement For Black Lives called for a moratorium on charter schools.
Dropout Nation attributed the proclamations to longstanding efforts by national teachers unions “to co-opt black and other minority-oriented groups,” while Shavar Jeffries, the president of Democrats For Education Reform, responded with a statement:
The public charter school moratorium put forward at this year’s NAACP convention does a disservice to communities of color, particularly the parents and caregivers who seek the best school options available to prepare their children for the demands of the 21st century. This moratorium would contravene the NAACP’s historic legacy as a champion for expanding opportunity for families of color. In communities of color throughout our country, public charter schools are providing pathways to college and careers that previously were not available. Indiscriminately targeting all charter schools, even the many great public charter schools that are offering students a bridge to college, while ignoring underperforming district schools, undermines the quality and integrity of our entire education system. We should be fixing what’s broken and expanding what works, not pre-empting the choices of parents of color about the best schools appropriate for meeting the particular needs of their children
And yet, The Atlantic reports that one of the authors of the movement’s proposal has a child enrolled in a charter school and believes anti-charter sentiment “comes from a lived experience.” According to the magazine, activists believe the “reformer-union dichotomy ignores the movement’s broader goal of returning control of schools to parents, students, and local communities.”
The education proposals are rooted in the K-12 space, activists who helped draft them told me, because the U.S. public-school system is so broken that college is never an option for many young people of color. And while many universities are privately controlled, the group sees an opportunity to return control of K-12 public schools to the students, parents, and communities they serve.
Public schools, even in the nation’s most affluent cities, remain highly segregated, with black children disproportionately likely to attend schools with fewer resources and concentrated poverty. There are more school security officers than counselors in four of the 10 biggest school districts in the country. And whereas spending on corrections increased by 324 percent between 1979 and 2013, that on education rose just 107 percent during the same time.
This raises a question for school choice supporters: Are you listening to these concerns? Done right, the redefinition of public education could help address them.
Legal updates
Douglas County, Colo.’s revamped voucher program is once again halted by a court injunction.
A new lawsuit takes aim at Washington State charter schools — and also the new definition of public education — ignoring earlier calls to “focus on students, not battle lines.”
There are still two legal challenges taking aim at Florida tax credit scholarships; they’re now both before the same appellate court.
Meanwhile…
The connections between the school choice and civil rights movements are clearer than many people realize.
Tennessee’s education savings account program debuts.
A New Hampshire virtual school “could radically change how kids learn everywhere,” per a headline in Wired. Reading the article, it’s hard to spot major differences with other virtual schools. The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School may show promise, as the Christensen Institute noted last year. It just might also face the same challenges as full-time online learning everywhere — challenges a new study underlined this week.
A reality check from Walt Gardner:
I’ve never met parents who are willing to sacrifice their own children on the altar of an ideology. They may exist, but they are a distinct minority. Trying to make parents who demand choice feel guilty has been tried before and failed. That doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t advocate for other children. But it is a stretch to claim that school choice signals the beginning of the end of public education.
I don’t think public education in this country will be recognizable in another decade. Pressure is building to allow parents to choose which school they alone believe is best for their children. The courts have supported the movement. There will always be children whose parents are not involved enough in their education to take advantage of the options open to them. We should do everything possible to reach out to them. But we can’t let their presence deprive other parents of the opportunity to choose the school best able to meet the needs and interests of their children.
We’ve heard a lot about the Democratic Party’s education platform, but what about the Republicans’? New Orleans researcher Doug Harris critiques it, observing vouchers seem to overshadow charters in the GOP’s plan. Max Eden finds: “The business community is no longer in the Republican Party’s driver’s seat on education.”
Has charter school media coverage grown more negative?
Careful with weaponized research.
California lawmakers debate charter school oversight.
What if charter school authorizers talked to parents before closing schools?
Sector agnostic: New York City needs every great school it can get.
Quotes of the Week
When it’s election time, they crawl through our neighborhoods and ask for our support … I’m glad they took a roll call so we know who to get out of office.
– Daphne Lawson, a parent of two KIPP charter school students, on the Boston City Council’s vote against lifting Massachusetts’ cap on charters schools.
The education system in this country has never worked for poor people and people of color. We’re not calling for the status quo. We don’t want things to continue as they’ve always done.
- Hiram Rivera, director of the Philadelphia student union, explaining the Movement for Black Lives’ education agenda in The Atlantic.
Tweet of the Week
Outstanding results for @SuccessCharters! Parents can't wait; they are voting with their feet 4 better schools. https://t.co/VkBoTr3Sw8
— Dianne Piché (@DiannePiche) August 3, 2016
Wherever I've gone, the families w the least access to education historically understand it's importance the most. pic.twitter.com/JTzWGXqTkd
— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) August 7, 2016
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