They want a charter school too?!

In one Florida city, the push for a charter school came from parents and teachers. In another, from a Democratic mayor. And in yet another, from the commander of one of the nation’s best-known military bases.

Over the past six months alone, at least a half-dozen examples show Florida charter schools picking up enthusiastic support from places that may seem unexpected. In many cases, school boards and teacher unions still oppose charter schools, and there’s no doubt the privatization narrative continues to dog them. But the recent examples suggest parents, local governments and other stakeholders in public education aren’t fazed.

Kara Kerwin

“I definitely think there is a trend,’’ said Kara Kerwin, president of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank that is strongly pro school choice. “And I think it’s an eye-opener for local public schools.’’

Florida is a leader in both charter school growth and charter school controversy. It boasts among the highest numbers of charter schools in the nation (more than 600), with the number of students in them nearly doubling in the past five years (to more than 200,000). The rapid growth has fueled constant clashes with school districts, and all the edgy publicity that comes with it.

And yet, the recent examples show no let-up in charter school proposals, and consideration if not support from an increasingly wide array of entities:

• In North Miami Beach, city leaders want to open a charter school focused on public safety that, eventually, would accommodate 1,300 students. Students could get their college degrees faster through a partnership with the local community college. The local school board voted down the application last month, but the city has appealed the denial.
• In West Palm Beach, Democratic Mayor Jeri Muoio successfully lobbied her city to open a charter elementary school next August after publicly criticizing the local district’s reading scores. After admitting she surprised herself by suggesting the concept, Muoio told redefinED: “I believe we just aren’t doing the job we should be doing.’’
• In Tampa, the same sentiment is leading military families and leaders from MacDill Air Force Base to push for a K-12 charter school. The local district runs an elementary school on base, but there is no middle school option. In addition, supporters said, a charter school provides an opportunity to create programs and services specific to children whose parents are serving their country. The district denied the application in December, but proponents, who have partnered with an education foundation and Charter Schools USA, recently appealed to the state.
• In Bradenton, parent, teachers and administrators at Rowlett Elementary, a public magnet school in Manatee County, came together last summer in a successful campaign to convert their school into a charter next school year. The move will allow Rowlett to keep special art and music classes as well as beloved teachers despite a district wide budget shortfall.
• In the most recent examples, the city commission in Tamarac and city council in Bonita Springs both directed city staff this week to check into the possibility of building charter high schools within city limits. In Tamarac, the city doesn’t have a public high school and according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the city manager said the city had unsuccessfully petitioned the district for a high school in the past.

Florida’s growing diversity in learning options of all stripes may be fueling further momentum for charter schools, Kerwin said.

In its annual “parent power index,” the Center for Education Reform recently ranked Florida No. 2 in the country for its array of options – from charter schools to online learning to scholarship programs for low-income and disabled students. Including magnet schools, career academies and all other choice options, Florida now has 1.5 million PreK-12 students, or 42 percent, enrolled in something other than traditional neighborhood schools.

“There’s good reason and correlation as to why all of sudden we’re getting new voices and new people,’’ she said. “Parents have access to so many options they never had before. There’s so much going on.’’

The soaring popularity of charter schools might have city leaders and others anxious to jump on the charter school wagon, said Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, which is often critical of school choice programs and policies.

Kevin Welner

But, he warned, charters aren’t necessarily the best option for kids – and proponents should take their time researching the schools.

“There is a great deal of evidence now available about the strengths and weaknesses, as well as actual performance, of charter schools,’’ he said in an email to redefinED. “Some charters are fantastic; others are pretty awful. And while the research base suggests a wash overall, there are real issues about denial of access and stratification that I think the charter school community and society in general should take very seriously.’’

Robin Lake

Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education in Seattle, Wash., said the move by many municipalities to consider charters is pragmatic. They see charter schools as a way to be responsive to parents’ needs, and to attract families looking for education alternatives, she said.

“Parents don’t care what the school is called,’’ Lake said, “as long as it’s a good school.’’