The requests come a month after the state legislature passed a comprehensive charter school reform bill that made Ohio’s first substantial changes in charter school law in years. Among those voicing concern was Hillary Clinton at a SC event over the weekend.
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Darlene Chambers, CEO of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Ohio’s major charter school advocacy group, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The number of charter school students in NY City has quadrupled since 2008 – from 20,000 to almost 85,000. It’s much more tenuous to argue that “most” charter schools deliberately push out kids who are hard to teach, although, as the NY Times recently reported, a branch of the wildly high-achieving Success Academy charter school chain kept a list of students who had “got to go”.
A group that represents public school districts across OH is calling for more charter school restrictions. With many teachers against her education positions and parents supporting rather than opposing charter schools, she has positioned herself far out of the mainstream and opposed to the attitudes of most voters on the issue. “Charter public schools have a long track record of meeting students’ specific needs, preparing them to succeed in college, careers and life, and reducing achievement gaps”.
Despite the growth of charter schools, reservations remain over whether the schools are on the same footing as the traditional public schools down the street.
But Clinton’s remarks – which were in response to a charter-friendly question that noted black parents are heavily in favor of such schools – signaled whose side she was on in the contentious Democratic Party education debate.
“Hillary Clinton looks at the evidence”.
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Among the districts singled out in the report for high charter school enrollment is Hall County, where the district itself has converted schools to charter status. “Nationally, in the 2013-14 school year, charter schools served a higher-percentage of low-income students (57%) – than district-run schools (52%) – and have better outcomes”. Compared to traditional public schools, charter schools have more independence in their operations and curricula, which is why so many families find charter schools desirable. If charters are doing that, go after them; if not, stop complaining about them.
