Basically, charter schools are independent public schools run by nonprofit organizations. Initiative 729, on the upcoming ballot, proposes 80 charter schools to be established in Washington over the next four years. There are 36 other states that have collectively blessed about 2,000 charter schools across the country. Each charter school in Washington would need to be approved by, and have as a sponsor, either a school district or a state university. Charter schools would be required to have a curriculum, a five-year budget, and undergo public hearings. The schools would be exempt from state laws and rules governing other public schools.
I believe charter schools are all about democracy and positive social change. They could complement public schools, spark educational reform through healthy competition, and serve as educational laboratories.
Operating independently of school district regulations would allow charter schools room for innovation in teaching methods, philosophy, and design; however, that's also the reason charter schools are so intensely maligned by my friends. They worry that low-income families wouldn't have equal access to charter schools, and that corporations might invest heavily, thereby influencing the curriculum. The truth is that corporations are already investing in and sponsoring public schools (like QFC magnate Stuart Sloan's investment in T. T. Minor Elementary) as schools look for new revenue streams. And I would argue that low-income families and minority kids also have challenges getting a decent education and equal opportunities in the public school system.
In my mind, the whole charter school issue boils down to power and money and whether there's enough to share. Charter schools will definitely shake up the status quo and divert public funds (tax dollars) from public schools. But is that cause for panic? Schools get money according to the number of kids enrolled. In Washington, it costs roughly $5,000 per year of state money to educate a kid, more if a child has special learning needs. If I-729 passes and a kid goes to a charter school, state money follows the kid there. Of course, it's lousy that public schools are already underfunded, but the point is to give a kid the best possible education and opportunity with that $5,000. And public schools alone, in their present state, don't meet the diverse learning styles and needs of all kids equally.
My belief in charter schools is rooted in my experiences working with kids. I taught English in public schools for 15 years. Classes were full of college-bound kids, behaviorally challenged kids, kids who had recently immigrated to the U.S., and kids about to drop out of school. I also spent time visiting and working in alternative schools: One school focused on teenagers just released from jail.
After a few years of teaching in different settings, I had some realizations that have grown stronger over the years and solidify my support of charter schools. Here's what I learned: Some students thrive in public schools, and others are oppressed, ignored, or bored there.
The same principle holds true for teachers. Some teachers do excellent work within the structure of the public school system, while other teachers get frustrated by obstacles like extensive standardized testing and public school bureaucracy. Charter schools would be more appealing to entrepreneurial-minded teachers who want more say in shaping and helping to run a school, but who are still committed to public education. The truth is we need all the good teachers we can attract and keep, and we need schools that are accessible to kids of every learning style and academic ability.
A friend of mine sent her son, who was failing public school and having run-ins with the cops, to a Washington nonprofit school funded by grants, where he learned to build boats and do construction work. He thrived there. I think of charter schools that way--run by people with vision and passion about education. There could be vocation-based schools, schools that concentrate on science and technology or the arts, social change, or multiple learning styles.
Charter schools aren't a miracle cure for public education. But they could be a part of the solution, offering a better chance to someone like Darius, a boy I tutored last year. Darius had slipped through the system, and he graduated from Washington state public schools without ever learning how to read or write a full sentence. Now he's 22 and angry about the education he didn't get.
