The editors of the Star News wrote a piece on charter schools that, frankly, is a little hard to follow.
Here is a brief summary of the editorial with my comments in parentheses:
1. Republican leaders in the legislature want to raise the cap on charter schools. (Amen.)
2. Charter schools take money from school districts and do not improve student performance. (Whatever.)
3. International comparisons of student performance show that district schools in the US are struggling to match the performance of our economic competitors. (Locker Room readers know that. Go on…)
4. Charter schools are popular with parents and education reformers who acknowledge that “one size” does not fit all. Meeting the needs of individual students is a good idea. (Wait a minute, you just said…)
5. Districts schools should have the kind of flexibility offered to charter schools. (If the editors argue that charter schools do not cut it, why would district schools want to replicate their approach? Popularity seems like a rather shallow justification for doing so.)
6. Flexibility will make district schools competitive with charter schools. (If the editors believe that competition is desirable, then why stop at granting districts greater flexibility? Let’s go all the way.)
7. We should allow charter-type schools to operate in districts. (The state does this already.)
