The editors of the Star News give charter schools the “N&O” treatment:
Despite Duncan?s emphasis on the charter-school movement, North Carolina was named one of the finalists without expanding a program that has not yet proven to be a better alternative. Charter schools are essentially privately run schools funded with tax dollars. Their size and independence make it easier to establish new programs and adapt to new ones.
But their quality varies widely, transportation options are often limited ? which effectively excludes some potential students ? and numerous studies have shown little overall difference between the performance of students in charter schools and public schools. One thing the state should take from Duncan?s experience with and fondness for charters is the opportunity to tailor programs to meet the needs of individual students.
There?s no reason some of the more successful charter-school initiatives can?t be implemented on a school-by-school basis. In fact, individual schools should be encouraged to take some chances and make significant, even radical changes, and to design programs that address the needs of their own students.
District schools often cannot “tailor programs to meet the needs of individual students” or implement “some of the more successful charter-school initiatives.” That would require state, local, and federal education folk to loosen the grip of the rules and regulations they wrote and/or enforce. It would also require them to admit that the charter school movement has done some good. Good luck with that one.
H/T: JZ
