Schools for Tomorrow Blog

In a guest column this week for EdNews.org, conservative writer Robert Holland takes the broad view of recent charter school developments across the nation:

There has been a bumper crop of charter school stories this graduation season. What’s more, the articles have been largely positive, a sign that these independently managed public schools are gaining popularity.

From a Massachusetts graduating class that started in seventh grade without a building in which to learn to the booming growth in post-Katrina New Orleans and rising demand in Minnesota, Holland documents a series of anecdotes that suggest the charter school idea has taken hold. A lot of questions remain to be answered, but evidence seems to indicate an increasing familiarity and comfort with, as well as demand for, the charter school idea in different parts of the country.

Bringing it closer to home, Holland specifically documents a case from Denver a couple months ago where parents demanded more successful charter school options like West Denver Prep. It’s important not to forget that 25,000 Colorado students are on waiting lists to get into charter schools.

Parental demand is just one key part of the equation, though. As others have pointed out, the creation of successful new charter schools have been “invigorating” to the public school system. Right here at Ed News Colorado, a recent interview with Manual High School principal Rob Stein revealed how much Denver charter schools provided him a critical “lifeline” to success. Stein said:

There were a few really bad days when I just went over [to Denver School of Science and Technology] for their morning meeting. I needed to be reminded of an exemplar that was more positive. Then I went back to Manual reinvigorated, thinking ‘we can make this work here.’

Stein also mentioned the hands-on support he got from the staff at KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, another Denver charter school.

We know a lot of what makes a successful school tick, and the charter model is nimbly equipped to make it happen—not to mention the fact that thousands of families want into charter schools but can’t get in. Maybe, just maybe, we could hope for leading lawmakers who don’t have a burning antipathy for charter schools?

Colorado can do a lot better job standing up and leading in the field of charter schools.

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 2:36 pm and is filed under School choice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.