Education Secretary Duncan began by saying that states must be open to charter schools, because too much is at stake for states financially, and for students academically to restrict innovation:
"I am advocating for using whatever models work for students, and particularly where improvements have stagnated for years," Secretary Duncan said. "We cannot continue to do that same thing and expect different results."
Then he added the mantra which so many of us parents have chanted:
"We cannot let another generation of children be deprived of their civil right to a quality education."
Duncan called for real autonomy and tough accountability for public charter schools. "Tough accountability without autonomy," he said, "will scare off innovators. On the other hand autonomy without accountability will cause some of these schools to drift off."
Jamie Sarrio, Tennesean.com, asked why there is reluctance to charter schools. She pointed out that out of five charter school applicants; only one lucky student gets in since high performing charter schools have far more applicants than available space.
Education Secretary Duncan acknowledged this and said:
"In some cases it is harder to get into a
charter elementary school than an Ivy League School. Many high performing charters have lengthy wait lists."
Duncan urged leaders to listen to what parents want and respond. In regards to state caps on charter schools, Duncan said:
"We don't put a cap on graduation rates. We don't say 'We have reached our goal of 20% graduation so we don't need to graduate more kids.' In the same sense we should not limit charter schools."
He continued: "By no chance do we think charters are the only success. We want to scale up everything that works."
Jane Roberts, Commercial Appeal (Memphis), voiced a concern about lifting
Tennessee caps on charter schools. She said that if the Tennessee Charter School cap were to be lifted 80% of Memphis children would become eligible for charter schools. She went on to state that "clear thinking people" claim that is a problem since charter schools onlytake the brightest kids.
Education Secretary Duncan did not skip a beat, but addressed Roberts' concern head on:
"Fact is," he said, "less than 1% of Tennessee schools are charter schools. Charter schools should enroll by lottery which means they don't just take gifted kids. By definition charter schools are public schools. And thirdly, as someone who worked with poor families even before being a superintendent, I can tell you that parents want what is best for their kids regardless of income. I will argue particularly for poor parents that it is important that we offer a range of quality options. If we are serious about
closing the achievement gap, we need to provide school options."
Education Secretary Duncan and President Obama are both supporters of public charter schools and want to encourage expansion of such. However, charter schools face opposition in several states.Here are a few examples: - Ten states do not have laws allowing public charter schools;
- In the 40 states with charters, 26 put artificial caps on the number of
public charter schools and President Obama has called on states to lift these caps and other barriers to having a healthy network of charter schools throughout the country;
- In
Maine, the state legislature is debating a bill that would establish a pilot program for its first 10 charter schools;
- Tennessee has not moved on a bill to lift enrollment restrictions on charter schools; and
- In Indiana, the legislature is considering a moratorium on
new charter schools.
What is my opinion about the briefing as a parent?
We have a tough road ahead of us to ensure that each child in our country has equal access to quality education. It is also a job which will never be finished. Such is the nature of innovation. When we have done well, we need to continue to ask ourselves how we can do more. It is one of the very principles which have made high performing charter schools as successful as we are.
It is wonderful to hear a
political leader talk about how part of his job is to listen to parents and urge others to do the same. In my opinion, Education Secretary Duncan is representing both this nation's president and families well by standing up for
public school choice. By listening to families and responding, Duncan is activating the most effective tool there is for education improvement--parents.
There are roughly 1.6 million children in American charter schools today. If the average child has two parents (some have one, others four), the Education Secretary just told 3.2 million of the most go-getting, nothing-gets-in-my-way-to-make-sure-these-kids-get-a-good-education kind of parents that hewantsthem to go do more. Any state which takes him up on this offer and empowers this strong network of supporters will notonly win the Race to the Top for education dollars, but also in the race for reform success and voter support come re-election time.
On the flip side, any state which challenges the merits of charter school creation and expansion will be sadly left behind, hence create a geographical performance gap. Status quo will always remain status quo. While the rest of the world changes around us, those who stand still will be passed in the race. Keep in mind that in the states which currently oppose education innovation, there are children who miss the opportunity to learn at such schools. These kids deserve the same opportunity for quality schools as those in states who offer school choice.
In my admittedly biased opinion, given five to ten years, the performance gap we will be rushing to fix will be the one for the handful of states which do not value school choice and a parent's right to choose. Ironically, such performance gap would exist according to the same formula many school districts use to assign schools--by residential location.