I would like to echo Jeanne Massey comments about charter schools, but I would also like to emphasize that much of the misinformation about Charters and vouchers has been generated by the Educational Establishment. A report, I believe it was by the Center for Applied Research and Education Improvement at the University of Minnesota, detailed a number of dire predictions about the negative impact of Charters on the public schools that never occurred. The report went on to say that it appeared that the competition from Charters had a positive impact on the public school system. Unfortunately, I don't think that this report is still available online, however many of its conclusions are shared by the Humphrey Institute:
. Most initial negative predictions by opponents of public school choice have not been borne out. For example, there was concern that charter schools would skim the "cream" off of public school enrollment, depriving traditional schools of the best pupils. This fear was not borne out by the research. . In fact, unlike what opponents predicted, charter schools serve a disproportionately high percentage of students from low-income families, students of color, and students with disabilities. http://www.hhh.umn.edu/news/newsletter/2002/aug02.pdf Many of the same negative predictions made about voucher programs and are just as misleading. In Minnesota the funding follows the students, so Charters receive the same amount of State money for each student as the public schools would have received. While Charters do reduce the amount of funding that the public schools receive, the amount is far less than the State would have to pay for students in a voucher program. In fact, there is little difference in effect between Charters and vouchers, except that in Minnesota Charters cannot have admission requirements and they must be secular. I believe that it is an error to equate admissions requirements with discrimination, as some list members have done. It should be noted that neither Charters nor voucher programs have shown consistent or significant improvements in student performance, but this is not a powerful argument against school choice. It is a powerful argument against contemporary educational practices. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
