Jeanne Massey wrote: > Yesterday's NYT's article showing poor test performance among > students in charter schools is informative as the Mpls district > debates the increase in charter school alternatives.
Well it might be informative, but not necessarily in the ways that Ms. Massey is implying. I am not a stanch supporter of charter schools and I have also warned that their academic achievement gains have not been impressive, but that's not really the point. This results of this national study should not be applied directly to charter schools in Minnesota (although my guess is that the results would be much the same). You have to keep in mind that charter schools were intended to provide innovative alternatives to public education. As such, their degree of success will be highly variable, which is what the report shows. I think that only relevant point is that there are charter schools in Minneapolis that provide more successful outcomes for minority students than do traditional public schools. The fact that the teachers' unions and public school administers are willing to require that these now successful students be kept in the traditional public system rather than succeed outside of it illustrates their level of concern. > Charter schools aren't what they used to be. Once rare > offsprings of the public school system, they are now becoming a > "movement", a growing collection of alternative schools advocated > as part of the privatization of public schools and No Child Left Behind > act. Charter schools have always been a "movement" and charter schools in Minnesota have nothing to do with the privatization of the public schools (even if there were such a conspiracy). According to Minnesota law charter schools ARE public schools, there's nothing private or exclusive about them. > It is worth noting that at Monday's school board candidate > debate, with the exception of candidate David Dayhoff, who > advocated charter school like environments for public schools > (he also introduced himself as a current or former member of > a suburban charter school), I didn't hear any other candidate > focus on charter schools as a means to closing the achievement > gap. The lack of public declaration of support by school board candidates for charter schools says little about the demand for them; you only need to look at the number of students who are abandoning the MPS. The charter school movement is about "choice." My family would like to be able to choose a quality Math/Science school within the MPS, but none exists. My family would like to choice a school for gifted children, but none exists. The charter school movement might provide us with a public school choice that the Minneapolis public schools have not. I find it patently absurd that I would have to send my children to private schools in order for them to receive a decent education in math and science. 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
