LETTERS: CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE UNPROVEN CONCEPT

To the editor:

I would like to express my disagreement with some of your recent editorials on the issue of charter schools. In these pieces, you sing the praises of the charter-school movement and the concept of choice in education. I am perplexed by the idea that people are so willing to divert public money into what are essentially private schools. Charter schools are seldom held accountable by publicly elected boards, as are existing public schools. They are also free to use interview processes for student admission. As a result of this, a recent Michigan State study found that charter schools support the social sorting of students. Charter schools may conduct their operations with public funds, but in light of this information I do not find sufficient grounds to classify these schools as public.

For the purpose of promoting innovation, the Legislature and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are willing to free these schools from their very own rules and regulations, which are argued to be restricting and debilitating. If this premise is indeed true, the rational solution would be to remove such rules from all public schools rather than to establish a parallel system of schools with little accountability to the public.

The mere fact that there are a number of charter schools that have begun operation in Kansas City this year is no indication that they will positively impact student performance. In fact, upon review of the research conducted on existing charter schools in other states, there is scant evidence that student achievement has improved at all. State policy-makers might do well to rely more heavily on a comprehensive review of the research and less on unsubstantiated rhetoric, intuition or federal incentives.

We must recognize and admit that there are inherent risks in placing children in unproven and conceptual schools. I believe we have an obligation to provide quality educational opportunities for all children. Given the evidence, charter schools fall short of achieving this standard.

CARTER D. WARD

Executive Director

Missouri School Boards Association

Columbia