Enrollment spikes at Kansas City charter schools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Enrollment at charter schools in Kansas City has increased by 15 percent this year as the city's public schools continue to lose students.

This academic year, about 23 percent of school children in the Kansas City public school district are now getting their education at one of the city's 18 public charter schools.

Kansas City has more than 7,000 students in those schools.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks the city sixth among U.S. communities in the percentage of public school students at charter schools.

New Orleans leads the country with 55 percent of public school children in public charter schools, and Washington, D.C., is second, with 31 percent in charters.

Nationally, more than 1.4 million students are enrolled in more than 4,600 public charter schools.

The Kansas City schools are down about 800 students this year.

State officials say the enrollment growth might be due to new schools and existing charters opening new campuses.

Also, schools report some families have switched from expensive private schools to charter because of the economy, said Jocelyn Strand of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Charter schools are public schools run by independent boards and supported by the state. Parents do not pay tuition for their children to attend.

John Martin, who on Friday worked his last day as interim superintendent of the Kansas City School District, said he knows children are leaving to attend charters "due to the perception of a better education and more for the reality of better discipline."

Missouri education officials said that on average, state standardized tests scores from Kansas City charter schools usually match or dip below scores from Kansas City district schools.

But discipline is stiffer in the charters, Martin said.

Generally, "if a student acts up at a charter school, they put them out and keep them out. There, parents have to be more involved, so there is more incentive for students to behave."

Not counting the 2,500 students Kansas City lost when Independence acquired six of its schools, enrollment in Kansas City district schools is down about 800 students this year, Martin said.

Since 2005, enrollment has gone from 27,358 to 18,178 this year.

"I think a lot opted out for private or charter schools. Hopefully, though, we will do better in the future, and they will come back," he said.