Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation approving the lift of Michigan’s charter school cap in December, allowing universities and other for-profit organizations to operate up to 300 in 2012, 500 in 2014, and unlimited charter schools in 2015, according to The Detroit News.
Snyder and other charter schools advocates assert the lifting of the ban will improve education in the state, offering students in poor performing districts better options. But Democrats and educators in the state disagree, citing that charter schools are not held to the same standards as public schools and are run by profit-seeking operators. According to Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, “It’s terribly misguided and will do nothing to improve Michigan’s schools” (The Detroit News).
As a public school teacher in Michigan, I have to agree with the latter group.
Instead of allowing for-profit organizations to open schools held to a model of – not the same as – the core curriculum standards governing public schools, why don’t we focus on helping the public schools already in existence?
Public schools receive funding based on the number of students enrolled. One of the greatest obstacles facing struggling school districts is poor funding. Taking students away from the districts will only further their demise. In this way, struggling public schools are doomed to fail.
And this doesn’t just concern me because I am a public school employee. I am also a parent, and I fear for my children’s futures in a state whose public schools will soon lose more funding – funding they desperately need – at the hands of charter schools.
According to the United States General Accounting Office, a 2003 investigation of the performance of privately run public schools versus traditional public schools found that in Detroit, “…reading scores were lower in 6 of the 8 privately managed schools and math scores were lower in 7 of the 8 privately managed schools, compared with similar traditional schools.”
To me, that doesn’t spell success for the future of education in Michigan.
In my experience, Michigan public schools are filled with teachers passionate about helping students achieve success. The key to improving education in the state is developing effective tools for measuring student learning and teacher success and providing districts with the resources necessary to target students’ needs, not stripping public school districts of their students and funding by establishing countless charter schools operated by for-profit organizations whose institutions are only held to a model of the same standards as their public school counterparts.
Sources:
Kathy Barks Hoffman, “Snyder signs bill lifting charter school limits,” The Detroit News
Jim Lynch and Karen Bouffard, “Michigan legislature passes heating aid deal, lifts charters limit,” The Detroit News
PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Comparison of Achievement Results for Students Attending Privately Managed and Traditional Schools in Six Cities , GAO