Today’s Wall St. Journal reports on a new system in Newark that intends to “shut
down that argument” that charter schools “ find ways to admit only the best
students who apply, leading to higher test scores.” Under a policy proposed by
Superintendent Cami Anderson, admissions to the city’s charter schools and
traditional public would be combined.
A frequent refrain of anti-charter school advocates is that these autonomous
schools serve proportionately lower number of children who are harder to teach:
special education students, English Language Learners, students from the most impoverished
backgrounds. For example, Save Our School-NJ claims that “most charter schools
serve many fewer students with Limited English Proficiency, fewer very
low-income students, and fewer special needs students, especially those with
high needs.”
The new Newark policy would repudiate that claim by combining admissions to
all city public schools, traditional and charter.
Ryan Hill, executive director of TEAM Charter Schools, a network of five
charters with about 1,800 students, said the new system would take some control
out of his organization’s hands, but it could be worth it.
"We don't like people claiming that we serve easier-to-serve populations, even though we can prove that we don't," he said. "This should put the nail in that coffin. We'll see."
Labels: charter schools, Newark