Why the Opposition to Educational Hope in Camden?

Here's today's WHYY Newsworks column:

Philadelphia's Mastery Charter Schools is hoping to run a school in Camden. This week, Camden Public Schools announced that is now accepting applications from charter operators. But despite Mastery's track-record, not everyone is excited by this idea.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported this week that New Jersey's Education Law Center (ELC), the primary advocate for New Jersey's 31 poor Abbott districts, believes that the Camden Board of Education should not approve any more charter schools and instead focus on facilities repairs.

It's not so hard to divine the politics of ELC's anti-charter school stance. After all, the non-profit has made its bones lobbying for equitable school funding in the traditional public school sector and is closely allied with anti-choice groups that look askance at progressive instructional models.

Read the rest here.