Do Charter Schools Widen Race and Class Divide?

[Panaconda]

The Class Divide

Class and ethnic segregation were occurring in school districts long before charter schools appeared. But according to a UCLA study, "Choice Without Equity," which was released in February 2010, the charter movement worsens the racial, ethnic and class divide in most of the country. The large number of white students enrolling in Chico-area charter schools is a trend seen throughout California and the western United States.

The UCLA study also shows that in Butte County, in 2008, white students made up 81 percent of the charter school population and only 67 percent of the traditional school population.

"We found that charters were acting as havens for white students," said co-author Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, a research associated at the School of Education's Civil Rights Project. The study brands the charter movement a "civil rights failure," in part because of what authors sometimes call "white flight."

Changes in class and culture at Chapman and Chico Country are at the heart of the charter school divide. Throughout the Chico Unified School District, teachers and parents worry that many of the 10 local charter schools are "skimming" to attract students who are the best prepared and who have parents who can help in the classroom and in raising funds.

...

http://newamericamedia.org/2010/10/do-charter-schools-widen-race-and-class-divide.php

[Nite Owl]

1. K&R

this needs to be read by those who seem to think that charter schools and testing are the answers to any problems with education.

[Hannah Bell]

2. studies say "yes".

[Panaconda]

6. Institute on Race and Poverty Report: Dismal Results For Charter Schools

Institute on Race and Poverty Report:
Dismal Results For Charter Schools

November 26, 2008—The Law School's Institute on Race and Poverty released a report today that reveals very troubling data concerning the success rates of charter schools in the Twin Cities metro area.

Entitled "Failed Promises: Assessing Charter Schools in the Twin Cities," the new study is one of very few to evaluate the academic performance of charter schools and their competitive impact on traditional public school systems within the context of racial and economic segregation.

The state of Minnesota has a long track record when it comes to charter school systems, and educational reformers should take note of the report's findings, explains Myron Orfield, director of the Institute on Race and Poverty. "Before they rush into expanding the charter sector in their states, they should take a closer look at the Twin Cities experience," he says. "Rather than being a solution to the educational problems faced by low-income students and students of color, charter schools are deepening these problems."

The study shows that although some charter schools perform well on standardized tests, most charter schools offer low-income parents and parents of color an inferior choice—a choice between low-performing traditional public schools and charter schools that perform even worse.

Analysis of proficiency rates in charter elementary schools finds lower proficiency scores in both reading and math, compared to students who attended comparable traditional public schools. For reading proficiency, the average difference is nearly 9 percentage points; for math, nearly 10 percentage points.

...

http://www.law.umn.edu/news/charter-schools-report-11-26-2008.html

[FiveGoodMen]

3. That's the whole point of having them.

Sadly.

[Dappleganger]

4. They've just figured out how to get taxpayers to fund their own private schools.

[TBF]

9. +1 nt

[leftstreet]

12. +1

[stray cat]

5. Public schools do. If you can afford to live someplace with good schools you do

and you leave those poorer communities to rot in hell.

[TBF]

11. How do you propose we fix the inequities of local funding?

Something tells me nationalizing is not on your agenda ...

[Starry Messenger]

7. k & r

[bvar22]

8. Of course they do.

Thats the whole point of private "Charter Schools".
...THAT, busting the Unions, and funneling "public" money into "private" pockets.

[Starry Messenger]

10. Another OP that touches on this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9374548 If I can take the liberty.

[TheKentuckian]

13. That and casting blame for failed and flawed structural and funding issues on teachers is the point

This is a transition phase on the path to school for the wealthy and luckiest of the gifted and babysitting while in training for Wally world for the masses.

Eventually, they'll get people to pay out of pocket for the privilege of warehousing their kids while they work for as little as possible.

[mzteris]

14. Nationwide statistics

2009-2010 (most recent stats)
Charter Schools
White..... 647,565.....38.9%
Black..... 535,744.....32.2%
Hispanic...387,210.....23.2%
Asian.......54,224......3.3%
Other.......41,037......2.5%

Non-Charter Schools
White..... 28,122,634.....59.1%
Black...... 7,816,989.....16.4%
Hispanic....8,322,383.....17.5%
Asian.......1,965,975..... 4.1%
Other.......1,388,423..... 2.9%



2008-2009 (most recent stats for non-charter)
Charter Schools
Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch........517,787.....35.6%
Ineligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch......938,565.....64.4%

Non-Charter Schools
Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch.......20,775,448.....43.7%
Ineligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch.....26,800,079.....56.3%

[LWolf]

15. Yes, they do.

Which is why no self-respecting Democrat should support charters or politicians who favor them.

[maryf]

16. kick

Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours Thanks!

[Sabriel]

17. Around here they're used to shift students

Charter schools in Wisconsin are often schools-within-a-school, used to attract high-scoring students to low-score schools, in order to even out the discrepancies in the district.

So the gifted/talented charter school in my district is housed in the lowest-score (and lowest-income) elementary in the city.