The charter school battle shifts to suburbs and pits neighbor against neighbor
A question that we’ve been debating here on the AJC Get Schooled blog is whether charter schools have a place in high-performing districts, such as Cherokee. This debate is not limited to Georgia, but is erupting nationwide as a reform movement originally cast as a way to help students trapped in failing schools expands to communities with successful public schools.
In this broader application, the charter movement is no longer about an escape route for poor children but about greater choice for all students.
But some parents in wealthy suburbs maintain that these “boutique” charters divert vital funds from schools that are more than meeting the needs of the community. They contend that there’s no rationale for a charter school when the local education is high quality.
But the parents who want their children to learn Chinese in kindergarten counter that they deserve more public options, and that even excellent schools may not be serving every child well. Such differences of opinion are pitting neighbor against neighbor as charter school entrepreneurs recognize the potential of affluent suburbs.
Those are the dividing lines in the wealthy town of Millburn, N.J., where parents are fighting two