Opinion: A Tale of Two Cities: Charter Schools in Philadelphia, CamdenThe key to successful charters: keep the focus on the kids, keep the unions happy
The big education news this week in the Delaware Valley is the Philadelphia Public School District's announcement that it will close 40 of its 250 schools in September 2013.
"A Blueprint for Transforming Philadelphia's Public Schools," authorized by the five-member School Reform Commission, has decreed that students in closing schools -- about 15 percent of total enrollment -- will be served by an expanding charter network, known as Renaissance Schools. The central office, already cut to about 650 staffers, will shrink to 200 people, and all schools will be overseen by the largely autonomous "Achievement Networks" led by educators and non-profit organizations.
Meanwhile, across the Delaware River in Camden, NJ, under the auspices of the recently enacted Urban Hope Act, up to four charter schools -- called "Renaissance Schools"-- will be built to potentially serve about 15 percent of Camden's 13,000 students.
Philadelphia's edict has ignited a firestorm of protests and allegations. In comparison, Camden is a relative oasis of forbearance and support.
So here's a question you don't hear often: what did New Jersey do right in implementing a