Weekly Leg Fax: Charter school waiting lists
by pureparents
Parent Voices Weekly Education Fax
April 10, 2013
Oppose rapid expansion of charter schools
This week’s update:Charter waiting list numbers greatly exaggerated
Local Chicago NPR station WBEZ-FM reported this week that the charter school waiting list figure cited by advocates“significantly overstates demand” and that “the 19,000 figure counts applications, not students, meaning if a student applies to four schools, he or she is counted four times. It includes kids who have turned down charter seats and are now enrolled in other schools.Perhaps the most startling finding is that a significant chunk–about 3,000–are high school dropouts applying for alternative schools. What’s more, saying that 19,000 students are on waiting lists to get into charter schools ignores another figure: there are between 3,000 and 5,000 available seats in charter schools right now, according to charter advocates.” (http://tinyurl.com/cpdyzd5)
The Boston Globe reported a similar story: “The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in tallying the waiting lists statewide and for many individual communities, including Boston, frequently counts the same students more than once.” (http://tinyurl.com/d6z7s4b)
PAA’s position: PAA opposes efforts to privatize public education through the expansion of charters, vouchers or other privately-run programs at the expense of regular public schools. Using misleading waiting list numbers to create a sense of urgency to expand charter schools is not helpful. The most authoritative studies show that charter schools overall are no better, and many are worse, than traditional schools. Policies which encourage the rapid proliferation of charter schools could be harmful to students and communities.
PAA’s recommendations:
- We believe in improving the schools we have, rather than shutting schools down in order to expand charte
