How Charter Schools Are Undermining Public Education
Stan Karp
November 14, 2013 |
Somewhere along the way, nearly every teacher dreams of starting a school. I know I did.
More than once during the 30 years I taught English and journalism to high school students in Paterson, New Jersey, I imagined that creating my own school would open the door to everything I wanted as a teacher:
- Colleagues with a shared vision of teaching and learning.
- Freedom from central office bureaucracy.
- A welcoming school culture that reflected the lives of our students and families.
- Professional autonomy that nourished innovation and individual and collective growth.
- School-based decision-making that pushed choices about resources, priorities, time, and staffing closer to the classrooms where it matters the most.
I think of this experience often as I follow the polarized debate over charter schools. I know there are many committed charter school teachers who share the dream of teaching in a progressive, student-centered school. And I know that, for some teachers, charter school jobs are the only ones available.
But I also know the charter school movement has changed dramatically in recent years in ways that have undermined its original intentions. Although small schools and theme academies have faded as a focus of reform initiatives, charters have expanded rapidly. According