As charter school expansion continues, regulatory oversight varies: tips for digging into local education
Earlier this month, The Bentonville, Ark.-based Walton Family Foundation pledged to spend $1 billion backing new charter schools over a five-year period, Arianna Prothero of The Associated Press reported. A foundation spokesperson said poor families deserve more school options that help children succeed, including charters.
The problem: charter school oversight varies widely across the country — and while some charter schools have succeeded well, many remain no better (or even worse) than their public school counterparts. In some states, records laws are so lax, finding data to compare charter schools to the performance of public schools is tough. Opponents to charter schools, like former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, argue that charter schools hollow out existing public schools and benefit business interests without any clear upside to poor (often majority black) students.
Even the often-promoted, “2015 Urban Charter School Study,” found that, on average, less than half of urban charters perform better than traditional public schools in both reading and math.
Use the old journalism adage: follow the money in your own community. What foundations and business interests back education reform in your community? And how is that support changing the local education landscape?
Charter school laws and funding varies widely across the U.S. but in general charter schools receive public tax dollars from the local school district for each student enrolled, including for transportation. That formula puts them in competition with local, traditional education districts. Unlike public schools, in many states, anyone can start a charter school: parents, community leaders, businesses and even professional athletes.
Institutional Investor writer Imogen Rose-Smith reported former tennis star Andre Agassi has partnered with money manager Bobby Turner to fund charter schools across the nation through two private hedge funds. In October, Rose-Smith reported Agassi and Turner had just closed their second fund, expecting to raise $400 million from investors.
The charter school movement is a boom for hedge funds and investors, Huffington Post contributor Alan Singer explained. Tax code incentives designed to promote economic development in low-income areas allow As charter school expansion continues, regulatory oversight varies: tips for digging into local education - Reynolds Center: