CURMUDGUCATION: Report: Are Charter Schools A Big Risk For Families?

CURMUDGUCATION: Report: Are Charter Schools A Big Risk For Families?

Report: Are Charter Schools A Big Risk For Families?

In a new report, the Network for Public Education shows how big a gamble it can be to enroll your child in a charter school. And the odds are not in parents’ favor.

“Broken Promises: An Analysis of Charter School Closures From 1999-2017” is a deep dive into the data surrounding patterns of charter closure and the number of students affected by those closures, especially those in high poverty areas. NPE is a advocacy group co-founded by Diane Ravitch, the Bush-era Assistant Secretary of Education who has since become an outspoken critic of education reform. The organization's executive director is Carol Burris, a former award-winning New York principal; Burris co-wrote the report with Ryan Pfleger, an education policy researcher.

The researchers worked primarily from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (CCD) and broke charter schools into 17 cohorts based on the year that they opened. The findings serve as a warning for parents considering the charter option.

Within the first three years, 18% of charters had closed, with many of those closures occurring within the first year. By the end of five years, 25% of charters had closed. By the ten year mark, 40% of charters had closed. Of the 17 cohorts, five had been around for fifteen years; within those, CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Report: Are Charter Schools A Big Risk For Families?