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October 4th, 2018
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
MEDDLING WITH LOUISIANA CHARTER SCHOOLS!
Here we go again with meddling federal judges. The 5thU.S Circuit Court of Appeals came down hard on Louisiana charter schools last week. Charter schools, that by definition are independent with major input from parents, now will have to bargain with teachers’ unions. The 5thCircuit is well known for questionable opinions that are often overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hopefully, this dubious decision will receive the same treatment.
In spite of a number of innovative proposals for reform put forth by concerned legislators, my home state of Louisiana ranks at or near the bottom in every national survey of educational achievement. Just last week, a state educational department analysis concluded that 57 percent of Louisiana public schools have received an F-rating for school performance.
There has been a growing interest in charter schools all over the nation, and particularly here in Louisiana. Ninety Percent of all kids attending public schools in New Orleans go to a charter school. These education facilities are independent public schools that are not constrained by the statewide one-size-fits-all requirements often placed on local schools. Charter schools are able to be more innovative in developing curricula, hiring teachers, and structuring the school day.
A key benefit of charter schools is that parents have a choice. They pick the school and are not forced into making their kids attend a specific local school. In just about everything else you do, there’s a choice. But not in where your kid goes to school. Choice fosters competition. For many, the lack of competition is a key component in the weakness of the American educational system. To be successful, schools have to compete. That’s the key to charter schools. And the students are the beneficiaries.
I have observed first-hand how successful charter schools can be in New York City were my oldest daughter Campbell has been actively involved in the support of the Success Academy Charter Network. To show how effective charters can be, Success Academy has opened 32 schools for 17,000 students.
And get this. The student achievement is remarkable. Students at Success Academy rank in the top one percent of all New York schools in math, and the top seven percent in English. The racial makeup always comes up, doesn’t it? Only 3 percent of the kids are white. So much for not being able to close the racial achievement gap. As Campbell told a fundraising gathering for the network of schools, “demography is not destiny.”
She did not mince words to those who, in many states, continue to try to put up roadblocks to stop the growth of charter schools. “It’s a fight,” Campbell told the crowd last week. “We have to fight for these schools. I wish we didn’t. It amazes me that there could be anything controversial about the achievements of these extraordinary kids. It amazes me that anyone would dare try to choke one of the most exciting, innovative things happening in public education.”
And she answered some critics who say that all kids cannot attend charter schools. “No one is saying that every public school student should be moved into a charter. All we say is that the excellence of our charters should be moved into every public school.”Campbell has also founded The 74, a nonprofit news website focusing on educational issues throughout the United States. The 74 publishes hundreds of related articles a year, many that discuss the advantages of charter schools. So it took a girl raised in Ferriday, Louisiana to go to the Big Apple and lead the charge for public school reform. Yes, this is a proud papa talking. But you cannot argue with achievement.
Right now, in a number of state legislatures across the country, there is an effort to curtail and limit the growth of charter schools. What a mistake this would be. Campbell put it this way. “You can tell who’s on the losing side of an issue when what they fear most is competition. By saving children and giving them a chance, these schools remind everyone what these kids are being saved from-an education system that has lost its way.”
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide.  You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownla.com. You can also hear Jim’s nationally syndicated radio show each Sunday morning from 9:00 am till 11:00 am Central Time on the Genesis Radio Network, with a live stream at http://www.jimbrownla.com.