Charter schools succeed, and with less financial aid

Good for Peter Murphy of the NY Charter Schools Assoc. for giving the head of the NYS Council of School Superintendents a well-deserved ripping:

 

The June 10 Perspective article by Thomas Rogers, head of the New York  State Council of School Superintendents, contained all the typical  anti-charter school buzzwords and talking points we've come to expect from  someone representing an establishment organization attacking its competition  ("Send charter law to reform school"). Rogers is months behind in his  recommended changes to the charter law, since Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the state  Legislature comprehensively addressed these charter-related issues along with  doubling the cap on charters....
 

Charter school critics would have  much more credibility if they applied the same concern and vexation over the  failures of numerous district schools that spend a whole lot more money than  New Covenant, yet with consistently low test scores. For example, Giffen  Memorial School, which was once celebrated for its supposed turnaround, has  lower math scores this year, including the lowest third-grade results in the  district -- even lower than the New Covenant's.
 

In fact, we should establish a stronger standard to apply to all public  schools -- charter and district -- that would close if they score at or below  New Covenant's levels. Call it the Rogers Standard. When public school  organizations like the Council of School Superintendents adopt such a clarion  call for all public schools, only then should they be taken seriously when  discussing charter schools.
 

The reality is that charter schools are part of the public school system,  and have consistently proven themselves in terms of academic achievement,  parental demand and rigorous oversight. The so-called "experiment" (the  pejorative term used by charter opponents) is long over. Charter schools are  documented to be benefiting children, as an even higher percentage of charter  schools outperformed their respective school district averages on the state's  English and math exams.
 

Were the opposite true, we would certainly hear from the usual suspects  bellowing about it.

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Charter schools succeed, and with less financial aid
  
By PETER MURPHY
First published: Sunday, June 17, 2007
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=598393
The June 10 Perspective article by Thomas Rogers, head of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, contained all the typical anti-charter school buzzwords and talking points we've come to expect from someone representing an establishment organization attacking its competition ("Send charter law to reform school"). Rogers is months behind in his recommended changes to the charter law, since Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the state Legislature comprehensively addressed these charter-related issues along with doubling the cap on charters.
Among these changes are new timeline and school district notice provisions, along with changing the funding of charter schools by providing, for the first time, transition aid to certain school districts with new resident students enrolling in charter schools.