INCS response to Catalyst Chicago & NYT

Catalyst Chicago magazine ran a hatchet job of an article on Chicago's charter schools (www.catalyst-chicago.org/assets/20100803/files/catsummer2010.pdf), which the NYT then picked up on (oddly, in an article written by an editor of Catalyst Chicago: www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/us/13cnccharters.html).  Andrew Broy, President of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, rips these biased articles to shreds in two letters.  Here's a highlight:

 

Buried in the issue is the most relevant fact: that charter schools are producing terrific outcomes for students.  Based on the district's most recent performance report, charter schools have student proficiency rates more than 10% higher than comparison schools.  The performance accelerates at the higher end of the performance distribution.  In fact, six of the ten highest performing nonselective high schools in the city are charter schools, even though charter schools enroll a mere 8% of public schools students.  On nearly every measure, from graduation rates to attendance rates to school violence, charter schools are succeeding…

 

You also note that many charter schools run deficits.  As you acknowledge in your article, however, charter schools have never been equitably funded in our city.  A 2010 national study showed that charter schools in Chicago receive $2,020 less per pupil from public sources than comparable public schools.  This means that the average charter school class of 30 students is funded at $60,600 less than a similar public school.  Even when foundation and philanthropic revenue is included, the per pupil gap remains $1,309 or $39,270 per class.  The remedy should be for the district to fund charter schools equitably and to make charter school facilities access a priority.  In an era where Chicago is planning to cut charter school reimbursement 6% while funding a 4% increase in teacher salaries on top of step increases, Catalyst should be asking why the district isn't funding performance.

 

Finally, parent voices are noticeably absent from the issue.  Thousands of Chicago families have chosen charter schools for the education they provide and more than 15,000 more Chicago families are on charter school waiting lists.  Chicago families seem to understand what Catalyst missed – that charter schools are providing high quality public school options for our neighborhoods.  In the future, we hope Catalyst moves beyond tired rhetoric pitting charter schools against traditional public schools.  Chicago families want great schools, however organized, and we should focus our efforts on making that a reality, not repeating the tired school choice debates of the past.

 

Hear, hear!