Speaking of LA charter schools, here's an essay by Jed Wallace, head of the CA Charter School Assoc, responding to many myths:

Despite the success of charter schools, especially here in Los Angeles, or perhaps because of it, misconceptions abound about what charter schools are and what they do. A recent piece in City Watch by Janet Denise Kelly echoed many of these common misunderstandings, following them to the wrong conclusions. Charter schools are tuition-free public schools that are open to all students who apply. The only reason they have admission lotteries is that many charter schools have more students applying than they can serve. Unlike exclusive private schools or district magnet schools, charter public schools are prohibited from "cherry picking," or selecting "the best" students. In fact, research has shown that charters serve diverse students with a wide range of needs.

I start by highlighting charter school lotteries because their very existence flips on its head the argument that charter schools are growing for the sake of growth. The fact is, new charter schools have opened in direct response to overwhelming demand from parents for better educational options in their communities. For too long, families in south LA haven't had many options if they were dissatisfied with their local traditional public school. They could pay a steep price for a private school or they could fight to get into one of LAUSD's exclusive magnet programs, which might be a long bus ride away.

Charter schools offer another public education option to parents, who are seizing upon the successes that the schools are generating. These parents, who know their children best and who deserve to have a choice in their children's education, are flocking to charters in large numbers.

I invite Janet Denise Kelly to visit some local charter schools, to get to know the parents who have chosen that option for their children, the teachers who have chosen to work there and the passionate educators lead these schools. Many of the teachers and administrators at charter schools started their careers in LAUSD and will tell you that they still consider themselves very much a part of the public school system, but in a way that allows them to focus on the needs of students, not adults.

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