There are workarounds out there. For example, the Walton Family Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation just announced the winners of the Spark Opportunity Grant Program, 26 charter schools that will receive high-credit, low-interest loans for facilities, allowing for the creation of 20,000 additional charter seats across the country.
“Visionary school leaders and educators should be spending all of their time improving the lives of students, not on complex real estate transactions and building repairs,” said Walton Family Foundation K-12 Education Program Director Marc Sternberg. “These grants will drive more resources to teaching, learning and serving the needs of local communities.”
But
What does it mean for Emma and her mom if the charter-unfriendly state Department of Education accedes to the superintendent’s demands? Like 86% of People’s Prep freshmen who came in from other Newark district middle schools, she began well below grade level in reading; like 72% of People’s Prep freshman, she began well below grade level in math. Now, like most of her classmates, she’s on track to earn her high school diploma, and, with the support of the school’s Alumni Support College Persistence Program, a college one too.
But if People’s Prep is evicted she could end up at nearby Newark Central High. There, although fewer students are economically disadvantaged and a comparable number are eligible for special education, the college enrollment rate 16 months after graduation is 41.6%, compared to 74% at Emma’s current school.
Emma and her mom, who can’t afford to move out of Newark, may now face a transfer to a low-quality school, all because the system has been rigged against charter schools, even when they do their job well. If Emma was your daughter, which school would you choose?
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