In the News: Stop Being Dogmatic About Public Charter Schools

In the New York Times, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker writes, “Many public charter schools have proved to be an effective, targeted tool to give children with few other options a chance to succeed. …The treatment by many Democratic politicians of high-performing public charter schools as boogeymen has undermined the fact that many of these schools are serving low-income urban children across the country in ways that are inclusive, equitable, publicly accountable and locally driven.”

In the Winter 2020 issue of Education Next, “Democrats Dodge a Charter Question—and for a reason,” Martin West writes about how and why the other Democratic presidential candidates dodged the charter school question during a recent televised debate. West writes: “Only Cory Booker, whose deep involvement in a charter-heavy turnaround effort as Newark mayor leaves him little alternative, proved willing to offer a positive word. ‘We closed poor-performing charter schools,’ said Booker, ‘but dagnabbit we expanded high-performing charter schools.’”

— Education Next

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