Sara Mead
Education Sector
October 2006
This concise report on charter schools in Michigan brings welcome clarity to the confusing history and status of chartering in the Great Lakes State. It is another in the excellent series, previously published by the Progressive Policy Institute, examining how charters are faring across the nation. With some 230 schools enrolling almost 100,000 students, and a political climate that even James Carville would find challenging, Michigan's charter landscape is vast and varied. Mead explains how tiny Bay Mills Community College--a tribally controlled school on the Upper Peninsula--busted the state's cap on charters to become a major authorizer; how and why Detroit blew a chance to receive 200 million private dollars to build 15 charters; and how Education Management Organizations have created strong schools while undermining public trust. Of the charters themselves, Mead notes that their efforts to improve student achievement, while exceptional in a few instances, have been modest in general. Compared to nearby district schools, charters do marginally better. But compared to traditional public schools statewide, charters have considerable ground to make up. Mead's recommendations for improving Michigan's charters are sound (with specific suggestions to address the state's charter school cap and its funding problems), if sometimes predictable ("improve quality in mediocre charter schools," "close low-performing schools," "improve ... data collection," etc.). Important reading, both for Michiganders and for all charter mavens. Read it here.
