Okay, I know I'm about the 31,487th person to pick up on this, but there's one factoid in the 2009 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll of Americans' attitudes toward public schools that is driving me especially nutty. Although the number of respondents who favor charter schools rose to 64 percent (up from 49 percent last year), the majority of Americans still don't know what charter schools really are. Most respondents admitted they thought charters were not public, could charge tuition, could screen students on the basis of ability, and/or could teach religion. Agh! (None of this is true, by the way, if any poll respondents are reading). A 2009 Fordham report looking at Ohioans views on education had similar results-52 percent of respondents said they favored charters. Meanwhile, 55 percent said they knew little to nothing about them.
I'm reminded of many frustrating conversations I've had along the way, trying to defend why I support charters and explain to cousin Millie or Uncle George or a public school teacher at a conference that yes, I agree with them that public schools should NOT be disbanded, and no, I DON'T think we should pay public schools to teach bible verses to children, etc. and also that none of that thinking is accurate whatsoever.
Charter schools are "secular, tuition-free, open enrollment public schools of choice that are freed from many local and state regulations and union contract constraints. They control their own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this freedom, they must deliver the academic results that they have promised" (see Fordham's FAQs on charters here).
I know there is some confusion out there, likely because this is useful to many charter opponents. But charter schools have been around since 1992. That is almost two decades, America. Isn't it time to figure out the facts?
