Lift the cap on charter public schools; create opportunities for children in need

Charles Grigsby

One of the biggest education issues we face today is the achievement gap that separates white, middle- and upper-income students from minority and low-income students. Recent MCAS scores have shown some incremental movement, but charter public schools have initiated a real sea change.

No matter how you cut it, the data tell the same story. Statewide, charter public school students who are African American, Hispanic, low-income, special needs or speak English as a second language outperformed students from their sending districts in both English and math.

Recently, the Community Partners Initiative (CPI), a nonprofit group formed by the Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence, broke down MCAS scores by demographic groups and analyzed charter performance.

Their analysis showed that charter public schools place a higher percentage of students from various demographic groups in the “proficient” and “advanced” categories compared to students in the same demographic groups from their sending districts. The margin was actually widest among Hispanic and African American students and lowest among white students.

Charter schools like Community Day in Lawrence, Neighborhood House in Dorchester, MATCH in Boston and Roxbury Prep serve overwhelmingly low-income and minority populations and have, in some cases, outperformed some of the best suburban schools in the state.

Charter school success isn’t limited to just a few isolated schools. In Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lawrence and Fall River, charter schools had a higher percentage of students scoring advanced or proficient on both the English and math MCAS exams in 2006 than did the districts. In some cases, like in Lawrence and Springfield, the number of charter students scoring advanced or proficient was 20 to 30 percent higher than the district.

The majority of the Commonwealth’s charter school students are minorities, compared to 26 percent of public school students statewide. They’re also more likely to be poor. Forty-three percent of Massachusetts charter school students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, compared to 26 percent of all state public school students.

In the business world, we replicate what works. In education, we should do the same. For years, we’ve struggled with how to reduce the achievement gap between white and minority students. Charter public schools have proven to be an effective way to close the gap. Instead of restricting access to them, we should make the opportunity they represent available to more families.

Statewide caps now limit the number of new charters that can be established, and several urban areas — like Boston, Lawrence and Fall River — are bumping up close to that cap. Legislation has been filed to raise the cap on charter schools in districts with high poverty rates and low test scores where the achievement gap is widest. Sixty percent of the students served by the districts that would be affected by the legislation are low-income students and 53 percent are minorities.
Charter public schools are making an enormous difference in the lives of minority and poorer students across the Commonwealth. Raising the cap in these communities would bring a successful education strategy — and a world of opportunity — to the families who need it most.

Charles Grigsby is senior vice president of The Life Initiative and is a member of Massachusetts Business Leaders for Charter Public Schools.