Diane Ravitch leads the revolution
Good piece in the NY Daily News today by Ms. Ravitch entitled, "Bust the monopoly - New York's schools are ripe for revolution". In the article, Ms. Ravitch criticizes the current leaders of school reform in New York for their lack of support for vouchers and charter schools:
What is surprising is that [NY Dept. of Education leader Joel] Klein has expressed no support for a concept that the Clinton administration did support strongly: charter schools — public schools that are given a high degree of autonomy in exchange for accountability.
Today, there are more than 2,700 charter schools in operation across the nation, but only 38 in New York State — and just 18 of them in New York City. New York's small number stands in sharp contrast to states such as California with 450 charter schools, Florida with 232, Texas with 228 and Michigan with nearly 200. Houston alone has 66 charter schools, and Detroit, 54.
And why should Mr. Klein lead the revolution in New York to start more charter schools?
Studies have shown that charter schools tend to have smaller classes and fewer administrators and devote more of their dollars to classroom instruction. Their basic principles are that the professionals who run the schools should have greater autonomy, that the schools should be accountable for student learning and that students should attend schools of choice. No wonder parents, students and teachers like them so much.
Some of the existing charter schools are outstanding, like the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) Academy in the Bronx, the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, and Beginning with Children in Brooklyn. Successful charter schools not only have impressive academic gains, but long waiting lists.
Will Mr. Klein take heed of Ms. Ravitch's call to arms? Stay tuned.