Charter Schools Expand Opportunities
The Post-Dispatch regards charter schools cautiously:
It would be a tragedy if, in offering opportunity to thousands of kids, a single-minded focus on charter schools helped drown thousands of others.
It’s hard to imagine any policy helping SLPS fail. It seems to have no trouble doing that on its own.
Are new charter schools a risky proposition? I don’t think so. Charter schools are succeeding all over the country. Here’s an article about a charter school in Utah that specialized in the arts. Here’s an article about charter schools in New Jersey that focus on theater. My alma mater sponsors several charters that prepare inner-city youth for top colleges, some with distinct themes like technology.
St. Louis already has a few magnet schools that specialize in similar subjects. But magnets are often designated for "gifted" students only, and are selective about whom they admit. Charter schools would bring these opportunities to many more — in the words of the Post-Dispatch, to "thousands of kids."
