Today, the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University released a new white paper on the growth of charter schools. The paper focuses on charter schools in New York state, and finds that the growth of charters has outpaced accountability and oversight for these schools. Among some of the findings in the paper:
- The use of subtle but exclusionary enrollment practices by individual schools is both widespread and well-documented;
- Students with disabilities and English Language Learners are underrepresented in charter schools nationwide and in New York City; data from other studies support this claim and suggest that the nation’s most vulnerable students are under-served by the charter sector;
- The majority of charter schools hire teachers on an “at-will” basis and experience much higher teacher (and administrator) turnover than traditional public schools;
- In certain cases public charter schools lack and even resist accountability and transparency regarding use of public funds.
The report offers a series of recommendations to increase oversight and accountability of the growing charter sector in New York City in four areas, including governance, access, school climate, and facilities.
Click here to read the full white paper: Public Accountability for Charter Schools: Common Sense Regulation and Oversight for the Future
Shannon Kelly, Director of Advocacy, May 6, 2014. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
