It is not news that many parents want their children to get a quality education in a safe environment. In 1848, Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became a prominent activist, author, public speaker, and leader of the Abolitionist movement, enrolled his daughter, Rosetta, at Seward Seminary, one of the best schools. Seward Seminary expelled Rosetta because of the color of her skin. Douglass was determined to find another high-quality school where she could enroll; he did. Rosetta became an activist, teacher, and founding member of the National Association for Colored Women.
The leading adversaries against charter schools are teacher unions and the Democrat Party. Why? There are more than one million students across the United States on waiting lists for charter schools.What is the reason for this animosity?
The two most successful charter schools in New York City are KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) and Success Academy schools. These schools repeatedly outperform most of the traditional public-school neighbors. Neighbors, because charter schools are often housed in the same buildings or abandoned buildings throughout the same areas.
Julian Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration, said, “It is a myth that charter schools are better than public schools. They are not.”
According to Thomas Sowell in Charter School and Their Enemies, “In the school year 2017-2018 a majority of KIPP charter school students scored at Level 3 (“proficient”) or above on the English Language Arts tests in 10 of their 14-grade levels in the five buildings they shared with students in traditional public schools.” In math, a majority of the KIPP students scored at the “proficient” Level 3 or above in 12 of their 14-grade levels.
Sowell also writes, “As of 2017, there were 46 Success Academy charter schools, in New York City, with a total of 15,000 students. Of these schools, there were 13 Success Academy Charter schools located in the same buildings with one or more traditional public schools and have some classes at the same grade levels as those of their traditional public school neighbors…at least 92% were black or Hispanic…on the New York State Education Department’s English Language Art tests in 2017-2018, all 30 Success Academy charter school grade levels located in thirteen school buildings with various traditional public schools, had a majority of their students scoring at the “proficient” level or above. These majorities ranged from 82% to 100%.” Also, “a majority of these Success Academy students scored in Level 4 alone, (above “proficient”) in mathematics in every grade level.”
The success of these charter schools cannot be denied. Why are teacher unions against charter schools? Why does the Democrat Party support teacher unions? Teacher unions are among the top donors to the Democrat Party. Is politics more important than giving all children an equal opportunity to a quality education?
All children must have the opportunity of receiving a quality education in a safe environment just as Frederick Douglass sought for his daughter, Rosetta,in 1848.