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(Republican file photo)
By Bill Spirer
Do you want the best possible education for your child?
In my career working with parents and families, I have never met anyone who didn't answer "yes" to this question. And yet, there is great disparity in the performance of our state's schools, where low income students are too often confined to grossly underperforming schools, and only affluent families are able to send their children to private schools or move to communities with higher-performing public schools.
Two years ago, I founded a new charter school in Springfield called Springfield Prep. We are an inclusive school that provides a rigorous college preparatory education for all of our students. Our mission is to serve a student demographic that is reflective of the city: low-income, black and Latino, and academically underperforming.
Each day, I have the privilege of working with families and a team of hard-working educators who simply want the best education possible for their children and students.
Each day, I am also struck by the discord between the portrayal of charter schools in the media, which depict them as harmful to public education, with what I see at work: a school where the vast majority of students are low income, a quarter are English Language Learners, where we have students with a wide range of behavioral and special needs, and where we face the same challenges I have faced in the urban district public schools in which I used to teach.
Question 2 to lift enrollment caps on public charter schools has given rise to all kinds of hyperbole, but we owe it to all our children - especially those who are not served well by existing schools - to look at the facts.
First, charters are public schools. The "Save Our Public Schools" slogan used by charter school opponents is an unfortunate effort to mislead. For the families of the students we currently serve, Springfield Prep is their public school. As a charter school, we follow the same laws and regulations as every public district in the state.
Second, our student demographic mirrors the district. Springfield Prep, like many other urban charters, targets outreach to families in low-income neighborhoods. Ninety percent of our students are eligible for free or reduced lunch; 25 percent are English Language Learners; and 15 percent have special education needs - all rates that are essentially identical to those in Springfield Public Schools.
Third, charter schools are successful because of their methods and autonomy, not because they serve the "best" kids. Studies have debunked this "best kids" talking point by examining lottery data that shows a statistically similar student often performs better in a charter school. Charter's successes rely on methods and research. For example, Springfield Prep has an extended school day because research shows that more time in the classroom leads to better results, especially for underperforming students.
Fourth, charter schools do not take money away from public schools. Funding for charter schools works just like funding for vocational schools or the school choice program: it follows the student. But charter funding is actually more beneficial to districts, because the state reimburses them for departing students over a six-year period. Districts seem to be making the brazen argument that they should keep these education funds whether they are educating the students or not. But public funds should be dedicated to the public schools that are educating the children – whether they be public district schools or public charter schools.
Finally, unless you live in a large, underperforming district, Question 2 will have no impact on your schools or your kids. No impact on funding, no loss of programs, no "end" to public education. The cap is primarily an issue in urban areas where academic performance is low and parent demand for charters is high. A "yes" vote would ensure that charters can expand in districts that rank in the bottom 25 percent. It will provide families in Holyoke, Springfield and Chicopee with more high quality public school choices. It will have no impact on Amherst, Longmeadow, or other high performing, higher income communities.
Question 2 simply allows limited growth of charter schools in districts that have records of low academic performance and no more room for high quality charters. On Nov. 8, please vote "yes" and embrace a model that has been proven to give all children, especially those who have historically been left behind, a better chance at success in life.
Bill Spirer is the founder and head of school at Springfield Prep Charter School.