Recently the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) released a resolution that calls for a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools. They are wrong for being opposed to charter schools and other vehicles that provide viable choices for the successful education of minority youth. I don’t question the NAACP’s concern with the treatment of black children in the public education system. However, the NAACP should be leading the charge in the other direction.
Charter public schools are providing critical educational choices for many families in our region and across the country. Charter schools are publicly funded and operate outside the control of local school districts and with greater autonomy than traditional public schools relative to operations, curriculum and instruction. The NAACP’s concern seems to be that parents choose the school that they think is best for their children.
In Missouri, there are currently 68 charter schools serving approximately 20,700 students. More than 30 percent of all public school students in St. Louis and 42 percent of all public school students in Kansas City are charter school students.
In many cases parents are choosing charters because their local district schools are failing to educate their children and parents are demanding better public education choices. In minority communities across the country, they are voting with their feet. Three million children now are enrolled in charter schools. And many more are clamoring to get in.
How long are parents and their children supposed to wait for traditional public schools to get it right? The fact is they can’t wait. They need access to schools that work for them now.
Charter schools are not a silver bullet. They need proper governance, and should learn from some early charter school failures. Active and responsible charter authorizers, trained and knowledgeable board members and engaged parents are critical to the success of charter school administration, quality outcomes and long-term success. Oversight should not stifle innovation, energy or new ideas.
A recent national survey of parents with school-age children was commissioned by the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. It shows broad range support for expanding charter schools. Seventy-eight percent of parents support having a charter public school in their neighborhood. Among low-income parents, 88 percent are in favor of having a charter school in their community and 84 percent support the expansion of charter schools nationally. Survey results also showed that among African-American parents 82 percent favor allowing parents to choose their child’s public school, regardless of where they live.
The NAACP should not abandon the 3 million charter students and their families. This misguided effort by the NAACP fails to take into account that successful and viable choices in public education are essential to their stated core mission: To ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minorities and eliminate racial prejudice.
On Oct. 15, the National Board of the NAACP will take up the resolution calling for a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools. They would be wise to listen to minority parents across this great nation and continue to support their freedom to choose the public school options that provide the best education for their children.
Brian A. Murphy is president of BAM Contracting in St. Louis and board president of The Children’s Educational Alliance of Missouri.