Oakland schools were front and center in the national and local debate around, “privatization”, with a front page NY Times article and local stories on a contested visit by Steph Curry to a West Oakland district-run school. The common point shown in both of these events was the division in rhetoric, and in my view…
charter schools
Hits and Misses in the NY Times article on Oakland
Oakland was showcased in the recent Times article, “Oakland District at the Heart of Drive to Transform Urban Schools.” And while I appreciate the coverage, the article focused too much on the elite adult arguments and too little on the opinions and needs of actual underserved Oakland parents. Oakland is increasingly a forum, where a…
New York’s Unlegislated Charter Cap
Judging by the numbers, the so-called charter movement is dead in NY. Seriously, when you count the number of charter schools that are being closed and subtract them from new charter approvals, you are about at zero last year. This was never legislated, immense needs still exist, and more than anything it shows the triumph…
Lamenting School Choice Week and the Need for Braver Authorizers
It’s national school choice week next week, and as the resident charter killjoy, I am compelled to throw some cold water on the celebration. School choice is not a panacea. There is no real “market” in education (and if there were it would be scary) and there is nothing inherent in providing a hypothetical choice…
So You Want to Start a Charter School?
You have to be Effing crazy. I should know. I have helped folks start schools for 20 years. I run a school incubator, and that line about being crazy is the opening and closing line of my introductory training. And I am serious. We don’t have any hedge fund donors, aren’t drinking any free…