Carrie Lukas ignored a huge education reform in D.C. that is making a difference - one that President-elect Barack Obama enthusiastically supports. Publicly funded, nonselective and independently managed, public charter schools now educate more than one in three of the District’s children.
Economically disadvantaged students in public charter secondary schools are twice as likely to score proficient or advanced in reading and math tests as their non-charter public school peers.
These independent public schools are enriching the lives of many of the District’s most at-risk children by creating an education environment in which schools are free to innovate, allow parents to get more involved, and provide students the structure they need to learn.
No wonder while campaigning for his party’s nomination, Obama called for the doubling charter school investment "so that students have more choices within the public school system."
Ariana Quiñones-Miranda, Deputy Director, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS)