Charter Schools

I stand firmly in support of our community-based public schools, which I believe are fundamental to the American promise of equality and opportunity. While I recognize the original intent behind charter schools as laboratories for educational innovation, I am deeply concerned about the direction that many modern charter schools have taken.

Originally, charter schools were envisioned as partners to the public school system, experimenting with new teaching methods and curricula to enhance educational outcomes for all. Unfortunately, this vision has been overshadowed by practices that effectively transform these institutions into quasi-private schools that operate with public funds but without the corresponding public accountability. This shift not only diverts essential resources from our public schools but also undermines their ability to serve every child, contributing to a broader economic and civil rights crisis in our education system.

Charter schools, in their modern incarnation, often feature selective enrollment processes and operate under policies and management practices that lack transparency. This arrangement not only threatens the foundational principles of public education but also the very fabric of our communities. The unchecked expansion of such charter schools risks creating a two-tiered education system, where the benefits of innovation accrue to a select few while the majority are left in under-resourced public schools.

Therefore, while I am not opposed to the concept of charter schools as a supplementary part of our educational ecosystem, I advocate for stringent measures to ensure these schools are truly serving the public interest. This includes:

• Enhanced Oversight: Implementing strict accountability measures that align charter schools more closely with the standards and transparency expected of public schools.
• Equitable Funding: Ensuring that funding for charter schools does not detract from public schools, but rather is part of a holistic approach to lifting all educational institutions.
• Community Integration: Requiring charter schools to demonstrate how they serve the broader educational and social needs of their communities, rather than operating as isolated entities. (Truthfully, I’d even be in favor of charter schools having a distinct and enforceable end date that must be submitted with their initial charter application, to ensure that the entire purpose of the school is to serve the broader system, not self-preservation.)

My commitment is to fully fund and support our public schools as the greatest equalizers in our society. Every American child deserves a quality education, and this must be our priority. I pledge to work tirelessly to reinforce the public school system, making it robust enough to ensure every child can achieve their American Dream. My commitment is to an education system that truly reflects our democratic values and advances our collective prosperity.