By Delia Pompa, NCLR Senior Vice President, Programs
(Originally posted on National Journal's Expert Blog - Education)
Here’s the reality about charter schools in the Latino community—for many Latino students, charter schools often provide a better educational option than the nearby traditional public schools. Our experience inworking with our affiliated network of charter schools demonstrates the success of these schools in developing innovative and effective strategies for teaching Latino and English language learner (ELL) students. Unlike schools in some large charter management organizations, the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) charter schools have opened in response to a specific and self-identified community need for a better schooling option. These “mom-and-pop” operations are spearheaded by community leaders who understand that for Latino students to succeed academically, schools must prioritize family engagement, support ELLs, and uphold high expectations. Schools that focus on these three elements have shown promising results, too. Take the Altavista Charter School in Kansas City, Mo., where standardized test scores in language arts assessments for ELLs are 20 percentage points higher than the state average, and where the high school graduation rate is 26 percentage points higher than that of the surrounding districts. Or consider the Tejano Center in Houston, which educators regard as one of the best high schools in the state of Texas. At the Tejano Center, dropout rates have averaged at the low figure of 1.6% over the last four years, thanks in part to the charter school’s nontraditional educational approach. Any push to improve educational outcomes for underperforming children must support innovative programs such as these.
Though we at NCLR laud the value of charter schools, we also agree with Rep. George Miller (D–Calif.) that the entire educational system must be fixed to demonstrably improve opportunities and achievement for all students. NCLR believes that charter schools alone cannot solve the education crisis in the United States. Not all children have access to charter schools, and not all charter schools are good. Therefore, educational experts, elected officials, and families must work together to develop a broadly based strategy that guarantees that all children, especially low-income minority students, are well-equipped for the future. Any reform agenda must adopt high standards, such as the Common Core State Standards, as well as incorporate meaningful assessments, family engagement, and support for early childhood learning as a foundation for academic success. A comprehensive education policy should promote innovation through charter schools, but ultimately Congress must ensure that its educational overhaul efforts have the widest reach and greatest impact on the students and families most in need.