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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the big charter donors - Walton, Koch, DeVos, the Heritage/FWorks billionaires - absolutely do see charters as a way to divide parents.[/quote]

Because we were all one, big happy smiling DCPS community before charters came along. Back in the days when everyone equally chose Eastern and Ballou and Wilson and we weren’t divided at all over the choices.  :roll: [/quote]

No one is arguing that. But charters helped to exploit those existing divisions, not relieve them. In theory charters in DC gave families at underperforming schools more choices. But since the lottery, and charters, are available to everyone, it actually just became another way for people who aren’t IB for strong schools to “lose”. Yes, sometimes they win by landing a spot at a charter that is a genuine improvement over their IB. But sometimes they don’t, and the existence of charters makes it harder to improve that IB unless you can afford to live in a neighborhood with high property values, where you can build a critical mass of parents with both the time and, importantly, money to get the school better resources.

And sometimes that doesn’t even work. Look at Brookland. The proliferation of charter options, especially the kind that appeal to high-SES families (immersion, Montessori) means that Brookland’s DCPS schools lose a lot of engaged families to charters. There are still good options at the elementary level in Brookland, but the charters are a brain drain on upper grades and MS/HS. You see something similar in Ward 6, though the charter options on the hill are so scarce (it’s almost impossible to get PK spots at SWS or TR these days) that has benefited some of the DCPS schools. But S-H still struggles to retain students snd EH even more, and everyone is frustrated by how hard it is to get neighborhood kids to go to Eastern, it’s well documented.

No one is saying the previous situation was better. But the charter system in DC has created just as many,if not more, haves and have nots. If you aren’t IB for a strong school in DC, it’s still very, very hard to get your kid a good education. Not impossible, but it takes a level of dedication and energy that usually also comes with privilege. [/quote]

Tired, tired argument. Charters have led to improved educational choices across the board in DC.  Just look at improved test scores, enrollments, graduations rates in both sectors since the first charters came on the scene.  Also, schools that are not tied to zip codes ( charters ) are really our biggest hope for truly diverse schools. Move on from the anti-charter hype.[/quote]

Also--if you weren't here engaged in the educational scene in DC BEFORE charters. You have NO IDEA how bad it was and how many "have-nots" there were compared to now. There were no golden "good old days"[/quote]

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