9/29/05
More students than ever are flocking to charter public schools
by Joe Nathan
An ever-increasing number of Anoka area students are flocking to charter public schools like Liberty High School in Blaine, Coon Rapids Learning Center in Coon Rapids, and Pact Charter in Ramsey. The same is true statewide. While overall, districut enrollments are declining, the number of Minnesota students attending charter public schools has increased more than 80% in the last five years.
A record 23 new Minnesota charters opened this fall While some district educators resist and oppose Minnesota's charter public school movement, families are voting with their feet.
Liberty High School offers an active-hands on approach, while making extensive use of field trips throughout the United States, and
even Europe. Coon Rapids offers the kind of small school and individualized approach many high school students seek. And PACT has formed remarkable partnerships with families, generating hundreds of volunteer hours a year by families.
Charter public schools are now found in many Twin Cities suburbs, including Apple Valley, Columbia Heights, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Plymouth and Stillwater.More information about each of these schools is available on the Profiles of Minnesota Charter Schools area
of the Center for School Change Web site.
Eighty percent of Minnesotans answered "yes" earlier this year, when asked in a Center for School Change poll if they thought families should have a right to choose among various public schools. Like other public schools, charters are free, non-sectarian, and open to all.
But you don't need a poll to see what's going on in Minnesota. Every year since 1991, when the nation's first charter public school was established, the number of families attending these schools has grown. Moreover, the number of students attending Area Learning Centers or some other form of alternative school has grown from 4,500 in 1987, to more than 125,000 in 2003-2004!
Clearly, families are looking for options - often the kind of smaller, more individualized program that many Minnesota charter public schools offer.
A disclaimer: the Center for School Change, where I work, helps people create new public school options, including, but not limited to
charter public schools.
Some Minnesota educators resist charters, claiming they take "our money." These folks do not understand what has happened in
Minnesota over the last twenty years. With strong bipartisan support - starting with Hibbing's own Governor Rudy Perpich, the state decided to allocate money for education of students, not just for the preservation of the existing system. Post-Secondary options, second chance choice laws, open enrollment and charter public schools all express this basic principle.
Some district educators embrace and encourage the charter movement. Former Duluth superintendent issued a nation wide request for proposals to create charters in Duluth. Three of Duluth's most successful schools are charters. Faribault's superintendent supportedand encouraged creation of a charter in nearby Nerstrand.
Liberty High School, PACT and Coon Rapids Learning Center give are strong public school options. That's good for families, students
and the whole state.
Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher, now directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.
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