Letter submitted to the Boston Globe
With a faltering economy compounding the woes of struggling families and students (and the schools that serve them), Governor Patrick’s newfound faith in charter schools is deeply troubling (”Test scores drove charter decision,” July 17. Despite considerable hype, charters are unproven, leaky vessels that are unlikely to reach the promised land of educational excellence and equity. Worse, they divert scarce resources from schools that serve the neediest students and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

There is scant evidence, though much ideology, behind the notion of charter school superiority. The overall record shows charters do not outperform traditional public schools serving similar students. Moreover, some of the most highly praised charter schools lose most of their students between freshman and senior year (then claim 100% college going rates for the small fraction who remain). Where do they go? They either drop out or return to district schools.

This may produce the illusion of closing achievement gaps or “leaving no
child behind,” but now is the time for real solutions, not illusions.

Sheila Decter
Executive Director
JALSA – the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action