State Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf probably wishes he could take back his statements about a Princeton-South Brunswick charter school. Cerf, a gung-ho supporter of charters, raised questions about so-called boutique schools like the proposed Mandarin-language one here. (It has been approved by the state but has been unable to find a home that can get through the local zoning process.)
At a forum sponsored by NJ Spotlight last week in Newark, Cerf cited a proposed Mandarin-immersion charter in Princeton in questioning whether the harm such charters could cause to their districts outweighs their potential to enhance a “portfolio” of educational offerings.
“I think you really can have a very serious debate, the outcome of which is unclear, as to whether that rounds out the portfolio or impairs the success of the overall district,” Cerf said, referring to the Princeton International Academy Charter School, which hopes to open in South Brunswick in September and draw students from that district, Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro.
Cerf was correct — and not just about the Princeton International Academy Charter School. The charter school movement requires far more scrutiny than state educational officials have been willing to give it, and this goes for those working both for Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Jon Corzine.
The argument in favor of charters is that it enhances freedom of choice for parents, but it also offers the state a convenient out when it comes to fixing public schools. Rather than do the hard work — which would include modernizing buildings to a much greater degree than has been imagined, training teachers and paying them enough to stay in the public sector, reducing class sizes and doing what needs to be done to improve school safety (and this list does not include the societal changes required to put poor kids in a position to learn) — the state is giving children of motivated parents a way to escape failing schools. This does nothing to fix the failures, but consigns those students unlucky enough to escape to even worse conditions.
So, let me rephrase the question Cerf was asking, but apply it to charter schools more generally: Do charter schools enhance or hinder the quality of public school districts?
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