Six failed charter schools close; parents seek options.

Chris Geden, Community Outreach Director- Childrens Education Alliance of Missouri

With the closing of several Imagine schools, we sit and try to figure out where 3,800 St. Louis-area students are going to go to school next year. The very next question on our minds should be: What are their high-quality options? The St. Louis public school district does have some good schools – and even good intentions, I’d like to think – but, at the end of the day, the fact remains that the district is unaccredited and has been since 2007.

I think the Commissioner of Education made a bold decision in holding Missouri Baptist and the Imagine schools accountable for their far-less-than-stellar performance over the past few years, and ultimately served notice to all of Missouri’s charter schools as well as their sponsors. But what does it mean to eliminate a low-performing school when the only real option for the displaced students is to put them back where they more than likely left due to low performance?

I understand that SLPS is making some strides, but you wouldn’t ride in a broken airplane based on the promise that “we’re working on it.” These are the youth of our city, and they deserve so much more than what’s being offered. Please read this article from the Post-Dispatch editorial board, as it contains many good points concerning the educational options in our city.