Ferguson Commission Ignores Charter School Solution

Since the release of the Ferguson Commission Report, the St. Louis Post Dispatch Letters to the Editor page has published opposing views about the importance and effectiveness of St. Louis charter public schools as a solution.

Brittany Wagner, from the Show-Me Institute, wrote that the Ferguson Commission Report should have included charter schools as part of its solution. Currently, charter schools are only available to residents of St. Louis City and Kansas City. CEAM supports the expansion of charter public schools as a way to improve the educational opportunities for students in Ferguson and across the state.

A letter in opposition to charter schools was published the following week and perpetuated myths about charter public schools that are worth dispelling. The truth about charter public schools is:

• They are public schools and are directly accountable to the public.
• The public funding is significantly less than traditional public schools.
• The schools take all students including students with disabilities.

Between 2010 and 2013, 15 of 16 independent studies found that students attending charter schools do better academically than their traditional peers. In last year’s Annual Performance Report by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as a group charter public schools in St. Louis scored 71.3% compared to St. Louis Public Schools at 43.2%.

Read Brittany Wagner’s letter to the editor: Ferguson Commission report should make charter schools a priority

To clarify other myths about Charter Schools, please see Separating Fact & Fiction by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Read the entire Ferguson Commission Report here.