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Education Issues in 2003 |
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Written On: September/October |
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CHARTER SCHOOLS: EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY DEFERRED
2003 could have been the year charter schools finally came to Washington. SB 5012, which would have allowed parents and teachers to form charter schools, passed in Washington’s Senate but died in the House.
Charter schools could improve learning and academic standards in Washington, and would receive the same per pupil state funding as traditional public schools. These unique schools provide smaller class sizes, universal preschool education, accelerated English learning, longer school days and years, community libraries, university professional development centers and performance pay plans for all staff members.
Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, in Los Angeles, is a prime example of a successful charter school. Dr. Yvonne Chan is principal of Vaughn, which serves 1,500 kindergarten through sixth grade students. She hopes to see more charter schools established in the future.
Dr. Chan, a leading public school reformer, converted Vaughn from a traditional public school to a charter public school in 1993. Since then, student achievement has soared and attendance is near perfect. Vaughn is one of the most successful urban public schools in the nation and serves as a model for future charter schools in Washington.
"By allowing charter schools to have a chance to succeed in Washington, we are unlocking the door to a whole new world of learning," AWB President Don Brunell observed. "We just hope that politics won’t get in the way and that kids and parents will have a chance to try a system that is working in most other states."
AWB will continue to push for the acceptance of charter schools in Washington. Our children deserve nothing less.
More information on charter schools and their importance to Washington, along with an interview with Dr. Yvonne Chan, will be available in the next issue of Washington Business Magazine. For additional information on this subject contact Don Brunell at (360) 943-1600 or DonB@awb.org.
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