Our governor says that “the recent news that Alaska’s charter school students are leading the nation by the equivalent of a full year of learning is proof that our children are capable of great achievements.”
Let’s look under the hood here: Alaska charter schools are primarily on the Railbelt where communities have local taxation resources to better afford them. Parents have to provide transportation for these students to school and back which means time and money and dedicated parents. That type of parent is a big factor in student success. They tend to have higher socioeconomic status — income, wealth, education, occupation. My bet is that they also ensure that their children have higher attendance rates than most students. In short, charter school students start with some advantages which continue and show up as education success.
This is not to put down “normal” schools, but rather to point out that if we want all students to do better, we could at least fund them like we used to do — at which we are simply failing.
— John Jensen
Anchorage
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