A big loss for California's children

Don Iglesias, superintendent of the San Jose Unified School District, asked why California was bypassed when California was a state with six million kids? Well, the answer is clear: California needs a paradigm shift in how it supports public education. And that fundamental shift in public education must involve the expansion of charter schools and an increase in charter school funding.

Charter schools in California represent the greatest hope for California’s public school students. Schools like San Carlos’ Charter Learning Center for kids in grades K-8 and Summit Prep High School in Redwood City are learning communities where there is consistent demonstrable student achievement. Charter schools like these not only emphasize student achievement, but they also make a concerted effort to nurture each child’s social and emotional development. These schools are just two examples of the best hope we have for true public school reform in California.

In the United States, 25 percent of all charter schools and 20 percent of all charter school students in this country can be found in California. You can point to the public’s perception that traditional public schools are failing our kids and that charter schools are successful by the fact that there are over 350,000 students on waiting lists to attend charter schools across this country. The San Carlos Charter Learning Center had almost 20 percent of San Carlos’ kindergarten population apply for the 2010 school year. Currently, 12 percent of the city’s kindergarteners remain on the charter school’s waitlist. What is even more impressive is that the San Carlos School District is working this year to become an all charter school district and join San Carlos Charter Learning Center. The city’s school board gets it that charter schools are here to stay and that they are the best option for our kids.

Charter school students demonstrate high levels of achievement because charter school communities are committed to supporting both the child and the family. Public charter school parents volunteer and contribute to their school communities at a level that is hard to match in a traditional pubic district school because of opposition from teacher unions. Families also recognize that the charter school community provides the kind of support and nurturing environment that allows each child to blossom as an individual.

Our first concern is about educational excellence. We demonstrate the innovation and fiscal responsibility needed so that all children can be successful. When it comes to Latino or African-American achievement, charter schools are superior to traditional public schools on any comparison, be it by state, by district and particularly by neighborhood. California charter schools are diverse, have open-enrollment and offer innovative programs to meet students’ needs regardless of their race, ethnicity or language of origin.

People across this state need to speak out and support the expansion of public charter schools. Charter schools succeed because they are about choice. Parents and students now have a clear choice in California when it comes to public education. And they are making that choice loud and clear as demonstrated by the thousands upon thousands of students on charter school waitlists.

To the politicians up in Sacramento, the children in your state beg you to please do the right thing. Please don’t bend to the relentless pressure of teachers’ unions and other special interest groups who are more interested in protecting the status quo then in real educational innovation. Pass the reforms needed so that California can qualify for the billions of dollars available for education reform with the Race to the Top grant money. Support charter schools with legislation that will not only increase the number of quality charter schools in the state, but also send a message to every public school district in the state that business as usual is not in the best interest of our kids, our families, nor our state.

Christopher Mahoney is director of the San Carlos Charter Learning Center, California’s founding public charter school and one of the two longest-serving charter schools in America. The San Carlos Charter Learning Center serves children in kindergarten through eighth grade.