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| Kids study algebra at mostly white Legacy Charter High School near Ocoee. (George Skene/Orlando Sentinel) |
The Orlando Sentinel is running a two-part series on Florida school re-segregation via charter schools. According to Sentinel writer Dave Weber:
Segregation is making a comeback in Florida's public schools with the new wave of charter schools springing up across the state. One out of eight charter schools has a student body with 90 percent or more of a single race or ethnicity, an Orlando Sentinel analysis of the state's 456 taxpayer-financed charters shows. That compares with one out of 12 traditional public schools.The title of Part 2 of Weber's series speaks for itself: "Grouping kids by race or ethnicity in charter schools has merit, backers say."
Researchers at Stanford University looked at charters in 15 states and the District of Columbia, and Florida's did not show well. The 2009 study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes lists Florida among six "states that demonstrated lower than average charter school student growth than their peers in traditional schools."
It did seem like they were going to have to come out and acknowledge this at some point.
ReplyDeleteThe corporate education reform philosophy promotes "rigor" in "no excuses" schools serving disadvantaged students of color. It utilizes inflexible, military-style discipline, usually including strict uniform codes and rules such as walking through the hall in a single-file line, in mandatory silence.
The privileged, powerful leaders of the corporate-education-reform movement would never tolerate a rigid, regimented environment for their own children, who (it is assumed) need to develop their creativity, critical thinking and leadership skills; engage in spirited debate; and bloom as unique individuals.
The separate-and-unequal goal is so clear-cut that it's amazing it doesn't draw more comment.