Working the Charter System in Princeton, NJ

Diane Ravitch recently tweeted a link to a blog post referencing an article about public and charter schools in Princeton, New Jersey.  In the article, titled Segregating Suburbia: A Princeton Story and taken from the School Finance 101 blog, author Bruce D. Baker hi-lights the elite charter schools that are developing in suburban areas.

Choice in schools began in 1954 as a result of Brown vs. Board of Education.  Individuals were given the opportunity to chose a segregated or desegregated school.  This idea of choice morphed over the years cause many hot debates about how government money should be used in education.  While some thought that federal funds should be available for any type of education, others argued that religious based school must be eliminated from this choice.  The idea of selecting one's school moved into the 1990s, when voucher programs and charters became buzz words in the United States.

A voucher program enables a family to receive federal funds to use at the school of their choice.  This money can be used at any school- religious, private, etc.  In some cases, the voucher may only cover a portion of tuition.  Vouchers are administered using a need-based system (Ravitch, 2010).  It seems as if charter schools in Princeton, NJ are operating on a similar system.  Families are receiving a discounted tuition at the school of their choice; the charter is technically public and therefore receiving federal funds and the families are paying a "discounted price" to supplement their child's "tuition".  Princeton is not alone either.  Similar findings were made in Washington DC.  Although DC charters have a high number of poor students, they have an extraordinary low number of students with high needs such as ESL students (Ravitch, 2010).  Sounds like a scam to me.

If charters are going to be developed they must be available to anyone who expresses interest in them, regardless of one's socio-economic standing.  In addition, if a school is running as a charter there are certain federal guidelines that the school must follow, specifically non-discrimination policies.  The data displaying the segregation in Princeton schools is incredibly alarming.  How is it that Princeton's charter has no students with autism, emotional disturbances, and other health issues,while the public schools are monopolized by these "at risk" students?

I am curious to the academic performance of students at the Princeton charter in comparison with those in the standard public schools.  While it is assumed that competition of charters will make public schools raise their standards, I have a hard time believing that is accurate in this case.

Ravitch, D. (2010) The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education.  Philadelphia, PA: Perseus Books Group.