The National Charter School Research Project at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs has released an 84-page report titled, "Hopes, Fears And Reality: A Balanced Look At American Charter Schools in 2005" (access page to full study here). It was based on available data for 3,300 charters nationwide (the number has since grown, which tells you something). Bottom line, according to this UW summary: charter schools, like television, radio, newspapers, blogs, or government, are a tool that can be well-used, or not, depending on who's involved. And, charters serve a higher proportion of minority and low-income students than non-charter schools.

What's it all mean for Washington state? Admittedly, school choice isn't coming here anytime soon. At least not until Republicans again control at least one legislative chamber in Olympia. AND not until Washington's Black and Latino charter supporters - they ARE out there, plus Native Americans, too - muster the numbers and public presence to offset the teacher union scare tactics which convinced city and suburban voters to overturn an exceedingly modest charter law passed in 2004.

In the meantime, though, here's some food for thought from the The Sacramento Bee today (free. reg. req.) It's a tantalizing glimpse of what Washington state sadly lacks: competition, rigor, and the attendant excitement, in public education. And a high bar for minority students, who respond in kind.

For more of this inspiring story, read on (Apple Safari users, click on time stamp to continue).

Shana Brye's son was in the second grade when his teacher said he couldn't learn. "She told me point-blank: There's nothing you can do," Brye said. Brye didn't like that message. She took her son out of his Elk Grove school and transferred him to Public School #7, a charter school in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood. "I knew he'd be academically challenged," she said. "This year we've seen a turnaround." Now in its third year, PS7 is part of a fledgling movement to turn education into a marketplace with many sellers. Charter schools, advocates argue, create options for families who can't afford private school - and in the process, force district schools to compete for students.

In California, charter schools for the most part must accept all applicants. The schools are public but operate free from many of the regulations that bind school districts. In exchange, they are accountable to a district, county or state board for getting the results promised in a written contract, or charter. If they fail to do so, they can be shut down. The notion has proved popular across the political spectrum: 40 states have passed charter school laws since 1992. There are 3,600 such schools serving more than a million children across the country. California accounts for a sixth of the schools, serving one-fifth of those children.

This fall, more than 80 new charter schools opened in California. Sacramento County now has 33, Placer County five, and El Dorado County seven, according to the California Charter School Association. In some ways, PS7, a 280-student school run by the nonprofit St. HOPE Public Schools, is an example of what charter schools do best: use their autonomy to place stricter demands on parents, teachers and students.

Students at PS7, most of them African American and many of them poor, work longer hours and have fewer days off than do kids in typical district schools. Parents sign a pledge promising to read to students at night and spend 40 hours a year volunteering at the school. The payoff: The school posted an impressive 99-point leap last year in its Academic Performance Index scores, a key state indicator of performance.

...But PS7 also is open to many of the same criticisms that charter schools have faced since the inception of the movement....some complain that by drawing the kinds of involved parents whose children would do well anywhere, the school leaves other campuses in the Sacramento City Unified School District to tackle the "tough cases."

"When you have parents going out of their way to choose a school, watch over the school very closely and be involved in the school, that is a huge indicator of a child's success in school," said Marcie Launey, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association. "If we could get that from every parent in the district, our children would be on the road to success."

Right. And because some parents are laggard, other more diligent parents and their children should be punished by restricted or denied access to charters?

"I'm especially pleased that PS7 is serving a high percentage of African Americans and having the success they're having," said board member Rick Jennings. "They are showing African Americans can learn at the same rate as other students that have been successful in the district. That is very, very encouraging."

There's no consensus on how effective charter schools are. That's partly because the schools share few common traits, and partly because the science of evaluating schools is still in its infancy, according to a University of Washington study released Monday.

But Pegany said that PS7 is achieving results that can't be chalked up to parent involvement alone. "The vast majority of our students," he said, "have never really had success in school." And the people at PS7 - the parents, teachers and administrators - say the school has high expectations for students whom other schools often dismiss.

...Standing in the entryway, parent Jonathan Murry pointed to the signs that hang next to each classroom. One, hanging next to a fourth-grade room, reads "Class of 2018": the year those students are expected to graduate from college.
"They're really getting kids at an early age to think about college. A lot of schools don't even do that," he said. Principal Pegany said the school's success lies in a mix of aggressive assessment, early intervention and hard work.

Students are in class eight hours a day, sometimes longer. Struggling students - as well as their teachers - give up their fall and spring breaks to work on reading and math skills.

The school tracks individual progress with weekly assessments. Pegany has a color-coded chart in his office that breaks down each student's performance on state tests. "We expect every child to grow one and a half years in reading every year. It takes a lot of work to do that," he said.

Parents and voters, Seattle and suburban Puget Sound school board members, administrators, fair-minded teachers and turf-obsessed union leaders should ALL take heed: raising the bar high is the answer to foundering public schools, and that's what charters are about. As a property-tax payer, I'm really tired of funding crappy Seattle public schools my kids can't use. Give me a choice that doesn't involve moving to the suburbs (where in many cases, public schools are quite mediocre, if not dysfunctional); or forking out thousands per year for private schools. Charter schools: another reason to work all that much harder to get Dino Rossi elected Governor AGAIN in 2008. Remember, if it's not so close, they can't cheat!