Summary of pages 45-56 "The Choice is Ours"
In pages 45-56 of the article, “The Choice is Ours: Expanding Educational Opportunity for all Twin Cities Children,� they start off explaining how charter schools are severely segregated and poverty stricken (45), and have yet to prove a strong accountability for performance (47). In the Twin Cities, there are poverty enrollments that reach nearly 80%, which is at least 10% higher than the highest poverty concentrated public school. Also, non-white enrollments in these charter schools have jumped 14% in a span of three years, ranging from 1999-2002 (45). It is sad to say that even with the increased enrollment in these charter schools, they are still not being used in statistical research. The main reason for this is the fact that the Bush Administration held a study in 2004, and as a result they found charter schools to be less likely to meet the state standards as other public schools (48).
Another reason that charter schools are viewed as non-accountable is the fact that they have been run with poor accounting practices (48). As a result, many of these charter schools will end up closing after just a few years of practice. In fact, 64% of charter schools filed their 2001 audits late, followed by 34% in 2002 (49). It is said that “non-segregated middle-class schools have a long record of effectiveness, especially contrasted with economically and racially segregated school� (49). Charter schools are concentrating poverty, and also bringing back flashbacks of the “separate but equal� era (49-50).
In the end of the article, there is an explanation of why it’s possible for choice to integrate schools. The Choice is Yours (CIY) programs and the Low-income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program are doing there best to form a correct analysis on how well it will actually work and how we can do it. There solutions that follow include: (1) Honoring School Choice with better Programs, (2) Providing Educational Opportunity for those in need, (3) Providing better Information and Facilities, (4) Making sure that Free Transportation Remains, (5) Providing Affordable Housing along with the School and Opportunity of Choice, (6) Foster Schools and Stable Neighborhoods, and finally (7) Making sure that there is a Stable Integration in the CIY Schools (54-55).
In conclusion, their main goal is to provide an integrated school in which all students will have equal and numerous opportunities to prosper.