Share the Hope

Thankfully this wrongheaded bill was stopped, but more needs to be done:

Lawmakers clearly got the message last month when charter public schools were under attack by the backers of a measure that would have stopped high-quality charter public school campuses from opening in Chicago's struggling neighborhoods. Thanks to the tireless efforts of hundreds of parents, students, teachers, principals, community groups and civic leaders, two-thirds of the Illinois House -- Democrats and Republicans -- voted against House Bill 466. Now is the time to send a message to our elected leaders to expand the role of charter public schools, by restoring vital charter public school funding and lifting the arbitrary cap on the number of charter public schools in Illinois.

There remains a waiting list of over 10,000 students, heavily concentrated in Chicago. And charter schools spur innovation in all schools:

Charter public schools have established a strong track record over the last decade. Chicago's charter public schools have all outperformed neighboring traditional schools on graduation rates, attendance rates and standardized tests of reading, writing and math. In addition a recent independent study found that charter public schools boast higher college attendance rates on average than their traditional school neighbors.

Share the hope. Lift the cap.

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