More Charter Schools Add Competition for Public Schools

Jackson Citizen Patriot
10/11/2011
JACKSON, MICH., October 11, 2011--Last Wednesday, the Jackson area offered a clue to how public and charter schools might come to live happily side by side for a long time to come.
 
Officials at Jackson Public Schools, the county’s largest school system, cautiously cheered the addition of 50 students this school year. It helps enrollment that a charter school in town, the Jackson Arts and Technology Academy, closed shop this summer.
 
Meanwhile, enrollment continued its steady climb at Paragon Charter Academy, the larger of two still-open charter schools in the county. Parents often seek out Paragon as an alternative to JPS.
 
We note their success as state lawmakers prepare to throw the doors open to more charter schools in Michigan. There are about 250 now, and a bill that passed the state Senate last week would remove all limits on the number of charters and where they could open.
 
Critics of the legislation might look to Jackson and think again. This community is an example of how charter schools can help students- and help existing public schools, too.
 
Charters offer more flexibility to parents, both in classroom programming and atmosphere.
And as JPS officials have seen students (and their state aid) leave, they have been forced to get better. They have stepped up their game, with year-round school at Hunt, an International Baccalaureate program at Sharp Park, a fine arts emphasis at Cascades.
 
Charter schools are not a cure-all. Their students’ test results are not uniformly better.  They fail sometimes.  But they push traditional schools out of their comfort zones. Ultimately, they force all education to be more dynamic. Michigan should benefit if more charter schools open.
​