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I'm going to RT Kyle's question up so I can answer in an extended tweet. The question rests on 3 assumptions: 1) The student population of Newark has not significantly changed relative to comparison districts, 2) The only meaningful ed policy that changed in Newark... 1/ https://twitter.com/KyleRosenkrans/status/1346588375495684103
... over the last few decades has been charter growth, and 3)That resource advantages charters enjoy could only be gained in that model and there are no pernicious side-effects. Let's start with 1): There have, in fact, been significant changes in Newark's student... 2/
...population relative to similar NJ districts: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-facts-about-newarks-schools-update.html You *must* account for these changes when making relative comparisons of outcomes. 2) In fact, there have been other important ed policy changes in Newark, chief among them being the Abbott reforms... 3/
...which saw a significant influx of revenues into the district with real consequences for schools: https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/newarks-schools-the-facts/ If we are going to celebrate any successes in Newark over the past decades, let's include funding reform as one of the causes. 4/
3) There is no question that charter growth has meant a longer school day and better school facilities for *some* children. In the absence of other out-of-school opportunities, more school time is a good thing. 5/
But this has only happened b/c Newark charters churn their staff, allowing them to offer more competitive salaries for younger teachers who, in turn, work longer hours. https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2019/04/26/ten-important-facts-about-new-jersey-charter-schools-and-five-ways-to-improve-the-new-jersey-charter-sector/ 6/
As for facilities: charters have had access to opportunities like Teachers Village, which was financed with significant public monies. Why hasn't such an effort been made for NPS schools? http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2015/12/return-to-teachers-village-part-i.html 7/
Hundreds of millions of $ have been used to move Newark schools that used to be public assets into private ownership. Why can't such monies be found to build new facilities that stay under control of Newark's citizens? https://www.northjersey.com/in-depth/news/watchdog/2019/03/27/federal-program-used-pay-privately-owned-charter-school-buildings/2956629002/ 8/
Kyle, you asked me if Newark's children are better or worse off after 25 years of charter expansion. Respectfully, I submit that's the wrong question. What we really should ask is: Is this the best we can do for the children and citizens of Newark? 9/
Why is the only way a child in Newark can attend a school with longer hours & better facilities to enroll in a "no excuses" charter? Why can't the taxpayers of Newark own and control the school facilities in their city that they paid for? Why must Newark's schools... 10/
... rely on a staffing policy that constantly churns teachers? Democratically-controlled, well-funded public schools seem to be preferred by most people in the NJ suburbs - why aren't they available in Newark? These, to my mind, are the real questions we should be asking. end/
